RPT-Jobs on the line as India's gold sector suffers under govt curbs

Squeezed by government rules meant to curb a surge in gold imports, India's bullion industry is shrinking, with banks and others opting to redeploy personnel for now but possibly facing big job cuts in coming months.

Refiners, jewellery manufacturers and retailers say they could start cutting jobs after Diwali, one of India's biggest festivals, in the first week of November as festive demand will have sucked supply dry. Some have already begun to do so.

Gold on the local market is now fetching a record premium of $130 an ounce to the global bullion price and that is expected to climb even higher because of coming festivals.

Bullion banks, who profited from huge volumes of gold imports until May, have begun shifting people from their gold desks to other teams.

"There is no gold coming in so how do we carry on? Consolidation is happening at the moment in the industry," said the head of one of India's biggest jewellery chains, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He said he had cut "tens of jobs" at his firm.

Gold is the second-biggest item on India's import bill after oil and, facing a record trade deficit and a plunging currency this year, the government imposed stringent rules with the aim of curbing demand for the metal.

These have slowed imports to a trickle: a mere 7 tonnes arrived in September versus a record high of 162 tonnes in May.

One of the new rules stipulates that 20 percent of imported gold has to be re-exported. Exports currently equate to less than 10 percent of imports, which means it will be hard to meet the country's estimated demand of 1,000 tonnes this year.

"It will get difficult for a jeweller to replenish gold after festivals. We are anticipating a transfer of workforce from the jewellery sector to others," said Bachhraj Bamalwa, a director at the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation.

He said around 15 million people worked in jewellery manufacturing plus 1 million in sales, and that a quarter of them could lose their jobs if supply problems continued, an alarmist forecast that might put pressure on the government to rethink the import restrictions.

About 300,000 to 400,000 artisans from Zaveri Bazaar, India's biggest bullion market, have already moved back to their villages due to a lack of work, according to Bombay Bullion Association director Kumar Jain.

India has a population of 1.2 billion.

NO U-TURN IN SIGHT

Banks may be holding back until they see what a new government does after national elections due by May.

"They won't take a decision on job cuts as of now, but will wait until June next year to take the call after the new government is formed," said a source at a global supplier who is in regular contact with Indian importers.

In the meantime, some banks have opted to transfer personnel to other trading desks rather than sack them.

An employee with a private bank who was recently asked to move from the bullion desk to currency trading said: "We started the trading desk when demand was good, when there were no restrictions, but now the business has lost its charm. So management has taken steps according to the revenue stream."

All five people on the desk have been moved to currencies, this employee said.

Two other private banks, which imported a combined 100 tonnes last year, have redeployed a total of 10 people.

Bank of Nova Scotia is the biggest gold importing bank in India. Private banks such as HDFC Bankand IndusInd Bank and state-run banks also import.

For now, there's no sign of the government backtracking.

The Finance Ministry sent a letter to banks reiterating the rules last week, one banking source said, and three ministry officials said there were no plans to relax the restrictions.

Overseas banks and trading firms that supply to Indian importers have felt the impact and are shifting business elsewhere.

"Once a destination like India is being restricted, of course we will divert all our attention to China," said Bernard Sin, senior vice president of Geneva-based gold dealer MKS SA.

China is set to overtake India as the world's biggest consumer of gold this year, due in part to the curbs in India. (Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi; Editing by Alan Raybould)

More: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/01/india-gold-jobs-idUSL3N0IM1LV20131101

Rupee drops 36 paise against dollar in late morning trade

The rupee dropped 36 paise to 61.86 against dollar in late morning trade on persistent demand for the U.S. unit from banks and importers amid a firm dollar overseas.

In spite of sustained foreign inflows into Indian equities, the rupee declined against the U.S. currency for the second consecutive day on the back of firmness in dollar in global markets.

