-PTI In the ongoing Assembly polls for five states, the Election Commission has so far issued 167 notices to candidates who allegedly paid for the publication of news in their favour in various media outlets. While the maximum numbers of 129 notices have been issued to candidates in Punjab, where polling was held on January 30, as many as 38 notices have been issued to candidates in Uttar Pradesh, where the elections...

Even as “money-chasing” media persons and news organisations are coming up with innovative ways to hoodwink the Election Commission (EC) in its drive to seek out “paid news”, the authority has so far detected as many as 42 instances of alleged paid news in Uttar Pradesh where the Assembly polls are being held. Of these, notices have been served on 38 candidates — on whose favour the writing/telecast have been made...

The recent India-Australia cricket matches drew angry protests from anti-tobacco activists. The reason was the display of an advertisement by an Indian chewing tobacco company. The Australian cricket administrators were quick to react and have ordered the immediate removal of the advertisement. A boundary line advertisement of Kamala Pasand chewing tobacco was on display during the test series in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide held between January and February 2012. The...

Discovery of a deadly form of TB in a Mumbai hospital  underscores mismanagement In December last, when doctors at Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai raised the alarm over a deadly form of tuberculosis, the Union health ministry was quick to refute the claim. In its press release on January 17, the ministry said the term “totally drug resistant TB” is “misleading”; it is neither recognised by the national programme for TB control...

In the past week the media has been reporting that the SIT has filed a closure report that gives a “clean chit” to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on the grounds that there is no prosecutable evidence against him. However, Tehelka has now scooped amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran’s explosive confidential report that had told the Supreme Court that Modi should be chargesheeted and prosecuted for serious criminal offences like promoting religious...