Assailed from all sides, does the UPA really hope to recover its ‘image’ by muzzling online dissent? Kapil Sibal ko gussa kyon aata hai? Butt of online jokes: Politicians in 'tweaked' cinematic avatars. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. The UPA government has made it something of a fine art. Hardly had the ruckus over the decision to open up the retail sector to FDI died down than...

A report of the National People's Tribunal on the 2008 riots in Kandhamal, Orissa, is out. The report that runs into 197 pages points out that the brutality of the violence falls within the definition of 'torture' under international law, particularly the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.   According to the tribunal, headed by Justice A P Shah, communal forces used religious conversions as an issue for political mobilisation...

-PTI Taking a tough stand, West Bengal government today said it would be compelled to appoint doctors from other states if the state's own doctors continued to refuse to join the rural health services. Determined to shore up the health infrastructure in the state, the government warned that appointment given to those selected for the state health services would be scrapped if they fail to join before December 11. Director of...

-The Times of India   State government finally seems to be taking the issue of lack of trained staff in public health sector seriously. Doctors posted in rural areas, sub-district hospitals and district hospitals will now be in specialties like paediatrics, emergency services like trauma, and gynaecology at the government medical colleges (GMCs) under specialists. The plan has support of directorate of medical education ( DMER). Public health department had been working...

-The Hindu In order to reduce mother mortality rate (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR), the district administration had launched ‘Amma Lalana' (Mother's Nurture) programme of providing better medicare to pregnant women and new born by tracking them for intervention needed through SMS alerts. Initially, the programme was launched in 25 primary health centres by feeding the information of the pregnant women along with her cellular phone number or husband's phone and...