A vast swath of land in north India battled swirling flood water as the toll in heavy rains in the region rose to 93 with reports of more deaths from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Uttar Pradesh accounted for nine more deaths, while 67 persons lost their lives in the incessant rains during the past few days. Thousands others have been rendered homeless in the hill state. In Uttar Pradesh, three persons died...

The flood situation worsened further in the western districts of Uttar Pradesh with the death of four more persons in rain related incidents even as around 177 villages of Bareilly, Badaun, PILibhit and Shahajanpur were inundated. Meanwhile, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has arrived here to undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas, officials said. "The Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who this morning undertook a tour of flood and cloudburst hit...

RAM KARUTURI, the world’s largest rose grower, calls it a situation that needs immediate intervention. Else, he is sure the rush of Indians to Africa will ebb to a trickle, which, in turn, could have serious implications as ethnic tensions with the locals are slowly, but steadily, rising in some parts of the continent. The hub of the crisis is Gambela, one of Ethiopia’s nine states, for long starved of investment....

The Government on Thursday approved the Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS). Significantly, private sector insurers with adequate infrastructure and experience will also be allowed in the implementation of MNAIS. “With the introduction of the modified scheme, it is expected that an increased number of farmers will be able to manage risk in agriculture production in a better way and will succeed in stabilising farm income particularly at times of crop failure...

Teacher absenteeism continues, despite several studies conducted and reasons identified. Can something be done? Another Teacher’s Day has come and gone. Like the ones before it, we have had the usual combination of speeches (New Delhi), awards (Mohali), “felicitations” (Mangalore), blood donations (Ulhasnagar), walkouts (Shillong), food poisonings (Mumbai), teacher thrashings (Malda) and black badges (Ludhiana). Barely a week later, we are back to the status quo. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, on whose birthday...