Eight-year ban on Satyam can be reviewed, says World Bank

Giving some hope to crisis-ridden Satyam, the World Bank has said it could review the eight-year ban imposed on the company provided
the software exporter takes "corrective action".

A World Bank official said Satyam has to show it has again become a responsible vendor to do business
with, when asked whether the multilateral lending agency would relax the ban on the software exporter.

"The vendor would have to demonstrate (that) corrective action had been taken to address the original causes of the ... ineligibility," a World Bank official from Washington said in an emailed statement.

The official further said action should substantiate that Satyam is "again a responsible vendor with whom the Bank can do business".
The World Bank banned Satyam Computer Services for eight years in 2008 for providing "improper benefits" to Bank staff and for failing to maintain records relating to fees charged for sub-contractors.

Satyam has a strong case for a review of the ban since its old board and management have been changed after its disgraced founder Chairman B Ramalinga Raju admitted to fudging accounts to the tune of Rs 7,800 crore.

Read more...

Recession-hit BPO employees 'on the bench'

BPO employees
were once thriving with so many job opportunities, but are now feeling the heat of the economic slowdown, as call centres have begun cutting back on jobs.

In the NCR region - Noida and Gurgaon - worried about actually laying off people, some companies are resorting to putting them on the bench.

For three months, Anshul Kumar has not reported to the call centre where he has worked for two years. Officially, he hasn't been sacked. He's been told he's "on the bench" and his id card has been taken back. He can't show up at work and he doesn't get paid.

"The process we moved to after spending more than two years in the programme faced a lot of issues due to recession. It was downsizing at that time so they decided to put us on bench. Like any other employee, I wanted to grow with the company and get recognition but it didn't go that way. It really feels bad," said Anshul Kumar.

Putting young workers on the bench is one way of controlling costs. Here's another.

A Noida-based BPO no longer offers transport to employees who live further than 45 km away. So employees in Gurgaon and Faridabad, or parts of Delhi like Rithala, need to assemble at a pick-up point even at 3 am.

"Cost cutting is essential today. It's important to be more productive and reduce all the wastages we are living with. When four cabs are going to the same location, you can get a bus to do the same job," said Deepak Ohlyan, president, Business Process.

With the deepening financial crisis in the US, that accounts for 70 per cent of the BPO business, cost reduction and productivity improvement are the two most commonly heard words in call centres in the past few months.

In simple English, that means longer and tougher hours.

Those who answer phones have to spend nine hours instead of eight taking calls, which means longer shifts for answering calls. Administrative and support staff also have to take calls now and vacation time has been shortened.

"Stopping free meals or deducting money for transport, that is still ok. We are still earning, but if we loose our jobs after that due to recession, it really hurts because you don't know what's going to happen to you after that," said Anshul.

Read more...

SEBI seeks SC nod to gain access to Raju brothers

With Ramalinga Raju continuing to elude SEBI even after spending weeks behind bars, the market regulator on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to interrogate the tainted Satyam-founder on the Rs 7,800 crore fraud in the IT major.

In its request, SEBI said that it was constrained to approach the apex court for urgent relief related to the most serious financial scam that had large-scale national and international ramifications.

A bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan allowed SEBI to mention the matter tomorrow after Solicitor General GE Vahanvati and counsel Pratap Venugopal submitted the market regulator’s request.

Meanwhile, in another significant development that may help Satyam Computers' potential suitor to get control of the IT company at an affordable price, SEBI today said that it would amend regulations governing open offer to ensure transparent pricing.

The SEBI move followed a request from Satyam Board in this regard to relax the norm of 26-week average price to make an open offer.

"It was decided to appropriately amend the regulations to enable a transparent process for arriving at the price for such acquisition," SEBI Chairman CB Bhave told reporters in Mumbai after the Board meeting.

SEBI at SC

The market regulator moved SC today seeking permission to interrogate Ramalinga Raju on the Satyam fraud after the Andhra Pradesh High Court last week deferred to February 9, hearing on its request to quiz the tainted ex-chairman and his brother Rama Raju.

