U.S. delivering F-16 jets to Egypt

The Obama administration tentatively plans to deliver four F-16 aircraft to Egypt, but is reviewing all U.S. military aid arrangements, according to a Pentagon official.

The planes were scheduled to be shipped by the end of August, but the delivery could be made more complicated if there is no Egyptian military plan to transition to civilian rule and the United States were compelled to formally declare a military coup had taken place, the official said.

If that declaration were made, it most likely would result in aid being halted. The official declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information.

Until Thursday, all indications had been that the deliveries would go through as part of a $1.3 billion 2010 military aid package that called for 20 F-16s and Abrams tank parts to be sent to Egypt. A second Pentagon official had previously said the deliveries "were on track."

 

Read: Why Americans should care about Egypt ?

 

But at the behest of the White House, the Pentagon is now sounding a more cautious note.

"Given the events of last week, the president has directed relevant departments and agencies to review our assistance to the government of Egypt," the Defense Department said in a written statement.

Opinion: U.S. must not fail Egypt

As it measures its response to the recent events on Egypt, the U.S. needs to be extremely careful about focusing on the definition of "coup" and the legitimacy -- or non-legitimacy -- of Mohamed Morsy's election, the draft constitution, and the now-ousted Egyptian president's efforts to give himself additional powers. It needs to be equally careful about focusing on the protests that helped drive him from power, and the legitimacy of political Islam.

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If the U.S. focuses on whether or not a coup took place, it will be ignoring the fact that Egypt is a key center of the Middle East and that U.S. policy will be judged by its success in meeting the needs of Egypt's people. Egypt is a nation whose problems go far deeper than the crisis that began January 2011.

As the Arab Human Development report made clear in 2009, former President Hosni Mubarak's rule had become steadily more ineffective, corrupt, and incapable of meeting the needs of Egypt's people long before 2011. He had been in power since October 1981, but the social and economic progress he made in his first decade in power had faded into a static, incompetent regime by 2005, and one that became steadily more corrupt and unable to meet the needs of Egypt's young and growing population.

The last two years have made the situation far worse in ways that affect every aspect of day-to-day life. Mubarak's fall tore down a fragile regime that mixed a state-driven economy with crony capitalism. It was a country with a bureaucracy that could barely function without a strong leader, one with no opposition parties that had real political experience or capability to govern, and whose "reformers" were (and still are) protesters with no capability to make real reforms.

The end result is that Egypt is not an abstract exercise in political theory. It is a nation of more than 85 million people, at least 25% of whom live in dire poverty, and where unemployment and underemployment can no longer be accurately estimated but have reached the crisis level. It is a nation with over 50% of its populationunder 25 years of age, and 31% under 14, but with an education system in breakdown and much of the infrastructure frozen or losing capacity.

Egypt's foreign reserves have dropped by more than 50%and it faces a crisis in getting loans from the International Monetary Fund. It is a nation where foreign investment has critically declined, tourist revenue has dropped sharply, where many small businesses have already collapsed, and many middle class Egyptians have lost their jobs and savings. Fuel and electric power are lacking, food subsidies are uncertain and sometimes failing, the currency is increasingly unstable, and crime has skyrocketed.

U.S. policy must focus on these realities, and not just politics. The U.S., in partnership with its allies, the World Bank and other international aid agencies institutions needs to support immediate Egyptian efforts to salvage the economy and bring economic reform. It needs to focus on bringing relief and stability. No Egyptian government can succeed -- democratic or not -- that cannot meet the needs of the Egyptian people. Real political legitimacy is not determined by how a government is chosen, but by how well it can meet the needs of its people.

As for politics, the U.S. needs to work with other states to push Egypt's military to support the reforms that failed between early 2011 and Morsy's fall. This means a broad-based effort to agree on a constitution, the creation of real political parties, and help for protesters learning how to organize politically and focus on practical governance and reform. It means taking enough time for elections to be open, to include Islamic and more secular parties, and focusing on the same kind of mixed national government and consensus politics that seem to have emerged in Tunisia.

One test of a solution to a problem is that it does not make things even worse. Threatening Egypt's military, rigidly cutting off aid because of a "coup" under conditions where there is no credible replacement government, and standing aside as Egypt drifts towards internal collapse is not a strategy.

Letting today's celebration of Morsy's fall turn into civil conflict and political paralysis will be a moral and ethical failure on the part of the Obama administration and the Congress, one that will do the Egyptian people vast harm, cripple a key ally, and leave a legacy of lasting anger in both Egypt and the region.

Courtesy & Thanks: CNN

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No review of decision on gas pricing: Moily

India's decision to raise prices of locally produced gas will not be reviewed, the oil minister said on Thursday, allaying fears that New Delhi may consider a roll-back.

"No question of review of CCEA's (Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs) decision on gas pricing," Veerappa Moily told reporters.

India last month took the unpopular step of approving a gas price rise for the first time in three years, a move which could inject much needed investment in local production, but boost imports of more costly LNG.

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Demand for gas in India far outstrips consumption, but prices have been kept low for strategic industries, deterring investment in the sector. India has few energy resources other than coal and is the world's fourth-biggest importer of fuel.

