Celebrating 84 Years of 'Raman Effect'

India celebrated 84 years of ‘Raman Effect’ yesterday on 28th February to mark the achievement by Nobel laureate CV Raman. Seminars, lectures and symposiums were organized reportedly in Lucknow to commemorate this National Science Day.

Raman scattering or the Raman Effect is named after the great scientist of India, CV Raman, who first propounded the theory. It is the inelastic scattering of a photon. It was discovered by Raman and K S Krishnan in liquids and by Grigory Landsberg and Leonid Mandelstam in crystals. He eventually got the Nobel Prize for this.

In 1922, Raman published his work on the "Molecular Diffraction of Light," the first of a series of investigations with his collaborators that at last led to his discovery of the radiation effect on 28 February 1928 which is called ‘Raman Effect’.

Celebrating the occasion at the Regional Science City, BN Dhawan, former director, Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) presented an excellent speech. He wanted the students to follow the footsteps of the ancient Indian eminent scientists like Aryabhatta, Ramanujam, Sushrut and Charak.

He commended the legendary inventions and discoveries of these great scientists with the limited resources and scopes available then.

In Amity University the event was also celebrated to promote the scientific and innovative abilities of the students and teachers. 'Clean energy options and nuclear safety' was this year’s topic to be focused.

On this occasion, Prof Kripa Shankar presented his speech on renewable energy and energy efficiency and another learned Professor P K Seth orated on India’s prospect in Biotechnology.

Journalists heckled by TMC Cadres in Kolkata

In a shocking development today, two journalists from TV channels in Kolkata were assaulted by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters during the 'Bharat Bandh'.

The TMC supporters had attacked a zonal office of the CPI-M to protest against the support for the bandh call given by 11 trade unions in India. As the journalists tried to capture the event, the TMC hooligans went berserk and attacked them.

Two journalists of '24 Ghanta' and 'Star Ananda' had to bear the ire of the TMC supporters. Their camera and other equipments were smashed. They were badly beaten up, as the police remained mute spectators.

Star Ananda said that their journalist Partha Pratim Ghosh was injured in the attack. The incident occurred in Ganguly Bagan area of south Kolkata.

While the journalists across West Bengal and many parts of India, have condemned the attack on mediapersons, the CPI-M has also termed it "unprovoked". However, the Trinamool Congress alleged that the journalists first hurled abuses, resulting in retaliation by its activists.

TV footage clearly showed that the TMC cadres pushed the journalists to the ground and kicked them without mercy. Some other cadres tried to prevent the media from filming the incident.

WikiLeaks to publish Confidential Emails on Website

Whistleblower website WikiLeaks has announced to publish confidential emails from the global geopolitical analysis firm Stratfor, detailing everything of the company.

The company emails from July 2004 to December 2011 will be exposed on WikiLeaks on Monday. It will reveal Stratfor's "web of informers, pay-off structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods.

WikiLeaks said that the contents of more than five million confidential emails of the US-based intelligence firm in past seven years are being exposed on the anti-secrecy group site.

The documents have been analysed with the help of 25 publications around the world including Rolling Stone in the United States, L’Espresso in Italy and The Hindu in India.

However, it did not disclose how the emails were obtained by the site. But Stratfor acknowledged that its data severs were hacked in December by a group of hackers known as Anonymous.

WikiLeaks claimed that Stratfor has kept many documents of the group and its founder Julian Assange, who is now under house arrest in Britain in connection with allegations of sex crimes. The documents contain information about the US government's attack against WikiLeaks and Assange.

Cellcast India: This is 'my' television

Research shows that the majority of us are getting tired of ads. Because they are everywhere — on television, in newspapers and radio, across billboards, magazines, cars… they even pop up on the ATM screen as we wait for it to dispense our cash. At least one channel promises to offer ad-free television, MyTV, which was launched last month by Cellcast India, a subsidiary of Cellcast Plc.

But there is a caveat. As Ashutosh, chief operating officer-television, Cellcast India, points out, “It is an ad free channel which will integrate brands in the content. For us, TV is a platform just like the internet and IVR (interactive voice response). While we don’t have a commercial ad slot, we are open to sponsorships and branding.” Free-to-air MyTV promises another novel feature-it is interactive. Customer interaction will be through three platforms — television, mobile and internet (including social media platforms).

