Posts Tagged ‘class’
Written by Rahul on 20 August 2009
New Delhi, Aug 19 (ANI): Kumari Selja has called upon experts and stakeholders in the tourism sector to develop world class tourism infrastructure for putting India’s tourism industry on the world tourism map.
Inaugurating a workshop on the subject here today she said, “We should look at comprehensive development of infrastructure which includes roads, water, sanitation, cleanliness, hygiene, proper lighting, landscape, signages and proper maintenance of tourism destinations and heritage sites.”
She said tourism and hospitality sectors contributes six per cent of the GDP and certain streamlining is required in infrastructure facilities.
The Minister said during the Commonwealth Games 2010 about one lakh visitors are expected in the country and this gives us an opportunity to have a relook on the present status of the physical infrastructure for the tourists.
Selja said, world class tourism infrastructure facilities should not be limited in cities like Delhi but also in far flung areas of the country.
She said her Ministry through rural tourism projects is evolving a system to bring villages of the country on the main tourist map.
“We must set indicators for ourselves to see if everything is going fine on the infrastructure front for the visitors. We have to see tourism industry from the point of view of tourists rather than our officialdom,” she added.
She also said that there must be better inter-ministerial coordination and conversion of scheme for development of infrastructure to have the desired results. (ANI)
Tags: ANI, Aug, cent, class, Class Tourism, cleanliness, Commonwealth, commonwealth games 2010, comprehensive development, conversion, coordination, country, Delhi, desired results, development, everything, fine, flung, Front, gdp, heritage, hospitality, Hospitality Sectors, hygiene, Inaugurating, india, industry, Infrastructure, Infrastructure Facilities, Kumari Selja, Lakh, Landscape, lighting, maintenance, map, minister, Ministry, New Delhi, officialdom, opportunity, physical infrastructure, point, Proper Lighting, Proper Maintenance, relook, Rural Tourism, sanitation, scheme, sector, Signages, stakeholders, status, streamlining, subject, system, Today, Tourism, tourism destinations, tourism industry, Tourism Infrastructure, Tourism Projects, tourism sector, Tourist, view, Water, Water Sanitation, workshop, world, World Tourism
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Written by Rahul on 29 April 2009
It had to happen, and it has happened. When there are three famous Bollywood stars that are franchisee owners of three of the main teams in the IPL, i.e. Shah Rukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty and Preity Zinta, a convergence between the films and cricket had to be arrived. And it has arrived. These three super stars have decided that they would be on the hunt for a new Bollywood starlet from amongst the spectators who come to watch the matches of the IPL.
This decision would really send the camerapersons covering the IPL matches in South Africa into a tizzy, as there would be a load of glamour and oomph on display with loads of attitude and array of designer ware. After all, when would the pretty girls from South Africa be they of the Indian origin or the South African origin get a chance to act in a film in Bollywood. As it is South Africa is a venue, which has been quite popular with our Hindi film industry as a preferred locale, and Sanjay Dutt is a star that is the most popular of the Indian film stars in South Africa.
These three stars would have a lot of watching to do, and they have not retracted, but have decided to watch all the matches to find out that elusive face. After all, who does not want to unleash one’s own discovery into the world of Hindi cinema, a protege always warms the cockles of the heart. The person who would be finally selected would be entitled to a role in a Hindi film, 50000 Rands in cash, a business class trip to India and a whole truckload of other prizes. The whole idea behind going in for searches of these kinds is to get a fresh face without the trappings of grooming for a space in Bollywood.
The focus of the search of the face would be to find out if it has an attitude and appearance and the arena of the cricket ground has been chosen as it would indeed be difficult to maintain a demeanor through out a match and natural expression would come into play, and it is this natural expression that would even mesmerize a stranger is being aspired for, through this quest. The trio would select 50 winners from each one of the eight venues hosting IPL matches in South Africa. Those who emerge winner would be shown on the big screen during the second five-minute break.
Each venue would have one finalist, so in all there would be eight finalists from whom one lucky person would be selected and honored at the final match in the Wanderers in Johannesburg on 24 May 2009.
Wonder why services of Mandira Bedi are not being requisitioned for this endeavor, as she literally hangs out amongst the crowd with her mike in hand?
