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Osama bin Laden had 4 children, 5 safe houses, says a wife

ISLAMABAD(PAKISTAN),March31,2012: Osama bin Laden spent nine years on the run in Pakistan after the September 11 attacks, during which time he moved among five safe houses and fathered four children, at least two of whom were born in a government hospital, his youngest wife has told Pakistani investigators.Osama bin Laden's three widows are under house arrest in Islamabad, and they and two children face prosecution.The testimony of Amal Ahmad Abdul Fateh, bin Laden's 30-year-old wife, offers the most detailed account yet of life on the run for the bin Laden family in the years preceding the American commando raid in May 2011 that killed the leader of al-Qaida at the age of 54.Her account is contained in a police report dated Jan. 19 that, as an account of that frantic period, contains manifest flaws: Ms. Fateh's words are paraphrased by a police officer, and there is noticeably little detail about the Pakistanis who helped her husband evade his American pursuers. Nevertheless, it raises more questions about how the world's most wanted man managed to shunt his family between cities that span the breadth of Pakistan, apparently undetected and unmolested by the otherwise formidable security services.Bin Laden's three widows are of great interest because they hold the answers to some of the questions that frustrated Western intelligence in the years after 2001. They are currently under house arrest in Islamabad, and their lawyer says he expects them and two adult children - bin Laden's daughters Maryam, 21, and Sumaya, 20 - to be charged on Monday with breaking Pakistani immigration laws, which carries a possible five-year jail sentence.The wives have cooperated with the authorities to varying degrees. Investigators say the older women, named in court documents as Kharia Hussain Sabir and Siham Sharif, both citizens of Saudi Arabia, have largely refused to cooperate with investigators. However, Ms. Fateh, who was wounded in the raid that killed her husband, has spoken out.The report, by a joint investigative panel made up of civilian and military officials, was first noted by the Pakistani newspaper Dawn on Thursday; The New York Times later obtained a copy of the filing. In Washington, United States officials said that while they could not confirm every detail of the report, it appeared generally consistent with what is known and believed about bin Laden's movements.In the report's account, Ms. Fateh said she agreed to marry bin Laden in 2000 because "she had a desire of marrying a mujahid." She flew into Karachi in July that year and, months later, crossed into Afghanistan to join bin Laden and two other wives at his base on a farm outside Kandahar.The Sept. 11 attacks caused the bin Laden family to "scatter," the report said. She returned to Karachi with her newborn daughter, Safia, where they stayed for about nine months. They changed houses up to seven times under arrangements brokered by "some Pakistani family" and Osama bin Laden's elder son, Saad.Other senior Qaida figures were also in Karachi, a sprawling city of up to 18 million people. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the architect of the Sept. 11 attacks, claims to have personally killed the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl there during this period; he was captured at a house in Rawalpindi in March 2003.Ms Fateh said she left Karachi in the second half of 2002 for Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, where she was reunited with her husband. The American pursuit of bin Laden was running high: Qaida operatives had attacked an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya and nightclubs in Indonesia, and with C.I.A. intelligence resources not yet diverted to Iraq, the search was firmly focused on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area.Bin Laden, according to his wife, took his family deep into rural mountain areas of northwest Pakistan - but not, notably, into the tribal belt where much Western attention was focused. First they stayed in the Shangla district in Swat, a picturesque area about 80 miles northwest of the capital, Islamabad, where they stayed in two different houses for eight to nine months.
Then in 2003 they moved to Haripur, a small town even closer to Islamabad, where they stayed in a rented house for two years. Here, Ms. Fateh gave birth to a girl, Aasia, in 2003 and a boy, Ibrahim, in 2004 - both of whom were delivered in a local government hospital. The police report states that Ms. Fateh "stayed in hospital for a very short time of about 2-3 hours" on each occasion. A separate document states that she gave fake identity papers to hospital staff.Finally, in mid-2005, according to Ms. Fateh, Osama bin Laden and his family moved to Abbottabad, 20 miles east of Haripur, where she gave birth to another two children: Zainab in 2006 and Hussain in 2008.Mr Fateh told investigators that the houses in Swat, Haripur and Abbottabad were organized by their Pashtun hosts, identified as two brothers named Ibrahim and Abrar, whose families stayed with them throughout. Ibrahim is believed to refer to Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, a Pakistani-born Pashtun who grew up in Kuwait and who was known for a time to American intelligence as "the courier," because he carried the Qaida leader's messages.When Navy SEAL commandos stormed the Abbottabad house last May, they killed bin Laden and shot Ms. Fateh, who was in the same room, in the leg. She survived but four others were killed in the raid: the courier, his wife Bushra, his brother, Abrar, and bin Laden's 20-year-old son, Khalil.Bin Laden's three wives are now confined to a rented house in Islamabad. On Tuesday, a cousin of Ms. Fateh's in Yemen claimed that she was being held in a basement. "She limps from a bullet wound in her knee, and she's suffering from psychological trauma and very low blood pressure," Hameed al-Sadeh told Reuters.
Ms. Fateh's account, if proven, suggests that American military forces came tantalizingly close to bin Laden in late 2005. In October of that year, a giant earthquake struck northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 73,000 people. For weeks afterward, American Chinook helicopters, diverted from Afghanistan and carrying relief supplies, passed overhead on their way into the quake zone. Meanwhile, Pakistan's military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, then a close ally of the Bush administration, repeatedly asserted that bin Laden was sheltering across the border inside Afghanistan.The Pakistani decision to prosecute the three wives and two children goes against an earlier recommendation from the police that they be deported to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Pakistani analysts said that suggested that Pakistani intelligence may have hidden reasons for detaining the family. "I think the government wants to hang on to them through a trial procedure so that the investigation can be completed," said Riffat Hussain, a defense analyst. "And I think the Americans are quite keen to have access to Osama's wives, too."

Temporary relief for NRI honeymooner in wife murder case

LONDON,March31,2012: In a temporary relief for NRI businessman Shrien Dewani, the British high court today halted on mental health grounds his extradition to South Africa to face trial for the murder of his wife in a fake car-jacking during the couple's honeymoon in Cape Town in 2010. The high-profile extradition case has been halted for now, but the Court said it was in the interests of justice that he should be extradited "as soon as he is fit" to be tried. The Dewani family welcomed the ruling. The ruling comes amidst doubts being raised about 32-year-old Shrien's involvement in the murder following the revelation of new CCTV footage by the BBC last night. Bristol-based Shrien denied involvement for the killing of Anni Dewani, 28. Judges in the High Court ruled that it would be "unjust and oppressive" to order the extradition of Dewani, which is said to be suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. The extradition case has been remitted back to the Westminster Magistrates Court for a further hearing. The judges said key factors taken into account included his unfitness to plead, increased prospects of a speedier recovery if he remains in the UK and "the lack of clear certainty" as to what would happen if he was returned to South Africa in his present condition. In a statement, Dewani's family welcomed the ruling and said: "Shrien can only return to South Africa when he is well enough and when his personal safety can be guaranteed."

US music show: Indian-American makes it to the top 24

NEW YORK,March31,2012: Sharon Mathai, an 18-year old Indian-American, might just be the next big thing in America's music circuit as she has made it to the top 24 in NBC's reality show 'The Voice'. Sharon, whose parents hail from Kerala, said it was not easy for her to convince them about letting her pursue her dream of making it in the music field. Born into a family of doctors, Mathai's father is a psychiatrist and mother a nurse, she said her parents "laughed her off" when she told them she has decided her calling in life will be music and will not make a career in the medical field. She decided to break the tradition and forge her own path. "They were upset, they said what would I do with my life in music and could end up homeless," Mathai says in a video posted on the NBC show's website. She said she had made up her mind to follow her dreams and "had to swim against that cultural current." "I could not live a life of regrets, what ifs. I had to try," she said adding that her parents are on board now and support her. "They trust me and want me to be responsible for my life," she said. Mathai says she is a self-proclaimed brainiac and science expert who loves to shop.
She is an adventurous, skydiving-enthusiast from Georgia and is keen "to show her family and the world her musical talent." Mathai said she is keen to travel to the Andaman Islands, in India. A big fan of Amy Winehouse's music, Mathai loves to sing pop songs. The Voice is an American reality talent show, which consists of a blind audition, battle phase, live performance shows and is judged by popular actress and music artist Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton. Four judges/coaches choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process in which the judge does not see the participants but selects him only on the basis of his voice.
Mathai sang "Rumour Has It" by Adele for her blind audition in Season 2 of the contest that starts airing live April 2. In the Voice, she is part of American singer-songwriter and musician Adam Levine's team. Mathai had also tried to get a part in the hit YC series 'The Glee Project'.

