1)U.S. court throws out visa fraud case against Devyani
A U.S. judge has thrown out the visa fraud case against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, ruling that she had full diplomatic immunity.In her 14-page order on Wednesday, District Judge Shira Scheindlin said “it is undisputed” that the diplomat acquired full diplomatic immunity at 5.47 p.m. on January 8 after the U.S. State Department approved her accreditation as counsellor to India’s mission to the United Nations. Ms. Khobragade, who was Deputy Consul-General in New York at the time of arrest, had immunity until she left for India on January 9 evening and so the prosecutors could not proceed with the indictment, the judge said.The ruling, however, left open the possibility of prosecutors bringing a new indictment against Ms. Khobragade, and they “intend to proceed accordingly,” said James Margolin, spokesman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Nor did the judge bar the prosecution from bringing new charges in future, stemming from allegations that she made a false statement to the U.S. government in connection with a visa application of her domestic help Sangeeta Richard— PTIIndia welcomes rulingSandeep Dikshit writes from New Delhi:India welcomed the U.S. court decision to dismiss the case, noting, however, that its order had not taken into account some aspects of the case that led to a cooling off of bilateral ties for three months.
2)Saif charged
The Esplanade court here on Wednesday framed charges against actor Saif Ali Khan and his two friends for allegedly assaulting a businessman two years ago.
3)In Mona Lisa’s smile, U.S. historian sees a feminist
Mona Lisa.—Photo: afp
It’s taken him 12 years, but an amateur art historian from Texas reckons he’s solved the mystery of the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile, five centuries after it was immortalised by Leonardo da Vinci.In a just-published book, “The Lady Speaks: Uncovering the Secrets of the Mona Lisa,” William Varvel argues that La Gioconda was a 16th-century feminist who favoured a greater role for women in the Catholic church.“La Gioconda was trying to get people to see that the New Jerusalem would be here as soon as you recognise women’s theological rights,” Mr. Varvel, 53, a former mathematics professor, told AFP in a telephone interview.“La Gioconda may be a grand statement for women’s rights,” he added.His theory joins many others — some serious, others fanciful — surrounding what is perhaps the world’s most famous painting, which draws legions of tourists every day to the Louvre museum in Paris.History remembers the Mona Lisa as Lisa del Giocondo, a mother of five born into an aristocratic Florentine family whose husband, a cloth and silk merchant, commissioned the portrait.Da Vinci, who had already painted The Last Supper for a Dominican convent, toiled on the oil-on-poplar painting from 1503 to 1506 and perhaps several years after.In his 180-page book that’s not always an easy read, Mr. Varvel explains that, in the course of his career, Da Vinci had painted “each and every verse” of the final chapter of the Old Testament’s book of Zechariah, which anticipates the rise of an ideal society within a New Jerusalem.He did so, Mr. Varvel contends, “in order to state that women’s rights to the priesthood should be recognised.”
4)CBI registers case against NSEL promoter Jignesh Shah
The Central Bureau of Investigation, on Thursday, registered a case against top functionaries of the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) and the Projects and Equipment Corporation (PEC) for allegedly causing a loss of Rs.120 crore to the public-sector unit on the pretext of investments through the exchange.Searches were carried out at four places in Mumbai, two in Karnal and nine places in Delhi. Premises of the NSEL and PEC officials were also searched, following registration of the FIR under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.Among those named are NSEL promoter Jignesh Shah, former NSEL Chief Executive Officer Anjani Sinha and director Joseph Massey besides the then Chief General Manager and the former General Manager of public-sector unit PEC, said a CBI official. “The case of cheating, forgery, conspiracy and corruption has been registered on allegations of criminal conspiracy to cheat the public-sector unit by floating fraudulent paired contracts for trading of agro commodities on NSEL platform without actually undertaking any genuine trade and in the process, causing losses to the exchequer. In this case, NSEL had approached PEC offering to trade in commodities,” said the official.Operations of the NSEL promoted by Jignesh Shah-headed Financial Technologies India Limited was suspended last July after it failed to clear dues of about Rs.5,600 crore to 13,000 big and small investors. Investigations have revealed that NSEL purportedly claimed to have its own designated warehouses where the listed commodities for sale by producers were supposed to be deposited in advance, in lieu of which the exchange would issue scanned ‘warehouse receipts’.Under a contract, the producer would sell commodity to the buyer through transfer of the ‘warehouse receipt’ in favour of the buyer against simultaneous delivery of funds, which would usually be realised the same day. And then, under a separate contract, the investor would sell the purchased commodity to the second-tier investor.However, there was a gestation period for the effective exchange of ‘warehouse receipts’ and the payment of due funds by the second-tier buyer/investor. The crisis befell after 24 buyers and their clients defaulted on payment of due to the exchange. When the first-tier investors made enquiries, they discovered that the exchange allegedly had virtually no designated warehouses or any backup in terms of actual commodity stock that could be liquidated as recovery against the investments.
