-The Hindu Miscreants opposing panchayat polls torch houses, schools; ethnic clashes trigger exodus Guwahati: At least 12 persons including three women were killed — 10 persons in police firing and two in ethnic clashes between Rabha and non-Rabha groups in Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC) areas in southern Assam’s Goalpara district on Tuesday. The clashes have triggered huge exodus of people from the affected and nearby villages. Fleeing villagers have taken shelter in...

-IANS The Supreme Court Tuesday expressed its concern over the deteriorating sex ratio and chided state governments over their failure to check sex determination clinics and punish law violators fuelling female foeticide. "People have a belief that if they don't have a male child they will go to narak (hell)", the court said, asking "where is this narak"? The Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention) Act, 1994, bans determination of the sex of...

-The Telegraph Union power ministry is understood to have decided to go ahead with its 1980MW project covering Chatra and Hazaribagh districts, overriding coal ministry objections but has agreed to cut down land use for the proposed plant in North Karanpura. Setting aside objections of the coal ministry, which wanted the project shifted out of the coal-rich area, the power ministry has now moved a draft cabinet note indicating its resolve to...

-The Telegraph CPM general secretary Prakash Karat today backed SITaram Yechury’s virtual endorsement of Afzal Guru’s execution but appeared to leave room for manoeuvre, saying that was his party’s stand “so far”. The hint of a possible review came as the party found itself isolated within the wider Left fraternity, with both the CPI and the CPI-ML (Liberation) taking a different stand. “Since many of us (politburo members) are out of Delhi, we...

-The Hindu Mr. Chidambaram has sought to blame the Army for the failure to repeal the draconian Act but the government is equally guilty as it has abdicated responsibility in the matter At an institute that is virtually owned, funded and run by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram did the unthinkable the other day. He virtually attacked the Army for refusing to review and amend the draconian...