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Absence of clean cooking fuel sparks health concerns

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Absence of clean cooking fuel in large number of households, particularly in the countryside, is a major health worry, according to first set of results from India's biggest health survey, which indicates an overall improvement in the last 10 years.

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) -4 results from 13 states and two union territories show clean fuel remain a pipe dream for states with poor health parameters such as Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, where many health problems are directly linked to burning of unhealthy fuel. The southern states fare better.

In Bihar, less than 18 per cent of the population have access to clean fuel like LPG, while the figure is just under 30 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

The figures from rural areas of these states are more worrisome as they show approximately 90 per cent household continues to rely on coal, woods or dung to cook their meals.

The World Health Organisation recognises indoor air pollution as one of India's biggest health risks and asked the government to provide clean fuel as one of the options to reduce the mortality by 25 per cent by 2025.

Down south, use of clean cooking fuel, which reduces the risk of respiratory illness and pollution range from 73 per cent of households in Tamil Nadu to 80 per cent of households in Puducherry and Goa. In Tamil Nadu villages, 58 per cent villages have access to clean fuel.

In Karnataka, overall about 54 per cent of the household have access to clean fuel, but the numbers are just above 30 per cent in the country side.

Compared to the last NFHS carried out 10 years ago, nutrition status have improved by and large but there are big gap areas in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya where 40 per cent of children are stunted. In 9 states less than one-third of children are found too short for their age.

But wasting (low weight for height) remains a big challenge as almost one fifth of children are too thin. More than half of children are anaemic in 10 of the 15 states and more than half of the women are anaemic in 11 states. On the other hand, over-nutrition (obesity) remains a health issue for adults not only in urban areas but even in villages.

NFHS-4, for the first time, will provide estimates of 114 health indicators at the district level for all 640 districts of the country included in the 2011 Census. In NFHS-4, women aged 15-49 years and men aged 15-54 years are interviewed. When the survey is completed throughout the country, approximately 570,000 households will be covered for information.

Helmet rule on in B'luru; in other cities from Feb 1

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As the Bengaluru traffic police began cracking the whip on helmet-less pillion riding on Wednesday, authorities in some parts of the State have reportedly decided to strictly implement the rule from February 1.

Mysuru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said action would be taken against violators after the completion of the awareness drive for 15 days in the city. The police department had roped in school students for an awareness rally on January 14. They had also intercepted two-wheeler riders and explained to them the safety aspects of wearing helmets by both the rider and the pillion rider and also children.

The police are said to be going slow on the implementation of the rule considering that there has been a huge demand for helmets. Given the situation, they were also concerned about customers being exploited by helmet dealers.

In Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu districts, the police have relaxed the rule till January 31.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, ACP Uday Nayak said the rule would be enforced strictly from February 1. The police are creating awareness among the general public about the need for pillion riders to wear helmets for safety.

Rule breakers

Apparently, not a single pillion rider was found wearing helmet on Wednesday in Mangaluru. However, the police are currently taking awareness measures and are warning two-wheeler riders and pillion riders against violating the rule.

Two-wheeler riders in Chikkamagaluru were not so lucky, as the traffic police in Mudigere penalised more than 120 two-wheeler riders for not wearing helmets on Wednesday.

The police had been issuing warnings to riders to wear helmets since the past one week. As a result, helmet dealers, too, have been doing brisk business.

Trawlers under lens after dead turtles found on Puri beach

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The local administration in Puri has ordered an inquiry into the death of a large number of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles on the coastline of the Odisha temple town.

In the last two days, more than 160 dead turtles have been found on the Puri sea beach, triggering concern among the locals as well as environmentalists.

"I have been doing sand art here for a long time, but I have never seen so many dead turtles on the beach", said well-known sand artist Sudarsan Patnaik, a Puri resident.

"We have already directed the forest department as well as marine police stations in nearby areas to ascertain the cause of turtle deaths," a senior district official sais.

He added: " Appropriate action will be initiated afterwards." The locals residents and activists working for the protection of the sea turtles maintain that the rare marine species have been killed by mechanised fishing trawlers illegally operating off the coast of Puri.

Ban on fishing activities

Currently, a ban is in place on fishing activities by mechanised trawlers within 20 kms from the entire Odisha coast because of the ongoing turtle season.

However, despite the ban order, large number of trawlers both from within the state as well as from neighbouring coastal states are seen operating within the restricted zone and the authorities have not been able to prevent that.