Tags: African Origin, appearance, arena, array, attitude, Bedi, Bollywood, bollywood stars, break, Business, Cash, chance, cinema, class, Class Trip, Cockles Of The Heart, convergence, Cricket, crowd, decision, demeanor, designer, Discovery, display, endeavor, expression, face, film, finalist, focus, franchisee, Franchisee Owners, glamour, ground, hand, heart, hindi, hindi film industry, hunt, idea, india, indian film stars, indian origin, industry, IPL, Johannesburg, Khan, load, locale, lot, Mandira, match, May, mesmerize, Mike, Natural Expression, oomph, origin, person, Preity, Preity Zinta, Pretty Girls, protégé, quest, Rands, role, Sanjay Dutt, screen, search, Shah Rukh, Shah Rukh Khan, Shetty, Shilpa, Shilpa Shetty, South Africa, space, star, starlet, stranger, Three Stars, tizzy, trio, trip, truckload, venue, Wanderers, ware, winner, Wonder, world, Zinta
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Written by Rahul on 29 April 2009
Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network
Onlookers in the crowded Lajpat Nagar market in New Delhi was amazed when they realized that none other than Rishi Kapoor was shopping amidst them. To their amusement, the veteran actor wasn’t visiting premium shops and was instead hunting for clothes that carried a dirt cheap price tag on them. Though Delhites were left clueless about the reason behind Rishi Kapoor saving money during shopping, there is a tale attached to this.
The actual reason behind this was that Rishi Kapoor was in the city shooting for his next film DO DOONI CHAAR in which he plays a middle class Mathematics teacher. For this role of his, he didn’t want anything fancy that could potentially go against his character. Hence, to lend a realistic feel, he wanted the clothing to match his character’s persons. In quick time, he himself stepped out on the streets of Lajpat Nagar, one of the busiest markets in Delhi for middle class ‘junta’, and picked up a few clothes for himself.
Confirms Rishi Kapoor who has just finished a marathon shooting schedule for the film, ”I set a clear mandate for me that my clothes won’t be costly at all for DO DOONI CHAAR. What was the point in doing so? How can you make a professor wear expensive clothes when he is barely surviving in his middle class bearings? This is why I thought of going out in the market and pick things up myself from the stands. I made sure that my sweaters and pajamas cost not more than Rs. 200.”
Neetu Singh, who makes a comeback to the film industry with DO DOONI CHAAR and is seen as Rishi Kapoor’s wife in the film also, has a similar tale to tell. ”Even though it is my comeback film, I wasn’t tempted to don a glamorous persona. My wardrobe throughout the film’s duration has also been kept very simple and true to the requirement of the Punjabi housewife character that I play.”
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Written by Rahul on 21 April 2009
Lucknow, April 19 (IANS) Nine-year-old Chandan Singh was an avid watcher of MTV’s reality show ‘Roadies’ and never missed an episode. But Saturday night’s episode was to be his last. The boy hanged himself accidentally while imitating a stunt on the show.
Chandan, a Class 3 student, had watched the episode where two female contestants, Palak and Phalguni, were made to stand on a wooden stool with their hands tied. A rope was also placed around their neck. Another semi-finalist, Noman, was then given three minutes to save one of them.
‘He watched the episode on the third floor of our house along with his friends and tried to imitate the stunt after his friends left. After hearing a loud noise, I rushed to the room and found Chandan hanging from the ceiling fan,’ his uncle Bhagat Singh told media persons.
Inspector Jaganath Saroj of Vikas Nagar police station said: ‘According to his uncle, Bhagat Singh, with whom he used to live in the Vikas Nagar locality, Chandan never missed any episode of the show.’
Chandan was taken to a nearby hospital but was declared dead by the doctors.
‘The incident was reported to us Sunday morning and the body has been sent for post-mortem,’ Saroj added.
Chandan’s father, a native of Pithauragarh, is a farmer.
Tags: April, Bhagat, Bhagat Singh, body, boy, ceiling, Ceiling Fan, Chandan, Chandan Singh, class, Class 3, episode, fan, farmer, father, floor, hospital, house, ians, incident, inspector, Jaganath, locality, loud noise, lucknow, media persons, Morning, MTV, nagar, Native, Nearby Hospital, neck, Night, Nine-year-old, noise, noman, Palak, Phalguni, Pithauragarh, police, police station, post mortem, reality, Reality Show, Roadies, room, rope, saroj, Saturday, Semi Finalist, show, Singh, station, stool, student, stunt, Stunt Show, Sunday, three minutes, uncle, Vikas, watcher, Wooden Stool
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Written by Rahul on 08 April 2009
Washington – The 13 victims of Friday’s shooting at a service center for immigrants in a New York town included two US citizens and people from seven other countries.
The largest number of victims – four – were from China, ranging in age from 22 to 54, the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin reported online Monday.
The information was released by city officials in Binghamton, where the shootings took place at the American Civic Association, which provides services to refugees and immigrants and classes to prepare them for US citizenship naturalization.
