Tunisian jobs protests reach capital Tunis

Scuffles have broken out in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, between police and protesters angry at high unemployment levels.

Some 1,000 protesters, mainly unemployed graduates, rallied outside the offices of the main workers' union.

On Friday, one protester was shot dead during violent clashes in the central Tunisian town of Menzel Bouzaiene.

Tensions have been high since the attempted suicide earlier this month of a jobless graduate.

Twenty-six year old Mohammed Bouazizi sold fruit and vegetables illegally in Sidi Bouzid because he could not find a job.

According to the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights, he doused himself in petrol and set himself alight earlier this month when police confiscated his produce, telling him he did not have the necessary permit.

Demonstrations followed and tensions heightened when another young man electrocuted himself in the same town, saying he was fed up with being unemployed.

In Tunis on Monday, Sami Tahr, head of the union for high school teachers said the demonstrators sought radical solutions to the country's problems.

"We're gathered today in solidarity with the population of Sidi Bouzid and to salute the memories of the martyrs of repression who seek only their right to work," AP reported him as saying.

The government said the violence was isolated and had been exploited by the opposition. However, the country's development minister has travelled to the region and pledged to invest in an employment programme.

Public protests in Tunisia - where the government is often criticised for its human rights record - are rare and political dissent is repressed, correspondents say. But recent economic discontent has provoked the most violent unrest in more than a decade. BBC News

AU names Kenya's Raila Odinga as Ivory Coast mediator

The African Union has asked Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga to lead its efforts to resolve the political crisis in Ivory Coast.

The AU said Mr Odinga had been asked to "follow through the crisis", a month after the country's disputed polls.

The Union and other international bodies say incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo is not the legitimate winner.

Meanwhile, supporters of his rival, Alassane Ouattara, briefly took over the Ivory Coast embassy in Paris.

Some 20 protesters spent six hours in the building on Monday calling for Mr Gbagbo to step aside, before leaving peacefully, French television reported.

The move came after France, the former colonial power, recognised Mr Ouattara's proposed envoy as the country's ambassador.

Mr Ouattara's victory in 28 November polls was overturned by the Constitutional Council, a body headed by a Gbagbo ally, citing claims that results were rigged in the north. BBC News

Weather batters Sydney-Hobart race fleet

(CNN) -- Australian maxi yacht Wild Oats XI is on course for a fifth line-honors victory at the Sydney to Hobart race after surviving gale-force conditions which forced 11 vessels to retire on Monday.

Wild Oats, which last won the 628-nautical-mile event in a record time in 2008, is expected to arrive at the Tasmanian capital at 9 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) on Tuesday.

"It was pretty arduous going, very hard to slow the boat down to keep it in one piece,'' navigator Ian Burns told the race's official website.

"We had to get down to very, very small sails and really work at keeping the boat slow so we weren't crashing off waves too much". CNN

Saudis: Killed suspected militant had ties to al Qaeda

(CNN) -- A suspected militant who was disguised as a woman when shot and killed at a Saudi Arabia checkpoint last week was wanted by security authorities for ties to al Qaeda, according to Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry.

The incident -- which happened on Saturday about 400 miles southeast of the capital of Riyadh -- began when two people in a car, thought to be a man and a woman, were asked to step out and present their identification cards.

The one who appeared to be a woman was actually a man in disguise. According to Interior Ministry officials, the disguised man opened fire on Saudi security forces after stepping out of the car and was then killed. The other person was arrested.

The Saudi Interior Ministry, in a statement Monday, said the man who was killed was identified as Mohammed Essam Taher Baghdadi. The Saudi national had "been sought by security authorities because of his affiliation to the deviant group and his involvement in criminal activities," the statement said.

After the shooting occurred, Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki told CNN that al Qaeda was suspected to be behind the incident.

"There is a strong suspicion that al Qaeda is related to this incident, especially because of the techniques the men used -- specifically that one of them was wearing women's clothes while having someone else driving the car and looking normal," Al-Turki said.

