THE POVERTY PROMISE BREAKERS

This week world leaders gather at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Here, all focus is on a multi billion dollar bailouts of financial institutions and the real untold scandal -- global poverty -- risks being forgotten. France, Canada, and Italy are threatening to slash their development aid budgets and break their promise to assign a mere 0.7 % of national income to the world's poorest. If these countries retract on commitments, others may follow -- it’s time to raise the alarm.  To sign a petition to these world leaders click here

Chandrayaan -1 : India's moon mission to launch in October 2008

The ambitious moon mission is slated for second half of October. An ISRO official said on condition of anonymity that the first available date is October 22, and the launch window has been fixed between October 22 and 26. 

ISRO officials said it's an "exceptional example" of international collaboration towards exploring the moon. 

The nearly 1,400 kg Chandrayaan-I satellite would be launched by the 316-tonne Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at the spaceport of Sriharikota. 

There are six scientific payloads from NASA, ESA and Bulgaria in addition to the five Indian instruments onboard Chandrayaan-I. Read