A powerful dust storm and rains have hit Delhi, grounding flights, uprooting trees and bringing traffic on the city’s roads to a standstill, several days after an alert was issued over north India for a massive storm, New Deli TV reports. The storm, which had wind speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour (45 miles per hour), demolished dozens of homes and destroyed power lines in northern Uttar... 

A 14-year-old cancer patient was raped twice within a period of just a few hours on Saturday night in Lucknow, northern India. The girl was assaulted by two youths, and then later by a passerby to whom she had turned for help. The teen left home to buy groceries from a nearby market at around 4.30pm on Saturday. While the girl, who has early-stage blood cancer, was on her way, an acquaintance told... 

The Indian government has released a report on the state of ecology in the country. The highest level of air pollution in India is in its capital city of Delhi. According to the official data, 80 people die daily because of high concentration of smog and other toxic particles. “An international study released recently has claimed that foul air is killing up to 80 people a day in Delhi. The numbers... 

A young woman is in hospital in critical condition after throwing herself off a moving train in an attempt to escape molestation. It’s the latest in a number of incidents that have exposed the vulnerability of women in India. ­The 25-year-old woman jumped from the carriage of a moving train after allegedly being molested by a soldier. The attack occurred on Thursday while the train was en route... 

A sense of insecurity has gripped the female population in parts of India. As the ashes of the New Delhi gang rape victim were scattered over the Ganges River, hundreds of Indian women applied for firearm licenses and joined self-defense classes. ­Since the news of the brutal gang rape and murder broke in December, 274 Delhi women have applied for gun licenses, Delhi police said. Some 1,200 more... 

Demonstrators react as police in New Delhi fire tear gas during a protest calling for better safety for women following the rape of a student, December 22, 2012. An Indian teenager who fell victim to a gang rape has committed suicide, a police official says. Inspector General Paramjit Singh Gill said on Thursday that the 17-year-old girl had been “running from pillar to post to get her case registered”... 

A gene that makes bugs highly resistant to almost all known antibiotics has been found in bacteria in water supplies in New Delhi used by local people for drinking, washing and cooking, scientists said on Thursday. The NDM 1 gene, which creates what some experts describe as “super superbugs”, has spread to germs that cause cholera and dysentery, and is circulating freely in other bacteria... 

Angry Indians protesting The number of Indian students wanting to study in Australia has slumped by almost 50%, according to figures from the Australian government. The decline follows a year when attacks on Indian students in Melbourne and Sydney made headlines in India. They also caused diplomatic relations to sour between Canberra and Delhi. The Indian government issued a travel advisory to students...