Thai tycoon takes majority control of Singapore's F&N

SINGAPORE: A Thai tycoon has clinched majority control of Singapore conglomerate Fraser and Neave (F&N), making his offer to fully takeover the company unconditional.

TCC Assets, owned by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, said in a statement late Wednesday that its stake in F&N stands at 50.92 per cent after further purchases in the stock market and more shareholders accepting its offer.

With majority control now in the hands of the Thai parties, "accordingly, the F&N offer has become unconditional in all respects," the statement added.

TCC Assets is offering to buy F&N shares it does not already own at S$9.55 apiece, valuing the drinks, property and publishing conglomerate at S$13.75 billion.

The deadline for the rest of the shareholders to accept the offer was extended from February 4 to February 18, according to the statement.

Indonesia-led property firm Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) averted a bidding war earlier this month when it declined to match the offer by the Thais. OUE is linked to Indonesian tycoon Mochtar Riady.

The takeover is said to be the biggest in Singapore's corporate history if it pushes through.

F&N became a takeover target after it sold off its most prized asset, Tiger Beer maker Asia Pacific Breweries, to Dutch giant Heineken in September.

It still has lucrative beverages, property and publishing operations.

Analysts believe more shareholders are likely to accept the offer as it is the only bid on the table.

The market however is closely watching whether Japanese brewer Kirin, which holds a 15 per cent stake in F&N, will sell its interests or remain a minority shareholder.

Kirin had allied itself with OUE in the bidding war. Its 15 per cent stake is worth more than S$2.0 billion at the rate offered by TCC Assets.

Charoen's TCC Group has a real estate unit, and the tycoon also owns Thai Beverage, which sells Chang beer.

- AFP/jc

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Wanting dhoti-clad PM may have caused 'Vishwaroopam' ban: Karunanidhi

CHENNAI: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) president M Karunanidhi on Wednesday wondered whether the Tamil Nadu government's ban on Kamal Haasan's movie "Vishwaroopam" was because the actor wanted a dhoti-clad Tamilian as prime minister.

In a letter to party cadres, Karunanidhi said some sections of people are of the view that the actor earned the ire of the state government after he said that a dhoti-clad Tamilian, referring to Union finance minister P Chidambaram, should become the country's prime minister.

Karunanidhi also said that there is a view among a section of people that a television channel close to the ruling party in the state had offered to buy the rights of "Vishwaroopam", which the actor declined as the price quoted was much lower than what the film was sold for to another channel.

The Tamil Nadu government had earlier banned the release of "Vishwaroopam" for 15 days as it feared the movie could spark a law and order problem because it contained references to the Muslim community that were allegedly derogatory.

Many Muslim organisations had opposed the movie, claiming that it presented the community in poor light.

Earlier in the day, Kamal Haasan told reporters that he was unable to understand why "Vishwaroopam" was banned. The film had cost Rs.95 crore to produce.

Kamal said he would scout for a truly secular Indian state; otherwise, he would settle in some other country that was secular.

"I don't understand what is happening. If I try to understand, I will turn into a politician. I don't want to," the 58-year-old actor said.

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Hello Kitty! Please Don’t Kill Me!

Maybe the butler didn't do it. But the cat probably did.

A new study, published January 29 in Nature Communications, estimates that cats are responsible for killing billions of birds and mammals in the continental U.S. every year. The estimate: 1.4 billion to 3.7 billion bird victims and 6.9 billion to 20.7 billion mammals. Peter Marra, the senior author of the study, called the results "stunning." (Watch: A house cat's point of view.)

"For the last 20, 30, 40 years," he said, "the number that has been batted around as a max was about 500 million."

And there are a lot of potential feline killers. Over 80 million pet cats reside in American homes and as many as 80 million more stray and feral cats survive outside.

The authors found that the stray and feral cats are responsible for most of the kills. But pets aren't exactly innocent: They are blamed for about a third of the bird action. The study also discovered that the cats mainly kill native species like chipmunks and house wrens, not invasive pests like the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus). (Video: Secret lives of cats.)