SEBI had moved the High Court challenging a lower court order, which denied it permission to interrogate the Raju brothers, who were arrested by the state police on January 9 -- the day a SEBI probe team had summoned them to appear before it in Hyderabad.

The Raju brothers, along with Satyam's former CFO Vadlamani Srinivas, are now in judicial custody.

The 6th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Hyderabad, had refused permission on the ground that SEBI was not an investigating agency and there was no provision in law under which it could interrogate the Raju brothers.

A probe team from SEBI had landed in Hyderabad on January 8, a day after Ramalinga Raju disclosed the massive accounting fraud in the IT company.

Challenging the High Court order, SEBI said that it had appointed an investigator after Raju confessed to accounting irregularities in a letter to Satyam's Board of Directors.

According to the market regulator, the High Court should have seen that the Raju brothers cannot use judicial custody as a shield to avoid probe by expert agencies.

SEBI further said that just as police apply for custody, any other agency can also apply for access or custody and the same can be granted and the refusal to permit SEBI even to record the statements of the accused while in the custody was "arbitrary, unreasonable and perverse".

According to SEBI, merely because investigations by different agencies like CID, Enforcement Directorate, Serious Frauds Investigation Office, Registrar of Companies etc may overlap, it cannot be said that they cannot investigate simultaneously pursuant to the power conferred on them under their respective statutes.

Stating that the scam in the NYSE-listed Satyam Computers was the worst in the country's history, the advocates said that the company's market capitalisation has fallen from Rs 15,000 crores to Rs 2,000 crores.

SEBI to amend open offer rules

Even as SEBI announced the move to amend regulations governing open offer, its chairman Bhave said that the amendments will be made not only for the Satyam case, but for all similar situations that may arise in the future.

The Board recognises that the issue needs to be dealt with in a general context and not as a specific case, Bhave said, referring to the Satyam request.

Though Bhave declined to give any timeframe for the amendments in pricing rule, he said: "We are aware about the urgency of the situation."

Engineering major Larsen & Toubro has increased its stake in Satyam to over 12 percent. If it crosses 15 percent, the company would have to make an open offer to purchase another 20 percent from the market.

Among the other decisions taken today, SEBI made it mandatory for listed companies to declare dividend on per share basis instead of percentage basis followed at present.

Besides, the regulator has reduced the timeline for the completion of bonus issue to 15 days if the shareholder approval is not required and to 60 days where the approval is required. At present, the timeline for this procedure is six months.

SEBI also decided to shorten the timeframe to announce the price band for IPO in today's Board meeting. With this, the price band should be declared two days prior to the opening of IPO.

The regulator has also upped the up-front margin to be paid by allottees of warrants to 25 percent as against 10 percent at present.

Read more...

Obama should not link Kashmir with Pak problems: NSA

Coming out strongly against any attempt to link Kashmir issue with turmoil in Pakistan's tribal areas, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan has said that US President Barack Obama would be "barking up the wrong tree" if he holds such views.
Narayanan said India had made it known to the Obama team at the outset that it would not like Indo-Pak relations to be on the agenda of Richard Holbrooke, special envoy of the US for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"References made by President Obama did seem to suggest that there is some kind of a link between the settlement on Pakistan's western border and the Kashmir issue. Certainly that had caused concern," he told audience in a programme.

He was responding to reported suggestions by Obama during his campaign that Pakistan's fight against Taliban on the western front is linked to resolution of Kashmir issue.

The NSA pointed out that Obama made such references when he was in the campaign mode or when he was president-elect.

"We tend to sort of say lets wait and see what he does when he come into office," Narayanan said, adding "I don't think we had any major exchanges with members of the Obama administration later on" though the US President had made courtesy call and discussed bilateral ties.

"I do think that we could make President Obama understand, if he does have any such views then he is barking up the wrong tree," he said.

Read more...

