[wanabidii] News Digest: US fines Alstom US $772m in foreign bribery charges

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, November 14, 2015
		Today's Headlines

		Business
		US fines Alstom US $772m in foreign bribery charges The US has fined French multinational Alstom SA, a record USD 772 million over international bribery charges in which the energy and transport giant bribed government officials in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Taiwan. Alstom, which got a multi-billion contract in India to supply 800 railway engines to the Indian Railways, had earlier pleaded guilty to the charges. 'Swachh Bharat cess will help earmark funds for sanitation' Minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha has been busy implementing plans to deal with some of the pressure points in the economy. In an interview, the former banker discusses the government’s plans in the coming months, including the strategy to deal with reforms. Startup funding deals rise, but cheque size shrinks Though there's much hullabaloo about some startups retrenching employees and struggling to raise fresh rounds, data shows that many more funding deals are happening now than earlier this year or, indeed, in the previous year. More Business News»

		Environment
		Clarify how hotels are coming up at Kaziranga: NGT to Assam The National Green Tribunal has directed Assam government to clear its stand on eco-sensitive zones and how it has permitted large-scale hotel projects to come up in and around the Kaziranga National Park - home to the famous one-horned rhinos. Bird injuries rise due to noisy crackers, foul air A two-month-old laughing dove, perched on a tree in Sector 5, dropped to the ground after the sound of a high-decibel firecracker reverberated through the air, leaving it disoriented, according to its rescuer. New long-haired wasp species found in India Indian researchers have discovered five new long-haired species of wasps from different parts of the country. More Environment News»

		World
		7.0-magnitude quake hits Japan, small tsunami reported A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Kyushu in southwestern Japan on Saturday, triggering a minor tsunami in the southern part of Kagoshima prefecture.The quake had an epicentre about 160 km southwest of Makurazaki, Kagoshima. 'Far better' if Jihadi John faced trial than killed: Corbyn With Islamic State executioner Jihadi John reportedly killed in a drone strike, UK's leader of opposition Jeremy Corbyn today said it would have been "far better" if he had been held to account in a court of law. Singapore raises alert level after Paris attacks Singapore on Saturday raised its security alert level following a wave of bombings and shootings in Paris that left at least 120 people dead, the interior minister said. More World News»

		Science
		Scientist whom the nation forgot Seventy-five years after Robert Koch discovered the cholera bacteria in 1884, a Bengali scientist had unearthed the fact that it was a toxin produced by the bacteria that triggered loss of fluid from the body and caused thickening of blood, eventually leading to death. Chennai doctors perform combined heart and liver transplant The doctors transplanted the organs together, with both of them connected to each other. Lack of sleep causes diabetes: Experts Staying up late and not getting six hours of sleep puts one at high risk of becoming a Type-II diabetic, a disease once believed to be caused primarily by being overweight, prominent diabetes experts say. More Science News»

		Technology
		24 things you didn't know iPhones could do Even though we use our iPhones all day every day, there are still a handful of features that are relatively unknown. Some of these features are buried in the Settings menu while others are hidden in plain sight. Plus, there are a few things Siri can do for you that you may not know about. Indian-American brothers convicted for H-1B visa fraud The two brothers, Atul and Jiten Nanda, have been convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, one count of conspiracy to harbour illegal aliens and four counts of wire fraud. They face a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment and $250,000 in fines. Top recruiters head to non-IITs for placements Top engineering colleges that aren't part of the premier Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) system are reaping the benefits of an upbeat hiring scenario. More Technology News»

