Protesters break into BBC headquarters
Anti-fascist protesters broke into the BBC's west London headquarters on Thursday, ahead of a white-supremacist party leader's appearance on a leading political debate show.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the BBC Television Center in an increasingly rowdy rally against British National Party chief Nick Griffin, who is due to appear on the broadcaster's Question Time program. At one point about 25 people breached a police cordon and ran into the center's lobby.
A BBC footage showed some being pulled across the floor by their arms and legs by security.
The BBC later said that Griffin had managed to make it into the building, where he was scheduled to be a panelist on Question Time - a first for the far-right party.
Many politicians have condemned the invitation to Griffin, but the BBC says that as a publicly funded broadcaster it must cover all political parties that have a national presence. Justice Secretary Jack Straw, a senior member of the governing Labour Party Cabinet, is due to appear alongside Griffin.
The whites-only BNP opposes immigration and claims to fight for "indigenous" Britons. Griffin has a conviction for racial hatred and has denied the Holocaust in the past.
The party has tried to shed its thuggish image and enter the political mainstream. Earlier this year it won two European Union parliament seats, gaining 6 percent of British votes in European polls. It has no seats in the British Parliament.
The invitation to appear in front of several million TV viewers has divided Britain, but delighted the BNP, which is counting down the seconds until the broadcast on its website.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Somali pirates hijack carrier with 24 Indian crew
Somali pirates hijack carrier with 24 Indian crew
Pirates on Thursday hijacked a Panamanian-flagged carrier in waters off Somalia, taking 26 crew hostage, 24 of them Indian, a NATO spokeswoman said.
"The MV Al Khaliq, a Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier, has been hijacked early this morning off Somalia," said a spokeswoman for NATO's anti-piracy mission in London.
"There were 26 crew on board, 24 of whom are Indian and two Burmese."
A second carrier, the Italian-flagged Jolly Rosso, also came under fire from pirates north of the Seychelles, she said.
The ship was travelling from Novorossiysk port, Russia to Mombasa, Kenya and was loaded with 35,000 tons of wheat.
Three pirates ships launched attack between Seychelles and Mombasa.
First a Italian ship was attacked with rocket launchers and grenades, but they managed to escape then MV Al Khaliq was attacked and hijacked.
Last contact with crew was made at 11 IST this morning.
There are reports that the hijacked ship is headed to an unknown Somali Port. (With NDTV inputs)
Pirates on Thursday hijacked a Panamanian-flagged carrier in waters off Somalia, taking 26 crew hostage, 24 of them Indian, a NATO spokeswoman said.
"The MV Al Khaliq, a Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier, has been hijacked early this morning off Somalia," said a spokeswoman for NATO's anti-piracy mission in London.
"There were 26 crew on board, 24 of whom are Indian and two Burmese."
A second carrier, the Italian-flagged Jolly Rosso, also came under fire from pirates north of the Seychelles, she said.
The ship was travelling from Novorossiysk port, Russia to Mombasa, Kenya and was loaded with 35,000 tons of wheat.
Three pirates ships launched attack between Seychelles and Mombasa.
First a Italian ship was attacked with rocket launchers and grenades, but they managed to escape then MV Al Khaliq was attacked and hijacked.
Last contact with crew was made at 11 IST this morning.
There are reports that the hijacked ship is headed to an unknown Somali Port. (With NDTV inputs)
Her tips led to Raj Rajaratnam's arrest
Her tips led to Raj Rajaratnam's arrest
Roomy Khan, the central witness who brought down the Galleon hedge fund, is a former Galleon employee with a history of financial trouble who agreed to cooperate with prosecutors after she was caught making trades using inside information.
Khan, previously identified only as "Tipper A" or a cooperating witness, provided much of the evidence that prosecutors are using to bring insider trading charges against the billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, who is shutting down his Galleon fund in the wake of the charges.
She taped conversations with him and told prosecutors that she had provided inside information about Google and other stocks. She has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud and is working with law enforcement in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence, according to the criminal complaint.
Khan, who was identified by a person close to the case, has a legal past that may present a hurdle for federal prosecutors. In a lawsuit settled last month, a housekeeper for Khan and her husband, Sakhawat, said they had violated minimum-wage laws by paying her about $250 a week for 80 to 90 hours of work. The lawsuit was settled after a judge said the Khans had fabricated evidence.