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United States calls on China to 'abide by rules'

Washington: The United States called on Thursday on China to abide by what it called international rules in areas from cyber-hacking to freedom at sea as the world's two largest economies waded into key disputes.

Chinese and US officials were wrapping up an annual two-day meeting designed to address the gamut of issues in their complicated relationship, with both sides looking for at least small ways to expand cooperation.

In a sign of the importance he attaches to managing ties with the rising Asian power, President Barack Obama - who generally meets only leaders from other nations - plans to receive the two main Chinese delegates at the White House.

Obama has invested time in seeking a smooth relationship with China's newly installed President Xi Jinping, meeting him for a weekend at a California desert resort last month, but has also stepped up the tone on hacking.

For the second day in a row, the United States raised charges that China has waged a vast hacking campaign to steal US trade and government secrets, costing the economy billions of dollars through the counterfeiting of products.

"As major powers looking to forge a new model of relations, our countries have a responsibility to show restraint in our actions and abide by the rules meant to govern international affairs," Deputy Secretary of State William Burns told a session.

"This means respecting the universality of human rights and addressing cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property," Burns said.

Burns also called on China to "uphold the freedom of navigation" in the economically vital waterways of Asia, where US allies Japan and the Philippines as well as Vietnam accuse Beijing of aggressively exerting its claims.

"Adhering to these and other global rules will help reduce uncertainty and, in turn, strengthen global security and increase steady economic growth," Burns said.

A US official said that Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday was "very forceful" on human rights concerns in China and raised specific cases. Burns later filled in for Kerry, who returned to Boston to see his hospitalized wife.

Vice President Joe Biden raised hacking concerns when he opened the talks on Wednesday, saying that "outright" theft by China "must be viewed as out of bounds and needs to stop."

China insists it is also the victim of hacking and has demanded answers after US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden charged that US spies had worked their way into the billion-plus nation's Internet network.

Chinese officials, who often bristle at US criticism, took a measured tone during the dialogue, whose format of formal, heavily scripted meetings is seen as appealing to Beijing.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked in Beijing about Biden's remarks, said only that the two countries can make cyber-security "a new highlight of our bilateral cooperation instead of the source of friction."

Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, addressing reporters on the sidelines of the talks, spoke of progress on reaching a treaty to protect and encourage investment between the two countries.

"We hope that on top of what has been done, both sides can initiate their negotiations on substantive parts of the bilateral investment treaty as soon as possible," he said.

Gao declined to give a more specific timeframe for the treaty, over which talks began five years ago.

The United States and China announced Wednesday that they would step up cooperation on fighting climate change, although their agreements were general in tone.

The two countries - which together pump out more than 40 per cent of carbon blamed for the planet's warming temperatures - said they would chart out plans by October in five areas including reducing emissions from heavy-duty vehicles.

Climate change is seen as a key area for collaboration as the leaders of both countries both see an interest in addressing the problem, even if Obama's efforts are hobbled by opposition in Congress.

Christiana Figueres, head of the UN climate body, called the agreements "welcome and important" and said that such efforts can help pave the way for an elusive successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol.

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Supreme Court bars those in jail from contesting elections

The Supreme Court has barred those in jail from contesting elections, a landmark ruling that will prevent jailed politicians from contesting even if they are not convicted of any crime yet.

This judgement came along with the court's verdict on Wednesday that MPs and MLAs convicted of a crime would stand disqualified from the date of conviction, and could not stay on even if they appealed to a higher court.

The top court has confirmed the 2004 order of the Patna High court, and agreed that "If a jailed person can't vote, a jailed person can't contest elections."

"A right to vote is a statutory right, the law gives it, and the law takes it away. Persons convicted of crime are kept away from elections. The court has no hesitation in interpreting the Constitution and the Laws framed under it, that persons in the lawful custody of the police also will not be voters, in which case, they will neither be electors. The law temporarily takes away the power of such persons to go anywhere near the election scene," said the Supreme Court.

Simply put, a person can't contest if he's in jail or police custody during the elections.

This could affect politicians like Jagan Reddy, who had been in jail for over a year in a disproportionate assets case.

The verdict is in response to a petition filed in 2004 by the Election Commission, which had been asked by the Patna High Court to strike off names of jailed persons from the voters list.

The poll panel had argued that the election process had already started, and it was too late to change the voters list. The Supreme Court had stayed the high court order at the time.

But experts say the verdict could be controversial, as it would bar jailed persons from contesting even if they have not been charge-sheeted. Many politicians say it opens a can of worms as it can be easily misused against political rivals.

Political parties had also been wary of the verdict disqualifying convicted MPs, since they feared it could be misused for score-settling, though parties like the Congress and BJP had officially welcomed it.

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AERB green light for Kudankulam

In a major relief to authorities of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has given its nod for controlled fission process or “first approach to criticality” (FAC) for the first unit of the plant.

The FAC is an important step towards the beginning of power production. An AERB release said that while granting the clearance for the FAC, it was ensured that the Supreme Court directives of May 6 were fully complied with. The approval was given after an in-depth review of associated safety aspects.

