LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Angry parents are demanding to know why their kids are being taught about bombs and knives at nursery schools in a northern Indian state. They complain that a book on Hindi language alphabets for children four to five years old says that "B" stands for bomb and "Ch" for Chaku, or knife. Pictures accompany the words. Ram Authar Dixit, president of the Parents-Student Welfare Association of Gurukul Academy in Uttar Pradesh state, said the national education board was investigating how such a book was cleared for private nursery schools. More than 100 schools in the state have been using the book. Javed Alam, a board official, blamed the book publisher for the lapse. The Federal Board of Secondary Education issues broad guidelines to state and private schools relating to books, but leaves the content to publishers. It intervenes in case of complaints, Alam said. "It is the responsibility of the education board to provide clean books to the students," said Dixit, a parent. The publisher could not be immediately reached for comment. "Children have an impressionable mind. If students are taught about bombs and knives at this stage, this would develop a negative mindset for them," Ananya Tiwari, a child psychologist, told The Associated Press in Lucknow, the state capital.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Senior monks from South Korea’s largest Buddhist sect have offered to resign after the release of photos purportedly showing fellow monks gambling illegally. South Korean television aired photos of eight monks huddled for a poker game at a hotel in the country’s southwest. The photos reportedly came from video footage secretly taken by another monk from the same sect and released to the media. The Jogye Order says six senior monks offered to resign over the scandal. South Koreans are not allowed to gamble anywhere in the country except at a single casino in the northeast. Buddhism is the oldest major religion in South Korea. The government estimated in 2005 that Buddhists made up about 23 percent of the population.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Doctors in Sri Lanka went on strike to demand an increase in their monthly allowance, crippling services at the country’s state-run hospitals. The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) said the doctors decided to take action because the authorities failed to fulfill their promise to increase their disturbance, availability, and transport allowance. The GMOA says the government promised in 2008 to increase the monthly allowance from 15,000 rupees ($115) to 29,000 rupees ($223). As a result of the strike, patients arriving for treatment at state-run hospitals across the South Asian island nation faced severe difficulties. Sri Lanka’s private hospitals are functioning as usual. Such strikes are common in Sri Lanka’s state-owned institutions.

TOKYO (AP) — The utility in charge of the Japanese nuclear plant that suffered multiple meltdowns has named an outside candidate as its new chairman. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has announced that lawyer and corporate restructuring expert Kazuhiko Shimokoube was appointed chairman. It promoted Naomi Hirose, a managing director overseeing the response to the nuclear crisis, to president. The appointments are subject to shareholder approval next month. Japanese media reports say many potential candidates refused offers to lead TEPCO. Last year’s tsunami destroyed backup generators at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, setting off the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. TEPCO faces the enormous costs of compensating victims and fixing the plant. The executives heading TEPCO when the crisis struck have already resigned.