1st NOVEMBER 2014

There was no redemption for Warren M. Anderson — accused no. 1 in the criminal case pertaining to the Bhopal gas tragedy — in life. On Thursday, it seemed there was none in death. Hearing of his death, a full one month after he passed away at a nursing home in Vero Beach, Florida, on September 29, survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy assembled outside the now-defunct Union Carbide factory and placed a large portrait of him. Then, one by one, they spat at the photograph. With his death, the struggle to get the former CEO of Union Carbide extradited has hit a dead end.

The State government on Friday expressed its difficulty before the High Court to implement the recommendations made by a committee that looked into eligibility of persons to retain sites allotted to them by the Bangalore Development Authority, under ‘G’ category, based on the recommendations of then Chief Ministers.

Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) retail outlets in the city stand fully automated from Friday. Makarand Nene, Director (Marketing), IOC, made the declaration at the inauguration of automation at a retail outlet at Palarivattom. Kochi is the second city after Thiruvananthapuram to be declared as fully automated.

Education Ministers and officials of eight South Asian countries have resolved to collaborate on increased use of information technology and improving the quality of education. At the second meeting of Education Ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) here on Friday, representatives of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka issued a joint statement titled “The New Delhi Declaration on Education.” Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani chaired the meeting.

OUAGADOUGOU: Burkina Faso's embattled President Blaise Compaore announced on Friday that he was stepping down to make way for elections following a violent uprising against his 27-year rule that saw parliament set ablaze.

Myanmar’s Parliament will consider amending the country’s constitution — which currently bars opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming President — ahead of crucial elections next year, an official said on Friday.

Hungary’s Prime Minister on Friday scrapped plans to introduce an Internet tax that had sparked major demonstrations and further concerns about civil liberties in the central European EU member state. Proposed changes to the tax code that would have imposed a new levy on online data transfers “cannot be introduced in its current form,” the right-wing Viktor Orban (51), said in a morning radio interview. He said the legislation, which was to have been voted on in Parliament on November 17, would be amended and that a “national consultation” on the Internet and taxes would be organised in January.