Egypt's top Muslim cleric declared today that peaceful protests against the president are permitted, dismissing declarations by Islamist hard-liners that those behind protests planned for June 30 are heretics. 

Swiss lawmakers rejected today a deal proposed by Washington to expose American tax dodgers and halt a raft a US lawsuits provided that Swiss banks that helped stash the cash pay massive fines. 

At least 15 people, including four foreigners, have been killed in an assault by militant Islamists on a UN office in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, a government minister says.

The Afghan government will not take part in peace talks with the Taliban unless the process is "Afghan-led", President Hamid Karzai has said.

Pakistani politician Imran Khan today urged the government and military leaders to build a strategy to halt US drone attacks in the country's northwest as he was sworn into parliament. 

United States Secretary of State John Kerry would travel to India on June 23 to co-chair the 4th India-US strategic dialogue, his spokesperson said today.  

Unlike his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, who had visited other Indian cities besides New Delhi during her three trips to the country, Kerry would be staying in New Delhi only.   

"Topics for discussion will include bilateral and regional economic engagement, regional security and defence, science and technology, climate change, and other global issues such as women's empowerment, non-proliferation andspace cooperation," US state department spokesperson Jen Psakisaid in a statement.

In one of their largest relief and rescue operations in the last several decades, defence forces have deployed over 8,500 personnel and around 20 aircraft in rain-ravaged areas of Uttarakhand.

Defence Minister A K Antony has ordered the three Services to deploy their maximum possible resources in the state and provide all help to civilians and local authorities in rescue and relief operations.

CNN-IBN reports: Minister of State for Home RPN Singh said that the government's primary focus was to rescue people who are stuck in the hilly reaches of Uttarakhand. He added that the conditions are very difficult thought paramilitary is doing its best.

"Roads have been severely affected in Kedarnath," Singh said.

The union cabinet is likely to consider a proposal to build a third metro corridor in Mumbai, which would run from Colaba to Bandra and Santacruz, in its meeting tomorrow.

Sources said the Urban Development Ministry had forwarded a proposal for the setting up of a 33km long underground section that would connect Colaba to Bandra and would run further to Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone.

BBC reports: Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been sentenced to jail in Italy for one year and eight months for tax evasion. The pair were not at the trial and deny the charges.

They are accused of hiding millions of euros from Italian tax authorities.

Read the full story on BBC

 The famous Kedarnath shrine located in the Himalayan ranges in rain-ravaged Uttarakhand is safe but will remain out of bounds for at least one year, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said .

"Kedarnath shrine is safe but it is under a lot of slush," he told PTI in Delhi after a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who announced Rs. 1,000 crore in aid to Uttarakhand to handle the relief and rescue operations.

Cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who was stranded in Joshimath due to incessant rains while on a pilgrimage, was on Wednesday rescued and taken to safety by the Indian Air Force.

"Rescued by 205 army aviation squadron based at mamoon pathankot.thank u. sweet memories with the air crew.god bless," a relieved Harbhajan wrote on his twitter page.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna says 500 roads and 175 bridges have been destroyed in the state because of the massive landslides and heavy rains. Thousands of tourists and pilgrims are still stuck in various parts of the state. He also informed that Gaurikund and Kedarnath route has been washed out.

Reports our correspondent from New Delhi: The Centre is eager to reach a  solution on the Telangana issue, which will satisfy three regions -- coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Telangana. A decision is expected in a fortnight.
This is the message the Centre has conveyed to the Andhra Governor E S L Narasimhan during his two-day in New Delhi.. 

15,000 people are stuck around Badrinath, 5,500 around Kedarnath, says the Army. 9000 people have been rescued so far.

The complete list of those rescued in Kedarnath/Rudraprayag, so far.  

Ganesh Godiyal of the Kedarnath Temple committee says around 500 people were rescued from the temple, where they had taken refuge. Another 1100 are waiting to be rescued. The PM has said that women and children will be resuced first, a SOP for any disaster. 

The PM also said that the priority for the authorities at the moment was to rescue the stranded and provide urgently needed succor to those most in need of it. The PM promises Rs 1 lakh to next of kin of those who died in floods and Rs 50,000 to those injured.

Here's a list of people who have been rescued from Kedarnath.

