-The Telegraph   The Supreme Court today diluted its July order asking the Centre and states to stop using special police officers in their war against Naxalites or other internal terror, clarifying it would now be confined only to Chhattisgarh. The Centre had urged the top court to clarify or modify its July 5, 2011, order saying it would “hamper” internal security measures in states and lead to “chaos”. Besides Chhattisgarh, there are SPOs...

-IANS   The government on Wednesday said it is determined to pass the Lokpal bill as it unveiled its agenda for the winter session of parliament that includes a slew of anti-corruption legislations apart from the ambitious food security bill. Apart from Lokpal, other anti-corruption bills slated for consideration and passing in the winter session include whistle blower protection bill and judicial standards and accountability bill. Talking to mediapersons, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar...

The annual report of the International Institute for Labour Studies projects a grim future for employment prospects. WITH the United States and much of Europe grappling with the slowdown in their economies and the resultant social unrest, the publication of the World of Work Report 2011: Making Markets Work for Jobs could not have come at a more opportune moment. Brought out by the International Institute for Labour Studies, which was...

They observed a minute’s silence for the 1,180 martyrs of Bodoland movement. That’s routine. They observed a two-minute silence for Bhupen Hazarika. That’s a huge departure from routine. The silence would have been that of a graveyard, but for the whirring of the generator set at one corner of the field at Silikabari, 6km south from where the Absu’s five-day cycle rally covering 10 districts culminated this morning. It was no coincidence...

The new Chairman of the Press Council of India, Markandey Katju, wants to make it an instrument of mediation in addition to adjudication.   THE appointment of Justice Markandey Katju, a former judge of the Supreme Court, as Chairman of the Press Council of India is about the best thing that has happened to that body in a long while. It is no exaggeration to say that the PCI commands little prestige...