Seven suitors line up for Satyam Computers

New Delhi, Jan 29: Scam-hit Satyam Computer has been approached by as many as seven possible suitors, including private equity players, even as the company's investment bankers are trying to find the best match.
"So far we are aware of four (companies that have approached Satyam Computer). But we have heard that another two or three firms are also interested," Satyam Computer board member Tarun Das, who is also the chief mentor of industry body CII told reporters here.

Investment bankers are talking to everybody and finding out which firm is interested, what is the level of seriousness and are evaluating the proposal before getting back to the board. The process is likely to take six weeks, Das added.

Earlier this week, the board of Satyam Computer Services appointed Goldman Sachs and Avendus Capital as investment bankers and mandated Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to act as its management adviser.

Asked whether Satyam's founder Ramalinga Raju had inflated employee numbers as claimed by the Andhra Pradesh police, Das said: "We have done a head count using external agencies and we believe in the basis of investigation that we are well over 50,000 people in Satyam. So I do not think that there is any inflated numbers."

Earlier, Andhra Pradesh CID had claimed in a court that there were 13,000 ghost employees on the rolls of the IT firm, following which the human resources department of Satyam Computer Services conducted a verification of the head count.

Read more...

Pak must ensure 26/11-like attacks don't recur: McCain

Washington, Jan 29: Pakistan should take steps that reduce the threat of a reccurence of Mumbai-like terrorist attacks, US Republican Presidential candidate for the 2008 election, John McCain, has said.
"This is what would satisfy the United States," McCain told at the conclusion of a Senate Committee hearing on the Mumbai terrorist attack at the Capitol Hill here.

"To satisfy the US ... Well actions that clearly indicate they have reduced the threat of their reoccurrence (of Mumbai terrorist attacks)," McCain said, when asked what actions of Pakistan would be satisfactory to the United States.

"I think that there are variety of reasons that argue for the arrest of the people who are responsible (for the attack) and the terrorist's organisations," he said.

Referring to the testimony by experts at Senate Committee hearing on Mumbai attack, McCain said it should be a very high priority to prevent heightening of tension between the two South Asian neighbours.

"I agree with the witness that it is very high priority to prevent heightening of tension between the two countries and the United States should do everything we can to prevent escalation of tensions," McCain said.

Earlier during the hearing McCain said the Mumbai terror attack was "well orchestrated, well trained and well planned" and had outdone security forces until commandos showed up.

"They were not necessarily suicide individuals, they were able with just handful of people to hit 10 targets... I think there are a whole lot of lessons... that may be we have not paid much attention to," he said.

Read more...

