Computer glitch gives Republicans ammo to target ‘Obamacare’
Washington, October 20
A few days after the end of the US Government shutdown, Republicans have opened a new line of attack on President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement "Obamacare", one handed to them by the administration itself.

Pak film with ‘Indian’ agents does roaring biz
Islamabad, October 20
As a police compound here comes under terror attack, an 'Indian female agent'-cum-social worker in Pakistan is dancing with a mercenary celebrating their success. This is a scene from 'Waar', a film doing roaring business here.

Kochhar moves up on women power list
New York, October 20
Four Indians led by ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar have made to Fortune magazine’s global list of top-50 women business leaders, while PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi has been ranked second in a similar list for the US.

Beirut, October 20
A suicide bomber blew up a truck laden with explosives at an army checkpoint in Syria's central city of Hama today killing at least 31 persons, a monitoring group said.

"At least 31 persons, including regime troops, were killed when a man detonated a truck laden with explosives at a checkpoint near an agricultural vehicles company on the road linking Hama to Salamiyeh," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based watchdog said the death toll was likely to rise, as "there are dozens of wounded, some of them in critical condition".

State television had earlier reported multiple casualties from a bombing in Hama without giving a more precise casualty toll.

In the first months after the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted in March 2011, Hama saw some of the largest demonstrations against his rule.

But in late summer of that year, security forces stormed the city, killing scores of people. They have held a tight grip on the city ever since.

While several other Syrian cities have been engulfed by fighting, Hama has seen only sporadic violence in recent months.

However, the surrounding province has seen some major clashes between troops and rebels. — AFP

Dhaka, October 20
Bangladeshi authorities have banned rallies and street protests in the capital city Dhaka for an indefinite period, just days ahead of main opposition BNP's grand rally to mount pressure on the government to accept its demand for polls under a non-party caretaker government. The BNP overnight decided to defy the ban on rallies, prompting the authorities to deploy riot police to prevent any untoward incident.’

BNP said a high-level party meeting last night decided to defy the ban while its leader ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia would join later today a scheduled convention of professionals at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) here.

"Khaleda Zia will join the programme as chief guest and speak" at the of the pro-BNP professionals, a BNP spokesman told reporters. The police and elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion men were deployed around the BICC and other strategic locations of the city to thwart possible street protests by BNP cadres.

The development came amid a proposal by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to form an interim all-party government to oversee Bangladesh's next general election. The constitution states that the election must be held within 90 days of the end of the tenure of the parliament. The term of the current parliament will end on October 25 and polls must be held by January 25, 2014. — PTI

Male, October 20
Maldives President Mohamed Waheed has said he will resign if candidates cannot agree on a date for the presidential election, Xinhua reported on Sunday, citing local media.

"I will tell them (candidates) I will resign, and then, so will the vice president. After that, the responsibility will fall on the speaker (to assume office as president as per the Maldivian Constitution)," President Waheed said in an interview with local media outlet Sun online.

The president said he has remained in the "backseat" but feels that he must now give more direction and help the electoral process.

He added that he would work to make the poll process free, fair and inclusive and try to convince all candidates to agree to go ahead with the elections.

If the candidates cannot agree to having a new president in office by Nov 11, he would resign, Waheed said.

Asked if he would stay in office after Nov 11 in case the elections were not held, the president replied: "I am not comfortable to stay on. It would be my preference that there be an elected president. And it would also be my preference that if this is not possible, then there would be some other arrangement made."

Maldives plunged into political disarray after attempts to hold fresh presidential elections were thwarted by police.

Former Maldives President Mohammad Nasheed Sunday called for the arrest of incumbent President Waheed and appealed for intervention from the international community after the rerun of the first phase polling to elect the country's next president was disrupted October 19.

The vote cancellation sparked protests in Male where Nasheed also staged a sit-in. He insisted there was no possibility of having free and fair presidential elections as long as President Waheed's government was in power and opined that control should be handed over to the speaker of the parliament to oversee the installation of a new head of state. — IANS

Washington, October 20
A few days after the end of the US Government shutdown, Republicans have opened a new line of attack on President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement "Obamacare", one handed to them by the administration itself.

