Schools without toilets not to get fitness certificates

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a significant decision, Congress-led UDF government in Kerala Wednesday said schools that lacked toilet facility would not be issued 'fitness certificate' from next academic year.

Addressing a press conference after a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said it has been decided to make toilet facility mandatory in schools.

He said till now safety of school buildings were considered for issuing fitness certificates. From next year along with safety, other facilities including toilet would be made mandatory for getting fitness certificate, he said.

“Schools which lacked facilities also would not be allowed to admit new students,” Chandy said.

There were 196 government schools that did not have toilet and it has been decided to ensure this facility in next 100 days from the funds under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, he said.

Similarly, 1011 government aided schools were found to have no toilet facility. Managements of these schools have been directed to construct toilets with their own resources by next academic year, he said.

Diesel under-recovery declines steeply, deregulation imminent

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NEW DELHI: Diesel price deregulation looks imminent after the difference between retail sale price and its actual cost dropped to a historic low of just 8 paisa.

This is the first time in over a decade that retail pump prices are almost in line with imported cost of the nation's most consumed fuel.

Under-recovery or the gap between retail selling price and the cost of import has dipped to 8 paisa a litre, helped by the monthly increases and softening in international oil rates, an official statement said here.

If the trend continues, diesel price will be at par with international rates by next week, not necessitating the next increase of 50 paisa a litre due on October 1.

Diesel prices since January 2013 have been raised every month by up to 50 paise per litre to trim the losses. Rates were last raised on August 31 after which losses had dipped.

Rates have cumulatively risen by Rs 11.81 per litre in 19 instalments since January 2013 when the previous UPA government had decided on small monthly hikes.

Officials said the monthly increases had trimmed losses to less than Rs 3 per litre in May last year before a fall in rupee value led to losses on diesel sale widening to Rs 14.50 per litre in September 2013.

Since then, monthly increases have continued and the rupee has strengthened.

Losses have fallen rapidly since March as the prospects of a stable and decisive government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped the rupee gain against the dollar.

Losses on diesel stood at Rs 8.37 per litre in March.

When Modi government came to power in May, losses on diesel sales stood at Rs 4.41 a litre. They fell to Rs 1.62 a litre in the second half of June but doubled to Rs 3.40 in first fortnight of July. The losses fell to Rs 2.49 in second half of July. They stood at Rs 1.78 in second half of August.

Petrol price was deregulated in June 2010 and has moved more or less in tandem with the cost. The softening in international rates has seen rates being cut thrice in August.

State-owned oil firms calculate the desired retail selling price of petrol and diesel on 1st and 16th of month, based on average international oil rates and foreign exchange value in the previous fortnight.

While petrol rates are revised accordingly, diesel prices are hiked on the 1st of every month.

Besides diesel, the oil firms are losing Rs 32.67 a litre on kerosene and Rs 427.82 on LPG, the statement said.

"Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are now incurring combined daily under-recovery (revenue loss) of about Rs 195 crore on the sale of diesel, PDS kerosene and domestic LPG. This is lower than Rs 230 crore daily under-recoveries during previous fortnight," it said.

The under-recoveries for the financial year 2014-15 are projected to be Rs 91,665 crore as opposed to Rs 1,39,869 crore in 2013-14.

Plus Two: Court rejects Govt’s appeal

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KOCHI: A division bench of Kerala High Court has rejected the appeal filed by the government against a single bench order in the Plus Two case. Now, the government will not be able to start admissions to Plus Two batches allotted without the approval of Higher Secondary Director.   

The division bench pointed out that it couldn’t find sufficient reasons to interfere with the Single bench’s order. The government had not taken into account the high court’s former orders regarding Plus Two allotments. The allotments were made flouting the criteria. The bench which comprised Justices Antony Dominic and  Sheshadri Naidu observed that the government had not checked whether the schools they chose for allotting Plus Two batches had the required credentials. The July 31 order issued regarding the sanctioning of Plus Two had something mysterious about it.

The court also rejected the argument that the Plus batches were allotted after taking into consideration MLAs recommendation. “Don’t try to justify through courts actions taken by flouting norms. The government also tried to blame the court, saying that the stay had affected students’ future,” the court added.

Wasim and Shaniera Akram expecting first child

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LAHORE: Swing ka Sultan and former Pakistani captain Wasim Akram is expecting his first child with wife Shaniera Akram.

Shaniera described this as an extremely pleasant moment in their lives.

 Wasim and Shaniera have settled in Karachi after their marriage in August 2013 where they live with the former fast bowlers sons from his first marriage.

Akram’s first wife Huma died after multiple organ failure in 2009.

 

Knifeman kills 3 in rampage at China school: reports

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BEIJING: A knife-wielding man stabbed eight children and a teacher in a rampage at a Chinese primary school Monday, leaving at least three of them dead, reports said, in the country´s latest attack against youngsters.

The man, surnamed Chen, killed himself by jumping from a building following the carnage at a school in Shiyan, in the central province of Hubei, according to the official news agency Xinhua, which said three of the victims had died.

He carried out the attack "because he couldn´t enrol his child" at the school, local broadcaster Shiyan Television said on its verified account on Sina Weibo, China´s version of Twitter, without giving details.

It said six children had been killed, as did a local newspaper. A local police official declined to provide information, saying: "I am not clear, the police bureau officials are at that school investigating."

