1 US Fed chief sees stock market ‘danger’ (BBC) The
chair of the US Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, has warned stock market levels
present "potential dangers". She said current valuations, which have
seen key US and UK indicators reach record levels, were "quite high".
But, she added she did not see any bubbles forming.
The Dow Jones hit a record of 18,288.63 points
earlier this year, while the FTSE 100 reached 7,103.98 and Germany's Dax 12,374
points - also records - last month. US regulators have made great progress in
fixing flaws in the financial system in the wake of the global banking crisis,
Ms Yellen said.
In earlier remarks, she pointed to the contributions
the banking system had made to both society and the economy. But she soon
turned her speech towards the "distorted system of incentives" and
weak controls in the financial industry that preceded the 2008 financial
crisis.
She said regulators were too focused on individual
firms before the crisis, and had not focused enough on the safety of the whole
financial system. Policymakers, including the Fed, "remain watchful for
areas in need of further action or in which the steps taken to date need to be
adjusted", she added.
2 Schools on YouTube (Khaleej Times) Diaries and
annual score cards, which told of your ward’s progress, are passe in this new
revolution that is sweeping across the education system. According to a report,
teachers and school leaders are opening online communication channels to spread
their message and increase interaction with parents. So instead of a printed
and signed circular from the principal, you may now get to see the man himself
on YouTube. He will inform you of important events and developments, including
that dreaded fee hike which will set you back every month.
Schools are pleased with the development as they cut
back on time with instant posts. They also save the environment and money
because this is a paperless effort. Online communication is quick, efficient
and constant and they are keen to milk the medium to their advantage.
Virtual tours of schools are also popular on such
channels, hence marketing the institution and its facilities has never been
this easy, according to school administrators. Electronic communication need
not be limited to emails from teachers; parents get to see the real picture in
a classroom or in a playground via videos.
What’s the upside to this technological shift in
schools? Smart classrooms where information is widespread is one of the
benefits of this revolution. Parents can now track their children’s progress
without having to attend quarterly meetings with teachers. Children can also
teach and thing or two to parents and teachers with their deft use of
technology and its applications.
It’s a system where parents, students and teachers
learn to become equal stakeholders in education. Innovation and efficiencies
are improved, but what is missing is real human interaction, we are tempted to
complain. But like it or not, digitally-driven learning and communication is
here to stay. It may sound intrusive and relentless, but it’s worth the
education.
3 How a Bollywood star can stay out of jail (Naman
Ramachandran in The Guardian) Bollywood star Salman Khan will breathe easy for
two more days after the Bombay high court granted him a two-day interim bail,
hours after being found guilty of culpable homicide and other charges by a
sessions court and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment following a 2002
incident in which a pavement dweller was run over and killed by the actor’s
car.
On Friday 8 May, the high court will hear Khan’s
appeal; if granted, the next hearing will not be for at least another month, as
the court will go on summer holidays before reopening on 8 June. If the high
court upholds the sessions court’s decision, the actor has the right to appeal
to the supreme court before potentially facing a custodial sentence. The
process could drag on for years, during which Khan can continue acting in
movies, but will not be allowed to travel overseas.
Khan’s case is similar to that of another Bollywood
actor, Puru Rajkumar, who in 1993 was convicted of running over and killing two
people in Mumbai, but was eventually released after agreeing to pay the
families of the victims the 30,000 rupees each (£310 in today’s exchange rate).
Another star, Sanjay Dutt, who was arrested in 1993 for illegal possession of
arms, has been in and out of in jail before being convicted and re-imprisoned
in 2013, after which he has been periodically released on parole.
“In terms of how long it takes get any litigation
through in courts in India, whether it is civil or criminal, it is really a
function of the backlog of cases the courts have had over many, many years,
whereby no particular case has swift deliberation on it. It does drag on,” says
Dina Dattani, a legal consultant. Dattani says that it takes anywhere between three
and 15 years for cases to conclude, and that there is no fast-tracking of
cases, no matter how serious they are.
Whether they have committed crimes or not, Bollywood
A-listers can seemingly do no wrong, and enjoy an almost godlike status among
their fans. As Dr Sundar Sarukkai, director of the Centre for Philosophy and
Humanities at Manipal University, says: “Religions are the first examples of
cinema and gods are the first film stars; they are presented as colourful
pictures, are unreachable and remain the last hope. So why be surprised when
film stars become godlike figures?”
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