-PTI JOHANNESBURG: States may not prevent access to websites because they display opinions or beliefs that are critical of governments or established systems of thought, UN Human Rights Commissioner Navanethem "Navi" Pillay said here. Pillay, a South African of Indian Tamil origin, was delivering a lecture on 'Human Rights Achievements and Challenges in a Rapidly Changing World' at the University of the Witwatersrand as part of South Africa's celebration of Human Rights...

-The Hindu   The Supreme Court's reasoning in the Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar case reveals an unfortunate determination to sanction judicial execution because it involved a terrorist offence. If there is one principle that emerges from the judgment of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya, it is that prolonged delay in disposal of a mercy petition, until now considered a possible constitutional limitation on carrying out an execution, will not be...

-PTI "Discrimination" against Muslims is giving rise to a feeling of injustice among them, Press Council Chairman Markanedya Katju on Sunday claimed and rebuked the media for what he described as "demonising" Muslim community through "irresponsible" journalism. "Whenever a bomb blast occurs or such incident takes place, within an hour or so many TV channels start showing that an email or sms has come from the Indian Mujahideen, JeM or Harkatuljihad-e-Islam, or...

-The Hindu   The absence of a comprehensive rehabilitation policy for surrendered militants has made life hellish for those who decided to give themselves up and join the mainstream Jammu & Kashmir's first "Surrender Policy" was floated by Governor Gen. (retd.) K.V. Krishna Rao's administration in 1995. It was almost identical to the policies introduced for militants involved in the North East and Naxalite insurgencies: Rs.1.5 lakh worth of fixed deposit receipts payable...

-The Hindu Shinde assures MPs that such courts will be set up to expedite trial Amid charges of "innocent" Muslims being falsely implicated in terror cases, the Union government is likely to set up fast track courts to expedite their trial. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde gave the assurance to a group of MPs and civil rights activists who met him to demand a "clear-cut time frame" for setting up such courts and freeing...