-The Hindu An avalanche in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand early this month claimed at least 62 lives, destroyed two hydropower projects and ravaged the region. Jacob Koshy reports on how development projects are endangering the lives of people in the young and fragile Himalayas The Rishiganga river looks like an idyllic brook from the balcony of Gyan Singh Rana’s two-storey house. The former headman of the village of Raini, who is in...

-The Indian Express A recent order, issued on January 15 asks all government entities, including publicly funded educational institutions and universities, to “seek approval” of the respective “administrative Secretary” for organizing any “online/virtual international conferences/ seminars/ training etc”. India’s two largest and oldest science academies have written to the Ministry of Education — and the third is considering joining in — to say that its recent order mandating institutions to seek Government...

-The Hindu ‘Hard to believe accused used riots to cause death of man from own community’ In a scathing remark over the way a north-east Delhi riots case has been investigated, the High Court on Friday rebuked Delhi Police for arresting three men from the minority community and objecting to their bail with “no evidence whatsoever, either direct or circumstantial or forensic”. The case relates to the arrest of three men — Junaid,...

-The Indian Express A total 231 of the 1,818 arrests so far had been made possible using the latest technological tools, Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava said. More than a hundred individuals arrested in connection with last year’s riots in Northeast Delhi were identified by a facial recognition system (FRS), the Commissioner of Delhi Police said on Friday. A total 231 of the 1,818 arrests so far had been made possible using...

-The Hindu Researchers noted that the changes in the Indian Ocean temperature have a huge effect on the rainfall in the region The quiet, sleepy, yet mesmerising village of Mawsynram trounced Cherrapunji to become the wettest place in the world. Mawsynram receives over 10,000 millimetres of rain in a year. Decreasing trend A recent study that looked at the rainfall pattern in the past 119 years found a decreasing trend at Cherrapunji and nearby...