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India under attack

Attacks Are a Blow to India's Luxury-Goods Industry

Pakistan calls for unity with India after Bombay attacks

Obama vows support to India as world condemns attacks

Terror attacks mark new chapter in India’s increasingly violent ...

Terror strike to affect India's image, say economists

Economists fear that terrorist attacks in Mumbai will adversely impact India's image as an investment destination at a time when the country was trying to shore up its depleting foreign exchange reserves.
“Terror strike is likely to have a significant and tangible impact on the economy. This would damage India's image because institutions like hotels are closely associated with business,'' said HDFC chief economist Abheek Barua. In short-term, he said, “ it would impact the stock markets and in the long term it may effect India's image as an important investment destination.''
India's stock markets, forex markets and commodity exchanges remained closed today on account of terror strike which paralysed normal working in the financial capital of the country.

Terror in India:

Mumbai Under Assault

In one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city's most high-profile targets -- the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard -- killing at least 101 and sending hundreds of injured to hospital.

Mumbai attackers may be Pakistani nationals

Preliminary investigations on Thursday pointed to involvement of at least some Pakistani nationals in the serial terror attacks in Mumbai that left over 100 dead and 270 others injured.

"There are indications that the perpetrators of the crime, who arrived in Mumbai by boats, are Pakistani nationals," authoritative sources said. The indications are based on information gathered from captured terrorists, the sources said.

It's taken more than a century, but Einstein's celebrated formula e=mc2 has finally been corroborated, thanks to a heroic computational effort by French, German and Hungarian physicists. Quarks, gluons and corroborating e=mc2

Scientists resolve Einstein's E=mc2

Scientists corroborate Einstein's E=mc2, using supercomputers to envision space and time as part of a four-dimensional crystal lattice.

Led by Laurent Lellouch of the French Centre for Theoretical Physics, researchers from France, Germany and Hungary proved Einstein's 1905 formula by special computations.

Using some of the world's mightiest supercomputers, the team performed calculations to estimate the mass of proton and neutron particles found in the nucleus of atoms.

The computations involve "envisioning space and time as part of a four-dimensional crystal lattice, with discrete points spaced along columns and rows," explained France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in a press release. Protons and neutrons include smaller particles called quarks, which are in turn bound by gluons. Since the mass of gluons is zero and the mass of quarks five percent, the question is where is the missing 95 percent? The new study showed that the energy from movements and interactions of quarks and gluons can be converted into mass and vice versa, AFP reported.

Thereby proving that as Einstein had proposed in his 1905 Special Theory of Relativity, energy and mass are equivalent. The E=mc2 formula shows that mass can be converted into energy, and energy can be converted into mass. Although the equation has been used many times and has been the inspirational basis for building atomic weapons, it is the first time that E=mc2 is resolved at the scale of sub-atomic particles.

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Pakistan ready for nuclear no first use offer

Pakistan is willing to commit to no first use of nuclear weapons, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday, calling for more trade and easier travel between his country and India to improve bilateral relations.

He even suggested a South Asian pact to prevent use of nuclear weapons in a region rife with political and social turmoil and militancy.

"I am glad I can say it with full confidence that I can get my parliament to agree upon that," Zardari told a conference in India through video conferencing from Islamabad.

"I'm against nuclear warfare altogether."

Tit-for-tat nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998 fed global worries of an unchecked arms race in an unstable region, but the two countries have since desisted from more tests.

Immediately after detonating nuclear devices in 1998, New Delhi declared a moratorium on further tests and offered a no first use arrangement.

Pakistan had not reciprocated the Indian offer.

"This is pretty good news. Pakistan till now has been very reluctant to commit to no-first use," said C. Uday Bhaskar, a New Delhi-based strategic affairs expert.

The Global Depression of 2010 Awaits

In the good old days of 2005, the US dollar’s share of the world’s financial system had dropped to around 60%. The dollar was slowly losing its status as the global reserve currency as the Eurozone became a reality and the Euro began to be held in reserve in the central bank coffers of Japan, China, Brazil, Russia, India, the UK, and others.

Then the October crash of 2008 happened, and the world suddenly became aware of the profound lurking global systemic risk to both its financial system -- and the real-world’s global trade. It turns out that the world was really much more interconnected than ever before, and the fantasy of “uncoupling” from the United States and its financial system was just that -- a fantasy.

India topped on highest political and social risk : PERC

With concern setting in about the declining Indian rupee and share prices, there is more bad news for India: India next year will be much more vulnerable than regional peers, a Hong Kong-based political risk consultancy says.