The Khans were also sued in 2005 in New York by Deutsche Bank for failing to repay a large promissory note, though all the details are not listed in the court documents.
In a letter released on Wednesday, Rajaratnam wrote that he was innocent and would fight the charges. He added that he expected to return the $2.5 billion he now manages for outside investors by the end of the year. But he said he hoped to sell Galleon as a single unit so that his employees would not have to find new jobs individually.
Because most of Galleon's holdings are in heavily traded companies, unwinding the fund should cause no disruption to stock markets, a person close to Galleon said.
Little public information about Roomy Khan is available. On a 2004 federal campaign donation form, she listed her occupation as stock trader. Until earlier this year, she and her husband lived in a 9,000-square-foot mansion with an assessed value of $13 million in Atherton, Calif, a Silicon Valley suburb of expansive estates. They moved out several months ago, according to neighbors, and the house was sold.
Sakhawat Khan did not return phone calls or respond to an e-mail message, and Roomy Khan did not respond to e-mail messages. A lawyer who represented them in the civil lawsuit filed by the housekeeper said he could not comment.
Cooperating witness
A spokesman for the US attorney's office in Manhattan would not comment on Roomy Khan's involvement.
In the criminal complaint against Rajaratnam and two other defendants, Khan is listed as "CW," or "cooperating witness." In a related Securities and Exchange Commission complaint, she is listed as Tipper A. According to the SEC complaint, she worked for Galleon in the late 1990s. In late 2005, she approached Rajaratnam, saying she had financial difficulties and wanted to return to Galleon.
He did not rehire her, but over the next two years she provided him with tips about Google, Hilton Hotels and Polycom, which he used to make $13 million in profits, according to the criminal complaint. The complaint does not say she received any payment or anything of value in return for the tips. She made about $1.5 million on improper trades in the same stocks in 2006 and 2007, according to a civil complaint filed by the SEC.
In November 2007, Khan began to cooperate with the FBI, according to the complaint. She taped four phone calls with Rajaratnam and provided evidence against him. She agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud and cooperated "in the hope of receiving a reduced sentence," the complaint said.
But as the investigation progressed, Khan and her husband faced another legal problem, a civil lawsuit filed by Vilma Serralta, who worked as their housekeeper in Atherton from 2002 to 2006. Serralta claimed she had been paid about $250 a week for 80 to 90 hours of work, violating labour laws.
Khan and her husband denied the allegations and in March 2009 produced a work schedule they claimed had been signed by Serralta in 2002, when she started to work for them.
But lawyers for Serralta said the document had been fabricated and Serralta's signature forged. On August 28, District Judge Claudia Wilken said she would "give the jury a strongly worded instruction about the fabrication of evidence."
Less than a month later, just before the case was set for trial, the Khans settled the case with Serralta. Christopher Ho, senior staff attorney at Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, which represented Serralta, said he could not disclose the specific terms of the settlement but that they were favorable to Serralta.
The Khans and their business, Digital Age Capital Ltd., received a summons from Deutsche Bank Securities in 2005 in connection with what appeared to have been a default in an earlier settlement. Though the details are not in the public court filings, the Khans were supposed to pay $788,850. According to a court filing in June 2006, they agreed to pay a total of $803,850, including interest and lawyer fees, to settle the matter.
Roomy Khan, the central witness who brought down the Galleon hedge fund, is a former Galleon employee with a history of financial trouble who agreed to cooperate with prosecutors after she was caught making trades using inside information.
Khan, previously identified only as "Tipper A" or a cooperating witness, provided much of the evidence that prosecutors are using to bring insider trading charges against the billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, who is shutting down his Galleon fund in the wake of the charges.
She taped conversations with him and told prosecutors that she had provided inside information about Google and other stocks. She has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud and is working with law enforcement in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence, according to the criminal complaint.
Khan, who was identified by a person close to the case, has a legal past that may present a hurdle for federal prosecutors. In a lawsuit settled last month, a housekeeper for Khan and her husband, Sakhawat, said they had violated minimum-wage laws by paying her about $250 a week for 80 to 90 hours of work. The lawsuit was settled after a judge said the Khans had fabricated evidence.