How your India ESOPs are taxed in US

In the past month, as part of our ongoing series on the impact of US taxes on Indian Americans, we have covered how foreign income is taxed in the US. We have seen that according to the US IRS, if you are a citizen, green card holder or a resident of the US, you must pay taxes in the US on your global income. In case you have paid taxes in the foreign country, you may be eligible to claim a tax credit on that income in the US.In this article, we take a look at foreign ESOPs or Employee Stock Option Plans. There are two instances of taxation on ESOPs:

- At the time of exercising the option

- At the time of selling the exercised shares

At the time of exercising the option

Tax in India
Let's make it easier with an example. Vijay Hegde is a 35 year old sales professional with one of India's top technology companies. In 2010, after working in the company's Mumbai office for 5 years, he got an opportunity to move to the US branch. As a senior employee of the company, he regularly gets ESOPs in the form of the company's shares listed on the Indian stock exchange. On 1st April 2011, his ESOP of 100 shares got vested and he exercised the same at a price of Rs 100 per share. The market price, termed fair market value, as on that date was Rs 300 per share. His perquisite value for income tax purposes in India was Rs 200 per share, that is, Rs 20,000 in total. Since Vijay was in the highest tax bracket, he paid tax at the rate of 30.9%, that is, Rs 6,180.
Tax in the US
As per the US tax code, any person who is a resident or a citizen of the US must pay taxes in the US on his global income. In the US too, just like in India, the value of ESOPs granted is taxed at the time when the employee exercises the option.
Since Vijay was a resident of the US in 2011, he is liable to pay taxes on his global income in the US, and this includes the perquisite value of his India ESOPs. The IRS prescribes an average exchange rate that maybe used for conversion purposes. As per the prescribed rate, the ESOP perquisite value of Rs 20,000 would work out to USD 408.
Sanjiv Gupta, a CPA based in Fremont, California says, "Vijay must add the total value of his ESOP compensation (USD 408) to his total income in the US. He can disclose this as other income in his Form 1040. Since he has paid tax in India on this income, he will be eligible to claim a tax credit in his US tax return. He can claim the credit using Form 1116."
Vijay can therefore claim a tax credit of up to USD 126 (Rs 6,180 converted at the rate of Rs 49).
Having said that, there are certain limitations on the amount of credit that you can claim. For instance, the India tax credit you claim cannot be more than the tax payable in the US on your India income. Your CPA will be able to help you with this.
At the time of selling the exercised shares
Tax in India
In India, capital gain on ESOPs is calculated by arriving at the difference between the sale value and the market value as on the date of exercising the ESOP. Suppose Vijay sold his shares at Rs 400 per share, his capital gain per share would be Rs 100 (that is, Rs 400 minus Rs 300). The logic being that the employee has already paid the tax on the difference between the exercise price and the market value as on date of exercise so he must now pay tax only on the excess.
In India, if a share is sold after one year of purchase, there is no long term capital gains tax. If it is sold within a year, short term capital gains tax of 15% is levied.
Tax in the US
The method of calculating capital gains is the same in the US as in India. However, the key difference is that long term capital gains are not exempt from tax in the US.
"So if Vijay sells his shares after holding them for one year, while he might not pay any taxes in India, he would have to pay taxes on those gains in the US," Gupta explains. Vijay would thus have to disclose this capital gain in Schedule D of his Form 1040. In case of short term capital gains tax, Vijay can claim a credit of tax paid in India in his US tax return.


Indian mission in China stops help, traders on streets

BEIJING,March31,2012: Two Indian traders, abducted and tortured after their trading firm's owner fled without paying his dues to businessmen in south China's Yiwu city last year, have been forced to live on Shanghai streets since Tuesday after the Indian embassy stopped paying their hotel bills.The two - Deepak Raheja and Shyamsunder Agarwal - had been staying in a hotel after the embassy rescued them from captivity and bought them back from Yiwu. "We are on the streets. We have no money for the hotel as the embassy has stopped supporting us," Agarwal said. "Please help us go home to India.''Sources said the embassy has spent more than $7,000 on their hotel bills and that it cannot pay them endlessly as its responsibility is limited to ensuring that they get justice. Embassy officials were unavailable for comments.The two were asked to pay $1.58 million to Chinese traders after the Yemeni owner of their firm fled. They have been charged in a Chinese court of short-changing local businessmen. But they two have maintained that they have nothing to do with the unpaid dues.Chinese government said they two face court cases in south China and cannot leave the country until they honor commitments to local businessmen. "Since the two Indian businessmen have not honored their compensations commitment, the relevant court has ordered them not to leave. This order still in effect," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Thursday. He hoped the two would settle the dues and resolve the issue soon.It is unclear whether the Indian government is trying to track down the Indian co-owner of the firm that has allegedly made huge purchases from Chinese traders in Yiwu without paying for them.

Oil companies may go for Rs 3 per litre hike in petrol price

NEW DELHI, Mar 31, 2012: State-owned oil firms are pushing for at least Rs 3 per litre hike in petrol price from April 1 to cover part of the spike in cost of raw material. "We are losing Rs 6.43 per litre on petrol and after adding 20% sales tax, the desired increase in rates in Delhi is Rs 7.72 per litre," a senior oil company official said. "We understand that it will be difficult to raise rates by Rs 7.72 per litre in one go but a Rs 3 or even Rs 4 a litre increase is feasible," he said. As per practice, oil companies are due to review fuel prices tomorrow. Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) use fortnightly average of benchmark oil price and exchange rate to fix the price to be paid to refineries on 1st and 16th of every month. If the changes do not reflect in retail selling price, they become losses in the books of oil firms. The international price of gasoline (against which domestic petrol prices are benchmarked) have risen from $109 a barrel at the time of last revision in December 2011 to $133-134 per barrel. Oil firms had last revised dates on December 1 when rates were cut by Rs 0.78 per litre. Petrol at IOC pumps in Delhi is currently priced at Rs 65.64 per litre and the rates vary by a couple of paise at the pumps of BPCL and HPCL. Petrol price was freed from government control in June 2010 but public sector companies continue to informally consult their parent Oil Ministry before taking a decision. "We are holding consultations," the official said, dropping hints that oil firms have so far not received a go ahead from the government for raising prices.
Oil firms lost about Rs 4,500 crore this fiscal on selling petrol below cost. The government does not compensate them for this loss as petrol is a decontrolled commodity.

Vanya Mishra is Miss India World '12

Mumbai,March31,2012:The winners of the Pantaloons Femina Miss India (PFMI) 2012 pageant were declared at a star-studded event at Bhavans Ground, Andheri on Friday evening. The winners are Vanya Mishra (Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2012), Prachi Mishra (Pantaloons Femina Miss India Earth 2012), Rochelle Maria Rao (Pantaloons Femina Miss India International 2012). Chandigarh girl, Vanya Mishra who got a direct entry in the final 20 after winning Dabur Gulabari Miss Rose Glow 2011 contest is finally PFMI'12 Miss World. In answer to the final question, 'If you have an option, will you create thousand jobs or feed thousand children daily?' Vanya said, "Little children are innocent and anybody's heart will melt. I will also try to give them education so that they can feed themselves and their family too." The PFMI 2012 winners were crowned by Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2011 Kanistha Dhankhar, Pantaloons Femina Miss India Earth 2011 Hasleen Kaur, Pantaloons Femina Miss India International 2011 Ankita Shorey. Mr Kamal Basu, Head Marketing Skoda Auto India Private Limited, gave away car keys as part of grand prize to the three finalists.
Check out full coverage on Feminamissindia
Vanya Mishra ( Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2012): Profile
Prachi Mishra ( Pantaloons Femina Miss India Earth 2012): Profile
Rochelle Maria Rao ( Pantaloons Femina Miss India International 2012): Profile

Indian student in Australia Rajesh Kumar jailed in visa scam

Melbourne March 31,2012: A Perth-based Indian student will spend 14 months in jail for his involvement in a scam to falsify English test scores to get Australian visas. Rajesh Kumar, 31, faced ten charges for his part in fraudulently altering the International English Testing System (IELTS) scores at Perth’s Curtin University between November 2009 and June 2010. A Perth District Court sentenced Rajesh Kumar on Monday after he pleaded guilty for changing the outcomes of IELTS test apparently to get permanent residence in Australia.
Nine other persons have already been jailed in a scam to increase the IELTS scores to get permanent residence in Australia. The list includes Kok Keith Low, a Curtin University English Language Centre employee who would be behind the bars for two years for playing the key role in falsifying the scores for various, mostly, Indian students. Anyone achieving a score of a minimum 7.0 in four IELTS components gets extra points in the skilled points test to get permanent residence in Australia. Rajesh Kumar was found guilty of taking a total of $32,000 from three IELTS candidates applying for Australian visas. He kept $14,000 for himself while giving remainder to an intermediary Pritesh Shah. The latter paid some of this bribe to Kok Keith Low who would then falsify the score at Curtin University’s IELTS test centre. The former Indian student had earlier paid $5,000 to Shah to get his own IELTS score changed to enable him to apply for an Australian visa.
The investigation carried out by Western Australia’s Corruption and Crime Commission led to the conviction of ten persons including Rajesh Kumar. In total, 73 charges were laid against 12 persons leading to fines of up to $20,000 and maximum jail of two years given to the former Curtin employee Kok Keith Low who faced 15 counts of bribery. A former Indian national (and Kok Low’s flatmate) Abdul Kader was sentenced for 18 months of imprisonment on 15 counts while Pritesh Shah has been handed a one year’s sentence. Judge Jeremy Curthoys of West Australian District Court has, according to The Australian newspaper, found Rajesh Kumar guilty of compromising the integrity of Australia’s migration program. “It was greed – pure and simple,” The Australian has quoted Judge Curthoys as saying while handing down the sentence to the Indian student. Rajesh Kumar’s sentence was backdated to November 2 last year when he was arrested after arriving back in Australia from India.