“The theme of the channel is simple: pay and participate,” says Ashutosh. The content offered by MyTV includes contests as well as informative shows. “The DNA of the channel is different as others don’t produce what we do,” adds Ashutosh. “The anchor on any show would ask the viewer to call up, and we can receive more than one call at a time.”

MyTV has been funded by Canaan Partners and Vertex Venture Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings. The company reportedly has an investment outlay of Rs 750 million for MyTV. Its distribution partner is BAG Network and it will be available across India’s western, eastern and northern regions. It aims to reach out to over 35 million analog and digital homes, including multiple DTH (direct-to-home) platforms in the first phase. According to the company, the channel has reached 15 million homes in about three weeks.

Cellcast India has been operating in India for over seven years now. It has worked on a series of interactive TV programmes and shows based on mobile subscription. Cellcast has a dozen game shows on some Hindi channels as well as a handful of regional channels. It also has IVR based shows and subscription-based astrology content.

Cellcast became famous with its late night reverse auction show Bid2Win (launched in India in 2006 and was broadcast every evening simultaneously across four of India’s leading cable channels — Sony, Sahara One, Zoom and Zee Punjabi); some other popular shows in its portfolio are — Gold Safe and Bhavishyaphal Sitaron Se Hal on Imagine TV; Cricket Howzatt on India TV and Insomnia Sona Mana Hai on Zee TV, among others. Most of its shows air late night and they make money through premium calls made to mobile interactive voice response systems.

Last year, Cellcast provided 4,000 hours of content across various television channels; it plans to increase this to 10,000 hours this year. It will start an online channel in the next two months. “For us, a viewer is an active partner; thus we hope that the interactivity that we offer will help us score high,” says Ashutosh.

Will SBI bailout Kingfisher Airlines?

The State Bank of India seems to help the troubled Kingfisher Airlines to overcome the cash crisis as various media reports said that the bank will extend a relief extend a relief package.

However, the Bank refused to confirm the reports. The report suggested that the SBI has decided to extend Rs 1650 crore relief package to the Kingfisher Airlines.

In order to help the crisis-hit Kingfisher Airlines, the bank decided to extend a new line of credit, which included 7 billion rupees in short-term working capital and 5 billion rupees in bank guarantees.

However, the government said that there is no plan to give a bailout to the private airline. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said that the government will not do the same for the Kingfisher airlines what are being done for Air India.

On the other hand, reports said that the Income Tax (I-T) department may defreeze the bank accounts of the airline after Kingfisher agreed to pay its dues partially.

The airlines has been asked to pay as much as Rs 53.8 crore for financial year 2011 and Rs 100 crore for financial year 2012 to the I-T department.

However, Kingfisher has paid Rs 21 crore till December 2011 and will pay Rs 130 crore TDS liability by FY 2012 end. It has been asked to pay Rs 43 crore service tax dues by March 2012.

The airline has cancelled 14 flights in Mumbai and four in Delhi on Wednesday. However, the operations in Kolkata resumed after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked the private carrier not to shut down the operation in the city.

Prioritize Value over Volume

Research has shown that multitasking results in mediocre outcomes. By putting into little attention on too many things, you fail to do anything well. However, the answer isn't single tasking either. 

Single tasking is far too slow to help you succeed in today's fast-paced world. Instead, identify the tasks that will create the most value and focus on those. By prioritizing value over volume and sharpening your focus on tasks that truly matter, you'll increase the quality of your work and, ultimately, the value you provide. What to do with all those tasks that didn't make the high-value list?

Put them on a "do later" list. If they continually fail to make it to the high-value list, ask yourself: Why do them at all?

New Telecom Policy -

The new telecom Policy was announced by the Communication and Information Ministry last Wednesday. The policy will be effective from April this year. This is the third time that India has announced a telecom Policy.

The first and second policies were announced in 1994 and 1999 respectively. The new telecom policy seems to have simplified licensing rules so as to bring transparency and to enhance consolidation.

An important requirement of the new policy is that Spectrum will have to be obtained separately. Communications Minister Kapil Sibal told that the new policy prescribes a single license for the entire country and also separates licenses from bandwidth.

With an intention to encourage consideration, the policy allows quick mergers with the resultant entities which have a market share within 35 percent. The earlier limit was 30 percent.

