Month: August 2009

Schools, students wary of govt’s education reforms

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New Delhi, August 31: Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal is likely to announce the new grading system for Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 10 after the meeting with state education ministers on Monday.

The meeting between Sibal and state ministers has been called by the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE).

At the meet, a string of education reforms, as well as the implementation of Right to Education is likely to be discussed with state governments.

China again decries Dalai Lama visit to Taiwan

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Kathmandu, August 31: China denounced the Dalai Lama’s trip to Taiwan, saying the visit by a man Beijing brands a separatist could have a “negative influence” on relations, Chinese state media said on Monday.

The Tibetan spiritual leader arrived late on Sunday in Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China, to comfort victims of the island’s worst typhoon in 50 years which struck this month, triggering floods that killed about 570 people.

Chinese chopper violated Indian airspace: Army

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New Delhi, August 31: Indian Army Chief of Staff General Deepak Kapoor on Monday admitted that Chinese helicopters had violated the Indian airspace along the Line of Actual Control in Leh.

“There has been one incursion of a Chinese helicopter sometime back. At times this can also happen due to navigation error but this is not to justify that the incursion took place. It has happened and that has been taken up in the border personnel meeting with the Chinese,” General Kapoor said in New Delhi.

No honeymoon period for Japan’s next leader

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Tokyo, August 31: Japan’s next leader, Yukio Hatoyama, began talks on Monday on forming a government to tackle challenges such as record unemployment and a fast-ageing society after voters gave his party a sweeping mandate for change.

Sunday’s historic election win by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) breaks a deadlock in parliament and will usher in a government that has promised to focus spending on consumers, cut wasteful budget outlays and reduce the power of bureaucrats.

’93 blast convict held in kidnapping case

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Mumbai, August 31: A convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blast case, Munna Gupta, was on Sunday arrested by the Azad Maidan police for kidnapping his business partner and later confining his wife and two children in his (Gupta’s) Kandivli flat. He has been booked for assault, kidnapping,P6-4.TIMfinement and issuing threats.

Bush daughter becomes ‘Today’ reporter

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Washington, August 31: “Today” show has hired someone with White House experience as a new correspondent — former first daughter Jenna Hager.

The daughter of former President George W. Bush will contribute stories about once a month on issues like education to television’s top-rated morning news show, said Jim Bell, its executive producer.

Hager, a 27-year-old teacher in Baltimore, said she has always wanted to be a teacher and a writer, and has already authored two books. But she was intrigued by the idea of getting into television when Bell contacted her.

Watchman kills wife’s ex-lover with stone

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Mumbai, August 31: A 32-year-old man allegedly crushed the head of a 30-year-old man with a grinding stone while he was sleeping at Sulemani Chawl in Dadar (west) on Friday morning. The victim Manoj Kewat who hailed from Uttar Pradesh succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment atP6-3.TIM on Saturday.

Investigators on suspicion picked up Arjun Kewat from the same locality on Saturday night. During interrogation, he broke down and revealed that he killed Manoj Kewat as he suspected him of having an extra-marital affair with his wife.

94-year-old freedom fighter fasts unto death

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Visnagar (Gujarat), August 31: In Gujarat, a 94-year-old freedom fighter is fasting to death. A friend and follower of Vinoba Bhave, Dr Dwarkadas Joshi says he has decided to imitate the way his idol chose to die.

It has been two weeks since Dr Joshi, a freedom fighter, stopped taking food.

He has been lying on his bed at his house in Gujarat’s Visnagar even as concerned friends and relatives have begun to trickle in to pay their respects.

Dr Joshi decided to end his life after he met with an accident

BJP leader Raje ready to quit, but on her own terms

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New Delhi, August 31: Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje is likely to resign as Leader of Opposition in state Assembly on Monday. Raje will be meeting senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders in New Delhi.

She will also meet former BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu who is said to be acting as the mediator between her and BJP central leadership.

Before putting in her papers Raje is likely to insist on some benefits for herself and her supporters in the party.

2 jawans killed in terror attack near J&K assembly

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Srinagar, August 31: Two CRPF personnel were killed and eight people injured in twin attacks by militants in the crowded Lal Chowk and Batmaloo areas of the city, barely half a kilometre from the assembly on Monday afternoon.

Armed with guns and grenades, the militants struck almost simultaneously at around 1 PM when the Jammu and Kashmir assembly went for a recess after completing the morning session, officials said.

Militants shot two CRPF jawans of 28th battalion in the head from point blank range outside a bank at Lal Chowk, Srinagar’s nerve centre, sparking panic in the city.

Federer says opening match brings back memories

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New York, August 31: Roger Federer will take aim at a sixth straight US Open title Monday, playing a memory-making first-round match against an 18-year-old American wildcard with no Grand Slam experience.

The mismatch looks to be all in Federer’s favour as he faces nervous teen Devin Britton, ranked outside the top 500 and taking to the court at a major for the first time.

While he expects a victory, the 28-year-old Federer recalled a similar situation in his own tennis life in 1998 against Andre Agassi.

Men in uniform being shielded in Shopian case: rights group

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New Delhi, August 31: The Shopian twin-rape-and-murder probe is going “nowhere” because evidence has been manipulated to “cover up” the “heinous crime” and shield some “men in uniform”, a women’s group here said Monday.

A four-member team of the Independent Women’s Initiative for Justice in Shopian visited the south Kashmir town where two women – Asiya Jan, 17, and her sister-in-law Neelofer, 22 – were found raped and murdered May 30.

Major fire broke out at A.P High Court

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Hyderabad, August 31: A Major fire broke out in the Andhra Pradesh High Court building in the wee hours today. The fire started around 0400 hours in the second floor of the court which houses library and lockers of the advocates, fire brigade officials said. Most of the furniture and books were gutted in the said incident.

