-The United Nations The United Nations agency tasked with advancing gender equality today announced a new initiative that will spotlight countries’ commitments to end violence against women and girls, seeking bold action and Leadership to galvanize efforts to end the pandemic. “We all must do better to protect women and prevent this pervasive human rights violation,” said the Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equity and the Empowerment of Women...

-Farmlandgrab.org Oxfam’s Phil Bloomer reports on the shocking scandal of (mostly) secretive land-grabbing, usually from those least able to defend their rights Land grabbing has fast become a major threat to poor communities in Africa, Asia and South America. Poverty-stricken women and men are being driven from their homes and the land they rely on to grow food to eat and make a living, usually without compensation. In many cases this is...

-The Hindustan Times After a lull, the naxalites struck in Gadchiroli again. On late Tuesday night, the naxalites killed a villager on pretext of his being a police informer in Motala-Tekdi village near Sironcha bordering Andhra Pradesh.   According to reports reaching here, a gang of 10-15 armed Maoists stormed the Motala-Tekdi village and enquired about Narayan Srirangi (33) who was at home. They armed naxals went to his home, dragged him...

-The Hindu Students’ reports on worksites detail violation of basic rights Bangalore: Who exactly owns responsibility for the safety of workers at Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) sites, where there have been several incidents of accidents Leading to grievous injuries and deaths? This query raised by a group of students — who did a detailed study of the condition of workers at BMRCL sites in 2009 and a follow-up study earlier this...

-The Telegraph The CPM is visibly enjoying Mamata Banerjee’s political isolation in her push for a no-trust motion and chose to make light of her overtures today, trying to suggest she was out of her depth in national politics. “She has completely misunderstood the issue. The issue is not the government; the issue is policies. Policies have to be reversed. What do you do if another government pursues the same policies?” politburo...