Pakistan addicted to using militants against India: Pentagon

WASHINGTON,March29,2012: Pakistan has an "addiction" of "playing around" with militant groups against India, a top Pentagon official has said."They have an addiction to playing around with militia groups to achieve certain interests, particularly vis-a-vis India. That gets them in all kinds of trouble,"Michael Sheehan, assistant secretary of Defence for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict, told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing. Responding to questions, Sheehan said the US has been having discussion with Pakistan in this regard, but without much success."We've had these conversations with them forever about that. I don't see that changing. I don't see any set of talking points that's going to be delivered by some new diplomat that's going to change their mind," Sheehan said, adding the US has virtually "given up" in its effort to change the mindset of Pakistan with regard to India."It's the way they view the world. We have to understand the way they view the world and try to work through it. But it's not going to be easy, but I think at the end of the day we have been successful in the FATA in degrading al-Qaida over the last 10 years despite all these problems."And I think that we're going to continue to work through it and hopefully again have another 10 years of success in degrading al-Qaeda's strategic capability in the FATA and elsewhere," Sheehan said.

Pak population increased by 46.9% between 1998 and 2011

ISLAMABAD,March29,2012: Pakistan's population increased by 46.9 per cent between 1998 and 2011 while Balochistan province witnessed the highest increase in population and Punjab the lowest, according to the preliminary results of the country's latest census.Households witnessed an increase of 50.4 per cent since 2011 and the population increased from 130,857,717 in 1998 to 192,288,944 in 2011, The News daily quoted preliminary results as showing.The results did not include three districts of Balochistan, South Waziristan Agency and the regions of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.However, with the inclusion of the population of PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan, the population would touch 197,361,691 in 2011, as against 134,714,017 in 1998, marking an increase of 46.5 per cent.The highest increase in population was witnessed in Balochistan, followed by Sindh, the semi-autonomous tribal areas, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the federal capital, while Punjab witnessed the lowest increase in population when compared to the three other provinces.In terms of percentage, the highest increase of 139. 3 per cent was witnessed in Balochistan (from 5,501,164 to 13,162,222), followed by Sindh, where the population increased by 81.5 per cent (from 30,439,893 to 55,245,497).The population of the Federally Administered Tribal areas increased by 62.1 per cent (from 2,746,490 to 4,452,913), Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa by 51.6 per cent (from 17,743,645 to 26,896,829), Islamabad by 43 per cent (from 805,235 to 1,151,868) while the population of Punjab witnessed the lowest increase of 24.1 per cent (from 73,621,290 to 91,379,615).The population of PoK increased by just 1.54 per cent from 2,972,501 in 1998 to 3,631,224 in 2001, whereas the population of Gilgit-Baltistan increased by 63. 1 per cent from 883,799 to 1,441,523.Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa accounted for 13.99 per cent of the total population of Pakistan in 2011, while 2.32 per cent live in the tribal areas, 47.52 per cent in Punjab, 28.73 per cent in Sindh, 6.85 per cent in Balochistan and 0.60 per cent in Islamabad.
According to the data, the average household size has decreased from 6.9 in 1998 to 6.8 in 2011.

Indian-origin lawyer in Strauss-Kahn's defence team

NEW YORK,March29,2012: An Indian-origin lawyer is part of the defence team of embattled former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn who is fighting to have a civil lawsuit against him in a sexual assualt case dismissed.Amit Mehta, along with William Taylor and Hugh Campbell, is defending Strauss-Kahn in the civil lawsuit filed against him by hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo in a Bronx court here.Diallo has accused Strauss-Kahn, a one time French presidential hopeful, of raping her in his luxurious hotel suite last year.
Mehta presented Strauss-Kahn's case before Bronx Supreme court judge Douglas McKeon arguing that the case be dismissed as his client enjoyed diplomatic immunity, akin to that extended to a UN Secretary General, in his capacity as head of a multilateral organisation.According the Mehta's bio published in the legal periodical National Law Journal, the 39-year-old is a partner at Washington law firm Zuckerman Spaeder.He had helped Strauss-Kahn defeat criminal charges in the sexual assault case in New York state court.The bespectacled lawyer was part of the defence team that won an acquittal for the former president of the Salt Lake City Olympic Bid Committee against federal charges of racketeering and fraud.He was also the primary brief writer for former Representative Tom Feeney in a case at the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2009.Mehta had a five-year stint as a staff attorney for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia before rejoining Zuckerman in 2007.

Indian businessman mysteriously found dead in Muscat

MUSCAT,March29,2012: An Indian businessman has been mysteriously found dead in Muscat, the capital city of Oman.VV Vasudevan's hands and legs were tied near his Land Cruiser vehicle in a yard behind one of his hardware shops in Al Hail suburb of Muscat.According to his brother Vijayan, Vasudevan, a hardware and building material businessman, was last seen at 10 pm local time after he closed his shop."In the evening one of the staff members called me that something was wrong, when I rushed here, I saw my brother's body with his hands and legs tied," Gulf News quoted Vasudevan, as saying.Apparently, Vasudevan, popularly known as Vasu, had five to six shops in al Khodh and Al Hail suburbs of Muscat.According to some of the eyewitnesses Vasu's, 54, body bore marks of strangulation around his neck.Vasu's family landed in Muscat back from India, minutes after his body was found.

Two Indian traders go on fast in China

BEIJING,March29,2012: Two Indians, who were freed from illegal custody of Chinese traders three months ago, on Wednesday went on a hunger strike in Shanghai, demanding that they be allowed to go home within a week failing which they will commit suicide. In the emails sent to the media on the eve of the Brics summit in New Delhi attended by Chinese president Hu Jintao, Deepak Raheja and Shyam Sunder Agrawal threatened to commit suicide if they were not sent back to India within a week. They said from Shanghai over phone that they have been asked by the hotel to vacate.

Indian student jailed in Australia

MELBOURNE,March29,2012: An Indian student was sentenced to 14 months in jail for his involvement in a bribery scam under which the English test scores used for granting Australian permanent residency and visas were falsified. A local court in Perth on Monday sentenced Rajesh Kumar, who had pleaded guilty to 10 counts of bribery between November 2009 and June 2010. The court heard that Kumar became an intermediary in the scam and personally received between 32,000 dollars and 44,000 dollars. Kumar also payed for his own International English Testing System (IELTS) results falsified by Kok Keith Low, an employee of Perth-based Curtin University. Nine others had been convicted and sentenced in relation to the bribery case, after the state's Corruption and Crime Commission charged 12 people with a total of 73 offences, according to the Australian Associated Press. Kumar arranged the payments through another Indian national, Pritesh Shah, who worked at a local service station. Shah, in turn, paid off another man, former Indian national Abdul Kader, who was living with Low, and arranged with him to have Kumar's IELTS results falsified to help him with a work visa application. Kumar then started "spruiking" the scheme to other Indian students and taking a cut of up to 6000 dollars per bribe. Low has already been jailed for two years on 15 counts of bribery, Kader to 18 months on 14 counts, and Shah one year on 14 counts. Others who were variously involved in the scam were jailed for between seven and nine months, suspended in each case, or received a fine of 20,000 dollars. Describing Kumar's role in the scam as that of a "spruiker", Judge Jeremy Curthoys said his actions compromised the integrity of Australia's migration scheme and made it more difficult for genuine visa applicants to be accepted where there were quotas in place. "It was greed - pure and simple," Curthoys said in handing down the sentence. Kumar's sentence was backdated to November 2 and he will be eligible for parole. Under Australian immigration laws, applicants for permanent residency, work or student visas are required to get a minimum 7.0 pass in four English subjects under the IELTS.

