-The Hindu   On Tuesday, India signed a deal for a $1-billion loan from the World Bank to clean up the Ganga. Just a day earlier, in a tragic coincidence, a 34-year old swami died after a four month-long hunger strike, protesting the mining mafia illegally quarrying in the river. Besieged with questions about Swami Nigamanand's death at the official function to sign the World Bank deal, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh blamed...

For third straight day on Sunday, the standoff between protestors and the armed police at Dhinkia village the entry point to Posco project site continued without bloodshed though the Orissa government on Friday had declared the assembly as unlawful and hinted at action if the protesters continued to restrict the officials' movement. Land acquisition officials backed by about 800 armed police have so far not been able to enter the...

Sonia Gandhi has told the Congress it is the party’s duty to ensure that all welfare schemes introduced by the government are “fully implemented” on the ground. In a letter published in the latest issue of party mouthpiece Congress Sandesh, Sonia wrote: “The UPA has worked hard to fulfil the strong mandate to govern it received from the people in 2009. Since then, the synergy between the government and the party...

The battle against Posco appeared to be reaching a crucial stage as around 2,000 protectors today continued to block the entry of police and officials into Dhinkia and Gobindapur even as an Opposition delegation visited the area to lend support to the people’s movement. As the protesters refused to budge, the officials were forced to return empty-handed after a five-hour-long wait. The movement against the 12-million-tonne Posco steel project got a big...

-NDTV   Protests continue to intensify against land acquisition for the proposed 12 billion dollar POSCO plant in Govindpur in Orissa. After warning the government of dire consequences in a statement on Friday, five political parties including the CPI, CPM and even civil society activists are expected to join in the protests. Nearly 2000 women, children and men have formed a human barricade to prevent the entry of police and administration in...