Apart from Olive Ridley turtles, the dead bodies of a few dolphins have also been recovered from the Puri sea beach in the last two days.

Illegal trawling


They, too, were suspected to have been victims of illegal trawling activities.The brackish water Chilika lake which is partly located in Puri district is home to many highly endangered dolphins.

It is suspected that some which entered the sea might have been killed by the blades of the mechanised trawlers.

Irrfan hopes India sets an example in diversity

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Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan on Wednesday exuded confidence that India will remain diverse and set an example for the world.

Participating in an interaction organised by Rangayana theatre repertory as part of the valedictory of 'Bahuroopi 2016', the national theatre festival here, Irrfan said, "If we lose diversity, there is nothing left... life is full of diversity.Standardisation is a threat."

Drawing an contrast between India and other developed countries, Irrfan said, "Despite fighting poverty and other social evils, there are no psychopaths here unlike in some countries, where they mercilessly shoot at people."

Reacting to a query on the State interfering in every field, including cinema and theatre, he said, "Acting is about reflecting."

On the relevance of the Censor Board, Irrfan said, "There is no sense in just continuing with archaic laws from the British era. The board is now redundant. We should ponder over the kind of censor board that suits our conditions."

On the responsibility of actors towards society, Irrfan said, "It's the prerogative of an individual since actors are also human beings. It's also subjective as some actors have a series of responsibilities while some remain glued to their job as actors. However, for me, any human being has a responsibility towards himself as people can be still manipulated in the name of caste, colour and creed."

Earlier, Irrfan said, "We (society) are still conditioned and programmed by set laws, irrespective of education in other fields." In his valedictory address, Irrfan, while referring to the disturbance in society in general, said, "When a bad and hopeless situation still prevails, the audience present in large numbers induces a new and hopeful situation."

JDU MLA's hubby, who escaped from custody, nabbed

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Awadhesh Mandal, the absconding husband of JDU MLA Bima Bharti, who escaped from the police station after he was arrested in Purnia on Sunday, was re-arrested along with his three accomplices from Naugachia on Wednesday.

Mandal, who faces more than 100 cases of murder, extortion, loot and kidnap, was earlier arrested on Sunday evening on the charge of threatening eyewitnesses in a murder case in which he is a prime accused. But he escaped from the police station causing huge uproar from the Opposition which charged that the Nitish regime was protecting a history-sheeter since he was the husband of a ruling party legislator.

"Now that Mandal has been arrested, another JDU MLA Sarfaraz Alam should also be brought to book," demanded senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

Sarfaraz, who is son of former Union minister and RJD MP Md Taslimuddin, has been charged with sexual misconduct with a fellow woman passenger on Guwahati-New Delhi Rajdhani Express which he boarded at Katihar while coming to Patna on Monday.

FIR lodged

Though a formal FIR has been lodged by a Delhi-based businessman against the JDU MLA, the legislator claimed he never travelled in the A-4 coach of the said train.

His version is contrary to the allegation made by the couple travelling on berth number 3 of A-4 coach.

In fact, the coach superintendent has already informed the railway mandarins about the presence of the JDU MLA, who was not a bonafide passenger, in the compartment.

State likely to get country's first exclusive uni for management education

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Karnataka could be the first state to have a university catering specifically to management education on the lines of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) for engineering and Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) for medical courses.

The Canara BankSchool of Management Studies (CBSMS), Bangalore University, has prepared a preliminary proposal to start what would be called the 'Karnataka International Management University'.

Besides addressing the issue of quality in management education in the state, the proposal also lays strong emphasis on sustainable development education.A copy of the proposal is with the DeccanHerald.

Higher Education Minister TBJayachandra has entrusted the task of reviewing the proposal to a committee, according to K Janardhanam, director, CBSMS.

Asked about the Management University, Jayachandra, who was in the UK to attend an education forum said: "It is a positive step. Once I am back, I will look into the matter and will take some decisions."

Some of the objectives of the university include improving the quality of management education in the state through globally benchmarked curriculum, smoothening the coordination of management education through affiliated institutions by focusing on profession-specific needs, attracting international researchers and management degree aspirants to the state and establishing a unique low-cost and high-quality management education system in the country for weaker and under-privileged sections of society.

"The university will aim to integrate management colleges and undergraduate as well as postgraduate courses in other colleges. We are taking the prestigious Singapore Management University (SMU) as a model in trying to develop this concept," said Janardhanam.

