China accuses US of arrogance over Taiwan deal

Taiwan says the arms deal will make it feel more secure

China's state media has accused the United States of "arrogance" and "double standards" in pursuing arms sales to Taiwan.

The state-run China Daily and the Global Times also warned that China's threats of retaliation were real.
The Obama administration approved the $6.4bn arms sale to Taiwan last week.
China has warned of "serious harm" to relations between the two powers, the suspension of military contact and sanctions against the firms involved.
The US has said it will go ahead with the sale anyway.
'Cold war thinking'
China's state media said President Barack Obama must have been "insincere" when he promised not to "contain" China.

ANALYSIS Cindy Sui, BBC News, Taipei Despite dramatically improved ties with China in the past year, Taiwan's 23 million people still face a very real military threat from Beijing. China has more than 1,000 missiles targeted at Taiwan and has not renounced the use of force to take back the island. Over the years, Beijing has steadily outspent Taiwan in weapons acquisition, tipping the balance of military power greatly in China's favour. It now has advanced fighter planes and submarines that Taiwan lacks. This new arms package merely helps Taipei narrow slightly the military gap between itself and Beijing.

The US move "exposes [its] usage of double standards and hypocrisy on major issues related to China's core interests," the China Daily said.
"Washington's arrogance also reflects the stark reality of how a nation's interests could be trampled upon by another," it added.
The Global Times, which is run by the People's Daily, the Communist Party's propaganda mouthpiece, said: "It's time the US was made to feel the heat for the continuing arms sales to Taiwan.
"It would be folly to underestimate Chinese unity over the Taiwan question. Punishing companies that sell weapons to Taiwan is a move that would be supported by most Chinese."
The People's Daily said in a commentary that the arms sales showed Washington's "rude and unreasonable Cold War thinking".
"When it comes down to it, the United States is still drawing lines based on ideology and coming up with a million ways to stymie China's development and progress," the paper's overseas edition said.
One China?
Taiwan has been ruled by a separate government from China since the end of the civil war in 1949, but China still considers the island to be part of its territory.

TAIWAN-CHINA RELATIONS Ruled by separate governments since end of Chinese civil war in 1949 China considers the island part of its territory China has offered a "one country, two systems" solution, like Hong Kong Most people in Taiwan support status quo Relations between Beijing and Taipei have been improving in recent years since the pro-Beijing President Ma Ying-jeou took power in Taiwan US-China relations hit a bad patch Guide to Taiwan flashpoint US-Taiwan arms deal: Your views

Beijing has more than 1,000
missiles pointed at Taiwan and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control if the island moves towards formal independence.
Defence ties between Washington and Beijing have been on ice for several years because of differences over Taiwan, though the two countries' leaders pledged to improve them in 2009.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but it remains Taiwan's biggest ally and is obliged by the Taiwan Relations Act to help in the island's defence.
The US State Department said on Saturday that the weapons sale contributed to "security and stability" between Taiwan and China.
But China said the row would endanger co-operation with the US on "key international and regional issues."
Ties between the US and China are already strained by rows over trade and internet censorship.

Google phases out support for IE6

Microsoft has already released versions 7 and 8 of Internet Explorer

Google has begun to phase out support for Internet Explorer 6, the browser identified as the weak link in a cyber attack on the search engine.

The firm said from 1 March some of its services, such as Google Docs, would not work "properly" with the browser.
It recommended individuals and firms upgrade "as soon as possible".
Google threatened to withdraw from the Chinese market following the "sophisticated and targeted" attacks, which it said originated in China.
Hackers used a flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser to target the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
'Key functionality'
Following Google's revelations, the French and German governments advised their citizens to switch to a different browser until the hole had been closed.
Microsoft reacted by quickly updating the browser, nearly three weeks ahead of its regular security update.
However, Google has now said it is going to phase out support for the browser "starting with Google Docs and Google Sites".
It said that as a result, some "key functionality" of the applications would not work when used with IE6.
Google Docs is the firm's answer to products such as Microsoft Office, whilst Google Sites allows people to create web pages.
"The web has evolved in the last ten years, from simple text pages to rich, interactive applications including video and voice," wrote Google's Rajen Sheth in a blog post.
"Unfortunately, very old browsers cannot run many of these new features effectively."
Threat downplayed
Around 20% of web users still use the nine-year old browser, including many UK government departments.
But many developers want to see the browser phased out as soon as possible.
The online campaign ie6nomore, supported by more than 70 web firms, says that because the browser does not support modern web standards it restricts what developers can do and is "holding the web back".
Microsoft has said that it will support the browser until 2014.
Microsoft has released a fix for Internet Explorer and recommended that customers install the update as soon as possible or update to the latest version of the web browser for "improved security".
Microsoft normally issues patches monthly but the high-profile nature of the attacks led it to act more quickly.
Market share
The UK government played down the threat and said there was "no evidence that moving from the latest fully patched versions of Internet Explorer to other browsers will make users more secure".
However, Microsoft took the unusual step of patching the hole nearly three weeks ahead of its regular security update.
The new patch is available via the Microsoft Update site and will also be fed out to those who have their machines set to update automatically. All versions of Internet Explorer will receive the update.
Microsoft has admitted that it has known about the vulnerability "since early September" 2009 and had planned to patch it in February.
The bad publicity has allowed rivals such as Firefox to gain market share.
According to web analytics company StatCounter, Firefox is now a close second to Internet Explorer (IE) in Europe, with 40% of the market compared to Microsoft's 45% share.
In some markets, including Germany and Austria, Firefox has overtaken IE, the firm said.
Mozilla, the foundation behind Firefox, has just released the latest version (3.6) of the open-source browser.

