Sanjay Dutt leaves for Pune jail as his furlough ends

Mumbai, Oct 30 (PTI) Actor Sanjay Dutt, who was on a leave of furlough, left his home for Pune this morning to serve his remaining jail term in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

Dutt, imprisoned at Yerawada prison in Pune, was released from jail on furlough for 14 days on October 1.

Later, he sought an extension which was granted to him for another fortnight.

Bigg Boss 7: Kushal Tandon and Gauhar Khan evicted from the house over scuffle with VJ Andy

In a surprise twist, Kushal Tandon and Gauhar Khan have been asked to pack their bags by Bigg Boss after the scuffle with VJ Andy. Kushal and Gauhar are the love birds in the Bigg Boss house.

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Recently, Kushal had a nasty fight with Tanishaa, who pushed him not once but thrice. While a part of it was aired on the show, the part where a furious Kushal called Tanishaa a flop actress was not shown.

A source says, Kushal told Tanishaa that she is a dhabba on her family. “Look where your sister (Kajol) is and where you are today,” he is said to have taunted her.

He was so angry that he jumped the wall and escaped out of the house. It’s a different thing that he was brought back by the security personnel and directly nominated for elimination.

Also a few days ago, Bollywood star Salman Khan was so upset with Kushal's bad behaviour with actress Tanisha Mukherjee on the show that he said it would be his last season as a host of the reality show. The 47-year-old actor on Saturday gave an earful to Kushal for insulting Tanishaa.

"If you think you can clean your image, it's a misconception," Salman told Kushal, and added that he too had faced it and realised that one's mistakes are etched in people's memories.

"Because of this episode, this might be the last season for me," a livid Salman said on Saturday. On Sunday, Salman talked about the issue again on Twitter responding to queries from his followers. He wrote that according to Bigg Boss fans, both should have been out, "but there was a lot more than wat you saw".

Firstpost Tech Do-it-yourself: Soon, a Motorola smartphone that you can design

San Francisco: Motorola wants to let consumers design their own smartphones. The Google-owned manufacturer has launched Project Ara to create a free, open and standardized platform to let people pick and choose the components they want in their phones, Motorola said in a blogpost this week. The goal is to create a standard endoskeleton, or frame, that can hold different modules, like extra-powerful processors, additional batteries or memory chips for storing more music, all based on the customer’s preferences.
 
The Motorola X smartphone. AP The Motorola X smartphone. AP “Our goal is to drive a more thoughtful, expressive, and open relationship between users, developers, and their phones. To give you the power to decide what your phone does, how it looks, where and what it’s made of, how much it costs, and how long you’ll keep it,” Motorola said. Motorola’s vision of do-it-yourself smartphones builds on parent company Google’s success with its widely used Android smartphone platform, which it offers for free and allows manufacturers to customize.

 Android also gives people more leeway to tweak the features on their smartphones than Apple’s iOS platform offers to iPhone users. Motorola said it has been working on Project Ara for over a year and that it recently teamed up with Phonebloks, an open source project that has also been working on creating modular smartphone components that can be easily replaced. The announcement of Ara follows Motorola’s launch earlier this year of the Moto X smartphone, which lets customers choose the colors of the front and back panels and buttons.

 On its website, Phonebloks envisions an online store letting consumers read reviews of smartphone components, shop for new and used parts, and order custom-designed handsets. Project Ara is also a bit of a throwback to the 1980s and 1990s, when many technology-handy consumers assembled their own desktop PCs using hard drives, power supplies, CPUs and other custom-picked components. That became less common when laptops, which are more difficult to customize, became widely used, but computer components are still made at standard sizes that can be slotted into most PCs. Motorola said it will work on the project openly and create experimental modules. It plans to invite developers and recruit “Ara scouts” to help research and shape the project.

San Francisco: Motorola wants to let consumers design their own smartphones. The Google-owned manufacturer has launched Project Ara to create a free, open and standardized platform to let people pick and choose the components they want in their phones, Motorola said in a blogpost this week. The goal is to create a standard endoskeleton, or frame, that can hold different modules, like extra-powerful processors, additional batteries or memory chips for storing more music, all based on the customer’s preferences. The Motorola X smartphone. AP The Motorola X smartphone. AP “Our goal is to drive a more thoughtful, expressive, and open relationship between users, developers, and their phones. To give you the power to decide what your phone does, how it looks, where and what it’s made of, how much it costs, and how long you’ll keep it,” Motorola said. Motorola’s vision of do-it-yourself smartphones builds on parent company Google’s success with its widely used Android smartphone platform, which it offers for free and allows manufacturers to customize. Android also gives people more leeway to tweak the features on their smartphones than Apple’s iOS platform offers to iPhone users. Motorola said it has been working on Project Ara for over a year and that it recently teamed up with Phonebloks, an open source project that has also been working on creating modular smartphone components that can be easily replaced. The announcement of Ara follows Motorola’s launch earlier this year of the Moto X smartphone, which lets customers choose the colors of the front and back panels and buttons. On its website, Phonebloks envisions an online store letting consumers read reviews of smartphone components, shop for new and used parts, and order custom-designed handsets. Project Ara is also a bit of a throwback to the 1980s and 1990s, when many technology-handy consumers assembled their own desktop PCs using hard drives, power supplies, CPUs and other custom-picked components. That became less common when laptops, which are more difficult to customize, became widely used, but computer components are still made at standard sizes that can be slotted into most PCs. Motorola said it will work on the project openly and create experimental modules. It plans to invite developers and recruit “Ara scouts” to help research and shape the project.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/tech/do-it-yourself-soon-a-motorola-smartphone-that-you-can-design-1201449.html?utm_source=ref_article

Hands-on with the Galaxy Note 3 S-View Flip Cover (gallery)

S-View Flip Cover retail package

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is an amazing large display device with excellent S Pen functionality. Samsung likes to enhance the Galaxy experience with accessories and last week I bought the new S-View Flip Cover for my Note 3.

This is a rather expensive $59.99 accessory, but I found a 25 percent off coupon for T-Mobile accessories and was able to apply it to this cover. It arrived in the typical Samsung clear plastic retail package. I ordered the black one, with pink, white, and orange also available.

The S-View Flip Cover does NOT include Qi wireless charging. I found on Samsung sites outside the US that there is another Flip Cover with wireless charging capability that looks to run about $15 to $20 more. This wireless cover does not appear on the Samsung US store.

Samsung does a great job with these covers by replacing the back of the Note 3. The S-View Flip Cover has a leather feel to it, even more so than the default cover. It actually has an edge around the cover that protrudes beyond the border of the phone frame itself.

The front flap wraps around the left edge and rests on top of the display. There is a small square window that is in the top half of the front flap.

I'm not sure where the sensor is for the cover, but when you close it up a special view of your display appears in the window. The time and data appear when you first turn on your Note 3 with the ability to swipe from right to left across the bottom, through the plastic window.

You will then see a screen with icons for the camera, Action Memo, and media controller. Tapping the camera icon launches the camera with a square viewfinder appearing in the plastic window. Pictures captured in this mode appear in a special folder called Cover Camera.

Tapping Action Memo launches a special square memo where you can enter handwriting with the S Pen right through the plastic viewer window. It is a great way to quickly jot down something without opening up the cover.

The media controller lets you control music right from the lock screen window. You can also choose to show the weather and Walking Mate information from S Health.

You can also jump into the settings and choose to have an open cover unlock your Note 3 and choose what color you want the S View window to be. You have 10 color options available on the Note 3 with this Flip Cover.

The S-View Flip Cover is a great accessory that adds very little bulk to the device, yet offers some unique functionality. I would love to have seen Qi wireless charging included on this cover and may look to see if that one eventually launches here. I did see they also have a Qi wireless replacement back cover for the Note 3, but that does not include the flip cover part of the case.

It is quite expensive at $59.99, but look around for deals like I found to see if you can find savings on it too. BTW, the T-Mobile code I used was FALLFUN25 so give that a try.

US visa fraud claims: Will Infosys lose face in paying record fine?

New York: The US government will hit Indian outsourcing giant Infosys with the largest immigration fine ever levied. According to court documents and officials familiar with the case, Infosys has agreed to pay $35 million in a civil settlement to avoid restrictions on its use of US work visas. More significantly, allegations Infosys broke visa rules to get Indian employees into the US will put India’s outsourcing industry on eggshells.

 Even if a legal crackdown or political backlash doesn’t make it harder to bring Indian workers in, just making sure the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed is likely to raise costs. infosys1After an investigation spanning two years, prosecutors on Wednesday will unveil the settlement as well as its accusations that Infosys “knowingly and unlawfully” brought Indian engineers into the US on business visitor, or B-1 visas, for onsite client projects in the US that actually required tough to get, expensive H-1B work visas. “Infosys is in the process of completing a civil resolution with the government regarding its investigation of visa issues and I-9 documentation errors,” the company said on Tuesday. Has Infosys lost face? The company has steadfastly denied any claims of visa abuse and fought the case vigorously. “Those claims are untrue and only unproven assertions,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Infosys said its use of B-1 business visitor visas “was for legitimate business purposes and not in any way intended to circumvent the requirements” of the H-1B employment visa.

