Declines in the manufacturing and construction sectors drove a 0.2% fall in GDP in the final quarter of 2011, according to an initial estimate by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The performance was described by Prime Minister David Cameron as disappointing, while Chancellor George Osborne pledged to stick to the coalition government’s austerity programme, which has been attacked for choking off the recovery.

Recession fears as economy shrinks -Press Association

Mr Osborne insisted: “Britain has substantial debts. If we don’t deal with those debts, our problems will be worse.”

However, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber warned that unless the Government started focusing on jobs and growth, it could preside over a decade of economic stagnation. “The grand austerity plan is failing to tackle the deficit, causing unemployment to spiral out of control, and is now dragging the country back towards recession, ” he said.

With the eurozone weighing on global growth prospects, economists predict further GDP declines for the first half of 2012, raising the prospect of another recession – two successive quarters of contraction.

But most experts think the latest downturn will be mild compared with the slump of 2008/09, when output dropped by more than 7%.

Graeme Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said: “We’ve taken one step towards a double-dip recession, and it’s now probably 50-50 as to whether we’ll take the second. But even if output does increase in the current quarter, we’ll continue to experience the feel-bad jobless recovery for some time yet.”

The figures marked the first contraction in the economy since the final quarter of 2010, when Arctic weather caused mayhem, and is also a drastic deterioration on the 0.6% growth seen in the previous quarter. Over the course of 2011 as a whole, GDP increased by 0.9%, much slower than the 2.1% growth in 2010.

The fall in the final quarter, which was worse than City expectations of a decline of 0.1%, was partly caused by a 0.9% contraction in manufacturing as weak consumer spending depressed demand in the UK, while the eurozone debt crisis hit exports..

The central theme of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ Republican response was that Mr. Obama has shown himself to be a divisive failure that has chosen class warfare and stifling big government over economic progress.

The outcome of the 2012 presidential election depends in large part on which of those arguments Americans decide to embrace.

The centerpiece of Mr. Obama’s call for economic fairness was the so-called “Buffett Rule,” which is predicated on the notion that the wealthy investor should pay as much as his secretary in taxes. (Mr. Obama said Tuesday night that anyone making more than $1 million per year should pay no less than a 30 percent tax rate; we learned earlier in the day that one of the chief contenders for the GOP presidential nomination, Mitt Romney, paid less than 14 percent on $21.7 million in income in 2010.)

“Now, you can call this class warfare all you want,” he said. “But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.”

Class warfare is exactly what Republicans are calling it. House Speaker John Boehner – who sat behind Mr. Obama during the speech, along with Vice President Joe Biden – suggested earlier in the day that the president’s politics of “division and envy” are “almost un-American.” Daniels said that “no feature of the Obama Presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others.”

Mr. Obama would seem to have the advantage in this fight: A CBS News/New York Times poll out Tuesday found that 55 percent of Americans think upper-income taxpayers pay less than their fair share. And in the wake of the emergence of the “Occupy” movement, a Pew survey earlier this month found that two in three Americans now see a strong conflict between rich and poor. Even the two leading Republican presidential candidates, Romney and Newt Gingrich, have gotten into a fight over whether Romney’s former company Bain Capital engages in heartless capitalism that rewards the rich while leaving average Americans behind.

That’s why Republicans are not eager to spend the year fighting on Mr. Obama’s terms. Instead, they want to put the focus squarely on the fact that Mr. Obama has spent three years presiding over an economy that has yet to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. Daniels said Tuesday night that the president “cannot claim that the last three years have made things anything but worse: the percentage of Americans with a job is at the lowest in decades. One in five men of prime working age, and nearly half of all persons under 30, did not go to work today.” (Daniels’ full remarks are at left; the president’s are above.)

