London Olympics: India wins more medals than Beijing 2008
RINGSIDE VIEWSome setbacks, some triumphs at London Walk the TalkBefore the Olympics, K.T. Irfan, India’s 20-km walker, had to ask Malayalam star Mohanlal to buy him a pair of shoes for the event.Now that he’s finished 10th in a field of 50, he’s become a star. Kerala Sports Minister K.B.,RINGSIDE VIEWSome setbacks, some triumphs at LondonWalk the TalkBefore the Olympics, K.T. Irfan, India’s 20-km walker, had to ask Malayalam star Mohanlal to buy him a pair of shoes for the event.Now that he’s finished 10th in a field of 50, he’s become a star. Kerala Sports Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar met Irfan in London and appears to have agreed to fund his training expenses from now on. But will he walk the talk?No Excess Baggage A group of officials from the Athletics Federation of India reached London but could not enter the Olympic Stadium. They had to watch the games on LED screens in an open area.”Please tell us what happened to (discus thrower) Krishna Poonia,” said one official. Perhaps they ought to have stayed on in India.Bouts of Joy An Olympic medal has changed everything for boxer M.C. Mary Kom.The bronze medallist’s popularity is at an all-time high in London, with journalists at the main press centre,Excel Arena and even in TV commentary booths raving about her performance.End of the Road Tennis has been a huge letdown for India at the Olympics, considering Leander Paes got the nation its first ever singles medal in 1996 at Atlanta. Some retirements are likely. Mahesh Bhupathi will probably be the first to go. But where is the next generation? By S. KannanIn Bhiwani Junction, a lively account of India’s boxing revolution, Vijender Singh talked about his first reactions being at the Olympic Games in Athens, aged 17. “Yeh hota hai world ka sports… main dang reh gaya (So, this is what global sport is about. I was stunned).”In this athletic panorama, unmatched in scale and significance, both dazzling and daunting, where does India stand? How did we do in London 2012?advertisementComparing India’s medals tally to those stacked above us is neither conclusion or consolation. Comparing India’s performance to Games gone by offers a clue but only if studied with dispassionate assessment.The biggest bonus from London 2012 is that for the first time, India’s challenge extended across several disciplines whose athletes travel with optimism as opposed to the cumbersome baggage of hockey and tennis.London was the first time that Indians had qualified well in time and in large numbers-11 shooters, eight boxers, five weightlifters to name just a random lot of competitors-with reasonable financial support and expertise working for them. India had to win more medals than Beijing 2008. This time instead of wailing over bad luck, vegetarianism and unfortunate genes, India had maths on its side. In Rio 2016, the more the contenders, the more the medals. It’s that simple.If every Games must be treated like a staging post to understand where our sport stands, London is proof that a slow tectonic shift has taken place in India’s Olympic sport.In Sydney 2000, medal prospects had largely been centred around hockey, tennis and women’s weightlifting, with Pullela Gopichand-yes, him, Saina Nehwal’s sagely guru-offering an outside chance at the badminton event. The surprise: Boxer Gurcharan Singh coming within 14 seconds of a semi-final spot, beaten on countback, left weeping on the ring.In Athens 2004, India’s hopes floated around hockey, tennis (again), athletics through long jumper Anju Bobby George and shooting. Three Indian shooters made the finals, Rajyavardhan Rathore won the country’s first silver. The first-mover advantage enjoyed by women’s weightlifting had by then been politicked and doped itself out of contention. The surprise: Archer Satyadev Prasad going toe to toe in the quarter-final against the world No.1, defeated by a single arrow.Saina NehwalIn Beijing 2008, the hockey team didn’t qualify and tennis moved offcentre. The contenders now came from shooting, boxing and badminton. Abhinav Bindra’s gold broke a glass ceiling, Vijender Singh’s bronze opened boxing’s floodgates. The surprise in Beijing came from Sushil Kumar’s repechage wrestling bronze. Nehwal hurt so badly after her quarter-final defeat that she swore to return to the Olympics, a better, stronger, tougher competitor. When she won her quarterfinal against Tine Baun in London, no wonder she tossed aside her racket and just pounded the court with her bare hands.Going into the 2012 Games, along with Nehwal, the shooters, boxers and wrestlers had given themselves the best chance. Once again, three shooters made the final-in a dream Games it would have been five-but two won