India accounts for around 10 percent of road accident fatalities, despite having only 1 percent of the world's vehicle population. The International Road Federation (IRF) a non-profit organisation that works for the development and maintenance of better sustainable roads and road networks, says India spends some $20 billion every year because of road accidents.

The IRF president K K Kapila said the establishment knows this but lacks the political will to tackle the menace and resolve the problem.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau,130,000 people were killed in road accidents in year 2010.

The Delhi chief of police (traffic), says they nabbed some 800,000 traffic violators last year but archaic penalties are not enough to deter the culprits.

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Two Italian naval guards Latorre Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone have been taken into custody by Kerala Police in connection with the killing of 2 fishermen off the Kerala coast. The captain of the ship accompanied the detained naval guards to the custody of police.

The Italians were taken from the Italian vessel Enrica that is being detained at the Cochin Port.

The Ernakulam IG Padmakumar said since the incident happened aboard the ship, the captain of the ship is also responsible.

The arrest was made after the home ministry gave the necessary clearances and the Italian crew agreed to cooperate.

A team of Italian officials were in Kochi for discussions with police, even as high level diplomatic exchanges were held between the foreign ministry officials of both countries in Delhi.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation has announced a cash reward of Rs.10 lakhs to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of the absconding additional director general of Rajasthan police, A K Jain, who is an accused in a 2006 fake encounter. The CBI also announced rewards of Rs.5 lakhs each for information on inspectors Rajesh Chowdhury and Zulfikar and assistant sub-inspector Arvind.

Jain has already been declared a proclaimed offender in a charge sheet where the CBI alleged that a liquor smuggler was taken into illegal custody from Jaipur airport by officials of the Special Operations Group and taken to a place near Amber where he was held hostage then killed.

16 police officials including Jain were accused by the CBI and slapped with murder, criminal conspiracy and kidnapping charges. Of these 10 accused are absconding.

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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh called the government's Total Sanitation Campaign a "token sanitation campaign" and rued that women were demanding mobile phones, not toilets.

Speaking at the launch of the Asia-Pacific Regional Millennium Development Goals Report 2011-12, Ramesh said women's self help groups should give priority to toilets rather than to income-generating activities.

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Some months ago a doctor was about to sell his bungalow in Bhavnagar to a Muslim family. When the Hindu 'saffron brigade' heard the news they tried to persuade the doctor to call off the deal. When he refused the group held a sit in outside his house and refused to move till he assured them he would cancel the deal. Finally the group won and the bungalow was sold to a Hindu.

This is apparently a regular operation, whereby when they hear about a Hindu planning to sell his property to a Muslim they squat on the property and refuse to move till the seller gives in. Ten such property deals have been cancelled over the past six years.

The group called the Setubandh Mitra Mandal, has written to the state government to demand the implementation of the Disturbed Areas Act with a goal to stop the practice.

The group is wary of Muslims buying properties in Hindu dominated areas, resenting the fact that the Muslim community is now buying residential and commercial properties in up market Hindu dominated areas.

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