A group of villagers, instigated by Maoists looking to establish a role for themselves in Pachuara village’s dealings with a mining company set up there, murdered Sister Valsa John as they perceived her to be an obstacle in their designs, the police have concluded. Seven of those villagers have been arrested, including Advin Murmu, who is also accused of raping an associate of the Sister, said IG of Santhal Pargana Arun...

-The Sentinel Assam   Cluster of villages across Barak Valley have been threatened by erosions of various rivers crisscrossing the zone. A good number of villages have been completely or partially wiped out by the swirling and surging waters of Barak, in particular, during heavy floods. Reports about the fate of such villages have appeared in the media time to time and continue to hit the headlines. The state government and its...

-The Telegraph The world is likely to get 10 times hotter in the next 90 years, a report released today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said. The report links the rise in temperatures to the “high greenhouse gas emission scenario” caused by human activity. It says intense drought, heavy precipitation and intensity of tropical cyclones are also likely to increase. Titled “Special Report on managing the risks of extreme events...

The Editors Guild of India has expressed its concern at the implications of Monday's ruling of the Supreme Court, rejecting a Special Leave Petition seeking a stay against a high court order asking the Times Now channel to deposit Rs 100 crore as a pre-condition for hearing its appeal. "While recognising that the law of defamation is an important qualification of the fundamental right to freedom of expression, the Guild believes...

Revised MGNREGS guidelines to be finalised end of this week The revised guidelines for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is likely shift the social welfare programme's thrust from being labour-intensive to material intensive. This was indicated by the Union minister for rural development, Jairam Ramesh, on November 14 at a day-long seminar on the UPA government's flagship programme. At the consultations titled, Empowering Lives through MGREGA: Strengthening...