Ahmedabad to be renamed?
The Gujarat government on Thursday said it was considering renaming Ahmedabad as Karnavati. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani told reporters in Gandhinagar the name change could be effected before the Lok Sabha election.Mr. Rupani’s statement comes days after the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh announced renaming of Allahabad and Faizabad as Prayagraj and Ayodhya, respectively.“People have been demanding for long that Ahmedabad be renamed as Karnavati. The government is considering this demand. The consultation process has been started [to find out] if legally we can do it. After consultations we will take a concrete step,” he said.Asked when was it likely to happen, he said, “Before the [Lok Sabha] elections.” Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said the name Ahmedabad was a “symbol of slavery” and needed to be changed.“We have started the process of getting legal and other approvals like the nod of the Centre,” Mr. Patel said.“The name [Ahmedabad] is a symbol of our slavery, while the name Karnavati represents our pride, our self-respect, our culture, our autonomy,” he said.Ahmedabad Mayor Bijal Patel said she would seek “guidance” from the government before bringing in a resolution for renaming the city.
Faced with a resource and credit crunch in the banking sector, the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) on Wednesday lowered the bar for the Annual Credit Plan (ACP), also called the total priority plan, for 36 districts in the State.The target is a “realistic” ₹4.24 lakh crore as against ₹4.34 lakh crore the previous year, in the face of consistent negative year-on-year growth owing to low offtake in the agriculture sector, officials said. Last year’s target was one of the highest in the country.The committee members said there is a dip in demand for credit. The total plan for agriculture has been set at ₹87,322 crore this time, as compared to ₹85,464 crore the previous year. “There is generally a low demand for credit. Otherwise too, banks are facing a resource crunch. This is one of the reasons the target set this time appears to be more realistic in nature,” said a senior bureaucrat.In 2018-19, the committee had accepted an ambitious plan target of ₹4,34,591 crore but managed to achieve only 73% of it at the end of the financial year. During the corresponding period of the previous year, the achievement was 76%, and 96% in 2016-17, according to the data.Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urged bankers to think “less commercial and more agriculture”. He appealed to banks to fully achieve the latest target, giving maximum loans to farmers and bringing them into institutional credit system. “This forum is not commercial. Crop loans are to save our farmers from private borrowing. We need to understand the socio-economical aspect. Agriculture is the most important aspect of our economy and (a major) contributor to GDP. Bankers need to make agriculture their priority,” said Mr. Fadnavis.The 143rd meeting of the SLBC also discussed the poor monsoon scenario in the State, with only 73.60% of the normal rainfall recorded between June 2018 and October 2018. As many as 41 talukas received below 50% rainfall, the forum was told.The banks also presented the latest additions to various schemes, including 11.22 lakh subscribers under the Atal Pension Yojana, 40.22 lakh enrolment in the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and 97 lakh in the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Beema Yojana.Under the newly-approved Stand Up India, ₹62,973 lakh was disbursed to 3,717 beneficiaries.The Government of India had launched the scheme to facilitate loans between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore to Scheduled Case and Scheduled Tribe borrowers.Officials said preparations for the Annual Credit Plan begin in February every year. The State credit plan is prepared by consolidating the District Credit Plan and after discussing it in the SLBC.
Article 370 is not an answer to important issues such as unemployment, economic crisis and slowdown, said Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday. Addressing his party’s newly elected representatives to the Assembly here at the NCP headquarters Mr. Pawar also raised an alarm on the upcoming Supreme Court verdict on the Ram temple in Ayodhya. “We expect that the judiciary will ensure that brotherhood and harmony remains intact in the country after the verdict. There will be forces in the country which may try to exploit the situation. But it will be the responsibility of NCP workers to ensure peace,” said Mr. Pawar. The NCP chief sounded the alarm on the economic condition, agrarian crisis and growing unemployment in the country as well as in the State. “This government thinks that Article 370 is an answer to every problem facing the country. I have never seen a Prime Minister who says “doob maro” to his own country’s citizens who do not agree with his position on Article 370. How can you say this to your own people?” he asked. Earlier, the party unanimously elected former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar as the new leader of the legislative party while the announcement of the Leader of Opposition is likely to be made at the start of the Assembly session. Mr. Pawar will lead the party in both Houses. State unit president Jayant Patil moved the resolution naming Mr. Ajit Pawar at Wednesday’s meeting, which was seconded by Mumbai president and MLA Nawab Malik, Jitendra Awhad, Dhananjay Munde, Hasan Mushreef, and Anil Deshmukh. Addressing the newly-elected MLAs, Mr. Ajit Pawar said, “We are ready to work as Opposition. For the first time in Maharashtra, the ruling party is not in a merry mood but the Opposition surely is.” While presenting the resolution, Mr. Patil said, “BJP did nothing except make Opposition MLAs resign and field them from the BJP. But people of Maharashtra ensured 80% of them were defeated.” Their party chief, he added, followed the motto of Chhatrapati Shivaji to not bow down in front of the throne of Delhi.Prior to the meeting of the MLAs, the parliamentary board held discussions at the Y.B. Chavan centre where the name of Mr. Ajit Pawar was decided and presented in front of the MLAs.Before being appointed group leader Mr. Ajit Pawar told reporters that there are no permanent enemies in politics. His statement comes on the background of the ongoing tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena.In 2014, the 41 NCP candidates had won 41 Assembly seats, of whom six left the party after the Lok Sabha polls this year. Later as many as 12 ticket aspirants too quit NCP. The Congress with 42 seats had named Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil as the Leader of Opposition. However, he left the party to join the BJP before the general elections. Mr. Ajit Pawar was the legislative party leader in the previous term also while Mr. Patil was the group leader in the Assembly. Dhananjay Munde was the Leader of Opposition in the Council.