However, investigators from the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have found dirt on Infosys. They discovered extensive omissions and errors in the hiring records Infosys was required to keep for its employees, which allowed Indian engineers to continue working in America after their visas had expired, according to court documents. Infosys said the resolution of the case was not yet finalized. “Infosys’s policy demands adherence to all laws, rules, and regulations everywhere we operate and we continue to take our compliance obligations seriously,” said a company statement. Infosys now has roughly 15,000 employees or nearly 10 percent of its workforce in the US.

With the fines and extra scrutiny, Infosys will now find US revenues come at greater expense. A company spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that Infosys had set aside $35 million to settle the case and cover legal costs. Infosys woes started with Jack Palmer lawsuit The federal investigation stemmed from a 2011 whistleblower lawsuit filed by an Infosys employee named Jack B Palmer, who sued Infosys for breach of contract. In his lawsuit, Palmer claimed he was harassed at work, sidelined and received death threats for refusing to be in cahoots with an alleged Infosys scheme which flouted US immigration laws by bringing in engineers from Bangalore on $160 B-1 visas, for onsite client projects in the US that actually required $5,000 H-1B work visas.

In August last year, Infosys dodged a bullet when an Alabama federal Judge Myron Thompson threw out Palmer’s harassment lawsuit against Infosys. Thompson basically found Palmer’s case against Infosys had no legal legs because some of the claims brought by Palmer against Infosys, especially those related to threats, aren’t covered by Alabama state law. The judge found no basis to support the charges filed by Palmer and dismissed the case entirely, entering a summary judgment in favor of the Infosys. The outcome in Texas on Wednesday is likely to be a panacea for Palmer who has remained on Infosys’ payroll, while cooperating with the federal investigation.

 “Despite the personal toll it took on me, it would have been much worse in the long run if I had turned the other cheek,” Palmer told The New York Times. “It was a question of right and wrong, following my conscience and following the law.” According to NYT, Palmer’s lawyer, Kenneth Mendelsohn, declined to state a figure, but people familiar with the case said Palmer could receive as much as $5 million from the payment Infosys will make to the federal government, under a provision of federal false claims law. A second lawsuit was filed last year against Infosys by a former employee named Satya Dev Tripuraneni alleging retaliation from Infosys for blowing the whistle on visa practices.

New York: The US government will hit Indian outsourcing giant Infosys with the largest immigration fine ever levied. According to court documents and officials familiar with the case, Infosys has agreed to pay $35 million in a civil settlement to avoid restrictions on its use of US work visas. More significantly, allegations Infosys broke visa rules to get Indian employees into the US will put India’s outsourcing industry on eggshells. Even if a legal crackdown or political backlash doesn’t make it harder to bring Indian workers in, just making sure the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed is likely to raise costs. infosys1After an investigation spanning two years, prosecutors on Wednesday will unveil the settlement as well as its accusations that Infosys “knowingly and unlawfully” brought Indian engineers into the US on business visitor, or B-1 visas, for onsite client projects in the US that actually required tough to get, expensive H-1B work visas. “Infosys is in the process of completing a civil resolution with the government regarding its investigation of visa issues and I-9 documentation errors,” the company said on Tuesday. Has Infosys lost face? The company has steadfastly denied any claims of visa abuse and fought the case vigorously. “Those claims are untrue and only unproven assertions,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Infosys said its use of B-1 business visitor visas “was for legitimate business purposes and not in any way intended to circumvent the requirements” of the H-1B employment visa. However, investigators from the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have found dirt on Infosys. They discovered extensive omissions and errors in the hiring records Infosys was required to keep for its employees, which allowed Indian engineers to continue working in America after their visas had expired, according to court documents. Infosys said the resolution of the case was not yet finalized. “Infosys’s policy demands adherence to all laws, rules, and regulations everywhere we operate and we continue to take our compliance obligations seriously,” said a company statement. Infosys now has roughly 15,000 employees or nearly 10 percent of its workforce in the US. With the fines and extra scrutiny, Infosys will now find US revenues come at greater expense. A company spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that Infosys had set aside $35 million to settle the case and cover legal costs. Infosys woes started with Jack Palmer lawsuit The federal investigation stemmed from a 2011 whistleblower lawsuit filed by an Infosys employee named Jack B Palmer, who sued Infosys for breach of contract. In his lawsuit, Palmer claimed he was harassed at work, sidelined and received death threats for refusing to be in cahoots with an alleged Infosys scheme which flouted US immigration laws by bringing in engineers from Bangalore on $160 B-1 visas, for onsite client projects in the US that actually required $5,000 H-1B work visas. In August last year, Infosys dodged a bullet when an Alabama federal Judge Myron Thompson threw out Palmer’s harassment lawsuit against Infosys. Thompson basically found Palmer’s case against Infosys had no legal legs because some of the claims brought by Palmer against Infosys, especially those related to threats, aren’t covered by Alabama state law. The judge found no basis to support the charges filed by Palmer and dismissed the case entirely, entering a summary judgment in favor of the Infosys. The outcome in Texas on Wednesday is likely to be a panacea for Palmer who has remained on Infosys’ payroll, while cooperating with the federal investigation. “Despite the personal toll it took on me, it would have been much worse in the long run if I had turned the other cheek,” Palmer told The New York Times. “It was a question of right and wrong, following my conscience and following the law.” According to NYT, Palmer’s lawyer, Kenneth Mendelsohn, declined to state a figure, but people familiar with the case said Palmer could receive as much as $5 million from the payment Infosys will make to the federal government, under a provision of federal false claims law. A second lawsuit was filed last year against Infosys by a former employee named Satya Dev Tripuraneni alleging retaliation from Infosys for blowing the whistle on visa practices.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/business/will-infosys-lose-face-in-paying-record-fine-to-settle-us-visa-fraud-claims-1201393.html?utm_source=ref_articleNew York: The US government will hit Indian outsourcing giant Infosys with the largest immigration fine ever levied. According to court documents and officials familiar with the case, Infosys has agreed to pay $35 million in a civil settlement to avoid restrictions on its use of US work visas. More significantly, allegations Infosys broke visa rules to get Indian employees into the US will put India’s outsourcing industry on eggshells. Even if a legal crackdown or political backlash doesn’t make it harder to bring Indian workers in, just making sure the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed is likely to raise costs. infosys1After an investigation spanning two years, prosecutors on Wednesday will unveil the settlement as well as its accusations that Infosys “knowingly and unlawfully” brought Indian engineers into the US on business visitor, or B-1 visas, for onsite client projects in the US that actually required tough to get, expensive H-1B work visas. “Infosys is in the process of completing a civil resolution with the government regarding its investigation of visa issues and I-9 documentation errors,” the company said on Tuesday. Has Infosys lost face? The company has steadfastly denied any claims of visa abuse and fought the case vigorously. “Those claims are untrue and only unproven assertions,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Infosys said its use of B-1 business visitor visas “was for legitimate business purposes and not in any way intended to circumvent the requirements” of the H-1B employment visa. However, investigators from the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have found dirt on Infosys. They discovered extensive omissions and errors in the hiring records Infosys was required to keep for its employees, which allowed Indian engineers to continue working in America after their visas had expired, according to court documents. Infosys said the resolution of the case was not yet finalized. “Infosys’s policy demands adherence to all laws, rules, and regulations everywhere we operate and we continue to take our compliance obligations seriously,” said a company statement. Infosys now has roughly 15,000 employees or nearly 10 percent of its workforce in the US. With the fines and extra scrutiny, Infosys will now find US revenues come at greater expense. A company spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that Infosys had set aside $35 million to settle the case and cover legal costs. Infosys woes started with Jack Palmer lawsuit The federal investigation stemmed from a 2011 whistleblower lawsuit filed by an Infosys employee named Jack B Palmer, who sued Infosys for breach of contract. In his lawsuit, Palmer claimed he was harassed at work, sidelined and received death threats for refusing to be in cahoots with an alleged Infosys scheme which flouted US immigration laws by bringing in engineers from Bangalore on $160 B-1 visas, for onsite client projects in the US that actually required $5,000 H-1B work visas. In August last year, Infosys dodged a bullet when an Alabama federal Judge Myron Thompson threw out Palmer’s harassment lawsuit against Infosys. Thompson basically found Palmer’s case against Infosys had no legal legs because some of the claims brought by Palmer against Infosys, especially those related to threats, aren’t covered by Alabama state law. The judge found no basis to support the charges filed by Palmer and dismissed the case entirely, entering a summary judgment in favor of the Infosys. The outcome in Texas on Wednesday is likely to be a panacea for Palmer who has remained on Infosys’ payroll, while cooperating with the federal investigation. “Despite the personal toll it took on me, it would have been much worse in the long run if I had turned the other cheek,” Palmer told The New York Times. “It was a question of right and wrong, following my conscience and following the law.” According to NYT, Palmer’s lawyer, Kenneth Mendelsohn, declined to state a figure, but people familiar with the case said Palmer could receive as much as $5 million from the payment Infosys will make to the federal government, under a provision of federal false claims law. A second lawsuit was filed last year against Infosys by a former employee named Satya Dev Tripuraneni alleging retaliation from Infosys for blowing the whistle on visa practices.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/business/will-infosys-lose-face-in-paying-record-fine-to-settle-us-visa-fraud-claims-1201393.html?utm_source=ref_article

Vodafone moves FIPB to wholly own Indian subsidiary in Rs10,141 crore deal

Flush with cash from its Verizon deal, British phone operator Vodafone is seeking to raise stake in its Indian unit to 100% from the current 64.38% and has approached the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for approval.

