Next US president must be prepared to deal with India and Pakistan crisis

 The winner of the 2012 US Presidential Elections must be prepared to deal with a potential re-emerging crisis between India and Pakistan and engage with New Delhi over its ties with Iran and interests in Afghanistan, an American expert on South Asia has said.

Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia, at Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) - a Washington-based think-tank - said yesterday that the winner of 2012 Presidential Election must be prepared for "a significant potential of near-term crisis" between India and its historical rival Pakistan.

The US would likely be called upon to play an important mediating role in the event of a "Mumbai-type" terrorist event that would lead India and Pakistan to the brink of war, Markey said in a video message posted on the CFR website as part of the Campaign 2012 effort.

Markey said that the President will also have to engage with India on top foreign policy priorities including Iran's nuclear program and the US departure from Afghanistan.

India sees Iran as an important energy supplier and is not eager to enter into an international effort to put pressure on the Iranians, he explained.

The difference between US and Indian interests on Iran "is likely to dog the relationship" and enter into bilateral and multilateral dealings, he said, adding that the president will also have to address Indian concerns over rising Pakistani influence in Afghanistan following a messy US withdrawal.

Markey said he sees opportunities for improved US-India relations following the upcoming leadership change in India.

"The opportunity in US-India relations is really a long-term one," he says, adding that the US president must not allow near-term irritants to get in the way.

Tough times in the US-China iPad smuggling game

Early on the morning of March 16, Wong Tat joined a line of about 100 people waiting for the launch of the new iPad in a chilly rain outside an Apple store on the outskirts of San Francisco.

When the doors opened, he was among the first to buy his quota of two iPads -- the maximum Apple Inc allows per person. Then, sporting a bright red cap for easy identification, Wong began to direct a stream of people toting their new tablets to a silver Mercedes SUV in the parking lot.

After about two dozen of the neatly boxed iPads had been put in the trunk, the SUV sped to a nearby run-down hair salon and massage parlour. There, the haul of the tablets costing about $12,000 was transferred to red, white and blue wholesale bags, which Wong then spirited out the back door into another car.

"They are headed for China," said Amy, a 30-something hair stylist at the salon who had joined in the pre-dawn operation outside the Apple store. She would not divulge her last name.

The iPads had embarked on the first leg of a journey that would ironically return them to the country where they were assembled in the first place. They may have been stuffed into suitcases and taken by passengers on a flight to China, or possibly flown by courier to the duty-free territory of Hong Kong and smuggled in students' backpacks across the border into mainland China.

Demand for Apple products, coupled with severe constraints on local supply, has created a thriving black market. A 16-gigabyte iPad bought in San Francisco for $499 -- about $540 including tax -- can be sold for more than $1,000 in Shanghai the next day. Apple sold more than 3 million of the devices -- which now come 4G-ready with a sharper "retina" display -- in its first weekend.

"You can pretty much determine when the first iPad arrives in China by monitoring the first flight out from the US on launch day," said an Apple employee who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the company.

Companies that make iPad accessories, such as cases and speakers, also hire people to wait in line on launch day, a source involved in that business said.

Accessory makers do not get an early peek at Apple products, so they have to scramble as soon as new iPads and iPhones hit the streets to reconfigure assembly lines and craft accessories that fit, he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

SERIOUS MONEY

People like Wong, dubbed "huangniu," or yellow-bull black-market operator in Chinese, have operated richly lucrative businesses. They pay people like Amy -- code-named "nurses" because the word "hush" sounds like "helpers" in Chinese -- $20 to $30 to stand in line and buy an iPad and iPhone for resale on the black market.

Factor in as little as $12 to ship each device via a Chinese shipping agent, and small wonder Wong and his ilk found it worth their while.

But it's getting tougher and costlier to smuggle the devices into China as the Chinese customs authority has told some US-based shipping agents not to accept orders of iPads, and warned travelers to declare their gadgets at the border and pay a 10 percent import duty on electronics.

Two small shipping companies that ship to China, BLZ Express and Global Courier Services, said they now refuse iPad shipments. Fremont, California-based BLZ posted a notice on its website this month saying: "Our clearing warehouses have stopped receiving iPad in accordance with a recent customs authority notification."

UPS and FedEx, the largest US package delivery companies, did not return messages for a comment.