The study is part of a larger effort to quantify the threats to birds, said Marra, an ecologist with the Migratory Bird Center at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C. Cats happened to be the first threat they considered. Plans are to look at other threats related to human activity: wind turbines, buildings, automobiles, and pesticides. The research is important, Marra said, because "a lot of these causes of mortality may be reversible." He hopes the study will aid policymakers and help cat owners realize "cats are having a larger impact than we thought."

So what can be done about all these wild killer cats?

Current efforts to rein in America's feral cats are insufficient. While a feral cat management technique called Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) stops some cats from reproducing, it doesn't stop those cats from preying on wildlife. The Humane Society of the United States supports TNR as part of the solution, but acknowledges that it will not noticeably reduce the cat population. John Hadidian, a senior scientist with the society, notes that TNR only reaches about two million cats, and it can be "cumbersome and expensive." He hopes that the attention from papers like this will encourage novel approaches like oral contraceptives for cats.

To some cat observers, the study news was no surprise. Economist Gareth Morgan made headlines around the world last week when he launched a proposal to rid New Zealand of cats. Morgan, whose website features a cartoon kitten announcing "I love to kill," believes that pet cats are endangering New Zealand's birds. While his website advocates a New Zealand without cats, and he would like people to make their current cat their last, he says he really wants cats to be regulated the way dogs are. He points to laws enacted in Western Australia as an example: Cats must be registered, neutered, and microchipped. The microchip, a small identifying device embedded under the skin, can be detected by vets or authorities so they can reunite lost pets with their owners and differentiate between pets and strays. "I'm not saying they should kill their cats," Morgan said. "If they are really into cats, that's fine, but you must control them."

Morgan admits this is "an emotional issue" in a country where nearly half of the households have at least one feline. "It's not that cat owners don't care," Morgan said, "it's that they haven't thought about it."

Meanwhile, people in the U.S. aren't likely to turn on cats either. Cat ownership has increased from about 56 million pet cats in the mid-1990s to the current count of 80 million. Though cats are viewed as both a conservation threat and a human companion, the Humane Society's Hadidian thinks common ground can be reached. "Both the bird people and the cat people want the same thing," he said, "fewer cats outdoors."

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Giffords to Senate: 'Americans Are Counting on You'

Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, whose congressional career was ended by a bullet wound to her head, opened a Senate hearing on gun violence today by telling the panel, "Speaking is difficult, but I need to say something important."

In a determined and forceful voice, she told the Senators to be "courageous" because "Americans are counting on you."

Giffords sat alongside her astronaut husband Mark Kelly as she delivered her emotional statement just over a minute long imploring Congress to act on gun policy.

"This is an important conversation for our children, for our communities, for Democrats, and Republicans," the former Arizona congresswoman said. "Speaking is difficult but I need to say something important: Violence is a big problem too many children are dying. Too many children. We must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now. You must act. Be bold, be courageous, Americans are counting on you. Thank you," Giffords said before being helped out of the hearing room.

Giffords was shot by a gunman in her Arizona district two years ago, and was a last-minute addition to the hearing about the nation's gun laws as lawmakers grapple with how to curb gun violence in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., tragedy that left 20 children and seven adults dead late last year.

Today's hearing is a showdown on guns, featuring two powerful but conflicting forces in the gun control movement. Giffords' husband also testified, as did Wayne LaPierre, the fiery executive vice president and CEO of the National Rifle Association.

Mark Kelly on Gun Control: 'This Time Must Be Different' Watch Video

Newtown Families Join March on Washington Demanding Gun Control Watch Video

Gun Theft Fuels Violence in America: Gun Owners Now Targets Watch Video

Kelly's opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee today emphasized that he and his wife are both gun owners and he has said that he recently bought a new hunting rifle. But he said they are also dedicated to minimizing gun violence because of their personal tragedy.

"We are simply two reasonable Americans who realize we have a problem with gun violence, and we need Congress to act," Kelly said. "Our rights are paramount, but our responsibilities are serious and as a nation we are not taking responsibility for the gun rights our founding fathers conferred upon us."

