-AFP Berlin: India has been ranked lower in corruption than neighbouring Pakistan but higher than China by graft watchdog Transparency International in a survey released on Tuesday. Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia have been ranked as the world's most corrupt countries while Denmark and New Zealand are nearly squeaky-clean. India ranked 94 on the index, above Pakistan at rank 127 but below China which took the 80th position. India was ranked at...

-Outlook Bali: In a development that has increased the risk of collapse of Bali talks, India today in a strongly-worded message to the WTO members said the food security issue is "non-negotiable" for New Delhi. Addressing the plenary session of the 9th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said the Bali package must be substantive, and historical imbalances in trade rules must be corrected to ensure a...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Lawyers and activists have condemned the union government for defaulting on the deadline to frame rules to regulate acid attacks. With the Supreme Court granting the government a fresh four month extension on Tuesday, activists called for an end to systemic "lethargy" and "insensitivity" on crimes against women. Alok Dixit, who runs a campaign called Stop Acid Attacks, isn't optimistic about the extended deadline. "This isn't...

-Live Mint The survivors are demanding that the 1989 verdict, in which India agreed to a $470 million settlement, be reopened New Delhi: On the intervening night of December 2-3 1984, a highly unstable chemical, methyl isocyanate (MiC), an intermediary substance used to manufacture Sevin, a pesticide, leaked from tank 610 in the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. The leak was first detected by workers about 11.30pm as their eyes began to...

-The Hindu     To be able to deliver appropriate legal services to the rural and tribal communities, we need an alternative delivery system with a different model of legal service providers Delivery of legal services to the rich and the corporate class is organised not through individual lawyers but through a series of networked law firms. These firms employ hundreds of lawyers and domain experts all over the country to provide highly specialised...