Among the victims of the killer, himself a Vietnamese immigrant, were a married couple from Haiti, who left behind a daughter, age 6, and a son, age 12.
The couple, Marc Henry Bernard, 44, and Maria Sonia Bernard, 46, worked in entry-level jobs at McDonalds, the Sun Bulletin reported.
The other victims came one each from Vietnam, Iraq, the Philippines, Pakistan and Brazil.
The two dead Americans were Roberta King, who was teaching the English class where most of the killings took place, and Maria Zobniw, a receptionist in the lobby. The alleged shooter, Jiverly Wong, 42, blazed into the centre firing two hand guns.
A second receptionist survived her wounds, as did three others who suffered gunshots.
Immigrants who aspire to US citizenship must pass a test in English on American civic life, and learning the language is the first step on the path.
The Press and Sun-Bulletin quoted from an e-mail sent by one of Zobniw’s relatives, who wrote that the victims were “simply all representative of (the) aspiration for the realization of the American dream.”
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Written by Rahul on 08 April 2009
Los Angeles – As a youngster, he never thought about it, but Michael Jordan soared into the Hall of Fame like one of his patented slam dunks.
Arguably the greatest to ever play the game, Jordan was elected Monday to the class of 2009.
“Growing up, I would never have envisioned myself at any point in time, being in any Hall of Fame,” Jordan said. “All I wanted was a chance to go to college and whatever happened after that happened.”
However, with his impeccable credentials, it was a no-brainer that the former University of North Carolina star would make the cut the first year he was eligible.
“It’s an honour to be here and to be a part if it,” he said. “My career speaks for itself, you guys recognize that, and all the fans and my competitors I played against. It’s truly a joy to play basketball.”
“Air Jordan” was joined by NBA greats David Robinson, John Stockton, Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women’s coach Vivian Stringer.
The class will be inducted on the weekend of September 10-12 into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
With his dazzling dunks and last-second game-winning shots, Jordan was the most recognizable figure in the sporting world during his playing days.
The five-time league MVP led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in the dominating decade of the 1990s, during a storied 15-year career, twice interrupted by retirements before finishing with the Washington Wizards in 2003.
On the court, Jordan was a fierce competitor. His 32,292 points is third best in league history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. And his 30.12-point career scoring average is the best of all-time.
Off the court, Jordan was perhaps bigger as the face of successful Nike ads that helped popularize basketball globally.
Robinson, nicknamed the Admiral after starring for Navy, made an immediate impact on the league, while carrying the San Antonio Spurs to a pair of NBA Championships during his 14-year career.
The 7-foot-1 centre won a scoring title, was a 10-time all-star selection, and earned MVP and rookie of the year honours. He was a two-time Olympic gold medalist and was named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players.
“This is an unbelievable honour,” Robinson said. “You don’t grow up thinking you’re going to be in the Hall of Fame. For people to recognize your contribution to the game, and for my son to be here and see his dad really did play basketball, that means a lot.”
Stockton spent his entire career with the Utah Jazz and joins Jordan and Robinson on the list of the NBA’s 50 greatest players.
Though he never won an NBA championship, the feisty 10-time all- star guard finished with 19,711 points and is the all-time leader in steals (3,265) and assists (15,806).
“It’s pretty intimidating, sitting up here with these guys, and you see the people who have had a say in our lives, family and friends, teammates and coaches,” Stockton said. “You also see the people who haven’t been fortunate to get the opportunity like this, and you’re kind of overwhelmed by the honour.
“But I’m not really sure it strikes home until you stand here.”
Sloan of the Utah Jazz is the longest tenured head coach in major league sports with a single franchise. A two-time all-star as a player, he is the only NBA coach to win more than 1,000 games with the same team, and twice guided the Jazz to Finals appearances.
Stringer has led three different teams to the collegiate Final Four in her 38-year career. Her 825-280 record is the third most wins in NCAA Division I history behind Pat Summitt and Jody Conradt.
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Written by Rahul on 05 April 2009
NEW DELHI: The preparatory courses offered by IITs for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students to enhance their level of competence will be
extended to physically challenged persons from the next academic session onwards.
A decision to this effect was taken at the meeting of the IIT Council, the highest decision making body for the IITs, recently.
“The physically disabled candidates will get same relaxation as that is available to candidates belonging to SC/ST categories. They will get the benefits of preparatory courses in the IITs from the next session,” IIT Guwahati Director Gautam Baruah said.
The Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in his judgement last year had ordered that persons with disability should get relaxation as being given to SCs and STs in the IITs.
Till now, the IITs were providing preparatory courses to those SC and ST students who fail to secure the minimum marks for entering the merit list. They are called for separate counselling by the IIT-JEE authorities.
