-The Hindu In many cases, witnesses turned hostile, or police statements didn't match victim statements The judge who convicted four men for the gang rape and murder of a Delhi girl had handed down only two other rape convictions in the last five years, court data shows. However, this record seems to raise more questions about the investigation process than the legal process. Supreme Court advocate K. V. Dhananjay with a team of...

-The Business Standard Confusion over clinical trial compensation norms Even as the health ministry is evaluating a formula to compensate victims of clinical trials, an expert committee, headed by Ranjit Roy Chaudhury, has recommended some stringent measures that appear contrary to the formula under consideration. The committee, set up by the ministry to formulate policy and guidelines for clinical trials, has suggested that no compensation be given for therapeutic inefficiency during clinical trials...

-Outlook Cuttack: The number of dengue patients in SCB Medical College and Hospital here crossed the 200 mark today, with many of them being minors. While 211 patients are now under treatment in dengue wards, eight others admitted in two ICUs, hospital sources said. Looking at the inflow of dengue patients, the hospital authorities converted yet another floor of Trauma Care Center into dengue ward and opened an exclusive dengue ICU having six...

-The Hindu The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General underscoring the blatant violation of conservation laws and Supreme Court orders in the diversion of forests for destructive non-forestry use confirms what former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said about the system: it's a bit of a joke. The compensatory afforestation mechanism instituted to balance the devastating loss of natural forests has failed abysmally. The CAG's report is proof that India's...

-AP WASHINGTON: Millions of sex-selective abortions in India have skewed gender ratios, and the origins of the problem can be traced to American-supported population control strategies decades ago, a US congressional panel heard Tuesday. Republican Rep. Chris Smith, a staunch opponent of abortion, took up the issue at the House subcommittee on global health and human rights at a hearing titled, "India's Missing Girls." The panel has often been a forum for tough...