Pakistan's army chief calls PM's criticisms "divisive" (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) ? Pakistan's army chief is furious with the prime minister for statements criticising the army and has demanded that they be clarified or withdrawn, a senior military source told Reuters on Saturday.

"The army chief complained to the president about the prime minister's statements, and said they needed to be either clarified or withdrawn," the source told Reuters.

"He said such statements were divisive and made the country more vulnerable."

That tension has raised fears for the stability of the nuclear-armed country and exposed a struggle between the government and the military, which has ousted three civilian governments in coups since independence in 1947 and has ruled the nation for more than half of its history.

There are no signs yet that a coup is being seriously considered, however, reflecting the changed political calculations in Pakistan since civilians took power in 2008.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani this week criticized Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani and the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shuja Pasha for filing court papers in a case involving a mysterious memo that has pitted the military against the civilian government.

In an interview with Chinese media, Gilani said the filings were "unconstitutional," infuriating the military's high command, who issued a stern press release.

"There can be no allegation more serious than what the honorable prime minister has leveled," it said.

"This has very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country."

Gilani further infuriated the army on Wednesday by sacking the defense secretary, retired Lieutenant General Naeem Khalid Lodhi, for "gross misconduct and illegal action which created misunderstanding" between institutions.

Lodhi was the most senior civil servant responsible for military affairs, a post usually seen as the military's main advocate in the civilian bureaucracy.

As angry as Kayani is, the source said, the council of senior military commanders is even more angry, the source said.

"There is a lot of pressure by the main corps commanders on the army chief regarding the statements of the prime minister." the source said.

The military, which sets foreign and security policies, drew rare public criticism after U.S. special forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil in a raid in May 2011, an act seen by many Pakistanis as a violation of sovereignty.

Pakistanis rallied behind the military after a November 26 cross-border NATO air attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the frontier with Afghanistan, driving ties with Washington to their lowest point in years.

The army's fury is cause for serious concern for the civilian government, and Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari went on a charm offensive on Saturday.

"Our government and parliament, and above all our patriotic people, have stood fully behind our brave armed forces and security personnel," Gilani said at a cabinet defense committee meeting also attended by Kayani.

"It has been my government's policy to allow and enable all state institutions to play their role in their respective domains," he added.

Earlier, Zardari met Kayani in a similar attempt to mend fences.

"The current security situation was discussed," a presidential spokesman said, without giving any details.

Pakistan's politicians and media pundits have been abuzz with rumours of a possible coup since the memo controversy erupted in October.

The disputed memo - allegedly from Zardari's government, seeking U.S. help in reining in the generals - has pushed relations between the civilian leadership and the military, to their lowest point since the last military coup in 1999.

The latest crisis also troubles Washington, which wants smooth ties between civilian and military leaders so that Pakistan can help efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan, a top priority for President Barack Obama.

Gilani's office denied a report on Friday that the prime minister this week called the British High Commissioner in Islamabad, expressing concerns that the army might be about to mount a coup, and asking for London to support the government.

An official at the high commission also denied the report.

(Additional reporting by Sheree Sardar; Writing by Chris Allbritton; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120114/wl_nm/us_pakistan

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Judge: John Edwards has serious heart condition (AP)

GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Ex-presidential candidate John Edwards has a serious heart condition that will require a medical procedure next month and his illness limits his travel including for an upcoming court case over possible campaign violations, his doctor told a judge, who delayed the trial.

Federal Judge Catherine Eagles did not disclose the exact nature of Edwards' illness Friday or what procedure he needed. However, she said the two-time presidential candidate had "three episodes" and indicated his condition could be life-threatening if left untreated.

A cardiologist for the 58-year-old ex-North Carolina senator wrote two letters about his condition to Eagles, who talked about them during a hearing to consider whether the trial on six felony and misdemeanor counts should begin this month. Eagles said jury selection will now start March 26, at the earliest.

Edwards is taking medication and is scheduled to undergo a procedure in February from which it will take several days to recover, Eagles said. She did not describe what the episodes involved or if the procedure would require unclogging arteries or other common treatments. The doctor's letters and other medical records have been kept under seal by the court.

"The public has an interest in a speedy trial," Eagles said from the bench. "Ordinarily, I would try to manage something like this. But clearly there are some limitations on Mr. Edwards due to real and serious health issues."

His doctor had recommended he not drive or travel, but at the judge's request, Edwards was in court. He didn't appear to have any outward signs of illness, though he was without his usual quick smile or bounce in his step.

The trial has already been delayed twice, including a continuance granted so Edwards could attend his eldest daughter's wedding.

Prosecutors took no position on whether the judge should grant the delay due the defendant's health condition, but said they were ready to try Edwards. He is accused of concealing nearly $1 million in cash and checks from wealthy donors used to help hide his pregnant mistress during his 2008 White House run.

Edwards's legal team and spokespeople have been mum about his condition since his diagnosis last month, declining repeated requests for comment on his condition, including after the hearing.

