News Digest: A prince dies a pauper

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Sunday, December 06, 2015
		Today's Headlines

		India
		A prince dies a pauper Brajraj Mahapatra, the last living ‘king’ from British India, died last week. He was surrounded by nothing but the good wishes of the people of Tigiria. IIT Roorkee won't divulge name of student who got Rs 1.31cr Google offer After a lean placement season for the past few years, it was celebration time at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT-R) on Saturday when a BTech final year student got an offer from California-headquartered internet search giant Google for an annual compensation package worth Rs 1.31 crore. India sticks to coal-use plans; Javadekar accuses West of hypocrisy India is girding for a slugfest over its coal-use plans at the Paris climate summit with environment minister Prakash Javadekar hitting back at developed nations, saying their criticism is hypocritical as the country lags US hugely in per capita and total consumption of coal-based electricity. More India News»

		Business
		Tata Zica hatchback review We get our hands on the new Tata Zica hatchback and tell you what it is all about. Tata Steel to cut 720 jobs in UK as negotiations fail Britain's largest steelmaker Tata Steel is likely to cut 720 jobs at one of its UK plants after talks to save redundancies failed. 'Inland waterways can be transportation game-changer' Government is setting up 30 water ports on the Ganga as inland waterways will be a "game- changer" for increasing exports and reducing cost of goods as well as passenger traffic, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Saturday. More Business News»

		Environment
		Global warming could cause fall in oxygen on Earth: Study Earth's oxygen could dramatically fall due to change in ocean temperature of just several degrees, which may likely result in the mass mortality of animals and humans, a new study has claimed. Beijing smog reaches over 25 times safe levels Beijing ordered hundreds of factories to shut and allowed children to skip school as choking smog reached over 25 times safe levels on Tuesday, casting a cloud over China’s participation in Paris climate talks. Despite outcry, Japan to resume whaling Japan will dispatch a whaling fleet to the Antarctic after a one year suspension, the government said, defying international criticism and a UN legal ruling that the “research“ expedition is a commercial hunt in disguise. More Environment News»

		World
		California woman attacker linked to radical Pak cleric Travel chaos, floods as Storm Desmond hits Britain Authorities in Britain have closed roads, evacuated homes and issued severe flood warnings as stormy weather hits the country. 10 injured in bomb blasts at Hindu temple in B'desh Unidentified attackers hurled three homemade bombs on the premises of a Hindu temple in northern Bangladesh, injuring 10 people, police said. The incident occurred while an open-air performance was being staged outside the Kantajir temple. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Deepika Padukone auditions for Vin Diesel film? The latest rumour doing the rounds is that Deepika Padukone auditioned for a role in the film XXX — Xander Cage Returns, which stars Vin Diesel, and her latest Instagram picture makes us wonder if this could actually be true. Yes, this is what Kareena said about Kangana Kangana Ranaut: Actors are twisted people Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut has said that playing challenging roles on the screen often takes it toll on the actors, who walk the thin line between real and imaginary all the time. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		First baby, then push present? OMG! The hyperbole of internet-speak The rise and rise of headphones More Science News»

		Sports
		4th Test: Kohli and Rahane take lead past 400 Over by over, ball by ball, India shut the door on South Africa on a gruelling third day at the Feroz Shah Kotla, with Virat Kohli's 83 leading the way. HWL Final: India lose 0-1 to Belgium in semi-final Inconsistency continued to haunt India as they conceded an early goal to lose 0-1 to Belgium and crash out of the title race of the Hockey World League Final on Saturday. Rampant Leicester go top though Vardy streak ends Jamie Vardy's record scoring streak ended but Leicester City's improbable EPL title challenge continued with Riyad Mahrez's hat-trick sealing a 3-0 win at Swansea City that put them top. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Buying a smartphone? How much you should pay If you are not sure how much you should pay for a smartphone, read our breakdown of exactly what features to expect, depending on your budget. For some people, the older the smartphone, the better Between splashy launches, lavish new-phone offers (get a free HDTV on activation!) and frequent software updates that slow down your old handset, it sometimes feels like the entire technology industry is pushing you to buy the latest smartphone. Smaller iPhone won't help Apple: Top analyst Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster in a note revealed over 20% of smartphone users say a 4-inch screen size is the optimal size for smartphones. More Technology News»

