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TOP STORIES

Mother strangulates newborn to death
Chandigarh, January 17
Geeta Rani, 22, killed her daughter within a few hours of her birth. She promised the police that she would not do it again and asked to be allowed to go home. She said that she did not want a girl-child as she could not afford to bring her up. A boy, on the other hand, would have been a welcome addition to the family.

It’s circumstances, says psychiatrist
Chandigarh: It is not normal for a woman to kill her child, but circumstances like the family’s craving for a male child and poverty can force a woman to commit a heinous crime like killing her newborn daughter.

Noise pollution levels cross permissible limits
Chandigarh, January 17
Noise pollution levels in the city are crossing safe standards, placing the residents at a considerable risk of health. With an astounding 25 vehicles being added to the existing fleet on a daily basis, the levels of noise pollution are swelling, aggravating the situation.

PGI docs to meet Sushma Swaraj
Chandigarh, January 17
Perturbed over the recent changes in the norms for doctors while on foreign assignment, the PGI Faculty Association will soon be meeting the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj, to review the decision of the Governing Body.

PGI’s negligence killed patient, alleges family

Chandigarh, January 17 The family of a Panchkula resident, Mr Brij Mohan Anand, who died at the PGI Emergency today, has alleged negligence and delay in treatment by doctors, resulting in his death.   PGI security personnel wheel out the body of Mr Brij Mohan Anand on Saturday in Chandigarh. The family of the deceased alleged that he died due to negligence of PGI doctors. — A Tribune photograph.

Software to administer drugs
PGI-SCL project to be patented
Chandigarh, January 17
Computers are now automatically administering drugs to patients during surgery to control critical parameters like heart rate, body temperature, respiratory rate and blood pressure.

Temperature falls due to heavy showers Chandigarh, January 17 Due to heavy showers in the evening temperature fell in the city today. Earlier during the day high velocity winds swept the city , affecting normal life. Night temperature dipped in Chandigarh following rain on Saturday evening. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

COMMUNITY

BJP, Cong gear up for LS poll

Chandigarh, January 17 Political parties have started the process of strengthening their cadre citadels in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The two major local political parties, the BJP and the Congress, have taken the lead in announcing their pre-campaign programmes and citing their achievements. Mr Satya Pal Jain (centre), a former Member of Parliament, addresses a press conference at the party office in Sector 33, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

AIDB seeks one-rank-one pension for armed forces
Chandigarh, January 17
The working committee of the All India Defence Brotherhood (AIDB), in its meeting organised here today observed that while the Central and state governments were announcing sops for all sections of the society in view of the forthcoming general elections, the defence sector had been left out.

2 hurt in mishap
Mohali, January 17
Two persons were seriously injured when the scooter they were riding was hit head on by a tractor-trolley opposite the Sacha Dhan Gurdwara in Phase 3B1 here today.

BUSINESS

TVS Centra launched
Chandigarh, January 17
TVS Motors Co. today launched its new model, TVS Centra 100 cc 4 stroke motorcycle fitted with variable timing intelligent engines (VT-i), in the city market. The model was launched by Mr S.S. Krishna Kumar, Area Manager of the company.

Headmasters opens saloon in Panchkula
Panchkula, January 17
Headmasters, the stylish saloon, after the successful launch of its first saloon in the city in December, 2002, has now opened another shop at Panchkula. The new saloon, spread over 2200 sq feet, offers quality hair care and styling. 

Hoax SMS on AirTel mobiles
Chandigarh, January 17
Hundreds of AirTel prepaid mobile subscribers in the city and surrounding towns were surprised today when they got an SMS claiming that they could avail of credit worth Rs 150 by sending a SMS message to five more persons. But later the message turned out to be a hoax one.

EDUCATION

How international, are ‘international’ schools?
Chandigarh, January 17
‘Packaging of education’ has become the in-thing for upmarket schools in the city. Out to attract students, some of these schools have started affixing ‘international’ to their names in order to place themselves a notch above their rivals. Along with the ‘international’ tag comes the promise of creating a dream child for parents.

Indian lawyers need to hone skills: Surana
Mohali, January 17
Being the first non-American to head the 16,000-member International Law Students Association, Mr Vinod Surana, at 29 years of age, is clearly the ideal of a whole generation of law graduates in the country. A partner in his family’s venture, Surana and Surana International Attorneys, ranked as one of the 10 top law firms in India, Mr Vinod Surana is, however, focused elsewhere — development of legal education in India.

17 teams take part in law moot competition

Mohali, January 17 The legal aptitude of some of the best law students of the country was brought forth before judges and senior lawyers of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as 17 teams took part in the preliminary rounds of the International Law Moot Court Competition, 2004, at the Army Institute of Law here today. Students participate in the Philip Jessup International Law Moot Court competitions at the Army Institute of Law, Mohali, on Saturday.— Tribune photo by Pawan Sharma

12 rural school kids participate in cultural contest
Mohali, January 17
An inter-school competition was organised by the Centre for Rural Environment Education as part of the rural winter cultural festival at Nadiali village, near here, today.