Known for being telegenic Edwards had customarily entered the federal courthouse through the public entrance, where a group of reporters and cameramen assemble. But on Friday, he took steps to slip through unnoticed. A court security officer indicated he had come and gone through a back door.

Two years ago, Edwards confessed he fathered a baby born to his ex-mistress. He had long denied the girl, Frances Quinn Hunter, was his, even after he admitted cheating on his wife with the child's mother, Rielle Hunter. Hunter had been hired before Edwards' 2008 White House campaign to shoot behind-the-scenes video of him.

Edwards' confession came ahead of the release of a book by former aide Andrew Young. The book described how Edwards worked to hide his paternity with the help of his married aide.

Shortly before the 2008 presidential primaries began, Young stepped forward to claim that he ? not Edwards ? was the child's father. But there were suspicions at the time that the fiercely loyal aide was taking the fall for his boss.

The child was conceived in mid-2007, while Edwards was running for the White House, and around the time he was renewing his vows after 30 years of marriage.

After Edwards admitted fathering Hunter's child, Elizabeth Edwards separated from him and filed for divorce. She died in December 2010 from incurable breast cancer that was first diagnosed in 2004, a day after the Democratic ticket that included John Edwards as the vice presidential candidate lost to George W. Bush.

The Edwardses were law school sweethearts who married just days after they took the bar exam together in the summer of 1977. They had four children together, including a son who died at age 16. Although the couple had separated, John Edwards was at her side around the clock as her health deteriorated. He did not speak at her funeral.

Edwards made millions as a trial lawyer before beginning his political career with a successful 1998 Senate campaign.

___

Online:

AP interactive - _http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2011/edwards

___

Follow AP writer Michael Biesecker at twitter.com/mbieseck

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120113/ap_on_re_us/us_edwards_investigation

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India to inspect Chinese drug manufacturing firms

PBR Staff Writer Published 09 January 2012

Central Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) of India is set to conduct inspection of drug manufacturing firms in China that import medicines to India.

The manufacturing units including Southwest Synthetic Pharma Company, Intec Product, Suzhoudawn Ray's Pharma and Hisoanchuannan Pharma Company will be inspected by the Indian officials.

The cancellation of many import licenses owing to poor drug quality and non-compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) has led the organization to make the decision.

In addition, sub standard diagnostic kits are said to have entered the Indian territory.

The inspection will be carried with the consent of Chinese Food and Drug Authority (FDA).

?

Source: http://manufacturing.pharmaceutical-business-review.com/news/india-to-inspect-chinese-drug-manufacturing-firms-090112

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Motorola an albatross around Google's neck

Last summer, when Google announced it was buying Motorola, we were not optimistic about the combination.

Why not?

Because unlike most observers, who assumed that Google was just buying a big bag of patents and planned to divest Motorola's actual business the instant they acquired it, we were concerned that Google CEO Larry Page might actually want to make phones.

And we're still concerned about that.

For the last five years, Larry's words and actions have shown that his philosophy is to make big bets on things that he considers cool, whether or not they mesh well with Google's core business or competencies.

For example:

• Self-driving cars
• Wind power
• (And, to a lesser extent) fiber-based Internet access (in Kansas City)

So we think that Larry just might be crazy enough to want to make phones and tablets.

Meanwhile, Apple still makes better smartphones and tablets than any other gadget-maker in the world (at least in the minds of Apple devotees) and says that this superiority is based on its ability to control both hardware and software.

So we think Larry might be gazing longingly at Apple and thinking, "Hey, I want to do that, too."

Put all that together, and we continue to think that Google's Motorola acquisition might not, in fact, have been the purchase of a bag of patents, but Google's entry into the smartphone and tablet manufacturing business.

And if that's what it was, be careful what you wish for.

As evidenced by its crappy Q4, Motorola is a huge, sick elephant. It is a huge, sick elephant in a completely different business than Google's. And it will be climbing aboard Google's back at a time when its business is rapidly deteriorating.

Deteriorating businesses, especially huge and complex ones, are a major distraction, even when management is committed to running them "as standalone companies," which Google has said it plans to do.

When "standalone companies" are acting as cement shoes, dragging the core company down, management tends to spend some time worrying about that and trying to fix them. And this distraction may end up costing Google a lot on top of the $12 billion it spent buying the company.

We assume that the way Google looked at the Motorola buy was this:

We get a huge bag of patents and an operating business for cheap. If we decide we don't want to be in the operating business, we'll just dump it. Even if we dump it at a major loss, the deal will still have been worth doing because we needed the patents and we've got cash coming out of our ears.

And that's a reasonable position. We think it underestimates the distraction of closing the deal and owning Motorola's business even for a short time, but if that's what Google's intention is, fine.

If Larry really does want to make phones, however, we're officially worried.

Making phones is hard. Making phones will put Google into direct competition with its Android hardware partners. Making phones and tablets will require Google to develop a huge amount of logistical and manufacturing expertise that it currently lacks.

