Must Reads: Insider attacks, Somali hopes and Twitter

From insider attacks in Afghanistan to justice for Mexican women, here are the five stories you shouldn't miss from this past week in global news:

India limits social media after unrest

Can Somalia dare to hope for the future?

Seeking justice for Mexico state's female victims

Syria Christian refugees in Lebanon fear Islamist rebels

Afghanistan 'insider' attacks pose threat to West's exit strategy

-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Photo: People from northeast India are seen onboard the Lokmanya Tilak Express train at a city railway station in Mumbai on Aug. 18, 2012, after rumors of possible violence. Credit: Divyakant Solanki / European Pressphoto Agency

India hosts Pakistani lawmakers during Parliament meltdown

NEW DELHI -- India played host to 13 Pakistani lawmakers this week to bolster relations and highlight the world’s largest democracy in action, but it hasn’t been the best time to showcase effective governance here.

Parliamentary business has been pretty much shut down for several days, and the brief periods when the body was in session were marked more by hoots, hollers and catcalls than measured debate or the reasoned passage of laws.

The uproar centers on the latest corruption scandal to hit the beleaguered Congress Party-led government, this one involving the allocation of coal concessions, which have reportedly cost the treasury about $34 billion. The opposition has threatened to boycott Parliament until Prime Minister Manmohan Singh resigns.

On the agenda for consideration during the current monthlong monsoon session ending Sept. 8 are bills related to the fight against corruption, food security and land acquisition. So far, however, no new laws have emerged from the lower house. By some estimates, each lost day in parliament costs India $400,000.

The visit by the 13-member Pakistani delegation comes as the two nations try and ease distrust and improve trade links in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attack by gunmen who New Delhi maintains were trained in Pakistan.

With little official business to handle, Indian lawmakers were able to meet their Pakistani counterparts in leisurely fashion, discussing the need for easier visa protocols, more people-to-people contact and other confidence-building measures. On Saturday, the Pakistanis traveled to central Bihar state to meet with its chief minister.  

Everything’s relative, however. Although the Indian Parliament missed 11 days last year because of protests over the issue of foreign investment and passed just 26 laws, a comparison of the legislative calendars in the two countries by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency found that Indian lawmakers still passed 60% more bills than their Pakistani counterparts.

The Pakistani lawmakers return home Sunday. "It is a great fortune that India and Pakistan are neighbors that work in favor of each other," the Meira Kumar, India’s speaker of the lower house, said in a statement about hosting the delegation. "Our relationship goes back in history through civilizational bonds and beyond."

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-- Mark Magnier

Photo: Greenpeace activists dressed as coal miners unfurl a giant banner against the coal scam near Parliament in New Delhi this week as India's opposition targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over allegations of government corruption. Credit: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images 

Novartis patent case in India seen as crucial for generic drugs

The Indian Supreme Court is scheduled Wednesday to take up a case that aid agencies warn could have sweeping effects on the price of medicine for the global poor.

The Swiss drug company Novartis is seeking a patent from India for a drug called Glivec, which is used to treat a rare form of leukemia and gastrointestinal tumors. The drug, known as Gleevec in the United States, has received patents in many countries and is viewed by the company as intellectual property that advances medicine and is deserving of patent protection to ensure that groundbreaking research can continue.

But those who oppose granting the patent to Novartis say that doing so could ultimately undercut the making of generic drugs that has given India a reputation as a mecca for making affordable medicine.

"The effects could be enormous," said Judit Rius, U.S. Access Campaign manager for Doctors Without Borders. "It is one of the most important cases on access to medicine right now."

Indian law allows the country to turn down patents for medicines that officials determine do not yield new benefits for patients over existing drugs. The law is meant to stop “evergreening” -- companies tweaking drugs slightly to keep them under patent longer.

The Indian law sets a higher bar than many other countries for drug patents, a frustration to pharmaceutical companies that say they need greater protection for innovation. India only started patenting medicines seven years ago when required to under a World Trade Organization agreement.

Six years ago, India turned down Novartis for a patent on Glivec, saying it was too much like older medicines on the market. Novartis argues that its form of the medicine was “a breakthrough.”

Novartis has lost earlier court challenges. Aid agencies have urged the company to drop the case, fearing that if it wins, it could open the door to rampant evergreening, paralyzing the Indian market for affordable generic drugs to treat HIV/AIDS and other maladies in the developing world.

