-The Hindu Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said the Durga puja celebrations have received protection from the Law and order enforcement agencies of Dhaka. The Government of Bangladesh "promptly" dealt with the miscreants who tried to disturb Durga puja celebrations in Comilla district, said an official here on Thursday. Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said the festivities have received protection from the Law and order enforcement agencies...

-The Hindu The Pandora Papers have only highlighted the need for concerted steps to alter the global financial architecture The Pandora Papers, published on October 3, once again expose the illegal activities of the rich and the mighty across the world. The Pandora Papers investigation is “the world’s largest-ever journalistic collaboration, involving more than 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries”. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has researched...

-Newsclick.in 2,55,602 appeals and complaints were pending in the 26 information commissions till June 30, according to a report. October 12 marked 16 years of the RTI Act, 2005. The Law has empowered millions of citizens to seek information and hold the government accountable. Section3 of the Act states: “Subject to the provisions of this Act, all citizens shall have the right to information.” Under the Act, information commissions (ICs) are the final...

-TheWire.in On the anniversary of the day the Act came into effect, a look at that 'heaven of freedom' that will sustain even the most oppressed and marginalised people. Right to Information users, like dissenters and democratic activists in India’s troubled democracy, have been under siege. As the right to information (RTI) Act completes 16 years it becomes increasingly clear that democracy, and the right to information are inextricably linked to one another....

-National Herald The Pandora Papers raise issues that need serious introspection. Even if the wealth has been salted away legally, does it reflect a flight of capital? Do HNIs feel their wealth is not secure in India? What is different about the Pandora Papers from the earlier Panama Papers leaks, revealed by ICIJ five years ago? Unlike the Panama papers which were leaks from a single source, a Law firm called Mossack...