While there are as many as 261 All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)-approved management institutions with an annual intake of 22,000 in the state, hundreds of seats are left vacant each year. The proposal also aims to address this concern.

"The situation calls for immediate measures to streamline the management development process through innovative interventions in management education. Creation of a separate management university is greatly needed for aligning the management education quality to the best of the global benchmarks and making it affordable for larger sections of the society," the proposal says.

While hailing the move to start such a university, Basavaraj Ramanlal, chairman, Karnataka College of Management, Yelahanka had a word of caution: "The faculty, infrastructure and curriculum need to be carefully planned," he said.

Kerala businessman found guilty of murdering guard

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The Thrissur Additional Sessions Court on Wednesday found controversial businessman Mohammed Nisham guilty of having murdered Chandrabose — a security guard at the residential complex in Thrissur where Nisham resided in — a year after the incident.

Additional Sessions judge K P Sudheer will pronounce the sentence on Thursday.
Nisham was found guilty on counts including murder and armed assault. Special Public Prosecutor C P Udayabhanu told reporters that the prosecution had requested the court to consider it as "the rarest of rare" case. The prosecution has sought maximum punishment for Nisham.

Chandrabose's mother Ambujakshi and wife Jamanthi said Nisham should be handed out the maximum punishment.

Wednesday's verdict marks the end of a 79-day trial which followed an investigation with its own share of controversies over charges that attempts were made to influence the probe.

The court had commenced hearing final arguments on the case on January 6. The Supreme Court had directed the court to pronounce its verdict by January 31.

The apex court, while rejecting Nisham's bail plea in October last year, had also made scathing remarks on the "megalomania" of the rich.

Nisham had run his SUV — a Hummer — over Chandrabose on January 29 last year following an argument over a delay in opening a gate at the residential township he lived in.
According to prosecution, Nisham tried to run the SUV over the 50-year-old security guard, pinned him against a wall and assaulted him with an iron rod.

The guard, who sustained serious injuries, died at a private hospital 18 days after the incident. The job offered to Chandrabose's wife Jamanthi by the state government is yet to materialise.

In March, the Kerala government had slapped provisions under the Kerala Anti-social Activists (Prevention) Act on Nisham, one of the proprietors of the Tamil Nadu-based King Beedi Company. The police, however, had also come under the scanner after charges over its failure to record Chandrabose's statement at the hospital. There were also charges that Nisham enjoyed special treatment during different stages of the investigation, also leading to political charges.

Nisham is no stranger to controversy. In April 2013, he was booked under Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act for letting his son — aged nine at the time — drive his Ferrari.
Two months later, he was arrested for misbehaving with a policewoman who was part of a team which intercepted his Rolls Royce for a check.

Machine intelligence set to revolutionise data analytics

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Consider this. traffic police in Bengaluru have installed CCTVcameras at various busy road junctions to capture and record traffic movement. The data is later monitored by police personnel for traffic volume, violations, accidents, road safety purposes among others. The process takes time and manpower.

Now, enter machine intelligence and data analytics technology with which it is possible to analyse the data for these parameters on a real-time basis. To tap the potential of data analytics - an emerging technology - for various eco-systems in the State, the Karnataka Knowledge Commission (KKC)has constituted a special task group on machine intelligence.

Machine intelligence uses technology to enable machines to perform tasks traditionally conducted by humans with speed and efficiency. The 18-member task group is co-chaired by Chiranjib Bhattacharya, professor, Department of Computer Science and Automation, Indian Institute of Science and Venkatesh Valluri, chairman and president of Ingersoll Rand (India Region).

The task group, which comprises representatives from software companies, industry and academia, held its first meeting on December 22 and will be coming out with a "Karnataka - Machine Intelligence Plan" in six months.

"Data analytics is a new science and we are looking at using the technology to address issues in the field of transportation, compilation of census and survey data, healthcare, education, rural and urban development, governance, citizen services specific to Karnataka," says Mukund Rao, member secretary of KKC.

Rao, who is also a member of the special task group, said the panel will come out with a roadmap for development and industrialisation of technologies and applications related to machine intelligence for the next 10 to 15 years.

"KKC,in association with the department of Information Technology, held a round table on the sidelines of Bangalore ITE.Biz last month. Experts participated in the discussion and several ideas emerged. We will be taking it forward," Rao said.

The panel will look at developing a business model for machine intelligence and recommend steps that the government could take to encourage commercial development of the technology.