Vodafone will have buy out existing Indian stakeholders – the Ajay Piramal-led Piramal Group, which holds an 11% stake bought for Rs6,000 crore in February last year, Analjit Singh of the Max Group, who is also chairman of VIL, and IDFC – for complete control.

“The total inflow of foreign investment into India as a result of the proposed transactions will be approximately Rs10,141 crore. Following the completion of these transactions, Vodafone will also consider providing additional funding to Vodafone India Ltd (VIL) by subscribing to equity shares of VIL,” the company said.

Among the stakeholders, Piramal expects returns of 17-20% on his investment and Vodafone has an agreement to purchase his stake for Rs8,300 crore if the company doesn’t launch its Indian IPO by February 2014.

Analysts said Analjit Singh may cease to be chairman of VIL after the stake buyout and would be replaced by a Vodafone appointee.

According to a source, “Vodafone’s Indian IPO, which has been repeatedly postponed, may follow the buyouts. The 100% stake will also allow Vodafone a free hand to raise capex investments to upgrade its 3G network, which was difficult when its Indian partners were not able to raise equal funds.”

Vodafone plans to invest $9.66 billion globally over the next three years, using funds from its $130 billion deal to sell a 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to partner Verizon Communications Inc.

But does this development signal confidence in the Indian telecom sector?

Mahesh Uppal, director, Com (First) India, a firm dealing in telecom regulatory affairs, said, “Despite regulatory challenges, rural markets and data play makes India a strong potential market. However, while long-term players like Vodafone will continue to stay and invest, smaller players will wait and watch, and possibly go in for M&As instead. “

Another telecom expert, who did not wish to be named, concurred.

“While it is expected that serious players with large investments like Telenor and SSTL will also opt for 100% stake in India, Axiata and Singtel are unlikely to increase their stake in Idea Cellular and Bharti Airtel, respectively. In fact, Japan’s Docomo may soon sell its 26% stake in Tata Teleservices, viewing its telecom venture in India unprofitable. Changes in investor sentiment also depends on the M&A guidelines that would be released on November 1.”


Confidence call
Vodafone has 64.38% stakeholding in India unit
11% is held by Ajay Piramal
The rest is held by Analjit Singh of Max Group and IDFC
Telenor, SSTL expected to approach FIPB for 100% India stake next

Ranbaxy slumps after posting loss for July-Sept quarter

 
(Reuters) - Shares in Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd(RANB.NS) fell over 3 percent after the drugmaker posted losses for a second straight quarter on Tuesday, hurt by foreign exchange charges and a one-time write-off related to one of its plants under an import ban by the U.S. health regulator.

Net loss in July-September was 4.5 billion rupees compared with a profit of 7.5 billion rupees a year earlier, it said on Tuesday.

At 9:25 a.m., Ranbaxy was trading 4.4 percent lower at 368 rupees.

Bharti Airtel Q2 net falls 29 pct on forex losses

 
(Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd(BRTI.NS) reported a 29 percent fall in quarterly profit on foreign exchange losses, the 15th consecutive quarter of declining profits for the world's No.4 mobile phone carrier by customers.
Consolidated net profit fell to 5.12 billion rupees for its fiscal second quarter ended September 30 from 7.21 billion rupees a year earlier, New Delhi-based Bharti Airtel said in a statement. Analysts on average expected a net profit of 6.90 billion rupees for the company, nearly a third owned by Southeast Asia's top phone carrier SingTel (STEL.SI).
A weak rupee led to forex losses of 3.42 billion rupees in the latest quarter, it said. The company's consolidated net debt was at $9.7 billion at end-September.
Bharti Airtel operates across 20 countries in Asia and Africa. India is its main market accounting for about 70 percent of the total revenue.

US disrupts Afghan bid to court Pakistani militants

NEW YORK: Afghanistan’s attempt to gain leverage over Pakistan by cultivating an alliance with the Pakistani Taliban was discovered by the United States, which raided a convoy carrying a senior militant leader and captured him, The New York Times reported from Kabul on Tuesday.

“The disrupted plan involved Afghan intelligence trying to work with the Pakistan Taliban, allies of Al Qaeda, in order to find a trump card in a baroque regional power game that is likely to intensify after the American withdrawal next year,” the newspaper said, citing US and Afghan officials.

Latif Mehsud was being transported by an Afghan convoy for secret talks last month when US Special Forces, on a tip off, disrupted the plan and took the Pakistani militant in custody, the report said. Mehsud is suspected of having a role in the foiled plot to detonate a car bomb in New York’s Times Square in 2010, American officials were cited as saying.

In public statements, the Afghan government has described Mehsud as an insurgent peace emissary.Referring to Afghan officials’ oft-repeated allegations that Pakistani military was supporting Taliban’s insurgency against the Afghan government, the report said the Afghan government decided to recruit proxies of its own by seeking to aid the Pakistani Taliban in their fight against Pakistan’s security forces. “And they were beginning to make progress over the past year, they say, before the American raid exposed them,” the Times said.

The US raid angered the Afghan government, and the report said it became the latest flash point in the troubled relationship between Afghanistan and the United States.The thinking, Afghan officials said, was that the Afghans could later gain an advantage in negotiations with the Pakistani government by offering to back off their support for the militants.

Aiding the Pakistan Taliban was an “opportunity to bring peace on our terms,” one senior Afghan security official said.Both Afghan and American officials said the Afghan plan to aid the Pakistan Taliban was in its preliminary stages when Mehsud was seized by American forces, the report said, adding but they agreed on little else.

The Times quoted Aimal Faizi, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, as saying that Mehsud had been in contact with officials from the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, for “a long period of time.”

The Pakistan Taliban leader “was part of an NDS project like every other intelligence agency is doing,” Faizi said. “He was cooperating. He was engaged with the NDS, this I can confirm.” Faizi did not elaborate on the nature of the cooperation. But two other Afghan officials, when asked by the Times why they were willing to discuss such a potentially provocative plot, said Mehsud’s detention by the United States had already been exposed. “It was first reported by The Washington Post” ruining his value as an intelligence asset and sinking their plan.

Pistorius to face additional gun charges at murder trial

South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius faces two additional gun-related charges at his trial for the murder of his girlfriend, the prosecution said on Tuesday.

The prosecution won permission to add the charges to their main case against Pistorius for the Valentine's Day

murder of Reeva Steenkamp, even though the two alleged violations are understood to have taken place before the killing.

"The prosecution received authorisation to combine or centralise all charges against Mr Pistorius," National Prosecution Authority spokesman Nathi Mncube told AFP.

Pistorius's defence team was informed of the decision on Tuesday, he said, adding that the charges were not new, without elaborating.

The double amputee, known as the "Blade Runner" for the fibreglass prosthetic legs he uses in competition, shocked the world when he admitted to killing Steenkamp, a blonde cover girl and law graduate.

He has however denied murder, saying he shot her through a locked bathroom door in his upmarket Pretoria home because he thought she was an intruder.

While Mncube was quoted later Tuesday as stressing the "convenience" of having the cases heard together, prosecutors have hinted at a strategy that will portray Pistorius as trigger-happy and that the killing was pre-meditated.

According to local media, the sprint star once fired a shot through the sunroof of his former girlfriend Samantha Taylor's car. He had also allegedly accidentally discharged a firearm at a Johannesburg restaurant, weeks before he killed Steenkamp.

Pistorius catapulted to fame at last year's London Olympics as the first double-amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes.

But the killing sent shock waves around the world and since then his reckless past and love of fast cars, beautiful women and guns has emerged in the media.

One newspaper has dubbed him the "Blade Gunner".

Pistorius has long been open about his love for guns.

The sprinter slept with a pistol under his bed at his upmarket home in a high-security Pretoria estate for fear of burglars, he told Britain's Daily Mail last year.

