India has approached the world trade organization (WTO) to settle a dispute with the European Union (EU). In the past year, the EU seized 16 Indian drug consignments in transit to Peru, Brazil, Columbia and Nigeria at Frankfurt and Amsterdam ports.
When Peter Kaestner is not holding visa interviews at the US Embassy in Delhi, he prefers nurturing his ambition of spotting all the 10,000 known bird species. He has spotted 8,200 so far. He has also discovered a new bird in Colombia which is named after him. Arnab Pratim Dutta caught up with him. Excerpts: Why did you become a bird watcher? I remember getting exhilarated on seeing a bird
The links between human rights and biodiversity and natural resource conservation are many and complex. The conservation community is being challenged to take stronger measures to respect human rights and is taking opportunities to further their realisation.
The Amazon River accounts for one-fifth of the world's freshwater flow, and its floodplain is home to 60% of the world's remaining tropical rainforests. The basin's diverse ecosystems support an unparalleled array of biodiversity, and provide home to tens of thousands of indigenous people.
The Italian restaurant backed by celebrities Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich is one of several shunning bottled water, along with the city of San Francisco and New York state.
"The argument for local water is compelling and obvious," said Bastianich, who is phasing out bottled water across his restaurant empire, which stretches to Los Angeles.
FOR more than 20 years Carmen Lasso has scrabbled a living of sorts for herself and her eight children by scavenging at a rubbish dump in Cali, Colombia
Facing a lake covered by low-lying clouds, spiritual leader Arwa Viku burns leaves hoping that the smoke will carry his message, his voice mixing with the sound of waves lapping the grass-lined shore.
Here in mountainous central Colombia, Viku's Arhuaca Indian tribe is concerned that the country's water supply is being threatened by an expanding unregulated agricultural sector.
The International Fuel Quality Center recently released a ranking of the top 100 countries based on the lowest benzene limits in gasoline. Colombia was at the top of the ranking with the lowest limit, followed by Canada and Luxembourg.
