CBSE introduces theatre studies

Kochi: Observing that theatre is one of the strongest mediums of expression and has an important role in reinforcing the learning of other academic subjects that are taught in conventional ways, the CBSE has decided to introduce Theatre Studies as a subject in Classes XI and XII.

Theatre Studies will be introduced in Class XI from the current academic year and will be offered as an elective subject with any combination of three other electives and a language. It will have a theory paper of 70 marks and 30 marks for a case-study based project and viva voce.

“Theatre concretises issues that would otherwise remain abstract and difficult for children to grasp. It puts life back into bookish learning. Students derive many important benefits from their participation in theatre activities.

It is a journey that moves from illiteracy and oral traditions to literacy and sophisticated communications of modernity to the understanding that opens up a wide choice of worthy career options,” said Dr Sadhana Parashar, director (academic), CBSE.

Students will study theatrical forms and genres of their immediate cultural region and larger national and international contexts. The evolution of theatre from the earliest times and the social purposes it served will be part of the curriculum.

Partial Lunar eclipse to be visible on thursday night

The first of the three lunar eclipses of the year will occur on Thursday, giving astro enthusiasts all over the country an opportunity to witness the celestial event.

A tiny sliver of the Moon will be covered by the Earth's umbral shadow at maximum of the partial lunar eclipse, N Sri Raghunandan Kumar of Planetary Society of India said.

This is the third shortest partial eclipse of the Moon for the 21st century, lasting just 27 minutes.

According to NASA, the shortest partial lunar eclipse of the 21st century will be on February 13, 2082, lasting only 25.5 minutes.

NASA data also indicates that on September 28, 2034, the second shortest partial eclipse will last for 26.7 minutes. The April 25-26, 2013, partial lunar eclipse will last for 27 minutes, making it the third shortest lunar eclipse of this century.

The lunar eclipse in various phases will begin at 11.32 pm tomorrow night and end at 03.43 am on April 26.

The noticeable Umbra phase will begin at 1.22 am and end at 1.53 am. Middle of eclipse, or when it is maximum, will occur at 1.37 am, he said.

The eclipse will be visible in the region covering Australia, Asia (except N.E. part), Africa, Europe and Antarctica, Kumar said.

This year, a total of five eclipses, three lunar and two annular, will occur.

Unlike an eclipse of the sun, star gazers do not need protective eye equipment to observe a lunar eclipse, he said.

Fire at a bank in Coimbatore,4 killed

Coimbatore: Four persons, including two women, were killed and an equal number injured when a fire broke out in a multi-storeyed commercial complex here today, top officials said.

The fire broke out in the office of a private bank around 10:30 am, the reason for which is yet to be ascertained, they said. Ten to 12 fire tenders, including some from Army and Navy, were used and the fire was doused after over one-and-a-half hours.

A majority of the people were taken to safety by fire force personnel and locals who rushed to the spot to assist in rescue operations, District Collector M Karunagaran said.

While two women were injured when they jumped from the second floor, two fire force personnel sustained injuries after they fell down when the water-pipe hose got entangled in their legs, officials said. There are eight offices in the complex employing 300 people.

Axis Bank shares rises as results beat estimates

Reuters Market Eye - Axis Bank shares rise 3 percent after the bank posts better-than-expected March quarter results. Results, which came on Wednesday, showed net profit was at 15.55 billion rupees versus estimates of 12.77 billion rupees.

Other banking shares also rise with the NSE banking index trading up 1 percent. SBI rises 1.3 percent, Punjab National Bank up 1.3 percent, Union Bank gains 2.3 percent.

Investors broadly bullish on rate-sensitive stocks such as banks ahead of the RBI's monetary policy on May 3 where it is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points.

Sunrisers aim to shine against CSK

Seven games into its IPL campaign, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) finds itself in an enviable position. Defying all pre-tournament predictions and clearly punching above its weight, the team is now in joint-second spot.

For SRH, success has largely been built on the collective effort of its bowling unit — Amit Mishra, Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma — as seen from the two sub-130 totals it has defended, and the individual brilliance of Thisara Perara as witnessed in the penultimate over heist against Kings XI Punjab. Not to forget Hanuma Vihari’s two Man-of the match efforts.