100-year-old whisky for auction

The half bottle of Springbank was distilled in 1900

One of the world's rarest half bottles of whisky is expected to fetch up to £6,000 when it is auctioned in Glasgow next week.

The bottle of Springbank was distilled by J & A Mitchell & Co Ltd in 1900 and drawn in 1927.
Other rare brands going under the hammer include Macallan, Dalmore, Talisker, Bowmore and Highland Park.
The rare whisky sale at McTear's Auctioneers is scheduled to go ahead on 3 February.

Pope Benedict confirms first papal UK visit since 1982

The last papal visit to the UK was in May 19

Pope Benedict XVI has confirmed he will this year make the first papal visit to the UK since John Paul II's of 1982.

He is expected to visit Birmingham - as part of the planned beatification of Cardinal John Newman - and Scotland. Dates for the trip have not been set.
The Pope spoke of the UK's "commitment to equality of opportunity" for all.
But he criticised equality legislation which imposed "unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs".
No official itinerary has yet been drawn up but officials at the Vatican and in the UK told the BBC the visit was likely to take place in September.
Further details are expected early in March, a spokesman for the Catholic Communications Network said.
The Pope was formally invited to visit the UK by Prime Minister Gordon Brown last February. Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy also invited him to visit Scotland.

Your country is well-known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society Pope Benedict XVI

Delivering a speech to Roman Catholic bishops from England and Wales who had made a pilgrimage to Rome, the pontiff asked that they ensure their faithful knew he "holds them in his heart".
Pope Benedict offered his "warmest good wishes and prayers" for the bishops and all the faithful entrusted to their care.
He urged them warmly to welcome disaffected Anglicans who wanted to join the Catholic Church.
It has offered Anglicans the prospect of their own hierarchies - ordinariates - within the Catholic system, leading to predictions that whole congregations opposed to plans for women bishops may transfer from the Church of England.
Despite this, Anglican Archbishop of York John Sentamu said the Pope would be "very welcome".
He told BBC News: "I've met him in Rome. We had wonderful conversations and whatever people may think about the ordinariate, they shouldn't use that as a reason for not accepting one of our great Christian leaders."
Protest petition
The Pope's remarks about equality legislation in the UK have been interpreted as a reference to legislation forcing religious adoption agencies to accept gay clients.
Religious leaders have also voiced concern about the government's flagship Equality Bill, saying it may force churches to employ sexually active gay people and transsexuals when hiring staff other than priests or ministers.
During his address, the Pope urged the bishops to ensure the Church's moral teaching was always presented in its "entirety" and "convincingly defended".
He said: "Your country is well-known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society.
"Yet, as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.

The taxpayer in this country is going to be faced with a bill of some £20m for the visit of the Pope. A visit in which he has already indicated, he will attack equal rights and promote discrimination Terry Sanderson National Secular Society

"In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed."
He also urged the bishops to continue to insist upon their right to participate in national debate through "respectful dialogue with other elements in society".
By doing so, the Pope said, they would be "maintaining long-standing British traditions of freedom of expression and honest exchange of opinion" as well as "giving voice to the convictions of many people who lack the means to express them".
A spokesperson from the Government Equalities Office said the Pope had acknowledged the UK's "firm commitment to equality for all members of society".
"We believe everyone should have a fair chance in life and not be discriminated against. The Equality Bill will make Britain a fairer and more equal place," the spokesperson added.
The National Secular Society (NSS) said it would mount a protest campaign made up of gay groups, victims of clerical abuse, feminists, family planning organisations and pro-abortion groups, among others.
President Terry Sanderson said: "The taxpayer in this country is going to be faced with a bill of some £20m for the visit of the Pope.
"A visit in which he has already indicated, he will attack equal rights and promote discrimination.
"We have a petition online where people can make clear their opposition to the state funding of this visit. If the Catholic Church wishes its leader to come here, it should pay for the visit itself."

Obama Proposes $911 Billion for Health and Human Services

Highlights include efforts to improve food safety, expand child care and boost research

By Steven ReinbergHealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- The health-care portion of President Barack Obama's 2011 budget proposal includes $1.4 billion to overhaul the nation's food-safety program, $1.6 billion to expand child-care programs, and $1.7 billion to fight waste, fraud and abuse, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, said Monday.
"Under this budget we plan to provide the health and human services that America depends on more effectively, routing out waste and focusing our programs on results," Sebelius said during an afternoon press conference.
"This budget takes a big step toward a healthier, stronger America," she said.
The total 2011 HHS budget request, which is subject to Congressional approval, is $911 billion, an increase of $51 billion over 2010.
The goal of the proposed budget, according to Sebelius, is to start switching America's health care from a "sickness" to a "wellness" system.
"What we have today is a sick-care system where we wait until something goes wrong to intervene," Sebelius said. "What we are on the road to building is a true health-care system that promises better health all the time."
The proposed budget includes $1.7 billion to fight waste, fraud and abuse -- an increase of $250 million over last year's budget. "This year's budget includes an historic investment in cracking down on health-care fraud -- the folks who steal from taxpayers, endanger patients and jeopardize Medicare's and Medicaid's future," Sebelius said.
Among other budget highlights, the U.S. National Institutes of Health would get an additional $1 billion in new medical research funds, bringing the agency's total to $32.2 billion for research funds.
There is also nearly $500 million for vaccine research, including finding better ways to produce vaccines faster.
With memories of recent threats to food safety still fresh, the new proposal includes $1.4 billion -- an increase of $327 million -- for improved food safety, to be shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There's also increased funding for bio-safety, to protect against disease, natural disasters and terrorist attacks.
"Our ultimate goal is to have the kind of bio-defense system that is so dependable and robust that potential terrorists give up and say, 'It's not worth the effort,'" she said. "And when Mother Nature strikes we are ready to respond."
For the FDA, the budget calls for a 23 percent funding increase from last year, to $4.03 billion. The FDA budget includes measures for improved safety for food, drugs and other medical products, as well as anti-smoking campaigns.
The budget would also increase by $290 million funding for community health-care centers, including funding for 25 new centers. "Thanks to the new investment these centers will provide high-quality primary care for over 20 million people a year -- 3 million more than were served in 2008," Sebelius said.
There's also a substantial increase in funding for the Indian Health Care Service. "The principle we are trying to establish in our health-care system is that regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or geography, every American deserves high-quality and affordable care," Sebelius said.
The budget also includes more funding for electronic medical records, with the goal of getting more health-care providers to use e-records, hopefully reducing medical errors, the secretary said.
The budget would also give more money to states to strengthen their health-care systems, Sebelius said.
"The budget is based on our growing understanding that health is influenced by many factors outside of a doctor's office," she said. "Where you live matters, so does what you eat and drink -- even what you watch on TV."