Kelly said that a top priority should be to close the loophole that says people who buy weapons at gun shows are not required to undergo background checks.

"Closing the gun show loophole and requiring private sellers to require a background check for they transfer a gun…I can't think of something that would make our country safer than doing just that," he told the panel.

Giffords and Kelly recently launched Americans for Responsible Solutions, an organization promoting the implementation of universal background checks and limits on high capacity magazines.

"Overwhelmingly, you told us that universal background checks and limiting access to high capacity magazines were top priorities, and I'll make sure to address each of those ideas in my opening remarks," Kelly wrote in an email to supporters Tuesday. Kelly asked the group's allies to sign a petition calling on Congress to pass legislation on both issues.

LaPierre laid out the NRA's opposition to universal background checks and urged legislators not to "blame" legal gun owners by enacting new gun control laws.

"Law-abiding gun owners will not accept blame for the acts of violence of deranged criminals. Nor do we believe the government should dictate what we can lawfully own and use to protect our families," LaPierre said."And when it comes to background checks, let's be honest – background checks will never be 'universal' – because criminals will never submit to them."

"If you want to stop crime, interdict violent criminals incarcerate them and get them off the streets," LaPierre said.

He repeated an NRA proposal to place armed security guards in every school in America, arguing that "it's time to throw an immediate blanket of security around our children."

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Pitfalls ahead for senators’ immigration plan

The release of a new bipartisan Senate plan to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws and a policy address expected Tuesday from President Obama have launched dramatic new momentum on a long-stalled issue.

Now the hard part begins.

The blueprint unveiled by senators Monday amid warm bipartisan unity settled some of the most difficult questions that have bedeviled efforts to change immigration laws, particularly by endorsing a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. But it left unanswered dozens of key questions, all of which must be meticulously negotiated in coming week under competing political pressures. And nobody thinks that will be easy.

“We still have a long way to go,” Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday, while calling the broad framework a major breakthrough.

“A first step in what will continue to be difficult — but achievable,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

The politics for passage are quite treacherous, with a number of key Republicans already labeling this latest iteration of immigration proposals as amnesty for the nation’s 11 million illegal residents. But even before the group of four Democrats and four Republicans can focus on the persistent GOP opposition, they must translate their broad statement of principles on the issue into a detailed bill that can withstand intense legislative scrutiny.

That means tackling a number of extremely difficult issues by the end of March, when the group has said they hope to draft a bill. A bipartisan group is also working on legislation in the House, but most proponents believe legislative action will start in the Democratic-held Senate.

For instance, the Senate plan calls for offering illegal immigrants the chance to quickly achieve probationary legal residency, provided they register with the government and pay a fine and back taxes. But it does not outline how large a fine or how long the applicants would have to pay off their taxes.

“I think the question is how broad will the road to citizenship be?” said Ai-Jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. “We have to make sure that it’s not so expensive and onerous that it doesn’t leave millions of people in limbo for an extended period of time.”

More critical to the coming debate is the senators’ requirement that illegal immigrants could not seek a green card — the first step to full citizenship — until the U.S.-Mexican border is secure and other enforcement measures are in place. They include a system for employers to verify the legal status of workers and a new way to track legal visa holders.

But the framework is silent on how federal officials would certify that the border is secure. It envisions the creation of a commission of governors, attorneys general and others living along the border to “make a recommendation regarding when the bill’s security measure outlined in the legislation are completed.” But it is not clear whether that recommendation would be considered advisory or would by law allow those with probationary status to seek permanent residency.

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Israeli vote doesn't nail shut door to peace: Clinton

WASHINGTON: The outcome of Israel's elections did not torpedo hopes for peace with the Palestinians, but instead opened up a new chance for dialogue, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued Tuesday.