In Shenzhen, across the border from Hong Kong, an online report from the state-owned Guangzhou Daily -- a mouthpiece of the local government -- said the newest iPad was among 20 taxable goods that should be declared by travelers.

"I stopped carrying iPad a few months ago because now the customs at Shenzhen can be pretty strict," said a Chinese student in Hong Kong, who declined to reveal his payoff for smuggling.

Furthermore, Apple now simultaneously launches devices in multiple countries, boosting availability and depressing black market prices.

"It's getting really hard to do this compared to previous years," said Amy, who wore a dyed red streak in her hair, as she trimmed a young man's "faux-hawk" hair style in the San Francisco area salon.

An electronics dealer in Oakland, California, said he struggled to break even this year, a far cry from previous iPad releases when he shipped upwards of 1,000 tablets and pocketed profits of $50 to $100 per device sent to his buyer in Hong Kong.

This year, he had no choice but to send 250 iPads via FedEx -- which quotes $110 to ship a 2-pound tablet to China -- hours after they hit US stores. But the same-day launch of the tablet in 10 territories, including Hong Kong, curtailed demand.

"This whole game is over," the dealer complained. "There's an overabundance of supply. The market's flooded."

He said he visited only a couple of stores in the San Francisco Bay area for tablets, with the Chinese black-market selling-price falling every day that passes.

Russia launches US telecommunications satellite

A Russian rocket carrying a US telecommunications satellite blasted off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan Sunday.

The Proton-M rocket carrying Intelsat-22 lifted off at 4.10 p.m., Russia's Roscosmos space agency said.

The satellite is equipped with 90 transponders to provide telecommunications services in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, Xinhua reported.

A special equipment is installed on the satellite that will aid the Australian defence force. The six-tonne satellite is expected to operate for 15 years.

The satellite was developed by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems for Intelsat Ltd., an international consortium that operates the world's most extensive satellite network, comprising over 50 satellites.

India, China in US firing line over Iran oil

The United States has not included India and China in a list of 11 nations that would be spared financial sanctions as they have significantly reduced purchases of Iranian crude oil.

The exempted countries are Japan and ten European nations - Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom, according to a State Department statement.

"The actions taken by these countries were not easy," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the US Congress Tuesday.

"They had to rethink their energy needs at a critical time for the world economy and quickly begin to find alternatives to Iranian oil, which many had been reliant on for their energy needs," she said.

"The United States is leading an unprecedented international coalition of partners that has brought to bear significant pressure on the Iranian regime to change its course," Clinton said.

Besides India, China, and South Korea, which do not figure on the list there are nine other major importers of Iranian that could face sanctions.

A State Department official who briefed reporters on the announcement would not list the countries, but said the US is in conversation with India, China, and South Korea on the issue.

"We look very much forward to hearing what kinds of messages those countries are able and willing to bring to us and to continue to pursue them in a serious and professional conversation," the official said.

Major oil importers could look at Japan as an example of how to wean off Iranian oil, he said. Japan has reduced its oil purchases from Iran by 15 percent to 22 percent in the last half of 2011, the official said.

Under the 2012 National Defence Authorization Act, President Barack Obama can impose financial sanctions on foreign banks that carry out financial transactions with Iran's central bank "for the purchase of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran."

However, under the law he can exempt nations from sanctions if he determines that a country with primary jurisdiction over the bank has "significantly reduced" its volume of crude oil purchases.

Heavy demand expected as iPad goes on sale Friday

The customary storefront crowds are expected to gather as Apple's latest iPad goes on sale Friday. Long lines are likely even though customers could have ordered the new tablet computer ahead of time for first-day home delivery.

The third version of Apple's iPad will be available in the US and nine other countries. The new model comes with a faster processor and a much sharper screen. It also boasts an improved camera, similar to that of the latest iPhone.

For many customers, visiting a store in person — instead of having one shipped — offers consumers a chance to mingle with die-hard Apple fans.

Two years after the debut of the first iPad, the device's launch has become the second-biggest "gadget event" of the year, after the annual iPhone release.
Although Apple's product releases have become a cultural phenomenon, the cult-like crowds that line up outside of its stores have made the company vulnerable to gentle ribbing from its competitors.

Television ads for Samsung's Galaxy line of phones routinely poke fun at people who are camped out in line for what appears to be an Apple product release.

