Thursday 31 October 2013

India - Patna - Narendra Modi to visit blast victims 31.10.2013

Narendra Modi to visit Patna on Saturday to meet blast victims

PTI PATNA, OCTOBER 30, 2013 | UPDATED 15:21 IST

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will visit Bihar again on November 2 to meet the families of six victims of the Patna serial blasts, former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi today said.

Modi will arrive in Patna by a special helicopter and visit families of serial blast victims in different districts and express his condolence to the affected families, the state BJP leader said.

Serial blasts had rocked Modi's 'Hunkar Rally' at the historic Gandhi Maidan on October 27, in which six persons were killed and 82 others sustained injuries.

Congress had criticised Modi for going ahead with the Patna rally despite the blasts, saying "after an event like this happens, you should give up whatever happens".

Union Minister Salman Khurshid slammed Modi, saying that instead of attending to those injured in the blasts he went ahead with the rally.

"Should you not attend to people who were hurt? Should you not try to find out what has happened? He continued with his speech much worse much worse," he had said.

India - Sensex ends at highest points 31.10.2013

Sensex ends at record high of 21,033.97, rises 105 points

PTI MUMBAI, OCTOBER 30, 2013 | UPDATED 07:26 IST

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Wednesday surged nearly 105 points to close at all-time high of 21,033.97 on heavy foreign fund inflows in bluechips, amid speculation that the US Fed would maintain its monetary stimulus when they conclude a meeting at night.

Continuing gains after Tuesday's 359-point rally following the RBI policy, the Sensex rose 104.96 points, or 0.50 per cent to 21,033.97 -- eclipsing the previous record close of 21,004.96 on November 5, 2010.

The 30-share bluechip index's intra-day high of 21,206.77 was hit on January 10, 2008.

Bharti Airtel rose 5.23 per cent after the company posted better-than-expected operating performance. Other contributors to the Sensex gains were ITC, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Dr Reddy's Lab, TCS and Bajaj Auto.

"Continued buying from FIIs and greater risk appetite of investors at higher levels is leading to this rally," said Nidhi Saraswat, Senior Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 30.80 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 6,251.70, after touching the day's high of 6,269.20. Also, SX40 index, the flagship index of MCX-SX, closed 69.68 points up at 12,514.81.

Brokers said trading sentiment continued to be bullish on expectations of liquidity enhancement after the Reserve Bank of India cut marginal standing facility (MSF) to 8.75 per cent in its monetary policy review Tuesday.

A firming trend in the Asian region and higher opening in Europe before the outcome of US Federal Reserve's meeting where the $85 billion a month monetary stimulus is expected to be maintained, also influenced the Indian market sentiment.

Foreign funds have continued to buy domestic stocks for 18 straight sessions till yesterday, encouraging domestic participants to increase bets, experts said.

Sectorally, the BSE Healthcare sector index gained the most by rising 1.19 per cent, followed by FMCG (1.12 per cent), Tech (0.66 per cent), Power (0.51 per cent) and realty (0.47 per cent).

India - Coal scam update 31.10.2013

Coal block scam: More FIRs will be filed, says CBI

SAURABH SHUKLA | MAIL TODAY | NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 31, 2013 | UPDATED 10:35 IST

CBI director Ranjit Sinha returned from an Interpol Conference in Colombia on Wednesday morning and hit the ground running soon after. His first response while speaking to Mail Today on Coalgate was: "More FIRs will be filed in the coal allocation case. We are currently examining the role of many more companies."

It is believed that at least 70 more cases are being probed by the CBI and wherever mala fide is found, FIRs will be registered. The preliminary enquiries (PEs) relate to cases encompassing periods between 1993-2005, 2006 and 2009 and to all joint ventures. Sinha also denied outright that the agency will be closing any case. "There is no question of closing any case without proper investigation. We will investigate it, we will be fair and transparent. This is a highprofile case and is being monitored stringently by the apex court," he added.

The CBI director vowed to take the case to its logical conclusion. "No one will be spared, we will present the report to the Supreme Court on the case as desired by them," he said. "I've been called names. Certain vested interests are indulging in a media campaign. But I am doing my job. We have filed FIRs in various cases and all those named will be called for questioning. If need be, we will have some additional persons being questioned," he added.

Asked if the PM will also be called for questioning, Sinha parried the question. "All those who will be required to depose will be called for questioning," he said.