Clearance for the FAC, however, does not mean the stage is set for the commissioning of the plant soon. Several low-power tests will have to be carried out to verify the conformance of the reactor’s characteristics to design objectives.

The AERB would review the results of the tests before giving clearance for the next stage of commissioning, which would entail a phased increase in the power level of the reactor. However, a senior official of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, which will operate the plant, declined to give any time frame for commissioning the plant.

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கூடங்குளத்தில் மின்உற்பத்தி துவங்கியது

திருநெல்வேலி: கூடங்குளம் அணுமின்நிலையத்தில், மின்உற்பத்திக்கான பணிகள், நேற்று நள்ளிரவில் துவங்கின. நெல்லை மாவட்டம் கூடங்குளத்தில், ஒவ்வொன்றும் 1000 மெகாவாட் மின்உற்பத்தி திறன் கொண்ட, இரண்டு அணுஉலைகள் அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.

முதலாவது உலையில், உற்பத்தியை துவக்கிய போது, பல்வேறு பிரச்னைகள் ஏற்பட்டன. கடந்த 2012 செப்டம்பரில், முதல் அணு உலையில் எரிபொருள் நிரப்புவதற்கான அனுமதி வழங்கப்பட்டது. எரிபொருள் நிரப்பும் பணி நிறைவடைந்த நிலையில், பாதுகாப்பு காரணங்களுக்காக, உற்பத்தி தள்ளி வைக்கப்பட்டது.

இந்நிலையில், முதலாவது உலையில் உற்பத்தியை துவக்க, அணுசக்தி ஒழுங்குமுறை ஆணையம் அனுமதி அளித்தது. இதன்படி, நேற்று நள்ளிரவு 11.50 மணிக்கு, செறிவூட்டப்பட்ட யுரேனியத்தை எரிபொருளாக கொண்டு, உற்பத்தி துவங்கியது.

அணுபிளவின் வெப்பத்தால், ஏற்படுத்தப்படும் நீராவியின் மூலம், "டர்பன்' களை சுழலச்செய்து, மின்உற்பத்தி செய்யப்படும். பணிகள் துவங்கினாலும், முழு உற்பத்தி கிடைக்க, சில நாட்கள் ஆகும்.

ஏ.இ.ஆர்.பி., அனுமதி:

முன்னதாக, கூடங்குளம் அணுமின் நிலையத்தின் முதல் பிரிவு செயல்பட, அணுசக்தி ஒழுங்குமுறை ஆணையமான, ஏ.இ.ஆர்.பி., அனுமதி வழங்கியுள்ளது.

இதுதொடர்பாக, அந்த ஆணையத்தின் செயலர் பட்டாச்சார்யா கூறியதாவது: கூடங்குளம் அணுமின் நிலையத்தின் பாதுகாப்பு தொடர்பாக, சமீபத்தில் நிபுணர்கள் ஆய்வு மேற்கொண்டனர். அந்த ஆய்வின் அடிப்படையில், அணுமின் நிலையம் செயல்பட அனுமதி வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

முதல்கட்டமாக, அணுக்களை பிளக்கும் நடவடிக்கைகள் துவங்கும். அதன்பின், மற்ற நடவடிக்கைகள் தொடரும். அணு உலையின் செயல்பாடுகளை உறுதி செய்ய, பல கட்ட சோதனைகள் நடத்தப்படும். அந்த சோதனையின் அடிப்படையிலேயே, மின் உற்பத்திக்கான அடுத்தடுத்த அனுமதி வழங்கப்படும்.

இவ்வாறு பட்டாச்சார்யா கூறினார். கூடங்குளம் அணுமின் நிலையத்தின் இயக்குனர் சுந்தர் கூறுகையில், ""அணுமின் நிலையம் செயல்பட, அணுசக்தி ஒழுங்குமுறை ஆணையம் அனுமதி அளித்துள்ளது மகிழ்ச்சி அளிக்கிறது.

இன்னும் சில, நடைமுறைகளை பின்பற்ற வேண்டியுள்ளது. அதன்பின், 45 நாட்களில், கூடங்குளம் அணுமின் நிலையத்தில், மின் உற்பத்தி துவங்கும். இவ்வாறு சுந்தர் கூறினார்.

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TN ropes in private firms to wipe out power deficit

In an attempt to bridge the power deficit — now 4,000 MW, but growing quickly — in the State, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd (Tangedco) has decided to award a long term power purchase contract for 1208 MW to four companies at a levelised tariff of Rs 4.910/Kwh for a period of 15 years.

According to informed sources, the impetus for this move comes from State Chief Minister Jayalalithaa herself.

The good news for private power producers is that she is learnt to have given further instructions that the entire 4,000 MW power deficit must be bridged in mission-mode through urgent award of similar competitive contracts to private power producers for the remaining power shortfall of 2,222 MW within the next 4 months.

Since Tamil Nadu doesn’t have its own coal, it is keen to rope in private power producers with preferential coal linkages or captive coal mines to generate power for the state. The decision to award the contract at Rs. 4.91/Kwh when the cost of production is far lower, displays the state’s willingness to pay a premium for power generation.

