-The Times of India PURNIA: With 11 more people drowning, nine in Katihar's extremely flood-prone Barsoi sub-division and two in Baisi sub-division in Purnia, the death toll in the current floods has gone up to 38 in Purnia and Kosi divisions of north-east Bihar. In Katihar division, four people drowned at Shivanandnagar, Bansgaon, Abadpur and Bitwapur under Barsoi block, two more casualties took place at Kumaripur, one at Chunwa under Kadwa block...

-The Times of India LUCKNOW: For the Akhilesh Yadav government, the burgeoning unemployment problem comes as a daunting challenge. The 66th round of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report puts the projection of unemployed youth in Uttar Pradesh in the age group of 15-35 at whopping 1 crore by the end of the ongoing 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17). They will be in addition to the backlog of around 32...

-PTI KANPUR: The water level in the Ganga in Kanpur is a mere 46-cm below the danger mark, prompting the district administration to issue a high alert for the villages situated on the banks of the river, officials said. "The water in the river is currently flowing at 113.54m, above the red mark of 113m, and a few centimetres below the danger mark of 114m," said the nodal officer for relief work...

-The Hindu Uttarakhand reiterates that our rulers have contemptuous disregard for the advice of the best scientists and would rather listen to contractors and builders to whom they are beholden for funds In the early 1980s, while doing research on the environmental history of Uttarakhand, I sometimes visited the library of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun. Most of the journals in the library dealt with geology and earth sciences,...

-The Economic Times CHENNAI: India's patent appeals board has denied Monsanto a patent for a genetically-engineered method of increasing climate resilience in plants. The decision is significant not only for Monsanto's loss of possible exclusivity in an increasingly important segment but also for the interpretation of India's home-grown clauses in patent law - these are unpopular with global companies - for the first time in the case of plants. The Intellectual Property...