LOS ANGELES - US dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster named "Austerity" as the word of the year Monday, reflecting the cost-cutting ethos that has gripped the US economy and culture.

KOLKATA - Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari Monday said that higher education cannot improve in India unless state universities are able to obtain more funds, create new infrastructure and enrich their existing academic programmes.

NEW DELHI - The Indian Air Force (IAF) Monday signed an agreement with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for a project to enable around 100,000 serving airmen to complete the bachelor's degree in any stream, including arts, science, business and music.

NEW DELHI - A biotechnology professor at the Jamia Milia University has won the first prize in the young scientists award category in the third International Conference on Parthenium-2010 (ICP-2010), a statement said Monday.

SYDNEY - A teacher in Australia, who was under scrutiny for snapping a girl student's bra strap, told students to "f--- off and go home", a tribunal has heard.