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Puerto Rico Power Deal With Creditors Lifts Stocks Exposed to Island

Puerto Rico’s power authority sent a jolt through a corner of the U.S. stock market Wednesday as shares in financial stocks exposed to the commonwealth soared after the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority agreed to a debt-restructuring plan with a group of bondholders.




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How to Fix and Strengthen the 401(k)

The 401(k) workplace-savings plan, designed to augment traditional pensions, has become the primary retirement-savings vehicle for many workers, but critics say it isn’t up to the task. WSJ's Anna Prior highlights five key suggestions to strengthen the 401(k). Photo: Getty




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U.S. and Mexico Restrict Travel, Except for Trade and Workers

U.S. and Mexico have agreed to limit border crossings, restricting most nonessential traffic but allowing trade and workers to continue crossing amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Evan Vucci/Associated Press




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Expert committees under the lens


"Why are the Expert Committees of Ministry of Environment and Forests dominated by ex-bureaucrats, politicians and engineers?" asked over 60 non-profit organizations earlier this month in an open letter. Kanchi Kohli was one of the drafters of the letter to Ministry that has asked for a reconstitution of the flawed committees.




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Expanding steel maker skirting enviro-law?


Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. is seeking environmental clearance for a proposed Rs 2000 crore expansion project in Chhatisgarh. A public hearing this January witnessed plenty of local opposition. The 17 July visit of a Ministry of Environment expert committee has not inspired faith in due process, writes Kanchi Kohli.




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Rewarding violators with room for expansion


Unmindful of evidence that Nalwa Sponge Iron Limited had started civil works for its expansion without environmental clearance, officials rush through a public hearing to review the new project. An operation that is already violating regulations is given the merit of due process for its expansion under the same law, notes Kanchi Kohli.




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Furore over EU carbon tax plans


The European Union is determined that even as it makes plans to reduce its own carbon emissions, it must act to curb the polluting actions of other countries too. Developing countries, however, see this as an indirect trade restriction, devoid of justice. Darryl D'Monte reports.




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Expert panel giving conflicted IPR approvals


Many of the institutions or departments who have sent in applications for IPR consideration to the NBA are also represented on the committee which evaluates the applications, reports Kanchi Kohli.




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Exempt, but not exempt


The Mundra multi-product SEZ project has been be exempted from holding a public hearing, according to the MoEF. But the official response to an RTI filing contends otherwise. Kanchi Kohli reports.




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How Dilawar's box is bringing sparrows back


Eco-pioneer Mohammed Dilawar’s nest boxes, specially designed to bring back sparrows and other birds into urban areas, are a hit among bird-lovers in many Indian metros and of course, the target group – the birds – themselves, writes Savita Hiremath.




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Exigent, not principled


The new coastal zone regulation reads as a compendium of the myriad exceptions to the few rules - a move away from managing the coastal natural resources based on principles to one based on discretion. Kannan Kasturi reports.




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A committee to exonerate industry?


The recommendations of the committee constituted to look into the claims of endosulfan victims in Kasargod and decide on the need to set up a tribunal to settle those, appear to be largely sympathetic towards the Plantation Corporation and endosulfan manufacturers. P N Venugopal reports.




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French apex court rules, Clemenceau recalled


Ruling on a petition by French environmental groups and Greenpeace, France's conseil d'Etat (Supreme Court) suspended the decision to send the decommissioned warship Le Clemenceau to India for scrapping. Three days before his arrival in India on a brief visit, President Chirac ordered the recall. Gopal Krishna finds out more.




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Zip through class V, drop out at class X


With Tamilnadu being a high-ranking state in the Educational Development Index in the country, one would expect children in government-run schools in metros like Chennai to be ahead of their counterparts elsewhere. Wrong. Krithika Ramalingam did a reality check.




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The national nutrition strategy explained


Nivedita Rao of PRS Legislative presents the current status of malnutrition and measures proposed by the recently released National Nutrition Strategy by NITI Aayog.