Rao said the group also plans to involve universities and students in the run-up to the preparation of the Karnataka Machine Intelligence Plan.

Set up Cauvery boards: TN

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The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday urged the Centre to constitute the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) without delay.

Delivering his address in the State Assembly, Governor K Rosaiah said "this Government urges the Central Government to constitute the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee without any delay for the effective implementation of the Final Order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

In addition, he said that the State has also initiated action to restore the water level to the full reservoir level of 152 feet in Mullaperiyar Dam in Kerala.

He also reiterated the state's appeal to interlink the peninsular rivers --the rivers from Mahanadhi-Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Palar-Cauvery-Vaigai and then on to Gundar.

The Government also insist that the Pamba-Achankovil-Vaippar link, for which a feasibility study has already been done by the National Water Development Agency (NWDA), must be expedited.

Djokovic denies fixing claims

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Novak Djokovic has denied an Italian media report he deliberately lost a match in 2007 that has been linked to a wider scandal involving alleged corruption in tennis.

The 28-year-old world number one was asked about a report in Italian newspaper Tuttosport that he had deliberately lost to now-retired Fabrice Santoro at the Paris Masters.

"Its not true," the Serb said with a shrug and shake of his head. "What it is to say? Ive lost that match.

"Anybody can create a story about that match or for that matter any of the matches of the top players losing in the early rounds, I think its just absurd. You can pick any match that you like that the top player lost and just create a story out of it."

The reigning Australian Open champion Djokovic was asked about the media reports on Monday, saying that he had indirectly been offered $200,000 to throw a match while still a teenager.

The offer was immediately rejected by the person it had been made to, he said."You dont want these kind of subjects or speculations going around," he said.

Not the first of Dattatreya's letters

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Bandaru Dattatreya's letter to HRD Minister Smriti Irani on the University of Hyderabad has kicked up a storm in his home state of Telangana, but this is not the first time the labour minster has written to a colleague on Hyderabad.

Before his controversial letter to Irani, Dattatreya had written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh on April 7 seeking an in-depth investigation into the activities of terror outfits in Telangana in which he has depicted Hyderabad in not so flattering terms.

While University of Hyderabad has turned into a "den of anti-national politics" for the Secunderabad MP, the city has become a "place known for nurturing militant activities."

In his letter to Singh, Dattatreya said Telangana is "known to be the target" over the years for nationally and internationally banned outfits, which are known to create terror to gain national and international attention.

His letter came against the backdrop of the encounter killing of two suspected SIMI activists in Nalgonda district in April.

Dattatreya stated that he was bringing Singh's notice to the fact that "Hyderabad had been a place known for nurturing militant activities by the banned militant outfits and has been the shelter zone of many sympathisers of such banned outfits."

Deccan Herald had reported about the letter in April. The 68-year-old minister, who was loaned to the BJP by the RSS, became a minister in the Narendra Modi government as the BJP's representative from Telangana. Dattatreya was also a minister the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

In the controversial letter to Smriti in August, he stated: "Hyderabad University, a Central university located in Hyderabad has, in the recent past, become a den of casteist, extremist and anti-national politics."

The letter also mentions activities of Ambedkar Students' Association (ASA) of which Rohith Vemula was a member. He had also referred to ASA's protest against the execution of Yakub Memon in July.

This letter has landed Dattatreya in trouble with the police registering a case of abetting Rohith's suicide.

India colts to take on Ireland first

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Three-time champions India will open their campaign against Ireland in Group D when the ICC U-19 World Cup gets underway in Bangladesh from January 27 to February 14.

India and New Zealand are favoured to take the top two positions in Group D ahead of Ireland and Nepal.

The biennial 16-nation tournament features nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate Members — Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Nepal, Ireland and Scotland.

Teams have been divided into four groups with the top two in each advancing to the Super League quarterfinals and the other two qualifying for the Plate Championships.

India, coached by batting great Rahul Dravid, features high among the top contenders to bag the trophy which it has previously won in 2000, 2008 and 2012.

India arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday with a power-packed batting line-up that includes Sarfaraz Khan and Armaan Jaffer. Sarfaraz joins Ricky Bhui and Avesh Khan for their second appearance in the premier age-group tournament, having also participated in 2014. Another batsman that will be noticed in Bangladesh is Armaan, nephew of former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer.

Dravid, who retired from international cricket in 2012 with more than 10,000 runs in both Test and one-day cricket, gave up his lucrative television commitments last year to take up the challenging job of coaching both the India 'A' and under-19 squads.