The Indian unit resumed lower at 61.95 per dollar, as against the last closing level of 61.50, at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and hovered in a range of 61.80-61.96 before quoting at 61.86 a dollar at 1040hrs.

In New York market, the US dollar jumped against the euro on Thursday even as euro-zone inflation in October dropped below 1 per cent to its lowest level in nearly four years.

Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark Sensex rallied to an all-time high of 21,293.88 in early trade before quoting at 21,210.48 at 1045 hrs, showing a rise of 45.96 points, or 0.22 per cent.

More: http://www.thehindu.com/business/markets/rupee-drops-36-paise-against-dollar-in-late-morning-trade/article5304014.ece

Israel carries out air strike on Syria, inspectors seal chemical weapons

Israel has reportedly carried out an air strike on a Syrian military installation to stop a shipment to Hezbollah, as inspectors said Syria's entire declared stock of chemical weapons has been placed under seal.

Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television said Thursday that Israel had hit a Syrian air base in Latakia province, targeting a shipment of surface-to-surface missiles destined for the Lebanese Shiite movement.

A US official confirmed to AFP that "there was an Israeli strike" but gave no details on the location or the target, while Israeli officials refused to comment.

"Historically, targets have been missiles transferred to Hezbollah," allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the official said.

Al-Arabiya quoted the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying explosions took place Wednesday near Latakia at an air defence base.

In May, Israel carried out two air strikes inside Syria, and a senior Israeli official told AFP both targets were Iranian weapons destined for Hezbollah.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons reported Thursday that all of Syria's chemical weapons were under "tamper proof" seals.

"All stocks of chemical weapons and agents have been placed under seals that are impossible to break," OPCW spokesman Christian Chartier said Thursday.

"These are 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents (which can be used to make weapons) and 290 tonnes of chemical weapons," Chartier told AFP in The Hague.

The OPCW also said Syria's chemical arms production equipment had been destroyed.

Inspectors had until Friday to visit all the sites and destroy all production and filling equipment in accordance with a timeline laid down by the OPCW and a UN Security Council resolution.

The resolution, stating that the arsenal must be destroyed by mid-2014, followed a US-Russian deal to avert military strikes on Syria after chemical weapons attacks near Damascus in August.

The West blamed those attacks, which killed hundreds, on Assad's regime, which denied all responsibility and, in turn, blamed rebels.

The United States is "increasingly confident" the chemical arsenal will be eliminated by June 30, Thomas Countryman, a senior State Department official in charge of non-proliferation issues said.

IHS Jane's hailed the "milestone" but cautioned that the work was far from over, noting that the entire arsenal is still under regime control.

"This is a very hurried process that has significant and real uncertainty associated with it. Only when the weapons are destroyed or removed from Syria will it be complete," IHS Jane's director for aerospace and defence consulting David Reeths told AFP.
Regime wary, opposition divided

The inspectors' report came as international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met in Damascus with opposition members tolerated by the regime, part of a regional tour to garner support for proposed peace talks, dubbed Geneva II. He travels to Beirut on Friday.

Brahimi has been struggling to persuade a wary regime and an increasingly divided opposition to attend the conference.

On Wednesday, he met Assad for less than an hour, during which the president criticised foreign interference in Syria.

"The Syrian people are the only ones who have the right to decide on Syria's future," state media quoted Assad as telling Brahimi.

Earlier this month, Assad cast doubt on the possibility of his regime attending the Geneva talks, saying he would not negotiate with any group tied to the rebels or to foreign states.

The main opposition National Coalition has said it will refuse to take part in any talks unless Assad's resignation is on the table, and rebel groups have warned participants will be considered traitors.

On the ground, the Syrian Revolution General Commission said regime forces had seized the town of Sfeira in Aleppo province after a 27-day siege, and the Aleppo Media Centre, a network of activists, said rebels had completely withdrawn.

The army maintains several arms factories in the area.

