Wockhardt recalls five drugs in the UK after regulator rap

Drug maker Wockhardt on Thursday made a precautionary recall of five over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in the UK on Thursday following the withdrawal of good manufacturing practices (GMP) certificate for its Chikalthana, Aurangabad, unit last week.

After this, the UKMHRA directed pharmacies, dispensing clinics and wholesalers to return five different prescription-only medicines manufactured by the pharma company.

Among medicines recalled four are for pain relief – Amiloride HCl 5mg tablets, Clarithromycin 250 /500 mg tablets, Gliclazide 80mg tablets, Quinine Sulphate 300mg tablets and Tamsulosin Pinexel 400mcg capsules – while Gliclazide 80mg tablets is for Type 2 diabetes.

According to the drug regulator, the products were tested on importation and Qualified Person (QP) released and that there is no evidence of a risk to patient safety from products currently in the UK market.

“However, it is considered that the products have not been manufactured in line with GMP requirements. People do not need to return their medicines because there is no evidence that the medicines affected by the precautionary recall in the UK are defective. Therefore, it’s important that people continue to take their medicines as prescribed,” Gerald Heddell, MHRA’s director of inspection, enforcement and standards said in a statement.

In a communication last week, UKMHRA had told Wockhardt that it was replacing its GMP certificate to the Chikalthana facility with a restricted GMP certificate, allowing it to manufacture only critical medicines.

The new certification permits continued manufacturing and quality control testing of “critical” products in situations where it has been agreed by the national competent authority or European Medicines Agency that there is no feasible alternative in the market concerned, Wockhardt had said last week.

Accordingly, 10 prescription-only medicines, UKMHRA said on Thursday, can continue to be made at the Chikalthana site and still be supplied to patients in the UK.

“This is because due to concerns over the continuity of supply, the benefits to patients of continuing to take these medicines outweigh the risk from any quality concerns with the medicine,” the UK regulator said.

The UKMHRA’s restricted GMP certification was seen as marginally positive for Wockhardt in terms of revenue and stock performances. However, the scrip has fallen 10% this week after withdrawal of the certification.

During an inspection at Wockhardt’s Chikalthana unit in July, the UKMHRA had identified manufacturing deficiencies, including poor record keeping relating to the manufacture and testing of the medicines made at the site, and inadequate validation and production controls for medicines.

Earlier in July, the UKMHRA had passed a similar stricture involving 16 medicines against Wockhardt’s Waluj, Aurangabad, site.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/1905133/report-wockhardt-recalls-five-drugs-in-the-uk-after-regulator-rap

Pune scientist discovers youngest supernova remnants

Scientists of the Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) and Indian Centre for Space Physics (ICSP), Kolkata, have discovered one of the youngest supernova remnants in the Milky Way. The phenomenon of a star exploding to its death is called supernova.

In the latest discovery, the scientists concluded from the size of the remnants that the supernova occurred only a few hundred years ago, making it one of the youngest known supernova remnants. The study was published in the September issue of The Astrophysical Journal of the American Astronomical Society.

The scientists — Subhasis Roy of NCRA and Sabyasachi Pal from ICSP — used the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) facility at Khodad, about 80 km from Pune, for this study, which took them a decade.

The discovery is significant as search for supernova remnants is a topic of great interest the world over. Only 270 of an estimated 1,000 supernovas have been discovered so far. Scientists have also said that in 400 years, about a dozen supernovas would have taken place, but only two have been discovered till date.

The scientists spotted the supernova remnants in the centre of the Earth's galaxy. They said it was a challenge to spot the supernova remnants because of its size. Pal said, "The supernova remnants we discovered were small in size, but the radio telescopes in GMRT made it possible for us to conduct the study effectively."

The scientists have not been able to find the exact number of years when the supernova remnants wer created as its distance from Earth is not known. Pal said, "We are still working on finding the exact distance of the supernova remnants from Earth. Once we find this, we will be able to tell the exact age."

Roy explained that the discovery of supernova remnants is important as it would help in finding finer details of the star's origin and its life cycle from birth to death, apart from its composition and mass among others. "Also, this discovery gives hope that in the future more supernova remnants can be discovered with detailed study," Roy said.

"In astronomy terms, a few hundred years is a very short period. So, the incident would have occurred very recently and, hence, the evidence of the star that has died would have still remained in the region. In older stars, these clues fade away with time, so discovering them does not hold much significance. It will give a chance to understand what happened to the dying star," Pal explained.

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Pune-scientist-discovers-youngest-supernova-remnants/articleshow/24356985.cms

Malda: Eleven crib deaths in 48 hours

Eleven infants reportedly died in the last 48 hours at the Malda Medical College and Hospital. Hospital authorities have, however, ruled out medical negligence.

"The infants who died were less than a year old. Most of them were grossly underweight. In the past 24 hours, seven infants have died at the hospital," a senior hospital official said. Of the infants, there were a triplet born to a woman, a senior official said. However, all the three died within hours of delivery, the official said.

Meanwhile, Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury, Union minister for health said the condition in government hospitals across the state have deteriorated. Government hospitals run according to the whims of the state ministers, he added.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Malda--Eleven-crib-deaths-in-48-hours/1184467/

India, US orbiters to reach Mars within 24 hours of each other

 Five years ago India launched its first successful Moon mission, Chandrayaan I. Now, with Mangalyaan, India will become the fourth nation in the world to take the first step to Mars, if it successfully positions a spacecraft in the red planet's orbit.

As the countdown to India's maiden Mangalyaan, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) begins, Dr A S Kiran Kumar, director of Space Applications Center (SAC) of Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) provided a glimpse into the mission, the challenges his team faced and how India's "affordable" mission, has several dimensions -conducting scientific experiments, demonstrating technological capabilities and creating the necessary credentials to be part of future international space missions.

Importance of the project

The earliest attempts for exploration of the red planet began in 1960s at the height of 'space race' between US and the USSR when a number of missions were planned. The first mission was USSR's Marsnik 1 in October 1960 which failed to reach even the Earth's orbit. The US's Mariner 4 in November 1965 provided the first glimpse of the Martian surface during its fly-by mission. Since then, there have been a number of missions to probe the red planet, primarily by US' Nasa, including two rovers - Pathfinder and Curiosity - that have provided a full map of the planet and information of its atmosphere, soil composition and other aspects.

What does Mangalyaan intend to achieve?

"This is primarily a technological mission, considering its stringent precision requirements. The challenge before Isro is to put the spacecraft into a precise 50 km imaginary cube when it enters Mars gravitational field, around 250 million km away, while scientists control its 11-month journey and orientation. It requires a proper design, planning, management and operations," says Kumar.

Technological challenges

"On August 15, last year Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced India's intention to send an orbiter to Mars. In 14 months, Isro was ready with an orbiter craft. The only experience Isro has with a mission to another celestial body is Chandrayaan I to the Moon," says Kumar. Other space powers - US, Russia and European Space Agency (ESA) - have, independently or in collaboration, conducted a number of experiments providing them chances to improvise. India is going with it's trusted PSLV-XL launcher which was used for Chandrayaan, albeit with modifications.

The task

"We sent Chandrayaan-1 to the Moon which was at a distance of 384,000 km, a challenge before us five years ago. It has been multiplied 1,000 times with the Mangalyaan mission, as we are now going 360,000,000 km away from Earth. Till Chandrayaan, we were concerned with Earth's gravity. For the first time, our probe will leave the Earth's influence, enter the Heliosphere - the region dominated by the Sun's gravity - before it enters Mar's gravitational field. The maximum Earth to Mars roundtrip light time (RLT) will be 42 minutes during the mission, meaning the signal (command) we send from Earth will reach the craft 21 minutes later and will take the same time for us to receive it back. Thus, we need to give a bit of autonomy to the craft to address emergencies," says Kumar. In order to take advantage of the window when the craft can reach Mars using minimum fuel, India has chosen October 28 this year. Such an opportunity comes at intervals of about 780 days.

Challenges ahead

It will be a 300-day journey for the craft in three phases - Geo-centric phase, Helio-centric phase and finally the nail-biting Martian phase-which will be around 573,000 km from Earth's surface.

"If we don't propel the craft enough, it will fall into a circular orbit and eventually crash on the Martian surface. If we propel it too much, it will go away from the planet and be lost in space. We have designed an elliptical orbit for the craft where the nearest distance will be 364 km and the farthest 80,000 km. Such an orbit will provide a unique opportunity to observe Mars from a distance where the planet will rotate on its axis and we will be able to capture most of its surface barring some polar areas," Kumar says.

He adds that they have subjected the payload and instruments to intense testing. "A craft encounters a number of issues while in space. While communication is always a concern, another issue is energy from the solar panels. As the craft encounters blackouts -periods in the shadow of the planet and can't receive energy - there are also periods of white-outs when the craft is bombarded with solar plasma and can't function for a while. We have taken such instances in consideration," he says.