The minutes of the 38th Tangedco Board meeting held on June 28 record a resolve to issue letters of intent for this particular long term power purchase contract to DB Power, Jindal Power, Ind Bharat Energy (Utkal) and Balco.

Of a total of 12 bidders, these four companies are said to have submitted the lowest bids. As per the document, DB Power submitted the lowest levelised tariff of Rs 4.910/Kwh. Minutes from relevant files show that, after negotiation, DB Power offered an additional rebate of Rs. 0.02/unit for the first five years of power generation. The other three bidders have agreed to match DB Power’s levelised tariff with the additional rebate.

“The final negotiated levelised tariff is comparable with similar long term tenders finalised by Uttar Pradesh, medium term tender awarded by Tangedco, and provisional tariff of our joint venture Unit-II at Vallur, and hence considered reasonable and acceptable,” the minutes record. The total available capacity for Tamil Nadu is a little over 10,500 MW, excluding wind power, but the peak demand is forecast to be some 15,700 MW for 2013-14. Tangedco’s chairman and managing director adds that capacity addition from all ongoing projects commissioned during 2013-14 may only take care of the existing gap of 4,000 MW in supply. “We need to procure additional capacity for next three years viz, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, which on a conservative estimate will be of the order of 3000 MW at the rate of 1000 MW per annum since no new significant capacity addition is expected during these years from 2014-15 to 2016-17”.

The Board has estimated a requirement of roughly 2000 MVA for withdrawing the 40% power cut now being imposed on High Tension Industrial and Commercial consumers. “Continuance of Restriction and Control measures on Industrial and Commercial consumers is directly affecting the revenues of Tangedco since they are the most remunerative consumers of Tangedco,” it observes.

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SRK brings baby AbRam home, says no gender test was done

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan Tuesday confirmed for the first time the premature birth of his and his wife Gauri Khan's surrogate baby boy, who has been named AbRam.

Shah Rukh, 47, made the news official about his surrogate baby via a statement.

"Amidst all the noise that has been going around, the sweetest is the one made by our newborn baby, AbRam. He was born prematurely by several months, but has finally come home," said Shah Rukh.

"Gauri and our whole family have been dealing with his health issues for a long time now," he added.

Explaining his longstanding silence on the matter, he said: "As a family, our silence on this subject has been because of the personal nature of emotional strife that we have been going through due to his health."

The superstar, also called the baadshah of Bollywood, also put the record straight that "there was no sex determination for our child".

"The baby was born much before the speculations of 'sex determination' and other 'issues' pertaining to the same were being raised in the media by some organisations. Suffice to say his coming home puts to rest completely false and at times insensitive claims of sex determination and alleged illegalities," he added.

On his part, the actor-producer has also apologised to "all those other doctors and hospitals who had to face unwanted scrutiny and questioning by some parties", and he has thanked the doctor concerned, Jatin Shah, for his expertise and contribution to make the surrogacy successful.

"We also wish to thank all the other doctors, nurses and medical staff who have made his life possible," added Shah Rukh, who also said the entire surrogacy process is bound by "strict confidentiality".

He has appealed to all "to allow us to cherish this private moment as a family".

Shah Rukh, who began his tryst with showbiz through the small screen in 1988, married Gauri in 1991. They have two children together - son Aryan,16, and daughter Suhana, 13.

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Infosys global sales head Basab Pradhan quits to start own venture

Mumbai: Weeks after N.R. Narayana Murthy returned to Infosys, the country's second largest software exporter today saw its global sales and marketing head Basab Pradhan quitting the company.

Mr. Pradhan, who was the member of the Infosys executive council, said he is planning to start his own venture.

The exit comes just ahead of Infosys announcing first quarter numbers on July 12.

"Leaving Infosys to go back to the start-up world. To all my friends at Infosys, please stay in touch," Mr. Pradhan tweeted this evening.

The company gave no reason for Pradhan's departure in its brief email statement and Infosys officials declined to give details, according to news agency Reuters.

"We confirm that Mr. Basab Pradhan has resigned. We wish him all the best," Reuters said citing the statement.

Mr. Pradhan's departure comes at a time when Mr. Murthy has returned to the company as executive chairman last month.

Mr. Murthy is trying to rebuild the company, which has been posting disappointing numbers for the past many quarters. During the past 18 months, the once-cynosure of the domestic IT industry lost many good hands, with its HR head and board member T.V. Mohandas Pai quitting on April 16, 2012 amid the company reporting another set of poor results.

On the same day, another senior executive Shaji Farooq, quit to join rival Wipro after spending over a decade in the financial services vertical.

Prior to that, Infosys lost its sales head Subhash Dhar and chief operating officer of BPO division Ritesh Idnani. This was Mr. Pradhan's second innings at Infosys. He had returned to Infosys in 2011, when the company restructured its strategy as part of Infosys 3.0 plan.

He had worked at Infosys between 1995 and 2005. He left Infosys to start a venture-funded startup Gridstone Research, in the area of unstructured data in financial information.

Details of Mr. Pradhan's new venture could not be ascertained immediately.

