-IANS Hyderabad: Six poor women in Andhra Pradesh have sought the State Human Rights Commission's (SHRC) nod to sell their kidneys to raise 'blood money' for the release of their husbands jailed in Dubai. The women from Karimnagar district petitioned the SHRC that they be permitted to sell their kidneys as they were not in a position to pay the money to secure the freedom of their husbands. The SHRC on Monday issued...

-The United Nations International investments must give local farmers and active role and leave them in control of their land if they are to have a positive effect on the host country’s economy and advance development, according to a report released today by the United Nations food agency. Produced by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the report – Trends and Impacts of Foreign Investment in Developing Country Agriculture – emphasizes...

-Mainstream Weekly Dr Binayak Sen, an internationally renowned medical practitioner and social activist (a leading figure in the People’s Union for Civil Liberties), was incarcerated in Chhattisgarh and held in detention in Raipur having been branded as a Maoist for his activities in defence of poor tribals in the State. He is now out on bail. The following is the text of the Arvind Narayan Das Memorial Lecture he delivered in...

-The Indian Express Raipur: A nationwide health survey in jails has found 80 of Chhattisgarh’s prisoners HIV-positive, out of 13,000-odd tested. Prison authorities insist that the inmates had probably arrived already infected, but health authorities don’t rule out the possibility that it was after being jailed that they got infected, with unsafe sex or drug use the likely causes. This has turned into a contentious issue. The health authorities are contemplating distribution...

-The Hindu ADGP promises impartial probe into caste violence P. L. Punia, Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), on Monday will visit three Dalit colonies in Naikkankottai village of Dharmapuri district, which witnessed caste violence last week. He will be accompanied by Lata Priyakumar, member, NCSC, sources in the district administration said here on Sunday. On Saturday, D. Venkatesan, director, NCSC, State Office in Chennai, visited the colonies, while on Sunday, T.K. Rajendran,...