President's Budget for Global Health Far Short of What's Needed - Congress Must Fix

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Obama's budget, transmitted to Congress this morning, includes $8.5 billion for a Global Health Initiative.  Based on projections to continue supporting robust U.S. programs to fight AIDS, TB and malaria and implement GHI priorities -- $16.4 billion

is required in FY2011.
The bottom line: "Through the appropriations process, the Congress has an opportunity and must work to get the Obama administration on the right track by fully funding PEPFAR, malaria and TB programs, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS TB and Malaria and to tackle other diseases laid out in the President's Global Health Initiative," asserted Dr. Paul Zeitz, Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance.
The Global Health Initiative reflects a genuine improvement in the U.S. approach to global security and development.  But the funds requested will not fully implement the Global Health Initiative; in fact – this is a minimalist approach to Global Health. "I expected more from this administration," noted Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals. "The President campaigned with wonderful words, pointing out that development is part of the path to global security.  But he's not following through on those words with real programmatic work...This is a blunder.  Somebody at OMB just doesn't realize what's happening on the international scene."
The need to fill in the gap between rhetoric and action is urgent. Human lives and global security hang in the balance. The U.S. already aggressively employs Defense and Diplomacy in its approach to national security. To put our full weight behind a comprehensive and effective approach to security, it is imperative that Development be fully funded.  "If only 4% of military spending is put toward a developmental approach, it will be an unhappy world, and a dangerous one," said Dr. Sachs.
Foreign development assistance is crucial to our national security. In order to neutralize environments that cultivate instability and terrorism, we must invest in eradicating poverty, lessen disease and expand access to education around the world.  "In the administration I served in, we were clear about the absolutely critical role development played in our national security strategy.  I'm encouraged by President Obama's approach with regard to policy, but to not fund it is a mistake," said Scott Evertz, former Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy in the George W. Bush administration.

• Supporting vaccine and immunization campaigns strengthens the social fabric of villages, countries and vulnerable regions, increasing their stability and security. Providing access to medicines and bolstering health systems helps communities and countries to stabilize – and does so more effectively than nearly any other investment.
• The global financial crisis is having a devastating impact on low economic and middle income countries around the world. U.S. supported programs like PEPFAR, PMI the Global Fund to Right AIDS, TB and Malaria are critical. Obama's FY11 request for bilateral HIV/AIDS is $5.223 billion -- $2.027 billion less than the $7.25 billion authorized by the Lantos-Hyde bi-partisan legislation to reauthorize PEPFAR.  
• The U.S. provides one-third of the funding to the Global Fund; reflecting our "fair share" in the world economy. Obama's request is $50 million less than the amount Congress enacted last year. The American public supports an increase in global efforts.

The time is now.  Every dollar, every day, every hour counts. To demonstrate true leadership and progress in this global crisis, President Obama's commitment to global health must be increased.  The President's Global Health Initiative leaves behind millions -- including at least ten million mothers, children, family members and orphans in need of lifesaving AIDS treatment.
If President Obama had proposed full funding for the Global Health Initiative, including bilateral HIV/AIDS, in FY2011, up to:

• 1.3 million more people around the world could receive treatment for AIDS.
• 3.9 million more women could receive services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
• 36 million more people could access programs to prevent sexual transmission of HIV.
• 2.5 million more orphans and other children affected by HIV/AIDS could receive care and support services.

Despite the continuing economic recession, Americans support spending on global health aid.  In an October 2009 opinion poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, two-thirds of those polled noted that U.S. spending was too low (34%) or at about the right amount (32%) for efforts to improve health in developing countries.
Even at a time of economic distress here at home, Americans reach into their pockets when they know they can make a difference to human lives.  Americans' contributions to Haiti's earthquake recovery efforts have already topped $200 million.
Founded in 2001, the Global AIDS Alliance is committed to mobilizing the political will and financial resources needed to halt global HIV/AIDS and reduce its devastating effects.  GAA believes that effective AIDS advocacy must address the epidemic's fundamental links to poverty and social injustice, including gender inequality, lack of education, and violence against women and children.

UN Says 55 Nations Affiliated with Copenhagen Accord

Many of the emission reduction pledges are given as ranges, or are conditional on other nations' actions.

