Thursday, 2 December 2004, 2000 hrs

TOP STORIES
India, Russia to collaborate on space navigation system
On his visit to India next week, Russian President Vladimir Putin will sign a milestone accord that will challenge American space hegemony

ECONOMY & BUSINESS
ONGC begins deep
water exploration
It kicked off efforts to find oil and gas reserves by awarding a deep see exploration contract to an Australian firm

Today's What is India feature
Pillar of Hinduism
History is replete with stories of great saints and prophets being tormented and tortured. In the wake of the Shankaracharya's arrest, SUNIL FOTEDAR wonders why truth prevails only after it is crushed

Indian Express


Two decades after Bhopal
It is a disturbing thought that if another Bhopal gas disaster were to happen today, we may not respond differently despite the knowledge of earlier failures, says S MURALIDHAR 


* * * 

Asia Times
On the road, halfway to Srinagar 
There has been much talk of reopening a bus service between the capitals of the two sections of Kashmir administered by India and Pakistan respectively. Such a service, the argument goes, would serve as a valuable confidence-building measure. Refugees on the Pakistan side of the divide, however, have a very different view.  By SYED SALEEM SHAHZAD

* * * 

The Hindu
Flower power 
The flower industry suffers from logistical bottlenecks and inadequate post-harvest infrastructure, but government support has focussed mostly on the growers. VARUPI JAIN starts at Delhi, India's apex flower market, and travels back the supply chain


* * * 

The Hindu 
Innocent victims
Protecting women and girls, like the fight against HIV/AIDS generally, is an effort in which everyone has a part to play. By DAVID C MULFORD


* * * 

The Economist
Towards a more relevant United Nations
Long-awaited proposals on reforming the United Nations have been unveiled. Backers hope they will rejuvenate the world body. But they come at a time when the UN is under fire—especially from Americans, many of whom think it is irrelevant and corrupt

TOP PICKS

OPINION

Aids: Women at risk (Hindu)
TN politics: Formalising a merger (Hindu)
Right to information (Deccan Herald)
 Sorry end (Deccan Herald)
Kanchi seer case: legal bind (Times of India)