The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hyderabad Agha Shahnawaz Babar has called upon the officers of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Hyderabad to curb the menace of copying culture and use of unfair means during the examinations of Higher Secondary Certificate Part-I and Part-II Annual Examinations. The Deputy Commissioner emphasized during the visit of different examinations centres on Tuesday set to conduct HSC Part-I and Part-II Annual …

Three people were killed and five missing Wednesday after floods carrying volcanic debris swept through a town in eastern Indonesia, a government official said. "Following heavy rains during the night, volcanic floods hit early morning at 2:00 am (1700 GMT)," national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. Two people were also injured as the floodwaters rampaged, damaging at least 20 homes in Ternate City in North …

A social activist, V Selvakumar has filed a complaint against Vijay's film, Thupakki which is being directed by Murugadoss. The activist has said that posters show Vijay smoking and they have been displayed all over Chennai and in the print media as well. The Ministry of Health and the Government of India have banned any public displays of smoking, Selvakumar said and the posters violate this. "In regard to the above mentioned violation of the Indian …

An Australian study of ocean salinity over the past 50 years has revealed a "fingerprint" showing that climate change has accelerated the rainfall cycle, a researcher said Friday. The study published in the journal Science and conducted by Australian and US scientists looked at ocean data from 1950 to 2000 and found that salinity levels had changed in oceans around the world over that time. Co-author Susan Wijffels said the figures were revealing …

The government is going to shortlist three major contenders for selection of consultant by next week for high profile transaction of third generation (3G) technology that possesses potential to bring investment of over $1 billion, it is learnt. The official documents available with The News disclosed that Auction Supervisory Committee (ASC) under chairmanship of Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh will meet on April 11 to finalize short listing …

An elderly man shot himself in the head Wednesday in a central Athens, drawing an emotional response from Greeks who flooded the area in a spontaneous anti-government protest. The 77-year-old retired pharmacist killed himself in busy Syntagma Square, just 100 metres (yards) from the Greek parliament, which for two years has been the main rallying point for protests against the austerity measures designed to haul Greece from its fiscal crisis. …

Yemen's armed forces killed 38 suspected members of Al-Qaeda in two days of air raids and shelling of their hideouts in the country's south, a government official said Tuesday. "Thirty-eight members of Al-Qaeda were killed in shelling and air strikes that targetted their positions in Huroor throughout the past 48 hours," said the official who spoke from the nearby Al-Qaeda stronghold of Jaar. The town of Huroor lies on the crossroads between …

odoxin is found in parts of the blowfish, including the liver, heart, intestines and eyes, and is so intense that a tiny amount will kill. Every year there are reports of people dying after preparing blowfish at home. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says city laws covering the serving of blowfish should be changed to reflect changing times and hope that relaxing the rules will cut prices and bring Tokyo in line with the rest of the nation. …

The U.S. government now projects that the total cost to develop, buy and operate the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be $1.45 trillion over the next 50-plus years, according to a Pentagon document obtained by Reuters. The Pentagon's latest, staggering estimate of the lifetime cost of the F-35 -- its most expensive weapons program -- is up from about $1 trillion a year ago, and includes inflation. While inflation accounts …

North Korea test-fired two short-range missiles off its west coast this week amid international alarm at its planned long-range rocket launch, South Korean newspapers said Friday. The North fired what appeared to be two KN-01 ground-to-ship missiles with a range of up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) early Thursday from a missile base near the western port of Nampo, Chosun Ilbo newspaper said. It quoted an unidentified Seoul government official …