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Postlethwaite: We misjudged Lear
Actor Pete Postlethwaite says bad reviews for a new production of King Lear were justified, but claims the show has been changed.
2008-11-20 04:15:15
Judges review text messages
DETROIT -- Federal magistrate judges on Wednesday began poring through hundreds of thousands of city of Detroit text messages to see if they shed light on the 2003 shooting death...
2008-11-20 03:30:14
Court to review gay marriage ban
California's top court says it will hear challenges to the gay marriage ban, but it will remain in place for now.
2008-11-19 17:38:08
Review into murdered woman's care
A review is being carried out following the murder of a Devon woman by her violent partner.
2008-11-19 14:06:11
Child abuse 'lessons not learnt'
The inadequacy of many reviews of child abuse cases in England means lessons are not learnt, says Ofsted's annual report.
2008-11-19 09:09:11
Indian education portal launches Gulf operations
BUS8Business/Education/International Indian education portal launches Gulf operationsDubai, Nov 19 IANS Leading Indian education portal 24X7 Guru has launched its Gulf and Middle East operations targeting over 120,000 students in the region.The portal is targeted at Indian students appearing for engineering, medicine and management examinations as well as the Graduate Record Examination GRE. It is designed to help those from Class 3 to 10 strengthen their conceptual understanding of mathematics and science through self-assessment. "This region has more than 120,000 students who can benefit from our website, which aims to reinforce the maths and science lessons taught in the classrooms," K.S. Muralidhar, chief executive of 24X7 Guru, said in a statement after the portal's launch. "Using the multiple-choice concept, testing on the website is diagnostic in nature, application oriented and objective encouraging self-assessment and conceptual clarity amongst the students while at the same time honing their rational thinking ability and analytical skills," he added.According to Khawar Abdulla, 24X7 Guru's marketing head for Gulf and the Middle East, the portal will help students cover their respective syllabi during periods of long holidays."With a long summer break and shorter days during the holy month of Ramadan, schools in the GCC Gulf Cooperation Council have struggled to ensure they cover the full year's syllabus," he said. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates UAE comprise the GCC, which is home to over 4.8 million expatriate Indians.There are a large number of Indian schools in the region and most of them are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education CBSE. "Now, due to National Day of UAE which falls Dec 2 and Eid Al Addha, schools in the UAE are shut for most of December. By using 24x7guru.com, students can continue to learn, make up for missed lessons and review their portions without stress," Abdulla said.Muralidhar said that the portal would encourage students in the region to move away from the conventional "mugging" and learning by rote trend. "The interactive design and format of the site combined with a fool-proof testing system helps students understand the concepts and fundamentals by making learning fun, challenging and most importantly stress-free," he said. Test packs are available for mathematics and science, for CBSE, Indian Certificate for Secondary Education ICSE as well as various state board curriculums from Class 3 to 10.Curriculums for Class 11 and 12, and the International Baccalaureate programme will also be introduced shortly. "Keeping in spirit with the site, additional features such as Guru IQ, Guru Factoids, and Guru GK among others, will be introduced, enriching the overall educational experience," Muralidhar said. The website, which has over a million subscribers in India, already has over 5,000 subscribers in various schools across the GCC. A product of LearnSmart India, 24X7 Guru has Bodhtree Consulting as its technology partner and Unified Council as its content partner.Unified Council conducts the National Level Science Talent Search Examination NSTSEin India as also in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, Nepal, Iran and Tanzania. --Indo-Asian News Service555 Words19111553
2008-11-19 05:07:05
Malayalam movie directors make beeline to Chennai
ENT11Entertainment/Cinema Malayalam movie directors make beeline to ChennaiChennai, Nov 19 IANS Successful Malayalam movie directors Lal Jose, Vinayan, Renjith and Shaji Kailas, among others, are making a beeline for Chennai to cash in on Tamil audiences' fascination for meaningful cinema.Jose is focusing on water scarcity, one of the major problems in Tamil Nadu, in his forthcoming venture "Mazhai Varappogirathu" Rains are Coming with newcomers playing the leads."Water is an issue in this state - like the rest of India. And so are fan clubs. I'm providing a link between these two in a simple, but thought provoking film to be shot in Theni - a district in Tamil Nadu known for both," Jose told IANS."While big budgets are available only for superstars in Malayalam film industry, Tamil cinema has opened the gates for fresh talent with new ideas. "What is more, audiences here appreciate offbeat stuff in a big way even if the movies concerned are made on shoestring budgets - like 'Chennai 600028' and 'Paruthiveeran' and 'Katrathu Tamil' to encourage talent. Though the first two were released last year, the third that hit the screens early this calendar encouraged the new wave," Jose added. The director's blockbuster Malayalam hits "Classmates" 2006 and "Arabikatha" 2007 - both dealing