Primary schools to receive new teachers twice a year

SINGAPORE: From 2015, primary schools will receive a new batch of teachers twice each year - instead of the current arrangement where new teachers are deployed in June - following changes to the timing of the annual intake of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) (Primary) programme. The PGDE (Primary) programme is a one-year diploma course conducted at the National Institute of...

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Involve panchayati raj institutions in food delivery: NHRC

KOCHI: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has written to chief secretaries of all states to ensure that the system of food delivery be firmed up by active involvement of Panchayati Raj institutions. "It is mandatory not just to have food as matter of right but also to ensure proper nutrition. Schemes are already available but we have to see and remove the discrepancies in existing schemes....

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Indian court to rule on generic drug industry

NEW DELHI (AP) — From Africa's crowded AIDS clinics to the malarial jungles of Southeast Asia, the lives of millions of ill people in the developing world are hanging in the balance ahead of a legal ruling that will determine whether India's drug companies can continue to provide cheap versions of many life-saving medicines.The case — involving Swiss drug maker Novartis AG's cancer drug Glivec — pits...

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Quadruple Amputee Gets Two New Hands on Life

It's the simplest thing, the grasp of one hand in another. But Lindsay Ess will never see it that way, because her hands once belonged to someone else.Growing up in Texas and Virginia, Lindsay, 29, was always one of the pretty girls. She went to college, did some modeling and started building a career in fashion, with an eye on producing fashion shows.Then she lost her hands...

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Damascus blames "terrorists" for petrol station blast

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria on Friday said a car bomb at a crowded petrol station in Damascus on Thursday night was set off by "terrorists", a term it uses for rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad. The bomb killed 11 people and wounded 40 at a station packed with Syrians queuing for fuel, which has become scarce in the 21-month insurgency against Assad, in the second petrol...

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Football: AC Milan storm off pitch after racist chants

ROME: AC Milan striker Kevin-Prince Boateng stormed off the pitch on Thursday forcing the suspension of a friendly match against fourth-tier Pro Patria after racist chants from a group of fans for the opposing team."Pulling out was the right choice with something like this," Milan trainer Massimiliano Allegri said after the match was stopped in the 26th minute."We have to stop it with...

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PM unveils new science policy

KOLKATA: India today unveiled a new science policy that lays greater thrust on innovation, establishing research institutes and encourage women scientists with an aim to position itself among the top five scientific powers in the world by 2020. The Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy, 2013 also speaks of modifying the intellectual property regime to provide for marching rights for social...

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Flu? Malaria? Disease forecasters look to the sky

NEW YORK (AP) — Only a 10 percent chance of showers today, but a 70 percent chance of flu next month.That's the kind of forecasting health scientists are trying to move toward, as they increasingly include weather data in their attempts to predict disease outbreaks.In one recent study, two scientists reported they could predict — more than seven weeks in advance — when flu season was going to peak...

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Senate Swears in Historic 20th Female Senator

Today the Senate will make history, swearing in a record-breaking 20 female senators -- four Republicans and 16 Democrats -- in office.As the 113th Congress is sworn in today on Capitol Hill, ABC "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer has an exclusive joint interview with the historic class of female senators.Diane Sawyer's complete interview will air on "World News" and "Nightline"...

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Myanmar says jets used against Kachin rebels

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military has used jets to attacks rebel fighters in northern Kachin state, the government said on Thursday, its first admission of an intensification of a conflict that has raised doubts about its reformist credentials. Rebel sources have reported aerial bombings, shelling and even the use of chemical weapons since December 28 after the Kachin Independence...

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