However, agency sources say it is unlikely that the Prime Minister will be called for questioning, as this may lead to political upheaval. Besides, the agency doesn't see any direct complicity of the PM in the case. This is the first media interview by the CBI chief since his return.

Recently the Prime Minister had said that he wasn't above the law of the land. "If there is anything that the CBI, or for that matter, anybody wants to ask, I have nothing to hide," Singh said as he headed back from Beijing.

Sources in the agency added that it will question those named in the FIR and the decision to question anyone else related to the allocation will be taken following the first round of questioning.

Officials said every move of the agency was under intense scrutiny of the Supreme Court which is monitoring the probe.

Amicus Curiae

A day after the SC suggested T.R. Andhyarujina as the amicus curiae to assist it in explaining CBI's status reports, he expressed apprehension regarding taking up the task.

Andhyarujina said objections might be raised since he had appeared for the Centre in the case earlier. "In the early stages of the case, I had appeared for the Centre and so there could be objections. Despite this if the court requests me to become amicus curaie I have no objections," he said.

India - 32 chartered planes fly guests on birthday 31.10.2013

Nita Ambani' birthday bash: 32 chartered planes fly guests to Jodhpur

INDIA TODAY ONLINE NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 31, 2013 | UPDATED 13:50 IST

Thirty-two chartered planes have been into service to fly celebrity guests to Jodhpur for Nita Ambani's 50th birthday bash as the India's famous business family plans to celebrate it on a grand scale in Jodhpur for two days beginning Thursday.

Oscar-winning music composer A R Rahman will perform at Indian business tycoon Mukesh Ambani's wife Nita Ambani birthday.

Family members including Mukesh Ambani's mother Kokila Ben and two sisters are already in western Indian state Rajasthan to supervise the arrangements of the gala bash.

Rahman, cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have also arrived.

Some prominent businessmen and members from the Hindi film industry are expected to arrive on Thursday.

"Mahindra, Mittal, Kamat and Godrej will be landing on Thursday along with Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Juhi Chawla, Karishma Kapoor... No one is coming from overseas," confirmed a person associated with the arrangements.

The celebration has been divided between two places -- Umaid Bhawan Palace and Bal Samand Lake Palace.

"Since her birthday is on November 1, the bash will begin from October 31 night with a musical performance by A R Rahman and his group, which will be followed by a cake cutting ceremony," he added.

The main celebrations will be held on November 1 at the Bal Samand Palace. "This day will include worshipping of Goddess Laxmi, traditional dance performances and firecracker show.

"Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant had designed the dance performance," the source said, adding that this event will be followed by a gala lunch which will mark the culmination of the two-day bash.

Pakistan - Allows Afghan meeting with Taliban 31.10.2013

Pakistan allows Afghan meeting with Taliban

Pakistan agrees to let Afghan officials meet former Afghan Taliban deputy leader, in new effort for peace talks.

Last Modified: 31 Oct 2013 02:37

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was the Afghan Taliban's second in command [Reuters]

Senior Afghan officials will travel to Pakistan soon to speak to former Taliban deputy commander following a breakthrough in negotiations during a London summit, the Afghan presidential palace said.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is a long-time friend of reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and is seen by some in Afghanistan as the key to restarting peace talks.
Baradar was the second-in-command of the Taliban until his arrest in Pakistan in 2010. He was released from prison last month, but remains in Pakistan.
The decision was made on Tuesday at a meeting attended by Karzai, the British prime minister David Cameron and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif.
"The three leaders spoke about the role of Pakistan in the peace process of Afghanistan and all three agreed that a delegation of the High Peace Council of Afghanistan make a trip to Pakistan and meet with Mullah Baradar," the announcement said on Wednesday.
It remains unclear, however, if Baradar will agree to meet the Afghan delegation.
The Taliban have so far refused to talk directly to Karzai, his government or its representatives.
Attempts to open talks in June failed after Karzai accused the fighters of setting up a government-in-exile in Qatar.
The Taliban refused to remove their flag and a sign identifying the movement as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The Qatar office has since closed.
Hidden in a 'safe house'
Baradar's whereabouts have not been known since his release. He is believed to be in a Pakistani government "safe house".
Karzai hopes that Baradar can help kick-start negotiations to end the 12-year war.
Along with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, Baradar was a founding member of the Islamic armed movement.
One senior Taliban official said recently that Baradar is still under house arrest in Pakistan and is not allowed to see his family until he agrees to meet the High Peace Council, which was set up by Karzai to negotiate with the religious govement.
He said Baradar met Taliban members while in custody and assured them that he would not defy Mullah Omar's orders forbidding direct talks with the Afghan government.
During the London meeting, the announcement said that Sharif accepted an invitation from Karzai to visit Kabul in coming weeks and that their interior ministers will also meet to discuss border security.