View comments Brace for potentially devastating typhoon approaching PH – NDRRMC Oklahoma City held the Warriors to 42 percent shooting in the first half and forced them into 10 turnovers. The home crowd gave the Thunder a standing ovation as they walked off the floor.Early in the third quarter, Westbrook had a steal and dunk, then a steal and layup plus a foul that brought the crowd to its feet. He made the free throw to put the Thunder ahead 72-52. Oklahoma City led 94-71 at the end of the third and Warriors coach Steve Kerr pulled his starters with about eight minutes remaining. CPP denies ‘Ka Diego’ arrest caused ‘mass panic’ among S. Tagalog NPA Westbrook said it was just another game in the buildup, but he didn’t play like it. At one point in the third quarter, Westbrook and Durant went forehead to forehead and were called for double technicals.Westbrook’s new All-Star teammates came through. Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points and Paul George added 20.FEATURED STORIESSPORTSWATCH: Drones light up sky in final leg of SEA Games torch runSPORTSSEA Games: Philippines picks up 1st win in men’s water poloSPORTSMalditas save PH from shutoutThe crowd booed Durant nearly every time he touched the ball. He finished with 21 points on 8-for-17 shooting. Stephen Curry scored 24 points for the Warriors, who produced their lowest point total of the season.The Thunder led 65-48 at halftime as Westbrook filled the stat sheet with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Anthony had 16 points and George had 14 at the break. Japan ex-PM Nakasone who boosted ties with US dies at 101 Stronger peso trims PH debt value to P7.9 trillion Manute Bol could have been ’40 or 50 years old’ while in NBA, ex-coach says Kammuri turning to super typhoon less likely but possible — Pagasa Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, left, keeps the ball from Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)OKLAHOMA CITY—Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 34 points and added 10 rebounds and nine assists to help the Oklahoma City Thunder roll past the Golden State Warriors, 108-91 on Wednesday night.It was Oklahoma City’s first win over the Warriors since Kevin Durant left the Thunder to join the Warriors after the 2015-16 season. Golden State won all four meetings last season by an average of nearly 20 points.ADVERTISEMENT
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(Eds: Disclaimer: The following press release comes to you under an arrangement with NewsVoir. PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.)The multi-platform digital campaign addresses the issue of gender inequality through the dialect of fashionBangalore, Karnataka, India (NewsVoir)PEOPLE, the iconic fast fashion brand for youth from Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. unveils its #LetsBePeopleFirst Campaign today as a part of the larger theme #WhyNot. The new campaign takes the route of gender inequality prevailing in society and calls out the Indian millennial to go beyond the stereotypes that have been established.PEOPLE has released a powerful 30-second video featuring a female and male actor facing opposite directions embroiled in a tensed conversation orbiting around gender discrimination. The conversation is based on gender-based issues that hinder a persons prospect in the society and pose a major threat to progress. The video brings to life the inherent tussle faced by both genders as they continue to fight their battles against rules, restrictions, labels, stereotypes and peer pressure as they strive for autonomy and expression. The millennials continue to blur traditional distinctions between the sexes both at workplace and at home, moving towards the unprecedented belief that there are no set male or female roles in the society.PEOPLE worked with Famous Innovations as its creative agency for this campaign. Commenting on the campaign launch Sooraj Bhat, CEO-Fast Fashion, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd., commented, At PEOPLE, we believe we exist to enable the consumers to explore their identity and style. We felt we needed to launch this brand with a strong thought and Famous Innovations came up with the idea of Why Not? because thats a question on every young consumers mind in terms of following stereotypical rules. With Why Not a specific theme of gender equality emerged and ended with the line, Lets Be People First .advertisementG. V. Krishnan, Famous Innovations, said, PEOPLE has a very distinctive merchandise for the youth. With the ideaWhy Not? we seek to give voice to the youth who are actively questioning societal stereotypes. This year we take gender stereotypes head on with the Campaign Lets be People First urging everyone to put an end to gender biases that plague us today.The campaign also has static visuals featuring trendy, fashionable clothing in gender-neutral styles for Print and Outdoor media. Commenting on the collection, Kopal Sarkar, Head-Design, PEOPLE said, The merchandise created for this campaign is very similar for guys and girlsthey can wear it and style it themselves as they wish to and be who they want to be.This collection is available across PEOPLEs 25 exclusive stores in Bangalore. 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The brand invites the youth to come together and address this issue by proudly sporting the latest People collection.Catch the #LetsBePeopleFirst Campaign:https://youtu.be/pRRpPW1ne7Ahttps://www.facebook.com/96449707187/posts/10156908074412188/Follow PEOPLEFacebook: http://Facebook.cocm/PeopleOnlineCoInInstagram: http://instagram.com/PeopleOnlineCoInYouTube: http://youtube.com/PeopleOnlineCoInWebsite: http://peopleonline.co.inAbout PEOPLEA fastfashion brand for the youth, People is a onestop destination for international and fashion forward styles. Catering to young men and women, the product line is characterized by attitude that is street perfect and college ready. The brand offers the latest trends through its range of casual shirts, Tshirts, tops, kurtas and fusions tops, jeans, winter wear, footwear and accessories. Changing the way the youth dress, People focuses on making latest fashion available in the edgiest styles.About Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail LimitedAditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. (ABFRL) was formed after the consolidation of the branded apparel businesses of Aditya Birla Group comprising Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd.s (ABNL) Madura Fashion division and ABNL’s subsidiaries Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Limited (PFRL) and Madura GarmentsLifestyle Retail Company Limited (MGLRCL) in May 2015. Post the consolidation, PFRL was renamed as Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. ABFRL is India’s No 1. Fashion Lifestyle entity. It hosts India’s largest fashion network with over 11,000 points of sale, which include, close to 2,500 exclusive ABFRL brand outlets in over 700+ cities and towns.advertisementImage 1: PEOPLE – #LetsBePeopleFirstImage 2:PEOPLE – #LetsBePeopleFirstVideo: #LetsBePeopleFirst CampaignPWRPWR
