Iranian Nuclear Scientist Executed For Spying For US: Judiciary

 Iran executed Shahram Amiri convicted of handing over “top secret” information to the US. (File Photo)

TEHRAN: 

Iran has executed a nuclear scientist convicted of handing over “confidential and vital” information to the United States, a judicial spokesman said today.

“Shahram Amiri was hanged for revealing the country’s top secrets to the enemy,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeie was quoted as saying by the Mizan Online news site.

Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia in June 2009 and resurfaced a year later in the United States. Iranian officials welcomed him back to Iran but there has been little information released since.

Amiri said after returning to the Islamic republic that he had been held in the US for more than a year after being “kidnapped” at gunpoint by two Farsi-speaking CIA agents in the Saudi city of Medina.

Ejeie said the US had been “outsmarted” by Iran’s intelligence services.

“American intelligence services thought Iran has no knowledge of his transfer to Saudi Arabia and what he was doing but we knew all of it and were monitoring,” he was quoted by state television as saying.

Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties since 1980, when students stormed the American embassy following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“This person, having access to confidential and highly confidential information of the regime, had established a connection to our number one enemy, America, and had provided the enemy with Iran’s confidential and vital information,” Ejeie said

“Shram Amiri was tried in accordance with law and in the presence of his lawyer. He appealed his death sentence based on judicial process. The Supreme Court… confirmed it after meticulous reviews,” he added.

The spokesman dispelled a “rumour” by Amiri’s family that he had received a 10-year prison term.

Iran last year signed a landmark deal with world powers, including the US, to place curbs on its controversial nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Shahram Amiri was hanged for revealing Irans top secrets to the US
2. Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia in June 2009 and resurfaced in the US
3. Iranian officials claim they welcomed him back but knew of his activities

Police arrest Amit Shah’s fake ‘nephew’

INDORE: Ujjain police have arrested the man who duped associate of Ujjain South MLA of Rs 65,000 and a smartphone by posing as nephew of BJP president Amit Shah.

Viraj Shah alias Yash Amin, a resident of Gandhinagar (Gujarat) was arrested for duping Naresh Sharma, an associate of BJP MLA Dr Mohan Yadav.

He was sent to police remand till August 12. Police found during interrogation of Yash that he had duped people in many states including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala and Maharashtra.

The team got a tip-off that he had boarded a bus to Indore. The police chased the bus and caught him near Petlawd. He claimed he started committing crimes after his girlfriend refused to marry him and married a man with his surname as Shah.

He changed his name from Yash Amin to Viraj Shah and started duping people. TNN

Yash’s house was traced to Gandhinagar, where his family claimed to have broken ties with him in 2012.

The team got a tip-off that he had boarded a bus to Indore. The police chased the bus and caught him near Petlawd. He claimed he started committing crimes after his girlfriend refused to marry him and married a man with his surname as Shah.

He changed his name from Yash Amin to Viraj Shah and started duping people. TNN

China’s air force flies combat patrol over disputed South China Sea

 

BEIJING: China’s air force sent bombers and fighter jets on “combat patrols” near contested islands in the South China Sea+ , in a move a senior colonel said was part of an effort to normalize such drills and respond to security threats.

The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the disputed waters after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled last month that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea.

The air force sent several H-6 bombers and Su-30 fighter jets to inspect the airspace around the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, Senior Colonel Shen Jinke of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The patrols included surveillance and refuelling aircraft, Xinhua said, although it did not say when they occurred.

“The Air Force is organizing normalized South China Sea combat patrols, practising tactics … increasing response capabilities to all kinds of security threats and safeguarding national sovereignty, security and maritime interests,” Shen said.

China has refused to recognize the ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague thatinvalidated its vast territorial claims+ in the South China Sea and did not take part in the proceedings brought by the Philippines+ .

A dispute over the shoal, 124 nautical miles northwest of the Philippines mainland, was one of Manila’s main reasons for bringing international legal action against China in 2013.

Beijing has reacted angrily to calls by Western countries and Japan for the decision to be adhered to and has released pictures of aircraft flying over the shoal since the ruling.

China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stoking tension through its military patrols in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.

China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have rival claims in the South China Sea.

The United States has conducted freedom of navigation patrols close to Chinese-held islands, to Beijing’s anger, while China has been bolstering its military presence there.