By: Margaret Ryan, Published: 02/01/10 4:34pm

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat says 55 nations representing 78% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions have affiliated with the Copenhagen Accord.
The Accord specifies that countries will undertake the actions to which they commit by today, February 1. Developed nations file quantified economy-wide emissions reduction targets, while emerging economies and less developed nations file what are termed "nationally appropriate mitigation actions."
Many of the pledges are given as ranges, or are conditional on other nations' actions. For instance, South Africa sees its commitment to cut emissions 34% below their projected growth in 2020 and 42% by 2025 as conditioned on completion of a new binding treaty including extension of the Kyoto Protocol. China and India carefully say their commitments are voluntary and not binding under international treaties. China will "endeavor to lower" its carbon intensity by 40-45% from the 2005 level, increase non-fossil energy used to 15%, and increase forest coverage by 40 million hectares, all by 2020. India also "will endeavour to reduce" carbon intensity, by 20-25%, not including the agricultural sector.
Among developed countries, Australia promised to lower emissions by 5% from 2000 levels by 2020, but will up that to 15% if there's a global agreement under which major developing nations like China and India also take on comparable commitments. New Zealand will take on 10-20% cuts from 1990 levels, depending on a future global agreement, as long as it sets up "a broad and efficient international carbon market." Russia will cut 15-25%, also conditioned on comparable action by other major economies.
And the European Union says it will cut 20% by 2020 from 1990 levels but would raise that to 30% if other major economies take action, while Canada adopted the same target as the U.S., 17% from 2005 levels. Critics say Canada's target is actually an increase from its 2006 policy.
The UNFCCC Secretariat has said all the commitments are being posted on its web site. The US Climate Action Network has summarized all the known commitments on a special page.

Dealmaking back in fashion, as CEOs buy growth

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The manic dealmaking of the years before the financial crisis may be some way off, but acquisitions were certainly back on the agenda for the CEOs of many companies attending the World Economic Forum in Davos over the past week.

Deals  |  Davos: China  |  Davos

Savage cost cutting, capital raising and debt refinancing mean that a lot of the more profitable companies now have strong enough balance sheets to be opportunistic if a deal is presented. The debt markets are also open again to help finance deals, and market gains mean their shares can be used as currency in transactions.Buying growth through purchases may also be more attractive than trying to expand current businesses organically, given concerns about how fast the economies of Europe and the United States will recover this year.
But the CEOs are generally looking for bolt-on acquisitions, not massive deals that transform their businesses.
Take Mike Fries, for example. As chief executive of pay-TV company Liberty Global (LBTYA.O) he is eager to expand beyond the 15 million subscribers Liberty has across 10 countries in Europe.
"We are opportunistic on the M&A front," Fries said. "If something came up that fits us perfectly we would have to look at it."
He said that the strength of high-yield debt markets was fueling such activity. It took less than two days for the company to raise enough money for the $3 billion acquisition of Germany's Unitymedia at the end of last year.
Also in the media sector, Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO)(TRI.N) CEO Thomas Glocer said the company was in a strong position to make acquisitions, thanks in part to its opportunistic refinancing of debt over last summer. Glocer said there was "a ton" of good businesses coming onto the market.
TD Ameritrade Holding Corp (AMTD.O), the second-biggest U.S. discount broker, has been a major consolidator of the industry with 10 deals in about as many years, and its chairman, Joe Moglia, made it clear that was going to continue.
"Literally every day we are trying to look at different opportunities in the market place," he said, and that included eyeing any of its rivals if they come up for sale. "There is probably still some room left in the industry for consolidation," Moglia added.
PLACING BETS
Kraft Foods Inc's (KFT.N) $18.7 billion deal for Cadbury (CBRY.L) was likely to make companies more confident as they consider big deals, said Mark Foster, group chief executive for management consulting at Accenture.
"Cost cutting and responding to the economic realities remains top of mind for companies, but there are some leading companies that are lifting their heads and starting to place bets," he said.
The heads of three of the biggest private equity companies in the world, Stephen Schwarzman, Henry Kravis and David Rubenstein, made it clear in interviews at Davos that they expect to do more acquisitions. They will also be seeking to sell more of their current holdings through initial public offerings or straight sales to companies.
And deals are not just about bankers' fees and executives' egos. They also create business activity, boosting airlines, hotels and restaurants -- as investment bankers, investors, consultants and auditors take to the road.
"The IPO activity and the canceled projects from last year that are being restarted, the negotiations for things coming up have created a pretty spontaneous increase in demand," said Frits van Paasschen, the CEO of luxury hotel chain Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (HOT.N).
Brazilian and Chinese companies, bolstered by the relative strength of their economies, are also set to make a significant contribution to the dealmaking.
Brasil Foods (BRFS3.SA), Brazil's biggest pork and poultry producer, is looking for ways to expand around the world, said its co-chairman, Luiz Fernando Furlan. The company was only formed last year after Perdigao took over Sadia -- a transaction still awaiting regulatory approval in Brazil.
"We have plans to invest outside, maybe the U.S. and the Middle East and some other places," he said while declining to be specific on particular targets.
PROTECTING STAFF
Former Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt said the political climate in the United States was positive toward inbound investment by the Chinese and others.
"We haven't seen the barriers to investment -- investment protectionism -- as much as we have seen trade barriers rise," said Kimmitt, who is now chairman of Deloitte's Center for Cross Border Investment.
Still, there are some companies that will not be making M&A fees for the bankers.
Jim Goodnight, the founder and controlling shareholder of business software company SAS, said he would not sell because he fears that a buyer would just gut the company's workforce and culture -- a culture that made it No. 1 in the latest Fortune magazine list of top 100 American companies to work for.
"I am not interested in selling the company because I really like to try and protect the people that work here and one of the first things an acquiring company does is lay off people, terminate people," he said.