The Khans were also sued in 2005 in New York by Deutsche Bank for failing to repay a large promissory note, though all the details are not listed in the court documents.
In a letter released on Wednesday, Rajaratnam wrote that he was innocent and would fight the charges. He added that he expected to return the $2.5 billion he now manages for outside investors by the end of the year. But he said he hoped to sell Galleon as a single unit so that his employees would not have to find new jobs individually.
Because most of Galleon's holdings are in heavily traded companies, unwinding the fund should cause no disruption to stock markets, a person close to Galleon said.
Little public information about Roomy Khan is available. On a 2004 federal campaign donation form, she listed her occupation as stock trader. Until earlier this year, she and her husband lived in a 9,000-square-foot mansion with an assessed value of $13 million in Atherton, Calif, a Silicon Valley suburb of expansive estates. They moved out several months ago, according to neighbors, and the house was sold.
Sakhawat Khan did not return phone calls or respond to an e-mail message, and Roomy Khan did not respond to e-mail messages. A lawyer who represented them in the civil lawsuit filed by the housekeeper said he could not comment.
Cooperating witness
A spokesman for the US attorney's office in Manhattan would not comment on Roomy Khan's involvement.
In the criminal complaint against Rajaratnam and two other defendants, Khan is listed as "CW," or "cooperating witness." In a related Securities and Exchange Commission complaint, she is listed as Tipper A. According to the SEC complaint, she worked for Galleon in the late 1990s. In late 2005, she approached Rajaratnam, saying she had financial difficulties and wanted to return to Galleon.
He did not rehire her, but over the next two years she provided him with tips about Google, Hilton Hotels and Polycom, which he used to make $13 million in profits, according to the criminal complaint. The complaint does not say she received any payment or anything of value in return for the tips. She made about $1.5 million on improper trades in the same stocks in 2006 and 2007, according to a civil complaint filed by the SEC.
In November 2007, Khan began to cooperate with the FBI, according to the complaint. She taped four phone calls with Rajaratnam and provided evidence against him. She agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud and cooperated "in the hope of receiving a reduced sentence," the complaint said.
But as the investigation progressed, Khan and her husband faced another legal problem, a civil lawsuit filed by Vilma Serralta, who worked as their housekeeper in Atherton from 2002 to 2006. Serralta claimed she had been paid about $250 a week for 80 to 90 hours of work, violating labour laws.
Khan and her husband denied the allegations and in March 2009 produced a work schedule they claimed had been signed by Serralta in 2002, when she started to work for them.
But lawyers for Serralta said the document had been fabricated and Serralta's signature forged. On August 28, District Judge Claudia Wilken said she would "give the jury a strongly worded instruction about the fabrication of evidence."
Less than a month later, just before the case was set for trial, the Khans settled the case with Serralta. Christopher Ho, senior staff attorney at Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, which represented Serralta, said he could not disclose the specific terms of the settlement but that they were favorable to Serralta.
The Khans and their business, Digital Age Capital Ltd., received a summons from Deutsche Bank Securities in 2005 in connection with what appeared to have been a default in an earlier settlement. Though the details are not in the public court filings, the Khans were supposed to pay $788,850. According to a court filing in June 2006, they agreed to pay a total of $803,850, including interest and lawyer fees, to settle the matter.
Nepal to use lesbians, gays to boost tourism sector
Nepal to use lesbians, gays to boost tourism sector
Nepal is set to use lesbians and gays to boost its tourism sector, which has been adversely impacted after the country went through a devastating decade-long Maoists' insurgency and political instability.
Almost three years after the Supreme Court gave legal sanction to gay rights in Nepal, the government to set to host "one of the most extravagant groups of tourists in the world" the sexual minorities consisting of lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals and transgenders (LGBTs).
Nepal government has held a series of meetings with well-known international tour operators and non-profit organisations to promote Nepal as a potential destination for LGBTs, the Kantipur online said on Thursday.
Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) officials hope that LGBT arrivals will give a boost to the number of visitors to the country as the government mulls new way to bring in a million foreign tourists in the Nepal Tourism Year 2011.
