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	<title>State of Kerala &#187; International</title>
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		<title>PM invites Korean investments in solar, nuclear sectors</title>
		<link>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/26/pm-invites-korean-investments-in-solar-nuclear-sectors/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/26/pm-invites-korean-investments-in-solar-nuclear-sectors/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Mar 2012 07:14:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[india]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Investments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Korea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nuclear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prime minister]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[solar]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/?p=3337</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked South Korean businessmen to help India expand its burgeoning solar and nuclear power sectors by investing in these environment-friendly technologies. &#8220;We are committed to increasing energy efficiency and the share of renewables, including solar and nuclear power, in our energy mix,&#8221; Singh told a group of top Korean CEOs here. Among the CEOs present was Kim Joong-Kyum of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) which has interests in nuclear power that meets 45 per cent of Korea&#8217;s electricity requirements. &#8220;There will be large business opportunities and I am aware of Korean capabilities in environmentally friendly technologies,&#8221; the Prime Minister said at a meeting organised by Korean industry chambers. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, during a bilateral meeting with Singh yesterday, had requested that his country be allocated a site in India to build nuclear reactors. Apparently sensing the concerns of the Korean businessmen with regard to the much-delayed USD 12 billion Posco steel project in Odisha, the Prime Minister told the CEOs that &#8220;our processes can be slow but there are effective mechanisms for resolution of problems and differences and a strong rule of law.&#8221; &#8220;The government is keen to move forward with the [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/26/pm-invites-korean-investments-in-solar-nuclear-sectors/">PM invites Korean investments in solar, nuclear sectors</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked South Korean businessmen to help India expand its burgeoning solar and nuclear power sectors by investing in these environment-friendly technologies.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are committed to increasing energy efficiency and the share of renewables, including solar and nuclear power, in our energy mix,&#8221; Singh told a group of top Korean CEOs here.<span id="more-3337"></span></p>
<p>Among the CEOs present was Kim Joong-Kyum of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) which has interests in nuclear power that meets 45 per cent of Korea&#8217;s electricity requirements.</p>
<p>&#8220;There will be large business opportunities and I am aware of Korean capabilities in environmentally friendly technologies,&#8221; the Prime Minister said at a meeting organised by Korean industry chambers.</p>
<p>South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, during a bilateral meeting with Singh yesterday, had requested that his country be allocated a site in India to build nuclear reactors.</p>
<p>Apparently sensing the concerns of the Korean businessmen with regard to the much-delayed USD 12 billion Posco steel project in Odisha, the Prime Minister told the CEOs that &#8220;our processes can be slow but there are effective mechanisms for resolution of problems and differences and a strong rule of law.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;The government is keen to move forward with the Posco project and there is some progress in this regard. I believe that India is a stable and profitable long-term investment opportunity,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Besides KEPCO, CEOs of Samsung Electronics, Tata Daewoo, Ssangyong Motors, Hyundai Motors and Doosan Heavy Industries were present at the meeting.</p>
<p>&#8220;Investment from Korea is a priority for India. We will take pro-active steps to address investor grievances and improve the business climate in the country,&#8221; Singh said.<br />
He said many states have been actively encouraging foreign investment and the Union Government will support these efforts.</p>
<p>&#8220;I urge Korean industry to have faith in India,&#8221; Singh said.<br />
He said India was also one of the fastest growing major economies of the world.<br />
&#8220;Despite the adverse international environment, we have managed to maintain a growth rate of 7 per cent per annum in the last few years. I am confident that the strong fundamentals of our economy will help us return to a sustained growth path of about 8-10 per cent per annum in the coming years,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Singh said over the past few years the government has invested heavily in education, health and agriculture to give a new deal to rural India.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our rural markets are now booming and the middle class is growing rapidly,&#8221; he said.<br />
Singh said India has been undertaking a huge expansion in higher education and skill development, infrastructure of ports, airports, railways, energy and roads.</p>
<p>&#8220;India is poised to continue to be a frontline player in the global knowledge economy,&#8221; he said. </p>
<p>Unveiling ambitious plans for the development of physical infrastructure, Singh said India was planning to secure investment of almost USD one trillion in the next five years in new projects in highways, power plants, mass transport systems, ports and airports.</p>
<p>&#8220;This will be achieved through both public and private investment and Public-Private Partnerships,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>He noted that after the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2010, the bilateral trade has surged by roughly 65 per cent in two years and reached a turnover of USD 20.6 billion in 2011.</p>
<p>&#8220;However, it is still below its huge untapped potential,&#8221; Singh said, adding the he and President Lee had decided to revise the bilateral trade target to USD 40 billion by 2015.<br />
&#8220;This is a challenge as well as an opportunity that we must both seize together. I look forward to hearing your views,&#8221; Singh said.</p>
<p>[Deccan Herald Report]</p>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/26/pm-invites-korean-investments-in-solar-nuclear-sectors/">PM invites Korean investments in solar, nuclear sectors</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Army Sergeant Charged in Afghan Massacre</title>
