Civil rights Activist Binayak Sen, recently freed on bail by the Supreme Court in a sedition case, has been honoured with the 2011 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, South Korea's most prestigious award for those working on peace, democracy and justice in Asia. The award was announced yesterday by 2011 Gwangju Prize Committee in Seoul. The prize, which carries a sum of USD 50,000 is awarded each year on May 18 --...

In less than a fortnight of its formation, the joint committee for drafting the Lokpal Bill is falling apart. Even as civil society representatives Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan are battling attacks on their integrity, another civil society leading light, Justice N Santosh Hegde, is thinking of quitting the panel. Stung by Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh's references to his ineffectuality in dealing with corruption in Karnataka, Hegde, who is the...

Workers employed at the Jaitapur nuclear power project site at Madban village have fled after the violent incidents on April 18 when a mob damaged equipment and indulged in arson. A Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) spokesperson on Thursday told The Hindu on the phone that workers have left since the situation was not conducive to staying there. “In any case, there are a few holidays from tomorrow [Friday]...

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Thursday called upon anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare to distance himself from Congress president Sonia Gandhi who, he said, faced allegations of involvement in scams. It was ironical that Ms. Gandhi should express support for Mr. Hazare's fight against corruption, Dr. Swamy told journalists here. Pointing out that Mr. Hazare wanted Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to quit the committee formed to draft the Lokpal Bill because...

Has the battle between good and bad been lost again? Can we remain silent at the insidious adventures of some elements trying to scare away public-spirited people? The national capital is an excessively pampered city. Mindboggling amounts of money have been poured into it for improving infrastructure. This exercise has undeniably yielded dividends. Supreme among the additions to the average citizen's comfort is the metro built by Sridharan who, incidentally, is...