This is the argument that Republicans want to have. A CBS/NYT poll earlier this month showed that just 40 percent of Americans approve of Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy, while 54 percent disapprove. Only 35 percent say the president has made real progress on the economy, which voters overwhelmingly say is their top concern. If Republicans can hammer home the notion that Mr. Obama has failed to guide the economy effectively – in a way that has harmed all Americans, rich, poor and middle-class – they will likely win the election.

From a political perspective, good news for the economy is bad news for the Republicans: Amid signs that the economy is improving, the survey showed a slight uptick in perceptions of the condition of the economy – and Mr. Obama’s handling of it. Still, the economic picture is unlikely to be rosy in November, and Republicans know their best hope is to convince Americans that Mr. Obama has squandered his opportunity to turn things around.

That’s the reason you heard Daniels speaking in relatively dour terms Tuesday night. “When President Obama claims that the state of our union is anything but grave, he must know in his heart that this is not true,” he said at the outset of his remarks. You can expect to hear the GOP hammering home that notion right up until Election Day.

The other key plank in the GOP offensive against Mr. Obama is the notion that he wants an overregulating, nanny-state government that doesn’t let American businesses succeed and American individuals make their own choices. That argument has long been effective for Republicans, which is why you heard Mr. Obama note Tuesday night that he “approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his.” It’s also why he uttered a line you’d expect to hear from a Republican: That he believes “[g]overnment should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more.”

Obama-GOP battle to frame 2012 fight- State of the Union

Source: cbsnews.com

Jessica Buchanan

The American forces — drawn from the same Navy commando unit that killed Osama bin Laden — swooped in and killed nine pirates before spiriting away the hostages, who were not harmed, American officials said.

It appeared that President Obama was fully aware of the raid as he was about to give his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, which would have been early Wednesday in Somalia.

When Mr. Obama was overheard congratulating Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta as the president entered the House chamber for his State of the Union Message, the two hostages were already safe, though the mission was not yet complete. The president made no mention of the rescue in Somalia, but he did refer to Bin Laden’s killing in a similar operation conducted in May by Navy Seals.

In a statement on Wednesday, the president said he authorized the operation on Monday, and he mentioned the American hostage, Jessica Buchanan, by name.

“Thanks to the extraordinary courage and capabilities of our Special Operations forces, yesterday Jessica Buchanan was rescued and she is on her way home. As commander in chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts.”

The statement continued: “Last night I spoke with Jessica Buchanan’s father and told him that all Americans have Jessica in our thoughts and prayers and give thanks that she will soon be reunited with her family. The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice. This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people.”

American officials said Wednesday that the assault team for the hostage-rescue mission drew from the Navy commando unit commonly referred to as Seal Team Six, the Navy’s top-tier counterterrorism organization, which carried out the deadly raid on Bin Laden inside Pakistan. But officials stressed that the rescue mission included personnel from the other armed services as well, and that the commandos themselves were not necessarily the same people who conducted the Bin Laden raid.

Somalia is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world, plagued by pirate gangs and countless militant groups, a lawless nation that has languished for 21 years without a functioning government. Several Westerners have recently been kidnapped, typically for ransom, and it seems that as Somalia’s pirates have a harder time hijacking ships on the high seas because of the beefed up naval efforts, they are increasingly turning to snatching foreigners on land.

In this case, though, senior Pentagon officials said the kidnappers appeared to have no direct links to any of the pirate bands that have attacked shipping lanes off Somalia. They appeared to be a criminal gang, with no ties to local terrorist organizations or other ideological militant bands.

On Oct. 25, Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, the Danish aid worker, were kidnapped by two truckloads of gunmen as they headed to the airport in Galkayo, a central Somalia town on the edge of pirate territory. The two were working for the Danish Demining Group, one of the few Western organizations that was still operating in that area.

Somali officials immediately suspected that a local employee had tipped off the gunmen. Negotiations with pirates can drag on for months. One British couple sailing around the world on a small sailboat was kidnapped by pirates from this same patch of central Somalia and then held in captivity in punishing conditions for more than a year.

Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government, the internationally recognized but relatively impotent authority based in the capital, Mogadishu, has little influence over the pirates. Neither do the traditional, clan-based militias that still operate in these areas but cannot afford the weaponry or manpower now fielded by well-financed pirate gangs.

Somalia is also considered a no-go zone for conventional American military operations, but it has been the site of several special operations raids, usually to kill wanted terrorism suspects. American forces stage the raids from a constellation of bases ringing Somalia, in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya.

According to local leaders in Galkayo, dark helicopters began circling over the area late Tuesday night. Sometime around 3 a.m., the American commandos landed near a small village called Hiimo Gaabo, south of Galkayo and a firefight erupted.

The commandos freed the hostages, and the helicopters took off. By dawn, after morning prayers, the bodies of the nine pirates killed in the raid were brought back to Hiimo Gaabo.

According to the local leaders, three to six pirates were captured.

One American official said an assault team of Special Operations troops parachuted in from fixed wing aircraft, not helicopters, under cloak of darkness to a landing area about a mile’s walk from the actual target. The paratroopers landed, then walked to an encampment where the kidnappers where holding the two hostages.

Within minutes, shots rang out. The hostages were located and secured. Nine Somalis were killed and an unknown number wounded in the ensuing firefight with the commandos. No Somali prisoners were taken, the official said. American helicopters then landed nearby and whisked the commandos and the two former hostages out of the area, and flew them to Camp Lemonier in Djibouti.

“The aid workers are fine, they are in Djibouti and in good shape,” said a United Nations official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The official said that local leaders in the area were pleased with the rescue operation, because there is little sympathy for the pirate gangs, which are blamed for sullying Somalia’s reputation and causing inflation by carelessly spending millions of dollars of ransom money.

Several local leaders in Galkayo had just returned from trying to secure the release of another American, a freelance journalist who was kidnapped last week in Galkayo. He remains in captivity in Hobyo, a pirate den on the Somali coast, because the pirates holding him refuse to let him go without a hefty ransom.

“Maybe this will send a message,” the United Nations official said.

Helene Cooper, Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington.

“We thought we were betting bold,” Cook said about sales of the device in China on a conference call yesterday. “We didn’t bet high enough.”

Crowds pelted Apple’s oldest store in China with eggs on Jan. 13 when the shop in Beijing’s Sanlitun district failed to open on the first day of sales for the iPhone 4S. After Beijing police sealed off the area to remove more than 500 people, Apple announced that it would suspend sales of iPhones at all stores in Beijing and Shanghai “for the time being” to ensure safety.

With sales halted at its China retail outlets, Apple is now offering the iPhone in the world’s largest mobile phone market through its online store, carrier partner China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., and authorized resellers. The company’s online store in China is currently sold out of the iPhone 4S.

Chinese demand for the handset is “off the charts,” Cook said on the call.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, this month moved closer to expanding its distribution in China through a second carrier partner when regulators approved specifications for a device that would run on the network of China Telecom Corp, the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier.

Apple underestimated iPhone 4S demand in China

‘Key partner’ “China Unicom continues to be a very key partner,” he said on the call. “I’ve got nothing to announce today on an expansion there, but as I’ve consistently said, China is an extremely important market for us and we continue to look at how to grow it further.”

Apple announced yesterday that quarterly profit more than doubled to $13.1 billion in the period that ended December 31 on surging demand for the iPhone and iPad.

The company sold 5.6 million iPhones in China during the first nine months of last year, making it the No. 4 smartphone vendor in the country in the third quarter, according to Stamford, Connecticut-based research company Gartner Inc.

Source: : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

The action, probably the first of its kind against a former Secretary-level technocrat and other retired officials, follows a high-level inquiry into the controversial deal under which Antrix was to lease out bulk transponders on two satellites to Devas for launch of digital multimedia services.

68-year-old Nair, the architect of India’s maiden moon mission Chandrayaan-I, hit back at the government accusing it of “witch-hunting” and threatened to move court seeking relief.