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India qualify for the final, beat Sri Lanka by 81 runs

India overcame Sri Lanka and the almost continuous threat of inclement weather on Tuesday at Queen's Park Oval to advance to the final of the Tri-Nation Series two days later against the same opponents.

In yet another match in Trinidad severely affected by rain, the World Cup and Champions Trophy holders battled to 119 for three off 29 overs before a torrential downpour just before midday seemed set to force the match into a reserve day.

However the conditions improved significantly in late afternoon, and with the Sri Lankans set a revised target of 178 off 26 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis system, Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced an outstanding spell of seaming bowling, taking four for eight off his allotted six overs and ensuring that Sri Lanka were routed for 96 in reply.

India's 81-run margin of victory was also sizeable enough to ensure that while they finished level on nine points with both Sri Lanka and the West Indies, their net run-rate was superior to the Caribbean side's, so knocking Dwayne Bravo's team out of the competition and giving the hosts an unwanted two extra days to prepare for the five-match One-Day International Series with Pakistan, beginning on Sunday in Guyana.

Kumar exploited the helpful conditions masterfully, extracting pace and bounce off a greenish pitch and moving the ball both ways.

"I feel proud to put in a performance like this for my country, especially in a match of such importance," he said, reflecting on his match-winning effort, the best by an Indian in One-Day Internationals at Queen's Park Oval.

"I really enjoyed bowling here, just as it was in England, so I just tried to bowl in good areas consistently."

He accounted for Upul Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara off successive deliveries in his second over, although Sangakkara could consider himself unfortunate to be adjudged LBW.

There was no doubt though about his other victims, Mahela Jayawardene slicing a catch to third man and Lahiru Thirimanne driving unerringly to Virat Kohli at cover.

India's captain, who earlier in the day appeared thoroughly flustered by the challenging conditions, never allowed the Sri Lankans a way out of their dire straits, employing his support bowlers effectively.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja accounted for skipper Angelo Mathews and topscorer Dinesh Chandimal (26) to ensure there was to be no miraculous revival.

"To bounce back the way we've done and top the table after losing the first two matches really shows a lot of character," said a delighted Kohli in the aftermath of victory.

"It was all about playing smart cricket when we were batting to ensure we didn't lose wickets slogging. It worked out well for us with the help of the Duckworth-Lewis (method)."

Rohit Sharma's patient, unbeaten 48 at the top of the order when India were put in was vital to holding the innings together on a bright but increasingly humid morning.

He lost the attacking Shikhar Dhawan in Mathews' first over while Herath once again proved his worth with the ball, the left-arm spinner trapping the struggling Kohli leg-before on the back foot and then bowling Dinesh Karthik.

By the fall of that third wicket it became inevitable that a rain interruption was only a matter of minutes away.

Sharma and Suresh Raina ensured there were no further casualties before the showers descended and waited with their teammates in hope that they would have the chance later in the day to pull off the victory needed to get to the final.

With the showers eventually relenting, their determination and the inspirational bowling of Kumar saw them through.

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Chinese troops enter Ladakh again: reports

On June 17, Chinese troops patrolling disputed territory in the Chumar sector of southern Ladakh, reportedly took away a non-functioning solar CCTV camera placed about 6 km ahead of an Indian post.

Two days later, India brought up the issue of the missing camera at a routine meeting of border personnel and China returned it on July 3 this year.

Government sources said India is not treating the incident as an "incursion" by the Chinese as this is territory that both countries claim is theirs. The Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army or PLA both routinely patrol this region.

In April this year, a Chinese platoon had entered and set up camp about 19 km into Indian territory in the Depsang Valley and had refused to budge for about three weeks despite repeated requests from India.

After a 21-day face-off during which there were intense negotiations amid increasing tension, China agreed to withdraw its platoon. In return, India agreed to dismantle seven bunkers that it was building in the Chumar sector, the major trigger for China's April incursion.

As part of that agreement, cameras place by India in the region were also dismantled. This was one such camera, with solar panels removed, that the Chinese patrol had found.

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Syrian rebels 'can fight in Lebanon'

The military chief of the main umbrella group of Syrian rebels says his men should be allowed to fight Hezbollah militants inside neighbouring Lebanon.

Gen Selim Idriss of the Free Syrian Army told the BBC that Hezbollah fighters were "invading" Syria and Lebanon was doing nothing to stop them.

Gen Idriss denied rebels were losing the war, despite recent setbacks.

Early on Wednesday Syrian state TV claimed that government forces had gained full control of Qusair.

There was no way of immediately verifying the report.

Gen Idriss also said they would not accept any role for President Bashar al-Assad in a post-conflict Syria.

"If the price of peace is that Bashar still has the power in Syria, we don't need that kind of peace," he said.

He said he had told commanders, including those near the strategic town of Qusair, to fight Hezbollah militants "just inside Syria".

But he added: "There are now a very large number of Hezbollah fighters in Syria, in Qusair, in Idlib, in Aleppo, in Damascus and I can say everywhere in the country.

"Hezbollah fighters are invading Syrian territory. And when they continue to do that and the Lebanese authorities don't take any action to stop them coming to Syria, I think we are allowed to fight Hezbollah fighters inside [Lebanese] territory."

