NEWS TODAY 01.09.2026

Don’t collect excess fees, RGUHS warns its colleges

Don’t collect excess fees, RGUHS warns its colleges 

01.09.2026 TIMES BENGALURU

Bengaluru: Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) has warned affiliated nursing, allied health sciences (AHS) and physiotherapy colleges against collecting fees in excess of govt-prescribed amounts during admission. In a circular, the university said admissions must be made strictly through Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) counselling process and colleges cannot impose additional or hidden charges on students. 

The directions follow complaints that some RGUHS-affiliated nursing colleges were charging exorbitant fees. According to the Aug 8 order issued by medical education department, the prescribed annual fee for nursing admissions is Rs 10,000 for students admitted under govt quota, Rs 1 lakh (management quota for Karnatakadomicile students) and Rs 1.4 lakh (non-Karnataka students). RGUHS directed colleges to maintain a uniform fee structure throughout the course. Colleges cannot charge a higher amount in the first year and adjust or reduce fee in subsequent years. The university has prohibited colleges from making hostel stay compulsory as a condition for admission. tnn

Owners missing, dog stays put at flood-hit home

Owners missing, dog stays put at flood-hit home

 Vishant.Agarwala@timesofindia.com 01.09.2026

Trishuli Bazaar (Nepal): A black-and-white dog, its collar still intact, has refused to leave the site of a row of four homes washed away in last week’s flood in Trishuli Bazaar, remaining in the same muddy patch even as half a dozen JCBs and rescuers clear timber, silt, and debris around him. He barely reacts to strangers, does not wag his tail at all, and keeps returning to what used to be the front entrance of one of the houses. 

Volunteer relief worker Bikram Thapa told TOI that workers initially tried offering biscuits and calling him by common pet names. “... He doesn’t even turn his head. His collar is intact,” he said. Sunil Tamang, who has been working on debris clearance, said even the roar of heavy machinery operating only metres away failed to move the dog. “In the middle of all the heavy JCB engines and clearing operations, he just sits in that muddy pool,” Tamang told TOI. 

“Not a single wag of his tail. He refuses to cross the boundary of where his yard used to end.” Tamang said the dog showed no panic even when excavators moved close to the spot. He would occasionally lift his head at the sound of an approaching vehicle or people moving through the debris but then settle back in the same place once they passed. The dog’s home, like the rest of the small neighbourhood around it, no longer exists. The flood washed away the row of houses and erased familiar boundaries, leaving only mud, debris, and scattered remains of structures. 

Nobody working at the site could identify his owners or say which of the four homes he belonged to, but his repeated return to the same former doorway and refusal to move beyond what used to be the yard suggested this had been his territory. Community animal rescue volunteer Rita Gurung said workers eventually stopped trying to make him leave and instead began placing dry food and water nearby. “We keep leaving dry rations near him every few hours,” Gurung told TOI. “He only takes a bite when the road is quiet.” Displaced resident Maya Adhikari said most dogs in the area moved towards higher ground when the flood struck, but this one stayed around the destroyed houses. 

“This was his territory, his family’s courtyard,” she said.  A local shopkeeper said residents who had themselves lost homes had begun watching out for him. “We lost our homes, but we understand what happened,” he said. “He doesn’t understand why everyone disappeared — he just knows he isn’t supposed to leave until they return.” Vishant V Agarwala The dog just sits in the muddy pool, and doesn’t even wag its tail

Nepal toll hits 955; 4,471 missing as tunnel searchers push deeper

Nepal toll hits 955; 4,471 missing as tunnel searchers push deeper 

FULL COVERAGE: P 14 

At least 955 people were killed in flash floods and 4,471 missing across Nepal and Tibet by Monday evening — 639 of Nepal’s 3,925 missing people being linked to hydropower projects, report Vishant Agarwala and Kalyan Das. As many as 27 hydropower plants across Nepal were damaged and around 12 “virtually destroyed”, Australian tunnelling expert Arnold Dix said, underlining the scale of destruction along Bhote Koshi-Trishuli. 

Nepal Army spokesman Brig Gen Rajaram Basnet told TOI a rescue team entered Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project tunnel, where 14 people had been feared trapped. “The team, equipped with searchlights and drones, reached the end of the 250m-deep tunnel. However, they failed to find any trace of any person after much effort and returned.” At Chilime Hydropower Project, another joint team comprising foreign experts entered around 100m before encountering a section buried under mud and silt. One of the most difficult operations was at Trishuli-3A, where teams carried out a controlled blast around 2am on Monday, Nepal time, to create an entry portal after struggling to breach the buried tunnel.

NEWS TODAY 31.08.2026

Foreign universities find their feet in India

Foreign universities find their feet in India

SruthySusan.Ullas@timesofindia.com 31.08.2026

Bengaluru: Foreign universities that have set up campuses in India are reporting a positive response, with several institutions already operational and conducting classes, while others are preparing to begin their inaugural programmes. The University of South Wales (UNSW), for instance, began classes in Bengaluru in Aug with 100 students across four programmes, after receiving more than 700 applications. Its inaugural offering includes bachelor’s degrees in business, data analytics, and computer science, and a master’s in cybersecurity. 

The campus at Embassy Manyata Business Park in north Bengaluru spans approximately 70,000sqm. About one-third of the inaugural cohort is from Karnataka. “We’re particularly pleased with the geographic diversity of the cohort, which reflects the strong national appeal of the programmes. UNSW’s approach to its operations in India is deliberately starting small, ensuring an excellent student experience, with a progressive expansion plan. Our goal is to increase the student body to about 5,000 students in five years,” said professor Payyazhi Jayashree, rector, UNSW Bengaluru. At the University of York Mumbai, Prof Lindsay Oades, president and academic provost, said the university is seeing interest from graduates who had completed UG education overseas and were considering further studies closer to home. There is also interest among students with entrepreneurial ambitions, particularly in postgraduate programmes in management, finance and artificial intelligence. “For parents, the lower tuition cost compared with the UK, coupled with the elimination of overseas accommodation and living expenses, is a key consideration.” 

The Mumbai campus offers five UG programmes, including business and management, computer science, computer science with AI, and computer science with cybersecurity, as well as one-year PG programmes in AI, management and finance. Illinois Institute of Technology has received close to 10,000 inquiries from across India, along with interest from students in the Middle East and Indian-origin students overseas considering returning to India for education, said Mallik Sundharam, vice-president for enrollment management and student affairs. 

The Mumbai campus in Vikhroli’s Godrej   Business District is operational. Orientation is scheduled from Aug 31 to Sept 3, with regular classes beginning Sept 7. The University of Liverpool said its BSc Biomedical Sciences and BSc Accounting and Finance programmes have attracted particularly strong interest. Biomedical sciences has appealed to students seeking careers in healthcare, life sciences and research, while accounting and finance has drawn those seeking internationally recognised qualifications and pathways into global business and financial services. 

“The admissions cycle is progressing positively, and we are on track to meet targets for our initial intake,” said professor Richard Grose, provost, University of Liverpool Bengaluru. The university plans to grow its Bengaluru campus to 10,000 students over the next 10 years. Classes will begin on Sept 28, 2026, with induction on Sept 21. The Whitefield campus has been ready since March 2026.