The Observatory also reported a rebel mortar attack on Jaramana, a mixed Christian-Druze suburb of Damascus, that killed two women and wounded several people, and said at least eight other people were killed in an army rocket attack on southern Damascus's Al-Hajar Al-Aswad neighbourhood.

More than 120,000 people have been killed in the 31-month rebellion against the Assad regime triggered by his bloody crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired democracy protests.

Thousands more have been detained both by the regime and by rebels, and many civilians, including foreign journalists, have gone missing, some abducted by jihadist groups.

One of those kidnapped, Polish photojournalist Marcin Suder, managed to escape his captors and is back home, Poland's foreign ministry said Thursday.

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Israel-carries-out-air-strike-on-Syria-inspectors-seal-chemical-weapons/articleshow/25045318.cms

4 Gaza militants killed in clash with Israeli troops

A total of four Gaza militants were killed overnight in a firefight with Israeli troops sent to destroy Hamas tunnels, officials on both sides said.
Four local commanders of Hamas's military wing were killed by tank fire, Palestinian officials said, while the Israeli military said that five soldiers were injured by an explosive device.

Palestinian officials said that Rabieh Barikeh was killed instantly in the firefight late on Thursday night and Khaled Abu Bakr died of his wounds during the night.

The bodies of Mohammed al Qassas and Mohammed Daoud were discovered later. They said that all were local commanders of Hamas's Izzadine al-Qassam military wing.

An Israeli military statement said that the fighting erupted when an explosive device went off as troops were clearing a tunnel from the Gaza Strip into Israel, allegedly to be used as a springboard for militant attacks.

"During the operation, Hamas detonated an explosive device at the forces wounding five Israeli soldiers. The soldiers were evacuated to an Israeli hospital. In an immediate response the soldiers opened fire and directly hit a terrorist," it said.

"Furthermore, following Hamas aggression Israeli Air Force aircrafts targeted an additional terror tunnel located in the southern Gaza Strip. A direct hit was identified."

No Palestinian casualties were reported in that strike.

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/4-gaza-militants-killed-in-clash-with-israeli-troops/article1-1146092.aspx

Edward Snowden gets website job in Russia

Former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden has found a job working for a website in Russia, where he was granted asylum after fleeing the United States, a Russian lawyer helping him said on Thursday.

"Edward starts work in November," lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said, according to state-run news agency RIA.

"He will provide support for a large Russian site," he said, adding that he would not name the site "for security reasons".

Snowden, 30, a former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed secret US Internet and phone surveillance programs, fled to Hong Kong and then to Russia in June.

President Vladimir Putin rejected US pleas to send Snowden home to face charges including espionage, and the temporary asylum he was granted in early August can be extended annually.

Snowden's location in Russia has not been disclosed and since July he has appeared only in a handful of photographs and video clips from a meeting this month with visiting former US national security officials who support his cause.

Putin, a former KGB spy, said repeatedly that Russia would only shelter Snowden if he stopped harming the United States.

Kucherena cited that condition as one reason Snowden would not answer questions from foreign investigators looking into allegations that the United States spied on leaders of allies.

"Snowden lives in Russia under Russian laws, he cannot leave the country as he would lose his current status," the Interfax news agency quoted Kucherena as saying. "Also, under agreements, he cannot reveal secret information while he is in Russia."

Germany's Parliament plans to hold a special session on reports the United States tapped Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone and left-wing parties have demanded a public inquiry calling in witnesses including Snowden.

Despite Putin's warning, Russian state media have treated Snowden as a whistleblower and the decision to grant him asylum seemed to underscore Putin's accusations that Washington preaches to the world about freedoms it does not uphold at home.

Putin has dismissed the widespread assumption that Russian intelligence officers grilled Snowden for information after he arrived, and Kucherena has portrayed him as trying to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.

He said earlier that he hoped Snowden would find a job because he was living on scant funds, mostly from donations.