Pro-government forces including Hezbollah fighters have been battling rebels for control of Qusair in recent days.

The town lies just 10km (six miles) over the Lebanese border.

"Our heroic armed forces have returned security and stability to all of the town of Qusair," said Syrian state TV early on Wednesday.

Gen Idriss said he was sure the rebels would win the fight against Mr Assad.

"But without the support from our friends in Western countries and the USA the fight will continue for many, many years and there will be more martyrs, more destruction," he said.

In that scenario, extremists would win more support within rebel ranks, he added.

More than 80,000 people have been been killed in Syria and more than 1.5 million have fled the country since an uprising against Mr Assad began in 2011, according to UN estimates.

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Apple infringes Samsung patent: U.S. agency

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) scored a victory over rival Apple Inc (AAPL.O) in their long-running dispute over mobile device patents after a U.S. trade agency issued an order banning older but still-popular Apple products from the U.S. market.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled on Tuesday that the Silicon Valley giant had infringed on a patent owned by Samsung that involves the ability of devices to transmit multiple services simultaneously and correctly through 3G wireless technology.

The independent federal agency slapped a ban on the import or sale of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G distributed by AT&T (T.N), the biggest seller of Apple devices in the United States when Samsung filed its complaint in 2011. The products are assembled in Asia.

U.S. President Barack Obama has 60 days to review the ruling. If he does not veto the order, it will go into effect.

It is not immediately clear what the impact could be on Apple or AT&T should Obama let the ruling stand, since the decision remains subject to a potentially prolonged appeals process.

While the products targeted are more than a year old, some models such as the iPhone 4 remain solid sellers.

The most recent version covered by the ITC's decision - the iPhone 4 - is now given away with a contract offered by carriers including Verizon Wireless, which is not affected by the ruling. The iPhone 4 could be phased out within a year should Apple stick to schedule and release a new version of the iPhone 5 in the fall as many in the industry expect.

Still, if the import ban goes into effect, U.S. customs agencies enforcing the ban could well end up delaying other Apple products, said Susan Kohn Ross, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp.

"This is going to create a huge distortion for Apple," she said. "Customs has a very difficult job now. They have to look at every shipment."

The iPhone accounts for about half of Apple's revenue. While the company doesn't disclose sales data on individual smartphones and tablet models, the most current version of the iPhone typically accounts for the biggest chunk of iPhone shipments of more than 100 million units annually.

GLOBAL WAR

Shares in Apple were little changed at $446.26 in after-hours trade. Samsung stock was also holding steady at about 1.54 million won.

Apple has waged an international patent war since 2010 as it seeks to limit the growth of Google's (GOOG.O) Android, the world's most-used mobile software today. That fight has embroiled Samsung, HTC Corp (2498.TW) and others that use Android, a direct competitor to Apple's iOS.

Tuesday's ruling overturned a decision by ITC Judge James Gildea, who ruled in September that Apple did not violate patents at issue in the case.

Samsung, which is battling Apple in court in some 10 countries, had also accused Apple of infringing on three other patents, but the ITC found that Apple did not infringe those.

"We are disappointed that the commission has overturned an earlier ruling and we plan to appeal. Today's decision has no impact on the availability of Apple products in the United States," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said in a statement.

Samsung said the ITC decision "confirmed Apple's history of free-riding on Samsung's technological innovations."

The Obama administration has been pressing for infringement of "standard essential patents" to mostly be punished by monetary charges, not sales bans.

It reiterated that stand on Tuesday with a White House statement that - among other steps - urged the ITC to raise its bar for order sales bans so that it matches district courts.

Designed to be a trade panel, the ITC has become a popular venue for patent lawsuits because it acts relatively quickly and it can order import bans, which are more difficult to get from district courts.

While the ITC was created to ensure that U.S. companies got a fair shake competing against imports, a fair number of non-U.S. companies have filed for relief at the agency based on the fact that they have U.S. manufacturing plants or do research in this country.

Samsung has a manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.

"I can't really point to any time that the foreign complainants or respondents got anything but a justice-is-blind fair shake," said one patent expert who spoke privately because he did not have permission from his firm to speak to the media.

ITC cases can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and from there go to the Supreme Court.

Apple has a parallel complaint filed against Samsung at the ITC, accusing Samsung, an Apple chip provider, of blatantly copying its iPhones and iPads. An ITC judge in that case found that Samsung had violated one patent but not a second one. A final decision is due in August.

The case at the International Trade Commission is No. 337-794.

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What Real Estate Bill means for you in 10 simple points

To protect those buying homes from being conned by real estate developers, the cabinet has cleared an important new proposal. Here's how the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill could help you.

Here's your 10-point cheat-sheet:

1. The Bill creates a regulator for the realty sector along the lines of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which regulates mobile tariffs.


2. The Bill applies only to residential projects and not to commercial real estate.


3. The Bill has provisions for tough penalty for putting out misleading/deceptive advertisements about projects. For first time offenders, the penalty could be as high as 10 per cent of project costs. For repeat offenders, there could be a jail term of up to three years.


4. The proposed legislation makes it necessary for builders to get all important clearances before they sell apartments.  This means developers cannot pre-launch residential projects to collect funds from buyers.