However, on Thursday when it takes on Chennai Super Kings (CSK), with which it shares the second spot, at Chepauk, the in-form Perera will have to sit out — Darren Sammy or Nathan McCullum is likely to replace him. With Kumar Sangakkara unavailable, Quinton de Kock’s not-so-encouraging displays (2 and 0) and Cameron White’s inconsistent shows, the brittle top-order clearly needs reinforcement.

And this has come in the form of Shikhar Dhawan’s return. The man who made a sensational 187 against Australia on Test debut is all set to play his first game of this edition.

VIJAY’S FORM A WORRY

As for M.S. Dhoni in the match against Rajasthan Royals (RR), some of his prayers were answered — runs for Suresh Raina and a brisk start at the top. But Murali Vijay’s wobbly form (104 runs at 17.33), so far masked by Michael Hussey’s class, will continue to worry him.

The problem of bowling at the ‘death’ still plagues CSK. It leaked more than 50 runs in the last five overs in each of the last two home games against Pune Warriors and RR.

Dhoni will need to plug this hole for his team to consolidate after three wins on the trot.

Raises BSE Sensex gains

The BSE benchmark Sensex extended gains for the fourth-straight day by rising nearly 144 points in early trade on Thursday on buying by funds and retailers amid a firming Asian trend.

The 30-share barometer rose by 143.72 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 19,323.08 with auto, realty and oil and gas stocks leading the gains. The index had gained over 448 points in the previous three sessions.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 40.70 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 5877.60.

Brokers said sustained buying by funds and retailers driven by a firming trend in the Asian region mainly influenced the sentiment.

Both the BSE and the NSE were remained closed on Wednesday on account of ‘Mahavir Jayanti’.

Meanwhile in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 0.59 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei up by 0.32 per cent in the early trade. However, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.29 per cent lower in yesterday’s trade.

Bangladesh building collapse kills nearly 150 peoples,more than 1,000 injured

The number of people killed by the collapse of a building in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka rose to 147 overnight and the death toll could climb further because many people are still trapped inside, Dhaka's district police chief said on Thursday.

"The death toll could go up as many are still trapped under the rubble," Habibur Rahman said, a day after the collapse of the eight-storey building on the outskirts of Dhaka that housed several garment factories.

Officials said on Wednesday more than 1,000 people had been injured in the accident.

An eight-story building that housed garment factories and shops collapsed in Bangladesh on Wednesday. One fireman said about 2,000 people were in the Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 km outside Dhaka, when its upper floors slammed onto those below.

At the site of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, a frantic effort was underway to find and rescue victims. Television reports showed young women workers, some apparently semi-conscious, being pulled out by firefighters and troops.

Doctors at local hospitals said they were unable to cope with the number of victims brought in.

The building collapse, which follows a November fire at the Tazreen Fashion factory on the outskirts of Dhaka that killed 112 people, has compounded concerns about worker safety and low wages in Bangladesh.

The two major incidents, and a third in January that killed seven people, could taint Bangladesh's reputation as a source of low-cost products and services and call attention to Western retailers and other companies that obtain products from the country. But industry people and worker's groups in the United States say the lure of cheap manufacturing costs will keep retailers and buyers turning to Bangladesh.

7-inch phablet with 3G powered by Asus

Aiming to tap the Indian tablet and smartphone market, notebook maker Asus today launched a 7-inch phablet called Fonepad running on Android 4.1 platform with 3G connectivity and powered by an Intel processor.

Phablet are a class of smartphones with screen sizes ranging from 5-8 inches and designed to combine functions of a phone and tablet.

"By incorporating 3G mobile data connectivity with full telephony support, Asus Fonepad is the prefect combination of a tablet and phone in a single device," Asus India Regional Director South Asia and Country Manager System Business Group Peter Chang said here.

Powered by an Intel Atom processor Z2420, Fonepad comes in a sleek metallic design weighing 340 grams and has a slim 10.4 mm profile. Besides, it has 8 GB internal memory and comes with a microSD slot for up to 32 GB additional storage.

The phablet has up to nine hours of battery life, Chang claimed, adding that it has a 1.2 mega pixel front camera and a 3 mega pixel rear camera with 720p HD video recording.

Fonepad also sports ASUS SonicMaster audio technology with MaxxAudio 3 processing audio technology for clear sound quality, he said.

"Fonepad has been competitively priced at Rs 15,999 and it will be available from next week," Chang added.