Emma Watson Dishes on People Tree

Emma Watson leans onto her brother Alex in this new shot from her upcoming People Tree fashion range.
The 19-year-old British beauty opened up to the Daily Mail about the line, fair trade fashion and what really inspired her to design the line. Check it:
On how the line is about fashion, not her: “I didn’t want this collection to be all about me. This is not a celebrity endorsement, it is about creating something that is genuinely a great idea and about making a difference through fashion. I am very interested in fashion and I’ve been working a lot in the fashion world recently – it’s such an influential industry, so I knew that trying to help people, trying to alleviate poverty through a fashion line, could work. Fashion is a great way to empower people and give them skills; rather than give cash to charity you can help people by buying the clothes they make and supporting things they take pride in. It’s that simple.”
On the inspiration for the line: “I went through my summer wardrobe and thought, ‘If I filtered this so that it was just the very basics, what would I want to keep?’ The answer was cotton vests, easy T-shirt dresses, nice scarves to accessorize with and some lovely linen pieces. For the boys’ range I’ve done hoodies, which I know they’ll love. The clothes are very British, which is why we shot them in an English country garden – it’s all very strawberries and cream and tennis.”
On making the line a fair-trade fashion line: “The first time I heard about fair trade was during a geography coursework project, and I remember thinking, ‘Why isn’t everything fair trade?’ Everyone knows about fair-trade bananas and coffee, but of course anything can be fair trade. Fair-trade fashion costs a bit more but allows those who make it to earn a decent living; to be able to take care of their families and live with dignity.”

Grammy Fashion: The Best (and Worst) of the Rest

Taylor Swift and Beyonce dominated the awards; Lady Gaga and Pink ruled the stage; and celebrities from every industry walked the red carpet of last night's Grammy Awards. 

We've already recapped the night in fashion via a series of face-offs. For example, the following stars battled one another in front of photographers, fans and our loyal readers:

• Beyonce vs. Fergie
• Heidi Klum vs. Ke$ha
• Rihanna vs. Carrie Underwood
• Katy Perry vs. Britney Spears
• Usher vs. The Situation
• Miley Cyrus vs. Lea Michele
• Wycleff vs. will.i.am

Click on the links above and cast your vote today!
As for other major stars (i.e. Adam Lambert) and quasi celebs enjoying their 15 minutes in the spotlight (i.e. Larry Platt), they also showed up at the event.
Check out the best of the rest of the night below and sound off about the ceremony's fashionable winners and losers...

New Bollywood film online

To strike or not to strike? Siddharth hopes Striker will be a hit.

You Tube will carry Strike from February 5

Bollywood is about to make history for itself by making available a new Hindi film online.

Striker, a joint venture between ‘The Indian Film Company’ and ‘Studio 18,’ will be on You Tube on February 5.

Studio 18 Marketing Director Ankit Chauhan said the online version will conform to high quality of visual and sound.

“This is an exciting development as Bollywood buffs will be able to watch Striker anytime they want from the comfort of their homes, without having to wait for official video and DVD releases,” he said.

The film’s hero, Siddharth (Suryanarayanan) was also excited.

“The film was a challenge. Its powerful story and action will have universal appeal,” he told Indian Newslink during a telephone conversation from Mumbai last week.

He plays the role of Surya, a young man of ill-health, taking to the board game of carom. He wins the Junior Championship but the hope of securing a job in Dubai overtakes his passion for the game. But untoward events influence his life thereafter.

“Striker is a story of friendship, goodwill and understanding, with a touch of crime,” he said.

Siddharth is keen to establish his own image in the film industry.

“I do not have a role model; I would rather be myself and be known as such,” he said.

Mani Ratnam, who gave a break to a number of current celebrities including Music Director A R Rahman, introduced Siddharth (who had just obtained his MBA degree) in his Tamil film, Kannathil Muthamittal. His other films include Aayutha Ezhuthu (Tamil), Rang De Basanti (Hindi) and Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam (Telugu).

“I am testing the waters in Bollywood and I hope it would be smooth sailing,” Siddharth said.

Aditya Pancholi, Ankur Vikal, Anoop Soni, Anupam Kher, Padmapriya, Nicolette Bird, Seema Biswas and Vidya Malvade are among the actors cast in Striker.

It was a calm fashion night at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Normally viewers can expect something new and/or unique from many of the industry's leading trendsetters but that wasn’t the case this year. Check out the slideshow below.
It appears most (there were a few exceptions) of the stars went for a more Hollywood glamour look. From Beyonce’s  satin gown by designer Stephane Rolland to Katy Perry’s lovely long champagne colored Zac Posen dress with gold-and-pearl floral embellishments, the tone was a more toned down, sophisticated look.
Also looking amazing were Nicole Kidman in a black Prada gown, Toni Braxton in a gray, one-shoulder David Meister evening dress and Taylor Swift  in a midnight blue Kaufmanfranco off-the-shoulder sequin-covered gown.
Then there was Lady Gaga: who while wearing an Armani looked like she had stepped in from another galaxy. From her head down to her sparkly shoes, it was all Gaga all the way. The popular singer made the following statement about her three dimensional outfit:

I am honored to be wearing Armani this evening.

The series of pieces Mr. Armani created for me are truly iconic; they represent not only beautiful fashion, but my spirit and essence as an artist."

 Check out the  complete Grammy winners 2010 list  to see who went home with an award.