"I actually think this election opens doors, not nails them shut," she said, during a so-called "global townhall" meeting, in which she took questions from Internet-users and broadcasters around the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-Beitenu list emerged from last week's vote with the biggest single share of seats in the Knesset, but was weakened by a surge in support for Yair Lapid's centrist Yesh Atid party.

Party leaders are negotiating a new coalition, which is expected to have a centre-right bent, and the talks are being watched for signs as to whether it will be able to revive the Middle East peace process.

According to Israeli reports, Netanyahu has offered Lapid the post of foreign minister or finance minister in a new government. And while Lapid has rarely spoken about foreign policy challenges or the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, he has said he favours negotiations.

Clinton, in one of her final public engagements before she steps down from US President Barack Obama's administration, chose to strike an optimistic note.

She said: "A significant percentage of the Israeli electorate chose to express themselves by saying, 'We need a different path than the one we have been pursuing internally and with respect to the Middle East peace process.'

"So I know President Obama and my successor soon-to-be secretary of state John Kerry will pursue this, will look for every possible opening."

As Clinton was speaking, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee gave its backing to Kerry's appointment, clearing the way for the full Senate to confirm him as her successor later in the day.

Last week, in his confirmation hearings, Kerry appeared to hint he may have new proposals up his sleeve to restart direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians which have stalled for more than two years.

"We need to try to find a way forward, and I happen to believe that there is a way forward," he said.

"But I also believe that if we can't be successful that the door, or window, or whatever you want to call it, to the possibility of a two-state solution could shut on everybody and that would be disastrous in my judgment."

Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have theoretically committed themselves to the goal of a "two-state solution" with both living side-by-side within agreed borders.

But direct talks have foundered, with Palestinians decrying ongoing Israeli settlement building on occupied territory and Israel denouncing rocket attacks on its civilians from Gaza, which is controlled by the Hamas militia.

Clinton told the Washingon townhall meeting that she believed "Hamas is not interested in democracy... is still largely a military resistance group."

But she added: "We've made it very clear that if Hamas renounces violence, if they morph themselves into a political entity the way that Fatah and the Palestinian Authority have from the origins in the PLO, if they accept the previous commitments... there's a place for them at the table. And it would be my great hope that they would do that."

- AFP/jc

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BSY loyalists resign, Shettar in trouble

BANGALORE: The resignations of former CM B S Yeddyurappa's loyalists on Tuesday seems to have left chief minister Jagadish Shettar with only two options -- dissolve the assembly or prove majority.

Yeddyurappa's 13 supporters resigned from their assembly membership on Tuesday, after a high drama. The resignations of 12 MLAs was accepted, while that of Vittal Katakadhonda was kept pending due to technical reasons. Tarikere MLA Suresh is likely to resign in a couple of days. KJP leaders said he couldn't make it on Tuesday as he was out of town.

The KJP leaders claimed more MLAs would resign in the coming days, forcing the government to dissolve the assembly before the commencement of the budget session on February 4. For the moment, in terms of numbers, the BJP government seems safe. But, if more resignations follow, as claimed by KJP leaders, then the fate of the government would hang in balance.

The 225-member assembly has two vacancies. Now, with the 12 resignations, the strength has been reduced to 211. The Magic Number required is 106. The BJP has 107 members (including speaker and nominated member) and the support of an Independent MLA Varthur Prakash, who is a minister in the cabinet. Congress has 71 MLAs, JD(S) 26 and independents six.

The Speaker tried to delay the acceptance of resignations citing technical and legal reasons. But, the determined MLAs sat in his office and refused to leave the office until the resignations were accepted. They even began preparing to stage an over-night dharna in front of the Speaker's office. As things seemed to be going out of control, the Speaker had to accept the resignations.

How the drama unfoled: It all began at 11.30 am when 12 MLAs came to the Speaker's office to resign. Bopaiah, who had arrived in the city on Monday night, was already at his office by 10.40 am. Former minister Shobha Karandlaje joined the MLAs at 11.55 am.

All of them had come personally as the resignation papers have to be in a proper format and handed over personally to the speaker. It is to ascertain the identity of the person and ensure that he/she wasn't resigning under pressure or duress.

