UTTAR PRADESH, India  - A first-year engineering student was barred from his college hostel in Uttar Pradesh after he filed a complaint about ragging against his senior students. Navin Singh in his police complaint named five second-year students  for barging into his hostel room, beating him with iron rods, and causing him cigarette burns.
The head of the HR Institute of Engineering Technology, H.N. Kapoor, in an order served on the victim said his behaviour has brought ill-repute to the institute, and asked him to vacate the hostel room with immediate effect.

NEW DELHI, India - Two young labourers were killed when a dumper accidentally dropped mud on them in east Delhi. "An unidentified dumper dropped mud on them when they were taking a nap at the construction site," a police official said. The two labourers were engaged by the company on a temporary basis to keep a vigil on the site at night. The driver of the truck fled the scene.

DHAKA, Bangladesh  - The Bangladesh government has a problem on hand with most of the 110-odd high-profile officials and businessmen caught during an anti-corruption drive suffering from multiple health problems. An estimated 87,000 people were caught during the anti-graft drive, now into its 15th month, and the choking of jails has caused problems of health and hygiene.  Many of the VIPs sent to hospital for treatment have been recalled with punitive measures added to their jail terms, for using cell phones and iPods, not allowed under the jail laws. Among the high-profile prisoners is former prime minister Khaleda Zia. Although 62 and ailing with arthritis, she has so far not sought any kind of medical treatment."

HYDERABAD, India - A drunk police constable allegedly opened fire inside a government hospital in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari district, injuring two hospital employees. The policeman, who was allegedly in an inebriated condition, opened fire from his 303 rifle when hospital employees objected to him sitting on a doctor's chair.
While two employees received bullet injuries, another person collapsed in shock. One of the injured is said to be in critical condition.

KENDRAPA, India - A 19-year-old woman hanged herself in Kendrapada district of Orissa after being expelled from a college for cheating during examinations. Sarmista Barik, a resident of Kalaboda village, about 150 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, was an undergraduate student at Lokanathpur College in the neighbouring village of Patakura.
She was caught cheating by education department officials Thursday and was immediately expelled from the college.

RANCHI, India - A widow was forced to wear a garland made of shoes and her face was blackened after she defied a ban on her to offer prayer at a temple in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand. According to reports appearing in the local media, Kalawati Devi was banned by villagers from entering the temple as she was a widow. Driven by superstition, the villagers claimed her husband died due to her and her entry into the temple will prove to be a bad omen for the villagers particularly to married women.  Kalawati defied the ban and prayed in goddess Kali temple.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India : The Kerala coastline is fast turning into killing fields for dolphins. Several instances of fishermen slaughtering the dolphins and selling the meat have come to light in places like Poonthura, Beypore in Kozhikode and Cherai near Kochi. A midsized dolphin weighing around 100kg can fetch about C$300. Most of the time, the meat makes its way to the city hotels. According to a recent survey, at least 1,000 dolphins are killed every year in Kerala mainly due to fishing nets.

KOTTAYAM, India - A rabid dog bit 50 people after which police were issued orders to shoot and kill stray dogs showing signs of being ill. Eyewitnesses said the dog went on a biting spree in and around Kottayam town. A Kottayam Medical College official at least 50 people took injections to protect themselves from rabies. As word spread that scores of people were bitten youths in the area launched a hunt for the dog. Later police joined them. Police have received reports that several stray dogs have been beaten to death by angry people.

KABUL, Afghanistan - More than 600 Afghans were lost their lives by landmines and explosives last year, the UN Mine Action Programme in Afghanistan said yesterday.
Mine initiatives had cleared more than 1bn square metres of land across Afghanistan, one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, the group said.  More than 350,000 anti-personnel mines, 19,000 anti-tank mines and millions of pieces of other explosive elements have been destroyed, it said in a statement.  Half of the victims of mines or unexploded ordinance are under the age of 18.

AURANGABAD: Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji's petition challenging the cancellation of her ownership of a piece of land near Shirdi in Maharashtra will go before the Mumbai High Court. The star has challenged a local government asking her to pay a penalty for buying an agricultural land or surrender the land, which she bought from a farmer for about 3 million rupees

CHENNAI, India – A bevy of Tamil movie stars led by Rajnikant and Kamal Haasan staged a daylong fast against a controversial drinking water project in South India.
Amongst the other prominent film personalities participating in the protest were Prabhu, Prakash Raj, Sathyraj and yesteryear star Manorama as well as actors-turned-politicians Vijaykanth and Sarath Kumar. The project is pitting neighbouring districts over who is expected to get a bigger share of the drinking water.