-PTI Five persons were arrested on Thursday in connection with the devastating fire at a cracker manufacturing unit at Mudhalipatti near Sivakasi, even as the toll mounted to 39. The arrested were four persons who had taken the Omshakthi fireworks factory complex, where the fire broke out, on lease and its foreman, police said. The condition of over 40 of the 70 people injured was stated to be serious in various hospitals. The licence...

-The Hindu They will be able to secure a premium price for their produce, says Chief Minister Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday said foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector would help farmers secure a premium price notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the Central policy matter. Addressing a meeting after inaugurating a godown at the Agriculture Market Yard here, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy said an investment of Rs. 500 crore...

-The Times of India As many as 37 people have been arrested in connection with rumour mongering during Assam conflict that led to exodus of people from the northeast from various cities, the government told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Of these, 24 persons were arrested by Karnataka police in connection with 17 cases filed in the state on the issue. The rest were arrested by Pune police which has registered cases against...

-Frontline A study finds that institutional support alone cannot help reduce maternal mortality in India.  THE high rate of maternal mortality in India has been a cause for national concern, especially on account of the focus on reaching the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Although there is a growing realisation that it will be difficult to meet the MDG targets by that deadline, there is a renewed interest in the...

-The Economic Times Cooking gas dealers will no longer be able to enroll new customers as the government has centralised the process and asked the state firms to approve fresh applications after verifying that the applicant does not have multiple connections from different agencies. "Customers can submit applications for a new connection to a local distributor with valid documents but it will only be processed and approved by oil companies after verification...