Speaking at the launch, Intel South Asia Managing Director (Sales and Marketing) Debjani Ghosh said Fonepad is a great example of bringing to the market an innovative product that addresses the emerging market with a large screen size in a mobile device that runs fast with responsive applications.

"We will significantly increase the urgency to introduce a range of innovative and differentiated offerings that will shape the future of this segment. India will be 50 per cent market for phablets in the APAC (Asia Pacific) region in the coming time," she added.

Shyam Saran : India's Sea-Based Nuclear Deterrent Soon

India's nuclear deterrent is based on a credible nuclear doctrine and is sustained by a "systematic drive to operationalize" its various delivery components, including a sea-based one by 2015-16, Shyam Saran, chairman of the National Security Advisory Board, said here Wednesday.

Countering critics of India's nuclear weapons programme that it was driven by notions of prestige rather than considerations of national security, Saran, also a former foreign secetary who was closely connected with the negotiation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, said India's nuclear doctrine is based on the current geopolitical environment, especially with Pakistan actively building up its nuclear arsenal and keeping its aggressive actions and strategies against India in mind.

Giving a talk on "Is India's nuclear deterrent credible?", at the India Habitat Centre, Saran said: "India does have a credible theory of how its nuclear weapons may be used and that is spelt out in its nuclear doctrine."

He said India's nuclear doctrine, which was formally adopted at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in Jan 4, 2003, and the regular checks that are held have strengthened the level of confidence in India's nuclear deterrent.

While further reforms would be required "to make our deterrent more robust, it is unhelpful to peddle the impression that it is dysfunctional or worse that it is non-existent", he said at the lecture, held in collaboration with the Subbu Forum and the Society for Policy Studies (SPS).

Time For Me To Score A Big One: Dilshan

Royal Challengers' batsmen Tillakaratne Dilshan, who is yet to come out with a big one, said it is high time for him to play a big inning.

"I have been getting 20s and 30s. I want to score a big one and make it easy for the middle order batsmen," Dilshan told IPLT20.com.

On Tuesday, Dilshan was a mere spectator as Chris Gayle blasted a record 175 not out from 66 deliveries. Dilshan contributed just 33 in the 167-run opening partnership with Gayle.

Dilshan was all praise for Gayle and was happy that he was part of a special innings.

"I batted with him in the last Indian Premier League (IPL) too and he scored a couple of hundreds. But this was something special. In my career this was the first time I saw someone hit the ball so cleanly. I was just standing at the other end and enjoying every bit of it," he said.

When asked had Gayle said anything before or during the knock, Dilshan said: "We don't talk much. Both of us believe in hitting the ball and that's what we look to do. We just look to enjoy every single ball."

The Sri Lankan also said that he enjoys batting with Gayle.

"I took over the hitting in the last match but today he was completely in charge and that is mostly the case. Every bowler in the world is scared to bowl to Chris; there's no doubt about that," he added.

"He doesn't take too many chances for the first couple of overs. Once when he starts seeing the ball well, he takes the charge on. Once he reaches that stage where he knows he can clear any boundary.

"I try to give him more strike in the first six overs because I know that he can clear the 30-yard circle more cleanly than I can. Not only the circle, he can clear the ground easily," he added.

Dishan feels since the most dangerous batsmen in the world - Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and himself - are in the same team, they can go a long way in the tournament.

Saina,Sindhu enters round two of India open

As expected, top seed Saina Nehwal made a winning start to her campaign at the India Open badminton but it was end of the road for World No. 7 Parupalli Kashyap at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here on Wednesday.

Saina, the London Olympics bronze medallist, took just 33 minutes to breeze past Indonesian Belaetrix Manuputi 21-12, 21-15 in the women’s singles, while fifth seed Kashyap failed to overcome former World No. 1 Taufik Hidayat, bowing out 21-13, 21-23, 18-21 in a keenly-contested men’s singles first round clash.

Saina now faces Japan’s Yui Hashimoto in next round.

The Kashyap disappointment notwithstanding, there was good news in the Indian camp with P.V.

Sindhu, Ajay Jayaram, R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt and K.Srikanth turning in gritty performances.

While Sindhu showed Chinese Xue Yao the door with a 17-21, 21-18, 21-14 victory, World No. 30 Jayaram saw off Vladimir Malkov 21-17, 21-17. Guru Sai Dutt won by a 21-16, 21-17 margin against Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto. Anand Pawar too advanced with a 11-21, 21-13, 21-19 win over Japan’s Takuma Ueda.