Topics NFL Kansas City Chiefs Share on Facebook US sports Share via Email Share on Pinterest Patrick Mahomes passed for 375 yards, threw three touchdown passes two to Travis Kelce and continued the best start by an NFL quarterback in 68 years as Kansas City’s impossible-to-handle offense kept rolling with a 37-21 win on Sunday over the Cleveland Browns, who played their first game since coach Hue Jackson’s firing.Kareem Hunt had two scoring runs and one receiving for the Chiefs (8-1), who came in averaging 36.3 points per game with an offense overloaded with weapons for Mahomes. The 23-year-old used all of them in winning his first pro matchup against Baker Mayfield and the Browns (2-6-1).Mahomes and Mayfield didn’t match their epic college meeting in 2016, when they combined for more than 1,700 yards in offense. But the Chiefs put on another impressive offensive show with 499 total yards, averaging 8.6 per snap.In his second season, Mahomes, who made just one start as a rookie, already has 29 TD passes and 3,185 yards, the most by any QB through 10 games since 1950. He has passed for at least 300 yards in eight straight games.In the day’s later kick-offs, the Saints inflicted the Rams’ first loss of the season in a high-scoring shoot-out. The Rams were 35-17 down at half-time and staged a rally of sorts but still went down 45-35 to an offense led by the ageless Drew Brees, who threw for four touchdowns. Houston and the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Broncos and Seahawks respectively.Pittsburgh Steelers 23-16 Baltimore RavensBen Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes, ran for a score and put up an unexpected left-footed punt to help the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-16.James Conner rushed for 107 yards and caught a TD pass for the Steelers (5-2-1), who have won four straight since falling to the Ravens at home at the end of September.Roethlisberger went 28 for 47 for 270 yards. His one-yard run put Pittsburgh up 20-6 in the third quarter. The Ravens (4-5) scored only one touchdown in their third straight defeat. Joe Flacco was limited to 209 yards passing and sacked twice.Roethlisberger also contributed on special teams. With the Steelers facing a fourth down from the Baltimore 38, Roethlisberger lined up in shotgun formation and popped up a 27-yard punt, his seventh career kick.Detroit Lions 9-24 Minnesota VikingsDanielle Hunter had 3.5 of Minnesota’s franchise-record 10 sacks and a fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown, making for a miserable afternoon for Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions in a 24-9 victory by the Vikings.Hunter, the fourth-year defensive end, also was credited with nine tackles and four quarterback hits as the Vikings (5-3-1) limited the Lions to 214 total yards. After Dalvin Cook dropped a pitch from Kirk Cousins and A’Shawn Robinson recovered at the Detroit 28 with Minnesota leading 17-6, the Lions had a chance to catch up. They converted a fake punt to keep the drive alive.Two plays later, Stafford ran right on the short side of the field and tried a dangerous flip to Kerryon Johnson. The ball fluttered to the turf, and Hunter scooped it up on his way to the easy score.Chicago Bears 41-9 Buffalo BillsJordan Howard scored two touchdowns and the Chicago Bears’ defense had two others in a 41-9 win over the Bills in what proved to be another comedy of errors for Buffalo and their anemic offense.Eddie Jackson scored on a 65-yard fumble return and Leonard Floyd returned a tipped pass 19 yards in the second quarter. Howard, set up by Tarik Cohen’s 38-yard punt return, then scored on an 18-yard scamper to cap a run in which the Bears scored four touchdowns over a span of 12 minutes, 20 seconds in the second quarter.The Bears won their second in a row and improved to 5-3 to match their best start to a season through eight games since 2013. Chicago also matched their win total from last year.Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28-42 Carolina PanthersCam Newton completed 19 of 25 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, Christian McCaffrey racked up 157 yards from scrimmage and scored twice and the Carolina Panthers built an early lead and held on to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 42-28 for their 10th straight home win.Newton threw TD passes of 19 yards to Curtis Samuel and 17 yards to Greg Olsen, the seventh straight game he has thrown for at least two touchdowns. McCaffrey had 17 carries for 79 yards and five catches for 78 yards and turned in the play of the game when he leaped over a defender after a reception in the flat and kept going, turning it into a 32-yard gain.The Panthers (6-2) scored touchdowns on five straight possessions during the first half to build a commanding 35-7 lead before the Buccaneers battled back to within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter behind Ryan Fitzpatrick. But the return of “Fitzmagic” wasn’t enough as Newton made it a two-possession game when he found Samuel, who made a leaping grab in the end zone with 9:10 left in the game. It was the second-year wide receiver’s second TD of the game.Atlanta Falcons 38-14 WashingtonJulio Jones ended his 12-game touchdown drought, Matt Ryan threw for 350 yards and four scores and the Atlanta Falcons flexed their offensive muscles with a 38-14 blowout of Washington that extended their winning streak to three games.Jones caught seven passes for 121 yards with the biggest coming on a 35-yard screen pass with just under four minutes left that sealed the victory. After Jones