[wanabidii] News Digest: US to temporarily suspend special programme for H-1B visas

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, March 04, 2017
		Today's Headlines

		Business
		US to temporarily suspend special programme for H-1B visas The US announced that in order to clear a backlog of regular H-1B visa applications, it is suspending for six months a programme that allowed some companies to jump to the head of the queue for quicker processing of H-1B visas by paying a special fee. Janet Yellen points to March rate hike as Fed signals end of easy money The Federal Reserve has struggled for the past three years to raise interest rates off the zero lower bound as the US economy slowly healed after the Great Recession. Uber's secret software steers drivers from stings Uber has acknowledged the use of a secret software program to steer drivers away from trouble, including sting operations by local authorities to catch law-breakers. More Business News»

		Environment
		Here's why pandas became black and white Giant panda's distinct black-and-white markings have two functions -- camouflage and communication, said the study published in the journal Behavioral Ecology. "Understanding why the giant panda has such striking colouration has been a long-standing problem in biology that has been difficult to tackle because virtually no other mammal has this appearance, making analogies difficult," said lead author Tim Caro, Professor at University of California, Davis in the US. Won't stop public display of penguins at Byculla zoo: HC Pune NGT asks builder to pay Rs 40 lakh for 'green damage' More Environment News»

		World
		Jordan hangs 15 convicts in rare mass execution Jordan hanged 15 death row prisoners including convicted "terrorists" at dawn on Saturday, its information minister said, in a further break with a moratorium on executions it observed between 2006 and 2014. 10 of those put to death had been convicted of terrorism offences and 5 of "heinous" crimes. China to hike defence budget by about 7% The Chinese announcement to up its defence budget by 7% comes just days after US President Donald Trump outlined plans to beef up American military forces by raising expenditures by around 10 percent. Europeans vote to alter visa rules of Americans In the vote, European lawmakers played tit-for-tat in their dispute with the United States, demanding restrictions on American travelers unless the Trump administration lifts travel requirements for citizens of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania. More World News»

		Science
		Hubble captures 'incredibly' massive galaxy Nasa to help astronauts grow their food in space Nasa is sending a self-sufficient plant growth system to the International Space Station (ISS) that will help astronauts grow their own food during deep-space exploration missions. The new plant system will this month join "Veggie" -Nasa's first fresh food growth system already active on ISS. Soon, a 'magic' DNA computer that grows itself Scientists have designed a new, super-fast form of a “magic“ computer made of DNA molecules that grows as it computes and can outperform all standard systems in solving practical problems. More Science News»

		Technology
		The typo that caused one of the biggest Amazon Web Services outage Amazon says an incorrectly typed command during a routine debugging of its billing system caused the five-hour outage of some Amazon Web Services servers on Tuesday. H-1B visas: Here's finally some 'good news' The US has assured India that the H-1B visas issue was not a priority for it and would be part of the larger immigration reforms package that the new Trump administration is working on. Apologetic Uber says drivers still earning well Uber India president Amit Jain on Friday apologized for the disruption that its riders and drivers had experienced over the past few weeks. He admitted that driver incentives had been reduced to build a more sustainable business, but said that 80% of the drivers who are online for more than six hours were still making between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,500 a day after Uber's commission (25%). ​ More Technology News»