He also attacked the incumbent ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan saying that he had misled the government on the issue.

The order by the Department of Space mandates that Nair and three other top officials “shall be excluded from re-employment, committee roles or any other important role under the government.”

“These four former officers shall be divested of any current assignment/consultancy with the government with immediate effect,” said the order dated January 13.

Nair was the Chairman of three entities – ISRO, Space Commission and Antrix Corporation, and Secretary, Department of Space. The other three officials against whom action has been taken are A Bhaskaranarayana, former scientific secretary at ISRO, K R Sridharamurthi, former managing director of Antrix, ISRO’s commercial arm, and K N Shankara, former director of the ISRO Satellite Centre.

Minister of State in the PMO V Narayanasamy said the decision to crack the whip was taken by the Prime Minister’s Office which considered the report of a high-level panel on the deal and recommendations on it by a team led by former CVC Pratyush Sinha.

Am I worse than terrorist?

Bitter over the action taken against him and three other eminent space scientists on the controversial Antrix-Devas deal issue, former ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair today slammed it as “an act of cowardice” and accused his successor K Radhakrishnan of being behind the move and “misleading” the government.

He also accused Radhakrishnan of having a “personal agenda.

“He has misled the Government on the whole issue (the deal). He is the key person who worked behind this; he misled and miscommunicated to the Government and he has taken action,” Nair said, targeting Radhakrishnan, secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of the Space Commission.

“That individual is bent upon hitting so many people and in that process, he is killing the organisation,” he alleged.

“This (the action) is a complete act of cowardice,” Nair said. It was a “clear violation of conduct and pension rules” as well as legal aspects, said Nair, who was the key figure behind India’s Chandrayaan-1 moon mission.

“Even the person who has done the terror attack in Mumbai….he is enjoying the freedom of going to 3-4 levels of appeal. Are we worse than terrorists?”, he asked.

“Even in a military rule, the people are given a hearing before condemnation is made. This (the action against us) is worse than that,” said Nair, hurt over the action to bar him and three other scientists from holding any government post.

The government action came in the wake of the controversial Antrix-Devas deal in which a private company was allotted scarce S band spectrum by ISRO allegedly violating rules, when Nair was the agency’s chairman.

Nair said he has not received any communication on barring him from government jobs and would apply under the RTI to get it and based on that, he would chalk out his plan of action. “…Whole thing has been handled in an absolutely shabby way”.

“There is no enquiry conducted in the matter; there is no charge sheet issued to anybody. Without that, how can any government take punitive action?”, he asked.

Nair said seven people – three administrative and four technical – have been named (by a committee and team which probed ISRO-Devas deal) and asked: “Why administrative people have been totally left out?

“First of all, I don’t subscribe to the view that it (the deal) is an issue,” Nair said. The only issue is that ISRO should have informed the Government that it’s entering into a deal with Devas but according to the existing rules at the time, ISRO was not supposed to do that, he said.

“It’s not a violation of rules (vis-a-vis not informing the Government beforehand). “..How they have singled out only scientists?. It’s a shameful thing”.

Ex-ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair threatens to move court

He claimed that Radhakrishnan has no idea of rules or regulation about technology and “he will simply kill ISRO”.

Calling Radhakrishnan “a disaster,” he said, “I have kept quiet all these days because of my respect for ISRO”. “You look at ISRO’s programme for the last two years, that will speak volumes about where we stand”.

On the regional transport aircraft project, in which he is chairman of the high-powered committee constituted by CSIR-NAL spearheading it, Nair said he submitted feasibility and project report within a year.

“I just don’t care if the government is so casual in dealing with such a matter (action against the four). I just don’t care. For this government, I am not going to do anything further. It’s their funeral they have declared. Let the Government worry about it (the project); not me,” Nair said.
Source : Times of India

“We have received credible information very recently about a possible plot directed at the homeland that seems to be focused on New York and Washington, D.C.,” a senior administration official told CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr Thursday.