At Mars

The craft is scheduled to reach the Mars orbit on September 21, 2014. There are five payloads on board including a Lyman Alpha Photometer, Methane Sensor for Mars, Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser, Mars Colour Camera and Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer.

The road ahead

Isro is buzzing with activity - not just for MOM but also for a slew of projects, scheduled for the next five years. Kumar says that a successful Mars mission will not only boost India's confidence but also open doors for next-generation technology which will help future space endeavours. After Mangalyaan, ISRO is planning Chandrayaan II which will have a rover to collect and analyze samples from the lunar surface. India is also planning to launch its first dedicated astronomy satellite - ASTROSAT - after which the ambitious Aditya project will come into action. The project intends to study Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from L1, one of the Lagrangian points between Sun and Earth which will facilitate the craft's remaining at the same position with least effort, for the observation.

About manned space missions, Kumar says it would be the next logical step. "We are slowly building capacity for it and I hope it culminates at an opportune time. Our immediate goal is to put man in orbit (Lower Earth Orbit). The next one will be to prolong the mission and later to conduct space flights," he said.

Space and human development

SAC officials believe that the constantly-pushed boundaries of technological prowess can improve overall human resource development (HRD) for the country through research and development and operational capabilities. Kumar says that the successful missions not only encourage scientists to surge ahead but also inspire millions of young minds. "From my experience, I can say that nothing is difficult if we take a motivated group and provide a specific goal," Kumar says.

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/India-US-orbiters-to-reach-Mars-within-24-hours-of-each-other/articleshow/24354937.cms

Sridevi turns down negative role in ‘Fitoor’?

Following a big comeback after nearly 15 years of hiatus from Bollywood, Sridevi now seems to be quite sceptical when it comes to choosing a film.

The 50-year-old diva, who was last seen in ‘English Vinglish’, which won her many accolades, seems that she is very careful about making choice for her next movie role.

According to a tabloid, Sridevi has said ‘no’ to a villainous role offered by Abhishek Kapoor in his upcoming movie ‘Fitoor’- which is said to be based on Charles Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations’.

Sridevi, who wooed the audience by her effortless illustration of a greedy and selfish character in the movie ‘Judaai’, rejected the offer as playing a negative role wasn’t a right choice for her.

“Everyone is waiting to see what her next film is after `English Vinglish`. The film has Katrina Kaif as the leading lady. Sushant Singh Rajput, who was earlier a part of the film, recently walked out of the project.

Abhishek wanted Sridevi for a role, which was played by Robert De Niro in the 1998 big screen version of the novel. Abhishek tweaked the script and made it female-oriented," a source said.

On the other hand, an insider from the production house said, “Sridevi couldn’t be part of the film, as she thought she wasn’t the right choice for the role.”

It seems Sridevi is being selective about choosing her next movie keeping in mind the necessity to make her upcoming movie a better watch than ‘English Vinglish’.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/movies/sridevi-turns-down-negative-role-in-fitoor_144875.html

I thoroughly enjoyed my battles with Sachin: Gillespie

Sachin Tendulkar is set to call it a day after playing his 200th Test against West Indies at the Wankhede stadium, starting on 14th November 2013. In a career spanning 24 years, the batting maestro has faced several quality bowlers of different nationalities and has come out trumps. Even when Australia dominated the Test arena, with an attack that had pace bowlers like Merv Hughes and Craig McDermott in the early nineties, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie in the latter part of the 90s and early 2000s, as well as against the likes of Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle in recent history, Tendulkar has been a constant thorn in their path, posting one big score after another.

Of the 15,837 runs that Tendulkar has scored so far in Test cricket, almost 25% of it has come against Australia, at an impressive average of 55, including 11 hundreds and 16 half-centuries in 74 innings. A look at Tendulkar's career stats also reveal that there were a couple of Aussie bowlers who have troubled him on a few occasions. On the list of bowlers who have dismissed Tendulkar the most number of times, McGrath and Gillespie are placed jointly third, having dismissed the master batsman 6 times each. The latter, in a column for theroar.com.au has revealed the methods Australia used to employ to try and dismiss the batting legend.

To challenge the best in the game and the thrill of the fight is what drives a cricketer, said Gillespie, who spoke about his preparations ahead of a match and what extra he had to do while going up against Tendulkar. "As a cricketer, you want to challenge yourself against the best. Whether it be with bat or ball in hand, the thrill of the fight is what drives you to put in your preparation in the nets, on the field and in the gymnasium. The mental rehearsals you go through as you prepare to come up against your opponent allow you the opportunity to strive for consistency. These are the things that went through my mind when I was coming up against batsmen in Test cricket."

"My philosophy was to prepare as well as I could physically so that mentally I was ready to go - give myself the best chance so I could get out there, relax and enjoy the challenge. Coming up against Sachin, I knew that my margin for error was low - he could put a good delivery away with ease so I needed to be spot on from ball one, no warm-up balls to allow him to settle," he added.

Gillespie, who elaborated on the different methods employed by the Australians to dismiss Tendulkar in different conditions, said: "If there was bounce and carry in the pitch, we would look to bowl a fourth-stump or fifth-stump line on a good length, the definition of 'good' being a length that Sachin would endeavour to get forward to if he could and potentially look to drive the ball through the offside. If there was less bounce and carry, like on some Indian pitches, our line would be straighter to hit off stump. We would also use the bouncer on occasion. Sachin always used a heavy bat so we thought early on it was a good option to hurry him up and possibly force a mistake."

While mentioning that the Australians have been successful in dismissing Tendulkar early several times, Gillespie said a look at the record books will also reveal the scores that resulted when they have not been able to dismiss the Indian number 4 early. "As a team we won some battles against him, and personally I was able to force an error early, yet you only have to look in the record books to see the times we did not get him early, and the scores that resulted. If Plan A did not come off, other options included bowling wide of off stump with a strong offside field to try and dry up the runs, or having five fielders on the leg side and bowling to hit the stumps every ball."

"Others things we tried were cutters and changing the seam position to see if the ball would behave differently off the pitch. The absolute key to bowling in Test cricket, and certainly bowling to Sachin, was patience. Build up scoreboard pressure through aggressive, disciplined bowling and positive body language," he said.

Gillespie said his battles with Tendulkar gave him immense joy and mentioned that even when things were not going his way, he would always bowl to the legendary batsman with the mindset that he is only a delivery away from picking up a wicket. "I thoroughly enjoyed my one-on-one battles with Sachin, even when it was not quite going my way. I always had the mindset that I was only one ball away from getting him out - it did not always work out like that though!"

While recollecting some of the dismissals, Gillespie spoke highly of the way Tendulkar respected the umpire's decision, even when he had been wrongly given out leg-before at the Gabba. Calling him a superstar who was always humble and respectful, Gillespie said the game will be poorer with his absence.

"I did manage to get him out a few times: bowled, lbw and caught behind were the modes of dismissal. I do remember having an lbw decision go my way at the Gabba in Brisbane when Sachin padded up. The replays clearly showed it was missing the stumps but you would not have known from Sachin's demeanour - he accepted the umpire's decision and walked to the pavilion. That is what will stay with me: that a superstar of a player was so incredibly humble and respectful, yet remained a fierce competitor on the field. I would like to wish Sachin all the best for his retirement. He has been a credit to himself, his family and Indian cricket. The game of cricket will be poorer for his absence."

More: http://cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/59124/i-thoroughly-enjoyed-my-battles-with-sachin-gillespie

Movie Review: Shahid

Shahid
A; Biopic
Director: Hansal Mehta
Cast: Raj Kumar Yadav
Rating:

Once in a while comes along a film that takes you aback by the direct and brutally honest approach it takes. Hansal Mehta’s Shahid is one such film.

For starters, Shahid, deals with a biopic just like how they ideally should be. No glossing over facts, no shying away from the ugliness and the harsh reality in the name of cinematic liberty. The movie displays a rare bravery while dealing with the sensitive topic of terrorism and how the general perceptions can get skewed and how easy it is for legal investigations to jump to conclusions and stigmatize someone even before he is proved guilty.


Still from Shahid

Raj Kumar Yadav plays Shahid Azmi, the slain lawyer who defended hapless men who are 'falsely implicated’ as terrorists. Mehta depicts Shahid’s adventurous early life, which includes being briefly part of a terrorist camp and then landing up in jail, with an absolutely believable set up and painstaking detailing. Using real locations like for instance, Shahid’s actual office in the Taximen’s Union in Kurla, the film makes no compromises in telling a hero’s tale.

