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Malay Tamil, Chinese educationists keen to teach science, math in mother tongue

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Petaling Jaya (Malaysia), July 9 (ANI): Both Tamil and Chinese educationists have welcomed the Cabinet’s decision to revert the teaching of science and mathematics to one’s mother tongue in vernacular schools.

Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia) president Dr Yap Sin Tian said the use of English had brought about negative effects on students.

Dr Yap said Dong Zong welcomed the decision to increase the number of hours for the teaching of English but it also hoped that more time would be allocated for Chinese classes.

Jiao Zong (the United Chinese School Teachers Association of Malaysia) chairman Ong Chiow Chuen said Chinese schools were ready to use Chinese for both subjects as early as next year as it had been going bilingual in its teaching thus far.

Malaysian Indian Congress education bureau chairman, Dr. T. Marimuthu, said the decision was good as it reflected the sentiments at roundtable discussions.

“The majority of Tamil school headmasters supported the teaching of mathematics and science in English in 2002 because many scientific terms and reports are in English.

The Star quoted National Tamil Headmasters’ Association general-secretary Muthiah Sithambaram, as saying that the decision would not bring things to a standstill. (ANI)

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Ageing honeybees’ learning ability remains intact when social roles are switched

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 1 (ANI): While scientists have been aware of the fact that cognitive function among humans declines as they get older, a research team in Germany have found that ageing honeybees can keep their learning ability intact or even improve it by switching their social roles.

Experts at Technische Universitat Berlin are now planning to use honeybees as a model to study general ageing processes in the brain, and hope that they may provide some clues on how to prevent them.

Dr. Ricarda Scheiner, leader of the research team, says that the oldest bees in a colony are the foragers – a task that demands a high amount of energy.

The researcher reveals that with increasing foraging duration, their capacity for associative learning was found to decrease.

According to Scheiner, no decline was observed in nurse bees that remain inside the hive taking care of the brood and the queen, even though their age was the same as that of their foraging sisters.

When a subset of these foragers were artificially forced to revert to nursing tasks, the researchers found that their learning performance improved again, demonstrating a remarkable plasticity in their brain circuits.

“The honey bee is a great model because we can learn a lot about social organisation from it and because it allows us to revert individuals into a ‘younger’ stage. If we remove all of the nurse bees of a colony, some of the foragers will revert to nursing behaviour and their brains become ‘young’ again. We thus hope to study the mechanisms responsible for age-dependent effects, like oxidative damage, and also to discover new ways to act against these aging processes,” says Dr. Scheiner. (ANI)

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Nepal alliance parties form taskforce for govt formation

May 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kathmandu, May 27 (ANI): A joint meeting of the 16 out of 22 parties supporting the UML-led government on Wednesday decided to form a taskforce to made suggestion regarding the set up of the new government and the ministerial portfolios in the new cabinet.

The parties decided to from a taskforce to study the issues after the meeting held this morning failed to reach a consensus on the issues.

The taskforce includes the coalition leader CPN-UML and its probable allies, the Nepali Congress, the Madheshi Janadhikar Forum and the Tarai Madhesh Loktantrik Party. The taskforce will also finalise the government’s Common Minimum Programme (CMP). 50-point CMP of the government was distributed in the meeting.

However, the task to finalise the CMP has been given to the taskforce after some leaders complained that the CMP was incomplete.

The parties have also suggested Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to revert the decision of the Maoist government to terminate army chief Rookmangud Katawal and appoint Kul Bahadur Khadka as acting chief.

As proposed by the UML, the parties agreed to end the winter session of the parliament early.

Similarly, the parties have urged Speaker Subash Nembang not to table the resolution registered by the Maoists at the parliament secretariat before the parliament for discussion, Nepalnews eported. (ANI)

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HIV’s ‘hide and seek’ could make it weaker

May 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 9 (ANI): HIV usually plays a game of hide and seek to dodge the immune system, but a new study has claimed that such playfulness actually makes the deadly virus vulnerable at times, according to an Australian study.

The finding could offer insights into the treatment of HIV during the early stages of infection.

At the time of entering a new host, HIV includes a form that researchers call escape mutant.

Although the escape mutant virus is better at evading our immune system, it is weaker and replicates slower than the wild-type form.

“When HIV infects a new host it needs to adapt to this new environment,” ABC News quoted lead author and PhD student Liyen Loh, of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at The University of Melbourne, as saying.

She added: “The mutations often revert to the original wild-type virus, allowing the virus to regain a fitter state, or the changes may be retained, depending on the individual’s immune system. This explains why some individuals have better clinical outcomes than others.”

In the study, the researchers from the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney analysed the evolution of the virus using macaque monkeys by infecting them with different quantities of wild-type SIV (the non-human equivalent of HIV) and escape mutant SIV.

They then measured the growth of the virus for the next three months to find out how much time the escape mutant form took to revert back to its fitter wild-type state.

“In the absence of immune pressure the virus will not stay in its weakened state, because it is not beneficial for the virus,” said Loh.