Pakistani Helicopter Crashes In Afghanistan, Occupants Feared Held By Taliban

 

 A Pakistani government helicopter crash-landed in eastern Afghanistan. (Represenatational Image)

ISLAMABAD:  A Pakistani government helicopter crash-landed in Taliban-held territory in neighbouring Afghanistan on Thursday and all passengers and crew are feared captured by the insurgents, officials said.

The helicopter went down in Logar province, close to the Afghan-Pakistan border – an increasingly lawless area since a two-year Pakistani military operation pushed many Taliban and allied fighters further into Afghanistan.

“Those detained by the Taliban are Pakistanis,” Sameem Saleh, spokesman for Logar’s governor, said. “The chopper was not shot but made the landing because of technical failure.”

A Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that a helicopter belong to the Punjab provincial government had gone down, saying the fate of the crew was not yet clear.

“The Afghan authorities have assured they will investigate and learn about the whereabouts of the helicopter and the passengers,” spokesman Nafees Zakaria said.

He said seven passengers were on board, six of them Pakistanis and one a Russian technician. The pilot was Pakistani.

The aircraft had permission to fly over Afghan air space on its way to Uzbekistan further north, he said.

Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif spoke with top US commander General John Nicholson on Thursday asking for the international military coalition’s help in recovering the Pakistani personnel, military spokesman Lt General Asim Bajwa, said in a tweet.

Hameed Khan, district governor of Azra district of Logar, said the helicopter landed in his border district, which lies across from Pakistan’s Kurram agency.

“They were detained by the Taliban,” Khan said.

A senior Pakistani military official said the Russian-made MI-17 transport helicopter was en route from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan to Uzbekistan for maintenance when it experienced technical failure and made an emergency landing.

He said there was no information about the occupants.

Other military officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said three of those aboard the helicopter were retired security officials.

Chinese Company Tests Giant Bus That Drives Over Cars

TEB-1 has a spacious passenger compartment measuring 72 feet long by 26 feet wide.

Every urban commuter laments the twice-a-day headache of traffic congestion and the often disappointing alternatives that mass transit offers.

A Chinese company has officially rolled out one potential solution: the TEB-1, or Transit Elevated Bus. The giant “flying” bus, as some have called it, straddles two lanes of traffic and stands nearly 16 feet tall so that it can pass over cars on the roadway below. While still a long way from mass production, the TEB-1 could one day alleviate major traffic woes in China and other countries with crowded metropolitan areas.

The concept of an elevated bus was first floated in 2010, and a model was debuted in May of this year, the New York Times reported. The company behind the project, TEB Technology, conducted a road test and opened its doors to prospective passengers in the Chinese city of Qinhuangdao on Tuesday, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The giant “flying” bus, as some have called the Transit Elevated Bus or TEB-1, straddles two lanes of traffic.

The Transit Elevated Bus piloted in China’s Hebei province rolls along a designated track, making it similar in some ways to a commuter train or tram — the key difference, of course, being that it runs on top of the existing roadway without the need to construct a separate overpass.

Images distributed by Chinese media show a spacious passenger compartment measuring 72 feet long by 26 feet wide, capable of holding up to 300 riders. Surprisingly, there are not very many seats. That would probably have to change should an American model ever come to fruition.

Indeed, it’s unclear whether the idea of an elevated bus could gain traction in the United States. The model piloted by TEB Technologies appears to clear midsize sedans with ease, but the large SUVs and trucks that clog U.S. roads may present a greater challenge.

What’s more, laying a track for the elevated bus on highways with few twists and turns is perhaps practical, but the crisscross pattern and narrow streets common in most cities may be more difficult.

The hulking bus maneuvering its way around Washington’s infamous traffic circles, for example, seems problematic.

Adie Tomer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, also sees roadblocks to bringing elevated buses to the United States. For one, they’re not particularly appealing visually, and Americans often aren’t keen on aesthetic changes. Also, laying miles of track and purchasing new buses means greater demand for infrastructure dollars that could be invested elsewhere.

“It’s a lot easier for [China] to strong-arm those kind of innovations through,” Tomer said. “We have a much more democratic process when it comes to infrastructure investment, and that will slow down how long it would take for this to take effect in the U.S.”

But don’t count the TEB-1 out just yet.