The BJP had filed a petition before the speaker on Monday, seeking the disqualification of Yeddyurappa's loyalists. The idea was to drag the resignation issue till the budget session was over. The Speaker's office wrote a letter to Lok Sabha secretary-general seeking advice on how to treat the resignations of the MLAs, as the disqualification petition was pending.

The Speaker had a one-on-one meeting with all the MLAs and scrutinized the resignation papers taking his own sweet time. ``It was unusual and intense scrutiny. Even full stop and comma was keenly observed,'' said a MLA.
The speaker accepted the resignation of Challakere MLA Thippeswamy and pointed technical glitches in the resignation papers of seven MLAs. As the MLAs refused to step out even for lunch, the speaker's office arranged them lunch. Bopaiah left for lunch around 2.15 pm and returned only after 4 pm.

Meanwhile, the MLAs, prepared their resignations afresh by referring to Thippeswamy's resignation letter, which had been accepted. Citing the pending disqualification petition, the Speaker told the MLAs that he would decide on the pending resignations after taking a legal view.

The MLAs refused to budge and remained glued in his office in protest and clearly told him that they wouldn't budge till their resignations are accepted.
As the MLAs refused to move, more police personnel, including women cops, began to assemble in and around the Speaker's office. They were ready to forcibly evict the MLAs once the Speaker left the office. ``We will not move from here till our resignations are accepted,'' declared BP Harish.

After 8 pm, as things were going out of control and due to criticism, Speaker Bopaiah began to consult the MLAs and scrutinize their resignations. Around 9.45 pm, he accepted all their resignations, after which the MLAs left Vidhana Soudha.

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Space Pictures This Week: Martian Gas, Cloud Trails

Image courtesy SDO/NASA

The sun is more than meets the eye, and researchers should know. They've equipped telescopes on Earth and in space with instruments that view the sun in at least ten different wavelengths of light, some of which are represented in this collage compiled by NASA and released January 22. (See more pictures of the sun.)

By viewing the different wavelengths of light given off by the sun, researchers can monitor its surface and atmosphere, picking up on activity that can create space weather.

If directed towards Earth, that weather can disrupt satellite communications and electronics—and result in spectacular auroras. (Read an article on solar storms in National Geographic magazine.)

The surface of the sun contains material at about 10,000°F (5,700°C), which gives off yellow-green light. Atoms at 11 million°F (6.3 million°C) gives off ultraviolet light, which scientists use to observe solar flares in the sun's corona. There are even instruments that image wavelengths of light highlighting the sun's magnetic field lines.

—Jane J. Lee

Published January 28, 2013

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Obama's Immigration Plan to Have More Direct Path

President Barack Obama is expected to lay out his principles for immigration reform in a speech in Las Vegas today that will include a potentially quicker path to citizenship than the bipartisan plan a group of senators unveiled earlier this week.

The president will offer some new details about the White House's immigration reform plan, which expands on a blueprint it released in 2011, a senior administration official told ABC News. But for now Obama will stop short of offering his own piece of legislation because of the progress made by the Senate "Gang of Eight."

See Also: Senate Wants Immigration Bill Passed in Months

The White House has sounded positive notes about the Senate group's plan thus far, but the specifics that Obama announces are expected to have some key differences that might cause concern for some Republican senators who have signed onto the senate deal.

Like the senators' plan, Obama's proposal calls for a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. The senators' plan would grant "probationary legal status" immediately to eligible undocumented immigrants, but would not allow them to apply for permanent legal status, or a green card, until the border is deemed to be secure. Think of that as a trigger system.

On the other hand, administration officials told media outlets that they believe a path to citizenship needs to be more straightforward. They believe a trigger system, like the one in the senate plan, could lead to a state of legal limbo for the undocumented immigrants who receive legal status, The Washington Post reported.

'Lucha Libre' Wrestler: Crusader Against Illegal Immigration Watch Video

The border-security-first plan, however, is essential to Republican senators who signed onto the Senate "Gang of Eight" deal.