In October 2009, two men dressed as women were slain by Saudi security forces, Al-Turki said. That incident occurred in a location where al Qaeda elements are intercepted. CNN

Report: Terror network dismantled in Morocco

(CNN) -- A Moroccan terror network with plans to attack "hot spots across the world" has been dismantled, a state-run Morocco news agency said Monday.

The network was made up of six men who had "considerable experience in the manufacture of explosives," according to a statement from Morocco's Ministry of the Interior.

The statement, obtained by Maghreb Arabe Press, said the terror cell planned to use car bombs to target foreign interests in Morocco, as well as several locations in its territory vital to national security interests.

Security forces took down the network as part of an investigation under the supervision of the special public prosecutor, Ministry officials said.

The alleged network members will appear in court once the investigation is complete, the Interior Ministry said. CNN

Germans charged with espionage in Iran to meet with families

(CNN) -- Two German journalists charged with espionage in Iran for interviewing the son and lawyer of a woman condemned to die by stoning will meet with their family members Monday, according to reports from both countries.

The Iranian foreign minister "assured the relatives that they will be able to meet with the arrested German nationals in the city of Tabriz," a spokesperson with the German Foreign Ministry confirmed.

The two men, identified only as a reporter and photojournalist, were arrested in October in the northwest city of Tabriz after they interviewed the son and lawyer of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was convicted of adultery in 2006 and sentenced to death by stoning.

"Their reports and propaganda in Tabriz proved that they are in the country for spying," Malek Ajdar Shafiee, the head of the Justice Department of East Azarbaijan, was quoted as saying by Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency.

The Iranian government also says Ashtiani was involved in her husband's murder, a charge her family has denied.

Family members of the German nationals traveled to Iran on Friday accompanied by Brand Erbel, the German ambassador to Tehran, Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

The reunion is expected to take place in the Iranian city of Tabriz, where the German nationals were arrested, according to Mehr.

German leader Guido Westerwelle requested the meeting on humanitarian grounds, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency, and Iran's foreign minister, Ali-Akbar Salehi, agreed to the meeting.

The charges against the two Germans came the day after they were shown on Iranian state-run television.

The program, produced by Iran's Channel 2, quoted one of the men saying that they were "tricked" by an activist with the German-based International Committee Against Stoning into entering the country illegally.

The unnamed man told the television station that the committee's spokeswoman, Mina Ahadi, used the journalists for her own gain.

"Mina Ahadi sent me to Iran because she knew she would benefit from my arrest and I'll sue her when I get back to Germany," the man said.

Ahadi denied that the journalists traveled on behalf of the anti-stoning organization.

The broadcast also showed a woman identified as Ashtiani.

The woman, whose face was blurred and whose words were translated from the Azeri language to Farsi, blamed Ahadi for spreading false information about her case around the world.

Ashtiani's son, Sajjad Gaderzadeh, and her lawyer Hootan Kian, were also interviewed on the program, the first time they have appeared on television since their arrests in October.

Kian, a government-appointed lawyer, has been critical of the government's handling of Ashtiani's case. He told CNN in August that she was being tortured while in prison and that he also feared for his own life.

Gaderzadeh said Kian had told him that his mother was being tortured. "Unfortunately I listened to them and lied to the foreign media about everything," he said on the program.

This is the third time Ashtiani has appeared on state-run television confessing to the charges of adultery and murder.

"I am a sinner," she said on the program.

The International Committee Against Stoning condemned the televised confession.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran's goal in airing this program is to agitate public opinion against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and Mina Ahadi, yet despite all efforts, in and of itself the program is a powerful reflection of the international campaign to save Sakineh," said a statement from the organization.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in late September the West is deliberately hyping the case of the convicted Iranian woman, while ignoring the fact that 53 women are on death row in the United States and awaiting execution.

Iranian courts have said Ashtiani's case is still under review. CNN

Swine flu kills 56 in Egypt since October

A resurgent H1N1 swine flu virus has infected 1,172 people in Egypt and killed 56 since October 8, a Ministry of Health official said on Monday.

The virus has infected 16,373 people, of whom 281 died, since it was first reported in Egypt in June 2009, said the official, who asked not to be named.