5)Infosys stock plunges following muted outlook
Spooked by Infosys’ muted guidance for the current fiscal, IT major Infosys saw its shares plunge by 8.59 per cent on the BSE on Thursday. The shares plunged by about 12 per cent but recovered in the second-half before closing at Rs.3357.5. The markets were reacting to Infosys Executive Chairman N. R. Narayana Murthy’s announcement at an investor meet that the company was projected to grow at the lower end of its sales outlook at 11.5 per cent, months after the company had revised its growth guidance from 9-10 per cent to 11.5-12 per cent. TCS stocks also closed 1.16 per cent lower than Wednesday, while Wipro slid by 0.52 per cent.On Wednesday, Mr. Murthy had spoken about his displeasure with the performance of the company, something he has been reiterating at recent investor meets. “We are not very happy with our performance over the past two years. In FY 2012-13, our growth rate was 5.8 per cent compared to 11 per cent in the Indian software industry. During the current year, we expect it to be around 11.5 per cent, compared to Nasscom’s projection of 13 per cent.” The decline in operating margins was another cause for concern, which had slid from 29.11 per cent in FY 11 to around 23.5 per cent in the current year, he added.Analysts feel that the markets may have perhaps overreacted or reacted aggressively to Mr. Murthy’s announcement to investors. Senior market analyst A. K. Prabhakar feels that the management merely may have wanted to indicate to investors that they shouldn’t have overtly high expectations, but the market has overreacted to this. “In the past 2.5 years, Infosys has not been able to deliver; but this has been improving since Narayana Murthy’s return. But I am positive on the company as I believe there is a churn, with changes in hiring and approach to business and recent exits.”Ankita Somani of market research firm Angel Broking said that she preferred to remain cautious on the company in the near-term, mainly because of company-specific issues, including attrition at the top. “There is certainly change at the company, and over the past two quarters it has been showing signs of improving, but the next two quarters will be crucial and to watch out for”.‘The decline in operating margins is a cause for concern’
6)Bharti Airtel raises over Rs.2,400 cr
Bharti Airtel has raised CHF350 million (Rs.2,453.20 crore) through the issue of bonds in the Swiss market, mopping up funds for the third time in this fiscal from overseas.The proceeds will be used to refiance its existing debt.The company said in a statement that “its wholly-owned subsidiary Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV has successfully priced CHF350 million 3 per cent guaranteed senior notes due March 31, 2020.”The bonds have been issued for a six-year period at an interest rate of 3 per cent.“The notes have been priced at 230 basis points over six year CHF mid-swaps with a fixed coupon of 3 per cent per annum to yield 2.98 per cent,” the company said in a statement.
7)Hero launches new bike Splendor iSmart
Hero MotoCorp, on Thursday, launched its all-new Splendor iSmart bike, equipped with stop-and-start i3S technology, priced at Rs.47,250 (ex-showroom Delhi). Splendor iSmart aims at further consolidating the company’s leadership position in the 100cc segment, Hero MotoCorp said in a statement. The i3S technology automatically shuts the engine when idling, and turns it on when needed by pressing the clutch.The company also unveiled the new 250cc sports bike HX 250R and hybrid scooter Leap along with new scooters such as the 150cc Zir in two variants, 125cc Dare and the 110cc scooter Dash.
8)RBI hikes trade transaction limit
The Reserve Bank of India, on Thursday, hiked the trade related remittance limit from Rs.2 lakh to Rs.5 lakh per transaction, amid increased number of transactions handled by exchange houses.
“On a review of the permitted transactions under the rupee drawing arrangements (RDAs), it has been decided to increase the limit of trade transactions from the existing Rs.2 lakh to Rs.5 lakh per transaction, with immediate effect,” the RBI said.
For this necessary changes have been made in memorandum of instructions for opening and maintenance of rupee/foreign currency Vostro accounts of non-resident exchange houses.
9)Top four seeds enter semifinals
The top four seeds made it to the singles semifinals of the MCC-S.R. Subramaniam Memorial ITF Futures tennis championship here on Thursday. Sanam Singh will take on Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan while Sriram Balaji will meet top-seeded Spaniard Enrique Lopez-Perez.In the quarterfinals, Balaji and Lopez-Perez had to overcome second set blips against R. Ramkumar and V.M. Ranjeet respectively while Jeevan and Sanam comfortably beat Andre Gaspar Murta and Vijayant Malik.Sanam must have expected much more of a challenge than a 6-4, 6-4 scoreline.Malik, who puts a premium on keeping the ball in and moving his opponents around rather than going for extravagant shots, proved not much of a match. He was hurried into his shots and denied the time to look for angles and place the ball. On his part, Sanam’s backhand winners were particularly impressive.The Ramkumar-Balaji match was erratic at best. There were five breaks of serve in the first set, with Balaji edging it 6-4. A solitary break in the second game was enough as Ramkumar, playing much better, took the second set 6-3.While he would have hoped to carry the momentum into the third, in a complete reversal of fortunes, he found himself 0-5 down.A contentious line call in the fourth game didn’t help matters as Ramkumar, already bogged down by a low first serve percentage, committed a slew of unforced errors.While Balaji too tightened a bit before serving it out, he showed much more composure than his 19-year-old opponent.The doubles final on Friday will be an all-Indian affair, with Jeevan and Vishnu Vardhan taking on Balaji and Ranjeet.The results:Singles: Quarterfinals: Sriram Balaji bt R. Ramkumar 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Enrique Lopez-Perez bt V.M. Ranjeet 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-4; Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt Andre Gaspar Murta 6-3, 6-4; Sanam Singh bt Vijayant Malik 6-4, 6-4.Doubles: Semifinals: Jeevan & Vishnu Vardhan bt R. Arun Prakash & Ramkumar 6-4, 3-6, 10-6; Sriram Balaji & Ranjeet bt Jannis Liniger (Sui) & Vijay Sundar Prashanth 6-4, 7-5.
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