China has seen several violent attacks against children in recent years, including a spate of five incidents in 2010 which killed 17 people -- 15 of them children -- and wounded more than 80.Last March, a man killed two relatives and then slashed 11 people, including six children, outside a school in China´s commercial hub Shanghai.

Earlier this summer, police in Qianjing -- which is near Shiyan -- killed a suspect who was attempting to take over a primary school, state media said.

Two dead in New Zealand welfare office shooting

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WELLINGTON: A homeless man who allegedly shot dead two women and seriously wounded a third when he opened fire in a New Zealand welfare office was arrested Monday after a seven-hour manhunt.

The man, who police named as Russell John Tully, is accused of entering the Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) office in the South Island town of Ashburton mid-morning and targeting workers.The balaclava-clad 48-year-old, who locals said "had an axe to grind" with the agency, allegedly carried out the attack with a sawn-off shotgun then fled on a bicycle.

The small town was put in lockdown as about 100 heavily armed police scoured the area, with the gunman eventually tracked down at a property next to a nearby lake.

Superintendent Gary Knowles said no officers were injured but the accused suffered dog bites while he was being arrested.

"Nothing will give the families that have lost their loved ones closure but the community can go to sleep tonight with the thought that the person who we believe may be responsible is in custody," Knowles told reporters.

The third shooting victim was reported to be in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

The Public Service Association, the union which covers WINZ employees, said it was arranging counselling and support for staff at the Ashburton office.

"That two people have died and one more is in a serious condition is inexcusable, and we hope the police can bring the shooter to justice," national secretary Richard Wagstaff said.

"Nobody should go to work in fear that they might not return home."

The Ashburton Guardian newspaper reported last month that Tully, who returned to New Zealand after working as a miner in Australia, had recently become homeless and was living in a tent by the river.

It said he had approached a large number of local agencies, including WINZ, for help finding accommodation.

Police said the charges he will face had not been finalised.

New Zealand tightened its gun laws to restrict access to semi-automatic rifles in 1992, two years after a mentally disturbed man shot dead 13 people in the South Island town of Aramoana.

However, anyone over 16 can apply for a standard firearms licence after doing a safety course, which allows them to purchase and use a shotgun unsupervised.

 

Six dead in Paris suburb building explosion

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BOBIGNY: Six people were killed on Sunday when an explosion ripped through an apartment building outside Paris, reducing half a residential block to rubble, emergency services said.

The bodies of a child described as around 10 years old, a boy aged 14-18 and two women were recovered from the remains of the four-storey building in the northeastern suburb of Rosny-sous-Bois.

Two more bodies were found late in the evening as firefighters continued to comb the wreckage, leaving two other people still unaccounted for, Mayor Claude Capillon said. Neighbours said the blast, which happened at around 07:00 am (0500 GMT), was strong enough to shake buildings some 100 metres (yards) away.

News of Army chief asking PM to resign is baseless: ISPR

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ISLAMABAD: Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) the media wing of the military has termed news reports of Army Chief General Raheel Sharif asking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign or going on leave as baseless.

PM, Army chief discuss political deadlock

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Shairf met with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif here on Monday and discussed the political situation in the country.

The prime minister and army chief agreed that there must be a political and constitutional solution to the present political deadlock in the country.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif refused to accept any unconstitutional steps, stating that he was committed to upholding the constitution and Parliament. According to sources, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif informed Army chief that he would once again take this issue to Parliament

The prime minister and Army chief also discussed hearing of the petitions pertaining to unconstitutional steps in the Supreme Court and the resolutions passed in Parliament.

Army chief General Raheel Sharif briefed the prime minister on decisions taken during the Corps Commanders meeting.

News of Army chief asking PM to resign is baseless: ISPR

Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) the media wing of the military has termed news reports of Army Chief General Raheel Sharif asking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign or going on leave as baseless.

Reports broadcast by some news channels in Pakistan that Army chief General Raheel Sharif had advised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign was also dismissed by the government spokesman.

 

‘Imran Khan said can’t move forward without army’: Javed Hashmi

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ISLAMABAD: Making startling disclosures, President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Javed Hashmi Monday quoted the PTI chief Imran Khan as saying ‘the badge bearers’ wanted the PTI protesters to move along with Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Tahirul Qadri.

The disgruntled PTI president while talking to media representatives outside the Parliament House, maintained: “Imran Khan said we can’t move forward without the army.”

“Imran Khan also said that all the matters had been decided and there will be elections in September,” Javed Hashmi claimed, adding, it appeared as if everything had been planned in advance.

“So, they are here with this kind of plan. I can’t say whose plan it is. Only the planners themselves would know this. But, their name is being brought into a bad repute,” Hashmi continued.

He, however, said there was a mention of ISI and army. “Imran Khan himself said this before the core committee.”

Hashmi further said that ‘a hijacked PTI has come here’. “We have been held hostage”.

Javed Hashmi said he is still the President of PTI, as Imran Khan did not follow the provisions of the ‘constitution’ in sacking him. “Imran Khan should have gone through the party’s constitution first.”

Making one disclosures after another, he said that Imran Khan did not even have regard for the Constitution of Pakistan.

The PTI President said Imran Khan is driven by whims and that he maligned the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Hashmi said he would even sacrifice his life for upholding the sanctity of the Parliament, Supreme Court and other institutions of the country.