China police chief accused of having 192 houses

Chinese police chief is alleged to have had at least 192 houses and a fake identity card, state media said Tuesday, the latest in a number of similar cases that have sparked outrage online.
Zhao Haibin, a senior police official in Lufeng in the southern province of Guangdong, was reported by a businessman to have accumulated the properties under his name and his company's, the Guangzhou Daily said. The businessman, Huang Kunyi -- who was involved in a dispute with the officer -- also said Zhao used a fake identity card to record a different name on company documents, the newspaper reported.
Authorities cancelled the false card after Huang's report in 2011, it added. An official of the Communist Party's discipline department for Lufeng told AFP Tuesday that Zhao -- who is also the vice party secretary of a local county -- had been investigated but the inquiry was over and he retained his public offices.
According to the newspaper, Zhao said the properties were owned by his younger brother, a businessman, and that he was only "managing" them for him. A separate report said Zhao or the company had 192 properties in the city of Huizhou, also in Guangdong, and others in the cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai.
The case is the latest of a series of reports involving officials owning multiple houses with different identity cards and residence permits. Gong Aiai, a vice president of a bank in the northern province of Shaanxi and a delegate to the local legislature, was reported last month to hold more than 20 houses worth nearly one billion yuan ($160 million), using four different residence permits and three identity cards. She was detained by police Monday on suspicion of "forging official documents and stamps", the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The cases have sparked mounting criticism in Chinese social media over rampant graft and high home prices that are running out of reach of the average citizen. "(I) finally realised that in China, properties are forever in the hands of a tiny number of people," said a user of China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo

Archaeologists discover 12,000-yr-old rock paintings in Betul

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered pre-historic caves with rock paintings dating back to 12,000 years on the Satpura mountain range near Betul on the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh border.

A team of archaeologists, carrying out explorations on the Satpura ranges in Gawilgarh Hills in the border township of the Tapti-Purna valley stumbled on these ancient paintings, dispelling the myth that Vidarbha and its neighbouring region is bereft of such artistic treasures from our past.
About 71 new rock shelters harbouring paintings and engravings have been found at the site, which may give a tough competition to the World Heritage site of Bhimbetka near Bhopal, ASI officials said.
The decorated rock shelters were discovered by a joint team of ASI's Nagpur-based Pre-history and Excavation Branch-I during the ongoing exploration and documentation work in remote parts of Satpura range.
Besides, the ASI team camping at village Chincholi Gawli, about 25 kilometres from Morshi in Amravati district (Vidarbha region) has also discovered more than 200 un-decorated rock shelters.
Since last week of December 2012, the team has so far discovered 89 rock shelters.
"The assiduous work done by team members amidst arduous terrains has led to fascinating discoveries," Nandini Bhattacharya Sahu, Superintendent Archaeologist, Prehistory Branch, (Nagpur) and leader of the exploration team said.
She said the rock shelters carry decorations on walls, ceilings and floors.
Decors comprise petroglyph's in various forms, such as engravings, bruising, pecking and pictographs in various colours, viz red, various shades of red, white, black and green.
The pictographs or paintings usually illustrate human, animal, bird, tree and abstract geometric figures and are depicted by stick figures, outlines, solid and X-ray figures.
The engravings usually exhibit elements of natural world as well as abstract themes.
The decorated shelters are spread in an area of approximately 40 square kilometres, Sahu said.
Sahu said paintings in these shelters are pre-historic, chalcolithic as well as historical in nature, varying in time frame from the beginning of the Quaternary period to the recent past.
Though it is premature to comment on the exact chronology of the art in these shelters, going by the enormous studies done and stylistic similarities with the other Central Indian rock art, these rock arts can be deemed to be belonging to the time bracket of the Upper Palaeolithic, through Mesolithic and Chalcolithic to the historical times.Also painted in at least two shelters are writings in the Shankhalipi.
Commonly, the earliest of these may be loosely stated to be approximately 12,000 years old, she said.
Her expert team included Gajanan Katade, N K Nimje, Dr K M Girhe, Indira Tiwari, Ekta Dharkar, Dr Vijay Gedam, P S Pashine, R D Deshpande, M S Kadhao, T B Thapa, Kapil Chutele from Prehistory Branch and Dr Prabash Sahu, Dr Rajesh Mehar, Manohar Kambe, M G Dahake, Kartik Mudaliar, Mehtab Alam from the Excavation Branch.
She said human vandalism was noticed at many places while visiting some of the shelters. If not checked in time, it may lead to rapid decadence of the site.The vandalism was pointed out by the ASI team leader to the District Magistrate, Chandra Shekhar and Superintendent of Police, Betul (MP), during their visit to the camp.

Smriti takes two-shot lead over Vani in the second leg

Kolkata, February 5: Veteran Golfer Smriti Mehra finished on top after the first round of the second leg of the Hero WPGT 2013 as she moved two points clear of Vani Kapoor here at the Tollygunge Golf Club. Smriti, who topped the Hero Order of Merit in 2012 has four birdies and just one bogey in her score of three under 67.

Smriti had her only bogey on the third, but from thereon she didn't look back as she carded birdies at the 5th, 12th, 15th and 18th.

Vani Kapoor got off to a shaky start and had a double bogey on the third, however she steadied herself and played some solid golf to give Smriti a run for her money. Her bogey at the 18th hole cost her the joint top slot. She finished at one under 69.

Winner of the first leg and local girl Neha Tripathi, with two birdies finished third with a score of par 70. Sharmila Nicollet, the lone Indian at the Ladies European tour and making a comeback after an injury finished fourth with 73.