While the Congress was arguing, President Barack Obama’s plan to expand coverage for the uninsured suffered a self-inflicted wound. A computer system seemingly designed by gremlins gummed up the first open enrolment season. After nearly three weeks, it’s still not fixed.

Republicans hope to ride that and other defects they see in the law into the 2014 congressional elections. Four Democratic senators are facing re-election for the first time since they voted for the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as "Obamacare," and their defeat is critical to Republican aspirations for a Senate majority. — AP

Islamabad, October 20
As a police compound here comes under terror attack, an 'Indian female agent'-cum-social worker in Pakistan is dancing with a mercenary celebrating their success. This is a scene from 'Waar', a film doing roaring business here.

Said to be the most expensive Pakistani film ever to be made, the film is rumoured to be partly funded by the military, a charge denied by the film director Bilal Lashari.

The film is about Pakistan's fight against terror but seems to lay the blame for everything bad happening in the country at India's doorstep.

The script revolves around a plot by 'Indian agents' to carry out the biggest-ever blast in Pakistan.

Waar opened on Wednesday on 42 screens across Pakistan and set a new record of box-office collections pertaining to Eid openings.

After a first day opening of Rs 11.4 million, the big budget flick earned a total of Rs 42.6 million till Friday night, breaking all previous records of Eid collections. ‘Waar’ 
has also broken first day record set by King Khan's ‘Chennai Express’ that had earned around Rs 9 million on Eid-ul-Fitr.

The film has received mixed response from film critics but has been hailed by many ultra-nationalists here who blame India for kidnapping, terror or assassinations that take place in Pakistan. Not only that, the film bizarrely suggests that even the dreaded Pakistani Taliban is controlled by India.

‘Waar’ is a story about a retired army officer who had taken an early retirement from the forces due to personal reasons. This lead role is played by one of Pakistan's top actors Shaan. A special task force of the police is trying to tackle terrorism and none but the retired Major Ehtesham can lead such a complicated operation to get rid of the chemical bomb.

The villain is a female RAW agent, who works as a social worker by day and honey-traps willing politicians by nights, and a mercenary who crosses into Pakistan from India across the LoC. — PTI

New York, October 20
Four Indians led by ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar have made to Fortune magazine’s global list of top-50 women business leaders, while PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi has been ranked second in a similar list for the US.

Kochhar has been ranked fourth, followed by National Stock Exchange chief Chitra Ramkrishna at 17th, Axis Bank’s Shikha Sharma at 32nd and HSBC’s Naina Lal Kidwai at 42nd place among the Indians on the international list of most powerful women in business.

This list is topped by Brazilian energy giant Petrobras’ CEO, Maria Das Gracas Foster, followed by Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding’s Guler Sabanci at the second and Australian banking giant Westpac’s CEO Gail Kelly at the third.

Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of India’s largest private sector bank, has moved up one position from her fifth position on the 2012 list, while NSE’s Ramkrishna has made it to the list for the first time.

Shikha Sharma and Naina Lal Kidwai were ranked 32nd and 42nd, respectively on Fortune’s international list for most powerful business women. On Chitra Ramkrishna, a newcomer to the International Power 50 list, Fortune said she has made history as the first woman to head an exchange in India.

“The National Stock Exchange lifer, who was part of the core five-member team selected by the government to create a screen-based exchange in 1993, has shattered the glass ceiling, making history as the first woman to head an exchange in India,” Fortune said.

The board is banking on her twenty years of experience to oversee India’s largest exchange, 7th largest in the world, with a total listed market capitalisation of some $1 trillion, it added.

A separate list for most powerful business women in the US, also complied by Fortune magazine, continues to be topped by technology giant IBM’s Ginni Rometty, while PepsiCo’s Indian-origin CEO Nooyi has retained her second position.

DuPont’s Ellen Kullman is ranked third, followed by Lockheed Martin’s Marillyn Hewson and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg at the fourth and fifth positions.

Fortune said the list has been compiled broadly on the basis of four criteria - the size and importance of the business headed by the person in the global economy; the health and direction of the business; the arc of the business leader’s career; and social and cultural influence.

About Nooyi, the magazine said that PepsiCo, the largest food and beverage company in the US, saw its share price hit an all-time high earlier this year and it today boasts 22 billion-dollar brands. — PTI