medals. Of eight boxers, the first to make the medal rounds was its lone woman contestant, M.C. Mary Kom, the gumshield-mom. The performance of six of the seven men must sting or boxing will slide.advertisementThe surprises from London come from race walker K.T. Irfan who broke the national record in the 20km walk, shooter Joydeep Karmakar who finished fourth, badminton braveheart Parupalli Kashyap and discus thrower Vikas Gowda, the first Indian man in an Olympic athletics final after Sriram Singh in 1976 and the first in a men’s field event after Henry Rebello in the 1948 triple jump.Mary KomThe sports where the noise ended up louder than the news were hockey, tennis and archery. The archers say they need a mental trainer, hockey will hold on if its young players can find something to fight for in the World Series Hockey and tennis must first rid itself of the Paes-Bhupathi saga that now looms like those Tom and Jerry cartoon shadows.It is the governors of these sports who must now play a role or their sport will slide out of Olympic significance in India. Of the three, archery must have the most agile response to underachievement, because it stands to lose the most. Hockey will lean on history and tennis will always have its niche following.Until now, India’s genuine athletic performers, particularly those without resources, had zero safety nets. Gursharan abandoned the Army for a professional career in the US, Prasad was quickly forgotten. London has shown Indian Olympic sport that the only way to succeed is to change its old-style game.Pistol shooter Vijay Kumar had been shooting only for nine years before he won silver in his sport’s biggest event. It was a medal won through order and method. Neglect that by displacing genuine athletic achievement from the top of the food chain and a sport only reduces its Olympic relevance in India. In real terms, say, if the bosses in Indian archery do not make winning a medal in Rio their only priority, everyone might as well just toss aside their bows and arrows. As Vijender Singh said, yeh hota hai world ka sports.-The author is senior editor at ESPN cricinfo.
After shuttler Kidambi Srikanth beat world and Olympic Champion Chen Long to win Australian Open Super Series last week, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday announced for the sportstar a cash award of Rs 50 lakh, 1,000 square yards house site in the Amaravati capital region and Group I post.Srikanth became the first Indian badminton player to win back-to-back Super Series titles.Naidu said Srikanth was an inspiration for young players to win international medals. Indonesia and Australia Open Super Series winner Srikanth was felicitated at Tummalapalli Kalakshetram. Participating as chief guest, Naidu played badminton on the dais with the racket presented by Srikanth to him before the start of the programme.SRIKANTH’s COACH PRESENTED Rs 15 LAKH The chief minister also presented Rs 15 lakh to Srikanth’s coach Pullela Gopichand.Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said, “Equal importance should be given to all sports. I allotted 5 acres of land for the Gopichand Sports Academy in Hyderabad, which gave a boost to the growth of badminton in the region and produced international players.” The chief minister said that a sports university would be set up in Amaravati.Meanwhile, Srikanth said that he won the series due to the training provided in the Gopichand Academy. Srikanth’s mother Radhamukunda thanked the chief minister for her son’s success.Minister for Sports Kollu Ravindra, and other Andhra Pradesh Ministers Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Prattipati pulla Rao and others were also present on the occasion.Also read | Happy with my performance: Srikanth after winning Australian Open Super SeriesadvertisementAlso read | Kidambi Srikanth credits Pullela Gopichand for Indian badminton’s recent successWATCH VIDEO
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Despite another setback with his injury calf, wide receiver Victor Cruz believes he will play for the New York Giants this season.Speaking Oct. 2 for the first time since experiencing another problem with his left calf, Cruz confirmed that he received a shot of platelet-rich plasma in an effort to hasten his recovery.Coach Tom Coughlin and Cruz said there is no timetable for the 28-year-old’s return.Cruz had hoped to play on Oct. 4 against the Bills in Buffalo, but the calf didn’t feel right on Sept. 30 when he tried to run full speed. He shut it down after talking with trainers.Best down for his salsa dances after scoring, Cruz hasn’t played in a game since sustaining a season-ending knee injury on Oct. 12, 2014 against the Eagles. It was his second knee injury in as many years.Cruz was starting to look good in training came in mid-August until he injured his calf. He has been unable to practice and has missed the first three games of the season.