“The innovation itself certainly has potential,” Tomer added. “It’s naturally hard to get around the simple fact that it’s a physical piece of equipment that none of us have seen before, and I think that creates a natural reluctance to assume it can be viable.”

‘Pak Model Of Democracy’: Delhi’s Jibe As Rajnath Singh Returns

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has returned from his Islamabad visit (PTI)

NEW DELHI: 

Home Minister Rajnath singh’s speech in IsIamabad which delivered forceful messages on terrorism, was not broadcast by local media and Indian crews were not permitted to film it.

“This is the Pakistan model of demoracy,” retorted union minister Venkaiah Naidu in Delhi, where the Home Minister returned this evening from a tense two-day visit next door replete with rebuffs from Pakistan.

The Home Minister was attending a session of SAARC, which brings together eight South Asian countries, and he used his address to further India’s complaint of Pakistan inciting the recent unrest in Kashmir which has left at least 50 people dead in clashes that began with last month’s shooting of 22-year-old terrorist Burhan Wani by security forces.

“In no circumstances should terrorists be eulogised as martyrs” the Home Minister said, challenging Pakistan for lionizing Wani and calling protest marches against his killing. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has repeatedly expressed his regret about Wani’s death.

Later, his Pakistani counterpart Nisar Ali Khan said: “We have seen brute force against unarmed civilians. Shouldn’t suppress freedom struggle in the name of fight against terror.”

Sources in Delhi said “a blackout” of the speech is a misleading description and that conventionally, speeches at SAARC summits are not filmed, except for the opening remarks. But tension was a consistent theme.Mr singh and Mr khan did not shake hands,and neither of them attended a lunch for the SAARC visitors.Meanwhile, the home minister also briefed PM Narendra Modi on his Pakistan visit.

Mr Singh’s visit – the first by an Indian leader after Pakistani terrorists attacked the air force base in Pathankot, killing seven military personnel  – was important, Delhi had said, because it was for a regional multi-lateral summit and not bilateral talks with Pakistan at a time of highly strained relations. As Mr Singh landed in Islamabad, the Pakistani Prime Minister baited India with new provocative statements about “a freedom movement in Kashmir.”

Then, anti-India protests were allowed in Islamabad and other cities, featuring terrorists like Hizbul Mujahideen’s Syed Salahuddin and Hafiz Saeed, founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, who masterminded the deadly 26/11 attack on Mumbai in which 166 people were killed.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Rajnath Singh’s speech on terrorism was not broadcast by Pak media
2. Home Minister was attending a session of SAARC in Islamabad
3. His visit to Pak is the first by an Indian leader after Pathankot attack

Nitish Kumar Pings Finance Minister, Offers Special Session For GST

 

 Bihar’s Nitish Kumar phoned Arun Jaitley, offering to convene a special sitting to sign off GST

PATNA: 

The government has to really beat the clock to meet its deadline of implementing the Goods and Services Tax or GST in April next year.

The proposal for the GST, India’s biggest ever tax reform, was cleared by the Rajya Sabha yesterday, in what has been described as one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s biggest wins since he came to power. It’s guaranteed an easy passage in the Lok Sabha, where the government has an ample majority. Then, the GST must be cleared by at least 15 of the 29 states – the government today said it wants to get this accomplished within the next 30 days.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, usually not in league with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has said he’s ready to do his bit for the GST, which replaces a messy retinue of tariffs with a national sales tax, making it easier to do business.

The Bihar Assembly ended its monsoon session today, but Mr Kumar phoned Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, offering to convene a special sitting to sign off on the proposal. The Chief Minister has earlier said that the GST could add about 8,000 crores to Bihar’s revenue every year.

What parliament and then states are in the process of approving is an amendment to the constitution that gives the government new taxation powers. Then, separate legislation will be sent for review on the rate of the new GST, as well as its scope.

State governments widely support the GST because it will boost their share of taxes and make cross-border trade far smoother. Their representatives will collaborate with the Finance Minister on deciding the rate. Though an 18% rate has been proposed by the government’s own chief economic adviser, Finance Ministry officials say the tax is likely to be higher.  The main opposition Congress party has said it will campaign against the GST if it is not capped at 18%.

States that produce goods have been assured that they will be compensated for five years by the centre for the losses they will incur since the GST is applied on consumption.