The spots, in heavy rotation since December, portray Apple fans as clueless drones who think they're too cool to buy gadgets made by companies other than Apple. In one of the commercials, a bearded hipster says he could never buy a Samsung phone because he's "creative." A bystander observes: "Dude, you're a barista."

For some customers, standing in line will offer the only chance to get a new iPad on Friday. Apple quickly ran out of supplies it set aside for advance orders. The company was telling customers Thursday to expect a two- to three-week wait for orders placed through its online stores.

The new iPad is called just that: "the new iPad." Apple declined to give it a name like "iPad 3" or "iPad HD." That is consistent with its naming practice for iPods, MacBooks and iMacs, but a break with the way iPhone models are named.

In the US, the new iPad starts at $499, the same as the previous model, the iPad 2, when it debuted a year ago. The iPad 2 remains in stock, for $100 less.

Despite competition from cheaper tablet computers such as Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire, the iPad remains the most popular tablet computer. Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since its debut in 2010, including some 40 million last year. Researchers estimate that the iPad has more than 60 percent of the market for tablets.

The iPad's accomplishments have contributed to the company's success on Wall Street. Apple's stock touched $600 briefly for the first time on Thursday. Apple is the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalization of nearly $555 billion. It topped $500 billion for the first time in late February, a market value peak where few companies have ventured.

Apple's retail stores are likely to draw the biggest crowds because they usually have the largest launch-day supplies, but the tablet will also be sold at Best Buy, Radio Shack, Sam's Club, Target and Walmart.

AT&T and Verizon Wireless will also sell iPads, but only models with built-in cellular broadband modems. Those models use the companies' latest high-speed wireless networks, based on so-called "4G LTE" technology. They'll be the first Apple devices with that capability built in.

The cellular-capable models cost $130 more than Wi-Fi-only versions. There's a separate monthly data fee, but none of the long-term contract requirements typical with phones. The priciest iPad goes for $829; it comes with cellular access and four times the storage capacity of the basic, $499 model.

Apart from the US, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the device goes on sale the same day in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

A week later, another 25 countries will get the device, altogether making for an unusually fast product roll-out for Apple.

President Barack Obama declares 'America is coming back'

Raising campaign cash in Republican territory, President Barack Obama on Friday hailed a rebounding economy and accused Republicans of banking on voters having "amnesia" about the steps that led to a brutal economic collapse.

"The recovery is accelerating. America is coming back," Obama told 600 supporters at a Texas fundraiser.

Bidding for re-election, Obama bounded between a rally-style event in a sprawling Rolls-Royce manufacturing plant south of Richmond, Va, to a pair of Houston fundraisers. Framing the trip: a new monthly jobs report showing employers 227,000 jobs in February, the latest sign that the economy is headed in the right direction.

Every month's jobs report is seen as a barometer of the economy and an important factor in the presidential race. The unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent, the result of more Americans looking for work as job growth takes hold month by month.

The jobs report and split loyalties among Republican voters assessing Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and the rest of the GOP field give Obama's team renewed confidence that the path he has forged could help him win re-election and rebuild the economy. But privately, his advisers know that outside factors in the United States and abroad — from high gasoline prices to instability in the Middle East — could still derail his political and economic ambitions in the months leading to the fall election.

Pointing at Republicans, Obama said: "They think you have amnesia. They think you've forgotten how we got into this mess."

He spoke at Union Station at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, with tickets starting at USD 500 per person.

Defending his health care law, Obama said preventive care for women was now covered, including "checkups, mammograms, birth control. We fought for this because the top doctors and medical experts in the country said this kind of preventive care saves women's lives," he said, arguing too that it saves money.

Obama's policy on access to contraception has faced criticism from Republicans and religious groups, who said the mandate that birth control be covered by insurance, even for employers whose faiths forbid contraception, was a violation of the Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.

"So when you see politicians who are trying to take us back to the days when this care was more expensive and harder to get for women — and I know you're seeing some of that here in Texas — you just remember we can't let them get away with it," Obama said. "We fought for this change. We're going to protect this change."

Both in Houston and on the factory floor in Virginia, the president cautioned that too many Americans still long for work. But he said the nation's economy had made progress because of difficult decisions he made, including rescuing US automakers.

"We're obviously still in the midst of a lot of struggles for a lot of people but the trend lines are good," Obama said at the home of Tony Chase, a businessman and University of Houston law professor. Seventy people paid USD 35,800 each to attend the dinner.

