As part of its efforts to forecast monsoon better, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) will incorporate readings from one of the latest US climate forecast models that is being improved for Indian conditions. IMD will release its monsoon forecast for this year in the middle of next week, while weather experts from South Asia gathered in Pune will come out with their forecast for the South Asian region on Friday. Advanced countries...

-The Economic Times India on Thursday voted in favour of a US-sponsored censure motion against Sri Lanka in the 47-member UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The government's domestic political compulsions seems to have prevailed over the country's strategic interests. Twenty-four countries, including India, voted for the resolution and 15 against, while eight nations abstained. Among the countries which voted against the resolution were China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives. India's decision was...

-PTI Seventy-four per cent Indians feel that the level of corruption in the country has gone up in the last three years and perceive politicians and police to be the most corrupt, according to a survey.  The survey, released by Transparency International, found that 64% Indians bribed police for one reason or the other while 55% felt that the government was ineffective in the fight against corruption.  Majority of Indians opined that politicians...

Some of the developing world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters are bidding to delay talks on a new climate agreement. To the anger of small islands and other vulnerable countries, India and Brazil are joining rich nations such as the US and Japan in wanting to start talks on a legal deal no earlier than 2015. The EU and climate-vulnerable blocs want to start as soon as possible, and have the deal finalised...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said rising prices of fuel were a reality Indians needed to deal with as any more subsidies in the oil sector could destabilise the economy. The comment came days after Mamata Banerjee, his biggest ally at the Centre, warned that her Trinamul Congress would quit the ruling UPA if prices of kerosene, diesel and cooking gas were raised. Asked what he thought of the Bengal chief minister’s...