IBM quietly cuts thousands of jobs

With the recession forcing tech companies to announce thousands of layoffs, IBM Corp. is joining the fray — but not advertising it.
The Armonk, New York-based company has cut thousands of jobs over the past week, including positions in sales as well as the software and hardware divisions. IBM says the cuts are simply part of its ongoing efforts to watch costs, and the company won't release specific numbers, even as reports of firings stream in from IBM facilities across the country.
Workers have reported layoffs in Tucson, Arizona; San Jose, California; Rochester, Minnesota; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; East Fishkill, New York; Austin, Texas; and Burlington, Vermont.
Meanwhile, other tech companies such as Intel Corp.,Microsoft Corp., Texas Instruments Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Google Inc. have all publicly revealed job cuts as part of their strategies for riding out the economic crisis. More than 20,000 jobs will be lost from those companies.
One of IBM's biggest rivals — Hewlett-Packard Co. — is also laying people off. HP is shedding 24,600 jobs, nearly 8 percent of its 320,000 employee work force, as it digests the acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp.
IBM says it doesn't have to reveal the number of jobs it is cutting, since the Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies to disclose only "material" events. And IBM considers its job cuts a regular part of the company's business model, since thousands of jobs are cut every year but are usually added back in other places.
Because of that, IBM contends it doesn't have to break out its layoffs in regulatory filings unless it suddenly changes course and makes substantially more or fewer job cuts.
That's why while IBM's head count keeps growing, topping 400,000 at the end of 2008, laid-off IBM workers have flooded online job boards with complaints about the company's stealth cuts.
One estimate of IBM's recent cuts put the number at more than 4,000 jobs lost since IBM's fourth-quarter earnings announcement last week. Those earnings contained an unexpected surprise: IBM forecast at least $9.20 per share in profit in 2009. IBM shares are up more than 10 percent since then.
To get the cost savings that will help spur the higher profits, IBM appears to have acted quickly. The estimate of at least 4,000 jobs cut comes from AllianceAtIBM, a union that is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America and represents a small number of IBM workers.
The Associated Press reviewed one document sent to laid-off workers that identified some of the positions that were cut. Employees weren't identified by name, but positions and the workers' ages were listed. The document listed nearly 3,000 jobs.
In Vermont, IBM remained tightlipped about layoffs at its Essex Junction facility, but state Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden said the total number would be less than 500.
IBM recently employed 5,300 workers at the Essex Junction plant, down from 8,500 in 2001.
Jim Gallo, 48, who said he worked in IBM Software support for 27 years, was among those let go from that facility. Gallo, drinking a Grey Goose and ginger ale at nearby Lincoln Inn on Tuesday, said he hadn't told his four children yet.
He said he has until Feb. 26 to find another job in IBM, but he put his chances at "slim to none." Gallo said he gets six months' pay as part of a severance package.
"It's too bad they're not doing what they were doing before. They offered some sweet packages for people to jump out," he said.
IBM's ongoing labor adjustments have led the company to add bodies in cheaper and higher-growth parts of the world, like India.
In 2007, the last full year for which detailed employment numbers are available, 121,000 of IBM's 387,000 workers were in the U.S., down slightly from the year before. Meanwhile, staffing in India has jumped from just 9,000 workers in 2003 to 74,000 workers in 2007.

Read more...

Israel pounds Gaza as it mulls unilateral ceasefire

There was no let up in the Israeli attacks on Hamas-held Gaza as Tel Aviv weighed a unilateral ceasefire proposal to the 22-day-old war which has killed nearly 1,200 people, half of them civilians.

Israel on Sunday bombarded Gaza ahead of a meeting of its security cabinet that is expected to decide on a proposal for end to the war after the Tel Aviv received pledges from Washington and Cairo to help prevent arms smuggling into the Islamist-run enclave from Egypt.

The Israeli government is expected to vote today to decide whether to declare a unilateral cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip that would being to an an end the three-week-long 'Operation Cast Lead'.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni signed a deal with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday under which Tel Aviv would end its offensive even without a reciprocal agreement from Hamas. Israeli forces would remain in Gaza and the territory's border crossings with Israel and Egypt would remain closed until security arrangements are made to prevent Hamas arms smuggling.

"This campaign is not a one-time event. We will need to have our hand on the pulse," she said. "The test will be the day after. That is the test of deterrence," she told the Israeli YNet news Web site.

"I hope we are entering the endgame and that our goal of sustained and durable quiet in the south is about to be attained," Prime Minister Ehut Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said.

Khaled Meshal, the exiled Hamas leader in Damascus, rejected the ceasefire demands yesterday, insisting that Israel should withdraw its troops immediately. Israels offensive has killed nearly 1,200 Palestinians half of them civilians. Ten Israeli 10 soldiers and three civilians have been killed in combat or in rocket strikes.

Read more...

Pakistan's report on 26/11 terror attacks in 10 days

Acknowledging that the dossier on Mumbai attacks given by India contained "leads and good clues", Pakistan on Saturday promised fair investigation even if its citizens are suspected and said its results will be shared with New Delhi first.

Pakistan said it wanted to have an approach of "cooperative engagement" with India as war is no solution to the problem of terrorism which is a global phenomenon.

"Quite a lot of material" was provided by India and the Pakistani investigators will work to convert this into "evidence that can stand up to judicial scrutiny", Interior Ministry chief Rahman Malik told a press conference in Islamabad.