		<link>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/24/army-sergeant-charged-in-afghan-massacre/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/24/army-sergeant-charged-in-afghan-massacre/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Mar 2012 04:02:23 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Afghan Massacre]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/?p=3306</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Charges filed Friday against Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales reflect the horror of the crime: 17 counts of premeditated murder, more than half of them children, during a shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan. But while Afghans are calling for swift and severe punishment, it will likely be months, even years, before the public ever sees Bales in a courtroom. One only has to look at two recent and similarly high-profile cases to see that the wheels of military justice turn slowly. It&#8217;s been nearly 29 months since an Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Hasan, allegedly killed 13 and injured two dozen more at Fort Hood, Texas. His trial is scheduled to begin in June. And it&#8217;s been 21 months since the military charged intelligence analyst Bradley Manning with leaking hundreds of thousands of pages of classified information. It took nine months before he was deemed competent to stand trial. The Bales case is likely to be equally complex, involving questions of his mental state and the role that the stresses of war and possible previous head injuries may have played in his alleged actions. Most of the eyewitnesses are the Afghan villagers and survivors who may be brought in for the [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/24/army-sergeant-charged-in-afghan-massacre/">Army Sergeant Charged in Afghan Massacre</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Charges filed Friday against Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales reflect the horror of the crime: 17 counts of premeditated murder, more than half of them children, during a shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan. But while Afghans are calling for swift and severe punishment, it will likely be months, even years, before the public ever sees Bales in a courtroom.</p>
<p>One only has to look at two recent and similarly high-profile cases to see that the wheels of military justice turn slowly.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s been nearly 29 months since an Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Hasan, allegedly killed 13 and injured two dozen more at Fort Hood, Texas. His trial is scheduled to begin in June. And it&#8217;s been 21 months since the military charged intelligence analyst Bradley Manning with leaking hundreds of thousands of pages of classified information. It took nine months before he was deemed competent to stand trial.</p>
<p>The Bales case is likely to be equally complex, involving questions of his mental state and the role that the stresses of war and possible previous head injuries may have played in his alleged actions. Most of the eyewitnesses are the Afghan villagers and survivors who may be brought in for the trial.</p>
<p>The military on Friday charged Bales with 17 counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder and six counts of assault in the March 11 pre-dawn massacre in two southern Afghanistan villages near his base. The father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., was officially informed of the 29 charges just before noon at the U.S. military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where he is confined.</p>
<p>The maximum punishment for a premeditated murder conviction is death, dishonorable discharge from the armed forces, reduction to the lowest enlisted grade and total forfeiture of pay and allowances, according to Col. Gary Kolb, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The mandatory minimum sentence is life imprisonment with the chance of parole.</p>
<p>The charges offered few details of what happened that night. But the 38-year-old soldier is accused of walking off his base with his 9mm pistol and M-4 rifle, which was outfitted with a grenade launcher, killing four men, four women, two boys and seven girls and burning some of the bodies. The ages of the children were not disclosed.</p>
<p>In the most detailed descriptions of the shootings to date, the charges say Bales shot a young girl in the head, a young boy in the thigh, a man in the neck and a woman in the chest and groin. The documents also say that he &#8220;shot at&#8221; another girl and boy, but apparently did not hit them.</p>
<p>The attack occurred in the Panjwai district of Kandahar Province, the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban. The dead bodies were found in Balandi and Alkozai villages — one north and one south of the base.</p>
<p>Members of the Afghan delegation investigating the killings said one Afghan guard working from midnight to 2 a.m. saw a U.S. soldier return to the base around 1:30 a.m. Another Afghan soldier who replaced the first and worked until 4 a.m. said he saw a U.S. soldier leaving the base at 2:30 a.m. It&#8217;s unknown whether the Afghan guards saw the same U.S. soldier. If the gunman acted alone, information from the Afghan guards would suggest that he returned to base in between the shooting rampages.</p>
<p>It also is not known whether the suspect used grenades, Kolb said. The grenade launcher attachment is added to the standard issue M-4 rifle for some soldiers but not all, he said. Bales was assigned to provide force protection at the base.</p>
<p>The case against him is the worst allegation of killing of civilians by an American in Afghanistan and has severely strained U.S.-Afghan ties at a critical time in the decade-old war.</p>
<p>Not addressed in the charges are suggestions that Bales may have been drinking. On Friday, a senior U.S. defense official said Bales was drinking in the hours before the attack on Afghan villagers, violating a U.S. military order banning alcohol in war zones. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the charges before they were filed.</p>
<p>U.S. officials, however, have said that additional charges could be filed as time goes on. Bales&#8217; civilian attorney, John Henry Browne, said Friday the government will have a hard time proving its case and that his client&#8217;s mental state will be an important issue. Bales was on his fourth tour of duty, having served three tours in Iraq, where he suffered head and foot injuries.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, an attorney for Bales&#8217; wife said the couple have spoken by telephone twice since he was detained. Attorney Lance Rosen said Bales called his wife, Karilyn, first from overseas shortly after the March 11 pre-dawn massacre, then from Fort Leavenworth on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Rosen said Bales and his wife were warned the call Wednesday would be monitored and told they would only have 10 minutes to talk. They talked about family matters and &#8220;reaffirmed their love for each other,&#8221; Rosen said. He also said the family has set up a defense fund to help pay for Bales&#8217; legal fees.</p>
<p>The charges set in motion what will likely be a lengthy military justice process.</p>
<p>&#8220;Usually in military and civilian criminal cases, delay accrues to the benefit of the accused. So there will be some maneuvering to put it off a while,&#8221; said Gary Solis, retired Marine prosecutor and adjunct law professor at Georgetown University. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s many months before we&#8217;re going to see this thing go to trial, if it ever goes to trial.&#8221;</p>