Tirumala wakes up to luxury pad culture

TIRUPATI(India),March29,2012: Since all pilgrims are equal in the eyes of the Lord, there is no private property in Tirumala, the hilltop where Balaji's temple is located. All land and property belongs to the Lord, in other words is controlled by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). So if pilgrims have to stay on the hills before and after a darshan (some of which could be at the crack of dawn and too long to traverse at odd hours from downhill in Tirupati) it has to be at a TTD-owned guest house. But the rich and the powerful want their own luxury pads on the hill, they don't want to stay at sparsely furnished guest houses.So how do you go around doing this, considering the ban on private property at Tirumala? The answer is simple: build luxury guest houses and donate them to TTD in the name of pilgrim service. But in name, the TTD controls these luxury guest houses and makes room allotments. However, in reality the guest houses are controlled by the big industrialists and companies who build them.Since 2004, TTD has been liberally allotting land in Sri Padmavathi Nagar. At that time, there were only 20 guest houses. In the last six years, 55 more VIP and private guest houses have sprung up on the hilltop."This is nothing but a luxury pad culture. Resorts have been built on the hilltop with no consideration that it is a hilltop that has limited land," says former director general of AP police T Suryanarayana Rao, who is also president of Tirumala Tirupati Samrakshana Samithi (TTSS). Many top business houses have their guest houses at Tirumala.As per rules, donors who build guest houses can stay for 30 days in a calendar year (not exceeding 10 days at a time). But the rich donors keep the guest houses for themselves by paying 11 months of rent to TTD."There is no need to construct any new buildings as cottages, guest houses and dormitories atop Tirumala can easily accommodate 40,000 pilgrims a day. Building more accommodation means getting more pilgrims to Tirumala and putting more pressure for darshan," said a senior IAS officer who was at the TTD's helm. Sources say there is immense pressure from common pilgrims to stay in the guest houses after being told that these belong to the TTD. But TTD refuses to allot rooms in guest houses reserving this privilege for VIPs and of course the industrialists who built them. Two deputy executive officers are chartered with the job of allocation of rooms to VIPs and high-brow pilgrims. "They decide which guest house would be suitable for these pilgrims as per their status and class," retired temple superintendent Jayaramaiah says. "Rich pilgrims, especially from metros do not mind throwing money to get accommodation," PVRK Prasad, former EO, says. Ironically, very little information is made public about how many VIP guest houses have available rooms with most of them donning 'No occupancy' boards."Money, clout and fame is enough, the TTD will roll out a red carpet for you. TTD must realize that Tirumala is not a tourist spot but a place of worship," points out Parvatha Rao, former TTD legal counsel.However, in what is a ray of hope, after a furore created by activists that the fragile ecology of the hilltop will be destroyed by rampant constructions, permissions for new guest houses have been stopped. Some works in progress have also been halted.
Also Read: 21-hour wait for fleeting darshan of the Lord
Is Lord Balaji temple at Tirumala only for VIPs?
Corruption is a way of life in Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams 

Property prices above 2008 high in Mumbai, unsold flats rise too

Mumbai,March29,2012: The real estate sector is probably set to repeat its 2008 story of high prices and few buyers. Property experts believe the market is overheating again, breaching the peak levels of 2008, as developers show no sign of lowering prices despite poor sales. A recent Crisil report says sales of new homes declined 40% between March 2011 to Febuary 2012. An analysis by property research agency Liases Foras shows average property prices are 15% higher in Mumbai and 30% higher in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) over their previous peak in June 2008. While the average price in Mumbai rose from Rs 14,553 per sq ft (psf) in June 2008 to Rs 16,686 psf in December 2011, in the MMR it jumped from Rs 8,124 psf to Rs 10,559 psf. The rise resulted in a further increase in unsold stock. Since November 2008, unsold stock in Mumbai has gone up from 24.66 million sq ft to 50 million sq ft in December 2011, while that in MMR increased from 79 million sq ft to 110 million sq ft. "Going by the quantum , it will take roughly 44 to 58 months to clear the unsold stock in MMR. One is witnessing a scenario similar to 2008, when developers refused to heed the global economic recession and high interest rates to reduce prices. Now, while developers again do not want to acknowledge they are financially overstretched, affordability is a major concern due to high interest rates. In the second half of 2008, property prices dropped by almost 40% in the MMR. What is stopping developers from reducing prices to boost sales,'' Pankaj Kapoor, CEO of Liases Foras said. Between August 2008 to June 2009, property prices dropped by 34% in MMR and by 26% in Greater Mumbai. According to Gulam Zia, national director (research and advisory services) at global property consultancy Knight Frank, the improved sentiments since 2009 did not translate into sales as buyers lost confidence in the developers' ability to complete the project. "Delay in approvals is a factor, but high prices are making buyers lose interest,'' Zia said. A report on the property market by Kotak Institutional Equity analysts said that the RBI data pointed to several negatives - further deterioration in absorption, weak launches, build-up of inventory and further moderation in housing loan uptake. "If weakness in sales continues, deleveraging will remain a distant goal for real estate companies,'' it said. However, a leading developer and member of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry said, "We have not been able to launch new projects or complete existing ones due to delay in approvals. A sharp rise in construction and funding costs, besides amendments to the DCR, will increase costs for builders and prevent a reduction in prices."

Bangalore costliest Indian city to live in: Survey

BANGALORE.March29,2012: Glitzy tech capital Bangalore just earned a new sobriquet - the costliest Indian city. An analysis of the Reserve Bank of India's Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows that Bangalore is a couple of notches higher than the all-India cost-of-living average, with financial capital Mumbai just a shade behind.The CPI is a measure of a standard basket of items, including food, clothing and transport, across cities. In the price race, Delhi is comfortably placed very low in the table, deriving its cushion from the subsidies galore it receives from the Centre . Take, for instance, LPG cylinders, which is a must-have in middle-class families . According to Bharat Petroleum's latest figures, Bangalore currently pays Rs 415 for a 14.5-kg refill, Kolkata Rs 405, Mumbai Rs 402 (expected to go up after budget), Delhi Rs 399 and Chennai Rs 393.50. Bangalore's CPI peaks in the national chart at a whopping 200, followed closely by Mumbai at 199, Kolkata 184 and Delhi a distant 181. The national CPI average is 198. For homemakers like Koramangala resident Aditi Rao, life in Bangalore is becoming tougher with each passing day. "Frequent hikes in the prices of basic items put our home budget out of sync every month," said Rao, 34.Budget analyst Ravi Duggal, who has lived in Mumbai and Delhi, observed that the high cost of living in Bangalore has come about as a result of the IT industry. He said there were different reasons for differential living costs among cities, including the aspiration of people. Talking of India's two leading cities, he said, "Where education is concerned, for instance , Delhi has more public education facilities than Mumbai."What makes Mumbai equally expensive ? "There are many factors, the chief being high rentals. Over 40% of the salary of an average Mumbaikar goes into paying rent," pointed out economist Vibhuti Patel of SNDT University.
MUMBAI: Indian heads of organizations are expected to get the best salary hikes of 8.3%, much better than most of their Asian counterparts. While India leads the pack as far as the average base pay increase goes, China stands second at a projected 6.5%, according to global HR consulting firm Mercer's 2011-12 Asia Executive Remuneration Survey-India Report. In 2011, India saw an actual increase of 8.4% in average base pay for heads of organizations.

The findings from Mercer's study said that 83% respondents rated retention of executive talent and succession planning for executives as top talent issues for most Indian companies. This was followed by leadership development for executives, which was pointed out by 68% respondents. Shanthi Naresh, principal, Human Capital, Mercer, said, "Growth, leadership shortage and high inflation have boosted India's executive pay in the past years. There exists an evident need for companies to explore innovative ways to manage and reward executive talent. Increasingly, companies are opting for more flexible pay structures which can be adjusted based on business performance."

Fixed pay is still considered the most important and effective pay component in India and constitutes 58% of total remuneration for the head of an organization, according to the survey.
Short-term incentives (STIs) as well as long-term incentives (LTIs) are also emerging as strong tools for companies to recognize performance of top executives. LTIs like stock options account for 10% of the average Indian company head's remuneration package as compared to 25% reported by the rest of the participating countries in Asia.

"Linkage of pay and performance is not as strong in India as in other Asian countries. Progressive companies in India are now trying to link well-defined performance parameters with incentive payouts to recognize and reward performance. Survey clearly underscored the need for greater transparency in awarding incentives," added Naresh.

A total of 201 companies took part in the survey from across Asia. Of them, 59% were firms with Asian headquarters and 41% had headquarters in the West. The average annual revenue of participating companies was $840 million and the average headcount stood at 1,900 employees. The India survey findings are based on a significant collection of market data gathered from both public and private companies. A total of 41 organizations participated in the survey, of which 63% were publicly-traded companies and the remaining 37% were privately-held.

Crime branch launches Facebook page to find missing children

AHMEDABAD,March27,2012: The city crime branch has resorted to social media to disseminate information about missing children by recently launching a Facebook page carrying details of missing kids. At the moment, the page has two major cases handed over to crime branch for investigation - the disappearance of Kartik Rajendran and Vishwa Patel. The printable poster shows the prize amounts along with short details and contact numbers. "Facebook is very popular amongst youngsters. Thus, we thought of giving it a try so that we can reach to maximum number of users. We intend to post relevant updates at regular intervals and also integrate more such cases. A website for the missing children is on the anvil on which users can anonymously provide us any relevant information," said a senior crime branch official. Officials said that several posts by Facebook users have already created awareness about missing children in the state.

Is Lord Balaji temple at Tirumala only for VIPs?