		Education
		National convention against higher education offer to WTO-GATS The All India Students' Association is organising a national convention on higher education on December 8 and 9. 15% IIT-K students opt out of placement drive to pursue civil services, higher studies At the time when hefty salary packages earned by some of the IIT-Kanpur students is doing rounds, more than 15-20% of the students of 800 students in the final year of BTech course are not participating in the ongoing placement drive at this premier institute. IIT Madras suspends its placement schedules IIT Madras has suspended its placement schedules due to rains. The first phase of the recruitment process had started on Dec 1 and was scheduled to go on until 10. However, due to lack of electricity, and closure of airports and railway stations, the institute has suspended the placement schedule after the first two days. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		St Xavier's gifts its girls sanitary napkin vending machine In a sign of increasing sensitivity to the needs of women, one of the city’s oldest institutions, St Xavier’s College, has set up a sanitary napkin vending machine in the women’s common room. `If giving replaces taxes, it's a problem' Thomas Piketty, the 21st century's champion of equality, has called out Mark Zuckerberg for `hypocrisy' and trying to pass off tax optimization as generosity. Teenagers share angst of being judged, bullied Nothing disturbs teenagers more than being judged, by peers, parents and society at large. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		As patients put to test, docs losing clinical expertise You go to the doctor expecting him or her to listen to your description of your ailments and examine you physically. Instead, you are ordered to go in for one test or the other. It is only on the basis of these tests that the doctors finally scribble a prescription. This is a reality that many in the medical fraternity are well aware of and worry about. Hodor of Game of Thrones wows all at fest Strips on rape, Naxals at Comic Con More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Lokayukta left headless 29 yrs after it was set up They pick waste not just for money, but environment too Mystery surrounds death of four-month-old twins More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Issues of belief should be handled with tact Osmania University, one of oldest institutions of higher learning in the country, is on the boil. Nearly, two dozen organizations have come together to hold the beef festival, a repetition of what they had done in 2012. Security upped for Babri anniversary In no mood to take chances on the 23rd anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid likely to be observed by some groups on Sunday, the Old City will be watched by an increased constabulary. Raising illegal structures may become a cognizable offence Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy of the Hyderabad High Court has directed the Telangana government to consider and bring into force immediately some of the proposed amendments to the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) Act. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Kamal talking gibberish, not in his senses, says TN FM Tamil Nadu finance minister O Panneerselvam has lashed out at film actor Kamal Haasan for his criticism of the government on flood relief. Relief ops on fast track as toll rises to 450 The toll of the unprecedented rain and floods this monsoon has continued to fight unprecedented rain and floods, the death toll climbed to 450 since the onset of monsoon in October-end in Chennai and neighbouring districts. US doc goes out to buy meds for ailing mom, swept away More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Harami Nala Sir is a prawn star Judge No. 1 of 2015! Ragging accused barred from college More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		3 train robbers held Government Railway Police (GRP) nabbed three persons for stealing luggage of passengers travelling in trains. Equipments used in stealing, including pliers and screw drivers, were recovered from them. High Court quashes plea against SP pension yojana The Allahabad High Court on Thursday upheld the validity of Samajwadi Pension Yojna, a popular policy of the Uttar Pradesh government for the poor of rural and urban areas. This pension scheme was meant for economic and social uplift of such families by providing financial assistance to them. High Court asks govt to notify heritage norms The Allahabad High Court on Thursday directed the state government to notify ‘heritage guidelines’ for the entire state including Varanasi. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Odisha to come up with startup policy soon Odisha government is working on formulating a startup policy to promote and facilitate entrepreneurs in the state. The policy that would provide a host of incentives to lure new businesses will be ready by March 2016, official sources said. ASI to repair rickety Jagamohan The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will start repairs on the rickety Jagamohan, facing the sanctum sanctorum of Jagannath Temple in Puri, from December 16. Dandapani walks out of jail after almost 3 years Dandapani Mohanty, convener of the Daman Pratirodha Manch, was released from the circle jail here on Thursday after the Orissa high court granted him conditional bail on December 2. Mohanty, who was imprisoned for about two years and 10 months, was arrested on the charge of having Maoist links. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Cattle charred to death in Dhar Eleven heads of cattle were charred to death after a spark from fire crackers triggered a fire in the cattleshed in Padlya village of Dhar district on Saturday morning. One killed, 17 children hurt as school bus turns turtle One person was killed and 17 children seriously injured after a school bus turned turtle on Khalawada road in Garoth town of Mandsaur district on Saturday afternoon. Botched up eye surgery : Six-member team from AIIMS to reach Indore on Sunday A six-member team comprising specialists from AIIMS, New Delhi, will reach Indore on Sunday for the treatment of patients who have developed infection in their eyes following cataract surgery at an eye camp in Barwani, last month. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Army goes for digital recruitment The Army has done away with recruitment rallies and begun recruiting internet literate soldiers through an online process. After BSP, now YAD also jumps in support of Dalit man arrested for skinning dead cow After BSP now Youth Akali Dal has also taken exception to arrest of a Dalit man - who was skinning a dead cow on Wednesday, under provision of Cow Protection Act and for “defiling place of worship or any object held sacred by any class” - and has demanded action against the activists of Hindu groups who allegedly beat up the Dalit before his arrest by the police. First Indo-Pak classroom connect​ between Mumbai, Karachi​ To facilitate interaction between students of India and Pakistan aiming to dispel prevailing misunderstandings between people of two nations especially the youth, an Indo-Pak joint forum, Aaghaz-e-Dosti held its first “Indo-Pak Classroom Connect” programme by connecting the grade 7 classroom of Ecole Mondiale World School (Mumbai) and Government Girls’ Secondary School (Gizri, Karachi) through video conference. More Chandigarh News»

