One of India’s most successful HIV interventions is currently facing a policy glitch it cannot easily overcome: love affairs. In Sonagachi, the largest red-light district of South Asia, in the heart of Kolkata, sex is solicited for a price, and the odds of finding an empathetic lover also come with a rider: unprotected sex. For sex workers, the distinction is necessary for specific clients commonly referred to as ‘babus’ with […]

Nearly 40 million Indians will be at risk from rising sea levels by 2050, with people in Mumbai and Kolkata having the maximum exposure to coastal flooding in future due to rapid urbanisation and economic growth, according to a UN environment report. The Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6): Regional Assessments said that the worst impacts of climate change are projected to occur in the Pacific and South and Southeast Asia. It […]

An espionage racket with ISI links was busted in Jammu and Kolkata in two separate incidents today with the arrest of a serving BSF personnel and four suspected ISI operatives from whom classified information having implications on national security were recovered. Kafaitullah Khan alias Master Raja (44), a resident of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, was intercepted and arrested at New Delhi railway station while he was on his […]

Kolkatta: One year and four months after she was raped and came to be known as the “Park Street rape survivor,” the woman has come forward and revealed her name and identity. Suzette Jordan is 38-year-old single mother of two girls and caregiver of her ailing mother as well. It is an unusually brave decision. Rape survivors usually don’t want to reveal their identity fearing “Why should I hide my […]