Today's Hot Stories - March 02, 2013
10 Headlines for Today
(1) Rahul’s stern message: no more rubber-stamping
(2) Babli verdict: Andhra Pradesh to ?le review petition in SC if farmers suffer loss
(3) Obama signs order to begin spending cuts
(4) Petrol price hiked by Rs. 1.40 per litre
(5) ED summons Bharti Wal-Mart officials
(6) Apollo Munich set to break-even this year
(7) Bhuvneshwar triple strike rattles Australia
(8) Kerala downs Haryana, makes it to semifinals
(9) Azlan Shah hockey tournament: Indian team pull-out averted
(10) Four-wheeler taxis set to give Kochi auto-rickshaws a run for their money
5 Stories for Today
(1) Pranab will not engage in political negotiations
(2) Khaleda pleads for Jamaat; extra cover for Hindus
(3) Impose limit on global transactions of cards, RBI tells banks
(4) Unitech tries to add Libor rigging to Deutsche Bank row
(5) Gross market borrowing at Rs. 5.79 lakh cr: FinMin
(1) Pranab will not engage in political negotiations
Pranab’s visit to Bangladesh begins tomorrow; underlines India’s commitment to settle unresolved issues
India’s commitment to settle unresolved issues with its eastern neighbour will be underlined as President Pranab Mukherjee makes Bangladesh his first foreign destination after assuming office last year.
Even though Mr. Mukherjee’s three-day visit to Bangladesh, packed with a host of ceremonial occasions — Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai emphasised on Friday — “is not designed to engage in political negotiations… the President will convey to the top Bangladesh leadership the Indian government’s commitment to take bilateral relations to a higher level and resolve unresolved issues.” The visit is “reflective of the highest importance attached by India to its relations with Bangladesh,” he added in his briefing.
During his stay, starting March 3, Mr. Mukherjee will call on Bangladesh President Mohammad Zillur Rahman. He will also meet Bangladesh Prime Sheikh Hasina, Leader of the Opposition and Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party Begum Khaleda Zia, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith.
To a question whether it would be prudent for the President to visit Bangladesh at a time when the country is seeing widespread violence in the wake of the death sentence awarded to a top Jamaat-e-Islami leader there, Mr. Mathai said: “We have done a great deal of preparation for the visit. We feel it would be appropriate to carry on with the visit.” The situation in Dhaka, he said, is “calm and we are looking forward to a productive visit.”
Asked to comment on India’s position on the momentous events in Bangladesh, the Foreign Secretary said he had nothing to add to what Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid had articulated a few days ago.
“We are looking at the situation [in Bangladesh] as arising out of a legal process as also in the backdrop of an upsurge in Bangladesh,” he said.
Jamaat violence
In recent weeks, Bangladesh has been rocked by violence unleashed by activists of the Jamaat and its militant student wing, Islamic Chhatra Shivir, and huge demonstrations in Dhaka, largely by students, who have been demanding the death penalty for Jamaat leaders who had collaborated with occupation Pakistani troops during the liberation war in 1971.
Mr. Mukherjee, will be accompanied by wife Suvra Mukherjee, Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Choudhury, four MPs and senior officials. The MPs are the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s Sitaram Yechury, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Chandan Mitra, the Congress’ Bhuvaneshwar Kalita and the Trinamool Congress’ Mukul Roy.
Source: The Hindu
(2) Khaleda pleads for Jamaat; extra cover for Hindus
The number of people killed in clashes in Bangladesh over the conviction of Islamist leaders for war crimes rose to 53 on Friday as fresh violence erupted in the Muslim-majority nation.
Two people were killed when hundreds of pro-government supporters and followers of the rival Jamaat-e-Islami party battled each other with sticks in two northern districts of Gaibandha and Chapainawabganj , police chiefs said.
Meanwhile, in the capital Dhaka, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up Jamaat protests after the Islamists tried to stage marches following weekly prayers, leaving several people injured, police said. Three policemen were also hurt in a homemade bomb attack by Jamaat student activists in the port city of Chittagong , deputy police chief Bonaj Kumar said. On Thursday, violence flared across Bangladesh after Jamaat's vice-president , Delwar Hossain Sayedee, was sentenced to death for murder, religious persecution and rape during the 1971 independence war.
The 73-year-old firebrand preacher was the third person to be convicted by a war crimes tribunal whose verdicts have been met by outrage from Islamists, who say the process is more about settling scores than delivering justice. At least 35 people were killed in Thursday's unrest. Jamaat said its "innocent" supporters were shot dead by police who "hunted them like birds".
According to Sultana Kamal , head of rights group Ain O Salish Kendra, it was the deadliest day of political violence since Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan in 1971. Friday's killings brought the total number killed since the tribunal delivered its first verdict on January 21 to at least 53, according to AFP tally and police.
The leader of the main opposition and two-time ex prime minister, Khaleda Zia, appealed to the government to stop the "genocide" of Jamaat supporters, accusing police of brutality toward the Islamists. Jamaat is a key ally of Zia's party, two of whose leaders are also on trial for war crimes. The opposition has called a three-day nationwide strike from Sunday to protest against the violence and the trials.
Neither police nor the government has commented on the opposition's charges of excessive force, but rights group chief Kamal accused Jamaat supporters of "terror" attacks on police.