		Education
		Supreme Court stays upper age limit for students fixed by Bar Council of India for admission to LLB Supreme Court issues notices to Centre, MCI over exclusion of Urdu in NEET SC notice to Centre, CBSE for inclusion of Urdu in NEET Currently, NEET - a common entrance test for admissions in MBBS and BDS courses across the country - is being conducted in ten languages: Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, Oriya, Bengali, Assamese, Telegu, Tamil and Kannada languages. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Two corporators pledge support to BJP The BJP is likely to file its own candidate for the mayor's post on Saturday and is trying to get some independents along with corporators from some smaller parties over to its side to match Shiv Sena's numbers. Today is the last day of declaring nominees for the poll. Plastic cutlery to replace metal utensils in city prisons The city prison authorities have decided to replace the existing steel/aluminium spoons and plates with plastic ones, so that inmates do not have access to anything that can be improvised and used as weapons. 11-storey illegal building near tracks finally razed After nine months, the BMC finally managed to raze to ground an 11-storey unauthorized building on Keshavji Naik Road between Sandhurst Road and Masjid railway stations. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		E-vehicle sales up, but so are 'polluting' diesel hybrids The capital accounted for about 62% of the electric vehicles sold in the country in 2016. While it may seem like Delhi is leading the transition towards non-polluting vehicles, an analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), released on Friday, found that the city. Why are only NDMC areas in Smart City plan: Manish Sisodia Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Friday raised questions on the Centre for choosing NDMC areas for the ambitious Smart City project pointing out that the area has only 2% of Delhi's population. Scrutiny of poll candidates on in Congress war room The Congress war room is abuzz with frenetic activity these days. The fate of 10,448 ticket-seekers is being decided with the help of latest technology as only 272 will get to contest the municipal polls in April. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Flyover wasn't for Bengaluru. It was being built for UP Investigations by the income-tax department and the ‘chatter’ it picked up from sub-contractors from 2015 has proved that the flyover was meant only to help Congress fight elections in Uttar Pradesh. Greenie in the bottle: Man's quest for tree cover hits new high While the government is thinking of chopping trees to widen roads, a resident of Rajajinagar is trying to beautify the road in front of his house by creating a vertical garden with waste material strewn on the ground. Road to Gurugram's Cyber City longest in India, beats Bengaluru Employees working at MNCs in Gurugram take the longest time and cover the longest distance to reach their workplaces of all cities in India. Employees working in Greater Noida take 57 minutes on average, covering an average distance of just 19km. Office goers in New Delhi take on average 51 minutes. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Telangana govt diverting Centre's input subsidy funds for farmers, says Digvijaya Singh Senior Congress party leader Digvijaya Singh on Friday accused the state government of diverting Central funds meant for 'input subsidy' for farmers. WhatsApp talaq: Techie in US booked on wife's plea A housewife filed an FIR against her husband and in-law's after she was divorced by her US based husband through a WhatsApp message. The ouple was married in 2015. The vitim received a WhatsApp message from her husband saying - Talaq Talaq Talaq in the last week of February. Telangana to bail out discoms of Rs 8,000 crore debt More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Minjur woman's murder: 2 held A day after a homemaker in Minjur was murdered for her jewellery, police arrested two of her relatives on Friday, on charges of murder. EPS-led cabinet meets, discusses Tamil Nadu budget The state cabinet led by chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami met at the secretariat on Friday for two hours to discuss the state budget. This is the first time the cabinet is meeting after the government led by Palaniswami was sworn in on February 16. Tamil Nadu man to begin climate change fight in chilly Antarctica A couple of days ago, Tirunelveli-based Walter Clint Fernando flew to Argentina's Buenos Aires to join polar explorer Robert Swan (the first person to walk to both the North and South poles) for a 12-day expedition to Antarctica, starting on March 6.The expedition is aimed at creating awareness about climate change. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Smart stress therapy for city collegians ​That vibrant environment, company of friends and being a part of various academic and co-curricular activities; college life for most in one of the most memorable experiences in life. But, if you look at a college student’s life closely, they also face a number of day to day challenges that contribute to their stress levels. If overlooked, it can escalate and hamper their academic performance, emotional and physical well-being. Naroda press moves HC for protection Luxury car crashes into shanties, two injured More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		After nine months of Jawahar Bagh violence, Allahabad High Court orders CBI inquiry In a major setback to the UP government, the Allahabad high court on Thursday ordered a CBI probe into the Jawahar Bagh violence that claimed 29 lives, including that of two police officials, and left over 100 injured in Mathura on June 2 last, following a botched operation to evict cult leader, Ram Vriksha Yadav and his Swadhin Bharat Vidhik Satyagrah followers. No let-up in chaos, Allahabad University suspends exams As per police reports, the accused had threatened Sahay to withdraw the strike.On his refusal, Rana and his aides attacked Sahay. Loo and behold! Are city toilets a British-era legacy? The bylaws called for separate toilets for male and female employees in all workplaces and it was mandatory to specify in writing whether the toilets were meant for males or females. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Experts fret as state cuts down funds for women's programmes Gender inequality was clearly evident in the state budget 2017-18 as government reduced allocations in all major schemes for women, said an expert. City to boost infra for hockey WC In preparation for the men's hockey world cup that will be held in November and December of 2018, the state government has planned a smart solution project to improve the city's civic amenities. Odisha looks to widen religious tourism horizon With direct international flights starting from Bhubaneswar to Kuala Lumpur next month the state is now focusing on promoting Buddhist tourism in the state. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Police oficer, missing for 2 years, found at a lodge in Khargone Fat-shamed Neemuch cop undergoes surgery Glanders outbreak in Gwalior, 7 horses dead , several test positive More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		All 3 acquitted in Sonipat sisters' molestation case More than two years after registration of a case in the Sonipat sisters' molestation incident, a local court on Friday acquitted all the three accused after finding them innocent.Sisters Pooja and Aarti, then students of Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA), had become an overnight sensation in 2014 after a video that showed them beating up three youths they claimed were harassing them on a moving Haryana Roadways bus was circulated online. The sisters from Haryana were hailed as `bravehearts'. HC notice to Centre on plea to hold SGPC polls The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday issued notice to the Union government and the chief commissioner, gurdwara elections, on a plea seeking directions to hold the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) polls. According to the petitioner, the existing Sikh body had already completed its tenure but the Centre failed to notify the schedule for holding the SGPC polls. Kamal Sharma slams threats to Gurmehar, praises ABVP Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma has condemned the threats issued to DU student and martyr's daughter Gurmehar Kaur, but also praised ABVP for inculcating patriotism among students. More Chandigarh News»

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