“I am sitting down and I looked up last night in the bedroom like: ‘This has got to end,’” Cruz said Friday. “I am tired of looking at reporters every day. I’d rather be looking at green grass and numbered lines on the field. I haven’t lost faith. I now that my time is going to come. When that time is, is still up in the air. But I know my time will come back here in a blue uniform with the New York Giants.”Coughlin said the Giants (1-2) are not thinking about placing Cruz on injured reserve at this point.“This team and this coaching staff they believe in me and they have believed in me since I walked through these doors and showed my ability,” said Cruz, a one-time free agent who emerged as one of the league’s top receivers.“I want to give that back to them. I want to be out there and I want to play. They understand how much I want to play and how much I love this game. I want to continue to prove that.”Cruz said there are no guarantees that the injection will help. Doctors have told him that it either will help or have no effect. He will be evaluated again on Oct. 5.Still, the disappointment for Cruz was obvious. He was optimistic about playing on Sept. 28 after running pass routes at three-quarter speed.Two days later, the calf was a problem and 24 hours after that Coughlin said Cruz had no chance of playing on Oct. 4..“You gear up for that moment when you are ready to play and ready to go and you have another setback,” said Cruz, who had 23 touchdown catches between 2011-13, earning a Pro Bowl spot in 2012 . “Hopefully, it’s the last setback.” (TOM CANAVAN, AP Sports Writer) TweetPinShare0 Shares
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid’s selection continues to draw criticism with former captain Geoffrey Boycott now slamming his inclusion in the England Test squad for the India series, calling the spinner a “spoilt brat”, who should not have been handed a Test recall.Rashid was on Tuesday named in England’s playing XI for the first Test against India in Birmingham starting from August 1.His selection has stirred up a storm in England as the 30-year-old signed a white-ball only contract with his county Yorkshire in February but said he “was not finished” with the longest format of the game.Controversial? Adil Rashid in England playing XI for first Test vs IndiaHe did not feature in the recent four-day game with Lancashire which included several members of the England squad on both sides.”In two years England have gone around in a circle. By picking Adil Rashid, they are selecting the unselectable: a player who will not play four-day Championship cricket for Yorkshire because his heart isn’t in it but he will play for England in Test Matches. Absurd? Yes,” Boycott wrote in the Daily Telegraph.India vs England: I feel a bit sorry for Adil Rashid, says Alastair CookYorkshire have reacted angrily to England’s decision to select a player who has made himself unavailable to them for red-ball cricket this summer.”How could he expect Yorkshire to welcome that news? He should reverse the roles and put himself in their position instead of thinking about himself. It makes him look like a spoilt brat,” Boycott, a former opener, said.advertisementAdil Rashid in controversial England comeback for 1st Test against IndiaFormer England and Yorkshire captain Michael Vaughan had said that the decision to pick Rashid for the first Test at Edgbaston was “ridiculous” prompting the Bradford-born spinner to say that his comments were “stupid”.Michael Vaughan, Adil Rashid in bitter war of words over England selectionBacking Vaughan, Boycott said, “Michael Vaughan criticised him, so he hit out like a spoilt child saying Michael is stupid and nobody listens to him. Trashing a great England captain and superb batsman doesn’t go down well with the cricketing public.”I was kind of surprised: Adil Rashid reacts to England Test squad comeback”Let me tell Adil that Vaughan will be remembered as one of the greatest England captains and an elegant, superb batsman. In 10 years nobody will remember Adil’s Test-match performances. He has played 10 Test matches, taken 38 wickets at an average of 42.78 runs. He has been expensive and not a match-winner.Former England captains blast selectors for recalling Adil Rashid in Test squad”Someone close to him should tell him to keep his mouth shut and start bowling better. If he trashes me, like he trashed Vaughan, so be it but our cricketing public know which guys have played well for England and so far Rashid isn’t one of them.”The five-match Test series starts with the first game at the Edgbaston.Matured Adil Rashid is ready for Test cricket: Jonny Bairstow”England will be wise to approach his first Test with the same intensity they showed when having to win the third ODI at Headingley to beat India in this series.”Test matches tend to fluctuate. Sometimes they are on a knife edge and it is about character and mental toughness, so getting on top early helps all players gain confidence and allow people to relax and express themselves,” Boycott, who recently underwent a heart surgery, said.(With PTI inputs)
