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Beautiful People by Pradeep Swar is a fast moving story that carries us across continents. It is a story of two families totally unknown to each other and coming from separate cultures. It is the tale of how their fortunes came to cross paths in the High Himalayan and the dusty plains of North India. The story carries us over a period of almost two decades and tells us to the varying fortunes of our two families whose second generation comes together as students in the Eastern Hill station of Darjeeling, the famed tea producing centre. The underlying current of terrorism and the activities of the crime nexus bring us back to the stark realities of the present day world where none are truly secure and can never know when violence may strike.

At time, the realization comes as a result. The path to finding that result may be very rugged and evil may strew its way in the very familiar form of violence, but howsoever bad the case may be, all seems good if at the end, the result is good.

It is a wonder and a miracle if something, even a little good thing comes out of a violent and inhumane behavior. That result is then beautiful.

Such is the case with Omar. A driven and orthodox mastermind he is, who will stop at nothing until he gets his vengeance. And he is going to use anything and anyone to claim it and will wipe out anything and anyone on his path to get it.

Then, there are the other people. Those everyday people who live an undistributed life and who are suddenly entangled in this tumultuous chain of threatening events.  “The strife of humanity is when a human uses another wrongly.” But evil has power and so does innocence and these clash to bring out an eye-opening truth in front of our eyes. That it is a beautiful world filled with beautiful people.

Title: Beautiful People

Author: Pradeep Swar

Edition: First Edition

Cover: Paperback

Subject: Fiction

Pages: 225

Size (mm): 140 x217

Weight (grams):260

Price: US$ 8.75

Pradeep Swar, 19, is a young and promising young Nepali author wrote this story at the tender age of 16. He himself was a student in Darjeeling has used much of his own personal experience of the region to give depth and interest to his first full length novel.

UNAIDS Outlook Report 2010

New UNAIDS report shows that young people are leading the prevention revolution, with 15 of the most severely affected countries reporting a 25% drop in HIV prevalence among this key population. New global opinion poll shows that AIDS continues to be of major importance for the public around the world.

The new UNAIDS Outlook report outlines a radically simplified HIV treatment platform called Treatment 2.0 that could decrease the number of AIDS-related deaths drastically and could also greatly reduce the number of new HIV infections. Evidence shows that new HIV infections among young people, in the 15 countries most affected by HIV, are dropping significantly as young people embrace safer sexual behaviours.

Also in the report, a sweeping new UNAIDS and Zogby International public opinion poll shows that nearly 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, region by region, countries continue to rank AIDS high on the list of the most important issues facing the world.

And an economic analysis makes the case for making health a necessity, not a luxury, outlining the critical need for donor countries to sustain AIDS investments and calling on richer developing countries to invest more in HIV and health.

The report was launched in Geneva ahead of the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna. The UNAIDS Executive Director, Mr Michel Sidibé, stressed that innovation in the AIDS response can save more lives. “For countries to reach their universal access targets and commitments, we must reshape the AIDS response. Through innovation we can bring down costs so investments can reach more people.”

According to UNAIDS’ estimates there were 33.4 million people living with HIV worldwide at the end of 2008. In the same year there were nearly 2.7 million new HIV infections and 2 million AIDS-related deaths.

Treatment 2.0 saves lives:

Treatment 2.0 is a new approach to simplify the way HIV treatment is currently provided and to scale up access to life saving medicines. Using a combination of efforts it could bring down treatment costs, make treatment regimens simpler and smarter, reduce the burden on health systems and improve the quality of life for people living with HIV and their families. Modelling suggests that compared with current treatment approaches, Treatment 2.0 could avert an additional 10 million deaths by 2025.

In addition, the new approach could also reduce new HIV infections by up to 1 million annually if countries provide antiretroviral therapy to all people in need, following revised WHO treatment guidelines. Today, 5 million of the 15 million people in need are accessing these life-saving medicines.

“Not only could Treatment 2.0 save lives, it has the potential to give us a significant prevention dividend,” said Mr Sidibé, speaking at the launch of the report.

Young people leading the prevention revolution:

A new UNAIDS study shows that young people are leading the HIV prevention revolution. HIV prevalence among young people has declined by more than 25% in 15 of the 25 countries most affected by AIDS. These declines are largely due to falling new HIV infections among young people.