However, the merged entity cannot have more than 25 per cent of the assigned spectrum in a circle. Mr. Sibal also informed that the government is considering upon allowing mergers where the combined entities can hold up to 60% of market share.

The prescribed limit of spectrum has also increased from the current 6.2 MHz to 8 MHz across the country. For only Delhi and Mumbai, it has been further hiked to 10 MHz.

The spectrum pricing has not been finalized as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is yet to find a base price for the auction of 2G spectrum.

Google, Facebook exempted from Court Appearance

In a partial relief to the social networking giants Google and Facebook, the Delhi High Court on Thursday exempted the chiefs of the firms from making a personal appearance in the court over objectionable content case.

The heads of the firms were about to make a personal appearance in the court on March 13 in the case.

The government counsel today slammed Google and Facebook for hurting Indian sentiments with controversial and objectionable contents on their sites.

The counsel gave an instance of a controversial video of Kashmir issue on YouTube, which the government of India had asked Google to remove from the site. But Google did not take the order.

Earlier on December 23, the trial court had summoned as many as 21 social networking sites for posting objectionable contents.

2G Fallout: Telenor to end Ties with Unitech

Norwegian telecom firm Telenor ASA indicated that it will end ties with real-estate developer Unitech saying it would seek indemnity and compensation after the Supreme Court of India scrapped Uninor’s 22 licences in 2G case.

Telenor said that the Company has lost faith in Unitech and it would seek a new partner to develop telecom service in India. Unitech was the joint venture partner of Telenor. It had entered India by buying 67.25 percent of Unitech Wireless, an arm of Unitech.

The Norwegian major has invested 8.9 billion kroner ($1.54 billion) for its stake in Uninor, and over 8.1 billion kroner in corporate debt guarantees in the venture.

Telenor said in a statement late on Wednesday that the partnership with Unitech does not have future and it will start looking for a new Indian partner to continue providing services in the country. The company is prepared to participate in a new spectrum auction if no alternatives are available.

The statement came after the Supreme Court scrapped 122 telecom licenses on February 2, given to nine companies in January 2008, in the massive multi-crore 2G scam.

The 2G verdict was a big blow to the companies included Unitech Wireless Ltd (Uninor), STel Ltd, Videocon, Dynamix Balwas (Etisalat DB), Loop, Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd as well as Idea Cellular and Tata Teleservices Ltd.

History and Operation of Hezbollah

Hezbollah is an Islamic political and paramilitary organization founded in the early eighties on the eve of the 1982 Israeli attack of Lebanon.  The organization emerged to defend Israel’s war to occupy South Lebanon in 1982.

It opened an uneven guerrilla war using suicide attacks against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The organization is credited to have been among the first Islamic resistance groups to use suicide bombing, assassination and capturing foreign soldiers in the Middle East.

But soon it turned into a perfect paramilitary group having missiles, rocket artillery Katyusha, rocket launchers and detonators of explosion.

After the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990, Hezbollah transformed from a revolutionary group into a political one. This process of transformation is known as ‘the Lebanonisation of Hezbollah’.

In 1992, Hezbollah decided to participate in elections. This objective was acknowledged by Ali Khomeini, the supreme leader of Iran. But Former Hezbollah secretary general, Subhi al-Tufayli was against this resolution. Despite the reluctance of Subhi Hezbollah contested in the election and won all the twelve seats which were on its electoral list.

In 1997, in an attempt to restore national and secular resistance against Israel, Hezbollah formed multi-confessional Lebanese Brigades to Fight against the Israeli seizures.

In the twenty-first century ‘The July War’ or ‘the second Lebanon war’ was launched by Hezbollah in 2006. In this occasion, through "Operation True Promise", following an attack of rockets and mortar shells fired at Israeli settlements and military posts near the Israel-Lebanon border, Hezbollah troops entered Israel and attacked the IDF patrol, killing three and capturing two others. They then returned to southern Lebanon with the hostages.

Besides military operations, Hezbollah also organizes an extensive social development program and runs hospitals, news services, and educational facilities and undertakes economic and infrastructural development ventures in Lebanon. In its July 25, 2006 issue, CNN has stated that "Hezbollah did everything that a government should do…..”

On the other hand, The United States, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Israel, Australia and Canada classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. According to the United States Council on Foreign Relations, Hezbollah is responsible for five major terrorist attacks against the U.S. and Israel.

