A delegation of European Union observers was today allowed by Chhattisgarh High Court to witness proceedings on rights activist Binayak Sen’s appeal against his life term in a case of sedition, which his lawyer and BJP MP Ram Jethmalani termed “political persecution”. When Sen’s appeal came up for hearing, a division bench of Justices T.P. Sharma and R.L. Jhanwar considered the reference on the EU team’s proposal made by the state...

Unfazed by opposition attacks and questions from the Supreme Court, government on Tuesday maintained that it cannot disclose information received from foreign entities on black money held by Indians abroad because of absence of legal framework. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, dismissed opposition criticism that it was not disclosing information because such disclosure could result in the government's fall. "Let us understand the issue. No information can be made available unless there...

Protests and black flags greeted the eight-member team from the European Union who arrived in Raipur on Sunday night. The EU delegation, which include representatives of Delhi based diplomatic missions from Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Sweden and the UK, has come to witness human rights activist Binayak Sen's bail hearing. The hearing is scheduled to take place at the Chhattisgarh High Court in Bilaspur on Monday. They were accompanied by BJP's own...

Twelve districts that face no apparent Maoist threat have recently been added to the list of those worst affected by the rebels, officials said. They hinted that powerful politicians with influence in these 12 districts were eyeing a share of the development funds earmarked for the Red zones. Of the 12 districts, at least eight fall within the Lok Sabha constituencies of Congress MPs. Seven of the districts are in Madhya Pradesh...

Mamata Banerjee today asked the government to withdraw its decision to decontrol oil prices, the demand coming on a day arch-rival Left announced a weeklong protest from early next month over the petrol price hike. Both spoke of the burden on the masses as the bitter enemies rehearsed for poll battles ahead: in Bengal, where Mamata is looking to topple the Marxists, and in Kerala, where the ruling Left is on...