<p>Bales may face what the military calls a &#8220;sanity board,&#8221; to determine his mental state at the time, and whether he is competent to stand trial.</p>
<p>Since Bales was assigned to a unit based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state— the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division — the charges were sent Friday to a special court-martial convening authority, the 17th Fires Brigade, an artillery unit at the post. Lewis-McChord spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield said officials at the post will have the legal responsibility of trying and managing the case against Bales, but it was not clear where the proceedings would actually take place.</p>
<p>Maj. Christopher Ophardt at Lewis-McChord said the preliminary hearing may not take place for a few months and it would likely be several more months after that before a trial would begin — perhaps two years from now depending on motions and other pretrial actions.</p>
<p>Jeffrey Addicott, who previously served as the senior legal adviser to the U.S. Army&#8217;s Special Forces, said the military justice system typically moves faster than civilian courts. But he said the international political implications may cause this case to drag on for years.</p>
<p>&#8220;When we have these high-publicity cases, the military becomes like a deer in the headlights. They have just one speed: extremely slow,&#8221; Addicott said, adding that he expects the defense team to use all tactics to slow the process.</p>
<p>According to military lawyers and experts, now that the charges have been filed, the next step is for the military is to decide whether there is enough evidence to refer the charges to a preliminary hearing. That hearing, what the military calls an Article 32, would determine whether there&#8217;s probable cause to believe a crime was committed and that the person charged did it.</p>
<p>Once the Article 32 is over, the hearing officer recommends to a general officer whether or not the case should go to trial. That general officer then decides whether the case should go to a court-martial in front of a military judge.</p>
<p>Throughout the proceedings, the lawyers will be able to file a wide range of motions, including requests for more time to review evidence.</p>
<p>Browne said he thinks the U.S. government will have difficulty proving its case against Bales because &#8220;there is no crime scene&#8221; and a lack of important physical evidence like fingerprints. And he has said he wants to visit Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Prosecutors, meanwhile, will rely on evidence collected from the villages, including any statements by witnesses and Afghan civilians who were injured that night, as well as any observations by other soldiers about Bales&#8217; conduct and his movement on or off the base.</p>
<p>Two military defense attorneys also have been assigned to his case.</p>
<p>Ophardt said Bales&#8217; family is still living on base but has the option of moving off at any time.</p>
<p>[Source: ABC News :: Reichmann reported from Kabul. AP Broadcast reporter Sagar Meghani in Washington and Associated Press writers Mirwais Khan in Kandahar and Michael R. Baker in Olympia, Wash., contributed to this report.]</p>
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		<title>Obama to Discuss North Korea, Iran</title>
		<link>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/22/obama-to-discuss-north-korea-iran/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/22/obama-to-discuss-north-korea-iran/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2012 03:48:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/?p=3260</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>North Korea and Iran are expected to dominate President Barack Obama&#8217;s trip to South Korea this weekend, as concerns mount about Tehran&#8217;s nuclear ambitions and Pyongyang&#8217;s preparations for a satellite launch the U.S. and its allies said they believe is largely for military purposes. Pyongyang&#8217;s launch, scheduled for mid-April, could undercut recent White House efforts to ratchet down tensions with North Korea&#8217;s new leader, Kim Jong Eun. The U.S. said on Wednesday that it is suspending efforts to recover remains of thousands of fallen service members in North Korea, the Associated Press reported. The North&#8217;s actions also are clouding Mr. Obama&#8217;s disarmament agenda, which is being challenged by Iran&#8217;s continued advances in its nuclear program. Mr. Obama is set to arrive in South Korea on Sunday to attend the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, a platform for world leaders to discuss ways to contain the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The real action, however, will take place on the sidelines of the summit, where Mr. Obama is scheduled to hold meetings with the leaders of China, Russia and Turkey. He also will deliver a speech in Seoul detailing the challenges posed by Iran and North Korea. U.S. officials warned ahead [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/22/obama-to-discuss-north-korea-iran/">Obama to Discuss North Korea, Iran</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>North Korea and Iran are expected to dominate President Barack Obama&#8217;s trip to South Korea this weekend, as concerns mount about Tehran&#8217;s nuclear ambitions and Pyongyang&#8217;s preparations for a satellite launch the U.S. and its allies said they believe is largely for military purposes.</p>
<p>Pyongyang&#8217;s launch, scheduled for mid-April, could undercut recent White House efforts to ratchet down tensions with North Korea&#8217;s new leader, Kim Jong Eun.<span id="more-3260"></span></p>
<p>The U.S. said on Wednesday that it is suspending efforts to recover remains of thousands of fallen service members in North Korea, the Associated Press reported.</p>
<p>The North&#8217;s actions also are clouding Mr. Obama&#8217;s disarmament agenda, which is being challenged by Iran&#8217;s continued advances in its nuclear program.</p>
<p>Mr. Obama is set to arrive in South Korea on Sunday to attend the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, a platform for world leaders to discuss ways to contain the spread of weapons of mass destruction.</p>
<p>The real action, however, will take place on the sidelines of the summit, where Mr. Obama is scheduled to hold meetings with the leaders of China, Russia and Turkey.</p>
<p>He also will deliver a speech in Seoul detailing the challenges posed by Iran and North Korea.</p>
<p>U.S. officials warned ahead of Mr. Obama&#8217;s visit that a launch is likely to unravel a recent agreement to deliver food aid to Pyongyang and could prompt stronger sanctions, a message the president will stress during his two days in Seoul.</p>
<p>&#8220;They may choose to deepen their isolation,&#8221; said Danny Russel, senior Asia director on the White House National Security Council.</p>
<p>&#8220;That would be unfortunate, and we think that that would be a mistake that will only exacerbate the problems that North Korea faces and the suffering of the North Korean people,&#8221; he added.</p>
