Gem Slaves

Life may soon return to the dusty 19th century palace grounds of the Raja of Sandur in the Ramandurga hills near Hospet in Karnataka. A well-known private company is likely to buy the property and possibly restore the old buildings for offices. It will do this not for the site's historical worth, but for the value of what juts out of the ground around it: a thick vein of high-quality iron ore.

Rampant illegal iron ore mining in Karnataka s Bellary district

Broken Hard, child labour in mines of Rajasthan

On the one hand: potholed roads, poor sewage systems, numerous small scale industries, nightmarish working conditions. On the other: clueless civic authorities. India s lock and key town faces a grave paradox

Rapping the US on the knuckles for banning shrimp imports from developing countries was only a technical exercise by the WTO

A fight over pickerel catch in Ontario turned into a bitter wrangle when the US started stretching every trade rule in the book

The South managed to make its presence felt, but this was due to the US Europe rift

Delegates were particularly unhappy with the secrecy maintained by the host nation USA

Public perception of health and safety standards mean more than money

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