with totally different themes - made producers and distributors take notice of him, a press statement added.Vinayan, a director whose works' of offbeat, yet commercially viable mainstream cinema attracted takers from Hollywood, is currently directing "Naalai Namathey" featuring new faces in lead roles, sources close to the director said.Vinayan's latest work "Albuthadweep" is about to be remade in Hollywood by Ron Howard, a publicist added.Fresh from his latest Malayalam directorial venture "Thirakatha" screenplay, in which he played a small cameo, and rave reviews for his performance in "Gulmohur", director Renjith told IANS that he is all set to launch a Tamil film featuring Prithiviraj and Karthika in the lead."I can only say that this movie will change the trend in Tamil cinema like my Malayalam series starting with 'Devasuran' did since 1993," Renjith said.Meanwhile, director Shaji Kailas has almost finished the Tamil remake of Malayalam murder mystery "Chintamani Kola Case" entitled "Ellammey Avan Seyal" and it is scheduled to hit the screens at the end of this month.Not to be left behind, another Malayalam megaphone wielder Siddique with four Tamil hits under his belt, including the latest moderate success "Sadhu Miranda", has been signed to direct Tamil star Vijay's next film.--Indo-Asian News Service445 Words19111516
2008-11-19 05:06:05
WASHINGTON
INT35International/Politics Will Hillary Clinton get the job or not LeadBy Arun KumarWashington, Nov 19 IANS The guessing game continues. Will Hillary Clinton get the job of President-elect Barack Obama's Secretary of State or not Those in the prediction markets think it's in the bag for her. Others suggest it may well depend on a review of the business activities of her husband, former president Bill Clinton. But the Obama transition team is mum on her chances.Obama met his vanquished rival for Democratic nomination last Thursday to discuss the top diplomatic job as he searches for the right people to join his administration when he assumes the presidency Jan 20.Hillary Clinton is said to be interested in the job, but before an offer is made, Obama's transition team is reported to be reviewing Bill Clinton's post-White House work to whether his international philanthropic and business dealings would pose a conflict of interest.With royalties from writing books and fees for giving speeches, he is estimated to have built a fortune worth about $100 million since handing over the reins of power to President George W. Bush in January 2001.He has played the role of roving ambassador, and his William Jefferson Clinton Foundation has raised millions of dollars from around the world to combat AIDS, malaria and global warming."I think the only issue going forward prospectively is whether the former president is willing to do less than he is currently doing," Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf, a Clinton backer, was quoted as saying. "Obviously he has a lot of business around the world and it seems to me he is willing to do less."The Washington Times, however, suggested Obama's choice for Secretary of State is a "high-stakes game with the potential to disappoint or anger powerful Democrats" as it would leave the other possible contenders with "bruised egos".The 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, for one, ushered Obama onto the national stage by asking him to make the keynote speech at his nomination convention. An early supporter of Obama, he also campaigned for him across the country.New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson too "took a gamble and endorsed Obama despite drawing wrath from Democratic insiders who felt he was being disloyal" to the Clintons because he served in the Clinton Cabinet."The irony of the situation is both Bill Richardson and John Kerry faced enormous criticism from Clinton supporters for endorsing Obama and there's a good chance that she will get the position they both want," the Times cited Boston-based political strategist James Boyce.The Times also cited an unnamed former Clinton aide as saying that the public speculation creates an awkward position for Obama because it seems "the Clinton people put it into the public domain prematurely and have created a pickle".Asked on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday whether Hillary Clinton was on a "short list" for a cabinet selection, Obama said she is "somebody who I needed advice and counsel from", adding: "She is one of the most thoughtful public officials that we have. Beyond that, you're not getting anything out of me."Meanwhile in another move, Eric Holder, who was a deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, has accepted Obama's conditional offer to be US attorney general, media reports said citing a Democratic source.Holder, 57, who served as Obama's campaign co-chairman, would be the first African-American to head the Justice Department.Holder would join several other veterans of the Clinton administration who have already signed on to the Obama team, including White House counsel Greg Craig, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and Ronald Klain, chief of staff to Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden.--Indo-Asian News Service648 Words*19111149
2008-11-19 03:00:00
States members' wages could rise
Pay for States members could go up by ï¿½1,000 next year following a recommendation by an independent pay review...
2008-11-18 09:29:08
Growth and Jobs: Relaunch of the Lisbon strategy
On 22-23 March 2005, the Spring Councilï¿½discussed the Commission'sï¿½mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy for economic, social...
2008-11-17 21:14:45