Doctors Without Borders has called the court case an “attack on generic medicines,” Oxfam “a massive threat” to the poor and ill. Indian generics make up the bulk of medicines used to treat HIV/AIDS in developing countries, the groups said, and Glivec could set a perilous precedent.

Before granting patents, “the question has to be asked -- how much real innovation is going on?” said Tahir Amin, co-founder of the Initiative for Medicines, Access and Knowledge, which challenges drug patents it sees as questionable. “If you just improve the shelf life of a drug, that isn’t really a groundbreaking discovery. India has been trying to curb some of that behavior.”

Novartis says the case will not stop people in poorer countries from getting drugs they need. The vast majority of Indians who need Glivec get it for free through a company program, Novartis said. Generic drugs created before 2005 will still be available, it added.

“This case is not about changing the availability of existing generic medicines, but about protecting intellectual property to advance the practice of medicine and to serve patients’ unmet needs,” Ranjit Shahani of Novartis India wrote in Business Line, an Indian newspaper.

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Indian parliament adjourns with hoots and chants over coal scandal

-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Indian parliament adjourns with hoots and chants over coal scandal

NEW DELHI – India’s beleaguered government faced its latest corruption scandal Tuesday as parliament took up the issue of alleged malfeasance in the coal mining industry, with calls made for the prime minister’s resignation. After hooting, chanting and banging, and several attempt to launch a discussion in both houses, the legislative body adjourned for the day in disorder.

The ruckus followed the release of a government audit Friday that concluded that India's treasury lost more than $33 billion in sweetheart deals and underpricing between 2005 to 2009 when coal mining blocks of land were handed out without auctions. Tuesday was parliament’s first day in session since the report was released.

The scandal, dubbed “Coalgate” by the media, is particularly troublesome for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh because he oversaw India's coal portfolio between 2004 and 2007 in addition to his other responsibilities. Critics say Singh is honest but has allowed questionable dealings to take place on his watch.

The allegations are the latest in a string of corruption cases to tarnish the telecommunications, real estate, defense and sports industries. They coincide with a period of policy inertia, high inflation, slower economic growth and limited progress in carrying out reforms.

The prime minister’s office has denied any wrongdoing, as have power companies, who say any benefits were passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices.

The opposition sought Tuesday to capitalize on the latest setback. “People are shocked to see the way [the government] is looting the country," said Prakash Javadekar, leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

"It is the demand of the nation,” he said, that Singh resign.

But that seems unlikely in the near term given ongoing support within the ruling coalition for Singh’s Congress Party. And while each new scandal weakens the government, analysts said, there’s no obvious alternative.

The opposition has had its own share of corruption scandals, said Ram Puniyani, secretary with Mumbai’s Center for Society and Secularism, a civic group. “Corruption," Puniyani said, "is related to power.”

Salman Khurshid, India’s law minister, told reporters outside parliament Tuesday there’s been “ample transparency” in allocating coal mining land parcels, adding that the government should be given the benefit of the doubt. “We can't start every inquiry and every assessment with a presumption of lack of integrity,” he said.

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Can Somalia dare to hope for the future?

Phyllis Diller, outlandish comedian, dies at 95

Somalia has new parliament but no president yet

-- Mark Magnier

Photo: Indian police prepare to remove a Greenpeace activist as he holds a banner near the area of government offices and the Indian parliament in New Delhi on Tuesday.  Credit: Associated Press 

 

 

 

Must Reads: Tigers, Putin opponents and a secret summer retreat

From Russians protesting against Vladimir Putin to the woes befalling Israeli sperm, here are the five stories you shouldn't miss from this week in global news:

In Mexico, Yo Soy 132 ponders next step

Putin's opponents feel the heat in Russia

Israeli sperm banks find quality is plummeting

India hotels, resorts suffer under tiger tourism ban

China leaders' summer retreat to Beidahe shrouded in secrecy

-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Photo: A tiger walks past a vehicle carrying tourists at Ranthambore National Park in Ranthambore, India. Credit: Mustafa Quraishi / Associated Press

As Olympics wind down, India's 'mystery lady in red' moves on

NEW DELHI -- Madhura K. Nagendra, the mystery “lady in red” who sparked anger and wounded pride among many Indians when she appeared alongside athletes at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics last month, said she’s tried to tune out all the hateful responses and doesn’t think the 15 minutes of fame will help her dance career or future professional life.

