It's been over two years since the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) asked all its affiliated schools to "develop their own websites containing comprehensive information about the school and its management". But not many have complied so far.   In its latest circular, sent on June 17, the CBSE has warned that the defaulting schools "will not be able to register their candidates for board examinations". The note, signed by U C Bodh, deputy secretary (affiliation), says the "responsibility would lie with the school management".   The CBSE had first sent a circular in this regard on October 18, 2010, followed by a reminder on Decembe

London: Britain is losing the battle against cyber crime and needs a new crack crime unit to fight the growing problem in cooperation with its global partners, particularly the European Union, a panel of lawmakers said in a report on Tuesday.    The Home Affairs Committee, which scrutinizes the government's domestic policy, said the "state-of-the-art espionage response team" would encourage companies, banks and institutions to report hacking attempts to uncover the full extent of online crime and halt its rise.    "We are very concerned that there appears to be a ‘black hole' where low-level e-crime is committed with impunity," th

New Delhi: Notwithstanding Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy’s strong opposition to the division of the state, the Congress high command appears inclined towards creation of a separate Telangana state.    The final decision on the issue is expected to be taken at a meeting of party’s highest policy making body, the Congress working committee on Tuesday evening. The CWC will meet after deliberations in the UPA Coordination Committee.    As per reports, the coordination committee will meet at 4 pm followed by the meeting of the CWC at 5.30 pm.    D-Day for Telangana: Congress may announce new state today   While the U

Over ten GJM supporters were arrested when they burnt a motorcycle and a car at Rambi on the National Highway as a three-day bandh demanding Gorkhaland began in the hills today.   The motorcycle and the car were burnt by Gorkha Janmukti supporters at Rambi on the National Highway 31 where they were picketing since 6 AM when the shutdown began, police said.   The police intervened and arrested 12 GJM supporters, while the remaining fled from the picketing spot on the arterial highway which connects West Bengal with Sikkim.   Darjeeling town wore a deserted look with traffic off the roads and markets and offices closed.   There is a Supreme Court directive t

Washington: A new study has revealed that the Global Positing System (GPS) is vulnerable to hackers or terrorists who could use it to hijack ships and commercial airliners.    Fox News reports that the new study has exposed a huge potential hole in national security.    GPS expert Todd Humphreys and his team at the University of Texas (UT) had taken over the sophisticated navigation system on a super-yacht in the Mediterranean Sea using a laptop, a small antenna and an electronic GPS spoofer, built for only 3,000 dollars.    The UT team was able to drive the ship far, take it into treacherous waters, and even put it on a collision course with another

Noting that India continued to be the second fastest growing economy in the world after China, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said people should not be worried about the current slowdown and expressed hope of achieving six per cent growth this fiscal.   "People should remember India continues to be the second fastest growing economy after China. Even China's growth which was at 10 per cent has come down to seven per cent now, while our growth has slid to five per cent from nine per cent," he said at a bank function here.   "Economic slowdown is there in all the countries. When there is slow growth rate in the world, India cannot remain unaffected,&q

New Delhi, July 26 : The coal ministry has directed state miner Coal India (CIL) to sign fuel supply agreements (FSAs) for about 78,000 MW power to ensure committed supply of coal to the sector, a coal ministry statement said Friday .

"This (FSAs) will not only increase the power generation further but will also fast track several power projects which are under development," the statement said.

CIL had, in February 2012, been directed to sign 131 FSAs with power plants commissioned or to be commissioned by March 2015.

The ministry said that as on Thursday CIL had signed 82 FSAs with power stations with a capacity of 34,793 MW. T

The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed imposing a $2.75 million civil penalty against airplane manufacturer, Boeing Co for not providing proper solution to the control issues in reasonable amount of time.

The FAA said that Boeing came to know in September 2008 that it is using fasteners on its 777 model that are not complying with the standards. The watchdog had launched an investigation into the matter. It said that the company set several deadlines to address the issue but did not change the component in reasonable amount of time. The FAA said that Boeing made a plan in 2010 to address the fastener issue, after two years of coming to know about the problem.

Washington: Homing pigeons fly off from an unknown place in unfamiliar territory and still manage to find their way home using a mental map, a new study has revealed.    Despite intensive research, it is not yet definitively clear where this unusual gift comes from.    All we know is that homing pigeons and migratory birds determine their flight direction with the help of the Earth's magnetic field, the stars and the position of the sun.    Research proposes two approaches to explain how homing pigeons can find their home loft when released from an unfamiliar place. The first version assumes that pigeons compare the coordinates of their current l

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh on Friday fired a fresh salvo, this time on none other than party colleague and Congress MP Meenakshi Natarajan. In a sexist remark, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister called Natarajan a "100 per cent tanch maal".   Addressing a public rally in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya, while appreciating the work done by Natarajan, a close aide of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, said, "Main bhi purana johri hun...rajnitigyon ki thodi si baat se pataa chal jata hai kaun farzi hai aur kaun sahi hai...yeh 100 per cent tanch maal hain (I am a veteran...i can easily identify if a politician is genuine or fake by what they