Students in this category undergo preparatory courses for one year during which they are taught the same subjects of physics, chemistry and mathematics which they learnt at class-XI and class-XII.
Tags: academic session, authorities, body, caste, category, chemistry, chief, chief commissioner, class, Class Xi, Class Xii, Commissioner, competence, Council, counselling, decision, Director Gautam Baruah, disability, effect, guwahati, IIT, IIT-JEE, IITs, judgement, Learnt, level, list, Mathematics, meeting, merit, Merit List, New Delhi, par, Persons, Persons With Disabilities, Physics, preparatory, Preparatory Courses, relaxation, Scheduled, SCs, session, St Students, sts, Till, tribe, XII, year
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Written by Rahul on 05 April 2009
NEW DELHI: The BJP has revived its pet Hindutva themes of rebuilding Ram temple at Ayodhya and abrogation of Article 370 giving special status to BJP leaders release the party manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. (TOI)
More Pictures
Jammu and Kashmir as it released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. ( Watch )
The saffron party also promised to give 35 kg rice or wheat per month at Rs two per kg for BPL families, which is seen as a counter to Congress’ offer of rice at Rs three per kg.
The BJP manifesto comes after 11 years as the party had released NDA manifestos along with its coalition partners in 1999 and 2004.
The BJP had then refrained from making any reference to the Ram Temple issue, saying it remained on the party’s agenda but was not a part of the NDA’s national agenda for governance. The party promised to enact strong POTA-like laws to tackle terrorism.
BJP also sought to reach out to the armed forces promising them exemption from income tax and introduce ‘One Rank, One Pension’ scheme. They also promised a separate pay commission for the armed forces.
In another populist promise, the party said it would raise the slab of tax exemption of salaried class to Rs three lakh per annum. For women, the limit would be Rs 3.5 lakh per annum.
Reaching out to farmers, the BJP said it will waive off all current loans and provide fresh loans at four per cent interest rate.
The BJP?s manifesto also promised to retrieve Indian money stashed abroad. There is also a promise to provide bicycle to school-going girls in Below Poverty Line families:
BJP manifesto promises promotion of alternative sources of energy and interlinking of rivers. The party also promised to build one million houses for the poor every year.
The BJP said it would bring down interest rates on housing loans to make urban housing affordable and give complete tax exemption to citizens above the age of 60.
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Written by Rahul on 02 April 2009
In an example of the growing trigger-happy culture in NCR, three persons, including a Class XII student of a well-known private International Baccalaureate (IB) school, were involved in shooting a man in Gurgaon when he refused to let their car overtake his. The three have been charged with attempt to murder and arrested by the Gurgaon police.
The student, his driver and personal bodyguard -who were riding in a BMW car- forced the driver of an Indica to halt after he refused to give them way, assaulted him and finally the guard shot at him. According to the deputy commissioner of police (East) Jagdish Nagar, the incident occurred around 4.30 p.
m. when the Indica and BMW began to race each other.
The driver of the BMW, R.P. Pandey, repeatedly honked asking for a pass. Finally he overtook the Indica and forced its driver Vikram Singh to stop.
Soon, the class XII student, who is said to be the son of a well-known Delhi-based businessman and his private guard got down from their car and started thrashing the Indica driver. It was during this time, the gunman shot thrice at Singh from his pistol but missed the target, the DCP said.
Singh told police officials the BMW was speeding and the driver was driving very rashly. The DCP said that a criminal case under section 307 had been registered against the trio.
“In addition to this, we have also booked the bodyguard on charges of misuse of firearm under the Indian Arms Act,” Nagar added. The police have also confiscated the BMW car.
Talking to HT, the student said, “I was simply sitting in the car when the fight erupted. There is a taxi stand near the spot and when the two drivers were quarrelling, lot of drivers from the taxi stand gathered around and started stoning my car.
My bodyguard first fired a shot in the air and then fired two shots at the Indica car to scare the rowdy lot. All this while, I was sitting in the car and #8230; I don’t know why the police have implicated me in the case.
” Anil Kumar, the bodyguard, said, “It is my duty to protect the boy. I did not wish to kill anybody but fired only to scare the enraged lot.
” Complainant driver Vikram Singh said, “When the altercation started, this driver hurled abuses at me and went ahead. I responded with an abuse or two when this driver turned around and stopped his car near mine.
His bodyguard slapped me first, which prompted me to slap him in return. Soon his driver joined after which the bodyguard fired at me.
Luckily I escaped uninjured.”.