He once took a journalist interviewing him to a shooting range.

Just weeks after he shot Steenkamp, Pistorius's father Henke, said white South Africans must own guns because the ANC government does not protect them.

The statement caused discomfort and forced the family to publicly distance itself from the remarks.

The trial of Pistorius, who is currently out on bail, is set for March 3 to 20 at the Pretoria High Court.

His lawyers were not immediately reachable for comment, but a Pistorius family spokeswoman, Anneliese Burgess, told AFP: "The family sees this as a legal matter and don't want to comment on legal issues."

A senior judge will hear the case as South Africa does not have a jury system.

The case will hear testimony from 107 witnesses, including many of Pistorius's neighbours.

The Johannesburg-born athlete was born without calf bones and had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old.

The murder case halted his participation in athletic events and ended lucrative endorsement deals with US sportswear giant Nike and French cosmetic firm Clarins.

Emotional Gulf Renewed as Israel Frees Palestinian Prisoners

RAMALLAH, West Bank — For the family of Sharif Abu Duheileh, one of 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners released by Israel late Tuesday, this was a day of celebration.

The relatives of Mr. Abu Duheileh, who was sentenced in 1992 to a life term for hacking to death his employer, Avi Osher, in a date grove in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, did not expect to see him set free. 

“We thought his life was over,” Harbi Abu Duheileh, 60, said as he waited to greet his younger brother in the courtyard of the presidential compound here. “Now he is coming back to life again.”

Issa Abed Rabbo’s relatives, from the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, filed into the compound after 10 p.m. carrying flags and pictures of Mr. Abed Rabbo, who was arrested in October 1984 and was serving a life term for killing two Israeli hikers, Revital Seri and Ron Levy, both university students. He had bound them at gunpoint, placed bags over their heads and shot them.

Mr. Abed Rabbo’s brother, Abed, insisted that the man and woman his brother had killed were soldiers, and that Issa was avenging the death of a 12-year-old cousin who had been killed by the Israeli Army. 

In March, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, sent a representative to Mr. Abed Rabbo’s mother to praise her for her years of sacrifice.

Both Mr. Abu Duheileh, from Jiftlik in the Jordan Valley, and Mr. Abed Rabbo, are now in their 50s. They were included in the second batch of prisoners released as part of an American-brokered deal allowing the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks three months ago. The first group of 26 was released in mid-August; two more groups of 26 are expected to be freed in the coming months, a total of 104. 

As in August, the Palestinian leadership prepared a hero’s welcome for the returnees, who arrived in Ramallah around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. Patriotic songs blared from speakers as thousands of relatives, friends and supporters danced in knots. The freed men stood on a podium with Mr. Abbas and other officials, waving and flashing “V” signs at the cheering, whistling crowd.

Among Palestinians, those freed are seen as political prisoners who fought for the Palestinian cause. Harbi Abu Duheileh said that he was not proud of what his brother had done, but that “he was defending his land.” 

In Israel, where the returnees are widely viewed as terrorists, the release on Tuesday, like the one in August, has stirred protests and anguish. Many said it was too heavy a price to pay for entering negotiations with no guarantee of a peace accord. 

“We are no longer the victims of terrorism,” Merav Osher, 38, the daughter of the slain date farmer, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday, adding, “We are now the victims of the actions of an Israeli government that releases such prisoners.” 

Ms. Osher said her family would not attend future state memorial ceremonies, calling them “hypocritical” in light of the prisoner release. On Monday night, she joined about 3,000 Israelis in a protest outside a West Bank detention center where the 26 Palestinian prisoners had been transferred in preparation for their release. 

Ms. Osher, who was 16 when her father was killed, now lives in the Tel Aviv area. But after hearing that her father’s killer was to be released, she said, she decided to renovate her parents’ home in the Jordan Valley settlement of Bekaot, not far from Jiftlik. She said she planned to move back there soon. 

In agreeing on terms for the talks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel chose a prisoner release over a freeze in settlement construction or an acknowledgment of the 1967 lines as the basis for borders of a Palestinian state. Mr. Abbas pledged to hold off efforts to upgrade the Palestinian role in international organizations for the nine months allotted for the talks. 

“This is a difficult decision that we have made with a heavy heart,” Israel’s defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, said on Tuesday. Israeli analysts said the four-stage release of the prisoners gave the Palestinians an incentive to remain in the negotiations. But for many Israelis, the repetition only prolongs the pain. 

The low visibility of the talks, which are taking place in secrecy, and a recent spate of violent episodes in the West Bank in which several Palestinians and Israelis have died have not contributed to public enthusiasm for the peace process on either side. 

Some prisoners’ relatives said it was now time to make peace with Israel. But Hussein Aidi, 54, was not among them. Mr. Aidi, who grew up with Mr. Abu Duheileh, said, “As long as there is occupation, there is resistance.” 

As male relatives hustled him out of the compound to waiting cars, an elated Mr. Abu Duheileh said, “Freedom is priceless.” 

By releasing the prisoners after midnight, the Israeli authorities had sought to minimize the impact of the joyous scenes in Ramallah. The freed prisoners sped off in noisy convoys through empty, darkened streets while most Palestinians and Israelis were asleep.

Said Ghazali contributed reporting.

Two killed, seven injured in Manipur bomb blast

Two persons were killed and seven others got seriously injured when a powerful bomb, allegedly planted by militants, exploded at Yaiskul area in Imphal West district of Manipur this morning, police said.

The bomb (improvised explosive device), planted near the roadside at Yaiskul bus stand here to attack the security personnel, went off at 6.20 am killing one person on the spot and injuring eight others, they said.

While one of the injured died in a hospital, the condition of seven others who are now in the emergency department of the Regional Institute of Medical Science and Hospital was reported to be 'serious', sources said. The spot is about one kilometre south of the official residence of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and Manipur police headquarters which is adjacent to Singh's office-cum-residence, sources said.

Immediately after the incident, senior police officials rushed to the spot and blocked the exit points to launch a search but no arrest could be made, sources said, adding that the bomb might have been planted late last night with a timer.

Today's explosion is the second such incident since yesterday. Five persons were injured when a powerful bomb exploded yesterday at Imphal market complex, about one kilometre north of Ibobi Singh's residence and the Raj Bhavan.

The victims have been identified as Hollun Taothang (45) and Leishung Brojen (32). While Taothang, a resident of Churachandpur district, was a businessman, Brojen hailed from Imphal East district.

The incident comes a day after the state law and order situation was reviewed during a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Ibobi Singh last evening.

State Chief secretary P C Lawmkunga, Director General of Police M K Das, Superintendents of Police of Imphal East and Imphal West districts were present at the meeting, sources said.

Another meeting would be held today to discuss the series of bomb explosions in the capital complex in the past one week amid tight security deployment.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the explosion so far.

Police posts in outlying areas of Imphal East and Imphal West districts have been put on alert and instructions have been issued to step up patrolling and checking of suspected persons to intercept the movement of the militants within their jurisdiction.

Pakistani family recounts drone strike before U.S. Congress

The string that held the pearls of our family together… has been broken, and we are all lost’

The policy of remote targeted assassination via drones adopted by the U.S. was given a human face on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as a schoolteacher from rural Pakistan — present there with his young son and daughter — described at a Congressional hearing the death of his 67-year old mother in a drone attack.

Rafiq ur Rehman; his son Zubair (13); and daughter Nabila (9) told a packed room in the Rayburn House Office Building that Momina Bibi, who perished on October 24, 2012 while working in a field near their home in North Waziristan, was “the string that held the pearls of our family together, and that string has been broken, and we are all lost”.
‘Deep fear of terror’

Zubair said that his grandmother and he shared a love for the blue sky. However, ever since she was killed on a bright sunny day, just as they were making plans to celebrate Id, he has harboured a deep fear of ‘terror from above’, and preferred cloudy weather, when a drone attack is unlikely.

Alan Grayson (Democrat-Florida), who had called for the hearing, was among the many listening when Mr. Rehman said, “I speak on behalf of other drone victim families as well when I say: Drones are not the way. I ask Americans to treat us as equals. Justice must be delivered to those who have suffered from the unjust.”

The first ever Congressional hearing of victims of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan comes days after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif unsuccessfully raised a request to scale back the attacks during a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.
‘Lawful and effective’

Even before he formally met the President at the Oval Office, administration officials pre-empted his plea saying at a media briefing that drone strikes were “precise”, “lawful” and “effective”, and involved a minimum of unintended casualty.

Yet Jennifer Gibson, an attorney with human rights advocacy group Reprieve, who also travelled with the Rehman family from Pakistan to Washington, said at the hearing that the accounts from drone victims revealed a secret war that was immoral and unjust, and although defenders of the programme argued that drones were more precise than the alternative, it has been shown that the intelligence behind these attacks was flawed.