Romney, campaigning in Jackson, Miss., took a different view: The unemployment rate remains above 8 percent. "This president has not succeeded; this president has failed — and that's the reason we're going to get rid of him in 2012," Romney said.

Obama was stocking up on campaign cash as Republicans appear locked in a primary process that may not be settled for months.

Republican Gov Robert McDonnell of Virginia, who joined Obama at the factory and has been talked about as a potential vice presidential candidate, said he was heartened by Obama's recognition of the innovative Virginia plant. "When the president is right, I'm going to commend him and say he's doing things right," he said.

"If he really wants to get Americans back to work, he needs to look at cutting the taxes and the bureaucracy and the regulatory burden on American business," McDonnell said.

Yet every strong month of hiring undermines arguments from Republicans that Obama has failed to deliver on promises to pull the economy out of recession. Since the beginning of December, the country has added 734,000 jobs, the strongest three months of pure job growth since the Great Recession.

Obama has highlighted the U.S. economy's addition of 429,000 manufacturing jobs during the past two years, touring factories in Wisconsin, Washington state and North Carolina in recent weeks. The United States lost 2.2 million manufacturing jobs in the two years before that.

Political calculations are not far from the surface in these trips — Virginia is expected to be a major election battleground later this year, and the Houston fundraisers added to the president's campaign bankroll. Though the end of January, Obama's campaign and the Democratic Party have raised about USD 250 million.

In Virginia, Obama promoted a $1 billion plan to create a network of up to 15 regional institutes to create partnerships among private industry, universities and community colleges and government. He also announced a $45 million pilot program that would show the type of potential collaboration among academia and industry.

In Texas, Obama was raising campaign cash among supporters who live in a reliably Republican state. Jimmy Carter, in 1976, was the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Texas, but changing demographics and an influx in Hispanic voters have given Democrats hopes of competing in the state beyond the 2012 elections.

US House brings resolution on religious freedom in Gujarat

A Congressional resolution urging Gujarat government to restore religious freedom in the state has been introduced in the US House of Representatives on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of communal riots.

The non-binding resolution (H Res 569) "recognising the 10th anniversary of the tragic communal violence in Gujarat" was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Keith Ellison, early this week.

Unlike most of such resolutions, it has no co-sponsors. The resolution has been sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee for necessary action.

Recognising the suffering of the people affected by the 2002 violence in Gujarat, including those who lost their lives in the Godhra train fire; the resolution shares the opinion of the US Department of State that the Gujarat government has not adequately pursued justice for the victims of the 2002 violence.

Expressing concern over reports from journalists and human rights groups about alleged complicity of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 violence; the resolution commends the US Government for denying a visa to Modi in 2005 on the grounds of a religious freedom violation under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), in a statement welcomed the introduction of the Congressional resolution.

"Congressman Ellison's resolution is an important effort to memorialise all those who were killed in the horrific sectarian violence of Gujarat in 2002," said Shaheen Khateeb, IAMC president.

"It is an opportunity to renew our pledge to continue the struggle for justice and reparation for the victims and to combat the discrimination and the economic hardships that plague minorities in Gujarat," he added.

In a statement, IAMC urged Indian American community to call upon their local Congressional representatives and urge them to become a co-sponsor of the House Resolution.

US draws up ‘secret charges’ against Assange

In what can be seen as more trouble brewing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, US prosecutors have drawn up ‘secret charges’ against him, a confidential email quoted by Australian media said.

US-based global intelligence company Stratfor is said to be behind the email.

Sydney Morning Herald has quoted an internal communication between Stratfor analysts and vice-president of intelligence Fred Burton in which Burton said: “We have a sealed indictment on Assange.”

The newspaper also said that the information also had a request ‘to protect it and not publish’, including that the vice-president of intelligence Fred Burton had secure binding with the US intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Julian Assange, the Australian publisher and founder of WikiLeaks, is currently awaiting Britain’s Supreme Court verdict on his appeal against extradition to Sweden on allegations of sexual molestation.

He has denied allegations and claims that they are politically motivated.

Assange's lawyer Jennifer Robinson said, “Irrespective of what happens now we have confirmation that there is a sealed indictment, that we could be seeing an extradition request from the US irrespective of the outcome.”

She also said, “We will not permit, and we will not tolerate Assange’s transfer to the US, to face charges that could potentially land him in prison, potentially for decades."

