News 1st Look: GCC welcomes collapse of Gaddafi regime in Libya

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

GCC welcomes collapse of Gaddafi regime in Libya

GCC welcomes collapse of Gaddafi regime in Libya
Forbes names Sonia seventh most powerful woman
Indian-origin analyst fined $34m for insider trading
Journalists freed from Tripoli hotel after days
East Coast quake strongest since World War II
Israeli military: Aircraft strike Gaza gunmen
Indian featured on 'America's Most Wanted' is arrested
From hiding, Gaddafi tells Libyans to free Tripoli

GCC welcomes collapse of Gaddafi regime in Libya

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The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has welcomed the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi regime, saying the group will continue its support for the Libyan people to realise their hopes for a better future.

Forbes names Sonia seventh most powerful woman

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Congress party president Sonia Gandhi figures as the seventh most powerful woman of the world in the Forbes list which is topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The 64-year-old Sonia Gandhi, who is recouping from surgery in a US hospital, is ranked seventh, just ahead of US First Lady Michelle Obama in a list of 100 most powerful women of the world released by the Forbes magazine. Indian-American Indra Nooyi, the head of soft drink giant PepsiCo, has been ranked fourth, followed by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and Melinda Gates co-chair and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Two Indian corporate executives Chandra Kochhar of the ICICI (43rd) and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon (99th) have figured in this list in which the third place is occupied by President Dilma Rousseff, who became Brazil's first woman president. "Lauded for overseeing heavy economic growth, she is also criticized for tolerating political corruption and failing to forge connections with India's fastest-growing demographic--younger voters," said Forbes about Sonia Gandhi. "Gandhi is an avid scholar of the arts, and holds a degree in oil painting conservation. She recently underwent surgery in the US," it added. "The managing director and CEO of India's second-largest bank, Chanda Kochhar rules over assets of $118 billion and profits of $1.35 million," Forbes said. "India's first biotech entrepreneur, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw founded Biocon in 1978 at just 25. Since then Biocon has become only the second Indian firm to list a USD 1 billion IPO on its first day of trading," it added.

Indian-origin analyst fined $34m for insider trading

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An Indian-origin former analyst has been accused of providing confidential company information in the Raj Rajaratnam-led insider trading scheme, has been fined $34 million for his role in the scheme. Deep Shah, who was with credit ratings agency Moody's is currently believed to be in India. He has failed to "appear, answer or otherwise defend the Securities and Exchange Commission's action," the Commission said on Thursday. Judge Jed Rakoff in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered that Shah was liable to pay a $24.6 million fine and $9.9 million in restitution plus interest. The SEC had filed its action against Shah on October 16, 2009, which alleged that hedge fund company Galleon, its chief Raj Rajaratnam and Deep Shah engaged in a widespread insider trading scheme involving hedge funds, industry professionals and corporate insiders. A resident of New Jersey at the time, Shah was employed at Moody's as a lodging industry analyst. SEC alleged that Shah violated federal securities laws by tipping an individual investor Roomy Khan about material and non-public information related to the July 2007 acquisition of Hilton Hotels by the Blackstone Group and the March 2007 acquisition of Kronos by Hellman & Friedman. Khan traded on the basis of this information and also tipped others. He paid Shah cash for the inside information he gave them. Shah left Moody's in late 2007 or early 2008 and fled the country to avoid facing the insider trading charges. Khan pleaded guilty in 2009 to criminal conspiracy and securities fraud charges and has been cooperating with the government's investigation. Rajaratnam was convicted in May of insider trading and conspiracy. Prosecutors have recommended a maximum term of 24 and a half years when he is sentenced next month. The probe into the Galleon insider trading case, one of the largest in the country's history, has led to more than two dozen arrests and 21 guilty pleas.

Journalists freed from Tripoli hotel after days

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International journalists were freed from the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli today, after being held for five days by armed men loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. The dozens of journalists were taken in Red Cross cars and vans to another Tripoli hotel, where they hugged friends and colleagues, many crying. The International Committee of the Red Cross was talking to loyalist forces about the journalists' safety today when they were suddenly informed that Gaddafi's men were ready to release them.

East Coast quake strongest since World War II

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Tens of millions of people from Georgia to Canada were jolted on Tuesday by the strongest earthquake to strike the East Coast since World War II. Three weeks before the 10th anniversary of September 11, office workers poured out of New York skyscrapers and the Pentagon, relieved it was nothing more sinister than an act of nature.

Israeli military: Aircraft strike Gaza gunmen

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Violence along the Gaza-Israel border heated up on Wednesday, with Israeli airstrikes on militant targets and militant rocket fire at Israel.

Indian featured on 'America's Most Wanted' is arrested

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US authorities have arrested an Indian national, who featured on the "America's Most Wanted" TV show, in Los Angeles over the 1999 slaying of his teenage ex-girlfriend in Canada.