If Larry wants to make phones, moreover, there are much cheaper, easier, and less risky ways to do it than trying to fix Motorola.

For example, Larry could have invested $5 billion of cash in a new phone-manufacturing company; one that wouldn't have come with any of the problems and baggage that Motorola comes with.

Anyway, last week, Motorola confessed that it had screwed the pooch in Q4, news that could not have been welcome news in the Googleplex.

And make no mistake: Motorola screwing the pooch is no longer Motorola's problem. It's Google's.

More from Business Insider:
The truth about Google-Motorola: It could be a disaster

Copyright 2012 by Business Insider, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission from Business Insider, Inc.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45932735/ns/business-us_business/

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Samsung's new Galaxy S2 phone is the Skyrocket

Launching on AT&T, the latest device to go under Samsung's "Galaxy" portfolio is called the Skyrocket HD.

Unveiled at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Skyrocket HD packs a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED HD display with 1280 x 720 resolution, and support for AT&T's burgeoning high-speed 4G LTE network.

The device is 9.27 millimeters thick, making it pretty slim by most standards. Other than that, though, few other details were announced.

For example, Samsung did not reveal what version of Android would be powering the device, though we assume it might be Ice Cream Sandwich.

Additionally, pricing information was not announced. AT&T has not really been comfortable flirting with the above-$200 prices like Verizon has, but this top-of-the-line one from Samsung might push that boundary.

As for a release date, Samsung says to expect the Skyrocket HD "in the coming months."

In addition, other AT&T news included the announcement of Sony's Xperia ion, the first Sony LTE phone, and the affordable Pantech Burst and Samsung Exhilarate, both of which will sell for $50 and be 4G LTE compatible.

2012 will be the first full year in which AT&T has two competitors selling the iPhone, so the carrier is banking bigger bucks than ever on Android. This is by far the most aggressive Android push we've seen from AT&T at CES.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tgdaily_all_sections/~3/NkJgTA3wdcg/60691-samsungs-new-galaxy-s2-phone-is-the-skyrocket

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Look for 'big boy' football in BCS title game

NEW ORLEANS ? Les Miles squeezed out a smile, clenched his left hand nervously and extended his right hand toward Nick Saban. The coaches got in an awkward grasp, forced a bit of small talk, and then posed for the cameras behind the crystal trophy that only one of them can hoist toward the Superdome roof come Monday night.

This was the last of their pregame obligations - one final chance for Miles to deflect a query about whether top-ranked LSU is the favorite to make it to the BCS title NEXT YEAR, one more opportunity for Saban to show he's got a life beyond his stranglehold on the storied program at No. 2 Alabama (turns out he does, if watching the Weather Channel qualifies).

Now, let's get down to business.

LSU vs. Alabama, Part II. The BCS championship.

This time, it's for all the marbles.

Really.

The teams already met two months ago in Tuscaloosa, a so-called Game of the Century that was more of a Brawl in the Backyard, a brutal slugfest that sent both teams scurrying for the training room the next day and left fans around the country feeling a bit cheated by an old-fashioned defensive struggle in a college game now dominated by point-a-minute offenses.

Neither team made it to the end zone in that first meeting, even with the benefit of extra time. LSU won a battle of field goals, claiming a 9-6 overtime victory and stealing away the top spot in the rankings from the Crimson Tide.

Everyone expects more scoring in the rematch, but there's no way it's turning into one of those back-and-forth shootouts we've seen so many times this bowl season.

"I'd expect it to be big-boy football," Miles said Sunday during his time on podium.

LSU (13-0) has already put up a body of work that clearly establishes it as the nation's best team. In addition to that Nov. 5 win at Alabama, the Tigers have victories over two other major bowl champions, Rose Bowl winner Oregon and Orange Bowl champ West Virginia. In all, they've knocked off eight teams that were ranked in The Associated Press Top 25, with only three of those games in Baton Rouge.

"The only team I've told them not to schedule is the Green Bay Packers," Miles quipped.

Maybe it's only appropriate for the Tigers to find one more daunting challenge standing in the way of a championship season - a great team they've already beaten.

"When we take the field, we'll be an emotional, fired-up football team," Miles vowed.

Alabama (11-1) didn't even make the championship game of the Southeastern Conference, but the Crimson Tide managed to sneak back into the national title race when Oklahoma State lost late in the season. In the strangest of twists, Saban's team will be the one celebrating its second national title in three years with a mere split of the season series with LSU.

Perhaps sensing just how fortuitous Alabama was to get a do-over, Saban wants his players to seize the moment.

Source: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jan/08/look-for-big-boy-football-in-bcs-title-game/

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OnLive Viewer Hits Google TV, Full Gaming Capability Potentially On The Way

Google TV needs content. Onlive has content. The match is perfect. Starting today, the Onlive Viewer app is available for downloading via Google TV's Android Market. This app allows anyone to view gamers hacking away at OnLive games. Note, the app doesn't bring gaming capabilities to Google TV, but OnLive expects to add that functionality later down the road.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/o4xFqZygu2Q/

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