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Request for Help for Chennai Flood Relief

FoodRelief.org:

Request for Help for Chennai Flood Relief

Dear friends and devotees,

This week the city of Chennai was hit with severe flooding which resulted in most of the city being inaccessible. Our ashram is located in the south of Chennai at Tharamani, which was also heavily affected by the floods. For the last 5 days there has been no electricity, and food and drinking water were hard to come by.

To make it worse, there was a near complete failure of all cell phone towers and ATMs, and all roads leading into the city were submerged, blocking delivery of essentials such as water, milk, vegetables and food. We heard rumours of water bottles being sold for 150 rs. each, but even those were nowhere to be found.

With the help of some local devotees we immediately began cooking and distributing large pots of sambhar rice to the areas around our ashram. Since banks had completely shut down even getting money to buy groceries to cook was difficult, but some local devotees helped out and provided the initial money to purchase supplies. Some other shops agreed to provide us rice and dahl on credit.

We were lucky that our water tanks were full just before the electric systems failed, as this allowed us to continue cooking for all of the days. We would also keep our large cooking pots on the roof to catch rain water at night, and the rain was so heavy they would fill up in an hour.

We have been cooking 4 or 5 large pots of sambhar rice each day, distributing some in front of our ashram and some in different localities when ever a vehicle is available. The rains have started to subside, and today for the first time they have restored electricity in our area for a few hours. This will help a lot as our main worry was shortage of clean water, and now we can pump water from our borewell.

The main roads have begun to dry, but most of the interior residential roads are filled with water. In some areas near Tharamani railway station the water is still too deep for anyone to try to enter even for relief work. We plan to continue cooking and distributing food this entire month, as many people will find it impossible to get cooking gas, water, food, etc. In addition to this many people will be unable to work or earn a living for some time.

We request those of you able to help to please contribute towards this relief work. Below are some pictures of the relief work we have been carrying out over the last few days. We are continuing this every day now as long as supplies are available.

Yours in service,
Jahnava Nitai Das

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