The courtroom scenes are so real (far fetched from the otherwise glamourised 'tareekh pe tareekh’ kind of courtrooms of Bollywood) yet gripping. Shahid fights for those who he believes are innocent and made into scapegoats in the absence of the ability to catch the real culprits. Shahid knows what it is to be caught behind bars for a crime not committed, as he himself has experienced the prison life and the atrocities that went with it. Instead of turning bitter at being a victim of circumstances, Shaheed turns a crusader to help others get out of such similar situations.

Raj Kumar Yadav shines in the title role with a performance so mature and played with such subtlety. In what could be easily one of the best, if not the best, performances of the year, Raj Kumar lives and breathes Shahid. Catch him in this scene where he defends himself helplessly when a lady lawyer accuses him of being a terrorist and you almost are convinced that this actor has lived the real Shahid’s life. That, is quite an achievement.

A round of applause for the perfect casting. Each of the actors in Shahid look like they just belonged there. Look at Shahid’s ammi (Baljinder Kaur) and it would be really difficult to believe that she comes from any other set up but from Shahid Azmi’s dingy shanty when he was growing up.

Watch this movie if you have the appetite and sense to digest certain gritty, uncomfortable realities. Not often do we get the opportunity to watch a relevant movie that depicts the times we live in, with unblinking directness. But if you think movies are just about shallow entertainment, and truth makes you uncomfortable, then don’t bother.

More: http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2013/oct/181013-bollywood-movie-review-shahid.htm

Windows 8.1 gets global release

Microsoft has released the Windows 8.1 update for its flagship operating system.

The download seeks to address some of the criticisms levelled at the original version of Windows 8.

In particular, the update restores the start button and allows a computer to boot up with a traditional desktop interface.

The launch comes at a critical time for Microsoft as it seeks a new boss, with PC sales experiencing a long decline.

Windows 8 sought to bridge the gap between touchscreen devices, such as tablets and smartphones, and more traditional form laptops and desktop machines. As such it had an interface built of tiles that could be tapped or swiped to open applications.

However, many people found the tiled interface did not work well for some of the things they were used to doing with a computer.

The changes in 8.1 include:

1. start button - tapping once on this brings up the tiled interface and a long press opens up system controls
2. desktop mode - lets people avoid the tiled interface entirely
3. keyboard shortcuts - removes the need to toggle between different on-screen keyboards when typing numbers and letters
4. gesture control - some applications, such as those for cooking, can now be paged through without touching a screen
5. tile sizing - the blocks on the touchscreen interface can be in one of four sizes
6. web browsing - Windows 8 machines will now display separate web pages side by side

A host of other changes, including better support for multi-tasking and improved links to Microsoft's Xbox game console, are also in the update.

Shrinking sales

Windows 8 was created to capitalise on the growing popularity of tablets and other portable gadgets. Microsoft needs to get people using its software on these machines because sales of desktop machines are in sharp decline.

Global shipments of PCs hit a five-year low in early October, according to figures from market research firm Gartner. Sales of PCs had now fallen for six quarters in a row, it added. The downward trend in sales statistics were confirmed by IDC, which added that the decline would probably continue into 2014.

The shrinking sales are important for Microsoft because traditionally the bulk of its revenue comes from people and companies buying laptops and desktops and office software to run on them.

It is not clear that Microsoft is adjusting to the changes in the types of gadgets that people use. In July, Microsoft wrote off $900m (£559m) following poor sales of its own-brand Surface touchscreen devices.

At the same time, Microsoft has undergone a major reorganisation and has bought phone maker Nokia. It is also launching a new version of its Xbox games console and has begun searching for a new chief executive.

Servers ready to dispense the update were turned on at 07:00 New York time (12:00 BST). The update is free to those already running Windows 8. Charges will apply if users upgrade to 8.1 from Windows 7. The update comes just over a year after the launch of Windows 8.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24564738

Pakistan establishment approved drone strikes: UN report

In anticipation of a vigorous debate on targeted assassinations, at the United Nations General Assembly next week, two UN Special Rapporteurs issued scathing reports on drone strikes on Thursday and warned that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s involvement might structurally damage international security over longer term.

One report, by the UN's Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson, urged Washington to “declassify information about operations co-ordinated by the CIA and clarify its position on the legality of unmanned aerial attacks.”

Underscoring the extent of civilian casualty wreaked by drone attacks carried out on Pakistani soil Mr. Emmerson said that statistics collected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad recorded at least 330 remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) strikes in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since 2004, and that there have been at least 2,200 deaths and 600 serious injuries caused by these attacks.

Mr. Emmerson’s report also noted that there was “strong evidence” to suggest that between June 2004 and June 2008 RPA attacks in FATA were conducted with the “active consent and approval of senior members of the Pakistani military and intelligence service, and with at least the acquiescence and, in some instances, the active approval of senior government figures.”

The Special Rapporteur’s report in this context referenced the 2012 guidelines adopted in Pakistan’s parliament regarding revised terms of engagement with the U.S., which called in particular for an “immediate cessation of drone attacks inside the territorial borders of Pakistan” and forbade any government authority into entering agreements with foreign governments to provide authorisation for future attacks.

The second UN report, authored by Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, summary or arbitrary executions Christof Heyns did not allude directly to the U.S. but cautioned that targeted killings via drones constituted a “global policing function” that however endangered lives without supplying other tools of domestic policing, such as capture or legal remedy.

With a third report, this one by Amnesty International, due to be released early next week outlining the impact of drone attacks on civilian lives and its human rights implications, the heat from this debate is likely to be felt when Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif meets U.S. President Barack Obama in New York on October 23.

Pakistan has already raised the drone strikes issue at the UN and it is reported to be on the discussion agenda when the two leaders meet.

More: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/pakistan-establishment-approved-drone-strikes-un-report/article5250607.ece?homepage=true

Indian rupee recovers after RBI clarifies dollar window for oil cos will remain open

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clarified on Friday that its emergency facility under which it has directly sold dollars to state refiners since late August remains open.

“The oil marketing companies (OMC) swap window remains operational. Any tapering of the window, as and when it occurs, will be done in a calibrated manner,” said the central bank in a press release.

The clarification came after reports suggested that the RBI may close the window, which in turn led to a sudden fall in the rupee.

The rupee, which had opened strong on the back of global dollar weakness, fell close to 1% in intra-day trade, hitting a low of 61.71/$.

The currency, however, recovered after the RBI's clarification and closed 0.1% lower at 61.2650/$.

“We have not heard anything regarding the closing of the window. The RBI may only consider closing it after flows come back strongly,” said NS Venkatesh, head, treasury, IDBI Bank.

“Some sort of staggering is possible while bringing back the oil dollar demand to the market,” he added.

The special dollar window for OMCs was announced on August 28, when the rupee slumped to a record low of 68.845 against the dollar, to temper excess demand for foreign exchange in the domestic market. The local currency has rebounded more than 12% since.

India’s three biggest state refiners bought about $300 million a day from the local spot market to pay for oil imports before the RBI move, Standard Chartered said in August.

“The RBI could be trying to signal that some sort of normalcy has been restored to the market,” said Vishnu Varathan, a senior economist at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.

“The markets will now be a bit cautious on the rupee and investors will be less inclined to buy the currency,” he said.

RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has said the bank will gradually scale back the dollar supplies as the rupee stabilises.

While some believe the current trading levels of the rupee are not sustainable since a large chunk of dollar demand remains out of the market, others feel that flows have picked up sufficiently to sustain current levels.

“Flows are coming in from exporters and foreign institutional investors along with money coming in through

the FCNR window,” said Venkatesh of IDBI Bank, adding that he expects the rupee to remain stable in the near term.

Bonds gain on RBI assurance

Government bonds rose for a second consecutive session on Friday after the central bank said the dollar window for oil companies would remain open, although debt markets posted their first weekly fall in three on fears of rising inflation. The benchmark 10-year government bond yield ended down 5 basis points on the day at 8.55%. The yield fell 6 bps for the week, snapping two weeks of advances. Absence of a weekly auction next week and the upcoming policy review on October 29 will keep bonds in a thin range next week, dealers said, adding that the rupee would be watched closely for direction. The one-year overnight indexed swap rate ended down 5 basis points at 8.41%. Reuters

More: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/indian-rupee-recovers-after-rbi-clarifies-dollar-window-for-oil-cos-will-remain-open/1184350/2

Not worried about FIR, life goes on, says Birla

Tycoon meets Chidambaram after PM tells govt to assuage hurt India Inc.

Three days after the CBI lodged a case against Kumar Mangalam Birla in connection with the coal scam, the industrialist met Union finance minister P Chidambaram and top finance ministry officials, including revenue secretary Sumit Bose, in Delhi on Friday.

The meeting between Chidambaram and Birla lasted for about half-an-hour in which the Aditya Birla Group chairperson told the finance minister that he has done nothing wrong. “I am not worried about the FIR... I have done nothing wrong but I cannot comment on it now. Life moves on,” Birla said after coming out of Bose’s chamber.