<p>North Korea&#8217;s announcement last week that it was preparing to launch a satellite next month also represented an embarrassment for the Obama administration.</p>
<p>The president had resisted directly engaging Pyongyang since taking office in 2009 because of its history of reneging on disarmament commitments. Last month, the new government of Kim Jong Eun publicly pledged to freeze its nuclear and long-range missile programs in exchange for food aid from Washington.</p>
<p>But days later, it said it would launch the satellite, which it said would be in honor of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, arguing that it would be different from a missile test.</p>
<p>U.S. officials said preventing the North Korean launch will be among the top issues raised during Mr. Obama&#8217;s talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and President Hu Jintao of China.</p>
<p>&#8220;We certainly hope and recommend that China bring all the instruments of power to bear to influence the decision-making in North Korea along the lines that President Obama has advocated,&#8221; said Mr. Russel.</p>
<p>U.S. officials also expect the launch, in particular, to dominate Mr. Obama&#8217;s meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a home game for him, so he gets at least half of the agenda,&#8221; said an administration official working on disarmament issues.</p>
<p>Iran also will be on the agenda for Mr. Obama&#8217;s meetings with China and Russia, as well as with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.</p>
<p>Syria, while not on the summit agenda, also will be part of the president&#8217;s discussions with those leaders, officials said.</p>
<p>U.S. officials see Mr. Obama&#8217;s speech Monday at Hankuk University in Seoul as an opportunity for him to articulate how his overall nuclear-security agenda—at the top of which is keeping a nuclear weapon from terrorists—dovetails with the West&#8217;s current standoff with Iran and North Korea.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think there is a very direct connection between the president&#8217;s achievements on nuclear security and nonproliferation and our efforts to deal with Iran and North Korea,&#8221; said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser.</p>
<p>Mr. Obama has made counterproliferation one of his top national security priorities, and the White House has cited the Nuclear Security Summit as an important part of his overall strategy.</p>
<p>At the first summit in 2010, which Mr. Obama hosted in Washington, 47 countries pledged to secure all fissile material usable to build nuclear weapons in a four-year time frame.</p>
<p>White House officials this week said there has been important progress over the past two years to further galvanize the international community to guard against these materials getting loose. Countries such as Kazakhstan have handed over substantial stockpiles of weapons-grade materials to Washington. And the United Nations is working with Washington to establish a nuclear fuel bank, which would provide countries with the nuclear fuel needed to run reactors and reducing their need to produce such materials domestically.</p>
<p>Mr. Obama is scheduled to meet with Kazakhstan&#8217;s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, a long-serving strongman, while in Seoul as well.</p>
<p>&#8220;Eighty percent of the national commitments made in Washington have already been completed, with is a pretty good batting average,&#8221; said Gary Samore, the White House&#8217;s top nonproliferation official.</p>
<p>Still, the advances made in the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs in recent years risk undermining the Obama administration&#8217;s overall record on nonproliferation, said analysts and congressional officials.</p>
<p>Mr. Obama has for three years wanted Congress to ratify a treaty banning the future testing of American nuclear weapons, called the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. And the White House hoped to promote internationally the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty, which would ban the future production of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium.</p>
<p>As Mr. Obama nears the end of his first term, however, the White House has yet to submit to the Senate any legislation to ratify the test-ban pact. And congressional officials said the White House would lack support for the pact with nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea racing ahead.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, American allies, including Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have resisted American pressure to make formal commitments not to produce nuclear fuel domestically. Mr. Obama has publicly voiced his concerns that should Iran develop nuclear weapons, many other countries in the Middle East will likely follow.</p>
<p>Mr. Obama&#8217;s policy on nuclear cooperation with allied countries has also drawn criticism of the White House from Congress.</p>
<p>The president signed a nuclear-cooperation agreement in 2009 with the United Arab Emirates that bound the Persian Gulf country not to enrich uranium domestically. Administration officials indicated that the White House would hold the agreement as the &#8220;gold standard&#8221; for any future deal with foreign governments. But in recent weeks, the State and Energy Departments reversed this decision, suggesting countries like Saudi Arabia would gain nuclear technologies without making similar commitments.</p>
<p>Key senators working on nonproliferation, including Republican Richard Lugar of Indiana, have criticized the White House&#8217;s decision and called for hearings. Such a move, they argue, could directly counter Mr. Obama&#8217;s pledge to reduce the amount of fissile materials internationally.</p>
<p>&#8220;If applied consistently in future agreements, this standard could become a bulwark against further countries engaging in enrichment and…eliminate opportunities for potential proliferators,&#8221; Sen. Lugar wrote last month in a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.</p>
<p>Mr. Obama last visited Asia in November. He arrives in South Korea for two days at an interesting time for a region that has become a top priority for his administration.</p>
<p>In recent months, one of China&#8217;s closest allies, Myanmar, has taken steps to embrace economic and political overhauls and reorient its foreign policy toward the west. The issue of control of the South China Sea remains a hot-button topic in the region and U.S. officials said Mr. Obama would raise it with President Hu.</p>
<p>The president&#8217;s initial stop in South Korea will be his first-ever visit to the demilitarized zone. Administration officials said he will use the moment to meet with U.S. troops and send a signal of the U.S. alliance with South Korea.</p>
<p>[By CAROL E. LEE and JAY SOLOMON in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL]</p>
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		<title>Norway says Indian children won&#8217;t go back to family</title>
