Businessman killed after being hit by private plane

Meerut: A Delhi-based businessman was on Saturday killed when a two-seater micro-light private plane met with an accident at the Partapur airstrip, though the pilot and his colleague escaped unhurt.

The incident occurred around 10 AM when the businessman Yogesh Garg was clicking pictures of the private plane on the airstrip while it was taking off and was hit by one of its wings, police said.

Yogesh, who ran a consultancy company at New Delhi, died on the spot, they said.

Anil Thapa, spokesman of Pankh Aviation, which runs the flying club, said the wing and a wheel of the plane was damaged in the incident, but its pilot Anil Gupta and his colleague Purvi escape unhurt.

He claimed that the accident took place as Yogesh came on the airstrip to take pictures of the micro-light aircraft while it was taking off from the runway.

Police said that the matter was being investigated and they were trying to find out who allowed Yogesh to come on the runway and take pictures.

Additional District Magistrate Neeraj Shukla, who reached the spot, said that preliminary inquiry has revealed that Pankh Aviation was not allowed to use the airstrip.

However, the company claimed that it was giving flying training from the last three-four months. The ADM said that records of last three-four months were

being checked.

Transgendered Miss Universe Canada contestant prepares for pageant

Transgender beauty queen Jenna Talackova of Vancouver

TORONTO - The Canadian transgendered Miss Universe contestant who sparked global media attention when she was disqualified from the pageant was all smiles at a Toronto photo shoot on Saturday.
A bubbly Jenna Talackova appeared to be enjoying herself as she posed for the cameras in a variety of outfits, including a white bikini.
The photo shoot was in advance of the Miss Universe Canada pageant in Toronto, which will culminate with the winner being crowned Saturday.
The tall, slim blond from Vancouver created an international splash when organizers disqualified because she isn't a naturally-born female.
But pageant owner Donald Trump overruled the decision and said Talackova could take part.
Talackova underwent sex-change surgery at age 19 and has said she knew from an early age that she was born the wrong gender.
She says she has a boyfriend and hopes to have two kids some day, but she didn't initially tell him she was born male.

ਐਡਮਿੰਟਨ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਸਕੂਲ ਨੇ ਮਨਾਇਆ ਵਿਸਾਖੀ ਮੇਲਾ

ਸਕੂਲ ਦੀ ਪ੍ਰਬੰਧਕੀ ਕਮੇਟੀ ਤੇ ਸਟਾਫ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਕਲਾਕਾਰ 
ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ।

ਐਡਮਿੰਟਨ, 12 ਮਈ (ਵਤਨਦੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ ਗਰੇਵਾਲ)-ਐਡਮਿੰਟਨ ਖਾਲਸਾ ਸਕੂਲ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਵਿਸਾਖੀ ਮੇਲਾ ਸਥਾਨਿਕ ਮਹਾਰਾਜਾ ਬੈਕੁੰਟ ਹਾਲ ਵਿਚ ਮਨਾਇਆ ਗਿਆ, ਜਿਸ ਦੀ ਸ਼ੁਰੂਆਤ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਦੇ ਰਾਸ਼ਟਰੀ ਗੀਤ 'ਓ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ' ਅਤੇ ਧਾਰਮਿਕ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਨਾਲ ਹੋਈ। ਇਸ ਮੌਕੇ ਸਕੂਲ ਦੇ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਗਿੱਧਾ, ਭੰਗੜਾ, ਡਾਂਸ ਤੋਂ ਇਲਾਵਾ ਹੋਰ ਵੀ ਰੰਗਾਰੰਗ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਪੇਸ਼ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ। ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਵੱਖ-ਵੱਖ ਕਲਾਸਾਂ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਅੱਵਲ ਰਹਿਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਨਮਾਨ ਵੀ ਦਿੱਤੇ ਗਏ। ਇਸ ਮੌਕੇ ਸਕੂਲ ਦੇ ਮੀਤ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਜਗਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਗਿੱਲ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਸਕੂਲ ਵਿਚ ਪੜ੍ਹਾਈ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ-ਨਾਲ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਮਾਂ ਬੋਲੀ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਤੇ ਗੁਰਮਤਿ ਵਿੱਦਿਆ ਦੀ ਵੀ ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ ਸਿਖਲਾਈ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਮੌਕੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਸਮੂਹ ਭਾਈਚਾਰੇ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਨੂੰ ਸਫਲਤਾਪੂਰਵਕ ਨੇਪਰੇ ਚਾੜ੍ਹਨ ਲਈ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ ਕੀਤਾ। ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਸਕੂਲ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਬੱਲ ਸੰਧੂ, ਸਕੱਤਰ ਗੁਰਚਰਨ ਸੰਘਾ, ਡਾਇਰੈਕਟਰ ਅਮਰਜੀਤ ਸਰਾਂ, ਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਗਿੱਲ, ਪ੍ਰਿੰਸੀਪਲ ਰਵੀਨਾ ਦਿਉਲ, ਹਰਬੀਰ ਸੰਧੂ ਤੋਂ ਇਲਾਵਾ ਹੋਰ ਵੀ ਭਾਈਚਾਰਾ ਭਾਰੀ ਗਿਣਤੀ 'ਚ ਮੌਜੂਦ ਸੀ।