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Grammy Awards 2010 Red Carpet and Jackson kids

Celebrities arrive at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010. Paris and Prince accept Michael Jackson's Lifetime Achievement award on his behalf. AP photos

View Slideshow »

More About: Michael Jackson · TV · Music · Awards · Taylor Swift · Lady Gaga · Singers · Grammys - Grammy Awards show

Kristen Stewart & Friends Are Vanity Fair's New Hollywood

Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair Magazine

It's that time of year when Vanity Fair features a bunch of young, fresh-faced actresses all hanging out, looking pretty.
For their March 2010 cover, the mag rounded up nine lucky ladies for the annual Hollywood Issue. Kristen Stewart is obviously the most recognizable, so who are the rest of these people? Let's do it from left to right:
Alleged Ryan Phillippe-stealer Abbie Cornish; the always adorable (and Shia LaBeouf GF) Carey Mulligan; Amanda Seyfried, who looks so over these VF shoots; Rebecca Hall; Alice in Wonderland's Mia Wasikowska; fiery redhead Emma Stone; that's moody Evan Rachel Wood back there; and finally, Anna Kendrick gets shoved into the corner.
While K.Stew looks rather charming on the cover, once they put her in a dress, her patented scowl and dirty hair make their appearance:

Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair Magazine

Poor Kristen, being forced to wear beautiful designer dresses and pose for a major magazine. Ugh, famous-person life is hard. The only one who looks more displeased to be there is Dear John star Amanda.

Cyber crime gets organised 

International Internet fraud is now so sophisticated that we need an Internet Interpol, writes Toby Shapshak

The world needs a kind of Internet Interpol to combat cyber criminals who have usurped the global communications network for their nefarious activities, says an expert.
It's grown to become a flourishing industry with international syndicates, just like the Mafia

The world needs a kind of Internet Interpol to combat cyber criminals who have usurped the global communications network for their nefarious activities, says an expert.
Such criminals have matured into a kind of organised crime network, much like the American Mafia did in the 1930s, which operates across international borders.
Internet users have been swamped in recent years by waves of malicious software (known as "malware") that originally just wreaked havoc as a demonstration of the hacker's prowess, but has since evolved into a network of vast underground criminal syndicates bent on financial gain.
The world of viruses, spam, Trojans, worms and other malware has grown in complexity and sophistication - and the relative ease with which computers are infected with them is startling, not only for how bad things are, but for how much worse they can become.
"Cyber crime has come to the organised stage," saids Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Moscow security software company Kaspersky Labs.
In the past, there were just individuals, then loose groups formed. "Now it's like an industry," he told The Timesat an Internet security conference in Moscow last week. Different groups specialise in different criminal activities, much like any other industry in its area of expertise.
Some develop malware, others distribute it.
Some groups even have web pages and offer technical support - all in a very underground, restricted way.
"Recently, there was a partner conference in Moscow of Russian cyber criminals," Kaspersky said.
"Like a modern-day Mafia?" I ask. "Yes. My fear is that they are getting more organised."
Last year there was unprecedented malware activity, a lot of it caused by the Conficker virus, which took its instructions from tens of thousands of websites.
It's a fascinating story of innovation and lateral thinking that would be a Harvard Business School case study if it were not for such malicious purposes.
It infected something like seven million computer systems and was able to replicate and update itself using clever commands from fake websites, which themselves evaded being shut down by using equally ingenious methods.
(For more, see this brilliant piece in New Scientist that reads like the outlandish plot of a Hollywood movie, but infinitely more worrying than Die Hard: 4.0.1.7. http://bit.ly/confickerns).
And it's getting worse. Kaspersky Labs said that between 1992 and 2007 it detected about twomillion unique malware programs. But in 2008 alone it found 15million, and last year it detected about 33.9million unique malicious files.
Kaspersky Labs said one in 150 websites is spreading malware. Websites use a range of scripts to make it possible to display themselves, and the browsers that render them are highly complex software filled with exploitable security loopholes.
Viruses typically no longer incapacitate computers but use them as zombie machines, often part of larger networks of such robot machines, called botnets.
"Internet fraud is getting more sophisticated and it started in Russian," said Alexander Gostev, director of Kaspersky's global research and analysis team.
Amazingly, a new form of malware is fake antivirus software that, he said, the FBI estimated had raked in $150-million (R1.138-billion) last year. Kaspersky Labs has monitored 300 types of such fake programs.
This year, Gostev warns, the hot new tech products and web services will be the focus of more malware attacks: social media networks, Google Wave, smartphones (including the iPhone and Android handsets) and even Apple's computers and ATM cash dispensers. MTN recently began offering free Kaspersky antivirus for new Nokia and HTC smartphone users.
So how do you beat it?
"I've been saying for many years that we need Internet police to investigate international crime," said Kaspersky.
"A kind of Internet Interpol," I suggest.
National police are often not sharing information with other law enforcement agencies, Kaspersky said. "Now the problem is [that] cyber police are not able to trace the criminals. Because the cyber criminals are based in different countries, we need this 'Internet Interpol'. Police need access to information [about local crimes] to trace their source ."
He's also proposing a digital identity - something that every user would have, which will identify them and allow them the same kinds of digital identification as a real-world passport.
"It's like driving a car without licence plates and without a driving licence. We need to introduce driving licences."
It's a fundamentally good idea, but what about restrictive regimes? I ask.
But he argues that it's inevitable that governments will need verifiable digital identities for its citizens, once they begin offering more sophisticated on-line, or e-government, services.
Either way, malware attacks are going to be worse and the world's police will need to collaborate more to fight these cyber criminals.

World's Most Expensive Cars

These dream machines are the best money can buy.

