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New Delhi: The name of Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court is likely to be recorded as the first judge in the country to be removed by Parliament, with the Rajya Sabha taking the first step on Thursday by overwhelmingly approving the impeachment motion against him.

If anyone is to be blamed for the sudden larger than life figure of the civil society leader Anna Hazard, the government should introspect because part of the blame goes to the government in making him assume such a role. Four months ago, Anna was not as popular as he is today. He was not known beyond Maharashtra. He had no team. The problem for the Congress is that Anna had seized the same issue of “ Aam admi” on whose plank the Congress came to power in 2004 and 2009. It was difficult for the government to be seen fighting the cause as it can take on anyone but not the ‘ Aam admi.”

New York: Omar Saleh was leading a peaceful and comfortable life as a trauma surgeon and university lecturer in Egypt when the call came from the United Nations health agency: surgeons urgently needed in war-torn Somalia. He didn’t have to think twice.

New York: Although compliance by Cambodian exporting garment factories with national and international labour standards is generally good, areas such as discrimination and occupational safety and health remain a concern, according to a new United Nations report.

New York: With noisy human activity on the world's oceans possibly disrupting the well-being of marine creatures, perhaps reducing their ability to find food, seek out mates or avoid predators, the United Nations is hosting a meeting to launch a decade-long investigation into the problem.

New York: The United Nations is temporarily withdrawing some staff from Syria amid mounting international concern about the violent crackdown by Government forces against civilian demonstrators.

New York: The United Nations health agency and its partners have launched a guide to help fieldworkers provide vital psychological support to people affected by humanitarian emergencies.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda reaffirmed ADB's strong partnership with Australia during an official three-day visit aimed at further strengthening cooperation between Australia and ADB in joint efforts to fight poverty and promote development in the Asia and Pacific region.

There was a time when chief ministers were very powerful, having mass base of their own. They ruled their respective states with firm hands, almost like their fiefdom, did not tolerate interference by the central leadership. In their states there was no one to challenge their authority. Stalwarts like Dr. B C Roy ruled West Bengal, Govind Ballabh Pant headed the government in most populous state of Uttar Pradesh and, K. Kamaraj governed Tamil Nadu for nine years, and even defied Jawaharlal Nehru.

As the dust is settling after the financial storm following US downgrading and global financial market melt-down, some fundamental rethinking is happening in policy discourse. These developments have also demonstrated that many of the models followed by influential countries or group of countries are blatantly unworkable. Three main strands are noticeable just now. These are: firstly, China has gone into deep re-assessment of the economic strategy it followed so far. Secondly, Europe is ruminating whether it can carry on as usual within the current framework or it will have to introduce major changes in it the European Union. Thirdly, the United States is wondering what to do to avoid another recession.