US announces $200 mn military aid to Ukraine
Washington, July 21 : In a move to counter Moscow's influence in Ukraine, the US has announced $200 million in security assistance to Kiev.
The aid will fund additional training, equipment and advisory efforts to build the defensive capacity of Ukraine's forces, the Pentagon said in a statement on Friday.
"This reaffirms the long-standing defence relationship between the US and Ukraine," the statement noted, adding that Washington's security assistance to Kiev totalled more than $1 billion since 2014.
The Pentagon statement came after the White House on Friday rejected a proposal from Russia to hold a referendum in eastern Ukraine on the fate of the region, Xinhua news agency reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the possibility of a referendum in Ukraine during his meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday in Helsinki, Finland, Russia's Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine started in 2014 between the government forces and armed groups that declared independence from Kiev.
Ukraine has long accused Russia of aiding the insurgents while Moscow has repeatedly dismissed Kiev's claims.
"To organise a so-called referendum in a part of Ukraine which is not under government control would have no legitimacy," the White House National Security Council said Friday.
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Karnataka SSLC question papers to have new format for academic year 2024-25
Bengaluru: In a significant shift, the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) has reportedly announced changes to the format of the SSLC annual exam question papers for the academic year 2024-25 and released a blueprint outlining these revisions. This overhaul, the first major revision since 2019-20, is aimed at enhancing the quality of learning and reducing students' dependence on rote memorisation.
Marks will now be allocated based on themes rather than individual chapters, with a focus on key concepts, according to a report published by The Hindu on Monday. For instance, language papers can be organised around themes such as prose, poetry, and grammar, while core subjects will feature units that combine multiple lessons.
A significant component of this change is the reintroduction of a weightage system based on learning objectives, which includes: remembering (20%), understanding (40%), and application (20%). In addition, 15% of the marks will be allocated to skills such as diagram drawing, while 5% will focus on higher-order thinking questions that encourage critical analysis and problem-solving.
“This method ensures equal importance is given to all chapters during teaching and learning. Teachers and students can move away from the practice of preparing for exams solely based on chapter-wise marks allocation. While specific marks are not assigned to individual chapters, clear weightage is given to relevant themes. This approach guarantees comprehensive practice for each chapter and allows for diverse question types in the exams,” the blueprint stated, as cited by the news outlet.
Key changes also include a reduction in the number of one-mark and two-mark questions, in favour of more three-mark and four-mark questions and the introduction of one five-mark question.
The blueprint mentioned that one-mark questions, which often lead to guesswork, would be replaced with more descriptive questions that challenge students to think critically, write extensively, and refine their expression skills.
The updated question paper format will include 45 questions for the first language, and 38 questions for other subject papers. Some of the three-mark, four-mark, and five-mark questions may contain sub-questions. Additionally, internal choice questions, worth a total of 20 marks, will continue to be part of the exam and will be based on the same themes and chapters as the primary questions.
Despite these revisions, KSEAB has clarified that the overall difficulty level of the exams will remain unchanged. The distribution of marks will continue to follow the same pattern as in previous years, with 30% of questions considered easy or very easy, 50% of average difficulty, and 20% deemed difficult.
