Birth of Nargis raises hopes & fears for nation's future Nargis Yadav arrived into the world at 7.20 a.m. on Oct 31, in Lucknow which has been besieged by television crews and journalists. The world's seven billionth resident, Nargis is a symbol of India's hopes as well as its fears. Lucknow, the capital of India's most populous State, also has one of its worst sex ratios: there are just 899 girls to 1000 boys, a sign of endemic discrimination and the widespread practice of female foeticide. India now has its worst-ever child sex ratio: there are just 914 girls for every 1,000 boys, according to the 2011 Census. Ten years ago, the 2001 Census found, it was 927:1,000. India's population has increased more than four times in 110 years to touch the 1.2 billion mark, according to the provisional figures of the 2011 Census, accounting for a 17.5 per cent of the world's population. The country's population is almost equal to the combined population of the U.S., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan. Dr. Mani gets Dhanvantari award Renowned nephrologist Dr. M.K. Mani was given the 40th Dhanvantari award for “excellence in medical services” at a function in Mumbai on Oct 30 by Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. Dr. Mani had been in the field of nephrology for more than 30 years. At present, he is the chief nephrologist in Chennai's Apollo Hospital. “Dr. Mani has pioneered innovative techniques and new regimen in management of kidney disorders,” Dhanvantari Medical Foundation president and eminent cardiologist Dr. B.K. Goyal, said. Anna campaign got Rs. 2.94 crore The outpouring of people's support to social activist Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement was reflected in the generous donations received by the India Against Corruption (IAC) campaign during the agitation. The movement received as much as Rs. 2.94 crore during Mr. Hazare's fast for the Jan Lokpal Bill at Jantar Mantar and the Ramlila Grounds. They have decided to return Rs. 48 lakh they received online or through cheques from unknown donors. Among the biggest donors were Sitaram Jindal (Rs. 25 lakh), Lapton Software (Rs. 2.4 lakh), Sri Sri Publication Trust and HDFC Bank (Rs. 2 lakh each). Saif anointed tenth Nawab of Pataudi Saif Ali Khan has anointed the tenth Nawab of Pataudi at a ceremony in his ancestral palace over a month after his father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi passed away. Mansoor Ali Khan, whose mother was the daughter of the last Nawab of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan, was born in Bhopal and was the mutawalli (patron) of Auqaf-e-Shahi, he governed religious properties worth over Rs. 2,000 crore, including Bhopal's Jama Masjid. The Pataudi palace in Gurgaon, built in 1935, is sprawled across 25 acres and divided into two parts. Ali Khan gave up his title in 1971 when India abolished royal entitlements through the 26th Amendment to the Constitution. Saif's sister Saba was made the patron of Auqaf-e-Shahi. UNESCO membership for Palestine UNESCO has granted full membership to Palestine which, until now, enjoyed only observer status at the U.N. agency for education, science and culture. The demand for full membership was made by the Palestinian Authority and won the approval of 107 member states with 14 votes against and 52 abstentions at the organization’s General Conference. A 185 of UNESCO's 194 member states were eligible to vote. Full membership of UNESCO is a small but significant step forward for the Palestinians in their attempts to gain international recognition and statehood. Page 1 of 3 1st November 2011 China ready for landmark space launch China will launch an unmanned spacecraft for a docking exercise with the Tiangong-1 space laboratory module, which was put into orbit last month, marking a first for the country's rapidly growing space programme and a key step ahead of the planned launch of a permanent space station by 2020. The launch of the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft, scheduled to take place at 5.58 a.m. on Nov 1 from the Jiuquan satellite launch centre in northwest China. China will launch two spacecraft in 2012 to dock with the Tiangong-1, or “heavenly palace” laboratory module, which was sent into orbit on September 29 Peshawar temple reopens after 60 years Prayers were offered on Oct 30 at a temple in Peshawar which dates back to 1823 and which had been closed for the past 60 years. The temple reopened for worship under court orders, bringing joy to the Hindu community which otherwise lives under the shadow of rising intolerance. The Goraknath Temple is located in the Gor Kattri archaeological complex, which traces its origins to the pre-Christian era and has associations with Buddhist, Mughal, Sikh and Hindu traditions. On September 15, the Peshawar High Court had decided that worship could be permitted Renault to greet New Year with compact car Renault will launch its compact car ‘Pulse' in India in January next year to make further inroads in the fast growing Indian car market. The French carmaker, which currently sells two models in India, is also planning to introduce two more cars next year as part of its plan to sell one-lakh units in India by 2013. Nita Ambani, Manoj Modi join EIH board Over a year after Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) picked up a minority stake in Kolkata-based EIH, Nita Ambani has been appointed as an Additional Director on the board of the hospitality chain. Mukesh Ambani's right-hand man Manoj Modi on its board as Additional Director. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, EIH said both Nita Ambani and Modi have been appointed in the capacity of non-executive and non-independent directors. New President for Cisco India and SAARC Cisco has announced that Janesh Moorjani has joined the India and SAARC sales organisation as President-Enterprise and Public Sector for the region. According to a release, Mr. Janesh will lead Cisco's direct sales organisation across all enterprise verticals and also the public sector segment. Rediffusion, Edelman form alliance Rediffusion-Y&R and Edelman India have announced an alliance to share clients across the public relations and public affairs portfolio and raise the bar in providing integrated communication offerings to clients in India. According to a release, the alliance will involve the formation of a separate business unit with Edelman to operate as Rediffusion/Edelman. Top Indians out of IAAF's list The top Indian athletes are out of the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Seven Indian athletes including Rajender Singh were part of the IAAF RTP since October last year. The other six were Vikas Gowda (discus), Kashinath Naik (javelin), Saurabh Vij (shot put), Mandeep Kaur and Jauna Murmu (400m) and Krishna Poonia (discus). Woman shot putter Manpreet Kaur was part of the list for a brief period in October-December last year. Page 2 of 3 1st November 2011 Indian team appeals to FIH against bans The Indian team management on Monday filed an appeal to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) against the suspensions imposed on five members of the side for their role in the ugly showdown with Pakistani players during a match in Burnbury, Australia. Midfielder Gurbaj Singh, forwards Gurvinder Singh Chandi and Tushar Khandker, assistant coach Jugraj Singh and the team's exercise physiologist David John, were handed bans by tournament director Graham Napier for their involvement in the skirmish with Pakistani players in the match. Yuvraj launches academy Yuvraj Singh has launched his dream project, ‘Yuvraj Singh Centre for Excellence' at Pathways Schools. The state of the art training centres, with top class facilities, will be operational at Pathways Schools in Noida, Balliawas and Aravali, Gurgaon. The Yuvraj Singh Centre of Excellence (YSCE) will provide both outdoor and indoor training facilities to budding cricketers and will also appoint highly skilled coaches to train students to become quality cricketers. Vijender the icon Haryana Election Department has named Olympic bronze-medallist boxer Vijender Singh as its brand icon Ferrari plans Challenger series in India Italian sports-car maker Ferrari plans to conduct owner training programmes and a challenger series in the country at the Buddh International Circuit. Page 3 of 3 1st November 2011 .