“India topped the table with the highest political and social risk, scoring 6.87, mainly because of internal and external instability. PERC cited fears over Pakistan, a major player in the global war on terror. ” the Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said in a report, whose executive summary is available on PERC’s website. zero represents the best socio-political conditions and 10 the highest risk.

PERC assessed 16 countries in its Asian Risk Prospects — 2009 on factors such as the risk of racial and communal tensions, struggle for power, the threat posed by social activism, and vulnerability to policy changes by other governments.

Thailand is pegged to be the next least stable country in Southeast Asia next year, scoring 6.28, as the current political mayhem and the separatist violence looks set to run into 2009.
Surprisingly, Malaysia, which escaped much of the wrath of the 1997 financial crisis, will be the third least stable in the region, with the report noting the political wranglings were aggravating racial and religious tensions.

“The status quo is changing in ways that will see a stronger political opposition than in the past and UMNO (the ruling party) forced to share more power with non-Malay groups,” the report said.

V R United !
Punjab MPs oppose agriculture tax

In a rare show of unity, Punjab Assembly parliamentarians (MPs) from both sides of the political divide on Thursday opposed the federal cabinet’s decision to levy income tax on agriculture following a reported recommendation to that effect by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

MPs from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and PML-Quaid said the imposition of the tax was amounted to breaking the backbone of the Pakistani economy. They said conditions the international financing agencies imposing on Pakistan amounted to direct interference in the internal affairs of the country.

PML-N legislator Waris Kahloon condemned the cabinet’s decision and said Zionist powers wanted to destroy the country’s economy and working on that agenda the IMF had placed the condition of the said tax for sanctioning monetary assistance to cash-strapped Pakistan. He demanded the cabinet publicise all demands stipulated by the IMF.He said that farmers, who were already paying a number of taxes on water, agriculture, electricity and fertilizer, would be ruined after the imposition of the new tax. He feared that growers were not in a position to pay any more taxes and if the government did impose the tax it would have to import food items in future.He demanded the provincial assembly call upon the federal government to refrain from implementing the said decision.

Somalia: Piracy the only real business in town

Somalia's increasingly brazen pirates are building sprawling stone houses, cruising in luxury cars, marrying beautiful women — even hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages.

And in an impoverished country where every public institution has crumbled, they have become heroes in the steamy coastal dens they operate from because they are the only real business in town.

"The pirates depend on us, and we benefit from them," said Sahra Sheik Dahir, a shop owner in Harardhere, the nearest village to where a hijacked Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying $100 million in crude was anchored.

These boomtowns are all the more shocking in light of Somalia's violence and poverty: Radical Islamists control most of the country's south, meting out lashings and stonings for accused criminals.

There has been no effective central government in nearly 20 years, plunging this arid African country into chaos.Life expectancy is just 46 years; a quarter of children die before they reach 5.But in northern coastal towns like Harardhere, Eyl and Bossaso, the pirate economy is thriving thanks to the money pouring in from pirate ransoms that have reached $30 million this year alone.

"There are more shops and business is booming because of the piracy," said Sugule Dahir, who runs a clothing shop in Eyl. "Internet cafes and telephone shops have opened, and people are just happier than before."In Harardhere, residents came out in droves to celebrate as the looming oil ship came into focus this week off the country's lawless coast.Businessmen gathered cigarettes, food and cold bottles of orange soda, setting up kiosks for the pirates who come to shore to resupply almost daily.Dahir said she even started a layaway plan for them.

"They always take things without paying and we put them into the book of debts," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "Later, when they get the ransom money, they pay us a lot."Residents make sure the pirates are well-stocked in khat, a popular narcotic leaf, and aren't afraid to gouge a bit when it comes to the pirates' deep pockets."I can buy a packet of cigarettes for about $1 but I will charge the pirate $1.30," said Abdulqadir Omar, an Eyl resident.

While pirate villages used to have houses made of corrugated iron sheets, now, there are stately looking homes made of sturdy, white stones."Regardless of how the money is coming in, legally or illegally, I can say it has started a life in our town," said Shamso Moalim, a 36-year-old mother of five in Harardhere."Our children are not worrying about food now, and they go to Islamic schools in the morning and play soccer in the afternoon. They are happy."The attackers generally treat their hostages well in anticipation of a big payday, hiring caterers on shore to cook spaghetti, grilled fish and roasted meat that will appeal to Western palates.And when the payday comes, the money sometimes literally falls from the sky.

