A fast-track court on Tuesday sentenced BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan to seven years in jail in a murder case during the 2008 Kandhamal riot case.
Judge Shovan Kumar Das of fast-track court-I found him guilty in the murder of one Parikshita Digal, a minority community tribal resident of Baradanda village under Raikia police station during the riots.

The Orissa government is still studying the renewal of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the South Korean steel major Posco five years ago.
The MoU, which was signed on June 22, 2005, expired last week.

Newly-formed political outfit Utkal Bharat on Friday accused the BJP of practising “double standards” with regard to establishment of the Posco steel project in Orissa. Party president Kharavel Swain, while addressing a press conference here, said the BJP was creating confusion about the Posco’s Rs 52,000 crore FDI proposal for gaining political mileage.

Seething in anger over the BJD’s alleged indulgence in horse-trading in the recently held Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to see that the much claimed “transparent” character of the former is exposed. The party, for the second day on Wednesday, launched a scathing attack on the BJD charging that the

High drama continues in dominate Orissa politics even as the ruling BJD, despite not having the required strength, walked away with three Rajya Sabha seats in the elections held on Thursday.

India on Friday successfully test-fired nuclear-capable, short-range ballistic missile, Prithvi-II.

Almost after five years of fierce opposition by the local people, the state government officials were on Thursday allowed to carry out socio-economic survey work at the Posco steel project site at Kujang near Paradip in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district.

With the Rajya Sabha polls just a few hours away, a Congress MLA on Wednesday mysteriously went missing even as his party alleged kidnapping by the ruling BJD to defeat the Opposition sponsored Independent candidate.

Hunted by the 2002 betrayal by a few of the party legislators, the ruling Biju Janata Dal in Orissa has issued a whip asking all its 103 legislators to caste their votes in favour of the party candidates in the ensuing Rajya Sabha polls scheduled to be held on Thursday. The MLAs have also been asked not to leave Bhubaneswar till the election process is over.

Six political parties — CPI, CPM, Forward Bloc, Jhakhand Mukti Morcha , Samajwadi party and Rashtriya Janata Dal — are making their last-minute efforts to prevent the Naveen Patnaik government from fo