A tabloid news site on Thursday published what it said was a photo of Snowden on a Moscow river cruise this summer, and the same site earlier published a photo of a man who looked like Snowden pushing a shopping cart in a supermarket parking lot.

Kucherna did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/edward-snowden-gets-website-job-in-russia_887392.html

Talks with Taliban underway: Nawaz

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Thursday said dialogue with Taliban has started and hoped that it will progress within the constitutional framework.

He was talking to British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg who called on him. They discussed issues of mutual interest. The prime minister apprised Clegg on the dialogue with Taliban, relations with India, energy situation and economic reforms agenda of his government, a press release from the Pakistan’s High Commission said. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the government could not wait and see the innocent people and members of law enforcement agencies being killed in the streets of Pakistan.

He said the government was making its counter-terrorism forces and intelligence agencies fully capable to root out extremism and terrorism from the country. The enhancement of the capacity of the counter-terrorism forces was a part of different options to deal with extremism and terrorism, he added. The prime minister also briefed Clegg on the recently promulgated Protection of Pakistan Ordinance and said that it was specifically prepared to deal with those terrorists who were waging a war against the people and the state of Pakistan.

On Pakistan-India relations, Prime Minister Nawaz said that he had made sincere efforts to resolve all outstanding issues with India. “We have made India-bashing a non-issue in Pakistan but unfortunately, Indian politicians are still engaged in unwarranted Pakistan-bashing,” he observed. On reduction of energy subsidy, the prime minister said some segments of society were not happy with partial withdrawal of subsidy on electricity but the direction of the present government was correct.

The premier said that during the next three to four years, new energy projects would start generating several thousand megawatts of electricity which would significantly reduce the demand-supply gap as well as prices. UK Deputy Prime Minister Clegg told Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that he and his government were full of admiration for his pro-active approach of reaching out to India before and after elections.

He assured that the UK would fully support Pakistan’s case for GSP Plus in the EU market. Clegg also appreciated the recently introduced economic reforms agenda by the Pakistan government. The prime minister appreciated UK’s support in various sectors, especially education in Pakistan. Both the sides agreed to further solidify bilateral relations. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif, Minister of State for IT and Telecom Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani, Fawad Hasan Fawad, Acting Secretary to the Prime Minister and Pakistan’s High Commissioner to UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan were present during the meeting.

Although Pakistan has started a process to initiate dialogue with the Taliban, but no direct talks have yet begun, officials said. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to power in May after pledging to pursue peace talks with the umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction and won the backing of all the major political parties in September. But the TTP issued a series of stringent conditions for its participation, including the end of US drone strikes and the release of all its prisoners in Pakistani jails. A spate of bloody terror attacks in Peshawar further soured the mood for talks, but ministers have said they were still keen to press on.

Nawaz told British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg during a meeting in London on Thursday that “dialogue with the Taliban has started”, according to a statement issued there by the Pakistani High Commission. But officials in Islamabad clarified that no direct contact has yet been made with the militants. “The formal talks are yet to take place but the process of dialogue has been started,” a senior official from the interior ministry told AFP. agencies

More: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013%5C11%5C01%5Cstory_1-11-2013_pg1_1

Muzaffarnagar violence: DG admits to lapses

As the fresh communal violence here tested the Akhilesh Yadav government again, the Uttar Pradesh police chief today admitted to lapses on the part of police even as paramilitary forces patrolled sensitive areas.

Eight persons have been arrested and cases registered against 15 people in connection with last night's violence in Budhana area of Muzaffarnagar in which three men were killed.

More: http://www.ptinews.com/news/4113247_Muzaffarnagar-violence--DG-admits-to-lapses.html

Congress fine with Gandhi family statues, but not with Sardar Patel’s: BJP

The political fight over Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s legacy is far from over, with the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday hitting out at the Congress saying the party discriminates when it comes to making memorials of family members of the Gandhi.

BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu accused the Congress party of discrimination, saying that there is no problem when the statues of members of the Gandhi family are built, but leaders of the ruling party oppose when a statue of Sardar Patel is being constructed.

On Tuesday, the prime minister and the BJP's prime ministerial candidate were locked in an ideological battle over Sardar Patel, with Narendra Modi wishing the "Iron Man" had been India's first prime minister and Manmohan Singh underlining that Patel was a Congress leader and secular to the core.

Earlier, Congress leader Manish Tewari had also hit out at the BJP saying that India's first home minister Sardar Patel was opposed to the RSS, and asked whether the BJP agrees with his views.

He said that the BJP and Modi were trying to hijack Sardar Patel's legacy.

BJP leader LK Advani yesterday laid the foundation stone of the proposed 182-metre-tall statue of Sardar Patel.

The proposed statue of Sardar Patel will be the tallest statue in the world, Modi said. It will be double the height of the Statue of Liberty in the US.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/congress-fine-with-gandhi-family-statues-but-not-with-sardar-patels-bjp_887416.html

Young voters - flavour of poll season in Madhya Pradesh

Young voters are set to play a key role in the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh and realising their potential to influence the final outcome both the rulingBJP and Opposition Congress are aggressively wooing them.

A record 23.60 lakh electors would be eligible to exercise their right to vote for the first time in the Assembly polls scheduled for November 25.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 4,65,07,121 electorates, including 2,20,01,741 women. Among them 23,59,304 are in the age group of 18-19 years, while 1,40,94,850 fall in the 20-29 category, sources in the Chief Electoral Office here said.

When put together, these two groups, totalling 1,64,54,154, form a large chunk of the total voter base in the State, which has a 230-member Assembly.

Keeping in mind the power of young voters, both BJP and Congress are pulling out all the stops to attract them.

In fact, the ruling party has been wooing them with a slew of schemes related to education and employment, the two most important issues concerning them.

"Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was aware of this issue and had organised Mukhyamantri Yuva Panchayat to announce a slew of measures related to employment and education to attract the youth towards the party," State BJP Media In-charge Hitesh Bajpaitold PTI.

The schemes included interest subsidy and bank guarantee on loan for setting up industrial units. Notable among them is 'Mukhyamantri Yuva Swarojgar Yojna', a self-employment scheme under which Government will give 5 per cent subsidy on interest and 100 per cent bank guarantee on a loan of Rs 25 lakh for setting up an industry.

For small-scale industries requiring an investment of Rs 50,000, Government will give 20 per cent margin money, 100 per cent guarantee on bank loan and 5 per cent subsidy on interest, Bajpai said.

The scheme will motivate the youth to opt for self-employment in a big way, he said.

Besides, budding athletes would be given training in the field of water sports, martial arts and shooting so as to prepare them to qualify for the 2020 Olympics, Bajpai said.

The Congress, which is out of power in the State, once its stronghold, is also making all-out effort to win over the young minds, who dominate the technology-driven world.

"The Congress is considering to include a lot of attractive schemes in its manifesto for the youth. These include offering them laptops and tablets besides waiving of fee for appearing in the competitive examinations," State Congress Joint Spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi said.

Besides, the party has launched a campaign on the social media, which is dominated by young voices, to attract first and second time voters in a big way.

The party is promising to create one lakh jobs for the youth if voted to power. Congress is also seeking to corner the BJP Government over the Pre-Medical Test (PMT) scam and corruption in Professional Examination Board, responsible for conducting examinations for various Government jobs.

In a careful decision, the Congress appointed Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia as head of its campaign committee in Madhya Pradesh. The party is also cashing in on the charisma of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, a youth icon, to swing voters in its favour.

"In comparison to Chouhan, we have two youth icons in our rank - Congress vice-presidentRahul Gandhi and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia - to attract the youth towards the party," Chaturvedi added.