twisted away from new Washington defender Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and into the end zone, a swarm of teammates rushed over from the sideline to celebrate Jones’ first touchdown catch since November 2017.Ryan completed 26 of his 38 passes, including touchdown passes of 39 and 10 yards to running back Tevin Coleman and 40 to rookie receiver Calvin Ridley.New York Jets 6-13 Miami DolphinsRookie linebacker Jerome Baker intercepted Sam Darnold and scored the only touchdown on a 25-yard return with 11 minutes left, and a resilient defense helped the Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets 13-6.Darnold threw four interceptions and took four sacks, and the Jets went 2 for 13 on third down. The hobbled Dolphins endured another wave of injuries, but their defense was much improved after three consecutive poor games, with the quality of the opposition a factor.Darnold tried to rally his sputtering team from a 6-3 deficit, but following a punt he took a high snap and made an ill-advised throw to tight end Eric Tomlinson. Baker stepped in front for his first career interception and scored untouched. TJ McDonald and Walt Aikens made interceptions to end the Jets’ final two possessions. Share on Messenger … we have a small favour to ask. More people, like you, are reading and supporting the Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism than ever before. And unlike many news organisations, we made the choice to keep our reporting open for all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. 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Kolkata: Amid the ongoing impasse in the West Bengal hospitals over junior doctors’ strike, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday issued a letter to the senior doctors in the state, appealing to them to take care of all patients. She urged them to run the hospitals “smoothly and peacefully”. Earlier in the day, Banerjee went to the state-run SSKM Hospital, where she gave agitating doctors a four-hour ultimatum to withdraw their strike and warned of “strong action” if the situation was not normalised within the deadline. Also Read – IAF receives its first Rafale fighter jet from France “My humble regards to all of you. Please take care of all patients. The poor people are coming from all districts. I will be honoured and obliged if you all please take full care of the hospitals,” Banerjee wrote in her letter to the senior doctors. “Hospitals must run smoothly and peacefully,” she added. Protests erupted at the NRS Hospital on Tuesday morning bringing regular services to a standstill after a junior doctor was allegedly beaten up by the kin of a 75-year-old patient who died there late on Monday night. The family members of the deceased patient alleged medical negligence. An intern named Paribaha Mukherjee sustained a serious skull injury in the attack and has been admitted in the intensive care unit of the Institute of Neurosciences in Kolkata’s Park Circus area. Going on the warpath, junior doctors in almost all state-run hospitals have gone on strike for over two days.
TORONTO – Ontario’s Liberals must do some soul-searching in the wake of the devastating defeat they suffered in the provincial election in order to understand where things went wrong, the party’s new interim leader said Monday.John Fraser, an Ottawa-are legislator first elected in 2013, said the party respects the electorate’s decision and must now look internally for answers.“The people of Ontario sent the Liberal party a very clear message,” he said in an interview. “They want us to take a break and they want us to do some soul-searching.”Fraser was appointed interim leader last week following outgoing Premier Kathleen Wynne’s resignation. The Liberals, who have been in power in Ontario for 15 years, won only seven seats in the June 7 election, one short of the eight seats required to maintain official party status in the legislature.His mission as interim leader will be to begin the rebuild of the party brand, Fraser said, describing himself as a “caretaker.” Chief amongst his concerns will be getting the party’s financial house in order and addressing millions in debt accumulated through the election.“We spent approximately $10 million to get seven seats,” Fraser said. “I think Liberals want an answer in that regard. They want us to take a look at the campaign and pre-campaign and look at where we made mistakes.”Fraser said the party also needs to address its lack of party status at the legislature, which means they’ve also lost funding for research, staffing and designated speaking time.Fraser said he hopes to have discussions with incoming premier Doug Ford, whose Progressive Conservatives won a majority of seats, about the Tory government granting the Liberals party status.“We’re going to try to establish with the government our status in the legislature,” he said. “I think one million Ontarians voted for us. It’s important their voice be effective in the legislature.”Fraser said it’s too early to talk about a leadership race, adding that in the meantime, the party has to begin the process of becoming competitive in time for the next provincial vote in 2022.“It’s going to take a lot of work,” he said. “Ontarians sent us a very clear message. What comes along with that message is the fact that we’ve got work to do.”University of Ottawa political science professor Geneviève Tellier said while the road ahead for the Ontario Liberals will be difficult, the party brand has not been irreparably damaged. It will take years but it can come back from this defeat, she said.“I think the results of the election show that people weren’t ready to head further to the left with the NDP,” she said. “There is room for an alternative that is in the middle. That would be the branding of the Liberals. … In the last year the Liberals were not the traditional party of the centre that they used to be.”Tellier said the party must now conduct a deep “post-mortem” of the election and learn from their errors. The focus must gradually shift to selecting a new leader but the party should take its time and avoid infighting, she added.“Even if we don’t see them too much now during this session, I wouldn’t be too concerned about that, that’s very short-term,” she said. “The more long-term rebuilding based on the ideas of the new leader will be important.”
