-PTI Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Information Commission has issued notice to the Lokayukta office for not providing information under the Right to Information Act on the plea that that it was not in the ambit of the Act. Hearing an application moved by RTI Activist Saleem Beg, Chief Information Commissioner Ranjeet Singh Pankaj issued a notice asking why the public information officer of Lokayukta should not be punished under section 20 of the...

-Reuters India has launched a wide-ranging surveillance programme that will give its security agencies and even income tax officials the ability to tap directly into e-mails and phone calls without oversight by courts or parliament, several sources said. The expanded surveillance in the world's most populous democracy, which the government says will help safeguard national security, has alarmed privacy advocates at a time when allegations of massive US digital snooping beyond American...

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: The forests and environment department has started a plantation audit to find out the survival rate of saplings planted over the years within the city limits. A total of 9,67,362 saplings were planted in past three years but no one knows the survival rate of the saplings. Forest officials say a survival rate of 70 to 75 per cent is a healthy sign for any plantation drive. But the numbers...

-The Times of India HYDERABAD: Home to Asia's first office of Facebook and Google's first in India, these companies have put Hyderabad right on top of the global map by providing zillions of solutions worldwide from the city, but when it comes to their own toilet waste, they apparently have no clue where it is heading. With very few sewerage treatment plants (STP) working properly, waste flowing from the toilets of hundreds...

-The Times of India GHAZIABAD: Shaqueel's body was sent for postmortem by Ghaziabad police to ascertain the cause of death. A murder case has also been registered. Police sources say a preliminary examination of the autopsy suggests he was suffering from a chronic illness, which combined with the stress he was under after the arrest, had led to his death. Police say they will come down heavily on any official found...