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Written by Rahul on 02 April 2009
The AC summer special train to Dehradun started from Chandigarh on Wednesday with around 50 passengers on board. The Chandigarh-Dehradun all AC summer special train (0411/0412) has been introduced for the first time between Chandigarh and Dehradun for three months – April 1 to June 30, 2009.
The Northern Railways has started the train keeping in mind the rush of hill station travellers during summers.
Earlier, there was no direct link from the city to Dehradun or Haridwar. This train provides a shorter route to passengers from Chandigarh to Dehradun as compared to the Jan Shatabdi Express.
The maiden trip by the train with 10 AC coaches from Chandigarh to Dehradun was not encouraging for railway authorities as the train left the station with merely 50 passengers at its scheduled departure at 2 pm.
The other pair – Dehradun to Chandigarh – also reached the station around 12.50 pm with almost the similar number of passengers.
“Not many people know about this train. Also, the train being completely air conditioned caters to a selected category of passengers,” said one of the passengers boarding the train, Rakesh Kumar.
The train will run six days a week from Tuesday to Sunday. The fare for AC I class is Rs 866, AC II is Rs 531 and Rs 390 is the fare for AC III class. The train (0412) halts at Ambala (2.50 pm), Saharanpur (4.10 pm), Rourkie (4.42 pm), Haridwar (6.10 pm) and reaches Dehradun at 8.15 pm.
Express News Service
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Written by Rahul on 02 April 2009
New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) Three Business Boeing Jets (BBJ) – all modelled on the US president’s office-in-the-sky Air Force One – were Wednesday inducted into the Communication Squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF) by President Pratibha Patil.
The President also undertook the maiden flight of the BBJ christened Rajdoot. The other two jets are called Rajhans and Rajkamal.
She flew to Lilabari in Assam on way to Arunachal Pradesh in the aircraft emblazoned with the name of India, a red beacon on top and Indian flag fluttering in the front.
‘It will be more business-like with the journeys cut short. I can now give more time to study,’ Patil said before boarding the aircraft.
The supreme commander of the armed forces boarded the aircraft after a small prayer ritual was conducted. The president was accompanied by an entourage of 20 officials on the four-day tour of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
With the flight, Patil formally inducted the jets into the IAF’s Air Headquarters Communications Squadron that is based at the Palam Air Force station here. The squadron ferries the president, the vice president, the prime minister, the service chiefs and other dignitaries.
‘We have ushered in the new era for flying our national leaders. The aircraft in its class is the finest. Its features are SPS (Special Protection Suite), more passenger comfort and lower noise level, which makes it class apart from what we have been flying,’ IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major told reporters here.
The IAF has purchased the aircraft from the US at a cost of Rs.9.34 billion each and they are equipped with state-of-the-art security gadgets and the latest communication systems.
The name Rajdoot was first initially borne by a Russian TU-124 and then by the Boeing-737 the new jet is replacing. The BBJ is based on a newer generation Boeing-737.
The aircraft has entered service nine months behind schedule due to last minute integration problems of the missile defence system and sorting out of end-user verification laws with the US.
‘We have sorted this out. No physical verification will be there for the equipments in the aircraft,’ Major said.
The three aircraft are being extensively flown across the country and are undergoing complete system checks. One aircraft will be dedicated for the president and the prime minister, another will be used to ferry special guests and senior ministers, while one will be on standby.
The aircraft have a spacious VVIP cabin and can carry a total of 46 passengers in four different zones.
The new jets have been configured to the same security specifications as the Boeing-747 that flies the US president. They are equipped with sophisticated electronic countermeasures, a protection suite and chaff dispensers to ward off missile threats, a secure satellite and VHF communication suite and other security gadgets.
Powered by two CFM-56 engines that are jointly manufactured by the US General Electric and the French Snecma, the long-range BBJs are designed to function as command posts in the event of an emergency. The jets are quieter and more fuel-efficient. It can cruise a speed of 41,000 feet at 450 knots.
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Written by Rahul on 06 March 2009
London, Mar 6 (ANI): Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo is targeted for rough treatment by his opponents because “sometimes his arrogance is provocative.”
“Sometimes I feel Manchester United get too much protection and sometimes they don”t get enough and Ronaldo is a specific example of that. Sometimes his arrogance is provocative – and his class as well,” The Telegraph quoted Wenger, as saying.
On Wednesday, Newcastle United’s Alan Smith, who escaped punishment, scythed the European Footballer of the Year down. “When there is a bad tackle you have to be punished and get sent off,” Wenger said.
He believes the Football Association should clamp down more on particularly violent challenges. “They could create a special committee to analyse if three (games’ suspension) is enough or not. I feel in some tackles 10 games is not enough.”