The Army says approximately 9000 people have been rescued in Uttarakhand. Twelve specialist mountain rescue teams have been inducted, while three battalions from the army are conducting rescue operations in the state.  

Claiming that thousands of people have died in floods and landslides in Uttarakhand [the official figure still remains 100, though the PM has said it is likely to go up], BJP today demanded that the disaster that struck the hill state be declared a national calamity.

"We demand that urgent steps be taken to describe this disaster as a national calamity. Adequate attention on war footing be given for rehabilitation and rescue operations," BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said thousands of people have died in the Uttarakhand floods and has asked Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to use the army for the rescue operations in the state. "Thousands of people have died and there is no rescue operation," Swaraj said on Twitter. BJP President Rajnath Singh also expressed concern over the situation in Uttarakhand and appealed to BJP cadres to provide immediate help and assistance to people affected by the massive floods and landslides.

The PM said that the Central government will work closely with the Uttarakhand government to provide relief to the people.

Uttarakhand CM Vijay Bahuguna has said that over 500 roads across the state have been damaged and 175 bridges washed away.

PM Dr Manmohan Singh addressing a press conference in New Delhi after the aerial survey with Sonia Gandhi, announces a Rs 1000 crore compensation package for flood-devastated Uttarakhand. Calling it a huge tragedy, he said he saw large-scale devastation in the area and warned that the death toll would go up. "Our sympathies lie with the victims of the devastation and I fear the loss of lives will be much higher," he said. 

Election campaigns in India often come with promises of free food, goats, cows and even gold for the poor.But increasingly the list of freebies pledged in case of an election win, includes tech gadgets such as laptops and tablets. Read

This year's monsoon has advanced over India at the fastest rate in over half a century.The rains covered the whole of the country by Sunday June 16, about a month earlier than usual, having made landfall over the western coast on June 1. Read

See the Rediff.com slideshow: Swollen Yamuna leaves 15,000 homeless in Delhi

Uttarakhand CM Vijay Bahuguna who is in New Delhi gives an update on the situation in his state.

"The exact death toll cannot be estimated, but Kedarnath is in debris, but there's not much damage to the temple. It will take one year to start the char dham yatra [Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamnotri all in Uttarakhand]," he said. 

Reacting to criticism that rampant construction and the building of dams has caused havoc in the state, he said that in fact, the Tehri dam prevented western UP from being washed away.

Thanking the states who have pledged monetary help, he said there is no shortage of funds in Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, in Kedarnath, 5,000 guides and their mules that take pilgrims from Gaurikund to Kedarnath are missing.

The death toll in Uttarakhand is estimated as 100, with over 70,000 stranded.

MoS Home Affairs RPN Singh gives an update on the situation in Uttarakhand. Singh says the government's first priority is to get people out of danger. "We are airlifting people from Kedarnath and surrounding areas where the situation is the worst. All the 60,000 stranded in Uttarakhand are not in danger since many are in homes or hotels. Since the weather is better today, helicopters have flown 22 sorties and so far, since floods took place, 2000 to 3000 people have been evacuated."

He rubbished news that there was food shortage in Uttarakhand. The government figures so far is 100 dead in uttarakhand, 70,000 stranded. 

ABP News fakes news, shows Bolivian Bus slide mishap as Uttarakhand Flash Flood relief operation video. See

A survivor back from Uttarakhand tells a TV channel, "if the government knew there were going to be floods here, they should have stopped tourists."

Err...

The water level of the river Yamuna crossed the danger mark of 204.83 metres and reached 206.40 metres today in Delhi. The Flood Control and Irrigation department said the water level would touch 207.05 meters later on Wednesday. Aseem, a resident said, "The water level is expected to rise. We will have to move our shop from this place, if the water level rises. My tea shop is already half submerged, I don't know what I will do."

The rains have been at least twice than heavy as usual in northwest and central India as the June-September monsoon spreads north, covering the whole country a month faster than normal.

Also read: Are there man-made reasons for Uttarakhand disaster?

In other news: A Delhi court today refused to hear the interim bail plea of Vinay Kumar, one of the accused in the December 16 gang-rape case, for appearing in an examination, saying it has "no jurisdiction".

Vinay, who along with three other co-accused is being tried by a special judge at Saket District courts, moved the bail plea before a vacation court at the Patiala House District Courts here.