AP officials verify Rohith's caste

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As the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarti Parishad (ABVP) and Dalit associations fight over Rohith Vemula's caste, the Andhra Pradesh Police and Revenue officials on Wednesday began enquiring into the matter.

DySP Nagabhushan Rao, CI Subba Rao and revenue official Phaneedra Babu interacted with Rohith's paternal grandparents in Gurajala, Guntur district, and sought details about his parents, his school and also the caste he belonged to. Rohith's caste credentials became an issue of serious debate following a press conference by ABVP leaders where they released the caste certificate of Rohith's brother Raja Chaitanya Kumar.

The certificate mentions Kumar's caste as Vaddera (stone crusher community), which comes under the Backward Caste (BC) category. The ABVP stated that Rohith claimed to be a Dalit, while he actually belonged to the BC category. The issue further got entangled in confusion with some of Rohith's family members revealing that his mother Radhika is a BC and her estranged husband was a SC (Mala).

The revenue officials are of the opinion that the progeny can opt for the caste of either of the parent, and there is nothing wrong in Rohith claiming his father's lineage.

The ASA released Rohith's caste certificate of 1989 which was submitted by him at the time of admission into the university. "Rohith got admission in open category, he was a meritorious student. ABVP is trying to malign his memory by," said Ramji, ASA president.

Is civic polls behind politicisation of Rohith's suicide?

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Does the Hyderabad municipal elections due on February 2 have anything to do with the politics being played out over Rohith Vemula's suicide? A section of the BJP at least thinks so.

Party sources said the TRS government, which is contesting the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls for the first time, was trying to paint the BJP as anti-Dalit by making Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya an accused in the case.
The minister, who is a Yadav by caste, which falls under the OBC category, is also an MP from Secunderabad.

The 150 GHMC wards have a sizeable Dalit votes. Of them, 10 wards are reserved for schedule castes (SCs). Prior to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, giving birth to Telangana, the Hyderabad corporation politics was dominated by the Congress and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).

But, the TRS is trying to get a toe-hold among voters belonging to the underprivileged sections of the society.

A BJP general secretary said the K Chandrashekhar Rao government's move to get an FIR registered against Dattatreya was "politically motivated" since there was no connection between Rohith committing suicide and the minister's letter to the HRD Ministry, which was essentially to seek response on a complaint filed by Hyderabad Central University's ABVP member Sushil Kumar.

Kumar was allegedly attacked by Ambedkar Students' Association when he along with other ABVP members objected to their protest against hanging of Mumbai terror convict Yakub Memon.

"On what basis did they file an FIR against the Union minister? If at all they had to do, it should be on the basis of the suicide note of the student," said the BJP general secretary on condition of anonymity.

There is not an inkling of evidence in the suicide note that the BJP or the minister played any role in forcing Rohith to take this extreme and unfortunate step, said party sources.

In the tussle for extracting political mileage, the Bahajun Samajwadi Party (BSP), which is also contesting the Hyderabad local body polls, also plunged along with other prominent leaders, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

While condemning the incident, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati said: "The attitude of two senior ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet towards the Dalit scholar that 'if you are against the policies of the BJP government, you are an enemy of ours and will be harassed through government terrorism,' is blatantly undemocratic and condemnable."

BJP leaders said attempts to drag Dattatreya into the case is the latest in a trend of accusing the party of being either anti-caste or religious minorities. The party sources said that prior to Delhi elections, the Opposition charged that churches were being attacked, but after a probe it turned out to be different. Similar "outlandish allegations" were made in a Dalit family feud case of Faridabad in Haryana, sources added.

Champions Djokovic, Serena in cruise mode

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World number one Novak Djokovic swept regally into the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday before being forced to deny any involvement in the tennis match-fixing scandal that has dogged the first three days of the Grand Slam.

The Serbian defending champion granted Quentin Halys a 100-minute audience on Rod Laver Arena before despatching the French teenager 6-1, 6-2, 7-6(3) but he enjoyed a less comfortable ride in the post-match media conference.

Alerted to a story in an Italian newspaper suggesting his loss to now-retired French player Fabrice Santoro in Paris in 2007 was fixed, the 28-year-old denied it point blank.

Djokovic was joined in the third round by womens champion Serena Williams, 17-times Grand Slam champion Federer and Maria Sharapova who all made short work of their second-round opponents.

