Newsletter 113

A newsletter containing news

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A newsletter containing news, views, articles, investigative stories in the field of

Right to Information

From

Around the World

Issue No: 113

E - Alert

Issue Date: 16-12-2015

 

 

USA

Freedom of Information Failures in Virginia

WHSV

Thirteen Virginia newspapers tested Freedom of Information Act compliance to see if officials were actually disclosing documents as mandated by law.

 

Pakistan

Citizens' right: Information commission says govt support missing

The Express Tribune

The commission was established in March 2014 – a year after the passage of the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act in 2013.

 

India

CIC turns down over 11000 appeals for insufficient documents

Economic Times

... Central Information Commission (CIC) so far this year as they were not accompanied by the required documents under the Right to Information Act, ...

 

USA

FBI now allows Freedom of Information Act requests to be made online

Silicon Valley Business Journal

The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently began beta testing of eFOIA, a new online system that allows the public to make FOIA requests for FBI ...

 

Sri Lanka

Right to Acces to Information Bill to be gazetted shortly

The Sunday Times Sri Lanka

A Right to Acces to Information Bill which was approved by Cabinet yesterday (December 2) is expected to be gazetted shortly, said Jayampathy ...

 

Pakistan

Punjab bureaucrats render RTI toothless

The News International

ISLAMABAD: The much touted Right to Information (RTI) law in Punjab is becoming a toothless piece of legislation as the top government officials are ...

 

Switzerland

Court upholds researchers' right to privacy

swissinfo.ch

The public's right to information does not supersede researchers' right to privacy, the Swiss Federal Court has ruled. At issue was a dispute between ...

 

India

Haryana: In 2 weeks, BJP govt spends Rs 17 cr on advertisements singing its praises

The Indian Express

As per information procured under the Right to Information Act, the Haryana government spent the money between October 21 and November 5, 2015.

 

India

RTI query on PMO staff, expenditure on bungalow virtually stonewalled

Times of India

Mumbai: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has virtually stonewalled a Right to Information (RTI) query seeking details of staff and expenditure at the ...

 

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Proposes Strong Right to Information Act

Sri Lanka Guardian

( December 16, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Sri Lankan Cabinet has approved a draft Right to Information (RTI) Act which, if passed into ...

 

Pakistan

In KP: Who needs a Right to Information Act if it prevents access to information?

PakistanHerald

In February 2015, Peshawar journalist Aziz Buneri submitted a request to the KP's Right to Information Commission (RTIC) to access information on ...

 

India

Law to protect RTI activists in pipeline: CM Devendra Fadnavis

Daily News & Analysis

... state government was in the process of bringing in a legislation to provide protection and security to Right to Information (RTI) activists in the state.

 

USA

Freedom of Information Act requests in 2015 included parking ticket records, contracts for Jack ...

The Oklahoma Daily

One of the most important tools for The Daily and for journalists in Oklahoma is the Freedom of Information Act. The law forces state institutions, ...

 

USA

State Department sued over refugee plan

The Hill

A conservative legal watchdog is suing the State Department to obtain documents about its work with aid organizations to resettle refugees in the ...

 

India

Review civil service prelims paper for a fee

Times of India

INDORE: Curious to see their evaluated answer sheet, nearly 60,000 out of total 2.45 lakh aspirants have paid a small fee for checking their optical ...

 

UK

Police make one arrest over illegal hoverboards as British Airways bans them

Daily Mail

Just one other person has been arrested for illegally using a hoverboard, according to Freedom of India

 

India

RTI solves water woes, query withdrawn

The Indian Express

While the issue of implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act remains a thorn for authorities, the Act is apparently helping citizens in solving ...

 

USA

DC woman seeking conviction-rate data isn't deterred by cost of request

Washington Post

... for the information, which she requested under the Freedom of Information Act. The law is designed to help citizens get data and documents from the ...

 

UK

Whitehall failing to disclose gifts and trips accepted by ministers, despite David Cameron's pledge

The Independent

Failure to deliver transparency will only heighten fears that senior cabinet ministers are seeking to weaken Freedom of Information (FOI) laws to make ...

 

India

Smart city list is biased, says Prithviraj Chavan

The Indian Express

“Information sought from state and Centre under the Right to Information Act clearly exposes the manipulations done to promote certain cities,” Chavan ...

 

UK

South Somerset District Council rapped for Freedom of Information processing failures

Western Gazette

John Snelling, a keen activist for the Save East Coker campaign, submitted a series of Freedom of Information requests regarding the council's Local ...

 

USA

Religious Colleges Obtain Waivers to Law That Protects Transgender Students

New York Times

The Column said its list was drawn from documents received through a Freedom of Information Act request, which included exemption applications ...

 

Pakistan

Transparency without accountability fails to improve attendance of MNAs

The News International

ISLAMABAD: Although a Right to Information request forced the National Assembly Secretariat to open the attendance record of MNAs, this ...

 

 

 

 

Transparency and Right to Information Program
-------------------------------------------- 
Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, Pakistan (CPDI-Pakistan)
Tel: +92 (0) 51-2375158-9; 4319430
URL: 
www.cpdi-pakistan.org