TIRUPATI,March27,2012: At Tirumala, all pilgrims are equal in the eyes of the Lord. But VIPs are always more equal in the eyes of the management of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). On March 18, restless devotees inside the Vaikuntam queue complex began shouting slogans. The reason: AP governor ESL Narasimhan was in the presence of the Lord at the time and ordinary mortals were forced to wait. Narasimhan has visited the temple six times (January 8, 29, February 5, 6 and March 18 and 19) in the last two-and-a-half months. Every time he is at the temple, it's an agonizing wait for the pilgrims.
Though a maximum of 1,200 are supposed to be allowed in for 'VIP break' darshan (twice daily, in the morning and evening), their number goes up to 3,000-4,000 a day and the common pilgrim lines are stopped for 3-4 hours. But who is a VIP devotee? As per the norms of the TTD, these comprise a huge list which include MPs/MLAs/ ministers/chief ministers/governors/ judges of AP high court / district judges and IAS officers of the AP cadre. Those who donate more than Rs 1 crore, film personalities, industrialists, corporate honchos and sportspersons are also treated as VIPs. Since all these VIPs do not descend on the same day, the mere presence of VIPs is not a problem. "They come with a huge entourage and stick around for long putting common pilgrims to hardships. This is the problem" says a temple official. Former TTD chairman Adikeshavulu Naidu used to chaperone liquor baron Vijay Mallya stalling darshans for common pilgrims for two hours," recollects former DG of police T Suryanarayana Rao. Adding to the trouble are recommendation letters issued by VIPs. A pilgrim carrying a VIP letter is also treated as a VIP with no proper scrutiny. "Present chairman Kanumuri Bapiraju revels in prostrating before VIPs. He issues VIP passes randomly often on the basis of a VIP letter," charges Kamalananda Bharati Swamy of Hindu Devalaya Parirakshana Samithi. There are also allegations that some of these VIP passes are blackmarketed.A separate cell has been set up to peruse recommendation letters of board members for darshans/Arjitha sevas/accommodations provided under the discretionary quota. "This is subject to the availability of rooms and influx of pilgrims. But this rule is always flouted to pander to VIPs," a temple official says. As if this wasn't enough, Bapiraju has now proposed an exclusive counter to facilitate VIP break darshan for all the public representatives and their families and friends.Demands to prune the entire VIP list to 1,500 and do away with the discretionary VIP quota have become strident of late. "Why cannot TTD issue a daily statement on how many VIP passes have been issued by its officials," Samanchi Srinivas, BJP leader, asks. Though TTD argues that several development works taken up at the temple are directly or indirectly linked to the largesse of these big shots, an IAS officer who was executive officer of TTD says this problem can be overcome only when the VIP list is revised. TTD chairman Bapiraju was not available for his comments.(This is the second in a series of reports on the affairs of Lord Balaji's temple in Tirumala)
TTD Board bends backwards for MLAs
Unfazed by widespread criticism over special darshan for VIPs at the expense of common pilgrims, the TTD, kowtowing to netas wishes, is all set to set up a special cell in the assembly for MLAs and MLCs to issue special passes. Speaker Nadendla Manohar held a meeting with TTD executive officer L V Subramanyam and endowments minister C Ramchadraiah in Hyderabad on Monday and asked them to set up a special TTD cell. Irked by the inconvenience caused by the rush of VIPs on Vaikunta Ekadasi on January 5, over a dozen legislators lodged complaints with the speaker and the council chairman about what they called "mismanagement" of the situation by TTD. Following this, TTD decided to set up a separate cell.

Maoists kill at least 15 CRPF jawans in Maharashtra

NEW DELHI,March27,2012: At least 15 CRPF jawans were killed and many more injured in a Maoist attack in a remote location in eastern Maharashtra on Tuesday, according to official sources. Around noon, the CRPF convey was moving for area domintaion and to conduct an operation based on some specific information. The incident took place near Pushtola in Gadchiroli district when a bus carrying the jawans hit a landmine planted by Naxalites. Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra borders Andhra Pradesh one of the major Maoist bastions in the region.

I was offered a Rs 14 crore bribe, claims Army chief VK Singh

NEW DELHI,March27,2012: Both houses of Parliament were adjourned till 2 pm after uproar by the opposition over Army chief VK Singh's allegations that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore. Meanwhile, defence minister AK Antony has ordered a CBI probe on Army chief's allegations. Earlier, both houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon after the opposition MPs created a ruckus over the disclosures made by the Army chief. The opposition today cornered the government in Parliament over Army Chief General VK Singh's claim that he was offered bribe. In an interview to a national daily 'The Hindu', army chief General VK Singh, who recently lost his date of birth battle, has claimed that he was offered a bribe of Rs 14 crore by an equipment lobbyist for clearing the purchase of 600 substandard vehicles. The army chief also added that the defence minister AK Antony was apprised of the matter.General Singh also said that 7,000 of those of which were already in use in the Army had been sold over the years at exorbitant prices.In the interview Singh said, "One of these men had the gumption to walk up to me and tell me that if I cleared the tranche, he would give me Rs 14 crore. He was offering a bribe to me, to the Army Chief. He told me that people had taken money before me and they will take money after me."Earlier, BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said, "What General VK Singh has said is a serious matter. We will raise this matter in Parliament."
"Things are fast unravelling and you will soon see the hand behind the drama. You will soon see who the sutradhar of the play is, Javadekar added.

Art of Living to host a music concert with 1,008 veenas

Bangalore, March 26,2012: It’s a concert where 1,008 veenas will play! In a first-of-its-kind, the Art of Living (AoL) Foundation is hosting a music concert with 1,008 veenas Wednesday at the Bangalore Palace grounds to create awareness about Indian classical music and inspire the younger generation. “The objective of the mega concert is to provide a common platform for practitioners of the ancient art and create awareness of Indian classical music among the present generation,” Suparna Ravishankar, secretary at the Ranjini Kalakendra centre, told IANS here.

Ranjini Kalakendra is a Bangalore-based Centre for Performing Arts, dedicated to preservation, promotion and development of Indian classical dance and music and allied forms of ancient to modern art. The orchestra will showcase veena exponents from Bangalore, Mangalore, Udupi, Mysore, Kollegala, Mandya, Tumkur, Chitradurga and Shimoga across Karnataka with performances by its masters and their disciples. A similar event in 2008 when 1,094 sitarists staged a concert on Brahm Naad in New Delhi inspired AoL to organise this concert titled ‘Sahasra Veena Jhenkara’ where over 808 women and 200 men will participate.
The music for the 1,008-piece veena orchestra is based on ancient ragas such as hamsadwani, sriraga, mohana, mayamalavagowla, brindavani, kapi, dhanashree, yaman. A special composition of fusion music in raga malika will also be played to enlighten the audience with the nuances of the instrument. “The concert will be a musical yagna (ritual) where hundreds will join to create silence, which brings dynamism in life,” AoL spokesperson Ravindra Prasand said. In the past, AoL conducted the ‘Naadha Vaibhavam’ concert in Chennai where 5,000 Carnatic musicians performed in unison in 2011 and ‘Antarnaad’ event with 2,750 Hindustani classical vocalists singing at a time in 2010. As one of the ancient string instruments in south India, the 1.5-metre long veena is made of jackwood.

NRI kids’ custody row: Sagarika to reach Kolkata today

New Delhi, March 26,2012: Sagarika Chakraborty, mother of the two NRI kids kept under foster care by Norway, flew for India two days ago and is expected to reach Kolkata today.

She left Norway after NRI couple Sagarika and Anurup Bhattacharya re-signed an agreement to hand over their children to their uncle Arunabhash, with India pressing the point that the best bet for children would be to bring them up in an Indian cultural milieu. “Both parents have agreed to hand over the children to the uncle. The agreement was signed today (Friday) and will be handed over to the Norwegian child care service,” the lawyer representing the NRI couple told news channel Times Now. The document was attested by the Indian embassy in Oslo, confirmed government sources. The renewed pact offers a way out of the impasse the custody case had reached after marital problems between the parents became public and the Norwegian authorities refused to hand over the two NRI children on grounds that there were no credible guardians for them. Abhigyan, 3, and Aishwarya, 1, children of the couple living in Norway’s Stavanger, were taken under protective care by Barnevarne (Norwegian Child Welfare Services) last May on the ground that they were not looked after properly by their parents Over a month ago, India and Norway had struck an agreement under which the parents named Anurup’s brother Arunabhash Bhattacharya as the primary caretaker of the two children. The re-nomination of the uncle as local guardian came after some reports that he had backed out of the agreement amid speculation that parents were planning to separate. The parents’ marital problems and the disclosure about the mother’s unstable mental condition had embarrassed the government which has invested much diplomatic capital in pressuring the Norwegian authorities to help children return to India in the care of their extended family. If the pact is accepted by the Norwegian court as sufficient guarantee for handing over the children, it will be a major boost to the government which has faced some criticism for intervening in the case without cross-checking the facts.

Indian woman in UK faces trial for suicide attempt

London, March 26,2012: An Indian woman is facing trial in Britain for allegedly trying to kill her child and attempt suicide by jumping before a train.The Snaresbrook Crown Court heard that Radhika Sharma, 35, jumped in front of a locomotive as horrified commuters looked on at one of London’s busiest stations. The driver slammed on the brakes but was powerless to stop and the pair disappeared from view, the Daily Mail reported.Both, however, escaped uninjured as the engine passed harmlessly overhead and its wheels hit neither of them, it added.The incident occurred last year.Sharma, of Forest Gate, east London, denies attempt to murder and two counts of child cruelty or neglect.