"It is time the Australian government and the Australian people start asking questions. He is an Australian citizen and he deserves our protection,” she added.

FBI Foils Suicide Bomb Plot on U.S. Capitol

A 29-year-old Moroccan man who believed he was working with al Qaeda was arrested on Friday near the US Capitol as he was planning to detonate what he thought was a suicide vest that undercover operatives gave him, officials said.

Amine El Khalifi of Alexandria, Virginia, was taken into custody with a gun that didn't work and inert explosives, according to a counterterrorism official. He arrived near the Capitol in a van with the two undercover operatives, and walked toward the building, according to court papers. He was arrested before he left the parking garage.

El Khalifi made a brief appearance on Friday afternoon in federal court in Alexandria, where a judge set a bail hearing for Wednesday. After his arrest, FBI agents raided a red brick rambler home in Arlington, Virginia. A police car blocked the entrance.

A criminal complaint charges him with knowingly and unlawfully attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property that is owned and used by the United States. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. El Khalifi, who was under constant surveillance, expressed interest in killing at least 30 people and considered targeting a building in Alexandria and a restaurant, synagogue and a place where military personnel gather in Washington before he settled on the Capitol after canvassing that area a couple of times, the counterterrorism official said.

During the investigation, El Khalifi went with undercover operatives in January to a quarry in West Virginia to practice detonating explosives, according to court documents.

He believed he was working with an al Qaeda operative on the plot, according to an affidavit.

El Khalifi came to the US when he was 16 years old and is unemployed and not believed to be associated with al Qaeda. He had been under investigation for about a year and had overstayed his visitor visa, which expired in 1999, making him in the country illegally, according to court documents.

He told acquaintances in January 2011 that he agreed the "war on terrorism" was a "war on Muslims" and that they needed to be ready for war, the affidavit said.

Before settling on a plot to conduct a suicide bombing in the Capitol, El Khalifi considered blowing up an office building in Alexandria, where military officials worked and a restaurant in Washington to target military officials who gathered there. He even purchased supplies that included nails for the operation, according to the affidavit.

Later, when he settled on bombing the Capitol, El Khalifi asked his associates for more explosives that could be detonated by dialling a cell phone number. In January, he unknowingly told authorities he wanted to know if an explosion would be large enough to destroy an entire building.

El Khalifi met with an undercover law enforcement officer, who gave him an automatic weapon that didn't work. El Khalifi carried the firearm around the room, practiced pulling the trigger and looking at himself in the mirror.

A former landlord in Arlington said he believed El Khalifi was suspicious and called police a year and a half ago.

Frank Dynda said when he told El Khalifi to leave, the suspect said he had a right to stay and threatened to beat up Dynda. The former landlord said he thought El Khalifi was making bombs, but police told him to leave the man alone. Dynda had El Khalifi evicted in 2010.

El Khalifi had at least one man staying with him and claimed he was running a luggage business from the apartment, Dynda said, doubting that was true because he never saw any bags.

"I reported to police I think he's making bombs," Dynda said. "I was ready to get my shotgun and run him out of the building, but that would have been a lot of trouble."

Two people briefed on the matter told a news agency the FBI has had him under surveillance around the clock for several weeks. They spoke on a condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly. Dar al-Hijrah Mosque imam Johari Abdul-Malik, who along with other Muslim leaders meets regularly with the FBI, said he was contacted by an agency official and told that Khalifi was not someone he needed to worry about.

He said the official told him that Khalifi was "not a regular at your mosque or any mosque in the area”.

He said he offered to supply the FBI with surveillance video of the mosque in Arlington in case it helped with their investigation but was told that was it not necessary.

The official said, Police are close to arresting one of El Khalifi's associates on charges unrelated to the terror conspiracy, the counterterrorism official said. The associate was said to also be a Moroccan, living here illegally. Police are investigating others El Khalifi associated with, but not because they believe the associates were part of a terror conspiracy.

LeT founder Hafiz Saeed's presence in Pak rally concerns US

The US has expressed its concern over the presence of terrorist leaders, including LeT founder Hafiz Saeed who have been slapped sanctions by the United Nations, at a public rally in Pakistan early this week.

In a statement, the US State Department reminded Pakistan of its obligation to uphold and implement the UN Security Council resolution in this regard.

Notably, Pakistan this January joined the UN Security Council as its non-permanent member for a two year term.