Following Tuesdays defeats for former mens champion Rafael Nadal and womens second seed Simona Halep, the only real shock on day four came in the penultimate match of the day when Czech sixth seed Petra Kvitova, twice a Wimbledon winner, was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by naturalised local Daria Gavrilova.

Top seed Williams took exactly an hour to dismiss Taiwans Hsieh Su-wei 6-1, 6-2 in the second match of the day on Rod Laver Arena after fifth seed five-times Grand Slam champion Sharapova had routed unseeded Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-1.

Both had arrived at Melbourne Park with question marks over their fitness but look in good shape as they head towards their potential quarterfinal meeting.

"I dont think I made that many errors today, something I was hopefully trying to get back into," said Williams, who had not completed a set in four months coming into the tournament. "So slowly but surely, feeling a little bit better."

Third seed Federer was next up on the main showcourt to put down tricky Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 and retain his record of never having failed to reach the third round in 17 visits to Melbourne Park.

The 34-year-old Swiss, still the doyen of mens tennis, brushed aside attempts by reporters to revisit his views on the association between gambling companies and the sport he dominated for so long.

"I answered that question the other day," he said when the subject was broached. "Just check the transcript (of) my press conference last time, its like a book."

Seventh seed Kei Nishikori cruised into the third round with a 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Austin Krajicek and Czech Tomas Berdych, seeded one place above the Japanese, also only needed three sets to power past Bosnias Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.

Canadian Eugenie Bouchards hopes of wiping away the disappointments of her 2015 season with a good run at Melbourne Park were shattered when fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska rallied from an early deficit to win 6-4, 6-2. There was a minor upset when twice Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, a title winner in Sydney last week, was dumped out of the tournament by Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1, 7-5 but the major ruction in the womens draw came later. "I think she played a really good game today and did what she needed to do," she said.

Bhupathi wins

Mahesh Bhupathi returned to Grand Slam action with a first-round win but Leander Paes' bid fell flat at the first hurdle. Bhupathi, who is playing with Luxembourg's Gilles Muller, beat the Australian team of Alex Bolt and Andrew Whittington 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4 in his tournament-opener at court seven.

It was Bhupathi's third competitive event since bowing out of 2015 Wimbledon championships. He had missed the entire second half of the last year as he was busy with the conduct of his ambitious International Premier Tennis League.

The 42-year-old Paes made an exit with French partner Jeremy Charady after losing his first round 3-6, 4-6 to Colombian 12th seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

'Wings rainbow' to empower LGBT

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In a unique initiative, the Wings Travels Management Pvt. Ltd has launched India's first-ever empowerment initiative "wings rainbow" that offers employment opportunities to the LGBT community.

Wings rainbow aims to empower and improve the socio-economic indicators of LGBT communities by providing life skills and livelihood opportunities.

Wings travels in association with Humsafar Trust, a community-based organisation that works with the LGBT community, will initiate a pilot skill-development programme to kick-start the programme that will focus on training the LGBT community to drive radio cabs.

The pilot programme will empower five members of the gay and transgender community to apply for learner's licenses and complete their training in getting a certified all India drivers license. Wings travels will train and employ these individuals to operate their radio taxi services in Mumbai.

The pilot programme will serve as an experience to further develop the skills-building programme and provide insights to upscale the initiative. Elaborating, Arun Kharat Founder & Director, Wings Travels Management Pvt Ltd said: "It is our endeavor to ensure that the LGBT community in India enjoys the kind of rights and livelihood opportunities in India as they do in the some of the developed nations like the United States of America."

Ganesh, Sucharitha triumph in 100 metres

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Ganesh S of Alva's College of Hospital Administration and Sucharitha S of AJ Institute of Medical Science bagged the top honours, clinching the 100 metres gold in the men's and women's categories respectively on day one of the RGUHS 17th Annual Inter-Collegiate Athletic Meet here at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday.

Ganesh clocked 10.8 seconds to finish first ahead of team-mate CE Manoharan (11.1) and Naveen AK (11.4) of Father Muller Medical College. Sucharitha bagged the yellow metal in a time of 14.0 seconds, edging out Chaitra HM (14.1) of Bapuji Ayurvedic, Shivamogga. Srujana S of Alva's College of Hospital Administration bagged the bronze. Suchitra of Aj Institute of MS, Mangaluru won the gold in triple jump (9.68).

Amith Patil of KLE Society's of College of Pharmacy, Nipani bagged a double, winning the 1500M and 5000M gold. In the women's category, Kihana Mirza of St Joseph's Medical College dazzled, winning the 1500M and 5000M.

