dalai lama

Indian police question Tibetan monk on cash controversy

New Delhi - Indian police and federal investigators Saturday questioned Tibetan Buddhist monk the Karmapa Lama after recovering over ₨35,010,328.23worth of cash in various currenciesfrom his monastery.

Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, leader of the Karma Kagyu sect, missed his usual Saturday morning prayers and public audience, IANS news agency reported.

The Karmapa Lama is considered the most important Tibetan religious figure after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. The 27-year-old monk who fled to India in 1999 is recognised by China and seen as a possible successor to the Dalai Lama.

Police during a raid Thursday found four large suitcases stashed with cash from the Karmapa Lama's Gyoto monastery in the outskirts of the northern Indian hill town of Dharamsala.

'The foreign currency is from 25 different countries and includes large amounts of US dollars, Chinese Yuan, Hong Kong dollars, Taiwanese and other currencies,' Himachal Pradesh police chief DS Manhas said.

'We will certainly answer all questions that the press and the public have, but for now we respectfully request you to allow us to concentrate on complying fully with the investigation that is underway,' Karma Chungyalpa, spokesman for the Karmapa Lama, said.

The financial dealings of the Karmapa's organization were completely transparent, the spokesman said in a statement.

Searches continued for the third day in the offices at the Gyoto monastery, police said.

'It's a serious issue and even a threat to the internal security of the state,' Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal told a press conference.

The money recovered Friday may have been meant for an illegal land deal, IANS quoted police sources as saying.

Rubgi Chosang, an accountant at the monastery, was arrested Thursday.

Dharamsala is home to the Dalai Lama and his Tibetan government-in-exile, which is not recognized by any government. About 110,000 of the estimated 140,000 Tibetan exiles live in India.

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VAT

George Osborne: VAT rise is 'least damaging' way to tackle deficit

As VAT rises to 20%, chancellor rejects criticism that the tax is regressive, and claims rise is a 'tough but necessary step towards Britain's economic recovery' 

George Osborne claimed today that increasing VAT was the "least damaging" way to tackle the national deficit in the face of criticism that the rise will squeeze families, hitting the poor the hardest.

Shoppers flooded high streets yesterday, snapping up items such as furniture, electrical goods and kitchens in an attempt to beat the VAT rise, from 17.5% to 20%, which took effect at midnight.

Although it is widely considered to be a regressive tax, one that takes a higher proportion of the income of people on lower incomes than those on higher incomes, the chancellor argued that increasing VAT was fairer than raising taxes taken directly from income, which he said would cost jobs and ultimately hit poorer people harder.

"Higher income tax or higher national insurance ... these two things I think would have a greater impact on work incentives, on competitiveness of the British economy. I think they would cost jobs," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Asked if he was arguing that VAT was "more progressive", Osborne said "absolutely".

The shadow chancellor, Alan Johnson, told the Today programme earlier that putting VAT up was a "broken promise" and that Labour still favoured higher national insurance as an alternative to a 20% VAT rate.

"That was our argument at the general election and that's still our argument now," he said. "The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development say the VAT increase is going to cost 250,000 jobs whereas the national insurance increase would cost 75,000 jobs. If national insurance was a tax on jobs, VAT is three times the tax on jobs."

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isabelle caro

TEXT

French model expires in anti-anorexia struggle

Submitted by Nimisha Sachdev

A French actress and model Isabelle Caro, whose wasted figure in a shock Italian ad campaign assisted rivet universal attention on the issue of anorexia in the fashion businessand beyond, has expired at the age of 28.

Caro had expressed that she started suffering from anorexia at the age when she was just 13, and at that time she weighed around 59 pounds (27 kilograms) when the pictures that helped her getting famous were taken.

Subsequent to a 21-year-old Brazilian model expired due to the eating disorder, Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani shaped up a 2007 campaign for an Italian fashion house that were plastering billboards and newspapers along with a naked photo of a ghostly Caro staring over her shoulder at the camera, vertebrae and facial bones projected beneath the slogan "No Anorexia."

The movement acquired Caro extensive notice in media in nations around Europe and in the United States, and she expressed out frequently regarding her anorexia and her hard work to improve, and the danger of eating disorders on the fashion business.

Longtime acting instructor of Caro, Daniele Dubreuil-Prevot, expressed during an interview to the news agency AP on Wednesday that Caro expired on Nov. 17 consequent to returning to France from a service in Tokyo.

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Sandy Bridge

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Intel tracks 500 design wins for Sandy Bridge chips

By Dan Nystedt and Agam Shah

The world's largest chip maker will show off its most advanced line of microprocessors ever at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Wednesday, complete with a range of laptop and desktop PCs with the chips inside.

The new family of processors, which will lose their Sandy Bridge codename, includes dozens of new chips, according to Uday Marty, director of basic mobility platforms at Intel, during a briefing in Taipei ahead of CES.

The new processor family is the second generation to take on the 'Core' processor name. Four of them will be Core i3 chips, while 12 will be Core i5 chips and another dozen will be Core i7 chips.

A number of Intel partners will show off their latest laptops and desktops with the new processors inside this week at CES.

"We're already tracking 500 design wins," including notebooks and desktops, Marty said.

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Navy

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Gay groups praise Navy's condemnation of videos

By Greg Jaffe

The Navy moved quickly on Monday to pledge to investigate videos in which a senior officer uses anti-gay slurs and mimicks masturbation, while a prominent gay rights group praised the military's condemnation of the videos.

Capt. Owen Honors, who commands the USS Enterprise, based in Norfolk, Va., stars in the videos that were aired on the aircraft carrier's closed-circuit television system in 2006 and 2007 when he was the ship's second in command. In recent days, the videos have made Honors an Internet sensation.

"What we see here is, unfortunately, a 49-year-old Navy captain acting like a 19-year-old fraternity boy," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which has advocated for gay military members. "There is no place for that type of frat-house behavior."

Honors appeared in the videos while he was the USS Enterprise's executive officer. He took command of the ship, which is expected to deploy soon, in May. The officer who captained the ship in 2006 and 2007 has been promoted to rear admiral.

It is not clear why the videos are surfacing now or whether the Navy investigated the videos earlier and decided to promote Honors to the USS Enterprise's top job despite their content.

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Macheda

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Macheda happy with loan move

Striker confident he will return to United a stronger player

By Simone Bargellini 

Federico Macheda is looking forward to his loan move to Sampdoria and is confident it will boost his long-term prospects at Manchester United.

The striker is being allowed out on loan during the second half of the season in order to play regular first-team football after only being a fringe figure at United.

He had been wanted by several clubs, including Premier League side West Brom and former team Lazio, but has plumped for a switch toSampdoria.

Macheda expects to finalise the deal later this week and is ready to fight for his place with the Serie A side.

Happy

The Italy Under 21 forward told Gazzetta dello Sport: "There are still a couple of faxes (to be sent) but sometime between Wednesday and Thursday I will be in Italy.

"I am only playing 10-20 minute spells in games currently and that is not helping my growth. Ferguson is of the same opinion.

"In this regard, we are all happy because in six months' time, Manchester United will get a stronger player.

"I'm happy to go to Sampdoria. Genoa is a beautiful city and I am happy.

"Sampdoria was the club which really tried to take me. With Lazio, there was never anything concrete.

"I need to play regularly and I think this is the best choice, but nobody has assured me a place. I'll have to earn it.

"In Manchester, there was too much competition. Ferguson is a teacher, the best coach in the world and I'm sorry to leave him, even for a short period, but he also encouraged me to take this new experience."

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