1) Bihar farmer's 14-year-old son cracks IIT JEE
Patna: A 14-year-old from Bihar's Rohtas district has cracked this year's prestigious IIT JEE.
Shivanand, the son of a farmer, passed his class 12 exam this year with 93.4 percent, and got special permission to sit for the Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination (IIT JEE), the results of which were declared Thursday. He ranked 2,587.
"We are proud of him. He has done something very special at this age," Shivanand's father Kamlakant Tiwari, a resident of Dharampur village, told IANS.
Shivanand said he wanted to pursue research in physics. "I am keen on becoming a scientist," he said.
Tiwari said it was the first attempt of his son in IIT JEE and he had proved himself to be intelligent.
A total of 126,997 applicants had registered for the entrance examination out of which 27,151 candidates have cleared IIT-JEE (advanced).
Last year, 13-year-old Satyam Kumar from Bihar's Bhojpur district had cracked the IIT JEE and secured an impressive all India rank of 679.
The IIT JEE advance exams are conducted to secure admission to the undergraduate programmes offered by the 16 IITs and the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad in Jharkhand. The intake of these institutes is 9,784.
2) Indian man pleads guilty in $200 mn credit card fraud scheme
New York: An Indian businessman, involved in one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever prosecuted by US federal authorities, has admitted to his role in the conspiracy and now faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a USD 1 million fine.
The banking fraud amounted to USD 200 million in losses to businesses and financial institutions. The guilty, Vinod Dadlani (51) of New Jersey, is scheduled for sentencing in September.
Dadlani, who owns a jewelry store, pleaded guilty before US District Judge Anne Thompson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
He used his business to further one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the Justice Department, and is the 17th conspirator to plead guilty in the case, New Jersey US Attorney Paul Fishman said in a statement.
Dadlani was indicted in October 2013 as part of a conspiracy to fabricate more than 7,000 false identities to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards.
His associates doctored credit reports to pump up the spending and borrowing power associated with the cards. They then borrowed or spent as much as they could, based on the phony credit history, but did not repay the debts.
These debts were incurred at Dadlani's jewelry store, among many other locations, where he would allow fraudulently obtained credit cards to be swiped in phony transactions.
The scheme involved a three-step process in which the defendants would make up a false identity by creating fraudulent identification documents and credit profile with the major credit bureaus.
They would pump up the credit of the false identity by providing incorrect information about that identity's creditworthiness to those credit bureaus and then run up large charges.
The scope of the criminal fraud enterprise required Dadlani's conspirators to construct an elaborate network of false identities.
Across the country, the conspirators maintained more than 1,800 "drop addresses," including houses, apartments, and post office boxes, which they used as the mailing addresses for the false identities.
Dadlani admitted he worked with other conspirators, who came to his store and allowed them to swipe cards he knew did not legitimately belong to them. Dadlani would then split the proceeds of the phony transactions with the conspirators.
3) With 300 military advisers, US steps into Iraq, but no boots on the ground
Washington: Moving cautiously in the face of an onslaught by Sunni militants advancing on Baghdad, Presidents Barack Obama is sending 300 military advisers to Iraq, but US would not be returning to a combat role there.
Under pressure to come to the aid of the embattled Iraq government, Obama announced Thursday he was sending advisers to Iraq to "assess how we can best train, advise and support Iraqi security forces" in dealing with Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants.
"Going forward, we will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it," Obama said in a White House announcement after a meeting with his national security team
The options considered include the possibility of future air strikes.
American "armed forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq, but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the
Iraqi people, the region and American interests as well," he said.
Suggesting that the situation in Iraq called for a political solution rather than a military one, Obama without putting it in so many words implicitly favoured removal of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
"Now, it's not the place for the United States to choose Iraq's leaders," he said.
"It is clear, though, that only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis," Obama said.
"Meanwhile, the United States will not pursue military options that support one sect inside of Iraq at the expense of another," he said.
"There's no military solution inside of Iraq, certainly not one that is led by the United States."
