India’s Real ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

The film “Slumdog Millionaire,” in which a poor Indian boy wins a quiz show, won eight Oscars. The country is home to a man with a similar story — Harsh Nawathe, who became a millionaire in 2000 as a TV contestant. Today he is helping to educate the children of the slums.

Harshvardhan Nawathe is sitting in front of a small television set in his tiny apartment in the northern part of the city. It is a Sunday evening in early March, one week after the Oscar awards ceremony, and Nawathe is watching a talk show called “We the People.” The guests on the program are arguing aboutthe film “Slumdog Millionaire,” which won eight Oscars. They — and the rest of India — have been arguing for days now.

Chewing Gum Boosts Academic Scores of Students

In a study likely to make school janitors cringe, US researchers said on Wednesday that chewing gum may boost academic performance in teenagers.

Many US schools ban chewing gum because children often dispose of the sticky chaw under chairs or tables. But a team led by Craig Johnston at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that students who chewed gum during math class had higher scores on a standardized math test after 14 weeks and better grades at the end of the term than students in the class who did not chew gum.

Japan PM’s Reading Blunder

Reading Japanese isn’t easy – even for the Japanese.
Take Prime Minister Taro Aso. He’s made so many public blunders that an opposition lawmaker tried to give him a reading test during a televised session of parliament.

Men Falling Behind In Higher Education

What started as a “man-cession” is turning into a “Great He-pression.”  The unemployment rate for men is running 2.7 percentage points higher than for women — a “just unprecedented” spread, according to economist Mark Perry at the University of Michigan at Flint.
One obvious reason: The downturn has hammered manufacturing, construction and other male-dominated sectors, while going easier on female-heavy fields such as health care and education.
But a less-appreciated factor could make an even bigger difference in the long run.
For years now, women have been earning the most college degrees. That trend is accelerating, leaving experts to wonder if men are somehow missing the latest economic wake-up call.

The 1st EVER Coeducational University In Saudi Arabia

Riyadh- King Abdullah Science and Technology University, or KAUST,inaugurated on Wednesday its first-ever fully integrated coeducational university. It breaks many of the conservative country’s social taboos by allowing,for the first time, men and women to take classes together.
Saudi royals and dignitaries attended the inauguration ceremony outside the coastal city of Jeddah.
So far 817 students representing 61 different countries are currently enrolled, with 314 beginning classes this month while the rest are