"The US government is concerned about the recent public appearances of Jamaat-ud-Dawa leader Hafiz Saeed, including at a recent rally in Karachi," the State Department said.

Lashkar-e-Toiba and its front group Jamaat-ud-Dawa are internationally sanctioned because of their associations with al Qaeda, the State Department said.

"We have and continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to uphold its obligations in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1267/1989," it said.

"That resolution calls for all countries to freeze assets of sanctioned groups, prevent the transfer of arms to them, and prevent sanctioned individuals from entering or transiting their territories," it added.

Relative says bin Laden wanted his kids to avoid terrorism

Osama Bin Laden wanted his children to be educated in Western universities and live peacefully rather than embrace terrorism, a close relative has claimed.

According to Zakaria al-Sadah, whose sister Amal was the fifth wife of the slain al Qaeda leader, "Bin Laden told his own children and grandchildren, 'Go to Europe and America and get a good education."

Sadah told, bin Laden was adamant that his children "should not follow him down the road to jihad".

Sadah has recently been reunited with his sister for the first time since she was shot in the knee when US Navy Seals killed Bin Laden at his compound in the Pakistan garrison city of Abbottabad last May.

Sadah said the three wives and nine children who were in the compound have been held for months in a three-room flat in Islamabad guarded by Pakistan's ISI intelligence service.

Amal had told him that bin Laden had regrets about the impact on his family of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, which killed about 3,000 people and made him the world's most wanted terrorist.

He had advised his children to consider European and US universities, saying: "You have to study, live in peace and don't do what I am doing or what I have done.

" Bin Laden, who went to King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, had brothers at Harvard Law School, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and Tufts University, Boston.

Sadah, who fears his sister may be charged with crimes against Pakistan and never released, has given the newspaper the first photograph to be published of the children from the compound.

Cricketer Yuvraj posts bald-headed picture on twitter

Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who is undergoing treatment for lung cancer in the US, posted his latest bald-headed picture on twitter on Friday.

He wrote, “Finally the hair has gone ! But #livstrong #yuvstrong.”

The southpaw is in prayers of the country and many cricketers and doctors have lauded him for his mental strength and will to overcome odds.

Yuvraj has not played competitive cricket since November, when he took part in two of the three home Tests against the West Indies, missing India`s current tour of Australia.

Yuvraj was unavailable for the ongoing triangular one-day series in Australia and also opted out of the Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL), which starts in April.

UK snow chaos: Some India bound flights cancelled

Some flights to Mumbai scheduled to depart from London's Heathrow airport on Sunday night were among half of scheduled 1,300 flights cancelled as authorities grappled with the fallout of snow and icy conditions across transport links in Britain.

Conditions of several arterial roads were described as "treacherous", as tempers ran high at Heathrow when hundreds of flights to destinations in Europe, US, India and other countries were cancelled.

Trains were also delayed, and cars abandoned on clogged motorways.

According to information from Heathrow, the following India-bound flights last night were cancelled: 9W117 to Mumbai, AC6004 to Mumbai, UA9822 to Mumbai, VS9117 to Mumbai, IT002 to Delhi.

Other India bound flights last night were described as "scheduled".

Snow conditions also adversely affected flights from other airports in Britain.

Many people spent the night in cars when traffic grounded to a halt on roads as swathes of snow swamped Britain amidst severe warnings by the weather office.

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the arterial M25 and M40 motorways, with drivers forced to spend the night in their cars.

Authorities at the Heathrow airport cautioned that due to adverse weather across the UK and Europe, "Heathrow is operating a reduced flight schedule today.

"If you are travelling today or over the next couple of days, please check your flight’s status with your airline before setting out and allow extra time for your journey to the airport as the road and rail networks may be affected," a Heathrow statement said.

Drivers stranded in cars overnight described difficult conditions last morning as British officials struggled to reopen roads.

Road traffic was disrupted from Saturday evening as snow hit southern Scotland and parts of Wales before moving south-east through England.

Over 10,000 tonnes of salt were being spread on London roads to facilitate movement.

Heathrow's chief operating officer Normand Boivin said the decision to introduce a revised flight schedule taken to minimise disruption to passengers.

Similar disruptions in air traffic have been reported across Europe.