Chidambaram was in Washington DC to participate in the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund when the CBI filed the FIR. He met Birla within 24 hours of resuming office on Thursday. The move is seen as the government’s gesture to assuage Indian Inc which is on the boil because of the CBI’s action. Sources in the North Block said it is the PM’s decision to soothe ruffled feathers.

“It is at the behest of the PM that Chidambaram and commerce minister Anand Sharma are reaching out to industrialists,” a source told dna. The decision to talk to Birla and calm down Indian Inc was conveyed by PM Manmohan Singh to the two ministers at the banquet hosted for the Hungarian PM at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.

Finance ministry officials said Birla clarified his stand on Hindalco to Bose. “He spoke about the Rs25 crore recovered by the CBI from Hindalco’s Delhi office,” the official said. The CBI booked Birla for alleged corruption by his group company Hindalco during the allocation of Orissa’s Talabira II block. The block was allocated to it in November 2005.

‘Done nothing wrong’
KM Birla met P Chidambaram for 30 minutes and said he has done nothing wrong and that he was not worried about the FIR.

The 14th FIR filed by the CBI in the coal scam accused him of criminal conspiracy.

India INC has extended its support to Birla with Adi Godrej and HSBC India head Naina Lal Kidwai backing Hindalco.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/1905492/report-not-worried-about-fir-life-goes-on-says-birla

Man files complaint against BJP leader over Modi sticker

A Dhanbad resident Friday filed a complaint at the Kotwali police station against BJP state spokesperson Sanjay Seth for forcibly putting a sticker with Gujarat CM Narendra Modi's name on his vehicle.

Rudra Pratap Singh from Jharia complained that some people stopped his vehicle at Seth's behest and put the sticker. "I was in my car near Firayalal Chowk on Thursday evening when a group of people stopped me and stuck it on my windshield. When I asked why they were doing it, they said Sanjay Seth was their leader," Singh told a news channel. His complaint mentions that the people were forcing on him an ideology that he does not agree with. "We do not know what to do with the complaint. I don't think there are grounds to file an FIR with its contents," a policeman said.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Man-files-complaint-against-BJP-leader-over-Modi-sticker/1184409/

Nandita Das, Mukesh Bhatt open Mumbai Film Mart

Actress Nandita Das and producer Mukesh Bhatt today inaugurated the third Mumbai Film Mart(MFM), which provides a platform for major global film buyers, studios, exhibitors and filmmakers to meet.

The MFM, running alongside the Mumbai Film Festival, has already seen registration of 70 projects and hopes to see an increase in the number in coming days, according to Rashmi Lamba, manager MFM.

More: http://www.ptinews.com/news/4076143_Nandita-Das--Mukesh-Bhatt-open-Mumbai-Film-Mart-.html

Akshay Kumar: Boss of the masses

Akshay Kumar’s new film Boss saw historic opening at single screens all over India. It is probably his biggest first-day collections till date in single screens. On its first day, people were seen dancing in theatres across places like Nagpur, Pune, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. The unprecedented opening at single screens is a clear indication yet again of Akshay’s popularity and connect with the masses.

The night before the film hit the theatres, Akshay had a special show for his fans who had come from all across India. On Tuesday night Akshay organised a screening at Cinemax Versova for his fans. There was ‘fan’-demoniam at the venue. As the rapid fire entertainment unfolded they laughed, cried, danced, cheered lustfully and whistled when Akshay’s agile action sequences came on. Some of them even ran to the screen and kissed it. The evening further ratified Akshay’s hero-of-the-masses status off screen as well as on-screen.

The last time a film had opened so huge in single screens and received such mass adulation was Salman Khan’s Wanted.

The Boss director Anthony d’Souza seems to be in a daze. “I would’ve gone into oblivion after the failure of my debut film Blue. It’s only Akshay Kumar’s faith in me that kept me alive as a filmmaker,” says Anthony tearfully.

Trade Speak
Taran Adarsh
Boss has fared exceptionally well at single screens. It proves that a good sensible masala film will always find an audience. As for Akshay, this is among his better performances. His presence and performance have been loved by all.

Amod Mehra:
As expected Boss has taken a commendable start in the single screens, as it falls in the action-comedy genre. When it comes to action combined with comedy Akshay alone is the true Boss!

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/1905098/report-akshay-kumar-boss-of-the-masses

Rovio's Angry Birds are seeking a nest in India

Everyone has played Angry Birds or knows about the game. I realized this yesterday when I told my mother I was meeting the guys from Angry Birds and she knew about it, despite never having played the game herself. I believe it when Rovio’s senior vice president for Asia, Henri Holm tells me that Angry Birds is the true “four quadrant” brand. “Boys and girls, men and women, all over, enjoy the Angry Birds gameplay or know about it,” he says.

Rovio’s Angry Birds franchise has been a dream run for a startup that started in 2003 as a guns (game developers) for hire company. There are already more than half-a-dozen games under the brand that have been downloaded over 1.7 billion times across devices and platforms. Today one can play Angry Birds on smart feature phones like Nokia Asha, smartphones, PCs and Macs, consoles – you name it and in all probability, there is a way to play the game. With its burgeoning smartphone growth, Rovio is eyeing to make a nest for itself in India.

Founded as Relude, the company changed its name to Rovio in 2005, which means bonfire in Finnish. They were the team that ported Need For Speed to mobile and ended up creating Bounce for Nokia that became the second most iconic game after Snake on Nokia phones. But that apparently didn’t keep the bonfire kindled for long and the company had to let go of most of its developers. They had that proverbial, one last shot, and the result was Angry Birds that launched in 2009.



It is easier to to say it with confidence with the benefit of hindsight, but Angry Birds had a lot of things going for it to become the success story that it has become. It has a nice narrative about a drove of pigs stealing eggs, which the birds want back, that connects across age groups and sexes. Players have to fling birds from a slingshot to destroy and penetrate the protective structures the pigs have made. It has a repetitive action that makes the game addictive with levels getting complicated as the player proceeds.

“Everyone knows how a slingshot works. We met people in the middle of the Amazonian jungles and they knew about slingshots but they didn’t know much about smartphones,” Holm smilingly tells me. Rovio has continued to introduce new levels frequently, adding birds with new strengths and eventually launching games with completely new levels of physics not seen on any smartphone game earlier. It is not surprising that Angry Birds is being used in some schools to teach the basics of physics. It is not just a game anymore.

“There is real physics behind it. We are aiming at giving our users the best possible experiences and you will see more of it in Go,” Holm says. (Angry Birds Go is the next game that is launching on December 11.) “Angry Birds also has elements of learning,” he adds while pointing out the NASA icon in Angry Birds Space that takes players to a NASA page where they can learn more about the organization.

But there’s more to it when he says Angry Birds is not just a game. As with every successful franchise, there’s a huge opportunity in merchandising and partnerships, and Rovio is making that push in its own unique way. Yes, there are Angry Birds plush toys and apparels (Holm is wearing the trademark red Angry Bird sweatshirt during our meeting), but there’s much more. The biggest of them all being a movie that is scheduled for a summer 2016 release. Rovio has partnered with Bata to sell Angry Birds branded footwear for kids in India, it has tied up with Hasbro for its Telepods and it is looking at places where it could set up Angry Birds activity areas.

“We have Angry Birds activity parks in some countries but we believe that doesn’t work in India. So we are looking at places where families go and spend time together,” says Antti Ohrling, Rovio’s country director in India.



Rovio sees India as an important market. “India is home for us,” Holm says and by that he doesn’t mean setting up a back office here to do the development work, which still happens mostly in Finland.

India makes perfect sense for Rovio. It is the world’s fastest growing smartphone market, which is the medium via which Angry Birds is primarily delivered. There is enough awareness about Angry Birds, which is evident when you see Angry Birds balloons selling on roads in Delhi and elsewhere, none of which, by the way, are official merchandise. Angry Birds has that connect with people in India and it is not lost on Rovio, which has tied up with Hungama as a local partner.

Holm and Ohrling were not willing to divulge any specific plans for India, not because there wasn’t any but probably because it was too early. However, they showed me a promo video Hungama created for them where they had Bollywood stars talking about how they knew about Angry Birds, played it and even pointing out what they liked about the game. (Turns out that the sounds the birds make is quite popular among them and some play it to vent out anger after spending a long day on the sets.)

“One thing I have learnt is you need to target the ‘B and C’ of India to be successful – Bollywood and cricket,” says Ohrling, which is probably a sign of things to come. Rovio had roped in former Guns ‘N Roses’ lead guitarist Slash to cover the theme tune for Angry Birds Space. They had also tied up with Lucasfilm to launch Angry Birds Star Wars.