More: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/young-voters--flavour-of-poll-season-in-madhya-pradesh/articleshow/25045302.cms

Google unveils Nexus 5, to be available in India soon

Google today took the curtains off the Nexus 5 smartphone and Android 4.4 (KitKat), the latest version of its mobile operating system. The company said that the device is now available in major international markets via Play Store, but also announced that it is coming soon to India.

In line with leaked details, the new Nexus 5 smartphone has a 4.95-inch LCD screen with Full HD (1080p) resolution and protected by Gorilla Glass 3 panel. It packs the 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor under the hood, with 2GB RAM. The device will be available in 16 and 32GB versions (with no microSD support) and come in white and black colours.

On the back, Nexus 5 sports an 8MP camera with optical image stabilization, 1/3.2-inch sensor and f/2.4 aperture. LED flash is present on the back, while a 1.3MP unit is used in front. Its connectivity suite consists of 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and LE, NFC and microUSB. Powered by a 2,300mAh battery, this device has wireless charging and will cost $349 in the US market without contract.

Instead of the glass body that was used in Nexus 4, the new model sports a plastic shell with a "silky texture," as the chief of Android Sundar Pichai put it. Early hands-on reviews of the device say that this material has soft touch matte finish similar to that of Nexus 7 tablet. Instead of plastic, volume rocker and Power/Lock keys are made of technical ceramic material.

Just like Nexus 4, Google has partnered with LG to manufacture the new device.

The new Android 4.4 operating system that was launched today has been optimized for low-cost smartphones and tablets and is currently available only for Nexus 5. It will be released for Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets, Nexu 4 smartphone and the Google Play versions of Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One in coming weeks.

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/personal-tech/gadgets-special/Google-unveils-Nexus-5-to-be-available-in-Indiasoon/articleshow/25012407.cms

US secretary of state John Kerry admits spying has gone 'too far'

US secretary of state John Kerry says US spying has gone too far in some cases, in an unprecedented admission by Washington.

The top diplomat, speaking to a London conference via video link, also sought to assure Europe that such steps, which have roiled close allies like Germany, would not be repeated.

"I assure you, innocent people are not being abused in this process, but there's an effort to try to gather information," Mr Kerry told the conference.

"And yes, in some cases, it has reached too far inappropriately.

"And the president, our president, is determined to try to clarify and make clear for people, and is now doing a thorough review in order that nobody will have the sense of abuse."

Mr Kerry added that what Washington was trying to do was, in a "random way," find ways of determining if there were threats that needed responding to.

"And in some cases, I acknowledge to you, as has the president, that some of these actions have reached too far, and we are going to make sure that does not happen in the future," he said.

Recent allegations and reports of widespread spying by the US National Security Agency (NSA) have sparked a major rift in trans-Atlantic ties.

Just days ago, German chancellor Angela Merkel angrily confronted US president Barack Obama with allegations that the NSA was snooping on her phone, saying it would amount to a "breach of trust".

A German intelligence delegation and a separate group of EU politicians were in the US capital on Wednesday to confront their American allies about the alleged bugging.

Mr Kerry's remarks - released in a state department transcript - came in response to a question addressed to both him and British foreign secretary William Hague about government surveillance.

Mr Kerry spent a good portion of his answer justifying the collection of data as necessary due to the threat of terrorism and suggested Washington was not alone in doing so.

"Many, many, many parts of the world have been subject to these terrorist attacks," he said.

"And in response to them, the United States and others came together - others, I emphasise to you - and realized that we're dealing in a new world where people are willing to blow themselves up."

He added: "We have actually prevented airplanes from going down, buildings from being blown up, and people from being assassinated because we've been able to learn ahead of time of the plans."
Media reports 'an enormous exaggeration', Kerry says

Mr Kerry also lashed out at some of the reporting about alleged spying, sparked by leaks from fugitive former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, wanted by Washington on espionage charges.

"Just the other day ... there was news in the papers of 70 million people being listened to. No, they weren't. It didn't happen," Mr Kerry said.