Canadian father seeks return of abducted young children from Poland

TORONTO - An Ontario man, who found his missing children in Poland after a two-and-a-half year search, is heading back to Europe this week for a court hearing that will decide their fate.
Stephen Watkins told The Canadian Press on Sunday that he will be in a Warsaw court Wednesday, seeking the return to Canada of his two boys _ Alexander, 10, and Christopher, 8.
The 40-year-old Newmarket, Ont., man was granted custody of the children after he split up with his wife, Edyta Watkins.
She and the boys vanished in March 2009, only to emerge later in Poland, the woman's native country.
But on Dec. 15, a Polish court ruled against sending the boys back to Canada. Watkins is appealing that decision.
The court's ruling was based on its conclusion that it would be detrimental for the children to return to Canada as they had integrated fully into Polish society.
But Watkins has maintained his sons still speak more English than Polish and that he has secured the support of Canadian agencies that would help his sons re-settle into their home in Newmarket.
He argues that Poland has recognized Canadian court orders that show he has sole custody of the children and has acknowledged that international law had been broken.
Poland doesn't have an extradition treaty with Canada, but it's party to the Hague Convention, which is meant to expedite the process of returning abducted children.
"I am working hard not only to get my own abducted sons home but also trying to set (a) precedence in the country of Poland to see many internationally abducted children returned to their home countries," Watkins wrote in an email Sunday.
He has urged Prime Minister Stephen Harper to raise the issue with his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, when the two leaders meet in Ottawa this week.
"The fact remains, an international crime has been committed against my sons, other Canadian children and children from many countries worldwide."
To bolster his case this week, Watkins has asked the National Recognized Missing Children Organization of Poland to speak at the hearing.
He is also seeking the presence of Reunite International, the British charity specializing in the movement of children across international borders, at Wednesday's hearing.

Canadians are teaching Brits how to be polite

Canadians are known for many things, but if there's one characteristic that tends to pop up more frequently than others it's our proclivity for being nice.
So while our city residents may disagree with that assessment (and the truth is far more nuanced than that simplistic view), most Canadians still consider politeness a serious business.
Perhaps that's why the Globe and Mail reports that members of the British service industry have been signing up in droves for a B.C. program that teaches everyone from hoteliers to restaurant managers how to treat customers like, well, Canadians.
And with London's Summer Games looming, thousands of Brits in search of some fine-tuning to their hospitality skills have signed up for the WorldHost Training Services program.
WorldHost was set up by the province in 1985 to offer customer service tips on tourism and hospitality for the EXPO '86.
In the 20-plus years since its inception, the program has been rebranded to embody an internationally recognized industry standard, instructing on fundamentals like attending to the needs of disabled clients, attentive listening and how to resolve customer ire in a constructive way.
Ricky Francis, who owns a Bed & Breakfast in Wales, told the Globe he's always been impressed by the service he receives when he visits the country.
"You do service so well in Canada," he said. "Americans are okay, but a tad insincere. People are arrogant in Britain — we think we do service well, but we really don't."
Francis' sentiments have been echoed by the mostly positive reception garnered by our own Olympic Games in 2010. Before Vancouver's hosting honours, 60,000 volunteers ran through the WorldHost program to what appeared to be good effect.
Global polls also buoy this notion. A 2010 international customer service survey ranked Canada first among 50 countries, while Maclean's ran a more comprehensive series about what the world thinks of us. And though our reputation has taken a recent hit thanks to the G20 and the Copenhagen climate change conference, we were still seen overall as great folks in a great country.
Though everyone will have a story about a horrible server in Montreal or some unspeakable rudeness they encountered on a Toronto street, it appears, at least by international reputation, that the good still far outweighs the bad.
So if you're lucky enough to be traveling around the U.K. this summer, be on the lookout for a little random homegrown hospitality in unexpected places.