John Vidal, who was in Rio for the '92 Earth summit, looks back at that momentous event, and how the 2012 version compares Helicopters thundered up and down the chic Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. Tanks guarded the bridges and tunnels. The favelas were in lockdown, schools closed and supermarkets stood empty. Unexpectedly, George H W Bush, the 41st US president, flush with success at the collapse of communism, had arrived in...

-The Hindu The West Bengal Human Rights Commission has sought a report from the Superintendent of Police, Paschim Medinipur district, on allegations of torture of a young man who was handcuffed to his hospital bed after he allegedly attempted suicide while in custody, officials of the Commission said on Monday. The youth is suspected to be involved in Maoist activities. “A report may be called from the SP Paschim Medinipur within four...

-IANS Jodhpur: A 20-year-old girl has sought protection by the Rajasthan authorities from members of a village community council who, she says, are threatening her with serious consequences if she did not accept her childhood marriage, officials said on Monday. She also requested the district administration officials to annul her marriage that was solemnised when she was a mere five-year old, they added. The girl, Rekha Kumari, is a resident of Peepar city...

-The Times of India   Children, many between five and 10 years, were forced into oral sex and performing yoga in the nude at the Rohtak shelter home raided by a National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) team early May. An inmate was found to be HIV positive.  Such revelations are part of a report submitted on Wednesday by two members — advocate Anil Malhotra and Sudeepti Sharma — of a...

The latest NCPCR survey report reveals large-scale child labour in Bt cotton production; asks stakeholders to prepare an action plan to eliminate it Forced to work for 14-hours at a stretch and even carry pesticides on their back, the plight children engaged as child labour in the Bt cotton production has often gone unnoticed, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has said in its latest survey report. To rescue...