But the highlight of the day was promising youngster Srikanth’s upset win over fourth seeded Dane Jan O Jorgensen 21-7, 18-21, 21-12.

“It is one of the biggest wins of my career. I lost to him (Jorgensen) in the Swiss Open so it was a sweet victory for me,” said Srikanth.

Having made early exits in the previous editions of the event, Saina began on a strong note as she led throughout the first game.

Relying on smashes and cross court tosses, the World No. 2 opened up 4-1, before quickly moving to 143.

Though the Indonesian capitalised on a few unforced errors, the Indian took away the game with a winner.

In contrast, the second game was keenly contested as Balaetrix came up with a strong counter to Saina’s attacks and caught up with the Indian on several occasions. Trailing 2-5, the Indonesian made it 5-5 before making it 9-8. But Saina came back to level with the opponent at 10-10 before leading 17-14 and then went on to win from there.

Hyderabad Woman Ends Life After Tiff Over TV Remote

In a shocking incident, a young woman here ended her life by taking a lethal injection after a quarrel with her brother over the TV remote.

The incident took place Tuesday at their house in Machabollaram at Alwal here Tuesday, police said.

Twenty-year-old Madhu Priya, working as a nurse in a private hospital, had a fight with her brother over the TV remote. He was reportedly watching a cricket match while she wanted to watch some other programme. When he refused to give the remote, she went inside a room and administered herself a poisonous injection.

She was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

In a similar incident in December last year in the old city of Hyderabad, an 18-year-old girl had committed suicide by hanging herself after a fight with her sister over the TV remote.

Sugary drinks can raise diabetes risk by 22 percent

Drinking just one can of sugar-laced soda drink a day increases the risk of developing diabetes by more than a fifth, according to a large European study published on Wednesday.

Using data from 350,000 people in eight European countries, researchers found that every extra 12 fluid ounce (340 ml) serving of sugar-sweetened drink raises the risk of diabetes by 22 percent compared with drinking just one can a month or less.

"Given the increase in sweet beverage consumption in Europe, clear messages on the unhealthy effect of these drinks should be given to the population," said Dora Romaguera, who led with study with a team at Imperial College London.

A 12-fluid-ounce serving is about equivalent to a normal-sized can of Coca-Cola, Pepsi or other soft drink.

The findings echo similar conclusions from research in the United States, where several studies have shown that intake of sugar-sweetened drinks is strongly linked with higher body weight and conditions like type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a long-term condition characterized by insulin resistance that affects around 2.9 million people in Britain and, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 310 million people worldwide.

Romaguera's team wanted to establish whether a link between sugary drinks and diabetes risk also existed in Europe.

For their study, they used data from 350,000 people from Britain, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, Italy, Netherlands who were questioned about their diet, including how many sugary and artificially sweetened soft drinks and juices they drank each day.

Writing in the journal Diabetologia, the researchers said their study "corroborates the association between increased incidence of Type-2 diabetes and high consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks in European adults".

Fruit juice consumption was not linked to diabetes incidence.

Patrick Wolfe, a statistics expert from University College London who was not involved in the research, said the message from its results was clear.

"The bottom line is that sugary soft drinks are not good for you - they have no nutritional value and there is evidence that drinking them every day can increase your relative risk for type 2 diabetes," he said in an emailed comment.

Beware of internet virus that steals bankaccount and password

NEW DELHI: A new virus has been found to be "spreading widely" in the Indian cyberspace which cleverly steals bank account details and passwords of the user once it is clicked. 

Country's cyber security sleuths have alerted Internet users in the country about the new and suspected variant of malware family called 'Win32/Ramnit'. 

"Ramnit worm spreads by infecting or modifying files existing on target systems such as (EXE, dll or html) and creating a new section so as to modify the entry point to that section," an advisory issued by country's premier cyber security agency -- Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-In) -- said. 

The malware, the advisory states, "steals credentials like file transfer protocol passwords, bank account logins, infects removable media, changes browser settings and downloads and executes arbitrary files". 

The virus is so deadly and potent, cyber sleuths say, that it has ability to hide itself from anti-virus solutions and acquires various aliases to attack a genuine system or Internet-based connection which works to play emails and other user services. 