Organisers of Tuesday’s hearing also expressed deep concern that Mr. Rehman’s attorney in Pakistan, Shahzad Akbar, was not given a visa to attend the hearing.

Though Mr. Akbar had frequently visited the U.S. in the past he has not been given an entry visa since 2011, when he began representing Pakistani victims of CIA drone strikes.

However in remarks sent via email to The Hindu Mr. Akbar said, “The Obama administration’s refusal to grant me visa is to keep Congress out of drone programme, because Congress’ [involvement] would mean transparency of the programme” and this would be a “nightmare” for the CIA and White House.
‘No disbursements’

He added that although he had heard reports of a fund of $60 million allocated for the compensation of drone victims, “nothing has been disbursed and certainly nothing in Pakistan”.

Yet he was firm that though Mr. Sharif’s efforts to petition Mr. Obama to reduce drone attacks had failed, the Prime Minister could have been “very categorical in his demands”, and suggested that Pakistan could withdraw its counterterrorism cooperation, suspend NATO supply lines or even “shoot down the drones as it will be within [Pakistan’s] legal right to do so”.

Bihar chief minister’s style of functioning is being questioned

The offensive launched by two senior leaders - Shivanand Tiwary and Narendra Singh - against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his style of functioning at the Janata Dal (U) chintan shivir (strategy meeting) on Tuesday was not unexpected.


Tension had been building up for long, with some being upset at the split with the BJP and others over trends within the party.

And the rebels, party sources said, have the patronage of JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, who is instrumental in the formation of a Third Front at the national level. Yadav, who has been opposed to the Congress all through, is opposed to Kumar's growing proximity to the Congress.

In this background it is significant that Kumar is attending the Left-sponsored meet in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Tiwary, who has been Kumar's close aide since the JP (Jayaprakash Narayan) movement days, is aggrieved at the manner in which he was sidelined within the JD(U) and removed as the national spokesman of the party as well as from the standing committee of Parliament.



Tiwary, however, has the image of being a political rolling stone. He was once opposed to Lalu Prasad and even petitioned against the RJD chief in the fodder scam. Later he joined the RJD but subsequently moved to the JD(U) as Kumar's clout grew in Bihar.

Similarly, agriculture minister Narendra Singh, who was also a member of the steering committee constituted by JP along with Tiwary and Kumar, nourishes chief ministerial ambitions and is seen as alternative leader by scores of aggrieved JD(U) legislators.

He too served as minister in the RJD government and also joined the Lok Janshakti Party, led by Ram Vilas Paswan. He deserted Paswan after the Bihar assembly polls in February 2005.

Singh is annoyed ever since the party was defeated at the Maharajganj Lok Sabha bypoll, in which RJD nominee and strongman Prabhunath Singh, who was once in the JD(U), won by a substantial margin. "Singh, being the only prominent Rajput face in the party and a JP movement veteran, is a rallying point for the rebels. That is why he raised the issue of humiliation of party leaders and grassroots workers," an MLA said.

Many JD(U) leaders see two reasons behind the rebellion within the party. First, it is alleged that Kumar has been disrespectful to his party colleagues and, second, his "autocratic style of functioning and over-dependence on the bureaucracy" are also reasons for the drift.

Rebellion within the JD(U) is not new. At least four JD(U) MPs - Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh, Mangani Lal Mandal, Sushil Kumar Singh and Upendra Prasad Kushwaha - had revolted against Kumar. They were upset with him for appointing people without a political background to important party positions.

"Nitish calls Narendra Modi a dictator but he is himself dictatorial in nature," said Mangani Lal Mandal, who recently met Lalu Prasad in Ranchi's Birsa Munda jail. Mandal is set to contest Lok Sabha polls as an RJD nominee from Jhanjharpur in North Bihar.

The JD(U) could withstand the shock of initial rebellion as it had the support of the BJP with 91 MLAs. However, Kumar's troubles mounted soon after he severed ties with the BJP.

MP: EC rejects Congress's bizarre request to 'hide' lotus ponds

Bhopal: The Congress in Madhya Pradesh has made an unusual request to the Election Commission asking it to hide lotus ponds in the state so that voters are not unfairly drawn to the BJP. The Election Commission in MP has rejected this request saying it was impractical and unfeasible.

In a bizarre demand, the opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh had asked the Election Commission to "hide" lotus ponds in Mahakoshal, Malwa and Bundelkhand regions of the state. The Congress demand was rejected outright by the MP Chief Electoral Officer, Jaideep Govind who said that it was "neither practical nor feasible".

 Govind told a press conference that these lotuses had been standing in water bodies for a long time and as such they do not have anything to do with the elections. MP: EC rejects Congress\'s bizarre request to \'hide\' lotus ponds The Congress had requested the EC to hide lotus ponds in the state so that voters are not unfairly drawn to the BJP. In its complaint, Congress demanded a level-playing field with the BJP and sought suitable directions to "hide all ponds" where lotus is cultivated and sold. Reacting sharply, BJP spokesman Vishwas Sarang said that the Congress demand showed the party's mental bankruptcy. By this yardstick, people should be asked to cover their hands as it is the symbol of the Congress.

Bhopal: The Congress in Madhya Pradesh has made an unusual request to the Election Commission asking it to hide lotus ponds in the state so that voters are not unfairly drawn to the BJP. The Election Commission in MP has rejected this request saying it was impractical and unfeasible. In a bizarre demand, the opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh had asked the Election Commission to "hide" lotus ponds in Mahakoshal, Malwa and Bundelkhand regions of the state. The Congress demand was rejected outright by the MP Chief Electoral Officer, Jaideep Govind who said that it was "neither practical nor feasible". Govind told a press conference that these lotuses had been standing in water bodies for a long time and as such they do not have anything to do with the elections. MP: EC rejects Congress\'s bizarre request to \'hide\' lotus ponds The Congress had requested the EC to hide lotus ponds in the state so that voters are not unfairly drawn to the BJP. In its complaint, Congress demanded a level-playing field with the BJP and sought suitable directions to "hide all ponds" where lotus is cultivated and sold. Reacting sharply, BJP spokesman Vishwas Sarang said that the Congress demand showed the party's mental bankruptcy. By this yardstick, people should be asked to cover their hands as it is the symbol of the Congress.

Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mp-ec-rejects-congresss-bizarre-request-to-hide-lotus-ponds/431295-80-260.html?utm_source=ref_article

Apple’s earnings fall in Q4 despite rising iPhone sales

Apple’s quarterly earnings are still sagging even as sales of its iPhones are rising, a vexing phenomenon feeding investor worries about whether stiffer competition in the mobile device market will continue to undercut the company’s prosperity.

The fiscal fourth-quarter results announced on Monday closed the books on a sobering year that saw Apple’s market value plunge by about 25%, or about $160 billion. Apple remains the world’s most valuable company, despite the downturn.

The company’s earnings have been shrinking along with its share of the smartphone and tablet computer market that Apple reshaped with the 2007 release of the first iPhone and the 2010 introduction of the iPad. Apple hasn’t come up with another breakthrough product in a new category since then, raising questions about the company’s ability to innovate following the death of co-founder and chief visionary Steve Jobs two years ago.

Apple’s earnings have now fallen from the previous year in three consecutive quarters after a decade of steady growth. The company earned $7.5 billion, or $8.26 per share, during the three months ending September 28. That compared to income of $8.2 billion, or $8.67 per share, last year.

The latest quarterly earnings topped the average estimate of $7.92 per share among analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue rose 4% to $37.5 billion — about $600 million above analyst predictions.

Investors were evidently hoping for a better showing and, perhaps, a more optimistic forecast for the current quarter, which covers the crucial holiday shopping season. Management predicted Apple’s revenue will range from $55 billion to $58 billion in the quarter ending in late December. Analysts had projected revenue of $55.6 billion. Apple also indicated that its profit margins would be in the same range as the past quarter.

Activist investor Carl Icahn, who holds a 0.5% stake in Apple, is pressuring the company to spend $150 billion buying back its own stock in an effort to boost the price. His idea would more than double the $60 billion that Apple’s board has budgeted for buying back stock during the next three years.

Apple apparently doesn’t have any immediate plans to placate Icahn. CEO Tim Cook told

US spying: Obama may ban surveillance of foreign allied leaders

Washington: President Barack Obama is considering whether to ban US spy agencies from eavesdropping on allied leaders, a senior official said on Tuesday, following outrage in Europe over National Security Agency (NSA) snooping.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the step was under consideration, but that no policy decisions had yet been finalised, as Obama awaits results of several already announced reviews into US surveillance practices.

The Obama administration was under increasing political heat at home and abroad, as revelations based on leaks from fugitive intelligence analyst Edward Snowden threatened to sour ties with allies and complicate its foreign policy goals.