H1N1 flu broke out in 2009 and quickly spread across the world. The World Health Organisation said about 18,450 people died from the virus, including many pregnant women and young people.

Last year Cairo took various initiatives to try to limit the spread of H1N1, including culling all pigs in the country, temporarily closing schools and stopping travellers with fever at airports. Emirates 24|7

Victims of investment scam demand justice

MAJMA: As many as 400 victims of embezzlement involving SR186 million have objected to a move by the main accused in the case to seek pardon.

Nasir Al-Quraishi, spokesman for the victims, has also renewed an appeal to the court to look into their private rights petition after the court rejected it earlier.

The man accused in the embezzlement case has already filed a petition seeking pardon to the concerned committee. This move follows a decision by the Cassation Court to uphold the verdict pronounced against the man and two accomplices by the Shariah court in Majma, near Riyadh. The names of the accused and guilty have been withheld.

The court sentenced them to imprisonment and lashes for cheating and embezzling money of more than 400 investors. The shareholders had invested six years ago to establish an automobile installment and general trading company, according to a report in Al-Riyadh Arabic daily.

The Riyadh governorate conducted an investigation into the embezzlement charges and released its report five years ago. The report showed that the three accused have been involved in cheating and embezzling money invested by the shareholders.

In its verdict, the Majma court confirmed the charges against the three and awarded them jail terms and lashes.

Al-Quraishi alleged that the main accused is still at large while his associates are serving their jail terms. He expressed astonishment as to why he has not been arrested and sent to jail.

Quoting the report released by the governorate, Al-Quraishi noted that the accused managed to collect the investments over a period of less than three years.

“Most of the investments had later been found withdrawn from the concerned bank accounts. The investors are still in oblivion on the fate of their money. It has also been revealed in the report that most of the money had been deposited in the account of the main accused, who later withdrew it. There were no major deposits made into the accounts of the two other accused,” Al-Quraishi said, adding that more than 400 investors have been making relentless efforts to get back their money over the past six years but to no avail.

Al-Quraishi expressed his surprise that the main accused is yet to be arrested and sent to jail even six months after pronouncing a verdict against him.

“It is quite astonishing that he is free and allowed to seek pardon. It is also unfortunate that the chief of Majma court rejected the victims’ petitions on several occasions to treat the case as something involving their personal right,” he said, adding that this provided the main accused with an opportunity to seek pardon. Arab News

93 Saudis fired from hospital jobs in Hail

HAIL: More than 90 Saudis hired by a contracting company to work with two government hospitals in Hail have allegedly been sacked after serving more than nine years.

Their termination, which came after their company lost the contract to operate the hospitals, has virtually created a vacuum in the administration sections of King Khaled Hospital and Hail General Hospital.

Speaking to Al-Eqtisadiah business daily, a number of the employees said that losing their jobs has put their lives in peril and that they have no other means to support their families.

Meanwhile, hospital officials urged the directorate to make available sufficient numbers of employees to replace employees of the old contracting company. A total of 93 employees of the company have been served termination notice.

Adel Al-Eid, one of the sacked employees, said the new company that won the contract for the operation of the hospitals, is unwilling to renew the contracts of the Saudi employees.

Nasir Al-Mohaifer, spokesman of the Health Affairs Directorate in Hail, said the directorate has nothing to do with the employees' sacking. “The employees lost their jobs after their company’s contract with the directorate expired,” he said, adding that the ball is now in the court of the Ministry of Health. Arab News

13,000 Saudis lose jobs as call cabins go downhill

DAMMAM: Over 13,000 Saudis have lost jobs at telephone cabins whose numbers have dramatically fallen from 4,500 to 700 all over the Kingdom in recent years.

Around 16,000 Saudis used to be employed at telephone cabins, which were established following a decision by the Council of Ministers 14 years ago to provide Saudis with work and investment opportunities.

The industry used to generate SR3 billion in revenue annually, a figure that has dramatically dropped to SR400 million, Al-Watan newspaper reported.