Two cameras and a 1,000 stories

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Hyderabad, August 31: Using only two cameras through the course of a single day, a motley bunch of city professionals managed to shoot a bit over 2,000 portraits of Hyderabadi denizens.

The feat, considered to be a first in the country was spearheaded by techie-turned photography enthusiast Kishore Nagaragiri, who got together an ensemble of associates to complete the project.

Anganwadi workers to tackle malnutrition

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Hyderabad, August 31: The Hyderabad Women and Child Development Agency (DWCDA) is considering a modification of the existing methodology and syllabus for early education sectors in the district.

At a recent workshop held in the city, the new methods were explained to the Anganwadi workers. Part of its ‘Training for Trainers’ scheme, sources at the DWCDA indicated that the Department would pay special emphasis on coordinated efforts to reduce instances of malnutrition and unhygienic upbringing in the underdeveloped and slum areas in Hyderabad district.

Ganja smuggler held with 74-kg stash

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Hyderabad, August 31: A ganja peddler was nabbed and huge quantity of the contraband material brought from Visakhapatnam Agency area was seized from him.

The accused, K Srinu, was nabbed on Sunday near Tarnaka with a load of 74 kg of ganja brought from Sileru agency area in Visakhapatnam.

Srinu is a resident of Ayyappa Colony in L B Nagar.

Srinu migrated from Prakasam district and working in the city as a mason.

As his income could not meet his lavish lifestyle, he joined hands with a lady, Lalitha, who is into the supply of ganja.

Slum kids show their feisty spirit

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Hyderabad, August 31: The day belonged to slum children as around 1,500 of them celebrated by participating in various competitions held for them. The event named ‘Bala Utsav-2009’ which was conducted by the Care Foundation for Children and Ageing (CFCA) at All Saints High School Grounds in Abids also saw the parents cheering their children on. These children from Hyderabad’s biggest slums like Addagutta, Rasoolpura and Balaji Nagar were once child labourers or potential ones who are now going to formal schools with the support of the CFCA.

One CRPF jawan died, another injured in Srinagar attack

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Srinagar, August 31: A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was killed and another was wounded critically when militants fired on them in the heart of the city this afternoon.

Official sources told UNI that militants fired from close range on two CRPF jawans on patrol duty on VVIP route, leading to Civil Secretariat and Legislative Assembly, near Budshah Chowk here.

The injured were shifted to a hospital where one was declared dead.

A CRPF spokesman Prabhakhar Tripathi told UNI that Raj Shekher and Malik Arjun of 28 Battalion CRPF were critically wounded in the attack.

Iran restricts Haj pilgrims

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Tehran, August 31: Iran has decided to place restrictions on pilgrims for the annual Haj pilgrimage expected to begin Nov. 19, in a bid to limit the spread of swine flu, the Mehr news agency reported.

“People over the age of 65 and children under 12 will be prohibited from going to the Haj” the head of the Iranian Haj organization Mostafa Khaksar Qahroudi said. He said those suffering from various lung, heart, kidney and other life-threatening ailments would also be banned from performing the pilgrimage.

Mexican shooting kills 8; vigilantes suspected

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Mexico, August 31: A shooting that killed eight people partying on a seaside boulevard in northwestern Mexico may have been the work of vigilantes targeting car thieves, a prosecutor said.

The gunmen drove up in a white SUV and fired on the festive crowd without saying a word, Sinaloa state deputy Attorney General Jose Luis Leyva said Sunday.

A 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl were among the youngest killed Saturday night in the Pacific coast town of Navolato. Four people were wounded.

Hot chillies could wallop heart disease, diabetes

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Sydney, August 31: An Indian researcher has found that the flavour-potent chilli could wallop diabetes and cardiovascular disease which are the leading cause of mortality in developed countries.

University of Tasmania School of Human Life Sciences research fellow Kiran Ahuja said it was possible that one day chillies would replace aspirin, or be combined with aspirin as a medication for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

“Aspirin… has a nasty side effect, which causes stomach bleeding in patients,” said Ahuja.

‘BJP is now Bharatiya Jinnah Party’

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Hyderabad, August 31: Describing the BJP as `Bharatiya Jinnah Party’, the All India Congress Committee today demanded the Bharatiya Janata Party and its senior leader LK Advani to tender an unconditional apology to the nation and its people for enacting `cash-for-vote’ scam drama in the Lok Sabha last year.

Aspirin can do more harm than good for healthy people

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London, August 31: Taking aspirin to prevent heart attack can do more harm than good for healthy individuals without any history of heart attack, revealed a study.

A large number of people – including a substantial number of the “worried well” – take a daily dose of the drug in the belief it will keep them healthy.

However, at a conference for leading doctors, British scientists have claimed that they have found that for healthy people, taking aspirin does not significantly reduce the risk of a heart attack.

Differently-abled seek quota in civic bodies

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Hyderabad, August 31: Members of the differently-abled organisations have demanded that the State government provide three per cent reservation for them in the local body elections, including the forthcoming Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections.

The differently-abled persons constitute eight per cent vote bank in the State and unless their representatives were elected to the legislature and other governing bodies, disabled persons plight would not be highlighted, said Joint Action Committee for the Disabled president G. Satyanarayana at a press conference here.

Tight security Checkings for Ganesh Immersion

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Hyderabad, August 31: The city police are maintaining a high-level vigil for smooth conduct of immersion of Ganesh idols in Hussainsagar on Thursday following alerts from the Intelligence agencies about possible terror strikes.

Vehicle checking at all entry and exit points and crowded places, including railway and bus stations, lodges, and restaurants were being conducted randomly for the last few days. Policemen in mufti were deployed at the bus and railway stations to keep a constant watch on strangers’ movement.