India - Muzaffarnagar - on the boil again - fresh violence 31.10.2013

Muzaffarnagar on the boil again, fresh clashes reported

PTI MUZAFFARNAGAR, OCTOBER 30, 2013 | UPDATED 11:48 IST

Picture for representational purpose

Four persons were killed tonight as communal violence erupted afresh in Budhana area of Muzaffarnagar district hit by riots last month which left 62 dead.

Eight persons were arrested in connection with the latest round of violence and security was enhanced in the entire district where tension ran high, officials said.

The victims, identified as Afroz, 20, Meherban, 21, and Ajmal, 22, were beaten to death while another was injured in clashes between members of two communities at Muhammadpurraisingh village, District Magistrate Kaushal Raj told PTI.

Eight persons were arrested and efforts are on to apprehend others involved in tonight's incident, the DM said.

Sources said the victims were among those people staying in relief camps after the recent riots.

The incident appeared to be a fallout of the communal tension in the region. Muhammadpurraisingh village was one of places affected by the riots last month.

Residents of Muhammadpurraisingh clashed with people belonging to Hussainpur village that led to the death of the three youths, according to sources.

Though the two villages are at a distance of a kilometre, their agricultural fields are situated nearby, the sources said, adding some people spread rumours that five persons were planning to attack members of a community residing at Muhammadpurraisingh village.

Senior police officials, including the SSP, were camping in the area to prevent any further untoward incident.

UN: Refugee numbers at highest in 19 years

Migrant escape routes in focus as thousands risk their lives to flee war, unrest and poverty and reach distant shores.

Last Modified: 27 Oct 2013 14:11

The UN says there are now more refugees than at any time since 1994. Thousands of asylum-seekers, mainly from Afghanistan and the Middle East, head to Indonesia each year to make the dangerous voyage across the Indian ocean to Australia.
They are seeking a new life, fleeing war, political unrest, and poverty.
The influx of asylum-seekers is a major political issue both in Indonesia and Australia, particularly as Indonesia has not signed up to the 1951 UN Refugee convention and does not have to accept refugees.
Australia, on the other hand, is a signatory.
The asylum-seekers pay thousands of dollars to people smugglers for a hazardous boat ride to Christmas Island.

Many refugees from African countries such as Eritrea and Somalia have been paying people smugglers thousands of dollars to take them to Europe via the Mediterranean, often on rickety and crowded boats that sink in rough seas.

On Sunday, Italian authorities intercepted 800 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean as EU leaders met in Brussels to discuss the problem.

The problem has attracted global attention after a series of accidents on the Mediterranean killed hundreds of migrants.

Fleeing Syrians

Officials say the new wave of migrants entering Europe has grown in size due to large numbers of people fleeing the Syrian civil war.
Many of the migrants rescued recently when a boat carrying more than 250 passengers capsized were Syrians.
Italy and Malta, which are grappling with the flood of migrants, are at the forefront of the campaign to get European Union nations to deal with the influx.
EU member states make a distinction between asylum seekers and refugees, with asylum seekers defined as people submitting a request for refugee status.

The asylum seeker is not granted refugee status unless the member state decides they qualify, following a defined legal procedure.
More than 26 million people - 10.4 million refugees and 15.6 million IDPs - were receiving protection or assistance from UNHCR at the end of 2009.
This is 1 million more people than in 2008.
By the end of 2009, UNHCR had identified up to 6.6 million stateless persons in 60 countries.
However, the organisation estimated that the overall number of stateless persons worldwide could be far higher - about 12 million people.
There are approximately 1.5 million recognised refugees living in the 27 member states of the EU plus Norway and Switzerland.
This compares to a global figure of approximately 16 million.

Syria - Assad - foreign powers must end rebet support 31.10.2013

Assad: foreign powers must end rebel support

Syrian president tells UN-Arab envoy that peace talks can only come when foreign states withdraw assistance.

Last Modified: 31 Oct 2013 04:10

The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has said he is open to peace talks but insisted that they would not go ahead unless foreign nations stopped supporting rebel fighters.