The virus is such lethal in its operations that it "infects the removable media by copying itself to its recycle bin and creates an autorun.inf file," the advisory said. 

Once the system is infected, the malware injects its code into windows executables, html files or dlls to communicate with its command and control server, thereby compromising the security of the online system. 

The agency has also advised some counter measures in this regard. 

The combat steps against this virus stipulate that users should not download and open attachments in emails received from untrusted users or unexpectedly received from trusted users, one should exercise caution while visiting links to web pages and users should not visit untrusted websites. 

"Enable firewall at desktop and gateway level and disable ports that are not required, avoid downloading pirated software, keep up-to-date patches and fixes on the operating system and application softwares and keep up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware signatures at desktop and gateway level," the advisory stated.

TCS,Infosys and Wipro accused of abusing H-1B system

WASHINGTON:Amidst Congressional debate on the comprehensive immigration reform, a top US Senator has accused big Indian IT companies - TCS, Infosys and Wipro - of abusing the H-1B visa system.

"There are some specific abuses of H-1B," Senator Richard Durbin, said during a Congressional hearing on immigration reform by the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, during which the lawmakers discussed threadbare the H-1B visa issues.

In fact, Senator Durbin went on to brand the top Indian IT companies as outsourcing firms.

"These outsourcing firms like Infosys, Wipro, Tata and others -- Americans would be shocked to know that the H-1B visas are not going to Microsoft; they're going to these firms, largely in India, who are finding workers, engineers, who will work at low wages in the US for three years and pay a fee to Infosys or these companies," Durbin alleged.

"I think that is an abuse of what we're trying to achieve here. Most people would think, well, Microsoft needs these folks, and they'd be shocked to know that most of the H-1B visas are not going to companies like yours; they're going to these outsourcing companies," Durbin alleged.

He said this during the hearing in which two Indian Americans testified before the committee and supported the allegations of the Senator against Indian IT firms.

Brad Smith, general counsel and executive vice president, legal and corporate affairs, Microsoft, too supported the Senator on the issue.

"I personally think it's important that we both recognise the need for these firms to evolve their business model -- I've had these conversations myself with them in India -- that encourages them to focus on hiring more people in the US," he told lawmakers in response to a question.

The proposed comprehensive immigration bill if passed by the Congress and signed into law by the US President would bar companies from hiring people on H-1B visa if 50 per cent of their employees are not Americans.

The US India Business Council and Confederation of Indian Industry have opposed such a move and said that this is against the spirit of India US strategic relationship.

PM must appear before JPC on 2Gscam:Yaswant sinha

NEW DELHI:In the backdrop of former telecom minister A Raja telling the JPC that he took major decisions after consulting the Prime Minister, BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday asked Manmohan Singh to appear before the panel, saying his silence will "confirm" his involvement in the 2G scam.

"Is it not time Mr Prime Minister that you speak on these issues by appearing before the JPC?" Sinha, a member of the joint parliamentary committee probing the 2G issue, said in his latest letter to the Prime Minister.

"You had said in your letter of April 2 (to Sinha) that you had nothing to hide. Your deafening silence on the allegations made by your own colleague in the Cabinet completely disapproves the stand you had taken," he wrote.

Sinha said the Prime Minister should appear before the JPC as the allegations levelled by Raja "constitute a set of serious allegations of your personal involvement in the 2G scam".

His letter comes a day before the JPC meeting convened to adopt the controversial draft report which gives clean chit to the Prime Minister and finance minister P Chidambaram.

"Your silence will confirm the worst fear of the people of India that you were fully involved in the 2G scam and if Raja is guilty, so are you," he wrote.

Hinting at a stormy meeting of the committee on Thursday, Sinha said, "Under the leadership of your party member P C Chacko, the JPC is facing the risk of a complete stalemate, if not total destruction."

In a statement to the JPC, Raja had said on Monday that he took "every major decision", including entry fee and non auction of spectrum, after consulting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee.

"I took no unilateral decisions. Every major decision of mine was taken after consultation first with the DoT officers and thereafter with the Hon'ble PM, FM (finance minister P Chidambaram) and EAM (then external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee who was heading a GoM on vacation of spectrum)," he had said.

Raja's statement to the JPC came after the draft report of the 30-member committee indicted him of misleading the Prime Minister on decisions taken with regard to 2G spectrum allocation.