		<link>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/22/norway-says-indian-children-wont-go-back-to-family/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/22/norway-says-indian-children-wont-go-back-to-family/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2012 03:46:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Indian Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Norway]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/?p=3258</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Norway&#8217;s Child Welfare Services (CWS) has refused to handover two Indian children back to their parents amid reports of rift between them, reports said on Thursday. &#8220;New developments involving two Indian children make it impossible to carry out the hearing in Stavanger district court that was scheduled for Friday, March 23. The conflicts over the last few days between the parents and their respective families mean that the conditions for entering into an agreement of this kind are no longer present,&#8221; NDTV quoted CWS as saying. The hearing on a final agreement in the custody case scheduled for March 23 has been cancelled, reports said. Anurup Bhattacharya, who is fighting the Norwegian child welfare services for the custody of his two children, has denied reports that he was divorcing his wife for her mental instability. On Tuesday, Anurup&#8217;s father Ajoy had claimed that the children&#8217;s mother, Sagarika, was a schizophrenic and Anurup was planning to divorce her. In Kolkata, Sagarika&#8217;s father denied she was suffering from any mental ailment. Speaking to a television channel from Norway, Anurup said, &#8220;There might have been some unavoidable circumstances at home, but that does not mean that we are filing for separation or divorce. [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/03/22/norway-says-indian-children-wont-go-back-to-family/">Norway says Indian children won&#8217;t go back to family</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Norway&#8217;s Child Welfare Services (CWS) has refused to handover two Indian children back to their parents amid reports of rift between them, reports said on Thursday.</p>
<p>&#8220;New developments involving two Indian children make it impossible to carry out the hearing in Stavanger district court that was scheduled for Friday, March 23. The conflicts over the last few days between the parents and their respective families mean that the conditions for entering into an agreement of this kind are no longer present,&#8221; NDTV quoted CWS as saying.<span id="more-3258"></span></p>
<p>The hearing on a final agreement in the custody case scheduled for March 23 has been cancelled, reports said.</p>
<p>Anurup Bhattacharya, who is fighting the Norwegian child welfare services for the custody of his two children, has denied reports that he was divorcing his wife for her mental instability.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Anurup&#8217;s father Ajoy had claimed that the children&#8217;s mother, Sagarika, was a schizophrenic and Anurup was planning to divorce her. In Kolkata, Sagarika&#8217;s father denied she was suffering from any mental ailment.</p>
<p>Speaking to a television channel from Norway, Anurup said, &#8220;There might have been some unavoidable circumstances at home, but that does not mean that we are filing for separation or divorce. Whatever our differences are, we are united in our sole aim, which is to get the children back to India.&#8221;</p>
<p>Abhigyan, 3, and Aishwarya, 1, the children of Anurup and Sagarika, NRIs living in Norway&#8217;s Stavanger, were taken under protective care by Barnevarne (Norwegian child welfare services) last May on the ground that they were not being looked after properly by their parents.</p>
<p>The question of divorce does not arise, Sagarika&#8217;s father Monotosh Chakroborty said. If there was any problem at all, it was due to the incredible stress the couple is going through.</p>
<p>&#8220;My daughter is against divorce,&#8221; Manotosh said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Perhaps Anurup is also against it, because earlier he had refused the Norwegian authority&#8217;s offer to handover the kids to a single parent,&#8221; said Chakraborty from his Birati residence.</p>
<p>[Hindustan Times Report]</p>
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		<title>Google to launch glasses that stream info directly to eyes</title>
		<link>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/23/google-to-launch-glasses-that-stream-info-directly-to-eyes/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/23/google-to-launch-glasses-that-stream-info-directly-to-eyes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:27:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[glasses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stream info directly to eyes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/?p=3140</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>It sounds like something out of a science fiction novel. Search engine giant Google is developing a pair of electronic glasses that can stream information directly to the eyes of its user in real time. The glasses, to be launched by the end of the year, will be more like smartphones with the lenses serving as a kind of see-through computer monitor. Loaded with a low-resolution, built-in camera, the Google glasses &#8220;will be able to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings and friends who might be nearby,&#8221; a New York Times report said. &#8220;You will be able to check in to locations with your friends through the glasses,&#8221; a Google employee told the Times. Google would not confirm whether the ultra-modern eyewear is in development. The report also says that the state-of-the-art spectacles, not designed for constant wear, will display information via a heads-up display &#8220;in an augmented reality view, rather than as a Web browser page like those that people see on smartphones.&#8221; The glasses will be integrated with other Google products, like Google Latitude to share location, Google Maps to search for nearby places and Google Goggles to search images and [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/23/google-to-launch-glasses-that-stream-info-directly-to-eyes/">Google to launch glasses that stream info directly to eyes</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It sounds like something out of a science fiction novel. Search engine giant Google is developing a pair of electronic glasses that can stream information directly to the eyes of its user in real time. </p>
<p>The glasses, to be launched by the end of the year, will be more like smartphones with the lenses serving as a kind of see-through computer monitor. <span id="more-3140"></span></p>
<p>Loaded with a low-resolution, built-in camera, the Google glasses &#8220;will be able to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings and friends who might be nearby,&#8221; a New York Times report said. </p>
<p>&#8220;You will be able to check in to locations with your friends through the glasses,&#8221; a Google employee told the Times. Google would not confirm whether the ultra-modern eyewear is in development. </p>
<p>The report also says that the state-of-the-art spectacles, not designed for constant wear, will display information via a heads-up display &#8220;in an augmented reality view, rather than as a Web browser page like those that people see on smartphones.&#8221; </p>