Rovio is also looking at how it could make a locally contextual game for Angry Birds. Holm shows me they have already created a few in its Angry Birds Seasons – the Mooncake Festival and Year of the Dragon aimed at China and Cherry Blossom for Japan. Who knows, we might have an Angry Birds Diwali or Holi version? Quite possible, I am told.

You can view the original article here.

Wal-Mart Still Faces Challenges in India

While Wal-Mart Stores Inc. seems to have cleared one hurdle that was slowing the American retail giant’s attempts to tap India’s rapidly expanding $400 billion retail industry; others still remain.

The Finance Ministry’s Enforcement Directorate has cleared Wal-Mart of violating investment rules when it bought an indirect stake in the Bharti Enterprises Ltd. unit, which controls its Easyday chain of supermarkets, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

However the company still faces a public interest litigation suit in the high court in the southern city of Chennai on the same issue. The suit claims Wal-Mart broke India’s ban on foreign investment in supermarkets and other stores that sell multiple brands of products when it in 2010 bought convertible debentures from Bharti’s Cedar Support Services which owns Easyday.

Officials familiar with the finance ministry’s findings on the debenture purchase said that the central bank and finance ministry would present the results of their investigation to the court in Chennai at the next hearing, which has not yet been set.

While a Wal-Mart spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday, the retailer has said its purchase of the debentures had been discussed with authorities and did not break any rules.

The lawyer of T. Vellayan–the former president of the Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders’ Association who filed the public interest litigation last October –could not be reached for comment Friday.

Wal-Mart is also waiting for restrictions on foreign retailers to be further eased before it can make bigger expansion plans in the country. The company says that a requirement that foreign retailers source at least 30% of its products from small- to medium-sized local businesses is untenable.

“One only has to walk the stores of a domestic player in India and know that rules such as the 30% sourcing from medium and small enterprises is simply not possible,” said Scott Price, the head of Wal-Mart’s Asia business in an interview earlier this month. “I’ve explained to the government I’m more than happy to launch a Wal-Mart cola, but the problem is that I can’t make anyone buy it.”

Indian officials, including Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram have so far indicated India plans to keep that restriction in place.

More: http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-358696/

Kobo launches Touch, Glo and Aura HD e-readers, Arc Android tablet in India

Kobo, an e-reading services company, has launched its digital reading platform in India, including its E-Ink and tablets, such as the Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo, Kobo Arc and Kobo Aura HD; and apps for iOS, Android, Microsoft, and BlackBerry mobile platforms.

Kobo's offering some of its devices at a discounted price ahead of Diwali with the promotional prices being valid till November 3.

The Kobo Touch eReader sports an anti-glare 6-inch Pearl E Ink touchscreen, and is thin and lightweight. The eReader has been priced at Rs.7,999 but will be offered at Rs. 6,999 during the promotional offer. It comes with 2GB storage capacity expandable up to 32GB via microSD card.

The Kobo Glo eReader is a front-lit device like the Kindle Paperwhite, allowing readers to read in the dark. It sports a no-glare XGA high-resolution 6-inch E-Ink screen and features the ability to customise fonts and page-turning. The Kobo Glo is available at a price of Rs. 10,999. It comes with 2GB storage capacity expandable up to 32GB via microSD card.

Kobo Aura HD claims to offer the highest-resolution screen available in an e-reader. It sports a 6.8-inch front-lit Pearl E-Ink touchscreen with a 1440x1080 resolution and 265 dpi. It is powered by a 1GHz processor. It comes with 4GB storage capacity expandable up to 32GB via microSD card. The Kobo Aura HD is priced at Rs. 13,999.

All the e-reader devices support Wi-Fi and USB connectivity.

The Kobo Arc is a 7-inch tablet that runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with the Tapestries UI on top, which is Kobo's customised interface. It uses a cross-media engine to recommend related content based on the users' activities. It sports a high-definition display (1280x800pixels, 215ppi) with 16 million colours. It's powered by a Texas Instruments 1.5GHz Dual core processor and 1GB RAM and sports a 1.3-megapixel 720p front-facing camera. The tablet comes with Wi-Fi connectivity. The Kobo Arc is priced at Rs. 11,999 but is available at a discounted price of Rs 9,999 till Diwali.

Kobo users will be able to access books through Kobo's ebookstore, which, according to the company features nearly 4-million titles across 68 languages. The company claims its library of ebooks includes ninety-five percent of India's bestselling content featuring work from top-selling Indian authors including Jhumpa Lahiri, Ramachandra Guha and Sachin Garg, in addition to international bestselling authors like Dan Brown, John Grisham and Lee Child.

Free or discounted ebook offers will also be available with the purchase of Kobo devices or with the download of a Kobo app for a limited time, according to the company.

"As e-commerce continues to expand and demand for digital content continues to grow, we are thrilled to be launching in India and look forward to introducing passionate Readers to our world-class digital reading platform," said Wayne White, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Kobo. "India is in the early stages of what we believe is a 25-year transformation from print to digital reading. In partnership with some of the leading booksellers and retailers in the country, Kobo is poised to lead this transformation, by delivering a fully localized experience designed to meet the increased demand for digital content in India."

Kobo's e-readers and tablets will be available in retail locations across India through partnerships with Crossword, WHSmith and Croma.

"Traditionally known as the land of storytelling, it was important to us that we enter the market with an offering that met the expectations of a discerning Indian audience who are passionate about the books they read," said Michael Tamblyn, Chief Content Officer, Kobo. "We are delivering an experience that delivers the very best from around the world and titles from the most beloved local authors. In partnership with some of the best retailers, we'll set the standard for digital reading in India."

More: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/others/news/kobo-launches-touch-glo-and-aura-hd-e-readers-arc-android-tablet-in-india-433446

Chilean Peso, Emerging-Market Currencies Slip Versus Dollar

The Chilean peso led modest declines among emerging-market currencies Friday, dragged down by the Chilean central bank's surprise interest-rate cut.

Most other emerging-market currencies were a touch weaker Friday, likely on the back of profit-taking after this week's gains, analysts said. Emerging-market currencies broadly gained in the past two sessions, amid a resolution to the U.S. government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis. With that issue on the sidelines until early 2014, and the Federal Reserve's economic stimulus expected to remain in place for the rest of the year, analysts say emerging-market assets should resume their gains in the near term.

"The fiscal news is down the road, and [Fed stimulus] tapering is down the road," said Win Thin, global head of emerging-market currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. "In the absence of that the market is going to be taking [emerging markets] higher in the next week."

Mr. Thin said Friday's losses were likely due to investors booking profits after a positive week for emerging-market currencies.

The Chilean peso was a top decliner, largely due to the unexpected interest rate cut. On Thursday, Chile's central bank lowered its benchmark policy rate for the first time since January 2012, by 25 basis points to 4.75%, citing a weaker global outlook. The peso weakened 0.8% against the dollar, which bought CLP497.30, according to CQG.

Most other Latin American currencies also fell against the dollar, though modestly. The Brazilian real slid 0.5% against the dollar, which traded at BRL2.1632, according to CQG. The Mexican peso was little changed on the day against the U.S. currency, which bought MXN12.7967.

Most European and Asian currencies also traded in relatively tight ranges. The Indian rupee fell 0.3% against the dollar, as investors worried that the Reserve Bank of India could remove one of its rupee-supportive measures. However, the RBI later confirmed that the measure--a dollar swap window for oil importers--remains operational, which helped ease some of the rupee's losses. However, market concerns about the removal of the swaps shows that the rupee still relies heavily extraordinary policy measures for support, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note Friday.

"The removal of [extraordinary policy measures] poses a risk for the currency and highlights the need for further interest rate adjustment," Morgan Stanley analysts said. They added that a hike in the RBI's policy rate later this month "would help to reinforce the strengthening trend" in the rupee.

The rupee slipped 0.2% Friday against the U.S. currency, which changed hands at INR61.24 in offshore trading, according to CQG.

More: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20131018-707715.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

FM seeks PSUs' help to boost economy

Facing twin problems of slow economic growth and lack of fiscal space, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday asked heads of public sector units (PSUs) to meet their capital expenditure plans, pegged at around Rs 1.4 lakh crore for 23 major enterprises in 2013-14, to spur the subdued activity in the economy. And, to meet their commitment on dividends.

The minister met the chairmen of a host of blue-chip PSUs, such as Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, Indian Oil, GAIL India, Steel Authority of India, NTPC and Coal India.

After the meeting, he told reporters, “Most of the PSUs will achieve their capex plan. Some half a dozen might not. We will revisit those cases in January.”

Most chairmen assured the minister of meeting the capex target for the current year.

ONGC chairman Sudhir Vasudeva said, “The minister was fully satisfied by the performance of ONGC. Our H1 (first half) capex target was a little over Rs 14,000 crore. We have spent 99.3 per cent. We will spend this fiscal year's capex plan of Rs 35,000 crore. We have cash of around Rs 13,000 crore.”