Earthquake in New Delhi

NEW DELHI:Tremors were felt in north India, including the national capital and adjoining satellite townships, on Wednesday afternoon, the second such occurrence in nine days.

The quake, measuring 5.7 on the Richter Scale at 2:51pm, was epicentred in southern Afghanistan, the MeT Department said. The quake took place 6.6km down the surface.

The tremors were felt in the capital, Gurgaon and Noida. There were no immediate reports of any casualty or injury.

Tremors were also felt in Srinagar and adjoining areas but there was no report of any casualty, officials said.

In Srinagar, the tremor lasted a few seconds, prompting people to rush out of buildings for safety.

On April 16, tremors were felt in north India following a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale on Pakistan-Iran border.

Bangladesh Building collapse killing over 70 peoples & injures hundreds

DHAKA:An eight-story block housing factories and a shopping centre collapsed on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital on Wednesday, killing more than 70 people and injuring hundreds, a government official said.

Fire fighters and army personnel worked frantically through the morning at the Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 km (19 miles) outside Dhaka, to rescue people trapped inside. 

One fireman told Reuters that about 2,000 people were in the building when the upper floors jolted down on top of each other.

Bangladesh's booming garment industry has been plagued by fires and other accidents for years, despite a drive to improve safety standards. In November last year, 112 workers were killed in a blaze at a factory in an industrial suburb of Dhaka.

"It looks like an earthquake has struck here," said one resident as he looked on at the chaotic scene of smashed concrete and ambulances making their way through the crowds of workers and wailing relatives of those still inside. 

"I was at work on the third floor, and then suddenly I heard a deafening sound, but couldn't understand what was happening. I ran and was hit by something on my head," said Sohra Begum a worker at one of the garment factories.

M.M. Niazuddin, the government's health secretary, told Reuters that at least 76 people were confirmed dead. Another official said hundreds were being treated for injuries.

Mohammad Asaduzzaman, in charge of the area's police station, said factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after a crack was detected in the block on Tuesday.

Buildings in the crowded city of Dhaka are sometimes erected without permission and many do not comply with construction regulations. Dozens died when a garment factory collapsed in the same area eight years ago.

Rosaiah leaves for Chennai after hospitalisation

After he insisted on going back to Chennai, a special aircraft was flown to Vijayawada. Two cardiologists accompanied him

Tamil Nadu Governor Konijeti Rosaiah was hospitalised here on Tuesday after he developed suffocation and restlessness. He was attending a private function.

He was having high blood pressure (220/100) and it was medically controlled at Dr. Ramesh Hospitals in the city. Chief Cardiologist P. Ramesh Babu, attended on him. He complained of uneasiness about 12.45 p.m. and was admitted to the hospital by local MLA Vellampalli Srinivas.

A known diabetic and hypertensive, 79-year-old Rosaiah had undergone bypass surgery in 2007. After he insisted on going back to Chennai, a special aircraft was flown to Vijayawada. The Governor was discharged at 4.45 p.m. and was accompanied by two cardiologists from the hospital on the plane. At the time of discharge his ECG and BP were normal.

At the venue, which was not air-conditioned, he complained of excess heat and sweating and was seen wiping head/face repeatedly and talked about it with mediapersons sitting close to him.

Commissioner of Police N. Madhusudhana Reddy and Secondary Education Minister K. Parthasarathy along with Vijayawada Central MLA called on Mr. Rosaiah at the hospital.

Four men rape mother and daughter, three arrested

Three people have been arrested in Bihar for abducting and raping the mother and sister of a youth as a revenge for his eloping with the sister of one of the accused, police said on Wednesday.

The attack took place in Sariswa village under Majhaulia police station of West Champaran district on April 19, but came to light after a case was lodged with the police. "Three people were arrested after an FIR (first information report) was lodged on the basis of the statement of gang-raped victims," Superintendent of Police Sunil Nayak told repoters.

"The gangrape was committed by four people," Nayak said. He added that three accused identified as Subhash Yadav, Suresh Yadav and Rameekbali Yadav were arrested on Tuesday, while hunt is now on to nab the fourth attacker.

Police have recovered the torn clothes of the victims from the house of Suresh during an investigation. According to police, the victims were first kidnapped and then taken to the house of Suresh where "both were gangraped by them".

The youth, whose mother and sister were gangraped, had eloped with Suresh's sister in January 2013, a police official said.