-CivilSocietyOnline.com Kozhikode: Dubai's agriculture minister recently chartered a flight to Kozhikode and, accompanied by a horticulture consultant, headed to the Agriculture Research Station (ARS) at Anakkayam nearby. There the minister, Abdulla Jassim Abdulla M Almarzooqi, placed orders for fruits, spices and ornamental plants. But on his mind was something bigger. He offered free visas and air tickets to the 100 members of the research station's agricultural army, which rather grandly goes...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Political parties banded together to strongly oppose the recent Supreme Court order that legislators be immediately disqualified on conviction and called on the government to take measures to undo the ruling. The all-party meeting ahead of the monsoon session on Thursday saw political parties in one voice protesting the "erosion" of Parliament's supremacy in law-making with leaders claiming the SC order is an assault on their...

-The Hindustan Times Bhopal: In order to attract talented doctors for service at smaller places particularly in tribal- dominated areas, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has decided to offer a Post graduate doctor on a consolidated salary of Rs. 1 lakh if he/she agrees for Posting at primary health centres and sub-health centres in the districts of Jhabua, Alirajpur, Badwani, Mandla, Dindori, Sidhi, Singrauli and Anuppur. In case, they are appointed at...

-The Hindu Despite its many flaws, the food security bill is an opportunity to end the leakages from the PDS and prevent wastage of public resources The National Food Security Bill, now an ordinance, has been a target of sustained attacks in the business media in recent weeks. There is nothing wrong, of course, in being critical of the bill, or even opposed to it. Indeed, the bill has many flaws. What...

-The Times of India Jaipur/AJMER: It appears that the authorities in the state haven't learned any lessons from the midday meal tragedy that claimed the lives of 20 children in a school in Chhapra, Bihar. At least 79 kids of a government higher secondary school in Maliyon Ka Mohalla in Baneda town of Bhilwara district fell ill after consuming contaminated midday meal. Preliminary investigations indicate that a lizard was found in the cooked...