Similarly, SAIL was confident of achieving its capex target, Chairman C S Verma said. “We have met 87 per cent of the target of the first half of the year. We will meet the whole year target, which is Rs 11,500 crore.”

Currently, excess funds of some PSUs are estimated at around Rs 2.8 lakh crore.

“Obviously, the surpluses of public sector enterprises cannot lie in a bank. The surpluses have to be invested. Either they invest or they give it to somebody who can invest it,” Chidambaram had said in an interview with the Press Trust of India.

For 2013-14, the Prime Minister's Office set the capex target for main PSUs at Rs 141,912 crore, which is 1.24 per cent of the estimated gross domestic product for the year. The investment will have a multiplier impact on growth.


The capex investment target for 17 central public sector enterprises was set at Rs 141,389 crore in 2012-13, of which these units made an actual investment of Rs 1,11,913 crore, almost 80 per cent of the goal. Even then, the country’s economic growth declined to five per cent in 2012-13, lowest GDP expansion in 10 years. This year, most independent analysis did not expect the economy to grow even this much. The economy expanded 4.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2013-14, slowest in four years.

At a time, when the government cannot provide a stimulus to the industry as it faces a challenge in restricting the Centre's fiscal deficit at 4.8 per cent of GDP, the investible surplus of PSUs can come to the aid of a sluggish economy.

A higher dividend by PSUs would also help the government narrow its fiscal deficit. This had widened to 75 per cent of the year’s budget estimate in only the first five months of this financial year. The government expects to raise Rs 73,866 crore from dividends this year, against Rs 55,443 crore last year.

"Dividend payments by PSUs will not be less than last year's. In no case will we accept dividend less than last year's," Chidambaram said.

The Ministry, according to officials, is hopeful of meeting the dividend receipt target in the current fiscal and has not sought any special dividend. However, they said the situation would be reviewed in January. End

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Excise and Customs held a review meeting of indirect tax collections so far and asked field formations to take administrative steps to meet the budget target of Rs 5.65 lakh crore for 2013-14.

More: http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/fm-seeks-psus-help-to-boost-economy-113101800698_1.html

Dasgupta urges PM to terminate RIL profit-sharing contract with gas block

Senior CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta urged the PM on Friday to initiate steps to "terminate" the profit-sharing contract governing KG D6 gas block with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) alleging that the company has been in "wilful default" of the contract for more than three years.

Dasgupta, who had been targeting Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily alleging that he has been advocating a gas price hike that would benefit the company, on Friday released a "draft resolution" of the management committee headed by oil regulator DGH.

The block oversight panel, he said, which met on October 1 to consider RIL's revised field development plan that slashes recoverable reserves in D1 & D3 fields to 3.4 trillion cubic feet from 10.03 Tcf estimated in the original plan of 2006, has concluded that RIL has "failed to comply" with the requirements of certain articles of the contract so far.

He alleged that RIL had been "in wilful default" of the PSC for more than three years. "Meanwhile, (gas) production has fallen to an abysmal level of 9 mmscmd (million metric standard cubic metre per day) against the approved level of 80 mmscmd. They have refused to drill wells as directed by the government to shore up production and are putting forth the false alibi of fall in reserves.

"In view of this, the only alternative available is to terminate the contract as per Article 30 of the PSC forthwith....I would request you to direct the Petroleum Ministry to begin proceedings for termination of the KG-D6 block for wilful default by RIL and taking over the block by the government."

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dasgupta-urges-pm-to-terminate-ril-profitsharing-contract-with-gas-block/1184507/

NSA delayed anti-leak software at base where Snowden worked: officials

The US National Security Agency failed to install the most up-to-date anti-leak software at a site in Hawaii before contractor Edward Snowden went to work there and downloaded tens of thousands of highly classified documents, current and former US officials told Reuters.

Well before Snowden joined Booz Allen Hamilton last spring and was assigned to the NSA site as a systems administrator, other US government facilities had begun to install software designed to spot attempts by unauthorized people to access or download data.

The purpose of the software, which in the NSA's case is made by a division of Raytheon Co, is to block so-called "insider threats" - a response to an order by President Barack Obama to tighten up access controls for classified information in the wake of the leak of hundreds of thousands of Pentagon and State Department documents by an Army private to WikiLeaks website in 2010.

The main reason the software had not been installed at the NSA's Hawaii facility by the time Snowden took up his assignment there was that it had insufficient bandwidth to comfortably install it and ensure its effective operation, according to one of the officials.

Due to the bandwidth issue, intelligence agencies in general moved more slowly than non-spy government units, including the Defense Department, to install anti-leak software, officials said.

NBC News reported earlier this year that Snowden, who has been charged with espionage but was granted asylum in Russia, took advantage of antiquated security systems to rummage through the NSA's computer systems but details of the lapses in Hawaii have not previously been reported.

A spokeswoman for the NSA declined to discuss details of the agency's schedule for installing anti-leak software in Hawaii. She said the agency has had to speed up its efforts to tighten security in the wake of Snowden's disclosures.

"We open our facilities only after we have met all of the necessary regulatory, statutory, and infrastructure requirements," the spokeswoman said. "NSA has a very large, diverse and complex IT infrastructure across our global enterprise, and many features of that infrastructure evolve over time as new capabilities are developed, refined, and deployed."

She added: "NSA and the Intelligence Community at large have been moving forward with IT efficiency initiatives for several years. ... The unauthorized disclosures have naturally compelled NSA and the rest of the IC to accelerate the timeline."

Raytheon had no immediate comment.

INSIDER THREAT

In December 2010, the White House created a task force, headed by a former senior intelligence officer, to develop plans and systems to tighten access controls for classified information.

One of the specific initiatives announced by the White House for spy agencies was the installation of a program described as "Enhanced Automated, On-Line Audit Capability: Systems will monitor user activity on all IC classified computer systems to detect unusual behavior."

The NSA Hawaii facility, known as a Remote Operations Center, opened in January 2012, replacing an older site located in a nearby World War II-era facility. The facility is focused on intercepting communications from Asia, and the Washington Post has reported that it also is involved in operations in cyberspace such as mapping adversaries' computer networks and implanting electronic beacons.

Snowden was assigned by Booz Allen Hamilton to the Hawaii facility in late March or early April 2013, after first attending training sessions near NSA's Maryland headquarters.

He was only there for a few weeks before he told his employers that he needed time off because of health problems. Snowden then disappeared and turned up several weeks later in Hong Kong. There, he gave a TV interview and a trove of secrets from the NSA and its British counterpart, Government Communications Headquarters, to writer Glenn Greenwald, filmmaker Laura Poitras, and journalists from Britain's Guardian newspaper.

Reuters reported in August that Snowden began downloading documents describing the US government's electronic spying on an earlier job working for Dell Inc in April 2012.

One official said Congressional oversight committees had repeatedly expressed concerns to the administration that agencies across the government, including spy units, had moved too slowly to install updated security software.

Another official said that US agencies were still not positive they knew the details of all the material which Snowden had downloaded and turned over to journalists.

More: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/nsa-delayed-anti-leak-software-at-base-where-snowden-worked-officials-434235

John Kerry to meet Nawaz Sharif on Sunday

US Secretary of State John Kerry will hold talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here on Sunday at the start of the highest level official Pakistani visit to the United States in several years.

The two men would meet before Kerry heads on a visit to Europe, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday.

Sharif is also due to meet President Barack Obama on Wednesday, October 23, for the highest level White House talks between the two countries since the start of the US administration in 2009, another US official said.

"It's an opportunity to broaden and deepen the relationship that we've both been working very hard towards in the last few years," the senior State Department official said.

Topping the agenda are likely to be counter-terrorism efforts, as well as Pakistan's concerns over its economy and energy supply.

Sharif was elected in May, and Washington has praised his efforts to reduce tensions in South Asia.

Relations with the United States have also improved since they plunged to one of their lowest points in 2011 amid the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a US commando raid in Pakistan, as well as the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a US airstrike.

"There have been significant irritants which I think have reduced quite a bit over the course of the last year," the US official said.

Washington needs Pakistan's cooperation as it prepares to withdraw thousands of pieces of heavy equipment from Afghanistan ahead of the end of NATO combat operations at the end of 2014.

It is also looking to Pakistan to try to help with reconciliation efforts between the Taliban and Afghan leaders.

The United States also wants the Pakistani government to do more to crack down on militant havens. Pakistan, meanwhile, is chafing at continued US drone strikes against militants on its territory.

Drones are "part of a very comprehensive conversation we have on security across the board," the US official said.

