-The Telegraph   The government today issued a flood alert for 10 districts with the warning that the situation may deteriorate if the rain continues. “The situation is being monitored round the clock,” said irrigation minister Manas Bhuniya. He said the water levels of some Rivers had risen following continuous rainfall over the past two days in their catchment areas. “The districts for which a flood alert has been issued are Malda, Murshidabad, North...

-AFP   Asia could be as wealthy as Europe by mid-century, but only if it tackles key challenges from inequality and corruption to climate change, an Asian Development Bank study said Tuesday. On current trends, Asia will make up half the world's economic output by 2050, and another three billion people will have joined the ranks of the affluent, their incomes matching those of Europe today, said the report. But the ADB study...

Delivering the Setalvad Memorial Lecture, on April 16, Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia cautioned the judiciary against exceeding their judicial functions. His remarks are particularly relevant to the increasing tendency of judges of superior courts to issue directions to government, to correct and monitor government’s functions, and to even make policy decisions which are in the domain of government — as if there was no separation of functions between...

Newly-appointed tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo on Thursday gave a boost to anti-mining activism by vetoing thePosco project in Orissa and also said that bauxite mining cannot be allowed just because the mineral deposits are under the houses of poor tribals. Deo, who as Congress MP successfully lobbied against bauxite mining in his constituency in Vishakhapatnam, hailed the decision to stop Vedanta in Niyamgiri hills and even vetoed...

-IANS   Hundreds of thousands of people in Bihar are living in fear after heavy rains caused several Rivers to swell and flood over 100 villages, officials said Monday. The Bagmati river breached its embankment in Muzaffarpur district, while the rising waters in the Gandak and Kosi Rivers are also posing a serious threat. "Bagmati river breached its embankment near Basghatta village in Muzaffarpur, creating panic in dozens of villages as the flood...