-Express News Service Dikshit releases Delhi Statistical Handbook, says city an attractive destination for all. With more than 5 lakh vehicles added to the roads in the last year, Delhi recorded the biggest jump ever in motor vehicle registrations. But as the number of vehicles increased, no significant change in road length was recorded in the Capital. The figures were made available when Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit released the Delhi Statistical Handbook, 2012,...

-Reuters OSLO: Valuable mangrove forests that protect coastlines, sustain sealife and help slow climate change are being wrecked by the spread of shrimp and fish farms, a UN-backed study showed on Wednesday. About a fifth of mangroves worldwide have been lost since 1980, mostly because of clearance to make way for the farms which often get choked with waste, antibiotics and fertilizers, according to the study. Intact mangroves were almost always more valuable...

-The Economic Times Uttarakhand has been rated top in the Planning Commission's green ranking based on quality of air and water, waste management, forest cover and climate change. The panel lists Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh as the other top four states on its Environmental Performance Index, which will serve as a measure of a state's green initiative and be linked to financial assistance from the Centre. The index was prepared...

-The Economic Times It's extreme weather season in Asia again. Deadly cyclones, blinding rain, floods and mudslides are becoming the norm from Nepal to Fiji. The world's policymakers must reflect on extreme weather patterns while budgeting their nations' finances. In Thailand last year's floods caused losses of $46.5 billion. Reconstruction costs will reach at least $50 billion, according to the government and UN's assessments. In Pakistan widespread flooding two years ago affected 20...

-DNA No one believes the news anymore. Who can blame them? The newspapers are so noisy, filled with scams and slanging matches, that even a top newspaper-bureaucrat like your columnist cringes while scanning the morning’s front pages. I too don’t want to read the papers. Then there’s the matter of credibility: the media is barely clinging to the last vestige of public trust, and that’s only because the institution of the...