Freedom on the Internet is coming under more and more threat from governments around the world, according to the second ‘Freedom on the Net’ (FOTN) report by the Freedom Institute for 2011. The study of 37 countries found former Soviet republic Estonia to have the freest Internet, with a restriction of just 10 points, followed […]
In a judgement that will be welcomed by many air travellers in India, the Supreme Court has quashed the ‘Airport Development Fees’ or ADF charged by private airports like Delhi and Mumbai today. The judgement is likely to lower domestic air tickets prices by around Rs 200 or more. Besides ADF, air ticket prices are […]
The second ‘Freedom on the Net’ (FOTN) report by the Washington-based Freedom Institute has expressed concern over the decreasing freedom of expression on the Internet in India. The Institute, which put India in the company of states like China, Egypt and Iran which saw a deterioration of freedom of expression on the Internet since the […]
The prime minister Manmohan Singh put down his foot firmly in favor of the Jaitapur Nuclear Project today, four days after environment minister Jairam Ramesh called for a ‘pause’ on the project. After talks with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chawan, V Narayanasamy, the junior minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s portfolio (which include Nuclear […]
Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh has removed a clause requiring compensation-seekers from depositing 1% of their requested compensation upfront with the application. The move came after a media report that criticised the provision as the Government trying to “make the victim pay for justice.” Ramesh said the intention was to deter non-serious applicants and there […]
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chawan flatly blamed ‘outsiders’ for “instigating” trouble at Jaitapur, the site of a proposed Nuclear plant by French company Areva. Chawan said the dangers from the 10,000 megawatt nuclear plant have been exaggerated by those with vested interests and those who are ideologically opposed to all nuclear power. “The agitations are […]
A December 2006 US diplomatic cable leaked by Wikileaks has given valuable insights into what the Americans, at least the then US ambassador David Mulford, viewed as India’s role in the emerging political scenario in Asia. Not only did Mulford see India as a counterweight to China, “which it can never match,” but he also […]
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) — the powerful industry lobby of India’s software and BPO industry — appointed Rajendra Pawar, chairman of NIIT group as its new chairman. Som Mittal will continue to be the President of the organization, arguably India’s most successful industry-lobby. N Chandrasekaran, the CEO and MD of […]
We’ve all heard of newspapers coming out with April Fool’s stories, but a cable leaked by Wikileaks reveals that even the dour diplomats have a funny bone they let out once in a year. The cable, reproduced in entirety below, was authored by the American Embassy in charge Steven White on April 1, 2008 and […]
Despite the protest by a section of the populace the government has reiterated its determination to go head with the Jaitapur nuclear plant. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra,Prithviraj Chavan, after holding meeting with the Prime Minister, ruled out any rethink on the 9900 megawatt nuclear plant. He however said that the compensation package for the […]
Despite humoring the US concerns on Iran when discussing matters like nuclear proliferation, India very much continued to be a ‘behind-the-scenes’ friend to Iran and Myanmar, according to the latest US cables leaked by Wikileaks. According to the late 2006 cable sent from USA’s Finnish embassy in Helsinki, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh was very […]
Indian IT outsourcing firms, such as TCS and Infosys Technologies, may have to tweak their business plans if Forrester Research’ latest prediction on the evolution of the cloud market turns out true. While the firm has come out with one of the (if not THE) biggest projection for cloud services, albeit by 2020, it has […]
The latest release by whisleblower organization Wikileaks — prisoner stories from the Guantenamo Bay has shed light into the role played by Pakistan in training Taliban militants. Wikileaks started releasing hundreds of prisoner files from the controversial prison set up by the US after it started its attack on Afghanistan ten years ago. “Detainee attended […]
comScore, Inc., one of the top ‘web measurement’ companies, has found that the Netherlands led the world in penetration of mass messaging service twitter and the professional networking service LinkedIn. “The Netherlands is in many ways a nexus of global social networking behavior,” pointed out Mike Read, svp and managing director of comScore Europe. The […]
The Gauntanamo prison records released by the whistleblower site Wikileaks has thrown light on an aborted “parallel” 9/11 attack in Asia that was supposed to take place at the same time as the US attack. According to the records of the prisoner Abd al-Malik Abd al-Wahab, an alleged member of al-Qaida and former Usama Bin […]
Wipro Limited reported March quarter IT Services Revenue at $1,400 million, a sequential increase of 4.2% and YoY increase of 20.1%. The growth is slower than the 5.6% posted in December quarter and the 5.7% growth posted in September quarter, but higher than the 3.2% growth of the June 2010 quarter. It has guided for […]
Wikileaks release of more than 700 top secret prisoner records from the Guantanamo Prison off the Southern Coast of the US gives a unique picture of how a terrorist is made. The prison papers give detailed and often engaging history of terrorists — what their backgrounds were, how they ended up being ‘radicalized,’ how they […]
Darjeeling born and Harvard educated Tibetan leader Lobsang Sangey has become the new Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in exile. The result for the elections of the 15th Parliament in exile was announced today in Dharamshala, the capital of the Tibetan government in exile. . For the first time the role of the prime […]
This is the second part of the biographies gleaned from the Guantanamo prison records leaked by Wikileaks today. They show, up and close, how many young men decided to take up arms for their religion, how they were facilitated by religious teachers etc.. However, it must be remembered that the histories are largely based on […]
Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja, serving seven years in jail on sexual assault charges levied by his former housemaid, has received bail from the Bombay High Court. The Court granted bail after noting that Shiney has not tried to tamper with evidence even when he was not in jail as the case was going on. He […]
