-The Times of India NEW DELHI: North India is likely to heat up more than the southern parts of the country while the entire Indian subcontinent may see longer rainy seasons in second half of the century, the UN's cLIMate body has predicted in its latest comprehensive document on cLIMate change. The conclusion, showing variation in temperature and rainfall in South Asia, is part of the lengthy technical details of the United...

-The Indian Express Thiruvananthapuram: Underage marriage among MusLIMs has ignited a debate in Kerala, with the community's most influential organisation vowing to get legitimacy for the practice while political parties and women's groups have said it would be a setback when MusLIM girls have been making strides in education. It was triggered by a government effort to ratify underage marriages that have already taken place, because many such couples were finding...

-The Hindu ‘Victims of communal carnage still struggling, socially and financially' Forbesganj/Bhagalpur: Bhajanpur village is a few kilometres off Bihar's showcase ‘four-lane,' as drivers call the highway, a far cry from the State's back-breaking roads of the past, near Forbesganj town. Residents tell us that those affected by the kaand incident, of two years ago, live a little ahead, in the Ansari basti. A bumpy ride across the village leads to Ale Rasool...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The sight of voluntary organizations generously helping villagers in the wake of the Uttarakhand tragedy was heart warming. But, its flip side has the state government concerned. The NGO dole given to villages has caused heartburn among other hamlets where these voluntary organizations did not reach, largely because the relief by non-state bodies is lavish when compared to the structured help provided by the government. Such...

-Outlook New Delhi: Food Minister K V Thomas today asked state governments to address three critical issues - identification of beneficiaries, creation of storage capacity and door-step delivery of foodgrains via PDS - for the successful implementation of the food security law. Addressing the state food ministers meet here, he called for greater coordination and cooperation between the centre and state governments to implement the law in 'true spirit'. The day-long meeting is...