"But there is an urgent need for an inclusive political process," he said calling upon all, Iraqi leaders - Shia, Sunni, Kurds - to "rise above their differences and come together around a political plan for Iraq's future."
Obama also announced a series of steps designed to improve intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance of the militant army that has taken several Iraqi cities and is threatening the capital in Baghdad.
Obama is also sending Secretary of State John Kerry to the region for diplomatic efforts that include demands for a more inclusive government in Iraq.
To keep Iraq from breaking into pieces in the face of the advance of ISIS militants, Kerry said the US was "open to discussions if there's something constructive that can be contributed by Iran."
"I think we need to go step by step and see what, in fact, might be a reality." he said in an interview with Yahoo News.
Obama's moves drew mixed reactions with Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi favouring a "proceed cautiously" policy and critics like Republican senator John Cornyn dubbing Obama's response "too little, too late'.
"Obama's robust military moves - coupled with his pointed warning" to al-Maliki "to quell his country's sectarian fires," the New York Times said "opened a risky new chapter in the president's reluctant engagement with Iraq."
The Washington Post suggested the Obama "administration is straddling difficult politics in Iraq and at home."
He was "seeking to answer Republican critics such as House Speaker John A. Boehner who claim that Obama is 'taking a nap' while Iraq crumbles and to assure political supporters that he is not opening a new front in the Middle East."
4) Obama rules out sending American combat troops to Iraq
Washington: US President Barack Obama has made it clear that American combat troops will not return to Iraq to fight the Islamic militants, who have seized a section of the country, but assured Baghdad of launching "targeted and precise military action" if required.
"American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq, but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the Iraqi people, the region, and American interests as well," Obama told reporters at a news conference after meeting with his top national security advisors.
"We do not have the ability to simply solve this problem by sending in tens of thousands of troops and committing the kinds of blood and treasure that has already been expended in Iraq. Ultimately, this is something that is going to have to be solved by the Iraqis," he said yesterday.
US President Barack Obama. PIC/AFP
Iraq had requested the US to help under the security agreement (between the two countries), and to conduct air strikes on the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), who have seized the country's second largest city of Mosul and advancing towards the capital.
"It is in our national security interests not to see an all-out civil war inside of Iraq, not just for humanitarian reasons, but because that ultimately can be destabilizing throughout the region," Obama said even as he noted that he is prepared to carry on targeted and precision strikes.
"We will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it," he said.
The US, he said, also has an interest in making sure that there is no safe haven that continues to grow for ISIL and other extremist jihadist groups who could use that as a base of operations for planning and targeting US.
"If they accumulate more money, they accumulate more ammunition, more military capability, larger numbers, that poses great dangers not just to allies of ours like Jordan, which is very close by, but it also poses... a great danger, potentially, to Europe and ultimately the US," he warned.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US is committed to fight back the militants who are inching closer to Baghdad, but America's efforts would be successful only if Iraqi leaders embrace a political process shunning differences.
He said the efforts made by the US "will only be successful if Iraqi leaders rise above their differences and embrace a political plan that defines Iraq's future through the political process, not through insurgency and conflict."
5) Oil prices mixed in Asia amid Iraq supply fears
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Singapore: Oil prices were mixed in Asia today but retained support near a nine-month peak as dealers track the unfolding sectarian conflict in Iraq fearing it could cause a major supply disruption.
Brent crude for August eased 15 cents to USD 114.91 in mid-morning trade, after rallying to USD 115.06 in London, its highest since early September.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery rose 26 cents to USD 106.69.
"Oil saw support from the risk of conflict in Iraq disrupting oil supplies, as the US said it would send military advisers to the country," Singapore's United Overseas Bank said in a note.
The militants have captured swathes of Iraq's north but have yet to directly threaten the key oil-producing region in the south.
The crisis has rocked the global oil market because Iraq is the second-biggest producer within the 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The country has more than 11 per cent of the world's proven resources and produces 3.4 million barrels a day.
Aside from concerns about Iraq, French bank Credit Agricole said "the market today should be relatively quiet heading into the weekend" with no significant data release and the conclusion of a key US central bank meeting.