Experts warn that the challenge of setting up a new IT system, training up tens of thousands of tax officials and briefing companies on the change could delay the GST launch considerably.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. GST is national sales tax, government wants to implement it in April
2. Tight deadline – at least 15 states have to clear the proposal
3. Bihar legislators to hold special GST session if needed: Chief Minister

Mukesh Ambani keeps salary capped at Rs 15 cr for 8th year

Mukesh Ambani (File photo)

 

NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries’ chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani kept his annual salary capped at Rs 15 crore for the eighth year in a row even as the remuneration of all executive directors on firm’s board rose.

Ambani, the richest Indian, has kept salary, perquisites and allowances and commission at Rs 15 crore since 2008-09, foregoing almost Rs 24 crore+ per annum.

“The Chairman and Managing Director’s compensation has been set at Rs 15 crore as against Rs 38.75 crore as approved, reflecting his desire to continue to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels,” RIL said in its annual report for 2015-16.

His remuneration+ for 2015-16 included Rs 4.16 crore as salary and another Rs 60 lakh by way of prequisites and allowances. He got retirement benefits of Rs 71 lakh and Rs 9.53 crore as commission on profit. While the base salary is the same as the previous year, the commission on profit has marginally risen from Rs 9.41 crore in 2014-15.

Ambani voluntarily capped his compensation at Rs 15 crore in October 2009 amid a debate over right-sizing of CEO salaries.

The salary cap continued even as all other executive directors saw their remunerations go up.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Reliance Industries’ Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani kept his annual salary capped at Rs 15 crore for the eighth year in a row
• Remuneration of all executive directors on firm’s board rose
• Ambani’s wife Nita Ambani, a non-executive director on the company’s board, earned Rs 6 lakh sitting fee and a commission of Rs 1.20 crore

 

Indian American’s start-up ‘Moon Express’ to launch first private mission to moon

WASHINGTON: In a first, the Federal Aviation Administration has given license to a private US company, co-founded by an Indian American, to launch a spacecraft and land on moon in 2017.
This breakthrough US policy decision provides authorisation to Moon Express for a maiden flight of its robotic spacecraft onto the Moon’s surface, the company said in a media release.

There have been no private space missions so far beyond Earth’s orbit and only state agencies have performed outer space missions.

“The sky is not the limit for Moon Express, it is the launchpad. Space travel is our only path forward to ensure our survival and create a limitless future for our children,” Naveen Jain, co-founder and chairman of Moon Express said.

“In the immediate future, we envision bringing precious resources, metals, and moon rocks back to earth,” he said.

The company was co-founded in 2010 by space visionary, Dr Bob Richards, Naveen Jain and serial entrepreneur and artificial intelligence and space technology guru, Dr Barney Pell, with the common vision to be at the forefront of commercial space exploration and innovation.

“The Moon Express 2017 mission approval is a landmark decision by the US government and a pathfinder for private sector commercial missions beyond the Earth’s orbit,” said Richards.

“We are now free to set sail as explorers to Earth’s eighth continent, the Moon, seeking new knowledge and resources to expand Earth’s economic sphere for the benefit of all humanity,” he added.

The federal interagency’s approval of the Moon Express 2017 lunar mission establishes an important precedent for the private sector to engage in peaceful space exploration, bringing with it monumental implications for the advancement of technology, science, research, and development, as well as commercial ventures that expand Earth’s economic sphere, the company said.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The decision provides authorisation to Moon Express for a maiden flight of its robotic spacecraft onto the Moon’s surface in 2017
• “Space travel is our only path forward to ensure our survival and create a limitless future for our children,” said Naveen Jain, the co-founder

 

Why Indians spend so much on gold? RBI to study

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has set up a committee to study Indian household financing pattern and why they spend large sum of money on gold+ .

The panel will look at various facets of household finance in India and to benchmark India’s position vis-a-vis both the peer and advanced countries, it said in a statement on Thursday.

The panel headed by Tarun Ramadorai, Professor of Financial Economics, University of Oxford will have representation from financial sector regulators, Sebi, Irdai, PFRDA apart from RBI.

It will consider “whether, how, and why the financial allocations of Indian households deviate from desirable financial allocation and behaviour (eg, the large household allocation to gold)”.

HIGHLIGHTS

• RBI has set up a panel to study why Indian households spend large sum of money on gold
• The panel will look at various facets of household finance in India
• It is expected to submit its report by end of July 2017