A disputed report also claims that the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) was a war name used by Hezbollah.

Although Hezbollah is based in Lebanon It receives financial and political support from Iran and Syria.  The paramilitary wing of this organization is regarded as a resistance movement in most of the Arab countries.

Recently, in relation to the blast in Delhi that targeted Israeli embassy staffs on Monday, Israel has blamed Hezbollah along with its enemy Iran.

UN celebrates World Radio Day

The Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is celebrating World Radio Day on Monday signifying the importance of radio and its role in sharing information.

The UN in its statement described radio as a facilitator of education, freedom of expression and public debate. In the fast growing and developing world, people should not forget radio, which connects people and societies, share information and strengthen understanding.

Radio is the most effective mass medium that reaches large part of the society at low cost. It is the only medium that reaches people in remote area and marginalised groups.

The medium has also grown with the development of new technologies, which suggests that it cannot be considered as the traditional form of media.

Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General said, "Free, independent and pluralistic radio is essential for healthy societies, it is vital for advancing human rights and fundamental freedoms".

Radio has been seen as a vital source of information during natural disasters and war, but over one billion people still do not have access to radio. Giving an example of Nepal, the UN said that one fifth of people in the country live without access to radio.

The World Radio Day is being celebrated on February 13, which also marks the anniversary of UN Radio. It was first launched in 1946.

Apple iPad 3 coming with 'Retina' Display

According to a report by the tech website, ‘AllThingsD’ Apple will be holding an event in March where the much awaited iPad 3, featuring a 2048×1536 Retina Display will be launched.

The claim is not backed by any definite source or Apple; it is a rumor. However, it is believed to be picked up by the Japanese blog Macotakara, which claims that the photos came from a third-party parts manufacturer (for the iPad3) called iLab Factory.

If the Retina Display myth somehow comes out true miraculously, it will be a big buzz because this 2048x1536 display has been the resolution long expected on the next iPad as it is double the resolution of the first two iPad's screen (1024x768). Also, when the iPhone's Retina Display was introduced; it was double the resolution of the previous iphone’s screen.

What is a ‘Retina Display’? A display of approximately 300 pixels per inch (ppi) at a distance of 12 inches from a human eye (or 57 arcseconds per pixel) is the maximum amount of detail that the human retina can recognize. The display of the iPhone 4 features an LED backlit TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen with a pixel density of 326 ppi on an 8.9 cm 960×640 display. This screen is marketed by Apple as the "Retina Display".

May it be rumor but still analysts like Charles Annis from Japan opine that the discussed Sharp's high-resolution IGZO display technology may not be out of the running for the iPad 3.

The iPad 3 is expected to sport a 9.7-inch 2048x1536 resolution LCD, a much higher resolution than the iPad 2's 1024-by-768 panel, which would also support the Retina Display feature the best.

People casually state that since the official launch date for the iPad 3 gets closer, there is more expectation of this type of stories.

Apple’s Revenue May Grow 50% Through 2012 on Mobile Boom

Apple Inc. (AAPL) can keep posting sales growth of more than 50 percent in the next two years as a mobile applications boom fuels demand for devices such as the iPad, said the chief executive officer of Forrester Research Inc. (FORR)

 

George Colony, who founded Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Forrester in 1983, outlined his predictions in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. 

Apple sold almost 15 million iPads in its debut year and more than 90 million iPhones in its four-year lifespan. Demand for the devices has spawned a market for downloadable apps that let users shop, work, play games and handle other tasks on the go. That in turn keeps customers buying Apple’s products, and puts the company on course for higher revenue than International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Colony said. 

“They’ll be bigger than IBM next year, and they’ll be bigger than HP the year after that,” Colony said, citing Apple’s 52 percent sales growth last year. At current growth rates “they’re going to be a $200 billion revenue company,” he said. 

Hewlett-Packard had sales of $126 billion in the year that ended in October and IBM’s revenue was $99.9 billion last year, making them the largest technology companies, respectively, by sales. Apple ranks No. 1 by market capitalization. 

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, rose $5.78 to $344.97 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock has added 7 percent this year. 

App Internet

Apple’s sales may climb 54 percent to $100.3 billion this fiscal year, which ends in September, the average prediction of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Growth may slow to 18 percent the following year. 