<p>The glasses will be integrated with other Google products, like Google Latitude to share location, Google Maps to search for nearby places and Google Goggles to search images and identify what is being looked at. </p>
<p>For instance, a person looking at a landmark could see detailed historical information and comments about it left by friends. The glasses might also be used for virtual reality games that use the real world as the playground. </p>
<p>According to the report, the glasses are expected to start selling at the end of the year at a price of between USD 250 and USD 600 &#8211; about the cost of a smartphone. </p>
<p>The glasses, will be Android based, and will include a display, that will sit inches from the wearer&#8217;s eye, streaming real-time info about his surroundings, similar to the various augmented reality applications seen on smartphones. </p>
<p>The data will be fetched through a 3G/4G data connection, and the glasses will retrieve information about their surroundings through GPS and several sensors. </p>
<p>[PTI - ZEENEWS Report]</p>
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		<title>Fishermen killing: 2 Italian ship officials arrested</title>
		<link>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/19/fishermen-killing-2-italian-ship-officials-arrested/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:30:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kerala]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arrested]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fisherman killing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Italian ship officials]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/?p=3122</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Kerala Police on Sunday arrested two armed personnel of an Italian vessel, suspected to have killed two Indian fishermen. The two Indian fishermen were allegedly shot dead on Wednesday by the Italian crew who mistook them for pirates in an incident that took place in the Arabian Sea. Kerala Police officers on Sunday morning recorded the statements of the crew of the Italian tanker &#8221; Enrica Lexie&#8221;, currently berthed as part of the investigation into the killing of two Indian fishermen. An team of Kerala Police officers, as also ballistic and forensic experts, boarded the ship on Sunday morning for investigations. Top officials from the Italian Embassy were also aboard the ship and were in constant touch with authorities in Delhi. Two fishermen, Ajesh Binki, 25, from Tamil Nadu and Gelastine, 45, from Kerala, were mistaken as pirates and shot dead by the crew of the Italian cargo vessel on Wednesday evening, about 14 nautical miles off Alappuzha. The owners of the ship had late Saturday agreed to cooperate with the inquiry.</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/19/fishermen-killing-2-italian-ship-officials-arrested/">Fishermen killing: 2 Italian ship officials arrested</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Kerala Police on Sunday arrested two armed personnel of an Italian vessel, suspected to have killed two Indian fishermen.</p>
<p>The two Indian fishermen were allegedly shot dead on Wednesday by the Italian crew who mistook them for pirates in an incident that took place in the Arabian Sea.</p>
<p>Kerala Police officers on Sunday morning recorded the statements of the crew of the Italian tanker &#8221; Enrica Lexie&#8221;, currently berthed as part of the investigation into the killing of two Indian fishermen.<span id="more-3122"></span></p>
<p>An team of Kerala Police officers, as also ballistic and forensic experts, boarded the ship on Sunday morning for investigations.</p>
<p>Top officials from the Italian Embassy were also aboard the ship and were in constant touch with authorities in Delhi.</p>
<p>Two fishermen, Ajesh Binki, 25, from Tamil Nadu and Gelastine, 45, from Kerala, were mistaken as pirates and shot dead by the crew of the Italian cargo vessel on Wednesday evening, about 14 nautical miles off Alappuzha.</p>
<p>The owners of the ship had late Saturday agreed to cooperate with the inquiry.</p>
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		<title>Smoking removes good bacteria from mouth: Study</title>
		<link>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/17/smoking-removes-good-bacteria-from-mouth-study/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/17/smoking-removes-good-bacteria-from-mouth-study/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:14:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bacteria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smocking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/?p=3103</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Some smokers seem to have frequent dental problems in the form of cavities or any other oral diseases. Putting forth a reason for such oral effects, scientists from the Ohio State University have revealed that smoking eliminates protective bacteria and paves the path for pathogens in the mouth. In the study, about 15 smokers and nonsmokers were incorporated. Both the sets of smokers were apparently healthy. After 1, 2, 4 and 7 days of clinical cleaning, the team observed the specimens of their oral biofilms. According to the observations, harmful bacteria began to accumulate in the smoker’ mouths in a span of 24 hours. Their oral mechanisms seemed to take a longer time for developing a steady microbial community. Once the microbial population got formed, there appeared to be more pathogens in the clan. “The smoker’s mouth kicks out the good bacteria, and the pathogens are called in. So they’re allowed to proliferate much more quickly than they would in a non-smoking environment,” commented Purnima Kumar, assistant professor of periodontology at Ohio State University. Cytokines are compounds that are generated by the body to combat infection. The high levels of cytokines prevalent in the mouths of smokers seemed to treat [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/17/smoking-removes-good-bacteria-from-mouth-study/">Smoking removes good bacteria from mouth: Study</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Some smokers seem to have frequent dental problems in the form of cavities or any other oral diseases. Putting forth a reason for such oral effects, scientists from the Ohio State University have revealed that smoking eliminates protective bacteria and paves the path for pathogens in the mouth.<span id="more-3103"></span></p>
<p>In the study, about 15 smokers and nonsmokers were incorporated. Both the sets of smokers were apparently healthy. After 1, 2, 4 and 7 days of clinical cleaning, the team observed the specimens of their oral biofilms. According to the observations, harmful bacteria began to accumulate in the smoker’ mouths in a span of 24 hours. Their oral mechanisms seemed to take a longer time for developing a steady microbial community. Once the microbial population got formed, there appeared to be more pathogens in the clan.</p>
<p>“The smoker’s mouth kicks out the good bacteria, and the pathogens are called in. So they’re allowed to proliferate much more quickly than they would in a non-smoking environment,” commented Purnima Kumar, assistant professor of periodontology at Ohio State University.</p>