Kings XI Punjab co-owner and Bollywood actor Preity Zinta recently posted a short clip on her social media profile showing her interacting with KXIP bowler Mujeeb Ur Rahman in what is an immediately unfamiliar language. In her Insta post, she asks her followers to identify the language and what they are saying to each other.As the top comment notes on the video, the language they are using is Pashto. It is an Eastern Iranian language which is also one of the official languages of Afghanistan.KXIP spinner Mujeeb hails from Afghanistan and the video shows Preity “flaunting her language skills” as she asks the Afghanistan spinner about his well being and his performance in the IPL.”Flaunting my language skills with @mujeeb_zadran after our last game in Punjab ???? Can anyone guess what we are saying and in which language? ???? ???? ???? …. ?? ???? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?? ? #saddapunjab #saddasquad #ting ???????? @kxipofficial.” – Preity wrote while sharing the video on her Instagram and Twitter handles.Flaunting my language skills with @Mujeeb_R88 after our last game in Punjab Can anyone guess what we are saying and in which language ? …. ? #saddapunjab #saddasquad #ting @lionsdenkxip pic.twitter.com/s4RuXtDybyPreity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) April 10, 2019As per the top comment on the 14-second video clip quickly going viral, this is what they are apparently saying:Preity: Manana Manana Mujeeb (Thanks thanks Mujeeb).Mujeeb: Dera manana ta na hm (Thank you too).Preity: Sanga ye? (How are you?).Mujeeb: Khi ym Taso sange ye? (Im fine and how are you?).advertisementCurrently at the third spot on the IPL 2019 points table, KXIP is playing quite well this season under the captaincy of Ravichandran Ashwin. They have played six matches till now and won four of them. Their last victory came against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 8 in Mohali.Kings XI Punjab will be playing against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. Their last match together was on March 30 at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali where Mumbai were defeated by 8 wickets by Punjab.With Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma having sustained an injury in their training session on Tuesday, it remains to be seen if he will play this game and whether MI can avenge their previous defeat.Also Read | IPL 2019: MI likely to rest injured Rohit Sharma for KXIP match at WankhedeAlso Read | Watch: Harbhajan Singh’s daughter Hinaya cheers for papa and Chennai Super KingsAlso Read | IPL 2019: Ombudsman might call Ganguly but no bar on sitting in DC DugoutAlso Watch | IPL 2019: Virat Kohli struggles to solve RCB’s loss puzzle
EVANSTON, IL – NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini watches as his team takes on the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on November 24, 2018 in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern defeated Illinois 24-16. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)The college football season sits just over a month away. All summer long fans have been clamoring for a taste of the action after a few months away from the sport.Well, this week, fans received a little snippet – which may be just enough to hold them over until the season kicks off.Media days started with a bang this week as the coaches and top players from each team met with the media to break down the coming season.On Thursday afternoon, one coach stole the show without saying a word. Illinois head coach Lovie Smith took to the podium sporting a righteous beard.Check it out.Lovie Smith beard update: luxurious pic.twitter.com/trLyVLfeqm— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) July 18, 2019After finishing the 2018 college football season with a 4-8 record, Smith hit the recruiting trail hard.He brought in a solid class in 2019 and landed a few top transfers – including star tight end Luke Ford.Smith is entering his fourth season at Illinois. He led the Fighting Illini to a 9-27 record over the first three seasons and failed to make a bowl game.He might need to make a bowl game this season to keep a hold on his job. Illinois opens the season with a non-conference contest against Akron followed by a trip to UConn.