Security was tightened around thousands of mosques for Friday prayers. Police have banned a number of demonstrations at several trouble spots. Security was also stepped up in Hindu villages and temples after Islamists torched and vandalized homes and places of worships in Noakhali and Chittagong districts, killing one Hindu man, police said.
Source: The Times of India
(3) Impose limit on global transactions of cards, RBI tells banks
In order to check frauds, the RBI has asked banks to impose monetary limit for international transactions on credit and debit cards and refrain from issuing cards with global access unless specifically sought by the customer.
The Reserve Bank said that a monetary limit of USD 500 be imposed by issuing bank on all global cards which has not been used in the past.
"All the active magstripe international cards issued by banks should have threshold limit for international usage. The threshold should be determined by the banks based on the risk profile of the customer and accepted by the customer by June 30," it said.
Till the time of completion of the process a threshold limit not exceeding USD 500 may be put in place for all debit cards and all credit cards that have not been used for international transactions in the past, it said.
The notification has been issued following cyber attacks, which according to RBI has become "more unpredictable and electronic payment systems becoming vulnerable to new types of misuse, it is imperative that banks introduce certain minimum checks and balances to minimise the impact of such attacks and to arrest or minimise the damage."
Besides introducing additional security features in the card, the bank would also be required to put in place a real time fraud monitoring system and a mechanism to ensure that cards can be blocked through an SMS by the cardholder.
These initiatives, RBI said are needed to ensures that transactions effected through such channels are safe and secure and not easily amenable to fraudulent usage.
The announcement come in the backdrop of a slew of card frauds that has taken place in the recent past leading to unauthorised withdrawal of sums by unscrupulous agents.
Source: The Economic Times
(4) Unitech tries to add Libor rigging to Deutsche Bank row
Real estate developer Unitech wants to add allegations linked to the manipulation of Libor to an existing dispute with Deutsche Bank, in a move that could set a precedent for cases against other banks. Unitech is involved in a legal dispute with Deutsche Bank over a $150 million loan and related interest rate swap agreed in 2007 and which Deutsche Bank alleges it did not pay back.
It has tried to amend its counter-claims against Deutsche's allegation in light of revelations about Libor rigging since the suit was launched in March 2012, legal documents show. Unitech has sought to argue that the loan and swap agreements were invalid because they were tied to Libor when it was being manipulated, although so far the court has not allowed it to add that argument to its counter-claim .
Unitech initially argued it was an unsophisticated investor mis-sold complex financial products by the German bank. Deutsche Bank is under investigation by German financial services watchdog BaFin over alleged Libor manipulation. It suspended two traders last year for Libor-related misconduct.
If successful, Unitech's attempt to use the scandal to bolster its position in the Deutsche lawsuit could be a worrying sign of things to come for other banks involved in rigging Libor. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS have already been fined over their role in fixing Libor. A number of other banks in several countries are under investigation. Unitech's move comes after news that Guardian Care Homes, a residential care home operator in England , was suing Barclays for up to 37 million pounds in a claim that it was mis-sold interest rate hedging products based on Libor..
Source: The Times of India
(5) Gross market borrowing at Rs. 5.79 lakh cr: FinMin
Net borrowings next fiscal will be about Rs.17,000 crore higher than revised estimates
A day after the Budget presentation, the Finance Ministry, on Friday, reiterated that the government’s gross borrowing for 2013-14 is pegged — as contained in the Budget document — at Rs.5.79 lakh crore while the net borrowings for the new fiscal year will be Rs.4.84 lakh crore.
At this level, the net borrowings next fiscal will be about Rs.17,000 crore higher than the revised estimates (RE) for 2012-13 as the government borrowed Rs.4.67 lakh crore from the market during the fiscal year.
If the repayment amounts during 2012-13 and 2013-14 are taken into account, the gross market borrowing proposed for the next fiscal is pegged at Rs. 5.79 lakh crore as per budget estimates (BE), which is Rs.9,393 crore higher than the BE of this fiscal at Rs.5.70 lakh crore.
The official reiteration, ostensibly, has come in the wake of concerns in the bourses that the higher market borrowing during the new fiscal would have an adverse impact.
Seeking to allay investor concerns in this regard in view of the higher borrowing may have on the targeted fiscal deficit at 4.8 per cent of the GDP (gross domestic product) in 2013-14, the Finance Ministry, in a statement, said: “The gross borrowing for 2013-14 is Rs.5.79 lakh crore only. As per earlier practice, the calendar of borrowing will be issued for this amount only.”
The statement noted that a provision of Rs.1.45 lakh crore in budget estimate 2013-14 towards repayment of market loans includes Rs.50,000 crore for buyback/switching operations during the fiscal year. This, it said, has been done for active debt management as buyback/switching operations are proposed for easing of redemption pressure for the fiscal years 2015-16 to 2017-18 as part of a medium-term consolidation process.
“Since the transaction will impact this year fiscal only to the extent of premium/discount, a provision of Rs.2,000 crore has been made in interest payments in the Budget for 2013-14 ,” it said.
Source: The Hindu
Disclaimer: All news stories and content sourced from freely available material on the internet. All sources are acknowledged.
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