It was discovered that in animals infected with the escape mutant virus, it took 8 days for wild type to appear and it took 8 weeks for them to outnumber the escape mutant form.

The researchers also found that the genetic makeup of the virus affected how fast the virus adapts in the host.

“If (the macaques) get infected with purely one strain of virus it will take longer to adapt to the new host,” said Loh.

In her opinion, the study only focused on one structural part of the virus that mutates, and also claimed that there are many “other bits” that affect how the HIV evolves in an infected individual.

The study has been published in the PLoS journal Pathogens. (ANI)

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Blair wants world to wage war against militant Islam

April 24, 2009 By admin 4 Comments

London, Apr 24 (ANI): Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who does not regret leading Britain to Iraq war, has called on the world to take on and defeat Islamic extremists.

He believes that, without intervention, the problem will continue to grow in countries such as Afghanistan, and called for a battle to be waged against militant Islam similar to that fought against revolutionary communism.

Blair said that the world today faced a struggle posed by “an extreme and misguided form of Islam,” which threatened the majority of Muslims as well as non-Muslims.

“Our job is simple: It is to support and partner those Muslims who believe deeply in Islam but also who believe in peaceful co-existence, in taking on and defeating the extremists who don’t,” Blai told a a forum on religion and politics in Chicago.

The struggle could not be won “without our active and wholehearted participation,” The Times quoted Blair, as saying.

Blair was speaking almost 10 years to the day since he gave an address in Chicago at the height of the Kosovo crisis when he set out what he described as a “doctrine of international community” that sought to justify intervention, including military intervention.

The speech was criticised widely at the time as hopelessly idealistic and even dangerous.

Defending his intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said the argument that Britain should revert to a more traditional, cautious foreign policy should be resisted.

Blair also defended the Obama Administration’s attempts to engage with Iran, and said: “The Iranian Government should not be able to claim that we have refused the opportunity for constructive dialogue, and the stature and importance of such an ancient and extraordinary civilisation means that as a nation, Iran should command respect and be accorded its proper place in the world’s affairs.”

He argued that the purpose of such engagement should be clear and was about more than preventing Iran acquiring nuclear weapons capability. (ANI)

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Uproar after Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s retiming of Mandarin, Tamil news

April 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Apr 21 (ANI): Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s (RTM) Chinese and Indian viewers of Tamil origin are all riled up over the retiming of the Mandarin and Tamil news slots.

The MCA claimed the change of the Mandarin news time slot from 8 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. on TV2 would not benefit Chinese viewers, while a PPP leader Senator T. Murugiah also cited the same over the rescheduling of Tamil @ 2 news from its original 7.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. beginning on Monday.

MCA spokesman Lee Wei Keat yesterday questioned the Information, Communications, Arts and Culture Ministry’s motive in changing the time.

He said the revised time slot would inconvenience viewers and eventually affect the ratings and image of the RTM, The Star reported.

“The ministry should revert the Mandarin news time slot to its previous prime time of 8 p.m.,” he said.

Starting yesterday, the 30-minute Mandarin news is aired at 6.30 p.m. and noon daily on TV2, as opposed to the previous time slot of 8 p.m. on TV1.

“Many viewers will not be able to catch the news from 6.30pm to 7pm as they would either be travelling home from work or busy preparing dinner for families,” said Lee who is also MCA Information and Communications Bureau chairman.

In Ipoh, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator T. Murugiah said many Indian workers complained that they could not catch the programme, called Tamil @ 2, because it was being aired too early.

“Those working in Kuala Lumpur, especially, would be caught in traffic jams. They could not make it back in time for the news,” he said after opening a motivational seminar for Indian students at SMK Sungai Pari here yesterday. (ANI)

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ECB cuts rates to historic low to spur growth

April 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Frankfurt, April 2 (DPA) Falling inflation and a deepening recession paved the way for the European Central Bank (ECB) to deliver another rate cut Thursday, trimming borrowing costs to an historic low of 1.25 percent.

The 25-basis-points reduction, less than the half-percentage-point analysts had expected, brought the total rate cuts made by the ECB in the 16-member eurozone since October to 300 basis points, reflecting its effort to spur economic growth.

The cut – the ECB’s sixth since October – coincided with Thursday’s Group of 20 summit of leading economic powers in London, which is aimed at bolstering global economic confidence and revamping world financial rules.

Economists, however, are divided on whether borrowing costs at 1.25 percent will bring the ECB’s current rate-cutting cycle to an end or if the bank will continue easing monetary policy.

The scale of the economic downturn has meant central banks around the world believe they can no longer rely solely on interest rates and have been forced to revert to so-called unconventional measures to combat the global recession.

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US will disintegrate into six blocs by 2010: Russian academic

March 31, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Moscow, Mar.31 (ANI): A Russian academic has predicted that the United States will disintegrate into six blocs by the summer of 2010, and warned that world leaders attending the second G-20 Summit in London will not be able to reverse the global recession or halt the inevitable collapse of the US economy.

