-The United Nations The United Nations human rights chief today voiced her disappointment at the re-criminalization of consensual same-sex relationships in India, calling it "a significant step backwards" for the country. In a decision announced yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld a colonial-era law, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which provides for the punishment of those found guilty of "unnatural offences." "Criminalising private, consensual same-sex sexual conduct violates the rights to privacy...

-The Hindustan Times Coming down hard on the Uttar Pradesh government over reports that 40 children had died in its relief camps in riot-torn Muzaffarnagar, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed it to take immediate steps to ensure there were no such deaths in future, especially with winter setting in. Hindustan Times had recently, in a series of ground reports, written about sufferings and deaths in the relief camps, set up after...

-Outlook   India is home to nearly one in three unregistered children worldwide, with 71 million children under the age of five not having their births recorded, a UNICEF report has said. The UN agency said globally the births of nearly 230 million children under five have never been recorded, with Asia being the home to more than half of these children (59 per cent). Another 37 per cent live in sub-Saharan Africa and...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: An Indian government laboratory released a formulation of salt fortified with iodine and iron for mass consumption, calling it a tool to combat anaemia and iodine deficiency, without adequate and rigorous evidence to show that it increases blood haemoglobin levels, scientists have said. The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, has shared the formulation and production technology for its double fortified salt (DFS) with seven salt-producing companies, some...

-Outlook Today's Supreme Court judgment that reverses the Delhi High Court judgment of 2009 is both constitutionally preposterous and morally egregious "If there is one constitutional tenet that can be said to be underlying theme of the Indian Constitution, it is that of ‘inclusiveness'. This Court believes that Indian Constitution reflects this value deeply ingrained in Indian society, nurtured over several generations... Where society can display inclusiveness...