The official said the plot was believed to involve three individuals, including a U.S. citizen. U.S. officials believed the threat was a vehicle laden with explosives, but “the intelligence picture is not completely formed,” the official said. “Not enough is known about the potential operatives and their plotting.”

The threat is believed to entail a vehicle bomb, but “we cannot rule out other means,” a U.S. official said.

A senior law enforcement official involved in briefings about the matter told CNN Justice Department Producer Terry Frieden that his best information is that the three individuals had not yet entered the United States.

The information came in around noon Wednesday, one official said.

A senior federal law enforcement official intimately involved in counter terrorism efforts told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King authorities “aren’t sure if this is or real or just chatter.”

The official confirmed the threat was vehicle-related as did a joint intelligence bulletin issued by the FBI and Homeland Security.

And while this specific threat report indicated that al Qaeda may be considering an attack using a car or truck bomb, the bulletin also confirmed that other methods could be used.

“We assess that (al Qaeda) and its affiliates have also considered attacks with small-arms, homemade explosive devices, and poisons, and probably provide their operatives with enough autonomy to select the particular target and method of attack.”

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters Thursday night that while additional police will be deployed around the city, “There’s no reason for any of the rest of us to change … our daily routines.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged residents to be cautious, but said “there is no reason to panic.”

In addition to the September terrorist attacks, New York was the scene of a botched Times Square car bombing in May 2010 by Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, who was sentenced to life in prison in October.

In Washington, local officials said the city has a robust plan in place and has been on heightened alert since September 1.

“I want to urge all of our citizens … to remain calm and let our law enforcement professionals do their job. At the same time, we ask people to remain vigilant,” Mayor Vincent Gray said. “If you see something, say something.”

Unattended vehicles around key infrastructure will be towed, Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier said.

Federal officials said they were taking the threat seriously, while evidently trying to temper the news by saying such threats are commonplace during key events.

“It’s accurate that there is specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information,” said Matthew Chandler, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security. “As we always do before important dates like the anniversary of 9/11, we will undoubtedly get more reporting in the coming days. Sometimes this reporting is credible and warrants intense focus, other times it lacks credibility and is highly unlikely to be reflective of real plots under way.

“Regardless, we take all threat reporting seriously, and we have taken, and will continue to take, all steps necessary to mitigate any threats that arise. We continue to ask the American people to remain vigilant as we head into the weekend,” Chandler said in a prepared statement.

A Department of Homeland Security official, speaking on background, said, “We will continue to respond appropriately to protect the American people from an evolving threat picture in the coming days and beyond. This may include an increased law enforcement presence at airports and other transit hubs, land and sea ports of entry, federal buildings, and other high-profile and critical infrastructure locations.”

The information originated from the tribal border area of Pakistan and Afghanistan, a federal official told CNN producer Mike Ahlers.

Another source gave CNN conflicting information about possible details of the threat.

Rep. Peter King, R-New York, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said very specific details were made known to lawmakers about the threat. “Many agencies are looking at this from every possible angle,” he said.

But it is not known yet if the threat is real, he said, adding, “I would tell people now to go about their lives. There’s no need to panic.”

A senior administration official with firsthand knowledge told CNN National Security Contributor Fran Townsend that although there is “specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information,” there are a lot of questions about this information — “weird things.”

A federal law enforcement official told CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti that the threat appears to go beyond intelligence gathered from Osama bin Laden’s compound after he was killed by Navy SEALs. That information talked about aspirations to carry out an attack on U.S. interests on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“The president was briefed,” a senior administration official said. “He directed that the intelligence community and the administration take all necessary steps to ensure vigilance.”

Earlier Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters that intelligence officials had picked up “lots of chatter” on jihadi websites and elsewhere about the impending 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks “and we’re taking it all seriously,” but nothing yet that warranted issuing a threat advisory.