“It’s all over and done, I’m just trying to concentrate on my work,” she said by telephone from Bangalore on Friday. “I’m an introvert. I don’t even think in dance it would help my career. Maybe if I were going for mainstream movies, it might, but I don’t think so.”

Nagendra kicked up a dust storm when, initially unidentified, she appeared in a red track top and blue trousers at the head of the 40-athlete Indian contingent beside flag-bearer and wrestler Sushil Kumar. Indian officials jumped on the London organizers for security lapses, as others fumed that India was insulted in its moment of glory.

"The Indian contingent was shown for hardly 10 seconds in the TV coverage,” India’s acting Olympic delegation head, P. K. Muralidharan Raja, told the Press Trust of India news service, “and the entire focus sadly was on this lady, instead of the athletes."

Social media went viral, slamming her as a potential terrorist, gate-crasher, attention seeker. “Mystery woman stirs trouble,” blared one Indian TV headline. “India clueless,” said another, as websites sprung up showing doctored images of her gate crashing the moon landing, the birth of India in 1947 and President Obama’s swearing-in ceremony. Social critics ventured that her actions epitomized a sense of entitlement among young affluent Indians.

After a bit of poking around, Olympic officials confirmed she had Games credentials and was vetted as part of the opening ceremony dance cast. “She was slightly overexcited," Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London organizing committee, told the media.

Nagendra, whose Facebook page (now deactivated) describes her as "a very bouncy, lively, cheerful, confident, talented and amiable juvenile lass," declined to speak about how she happened to wander into the delegation or what exactly she was thinking, adding that she had said enough. But in earlier comments to India’s NDTV network she said things were a bit chaotic that night, the lights were bright and she was blinded, leading to her getting swept along by mistake.

She was initially all but oblivious to the storm brewing in India over her appearance, she said, since it wasn’t a big deal in London.

“I learned when my folks called and told me how much hype there was in India, with people saying this and that,” she said. “One thing I’ve learned, the media is immensely powerful.”

Speaking with reporters on her return last week to India, she apologized, terming her appearance an error of judgment and expressing regret that she “hurt the sentiments of my people.”  

Although India is the world’s second-most populous nation with some 1.2 billion people, it hasn’t done well in the Olympics with its one silver and three bronze medals, placing it alongside Slovakia and Armenia.

“With India's medals being few and far between, Madhura has made a case for gate-crashing to be included as an event in future Olympics,” quipped the Economic Times newspaper, while a viral text-message during India’s badminton matches with China suggested that Nagendra be dispatched to distract the opposing team.

Nagendra said it has been pretty difficult living through it all, but adds that she is strong and moving on. And while most of the outcry was negative, she has garnered a few supporters through it all.

“Lighten up, India,” said Twitter user CapitanoRay. “Love the nerve of Olympic 'gate-crasher' Madhura Nagendra,” added Twitter user Putajumperon. “Don't think she owes anyone an apology.” 

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Photo: Indian flag-bearer and wrestler Sushil Kumar looks over at "mystery woman" Madhura K. Nagendra in red during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games last month. Credit: Jonathan Brady / European Pressphoto Agency. 

India reacts with grief, outrage over Wisconsin killing of Sikhs

NEW DELHI -- India reacted with grief and outrage at the news that at least six Sikhs were killed when a gunman attacked them Sunday in their Wisconsin temple as they prayed and prepared food.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, himself a Sikh, said in a statement Monday that he was shocked and saddened by the news and extended his condolences to the families of the victims.

“India stands in solidarity with all the peace-loving Americans who have condemned this violence,” he said, adding that he hoped “such violent acts are not repeated in the future.”

PHOTOS: Gunman opened fire at Sikh temple

On Sunday, a gunman said to be tattooed, white and in his 40s opened fire on worshippers at a suburban Sikh gurdwara, or temple, in Oak Creek, Wisc., before he was shot dead by police. His motives were not clear, although local police labeled it a case of “domestic terrorism.” Initial reports were that he acted alone. The FBI has launched an investigation.