In eight countries—Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe—significant HIV prevalence declines have been accompanied by positive changes in sexual behaviour among young people.

For example, in Kenya there was a 60% decline in HIV prevalence between 2000 and 2005. HIV prevalence dropped from 14.2% to 5.4% in urban areas and from 9.2% to 3.6% in rural areas in the same period. Similarly in Ethiopia there was a 47% reduction in HIV prevalence among pregnant young women in urban areas and a 29% change in rural areas.

Young people in 13 countries, including Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Malawi, are waiting longer before they become sexually active. Young people were also having fewer multiple partners in 13 countries. And condom use by young people during last sex act increased in 13 countries.

There are 5 million young people living with HIV worldwide, making up about 40% of new infections.

By Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA Executive Director

World Population Day: On this day, the UN marks the anniversary of the day, in 1987, when the world's population exceeded 5 billion. This is a day to think about population-related issues in an ever more crowded world.

Every country counts its people. The numbers tell decision-makers about current and future needs. “Everyone counts” is the theme for this year’s World Population Day.

If people and their characteristics aren’t counted, governments can’t plan. If identification is not granted, it is impossible to track progress over a lifetime. If a birth certificate indicates a need for schooling, that informs the education system. If death records specify, to the extent possible, cause of death, health systems can be oriented to meet actual needs. If death records specify causes related to HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, pregnancy and childbirth, specific health services can be prioritized. Government planning depends on local and regional information that is supplemented by interviews with the groups most concerned. Such data makes it possible to meet real needs.

Good data is critical for evidence-based policies and programmes for improving people’s lives. Yet while timely and reliable data is routine in richer countries, many resource-constrained developing countries struggle to conduct the censuses and surveys that they need for effective planning.

For the past 30 years, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, has played a lead operational role in helping to build countries’ capacities for data collection and analysis. A current focus of UNFPA support is successful implementation of the 2010 round of population and housing censuses (2005-2014).

In 2009, UNFPA supported 77 governments’ national population and housing censuses and paved the way for other censuses in 2010. This work is often complex, as in Iraq, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Sudan. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, UNFPA is promoting new data collection technologies and assisting Bosnia and Herzegovina to conduct a census. In Africa, UNFPA is helping to analyze data collected by recent censuses in Chad, Liberia and Nigeria. All these countries could not complete their censuses in 2000 and Liberia’s successful census ended a period of more than 30 years in which no statistical work could be done. In Asia and the Pacific, the enumerations have successfully concluded in Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Viet Nam and censuses are being prepared for East Timor and Mongolia. In Latin America and the Caribbean national statistical institutes are participating in training to enhance skills for data collection and
analysis.

Census data reveals compelling characteristics about employment, education and health services in countries. It provides information about population growth, the movements of people, age structures, poverty levels, urbanization and the spatial distribution of a country’s population. Countries can use that information to plan investments, save lives and improve opportunities for present and future generations.

With world attention focused on achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and the upcoming MDG10 Summit at the United Nations in September, the availability of consistent and comparable statistical information has become even more crucial. Data for development plays a prominent role in monitoring progress, assessing and realigning plans and strategies, and conducting effective advocacy. Data, and public access to it, contributes to transparency and accountability.

Rising inequalities in income and access to employment and social services in Asia are casting a shadow over its unprecedented economic boom, and governments and the private sector need to work together to make the benefits of growth more inclusive, says a new book from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Poverty, Inequality and Inclusive Growth in Asia: Measurement, Policy Issues, and Country Studies, edited by Juzhong Zhuang, Assistant Chief Economist in ADB’s Economics and Research Department, examines the growing discrepancies in wealth and persistent gaps in access to social services that have emerged during Asia’s extraordinary economic expansion in recent decades, and lays out policy options to address inequities and support inclusive growth.

Over the past 20 years, the region’s per capita gross domestic product has expanded almost three-fold, with the percentage of people living in extreme poverty ($1.25 a day or less) nearly halved. At the same time Asia is still home to two-thirds of the world’s poorest people, while in a large part little progress has been made on key social indicators, such as child and maternal mortality rates. Despite market liberalization and globalization creating new wealth and economic opportunities, inequalities in both income and non-income indicators have widened in many countries, particularly between large urban centers and the countryside.

