As of 14 March 2010, worldwide more than 213 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 16813 deaths.
The progress made over the past decade in lifting the world's most vulnerable nations out of poverty has been undermined since the global recession began, according to a senior United Nations official, who urged rich countries not to renege on their commitments to support the poorest of the…
Lives can be saved and the destruction of property minimized when natural disasters strike if governments invest adequate resources in disaster risk reduction measures, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said today.
United Nations experts have recommended that two pesticides be added to a trade "watch list" under a UN-backed treaty aimed at helping poorer countries more effectively manage potentially harmful imported substances.
Even the world's most homogeneous country faces the challenge of constructively managing diversity, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide said today, calling on States to recognize the need to end discrimination and inequalities between different ethnic, racial and…
In a move designed to improve water quality, the Department of Environmental Protection today announced an agreement with Exide Technologies that will significantly reduce the amount of lead being washed ...
Countries in the Asia-Pacific region must step up their cooperation to tackle the threat of highly infectious diseases - including H1N1 - crossing borders, a senior United Nations official said today.
Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is now at record levels with Asia bearing the brunt of the epidemic, says the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) in a report released today that also calls for better diagnosis of the disease.
The United Nations agency that tackles HIV/AIDS and eight Portuguese-speaking countries that are home to an estimated 223 million people have agreed to strengthen their cooperation against the deadly disease.
The second-ranking official at the United Nations today called on richer countries to implement their commitments on providing finance for development to help poorer nations reach the social and economic targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
While more than 200 million slum dwellers worldwide have escaped their conditions in the past decade, the overall population of slums has swelled by nearly 60 million in the same period, a new United Nations report finds.
The Department of Environmental Protection and its regional air quality partnerships have forecast an air quality action day for Thursday, March 18, in the Liberty/Clairton region of Allegheny County.
NOAA: Sixth Warmest February in Combined Global Surface Temperature, Fifth Warmest December-February Last month’s combined global land and ocean surface temperature made it the sixth warmest February ever recorded. Additionally, the December 2009 – February 2010 period was the fifth warmest on…
BEIJING, CHINA – Despite the global recession, China’s economy grew 8.7 percent in 2009, and the growth momentum continued in the first months of 2010, according to the World Bank’s latest China Quarterly Update released today.The Update, a regular assessment of China’s economy, finds that…
Research finds weakest chemical bonds produce materials stronger than steelSince its development in China thousands of years ago, silk from silkworms, spiders and other insects has been used for high-end, luxury fabrics as well as for parachutes and medical sutures. Now, National Science…
Sell expensive insurance, then drop those who fall ill. What a business.“Shortly after his diagnosis, however, his insurance company, Fortis, revoked his policy.”“Fortis had a company policy of targeting policyholders with HIV. A computer program and algorithm targeted every policyholder…
Melting sea ice may sound like a regional or local problem, but NOAA’s new Arctic Future Web site shows that changes in the Arctic can also influence weather in the mid-latitudes, where a large part of the global human population lives. These research efforts are part of the climate services that…
AUSTIN, TX – Climate change threatens to further imperil hundreds of species of migratory birds, already under stress from habitat loss, invasive species and other environmental threats, a new report released today by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar concludes.The State of the Birds: 2010…
DOHA, Qatar – Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland today said the United States will support trade restrictions on bluefin tuna, polar bears, and imperiled corals and sharks among other proposals at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade…
The photovoltaic (PV) market now has an eye-popping, interactive bevy of maps and charts that can let anyone know where PV panels are being installed, how big they are, how much they cost and how fast the industry is booming.Interested in where PV is installed in the U.S. and how it has grown over…