No case regarding the Mumbai attacks has been registered so far in Pakistan. "If prima facie evidence is available on record, we will then convert it into a criminal case," Malik said, adding the time needed for any prosecution would depend on the judiciary.

He said the three-member counter-terror team, probing the Mumbai attack and examining the Indian dossier, has been directed to submit its preliminary findings within 10 days. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the interior ministry is examining India's dossier on the Mumbai attacks that was handed over to Pakistan on January 5.

"We have said that after examining the dossier, completing our investigation and examining information from other sources, we will share our findings with India first," Qureshi said.

Pakistan will pursue an approach of "cooperative engagement" to deal with any further questions that may arise with regard to the Mumbai incident, he said.

Qureshi said if "any individual or entity linked to Pakistan" is found involved in the Mumbai attacks, the government will take action against them according to the country's law.

Replying to a question in his hometown of Multan, he said the Mumbai incident was not a matter confined to India and Pakistan as nationals of several countries, including the US and Britain, were killed in the attacks.

"We have been successful in conveying our stand that war is not the solution and that terrorism is a global and regional phenomenon. We need a regional approach," he said. "We don't want to create war hysteria.

The political and military leadership has made measured comments and we will stick to this. We will remain vigilant and it is our endeavour to de-escalate and defuse the situation," Qureshi added.

He, however, alleged that there was "no consistency" in India's stance in dealing with the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.

"There is no consistency in India's stance," Qureshi said, referring to what he described as flip-flops by New Delhi on matters like the involvement of the Pakistani state and its institutions in the Mumbai attacks and the prosecution of suspects.

He accused that Indian leaders had changed their position after initially stating that the Pakistan government and its institutions were not involved in the incident. He also said they had made a shift after stating that any Pakistani individuals linked to the attacks could be tried within the country.

"You can see the changes. Pakistan's stand is strong and consistent we honestly want to get to the bottom of the matter and the elements involved should be unmasked. The perpetrators should be brought to justice," Qureshi said. MORE PTI RHL ZH 01172142 DELHI NNNN

PRI GEN INT Meanwhile, Malik said that Pakistan was not acting under pressure from India and will not accept "dictation" from anyone regarding the probe.

Asked about British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's comments yesterday that Pakistan needs to go "farther and faster" in prosecuting those involved in the Mumbai attacks, Malik said: "We will not accept anyone's instructions to do things faster."

Malik outlined the terms of reference and guidelines for the investigating team, which was directed to conduct "a transparent and legally tenable inquiry". The team will "establish legally verifiable credentials of suspects allegedly involved in the terrorist attack".

It would "inquire into the available information supplied by India with the view to transforming (it) into evidence for further legal action". It will also collect "all other related evidence for legal action according to the law of Pakistan".

Malik said all further action would be taken according to Pakistani laws, virtually ruling out the handing over of any suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks to India.

He reiterated Pakistan's demand for a joint probe into the incident, saying: "Our investigators must interact. If you want good and quick results, please allow your investigators to interact with us."

He said the "best course of action" would be for investigators from both sides to interact and share information because terrorists are the "common enemies" of India and Pakistan.

Malik also assured the world community and Indian authorities that Pakistan is "very serious in its commitments" to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice. "We are with India and...we are doing everything possible to bring the suspects, militants and terrorists to justice," he said.

Read more...

Mumbai attackers had links to Pakistani soil: US

Stating it was "clear" that the Mumbai attackers had "links that lead to Pakistani soil", senior US diplomat Richard Boucher Monday evening said Pakistan and India should cooperate in the probe into the carnage as each possessed "pieces of the puzzle" that could help find the perpetrators.
While urging the South Asian neighbours to cooperate in the probe, the US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia said, "Each side has pieces of the puzzle and they need to be known to each other."