The senior official, however, pushed back on a claim by powerful Senate select intelligence committee chairman Dianne Feinstein that "collection on our allies will not continue."

The official said that statement was not accurate, though Feinstein's remarks were unspecific enough to leave considerable doubt as to the true intentions of the administration regarding snooping on foreign leaders.

The officials said that while some changes had been made to US intelligence gathering in the wake of claims that US spies tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone, there had yet been no across-the-board changes, including a decision to halt intelligence sweeps aimed at all foreign allies.

One adjustment Obama does appear to have made is to halt surveillance on Merkel's cellphone.

Reports have said he did not know about the decade-long surveillance of the German chancellor, whom he considers a friend, and stopped it when he found out.

White House officials said Washington will not and is not tapping Merkel's phone -- leaving the clear implication that it had done so in the past.

Feinstein, a Democrat, had made waves yesterday with a strong denunciation of US spying on foreign leaders -- and complained her committee, which is supposed to provide oversight of US intelligence agencies, was not informed of the programme.

"Unless the United States is engaged in hostilities against a country or there is an emergency need for this type of surveillance, I do not believe the United States should be collecting phone calls or emails of friendly presidents and prime ministers," she said.

The United States took a new battering in Europe today when Spain's public prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation into its reported mass eavesdropping on millions of telephone calls to determine if a crime was committed.

Patna blasts: Third suspect arrested from Bihar’s Motihari district

Patna: In a major development in the Patna blasts case, a suspect was arrested Tuesday night from Motihari district in a joint operation carried out by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) and Bihar police.

The suspect identified as Tabish, was held after Mohammad Imtiaz Ansari’s interrogation. Tabish is said to have been in constant touch with Imtiaz, one of the two terror suspects arrested for serial blasts in Patna. He was yesterday sent to judicial custody by a court.

Imtiaz, a resident of Ranchi, described as the brain behind the blasts, was arrested from Patna railway junction after a bomb exploded on platform No 10 on Sunday morning, ahead of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's rally here.

Six people were killed and 83 injured in seven bomb blasts in Patna. The first of the blasts ripped through a toilet at around 10 am at the railway station in the heart of the city, killing one person and wounding another.

After an hour, by which time Modi had reached Patna but not the rally ground, four explosions took place inside the Gandhi Maidan, and two around it that caused a lot of panic.

The Patna railway station is located two-three km from the Gandhi Maidan.

What Raghuram Rajan said on onions

New Delhi: He wouldn't have expected an "onion" question at a press interaction post the central bank's second quarter monetary policy, but when it did come RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan was unfazed.

Soon after he announced a repo rate hike, the second in two months, in a bid to control inflation, Dr Rajan was asked how hiking rates would sort out the high onion prices issue. He responded with a wry smile, "...clearly this hike was not to quell onion prices. We have no immediate capacity to bring down onion prices."

"The Guv" had more. He went on to share his understanding of the situation on onion prices shooting up. "...clearly demand hasn't shot up suddenly to cause a sudden spurt in onion prices. There clearly is an element of supply side effects here," Dr Rajan said.

Retail prices of onions have gone up by a giddy 400 per cent in some cities over the past three months and played a part in pushing inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) to a seven-month high of 6.46 per cent in September. They have also caused political panic in election-bound states like Delhi, where the price of onions have influenced poll results at least once before.

In some cities, onions are being sold for over Rs. 80 per kg, compared with Rs. 20 three months ago. A couple of weeks ago prices threatened to touch 100 a kilo.

On Tuesday, average prices at the country's largest wholesale onion trading hub in Lasalgaon, Maharashtra, were Rs. 3,500 per 100 kg, nearly three times more than last year.

With Singh listening, Modi says, 'If only Patel had been our first PM...'

The bitter rivalry between the Congress and the BJP over the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel spilled into the open Tuesday as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi crossed swords at their first joint public event since Modi was declared the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.

10 things you should know about when Manomhan and Modi shared the stage

The occasion was the inauguration of a renovated memorial for Patel and Modi was invited as a guest in his capacity as chief minister on a turf controlled largely by the Congress.

Congress hides behind 'burqa' of secularism: Modi

But Modi spared no attempt to make his point.

“Is desh ko hamesha ek gila-shikva rahega, ek dard rahega. Har Hindustani ke dil me ek dard rahega. Kaash Sardar saab hamare pehle pradhan mantri hote, toh aaj desh ki taqdeer bhi alag hoti, desh ki tasveer bhi alag hoti (This country will always have one regret. Every Indian will have this pain in his heart. Had Sardar Patel been our first Prime Minister, then the face and the destiny of the country would have been different),” he said.

Related: PM urges secular forces to unite against Modi

Modi also said Patel is an inspiration to fight Maoism and terrorism and to bring youth who have gone astray back into the mainstream. Modi, who will lay the foundation of the 182 m Statue of Unity two days later at the Sardar Sarovar dam site on the Narmada river, on the birth anniversary of Patel, has been claiming that the Congress has failed to give Patel his due.

The Congress, on the other hand, has been criticising the Modi government saying it had not given any funds for the memorial. The Centre has given Rs 17 crore and Union Mines Minister Dinsha Patel is the president of the memorial.

In his speech, Singh called Patel secular and named Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Patel and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad as some leaders who did India proud.

Singh said that while Nehru and Patel had differences, their points of agreement were far

30 feared killed as bus hits oil tanker, catches fire in Andhra Pradesh

HYDERABAD: At least 30 people are feared killed after a private Volvo bus hit an oil tanker on Bangalore-Hyderabad national highway and caught fire early on Wednesday morning.

The incident happened in Mahbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh.

The AC bus, with reportedly 43 passengers on board, was going from Bangalore to Hyderabad.

Some passengers managed to break open the window panes and jumped to safety.

Traffic on the highway has come to a standstill following the accident.

Senior police and revenue officials have rushed to the spot and are supervising the relief operations.

Most of the passengers are said to be from Hyderabad.

Infosys says in process of resolving U.S. visa probe

IT firm Infosys Ltd (INFY.NS) said on Tuesday it was in the process of reaching a settlement with the U.S. government over the company's alleged misuse of temporary business visas.

U.S. authorities have been investigating India's second-largest information technology services exporter since 2011.

The Wall Street Journal had earlier said that the United States was expected to announce a resolution in the case on Wednesday. In a statement, Infosys said a resolution had yet to be finalised.

"In response to reports attributed to Justice Department officials, Infosys is in the process of completing a civil resolution with the government regarding its investigation of visa issues and I-9 documentation errors," the company said.

"The resolution has not been finalized," it added.

Indian IT outsourcing firms like Infosys use thousands of visas to bring in employees, mainly from India, a practice that has come under intense scrutiny as it is seen by some U.S. policymakers as hurting the American job market.

Earlier this month, Infosys said it had set aside a reserve of $35 million as it worked towards a resolution for the U.S. government's investigation.

More: http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/10/29/infosys-visa-us-idINDEE99S08K20131029

Astronomers' team in US discovers most distant galaxy ever

A team of astronomers, including an Indian-origin scientist, has discovered the most distant galaxy in the universe ever found which is said to be 13 billion light years away from the Earth.

"Because of its extremely large distance of 13 billion light years, we are seeing this galaxy as it was 13 billion years ago. In other words, we are exploring the universe when it was only 700 million years old -- the current age of the universe is about 13.7 billion years," Dr Vithal Tilvi, who is currently at the Texas A&M University and a co-author of the research paper, said.


"This finding is a great deal in astronomy not only because it is the most distant galaxy ever found but also because it gives us clues about the young universe," Tilvi told PTI.

Born in Goa and having attended Goa University, Tilvi has also worked at the National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, and National Antarctic Research Center, Vasco.

The results of the latest findings have been published in the most prestigious international journal 'the Nature'.

This work was led by Dr Steve Finkelstein at University of Texas with many other astronomers including DrCasey Papovich in the US.

"While we are thrilled about this discovery, we were more surprised to find only a single galaxy at such large distances because we were expecting to find more. This is telling us something that the Universe was fundamentally different when it was young," Tilvi said.

"Another surprise came to us when we discovered that this galaxy is forming stars tremendously, roughly about 300 Sun-like stars every year, compared to only about one Sun-like star produced in our own Milky Way galaxy. It is possible that when the Universe was young, galaxies were more active then they are now," he said.

"We are very fortunate to be born now, because after a few billion years the size of the universe will be so large that the light from such galaxies would never reach us and thus we won't see these galaxies," he pointed out.

"It is really exciting time to be in astronomy as new large telescopes like Giant Magellan Telescope and theThirty Meter Telescope are being built now. India is also a partner in the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope. When completed, this will be the largest telescope in the world," Tilvi added

More: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-10-28/news/43462673_1_distant-galaxy-young-universe-13-billion-light-years

Isro says space has no political designs

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Tuesday dismissed talks of a political motive behind the country’s first Mars mission, scheduled for November 5, saying that “there is no such design in space”.