Flights from Rome and Amsterdam's Schiphol airports to UK destinations, and Saturday morning flights to Amsterdam from Birmingham, Manchester and Heathrow were cancelled or delayed. The British Airways said it would allow passengers scheduled to fly on Sunday to re-book for journeys between Monday and Thursday.

In many parts of Europe, temperatures have fallen as low as -30 C in some parts, and scores of people have died, including more than 100 in Ukraine.

Hina Rabbani Khar: 'Pak won’t tolerate unilateral US actions'

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has warned that Islamabad will not tolerate any further unilateral action by the US, like the raid that killed former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in his Abbotabad hideout.

"No unilateral action at any level, of any type. Like Abbottabad. Like what happened in Salala," Khar, as saying.

A Pakistani parliamentary committee is reviewing the troubled relationship with the United States amid outrage over a NATO raid in November that mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border at Salala.

Khar insisted that although the upcoming report would recognise the importance of a healthy relationship between both countries, it "will redefine what is uncompromisable for Pakistan”.

"It is the Parliament of Pakistan that must decide whether it is time for military action in one area or not," she said.

US forces had killed bin Laden in a raid in May in Abbottabad, home to Pakistan's top military academy, without giving any advance warning over fears that Pakistan might have stopped the raid or cautioned bin Laden.

Meanwhile, the US has expressed its deep concerns over links between Pakistan's premier spy agency the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) and some extremist organisations.

Although Washington avoided commenting on the BBC story on a leaked NATO report that linked Pakistan to the Afghan Taliban, Pentagon spokesperson Captain John F Kirby said: "We have long been concerned about ties between elements of the ISI and some extremist networks."

US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta "believes the safe havens in Pakistan remain a serious problem and need to be addressed by Pakistani authorities”.

FM Pranab Mukherjee: India won't cut Iran oil imports

India, which imports 12 percent of its oil from Iran, will not scale down its petroleum imports from Tehran despite US and European sanctions against the Islamic republic, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said.

"It is not possible for India to take any decision to reduce the imports from Iran drastically, because among the countries which can provide the requirement of the emerging economies, Iran is an important country amongst them," Mukherjee told.

Speaking at the end of a two-day visit aimed at wooing US investment, Mukherjee yesterday said: "Some other countries, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, the other Gulf countries they also contribute but Iran contributes substantially."

"We (India) imports 110 million tonnes of crude per year. We will not decrease imports from Iran. Iran is an important country for India despite US and European sanctions on Iran," the finance minister said.

India, the world's fourth-largest oil consumer, is Iran's second-biggest oil client after China.

The US and other Western sanctions have been imposed on Iran's economy over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme. US President Barack Obama added to those measures on December 31, last year when he signed into law additional sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and financial sector.

Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao last week said that India's purchase of oil from Iran has dropped slightly in last two years and is expected to drop further given the difficulties New Delhi might have in making payments through banks due to tough sanctions imposed against Iranian banks.

Rao had said India was in touch with the US Government and closely monitoring the developing situation concerning Iran, when asked about the pressure from the US that India needs to reduce its dependency on Iranian oil.

Hina Rabbani Khar: US should stop pushing Pakistan

Ties between Pakistan and the US are still on hold over a NATO cross-border air attack and Washington should not push Islamabad to go after militant groups including the Haqqani network, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said in an interview.

US urges South Korea to cut oil imports from Iran

A senior US official is urging South Korea to reduce its crude oil imports from Iran to put pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.

US State Department official Robert Einhorn on Tuesday also urged Seoul to "unwind" its financial dealings with Tehran's central bank.

South Korea restricts financial dealings with more than 200 groups and individuals with suspected links to Iran's nuclear program. But Seoul hasn't yet announced plans to cut oil purchases from Iran.

Einhorn told that Washington is sensitive to its allies' economic interests with Iran. But he says the world should pressure Iran into negotiating seriously over its nuclear program.

Iran says that program is for peaceful purposes.

The three Indian-American comedy group to visit India

The United States is sending a comedy group comprising of three Indian-Americans ona seven city tour of India to spread the message of religous tolerence among other things as part of its regular global cultural exchange programme, an official said on Friday.

"We are indeed sending an Indian-American comedy group.We are supporting a seven-city tour that they are making around India. They're called Make Chai, Not War, and this ispart of our regular global cultural exchange programme that we do around the world," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, told reporters.

Beginning January 4, the three Indian Americans, Rajiv Satyal, Azhar Usman and Hari Kondabolu, would travel to Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Patna and Ranchi.