200 get PG diplomas Chandigarh, January 17 A former Lieut Governor of Delhi and a Commerce Secretary to the Government of India, Mr Tejendra Khanna, today called upon students to be honest to their chosen profession. Passouts from a College of Communication and Management, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, show their diplomas at the annual convocation function of the college in Chandigarh on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

Students structure a bright show

Chandigarh, January 17 A parody prepared by the students of Tagore Niketan College was the highlight of the annual day celebrations of the institute, held today at Tagore Theatre. Presented in a unique style, the parody was a poetic symposium, titled “Mushairi” instead of the accepted and usual Mushaira. Students of Tagore Niketan College present “Heer Ranjha” during the annual day celebrations of their institute at Tagore Theatre in Chandigarh on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Pawan Sharma.

Inter-college speech contest held
Chandigarh, January 17
An inter-school and an inter-college speech competition ‘Ideas to influence - talk to convince’ was held at Government College for Men, GCM, Sector 11, here today. The event was organised by Attitudal Research and Training Institution (ARAT). Students from schools and colleges participated in the competition. The following students bagged positions in the contest.

COURTS

Surveyor remanded in CBI custody
Chandigarh, January 17
The sleuths of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today questioned two senior officials of the United India Insurance Company in connection with the arrest of Avnish Sharma, who was allegedly caught red handed yesterday while accepting bribe of Rs 50,000 by the CBI.

CULTURE

Film Review
Urmila brilliant in fast-paced thriller

Once again Urmila Matondkar has given another memorable performance after “Bhoot” and “Pinjar” in “Ek Haseena Thi”. She is beautiful. She is tender. She is innocent - till destiny intervenes. And yes, she is masterly while pursuing the bloody vendetta. Her face exudes freshness and maturity and her eyes pictures a cauldron of emotions. The story is about an ordinary girl, Sarika (Urmila), who works in a travel agency and lives alone in Mumbai. She falls for a handsome guy, Karan (Saif). Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan in ‘Ek Haseena Thi’.

LIFESTYLE

Have money, will be a snob
You will not have to look hard to find a snob in Chandigarh. They come in all varieties. Take your pick.
KNOW the difference between a snob and a bigger snob? Both of them have Mercs which they have parked alongside in the Golf Club. Both have liveried chauffeurs and leather interiors. But between the two, the bigger snob is one who says first, “Oh, you’ve got yourself a nice car. But the tyres of the car need a change”.

Dressed to thrill!
Fashion means many things to many people. To some, it is about looking hot and sexy. To others, it means looking elegant and classy. To many others, it is all about attitude. And to quite a few, it is about romancing the body — to be looking good and feeling good. But deep inside, everybody nurses a secret desire: of being able to stand out in a crowd.

Simple treatment  for ironing out wrinkles
You certainly can’t defy age. But when it comes to wrinkles, it is now possible to set the biological clock back by several years. A simple injection can now wipe off those crow feet near your eyes or the smoke lines above the lips.

SPORTS

Rabya, Jaanesh enter semis Chandigarh, January 17 Rabya Gill and Jaanesh Kaur made it to the last four in the girls’ under-12 section of the sub-junior and junior tennis meet at the Lake Club tennis courts here on the penultimate day today. The finals would be played tomorrow. Mandeep Gill and Gauravinder Toor in action in their doubles’ tie in the sub-junior and junior tennis meet at the Lake Club tennis courts in Chandigarh on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

MP, Goa in quarters
Chandigarh, January 17
Last year’s runners-up Chandigarh were comfortably placed after registering their third consecutive victory in the boys’ section of the 15th Junior National Baseball Championship at the Panjab University grounds here today. Despite suffering a defeat at the hands of Himachal Pradesh, holders Goa, along with Madhya Pradesh, moved into the quarter-finals from group A.

ADMINISTRATION

897 registered at verification camps
Chandigarh, January 17
In the wake of the recent spate of incidents of burglary in the city, the police today organised servants' verification camps at 11 different points here and 897 persons employed as servants or help in residential and commercial establishments were registered with the police for verification.

Maj-Gen Kher takes charge
Chandigarh, January 17
Maj-Gen A.K. Kher has taken over as the 43rd Colonel of the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME). He is currently serving as Major General EME at Headquarters Western Command, Chandi Mandir.

Enforcement wing SI suspended
Chandigarh, January 17
The Chandigarh Administration today suspended a Sub-Inspector of the Enforcement Wing for allegedly demanding money to keep the names of a group of persons on the list of beneficiaries of subsidised housing. Acting on a complaint of residents of Colony Number IV located in Industrial Area Phase I, the Administration got an enquiry conducted.