The Canadian Press HALIFAX — Heavy rain is being reported in parts of the Maritimes as Erin, now a post-tropical weather system, advances toward the region.Environment Canada has issued rainfall warnings for southeastern New Brunswick, parts of western and northern Nova Scotia and western Prince Edward Island.Some big downpours have already been reported in communities west of a line that extends from Halifax to Fredericton.Meteorologist Jim Abraham says Erin’s current track is expected to cut through the middle of mainland Nova Scotia later tonight, with the heaviest rain expected to fall on the left side of the sprawling low-pressure system.Abraham says a weather station near St. Stephen, N.B., reported almost 60 millimetres of rain this morning.The Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax says some gusty winds will likely accompany Erin, especially in those areas to the right of its track as it crosses Nova Scotia tonight.Abraham says some coastal areas could get gusts exceeding 70 kilometres per hour, which could cause power outages because most trees in the region have yet to shed their leaves.
(A man is arrested by the RCMP Friday morning near Elisipogtog First Nation. Photo courtesy @1tnb)APTN National NewsTwelve people were arrested Friday morning by the RCMP at the site of a sacred fire as part of an on-going protest in New Brunswick over seismic testing in the area.RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Chantal Farrah said the arrests were made because people were attempting to block trucks and workers.Farrah said seven men and five women were taken into custody on Route 126 outside Moncton near Elisipogtog First Nation.The sacred fire was lit by members of Elsipogtog on June 11 beside a highway where seismic testing vehicles are searching for shale gas deposits.Opponents of the exploration fear that once the company, SWN Resources Canada, finds shale gas, it won’t be long before it employs a controversial drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, to get at it.Photos on social media show some of the arrests, including one that appears to be a man holding a sacred pipe, with his hands in plastic cuffs.tfontaine@aptn.ca
Not everybody who lives in the countryside lives in some sort of rural idyll. There are pockets of poverty and deprivation right across the countrysideNigel Huddleston, MP for Mid Worcestershire Nigel Huddleston, MP for Mid Worcestershire, said funding per pupil in his area was £1,000 per head lower than in neighbouring areas. “Not everybody who lives in the countryside lives in some sort of rural idyll. There are pockets of poverty and deprivation right across the countryside,” he said.Following Ms Greening’s announcement in Parliament on Wednesday Cllr Paul Carter, chairman of the County Councils Network, said he supported the proposals, as the current system sees County schools receive half the funding per pupil that inner London schools get. “This is inequitable and needs redressing,” he said. Natalie Perera, the Education Policy Institute’s executive director, said: “Small schools in rural areas can often find it difficult to manage because they suffer from small pupil numbers. In areas where those small schools are vital to avoid children having to travel very long distances, the sparsity factor should help them to be sustainable.” 
The announcement was welcomed by MPs in rural areasCredit:Fredrick Kippe / Alamy Rural schools are set for a boost in funding as the Government proposes to change rules to ensure that institutions in remote areas have enough money to stay open.Education Secretary Justine Greening unveiled proposals on Wednesday to end an “unfair, opaque and outdated” funding system that favoured children in London over those in the countryside.Under the biggest reforms to school funding in a decade, a new national formula will use a host of factors to calculate how much money is allocated to each school, including “sparsity”, which takes into account how small and remote it is. Education Secretary Justine Greening unveiled proposals on WednesdayCredit: PETER NICHOLLS
Ms Greening told the Commons: “We’ll protect those small rural schools which are so important to their local communities by inclusion of a sparsity factor.”What we can’t accept is other areas in other parts of the country that have similar challenges in relation to deprivation and lower prior attainment, not being funded, for no other reason than that they’re not London. It’s now time to have a fair approach.”Under the proposed changes, primary schools which qualify for sparsity funding would receive up to £25,000, which rises to £65,000 for secondary, middle and all-through schools. Overall, an extra £27 million would be spent on the sparsity factor.The announcement was welcomed by MPs in rural areas. Simon Hoare, MP for North Dorset, said one of the biggest issues facing schools in his constituency is “recruitment of and retention of staff in a rural areas where costs are higher, living costs are higher and all the rest of it. The sparsity quota will be warmly welcomed by those head teachers”. The Education Secretary also promised extra money to schools with a high population of “mobile” students, meaning children who join mid-way through the academic year.Schools in areas with an influx of migrants, as well as military children, Roma gypsies and travellers stand to gain under this measure.Kevin Courtney, General Secretary at the National Union of Teachers, said: “Far from being the levelling up that some councils and heads have demanded, this is a levelling down. Even the schools currently worst funded will see real terms cuts in this Parliament.” Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily Front Page newsletter and new audio briefings.
