AN Tiwari may have taken the oath of office to succeed Wajahat Habibullah as the next chief information commissioner. However, this has agitated information activists. On their blogs, they have slammed the government for executing the appointment while the nation was distracted by the Ayodhya verdict. Blogs and group mails dedicated to the Right to Information (RTI) like Humjanenge and rti4empowerment have seen comments from activists across India. “This is certainly not...

India's hurried quest for development and its disregard for road safety have resulted in a major public health problem that demands serious thought and action. The high mortality and morbidity associated with road traffic injuries are a major public health challenge worldwide. Every year, road traffic crashes kill an estimated 1.2 million people. The figure for the injured is over 50 million. Significant increases in these estimates are projected over the...

The United Nations marked World Teachers’ Day today with top officials calling on governments to make up a projected deficit of over 10 million teachers by 2015 and stressing the crucial role teachers play in recovery from natural disasters and conflict. “Without sufficient numbers of well-TRAIned and professionally motivated teachers, we risk falling short of the promise made 10 years ago at the World Education Forum to the world’s children and...

Evincing keen interest in working with India in the area of rural development, a British delegation today called on Rural Development Minister C P Joshi and sought co-operation in furthering Indo-British ties in the sector.The delegation, led by All Party Indo-British Parliamentary Group chairman and Labour Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall Virendra Sharma sought the co-operation of the Ministry in furthering Indo-British ties in poverty alleviation, education, skill development...

Several thousand day labourers and their families were driven out of Delhi over the past couple of days to try and hide India’s poverty from foreign visitors to the Commonwealth Games, a police officer said today. Most were taken to railway stations and put on TRAIns under the Delhi government’s orders, said the officer who oversaw part of the operation. Those who couldn’t afford tickets had their arms branded with an...