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The GM potato hoax


The global effort to shift the focus of agricultural research from addressing immediate hunger to 'hidden hunger' is in reality an effort to postpone the real problems confronting the society, says Devinder Sharma.




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Busy exploiting hunger


Around the developed world, GM crops are discredited, but in India, under the emotional tag of 'eradicating hunger', the industry is having a free run, says Devinder Sharma.




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Extraction exceeds recharge


Last month, the Bombay High Court passed an order to shift IPL matches scheduled for the month of May out of the state of Maharashtra citing an acute water shortage in some parts of the state for its decision. PRS Legislative Research, answers some basic questions about ground water and its depletion in our country.




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Frequencies of expectation


Sajan Venniyoor asseses the upcoming public consultations on the second phase of FM Licensing in India.




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Taken for a taxing ride?


An "All Fun, All Day Long, For Everyone” amusement park in Kerala's Kochi region has not been fun for the local panchayat, reports M Suchitra.




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TN's e-Gov experiences spotty, but ongoing


Tamilnadu's foray into e-governance has not yet lived upto potential because policy makers may be implementing top-driven projects with little public participation. Still, the state does have its own examples of how things could work. Krithika Ramalingam reports.




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Emphasis on mixed use needed


Our organically grown urban areas are very close to being the ideal mixed-land-use places that the West is now attempting to create. To leverage this phenomenon, there must be incentives to encourage development in the inner cities instead of in sprawling suburbs, writes Madhav Pai.




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Six months for a job card?


A performance audit of NREGS implementation in Karnataka reveals several anomalies, delays and variance with what had been envisaged; yet, 60 per cent of surveyed beneficiaries report a positive impact on their lives. Himanshu Upadhyaya presents a summary of key findings from the audit.




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Exploring state-people relations


The annual Constitutional Day lecture organized by non-profit organisation Daksh this year will be delivered by Usha Ramanathan on 26 November. Find the details here.




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Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai : Unique example of solidarity


Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts in western Uttar Pradesh had their long standing communal harmony destroyed by the riots that took place there in September 2013. Shoma Chatterji reviews the powerful documentary Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai which looks closely into the how, why and the aftermath of these riots.




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Why Clothing Sizes Are Broken and What Startups Are Doing to Fix the Problem

Clothing sizes are broken and as shopping has shifted online, the problem has worsened. WSJ retail reporter Suzanne Kapner breaks down the issue and explains what startups are doing to solve it. Photo: oonal/Getty Images




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The World's Next Big IPO

Malaysian palm-oil producer Felda Global plans to raise $3.2 billion this month in what's likely to be this year's second-biggest IPO. Leslie Josephs reports on Markets Hub. Photo: Reuters.




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Anxiety Disorder: Is There an Escape?

The battle against anxiety disorders and panic attacks since childhood is the focus of Wall Street Journal contributor Andrea Petersen's forthcoming book, "On Edge." She describes fears of carrying out simple activities in life and traces mental illness through her family. Photo: Brian Stauffer




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Weinstein Guilty of Sex Crimes, Acquitted of Most Severe Charges

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act following a six-week trial. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance called the conviction “the new landscape for survivors of sexual assault.” Weinstein has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. Photo: Peter Foley/Bloomberg News




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Mixpanel CEO’s Unicorn Dreams Take a Back Seat to Cutting Costs

Mixpanel’s efforts to fuel rapid growth cost the startup, which is now struggling to regain its stature in a highly competitive industry.




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Max Levchin’s Affirm Raises $100 Million

Max Levchin’s financial technology startup Affirm Inc. has raised a $100 million in Series D, according to a person familiar with the matter.





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Apple’s Tax in Ireland and the EU – At A Glance

The European Union said Apple Inc. owes billions of dollars in unpaid taxes to Ireland ​after it ruled on Tuesday that a deal with Dublin allowed the company to avoid almost all tax ​on profits ​across the entire bloc for more than a decade. Here's what to know about the ruling.




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The time for excuses is over, Mr Prime Minister

If he shall not do so today, can Dr Manmohan Singh ever push reforms and infrastructure initiatives?