Ronaldo was also struck in the face by Newcastle’s right back, Steven Taylor, but the FA said no punishment would be taken against Taylor.
Ronaldo himself was cautioned for diving in Sunday’s Carling Cup final, a booking that outraged Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. (ANI)
Tags: Alan Smith, analyse, ANI, arrogance, arsenal, Arsene, association, booking, Carling Cup, class, Committee, Cristiano, European, example, face, football, footballer, London, Manager, Manchester, mar, Newcastle, protection, punishment, ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson, Steven Taylor, Sunday, suspension, Telegraph, treatment, United, Wednesday, Wenger, winger, year
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Written by Rahul on 05 March 2009
Dubai, Mar 5 (ANI): A world class instructor from Germany is set to hold a workshop on Kerala’s ancient martial arts ‘Kalarippayat’ in Dubai this weekend.
Gerhard Schmid, the instructor based in Hamburg, is offering a Kalari foundations workshop on March 6 and 7 at the Zen Yoga studio in Dubai Media City.
“Kalarippayat is an intact oral lineage as old as Yoga and Ayurveda, and utilises many of the same principles and wisdoms … A warrior tradition, Kalari is a powerful meditation in movement, developing strength, coordination, and cardiovascular fitness,” Gulf News quoted Schmid, as saying.
“Kalari has a systematic approach to training the complete Self: the body, the emotions and the mind,” he added. (ANI)
Tags: ANI, approach, ayurveda, body, class, coordination, Dubai, fitness, Gerhard Schmid, Germany, Gulf, Hamburg, Instructor, Kalari, Kalarippayat, Kerala, lineage, mar, March, Media City, meditation, mind, movement, News, self, strength, studio, tradition, warrior, weekend, workshop, world, Yoga, Zen
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Written by Rahul on 05 March 2009
Melbourne, Mar. 4 (ANI): Left-hander David Warner will make his first-class debut for New South Wales in a Sheffield Shield match after opener Phil Jaques dropped out due to back soreness.
The 22-year-old Australian opener in Twenty20 matches will bat in the middle order, with Ed Cowan filling the opening position.
In 2009, Warner became the third player in the history of Australian cricket to make an international dibut before playing a first-class game.
Warner made a sensational international debut against South Africa in the Twenty20 game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Subsequently, he was included in Australia’s one-day team for the series against South Africa. However, Warner couldn’t generate any magic in the early matches.
His selection for NSW in a Sheffield Shield match comes amid speculation that he could be lost to the state because he’d been unable to secure a spot in the four-day team.
Earlier, New South Wales skipper Dominic Thornely was in no doubt that one-day sensation David Warner was not yet ready for the Sheffield Shield.
Though Test greats Glenn McGrath and Mark Waugh have wondered aloud why Warner has not been blooded at Shield level after bursting onto the international limited-overs scene, Thornely is adamant that the time is not quite right for Warner to break into the NSW Shield team.
“It has been fantastic for Australian cricket to see a guy like Dave come out and do what he did. But I still think Dave has got a little bit of a way to come for four-day cricket,” Thornley had said. (ANI)
Tags: ANI, Australia, bat, bit, class, Cricket, Dave, David Warner, debut, dibut, Dominic Thornely, doubt, Ed Cowan, game, Glenn, ground, guy, history, left hander, level, magic, mar, Mark Waugh, McGrath, melbourne, New, NSW, opener, order, PHIL Jaques, player, position, right, scene, selection, sensation, series, Sheffield, shield, skipper, soreness, South Africa, South Wales, speculation, spot, state, Subsequently, Team, Test, Thornley, time, Warner, way
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Written by Rahul on 04 March 2009
Washington, Mar 3 (ANI): In a breakthrough study, researchers from The Rockefeller University have successfully developed a monkey model with human version of the HIV virus.
By altering just one gene in HIV-1, scientists have succeeded in infecting pig-tailed macaque monkeys with a human version of the virus that has until now been impossible to study directly in animals.
The team led by Paul Bieniasz and Theodora Hatziioannou showed that two pig-tailed macaques, given a common antiretroviral treatment one week before and one week after being exposed to the newly engineered HIV, had no signs of infection.
“We’re not saying we can save the world with antiretroviral pills. But this model will allow us to start studying the best way to administer prophylaxis and do other experiments on preventing HIV-1 infection that could not be easily done on humans,” said Bieniasz.
Working along with Vineet KewalRamani and Jeffrey Lifson at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, the Bieniasz and Hatziioannou have developed a strain they call simian-tropic HIV-1 (stHIV-1), which shares about 95 percent of its genome with the human version.