"The two sides need to exchange information. People have to work with each other," Boucher said at a press conference at the US embassy, Geo TV reported.
The US diplomat arrived here early Monday for talks with the Pakistani leadership in a bid to defuse the tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad sparked by the 26/11 attacks in which more than 170 people, including 26 foreigners, were killed.
India Monday handed over to Islamabad evidence linking the terrorists behind the attacks to elements in Pakistan, which Boucher described as a positive step.
Boucher said it was "clear that the attackers had links that lead to Pakistani soil".
He also said Pakistan's crackdown on the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity with links to the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), showed the country's "commitment to eliminate sources of terrorism on Pakistani soil".
"There is determination here to follow up and find the groups that are responsible so they never do it again," he said.
Boucher is to go to India for meetings with leaders in New Delhi.

Read more...

Pak must follow the leads given by India: Boucher

Pakistan must follow the leads given by India and track down the perpetrators. This is US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher's clear and strong message to the Pakistani government after his meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Speaking at the American Embassy in Islamabad, Boucher said, "It was clear that the attackers had links that lead to Pakistani soil. The US wants Pakistan to investigate the information provided by India, follow available leads and track down perpetrators so that similar attacks do not occur in the future. India and Pakistan both had "pieces of the puzzle".
Richard Boucher's statement came just hours after New Delhi handed over evidence on the Mumbai attacks to Pakistan. Boucher who is scheduled to be in New delhi on Wednesday also said America had a direct interest in the probe as six of its citizens were killed in the Mumbai attacks and wants those responsible to be found.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Pakistan's Information Minister Sherry Rahman has confirmed that Pakistan had received the evidence and would carry out an investigation.
Media reports in Pakistan are quoting government sources as saying that a joint investigative committee would be formed to look into the evidences that New delhi has handed over to Islamabad.
According to sources, the committee would look closely into places, telephone numbers and Internet Protocols addresses pointed out in evidences.
The committee would also form the future course of action after carrying out a preliminary enquiry.

Read more...

India compiling evidence to share with Pak, rest of world

As Islamabad continues to be in denial mode, India is compiling evidence about the role of Pakistan-based elements in the terror strikes for sharing it with the world besides the neighbour very soon.

The evidence, being put together, includes the confession of the lone terrorist held in Mumbai terror attack Ajmal Amir Qasab, logbook recovered from the vessel in which the 10 terrorists came from Karachi, records of satellite phone used by the attackers and transcript of conversations between the attackers and their handlers in Pakistan, the sources said.

The dossier will also include the corroborative evidence tracking the journey of the attackers from Karachi to Mumbai, they said.

The evidence will mostly include Qasab's confession to the police wherein he has given details of how he became a motivated terrorist of Lashkar-e-Taiba from a normal youth of Faridkot in 741Pakistan's Punjab province.

Investigators have found evidence to show that the terrorists, who struck at the Taj Hotel, Trident Hotel and Nariman House on November 26, were in touch with their handlers in Karachi even while their three-day engagement with security forces was on.

As the armed engagement was being telecast live by Indian TV channels, the LeT commanders in Pakistan were found giving directions to the attackers like 'set ablaze the hotel' and 'throw grenades' on the crowds outside the hotels and Nariman House.

The evidence will be shared with Pakistan along with the US, UK, China and other countries which have influence on Islamabad.

Read more...

US for Mumbai suspects' trial in Pak: Report

A day after External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee asked Pakistan to hand over the 26/11 perpetrators for which an extradition treaty is not required, a Pak media report on Friday claimed that the US administration, instead, is in favour of a trial in Pakistan itself.

According to Dawn News, the Bush administration has asked Islamabad to put on trial the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks inside Pakistan instead of extraditing them to India, signifying a change in the US’ position which earlier sought extradition of Mumbai terror suspects to India.

The sources told Dawn that the US has made Pakistan acquainted of its willingness to initiate “prosecution with sufficient efforts to ensure conviction”.

However, last week, the US had asked Pakistan to extradite those responsible for the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks to India.

According to the report, the US changed its mind after it comprehended the difficulties the Pakistani government would face in extraditing key Lashkar-e-Toiba leaders to India, chiefly when the two sides are not bound to an extradition treaty.

