March 21: Must-read stories

Finally, MoP for Judges’ appointment cleared

Chief Justice of India JS Khehar on Monday said the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointment of judges had been cleared and that vacancies of judges in High Courts would be filled expeditiously, reports The Tribune.

EC supports lifetime ban on convicts from contesting

Regretting that that its proposals for electoral reforms and decriminalisation of politics remain pending before the government, the Election Commission has supported in Supreme Court a demand to bar convicted politicians for life from contesting polls, reports The Indian Express.

India ranks 122nd in World Happiness Report, behind Pakistan and Nepal

India ranked at 122 out of 155 countries in the World Happiness Report 2017, four notches below its previous rank of 118, and behind terror-riven Pakistan and poorest-of-poor Nepal. A Hindustan Times report.

The behind the scenes story of the $23-billion Vodafone, Idea merger

Both companies—Idea Cellular and Vodafone India—had, on their own, explored buying or merging smaller operations or assets like spectrum from Norway's Telenor or Videocon, but those talks never fructified. In any case, these were puny operations; what was needed was grandiose, reports The Economic Times on the $23 billion deal.

FBI chief confirms investigating Trump’s Russia ties

FBI director James Comey has confirmed for the first time that the agency is investigating possible collusion between the Donald Trump campaign and Moscow to influence the outcome of the presidential election, reports The Guardian.