-The United Nations The world experienced "unprecedented high-impact climate extremes" between 2001 and 2010 and more national temperature records were broken during that period than in any other decade, according to a United Nations report launched today. The report, The Global Climate 2001-2010, A Decade of Extremes, says the first decade of the 21st century was the warmest for both hemispheres and for both land and ocean temperatures since measurements began in...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Lessons have not been learnt from past disasters, it seems. Delhi Metro, which ferries over two million passengers a day, is on a high-risk earthquake and flood zone and may lead to a huge loss of life in case of a disaster, says a recently released UN report on disaster risk reduction. The Global Assessment Report (GAR), released by the United Nations office on disaster risk...

-Tehelka.com There are few figures from the adivasi community in India who have made a bigger dent in the collective imagination of the country than Dayamani Barla. The "iron lady of Jharkhand" has been instrumental in articulating adivasi struggles against displacement and deprivation on national and international platforms. Dayamani, who was recently imprisoned in Jharkhand for her involvement in the Nagri people's movement, has won the first Ellen L Lutz Indigenous...

-The Hindu     The killings of Mahendra Karma and his colleagues call not for retributive violence but for a deeper reflection on the discontent among the tribals of central India and their dispossession In the summer of 2006, I had a long conversation with Mahendra Karma, the Chhattisgarh Congress leader who was killed in a terror attack by the Naxalites last week. I was not alone - with me were five other members...

-The Hindu Raipur: "The villagers gathered in one particular area for community dining, which is a ritual at this time of the year. It is part of the seed festival and there were no Maoists around. The forces opened fire without any provocation," said a local on condition of anonymity. Locals of Chhattisgarh's Edesmeta village - where at least nine persons were killed during a gun battle late on Friday purportedly between...