To pick out the changes, researchers studied more than 1,000 skulls and jaws from pre-industrial groups throughout the world who were either hunter gatherers or farmers.They found that in farming communities one part of one of the major chewing muscles, the temporalis, became smaller and changed position as communities changed their diet. As a result the upper jaw became shorter and the lower jaw smaller.”The main differences between forager and farmer skulls are where we would expect to find them, and change in ways we might expect them to, if chewing demands decreased in farming groups,” added Dr Katz.“Agriculture changed not only human culture and lifeways, but human biology as well.The largest changes in skull morphology were observed in groups consuming dairy products, suggesting that the effect of agriculture on skull morphology was greatest in populations consuming the softest food.”At least in early farmers, milk did not make for bigger, stronger skull bones.” 
Moving to a dairy diet changed the whole human face Credit: Christopher Furlong It’s certainly a fact worth chewing over.Humans have small, slender heads and weaker jaws, because of our discovery of soft foods like cheese and dairy, a new study suggests.Research by The University of California suggests the advent of farming, especially dairy products, had a small but significant effect on the shape of human skulls.The reason is all in the effort it took to eat farmed food. Humans who live by hunting and foraging wild foods have to put more effort into chewing than those surviving on a softer diet of cheese and cereal mush.Without the daily work-out of crunching, grinding and gnawing, bones and muscle declined, refining the features of farming communities.“The effect of farming is mostly visible in the areas of the skull that generate or experience stress during chewing,” said graduate student David Katz, formerly of UC Davis, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Calgary, Alberta.“The simplest explanation is that these stresses were reduced because farming diets were generally softer.” Hunter gatherers began to rely on diets from domesticated plants and animals from around 10,000 years ago, and archaeologists have noted the skulls began to shrink but could never quantify the change or say why it happened.
Commenting on the findings, Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel, Associate Professor at the University of Buffalo, said: “The profound effects of the transition to agriculture on the biology of modern humans cannot be overstated. “Anthropologists have noted for some time that even prehistoric farmers had more gracile crania and lower jaws than foragers. “Drawing on an expansive global dataset and an innovative analytical approach (this study). demonstrates small but consistent effects of a soft agricultural diet on skull morphology thatrelate directly to chewing anatomy.”A previous study by The University of Cambridge suggested that over time human skeletons have become much lighter and more fragile since the invention of agriculture as we switched from foraging to farming.While human hunter-gatherers from around 7,000 years ago had bones comparable in strength to modern orangutans, farmers from the same area over 6,000 years later had significantly lighter and weaker bones that would have been more susceptible to breaking.Bone mass was around 20 per cent higher in the foragers – the equivalent to what an average person would lose after three months of weightlessness in space.The new research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Want the best of The Telegraph direct to your email and WhatsApp? Sign up to our free twice-daily Front Page newsletter and new audio briefings. Scientists mapped points of the skull from farming communities and compared them with hunter gatherers Credit:David Katz and Tim Weaver, UC Davis
Last Monday evening’s (February 16) gala dinner during the week of the 2015 SME Annual Conference here in Denver, Colorado, celebrated the 2014 inductees into the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame in the Brown Palace. It was a glorious evening, attended by the great and the good, including a large group from the Benavides family – considered by many to be the ‘first family’ of Peruvian Mining – the Peruvian ambassador to the USA, three former CEOs of Newmont Mining, the President of Freeport-McMoRan Americas and many other notable figures of the mining industry, too numerous to mention. Remember to get your nominations for this year in before end July – for additional information, visit www.im-halloffame.comThe inductees were:OUTSTANDING INNOVATOR – Alberto Benavides de la Quintana, founder of Compañia de Mínas BuenaventuraENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND STEWARDSHIP – Andy Robertson funder of SRK, Gemcom and InfomineUNDERGROUND SUPPORT – Tom Melbye, Mike Rispin, Odd Bjorn Kleven, Janne Lehto, Ismael Anabalon, Jouko Tenhunen, Rick Kraft (Normet wet shotcrete)UNDERGROUND PRODUCTION – Wilhelm Löbbe and Konrad Grebe, the coal plowUNDERGROUND LOAD AND HAUL – Joe Joy, founder of what today is Joy GlobalUNDERGROUND DEVELOPMENT – Udo Fischer, Torbjörn Hartzell and Jan Åkerman (Sandvik rock cutting tools)SURFACE PRODUCTION – Mark Cooper, Jeff Flahive, Jim Hutchins of Vermeer, Terrain Leveler surface excavation machinesSURFACE LOAD AND HAUL – Dr James White, founder of Modular Mining Systems – DISPATCH®SAFETY – Jim Joy (G-MIRM)MINING SOFTWARE – Fred Banfield, founder of MineSightMETALLURGY – Rami Saario, Jussi Vaarno, Henri Fredriksson, Jussi Pajala, Juri Matinheikki, the development team for Outotec’s Modular SX-plant, VSF®XEXPLORATION – Ray Roussy, Sonic DrillingCONCENTRATION – Byron Knelson, father of the Knelson concentratorCOMMINUTION – Professor Klaus Schoenert, developer of HPGRBULK HANDLING – John Frater, internationally renowned pump designsMark Cooper, Managing Director of specialty excavation for Vermeer Corp said: “Today this technology is being adopted by leading mines across the globe and it is an honour to be recognised by our peers.”The evening got off to a great start with a keynote presentation by Sandy Watson, Vice President, Mining – US and International for Stantec, the lead sponsor of this