"There's no doubt that this has been a particularly difficult year and I am relieved that this annus horribilis is coming to an end," the UN secretary general said.
The number of hungry people in India has fallen to by 9.5 per cent to 190.7 million now from 210.8 million two decades ago, but in neigbouring Pakistan the number has risen by over 38 per cent in the same period.
The current situation offers an opportunity for farmers to reinvest in agriculture.
'I think resignation is comparatively easy. It is much more difficult to stay on and continue to do the job you are elected to do.'
It said an estimated 42-66 million children could fall into extreme poverty as a result of the crisis this year, adding to the estimated 386 million children already in extreme poverty in 2019.
The number of poor people in India fell by about 415 million between 2005-06 and 2019-21, a "historic change" and a demonstration that the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty by 2030 is possible to achieve, even at a large scale, according to the UN.
'There is no safe spot in Gaza.' 'Israeli airstrikes are targeting everything, everywhere.' 'Hospitals, mosques, churches, schools have been bombed. These are places where people were taking shelter.'
Rajaram Panda explains why the US president needs to restrain himself and build a relationship with China to put any credible pressure on North Korea.
Ten-time Everest summiteer Tendi Sherpa tells Rediff.com contributor Anusha Subramanian why he cancelled his international climbing assignments to be with his community in the worst affected districts of earthquake hit Nepal.
Six months after Nepal was devastated by a massive earthquake, relief efforts are literally running out of steam as weeks of protests against a new constitution have led to a critical shortage of fuel. Naomi Mihara reports on how NGOs are racing against time to reach aid to the people before winter sets in.
Blinken will also attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad grouping and will hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Delhi.
India decided last week not to ratify WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement.
After Pyongyang tests a missile potentially capable of reaching the US, Dr Rajaram Panda explores the realistic -- and peaceful -- options before Donald Trump and the international community at large.
PM Modi addressed a crowded UNESCO gathering, speaking of the importance of culture.
A former Indian Air Force officer is among those battling the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa. As a part of the UN Ebola Task Force, he shares his experience with Arjun Subramaniam.
'Should you give a man fish, or teach him how to fish?' 'Lurking hidden in the new bout of welfarism seems to be an admission that the State can't deliver for the poor anything other than cash,' notes T N Ninan.
The omission of historical responsibilities, implying the build-up in the atmosphere of 165 years of greenhouse gas emissions from industrialised countries, is a body blow to the notion of climate justice, sums up Darryl D'Monte, reporting exclusively for Rediff.com from COP21.
As Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma ruled out any possibility of a compromise, whispers were already being heard of a possible collapse of the talks.
Major Suman Gawani, who served as a UN Peacekeeper in South Sudan, is the first Indian to receive the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award. 'On seeing the Indian flag on my uniform,' she says,' the locals would get very excited and say, 'Hindi, Hindi'.'
Indians in countries like the United States, China, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Egypt, Israel and South Africa celebrated the day with hoisting of the national flag and singing of patriotic songs.
Generation, a youth employment non-profit, is empowering young people to build thriving, sustainable careers. It also provides employers the highly skilled, motivated talent they need.
Byju Classes' founder Byju Raveendran, Zomato co-founder Gaurav Gupta, CEO of Antara Senior Living, Tara Singh Vachani, Vinati Organics' MD & CEO Vinati Mutreja and Swapan Mehra, CEO of Iora Ecological Solutions are among 115 young leaders.
'Under Narendra Modi's leadership, we will be able to regain our rightful place in the community of nations,' veteran diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri, who joined the BJP on January 2, tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
The United Nations Children's Emergency Fund on Thursday said the deaths in mid-day meals in Bihar could have been prevented with strict adherence to protocols for preparing the meal.
A special ceremony was organised at the world-famous skyscraper in New York's midtown Manhattan for lighting it up in saffron, white and green.
'Try to get in 30 to 60 minutes of a brisk walk every day, like my grandparents would do in the village -- twice a day they would go for morning walks and they would go after dinner.'
COP 21 is about how much carbon space is left and who gets how much of that space
Diseases like diarrhoea and respiratory infections are a major concern in quake-hit Nepal.
South Koreans learn how to talk to the enemy
'They don't always agree with our governments, their teachers or their parents, but it is the conviction of their ideas, and their determination to share them with the world that, I believe, is one of the greatest sources of hope for our planet.' 'The colonisation of space, understanding the very building blocks of matter and the universe, utilising our understanding of the human genome to conquer disease -- these are the tasks waiting for a fellowship of minds to realise new triumphs in our collective destiny.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for deeper ties in key areas of counter-terrorism, climate change and UN reforms.
As the pandemic unfolded, the India-China relationship has come under severe stress. To restore normalcy, agreements between the two countries must be respected scrupulously in their entirety. Where the Line of Actual Control is concerned, any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo is unacceptable, declares External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Ahead of the G-20 summit in Osaka this week, Xi has reasserted China's role as a global player, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
10 achievers who made the cut in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.
''Even without major reforms, with a business as usual scenario, and with current inflation trends, we should be clocking around 11 to 12 per cent nominal growth.' 'That is not happening and is a source of worry,' Rathin Roy tells Arup Roychoudhury.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the nation on the eve of 71st Republic Day.
As 2018 draws to a close and the white noise of 24-hour news cycles and Twitter storms fade into the background, it is already clear that history will remember only a handful of those people, each of whom has taught us something about ourselves and the rapidly changing world in which we live.
While the government has claimed significant increase in funds for farm credit, PMKSY and PKVY, facts show a different story.
Kaanchi Chopra's blog posts talk about issues like body shaming, colour discrimination, gender inequality.
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