Newspapers Online 11-04-2013 | ScienceTechno

In an emailed statement, an IBM India spokeswoman confirmed the company had received a tax notice, but declined to comment on the amount of tax liability or the nature of the notice.

India's Income Tax office issued the company a notice for under-reporting revenue for fiscal 2009 by the Indian unit, the Business Standard newspaper said, citing a tax official.

"IBM does not agree with the tax department's claims and will aggressively defend itself through the appropriate judicial process," the IBM India spokeswoman said.

IBM has been locked in a tax dispute with authorities related to its 2009 reporting year income, media have reported previously.

Officials at India's income tax office were not available for comment on Saturday.

In its latest 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), IBM said it had recorded $394 million in prepaid income tax in India "at" September 30, 2013. IBM said a "significant portion" of that amount was paid in order to reserve its right to appeal previous tax assessments in India, which it said it expects to win in appeal.

The tax office notice was a draft assessment order which can be challenged by IBM before the appellate authorities, the Business Standard said

Anonymous Indonesia tweeted a list of more than 100 Australian sites it had hacked on Sunday, saying the action was in response to reports of spying by Australia.

The websites, defaced with a message reading "Stop Spying on Indonesia", are mainly owned by small Australian businesses and seemed to have been chosen at random.

News of Australia's role in a US-led surveillance network could damage relations with Indonesia, Australia's nearest Asian neighbour and an important strategic ally.

Reports that the Australian embassy in Jakarta was being used for spying prompted Indonesia to summon the Australian ambassador on Friday.

The newspaper said its reporters found a range of items on the site over the past week, including what was presented by the vendor as a complete Auschwitz uniform worn by a Polish baker who perished in the Nazi death camp.

The Mail on Sunday said it had alerted eBay and that the online auctioneer had removed 30 items from sale and offered to make a donation of 25,000 pounds ($40,000) to a suitable charity.

In a statement, eBay said: "We are very sorry these items have been listed on eBay and we are removing them. We don't allow listings of this nature, and dedicate thousands of staff to policing our site and use the latest technology to detect items that shouldn't be for sale.

"We very much regret that we didn't live up to our own standards. We have made a donation to charity to reflect our concern," said the company, which receives a commission on items sold and charges vendors a listing fee.

The Mail on Sunday said eBay had been unable to say how long such items may have been for sale on its website.

The paper said the purported Auschwitz uniform had been priced at 11,300 sterling by the vendor, a Ukrainian man based in Canada, who had sold another batch of clothing purporting to be linked to Auschwitz for $18,000 last year.

The report quoted the vendor, named as Viktor Kempf, as saying he had been criticized in the past for selling such items, but did so to "document" them and to fund history book projects.

"I don't want people to think I'm just doing it for the money. These periods in history are horrific, nobody should ever forget them," Kempf was quoted as saying.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments will help shield Rouhani, who has sought to thaw relations with the West since his surprise election in June, from accusations of being soft on the United States, often characterized in the Islamic Republic as the "Great Satan".

Iran will resume negotiations with six world powers, including the United States, in Geneva on Thursday, talks aimed at ending a standoff over its nuclear work that Tehran denies is weapons-related.

Rouhani hopes a deal there will mean an end to sanctions that have cut the OPEC country's oil exports and hurt the wider economy, but any concession that looks like Iran is compromising on what it sees as its sovereign right to peaceful nuclear technology will be strongly resisted by conservatives.

"No one should consider our negotiators as compromisers," Khamenei said in a speech, a day before the November 4 anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, a pivotal event in U.S.-Iranian relations, the ISNA news agency reported.

"They have a difficult mission and no one must weaken an official who is busy with work," said Khamenei, who wields ultimate power in Iran's dual clerical-republic system, including over the nuclear program.

ENEMY WHO SMILES

Hardline factions, who oppose any thaw in relations with the United States, have criticized Rouhani's negotiating team for not releasing details of the proposal they made to world powers at a previous round of talks in Geneva last month.

They have also resisted calls from moderate Iranian newspapers and prominent figures including former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to drop the "Death to America" chant, often heard at Friday prayers throughout Iran.