Speaking to PTI just a few days ahead of the launch, Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan said, “critics can always say anything and nobody can stop but there is no such design in space. Space has definite time”.

The launch of the Mars Orbiter spacecraft is scheduled on November 5 at 2:36 pm (IST) onboard PSLV-C25 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
“After you conceive a project, it takes time. They are not politically-motivated schedules,” Radhakrishnan added.

Radhakrishnan, also the secretary in the department of space and the Space Commission chairman, was responding to the perception by some critics that the November Mars Orbiter Mission is timed to suit the prospects of the ruling dispensation at the Centre in an election year, as the venture is bound to generate a “feel-good factor” and “self-pride”.

From 1962 when the space programme started, there have been milestones and they are not designed for any of the political regimes, he added.

The countdown for the Mars Orbiter Mission would start on Sunday with the ISRO gearing up for the country’s first inter-planetary venture, hailed as a shining star in India’s space programme.

He said the mission readiness review is slated for November 1, following which the launch authorisation board would give its green signal for the odyssey.

“At that time we will look at the entire performance and the rehearsal and then authorise the countdown,” Radhakrishnan added.

The MOM is a Rs. 450-crore mission -- Rs. 110 crore for building PSLV-C25 that would launch the Rs. 150 crore spacecraft, with the remaining amount spent on augmenting ground segment, including those required for deep space communication.

Once launched, the spacecraft would go around the earth for about 25 days before embarking on November 30 on its 300-day voyage to Martian orbit where it’s planned to reach in September 2014.

The minimum life of the spacecraft around Mars is six months but it would certainly outlive it, as similar satellites orbited by other countries have sometimes lasted six-seven years, Isro officials said.

Radhakrishnan also said that he did not want to be known as the Mars man though his predecessor G Madhavan Nair carried the tag in some quarters as the ‘Moon Man’ after the success of moon mission, Chandrayaan-1

“I would like to be known as Isro Man. It’s the Isro team which is doing it -- PSLV, GSLV, Mars everything. So, I would like to be a part of that Isro team,” he added.

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/isro-says-space-has-no-political-designs/article1-1144851.aspx

Sachin scores half-century as Mumbai eye thrilling win

Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday scored a half-century for Mumbai against Haryana in the Ranji Trophy at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Rohtak , even as wickets tumbled at the other end with victory in sight.
Mumbai, set a target of 240 to win, were 201/6 at stumps on Day 3, with Sachin batting on 55.

Tendulkar is probably playing his last first class match and received a standing ovation and a guard of honour when he entered the ground on the first day of the match.

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/cricket/tendulkar-55-not-out-keeps-mumbai-s-chances-alive/article1-1144896.aspx

Facebook can predict when you're headed for break up

Scientists have developed a Facebook algorithm which they say can accurately identify who you're dating and when you're in danger of breaking up.

The algorithm developed by a Cornell University professor and a senior Facebook engineer takes advantage of a new metric system called "disperson," which looks at connections between people who have different sets of friends.

Researchers say close friends are likely to share a lot of friends in common, which social scientists call "embeddedness".

The researchers used multiple sets of anonymous data, including a large data set from 1.3 million Facebook users.

They identified with 60 per cent accuracy who was dating whom, much better than the 2 per cent accuracy they'd get from random guessing, 'The Verge' reported.

High dispersion also seems to be correlated with longer relationships, researchers said.

Couples were 50 per cent more likely to break up in the next two months if the dispersion algorithm failed to guess that they were dating, the study found.

Resaerchers also looked at metrics such as how many times a user viewed another person's profile, attendance at the same events, and messages sent.

Dispersion turned out to be the most overall accurate metric for determining romantic relationships.

More: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/facebook-can-predict-when-youre-headed-for-break-up/431214-11.html

US spying: Senate intelligence committee orders review

The US Senate's intelligence committee has announced a major review of the country's surveillance operations.

The committee's chair, Diane Feinstein, said eavesdropping on leaders of friendly nations was wrong.

She said the White House had told her such surveillance would stop, but a senior administration official told the BBC there was no policy change so far.

Senior US intelligence agency officials are to testify before the House of Representatives later on Tuesday.

Correspondents say pressure is growing on the White House to explain why President Barack Obama apparently did not know about the extent of the intelligence gathering operations.

Mr Obama has spoken publicly of his intent to probe spying activities amid claims of eavesdropping on US allies.

It is my understanding that President Obama was not aware Chancellor Merkel's communications were being collected since 2002. That is a big problem”Dianne FeinsteinSenate Intelligence Committee chair

In a US TV interview, the US president said that national security operations were being reassessed to make sure the National Security Agency's (NSA) growing technical spying capability was kept under control.

"We give them policy direction," he told ABC's Fusion network.

"But what we've seen over the last several years is their capacities continue to develop and expand, and that's why I'm initiating now, a review to make sure that what they're able to do, doesn't necessarily mean what they should be doing."

An EU delegate in Washington has described the row over intelligence gathering as "a breakdown of trust".

German media has reported that the US bugged German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone for more than a decade - and that the surveillance only ended a few months ago.'Totally opposed'

Ms Feinstein, who chairs the Senate intelligence panel, called for a "total review" of US intelligence programmes in light of the Merkel revelations.


Jay Carney: "There has been extraordinary change... in the way we transmit and gather information"

"With respect to NSA collection of intelligence on leaders of US allies - including France, Spain, Mexico and Germany - let me state unequivocally: I am totally opposed," she said in a statement.

"It is my understanding that President Obama was not aware Chancellor Merkel's communications were being collected since 2002. That is a big problem."

Senator Feinstein said the White House had told her that all surveillance of leaders of countries friendly to the US would stop.

However, the BBC's North America editor Mark Mardell says a senior administration official has told the BBC this is not accurate - and that while there have been individual changes - there have not been policy changes, such as terminating intelligence gathering aimed at allies.

Earlier, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that the administration "recognise[s] there needs to be additional constraints on how we gather and use intelligence".

Neither Mr Carney nor Mr Obama have commented on specific allegations that the US eavesdropped on international allies, including tapping the phones of foreign officials.

An across-the-board review of US intelligence resources is currently under way.

The head of the NSA, Gen Keith Alexander, and other experts are due to testify before the House of Representatives intelligence committee at 13:30 local time (17:30 GMT) on Tuesday.

The BBC's Jonny Dymond in Washington says tough questions can be expected from Congress as politicians of all stripes have been angered by the revelations of large scale intelligence gathering on both Americans and US allies.

The Associated Press quoted an unnamed administration official saying the Obama government was considering ending spying on allied heads of state.

The official said a final decision had still to be made, as the internal review was under way.Spying pact

Earlier on Monday, representatives from the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs spoke to members of the US Congress about the alleged US spying on European leaders and citizens.


What do people in Spain make of news 60 million calls were tracked?

The European delegation was reportedly unhappy with the "stock" responses from US officials on the issue.

Their visit coincided with reports that the US had monitored 60 million Spanish telephone calls in a month and asked the Japanese government to help it monitor fibre-optic cables carrying personal data through Japan, to the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Spain's El Mundo newspaper, the NSA tracked tens of millions of phone calls, texts and emails of Spanish citizens in December 2012 and January 2013.

The Japanese news agency Kyodo said Japan refused the NSA's request, citing legal restriction and staff shortages.

Mrs Merkel is also sending German intelligence officials to Washington.

The allegations of US surveillance on international allies stem from documents leaked by fugitive ex-US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, now living in Russia.

The US has had a "no spying pact", known as Five Eyes, with Britain since just after World War II, with Australia, New Zealand and Canada later joining.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24722636

Infosys founders ranked among India's richest families: Forbes

As many as 20 business families have found a place on latest Forbes list of India's 100 richest, with a collective fortune of $55 billion.

The families that found made it to the list included many who had cofounded Infosys. According the Forbes list, the wealth of N R Narayana Murthy & family was pegged at $1.64 billion, Senapathy Gopalakrishnan & family at $1.39 billion and Nandan Nilekani & family at $1.3 billion.

While Forbes magazine's India Rich List remains dominated by individual business leaders, those making the mark along with their family members are also quite a few and also include three in the top 10 - Hinduja Brothers (6th place), Adi Godrej & family (8th position) and Sunil Mittal & family (10th).

Individually, Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani continued to be India's wealthiest for sixth year in a row, with a networth of $21 billion while his younger sibling Anil Ambani bagged the 11th position with a fortune of $6.2 billion.

According to Forbes, Hinduja Brothers with a fortune of $9 billion scored the sixth rank, while Adi Godrej & family with a net worth of $8.3 billion was placed at the eighth spot. Sunil Mittal & family are ranked at 10th spot with a wealth of $6.6 billion.