Pirates say the ransom arrives in burlap sacks, sometimes dropped from buzzing helicopters, or in waterproof suitcases loaded onto skiffs in the roiling, shark-infested sea."The oldest man on the ship always takes the responsibility of collecting the money, because we see it as very risky, and he gets some extra payment for his service later," Aden Yusuf, a pirate in Eyl, told AP over VHF radio.The pirates use money-counting machines — the same technology seen at foreign exchange bureaus worldwide — to ensure the cash is real.

All payments are done in cash because Somalia has no functioning banking system."Getting this equipment is easy for us, we have business connections with people in Dubai, Nairobi, Djibouti and other areas," Yusuf said. "So we send them money and they send us what we want."Despite a beefed-up international presence, the pirates continue to seize ships, moving further out to sea and demanding ever-larger ransoms. The pirates operate mostly from the semiautonomous Puntland region, where local lawmakers have been accused of helping them and taking a cut of the ransoms.For the most part, however, the regional officials say they have no power to stop piracy.Meanwhile, towns that once were eroded by years of poverty and chaos are now bustling with restaurants, Land Cruisers and Internet cafes. Residents also use their gains to buy generators — allowing full days of electricity, once an unimaginable luxury in Somalia.There are no reliable estimates of the number of pirates operating in Somalia, but they number in the thousands. And though the bandits do sometimes get nabbed, piracy is generally considered a sure bet to a better life.

NATO and the U.S. Navy say they can't be everywhere, and American officials are urging ships to hire private security. Warships patrolling off Somalia have succeeded in stopping some pirate attacks. But military assaults to wrest back a ship are highly risky and, up to now, uncommon.

Iranian woman karateka Helen Sepahi was kicked out of the 19th World Karate Championship in Tokyo because she insisted on wearing Islamic sport clothing.

Sepahi walked onto the tatami mat to fight her Chinese opponent, but the officials insisted that she remove her hijab, even though men were present at the venue. The Iranian athlete refused and was expelled from the competition, in line with the international rules for the sport.

However, fans at Budokan Hall supported Sepahi’s decision.

Why do U.S. security experts say Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world? For starters, there is not one crisis in Pakistan; there are several interconnected crises, each with the potential to undermine the stability of Pakistan and South Asia. The danger of a failed state, replete with nuclear weapons, ethnic tensions, Taliban sympathizers and Osama bin Laden in residence, is chilling.

Pakistan's underlying economic weaknesses and the global financial crisis have devastated the country. Between July and October, the rupee lost a quarter of its value. Foreign-exchange reserves have dwindled to dangerously low levels. Pakistan has sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund in the $5 billion to $13 billion range to avoid defaulting on its debts.

President Asif Ali Zardari has yet to demonstrate the capacity to tackle Pakistan's toughest challenges. He lacks popular support to wage a campaign against the Taliban. He must carefully balance his country's strategic alliance with the United States and widespread public hostility to the U.S.

The dispute over Kashmir, a flash point since the partition of India in 1947, lingers.
The reach of the Taliban increasingly extends from the tribal areas into Pakistan and its cities.

In Pakistan's tribal areas, the Taliban and al-Qaida are a powerful force. The U.S. response thus far has been increased cross-border military action into the tribal areas.

The U.S. needs a comprehensive plan to promote stability in the region with integrated security, political and economic components. Even then, the U.S. cannot achieve success and eliminate terrorist sanctuaries in the tribal areas without Pakistani help.

Kabul has opened low-level negotiations with pragmatic elements within the Taliban under Saudi Arabian auspices.

The U.S. should sharply expand and improve its commitment to Pakistan's economic development.

Finally, India remains Pakistan's national security obsession. To Islamabad, Afghanistan represents an opportunity to achieve "strategic depth" vis-à-vis India. The United States should support rapprochement and a settlement over Kashmir, while encouraging Pakistan to view its regional security challenges more broadly.

But, even with the right military, economic and political resources, the U.S. faces an enormous challenge, nation-building in a country of 170 million people. The United States needs a unity of effort in support of the Pakistani government, the Pakistani people and our own national security interests.

Pakistan to get $ 7.6 billion from IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has "in principle" agreed to extend a credit of 7.6 billion dollars to Pakistan to stabilise its ailing economy and help it avoid defaulting on foreign debt repayments, the government said.

"Pakistan would get 4.6 billion dollars this month while the remaining 3 billion dollars would be disbursed next year," Pakistan's Advisor on Finance Shaukat Tarin told.

Tarin said the credit facility will be for two years under a standby arrangement.
"The facility has been obtained to strengthen the country's foreign exchange reservoirs and it will not be utilised to bailout the stock market".

He said the repayment of the credit will start in 2011 and will be completed in five years time. The rate of interest would be between 3.51 to 4.51 per cent.