-The Times of India NEW DELHI: After seeing the massive rescue operation to its completion, the Uttarakhand government, with the aid of disaster management authorities, is getting ready to release the final list of "missing" persons who can, for all practical purposes, be "presumed dead". The "missing" database is expected to be ready by the weekend, or July 8, and will be released soon after. Sources overseeing the relief work indicated that...

-DNA Ordinance promulgated by UPA rules out aid during calamities - natural or man-made. Even as the food security ordinance became part of the statute book after presidential assent on Friday, the Congress and government allayed fears of the law having any effect on the financial management of the country. Armed with figures, Congress chief spokesman Ajay Maken along with food minister KV Thomas explained that the scheme, which entailed merging of...

-IANS DEHRADUN/ HARIDWAR: There was still no clarity over the number of deaths in the flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, with a state minister on Sunday not ruling out an "estimate" of 10,000-plus and chief minister Vijay Bahuguna putting the number of missing people at 3,000. Uttarakhand health minister Surinder Singh Negi did not discount assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal's claim on Saturday of the toll in the tragedy having crossed 10,000. "He (Kunjwal) has given...

-The Hindu The order may give rise to property and employment benefit claims relating to unmarried people. Parents could find sexual partners of their children making demands for a share of their assets. The discussion on the Madras High Court verdict on the implications of sexual relationships between unmarried couples has been wide-ranging - from mirthful responses to the suggestion that such liaisons could attain marital status under certain circumstances, to sympathetic...

-PTI Even as floods play havoc in Uttarakhand, several states have opposed the provisions of a 38-year-old Model Flood Bill aimed at minimising losses to life and property in the natural calamity. The Bill, prepared by the Central Water Commission in 1975, will empower authorities to remove dwellings from flood-prone areas. States such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have opposed the draft Bill, saying rehabilitation of people who will be displaced...