Ali Al-Ghamdi, a 60-year-old Saudi investor, said he opened a number of telephone cabins and made a lot of money but things did not move on the way he anticipated them to do so. “Since the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) was made in charge of the communications sector, this entire sector went downhill as a result of fierce competition from mobile companies. The CITC has been slack to take a fair stance and ensure business is shared,” he added.

Al-Ghamdi said telephone cabins did not have the power or technology to compete with mobile phone companies. “The ultimate result was that we were not able to cope and we had to shut down cabins and dismiss our Saudi employees,” he said.

Sultan Al-Quaie, who also owned a number of cabins, said the downfall of the cabins was caused by the CITC’s failure to ensure mobile phone companies follow fixed rates to make international calls.

“After the establishment of the CITC, the revenue of telephone cabins dropped sharply from SR3 billion a few years ago to only SR400 million in 2009,” he said.

Al-Quaie attributed the problem to an absence of a body to look after the interests of telephone cabins, especially at the Kingdom’s chambers of commerce and industry where other sectors are well represented. He said those who are responsible for the dismissal of thousands of Saudis have not been held accountable so far and that meetings with CITC officials have been fruitless.

Muhammad Al-Zahrani, another telephone cabin investor, said the sector was a haven for Saudi youth looking for jobs. “Some students who worked in the cabins were able to make money to complete their education but now thousands are unemployed,” he said.

Al-Watan said it tried to speak to the CITC’s spokesman, Sultan Al-Malik, who asked for time to reply but then said he was not obliged to answer journalists’ questions. Arab News

Germany investigates 'poisoning' of Russian dissidents

German prosecutors are investigating whether two Russian dissidents living in Berlin have been poisoned.

Earlier this month, the German weekly Focus reported that doctors had detected high levels of mercury in the blood of Viktor and Marina Kalashnikov.

He was a former colonel in the KGB while she is a historian and both have been critical of the Kremlin.

In 2006, former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko was murdered by radioactive poisoning in London.

British investigators suspect former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi is behind his murder.

A spokesman for the public prosecutors' office in Berlin confirmed that an investigation had been opened into whether the Kalashnikovs have been deliberately poisoned.

"It is being carried out by a department dealing with politically motivated crimes," the spokesman told AFP news agency. BBC News

Mensagem da Guerra Civil dos EUA é decifrada após 147 anos

Uma mensagem em uma garrafa entregue a um general secessionista durante a Guerra Civil americana foi finalmente decifrada, 147 anos após ter sido escrita.

Em código, a mensagem transmite ao general John Pemberton a informação de que não há reforços disponíveis para ajudá-lo a defender Vicksburg, no Estado do Mississippi.

“Não espere ajuda (vinda) do outro lado do rio”, diz a mensagem, decifrada por um ex-agente da CIA (agência de Inteligência americana).

O texto é datado de 4 de julho de 1863, dia em que as forças unionistas venceram a batalha em Vicksburg.

A pequena garrafa havia sido doada por um ex-combatente ao Museu da Confederação de Richmond, no Estado de Virgínia, em 1896.

No começo do ano, Catherine Wright, diretora do museu, decidiu investigar o que estava escrito no bilhete, por “curiosidade”, segundo relatou à Associated Press.

Quando descobriu que a mensagem estava cifrada, pediu ajuda a David Gaddy, um agente aposentado da CIA. Gaddy decifrou-a, e seu conteúdo foi em seguida confirmado por um criptologista da Marinha americana.

A queda de Vicksburg foi na época uma importante vitória para as forças da União, que acabaram derrotando os secessionistas na Guerra Civil (1861-1865). BBC Brasil

Indonésia reclama do uso de laser por torcida em jogo de futebol

O presidente da Indonésia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, disse que vai registrar um protesto oficial junto à Federação de Futebol da Asean sobre o suposto uso de laser por torcedores, quando a equipe de seu país jogava contra a Malásia.

Torcedores e jogadores reclamaram depois que a Indonésia perdeu por 3 a 0 no primeiro jogo da final da Copa Suzuki, jogada em Kuala Lumpur, no domingo.

No segundo tempo, torcedores malaios dirigiram raios laser no rosto dos jogadores, incluindo o capitão do time e o goleiro, durante escanteios e jogadas importantes.

