C. Raja Mohan is running an incisive piece of commentary in the Indian Express about the current state of unrest prevailing in South Asia.

From the failing peace process with Pakistan, the Moaists ridden Nepal, Islamic extremism in Bangladesh and the bolder-by-the-day LTTE in Sri Lanka, the entire region is looking in a very bad shape.

He opines:Profound structural crises within the neighbourhood are at hand, even if state failure does not present itself immediately. Preparing for them must be at the top of India’s strategic priorities.

He offers a few solutions too.

How do you find out a true measure of development in India over the last decade. Sure you could look at a lots of facts and figures, but can you comprehend the difference that they really mean. The true story lies in the real change that we see around us.

Michael Higgins came to India in 1995 and then again in 2005, check out what he has to say.

John Brockman, editor of the web magazine Edge asks over a 100 thinkers "What is your most dangerous idea?"

The answers went far and wide, touched a multitude of subjects: a new understanding of the human brain, why ET's wont make contact, things that are wrong with governments and schools, dark energy, genetics, global warming, the origin of life, relativity, quantum mechanics and more.

The most common theme that stood out was a better understanding of the human brain and the nature of life itself, questions which could hold the key to the eternal question: "where did we come from and where are we headed".

Read the entire series here.

A V Rajwade on Rediff has an interesting take on how globalisation is actually creating jobs for the developing countries and why we should welcome globalisation with open arms rather than opposing it.

He writes: For doing similar and equally productive work, does the American worker have a God-given right to earn 30 times more than a Chinese worker? For any normal person, other than the Christian right in the US (and, indeed, President Bush himself), which believes that it is God's chosen country, the answer will have to be negative: for a given level of productivity and similar work, the Chinese worker has every right to earn as much as his European or American counterpart.

Read the entire piece here.

After the mobile phones hit rural Bengal, it is now the turn of Low-cost lamps to brighten the future of rural India.

The initiative is powered by the Grameen Surya Bijli Foundation (GSBF), a Bombay-based nongovernmental organization focused on bringing light to rural India. The lamps use LEDs - light emitting diodes, powered by solar energy, and cost only $55 for one time installation.

Other advantages include zero air pollution as opposed to the conventional kerosene which is highly pollutive. - A recent report by the Intermediate Technology Development Group suggests that indoor air pollution from such lighting media results in 1.6 million deaths worldwide every year.

Read the entire article here.

French Warship Clemenceau has resumed course to India, heading for a ship breaking yard in Gujarat.

Environmental activists have raised a storm over a last few weeks citing the health hazards that the workers in India faced, working with asbestos without proper protection.

...The high amount of toxic substances like asbestos, polychlorinated phenyl and other heavy metals inherent in the ship's structure cause asbestosis, and various types of cancer in the workers," said Madhumita Dutta, Corporate Accountability Desk, Greenpeace.

"Dumping Clemenceau on India or any other Asian ship breaking yard not equipped to deal with this toxic behemoth would be highly hazardous to the unprotected, vulnerable and poor workers," said Shailendra Yashwant, Campaign Director, Greenpeace India.

The Grameen Sanchar Sewak (GSS) scheme, kickstarted by BSNL and the Department of Posts in 2002, is ready to be regularised and go national, after a resounding triumph in West Bengal. The catalyst: Grameen Sanchar Society (Grasso), a non-governmental organisation.

GSS originally seeked to provide rural mobile services to farflung rural areas by employing rural postmen to carry the mobile phones from door-to-door. Logistical issues forced them to do a rethink and shift to Grasso, which tapped into its 7000-strong network of self-employed people to carry phones into the rural heartland.

"In Bengal’s village haats, vegetable and fish sellers are carrying the BSNL mobile phones around and letting people make calls," says Nilotpal Basu who runs the NGO.

The largest, 22.9 km segment of the Delhi metro went live on Saturday. The metro is not only transforming Delhi into a world class city, besides reducing the load on its roads, it is also setting an example on the efficient and timely execution of large scale public projects.

IndianExpress is running an editorial on how Goa has become the latest victim of the moral policing going around the country:

This is becoming too much the way with the Congress’s state governments. From Bombay to Bangalore, its leaderships have been stifling local cultures....It’s a convenient way to harness the strains of orthodoxy that lie dormant in most communities for immediate political gain. It also, very significantly, acquits the administration of the democratic responsibility of allowing individuals the right to conduct business or just have fun while enforcing a just law.

Read the whole article here.