Families in the top 20 list included Shashi & Ravi Ruia who bagged the 12th position with a wealth of $5.5 billion, while Savitri Jindal & family stood at the 14th rank with a fortune of $4.9 billion and Bajaj Family at 20th spot with a wealth of $3.1 billion.

As per US-based business magazine Forbes' annual list of India's 100 richest, released today, their total wealth grew by a modest 3 per cent from a year ago to $259 billion.

Besides, the list comprises of 20 business families with a collective fortune of $55.52 billion. Out of these 20 families, majority of them are billionaires and only four are millionaires.

"Growth in wealth was lacklustre due to India's stumbling economy, which has been hit by inflation and a falling rupee," Forbes said.

Among others families in the list included Malvinder & Shivinder Singh ($2.3 billion), Reddy family (Dr Reddy's) at $1.75 billion, Kapil & Rahul Bhatia ($1.71 billion), and Rajan Raheja & family ($1.62 billion).

More: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/corporates/article-infosys-founders-ranked-among-indias-richest-families-forbes-370809

Sexual assault case: Ex-minister Babulal Nagar sent to 14 days judicial custody

A court in Jaipur on Tuesday sent former Rajasthan minister of state for dairy and rural industries Babulal Nagar - arrested for raping a married woman - to 14 days judicial custody, a lawyer said.

The former minister was produced in the special court for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases, said Nagar's advocate Amar Singh.

Nagar was earlier sent to three days of CBI custody.


Sexual assault case: Ex-minister Babulal Nagar sent to 14 days judicial custody

"After completion of his police custody, he was again produced in the court on Tuesday. The court sent him to 14 days judicial custody," said Singh.

Nagar was escorted to Jaipur Central Jail from the court amid heavy security.

CBI interrogated the 53-year-old politician in its custody, sources said.

Nagar resigned from the state cabinet two days after the FIR was registered against him by the 35-year-old woman Sep 17.

He was called to a government circuit house for questioning by CBI October 25. He was interrogated for seven hours and arrested after he could not give satisfactory answers to some questions, said a source close to the investigation agency.

In her police complaint, the woman alleged that Nagar called her to his official residence Sep 11 on the pretext of giving her a government job and raped her.

Nagar, who represents Dudu constituency in Jaipur district, is not the sole party legislator to face such charges.

Two other legislators of the ruling Congress, Malkhan Singh and Mahipal Maderna, were suspended in December 2011 following allegations of their involvement in sexual exploitation and murder of government nurse Bhanwari Devi.

More: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sexual-assault-case-exminister-babulal-nagar-sent-to-14-days-judicial-custody/431237-3-239.html

Bigg Boss 7: Kushal Tandon and Gauhar Khan evicted from the house over scuffle with VJ Andy

In a surprise twist, Kushal Tandon and Gauhar Khan have been asked to pack their bags by Bigg Boss after the scuffle with VJ Andy. Kushal and Gauhar are the love birds in the Bigg Boss house.

Recently, Kushal had a nasty fight with Tanishaa, who pushed him not once but thrice. While a part of it was aired on the show, the part where a furious Kushal called Tanishaa a flop actress was not shown.

A source says, Kushal told Tanishaa that she is a dhabba on her family. “Look where your sister (Kajol) is and where you are today,” he is said to have taunted her.

He was so angry that he jumped the wall and escaped out of the house. It’s a different thing that he was brought back by the security personnel and directly nominated for elimination.

Also a few days ago, Bollywood star Salman Khan was so upset with Kushal's bad behaviour with actress Tanisha Mukherjee on the show that he said it would be his last season as a host of the reality show. The 47-year-old actor on Saturday gave an earful to Kushal for insulting Tanishaa.

"If you think you can clean your image, it's a misconception," Salman told Kushal, and added that he too had faced it and realised that one's mistakes are etched in people's memories.

"Because of this episode, this might be the last season for me," a livid Salman said on Saturday. On Sunday, Salman talked about the issue again on Twitter responding to queries from his followers. He wrote that according to Bigg Boss fans, both should have been out, "but there was a lot more than wat you saw".

Woah! WOAH! @TusharrJoshi: So its true, Kushal and Gauhar have been evicted from the #BB7 house after the former got physical with Andy!— Pankaj A (@panku_) October 29, 2013

Gauhar and Kushal out of the house in todays episode, watch it here -http://t.co/zr6PdtsJ71 #bb7— Tamanna Wahi (@tamannaW) October 29, 2013

Kushal and Gauhar has left the house. Tanisha is the new captain. Have never seen more partial and biased show in my life. Shame. #bb7— GAYATRl REDDY (@Gayatritwit) October 29, 2013

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-bigg-boss-7-kushal-tandon-and-gauhar-khan-evicted-from-the-house-over-scuffle-with-vj-andy-1910749

Government to ask Reliance Industries to give up 80% of D6 gas block

India will ask Reliance Industries Ltd to relinquish 80 percent of its east coast deepwater D6 gas block, including five discoveries, as the energy major has not adhered to timelines for developing the area, the oil secretary said.

"We are waiting for the oil minister's final order," Vivek Rae told Reuters on Tuesday, referring to the instruction telling Reliance to relinquish the discoveries in the 7,645 square kilometre D6 block.

The five discoveries within D6 are D4, D7, D8, D16 and D23. Mr Rae said Reliance failed to submit reports on the commercial viability the five discoveries on time.

He said the relinquished area will be auctioned in subsequent licensing rounds. The relinquished area does not contain any producing fields.

Total reserves in these five discoveries in the Krishna Godavari basin are estimated to be 805 billion cubic feet, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The sources declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

No decision has yet been taken on the fate of the remaining three fields in the D6 block -- D29, D30 and D31 -- which are estimated to hold about 350 billion cubic feet of gas reserves, Mr Rae said.

He said Reliance had submitted commerciality declarations of the three discoveries on time but had not carried out the necessary tests.

A Reliance Industries spokesman declined to comment.

Natural gas output from the Krishna Godavari basin's D6 block, in which BP has a 30 percent equity stake, has declined to 14 million cubic metres per day (mmscmd) from 60 mmscmd at the end of 2010.

The companies have cited geological complexities for the fall in output, which has been in steady decline since 2010, while the oil regulator believes they failed to drill enough wells.

More: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/corporates/article-government-to-ask-reliance-industries-to-give-up-80-of-d6-gas-block-370807

Patna blasts: state BJP chief blames UPA for indifference

Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma on Tuesday held the Congress-led UPA government responsible for the "indifference" shown to the security arrangements at Narendra Modi's rally in Patna.

Addressing a press conference here, Sharma alleged that the Centre had the intelligence input but did nothing, which was against the democratic principles.

"The prime ministerial candidate should be given security keeping in mind his position in the opposition party, which is most significant for a democracy, but the Congress is behaving immaturely which shows its increased level of frustration," Sharma said.

He criticised the Congress for "having levelled allegations" against Modi that he was instigating the minorities, adding that it was in fact the UPA government that had tried to "gag" social activists like Anna Hazare and his associates by arresting them.

He said, "People will give their verdict against the highhandedness and corrupt practices of the Congress in the forthcoming parliamentary polls.

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/ludhiana/patna-blasts-state-bjp-chief-blames-upa-for-indifference/article1-1144976.aspx

Reports: Google close to manufacturing a smartwatch

Google could be a few months away from mass production of a smartwatch, a move that would put it in competition with vendors Pebble Technology, Sony and Samsung Electronics, according to media reports. Apple is widely expected to enter the fray soon as well.

Smartwatches can typically run simple applications by themselves, but are most useful when paired with a smartphone over a low-power Bluetooth link, allowing them to relay information from the phone's applications and Internet connection.

Samsung launched its Galaxy Gear, a companion device for its most recent Galaxy smartphones, last month while the Sony SmartWatch is already on its second version. The Pebble, featuring an e-paper screen, made it to market after its designers raised US$10 million via crowdfunding site Kickstarter in May 2012. Apple, too, is rumored to be working on a smartwatch.

Google has almost completed development of its smartwatch and is negotiating with Asian companies to manufacture it, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
sony
The device will run Android, and will connect to Android phones to pull information from Google Now, the search engine's personalized information service.

Existing smartwatches have been criticized for needing frequent charging, and Google has been working to extend the battery life of its smartwatch, the Journal reported.

Samsung's Gear will run for a day or two between charges, reviewers say. Its main competitors fare better, but neither run for more than a week: Sony's SmartWatch 2 lasts three to four days, while the Pebble's manufacturer says it will run for five to seven days.

Google already has some experience with wearable computing devices, as it works with developers and early adopters to find uses for Google Glass. The head-mounted device has a forward-facing camera, a microphone, an earpiece and a tiny heads-up display, all connected to a miniature computer running Android, and needs to be linked to a smartphone via Bluetooth to gather data from the Internet.

More: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2058880/reports-google-close-to-manufacturing-a-smartwatch.html