Khamenei reiterated previous statements that he is not optimistic about the outcome of nuclear talks but said he saw no downside to holding the negotiations.

"With God's permission, we will not be harmed by these negotiations ... if the negotiations reach a conclusion then all the better, but if they don't it will mean that the country must stand on its own feet," Khamenei said.

He also criticized the United States for continuing to impose sanctions and threatening possible military action. Both Washington and its ally Israel say the military option to prevent Iran getting nuclear weapons is something they do not rule out.

"We should not trust an enemy who smiles," Khamenei said. "From one side the Americans smile and express a desire to negotiate, and from another side they immediately say all options are on the table."

By 3 p.m. (9 a.m. ET), only a fraction of eligible voters in a volatile Serb pocket of northern Kosovo had cast votes in the country-wide council and mayoral elections.

Participation of the Serb north is central to an agreement reached in April to integrate the 40,000-50,000 Serbs living there with the rest of Kosovo, which is majority Albanian and declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Serbia had called on Serbs in northern Kosovo to take part for the first time, with the European Union holding out the prospect of membership talks with Belgrade - slated to begin in January - as a reward.

But on the northern, mainly Serb side of Mitrovica, a former mining town split along ethnic lines since Kosovo's 1998-99 war, turnout was just 7 percent four hours before polls closed, compared with 32 percent Kosovo-wide.

Those who did vote were jeered and abused by groups of Serb hardliners, many of whom had traveled from Serbia, gathered outside polling stations and filming those who entered.

"These elections are an act of high treason that will ultimately cut Kosovo off from Serbia and lead to a Serb exodus from Kosovo," said 22-year-old student Negovan Todorovic. "Belgrade is betraying Kosovo for the vague prospect of the so-called benefits of so-called European integration."

Krstimir Pantic, a Belgrade-backed candidate for mayor in north Mitrovica, was attacked on the street by two masked men late on Friday, suffering cuts and bruises to his face.

Pantic was cursed by dozens of Serbs wearing badges that read "Boycott 100 percent" as he entered a polling station to vote, only to find that two out of four members of the voting commission had failed to turn up.

"I am calling on people to come out and vote," he said later as the extent of the boycott became apparent, "or we could have Albanians in power."

THREATS

Preliminary results are expected on Sunday evening but are unlikely to bring about much change at the state level.

It was first visible in the southern United States, before sweeping east across the Atlantic Ocean and the African continent.

The US space agency, Nasa, said the greatest total eclipse occurred over the Atlantic Ocean.

One of the best views was in northern Kenya, where tour companies organised trips to view a total blackout.

Local myths there attribute the event to the Moon eating the Sun. Partial views were available in eastern North America and southern Europe.

Halo This solar eclipse was a rare occurrence in that it was "hybrid" - switching between an annular and total eclipse.

In a total eclipse, the Moon completely covers the sun, while an annular eclipse occurs when the Moon is at its farthest from the Earth and does not block out the Sun completely, leaving a halo of sunlight still visible around the Moon.

The eclipse event began about 1,000km (620 miles) east of Jacksonville, Florida with an annular eclipse visible for four seconds at sunrise. As the Moon's shadow raced east the eclipse switched from annular to total along a narrow corridor.

The greatest total eclipse occurred in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 330km south-west of Liberia, and lasted for more than one minute.

The eclipse continued across Africa through the Congos until it passed through northern Uganda and northern Kenya, ending in southern Ethiopia and Somalia.

Either side, a partial eclipse was seen within a much broader path including eastern North America, northern South America, southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Experts warned that no-one should attempt to view the Sun with the naked eye.

A safe view of eclipses can be obtained by using special welder's glasses or a pinhole camera. Do you live along the pathway of the forthcoming eclipse? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.

Militia from Iran and Iraq and the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, who overran two southern suburbs last month, are looking to build up their advances by capturing opposition districts closer to the center of Damascus, the sources said.

Fighters from the al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State for Iraq and the Levant, which is heavily comprised of foreign jihadists, have joined Islamist rebel brigades and Free Syrian Army units in close quarters fighting around the district of Hajar al-Aswad.