"Some international companies want to work in tandem with the government and attract LGBTs. We will develop strategies for the same. The beginning is encouraging," said an NTB official.
As part of the first promotional activity, Nepal will host a historic international conference in February, which is expected to bring together the worlds top tour operators, airlines and agencies selling adventure tourism to Kathmandu to explore opportunities for gay tourism in Nepal, the report said.
Nepal is set to use lesbians and gays to boost its tourism sector, which has been adversely impacted after the country went through a devastating decade-long Maoists' insurgency and political instability.
Almost three years after the Supreme Court gave legal sanction to gay rights in Nepal, the government to set to host "one of the most extravagant groups of tourists in the world" the sexual minorities consisting of lesbians, gays, bi-sexuals and transgenders (LGBTs).
Nepal government has held a series of meetings with well-known international tour operators and non-profit organisations to promote Nepal as a potential destination for LGBTs, the Kantipur online said on Thursday.
Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) officials hope that LGBT arrivals will give a boost to the number of visitors to the country as the government mulls new way to bring in a million foreign tourists in the Nepal Tourism Year 2011.
"Some international companies want to work in tandem with the government and attract LGBTs. We will develop strategies for the same. The beginning is encouraging," said an NTB official.
As part of the first promotional activity, Nepal will host a historic international conference in February, which is expected to bring together the worlds top tour operators, airlines and agencies selling adventure tourism to Kathmandu to explore opportunities for gay tourism in Nepal, the report said.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
It’s only IIT for physics champ Vinit
Mumbai Vinit Atal, the lone student to be selected in 10 years from Pune for the International Physics Olympiad, has also secured the highest score in All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) in Maharashtra. The results were declared on Saturday.
Although he got an all-India rank of 7 by scoring 403 out of 432 marks in AIEEE, Vinit says he would prefer joining IIT Powai to pursue computer science or mechanical engineering.
He was ranked 90 in IIT JEE and will attend his admission counselling on June 12. Vinit is a resident of Kothrud.
He is a student of Garware College.
“My focus was on IIT JEE AIEEE was a stand-by,” Vinit, who will participate in the International Physics Olympiad in Mexico in July, said.
Sagar Chordia, another student who appeared for AIEEE, IIT JEE and BITSAT and got the 16th rank in AIEEE also prefers the IIT.
“Around 120 students from Pune have made it to the state’s top 600, securing their place in National Institutes of Technology (NIT). Pune students usually prefer joining NITs at Nagpur, Bhopal, Trichur and Calicut,” said Durgesh Mangeshkar of IIT Prashikhshan Kendra that also trains students for AIEEE.
Date with AIEEE
June 20 to June 24: Registration, filling up choices and indicative allotment
June 25 to June 28: filling up choices and locking option
June 30: first round of seat allotment
JULY 7: second round of seat allotment
JULY 13: third round of seat allotment
JULY 19: fourth round of seat allotment
Although he got an all-India rank of 7 by scoring 403 out of 432 marks in AIEEE, Vinit says he would prefer joining IIT Powai to pursue computer science or mechanical engineering.
He was ranked 90 in IIT JEE and will attend his admission counselling on June 12. Vinit is a resident of Kothrud.
He is a student of Garware College.
“My focus was on IIT JEE AIEEE was a stand-by,” Vinit, who will participate in the International Physics Olympiad in Mexico in July, said.
Sagar Chordia, another student who appeared for AIEEE, IIT JEE and BITSAT and got the 16th rank in AIEEE also prefers the IIT.
“Around 120 students from Pune have made it to the state’s top 600, securing their place in National Institutes of Technology (NIT). Pune students usually prefer joining NITs at Nagpur, Bhopal, Trichur and Calicut,” said Durgesh Mangeshkar of IIT Prashikhshan Kendra that also trains students for AIEEE.
Date with AIEEE
June 20 to June 24: Registration, filling up choices and indicative allotment
June 25 to June 28: filling up choices and locking option
June 30: first round of seat allotment
JULY 7: second round of seat allotment
JULY 13: third round of seat allotment
JULY 19: fourth round of seat allotment
Vista a blow to Microsoft reputation: Ballmer
London Ahead of the launch of its new operating system Windows 7, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has said that the company's reputation never recovered from the poor performance of Vista.
