-The Indian Express   Every time they step out, say the women of the village, it is with the fear of being teased, the shame of being seen, and the discomfort of counting hours. The two girls in Badaun who were raped and killed had left home to go to the fields to relieve themselves. Every time they step out, say the women of the village, it is with the fear of being...

-The Hindu   MARAYUR (IDUKKI, Kerala): Raja is a traditional farmer in Kanthallur village who makes a living out of vegetable cultivation in his three-acre land. Disaster struck him on Monday in the form of cloud burst. Seeds of cabbage, carrot, garlic and beans were washed away and the land on which he and his wife toiled to sow the seeds after the summer rain was turned in a slush of accumulated garbage. Raja...

-WHO, UNFPA, International Confederation of Midwives   PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC - A report released today by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund together with the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), WHO and partners reveals that major deficits in the midwifery workforce occur in 73 countries where these services are most desperately needed. The report recommends new strategies to address these deficits and save millions of lives of women and newborns. The 73 African,...

-The Hindu   Palakkad (Kerala): The Jharkhand State Child Rights Protection Commission (JSCRPC) will urge its State government to recommend a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the two incidents of alleged child trafficking in which 589 children from Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal were brought to Palakkad in Kerala. Talking to The Hindu here, commission member Sanjay Kumar Mishra said a CBI investigation was necessary as the case involved four States...

-The Hindu   That over 27 per cent of tobacco consumers in India fall in the 15-24 year age bracket amply demonstrates how successful the tobacco companies have been in continually enticing the vulnerable sections of the population into the suicidal practice. The addition of new customers every year even as thousands of patrons die annually ensures that the tobacco companies' customer base remains wide and tall. If the global tobacco-related mortality...