"I will not be supporting any law that does not ensure that the enforcement things happen," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a member of the group, told conservative blogger Ed Morrissey on his web radio show.

See Also: 3 Flashpoints in the Senate Immigration Blueprint

Obama's plan is likely to include language that would allow same-sex bi-national couples to have the same rights as heterosexual couples, BuzzFeed and The Washington Post reported. Under current law, gays and lesbians who are married to U.S. citizens under state laws cannot obtain a green card. Obama's plan would allow them a path to citizenship, but the issue is not mentioned in the Senate "Gang of Eight" proposal.

As noted by the Post, that language may anger Christian groups who have signaled they would support comprehensive immigration reform.

But the White House remains optimistic about the progress that has been made so far. An official described the senators' announcement as a "breakthrough" to ABC News because it wasn't clear whether Republicans would sign on to any path to citizenship.

Some observers couched the Senate group's decision to come out with his plan a day before Obama as an attempt to outfox the White House politically. But administration officials told media outlets they remain generally pleased with the plan and believe that the president's speech could build momentum for a final bill.

Updated, 12:15 PM

The White House reiterated that the president was very encouraged by the Senate's proposal since it includes a pathway to citizenship that is endorsed by Republicans, who have previously opposed immigration reform that includes such a path.

"Our focus is that this is a positive development," White House spokesman Luis Miranda told ABC/Univision. "We feel very positive that there is a proposal in the first place and that it is consistent with what the president has supported in the past."

The White House clarified that it is withholding judgment on language in the Senate framework that requires a border security "trigger" to obtain a green card until actual legislative language is released by the senators.

"What we have said is that there needs to be a clear path to citizenship," said Miranda. "We'll wait to see what they flesh out."

ABC's Reena Ninan contributed reporting.

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Bipartisan group of senators to unveil framework for immigration overhaul

A key group of senators from both parties will unveil on Monday the framework of a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, including a pathway to citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants.

The detailed, four-page statement of principles will carry the signatures of four Republicans and four Democrats, a bipartisan push that would have been unimaginable just months ago on one of the country’s most emotionally divisive issues.

The document is intended to provide guideposts that would allow legislation to be drafted by the end of March, including a potentially controversial “tough but fair” route to citizenship for those now living in the country illegally.

[Do you think the new immigration plan will work? Discuss this and other immigration issues in The Washington Post’s new political forums.]

It would allow undocumented immigrants with otherwise clean criminal records to quickly achieve probationary legal residency after paying a fine and back taxes.

But they could pursue full citizenship — giving them the right to vote and access to government benefits — only after new measures are in place to prevent a future influx of illegal immigrants.

Those would include additional border security, a new program to help employers verify the legal status of their employees and more-stringent checks to prevent immigrants from overstaying visas.

And those undocumented immigrants seeking citizenship would be required to go to the end of the waiting list to get a green card that would allow permanent residency and eventual citizenship, behind those who had already legally applied at the time of the law’s enactment.

The goal is to balance a fervent desire by advocates and many Democrats to allow illegal immigrants to emerge from society’s shadows without fear of deportation with a concern held by many Republicans that doing so would only encourage more illegal immigration.

“We will ensure that this is a successful permanent reform to our immigration system that will not need to be revisited,” the group asserts in its statement of principles.

The framework identifies two groups as deserving of special consideration for a separate and potentially speedier pathway to full citizenship: young people who were brought to the country illegally as minors and agricultural workers whose labor, often at subsistence wages, has long been critical to the nation’s food supply.

Expanding visas

The plan also addresses the need to expand available visas for high-tech workers and promises to make green cards available for those who pursue graduate education in certain fields in the United States.

“We must reduce backlogs in the family and employment visa categories so that future immigrants view our future legal immigration system as the exclusive means for entry into the United States,” the group will declare.

The new proposal marks the most substantive bipartisan step Congress has taken toward new immigration laws since a comprehensive reform bill failed on the floor of the Senate in 2007.

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