Notably, the reports in Pakistani media came after Mukherjee told reporters that the US pressure on Pakistan to act against perpetrators had “not produced tangible returns”.

Mukherjee has ruled out the requirement of an extradition treaty for handing over the suspects as Pakistan is party to various international conventions and arrangements starting from SAARC to various international conventions against taking hostages, conventions against bombings.

Mukherjee also told media that India has been told that “there is some strong evidence available with FBI and they have shared it with Pakistan. We expect that Pakistan will act on them and hand over the perpetrators of terror attack in Mumbai to us.”

Read more...

Russia not to supply missiles to Iran

Russia has denied that it has supplied advanced surface-to-air missiles, S-300, to Iran, saying that Moscow's defence cooperation with Tehran is "transparent, and fully complies with international law."

The reports of sale of long-range S-300 missiles "has nothing to do with anything that is going on or will happen," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said here.

He was commenting on a report by Iranian national IRNA news agency, which claimed that Russia had supplied S-300 air defence systems to Tehran. The US too, citing intelligence reports, demanded an explanation from Russia amid concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme.

"I am very surprised by the fuss this story has caused recently. I think this is due to lack of interesting international news in the run-up to the holidays that many of our Western neighbours are celebrating," the minister said.

Ryabkov underscored that Moscow's defence cooperation with Tehran is "transparent and complied fully with international and Russian laws".

Earlier on Monday, the Russian federal service for military cooperation with foreign countries also issued a similar denial.

Although a "purely defensive weapon" the S-300 (NATO codename SA-20) SAMs have very powerful radars and if supplied to Iran, it can track every movement of the US aircraft in Iraq and the Gulf region the moment they take-off, Director of Moscow-based independent CAST think-tank Ruslan Pukhov said.

According to reports, Iran recently received 29 Tor-M1 air defence missile systems from Russia under a USD700 million contract signed in late 2005. Russia has also trained Iranian Tor-M1 specialists, including radar operators and crew commanders.

Read more...

Obama Topless

Barack at the beach.
This appears in the new People magazine - the one with Oprah on the cover. A quote from the dude that works out next to Obama in Chicago and followed him into the locker-room dated January 2006: "He doesn't have enough fat on his body to make a butter pat." It would appear that 2006 was a good year for Obama - evidenced by the 1000 "butter pats" he has now. Barack insists he's "embarased by the pictures." Why? He looks healthy to me. The embarasment will come later - after years in public office. When, after years and years of the public "high life" he'll begin to sag. The man most think looks "Statesman-like" , will droop, wiggle & waddle.

Read more...

Obama TIME’s Person of Year ‘08

US based TIME magazine has announced that President-elect Barack Obama is their Person of the Year.

The decision was announced exclusively on a website on Wednesday after ‘weeks of discussion and debate among TIME editors and staff members.’

Others who were considered include U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Senator Hillary Clinton, Governor Sarah Palin, as also comedian Tina Fey, Olympian Michael Phelps, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, oil executive and renewable energy proponent T. Boone Pickens, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Zhang Yimou, director of the Beijing Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies.

Obama being the first Black man in White House along with all the challenges he faced and defeated, made him an irresistible choice.

“I don’t think that Americans want hubris from their next President,” Obama told TIME for the Person of the Year issue, which appears online today and on newsstands Friday. “[But] I do think that we received a strong mandate for change. And I know that people have said, ‘Well, what does this change mean?’ … It means a government that is not ideologically driven. It means a government that is competent. It means a government, most importantly, that is focused day in, day out on the needs and struggles, the hopes and dreams of ordinary people.”

TIME has always stressed that being named Person of the Year is not an honor. The designation’s definition goes like this: “The person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or for ill, and embodied what was important about the year, for better or for worse.”

Others who have made it to the list in the past include: Gandhi (1930), Hitler (1938), 25-and-under generation (1966), The Computer (1982) etc. TIME’s 2006 Person of the Year was ‘You’.

Read more...