<p>Cytokines are compounds that are generated by the body to combat infection. The high levels of cytokines prevalent in the mouths of smokers seemed to treat even healthy bacteria as a threat. Contrarily, healthy non-smokers seemed to manifest low levels of cytokines and other disease-related bacteria. The low proportions of the former showed that the body did not regard the healthy bacteria as a risk.</p>
<p>The team is not clear of the exact mechanism involved in the process of these differences seen in smokers. However, they suggested that dentists need to support patients who are trying to quit smoking. The study is published in the journal, Infection and Immunity.</p>
<p>[from HealthJockey.com]</p>
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		<title>Israeli couple&#8217;s deportation: Kerala high court stays order</title>
		<link>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/14/israeli-couples-deportation-kerala-high-court-stays-order/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/14/israeli-couples-deportation-kerala-high-court-stays-order/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:38:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kerala]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Israeli couple]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/?p=3095</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Deportation of a Jewish couple from Israel, who were served with &#8216;Quit India&#8217; notices by the district administration last Tuesday, was stayed by the Kerala high court on Tuesday. The couple, Shneor Zalman Bernstein and Yaffa Shendi Keing from Bloy Street in Jerusalem came to Kochi on March 3, 2010 and had been staying in a rented house at Rose Street in Fort Kochi. Considering a petition by the couple alleging arbitrariness on the part of the district administration, Justice S Siri Jagan issued a stay on the deportation and asked the district collector of Ernakulam to hear the grievances of the couple and pass appropriate orders on Wednesday. Notices for deportation within 15 days were slapped on them on Tuesday by the district collector, on the basis of a report by the deputy commissioner of police (administration and crimes) on January 30 this year, citing violation of tourist visa norms. According to the quit notice, the couple violated visa norms by organizing activities related to their religious life and belief under the religious organization &#8216;Chabad&#8217; in a synagogue at Mattanchery. The notice cited lack of special endorsement in the entry visa to engage in such activities in India. When [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/14/israeli-couples-deportation-kerala-high-court-stays-order/">Israeli couple&#8217;s deportation: Kerala high court stays order</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Deportation of a Jewish couple from Israel, who were served with &#8216;Quit India&#8217; notices by the district administration last Tuesday, was stayed by the Kerala high court on Tuesday. </p>
<p>The couple, Shneor Zalman Bernstein and Yaffa Shendi Keing from Bloy Street in Jerusalem came to Kochi on March 3, 2010 and had been staying in a rented house at Rose Street in Fort Kochi. <span id="more-3095"></span></p>
<p>Considering a petition by the couple alleging arbitrariness on the part of the district administration, Justice S Siri Jagan issued a stay on the deportation and asked the district collector of Ernakulam to hear the grievances of the couple and pass appropriate orders on Wednesday. </p>
<p>Notices for deportation within 15 days were slapped on them on Tuesday by the district collector, on the basis of a report by the deputy commissioner of police (administration and crimes) on January 30 this year, citing violation of tourist visa norms. </p>
<p>According to the quit notice, the couple violated visa norms by organizing activities related to their religious life and belief under the religious organization &#8216;Chabad&#8217; in a synagogue at Mattanchery. The notice cited lack of special endorsement in the entry visa to engage in such activities in India. </p>
<p>When the petition came up for hearing on Tuesday, State government contended that the deportation order was issued on the basis of intelligence report. The government also highlighted that guidelines issued by the central government restrict foreigners arriving on tourist visas from undertaking any employment, business, or other profession. </p>
<p>After noticing that the petitioners had produced copies of communication between Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs of Israel and ambassador of India in Israel regarding their intention of providing religious services to Jews in Kerala, the court asked the government whether any law exists other than the central government guidelines that prevents foreigners from engaging in other activities. </p>
<p>As the government counsel couldn&#8217;t cite any other law, the court directed the district collector to consider what the Jewish couple had to say and pass appropriate orders on Wednesday. The court also observed that not even a single petty case has been registered by the State against the foreigners in the past two years while the couple was staying at Fort Kochi. </p>
<p>In the petition filed through advocate R Lakshmi Narayan, the couple had contended that the husband is a qualified rabbi, who was invited by Cochin Synagogue to help in prayers, rituals related to birth, death, and marriage of the Jewish community here as well as for preserving the heritage of the community. The wife came along with the rabbi to help in the services, the petition said. </p>
<p>The couple was brought in as there are no suitably trained persons available among the Jewish community in Kochi to conduct rituals, the petition stated. </p>
<p>Responding to the reason given by police, engaging in activities related to religious organization called &#8216;Chabad&#8217;, the petitioners had submitted that &#8216;Chabad&#8217; is not an organization but an ideological movement within Judaism, whose members, as volunteers, assist jews around the world in observing traditional Judaism.</p>
<p>[ Report - Times of India]</p>
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<p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/14/israeli-couples-deportation-kerala-high-court-stays-order/">Israeli couple&#8217;s deportation: Kerala high court stays order</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>India rejects ICC&#8217;s proposed reforms</title>
		<link>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/14/india-rejects-iccs-proposed-reforms/</link>
