Ludhiana: Mandeep tops with 92.2%

LUDHIANA: Even as the city students could not make a place for themselves in the top three Panjab University positions in BSc (medical and non-medical) second year, the results of which were declared on Wednesday, they have scored well. Mandeep Kaur of Guru Nanak Girls’ College has topped the city with 92.2%, Government College for Women student Navneet Kaur has secured the second position with 89.93% and SCD Government College’s Tejinder Singh third with 86.93%.

A resident of Dashmesh Nagar, Mandeep, said, ”I used to study in the kitchen, as that was the only place where I could concentrate well. For, I stay with a joint family and most of the times, there was someone or the other in all rooms.” About her success mantra, she added, ”I would revise my lessons daily, no matter how busy I was. I am not a bookworm and would go for shopping even during my exams. And, I did not opt for tuitions, as I prefer attending classes attentively.”

Navneet, a resident of Guru Arjan Dev Nagar, did not let life’s upheavals affect her performance. Though her mother was diagnosed with cancer, she decided to sit in the exams.

”Hard work and faith in god helped me achieve success. And when I was tired, I would listen to music as it is a great stress-buster,” she said.

Tejinder, a resident of New Amar Nagar, said, ”I am very fond of computer games and I played these even during my exams. I had never expected that I would be third in the city… the results have come as a pleasant surprise.”

90pc of gay men in the Asia-Pacific region ”denied HIV care”- UN

London, May 19 (ANI): A new report produced jointly by the UN Development Programme and the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health claims 90 percent of gay men in the Asia-Pacific region do not get HIV/Aids help due to discriminatory laws in many states.

Most countries in the region have a law criminalizing gay male sex.

“The effectiveness of the HIV response will depend not just on the sustained scale up of HIV prevention, treatment and care, but on whether the legal and social environment support or hinder programmes for those who are most vulnerable,” the BBC quoted UNDP”s Mandeep Dhaliwal said in a statement.

The report pointed out that repressive laws “often take on the force of vigilantism”.

It said that several countries including Nepal, India, the Philippines and South Korea had brought in new laws and policies to address the problem.

The report stated: “However, these are exceptional developments and action is required to improve the legal environment in all countries,”

The study found homosexuals and bisexuals to be in the high-risk group, which can potentially account for between 10 and 30 percent of new HIV infections in a typical Asian country.

Nineteen out of 48 countries in the region criminalised male-to-male sex and these laws often led to abuse and human rights violations, it said.

The report also drew attention to punishments for sex, between men, ranged from the death penalty in Afghanistan and north-west Pakistan to whipping in Malaysia and Indonesia”s Aceh region.

It added that police enforced public order and prostitution laws selectively against gay men in some countries.

In Sri Lanka and the Philippines, for example, vagrancy laws were used in this way, the report said.

Another abuse reported in countries such as Thailand and India was the confiscation of condoms as evidence of illegality.

In China and Singapore, the report found, HIV education materials were censored. (ANI)

Cops, thieves, ordinary people apply different logic when making decisions

Washington, May 5 (ANI): Police officers and criminals are more consistent in their judgements than ordinary people, according to a new study.

However, police officers’ reasoning is more similar to that of ordinary people than to that of thieves.

This conclusion might have significant implications on criminal jurisdiction. For the purpose of this study, a 120-people sample was taken. The sample consisted of 40 expert criminals, 40 expert policemen and 40 students unrelated to criminal activities

The study conducted by the University of Granada, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, revealed that policemen and ordinary people reason differently than criminals when making decisions. That is, they reason in different ways.

The research was conducted by Rocío García-Retamero from the Department of Experimental Psychology and Behavioural Physiology of the University of Granada, and Mandeep K. Dhabi from the Institute of Criminology (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom). (ANI)

Pakistan beat India 3-2 to clinch Four-Nation junior hockey championship

Johor Bahru (Malaysia), Mar.16 (ANI): Pakistan has defeated India 3-2 to clinch the Four-Nation junior hockey tournament here.

The Indian team failed to capitalize on its lead of 1-0 till the half time as the Pakistan players showcased a brilliant fight back to level the score at 2-2 at the final whistle.

Pak captain, Haseem Khan then produced a golden goal in the extra time which shattered the hope of the Indian squad of winning the title.

For India, it was Mandeep Patel who first broke the Pakistani defence in the 22nd minute of play. Patel once again scored in the 46th minute, but his brilliant act failed to prevent Pakistan from leveling the score.

For Pakistan, Zubair scored in 70th minute thus taking the game in extra time where captain Haseem Khan displayed his splendid talent and helped the team pocket the series.(ANI)