Hajar al-Aswad is mainly inhabited by refugees from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. It is one of a series of Sunni districts on the edge of Damascus at the forefront of the uprising against Assad, who belongs to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that has dominated Syria since the 1960s.

Rami Al-Sayyed, an activist in Hajar al-Aswad, said the bombardment was the heaviest since the uprising erupted in March 2011.

"We are being hit with mortars, tanks, artillery, and rockets. Civilians trying to find a way to flee are not spared. Over the last few days field hospitals took more than 150 wounded, mainly civilians," he said.

Activists said aerial, artillery and rocket barrages on Hajar al-Aswad had killed at least 30 civilians in the last three days. Ten rebels were also killed.

No firm casualty figure was available for their opponents but opposition sources said up to 30 foreign Shi'ite fighters were killed and wounded in an ambush by al-Qaeda linked Islamists last week.

HUNGER

Heavy fighting was reported in the adjacent neighborhood of Sbeineh, situated on the southern highway between Damascus and Deraa, and in the nearby district of Hajeera.

"People continue falling...in Hajar al-Aswad as heavy regime bombardment enters its fourth day. Artillery fire on the besieged district has not stopped," a statement by the Syrian Revolution General Commission said.

The statement said a four-year old also died on Sunday from malnutrition brought about by the siege, which has already caused several deaths among children. The deaths could not be independently confirmed.

On his first visit to Egypt since the army removed president Mohamed Mursi in July, Kerry called for fair, transparent trials for all citizens. However, he described Cairo as a vital partner, apparently trying to repair relations hurt by a partial freeze in U.S. aid, pending progress on democracy.

Kerry said the relationship between the United States and Egypt should not be defined by aid but by a political and economic partnership.

When Egypt's first democratically elected president stands trial on Monday, Kerry will already be on the next stage of his trip in Riyadh - where he must also try to soothe Saudi worries about Washington's positive response to overtures from Iran, and its stand on the war in Syria.

Referring to his recent comment that the Egyptian generals were restoring democracy when they deposed Mursi after mass protests against his rule, Kerry said: "Thus far there are indications that this is what they are intending to do."

Relations between the United States and Egypt have deteriorated since Mursi's overthrow, which unleashed violence in which hundreds have died, even though the government has published a "road map" for an eventual return to democracy.

Kerry said the roadmap was "being carried out to the best of our conceptions".

"NOT A PUNISHMENT"

Washington has repeatedly urged the interim government to act with restraint in cracking down on Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters.

Kerry acknowledged that last month's decision by President Barack Obama to freeze some military aid as well as $260 million in cash, pending progress on democracy and human rights, had not gone down well in Cairo.

"We knew that in some places obviously that wouldn't be well received, but it's not a punishment," he told reporters after meeting Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy. "President Obama has actually worked very, very hard to be able to make certain that we're not disrupting the relationship with Egypt."

Kerry also held separate meetings with interim President Adly Mansour and army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the man who deposed Mursi.

Rockstar, the consortium that bought the Nortel patents for $4.5 billion, sued Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, HTC Corp, Huawei and four other companies for patent infringement in U.S. District Court in Texas. Rockstar is jointly owned by Apple, Microsoft, Blackberry, Ericsson and Sony.

Google is accused of infringing seven patents. The patents cover technology that helps match Internet search terms with relevant advertising, the lawsuit said, which is the core of Google's search business.

A Google spokesman declined to comment. Representatives for Samsung, Huawei, HTC and Rockstar could not immediately be reached.

Samsung, Huawei and HTC all manufacture phones that operate on Google's Android operating system, which competes fiercely with Apple and Microsoft mobile products.

In 2011 Google placed an initial $900 million bid for Nortel's patents. Google increased its bid several times, ultimately offering as much as $4.4 billion.

After losing out to Rockstar on the Nortel patents, Google went on to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, a deal driven partly by Motorola's library of patents.

"Despite losing in its attempt to acquire the patents-in-suit at auction, Google has infringed and continues to infringe," the lawsuit said.

Rockstar is seeking increased damages against Google, as it claims Google's patent infringement is willful, according to the complaint.

