Former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yedduruppa might face CBI probe for his role in illegal mining The Supreme Court has allowed 45 iron-ore mines in Karnataka to resume operations. The decision came after the apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) found that there was no illegality or only minor ones in their operations. The mines include those of the National Mining Development Corporation (NMDC), Mineral Enterprises Limited and Mysore Minerals...

The Vidarbha region of Maharashtra which has gained notoriety for its farm suicides, is also reporting a high incidence of child deaths. Data compiled under the Right to Information (RTI) Act shows that in Yavatmal district alone 565 children below five died due to various causes between January and September 2011. In addition, the district reported 489 still births for the same period. Yavatmal is second only to Amravati district which...

-The Hindu The acquittal of 23 people convicted by a lower court in the gruesome Bathani Tola massacre case is a shocking indictment of the country's criminal justice system. The mass murder of a group of 21 Dalits and Muslims, most of them women and children, by the notorious caste militia, the Ranvir Sena, took place in Bihar's Bhojpur district in 1996 in broad daylight. The basic facts about the ghastly...

-The Economic Times The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed an amendment to the Right to Education Act. The amendment will widen the beneficiary net for disabled children and provide those with severe disability the option of receiving education at home. It will also give school management committees an advisory role in minority schools, both aided and unaided, and will put madarsas and vedic schools and other institutions providing primarily religious instruction outside...

Under sharp criticism for stalling the television premiere of The Dirty Picture on Sunday, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has said it was only following the directions of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court, and the instructions issued by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Prime time Sources in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said the court order, issued on April 19 in response to a Public Interest Litigation...