In his interview with Sky News, Professor Igor Panarin said he came up with his grim forecast back in 1998 while analyzing the parallels between the Soviet Union in its final years and the current situation in the US.

“Mr. Obama is similar to the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev was also making great promises for the Soviet Union, but the situation was only getting worse,” he said.
By next summer, according to Professor Panarin, the US will disintegrate into six blocs – and everyone will get their piece.

The “Californian Republic” will fall under China’s influence, “the Texas region” under Mexico’s while Alaska will revert to Russian control.

Hawaii will come under Japanese or Chinese rule, East Coast states should join the EU, while central northern parts of the US may gradually drift under Canada’s influence.

Panarin is the dean of International Relations at Moscow’s prestigious Diplomatic Academy.

His high-profile students have included parliamentary deputies, regional leaders, Kremlin officials and Foreign Ministry spokespeople.

When he presented his views in a public lecture earlier this month, the Ministry invited foreign diplomats and media to attend.

Panarin’s controversial predictions have also been given a prominent platform in his country’s state media. His interview to a Russian daily was translated by a state news agency into four languages.

He has appeared on state-controlled TV channels, his views broadcast to local and worldwide audiences in Russian, English and Arabic.

Panarin’s predictions offer comforting words for Russians who have seen their economy hit hard by the economic downturn after the oil-fuelled boom years.

He sees Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin “as a leader who will reintegrate the post-Soviet space, create a Eurasian Union, modelled after the European Union. (ANI)

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Malay Indians want maths and science to be taught in Tamil

March 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Mar.21 (ANI): The Federation of Malaysian Indian Organisations wants the teaching of science and mathematics to revert to the Tamil language in Tamil schools.

It also wants the teaching hours of Bahasa Malaysia and English in Tamil schools to be increased to strengthen pupils’ proficiency in the two languages, the New Strait Times reports.

Federation chairman S. Rajaretinam said the 200,000-strong federation feels that it was essential for pupils in class one to six be taught the two subjects in Tamil to ensure their cognitive development.

Rajaretinam said they would be seeking a meeting with Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to explain their position by next week. (ANI)

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Don’t attach hopes with the rulers, says ex Pak Army Chief

February 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Feb. 15 (ANI): Former Pakistan Army Chief General (retired) Aslam Beg has urged the people of Pakistan to find solution of national problems themselves, rather than leaving things to the rulers only.

“We should not be mum over the wrongs done by US and India after we have admitted our crime regarding Mumbai incident. Our elected leadership has surrender to American dictation and it is working for the accomplishment of US agenda, keeping aside its real agenda. The people and the politicians should bring the matters in the Parliament to deliberate and should not attach hopes with the rulers,” General Beg said.

Now, the only way left for the government was to revert to the Parliament in order to chalk out a strategy for national security and solidarity and sovereignty, The Nation quoted him, as saying.

On the US drone attacks, he said it was known to all that US base near Tarbela was working as nerve centre and carrying out operations in the areas like Waziristan, FATA and even Afghanistan.

“All this has been done during the Musharraf regime. We had no problems till 2004 but when Musharraf was attacked and some Army personnel declared that the mastermind of these attacks hailed from Waziristan, and on this ground attacks were begun,” General Beg said.

He claimed that Maulvi Nek Muhammad, who had made an accord with the Pakistan Government, was killed by America so that the war could continue.

“More than 7,00 innocent people were killed and the tribals who always guaranteed the security of our borders were forced to think a lot about their future,” he added.

Musharraf gave an open license to CIA to do whatever they wanted in NWFP and Balochistan, he said while adding that there are multiple US bases in Pakistan meant to kill Pakistanis on their soil. (ANI)

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PCB management blamed for making Pak cricket “laughing stock in the world”

February 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Feb.7 (ANI): With numerous controversies surrounding the apex cricket body of the country, former top cricket officials have started criticizing the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) openly, and have charged the current set-up of the Board of ruining national cricket and maligning it on the international circuit.

Former Pak cricket team manager Talat Ali Malik has said that the present management of PCB has ruined Pakistan cricket.

“They have ruined it. They don’t know how to run the cricket affairs. Pakistan cricket has become a laughing stock around the globe,” The Daily Times quoted Malik, as saying.

He said the officials are involved in blame-game rather than working together to uplift the condition of the game in the country.

Malik also held PCB solely responsible for the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to relocate the Champion’s Trophy from Pakistan, and to revert the earlier decision and handing over the 2006 Oval Test match to England.

“I see it as a weakness of the ICC. I think they have made it a joke by changing the result and I don’t rule out another change in the future. The PCB has also failed to take a stand against this change and they were also weak in handling this matter,” he said.

He also charged the ICC for naming Sri Lanka as the possible alternate venue for the Champions Trophy, saying that Sri Lanka itself is no stranger to terrorism.

Commenting on the sudden removal of Shoaib Malik from the captaincy, Malik termed the decision as a ‘hasty’ one.

“No one should be removed for just having one bad match and I thought the decision of Malik’s removal was a short-sighted one which doesn’t augur well for our future,” he added. (ANI)

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