Ballmer said Microsoft's reputation took a beating after the release of Vista in 2007, an operating system which caused computers to hang indefinitely, among many other technical glitches.
"We got some uneven reception when [Vista] first launched in large part because we made some design decisions to improve security at the expense of compatibility. I don't think from a word-of-mouth perspective we ever recovered from that," Ballmer was qouted by the Daily Telegarph.
He said there is "pent up demand" for new equipment, tacitly accepting that Vista did not sell well.
"I'd be hopeful that we see a bit more rapid pick-up - particularly people who are upgrading the software without touching the hardware - than maybe we have in years past."
With Microsoft launching its latest operating system Windows 7 on October 22, Ballmer said the economic slowdown has hit sales of PCs which will in turn impact its sale. Microsoft is likely to buy around 15 companies this year, in line with previous years, Ballmer told the newspaper.
Asked whether Microsoft would buy Twitter, he said the micro-blogging site does not "want to be bought".
"You'll continue to see us work hard and invest in the marketing and the like, and of course we're trying to get the ahoo deal through regulatory," he said.
Ballmer said Microsoft's reputation took a beating after the release of Vista in 2007, an operating system which caused computers to hang indefinitely, among many other technical glitches.
"We got some uneven reception when [Vista] first launched in large part because we made some design decisions to improve security at the expense of compatibility. I don't think from a word-of-mouth perspective we ever recovered from that," Ballmer was qouted by the Daily Telegarph.
He said there is "pent up demand" for new equipment, tacitly accepting that Vista did not sell well.
"I'd be hopeful that we see a bit more rapid pick-up - particularly people who are upgrading the software without touching the hardware - than maybe we have in years past."
With Microsoft launching its latest operating system Windows 7 on October 22, Ballmer said the economic slowdown has hit sales of PCs which will in turn impact its sale. Microsoft is likely to buy around 15 companies this year, in line with previous years, Ballmer told the newspaper.
Asked whether Microsoft would buy Twitter, he said the micro-blogging site does not "want to be bought".
"You'll continue to see us work hard and invest in the marketing and the like, and of course we're trying to get the ahoo deal through regulatory," he said.
'Indo-China border is one of the most peaceful and tranquil'
Bangalore Reacting to reports that Indian wrestlers had attacked a group of youths after they were racially abused in Australia, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has said students should not take the law in their hands.
Talking to reporters in Bangalore on Monday, Krishna said although self-defence was fundamental in nature, students should not take the law in their hands.
"I don't recommend that students should take law into their own hands. I think the incidents of attack on Indian students are tapering of. There are here and there some reported incidents," he added.
According to reports, Indian spectators leaving a Kabaddi match in Melbourne on Sunday night attacked a group of youths after they were racially abused.
Talking about tensions on the India-China border, Krishna said that it was the most tranquil and peaceful border.
"The Indo-Chinese border which is large, which is not demarcated as yet is one of the most peaceful and tranquil borders. There are certain incidents but we have evolved a mechanism, whenever incidents of incursions occur then we have a mechanism put in place, so that at the field level itself things are settled and things are sorted out. So I don't think that we should be carried away by such reports," he added.
Anger over troop deployments, reports of border incursions, and a high-pitched media debate have reignited strains between China and India over long-festering border disputes in the Himalayas region
Talking to reporters in Bangalore on Monday, Krishna said although self-defence was fundamental in nature, students should not take the law in their hands.
"I don't recommend that students should take law into their own hands. I think the incidents of attack on Indian students are tapering of. There are here and there some reported incidents," he added.
According to reports, Indian spectators leaving a Kabaddi match in Melbourne on Sunday night attacked a group of youths after they were racially abused.
Talking about tensions on the India-China border, Krishna said that it was the most tranquil and peaceful border.
"The Indo-Chinese border which is large, which is not demarcated as yet is one of the most peaceful and tranquil borders. There are certain incidents but we have evolved a mechanism, whenever incidents of incursions occur then we have a mechanism put in place, so that at the field level itself things are settled and things are sorted out. So I don't think that we should be carried away by such reports," he added.
Anger over troop deployments, reports of border incursions, and a high-pitched media debate have reignited strains between China and India over long-festering border disputes in the Himalayas region
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