"As we talk about all these security issues that will be a key theme, not drones necessarily, but the security situation writ large." AFP)

More: http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-122960-US-Secy-of-State-John-Kerry-to-meet-PM-Nawaz-Sharif-on-Sunday

A Top Syrian Intelligence Officer Is Killed in Fighting

One of the Syrian government’s most prominent intelligence officers, Maj. Gen. Jamea Jamea, was killed during fighting in the eastern provincial capital of Deir al-Zour, Syrian rebels and the state news media said on Friday as government warplanes bombed the city after several days of fierce clashes.

General Jamea, killed Thursday, is the most senior security figure confirmed dead in more than a year. He was respected in Syria’s powerful inner circles of intelligence and military leaders after a long career as a Syrian strongman in Lebanon and most recently for “doing a good job” against the uprising at home, according to a Syrian in contact with senior security figures.

The European Union appeared to have a similar view of his importance, if a different response. In August 2011, it placed sanctions on General Jamea, freezing his assets and denying him a visa for travel in the European Union, for his role in “repression and violence against the civilian population.”

That such a notable figure was still commanding operations in Deir al-Zour suggested that President Bashar al-Assad was still committing important resources to checking rebel advances in remote, rebellious eastern Syria. And this was despite the views of many pro- and antigovernment analysts that the Syrian government had written off any hope of regaining full control of the area.

The general was considered a formidable and notorious enemy not only by Syrian rebels but also by opponents of the Syrian government in Lebanon, where he served during Syria’s occupation and was accused by some of playing a role in the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.

According to varying reports, the general was killed either by a sniper’s bullet or in an explosion during an ambush. His death helped rebels recapture some optimism after the fading of their hopes for American military intervention and the eruption of infighting with jihadist groups.

“He is a regime symbol,” said Ragheb Bashir Tomeh, a member of the rebel Supreme Military Council.

Still, some rebel fighters, along with a number of anti-Assad Lebanese politicians, said they regretted that General Jamea had not been captured so he could be interrogated and tried.

Footage in the pro-government news media showed mourners following a rose-wreathed ambulance on Friday to General Jamea’s funeral in his home village of Jableh, in the coastal mountains of Latakia Province, where support for Mr. Assad is strong. Far to the east, rebel fighters and residents of Deir al-Zour Province, where entire blocks of buildings in the provincial capital have been destroyed, said the announcement had led people to cheer.

“Joy filled the streets,” said Abu Amro, a spokesman for the rebel group Liwa al-Islam who uses only a nom de guerre. “Despite the misery and sorrow, people here were congratulating each other as if there is a real holiday. I haven’t seen such a situation since the beginning of the uprising.”

Abu Amro said the general had personally supervised security operations in Deir al-Zour from early on in the uprising, which began as a protest movement in March 2011. His appointment there signaled that the government intended a tough response.

He stood out from previous intelligence bosses there, Abu Amro said, by imposing full control over the province’s multiple security branches.

First, he clamped down on the city to hamper the peaceful side of the movement, even tightening restrictions on the ownership of motorbikes, Abu Amro said. Later, he said, the general hunted down armed rebel groups when they were still nascent.

Mr. Tomeh of the military council said General Jamea had also presided over the torture of captured rebels.

“Our joy is incomplete,” he said. “It would have been better if we arrested him. He has a lot of information.”

“We wanted to bring him to Lebanon to be killed by Lebanese hands,” he added. “We wanted to give the Lebanese this privilege.”

General Jamea served more than 20 years in Lebanon, during the decades when Syria dominated the country, arriving as a lieutenant and leaving in epaulets.

He was in charge of security in Beirut when Mr. Hariri was killed, which prompted a popular protest movement that culminated in Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon, and Mr. Hariri’s supporters said it was hard to believe that such an operation could have been carried out without the general’s knowledge.

Gen. Hisham Jaber, a former commander in the Lebanese Army now at the Middle East Center for Studies and Public Relations in Beirut, defended General Jamea, saying he did not deserve his bloody reputation.

“Lebanese like to exaggerate,” General Jaber said, adding that “he was a very disciplined and humble man.”

A Lebanese television station showed an interview on the site of the general’s former headquarters with a man who said he had been tortured there. And Michel Mouawad, a politician and a son of René Mouawad, who was assassinated after becoming president of Lebanon in 1989, said he suspected General Jamea in his father’s death and wished that he had been tried in Lebanon.

The death of General Jamea added to the thousands plaguing his home region. “People are getting sick and tired of this,” said Manal, a government supporter, in a phone interview. “Can we just finish it up? I think both sides are weak now — no winner, just losers.”

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/world/middleeast/top-syrian-intelligence-officer-is-killed-in-fighting.html

Maldives presidential poll in doubt after row over voters’ list

Holding the Maldives' presidential revote on Saturday as scheduled is "becoming hopeless" because two candidates have not endorsed the register of voters as the Supreme Court mandated, the elections commissioner said on Friday.

Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek said that two of the three candidates did not sign the list by the deadline set by the commission, and that he was running out of time to dispatch officials and send ballots to voters overseas.

The Supreme Court annulled the results of the September 7 presidential elections and ordered a revote, agreeing with a losing candidate that the voters' register that was used had made-up names or listed dead people.

According to Thowfeek, only former President Mohamed Nasheed has approved the list. The other candidates, Yaamin Abdul Gayoom, a brother of the country's autocratic leader, and businessman Qasim Ibrahim, who challenged the first-round result in court, have not signed them.

They have asked the commission to verify thousands of fingerprints of voters, which is an impossible task, he said. "If they are going to put forth such conditions, they are not going to have an election tomorrow," Thowfeek said. "We are becoming hopeless"

Nasheed, who became the country's first democratically elected president in 2008, led the initial vote, with more than 45% but failed to secure 50% for an outright win. He was set for a runoff with Gayoom, when the Supreme Court annulled the election, which was hailed by observers as free and fair.

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Maldives-presidential-poll-in-doubt-after-row-over-voters-list/articleshow/24357431.cms

In Kenya Inquiry, Norway Looks at Somali Migrant

As a boy, the Somali immigrant sold newspapers door to door in this peaceful seaside Norwegian town and told neighbors he was going to be a doctor and help people in Africa.

In high school, he began taking a prayer rug to school, but in a community with many Somalis — not to mention Muslims from Libya, Chechnya and elsewhere — he hardly stood out. He rarely got into even mild trouble.

But with grades that fell short of medical school requirements, the young man, Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, struggled to find a job after high school and began visiting radical jihadist Web sites. In 2009, he took the first of several long trips back to Somalia.

Norwegian investigators now want to know whether the boy who wanted to be a healer grew up to be a killer. They are questioning relatives and friends of Mr. Dhuhulow, 23, to try to determine whether he was one of the four attackers caught on surveillance cameras during the rampage at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, last month, when more than 60 men, women and children were killed.

The investigators suspect he was the killer whom investigators have been referring to as Black Shirt, seen hustling past a jewelry store firing his rifle; stalking a wounded man desperately trying to hide in the grocery store; and limping with a bandage below his left knee, his lower leg soaked in blood.

An official familiar with the investigation in Norway confirmed that the Police Security Service had been keeping track of Mr. Dhuhulow since he was a student at Thor Heyerdahl High School, near where he grew up. NRK, the Norwegian state broadcaster, quoted police sources as saying that he had been in contact with central figures of a Norwegian-based Islamist group, Profetens Ummah, or the Prophet’s Community of Believers.

TV 2 in Norway reported that Mr. Dhuhulow had been active in an online forum linked to the Shabab and posted photographs of “martyrs” killed in Bosnia. On one site, TV 2 reported, his profile picture was a suicide bomber.

The local newspaper Ostlands-Posten quoted an unnamed former classmate as saying that in high school Mr. Dhuhulow was looking at “odd Web sites,” including more than one about “liquidating” American soldiers. The newspaper reported that several former classmates had recognized his gait and his hand gestures in the video footage.

Mr. Dhuhulow’s sister, speaking on the condition that her name not be given, said in an interview here in Larvik: “It’s still hard to believe. I can’t bear the thought of this actually being true. It’s just too much to come to terms with.”

She said that officers from the Police Security Service had asked her whether her brother had placed calls from the Westgate mall during the siege. She said that he had not and that the family was unaware of any role he might have played.

She said she did not believe her brother could have taken part in the attack on Westgate and could not say she recognized him from the video. “My mother and father and me, we don’t even know if he is dead or alive,” she said.

Although a person of interest in the case, Mr. Dhuhulow may yet prove to have had no connection to the attack.

The Police Security Service said in a statement on Friday that it had “not yet been determined whether a named Norwegian citizen actually took part in the attack or not.” But the statement added, “Based on the information that we have uncovered this far in the investigation, however, the suspicion of his involvement has been strengthened.”

A man with the same name as Mr. Dhuhulow was arrested in Somalia in connection with the killing of a radio journalist but was freed by a military tribunal for lack of evidence in March.

