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"The Bay Lights" Transforms San Francisco Skyline

"The Bay Lights" light installation, inspired by the 75th anniversary of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, is officially unveiled March 5. Here's a preview of what it will look like, and a conversation the artist, Leo Villareal.




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Coronavirus Concerns Prompt Candidates to CFH: Campaign From Home

The coronavirus outbreak is forcing 2020 candidates to suspend rallies, town halls and other events they typically use to connect with voters. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images




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Motion Sick? This Tech Company Thinks It Might Have a Solution

If you’ve read a book in a car, you probably know what motion sickness feels like. WSJ’s Tim Higgins visits Massachusetts-based ClearMotion, which is betting its suspension technology could provide a solution as we move closer towards a future with driverless cars. Photo: Max Esposito/WSJ




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Dying Alone From Coronavirus: A Family's Last Goodbye

Keiko Neutz, 87, died of Covid-19 in March. Her family wasn't able to be by her side, so they said goodbye through a series of video chats. Photos: Neutz family




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Coronavirus Update: Small-Business Aid Deal, Americans Fear Early Restriction Lift

The Treasury and Democrats say they are close on a new rescue deal for small businesses, debate over lockdowns ramps up as the U.S. coronavirus death toll tops 40,000, and what to expect from earnings this week. WSJ’s Jason Bellini has the latest on the pandemic. Photo: David Poller/Zuma Press




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iPhone SE Review: The $399 iPhone Comes Back to Life

The new iPhone SE may seem like a sad, recycled phone but it's more than that. WSJ's Joanna Stern (with the help of an animator) brought the budget phone to life to explain how its performance and camera tricks make it a worthy option—even compared to its expensive, bigger iPhone 11 siblings.




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How Coronavirus-Tracking Apps Work

Public health authorities, developers and tech companies are working on apps to help us keep track of who we came in contact with and where we’ve been to aid in Covid-19 contact-tracing efforts. WSJ’s Joanna Stern explains the technologies using an 8-bit video game.




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Mineral sand coast under threat


A recent Kerala government proposal for sand mining in Kerala's Alappuzha district has come under scrutiny from several quarters. Sreedevi Jacob reports.




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Legalising coastal destruction


Fishermen oppose a new notification by the Environment Ministry that would open up the coast to industrial development. Their state governments agree, but the Centre and the World Bank are pushing ahead nonetheless. Kanchi Kohli reports.




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Lakshadweep's Muslim women conquer the Earth


By bringing the benefits and the knowledge of science to their people, Haseena and Tajunnisa have helped secure the future for the resources on which their families depend. Their home, Agatti, has, now become a model, writes Papri Sri Raman.




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AP coastal crisis leaves fishermen marooned


Moneylender troubles, a fast depleting catch due to reckless pollution, and displacement: it has been raining blow after blow on fisherfolk in Andhra Pradesh recently. Will a meeting with a cabinet minister fix things? Keya Acharya reports.




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RTI and EIA collide at NIO


The National Institute of Oceanography has repeatedly attested that the Adani group's projects in Kutch would not negatively impact the region's ecology, but admits this only reluctantly. Kanchi Kohli reports.




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'Congress candidate has promised us employment'

A voter discusses the chances in the Sawaimadhopur Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan where Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla, who led the Gujjar agitation last year, is the BJP candidate.




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Will the SS Code ensure universal social security?


The government proposes to replace a number of laws protecting the social security of workers with a single Code. But could its vast scope itself make it vulnerable to the details in fine print?




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Some concrete solutions


India generates 100 million tonnes of fly ash each year, and close to 90% of this ends up in waste mounds. But Georg Dirk believes that 40% of this by-product of thermal power stations can be turned into cement, reducing energy costs, environmental pollution, and waste. Darryl D'Monte reports.




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Nuclear safety: A poor record


Although as yet in India, there has not been a severe accident leading to core meltdown or large radiation exposures to the public, on measures of occupational exposure to workers, and compliance with standards for accident prevention, Indian nuclear plants perform poorly, writes Ashwin Kumar.




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Pricing carbon correctly


Under the Kyoto Protocol, it is possible for developed countries to simply buy off the cost of their pollution from less developed economies that do not put out their permitted quota of harmful substances into the atmosphere. This mechanism is fraught with both moral and practical difficulties, writes Darryl D'Monte.




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Old conflict resurfaces at Athirappilly falls


Kerala's electricity board is preparing to build the seventh dam across the 144-kilometers-long Chalakudy river. The fate of the picturesque Athirappilly waterfalls hangs in the balance, with locals battling against the project. Sudhirendar Sharma has more.




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Know-how at whose cost?


While the usual debate over responsibility for reducing carbon emissions continues globally, there is also a parallel argument over the need for transfering clean technologies to the developing world. Darryl D'Monte reports from Bonn.




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Singrauli singed by coal and power


In the energy heartland of India, countless projects have wreaked havoc on the environment and displaced people extensively, sometimes more than once. With more projects planned, the future is just as bleak. Kanchi Kohli reports.




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Solar scam heat scorches Kerala


Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has come under heavy fire after several of his personal aides have been found to have close links with a fraudster couple who have embezzled huge amounts of money out of investors. P N Venugopal provides a roundup of the sordid saga.




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Decoding the red alert on green NGOs


The accusations of the Intelligence Bureau against foreign environmental NGOs appear hollow and misguided when one looks at the direction and substance of their work in India so far. Darryl D’Monte urges the government to refrain from stifling the expression of dissent by these NGOs.




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Breaking the myth behind Coastal Thermal Power Plants


It is often believed that coal-based power plants near the coast, by virtue of their proximity to the sea, do not create any pressure on water resources. Shripad Dharmadhikary’s visit to Krishnapattanam in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu exposes the fallacy in that.