year’s International Mining Technology Hall of Fame. Particularly interesting were the details he provided of some of the work Stantec is doing at the Grasberg underground block cave operations in Indonesia, which is becoming the biggest underground mine in the world.All the other sponsors joined in celebrating these great innovators and technology facilitators of the global mining industry – SRK Consulting, The Graña y Montero Group, Hexagon Mining, ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions, FLSmidth, Sandvik, Orica, Joy Global and Metso. Thanks to them all for supporting what really was a triumphant event and a celebration of innovators.All the inductees and their representatives had interesting observations to make about the industry and in many cases poignant reminiscences about the struggles and challenges they faced, both personally and professionally, to achieve their successes. A detailed report will appear in the May 2015 issue of International Mining and all the 2014 inductee citations can be found on www.im-halloffame.com. Nominations are sought for next year’s event that will be held during the SME Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, February 21-24, 2016.
Stay on target Lego has polished up another classic Star Wars set. Much to your minifig Han Solo’s chagrin, they’ve given the deluxe treatment to the very place he was encased in carbonite: the Cloud City of the planet Bespin.The original Cloud City was released 15 years ago and it’s one of the hardest Lego sets to find. One of the reasons it’s so sought after is the Boba Fett minifig, which was Lego’s first ever with printed arms. In good condition with all the minifigs, you can expect to pay well over $600 if you manage to get your hands on one of the 698-piece sets today.The new set, called Betrayal at Cloud City, will be significantly easier to track down, at least for the time being. It’s also three times bigger and will only set you back $349.99. That’s right in line with pricing for the similarly massive Death Star.The 2018 edition counts 2,812 pieces and includes a whopping 18 minifigs: Luke Skywalker in Bespin clothes, Han Solo and Princess Leia (in both Bespin and Hoth gear), Chewbacca, C3PO, R2D2, an IG-88, Lando Calrissian, Lobot, Cloud Car pilot and gunner, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, a pair of Cloud City Guards and Stormtroopers and an Ugnaught. The finished build showcases four scenes from the Cloud City. Each one is packed with detail.On the inside, there’s a full dining area with room for 5 figs that features a miniature decorative Cloud City. The attached garbage room has a conveyor belt and incinerator for doing away with expired (or nuisance) droids. A promenade leads your minifigs to other areas of the model.Cloud City wouldn’t be complete without a carbonite freezing chamber (complete with a “freezing” function), or a landing pad. This is where you can load Han’s frozen form into the back of Slave I. There’s also a precarious walkway were Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader can tangle in an epic lightsaber duel and one of those awesome twin-pod Cloud Cars to patrol the skies.If you’re a Lego VIP, you can order Betrayal at Cloud City from the official store starting on September 13. Everyone else has to wait until October 1, so it might be a good idea to snag yourself a VIP membership if you want to make sure you don’t miss out.LEGO is for everyone and everything. Watch this industrial robot turn construction worker, one LEGO brick at a time. There are plenty of Star Wars LEGO sets you can purchase now too. You can even build the Hyperdrive while you wait for Cloud City. Follow the latest in Star Wars news right here.Let us know what you like about Geek by taking our survey. The New Lego UCS Imperial Star Destroyer Is Nearly Four Feet LongLego Makes Building Sets Accessible to the Blind 
At a legislative committee Thursday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says it could absorb part of the responsibilities of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission if it was eliminated.The House Fisheries Committee heard Kodiak Rep. Louise Stutes’ House Bill 112, which would transfer duties of the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission to the Department of Fish and Game and the Office of Administrative Hearings. Twenty-five full time employees would move to Fish and Game.Kevin Brooks is Fish and Game deputy commissioner.“The department believes that we could make this work without service degradation to commercial fishermen. I think that’s important. Issuing permits, doing emergency transfers, those types of things,” Brooks says.The CFEC is responsible for deciding what commercial fisheries to limit, who gets to participate in them and adjudicating appeal cases. It also issues permits and licenses, which bring in the majority of the agency’s revenue.This is not the first time a lawmaker has tried to eliminate the CFEC. Homer Rep. Paul Seaton first introduced a similar bill at the end of the last legislative session and initiated a legislative audit.Fish and Game conducted its own review that came out in February. It made several recommendations and highlighted some inefficiencies, like a backlog of 28 application cases more than 15 years old.Sitka Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins sits on the fisheries committee.“There seems to be some stubborn resistance getting to the number zero with that backlog. The backlog is low, but it doesn’t seem to be working its way down, at least quickly. And just put directly, why has the backlog not been worked through?” Kreiss-Tomkins asks.CFEC Chair Bruce Twomley says he and the other two commissioners adjudicated 143 cases last year, mostly permit transfers. He says they are committed to finishing the backlogged cases in 2016.Stutes’ bill would do away with the agency’s three heads and add an executive director, saving $424,000, according to a Fish and Game estimate.The House Fisheries Committee will take public testimony on the bill to eliminate CFEC Thursday at 10 a.m. As of Friday, at least two letters of opposition have come from the fishing community, including the United Southeast Alaska Gillnetters Association.