In Pictures: World's Most Expensive CarsThese dream machines are the best money can buy.If you're looking to travel in style and money's not a concern, you could opt for shares in a private jet, invest in a Louis Vuitton leather luggage set or spend six figures on any of a handful of street-legal, ultra-luxe cars. It'll take a good three-quarters of a million dollars to own something like the SSC Ultimate Aero. The supercar produces 1,287 horsepower and features a carbon fiber-dashboard and center console with a digital temperature control unit and tire pressure monitor, for optimum driving conditions.
But if you drive the Aero, be prepared to be outclassed by owners of the Lamborghini Reventón. Only 20 drivers willing to part with $1.42 million will get to enjoy the car's fighter jet-inspired sharp edges and precise lines. You'll know the Reventón by its glass engine hood, solid aluminum fuel tank lid and opaque carbon fins screwed onto the black aluminum spokes on the wheels.
In Pictures: World's Most Expensive Cars
Stephan Winkelmann, president and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., calls the Reventón a "car without compromise"--it's based on the $354,000 Murciélago and created exclusively in Sant'Agata Bolognese, the heart of Italian motor design.
Behind the Numbers
Both make our list of the world's most expensive cars. To compile it, we reviewed price lists from all the ultra-luxe ($300,000 and above) automakers who might have produced a contender this year for the top spot, including Bentley, Bugatti, Ferrari, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, Leblanc, Maserati, Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Pagani, Porsche ( PSEPF.PK - news - people ), Rolls-Royce ( RYCEY.PK - news - people ), Saleen, Shelby Super Cars and Spyker. We chose only cars that are currently in production and street legal, which eliminated the discontinued $653,000 Ferrari Enzo, as well as the $500,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster. In some cases we did not list all variations of a particular model. Prices do not include taxes, destination charges or upgrade options; some prices have been converted from euros to U.S. dollars. Not all of the vehicles on our list are sold in the U.S.
One similarity between last year's list and this year's? The brands themselves. While last year's tally saw more entries from Maybach and Pagani, aside from a few outliers (SSC Ultimate Aero and LeBlanc Mirabeau, among others) they, as well as Koenigsegg, Bugatti and Lamborghini, still produce the world's most expensive vehicles. These cars typically serve two purposes: as a posh chauffeured livery car, like the $1.4 million Maybach Landaulet, or as a screaming track machine, like the $1.3 million Koenigsegg CCXR.
And what that limited group is making is hyper-exclusive--production runs like the 150 expected for the French-built Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport are considered high-volume (it takes seven months and a down payment of $487,000 to get one).
Part of the idea behind the low numbers is to protect the car's value; the fewer Veyrons there are, the more each one will be worth. The cars are special-ordered--made after an order is taken and customized to any specifications deemed necessary by the customer--to ensure automakers don't lose money on a vehicle left sitting around without a buyer. Exact figures on the profit margins for these privately owned companies are difficult to come by, but judging from the length and breath of their tenure (some have been around for decades), it's safe to say the sale of each vehicle generates a tidy sum.
Elite Supercars
The Koenigsegg Trevita is of the most exclusive on our list. "Trevita" means "three whites" in Swedish, a nod to the car's unique diamond-colored carbon fiber-weave bodywork and the fact that only three of them will be made. Inside, Trevita comes with all the best technologies: a hydraulic lift system, a tire monitoring system, a chrono instrument cluster, paddle-shifters and carbon fiber brakes. Under the hood, the 1,018-horsepower engine and 250-mph top speed promise much for any weekend thrill ride (lateral G-force can reach 1.5 G, and it'll get to 200 km/hour in 8.75 seconds). Price tag: $2.21 million.
The Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster is another newcomer to the supercar winner's circle. This Italian-made machine is the new convertible version of the Pagani Cinque Coupe, the street-legal version of the Zonda R. The 678-horsepower, V12 engine is built by Mercedes-Benz's high-performance AMG division. It'll hit 62 miles per hour in 3.4 seconds, with a top speed of 217 mph--and it'll stop from 62 mph in just 2.1 seconds, thanks to the extremely expensive carbo-ceramic self-ventilated hydraulic Brembo brakes. A total of five Cinque Roadsters will be made.
Superior Standbys
Still, it's the Lamborghinis that have long inhabited expensive-car lists. These include the Reventón (its unique design and bloodlines make it coveted by collectors) and its convertible counterpart, the Reventón Roadster. These jet-like screamers are steeped in Italian luxury history: They're named after Reventón, the fighting bull owned by the Don Rodriguez family and known for killing the famous bullfighter Felix Guzman in 1943.
From the outside the angular Reventón duo is instantly recognizable. But Lambo reps say their sharp edges and reduced lines are there solely to fulfill the car's function; ornaments and decorations are totally foreign to the design and performance goals of any Lamborghini. Another design cue, and one of historic import, are the doors, both of which open upward. Ever since the Countach sports car was born in the mid-1970s, the doors-up effect has denoted Lamborghini's V12 line. The car also sports a brand new color option, an opaque, non-shiny greenish grey that shares the same name as the product.
Under the hood, the 650-horsepower engine gets to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds, with a top speed of 340 km/hour. Inside, the cockpit has Alcantara, carbon, aluminum and leather trim, with liquid crystal instrument displays and a g-force-meter, which measures drive forces when accelerating, and braking, and for speeding around corners. As Lamborghini likes to point out, a similar instrument is used in airplanes.
Matter of fact, with the going rate for private jets these days starting around $8 million, a plane may not be too far out reach--once the Trevita gets old and all.