The new virus, stHIV-1, spreads almost as quickly after injection as HIV-1 initially does in humans and it persists for several months, after which it is controlled.
The researchers showed that that control is in part thanks to a specific class of immune system T cells that if blocked, allow a resurgence of the virus.
The team demonstrated the use of the model by showing that a commonly used antiretroviral drug combination taken briefly before and after an injection of two million infectious units of stHIV-1 effectively protected the monkeys from the virus.
The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)
Tags: Academy, ANI, antiretroviral, breakthrough, briefly, Cancer, class, combination, Control, drug, gene, genome, HIV, infection, injection, institute, Jeffrey Lifson, KewalRamani, macaque, mar, Maryland, model, Monkey, national, novel, part, Paul Bieniasz, percent, proceedings, resurgence, Rockefeller, stHIV, strain, study, system, Team, Theodora Hatziioannou, treatment, university, use, version, vineet, virus, Washington, way, week, Working, world
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Written by Rahul on 04 March 2009
Melbourne, Mar 3 (ANI): Former Australian Test captain Ian Chappell has praised fast bowler Mitchell Johnson for his man-of-the-match performance in Australia’s 162-run win over South Africa in Johannesburg.
The Herald Sun quoted Chappell as saying that Johnson is a rare jewel in Australian cricket.
Johnson took eight wickets for the match and made 96 not out in Australia’s first innings at the Wanderers.
“He’s really precisely what you’re looking for. He’s a bowling all-rounder and they’re pretty bloody hard to find. There are a hell of a lot of batsmen who can bowl a bit, but there aren’t many genuine bowlers who can bat like Mitchell Johnson,” Chappell said.
Chappell, who some months ago predicted Johnson would score a Test century, said he could achieve the same sort of status as legendary Australian all rounder Alan Davidson.
Johnson’s career numbers of 536 runs at an average of 29.77 put him in the true all rounder class. After 19 Tests Johnson has taken 86 wickets at an average of 27.55.
Of the nine Australian fast bowlers who have taken 200 Test wickets or more, only Dennis Lillee (91) and Jeff Thomson (88) had more wickets at the same stage of their careers. (ANI)
Tags: Alan Davidson, ANI, Australia, Australian, Average, bat, batsmen, bit, bowl, bowler, bowling, captain Ian Chappell, Career, century, class, Cricket, Dennis, former, hell, Herald, Ian Chappell, innings, jeff thomson, jewel, Johannesburg, Johnson, Johnson a, Lillee, lot, mar, match, melbourne, mitchell johnson, performance, rounder, score, sort, South Africa, stage, status, Sun, Test, Tests, Wanderers
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Written by Rahul on 03 March 2009
Kolkata, Mar 2 (ANI): The rising gold prices have proved a deterrent to buyers of ornaments in Kolkata.
A four-day matrimonial fair saw people from all over the city thronging the venue to buy gold, but the high prices left the people disappointed.
“The global slowdown has become a big problem. It is a problem for middle class families like us. We are forced to cut down our budget because of the price hike in gold which is an important element of our weddings,” said Arindam Day, a customer.
The organizers said that according to the latest figures available, there was an increase in the average gold price.
“The average gold price has increased. I currently it is Rs 15,100 per gram in Kolkata. That is the latest figure available,” said Sabyasachi Basu, an organiser.
India, which annually buys 500-700 tons of gold, had imported 23 tons in last February.
Prices in India have hit a record high over the past few weeks, partly reflecting a sharp depreciation in the value of the rupee that has made dollar-priced gold costlier. (ANI)
Tags: ANI, Arindam, basu, budget, city, class, customer, day, depreciation, deterrent, element, Fair, February, figure, gold, gram, hike, increase, india, Kolkata, mar, matrimonial, organiser, price, problem, record, Rupee, Sabyasachi, slowdown, value, venue
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Written by Rahul on 03 March 2009
Washington, Mar 2 (ANI): A new study, conducted on mice, has found that compounds extracted from green vegetables like broccoli and cabbage could be a potent drug against melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
The study found that these compounds, when combined with selenium, target tumours more safely and effectively than conventional therapy.
“There are currently no drugs to target the proteins that trigger melanoma,” said Gavin Robertson, associate professor of pharmacology, pathology and dermatology, Penn State College of Medicine.
“We have developed drugs from naturally occurring compounds that can inhibit the growth of tumours in mice by 50 to 60 percent with a very low dose,” Robertson added.
Robertson and his colleagues previously showed the therapeutic potential of targeting the Akt3 protein in inhibiting the development of melanoma.
