-Express News Service Eight days after they began an indefinite fast against the nuclear power plant at Koodankulam, the protesting leaders called it off after talks with district authorities this morning. S P Udayakumar and M Pushparayan were among the 15 people who withdrew the fast, but said their struggle would continue until their arrested fellow activists were released. “Until then, shops will be closed, a relay fast will continue, fishermen will...

The arrest of Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi in connection with the bomb attack on an Israeli embassy car raises many questions. AN uneasy silence fills the streets of B.K. Dutt Colony near the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. Named after the revolutionary freedom fighter Batukeshwar Dutt, who, along with Bhagat Singh, threw bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly on April 8, 1929, the nondescript colony has been...

The CBI is set to chargesheet policemen and government officials for the Nandigram firing once it receives the Bengal government’s sanction for prosecution. “We are preparing the chargesheet,” said a senior CBI official, claiming the agency had an airtight case. He did not reveal the identities of those who would be chargesheeted. “Next week, we will write to the Mamata Banerjee government seeking sanction for prosecution against the policemen, police officers and...

-The Telegraph Assam has witnessed one abduction almost every two days this year. Despite militancy being on the decline, there has been no let-up in abductions in the state. Assam forest minister Rakibul Hussain today told the Assembly that 56 abduction cases have been registered in the state since January, which works out to 86 days till today. Replying on behalf of chief minister Tarun Gogoi, who holds the home portfolio, Hussain said between...

Cracking the whip on officers, who have failed to declare their immovable property, the Centre has recommended "appropriate action" against 454 Class 'A' officers, including eight joint secretaries and 44 directors, that may not only delay their promotion but also invite adverse remarks in their annual performance appraisal reports. Out of these 454 Central Secretariat Service Officers, the highest number of defaulters are from the department of agriculture and cooperation (58)...