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A continuous struggle between ‘power’ and the people


In yet another contested environmental approval decision, a 300-MW power plant in Gujarat has been granted changes in technology, relaxing certain original conditions, without any public consultation. Kanchi Kohli reports on the grievances of the local people.




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DISCOMs face a stark future


The energy sector is undergoing a massive transformation, with large customers option for direct access from producers and those in the middle looking for decentralised storage and consumption. Between these forces, the old distribution business faces serious risk, says a report from the Prayas Energy Group.




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Casting couch vs workplace abuse: A thin line


The proverbial casting couch has been a reality over the years since women made their foray into the world of films and entertainment. As the industry joins in celebrating Women’s Day, Shoma Chatterji explores if  more of its women remain victims, rather than complicit 'sinners'.




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Painting the country Pink


Will a ‘NO’ from a woman remain ‘NO’? Asks Shoma A. Chatterji while reviewing the movie, Pink.




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Empowering communities the right way


Community engagement should be born out of respect for the participating community members and their capacities rather than as tokenism needed to fulfill a program requirement, writes R Balasubramaniam.




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A national confidence syndrome


The PM urges pragmatism in relations with China, but the logic of his exertions may be more persuasively applied to our dealings with Pakistan, says Firdaus Ahmed.




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The calculus of 'Cold start'


Firdaus Ahmed on the Indian Army's strategic answer to the nuclear standoff witnessed between India and Pakistan during the ten month long Operation Parakram in 2002.




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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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Of nukes and counter-nukes


What is the threshold for Pakistan to use it nuclear weapons? Public statements by knowledgeable insiders addressing this question may only be a decoy, and at any rate the pressures of war might trigger unforeseen lower thresholds for the use of nukes. Alertness and public scrutiny are both warranted, writes Firdaus Ahmed.




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The coming fateful decisions


The two protagonist South Asian states got their independence in the middle of the last century, and it is about time that they seize control of their mutual and intertwined destiny, writes Firdaus Ahmed.




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Inward lens for incoming government


The buzz on the global front should not distract us from pressing matters at home. This would also make our security agenda more human and less state-centric, writes Firdaus Ahmed.




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Is the army court’s verdict on the Machhil killings enough?


The recent award of life sentences to the army personnel involved in the 2010 Macchil killings in J&K sends out a positive message, but there are deeper layers in the justice system that need introspection and overhaul in the pursuit of reconciliation. Firdaus Ahmed explains.




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Decommissioning the diaper


L S Aravinda points out that many Indian children are better off because their parents prefer natural infant hygiene, but warns of an increasing number being swayed by 'the convenience' of diapers.




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Community conservation gaining


Rasika Dhavse reports on the transition from conventional conservation practices to community based ones.




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Tsunami, mangroves and market economy


The Tsunami of 26 December did not invade several coastlines to the degree it did many others because of mangroves and coral reefs. Mangroves offer double protection, but India has seen their rampant cutting down in favour of tourism and shrimp farming, says Devinder Sharma.




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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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Storm continues over Silent Valley


The Kerala government is proposing to construct a new dam only a few kilometres from the site of one of India's great environment struggles in the Silent Valley National Park. But cooked data and ignored court orders have once again invited the wrath of conservationists. M Suchitra reports.




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Whittling away at NPV costs


What is the right compensation for forest lands that are converted to non-forest use? How can this be calculated? Increasingly, one finds that project proponents are mounting a range of arguments to plead for the reduction of, or outright exemption from bearing such costs. Kanchi Kohli reports.




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Still advising the Forest Committee?


For some time now, the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court has been reviewing the decisons of the Forest Advisory Committee, which grants permission for converting forest land for non-forest use. But this oversight may be coming to an end. Kanchi Kohli reports.




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Institutionalising compensation for lost forests


A new Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha, ostensibly to re-green India, is actually a blow to the environment. Rather than conserve forests, it advocates market mechanisms to make money off afforestation in degraded lands. Kanchi Kohli writes.




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Uttarakhand Gujjars being ousted without compensation


A large number of Ban Gujjar tribal families remaining within the Rajaji National Park are facing constant harassment from the state forest department. Their rehabilitation is mired in red tape. Aparna Pallavi reports.




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Counsel for the Council


The proposed new Indian Media Council must live up to the best traditions of the press council concept, which is fundamentally based on cooperation between the media and the public to protect key human rights. Many good models for this are available around the world. Ammu Joseph begins a new column.




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Public discourse on public health


The Patents Amendment Bill involved an issue of great concern to citizens. But did the Indian media provide a public forum for debate on the issue and enable individuals and institutions to contribute their thinking? Ammu Joseph doesn't think the media lived up to its responsibilities.




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Covering the silent revolution


A flurry of activities of senior citizen associations and related news coverage usually herald the International (and National) Day of Older Persons, annually observed on 1 October since 1990. However, it will take much more to focus serious attention on the world's fastest growing population group, says Ammu Joseph.




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Covering the Republic of Hunger


About 320 million Indians go to bed without food every night, and recent data suggests this already alarming situation is getting worse. Despite the magnitude and intensity of this problem, it remains on the margins of policy planning, public action, intellectual discourse, and media coverage, writes Ammu Joseph.




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Concern over content and conduct


Must government regulate TV content? A Delhi-based TV channel's fraudulent sting operation has brought the recklessness of television journalism to the fore again. The government seems open to some self-regulation even as its own draft legislation sits on the back burner. But time is clearly running out for the broadcast industry, writes Ammu Joseph.




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Countdown to better representation of women in media


The world’s largest and longest-running longitudinal research and action initiative on gender in the news media released in New York on 2 March, where the 54th session of United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is currently on. Ammu Joseph summarises the findings.