Results: Men: 100M: Ganesh S (Alvas College of Hospital Administration) 10.8, 1; CE Manoharan (Alvas)11.1, 2; Naveen AK(Father Muller Medical College) 11.4, 3.

1500M: Amith Patil (KLE Societys Collegeof Pharmacy, Nipani) 4:23.5, 1; Nithin M (MMC & RI) 4:48.5, 2; Vikranth Gill(BMC BIDAR)4:49.8, 3.

5000M: Amith Patil (KLE)16:51.6, 1; Rahoul Gonsalves (StJohns Medical College)18:46.2, 2; Nithin M(MMC & RI)19:20.8, 3.

400Mhurdles: SalmanKP (Navodaya Dental College)1:04.1, 1; Kevin Saldana(St Johns Medical College)1:07.5, 2; Alen JM(Lakshmi Memorial College ofPhysiotherapy) 1:09.4, 3.

High jump: Shiva Kumar(MMC & RI)1.58M, 1; Amal Sebastian(Alva's College of Moodabidre)1.58, 2; Akhil Sebastin(Alva's College of Moodabidre)1.55M, 3.

Triple jump: Mohammed Sajad (KVG Dental College Sullia) 12.46M, 1; Alvin Kuriakose (Father Muller Medical College)12.15M, 2; Abdul Hafil KA Srinivas College of Pharmacy 12.09 M, 3.

Shot put: Noel Thomas (KVG Dental College) 10.82M, 1; Niranjan (MIMS, Mandya) 9.52M, 2; Karnasingh R Nargund (Sonia College of Pharmacy)9.51M, 3.

Women: 100M: Sucharitha S (AJ Institute of Medical Science, Mysore) 14.0, 1; Chaitra HM(Bapuji Ayurvedic, Shivammoga) 14.1, 2; Srujana S(Alvas)14.3, 3.

1500M: Kihana Mirza(St Joseph's Medical College)6:04.6, 1; Sneha T (DR BR AMC, Bengaluru) 6:06.4, 2; Roopa (Government College of Nursing, Hubbali) 6:36.3, 3.

5000M: Kihana Mirza (StJoseph's Medical College) 26:45.5, 2; Ashwini Kiroji(SDM Institute of Nursing Science, Hubbali)26:51.9, 2; Prasanna KP (KLE Institute of Nursing, Hubballi (27:25.6) 3.

400Mhurdles: Divya Sharma (Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Science & RC (1:30.4) 1; Leeba Jacob(Navodaya Dental College)1:37.2, 2; Ajana Sebastian(City Hospital Charitable Trust)1:45.9, 3.

High jump: Chaitra Shree HM(Bapuji Medical College of Shimoga)1.26M, 1; Srujana S(Alvas College of Hospital Administration)1.23M, 2; Anjana Sebastian (City Hospital Charitable Trust)1.14M, 3.

Triple jump: Suchithra(AJ Institute of MS Mangalore) 9.68M, 1; Srujana S(Alva's College of Moodabidre)9.25M, 2; Chaitra Sree(Bapuji Aurvedic College) 9.06M, 3.
Shot put: Rashma K(Alvas College of Hospital Administration) 7.48M, 1;Suganya(Sri Devaraj College of Nursing, Kolar)7.43M, 2;Mariam Zaina(RV College of Physiotherapy) 7.30M, 3.

Javelin throw: Rashma K(Alvas College of Hospital Administration)20.22M, 1; Bobby Dui(MEJ)18.74M, 2;A Jahnavi Reddy(Dayanadasagar College of Pharmacy)16.80M, 3.

Sindhu, Srikanth advance

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Indian shuttlers including PV Sindhu and K Srikanth made a rousing start to the new season, reaching the second round of the $120,000 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold here onWednesday.

Sindhu, Srikanth, Ajay Jayaram, Subhankar Dey, B Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma outclassed their opponents in the opening round of their respective singles event, while pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa notched up a stunning win to make their way into the women's doubles second round.

A little over two weeks after their stints at the Premier Badminton League, Indian shuttlers rushed to participate in the first Grand Prix Gold event of the season and it was a fruitful outing in the opening round.

Two-time World Championship bronze-medallist, Sindhu, seeded third, thrashed Switzerland's Sabrina Jaquet 21-17, 21-16 in a 33-minute battle, while 2014 China Open winner Srikanth brushed aside Malaysia's Wei Feng Chong 21-17, 21-11.