5. This comes in response to builders who regularly miss deadlines for the completion of homes.  Buyers have also complained that after making payments, they often discover that the builder in question has not cleared land acquisition permissions.


6. Developers cannot take more than 10 per cent of the advance from buyers without a written agreement. The buyers are entitled to a full refund with interest in case of delay in projects.


7. The government will offer details of its provisions later today in a  press conference by Union Cabinet Minister for Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Ajay Maken (ndtv.com will bring you all those details).


8. The government will clarify provisions pertaining to the Bill, which is applicable for residential projects only, later today.


9. Developers need to put aside 70 per cent of the proceeds of a particular project in a bank account according to the Bill. This will prevent developers from diverting funds meant for construction and ensure timely completion of projects, analysts said.


10. The Bill makes it mandatory for builders to define "carpet area" of the house. Currently, most developers sell residential flats citing "super area," which is 25-40 per cent more than the actual usable area.

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Cabinet nods for non-binding conciliation with Vodafone over tax dispute row

New Delhi, June 5 : The union cabinet has approved the start of a conciliation process with Vodafone Group Plc, in a dispute over more than $2 billion in taxes stemming from its 2007 acquisition of mobile phone assets in the country. Addressing a news conference in New Delhi, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday that the cabinet had approved to enter into a 'non-binding' conciliation. On reaching consensus from both the sides, the outcome of the conciliation would be discussed in the Parliament for amending the income tax act of the country. Last year, the Supreme Court of India ruled in Vodafone's favour, saying that the UK telecoms carrier was not liable to pay any tax over the acquisition.

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Raj Kundra being questioned by Delhi police

Raj Kundra, one of the owners of the Rajasthan Royals, is being questioned by the Delhi Police in connection with the betting and spot-fixing scandal that has engulfed Indian cricket.  Mr Kundra is married to Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty.

Three players from the Royals including S Sreesanth are in custody after being accused of deliberately bowling badly in exchange for pay-offs from bookmakers.

All the accused deny any wrongdoing.  Yesterday, Mr Sreesanth was denied bail after the Delhi Police said tough charges would apply against 26 accused under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), which is usually used against crime syndicates.   The police said that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who reportedly lives in Pakistan, and his associate Chotta Shakeel, controlled the betting, and declared them accused.

he Mumbai and Delhi Police are investigating the Royals and the Chennai Super Kings for alleged involvement in illegal betting in this year's edition of the Indian Premier League or IPL, the country's top domestic competition.

The Chennai franchise is under scrutiny on account of senior management member Gurunath Meiyappan, who was arrested on May 24 for allegedly passing information to bookies and placing bets on the IPL. Mr Meiyappan was released on bail yesterday.  His alleged role forced his father-in-law, N Srinivasan, to step aside as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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Drinking destroyed me as an actor says Dharmendra

New Delhi, June 05 : Veteran actor Dharmendra, who is busy promoting his upcoming release 'Yamla Pagla Deewana 2', said he now understands the process of filmmaking and takes it seriously. He admitted that his drinking habit in the past destroyed him as an actor but he is now coming to terms with his films. "I don't drink these days. I had destroyed myself as an actor with my drinking habit in the past. I believe in humanity now and have learnt the business of filmmaking. We three worked really hard for this film. We are leaving no stone unturned for the promotions" he said during the promotion of 'Yamla Pagla Deewana 2' in the capital.

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UP: Cop caught on camera thrashing a woman

Aligarh, May 31 : In yet another instance of violence against women by the Uttar Pradesh police, a female cop was caught on camera thrashing a middle-aged woman. The woman had gone to the police station to question them for keeping his nine-year-old son in the lock-up. Her son is among six minors who have been in the lock-up since Monday on complaints of theft. The mother was not given any information on why was her son arrested and she also alleged that the police was not listening to her. Satyendra Singh, in-charge of Quarsi police station, abused the woman and asked his subordinate lady sub inspector (SI) Sandhya Singh to thrash her when she came asking about his son.

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Radiation poses manned Mars dilemma

Nasa's Curiosity rover has confirmed what everyone has long suspected - that astronauts on a Mars mission would get a big dose of damaging radiation.

The robot counted the number of high-energy space particles striking it on its eight-month journey to the planet.

Based on this data, scientists say a human travelling to and from Mars could well be exposed to a radiation dose that breached current safety limits.

This calculation does not even include time spent on the planet's surface.

When the time devoted to exploring the world is taken into account, the dose rises further still.

This would increase the chances of developing a fatal cancer beyond what is presently deemed acceptable for a career astronaut.

Cary Zeitlin from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and colleagues report the Curiosity findings in the latest edition o fScience magazine.

They say engineers will have to give careful consideration to the type of shielding that is built into a Mars-bound crew ship. However, they concede that for some of the most damaging radiation particles, there may be little that can be done to shelter the crew other than to get them to Mars and the partial protection of its thin atmosphere and rocky mass as quickly as possible.

At the moment, given existing chemical propulsion technology, Mars transits take months.

"The situation would be greatly improved if we could only get there quite a bit faster," Dr Zeitlin told BBC News.