The comments came during a meeting on Wednesday with peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Damascus.
"The Syrian people are the only ones who have the right to decide on Syria's future, and any solution or agreement must have the acceptance of the Syrian people, and reflect their desires," Assad told Brahimi.
The meeting came as part of a regional tour aimed at garnering support for a US-Russian peace initiative for Syria planned next month in Geneva.
Assad also warned there must not be "any foreign intervention" in seeking a solution to Syria's civil war, in which an estimated 115,000 people have died in 31 months.
"Putting an end to support for the terrorists and pressuring the states that support them is the most important step to prepare... for dialogue," Assad said.
Since the start of an anti-Assad revolt in March 2011, Damascus has systematically branded the uprising-turned-rebellion as a foreign-backed plot.
"The success of any political solution is linked to putting an end to support funnelled to terrorist groups," he added.
State television also reported UN-Arab League envoy Brahimi as agreeing with Assad that the Syrians themselves need to find a solution to the conflict ravaging the country.
"The efforts being made for the Geneva conference to be held are focused on finding the way for the Syrians themselves to meet and to agree on solving the crisis as quickly as possible," Brahimi said in the meeting, his first with Assad since December last year.

Israel - To build 1500 illegal settler homes 31.10.2013

Israel to build 1,500 illegal settler homes

Announcement of construction in occupied East Jerusalem comes after release of Palestinian prisoners.

Last Modified: 30 Oct 2013 02:13

An Israeli official said new tenders would be announced as part of 'understandings' [EPA]

Israel has announced the construction of 1,500 new settler homes in the occupied East Jerusalem illegal settlement of Ramat Shlomo, Israeli army radio said.
The early-morning report, credited to prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his interior minister, Gideon Saar, came hours after Israel freed 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners as part of a deal for US-brokered peace talks.
Last week, an Israeli official said new tenders were to be announced in the large illegal settlement blocs and in occupied East Jerusalem "in the coming months" as part of "understandings" reached with the Palestinians and Washington.
The Palestinians, who view continued illegal settlement construction as a major obstacle to peace, said ther was no such agreement.
In August, Israel announced plans for more than 2,000 new illegal settler homes in tandem with the first prisoner release, angering the Palestinians.
In March 2010, Israel sparked the ire of the US administration by announcing, during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, that 1,600 new illegal settler homes would be built in Ramat Shlomo.
Israel captured East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War and then occupied it in a move never recognised by the international community.
The radio said that Netanyahu and Saar also agree to push ahead with two other East Jerusalem projects; an archaeological and tourist centre just outside the Old City walls and a national park on the slopes of Mount Scopus.

US - NSA pushed 9/11 as key 'sound bite' to justify surveillance 31.10.2013

Revealed: NSA pushed 9/11 as key 'sound bite' to justify surveillance

by Jason Leopold

@JasonLeopold

October 30, 2013 12:09PM ET

An internal document recommended that officials use fear of attack when pressed to explain agency's programs

Topics:: NSA; 9 11 terrorist attacks; Civil Rights

Keith Akexander — Gen. Keith Alexander, National Security Agency chief, testifies earlier this year.

The National Security Agency advised its officials to cite the 9/11 attacks as justification for its mass surveillance activities, according to a master list of NSA talking points.

The document, obtained by Al Jazeera through a Freedom of Information Act request, containstalking points and suggested statements for NSA officials (PDF) responding to the fallout from media revelations that originated with former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Invoking the events of 9/11 to justify the controversial NSA programs, which have caused major diplomatic fallout around the world, was the top item on the talking points that agency officials were encouraged to use.

Under the subheading “Sound Bites That Resonate,” the document suggests the statement “I much prefer to be here today explaining these programs, than explaining another 9/11 event that we were not able to prevent.”

NSA head Gen. Keith Alexander used a slightly different version of that statement when he testified before Congress on June 18 in defense of the agency’s surveillance programs.

Asked to comment on the document, NSA media representative Vanee M. Vines pointed Al Jazeera to Alexander’s congressional testimony on Tuesday, and said the agency had no further comment. In keeping with the themes listed in the talking points, the NSA head told legislators that “it is much more important for this country that we defend this nation and take the beatings than it is to give up a program that would result in this nation being attacked.”

Critics have long noted the tendency of senior U.S. politicians and security officials to use the fear of attacks like the one that killed almost 3,000 Americans to justify policies ranging from increased defense spending to the invasion of Iraq.

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