		<comments>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/14/india-rejects-iccs-proposed-reforms/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:34:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[International]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/?p=3091</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The International Cricket Council&#8217;s plans to restructure itself received a setback on Tuesday when the powerful Indian board shot down proposals from a review panel. The ICC had ordered an independent review, headed by Harry Woolf, former lord chief justice of England and Wales, to find the best way forward for the sport&#8217;s world governing body. The review called for sweeping changes in the ICC&#8217;s administration, including the induction of independent members to the executive board to offset the dominance of the Test-playing countries. The executive board currently comprises the heads of all 10 Test nations, three representatives from the non-Test countries, the ICC&#8217;s president, vice-president and chief executive. Narayanaswamy Srinivasan, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said his board&#8217;s working committee had rejected the Woolf report at its meeting in Chennai on Monday. &#8220;The working committee was of the opinion that these recommendations were not acceptable and rejected it,&#8221; Srinivasan told reporters. &#8220;It was in particular not agreeable to the changes in the structure of the management of ICC that had been proposed.&#8221; India&#8217;s stand is the first time a national board has spoken publicly about the Woolf report which is set to [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/14/india-rejects-iccs-proposed-reforms/">India rejects ICC&#8217;s proposed reforms</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The International Cricket Council&#8217;s plans to restructure itself received a setback on Tuesday when the powerful Indian board shot down proposals from a review panel. The ICC had ordered an independent review, headed by Harry Woolf, former lord chief justice of England and Wales, to find the best way forward for the sport&#8217;s world governing body.<br />
The review called for sweeping changes in the ICC&#8217;s administration, including the induction of independent members to the executive board to offset the dominance of the Test-playing countries.<span id="more-3091"></span></p>
<p>The executive board currently comprises the heads of all 10 Test nations, three representatives from the non-Test countries, the ICC&#8217;s president, vice-president and chief executive.</p>
<p>Narayanaswamy Srinivasan, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said his board&#8217;s working committee had rejected the Woolf report at its meeting in Chennai on Monday.</p>
<p>&#8220;The working committee was of the opinion that these recommendations were not acceptable and rejected it,&#8221; Srinivasan told reporters.</p>
<p>&#8220;It was in particular not agreeable to the changes in the structure of the management of ICC that had been proposed.&#8221;</p>
<p>India&#8217;s stand is the first time a national board has spoken publicly about the Woolf report which is set to be discussed at the next meeting of the ICC&#8217;s executive board in April.</p>
<p>India, the financial nerve-centre of cricket which reportedly contributes almost 70 percent of the revenues worldwide, has often been accused of bulldozing its way in the ICC.</p>
<p>The BCCI&#8217;s refusal to accept the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS), a technological aid for umpires, has already earned the wrath of many other countries.</p>
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		<title>India will never censor social media &#8211; Kapil Sibal</title>
		<link>http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/14/india-will-never-censor-social-media-kapil-sibal/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:33:09 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/?p=3089</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>No Indian government will ever censor social media, Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said, seeking to calm fears of a China-style crackdown on companies like Google and Facebook. A court last year ordered 21 companies including Google and Facebook to block material from their websites that could offend religious groups, arousing concerns about freedom of speech in the worlds biggest democracy. &#8216;We have never had any intention nor did we ever say we are going to censor social media, but we do believe that all media must obey the laws of this country,&#8217; Sibal told reporters on Tuesday. Sibal and other Indian government officials have previously denied that they were promoting censorship of the Internet. The controversy centres on a law passed last year that makes companies responsible for content posted by users on their sites and giving them 36 hours to remove it if someone complains. The new law has led to two cases being brought by individuals against internet companies. Despite the new rules to block offensive content, access to the Internet in India is still largely uncensored, in contrast to the tight controls in neighbouring China. But like many other governments around the world, India has become [...]</p><p>The post <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog/2012/02/14/india-will-never-censor-social-media-kapil-sibal/">India will never censor social media &#8211; Kapil Sibal</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.stateofkerala.in/blog">State of Kerala</a>.</p>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>No Indian government will ever censor social media, Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said, seeking to calm fears of a China-style crackdown on companies like Google and Facebook. A court last year ordered 21 companies including Google and Facebook to block material from their websites that could offend religious groups, arousing concerns about freedom of speech in the worlds biggest democracy. <span id="more-3089"></span></p>
<p>&#8216;We have never had any intention nor did we ever say we are going to censor social media, but we do believe that all media must obey the laws of this country,&#8217; Sibal told reporters on Tuesday. Sibal and other Indian government officials have previously denied that they were promoting censorship of the Internet. The controversy centres on a law passed last year that makes companies responsible for content posted by users on their sites and giving them 36 hours to remove it if someone complains. The new law has led to two cases being brought by individuals against internet companies. </p>
<p>Despite the new rules to block offensive content, access to the Internet in India is still largely uncensored, in contrast to the tight controls in neighbouring China. But like many other governments around the world, India has become increasingly nervous about the power of social media. Google Inc , Facebook, Yahoo Inc and Microsoft Corp are awaiting a Delhi High Court ruling on their appeal against a criminal case brought by journalist Vinay Rai related to content on their websites. The sitting judge said in January that companies were responsible for content on their websites and that he could block sites &#8216;like China&#8217; if they did not get their house in order. Sibal said the government had nothing to do with the case. &#8216;It is between the complainant and those who have been called,&#8217; said the minister, who was speaking at an event organised by NASSCOM, an industry body for information technology companies. </p>
<p>Fewer than one in 10 of Indias 1.2 billion people have access to the Internet, but that still makes it the third-biggest internet market after China and the United States. The number of internet users in India is expected to almost triple to 300 million over the next three years.</p>
<p>[Report - IBNLive.com]</p>
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