		Education
		Centre to decide on varsity's UGC status After six-months of continuous student protests against the management, it has come to light now that Avinashilingam University is not under the threat of automatic de-recognition by UGC as earlier feared. Fund crisis: PU teachers to wear black badges on November 18 and 19 On November 18 and 19, teachers of Panjab University (PU) will wear black badges to mark their protest against the delay of grants by the centre. New vocational courses come at fag end of session in Delhi schools There are just a few months to go for this school year to get over but not late enough, apparently, to launch vocational courses. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Transport day in Mumbai schools To move beyond the textbook and teach students in practical ways to help them understand better, a Mumbai based pre-school is turning their classrooms into models depicting various modes of transport. Smart class for palghar students The state education department is planning to introduce 100 smart classes for students in Palghar district. Fire in Lower Parel, fireman suffers minor injury One fireman suffered minor injuries, while dousing a fire which broke out late last night at 12.24am in a few shops located at Kama Industrial Estate, Sun mill compound, Lower Parel. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Robbers choke elderly couple to death with pillows Suspected robbers smothered an elderly couple to death after breaking into their house in south Delhi's East of Kailash early Friday morning. Goonj warehouse gutted, woollens for needy destroyed A warehouse of the NGO Goonj, containing stocks of warm clothes, blankets and shoes to be distributed among the needy for the winter, was gutted on Diwali night in southeast Delhi’s Madanpur Khadar Textbooks distributed to all students for next session, North Corporation tells HC In a reply submitted to the Delhi high court, the North Corporation has said that exercise notebooks for the coming academic year has been distributed among students in 746 schools More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Bengaluru's Jewish cemetery with a muslim caretaker shows that ancient conflicts have no meaning here A gift from Mysore Maharajah Krishnaraja Wadiyar to the family, this cemetery is among a handful of Jewish cemeteries in the country, and the only one of its kind in Bengaluru. “I am the third generation of the family taking care of the land and it is hallowed ground for us,” says Sidney Moses, a retired horse trainer. 'India' and 'Bharat' are essentially a continuum Authors Devapriya Roy and Saurav Jha are the ultimate ‘broke couple’ who gave up their jobs and travelled through India on `500 a day. The journey taught them a lot about our complex nation – and each other Kalam's billion beats relaunched Former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s epaper -- Billion Beats -- was relaunched by a 11-year-old Anushiya, a fisherman’s daughter on Saturday. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		When All The Fat Children made Hyderabadis shut up and dance When All The Fat Children made Hyderabadis shut up and dance DPS student to represent Hyd at Wiz Team S Asia Finals The focus of the project is to bring health and nutrition of underprivileged children on top of the priority list. Student dies after having hostel dinner A Class X student of Kasturba Residential School died of food poisoning in the school hostel at Talakondapally town of Mahbubnagar district late on Thursday night. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		IMD forecast says 'heavy to very heavy' rainfall in TN between Nov 15 and 17 Chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday deputed 14 senior IAS officers to take precautionary measures in 16 districts in view of Meteorological department forecast, indicating heavy rainfall over Tamil Nadu between November 15 and 17. Subways: The first to go under when skies open up A compelling, though clichéd, image of a Chennai monsoon is that of an MTC bus stuck in a flooded subway. Earlier this month, the video of a man rescuing an old woman from the Thillai Ganga Nagar subway went viral. Flooded on Friday the 13th, Chennai gasps for breath Torrential rain on Thursday night and Friday morning left the city flooded, with the Met office recording 15cm of precipitation between 8pm and 8am, making it the wettest November day in five years. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Gujarat ATS arrest 7 in connection with double murder of BJP leaders Seven arrested by Gujarat ATS in bharuch double murder of bjp leaders Shirish bengali and pragneah mistry which took place on November 2. FDI norms relaxation to boost NRGs investment in Gujarat Central government’s move to ease norms related to investments by companies owned and controlled by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) is set to boost investment in the state by Gujarat-origin businessmen from across the globe. Real estate, e-commerce, aviation, pharmaceuticals and start-ups are going to be the biggest beneficiaries. Diwali vacations: Amdavadis choose road over air From Jodhpur in Rajasthan to Gir in Saurashtra, people mostly with small or nuclear families are heading to these destinations to make the most of the vacations. As the air fares have spiraled up by 4-7 times for some of these popular destinations from Ahmedabad, people are taking the road or train route for their journeys. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Nehru's autobiography to be digitized People across the globe would soon be able to read the unpublished handwritten autography of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru titled 'In and out of Prison'. The manuscript of the 16-volume exhaustive handwritten memoirs of Nehru, kept in the Allahabad Museum for last six decades, are in the process of getting digitalized. Three held with 30ltr hooch In a crackdown against spurious liquor, Kaushambi police on Friday arrested three persons and 30 litres of hooch. Top runners to participate in All-India Indira Marathon on Nov 19 Top long-distance runners of the country are expected to participate in the 31th all-India prize money Indira marathon (42.195 km) scheduled to be held here on November 19. The marathon is an annual event organised under the aegis of Uttar Pradesh Sports Directorate and district administration in memory of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Essar workers call off protest Tension ended at Essar Steel's pellet unit near Paradip with the contractual workers calling off their stir following intervention of the district administration on Friday. BJD on farmer appeasement drive The ruling BJD seems to have decided to pull out all the stops to neutralize people's negative perception of the state government with regard to farmer suicides. Leopard strays into Mayurbhanj village Three persons were injured in a leopard attack near a village at Udala under Baripada forest division in Mayurbhanj district on Friday. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Surfeit of inspections, school scorecard still poor It is a problem of plenty for government schools in Madhya Pradesh. Plagued by ‘too many inspections’, experience suggests none capped malpractices or improved conditions in these schools. Smart classes, 'not so smart' teachers Digital classrooms, which have been introduced in many private schools of the city over the last few years, may not be all that effective for learning for want of trained teachers who are “not so smart”. Children advocate interactive learning Learning by rote or cramming before an exam has been adopted by students as the oft repeated practice. However, new-age lessons aimed at engaging children go a long way in promoting application-based learning. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Women farm leaders detained in Bathinda Police on Friday took two women farmer leaders into custody, apprehending they might protest against Punjab PWD minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon while on visit to Badiala village to attend some social functions. 9 booked under Child Marriage Act in Fazilka district Police have booked nine persons, including five women, in a child marriage case. Pinjore cylinder blast toll rises to two The death toll in the LPG cylinder blast at Himsikha Colony in Pinjore has increased to two. More Chandigarh News»

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