India has a growing problem with gun violence, and ranks second worldwide in absolute numbers of civilian guns at 40 million, according to gunpolicy.org, a website hosted by the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney in Australia. However, guns and ammunition are strictly regulated in India and their numbers and use pales beside America’s estimated 270 million firearms. India has more than 3 guns for every 100 people, compared with about 89 guns per 100 Americans, the world leaders.

“The gun culture in America is a bit disturbing,” said Rohan Sabharwal, 23, a Sikh dressed in an orange turban shopping in a Delhi market. “It’s a sad, regrettable thing to have this happen.”

Must Reads: Underground fires, British patriotism and revenge

From underground fires to British fervor, here are five stories you shouldn't miss from last week in global news:

Iran seethes with discontent during Ramadan

India village fears being swallowed by the earth

London Olympics: British patriotism blossoms amid the Games

U.S. is the driving force behind the fighting in Somalia

Pakistan's tribal justice system: Often a vehicle for revenge

-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Photo: A young woman stumbles as she tries to carry a large basket of coal in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand on Jan. 6, 2011. Credit: Kevin Frayer / Associated Press

Indian court's ruling clears way for Exxon Valdez's final demise

NEW DELHI -- A ruling by India's Supreme Court has cleared the way for the former Exxon Valdez tanker to be dismantled, the final chapter of its notorious career.

The ship that dumped 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989 should land on the beaches of Alang in western Gujarat state later this month, its owners said. The vessel, now named the Oriental Nicety, will be hacked apart by hundreds of low-paid laborers in the world's largest ship graveyard.

Local environmentalists asked the high court in April to block the vessel's entry, arguing that it was laden with toxic chemicals, including mercury, arsenic and asbestos. The court ruled against them this week.

Though the court allowed the ship to die in India, it ruled that future inbound "end-of-life" vessels heading for Alang would have to prove they are in compliance with the U.N. Basel Convention governing the international movement of hazardous waste, a step activists termed a victory of sorts.

Electricity in India long dogged by theft, waste, experts say

This post has been corrected. See note at bottom for details.

Long before blackouts left more than 600 million people in the dark across India this week, analysts inside and outside the country had been fretting over its beleaguered power system.

The problems are manifold: India has ramped up capacity to generate power, but much of it is unused because fuel is lacking or the transmission system can’t handle the added load.

A single company owned by the government provides the vast majority of the coal that many power plants rely on, leaving them vulnerable when it falls short of production targets. India boasts some of the biggest coal reserves in the world, but it has been forced to import tens of millions of tons from elsewhere because of inefficiencies at the state company, experts say.

Shortfalls are also driven by fuel companies refusing to sell their product at the low prices insisted on by the government, said Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, a member of the Asia Society Global Council. India partially subsidizes diesel and other fuel, driving down the cost of electricity. Diesel, for instance, costs roughly 33 rupees a liter, rather than the 46 rupees it might otherwise sell for, according to a report this year by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

The country also provides electricity free to farmers, a politically popular move. Chaudhuri said the agricultural sector wastes “huge amounts of power” as a result.

On top of that, almost one-third of the power generated in India is lost to damaged equipment or theft, nearly three times more than deemed acceptable by the International Energy Agency, wrote Matthews International Capital Management research analyst Siddharth Bhargava in April.

Policing those thefts can be politically dicey: Poor slums are often tapping the electrical lines for free and enforcement might trigger public anger. There are also hints that government officials have looked the other way at electricity theft to help their political fortunes, said Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, with research showing spikes in theft before elections.

State electricity boards have been chronically strapped as a result. Raising tariffs is so unpopular that some of the panels have opted for rolling blackouts instead as they struggle to cover their costs, Bhargava wrote.

An aging grid hasn't helped. The problems have dogged the Indian electricity system for so long that many people rely on generators, Vaishnav said, damping the impact of the blackout. Others never had power at all.

“People kind of shrug their shoulders and say, ‘You learn to work around this,’ ” Vaishnav said.

For the record, 7:49 p.m. July 31: Cost per liter of diesel was changed from dollars to rupees.

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-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles and Mark Magnier in New Delhi

Photo: An Indian man prepares a meal as others sit at a roadside shop during the power outage near a railway station in Allahabad, India, on Tuesday. Credit: S.K. Yadav / Associated Press