Noted singer Shahnaz RahmatullahNoted singer Shahnaz Rahmatullah was laid to eternal rest at Banani Military Graveyard in the capital on Sunday, reports UNB.Before the burial, her namaz-e-janaza was held at the ‘Park Mosque’ at Baridhara road No. 9 after Zohr prayers.Shahnaz Rahmatullah, known as the queen of modern Bangla music having an illustrious career spanning over decades, passed away at her Baridhara residence early Sunday at the age of 67.”She suffered a major cardiac arrest,” said lyricist Shafiq Tuhin.The singer left behind husband, one son and one daughter and a host of relatives, well-wishers and thousands of spectators to mourn her death.The singer’s notable songs include ‘Ekbar Jete De Na Amar Chotto Sonar Gaye’, ‘Je Chilo Drishtir Shimanay’ and ‘Ek Tara Tui Desher Kotha’.Her main areas of singing entailed modern (Adhunik) and patriotic songs.She emerged as a singer in Dhaka in the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she sang many patriotic songs, including ‘Sohni DhartiAllah Rakhe’ and ‘Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan’ to inspire the freedom fighters as well as freedom-seeking people of the country.In her career, she also had playback voice in many songs for Urdu films as well as gazals in the Pakistan era.In recognition of her timeless songs, she was awarded Ekushey Padak in 1992, National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the film ‘Chhutir Phande’ in 1990, Bangladesh Shilpakala Award and many more.Shahnaz was born on 2 January 1952 in Dhaka.Actor Zafar Iqbal and music director Anwar Parvez were Shahnaz Rahmatullah’s brothers.
Microsoft decided that Black Friday was as good a time as any to try and close the sales gap between the the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It attempted this by knocking $50 off all Xbox One bundles, meaning you could pick one up for just $299 with a game.With Sony seeing similar success with its own discounts during the sales, Microsoft may not have closed the sales gap, but it did sell a lot of consoles. In the US, Xbox One sales increased 22% compared to last year’s Black Friday offerings. So it may come as no surprise that Microsoft is now repeating the offer for Christmas.The $50 discount applies to all Xbox One bundles currently available, and will run until December 26.Here’s a reminder of what’s on offer as seen on Black Friday:Xbox One The Lego Movie Videogame Bundle $299Xbox One Special Edition Gears of War Bundle $299Xbox One Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Bundle $299Xbox One 1TB Holiday Bundle $349Xbox One Rise of the Tomb Raider Bundle $349Xbox One with Kinect Bundle $349Xbox One Fallout 4 Bundle $349Xbox One Limited Edition Forza Motorsport 6 Console $349Xbox One Madden NFL 16 Bundle $349Xbox One FIFA 16 1TB Bundle $349Xbox One Elite Bundle $449Xbox One Limited Edition Halo 5: Guardians Bundle $449Once you’ve acquired a sub-$300 Xbox One, you can settle down and wait for Microsoft’s Countdown sale to start. It kicks off on December 22 and runs to January 7. Every day there will be digital game deals offering between 40-60% off normal prices. If you opt to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold the discounts will increase by a further 10%.Tempted? Or will a PS4 be wrapped and under the tree this year instead? If it’s a PS4, IGN has some ideas on what Microsoft can learn from Sony:
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court Wednesday refused to interfere in the West Bengal government’s decision to give Rs 10,000 each to 28,000 Durga puja committees in the state. An interim stay granted by the court on disbursal of funds stands vacated as the court disposed of the public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the state government’s decision to give funds to the puja committees. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Debasish Kar Gupta and Justice Sampa Sarkar said that the Legislature is the appropriate forum to decide on expenditure by the state government. Also Read – Rain batters Kolkata, cripples normal life Stating that the court does not want to interfere in the government’s decision to disburse funds to Durga puja committees at this stage, the bench, however, said that the court can interfere at a later stage when the scope arises. Advocate General Kishore Dutta had submitted before the division bench that the funds are to be used for assisting police under its traffic safety campaign and not for any religious purpose. The petitioner had challenged the government’s decision to disburse funds to the tune of Rs 28 crore, claiming that it was a dole to the puja committees and had no public purpose.