A partida chegou a ser suspensa por oito minutos depois que jogadores indonésios deixaram o campo.

Quando o jogo recomeçou, a Malásia marcou três gols em menos de 12 minutos.

O jornal indonésio Jakarta Post alega que a torcida malaia também usou laser durante a semifinal contra o Vietnã, em Kuala Lumpur.

O segundo jogo da final está marcado para quarta-feira, em Jacarta.

Em uma fase preliminar do torneio, a Indonésia venceu a Malásia por 5 a 1. Os dois países tem uma rivalidade antiga no futebol. BBC Brasil

Revista "Science" mostra a física e matemática das animações

Mesmo repletos de animais falantes, princesas e criaturas fantásticas, os filmes de animação não são coisa de criança. Produções como as da Pixar e da DreamWorks são um laboratório para estudos avançados de física e matemática.

A aparência realística dos personagens --especialmente agora, com a popularização das produções em 3D-- depende de um emaranhado de funções e equações.

Uma matéria publicada na última edição da revista "Science" revelou como a física e a matemática estão relacionadas ao salto de qualidade das animações.

Um dos exemplos mais perceptíveis são as roupas dos personagens, que, nos últimos tempos, ganharam movimentos complexos.

Graças ao trabalho de um grupo de físicos computacionais, os modelitos usados por Shrek e companhia comportam-se quase como se fossem feitos de tecido de verdade: amassam, ficam molhados, desfiam e muito mais.

Para chegar a esse resultado, um dos métodos considerados mais realísticos pelos especialistas faz uma simulação completa de cada nó, de cada torção no fio de tecido, e traduz tudo em movimento.

A técnica, no entanto, tem um problema: ainda não consegue ser suficientemente fiel à realidade quando se trata de tecidos mais grossos.

Esse problema é corrigido com uma equação que permite a formação de algo como microburacos em pontos estratégicos da roupa.

Embora o campo tenha avançado muito, a criação de ambientes realísticos envolvendo água e outros líquidos ainda é um desafio. Especialmente quando elementos com características físicas e tamanhos muito diferentes estão juntos em uma mesma cena: como um navio (rígido) deslizando sobre um mar agitado.

A busca por uma solução para o problema tem movido físicos especialistas em computação gráfica e, principalmente, os próprios estúdios que fazem as animações.

Mas a precisão matemática não é suficiente nas animações. Roteiro e ambientação também entram na equação que determinam o sucesso das produções. Folha Online

Obama cita Steve Jobs como exemplo de sucesso

"Louvamos pessoas como Steve Jobs, que criou dois ou três produtos revolucionários diferentes", afirmou o presidente dos EUA, Barack Obama, durante entrevista coletiva na última quarta-feira (22).

Obama elogiou o fundador e executivo-chefe da Apple quando falava do "sonho americano". "Esperamos que essa pessoa [como Jobs] enriqueça, e isso é uma coisa boa. Queremos esse incentivo. Isso é parte do mercado livre".

Ainda segundo o presidente, a maior força dos EUA sempre foi "uma classe média próspera e emergente, onde todos têm uma chance no sonho americano". "Esse deve ser o nosso objetivo, é onde devemos nos focar", afirmou. Folha Online

Comissão investiga novo sequestro de imigrantes centro-americanos no México

A Comissão Nacional dos Direitos Humanos do México investiga um novo sequestro de nove imigrantes centro-americanos que foi registrado em 23 de dezembro, em Oaxaca, em uma ação em que um deles foi morto e três conseguiram escapar.

O ataque ocorreu na fronteira de Oaxaca com Veracruz, na costa do golfo do México, segundo confirmou a Procuradoria-Geral de Justiça do Estado.

O centro-americano assassinado, o salvadorenho Tomás Ferman Villatoro, foi identificado por seu sobrinho Rolando Antonio Ferman, que "com seu depoimento e de outros imigrantes contribuiu para a detenção de Juan Carlos Catillejos Morales, originário de Arriaga [no Estado de Chiapas], e José Ramón Núñez Flores, de nacionalidade hondurenha", afirmaram as autoridades.