Forrester, which advises executives and issues technology forecasts, has more than 2,500 customers and generated $250.7 million in sales last year. 

As more consumers and businesses access entertainment, productivity tools and other services by way of apps -- creating what Colony calls an “app Internet” -- the less likely they are to rely on the traditional Web, he said. 

Device makers aren’t the only companies that are poised to benefit from the trend. Building and managing such applications will create a $35 billion market opportunity, he said. Startups and corporations alike are experimenting with them, he said. Hilton Worldwide Inc. is working on software that will let visitors open a hotel door with an iPhone. 

Companies that help manage the apps with services, such as Indian-based Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) and Infosys Technologies Ltd. (INFY), also stand to gain.

‘New Stuff’

The challenge for Apple may be navigating the industry when founder Steve Jobs leaves the company. Jobs has battled a rare form of cancer and since January has been on medical leave, his third in the past seven years. The company has probably built a product pipeline to last it three to four years after Jobs leaves, Colony said. 

“Remember, every two years they have to fill that store with new stuff,” he said of Apple’s retail outlet. “Without Steve Jobs as the CEO, I think it will be much harder for them to do that. That would be a massive, massive hit to the valuation.” 

Several companies aren’t moving quickly enough to keep up with the new applications, he said. Facebook Inc. has been slow to update its iPhone app and build an iPad app, “risking massive disaster,” Colony said.

‘Too Web-Centric’

Google Inc. (GOOG)’s sales are too dependent on online advertising, Colony said. 

“If you’re too Web-centric right now, you’re in trouble,” he said. “Google’s business model is completely based on you going to the Web and clicking on a link and seeing an ad impression. In the app Internet world, all of that goes away.” 

Todd Wilder, a spokesman for Apple, declined to comment. Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for Google, and Malorie Lucich, a spokeswoman for Facebook, didn’t return e-mail inquiries seeking comment. 

Google, which is putting co-founder Larry Page back in charge as CEO next month, may face another problem, Colony said. It risks going down the same path as Yahoo! Inc. 

“When it comes to Larry Page I have two words for you,” Colony said. “Jerry Yang.” 

Yahoo co-founder Yang took the reins as CEO in 2007. His efforts to reverse a sales-growth slowdown faltered as the recession crimped demand for online ads. He stepped down in 2009 after botching takeover talks with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and failing to broker an online advertising agreement with Google.

How to Build a Fan-Worthy Facebook Page

As Facebook continues to enhance its fan page options, businesses are not only struggling to keep up with the changes, but they also are still trying to figure out how to brand and market their pages. Because of some of the changes, strategies you used just last month to increase your "likes" and interactions with fans may not be as effective.

Here are a few quick branding fixes that will make it easier for prospects to find you, as well as some tips on getting more fans--or what I prefer to call interested prospects.

No.1 - Brand the URL. If your fan page URL is still set with a bunch of numbers, you are making it harder for prospects to find you and missing out on a branding opportunity. Facebook recently lifted the requirement that you get 25 "likes" before you can name your fan page URL. Now, all you need to do is go to www.facebook.com/username and set your name in the URL, which is great for branding purposes and easy link referrals. For example, instead of 

 

No.2 - Name your page appropriately. Once you reach 100 friends, you cannot change the title of your page, so make sure you choose wisely from the start. Your brand name is the ideal title to make it easy for people to find your page when they search. You still can change the title if you have less than 100 likes by going to edit page, selecting Basic Information from the menu at left, changing the text in the Name field, and saving your edits.

No. 3 - Take prospects to a welcome tab, not your wall. When you send people to your fan page and have them land on your Wall, your posts probably won't be enough to entice them to "like" you. Posts are just you talking. Even if you're giving valuable information, prospects need a reason to be your fan. Instead of having them land on your Wall, set up a welcome tab. A welcome tab can include a greeting and an enticement, such as an e-book or video series, to encourage visitors to become fans. Such sites as woobox.com offer free trials and step-by-step tutorials to help you customize your page, including tabs.