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh has received its 'best' seasonal rainfall in the last decade so far, which according to climate change experts means monsoon this year may have also brought a shift in the rainfall pattern in the state for good.   While monsoon during 2007, 2009 and 2010 was good overall, the state didn't receive continuous rains like it has happened so far this year in the June-July period, weather experts said.   "The rainfall pattern changed in the last few years. We were getting more rainfall during August-September rather than June-July, but in contrast this year, we got good rains during the first half," said Thilotham R Kolanu, chief ex

Skoda India has confirmed that the new Octavia will be officially unveiled here on August 9th by Skoda’s Chairman of Board of Directors of SKODA Auto, Dr. H.C. Winfried Vahland Built on VW’s new MQB variable platform that allows for variations in length, wheelbase and width, the new Octavia is 90mm longer and 45mm wider than the Laura. The wheelbase now stands at 2686mm, just shy of the VW Passat.   The fit and finish on the inside has also been stepped up. Seams are almost invisible, the quality of plastics is improved for the most part, and the neat and simple design of the dash is quite appealing. Boot space stands at a generous 590 litres.   The new Octavi

    New Delhi: Google celebrates British biophysicist and x-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin’s 93rd birthday with a doodle.    Honouring her contribution to our understanding of the molecular structure of DNA, the doodle contains an image of her and the DNA double helix.    Born into an influential Jewish family in London in 1920, Franklin showed exceptional academic abilities from early childhood. She later studied chemistry in Cambridge and worked as a research associate at King's College London in the Medical Research Council's (MRC) Biophysics Unit under Maurice Wilkins.    Francis Crick and James Watson used

Cooking gas (LPG) will now be available at select petrol pumps in metro cities after the government allowed sale of small 5-kg cylinders.   5-kg LPG cylinders will be available at company-owned-company-operated petrol pumps, which make up for just 3 per cent of over 47,000 petrol pumps in the country. Also, the gas will be available at market price which is double the rate of Rs. 28.8 per kg for subsidised domestic LPG (Rs 410 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi).   "The Government has approved Free Trade LPG (FTL) Scheme for selling 5 kg LPG cylinders through Company Owned Retail Outlets (COCO) PSU Oil Marketing Companies(OMCs)," an official statement said on Wednesday

Mumbai: A high-alert was sounded in Mumbai after heavy rains lashed the western metropolis on Wednesday.    The suburban rail network, lifeline of the Maximum City, has been hit due to incessant rains with trains on the central and harbour lines running 10-15 late.    Also, road traffic has been hit in many parts of the city due to water logging.    Following a warning by the Met Dept, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has advised Mumbaikars against venturing outdoors unless absolutely essential. Schools have also been shut in some parts of the city.    IMD officials have asked people to ignore any SMS warning of heavy floods in

New Delhi: Poverty ratio in the country has declined to 21.9 percent in 2011-12 from 37.2 percent in 2004-05 on account of increase in per capita consumption, Planning Commission said.   According to the Commission, in 2011-12 for rural areas, the national poverty line by using the Tendulkar methodology is estimated at Rs 816 per capita per month in villages and Rs 1,000 per capita per month in cities.   This would mean that the persons whose consumption of goods and services exceed Rs 33.33 in cities and Rs 27.20 per capita per day in villages are not poor.   The Commission said that for a family of five, the all India poverty line in terms of consumption expendit

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has sought views of principals and teachers on a proposal seeking ban on using camera mobile phones in colleges and university campuses across the state to prevent "cyber crimes".    The joint director of higher education had sought views of college heads and teachers on this proposal in a letter sent in May.    The proposal also involves mandatory installation of jammers and decoders in campuses of educational institutions, Mumbai University sources said.   The joint director sent the letter following a presentation by NCP activist Ashok Lad from Aurangabad, to Minister for Higher and Technical Education Rajes

LONDON: It's a boy!

Prince William's wife, Kate, has given birth to a boy, a child now third in line to the British throne.

The child was born Monday, after many Britons woke up to the news that Kate had gone into labor with the couple's first child.

The birth announcement, via a press release from Kensington Palace, said the boy was born at 4:24 p.m. weighing 8 pounds 6 ounces.

The royal birth recalled that of the baby's father, William, in 1982, at the same central London hospital. Many remember the moment when he was carried out in his mother Princess Diana's arms with proud father Prince Charles at their side

Gurgaon: Japanese auto major Nissan on Monday announced the global relaunch of its Datsun brand with the unveiling of hatchback 'Datsun Go', which will be priced less than Rs 4 lakh.   The company, which is reviving the brand after nearly three decades of discontinuing the marque, said the car will be available in the Indian market from early next year.   "Today we begin new chapter in the history of Nissan. Datsun is back... The car will go on sales early next year in India, followed by Indonesia, Russia and South Africa," Nissan Motor Co President and CEO Carlos Ghosn said here.   He said the launch of the Datsun brand in India is part of the co

Washington: Eating more than two eggs does not lead to higher serum cholesterol in teens, regardless of how little physical activity they do, a new study has found.   Researchers at the University of Granada analysed the link between egg intake in adolescents and the main risk factors for developing cardiovascular diseases, such as lipid profile, excess body fat, insulin resistance and high blood pressure.   "Health professionals traditionally insisted that eating eggs increased cholesterol levels, so in recent decades there has been a tendency to restrict intake championed by various public health organisations," Alberto Soriano Maldonado, primary author of the s