Patna: A 14-year-old from Bihar's Rohtas district has cracked this year's prestigious IIT JEE.
Shivanand, the son of a farmer, passed his class 12 exam this year with 93.4 percent, and got special permission to sit for the Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination (IIT JEE), the results of which were declared Thursday. He ranked 2,587.
"We are proud of him. He has done something very special at this age," Shivanand's father Kamlakant Tiwari, a resident of Dharampur village, told IANS.
Shivanand said he wanted to pursue research in physics. "I am keen on becoming a scientist," he said.
Tiwari said it was the first attempt of his son in IIT JEE and he had proved himself to be intelligent.
A total of 126,997 applicants had registered for the entrance examination out of which 27,151 candidates have cleared IIT-JEE (advanced).
Last year, 13-year-old Satyam Kumar from Bihar's Bhojpur district had cracked the IIT JEE and secured an impressive all India rank of 679.
The IIT JEE advance exams are conducted to secure admission to the undergraduate programmes offered by the 16 IITs and the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad in Jharkhand. The intake of these institutes is 9,784.
2) Indian man pleads guilty in $200 mn credit card fraud scheme
New York: An Indian businessman, involved in one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever prosecuted by US federal authorities, has admitted to his role in the conspiracy and now faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a USD 1 million fine.
The banking fraud amounted to USD 200 million in losses to businesses and financial institutions. The guilty, Vinod Dadlani (51) of New Jersey, is scheduled for sentencing in September.
Dadlani, who owns a jewelry store, pleaded guilty before US District Judge Anne Thompson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
He used his business to further one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the Justice Department, and is the 17th conspirator to plead guilty in the case, New Jersey US Attorney Paul Fishman said in a statement.
Dadlani was indicted in October 2013 as part of a conspiracy to fabricate more than 7,000 false identities to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards.
His associates doctored credit reports to pump up the spending and borrowing power associated with the cards. They then borrowed or spent as much as they could, based on the phony credit history, but did not repay the debts.
These debts were incurred at Dadlani's jewelry store, among many other locations, where he would allow fraudulently obtained credit cards to be swiped in phony transactions.
The scheme involved a three-step process in which the defendants would make up a false identity by creating fraudulent identification documents and credit profile with the major credit bureaus.
They would pump up the credit of the false identity by providing incorrect information about that identity's creditworthiness to those credit bureaus and then run up large charges.
The scope of the criminal fraud enterprise required Dadlani's conspirators to construct an elaborate network of false identities.
Across the country, the conspirators maintained more than 1,800 "drop addresses," including houses, apartments, and post office boxes, which they used as the mailing addresses for the false identities.
Dadlani admitted he worked with other conspirators, who came to his store and allowed them to swipe cards he knew did not legitimately belong to them. Dadlani would then split the proceeds of the phony transactions with the conspirators.
3) With 300 military advisers, US steps into Iraq, but no boots on the ground
Washington: Moving cautiously in the face of an onslaught by Sunni militants advancing on Baghdad, Presidents Barack Obama is sending 300 military advisers to Iraq, but US would not be returning to a combat role there.
Under pressure to come to the aid of the embattled Iraq government, Obama announced Thursday he was sending advisers to Iraq to "assess how we can best train, advise and support Iraqi security forces" in dealing with Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants.
"Going forward, we will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it," Obama said in a White House announcement after a meeting with his national security team
The options considered include the possibility of future air strikes.
American "armed forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq, but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the
Iraqi people, the region and American interests as well," he said.
Suggesting that the situation in Iraq called for a political solution rather than a military one, Obama without putting it in so many words implicitly favoured removal of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
"Now, it's not the place for the United States to choose Iraq's leaders," he said.
"It is clear, though, that only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis," Obama said.
"Meanwhile, the United States will not pursue military options that support one sect inside of Iraq at the expense of another," he said.
"There's no military solution inside of Iraq, certainly not one that is led by the United States."
