A recent report put out by the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch revealed that 47 per cent of the newly-elected Uttar Pradesh assembly has candidates with criminal cases pending against them.  Barring Manipur, none of the other four states that went to polls is free of a tainted MLA. In Uttar Pradesh, the number of criminal MLAs has gone up from 37 per cent in 2007 to 47...

A tectonic shift in the global climate negotiations got underway with the African group of countries siding with India in demanding that equity and 'common but differentiated responsibilities' be embedded in the talks for a future climate regime. The re-alignments became evident with several key groups of nations submitting their views on how countries should increase their ambition levels for cutting emissions in the coming years. The submissions from Association of Small...

As non-governmental organisations question the relevance of the World Water Forum being held here this week and slam its "corporate" nature, the United Nations says that a coordinated approach to managing and allocating water is critical. The fourth edition of the triennial World Water Development Report (WWDR), which brings together the work of 28 U.N.-Water members and partners is being officially launched Monday at the Forum. It stresses that water "underpins...

-The Times of India The Tamil Nadu Bishop Council on Thursday flayed the Centre for targeting the Christian community for the protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project and requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stop the "harassment". The bishops are pained by the witch hunt, said Archbishop A M Chinnappa.  Speaking to reporters here, the council authorities, including Chinnappa and Tuticorin Archbishop Yvon Ambroise, said no one could stop them from...

The government has decided to throw its might behind private purchases of farm land overseas to ensure food security for India.  The agriculture ministry has sought views from other ministries on an institutional mechanism to extend sovereign support to India Inc's acquisition of farm land abroad that could include guaranteed buyback of harvest from the cultivation overseas.  Agriculture secretary PK Basu said that the proposal is in a nascent stage. "We had...