Ambos foram acusados pelo sequestro dos centro-americanos, que revelaram às autoridades que o homem responsável pelo assassinato de Ferman é um sujeito conhecido como O Nica. A polícia também busca um outro homem, conhecido como "O Gordo", também envolvido no crime.

O Instituto Nacional de Migração (INM) mantém sob resguardo os imigrantes centro-americanos Hernán Sigfredo Martínez, de 33 anos, de Honduras, José Ramón Ramírez, de 27 anos, e o sobrinho de Tomás, Rolando, de 32 anos, de El Salvador, que escaparam da ação.

O sequestro dos imigrantes foi noticiado após uma denúncia pública feita pelo padre Heyman Vasquez, diretor do albergue Lar da Misericórdia, em Arriaga, vizinho a Oaxaca.

TREM

Segundo Vásquez, "na quinta-feira deste mês, no dia 23, um migrante chegou ao albergue e me contou que pegou o trem de noite, dia 21, e saindo de Ixtepec, [no Estado de] Oaxaca, com meia hora de diferença, subiram no vagão quatro homens armados".

O trem de carga ia em direção ao município de Matias Romero, em Oaxaca, e levava mais de 150 imigrantes que iam para Medias Águas, no estado de Veracruz. Os estrangeiros que estavam ao lado da testemunha receberam a ordem de se abaixar, afirmou o homem, que disse que os criminosos "nem os roubaram, nem os revistaram".

O homem que fez a denúncia, que se identificou como Mario, relatou que se atirou em um matagal e se escondeu. "Ouvi gritos de mulheres. Corri quando o trem já tinha partido e voltei para Ixtepec. Fiquei aqui algumas horas e vim ao albergue, onde cheguei dia 23", disse.

O sacerdote acrescentou que, no sábado, dia 25, souberam que "o salvadorenho Tomás Fermán Villatoro foi assassinado. Seu sobrinho Rolando falou por telefone com o albergue e contou que seu tio foi executado e que ele estava escondido".

Segundo o padre Vasquez, há em seu albergue mais um "imigrante guatemalteco que foi sequestrado no dia 1º de dezembro".

"Lhe pediram mil dólares e ele falou com sua esposa, deu-lhes o telefone a seus sequestradores, que negociaram com ela. O pagamento ficou em US$ 800. Libertaram-no depois de quatro dias de cativeiro, ficou escondido alguns dias e está com muito medo do que possa acontecer" com ele, contou o religioso.

O episódio ocorreu logo após o governo do México iniciar uma investigação pelo sequestro de ao menos 50 centro-americanos que teria ocorrido em 16 de dezembro, o que motivou protestos das autoridades salvadorenhas, guatemaltecas e hondurenhas. Folha Online

Hitachi LCD biz to be run by Foxconn

Hitachi Ltd. is negotiating with Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world's largest contract electronics maker, to pick up its controlling stake in a liquid crystal display unit, sources said Monday.

The Taiwanese manufacturer, widely known as Foxconn, will likely invest around ¥100 billion in Hitachi Displays Ltd., now owned 75.1 percent by Hitachi with the remainder held by Canon Inc.

Hon Hai is expected to take a majority stake in Hitachi Displays by acquiring new shares to be issued by the Hitachi subsidiary.

Hitachi Displays is expected to use the proceeds to establish a new plant in Chiba Prefecture.

Hitachi apparently wants to rid itself of unprofitable operations to focus on its infrastructure business. Hon Hai will probably tap Hitachi's knowhow in LCD panels to lower production costs for displays used in smart phones, the sources added.

Hitachi Displays already contracts part of its LCD production out to Chimei Innolux Corp., a Hon Hai group firm.

If they team up, Chimei and Hitachi Displays will probably command a combined share of the global LCD market comparable to that of industry leader Sharp Corp.

Hon Hai makes display panels for Apple Inc.'s iPhones and iPads and has been expanding production by buying Sony Corp.'s LCD television factories in Mexico and Slovakia.