Indian Americans third largest Asian community in US

WASHINGTON,March24,2012: Indian Americans numbering 3.2 million is the third largest Asian American community in US after Chinese Americans (3.8 million) and Filipinos (3. 4 million). As per the details released by US Census Bureau for the year 2010, Asian American communities have emerged as the fastest growing ethnic communities in the last one decade. The total US population grew by 9.7%, from 281.4 million in 2000 to 308.7 million in 2010. However, the Asian population increased more than four times faster than the total US population, growing by 43% from 10.2 million to 14.7 million, it said. As a result, the Asian alone-or-in-combination population represented 57% of the total population in Hawaii. California had the next highest proportion at 15%, followed by New Jersey (nine per cent), Nevada (nine per cent), Washington (nine per cent), and New York (eight per cent). The same six states had the highest proportions of the Asian alone population. The 2010 Census showed that New York, had the largest Asian alone-or-in-combination population, with 1.1 million, followed by Los Angeles (484,000), and San Jose (327,000). Three other places, Francisco and San Diego in California and Urban Honolulu in Hawaii had Asian alone-or-in-combination populations of over 200,000 people. As per the figures, the Bhutanese population experienced the fastest growth from 2000 to 2010, growing from about 200 in 2000 to about 19,000 in 2010. Census Bureau said of all the detailed Asian alone-or-in-any combination groups that had a population of one million or more, the Indian American population grew the fastest, by 68%, followed by the Filipino (44%), Vietnamese (42%), Korean (39%), and Chinese (40%) populations.

NRI attacks LK Advani, loses BJP support

NEW DELHI,March24,2012: The BJP on Wednesday reversed its controversial decision to support Ashutosh Mishra's bid for a Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand, directing its MLAs not to support the NRI or anyone in the biennial elections to the Upper House from the state. The decision to remain on the sidelines in the Rajya Sabha polls came against the backdrop of resistance by senior party leaders like Yashwant Sinha and not before Mishra had discomfited the BJP by launching a frontal assault on the former Union finance minister L K Advani and former Himachal Pradesh CM Shanta Kumar. According to reports from Ranchi, Mishra, whose aspiration for a RS seat melted , attacked Advani for having praised Pakistan's founder M A Jinnah, and linked Sinha's opposition to the machinations of a corporate house, while calling Shanta Kumar a geriatric. The outburst stung the party into swiftly announcing the decision not to participate in the RS polls for Jharkhand. The decision was taken at a high-level attended by leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley, senior MP from Jharkhand Yashwant Sinha, general secretaries Ananth Kumar, Ravi Shankar Prasad and others.BJP president Nitin Gadkari went along with the prevailing mood instantly. Soon, a Mishra retired from the fray. "I would have won," the NRI claimed. He also disowned the attacks on BJP leaders attributed to him, saying that his statements had been distorted.

Australia announces changes to student visa regime

MELBOURNE,March24,2012: Faced with dwindling international enrollments, Australian government has announced a slew of changes to its student visa regime including the doubling of working hours limit.
Also from tomorrow, all visa applicants, regardless of country of origin, applying to study in Bachelor, Masters or Doctoral degrees at participating universities, will be treated as though they are lower risk and will need to submit less evidence in support of their visa application. From March 26, more flexible work conditions for all student visa holders will be introduced, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen, said yesterday.
All students will be entitled to work a maximum of 40 hours over a two-week period, rather than being restricted to 20 hours each week. Post graduate research visa holders will be entitled to work an unlimited amount of hours per week once their course has commenced, he said. Welcoming the new rules, Australian High Commissioner to India, Peter Varghese in New Delhi said, "These streamlined visa arrangements recognise the strong record of Australia's universities in attracting high quality students and will not only reduce the complexity of the visa application process but also result in faster processing of student visas." He said there is a very strong commitment from all sides to ensure these changes lead to a steady and sustainable growth in high-quality Indian student enrollment. Sent at 9:30 PM on Friday matthew.biju@gmail.com: Australia's education sector has registered a massive fall of over 3 billion dollars in revenue from foreign students as number of overseas pupils plummeted, affected by a rapidly rising currency, stiffening of the visa regime and violence against Indians. Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the value of international students to the education sector has fallen by a whopping 20 per cent last year but the government has dubbed this decline "as expected, and a good thing". Australia's education sector that drew a large number of foreign students, including Indians, is one of the major revenue earners in Australia.

US woman adopts Indian boy via video-conferencing

NEW DELHI,March24,2012: In one of the first cases of its kind, an American woman has been allowed to adopt an Indian child through video-conferencing, after the mother and child deposed before a US district court from Delhi. The adoption did not involve the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) either, in itself a precedent. On Friday, 31-year-old Rebecca Morlock flew home with Kyle, the boy from Kalimpong who was handed over to her as a newborn four years ago.Going through the Supreme Court, a Delhi district court, the US embassy and a US district court, Rebecca managed to bridge the adoption and immigration laws in the two countries. Once the Delhi court granted her guardianship rights in 2009, in record nine months, the US court approved the adoption.Rebecca's quest began in January 2008, when an unwed mother in a village near Kalimpong in West Bengal was desperate to give up her two-day-old baby, fearing ostracism. Word came to Rebecca, who had volunteered to teach at children's homes there since 2007. "I knew instantly that I would do whatever it took to make him my son legally," she recalls. "I loved him with all my heart rightaway and was determined to give him the best possible life."Finding little help in Kolkata, she came to Delhi and contacted her embassy, which sent her to advocate Gaurang Kanth. The legal team first got the guardianship proceedings transferred from a Kalimpong court to Delhi by a Supreme Court order. In 2009, district judge Gurdeep Kumar granted Rebecca the certificate of guardianship, but with several conditions, as laid down by the Supreme Court for such cases. She was also directed to set up a fixed deposit for Kyle so that he could fly back if she failed to finalize the adoption within two years. There was one hitch, though-while Indian laws mandated that she take Kyle to the US for adoption, the US immigration insisted she adopt Kyle in Delhi before taking him home.Rebecca then got a rare allowance from the US, with authorities giving her clearance to finalize the adoption via video-conferencing. Kyle's passport was issued last year after consultations between the local and US authorities, including a US state judge. By end of 2011, US immigration approved a visa for Kyle and earlier this month, the US court permitted her to return home with the boy.When TOI met her hours before her departure for the US, Rebecca was ecstatic. "Every step of this journey has been challenging and it has been new territory. Our case has set a precedent in both countries. It is my hope that through this, people will have courage and hope, and the legal guidelines to rescue more babies in a similar manner."

China tea costs more than gold!

BEIJING,March24,2012: A type of tea called Longjing or Dragon Well in China hit a record presale price of 360,000 yuan ($57,024) per kilogram this year, higher than the price of gold, which is currently about $53,000 per kg. The Longjing tea is one of China's best green teas. It has been a favourite among wealthy buyers. The tea is harvested prior to Qingming festival, usually in the first week of April, in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, the Shanghai Daily reported Friday. It is produced from the first spring shoots. Skilled workers pick every leaf by hand. Zhu Baichang, a dealer who sold the tea at the record price in the presale, said this year it will cost 80,000 yuan per kg on the market, up 10,000 yuan from last year. "The 360,000 yuan per kg for the pre-Qingming tea was just a single case for presale promotion and we will donate the money to a local art group for deaf people," Zhu said. People who bought the tea at the presale rate were mostly government officials, he said, adding that the market price was still very high for common people to afford. Another variety called Moutai, served at official banquets, used to sell for about 600 yuan four years ago, now it costs around 2,000 yuan. The Qingming Festival or tomb-sweeping day, is a traditional Chinese festival where people go to family graves to sweep the tombs and honour their ancestors.

Censors block online rumors about coup as China battles infighting within ruling party

BEIJING,March24,2012: Chinese censors have blocked internet content speculating a military coup amid reports of serious power struggle within the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that threatens to disrupt a smooth transition of power when its general secretary and President Hu Jintao completes his term later this year. The struggle has come to the fore after the party's Chongqing city head Bo Xilai was removed from his post as his deputy had reportedly sought asylum in the US. Bo, who is a CCP founding member's son, was a contender for the party's top post. Insiders describe the struggle as one between the group representing princelings -- the offspring of old revolutionaries -- and those opposing them. Vice president Xi Jinping, a princeling, is seen as Hu's successor. "Some people at the top are childhood friends and children of national heroes. There is a group supporting these princelings and another one opposing it," a university teacher, who is closely associated with the CCP, told TOI. He is among millions of excited Communist cadre watching the unfolding drama. Many of them have been posting "information'' about the alleged coup and photographs of tanks and armored vehicles on Beijing's streets on Chinese version of Twitter -- Weibo. But reports said some of the pictures were old ones from military rehearsals. Experts said the rumors gained much traction due to the prevailing political situation in the country and the talk about infighting ahead of the CCP once-in-a-decade leadership shuffle. The ongoing struggle is also about the fight for supremacy between the party's pro-reform and the hardcore pro-Maoists sections. The Maoist faction still exerts some influence in China. Bo, who was tipped for a position in the CCP's powerful politburo standing committee, has a huge following among the hardline elements because he has been the only leader openly advocating Mao Zedong's policies and opposing the "capitalist class" produced by the party's new economic policies. Bo's removal led to suspicions that the pro-reform section was trying to completely wipe out the other group. The party gave Bo an opportunity to publicly explain himself at a press conference, which was attended by the foreign media. This was a rare exception made for a party member under a cloud, partly because he wields great influence in both the party and the People's Liberation Army. In fact, Beijing is agog with rumors that a section of the PLA is determined to protect Bo in case criminal charges are pressed against him.

