Expenditure incurred on advertisements to be recorded in ‘shadow expenditure register' Advertisements inserted by candidates contesting the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will have to be signed by them as well as by two witnesses in order to differentiate these from paid news and deter the candidates from having their way. The district election officers would ensure that the expenditure incurred on the advertisements was recorded in the ‘shadow expenditure register',...

-The Hindu   A report submitted by a Kolkata hospital, which examined tribal teacher Soni Sori, who was allegedly tortured by the Chhattisgarh police, has said two stones were found in her private parts and rectum. Anguished at the report, a Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and S.S. Nijjar of the Supreme Court on Friday sought the Chhattisgarh government's response. It also directed the State government to shift her to the Raipur jail...

When psychologists identified the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance — the ability to believe two contradictory things at the same time — they might have been describing the world of international climate change negotiations. Only this month, two authoritative international agencies have pointed out that the world has only a few years left in which to begin taking sufficient action to combat dangerous global warming. The United Nations Environment Programme's Bridging the Emissions...

Four deadly cobras among 40 snakes unleashed by farmers in latest anti-corruption protest in northern India Two farmers fed up with bribery demands have dumped three sacks filled with snakes on the floor of a busy tax office in northern India. The 40 or so snakes of different sizes and species, including at least four deadly cobras, sent clerks and villagers climbing on to tables and scurrying out of the door to...

-The Times of India   Traders across the country have downed their shutters to join the protest against government's decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail.  The impact of the strike has been visible in several cities. In some cities, shopkeepers took out marches demanding a rollback of the government move.  In Maharashtra, around 35 lakh small and medium traders have kept their shops shut in response to the bandh.  "We have received...