Right to Information

Around the World

India
Here's how the fundamental right to privacy will affect the Right to Information Act
International Business Times
Experts have said that there will be a conflict between the RTI Act and the right to privacy now as the Supreme Court has upheld it as a fundamental right. Read on to know...

Pakistan
Filer taxpayers up by 58pc
Pakistan Observer
The number of return filer taxpayers in the country has increased by 58 percent during the fiscal year 2016 compared to FY2013 and by 13.23 percent against FY2015...

India
Making the Right to Information (RTI) work in Defence
Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis
Central Information Commission (CIC) advised the Ministry of Defence to ensure probity and accountability in defence procurements...

Egypt
Egypt's court media ban limits public access to trials
Al-Monitor
A legal researcher at the American University in Cairo's law and society unit, told Al-Monitor, "Judges are strongly sensitive about broadcasting hearings, especially in cases related to terrorism...

UK
UK Data Protection Laws to be Overhauled
BBC
The new Data Protection Bill will give us one of the most robust, yet dynamic, set of data laws in the world," said Mr. Hancock in a statement...

USA
Brennan Center and Protect Democracy File Suit to Make "Voter Fraud” Commission Records Public
Newspark Forest
This is a problem in South Carolina that needs to be fixed by our Legislature ... or through people suing public bodies to make sure they turn these over,” said Smith, who also works with the Press Association...

Pakistan
Senate passes 'Right of Access to Information Bill'; NA adopts 'Election Bill 2017'
ARY News
The bill moved by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb provides for the right to information...

USA
Herald asks Army to reveal investigation findings withheld from public
The Herald
The Army's investigation was released Friday, in response to a 2016 Freedom of Information Act request by the Herald...

Pakistan
Creating transparency
Express Tribune
Transparency does not happen at the flick of a switch and the passing of this bill is not going to immediately...

India
So Far, Narendra Modi Has Brought Back 24 Indian Antiquities from Foreign Countries
TOPYPAS
Replying to a Right to Information appeal of a journalist, the Archaeological Survey of India has revealed that out of these 24 ancient items, 16 have been brought...

USA
Douglas County launches Transparency Portal to increase government accountability
NNBW
Douglas County's new Transparency Portal empowers government officials and staff to conduct better analysis and performance measurement by improving access to key...

India
Indian citizenship regained: The 22-year ordeal of Luingam Luithui for justice
Catch News
The Delhi High Court has finally restored the Indian citizenship of both Luithui and his wife, declaring that they had never ceased to be Indian citizens...

USA
Freedom of Speech is Under Assault in the USA
The Live News Trading
To stand up for free speech i.e. the First Amendment is a noble thing. The left has conflated this with hate speech i.e. "Free Speech enables "hate speech”...

India
Did Modi Mislead Parliament on the Number of Fake Ration Cards that Aadhaar Had Exposed?
The Wire
Nikhil Dey of MKSS said that in Rajasthan 10 lakh people had been removed from the pension list through Aadhaar linkage. "While 50 lakh people were getting pension earlier, it has come down to 40 lakh now. As a consequence, many elderly have died or are living in abject poverty...

Ghana
Fighting Corruption: eliminate the empty promises and let act now
News Ghana
One of the potent solutions to the numerous scandals of corrupt practices in our country rests in the hands of our leaders. Especially, the Executive and the Legislature to give us a good right to information law...

Scotland
Victory for Scottish information campaigner in battle with Supreme Court
The National
We must realise that government and public sector bodies have to be seen to be open and transparent by nurturing access to information in order to improve public confidence and trust...

U.S
USS McCain crash is 4th Navy accident in Pacific this year
Washington Post
The commander of U.S. naval operations has ordered a comprehensive review to get to root causes after the collision this week between a Navy destroyer and an oil tanker near Singapore...

Pakistan
Protecting the whistleblower
The News
The bill aims to provide protection to whistleblowers that make public any corruption, criminal activity or wrongdoing...

Sri Lanka
A long way to go
Daily Mirror
On the other hand some leaders are more futuristic. Yet, another set of political leaders focus on 'the now' and neither focus on the future nor glorify the past...

Nigeria
Three states join Nigeria's participation in Open Government Partnership
Premium Times
Three state governments have formally joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) to implement transparency reforms in Nigeria. The states are Kaduna, Anambra and Kano...

Pakistan
LHC seeks govt response on Model Town incident report by Sept 12
Pakistan Today
The petition has been filed by the families of victims killed in Model Town massacre which killed 14 people and injured 100 others during police action...

US
Getting NASA to Comply With Simple FOIA Requests Is a Nightmare
Motherboard
Trying to effectively use the Freedom of Information Act can be hell. Maybe a police department will demand a ridiculous and seemingly arbitrary fee to collect records...