Nonetheless, the department will be at a heightened level of readiness as the nation commemorates the anniversary, “staffing up” the Federal Air Marshals Service and other agencies, she said.

Napolitano said it is not uncommon to see increased chatter before major events. “We know it’s an iconic day to al Qaeda, in part because of what was found at the (Osama bin Laden) compound. So we are preparing accordingly,” she said.

“I don’t want to give those (details) out because I don’t want to tell the bad guys exactly what we’re doing,” Napolitano said. “But I think it’s fair to say that in addition to asking citizens to be vigilant and so forth, that we have ourselves leaned forward and have made sure that we are doing all that we can from the DHS perspective.”

CNN’s Jessica Yellin, Jim Barnett, Pam Benson and Ross Levitt also contributed to this report.

Over three months after the May incident, which investigators say was the first time non-electrical detonators were used, the mechanism that was used to trigger the blast has not been established. Eleven detonators were recovered from the site. The probe into the case was handled by a special cell of the Delhi Police.

A day after the blast outside the Delhi High Court, the NIA team combing the area sought the help of the Delhi Fire Services to search for similar non-electrical detonators. But nothing has been found so far.

Soruce: Indian Express

Hazare had set August 30 deadline to the government to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill by August 30, failing which he would continue his fast “till his last breath”. However, the government virtually rejected the August 30 deadline set by Hazare and his team for passing the civil society’s Jan Lokpal Bill.

As the impasses between the govt and team Anna continued, Prime Minister on Saturday indicated his willingness to end the stand-off, saying he was ready for “give and take” to strengthen the anti-corruption legislation.

The parliamentary panel examining the draft Lokpal Bill has invited suggestions from the public.

The development came as the parliamentary standing committee came out with newspaper advertisements seeking people’s opinions on the legislation.

Team Anna trashed the advertisement as an attention-diverting tactic and dubbed the government’s draft bill as “Promotion of Corruption Bill”.

The civil society led by Anna Hazare have been demanding inclusion of Prime Minister, higher judiciary and conduct of MPs inside Parliament under the ambit of Lokpal.

The Hazare team is also demanding a strong public grievance redressal mechanism, lokayuktas at state-level and independent selection, funding and removal mechanism to ensure autonomy of function.

The Lokpal Bill cleared by the cabinet seeks to keep the office of the Prime Minister outside the purview of the ombudsman during his term in office and also exclude higher judiciary and conduct of MPs inside Parliament.

The Lokpal, consisting of chairperson and eight members, half of them judicial, will have its own prosecution and investigation wing with officers and staff necessary to carry out its functions.

Source : Zee News

News International’s chief executive James Murdoch was already accused of misleading parliament over evidence he has given about a compensation payment to a victim of phone hacking.

Now, an answer he gave Tuesday’s parliamentary inquiry is also being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.

He told MPs he was not aware of a 2008 email, which suggested phone hacking at the News of the World was a tactic used by more than just one rogue reporter.

But the tabloid’s former editor and its former head of legal affairs say they told Mr James Murdoch about the email.

UK prime minister David Cameron says the media boss had “questions to answer”.

UK Labour MP Tom Watson says it is the most significant development of the saga in two years and he has referred it to the police.

He says Mr James Murdoch “failed to report a crime to the police” and also “bought the silence of Gordon Taylor”, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association.

Mr Taylor received a reported 700,000 pounds ($1 million) after he brought a damages claim against the now defunct News of the World.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed it has received a letter from Mr Watson.

“It is being considered,” the spokesman said.

Mr James Murdoch has denied giving misleading testimony, saying: “I stand by my testimony to the select committee”.

CNN-IBN
His colleague, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal, added that the entire nation and the government were ready to take on corruption.
“As soon as the Lokpal Bill is passed after going to the parliamentary committee, we will face corruption together and end it,” Sibal said.

Source: IBN