Not long ago, a group of young guys were planning a much awaited get-together. Dates, places and arrangements were discussed over e-mails. Miles and time zones apart, a plan to meet was giving the guys something to look forward to.

A drug haul and confession by two champion boxers, Ram Singh and Vijender Singh, that they took drugs from arrested drug dealer Anup Singh Kahlon is the latest case to highlight Punjab’s increasing drug smuggling network with links in Canada, European countries and United States of America.

The all-party meeting on Monday failed to agree on some of the provisions and clauses in the new anti-rape bill. This bill’s passage has been slowed down due to some of the controversial factors in it that some of the parties had been opposing. Parties especially like Samajwadi Party (SP), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Janata Dal-United (JDU) opposed some of the changes.

With people blaming the Swiss couple for bringing the rape on them by not following “rules” and “safety measures”, it shows how our leaders can fall to a level to justify crimes. When the accused aren’t caught, our officials immediately blame the victims for “deserving” the rape. When results aren’t there, we so easily blame the target.

On Monday, one of the accused in the Delhi gang-rape named Ram Singh was found hanging in his cell at Tihar jail. While the police say he hanged himself, lawyers say he was murdered. This incident threw light on the fact that the security in prisons is very weak. What makes matter more complicated is that Singh’s father and another inmate have made it public that he was raped.

A step towards security of people has been taken. On Thursday, the Union Cabinet cleared the final draft of the anti-rape bill. This bill had listed acid attacks, stalking, and voyeurism as criminal and punishable offences other than rape. The consensual age for sexual intercourse has been lowered to sixteen.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina was elected as the new pope on 13th March, 2013. He is the first Jesuit priest and the first Latin-American pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the 266th pope, elected after Pope Benedict XVI who resigned last month.

Elected by a selected few, as the head of billions, serving to a superior power – no, we aren’t talking about Dr. Manmohan Singh, but the to-be elected Pope. As the cardinals set to elect the new pope, the entire world awaits to see the white-smokey and bell-ringing announcement.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 will replace the Feb. 3 Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance once it is introduced in the Parliament. According to Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, the bill will be cleared no later than Thursday. After the public outrage in response to the Delhi-gang rape, the bill will have stricter punishments for sexual crimes.

It all began with a drunken dispute. On Friday night, Sawan Masih, a 28 year old Christian man, was having drinks with his two Muslim friends. They soon got into an argument about each other’s religions. Things got heated and the both of them exchanged harsh words. News spread quickly of Sawan’s alleged remarks about Mohammed, the Muslim Prophet. Rumours of blasphemy soon were spreading in Badami Bagh, in the Pakistani Province of Punjab.