-The Indian Express Serkapadi, Rayagada: Vedanta Aluminium's controversial plan to mine the Niyamgiri hills for bauxite received a major jolt Thursday after local tribal people unanimously rejected the proposal, claiming religious and cultural rights over the entire hills after 200 minutes of high drama and suspense. In the first of the 12 pallisabhas or village meetings held in Serkapadi on the hills of Rayagada district, 36 registered voters of the village present...

-The Telegraph The Centre today submitted in the Supreme Court a "draft model rule" to restrict sale and purchase of acid in the country following the rising number of attacks on women by criminal elements and jilted lovers. Under the draft rules, the sale of acid will be restricted to industrial use, battery dealers, school/college chemical labs and hospitals. It will be obligatory for all buyers to furnish their photo identity and...

-The Telegraph The Centre is considering a proposal to financially compensate Muslims acquitted in terror cases, a move that could attract accusations of "minority appeasement" in the lead-up to next year's general election. Many Muslim youths have been acquitted of terror charges in the past few years, with the courts in several instances rapping the police for framing them. "These youths' lives are in a shambles because of the terrorist tag. It's the...

-The Hindu Second year of scheme to include distribution of 50 lakh seed kits in schools THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to maintain the momentum towards self-sustainability started last year through the State Agriculture Department's comprehensive vegetable cultivation development scheme, funds to the tune of Rs.56.25 crore are being set aside for the purpose this financial year. The inauguration of the second year of the scheme and a prize distribution ceremony based on last...

-The Hindu Extraordinarily, more than a dozen senior police officers in Gujarat are in jail or facing prosecution, in connection with cold-blooded murders dressed up as encounter deaths. Darshan Desai traces the hand of politics in the extrajudicial killings. At a recent function in the state capital, Gandhinagar, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi warned the Central Bureau of Investigation against becoming a tool in the hands of the Congress-led union government. He...