With the Nitish-led NDA government firmly in the saddle in the state, with not even an iota of political instability, world powers have started taking keen interest in Bihar's progress and exploring opportunities for possible investment. In the past less than 12 hours, highly-placed representatives of the US and the UK called on the chief minister and praised him for the positive developments in the state. US undersecretary of state for political...

-PTI The Department of Space has refused to share details based on which punitive action was taken against former space agency chief G Madhavan Nair and three other retired ISRO scientists, saying the matter is before the Central Administrative Tribunal. Nair immediately hit out at the DoS for maintaining "secrecy on a topic which is so widely talked about", and termed it "unheard of and unimaginable". Under RTI, Nair had first filed an...

-The Times of India   The court of additional sessions judge Vinay Joshi on Tuesday released 48 farmers on a regular bail after they were arrested in connection with the Maval firing case recently.  The farmers were released on a personal bond of Rs 7,500 with one surety of the like amount each. The court directed the police to give written intimations to the farmers whenever they were called for interrogation. The farmers were...

India has persisted in retaining the death penalty, notwithstanding the fact that 139 countries across the world have already abolished it while 150 others have put a moratorium on it. The United Nations passed a resolution on September 20, 2010, appealing to all nations to observe a moratorium on the death penalty if they are not agreeable to passing a legislation abolishing it. That formidable opposition to the death penalty seemed...

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought from the Centre the files on 18 mercy petitions, including that of the Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru who is on death row, pending consideration before the President for periods ranging from one to seven years. A Bench of Justices G. S. Singhvi and S. J. Mukhopadhaya called for the records from Additional Solicitor-General Harin Raval after amicus curiae Ram Jethmalani and senior counsel...