Spare the freshers, target them in second year

If you are first year student in a college, not ragged by your seniors this year, chances are they are waiting to target you next year. This is an alarming trend that has come to the notice of authorities.Some students in Coimbatore medical college with multiple fractures are victims of ragging in their second year. Their seniors assaulted them using hockey sticks.A worrying trend is emerging in professional colleges - spare the freshers and target them the second year.Recently more than 20 senior students from various colleges across Tamil Nadu were put behind bars for this. Police say there's a misconception that anti-ragging laws are limited to harassment of freshers."This should be a pointer to all students indulging in this. Anti-ragging law will be applied to all students, irrespective of the year of study of victims," said K Radhakrishnan, ADGP, Law and Order.Colleges are stepping up monitoring and want victims to report such violations. Even judges are now raising awareness on the tough punishments for ragging."They are mainly explaining about the Supreme Court's guidelines and the implications, to try and end ragging," said V Kumaran, dean, Coimbatore Medical College.Victims are scared to speak on camera. While torturing of freshers in the name of ragging still keep coming in, this is a yet another challenge for authorities.

Narendra Modi gets swine flu

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been diagnosed with swine flu. A panel of doctors has been formed to treat him. A spokesperson for the Gujarat government says Modi will be kept in isolation for seven days.

UP villager files complaint against Amitabh Bachchan

A written complaint has been lodged against actor Amitabh Bachchan. by a resident of Daulatpur village in Uttar Pradesh.accusing him of committing fraud."A written complaint was received by Mohammadpur Khala police station against Bachchan from Avnindra Singh, son of village head of Daulatpur village Rajkumari Singh last (Tuesday) night, which is being examinaed," said Superintendent of Police Alok Singh.Efforts to reach Bachchan for his comments did not fructify.The complainant alleged that on July 5, 2007, one Vinay Shukla, the then representative of Bachchan, gave a letter to the village head stating that the actor was willing to donate land in Daulatpur village to the gram samaj.He, however, alleged that instead of donating the land to gram samaj, Bachchan transferred it to Nishtha Foundation run by actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada to construct a college.On October 23, one Rajesh Rishikesh Yadav, to whom Bachchan had given power of attorney, executed a gift deed of the controversial 1.383 hectares of farmland in Daultapur village in favour of Nishtha Foundation for construction of the college in the name of Bachchan's daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.Avnindra alleged that the land donated to the Foundation included plots, which Bachchan promised to donate to the gram samaj.The SSP said the police was investigating the matter."A committee will soon be constituted with the consent of District Magistrate Vikas Gothwal which will examine the land records and based on its report further action will be taken,

Historic railway link in Kashmir inaugurated

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday flagged off a new train service on the 18-km track linking south Kashmir with Srinagar and other places in the north of the valley. With this, the 129-km railway line in the Kashmir Valley is complete.
The 18-km stretch, not so long in terms of geographical distance, will be of huge socio-economic and political significance to the militancy-affected Kashmir Valley. The stretch is part of the government's Kashmir rail link, which has been declared a project of national importance.
The new train service will reduce by one hour the otherwise three-hour travel between north Kashmir's Baramulla and Qazigund.
Qazigund, about 80 km from Srinagar, is also significant as it will be the highest broad-gauge rail station in the country at a height of 1,722 metres.

BHEL sets up instrument calibration centre in Noida

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) today said it has set up an instrument calibration centre in Noida as part of its ongoing capability upgradation and capacity expansion programme. The centre, established at a cost of nearly Rs 3.2 crore as part of its MoU with Indian government. BHEL, the power equipment manufacturer, said the centre would help in enhancing the accuracy of Performance Guarantee Test of Thermal Sets of various ratings and would help in meeting the capacity addition target of the 11th Five Year Plan. The company conducts Performance Guarantee (PG) Tests on thermal sets ranging from 60 MW to 500 MW to prove the equipment's capacity and efficiency. This facility would also reduce the turn around time for calibration of precision PG Test Instrumentation and enable PG testing of more projects.

Sony partners with Netflix to stream movies on PS3

Sony Corp said on Monday it is partnering with Netflix Inc to provide access to the online movie rental company's library throughSony's PlayStation 3 video game console. PS3 users in the United States who are also Netflix subscribers will be able to instantly stream movies from the Netflix catalog at no extra cost. Sony's move is just the latest salvo in its battle with Microsoft Corp and its Xbox 360 console as the two heavyweights vie to become the so-called "digital hub" of the living room. Both companies are using their consoles to provide content beyond games. "While gaming is clearly our core DNA I think we felt very confident three years ago when we debuted PlayStation 3 that this was going to be a device that was going to mean much more than gaming," said Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

The Xbox already offers Netflix access, but users must pay $50 a year for Xbox Live Gold membership to use it.

Although Netflix offers thousands of movies and TV episodes for instant streaming, it does not make its entire catalog available. Netflix will be up and running on the PS3 in November, Sony said. Initially PS3 users will utilize a Blu-ray disc to access Netflix, but it will eventually be available through a software update on the PS3.

The PS3's installed base numbers close to 9 million units in the United States, and Netflix has a US subscriber base of 11.1 million. The PS3, long the No. 3 console in the United States, is generating sales momentum following a recent price cut.

In September, the PS3 was the top-selling home console in the United States for the first time, according to industry tracker NPD, dethroning long-running champion Nintendo Co. Tretton said the PS3's strength has continued into October. "A lot of consumers were waiting for this price point .... The numbers are extremely good."

Manmohan, Wen agree to build India-China trust

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao met for nearly an 
hour in Thailand on Saturday and
agreed to build "trust and understanding" in their bilateral relationship.  
The two leaders had "good discussions" and "a productive meeting" at Hotel Dusit Thani, the venue of the Asean and East Asia summits, official sources said. 
Wen said: "We want to have a healthy and steady relationship with India. I hope we can use this opportunity to exchange our views on all related issues." 
The much awaited meeting was aimed at easing tensions between the two countries centred on their unresolved border dispute. Official sources, however, said Arunachal Pradesh and Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama did not figure in the discussions. 
The two countries also agreed to beef up their strategic and cooperative partnership. 
Manmohan Singh told Wen: "I am excited to see you." He said the Chinese people have had a number of achievements "and we share their sense of accomplishment". He said this in the context of the 60th anniversary of the founding of modern China. 
Manmohan Singh also recalled his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Russia in June this year. 
Earlier, the Chinese premier received Manmohan Singh like an old friend and spoke of the meetings they have had in the past.