Vinay had sought interim bail for a month saying he had to appear in BA (Programme) examination to be conducted by School of Open Learning, University of Delhi.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh

In other news: A paranoid Mamata Banerjee says Maoists and a section of the CPI-M are out to kill her.

The Indian Air Force which is carrying out evacuations across flood-devastated Uttarakhand along with the Indian Army says the evacuation will take time to complete. The first priority is to evacuate people from the higher reaches where only helicopters can reach. At the moment people are being evacuated from Kedarnath and brought to Army bases or places where there is food, medicines, shelter. 

Families of those who went to Uttarakhand say they have had no communication from their missing relatives.

Food Minister K V Thomas today said more food grains would be allocated to flood-hit Uttarakhand to provide relief to affected people.

"We have enough stock of foodgrains in our godowns. We are taking measures to allocate more quantity of foodgrains to flood-affected Uttarakhand," Thomas told PTI.

Flash floods, cloudbursts and subsequent land slips in Uttarakhand have claimed over a hundred lives and left thousands of pilgrims for Himalayan shrines stranded.

About 1,000 tonnes each of wheat and rice at the economic cost has already been allocated especially to pilgrims on chardham yatra -- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamnotri, the minister said.

That apart, additional 79,620 tonnes of rice at the minimum support price (MSP) has been allocated to the state on June 13 to families living above poverty line (APL), he added.

Uttrakhand helpline numbers: 01352710334 , 0135 2710335 . +135 271 0233

126 MLAs, including those of Congress, CPI and four Independents vote in favour of Nitish Kumar government; 24, including 22 of RJD and 2 Independents, vote against government amid walk-out by 91 BJP and 1 LJP members.

And yes, as expected, Nitish Kumar wins the confidence motion in the Bihar Assembly with 126 votes as against 24. The halfway mark is 122. The voting was done by a head count, no fancy electronic voting here. The BJP abstained. The Assembly is adjourned.

Nitish Kumar basically blamed the BJP for allying with the JD-U while it suited them.  "The BJP did not Narendra Modi to campaign in the state in 2005 or 2010 to win the elections. Why did Modi suddenly find favour with the party? I remember I had sent back relief funds by the Gujarat government during the Kosi floods because Modi had tried to take credit for it" he said.

The motion is put to vote. The speaker asks those in favour of the motion, to stand up.

The Bihar Assembly set to vote on the trust motion any time now. 

Nitish Kumar gets eloquent: Says, "Ayaa toh baar baar sandesa ameer ka, hamsey lekin ho na saka samjhauta zameer ka. We have no problem with Modi being campaign chief, but he is unacceptable as PM," says Nitish. 

Nitish Kumar also criticised the BJP's decision to back Narendra Modi and said that Modi would be inadequate to serve a country as varied as India. "The Gujarat chief minister will never be able to do justice to the country. Your people, your cadre are happy and enthused, but it does not translate into a victory. It's a dream and it will be broken," he said.

Commenting on the BJP accusing him of betrayal, he said that those who don't know how to treat their elders (read LK Advani) should not talk about betrayal.

Condemning the violence during the bandh in Bihar yesterday, he said the BJP kept asking him to "clear his stand" and "when I did, and decided to pull out, they accuse me of betrayal," he said.

He also thanked the Congress and the PM for pledging support to the JD-U.

Empty seats in the Assembly with the Opposition BJP walking out.

He says other states gave more money, but did not issue advertisements.

Referring to the 2003 video speech released by the BJP where Nitish Kumar was seen praising Narendra Modi, the Bihar CM says in that speech he had also said there was a black spot on Gujarat. 

In the Bihar Assembly, CM Nitish Kumar speaks ahead of the trust vote. He says no party should have the misconception that they can form the government on their own. "This is an era of alliances," he says.

Hitting out at Narendra Modi, he questions the Gujarat CM's culture. "Modi's government donated Rs 5 crore and published huge advertisements. If you are donating money, do you crow about it? What kind of culture is this?"

Here's what the ITPB says. The rain and flood situation in Uttarakhand is quite serious and unprecedented, chief of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police today said in New Delhi.

DG Ajay Chadha said rescue operations will gather pace as the weather has improved today and three battalions of the force (about 3,000 troops) deployed in the state have rescued thousands of people.