New device invisible to magnetic fields

WASHINGTON,March24 , 2012(AFP): European researchers said Thursday they have created a device invisible to a static magnetic field that could have practical military and medical applications.Fedor Gomory and colleagues in Slovakia and Spain designed a cloak for a direct current, or dc, magnetic field that is static and produced by a permanent magnet or coil carrying a direct current. DC magnetic fields are used in MRI imaging devices, in hospitals and in security systems, such as those in airports. The reserchers’ device, described in a study in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, features a cylinder with two concentric layers. While the inner layer consists of a superconducting material that repels magnetic fields, the outer layer is a ferromagnetic material that attracts them. Placed in a magnetic field, the device has no effect on the field lines, showing neither a shadow nor a reflection. So an object inside the device cannot be detected. “There are many applications — for some cars, ships or a submarine,” said study co-author Alvaro Sanchez of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He told AFP the device could also be used for patients who have a pacemaker and need a MRI of a knee or other body part, so the image would not be distorted. Because it is made from commercially available materials, as well as operating under relatively strong magnetic fields and relatively warm liquid nitrogen temperatures, the device could easily be put to practical use, according to the authors. “For the submarine, you have to make a shell around the submarine that will make the submarine magnetically undetectable,” said Sanchez. “This could also be used to protect some (military and medical) equipment against electromagnetic disturbances.”

Sri Lankan dailies go to town over India’s UN vote

Colombo,March24, 2012(IANS): India’s vote against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council grabbed the headlines here Friday.India Thursday voted for a US-backed resolution urging Sri Lanka to probe rights abuses in the war on the Tamil Tigers. Sri Lanka expressed outrage after the resolution won majority support at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva. The UNHRC adopted the resolution with 24 votes in favour, 15 against and eight abstentions. The Daily News said: “Only one vote majority for resolution; 24 say ‘yes’, 23 decline to support”. Calling it “misconceived, unwarranted and ill-timed resolution”, the daily said: “Those who live in glass houses are best advised to exercise caution before throwing stones.” “Geneva: Lanka fails to beat the odds,” was the headline at infolanka.com Another website news.lk said that voting at HRC was “determined by strategic alliances and domestic issues”. “It is a matter of great satisfaction to us that 15 countries voted with Sri Lanka, despite the intensity of pressure, in a variety of forms, exerted on them all,” it said. The headline in the Island daily said “Geneva: Lanka fails to beat the odds”. It mentioned that the resolution amended again at India’s behest to include key operative words, “in consultation with and with the concurrence of the government of Sri Lanka”. The report noted that although “India succumbed to US pressure to vote for the resolution, key Asian countries, including those representing SAARC and two UN Security Council members voted against it”. “Lanka defiant despite losing vote,” said the Sunday Leader. It said that the Sri Lankan government remained defiant despite losing a key vote at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said that most countries which voted with Sri Lanka were acutely conscious of the danger of setting a precedent which enables ad hoc intervention by powerful countries in the internal affairs of other nations. “The most distressing feature of this experience is the obvious reality that voting at the Human Rights Council is now determined not by the merits of a particular issue but by strategic alliances and domestic political issues in other countries which have nothing to do with the subject matter of a resolution or the best interests of the country to which the resolution relates. “This is a cynical negation of the purposes for which the Human Rights Council was established,” he said in a statement.

Breather for India leaders in “$211 billion” coal row

  NEW DELHI,March24, 2012(Reuters): The Indian government has doused a row over up to $211 billion in lost revenue from underpriced coal sales but the opposition will pile on the pressure when a report on the matter reaches parliament.The Times of India newspaper published on Thursday a leaked draft report by a government auditor, saying faulty policies on selling coalfields to private and state companies may have cost the exchequer billions of dollars in lost revenue. The report caused uproar in parliament and sent markets down on fear this could balloon into the latest in a series of corruption scandals to hit Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his second term, derailing economic reforms at a time of slowing growth. But the leaked draft was swiftly denounced as “exceedingly misleading” by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which argued that the leak did not present the body’s final view. The prime minister also weighed in to criticise the leak. After the initial outcry, the opposition agreed to allow parliament to function until both houses have voted on the federal budget next week. A spokesman for the auditor said on Friday the final report would likely be ready in time for the second part of the parliamentary session in April. “The report on the performance audit of coal block allocations is under the process of finalisation and is likely to be sent to the government for tabling in the second leg of the ongoing budget session,” B.S. Chauhan, spokesman for the Comptroller and Auditor General told Reuters. The government and the CAG have had tense relations since the auditor reported estimated losses of up to $36 billion from the underpriced sale of telecom licenses.
Uncertainty Opposition parties, including the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are likely to pounce on the final report as further evidence of corruption in the allocation of national resources under Singh’s government. “The government may present the coal report towards the end of the budget session. We can’t really comment on the report until it is in parliament. But, we have been raising the issue of improper allocation of coal fields for the past three years,” a BJP leader, Prakash Javadekar, told Reuters. Singh has lurched from crisis to crisis since graft in the sale of telecoms spectrum surfaced two years ago, culminating in the quashing of licenses. The telecoms sale may have cost the government up to $36 billion. Uncertainty over the coal contracts is likely to add to investor confusion about doing business in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. In the leaked draft the government auditor criticised the allocation of 155 coalfields to about 100 private and some state-run firms between 2004 and 2009, questioning why they were not auctioned off to the highest bidder. Any suggestion of lost revenues also underlines the weakening state of the central government’s finances. The budget deficit is expected to blow out to 5.9 percent of gross domestic product this fiscal year from a goal of 4.6 percent, leaving the government stretched for the upcoming year and ahead of elections due by 2014.

India may win Iran sanctions waiver

NEW DELHI, March24, 2012(Reuters): India could yet be exempted from tighter U.S. sanctions on buyers of Iranian crude, and New Delhi would like to be judged on the size of term deals with Tehran which begin in April, the International Energy Agency’s executive director told Reuters.In a first public indication India is discussing a waiver to the sanctions, which it has rebuffed, Maria van der Hoeven said the country’s annual contracts were an unknown still to be considered. Reuters calculates India is likely to cut imports from Iran by more than 20 percent in the new deals — in line with a benchmark 15-22 percent set for Japan to secure its waiver. “At the moment, India is not one of those with an exemption. The answer of India was that they have their contracts running from April to March,” van der Hoeven said in an interview on the sidelines of the Asia Gas Partnership conference in New Delhi on Friday. “So that, for instance, is one of the ... things that has to be decided in the context of what is going to happen after April 1. It is one of the uncertainties that are there.” The U.S. has exempted Japan and 10 EU nations from financial sanctions because they have slashed purchases of Iranian oil, but Iran’s top customers — China and India — remain at risk of such steps.
The 11 countries have a six-month reprieve from the threat of being cut off from the U.S. financial system.
India relies on Iran, its second-biggest supplier, for about 12 percent of its oil needs. New Delhi publicly maintains it will not seek a waiver to the U.S. measures, and that it sees no need to reduce oil imports from Iran because that is not required under United Nations sanctions, although it acknowledges the need to diversify supplies. Privately it has asked refiners to cut by at least 15 percent. Payments to Tehran, and insurance for shipments of its oil, are becoming ever more difficult because of sanctions and have prompted India to resort to using the rupee — which is not freely traded on global markets — for some Iranian crude.