"There's an enormous amount of exaggeration in this reporting from some reporters out there."

US intelligence chiefs have said these reports are based on a misinterpretation of an NSA slide leaked to the media by Snowden, who is in Russia out of US reach.

Rather than siphoning off the records of tens of millions of calls in Europe, as the slide seems to suggest, they argue that the data was in many cases gathered and shared by European agencies.

Still, fresh US spy allegations keep cropping around the world on a near daily basis.

The Indonesian government today summoned Australian ambassador Greg Moriarty in Jakarta over a "totally unacceptable" report that Australia's embassy was among diplomatic posts in Asia being used to gather intelligence as part of a vast American surveillance operation.

The Sydney Morning Herald, amplifying an earlier report by the German magazine Der Spiegel, said earlier this week that a top-secret map leaked by Snowden showed 90 US surveillance facilities at diplomatic missions worldwide.

More: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-01/kerry-admits-us-spying-had-gone-too-far/5064338

Patna blasts suspect, who was injured while assembling the bomb, dies in hospital

According to police officials, Ainul was admitted to the hospital here as he was found crying in pain near the railway station toilet after the bomb exploded when he was trying to fix it or fit a timer.

A suspect in the serial blasts that hit the Bihar capital last Sunday and who was seriously injured in a bomb explosion at the Patna railway station, Ainul alias Tarique, died due to his injuries at a hospital here, police said.

"Ainul died late Thursday," said a police official.

Arun Kumar, director of the Patna-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, where Ainul was admitted with splinter injuries to his brain, confirmed that he was dead.

"After battling for life for over five days, he succumbed to serious injuries in his brain," Kumar said.

According to police officials, Ainul was admitted to the hospital here as he was found crying in pain near the railway station toilet after the bomb exploded when he was trying to fix it or fit a timer.

Arun Kumar said that before his identity was disclosed by the police, he was believed to be a victim.

"With a splinter lodged in his brain, the chances of his recovery were very poor. He was unconscious and not responding to medication after being admitted to hospital," Kumar said.

Six people were killed and 83 injured in seven bomb blasts in Patna.

Six of the seven blasts took place Sunday at Patna's Gandhi Maidan before Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was to address a rally. The seventh explosion was at the railway station.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-patna-blasts-suspect-who-was-injured-while-assembling-the-bomb-dies-in-hospital-1912140

Narendra Modi can't be blamed for post-Godhra riots: K P S Gill

Former DGP of Punjab K P S Gill, who had served as security advisor to the Gujarat Chief Minister in 2002, said tonight that Narendra Modi cannot be blamed for post-Godhra riots as it is the job of the police leadership to respond to law and order situations.

"In law and order situations, it is the police leadership which has to respond and not the political leadership," Gill said when asked by reporters about his assessment of Modi's handling of post-Godhra events.

He was speaking at the launch of his biography - 'KPS Gill: The Paramount Cop' where the gathering included eminent personalities like Punjab Kesari Group Editor-in-Chief Vijay Kumar Chopra, Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta, former CBI Director P C Sharma and others.

In the book, Gill has lavished praise on Modi saying he had "sincere" intentions to end the violence and accused other parties of trying to defame him.

"I realised that people of all political parties who were anti-Modi and anti-BJP were taking advantage of this mayhem and making all efforts to defame Modi one way or the other," he says.

He charged the policemen and the administration had become communal after the incident in Godhra and Modi, who had just become the CM, did not have proper grip over the state machinery.

Speaking to reporters, he said that after taking charge as the security advisor of the state, he had visited all places where violence had taken place and policemen from top to bottom refuted having received any direction of the type being mentioned.

He also said a majority of the deaths in the riots had taken place in 5-6 incidents.

Addressing the audience, Gill said some of his family members did not like his comments.

He told reporters that while his family members had been reading newspapers, he had experienced the developments.