Bush Shoe Attack - A Hit On Internet

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush in Baghdad has become a hero in the Arab world. The infamous 'shoegate' as it's now being called is buzzing everywhere, from newspaper editorials to late night talk shows and the Internet. There's even a video game on it.

Though Bush ducked the shoe, he couldn't escape the impact anyway which was big on television

and went out of control on the internet.

For some, the incident was a respite from an otherwise not-so pleasant news world.

Just hours after the first pictures of Al-Zaidi the scribe, flinging his shoe at president Bush were beamed into homes across the world, users on the Internet could play an online flash game. In the game, they take the role of a secret service agent shooting down flying shoes, before they strike the president.

Also, there were video responses where the shoe was replaced by various objects. There was the volleyball, the Saddam Hussain head and the inevitable pie. The late night shows too weren't far behind in letting a chance like that pass.

But it was not all bad for the president. Analysts who watched the show said that Bush actually dealt with it really well, first by showing quick reflexes in getting out of the way, and then by looking at the humorous side.

In Bush's presidential career that had innumerable embarrassing moments the shoe incident is one that may just be a more pleasant book-end.

Read more...

Miss World jury was unfair, says Parvathy

Congratulations poured for Parvathy Omanakuttan for making "India proud" despite missing the Miss World 2008
crown by a whisker but the lanky Kerala beauty feels she was done in by the jury alleging that its decision to adjudge her only second best was "unfair".

"I have performed better than others in the personality and question-answer round. This is not just that. All those who watched it yesterday felt like that. I feel the jury's decision was unfair", Parvathy(21), who was adjudged the first runner up from among 108 contestants at the Miss World pageant in Johannesburg, told Kerala's India Vision channel.

"I had confidence. I could do well. The question-round did not come as a challenge to me considering my background in literature," said Parvathy, who hails from Changanassery in Kottayam in "God's own Country", as hopes soared in India that she would bring back the coveted title which was last won by an Indian girl in 2000 when her name was announced in the five semi-finalists.

There were mixed emotions at Parvathy's mother's home in Madapally village in Changanassery. Some relatives felt she deserved to win the title ahead of the Russian blonde Ksenya Sukhinova while others thought it was a proud moment for India for coming second position warding off competition from over 100 beauties from around the world.

"Well done Parvathy! We are all proud of u!!! Successful exit matters more than a favourable entrance.... U made urself count... another feather in India's cap..," a fan commented on the official website of the Miss World contest.

Another comment noted that though the Malayalee did not win the crown her coming second was a splendind achievement overcoming stiff competition.

"We are proud of you!," the mail said.

Reita Faria (1966), Aishwarya Rai (1994), Diana Hayden (1997), Yukta Mookhey (1999) and Priyanka Chopra (2000) were the previous five Indian beauty queens who had won the coveted title.

A compatriot from Kerala wrote to the 5 feet 9 inch- tall Parvathy that she wishes to send her "oaraayiram poochendukal, Parvathii, ellavidha ashamsakalum" (1,000 bouquets and all the very best wishes).

Another fan, Malavika wrote that the feat was "still an amazing achievement!!!"

"Best of luck for the future!!!! I am a pageant freak and I was so happy that our country made a mark at Miss World 2008. waiting for your return!!!!!!!!," she wrote.

Parvathy, hailing from Kottayam, grew up in Mumbai. Having graduated in Arts, she has studied Sociology, Psychology
& English Literature.

Parvathy's ambition is to further her studies in Psychology to learn more about human behaviour in depth, her bio-data on the website says.

The lanky beauty is an ardent sports fan with a special interest in basketball, badminton and swimming.

She has a special talent for whistling. She likes listening to music, singing, reading, glass painting, acting, modelling, dancing (varying from local dances to ballroom and Latin dances) and learning new languages.

Parvathy is also very fond of a beautiful quote by former President APJ Abdul Kalam 'Dreams are not what you see in your sleep, but dreams are that, which do not allow you to sleep', hence her motto in life is 'Dream with your eyes open'.

Read more...