zoom Chemical shipping company Navig8 Chemical Tankers Inc. has expanded its fleet with its newest addition, the 25,000 dwt stainless steel chemical tanker Navig8 Sky.The newbuilding was delivered from Japanese shipbuilder Kitanihon Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.Navig8 Sky is the second of six vessels contracted at Kitanihon to be delivered to the company.It is also the second and last vessel to be part financed under the USD 55 million secured loan facility with Credit Suisse AG entered into on June 22, 2016.Navig8 Sky will be entered into and operated in Navig8 Group’s Stainless8 commercial pool.At the end of June, the company took delivery of the first stainless steel chemical tanker, the Navig8 Sirius.Featuring a length of 159 meter and a width of 25 meters, the remaining tanker newbuilds are scheduled to join Navig8 Chemical Tankers’ fleet in 2016 and 2017.The batch of six vessels were ordered in January 2014.
Android OEMs have always had a knack for selecting clunky, awkward names for their phones, and the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze Q looks set to carry on that tradition on T-Mobile’s airwaves. Based on the AccuWeather widget shown in the press image, it looks as though the new QWERTY slider may be arriving in just a couple of days.Specs haven’t been officially revealed yet, though there’s some speculation that the Blaze Q may be a QWERTY-fied version of the Epic Touch 4G %displayPrice% at %seller% with upgraded internals. Rather than a 1.2GHz dual-core chip and an 800 x 480 display, for example, the Blaze Q is expected to ship with a 1.5GHz dual-core and a 720p display.Samsung may use one if its own chips, too, though probably the Exynos 4212 and not the new Exynos 5250 superchip. As for the display, there’s reason to question whether Samsung will be able to push the resolution that high. With all that extra bezel, it’s unlikely that the display will stretch more than four inches. Samsung has yet to use a 720p panel below four and a half inches, so this would either be its first — or the Blaze Q will be sporting a lower-resolution display when it arrives.Other anticipated features include 16GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM, a rear-facing camera that can capture full 1080p video, HSPA+ support, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich — which means you’ll need to wait patiently for an OTA update to Jelly Bean if you decide to pick up the Blaze Q.More at TMo News
Businesses may face penalties of up to $50,000 if they choose to hire illegal employees through new draft laws the Australian Government will introduce to parliament in the new year.This follows an independent review findings of penalties and they way they are enforced on businesses employing non-Australians without permission to work in Australia.After public consultation on the findings, immigration minister Chris Bowen says the government is ready to crack down on employers in 2012 who continue to hire illegal workers. Facebook Twitter: @NeosKosmos Instagram
Stay on target Scientists Discover Possible Interstellar VisitorWater Vapor Detected on Potentially ‘Habitable’ Planet Over the next 100 billion years, all stars beyond the Local Group (comprising more than 54 galaxies, including our Milky Way) will slowly withdraw from the universe.As described by Dan Hooper, of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory at the Center for Particle Astrophysics, the heavenly bodies will “fall beyond the cosmic horizon and become not only unobservable, but entirely inaccessible, thus limiting how much energy could one day be extracted from them.”This, of course, is nothing for you to fret over. You’ll be long dead. So will your children, you children’s children, and your children’s children’s children.But for the advanced species living on a planet in another star system, this could be a major problem.“On timescales of tens of billions of years and longer, the expansion of the universe will ultimately limit the ability of an advanced civilization to accumulate and consume useable energy, a fact that has only been exacerbated by the discovery of dark energy,” Hooper wrote in a white paper.Fingers crossed someone figures out how to build Dyson sphere ASAP.The hypothetical megastructures, first described in Olaf Stapledon’s 1937 sci-fi novel “Star Maker,” attempt to explain how a spacefaring civilization would meet energy requirements once its planet’s resources are depleted.As it stands, only a fraction of a star’s energy emissions reaches the surface of an orbiting planet. So why not assemble a giant cage that fits around a star, capturing a large percentage of its power output?Great idea! Except that the expansion of the universe continues to drive more candidate orbs out of reach.Hooper, however, has a plan.The advanced civilization in question must simply “expand rapidly outward,” build a Dyson sphere around encountered stars, and use the harnessed energy to “accelerate those stars … toward the center” of their world.Think Dolly Parton lassoing and hogtying her bigoted boss in 9 to 5—but on a cosmic level.