-The Hindu   Amid the intensifying protests against land acquisition by South Korean company Posco in Jagatsinghpur, Orissa, the resistance got some praise during a debate on “The Posco Betrayal”, which was held here on Sunday. Sharing his experiences of being part of the Independent Investigation Committee that reviewed POSCO clearances, general secretary of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) V. Suresh criticised the Orissa Government, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh...

The murder of Mid-Day's J. Dey is only the tip of the iceberg. If violence against journalists continues unchecked, can a beleaguered press continue to report the way it should? If they are becoming fair game for everybody, it makes you wonder if the media as a sector really has clout. The lawlessness that is currently manifest in public life is turning out to have another dimension to it. The power...

-The Hindu   Union Minister of State for Forest and Environment Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said environmental clearance to a project should not be construed as a licence for forceful eviction of people. Asked about the resistance to land acquisition for the Posco Steel project in Orissa, Mr. Ramesh said acquisition should not be coercive. He hoped the Orissa government would exhibit sensitivity in dealing with the agitators and resolve the issue...

Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district administration today indefinitely put on hold the land acquisition process for the 12-million-tonne Posco Steel plant. “The dismantling of betel vineyards for land acquisition in Dhinkia gram panchayat has been suspended till further instructions. However, officials have gone ahead with other work such as clearing the fruit-bearing trees from the project villages in two other gram panchayats,” said Paradip additional district magistrate Saroj Kanta Choudhury. On the other hand,...

A large group of BJP leaders expresses support to agitating villagers Even as the Orissa government was set to resume land acquisition for the controversial Posco Steel project in Jagatsinghpur district on Monday, political support for the anti-Posco agitation further grew on Sunday with a large group of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders visiting Gobindpur and other villages in Jagatsinghpur to express their support for the agitating villagers. The agitators, opposing the project...