"It is not just the dose rate that is the problem; it is the number of days that one accumulates that dose that drives the total towards or beyond the career limits. Improved propulsion would really be the ticket if someone could make that work."

New types of propulsion, such as plasma and nuclear thermal rockets, are in development. These could bring the journey time down to a number of weeks.

Curiosity travelled to Mars inside a capsule similar in size to the one now being developed to take astronauts beyond the space station to destinations such as asteroids and even Mars.

For most of its 253-day, 560-million-km journey in 2011/2012, the robot had its Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument switched on inside the cruise vessel, which gave a degree of protection.

RAD counts the numbers of energetic particles - mostly protons - hitting its sensors.

Radiation exposures comparison

• Annual average (all sources, UK) - 2.7mSv


• Whole-body CT scan - 10mSv


• Nuclear power worker (annual, UK) - 20mSv


• 6 months on the space station - 100mSv


• 6 months in deep space - 320mSv

Source: UK HPA / Nasa

The particles of concern fall into two categories - those that are accelerated away from our dynamic Sun; and those that arrive at high velocity from outside of the Solar System.

This latter category originates from exploded stars and the environs of black holes.

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These galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) impart a lot of energy when they strike the human body and will damage DNA in cells. They are also the most difficult to shield against.

Earth's thick atmosphere, its magnetic field and its huge rock bulk provide protection to people living on its surface, but for astronauts in deep space even an aluminium hull 30cm thick is not going to change their exposure to GCRs very much.

The RAD data revealed an average GCR dose equivalent rate of 1.84 milliSieverts (mSv) per day during the rover's cruise to Mars. (The Sievert is a standard measure of the biological impacts of radiation.) This dose rate is about the same as having a full-body CT scan in a hospital every five days or so.

Number reassessment

Dr Zeitlin and his team used this measurement as a guide to work out what an astronaut could expect on a Mars mission, assuming he or she had a similarly shielded spacecraft, travelled at a time when the Sun's activity was broadly the same and completed the journey in just 180 days - Nasa's "design reference" transit time for a manned mission to Mars. They calculated the total dose just for the cruise phases to and from Mars to be 660mSv. The team promises to come back with the additional number from surface exposure once Curiosity has taken more measurements at its landing location on the planet's equator.

But even this 660mSv figure represents a large proportion of the 1,000mSv for career exposure that several space agencies work to keep their astronauts from approaching. Reaching 1,000mSv is associated with a 5% increase in the risk of developing a fatal cancer. There would likely be neurological impairment and eyesight damage as well. Nasa actually works to keep its astronauts below a 3% excess risk.

"If you extrapolate the daily measurements that were made by RAD to a 500-day mission you would incur exposures that would cause most individuals to exceed that 3% limit," explained Dr Eddie Semones, the spaceflight radiation health officer at Nasa's Johnson Space Center, who added that experts were reviewing the restriction.

"Currently, we're looking at that 3% standard and its applicability for exploration-type missions, and those discussions are going forward on how to handle that and what steps need to be taken to protect the crew."

All this should be set against the dangers associated with space travel in general, such as launching on a rocket or trying to land on another planet. It is a dangerous business.

It also needs to be considered in the context of the risks of contracting cancer during a "normal" lifetime on Earth, which is 26% (for a UK citizen).

Complex calculation

The space agencies have quite deliberately set conservative limits for their astronauts but it seems clear they would have to relax their rules somewhat or mitigate the risks in some other way to authorise a Mars mission.

However, the scenario for commercial ventures could be very different. Two initiatives - Inspiration Mars and Mars One - have been announced recently that propose getting people to Mars in the next 10 years using existing technologies.

Privateer astronauts that participate in these projects may regard the extra risks associated with radiation to be an acceptable gamble given the extraordinary prize of walking on the Red Planet.

Dr Kevin Fong is director of the Centre for Space Medicine at University College London, UK, and has written about the dangers associated with space exploration. He said that what Dr Zeitlin and colleagues had done was help remove some of the uncertainty in the risk assessment.

"Radiobiology is actually really tricky because how the body will respond to exposure will depend on many factors, such as whether you're old or young, male or female," he told BBC News.

"What's important about this study is that it characterises the deep space radiation environment for the first time in a vehicle whose shielding is not orders of magnitude different from that which you would expect to put a human crew inside."

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Large asteroid swinging past the Earth today carries its own moon

Washington: Astronomers getting their first close-up glimpse of a giant asteroid about to whiz by Earth found a surprise bonus rock. A smaller moon asteroid is circling the larger space rock, an unusual but not unheard of space phenomenon.

The larger 1.7 mile-wide rock named Asteroid 1998 QE2 will be the closest to Earth on Friday at 4:59 pm EDT (3.25 am IST). However, it will still be 3.6 million miles away from Earth. NASA scientist Paul Chodas said it's one of the larger asteroids to swing by Earth and is the size of the space rock that wiped out the dinosaurs.

The smaller rock was discovered on Wednesday night by astronomers using radar to look at QE2. The moon asteroid is about 2,000 feet wide. That's about average for such near-Earth objects.

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