“Given the inevitability of the encroaching horizon, any sufficiently advanced civilization that is determined to maximize its ability to utilize energy will expand throughout the universe, attempting to secure as many stars as possible before they become permanently inaccessible,” according to Hooper.Which will ultimately lead us to the discovery of extraterrestrial life—cultures that are perhaps already using Dyson spheres to bolster their galaxies.“It is of course possible … that life has already evolved elsewhere in our universe, and that civilizations far more advanced than our own may already exist within our Hubble volume,” Hooper explained. “If this is the case, then they may have already begun to collect stars from their surrounding cosmological environment, altering the distribution of stars and leading to potentially observable signatures.”Clues such as the odd-looking galaxy, seemingly full of only massive stars—those too big or too short-lived to be of use, i.e., the leftovers—could give us the answers we’ve been looking for.Let us know what you like about Geek by taking our survey.
Vogue announced their latest version of the Vogue Exclusive app today. The app focuses on the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the May 2 event which will celebrate the late designer Alexander McQueen and the exhibition opening of “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty”.For a $.99 download, the Vogue Exclusive app offers: three videos; an introduction to the new McQueen exhibition by Met curator Andrew Bolton; a tribute to McQueen by Vogue EIC Anna Wintour; a retrospective focused from 2006’s “Anglomania” to 2010’s “American Woman” and an intro by Vogue’s European editor-at-large Hamish Bowles.This is the third installment of the Vogue Exclusive app; prior editions included cover subjects, the pop stars Rihanna and Lady Gaga. The Lady Gaga installment is bundled with purchase of the Costume Gala edition. The Costume Institute Gala began in 1948 as a $50 plate midnight supper. The McQueen exhibit features 100 ensembles and 70 accessories from the designer’s career. Vogue launched the Exclusive app on February 17, with Vogue’s Lady Gaga cover story anchoring the app offering. Additional interviews, photos, audio and video were included in the iPad-only app.Photo Credit: Mario Testino/Vogue More on this topic Digital Edition Briefs | 6.28.12 Hearst Tests App Business QA Question Content New York Times Names Style Magazine Editor 2006 Eddie and Ozzie Awards Finalists Announced Want Page Views? Post a Story on Abortion RightsJust In TIME Names New Sales, Marketing Leads | People on the Move BabyCenter Sold to Ziff Davis Parent J2 Media | News & Notes The Atlantic Names New Global Marketing Head | People on the Move PE Firm Acquires Majority Stake in Industry Dive Shanker Out, Litterick In as CEO of EnsembleIQ Four More Execs Depart SourceMedia in Latest RestructuringPowered by
Download AudioA bill to give parents more authority over sex education in Alaska schools passed the Alaska Senate Friday.Senate Bill 89, introduced by Sen. Mike Dunleavy last spring, is framed as a “parental rights” bill; it would require parents’ permission before public school students have a sex education lesson, and allow parents to opt their kids out of sex ed and standardized testing.But what’s drawn more controversy is that the measure would bar schools from using educational material from any “abortion services provider.” That includes Planned Parenthood, which says it currently provides education to over 2,000 Alaskan children.The bill’s co-sponsor Sen. Cathy Giessel told reporters Monday it’s about protecting parents’ authority over their children’s education.“To have special interests coming into the schools, many parents believe is inappropriate,” said Giessel. “If they wanted their children to receive materials and philosophy from Planned Parenthood, any parent could certainly take their child to a Planned Parenthood clinic, but it doesn’t belong in an institution where we’re providing a broad education for all of Alaska’s children.”Before the Senate vote Friday, Senate Minority Leader Berta Gardner called S.B. 89 a “bad bill” for a state with high rates of chlamydia, child sex abuse, and teen pregnancy.