The search for a drug to block the protein led them to a class of compounds called isothiocyanates. These naturally occurring chemicals found in cruciferous vegetables are known to have certain cancer-fighting properties.
However, the potency of these compounds is so low that a successful drug would require large impractical amounts of these compounds. Instead, the Penn State researchers rewired the compounds by replacing their sulfur bonds with selenium.
The researchers believe that the result is a more potent drug that can be delivered intravenously in low doses.
“Selenium deficiency is common in cancer patients, including those diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. Besides, selenium is known to destabilize Akt proteins in prostate cancer cells,” said Robertson
To study the effectiveness of the new drug, isoselenocyanate, researchers injected mice with 10 million cancer cells.
After six days, when the animals developed large tumours, they were divided into two groups and treated separately with either the vegetable compounds or the compounds supplemented with selenium.
“We found that the selenium-enhanced compounds significantly reduced the production of Akt3 protein and shut down its signaling network,” said Robertson.
The modified compounds also reduced the growth of tumours by 60 percent, compared to the vegetable-based compounds alone.
When the researchers exposed three different human melanoma cell lines to the two compounds, the selenium-enhanced drug worked better on some cell lines than others. The efficiency was from 30 to 70 percent depending on the cell line.
The findings appear in the March edition of Clinical Cancer Research. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 25 February 2009
Washington, Feb 25 (ANI): Students who were taught to solve problems with the help of gestures are more likely to develop new ways of understanding mathematics than those who are taught only by words, according to a study at the University of Chicago.
Although its long known that movements help retrieve information about an event or physical activity associated with action, this is the first study to show that gestures not only help recover old ideas but help create new ones also.
Scholars believe that this information may be helpful to teachers in improving coaching methods in the class.
“This study highlights the importance of motor learning even in nonmotor tasks, and suggests that we may be able to lay the foundation for new knowledge just by telling learners how to move their hands,” wrote lead author and psychologist Susan Goldin-Meadow.
For the study, the researchers gave 128 fourth-grade students problems of the type 3+2+8=__+8. None of the students had been successful in solving that type of problem in a pre-test. The students were randomly divided into three instruction groups.
One group was taught the words: “I want to make one side equal to the other side.”
The second group was taught the same words along with gestures instantiating a grouping problem-solving strategy-a V-shaped hand indicating 3+2, followed by a point at the blank (group and add 3 and 2 and put the sum in the blank).
And the third group was taught the words along with gestures instantiating the grouping strategy but focusing attention on the wrong numbers-a V-shaped hand indicating 2+8, followed by a point at blank. The experimenter demonstrating the gesture did not explain the movement or comment about it.
The students were then given the same mathematics lesson and were asked to repeat the words or words/gestures they had been taught on each problem during the lesson. They were later given a test in which they solved new problems of this type, and explained how they reached their answers.
Students who repeated the correct gesture during the lesson solved more problems correctly than students who repeated the partially correct gesture, who, in turn, solved more problems correctly than students who repeated only the words.
Goldin-Meadow said that the number of problems children solved correctly could be explained by whether they added the grouping strategy to their spoken repertoires after the lesson.
And as the experimenter never expressed the grouping strategy in speech during the lesson, and students themselves picked it up as a new idea, the study proved that gesture could help create new concepts in learning.
“The grouping information students incorporated into their post-lesson speech must have come from their own gestures. Children were thus able to extract information from their own hand movements. This process may be the mechanism by which gesturing influences learning,” said Goldin-Meadow.
The study, titled “Gesturing Gives Children New Ideas About Math,” has been published in the journal Psychological Science. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 24 February 2009
New Delhi, Feb 24 (ANI): The government has decided to give Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Secretary Veenith Joshi additional charge of its chairmanship.
The HRD Ministry had written to Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), seeking an extension for Joshi as the appointment of a regular chairman was delayed.
The DoPT agreed to the extension and has directed Joshi to continue his chairmanship either for six months or till the appointment of a regular chairman, whichever is earlier.he appointment process was delayed after the death of Sudeep Banerjee, who was appointed as the chairman of the search committee which had to select the CBSE chairman.
Now, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet is planning to form a new search committee, for which the work is on.
The annual CBSE board examinations for class-X and class-XII will start from March two and about 14.5 lakh students are expected to appear for it. (ANI)
Tags: ANI, appointment, Appointments, banerjee, Board, Cabinet, CBSE, central, chairman, chairmanship, charge, class, Committee, death, Department, DoPT, Education, extension, Feb, government, HRD, Joshi, Lakh, March, Ministry, New Delhi, Personnel, process, search, Secretary, sudeep, training, Veenith, work, XII
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