"Things are quite unprecedented in Uttarakhand. Situation is grim and quite serious. A number of factors have contributed to this situation like avalanche, cloud burst and continuous rains," Chadha said before leaving for an aerial review of the state along with Union Home Secretary R K Singh and other ministry officials.

About 4,000 people have been rescued by the force from the Govindghat area, he said. He said it would be difficult to give an exact number as to how many people have been stranded and rescued as a number of agencies are operating. Additional reinforcements are ready, if required, for Uttarakhand or Himachal Pradesh where the situation is "not so serious".

The PM and Sonia Gandhi have reached Uttarakhand for an aerial survey of Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, in Bihar -- Four Congress MLAs and one MLA from the CPI have announced their support for Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's Trust Motion in the state assembly.

Congress legislative party leader Sadanand Singh during his speech in the Assembly said that the party leadership has decided to vote in support of the JD-U government led by Nitish Kumar's trust motion.

"Nitish Kumar's government is a secular government and Congress will vote in his favour to keep BJP out of power," Singh said.

Similarly, the only CPI MLA Awadesh Rai said that his party has decided to vote for Nitish Kumar after he ended JD-U alliance with communal BJP.
-- MI Khan

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced an assistance of Rs 5 crore to the monsoon-ravaged Uttarakhand state where heavy rains and landslides have created havoc. Chouhan made this announcement yesterday after receiving reports of major damage in the hill state, famous for the shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri, official sources said.

Meanwhile, the IAF says that four tonnes of relief material have been airdropped, even as Kedarnath goes without food. 580 people have been rescued so far. The Maharashtra government is to send a special plane to bring back those stranded in Uttarakhand and has pledged Rs 10 crore.

How the battle for the position of India's foreign secretary is to be decided by the government's discomfort with the perceived proximity of S Jaishankar to the United States, leaving the field open for Sujatha Singh. Read

The rumors are true. Amazon is providing cloud services to the CIA. But what's most intriguing about the multi-million-dollar deal is not what Amazon is doing, but how the company is doing it -- and what that means for the future of that thing called cloud computing. Read

The Incredible Hulk's style may be timeless, but can it stand up to time? Read

Update on the Uttarakhand floods: The Maharashtra government pledges Rs 100 crore aid to Uttarakhand.

Flash floods and landslips triggered by the monsoon fury left eight more persons dead, taking the number of people killed in calamity-hit Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to 138 even as 2700 pilgrims and locals were rescued from Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts.

Disaster Management authorities said in Chamoli that eight bodies were recovered by villagers late last evening from Bansinarayan area of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. They seem to have perished on Sunday itself in the downpour that lashed the area while they were in search of Kira Jari, a rare aphrodisiac found in the alpine grassland of the sanctuary.


The weather cleared in most places in the north making it easier for rescue personnel to launch operations for those stranded, especially in Badrinath shrine where 12,000 pilgrims are still stuck.

Chamoli Additional District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar said 1500 pilgrims and locals have been evacuated so far from Ghanghariya, Duendhar and Pulna from near Hemkund Sahib in the district to Joshimath relief camps.

With the improvement in weather many more stranded pilgrims are likely to be evacuated to safety by the evening, he said adding evacuation of pilgrims from Badrinath is next on their agenda where 12000 persons are still stranded. 1200 persons have also been evacuated from Kedarnath, an official in Rudraprayag said.

In the summer of 2011, a junior minister's advice carried the day. "Set a terrier to tame the watchdog," he told his seniors at an emergency government meeting. The "watchdog" was the media. Read

Tweet from the army: At Harsil: 1000 Army persons deployed 1350 persons rescued. Clearing of landslides along Rishikesh - Dharasu in progress  

CNN IBN says 5000 people are missing at Gaurikund, the getaway point for Kedarnath. The Kedarnath helicopter base has been destroyed. The Kedarnath temple, however, is reported to be safe, but everything around the temple is destroyed. More than 20 temple staff are missing. The Kedarnath-Badrinath Committee president tells the channel that there is no food or medicines in the area. 

Rediff.com's MI Khan reports from Patna: Ninety-one BJP MLAs walked out from the Bihar assembly today soon after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar moved the Trust Motion.

The BJP legislative party leader in the assembly, Nand Kishore Yadav, announced in his address that the BJP has decided to boycott the trust motion.