 

No. 4 - Engage potential fans. You need to offer something that will engage people. For instance, you can use Facebook applications to create a poll or launch a game. These can be located on your welcome tab. Wildfireapp.com, for instance, provides a free trial so you can navigate its engagement applications. If you decide to use its programs, services start at $5 and go up from there, depending on which tools you use. SocialUps, a company that specializes in creating games for fan pages, starts at $300. One of SocialUps' most recent game apps was launched at www.facebook.com/vitalyte, a fan page for Vitalyte Nutrition Products that was started three months ago and now has nearly 100,000 followers. The downside of some gaming applications is that they can gain access to your page and randomly post messages.

 

No. 5 - Check market insights. Is Facebook Advertising for You? Recent enhancements to fan page analytics make it easier to know your prospects, including their sex, age and where they live. Also, you can see which posts they like best and follow a viral report showing if they did something on your page that their friends could see. Such viral activity extends your reach to friends of friends. However, this option only allows you to see that your fans are talking about you to other people; it doesn't share information about whom they're sharing with.
Facebook fan pages are quickly turning into Facebook websites and interactive business tools. With access to millions of prospects, it's important to brand your page well, make it easy to find and keep the content up-to-date and engaging.

Ayesha Takia declares War on Kingfisher Airlines

The fight between Bollywood actress Ayesha Takia and Liquor baron Vijay Mallya's son Siddharth Mallya over the service of Kingfisher Airlines hit headlines after Ayesha first posted it on Twitter.

Ayesha tweeted against Kingfisher Airlines on Monday evening alleging, "The worst airline, Kingfisher!!! Shockingly bad airport staff behavior at Delhi airport with my sister. This disgustingly behaved Kingfisher staff called Vinay Podwal just tore my sister's boarding pass and misbehaved with her!! We are going to take serious action against this and go to the court. Let the law handle it, so that this doesn't happen to any girl again!"

The furious actress hit out at the private airlines after Ayesha's sister Natasha was allegedly shown misbehaviour by the flight staff when she was from New Delhi to Mumbai.

In fact, Ayesha's sister was travelling on an Air India flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi. Later she caught a connecting Kingfisher IT 312 flight to Mumbai. A staff of the airline allegedly tore her boarding pass preventing her from entering the flight. Reacting to the incident, Ayesha took on Sidhartha Mallya and the airline on her Twitter account narrating how badly her sister was treated on the flight.

Replying to Ayesha's tweet, Mallay posted "Been getting retweets about Ayesha Takia and KFA. Not too sure who she is, an actor of some sorts?? But it seems something has upset her!! Don't know why Ayesha Takia is tweeting so much when she wasn't even present. There are always two sides to a story. Pipe down, love. I would first get the clear story before ranting".

Ayesha became more aggressive and replied: "I will rant Sidharth Mallya, what will you do? This is your way of dealing with hospitality business? Wow! Learn manners and respect."

The actress said that her family will take the private airline to the court for the rude treatment given to her sister. She said that she will stand up against the airline if a common person travelling in economy class is treated in this manner. She expressed her thanks to people for supporting her on Twitter.

Ayesha denied that her allegations are not personal attacks against Siddhartha Mallya. The actress was sad over the incident and the way her sister was treated. She said a regular passenger travelling economy, is shocking. If anyone takes the posts personally, that is their problem.

Supporting the allegations, Ayesha's hubby, restaurateur Farhan Azmi's tweeted: "Jr Mallya should not have got personal. @Ayeshatakia was talking about #Kingfisher she never mentioned the owners. Will the real Mallya please stand up and take responsibility? Dude. Really? That's your response to a customer complaint of this magnitude? You should be embarrassed. How can an employee behave in such indecent manner with a girl? Yelling, abusing and then tearing her boarding pass. WOW!”

U.S. authorities looking into Murdoch foreign payments

U.S. authorities are stepping up investigations, including an FBI criminal inquiry, into possible violations by employees of Rupert Murdoch's media empire of a U.S. law banning corrupt payments to foreign officials such as police, law enforcement and corporate sources said.

But U.S. investigators have found little to substantiate allegations of phone hacking inside the United States by Murdoch journalists, the sources added.

The FBI is conducting an investigation into possible criminal violations by Murdoch employees of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a law intended to curb payment of bribes by U.S. companies to foreign officials, a U.S. law enforcement official said.

The U.S. official said that if any law enforcement action was pursued by U.S. authorities against Murdoch employees, it would most likely relate to FCPA.

If it is found to have violated the FCPA, Murdoch's News Corp, which has its headquarters in New York, could be fined up to $2 million and barred from U.S. government contracts, and individuals who participated in the bribery could face fines of up to $100,000 and a jail sentence of five years.