The devastating siege of Westgate shocked not just Kenya but the entire region, from Ethiopia to Tanzania, prompting worries of more attacks abroad by the Shabab or the group’s local affiliates. In Uganda’s capital, Kampala, extra police officers were at checkpoints and guarded shopping malls on Friday after warnings of an attack.

The ripples of fear and incomprehension have now spread all the way to this idyllic community of about 43,000 people on Norway’s east coast, with its small white wooden houses and a harbor full of bobbing sailboats. Residents have begun to question how their town could be a cradle of Islamist militancy. The questions are especially poignant for those who came to Norway as refugees precisely to get away from such violence and to give opportunities to children like Mr. Dhuhulow.

“The Somali community in Larvik is in shock,” said Mohammed, a postal worker who visited the mosque here on Friday and, like many fearing repercussions for speaking out, gave only his first name.

Mr. Dhuhulow grew up in a multiethnic neighborhood, in a four-story apartment building with 32 units and families from half a dozen countries.

Tone Olafsen, 59, the vice president of the building’s board, remembered when the family moved in. She said she had spent time with the family and always had a positive impression of Mr. Dhuhulow. “He was a quiet, polite, good-humored, pleasant and nice kid,” Ms. Olafsen said.

Norway has increasingly come into focus in the inquiry into the Westgate attack, as investigators from Kenya, the United States, Norway and elsewhere work to piece together the Shabab’s international network. Navy SEALs staged an unsuccessful raid in Baraawe, a Somali coastal town, this month to try to capture a Shabab planner, Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir, also known as Ikrimah. Mr. Abdikadir is believed to have lived in Norway as an asylum seeker between 2004 and 2008.

Lars Akerhaug, the author of “Norwegian Jihad,” said that the free-speech laws in Norway made it particularly easy for militant recruiters to operate.

“If you want a base in Europe, it makes sense to do it here because there’s a smaller chance of being prosecuted here than in a place like Britain or Germany that has stricter terrorism laws,” Mr. Akerhaug said. He pointed out that there were Shabab representatives in Oslo andin Gothenburg, Sweden, and that around 10 Norwegians were known to be fighting for the Shabab.

More and more scenes of the attack have leaked out in the weeks since the siege ended.Disturbing new clips released on Thursday showed terrified shoppers running for their lives while the killers, including Black Shirt, stalked them, leaving victims in pools of blood on the mall floors.

Confirmation of the attackers’ identities could come from the scorched remains of two or possibly three people found near AK-47 rifles and pulled from the rubble of the mall on Thursday. Identification of the charred partial remains will require advanced forensics, including DNA testing, according to Johansen Oduor, the chief Kenyan government pathologist.

“There’s no face,” Dr. Oduor said in an interview. “There’s no clothes.” But, he noted, “if you are found next to an AK, most likely you are one of the attackers.” Kenyan security forces do not use that kind of rifle.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/19/world/africa/norway-suspect-nairobi-kenya-mall-siege.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0

India, China to sign road pact during PM’s visit

Impressed with China’s highways infrastructure and superior standards for construction and maintenance, a bilateral pact on cooperation in the road transportation sector is set to be signed between the two countries during PM Manmohan Singh’s visit to China next week.

At 65,000 km China has world’s second largest network of expressways. So far, however, China has a limited presence in India’s highway sector. Only six Chinese companies, under joint ventures with Indian firms, are involved in building highways. All six companies have participated and won the bids for the projects.

The broad area where India wants to seek cooperation includes management of road infrastructure technology, standards for highway construction and maintenance, road safety intervention strategies aimed at reducing death and injuries resulting from road accidents, etc. India also wants to know more on how China has dealt with contractual issues and financing of highways build in public private partnership mode.

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/India-China-to-sign-road-pact-during-PM-s-visit/Article1-1137028.aspx

Will give befitting reply to those spreading hatred: Mulayam Singh Yadav

In the backdrop of VHP's rally, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said on Friday those spreading "fire of hatred" will never succeed and the government will give a befitting reply to them. "Some people are making efforts to disturb brotherhood in the state. They are conspiring to vitiate the atmosphere," Mulayam said. 

The former UP Chief Minister was addressing a function on the occasion of 89th birthday of senior Congress leader ND Tiwari. Will give befitting reply to those spreading hatred: Mulayam Singh Yadav "We are alert now. Those spreading fire of hatred will not succeed. We will give such a befitting reply that they will never dare to conspire," he added. Mulayam claimed that all opposition parties were wary of the increasing popularity of SP and all sections of the society were with the party. 

"I will ask government to give employment to the youths. The government is doing a good job. We have to take resolve to go among the people," he said. He said that today farmers were helpless and the youths were unemployed. "A lot has to be done, there is a big challenge before the country," he said.

Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/will-give-befitting-reply-to-those-spreading-hatred-mulayam-singh-yadav/429188-3-242.html?utm_source=ref_article

Decision on enforcement of Lokayukta Bill on November 7: Vijay Bahuguna

A day after it was announced that President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today said that the decision about its enforcement will be taken on November 7.

"The Lokayukta law has been formulated, but whether it will be implemented or not will be decided in the next meeting of the state Cabinet to be held on November 7," said the Chief Minister.

"We have the option of changing the law or bringing a new one," he said.

"Some provisions of the law are unconstitutional. Even the judiciary has been brought under the ambit of the Lokayukta," said Bahuguna.

After the President's assent, the Bill was sent to the legal department on September 9, he said.

But despite there being a period of 180 days for its implementation, the Bill was sent for printing without bringing it to the notice of the Chief Minister, Parliamentary Affairs Minister or the Chief Secretary, Bahuguna said, adding that that there was no need to show such a haste.

When asked if action will be taken against the guilty officials, the Chief Minister said that the Chief Secretary was looking into the matter.

The Bill will bring the Chief Minister, ministers, MLAs and government servants, including IASand IPS officers, under the ambit of the Lokayukta. Former chief ministers, former ministers and retired officers will also be covered by the new law which carries a provision of punishment up to life imprisonment.

More: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/decision-on-enforcement-of-lokayukta-bill-on-november-7-vijay-bahuguna/articleshow/24356953.cms

Angry with America, Saudi Arabia rejects UN security council seat

Saudi Arabia on Friday renounced a rotating UN security council seatthat was there for the taking, evidently miffed with its long-time patron United States' overtures to Iran, among other peeves.

The unexpected Saudi rejection came just hours after the kingdom was elected unopposed on Thursday night as one of the council's 10 nonpermanent members. The two-year stint is prized by member countries because it gives them a temporary seat alongside the five permanent members, albeit without veto power.

The five rotating seats that opened up this year were uncontested, leaving Saudi Arabia, Chad, Nigeria, Lithuania and Chile to replace retiring members Pakistan Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, and Togo.

But in a sudden twist, Riyadh, apparently piqued with Washington over developments in the Middle East, lamented that the international community had failed in its duty towards Syria, where the Saudis have backed the largely Sunni rebels against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Saying the UN "allowed the Syrian regime to kill people" and use chemical weapons in front of "the entire world without facing any penalties," Riyadh said it was regretfully declining the UN seat.

"The kingdom sees that the method and work mechanism and the double standards in the security council prevent it from properly shouldering its responsibilities towards world peace," the country's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA, calling for unspecified reforms.

There were other Saudi gripes beyond the Syria "let-down," notably the US rapproachment with Iran, which reportedly led to the Saudi leadership ditching a scheduled speech at the UN general assembly last month. The largely Sunni Saudi Arabia is locked in a bitter feud with the mostly Shia Iran. It feels betrayed by Washington's recent advances with Teheran, whose nuclear program it views as a threat, although its own client state Pakistan is said to give the Saudis military and nuclear cover.

Given Saudi Arabia's preference for low-key, undemonstrative engagement, all this was masked in suitable diplomatese. "The failure of the security council to make the Middle East a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction, whether because of its inability to subdue the nuclear programs of all countries in the region ... is a sign and proof of the inability of the security council to perform its duties and responsibilities," the Saudi foreign ministry said.

Saudi Arabia has quietly asserted primacy in the region in the years since Iran fell out with the US, mainly by buying military and nuclear cover from its rentier, client-Pakistan and diplomatic shield from its patron, the United States. Washington's recent rapprochment with Iran and its discarding of Pakistan has rattled Riyadh, particularly as it comes at a time the US is fast becoming energy independent on the strength of the vast gas reserves it has recently tapped domestically.

A recent Pew Research study on global attitudes showed Saudi Arabia's Image faltering among Middle East Neighbors, particularly in Lebanon, Tunisia and Turkey. The country's most favorable rating came from Pakistan (95 per cent approval).

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Angry-with-America-Saudi-Arabia-rejects-UN-security-council-seat/articleshow/24349312.cms