-NDTV Lawmakers have to quit if they are convicted of a crime and can't stay on regardless of appeals to higher courts, the Supreme Court today said, in a big leap towards cleaning up Indian politics. The top court struck down a provision in the Representation of the People's Act (RPA) that protects convicted MPs and MLAs from disqualification if they appeal to a higher court. "The disqualification takes place from the date...

-The Indian Express A list containing details of those convicted of sexual offences in Delhi in the past three decades is now available online. Delhi Police officers said the move will help people identify the accused and prompt them to register complaints. This will help police track unreported sexual offences. The move is in line with the recommendations of the Justice Verma committee, constituted in the aftermath of the December 16 gangrape...

-PTI BHUBANESWAR: Cautious after the devastation in Uttarakhand, Odisha government on Wednesday asked all district collectors to ensure that no brick kiln operated on river beds. Revenue and disaster management minister S N Patro said the flood situation in Uttarakhand had worsened due to large constructions on the river banks and flouting of environmental laws. In Odisha, unscrupulous persons were setting up unauthorised brick kilns along the rivers which lead to erosion of...

-The Economic Times Anshu Prakash is worried about what he calls "mischievous propaganda" by "some people" who he thinks are misleading reporters. The joint secretary at the ministry of health and family welfare starts off by flatly denying that the joint monitoring mission (JMM) set up by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the government of India (GoI) discussed the impending danger of a TB drugs stock-out in August 2012. "There was...

-Associated Press London: In the first major global review of violence against women, a series of reports released Thursday found that about a third of women have been physically or sexually assaulted by a former or current partner. The head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, called it "a global health problem of epidemic proportions," and other experts said screening for domestic violence should be added to all levels of...