Actor claims dating a new woman daily empowers themTamil actor/photographer Sunder Ramu has adopted a unique resolution: to date a different woman each day for a whole year.He claimed this would promote gender equality and woman empowerment.Ramu’s idea is simple. He allows the women to fix the date, choose the venue and pay for the meals. The women range from models and actresses like Andrea and Suchitra to sweeper women and daily wage workers. He has so far dated about 100 women including a 105-year-old, a cancer survivor and a roadside flower vendor. He also records his experiences on a blog and on social network sites. Ramu insists that it is an exercise to gain new experiences. The money he saves on his meals, Ramu donates to charities and orphanages.Girls outshine boys in examsResults of the Plus Two board exam released on May 7 showed that girls had secured a higher pass percentage than boys in Tamil Nadu. This year 893,000 students took the exams in March-April. The first rank was shared by commerce students Shresha C S and Mahalakshmi S of two Chennai-based private schools, while Parvathy J of Tiruppur and Nivetha L B from Coimbatore shared the second rank. The third rank was shared by four students from Chennai, Tiruppur, Coimbatore and Salem.Education analysts felt that admissions for engineering colleges would be tougher because of higher maths marks, while medical college admission cutoff may dip due to lesser marks scored in biology, physics and chemistry.Man dies in police chaseA 20-year-old man died when he fell from his motorcycle and pierced his stomach on a road median while fleeing from traffic police at 80 Feet Road in K K Nagar of Chennai last week.Selvam and his two friends were riding on a single bike when the traffic police tried to stop them. However the trio continued riding and the angry policemen chased them and flayed them with a stick that unbalanced Selvam. The victims were rushed to hospital but Selvam died. Passersby became angry with the policemen’s callous attitude and blocked the road for several hours. Free libraries getting popularLittle Free Libraries, a US concept, have now become popular in several neighbourhoods of Chennai to encourage reading books. The concept is simple, a shelf or box of books is put up at the front yard of any house with a notice. Book lovers can then borrow, browse or contribute to this collection free of charge. The system runs on honesty as borrowers must return the books or replenish lost copies. The project has been successful in areas like Alwarpet, Chetpet , Nungambakkam, Mylapore and R A Puram. In fact, police deputy commissioner Balakrishnan has such a library in his office at Mylapore for petitioners and visitors.Woman mistaken for boar shot deadA middle-aged woman was shot dead when villagers mistook her for a wild boar at a village in Tirukovilur in Villupuram district, about 150km from Chennai last week.Parvathy was diverting water to her fields when villagers began chasing her from a distance and one of them, Malasamy shot at her. On hearing her cry, they dropped the gun and escaped. Farm workers nearby rushed Parvathy to hospital but she died on the way. At least 15 villagers were arrested after the incident. Wild animals like boars, leopards, bears and elephants have begun straying into human habitat due to deforestation and increase in their numbers.