Gill had been appointed in May, 2002, as the security advisor to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to bolster efforts to effectively check communal violence in the state.

More: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/narendra-modi-cant-be-blamed-for-post-godhra-riots-k-p-s-gill/articleshow/25011295.cms

Patna, Bodh Gaya bombs similar; used same brand of clocks as timers

It's not just the statement of arrested Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Imtiaz Ansari that has connected Patna blasts to the ones in Bodh Gaya, but even the bombs used at Gandhi Maidan point to the same group being involved in both the attacks.

Investigations by National Security Guard (NSG) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) have found that bombs used in both the blasts were almost similar and poorly assembled. The timers used in both blasts were Lotus brand table clocks manufactured in Rajkot, Gujarat and bought from Assam.


Given that Ansari has already confessed to IM engineering the Patna blasts under the leadership of Tehsin Akhtar alias Monu, the Bodh Gaya blasts case has been practically solved.

Investigations have revealed that around 500 gm of ammonium nitrate mixed with some fuel and packed with shrapnel was used to make the bombs used in Patna. The concoction was stuffed in a cylindrical metal container and circuit was completed using analog clock, detonator and batteries.

Almost similar bombs were assembled in Bodh Gaya with the explosives being stuffed in small LPG cylinders.

Bombs in both the blasts were not as lethal as those in the Hyderabad blasts of February, suggesting an expert like arrested IM operative Yasin Bhatkal or Pakistani bomb expert Waqas were not behind them. Waqas, an electrician, is a skilled bomb maker who assembled the Hyderabad bombs using ammonium nitrate mixture stuffed in a pressure cooker. No shrapnel was used.

Investigations in Bodh Gaya blasts had found that the Lotus brand clocks used in 13 bombs placed in the Buddhist temple complex had been bought in Assam. Several traders were interrogated and the NIA even found a shopkeeper who had sold exactly 13 Lotus clocks to a man.

The agency, however, did not believe that the clocks for the blasts were bought from the same shop. "Why would a bomber buy exactly 13 clocks for 13 bombs? What if one malfunctions and stops working," asked an NIA officer. The investigating team then found another shop from where 50 clocks were bought by a person and it is this shop that NIA suspects supplied timers for both Patna and Bodh Gaya blasts.

Meanwhile, a joint team of Bihar Police and NIA raided Ansari's Ranchi home and found several bomb-making material including a pressure cooker with black-coloured explosives, wires and detonators apart from a book on Osama bin Laden.

More: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-29/india/43494365_1_bodh-gaya-13-bombs-waqas

Market says Happy Diwali; sensex scales fresh lifetime peak

The S&P BSE benchmark sensex scaled a new historic high at 21,293.88 in the late morning trade on the back of persistent buying in realty, banking, auto and capital goods shares, triggered by sustained foreign inflows into the equity market.

The 30-share index opened up at 21,158.81 and firmed up to hit a new high at 21,293.88 before quoting at 21,219.15 at 1030hrs, showing a rise of 54.63 points, or 0.26%, from its last close.

The sensex surpassed its previous record high of 21,206.77 touched on January 10, 2008.

The NSE 50-share Nifty also moved up by 5.65 points, or 0.09%, to 6,304.80 at 1030hrs

Major gainers were Hero Motors (2.31%), Coal India (1.95%), SBI (1.82%), BHEL (1.17%), Tata Motors (1.17%) and Jindal Steel (1.06%).

The market sentiment was boosted by data showing that foreign funds made massive purchases yesterday. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,875.87 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Most Asian stock markets fell in their early trade as speculation the US Federal Reserve will reduce stimulus in coming months overshadowed improving China manufacturing data.

Key benchmark indices in Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and Singapore shed between 0.27% and 1.22%, while those in China, Hong Kong and South Korea rose between 0.01% and 0.3%.

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Market-says-Happy-Diwali-sensex-scales-fresh-lifetime-peak/articleshow/25045283.cms