It comes just days after a person claiming to be part of the group posted an online video threatening to hit out at the country's infrastructure.

The video protested Singapore's new licensing regulations for news sites.

The hacker, dubbed The Messiah, said the paper's report on the video was misleading.

The hacker left a comment on a section of the site saying: "Dear ST: You just got hacked for misleading the people!"

The message alleged that the Straits Times reporter who blogged on the video "chose to conveniently modify the sentence 'war against the Singapore government' into 'war against Singapore'".

"That in our opinion can be very misleading," the hacker posted.

The post added "the media has also misled our intentions by stating that we had plans to attack the infrastructure of Singapore on the 5th of November".

"That is ONLY our intention if the internet framework gets implemented. Not otherwise," it said.

Under new rules, unveiled by the Media Development Authority earlier this year, sites "that report regularly on issues relating to Singapore and have significant reach among readers" require individual licences.

Singapore Press Holdings, the firm the runs the Straits Times, said in a statement it had the taken down the affected blog from its site and also made a police report.

The paper also reported that the government's IT Security Incident Response Team - set up to co-ordinate responses to a cyber intrusion, had alerted all government agencies after the video was posted on YouTube on Tuesday.

AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson has said there is a "huge opportunity" to invest in mobile broadband in Europe and he would buy wireless assets if they were available at the right price.

AT&T is the second-largest mobile provider in the United States after Verizon Wireless. But it is not adding new customers in its home market as fast as Verizon, and it is also ceding market share to much smaller rival T-Mobile US.

Vodafone sold its stake in Verizon Wireless to its joint venture partner Verizon Communications Inc for $130 billion in September, leaving it with a pan-European business spanning Britain to Romania and operations in the Middle East and Africa.

AT&T has been eyeing Europe since the beginning of the year and has considered options including Vodafone and Britain's largest mobile carrier EE, a joint venture of Orange and Deutsche Telekom, sector bankers have previously told Reuters.

A Bloomberg report on Thursday, citing people familiar with the situation, said AT&T was examining how it could divide Vodafone up after a deal, keeping some assets and disposing of others. The companies have not entered formal negotiations, the report said.

Shares in Vodafone were up 2.9 percent to 231 pence at 1104 GMT, the biggest gainers on the FTSE 100 index of blue-chip stocks.

Espirito Santo analyst Robert Grindle said it was logical for AT&T to consider its options regarding Vodafone, following its U.S. exit.

Mr Kerry is the most senior Obama administration official to have commented directly on an issue that has upset America's European allies.

He said he will work with the president to prevent further inappropriate acts by the National Security Agency.

His comments come as Asian countries have protested at claims that Australia was involved in a US-led spy network.

China has demanded an explanation of the reports, while Indonesia has summoned the Australian ambassador to Jakarta.

In other developments:

Major technology companies including Google, Apple and Yahoo have called for the US government to do more to rein in the NSA's activities. A German MP said ex-US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden is willing to travel to Berlin to help investigations into the alleged surveillance of Angela Merkel's phone. Indonesia's foreign minister said reports that the NSA used Australian embassies to eavesdrop on Asian countries would indicate a "serious breach" of diplomatic rules. In his comments, Mr Kerry also defended the need for increased surveillance, saying it had thwarted terrorist attacks.

"We have actually prevented airplanes from going down, buildings from being blown up, and people from being assassinated because we've been able to learn ahead of time of the plans," Mr Kerry told a conference in London via video link.

"I assure you, innocent people are not being abused in this process, but there's an effort to try to gather information. And yes, in some cases, it has reached too far inappropriately.

"And the president, our president, is determined to try to clarify and make clear for people, and is now doing a thorough review in order that nobody will have the sense of abuse... we are going to make sure that does not happen in the future." he said. Mr Kerry, in his remarks to a conference organised by the Open Government Partnership, said that while some surveillance may have been excessive, claims that up to 70 million were being monitored were an "exaggeration".

Claims about the extent of US surveillance of targets such as European leaders have strained Washington's diplomatic relations with some of its key allies.

'Serious breach' Last week it was alleged that German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone had been tapped for up to 10 years.