"But there is an urgent need for an inclusive political process," he said calling upon all, Iraqi leaders - Shia, Sunni, Kurds - to "rise above their differences and come together around a political plan for Iraq's future."
Obama also announced a series of steps designed to improve intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance of the militant army that has taken several Iraqi cities and is threatening the capital in Baghdad.
Obama is also sending Secretary of State John Kerry to the region for diplomatic efforts that include demands for a more inclusive government in Iraq.
To keep Iraq from breaking into pieces in the face of the advance of ISIS militants, Kerry said the US was "open to discussions if there's something constructive that can be contributed by Iran."
"I think we need to go step by step and see what, in fact, might be a reality." he said in an interview with Yahoo News.
Obama's moves drew mixed reactions with Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi favouring a "proceed cautiously" policy and critics like Republican senator John Cornyn dubbing Obama's response "too little, too late'.
"Obama's robust military moves - coupled with his pointed warning" to al-Maliki "to quell his country's sectarian fires," the New York Times said "opened a risky new chapter in the president's reluctant engagement with Iraq."
The Washington Post suggested the Obama "administration is straddling difficult politics in Iraq and at home."
He was "seeking to answer Republican critics such as House Speaker John A. Boehner who claim that Obama is 'taking a nap' while Iraq crumbles and to assure political supporters that he is not opening a new front in the Middle East."
4) Obama rules out sending American combat troops to Iraq
Washington: US President Barack Obama has made it clear that American combat troops will not return to Iraq to fight the Islamic militants, who have seized a section of the country, but assured Baghdad of launching "targeted and precise military action" if required.
"American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq, but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the Iraqi people, the region, and American interests as well," Obama told reporters at a news conference after meeting with his top national security advisors.
"We do not have the ability to simply solve this problem by sending in tens of thousands of troops and committing the kinds of blood and treasure that has already been expended in Iraq. Ultimately, this is something that is going to have to be solved by the Iraqis," he said yesterday.
US President Barack Obama. PIC/AFP
Iraq had requested the US to help under the security agreement (between the two countries), and to conduct air strikes on the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), who have seized the country's second largest city of Mosul and advancing towards the capital.
"It is in our national security interests not to see an all-out civil war inside of Iraq, not just for humanitarian reasons, but because that ultimately can be destabilizing throughout the region," Obama said even as he noted that he is prepared to carry on targeted and precision strikes.
"We will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it," he said.
The US, he said, also has an interest in making sure that there is no safe haven that continues to grow for ISIL and other extremist jihadist groups who could use that as a base of operations for planning and targeting US.
"If they accumulate more money, they accumulate more ammunition, more military capability, larger numbers, that poses great dangers not just to allies of ours like Jordan, which is very close by, but it also poses... a great danger, potentially, to Europe and ultimately the US," he warned.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US is committed to fight back the militants who are inching closer to Baghdad, but America's efforts would be successful only if Iraqi leaders embrace a political process shunning differences.
He said the efforts made by the US "will only be successful if Iraqi leaders rise above their differences and embrace a political plan that defines Iraq's future through the political process, not through insurgency and conflict."
5) Oil prices mixed in Asia amid Iraq supply fears
Singapore: Oil prices were mixed in Asia today but retained support near a nine-month peak as dealers track the unfolding sectarian conflict in Iraq fearing it could cause a major supply disruption.
Brent crude for August eased 15 cents to USD 114.91 in mid-morning trade, after rallying to USD 115.06 in London, its highest since early September.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery rose 26 cents to USD 106.69.
"Oil saw support from the risk of conflict in Iraq disrupting oil supplies, as the US said it would send military advisers to the country," Singapore's United Overseas Bank said in a note.
The militants have captured swathes of Iraq's north but have yet to directly threaten the key oil-producing region in the south.
The crisis has rocked the global oil market because Iraq is the second-biggest producer within the 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The country has more than 11 per cent of the world's proven resources and produces 3.4 million barrels a day.
Aside from concerns about Iraq, French bank Credit Agricole said "the market today should be relatively quiet heading into the weekend" with no significant data release and the conclusion of a key US central bank meeting.