Vandana Agarwal ended the day at the fifth position with 74 and Rani Sonti was sixth with 76.

To get more info on Hero Women's Professional Golf Tour please visit us on our website www.wgai.co.in and join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or contact Abhoy Chattopadhyay / Deependra Chetri on +91 98113 25251 / +91 98111 82106.

IndiaⳠCall to Action: Child Survival and Development Summit
7-9^th February 2013, Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu

NEW DELHI, February 4, 2013 The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) today announced the upcoming National Summit on メll to Action for Child Survival and Development䬠scheduled to be held in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu from February 7-9, 2013. Organized in partnership with UNICEF and USAID, the Summit is a critical platform that will strategically engage over 200 delegates including, nearly 60 national and international experts, key policy makers, planners and implementers from the health sector representing all states of India, representatives and heads of UN and development agencies, global health experts and practitioners, Civil society members and private sector, to discuss and debate on Child Survival and Development in India. The Summit will be an opportunity for sharing experiences and challenges; celebrate successes in maternal, newborn, child survival & development programmes; and pledge to meet IndiaⳠchild survival and development goals.

India co-convened the ᇬobal Child Survival Call to Action: A Promise to Keep⊓ummit in Washington DC in June 2012, along with Ethiopia and the United States of America. The Call to Action: For Every Child in India follows from Hon⢬e Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi AzadⳊcommitment to the global audience that India shall remain in the forefront in the global war against child mortality and morbidity.

With a large birth cohort of about 26 million and 158 million children in the age-group of 0-5 years, India accounts for the largest number of Under Five deaths - nearly 1.5 million, of which close to 0.8 million die within 28 days of birth. Nevertheless, steady progress in curbing child deaths has been demonstrated. The rate of decline in U5MR^[[1]U5MR- Under 5 Mortality Rate^1] has been much faster than the global average: from 115 in 1990 to 59 in 2010 as against the global average of 87 and 57 respectively. The U5MR, Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and Total Fertility Rate (TFR) have improved significantly to 59^[[i]Sample Registration System (SRS) 2010, Registrar General of India^i] per 1000 live births, 212^[[ii]SRS 2007-09^ii] per 100,000 live births and 2.5^[iii] respectively.

ㄵring 2005-10, IndiaⳠdecline in Under Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) has accelerated to an average of 7.5% each year. Even though the average Under Five child mortality rate has always been lower in urban areas, the rate of decline in rural areas has been much faster. The rural-urban gap in child mortality has narrowed, thus reflecting improved equity in health care,䠳aid Smt. Anuradha Gupta Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission.

Addressing the media, Mr. William Hammink, Mission Director for the U.S. Agency for International Development in India, said, "The upcoming summit demonstrates India's leadership and commitment to both the global community and the children of India. India has an opportunity to make great gains on child survival with increased commitment and funding for the most effective life-saving practices. Moreover, IndiaⳠunique culture of social entrepreneurship, innovation, and technological advances present a historic opportunity to accelerate progress in reducing childhood illness and death. The U.S. Government is proud to be a part of this initiative, and we look forward to working with the Government of India as it addresses crucial child survival issues."

Mr. Louis-Georges Arsenault, Representative UNICEF India emphasized on the need for a holistic approach to end preventable child deaths. 㗥 require a comprehensive approach that includes not only increasing coverage of key child survival interventions, but also the related social determinants such as girls⊥ducation, maternal (under-)nutrition and environmental determinants. Child mortality rates are consistently lower among children living in families who access safe drinking water, an improved toilet and practice handwashing with soap. As we move towards 2015 and beyond, a renewed focus on empowering women and promoting equity in access to health services will also help guide actions for child survival."

A roadmap, entitled a ᓴrategic Approach to Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child and Adolescent Health⠨RMNCH+A) will also be launched at the Summit along with other pertinent guidelines and documents, aimed at accelerating reductions in preventable child deaths through sharper national plans and improved monitoring and evaluation.

The Global Call to Action for Child Survival: A Promise Renewed challenges countries to lower their national rates of child mortality to 20 or fewer deaths per 1,000 live births by 2035. Since June 2012, over 165 countries, hundreds of civil society organizations, private sector companies and faith-based leaders have since pledged to redouble efforts to combat child survival and improve maternal health (MDGs 4 and 5) and to focus on reaching the most disadvantaged and hardest to reach children in every country. A Promise Renewed is one of the central pillars supporting the implementation of the United Nations Secretary-GeneralⳠ2010 global strategy to improve women and children health called Every Woman, Every Child.http://apromiserenewed.org

For further information, contact: 
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:
Dr. Rakesh Kumar Mobile: 986-850-3588 email: jsrk92.pmssy@gmail.com
Dr. Ajay Khera Mobile: 981-020-6150 email: ajaykheramch@gmail.com
Mr. B. Narzary Mobile: 958-2611-988 email: pibhealth@gmail.com

UNICEF: 
Ms. Caroline den Dulk Mobile: 981-810-6093 email: cdendulk@unicef.org
Ms. Geetanjali Master Mobile: 981-810-5861 email: gmaster@unicef.org
Ms. Sonia Sarkar Mobile: 981-017-0289 email: ssarkar@unicef.org

USAID/ Embassy of the United States of America:
Ms. Meeta Parti Mobile: 981-105-4892 email: mparti@usaid.gov
Ms. Sudha Gandhi Mobile: 981-809-5281 email:sgandhi@unicef,org