-The Indian Express Kolkata: The humble potato comes a poor second to pricey onion in State matters. But that was before Mamata Banerjee wielded the knife. Over the past couple of days, the West Bengal Police, directed by the Chief Minister, has seized thousands of trucks carrying potatoes to neighbouring states such as Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar. Mamata's provocation was the rise in the price of the vegetable back home. However, while...

-Outlook Panaji: Activists who stop power plants, coal mining and projects like Dams do not help in removing poverty from the country, Union Finance Minister P ChiDambaram today said. "There is nothing more important than removing poverty from the country. I want to ask people who protest whether their action results in removing poverty?" ChiDambaram said during an interview at 'ThinkFest' event in Goa. "Poverty is the greatest polluter and a curse. There...

-The Economic Times A decline in paddy production in eastern states and Andhra Pradesh has triggered speculation of a lower rice output this year, stoking a 10-30% spike in prices at a time when high vegetable prices have pushed inflation to a seven-month high. Floods and incessant rains in major rice producing states such as West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh during the harvesting period have affected the paddy crop. Talking to...

-The Guardian World Bank report calls for action to cut common pollutants such as soot, which could save millions of lives every year Cleaner cookstoves could save a million lives every year, but costs need to decrease sharply for poor households in developing countries to be able to afford them, according to a World Bank report. On thin ice: how cutting pollution can slow warming and save lives, published on Sunday evening, calls...

-The Hindustan Times Muzaffarnagar: Fresh battle lines are being drawn in Muzaffarnagar's rural areas as Muslims and Jats harden respective stances against the local administration's "inefficient and unfair action" in dealing with communal violence in the past two months. Three panchayats - one Muslim and two Jat - took place on Friday though the administration had banned these after Jats returning from a Mahapanchayat on September 7 were attacked at various villages....