Executives could be liable if they authorized bribes or knew about the practice but failed to stop it.

In practice, U.S. authorities have usually settled FCPA cases in return for large cash payments from companies, who can sometimes avoid legal admissions of guilt.

Much of the evidence police are examining in the News Corp case was handed over to investigators by the company, who have set up a special clean-up unit in London and hired batteries of lawyers in Britain and the United States, some of whom specialize in FCPA cases, company sources said.

The U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission also have jurisdiction to pursue civil cases against alleged violators of the law.

Bloomberg news service reported last year that Justice Department prosecutors sent News Corp, U.S. parent of Murdoch's UK media properties, a request for information on alleged payments which journalists made to British police officers in return for news tips.

LAWYERS

Sources close to News Corp said the Management and Standards Committee (MSC), the unit which the company set up to deal with phone hacking and related investigations, for some time had been concerned about the consequences of U.S. investigations of possible FCPA violations.

Both News International and parent company News Corp declined to comment. Reuters is a competitor of Dow Jones Newswires, a unit of News Corp.

Last July, the company retained Mark Mendelsohn, who served as deputy chief of the Fraud Section in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Justice Department. Mendelsohn, now in private practice, was internationally respected as an architect of the DOJ's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement program.

News Corp sources confirmed that the Management and Standards Committee was also working with Williams & Connolly, a prominent Washington law firm specializing in white-collar crime cases.

The New York Times reported last year that one of the lawyers working on the News Corp case was Brendan Sullivan, a Williams & Connolly partner known for his public defense of White House aide Oliver North during Congressional investigations into an arms-for-hostages scandal during the administration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

News Corp announced last month that another Williams & Connolly partner, Gerson Zweifach, would become its top new in-house lawyer. He is also expected to join the Management and Standards Committee.

Company sources said that, via the MSC, News International was routinely sharing with its outside lawyers, including Williams & Connolly, evidence which had been uncovered of suspected questionable practices including payments to British police officers.

The MSC declined to comment.

Among evidence turned over by the company to British authorities are emails and financial records which allegedly chart the payment of more than 100,000 pounds ($158,000) to police contacts, mostly in sums of under 1,000 pounds.

A company source said the records showed many or most of the payments intended recipients were listed in company records under false names.

THREE INVESTIGATIONS

London's Metropolitan Police Service for months has been investigating an assortment of suspected abusive practices which journalists at the News of the World and other Murdoch London newspaper properties are alleged to have routinely employed in recent years.

British detectives are conducting three parallel investigations.

One inquiry, known as Operation Weeting, is investigating alleged phone hacking, and a second inquiry, Operation Tuleta, is investigating allegations of computer hacking. The third investigation, Operation Elveden, is investigating allegations that journalists paid police officers bribes in return for story tipoffs. The head of the three investigations said this week she was increasing the number of police looking at police payments.

The law enforcement source said U.S. authorities found no evidence to substantiate allegations that potentially illegal reporting tactics that were alleged to have been widespread in Britain were also employed by Murdoch journalists in the United States.

Law enforcement and corporate sources said no evidence had turned up to corroborate a Daily Mirror accusation that journalists from Murdoch's now defunct News of the World sought to hack into voice mail messages of victims of the al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington of September 11, 2001. The Mirror is a competitor of Murdoch's London tabloid, the Sun.

London police have arrested 30 people, including journalists and police officers, in connection with its three journalism-related investigations. Last month, four current and former journalists on the Sun, the largest-circulation British paper, as well as a serving police officer were arrested in connection with Operation Elveden.

Sue Akers, the officer in charge of all the investigations, said on Monday that 14 people so far had been arrested in connection with Operation Elveden, but indicated that more investigators were likely to be added to the inquiry, which she said still had some time to run.

To date, no criminal charges have been filed against any of the individuals arrested over the past year, who include Rebekah Brooks, a former CEO of Murdoch's London papers, and Andy Coulson, a former Murdoch editor who became top media adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron.

However, current investigations trace their roots back to the 2006 arrests, and subsequent guilty pleas, of News of the World royal reporter Clive Goodman and private detective Glenn Mulcaire on phone hacking charges. ($1 = 0.6331 British pounds)