"All the BJP's MLAs will walk out," he said.Yadav, who is now leader of the state assembly, accused the CM of betraying the people of Bihar by ending its alliance with the BJP.

Nitish Kumar is set to prove the majority on the floor of the state legislative assembly today, three days after the JD-U ended its 17-year-old alliance with the BJP and the chief minister sacked all 11 BJP ministers from his cabinet.

The JD-U has 118 MLAs, four short of the magic number of 122 required to prove the majority in the Bihar assembly. It has managed support for four independent MLAs. The sole MLA of the CPI is likely to abstain along with four Congress MLAs. The BJP has 91 MLAs and RJD has 22 in the house of 243 members.

Veteran BJP leader LK Advani may have come to terms with Gujarat CM Narendra Modi overtaking him as the face of the party, but close aide Sudheendra Kulkarni still hasn't. Here's what he posted on Rediff.com. Read

Nature's ongoing fury in Uttarakhand has claimed a completely new victim: a helicopter parked safely at a helipad firmly chained to the ground. A private company's six-seater Eurocopter parked near Hemkund Sahib was lost when a swollen Alaknanda submerged the helipad and swept the chopper away, aviation authorities in Delhi said. Read more

PM Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi will make an aerial survey of the rain-ravaged areas in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh today, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde says. 

The Supreme Court today agreed to give an urgent hearing to a PIL on the issue of US National Security Agency snooping on Internet data from India and seeking to initiate action against Internet companies for allowing the agency to access the information.

Agreeing to hear the PIL filed by a former Dean of Law Faculty of Delhi University Professor S N Singh, a bench of justices A K Patnaik and Ranjan Gogoi posted the case for hearing next week.

In his plea, Singh has alleged that such largescale spying by the US authorities is detrimental to national security and urged the apex court to intervene in the matter. He has claimed that the Internet companies are sharing information with the foreign authority in "breach" of contract and violation of right to privacy.

Even as Nitish Kumar presented the trust motion, BJP MLAs entered the Bihar Assembly shouting slogans in favour of Narendra Modi. The BJP says even if Nitish Kumar wins the trust vote, he has lost the trust of the people. 91 BJP legislators and 22 from the RJD are expected to vote against the JD-U. The JD-U has 118 and with the Congress pledging support with four MLAs, Nitish has got the 122 votes he needs to win.

This is the first time since the BJP quit the NDA, that the Bihar Assembly is in session with the BJP members now occupying the opposition benches.

9000 people rescued. 5600 jawans have been deployed. As weather improves, relief work intensifies and being monitored at all the levels, tweets Ajay Maken, General Secretary AICC and Chairman of the Communication Department of the party. 

The Congress Core group meets to discuss Food Security Bill. However, Finance Minister P Chidambaram says the Core group meeting confined only to the flood situation in Uttarakhand. He said the situation in Uttarakhand was better than yesterday.

Over 48 hours after floods, cloudbursts and landslides battered Uttarakhand, there was no official assessment on the number of casualties, while unofficial estimates indicated the death toll might rise "manifold".

While the official death toll was 54 on Tuesday evening, the Press Trust of India put it at 102. In Kedarnath alone, reports of 50 dead and 6000 stranded, though 800 tourists were rescued from Kedarnath. Around 200 relief camps have been set for those stranded. Around 125 people were rescued from Guptkashi in Rudraprayag yesterday and 2500 pilgrims in 100 vehicles on the Pauri-Kotdaar highway. Two army and 10 private helicopters were working in Rudraprayag alone, while 14 helicopters were pressed into service in the affected area of Dehradun. Incessant rains and landslides have hampered rescue operations.

Meanwhile, LK Advani's meeting with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has been postponed for tomorrow. 

BJP nominates Sushil Modi as its leader in the Legislative Council and Nand Kishore Yadav as its leader in the legislative Assembly.

Yadav will be the Leader of the Opposition in state Assembly as BJP is now the main opposition after JD(U) snapped ties with it.

He was the road and highways minister in the JD(U)-BJP government led by Nitish Kumar. JD(U) walked out of the NDA on June 16 on the issue of appointment of Narendra Modi as head of BJP Election Campaign Committee.

Reports suggest that the Congress is likely to vote for Nitish Kumar. The Congress has four legislators. The voting is likely to take place at 2 pm. 