10th seed Ajay Jayaram sent packing Japan's Takuma Ueda 21-19, 21-11, while TATA Open winner Sameer stunned Japan's Sho Sasaki, seeded 12th, 21-18, 21-18 in another men's singles match.

Sai Praneeth defeated Malaysia's Shahzan Shah Misfahul 21-13, 21-15, while new kid Subhankar Dey, too, notched up a 21-19, 21-16 win over Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen in another men's singles clash.

2010 Commonwealth Games champions, Jwala and Ashwini also showed her prowess, edging out Malaysian combo of Mei Kuan Chow and Lee Meng Yean 21-14, 14-21, 25-23 in a 54-minute hard-fought clash.

Rupinder brace spurs Waveriders

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Drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh pumped in two goals via penalty corners as Delhi Waveriders opened their campaign with a 5-4 victory over Jaypee Punjab Warriors in a closely contested Hockey India League match here on Wednesday.

Rupinder struck in the 24th and 36th minutes while Canadian Mark Pearson scored from another penalty corner in the 28th minute after Yuvraj Walmiki had given Waveriders the lead in the ninth minute via a field goal, which was counted as two goals under the new tournament rules.

For the Warriors, Matthew Gohdes scored a field goal in the 10th minute before Christopher Ciriello (29th minute) and Mark Gleghorne (54th) found the target from penalty corners.

The Warriors had beaten defending champions Ranchi Rays in their campaign opener here on Tuesday.

The Delhi-based team took the lead in the ninth minute through a brilliant reverse hit from Walmiki but the home side struck back in the next minute through a Gohdes' field goal as both sides ended the first quarter equally balanced at 2-2.

But after that, the Waveriders never allowed their opponents to dominate the match and the Warriors had to play catch-up in front of their home crowd.

Waveriders got a penalty corner in the 24th minute after some end-to-end hockey in the second quarter and Rupinder stepped up to convert it with a well worked drag-flick and give his side the lead again.

Four minutes later, the Waveriders got another penalty corner and Pearson deflected it to the Warriors goal to make the scoreline 4-2 in favour of the visiting team.

The home side pulled one back in the next minute (29th) with Australian Ciriello converting a penalty corner as the two sides went into the half time break with the visitors leading 4-3.

The latter half of the match saw lesser number of goals but action was not lacking as the two sides tried to dominate the other.

Rupinder made himself count again when it mattered the most as he struck again in the third quarter (36th minute) to give the Waveriders a 5-3 lead.

Much to their misfortunes, the match slipped away from the home side, despite scoring a goal in the final quarter through Gleghorne (54th).

Panic as Senior IPS officer's SUV stolen

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Thieves fleeing with a blue-beacon flashing SUV of a senior IPS officer posted with Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) from near Delhi on Wednesday sent shivers down the security establishment, which is bracing towards ensuring an incident-free Republic Day celebrations.

The incident, which took place in the early hours of Wednesday immediately brought back memories of terrorists using the official vehicle of Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh after "abducting" him to reach the Pathankot airbase before launching the terror strike.

A senior official said they were viewing the incident seriously as terrorists could use the vehicle to launch a strike at sensitive locations. "We cannot take it lightly. Especially, at a time we are celebrating the Republic Day," the official said.

A massive hunt was launched for the white Tata Safari with a registration number CH 01 GA 2915, with the Delhi Police, which are coordinating the security for the Republic Day parade here, taking to Twitter seeking public's help in tracing the vehicle. The vehicle was bought recently and it has beacon as well as the ITBP flag.

"Official vehicle white Tata Safari with blue light of IG ITBP stolen from sector 23 Noida last night.CH01GA2915. Alert sounded," Delhi Police said on Twitter. All requested to share information if any with Delhi 100 or Noida SSP or 100 regarding this vehicle if spotted, it added.

Officials said the vehicle of ITBP Inspector General (IG) Anand Swarup was stolen from his Sector-23 residence at around 3:30 am. A case was registered at Noida Sector 24 Police Station after the guard of the residential complex informed Swarup.

The Union Home Ministry has specially asked Delhi Police to ensure that the vehicle is located as early as possible. Sources said police in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are checking for the vehicle.

On its part, ITBP has set up a Court of Inquiry into the incident. Swarup, a 1992-batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was posted as Inspector General (Provisioning) in Delhi few months back on transfer from Mussoorie.
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