"The reason we decided to support this tour is because,among the things that they are known for is their talk about religious tolerance, about the importance of breaking down prejudices and about the positive experiences they had growing up as Indian-Americans in the United States," Nuland said inresponse to a question.

"In addition to doing shows, they'll also be holding audience discussions on these issues of religious tolerance,and doing workshops and having some interviews with the press," Nuland said adding that the seven city tour costs about USD 100,000; of which the US Embassy in New Delhi is supporting them with a grant of USD 88,000.

Satyal and Usman, who created "Make Chai Not War", say that their comedy is not based on making fun of any one's religious beliefs.

Instead, their jokes and stories are mostly self-deprecating and introspective.

"I am a believing, practicing Muslim," Usman says in a press release.

"This, to me, means that I won't do sacrilegious,blasphemous, or heretical material.

I will however, make fun of human stupidity,narrow-mindedness, and religious fundamentalism."

Usman believes there is an important and qualitative difference between jokes that disrespect deities, teachings,ideas, beliefs, creeds, the ologies, sacred symbols, or other profound aspects of religion itself, versus jokes about humanfrailties, idiosyncrasies, and moral failures, which are allfair game.

"There would be a lot less trouble in the world if people could learn to not take themselves so seriously, if we could learn to assume the best about each other," Satyal says. "Our show is meant to help people loosen up a bit. Wehave fun with all religions, including our own. We try to begood-natured, not mean-spirited," he added.

‘Sexual assaults rise at US military academies’

The number of sexual assaults reported at the country's prestigious military academies rose sharply for the second year in a row, according to a Pentagon report issued on Wednesday.

A total of 65 sexual assault cases were reported at the three academies in 2010-11 compared to 41 reports in the previous academic year, the report said.

The rise comes amid extensive efforts by the academies for the Army, Navy and Air Force to prevent sexual assaults and to raise awareness of the problem.

The Pentagon said it was unclear why the number of reported sexual assaults rose and that it was possible that due to recent initiatives, more victims were coming forward to notify authorities.

"The Department does not have the ability to conclusively identify the reasons for this increase in reporting behavior," said the report.

"However, in prior years' assessments, the Department identified steps the academies could take to encourage more victims to report. Some of the increased reporting of sexual assault may be attributed to these efforts as well as many other factors," it said.

The 41 reported sexual assaults reported at the academies in 2009-2010 marked a 64 percent increase from the previous academic period, according to Pentagon documents.

Today's report said all the academies were complying with strict Defense Department rules on preventing sexual assaults and in some cases surpassed requirements with innovative programs to try to address the problem.

"When service members report sexual assaults, the Department is better positioned to provide resources to victims and hold those who commit sexual assault accountable, as appropriate," the report said.

The report also announced a new policy that will allow a cadet who files a report of sexual assault to be transferred promptly.

US: Indian American launches a programme for teaching Hindi

Though originally aimed at teaching Hindi to Indian children in the US, an Indian American has launched a virtual tutoring portal for teaching various academic levels as well as 18 languages.

TheETutor.com, an educational online tutoring company, started by Harry Aurora, CEO, and Preeti Aurora, managing director, was launched by Nassau county executive, Edward P. Mangano, at a function in Long Island, New York last week.

Describing the state-of-art virtual portal as a revolution in learning, Aurora said the students participate in one-on-one tutoring led by superb tutors from the comfort of their home.

TheETutor.com provides help with all subjects for Kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) besides 18 languages including Spanish, French, German, Mandarin and Italian.

Hicksville-based TheETutor.com, was initially established with the mission of teaching Hindi and other Indian languages to Indian American children with the goal of preserving their culture and heritage, Aurora said.

However, in the development phase over the past year, Aurora and his team realised that there was a demand for other languages and academic subjects.

Aurora said his motto: 'The future is here!' signifies that TheETutor has the technological advancements to teach their students through a virtual medium.

The technology includes an embedded whiteboard, built-in video and voice chat, image and file-sharing and even a feature to record the tutoring session.

The ETutor has nearly 100 qualified tutors on board ranging from college students to PhDs who are certified in various subjects. The fees range from $35 to $100 per lesson depending on the subject grade and/or language.

'What we offer will be most welcome in remote and far-flung areas where people would have only dreamt of tutoring for their children,' said Aurora