Canon sought to turn Hitachi Displays into a subsidiary before scrapping the plan in September. The Japan Times

Murli Manohar Joshi's silence on PM's PAC offer leaves opposition nervous

NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made good his promise on Monday and wrote to Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) offering to present himself before it for questioning in the 2G case, the focus suddenly moved to PAC chairman Murli Manohar Joshi's reticence on the offer, despite the arguments of fellow BJP and other opposition PAC members, who cited rules to ask for an outright rejection of the offer. 

The BJP-led opposition, which has been demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) into the 2G spectrum scam, fears that the PM's appearance at the PAC would scuttle its demand and defeat its larger strategy to pin the government down on the scam. But Joshi's silence on the issue has left them in suspense over his next move. 

The BJP argument was pitched by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha, who is a PAC member. He cited PAC rules to state: "A minister is not called before the committee either to give evidence or for consultation in connection with the examination of accounts by the committee...The PAC chairman, at best, can have an informal talk with the minister on policy matters or those which are secret and confidential".

Sinha was supported by BJD's Bhratruhari Mehtab, JD(U)'s N K Singh, ADMK's Thambi Durai as well as by the Left members in the committee. Joshi, however, kept the suspense going by saying that a final call on the issue would be taken later. Some members later felt that the PAC need not announce its view on the offer rightaway, if only as a courtesy to the PM. Even so, Joshi has succeeded in injecting a degree of uncertainty over what might happen next. 

The sense of unease among many in his party has, no doubt, been exacerbated by Joshi's earlier decision to plunge into the 2G spectrum scam even as the BJP, Left and other non-UPA partners were demanding a JPC probe. Addressing a press conference later on Monday, Joshi agreed that "under PAC rules, no minister can be called unless the Speaker asks him or her". He, however, added that "this case is different because the PM has himself offered to appear". He said that an "appropriate decision" would be taken at the right time. 

In his letter to Joshi, Manmohan Singh said, "I would like to inform you that I am willing to appear before the PAC should the committee choose to seek any clarification from the PM". The offer appears to have got PAC members Yashwant Sinha, Mehtab and N K Singh exercised as they emphasized in the meeting that the rules of all parliamentary committees were well laid down. PAC was not competent to hear the PM, and there was no scope for discretion. 

Joshi had raised eyebrows when he prioritised the 2G spectrum scam over other issues lined up before the PAC. 

Opposition members questioned him on his priorities at the last meeting of the PAC, pointing out that the committee was never focused on just one issue. Still, Joshi called a meeting of the committee on Monday on the 2G scam. 

The opposition's suspicions have been heightened by the sudden admiration for Joshi in Congress circles. Joshi, who as HRD minister under the NDA government was roundly attacked for allegedly saffronizing the curriculum by doctoring history text books, has lately been praised by Congress for his seniority and for familiarity with parliamentary procedure. His skills are emphasized to argue that the opposition is being unreasonable in not budging from its demand for a JPC something that has further raised the opposition's anxiety about the senior BJP leader. 

The opposition has maintained that PAC could merely examine accounts, and would not be the appropriate forum to examine issues like policy formulation and cabinet making. 

In the meeting on Monday, Congress members on the PAC like Ashwini Kumar were quick to argue that the PM's offer should be accepted and were also intent on questioning the audit findings of the CAG who made a presentation to the committee on Monday. 

Though Joshi said the Speaker's approval was needed before a minister could be called to the committee, a PAC member said the last to do so was in 1966. C Subramaniam as steel minister had appeared before the PAC and thereafter the rules to changed to prevent this from happening again. While consultative committees are headed by concerned ministers, standing committees do not have the powers to summon them. 

But Joshi said, "Our agenda is only 2G but if required we can go back and look into previous reports. We are working according to rule of PAC and we cannot discuss the policy decision of the government".

Joshi evaded questions on BJP's demand for setting up a JPC, saying that as chair of the PAC he did not belong to any party and it was for the government to take a view on a JPC. Though he had offered explanations at a party forum that he was not falling for the government bait on PAC, he has clearly deviated from the BJP line, choosing to be keep the options open on the PM's letter. The Times of India