Sri Lanka to persuade EU against trade benefits denial

BRUSSELS - Sri Lanka will persuade the European Union for reversal of its decision to suspend the island nation from EU’s preferential trade concessions.

Ricky Martin calls for war against human trafficking

San Juan, Feb 16 (IANS/EFE) Pop singer Ricky Martin has called upon people across the world to become “warriors of light” to combat human trafficking and child abuse.

1959 sex conviction still haunts gay man seeking volunteer work; seeks UK law change

1959 conviction still haunts gay man seeking work

Batla House: Court questions delay in appeal

NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Tuesday asked petitioner advocate Prashant Bhushan why had he delayed filing an appeal for the copy of the post-mortem examination report of the three people killed in the Batla House shootout in September 2008.

Delhi government still not sheltering homeless: NGO

NEW DELHI - An NGO Tuesday demanded action against the Delhi government for not complying with court orders to provide shelters to the homeless in the national capital.

Environment ministry promises action against Narmada dam builder

NEW DELHI - Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Tuesday said that his ministry will issue a show cause notice to the company working on the Maheshwar dam in the Narmada valley in view of the large scale protests of people there who have been affected because of the work, but not rehabilitated.

NH man who took hostages at Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign office in 2007 has bail hearing

Man who held hostages at Clinton office in court

Fix timeframe for action on illegal structures, MCD told

NEW DELHI - The Central Information Commission (CIC) has said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) should fix a timeframe within which action has to be taken against unauthorised constructions.

NHRC to the rescue of Orissa’s Dalit families

NEW DELHI - In a move that will offer some relief to Dalit families in Orissa’s Puri district and motivate others to speak up against injustice, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has ordered the district collector to take action within the next 15 days in 1,000 cases of caste based atrocities.

Libya bans Europeans

Tripoli, Feb 16 (IANS/AKI) Libya has started to turn away Europeans who arrive in the country as retaliation for a recent decision by Switzerland to publish a blacklist of 180 Libyans banned from entering the country.

Russian centre in Nepal stops screening gay film

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s sexual minorities are stung by the refusal of the Russian Cultural Centre in Kathmandu, run by the Russian government, to screen a documentary on gay rights even though the auditorium at the centre had been booked in advance by Nepal’s pioneering gay rights organisation Blue Diamond Society (BDS).

Now, fines for spitting and urinating in Patna

PATNA - In a bid to keep the Bihar capital clean and garbage free, the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to impose a Rs.100 fine for spitting, urinating and littering and a Rs.200 fine for throwing garbage in public places.

Ex-florist sentenced for changing rivals’ Google map details

WELLINGTON - A former New Zealand florist, who changed the details of her competitors on Google map so that customers could not get to their shops, has been sentenced to 100 hours of community service.