The World Bank is lending the Philippines $275 million to tackle huge volumes of untreated sewage that threaten to swallow the capital Manila, the lender said Wednesday.

The Asia-Pacific region may be home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies including China, Japan, India and Indonesia.

In flood-hit fields in the Philippines, farmers are testing a hardy new variety of rice that can survive completely submerged for more than two weeks.

‘Spread of the Bt gene could make brinjal a problematic weed'

An independent enquiry has revealed that the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE, also called genetically modified, or GM) Bt brinjal poses risks to the environment and possibly to human health. The occurrence of wild, weedy and also cultivated relatives presents a likelihood that the GE Bt gene will spread to these relatives but, so far, this has largely been overlooked in the risk assessments for GE Bt brinjal, it says.

The International Rice Research Institute recently said that the rice wasted in the Philippines ever year could feed several million people.

Terming the South China Sea as a disputed region, China has warned India to refrain from undertaking oil exploration in the resource-rich Vietnamese blocks in order to ensure "peace and stability"

Bangladesh is the world's most vulnerable country to climate change-related risk factors, according to a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released yesterday.

Japanese auto major Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) plans to join compatriots Nissan Motor Limited and Suzuki Motor Corporation in setting up a global hub for manufacturing small cars in the country.

The company is far behind its aggressive Japanese competitors, selling only 4,000 vehicles annually. It is exploring the possibility of coming to India on its own and start by manufacturing its 1.2-litre small car, ECOCAR Mirage.

About 28 percent of Bangladesh's total population (41.7 million) is living in urban areas, said a Unicef report released on Wednesday.