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New York: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has begun consultations on the first-ever international guidelines on governance of tenure to land and other natural resources such as water supplies, fisheries and forests.

The Reserve Bank of India in its busy-season credit policy on Tuesday has predictably kept on hold its accommodative monetary stance, without touching the key rates but with relatively minor adjustments coupled with caution on the disturbing inflationary pressures in the economy which would have to be countered “swiftly and effectively for price and financial market stability”.

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee of the Indian government has cleared the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) brinjal (eggplant, aubergine or baingan, known variously as vanga, vangi and begun). Brinjal, which originated in India, is popular worldwide. In India, it accounts for half a million hectares of land and an output of 8.4 million tonnes. This is the first time a GM food crop has been approved by the GEAC, an ad hoc 30-member committee comprised mainly of bureaucrats and scientists from state institutions, which substitutes itself for a proper regulatory agency.

All of the CPI(M)'s three decades of blunders have come to a head. First, its reverses in the parliamentary polls in West Bengal underlined the erosion of its influence among the people at large. Then, its problems in Lalgarh showed how it had lost ground among the tribals with the result that the Maoists have filled the vacuum. Now, the party's and the state government's retreat from Lalgarh has been confirmed by the swap they carried out by releasing Maoist suspects to save the life of an abducted police officer.

New York: Women who have been forced by terrorists to provide shelter, food and sexual services should never be denied asylum on the ground that they gave material support to terrorism, an independent United Nations expert said today.

The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 has come into force today. The Rules pertaining to section 52 (Salary, Allowances and Other Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairperson and Members), section 54 (Procedure for Investigation of Misbehaviour or Incapacity of Chairperson and Members), section 69 (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information), section 69A (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public), section 69B (Procedure and safeguard for Monitoring and Collecting Traffic Data or Information) and notification under section 70B for appointment of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team have also been notified.

The Maldives is a physically and economically small, vulnerable developing country, heavily dependant for its prosperity on international trade. Real GDP growth averaged 7,4% between 2003 and 2008, driven mainly by the tourism sector. However growth is expected to contract by 1,3% in 2009 due to a decline in tourism activity, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of the Maldives.

NEW DELHI: The Rural Development Ministry of the UPA Government has worked out an ambitious, albeit enigmatic, programme of ensuring livelihood to all BPL households in the countryside. However, no time schedule has been indicated to achieve the target.

Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who has returned to power, faces new challenges both in the political and administrative arenas during his second term. The biggest challenge will be to ensure political stability which he and the ruling Congress enjoyed in the first term because of the party's overwhelming majority in the Assembly, a weakened opposition and absence of active dissenters in the ruling party. These factors no longer exist.