-IANS The deadlock in Parliament over the government's decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail ended on Wednesday after an all-party meeting passed a resolution to suspend the move till a consensus was reached. Both houses of Parliament functioned normally and took the crucial Question Hour for the first time since the winter session began on November 22. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee who chaired the meeting made a brief statement in...

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit just about a week away, Moscow has taken a tough stand on the liability law India is insisting on in all nuclear power equipment purchases. The Russian position can threaten the signing of the commercial pact for building two more reactors — Kudankulam 3 and 4 in Tamil Nadu —expected during Singh’s visit. The Russians said that if all terms of the deal for Kudankulam reactors...

-The Telegraph   Social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google have refused to buckle under pressure from the Indian government to take down content that telecom minister Kapil Sibal and the babus on Raisina Hill find objectionable. Sibal told reporters the government wanted the Big Boys of Cyberspace to remove “abusive” comments and images that could ignite a tinderbox of passions in the country but they had refused to do so...

-BBC   India has vowed to crack down on offensive internet content, accusing web firms of failing to cooperate. Communications Minister Kapil Sibal met officials from Google, Facebook and other websites on Monday. On Tuesday he said the firms had told him they were unable to take action. He said the government would introduce guidelines to ensure "blasphemous material" did not appear on internet. Doctored photos of the PM and Sonia Gandhi have angered the...

The Goa government has moved the Supreme Court challenging an order of Bombay High Court's Goa bench bringing governor's report to the Centre about the political situation in a state under the ambit of Right to Information Act, a decision that created major legal discomfort in the corridors of power. The appeal by Goa government, which has also sought a stay on the November 14 HC verdict, is listed for mentioning...