“Developing Asia’s stellar growth rates have masked rising inequality, leading to two faces of Asia – one shining and the other suffering,” said Mr. Zhuang. “Merging them will be a development challenge for many years to come. Inclusive growth with its focus on creating economic opportunity and ensuring equal access will play a pivotal role in narrowing the gap.”

The book – which draws on research papers carried out by ADB economists and their collaborators – looks at recent trends of income and non-income inequality and poverty in the region; discusses the underlying driving forces; examines the concept of inclusive growth; and provides in-depth analysis of key policy pillars of an inclusive growth strategy, including employment, access to public services, social protection, and governance and institutions. The book also includes six country studies presenting detailed information on growth, poverty, and inequality dynamics in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

It says an effective inclusive growth strategy needs to focus on high growth to create productive jobs, social inclusion to ensure equal access to opportunities, and social safety nets to mitigate risks and cushion the most vulnerable groups. To do this, governments should address existing policy, governance and institutional weaknesses, promote social inclusion, and invest in, and improve access to, basic services.

“Fighting poverty and inequality by focusing public policy on improving delivery of basic health care and education services, especially to the disadvantaged, strengthening social protections and significantly increasing the productive employment opportunities of a wide population should be a minimum agenda to which developing Asia’s policy makers must commit,” said Mr. Zhuang.

The book notes that many economies in the region, including India and PRC, recognize the potentially negative social, economic, and political consequences of increasing inequality in access to economic opportunity, and are now embracing inclusive growth as the central element of their development plans.

Conflicting behaviour of glaciers, such as retreating, advancing, and even surging, within small distances poses difficult questions for scientists.

Scientists agreed to improve collaboration on scientific and technical research on the impacts of climate change on the cryosphere of the Indus basin covering the four Hindu Kush-Himalayan countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and China  at a recent workshop on ‘Climate and environmental change impacts on the cryosphere of the Indus basin and its implications for future water scenarios’. It is expected that this approach will facilitate sharing of experiences to create an environment of ownership of scientific work among regional government institutions engaged in sustainable water resource management in the Indus basin.  The workshop was organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal from 2-4 July 2010.

At the workshop, delegates identified key gaps in knowledge about the Indus basin. Conflicting behaviour of glaciers, such as retreating, advancing, and even surging, within small distances poses difficult questions for scientists.  Lack of observation at high altitude, where most of the mass accumulation takes place, creates a hurdle to our understanding of the impact of climate change on glaciers and meltwater generation. Some revealing results were presented at the workshop, such as the extent of the impact of black carbon on accelerating the melting of snow and ice, which could locally surpass the effect of greenhouse gases (GHG).

The ‘Indus River Basin Programme’ will  facilitate  research,  collection and analysis  of scientific and socioeconomic trends, as well as strengthening current research and proposing new research and development interventions and approaches. The programme will provide a platform for sharing the knowledge gained as well as state-of-the-art approaches and interventions planned for future work on climate and environmental change and water resource management in the Indus River Basin.

The Director General of ICIMOD, Dr. Andreas Schild said that the Indus Basin was important because of its extreme sensitivity to climate and environmental changes and because of the huge size of the population dependent on the water generated from the highlands.

The keynote address was given by Professor Matthias Winiger, Vice Chancellor, University of Bonn, Germany. Professor Winiger illustrated the key facets of water balance in the Indus Basin and the importance of understanding and managing its water resources. Professor Winiger also emphasised the need for clarity about changes taking place and the importance of improved and representative data based on long-term monitoring to mimic the system, glacial mass balance measurements, and climate-change scenarios.  He called for an Indus Basin Decade and proposed 10-point suggestions of future undertakings in the basin. Professor Winiger stated that ICIMOD could play a lead role in this.

Regional representatives at policy- and decision-making levels also recognise the need to improve the monitoring of snow, ice and water resources in the HKH in order to provide valid and useful information as a basis for their work.

The Indus River Basin is important economically. The basin has 6 main rivers originating from glaciers in the Western Himalayas, the Karakoram, and the Hindu Kush which are sources of irrigation for over 16 million hectares (ha) of agricultural land and provide hydropower to Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. Glacial fluctuations and changes in precipitation patterns are expected to alter the hydrology of the river basin, hence jeopardising hydropower generation and agricultural production and consequently altering people’s livelihoods.