“Many of us as parents want our children to be informed. We want them to know the scientific facts about disease, about reproduction…” said Gardner. “We want children to know facts about dating violence and risks and what are healthy relationships and what are the signs that a relationship is not healthy. That’s what we want for all children, I think.”Gardner added an amendment Friday to clarify that S.B. 89 wouldn’t prevent schools teaching about dating violence and sexual abuse required under Erin’s Law, which passed last year.And, content matter aside, Gardner argued that the bill violates the autonomy of local school districts.“I believe it’s state overreach, it impairs local control, and it puts an unfunded mandate on school districts,” said Gardner, “and we’ve fought against these in other areas, too.”Gardner also noted that parents can currently take their kids out of a school lesson or activity for any reason.S.B. 89 passed the State Senate on reconsideration by a vote of 12-7. It goes now to the House.In a piece of companion legislation, Senator Dunleavy also spelled out penalties;S.B. 191 says that teachers could be fired and even have their teaching licenses revoked for using materials from an organization like Planned Parenthood.Planned Parenthood said in a statement Friday that both SB 89 and SB 191 are “unconstitutional restrictions on the education available to communities across the state.”
HeldCounter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) detained two alleged members of neo-JMB from Nikunjo area in Khilkhet of the capital on Friday night, reports UNB.The identities of the arrestees are yet to be disclosed.Police also recovered 30 detonators (explosive) from their possessions, said DMP deputy commissioner (Media) Masudur Rahman.Details of the drive will be made available at a press briefing later in the day, he added.
New York, New York – Reported by Elite Traveler, the private jet lifestyle magazineThe skies are brightening for business aviation, and Flexjet expects that trend to continue in 2012. Here are some recent numbers that illustrate the company’s positive financial indicators:– When comparing year ending Sept. 2010 to Sept. 2011, fractional jet industry sales are up 16%; at Flexjet, sales of its fractional jet shares are up 92%.– During this same period of time, Flexjet has grown its market share from 14% to 21%.– Flexjet has also successfully sold 33 shares in the all-new Learjet 85 aircraft that was just launched in August 2011, with 7 additional contracts in progress.– Flexjet’s parent company Bombardier released its Q3 financial results in December posting revenues for its Aerospace division of $2.3 billion, compared to $1.8 billion during the same period last fiscal year.There is no doubt the road to recovery for the business aviation industry has been a long one. But during that time Flexjet has been working diligently to position itself as the private aviation solutions provider of choice. For example:– Flexjet now offers access to the most comprehensive portfolio of products in the business aviation industry, including whole aircraft ownership and management, fractional jet ownership, jet cards and charter brokerage services.– It has the youngest aircraft in the fractional jet industry – averaging approximately four years of age – consisting exclusively of Bombardier Learjet and Challenger aircraft.– Flexjet has invested more than $1 million to create a Customer Account Management program, providing each owner with a single point of contact to ensure customized solutions and sublime service.www.flexjet.com
A bicommunal event to mark International Children’s Day will be held on June 1 at Cetinkaya football pitch in northern Nicosia, organised by the Intercommunal Municipal Coordination Group and under the auspices of the mayors on both sides of Nicosia, Constantinos Yiorkadjis and Mehmet Harmanci.The event will start at 1630 until 1930 and will include sports, arts, choirs, orchestra, dance, workshops, traditional games, live music and karaoke.You May LikePopularEverythingColorado Mom Adopted Two Children, Months Later She Learned Who They Really ArePopularEverythingUndoLivestlyChip And Joanna’s $18M Mansion Is Perfect, But It’s The Backyard Everyone Is Talking AboutLivestlyUndoSmart Tips DailySeniors With No Life Insurance May Get A $250,000 Policy If They Do ThisSmart Tips DailyUndo Pensioner dies after crash on Paphos-Polis roadUndoCypriot tycoon launches ‘Bank of Cannabis’UndoThree arrested in connection with hotel theftsUndoby Taboolaby Taboola