-Outlook Paradip (Odisha): Land acquisition for Posco's steel project continued peacefully for the third day today in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district even as anti-Posco protestors were planning to take out a rally in defiance of prohibitory orders. "Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in Patana village to prevent a law and order problem and violators will be taken into custody," Collector S K Mallick said. "Land acquisition is progressing smoothly....

-Economic and Political Weekly The government’s response to the protests led by the youth against the gang rape incident in New Delhi, in the form of an ordinance has not met the aspirations of the many protestors and the woman rights’ organisations. It can in fact be accused of being vindictive, having ignored the thoroughgoing recommendations of the government appointed justice Verma committee's report. Albeena Shakil (albeenashakil@gmail.com) is a women rights’ activist...

-PTI The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on a plea against imposition of prohibitory orders in and around India Gate during the recent anti-rape stir, saying the legal provision of Section 144 of CrPC may lose its sanctity if invoked without proper procedures. “There are rights to movement and speech and expression, it (Section 144 of the CrPC) cannot be used just like that...otherwise it would lead to loss...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: As Nasa satellite images over the past few days show, Punjab is literally on fire. In the images, the state is pockmarked with red dots which correspond to blazes deliberately lit by farmers to get rid of their paddy stubbles after harvest. It's an environmentally disastrous practice that the state government has shown little urgency in tackling. Among the fallout of this mass-burning is smog that spreads...

Remember Arjun Sengupta Committee Report? It’s the same report which put paid to government’s shifting poverty estimates by asserting that almost 80% Indian survive on less than Rs 20 per day. Known as the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS), the report has gone missing from the public domain. The official website of NCEUS is no more working: http://nceus.gov.in, raising doubts regarding someone, somewhere trying to hide...