-Express News Service   An RTI activist from Union Territory of Diu who had sought information in connection with the construction of an allegedly illegal restaurant and bogus licence issued by Road Transport Office to bike vendors has been allegedly attacked by local politicians and government officers. Jaisukh Bambhania ,39, president of Diu auto-rickshaw drivers’ association, was attacked with sharp weapons and pipes on Sunday night. Later, acid was thrown on him. Bambhania has...

Facing an impeachment motion, Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen, who appeared before the Rajya Sabha today, claimed that he was being made the “sacrificial lamb to cleanse the judiciary”, and that the allegations of misconduct and misappropriation of funds against him were part of a predetermined move to remove him. Pointing a finger at former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan for recommending his impeachment, Sen said: “The real...

-The United Nations   Several United Nations agencies and their partners are calling for greater cooperation to tackle the threat posed to the world’s forests from extreme weather events and natural disasters. Extreme weather events that greatly impact the health of forests include cyclones, floods, landslides, tornadoes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions – so-called “abiotic disturbances,” according to a news release issued by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is among 14...

The Lokpal Bill is in danger of skidding off the rails. As it is introduced in Parliament, eminent activist Aruna Roy tells Shoma Chaudhury why we should not rush into it. THE LOKPAL BILL is now being debated in Parliament, almost 40 years after the idea was first mooted. Unfortunately, parented on one side by decades of wilful government inertia and, on the other, by the panicked hustle of ‘Team...

Important draft legislation was recently unveiled in Rajasthan that would impose serious punishment for ‘witch-hunting’. Getting legislators to sign off on the bill, however, will prove difficult. Over the years, the women’s movement in Rajasthan has had some success in making violence against women into an important political issue. Activists have forced political parties and governments to demonstrate that they are addressing this constituency, which the media has dubbed ‘Mahila Sangathan’....