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Phase IV: Cong fields maximum crorepatis

Phase IV: Cong fields maximum crorepatis




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Fifth Phase: BJP has maximum criminal candidates

Fifth Phase: BSP has maximum criminal candidates




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How to Turn an Old Tablet Into a Video Chat Box

Forget buying a fancy Facebook Portal or Amazon Echo Show. Dig out your old tablet or smartphone and make a homemade stand out of a box, wire hanger or even an egg carton. WSJ's Joanna Stern has all the DIY tips you need.




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How to Pick the Right Chat App for Your Next Event

Should you Zoom or FaceTime? How about a Houseparty? Amid social distancing, in-person events have been replaced by pixels on a screen. WSJ's Nicole Nguyen offers tips for navigating the new video-chat reality. Photo: FaceTime




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Laptop Webcam Showdown: MacBook Air? Dell XPS? They’re Pretty Bad

In our coronavirus-tainted world, we’re realizing that we depend a lot on our laptop webcams… and they’re not good. WSJ’s Joanna Stern compared the new MacBook Air to the Dell XPS 13, Google’s Pixelbook Go and Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 3.




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Changing sex roles in Indian advertisements


Have male and female roles in Indian ads changed over the past decade? Have the images of men and women in ads softened over time, blurring the stereotypes, or have they hardened? Shoma Chatterji writes about change in the advertising scene and the importance of media literacy for women.




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Political courage, and the next step


Permitting Musharraf to sell the notion that what could not be wrested from India in a decade and half long jihad has been obtained through diplomacy can help with this. Doing so would deflate the legitimacy that jihadi forces seek from their presence in Kashmir, says Firdaus Ahmed.




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North East: Apex court rules the forests


For eight years, the Supreme Court has been taking a proactive role in forest conservation. But the court's rulings have been most controversial in the north eastern states, where its actions have been misread as reinforcing centralised power over local communities, say Ritwick Dutta and Kanchi Kohli.




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Whose expert is an expert?


The empowered committee of the Supreme Court and the Central Ministry of Environment and Forests are engaged in a dispute to define the expertise needed to oversee conversion of forest land to non-forest use. Kanchi Kohli notes that the MoEF's recent record of clearing questionable projects does not inspire confidence in its stance.




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Expand the moral commons


Our notions of collateral damage have done enormous harm to the ecological balance which sustains life on this planet. A new politics is needed to recover from this, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.




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When expecting mothers fight graft to secure prenatal care


In Jahangirpur Gram Panchayat of Bihar’s Kishanganj district, Rs 30 lakh meant for pregnant Muslim women had already been misappropriated, when a community-driven project launched by Oxfam decided to tackle the corruption head on. Ajitha Menon reports.




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Extending the parameters of cinema


Eashwar Mime Co. presents the opposition between an individual's voice and collective silence using mime - an art form that has almost disappeared since the advent of the spoken word in films, writes Shoma Chatterji.




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Sex education and survival tools


The recent decisions of several state governments to ban sex education in all schools concern everyone, particularly women. In this age of the knowledge economy, we cannot believe that people's access to information on any subject, including matters relating to sex, can be controlled, says Kalpana Sharma.




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Sex meets society, in court


The Centre, mulling over the Delhi High Court verdict on Section 377 of the IPC, should recognise a basic principle of democratic freedoms - we are free when others are free. The India Together editorial.




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Unexpected sounds on Southern radio


One would think that Hindi and Kannada music would never play in Chennai on radio, and Bangalore because of its unique history would surely have Tamil and Telugu songs on air. And Hyderabad must have one Hindi station. Wrong, finds Vaishnavi Vittal. The Great Indian South is one big surprise!




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Tales of the excluded


The recent judicial pronouncement criminalising homosexuality has created quite a furore, but in reality those with limited or no interaction with people of alternative sexual orientation have only a vague idea of their continuous struggle and challenges. Pushpa Achanta brings us two poignant narratives.