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar moves one-line Trust Motion in the Bihar Assembly. Nitish, in his capacity as the Leader of the House, moved the motion seeking a vote of confidence which would be put to vote, if need be, after a discussion.

Going by numbers, there is no threat to the Nitish government even without the support of BJP, its erstwhile ally of 17 years, since it has the required strength.

In the 243-member House, JD(U) has 118 members, including Speaker, BJP 91, RJD 22, Congress 4, LJP and CPI one each and Independents 6.

JD(U) needs support of four more MLAs to reach the magic figure of 122. It has already got support of four Independents who had attended a JD(U) meeting yesterday where party president Sharad Yadav was also present.

Details awaited.

"Shut up", West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had shouted atKamduni women on Monday. Her party toughs ensured they did. Yesterday, the roar of a hundred women the previous day had been replaced by a deadening stillness. Read

A stunt double for Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie has sued Rupert Murdoch's beleaguered media empire News Corp over allegations its British newspapers hacked her phone, the first lawsuit in the US against the company since a hacking scandal broke out two years ago.

 

The lawsuit filed on June 13 by professional stunt double, Eunice Huthart, said reporters from News Corp's tabloids The Sun and the defunct News of the World, hacked her mobile phone while she was working for Jolie on location in Los Angeles. A spokesman for News Corp declined to comment on the lawsuit.

 

Read more on Al Jazeera

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has said she is proud of the tens of thousands of people who have taken to the streets to demand better education, schools and transport.

 

"My government is listening to the voices calling for change," said Ms Rousseff in her first comments since Monday night's protests. The protests began with demands for bus fare hikes to be revoked.

 

They have turned into a nationwide demonstration against bad governance. "Brazil has woken up a stronger country," said President Rousseff.

 

Read the full report on BBC

Over 100,000 people flooded cities to protest the Brazilian government's services. See the full slideshow on Yahoo News!

The Washington Post: Google is preparing to ask the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government.

 

The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic.

 

Google, one of nine companies named in NSA documents as providing information to the top-secret PRISM program, has demanded that U.S. officials give it more leeway to describe the company's relationship with the government. Google and the other companies involved have sought to reassure users that their privacy is being protected from unwarranted intrusions.

Volkswagen has admitted it lost its way in China, where it sells a third of its cars, saying it suffered a "terrible wake-up call" after discovering its brand reputation had plummeted in the eyes of the Chinese.

 

The admission was made by the German carmaker's chief marketing officer Alexi Orlov, who was speaking at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Tuesday, alongside the PepsiCo chief marketing officer Richard Lee, discussing what it takes to crack the Chinese market.

 

Orlov said: "Thirty years Volkswagen has spent in China. In 2012, we had to spend $1bn on marketing just on the VW brand just to stay in that market. Despite the fact that we had a record breaking 2011 we still had to spend that amount of money. "We had an over-reliance on short-term spend and we had relied on awareness but it was not awareness we should have been worried about but effectiveness. We had a terrible wake-up call in 2010 when we discovered much to our surprise and horror that we were only the 126th best ranked in China as best-loved brands."

 

Read the full report on The Guardian

Leaders of the G8 major economies have agreed new measures to clamp down on money launderers, illegal tax evaders and corporate tax avoiders. Governments agreed to give each other automatic access to information on their residents' tax affairs.

 

They will also require shell companies - often used to exploit tax loopholes and invest money anonymously - to identify their effective owners. The summit communique urged countries to "fight the scourge of tax evasion".

 

Read the full report on BBC

Many Afghan women fear the rights they have enjoyed for the past decade could be reversed once foreign forces leave the country. Foreign troops will officially hand over the last of all combat roles to the Afghan forces on Tuesday.

 

Al Jazeera's Jane Ferguson reports from Kabul.

 

 

Photos: Death toll in North India monsoon fury rises to 130

US, Afghan govt to hold peace talks with Taliban

Yamuna water crosses danger mark, flood threat over Delhi

Nothing less than Telangana acceptable to us: TRS

Antony panel will decide on Congress-JD-U alliance: Digvijaya

Suicide bomber strikes during funeral in Pak; 28 killed

Coal-gate: CBI may record statement of PM's advisor

Way ahead for Food Bill likely to be decided on Wed

Why Obama, Putin look so glum

Nitish faces trust vote tomorrow, expected to win

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