Average cost of US wedding hits $27,021

 NEW YORK, March24, 2012(Reuters):  New York, where the average cost of a wedding is $65,824, is the most expensive city in the United States to get married but many couples will spend about $27,000 to tie the knot and that doesn’t include the cost of the honeymoon.Most things in Manhattan and the New York metropolitan area are expensive and weddings are no exception, according to the wedding websites TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com, which polled nearly 18,000 U.S. brides who were married in 2011 about the cost of their big day. Chicago came in second with wedding costs of $53,069, but metropolitan New York, which includes Long Island and counties north of New York and the city’s boroughs, neighboring New Jersey and Rhode Island rounded out the top five. The price tags ranged from a high in Manhattan, which topped the poll of 20 cities to Detroit, where couples spend $27,017 on their nuptials. The state of West Virginia, where nuptials cost an average of $14,203, was the least expensive wedding location. “For the first time since 2008, wedding budgets are on the rise,” said Carley Roney, cofounder of The Knot. “In 2011, one in five U.S. couples spent more than $30,000, and 11 percent spent more than $40,000 on their weddings,” she said. Anja Winikka, the site editor of TheKnot.com, said the economy could be playing a part in the rising price tags of weddings. “It probably has to do with attitudes toward economic recovery,” she said.
The overall cost of a wedding includes the venue, wedding planner, band and DJ, photographer, florist, videographer, dress, cake, ceremony site and musicians, invitations, limousine, favors, rehearsal dinner and engagement ring. The venue usually accounts for 50 percent of the budget and the average cost per guest is $196, according to Winikka, who added that 75 percent of couple contribute to the cost of their wedding.
Brides, whose average age was 29, paid about $1,100 for their wedding dress, invited about 140 guests, had four to five bridesmaids and about a 14-month engagement, according to the survey. The average fee for the wedding planner was $1,753. Future brides are also planning further ahead, some more than 12 months in advance of the wedding. A hopeful 16 percent of potential brides started planning their big day before their prospective husband put a ring on their finger. Although June is considered the month for weddings, September was the most popular time for nuptials and blue, purple and green are the top colors.
Hawaiians tend to have the most casual weddings, while couples in Long Island, New York are most likely to opt for the most formal. Most couples have a traditional wedding cake but cupcakes are nudging their way on to the menu and interactive food stations, sommelier wine tastings and sushi chefs are becoming popular.
And to keep up with all it 69 percent of couples had their own personal wedding website.
“It is one of the must haves now,” said Winikka.

Facebook blasts snooping employers

SAN FRANCISCO,March24, 2012(AFP): Facebook on Friday blasted employers that want to peer at what workers have posted on their personal accounts at the world’s leading social network.Facebook chief privacy officer Erin Egan urged members of the online community not to share passwords with current or potential employers and warned companies to resist pressing for access. In recent months we’ve seen a distressing increase in reports of employers or others seeking to gain inappropriate access to people’s Facebook profiles or private information,” Egan said in a blog post. “The most alarming of these practices is the reported incidences of employers asking prospective or actual employees to reveal their passwords.”
She argued that snooping employers undermine the privacy of workers, and their friends at Facebook, while exposing themselves to legal risks. For example, prospective employers could be accused of discriminating against an applicant based on seeing Facebook account information revealing someone’s age or sexual preference. “You shouldn’t be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job,” Egan said. “As the friend of a (Facebook) user, you shouldn’t have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don’t know and didn’t intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job.” To enforce the point, Facebook made it a violation of its policy to share or solicit an account password. “We don’t think employers should be asking prospective employees to provide their passwords because we don’t think it’s right the thing to do,” Egan said.

Indian students are safe in Britain: Envoy

Nashik(India), March 24,2012: Underlining the need for “easier” visa process for students, British Deputy High Commissioner for Western India, Peter Beckingham, has said that Indian students are safe in his country.
“The need of the hour is to have easier and suitable visa process between India and Britain for the students migrating to UK for education and vice versa,” Beckingham said while interacting with reporters last evening during his visit to the city. Seeking to allay concerns over safety of Indian students in his country against the backdrop of the murder of 23-year-old Lancaster University student Anuj Bidve last year, the envoy said, “barring a few incidents, thousand of students from India, Pakistan and China are safe in United Kingdom, while a number of syllabuses of Oxford University are operational in India”. Beckingham also observed that the city has unlocked business potential which can be exploited for its growth on many fronts. “There are many investment opportunities in Nashik city, especially in areas of food processing, industries, healthcare, education and tourism,” he said. The envoy, who is on a two-day visit to the city, commonly known as “wine capital” for production of grapes, met top district officials and local industry representatives before visiting fly-ash project, DIRK India, at Eklahare on Nashik-Pune highway. The project recycles fly ash from Nashik Thermal Power Station into a valuable cement replacement product. “As per the survey undertaken by UK, we have selected eighteen cities in country, including Nashik, to boost trade and investment. As major investment is being made in New Delhi and Mumbai and DIRK India being operational here, a number of British companies will invest in India within the next two years,” he said. Beckingham further said that wine produced in Nashik district has good business prospects in future.

NRIs in Oman asked to get documents attested by MEA in India

Muscat, March 24,2012: The Indian Embassy in Oman has advised all its citizens in the country to get their documents attested/apostilled by the ministry of external affairs, New Delhi. “This has become mandatory now that both Republic of India and the Sultanate of Oman are member states of the Apostille Convention (1961),” the Gulf News quoted a statement issued by the mission today. The indicative list of documents issued in India which are required to be apostilled include birth/death/marriage certificates, driving licenses, Affidavits, Power of Attorney, documents and educational documents like degree, diploma, matriculation and secondary level certificates, etc. However, the documents already attested by authorities in India/ Embassy of India Muscat are not required to be apostilled again. The ministry of external affairs, India is the nodal ministry for consular legalisation and Apostille of documents for use abroad. The Attestation Cell in the ministry of external affairs will accept pre-authenticated documents at the counter from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on all working days i.e. Monday to Friday. The attested/apostilled documents will be returned same day between 4 p.m. and 5.30 p.m.

I’m very sorry about Tyler Clementi: Indian-American Dharun Ravi

Washington, March 24,2012: An Indian American student convicted of spying on his gay roommate with a webcam said he did some stupid things but didn’t cause the fellow pupil’s suicide days after the incident. Former Rutgers New Jersey State University student Dharun Ravi, 20, told ABC’s “20/20″ that he did some stupid things, but Tyler Clementi, who killed himself by leaping off the George Washington Bridge, had other problems.

“Even though I wasn’t the one who caused him to jump off the bridge, I did do things wrong and I was stupid about a lot of stuff,” Ravi told the news show. The former computer science student was convicted on 15 counts of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation and other crimes after using a webcam to watch Clementi’s sexual encounter with another man in their dorm room. Ravi said he did some soul-searching after Clementi’s death, but concluded it wasn’t his fault. “The more and more I found out, it would be kind of obnoxious of me to think that I could have this profound effect on him,” Ravi said. Ravi said Clementi left a suicide note behind that authorities never released. “The fact that we weren’t allowed to read it, that they said it didn’t have anything to do with this, that gave me comfort also because I figured if it has nothing to do with me . . . it must have been something else that was going on,” he said. “I’m very sorry about Tyler,” Ravi told The Star-Ledger. “I want the Clementis to know I had no problem with their son. I didn’t hate Tyler and I know he was OK with me.”

Indian associations honour Judge Ajit Singh

NewDelhi,March24,2012:Four New Delhi based Indian global organisations honoured Manukau District Court Judge Dr Ajit Swaran Singh at as many awards functions in New Delhi last month. The Awards coincided with the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) 2012 hosted by the Rajasthan State government under the aegis of the Ministry of Indian Overseas Affairs in Jaipur from January 7 to 9, 2012.

Dr. Singh has been attending the annual conference since 2008, the year in which President Pratibha Patil honoured him with the Bhartiya Samman Award, the highest award given by the Indian government to distinguished people of Indian origin (PIO) in New Delhi. In January 2010, he received the ‘India Empire NRI Award’ for Community Leadership in the Asia Pacific Region’ from Overseas Indian Affairs minister Vayalar Ravi in Delhi.

Excellence in Justice

The four Awards that he received last month included the ‘Global Punjabi Society GPS Award’ (January 9), `NRI Institute Bharat Samman Award,’ Global Indian Association GIA International Excellence Award’ (January 10) and the ‘India International Friendship Society Glory of India Award and Certificate of Excellence.’ The Awards were presented at special ceremonies attended by a number of Indian and visiting dignitaries The Global Punjabi Society, launched in January 2010, honours PIO for ‘Fairness, Justice and Community Leadership.’ Retired Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh presented the `GPS Award’ to Dr Singh at the ceremony held at Le Meridien Hotel. Pondicherry Lt Governor Dr Iqbal Singh and former Indian off-spinner (Cricket) Bishen Singh Beth were among the other recipients. The NRI Institute, a not-for-profit organisation to provide a platform for Indians around the world to exchange information and experience, and promote investments in India, publishes `NRI Achievers,’ a publication that recognises PIO for their distinguished services in various fields. Among the guests of honour was former Lok Sabha speaker Balram Jhakar held at Le Meridien Hotel. The Institute honours Indians with the ‘Bharat Samman Award.’ Baroness Dr Sandip Verna, Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills in the British government presented the Award to Dr Singh for his ‘outstanding contribution to Law, Justice and Education.’ T K S Nair, an Advisor at the Prime Minister’s Office, was the chief guest at the Global Indian Association GIA International Excellence Award ceremony held at the New Delhi YMCA. He presented the Award to Dr Singh for his ‘remarkable contribution and excellence’ in Justice and Law. Every year, the India International Friendship Society presents its ‘Glory of India Award and Certificate of Excellence’ to PIO for their ‘Meritorious Services, Outstanding Performance and Remarkable Role in the Society.’ Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla presented the Award this year to Dr Singh at a ceremony held at Le Meridien Hotel. On a related note, Dr Singh is the honorary visiting professor of law at the University of Fiji Law School in Suva and Saweni (Lautoka) where he regularly lectures on pro bono basis.