World champion wrestler Warren is the latest to join Bellator

Joe Warren has been busy. Today, Bellator announced that the world champion wrestler has signed on for the promotion's featherweight tournament. This weekend, he returned to the wrestling mat for the first time in three years.
Warren talked to Cagewriter and said that he is slated to fight on Bellator's first show of the season on April 8 in Hollywood, Fla. He also said that after fighting three times in Japan, he's looking forward to fighting in the U.S.
"We see eye-to-eye," Warren said. "They're excited about marketing me, and it's a perfect fit. I can still fight in Dream and do all the things I want to do."
One of the things that Warren wants to do is win an Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling.
"It's the one thing I haven't done. I won the world championship, Pan-Ams, World Cup, but I need to be training that every day to win it." 
Warren was the odds-on favorite to win gold for the U.S. in Beijing, but was suspended before the Games for a positive drug test. That sped up his transition to MMA. He had planned to fight after the 2008 Olympics, but with the suspension, he had the chance to fight in Dream. In his MMA debut, Warren beat former WEC champ Chase Beebe and followed that up with an upset of Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto.
'I can call myself a fighter now'
His last fight was a loss to Bibiano Fernandes in October. Since then, Warren has been focused on training for MMA.
"Getting ready for the Dream fights were like cramming for a test. I was jamming so much in," Warren said. "In the last few months, I was able to slow down and focus on my striking and jiu jitsu. I can call myself a fighter now."
He is still a wrestler at heart, though. Warren wrestled this past weekend at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., his first time back on the mat since the suspension. Warren lost both matches and learned that wrestling isn't exactly like a bicycle.
"I wanted to get back on the mat, but I'm still focused on fighting for now. I need to get through these next three fights. I'm excited about fighting. I want to do that every morning. I'm going to go win that Bellator belt."
That determination, along with the wrestling pedigree, made Warren an extrememly attractive free agent. Signing Warren was one more win for Bellator, who has made waves by snapping up free agents Ben Askren, Dan Hornbuckle, Patricio "Pitbull" Freire and Bao Quach. Adding Warren, one of MMA's most decorated wrestlers, is one more feather(weight) in the Bellator cap

Obama Expands World AIDS Program by 25% to $3 Billion

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’s budget boosts global AIDS program funding by 25 percent, to $3 billion, to expand initiatives against the deadly disease and provide basic health care for children and mothers in the world’s poorest countries.
The program, detailed in the fiscal 2011 budget released today, keeps HIV/AIDS as the top recipient of global health aid and piggybacks efforts to combat malnutrition, childhood mortality and maternal illness, according to budget documents. Money is also targeted at treating rare tropical diseases, offering family planning services and helping children who have been orphaned by AIDS.
In some of the world’s poorest regions, AIDS clinics offer the only health-care option and doctors have argued those services should be broadened. In May, Obama proposed spending $63 billion over six years to extend U.S. programs to battle global poverty and disease, with $51 billion to combat HIV/AIDS and malaria. The program built on efforts by President George W. Bush to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
“AIDS services have tended to be the backbone of other health services,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, or AVAC, in New York, in a telephone interview today. “The question is: how do you build that in a way that continues the progress in respect to HIV/AIDS, without shifting the focus away?”
AIDS Focus
The $19 billion spent during the Bush administration on its AIDS program from 2004 to 2008 was the single biggest U.S. health assistance program ever, according to the budget. The initiative, known as PEPFAR, invested most of its money to help people already infected with the AIDS virus. The relief program devoted a smaller share to prevention programs, which often focused on sexual abstinence.
“Keeping AIDS as a sort of ‘special disease,’ with separate clinics, elaborate counseling and testing, training and procedures outside of the rest of the health system has been a major contributor to the stigma of AIDS,” said William Aldis, assistant professor of global health at Thammasat University in Bangkok and a former representative of the World Health Organization in Thailand.
“Dealing with these problems requires making the system, including hospitals, work better,” Aldis said. “There’s no profit margin here for the donor countries, unlike vaccines and new brand-name drugs.”
Little Attention
Programs to address maternal and neonatal mortality have historically attracted little funding, Aldis said. He supports the U.S. wanting to work closer with individual countries “as long as the U.S. pays attention to what countries want to do, and works with them respectfully and early in the planning process to get genuine national commitment country-by-country to the U.S. investment.”
About 33.4 million people live with HIV around the world, and about 90 percent of them live in low- and middle-income countries, according to the WHO, a United Nations’ agency based in Geneva.
Congress will decide how the money from today’s budget plan is allocated, and their negotiations in coming weeks and months will determine the success of the budget initiatives, AVAC’s Warren said. Warren said he’s concerned that money might be taken away from AIDS research and treatment to build more general health infrastructure.
“There are fundamental resource constraints. A broader global health strategy is important, but not at the expense of AIDS,” Warren said. “There is never a good time to make cuts in HIV/AIDS, but I would argue this would be the worst time.”

Obama Seeks $1.9 Trillion Tax Rise on Rich, Business

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration wants to increase taxes on Americans earning more than $200,000 by almost $970 billion over the next decade and take in an additional $400 billion from businesses even as it retooled a proposed crackdown on international tax-avoidance techniques.

The budget released today would reinstate 10-year-old income tax rates of 36 percent and 39.6 percent for single Americans earning more than $200,000 and joint filers who make more than $250,000 as part of a broad $1.9 trillion tax increase proposal. It proposes to eliminate preferences for oil and gas companies, life-insurance products, executives of investment partnerships and U.S.-based companies that operate overseas.

“The administration proposes to restore balance to the tax code by providing tax cuts to working families, returning to the pre-2001 ordinary income tax rates for families making more than a quarter of a million dollars a year, closing loopholes, and eliminating subsidies to special interests,” the budget says.

In all, Obama proposed $143.4 billion in new tax cuts for individuals who earn under $200,000. While the budget sets out $93.5 billion in gross tax reductions for businesses, overall they would face a net tax increase.

Offshore Profits

The $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2011 retools three tax proposals aimed at preventing U.S. companies from shifting profits offshore that were first introduced last year. Businesses including Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp., Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric Co., Camden, New Jersey-based Campbell Soup Co. and Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar Inc. complained the changes would impair their ability to compete with foreign rivals.

The biggest change would delete a proposal to abolish “check-the-box” rules, which allow companies to legally disregard foreign subsidiaries in tax havens when they file corporate tax returns. It also scales back a proposal to restrict the ability of companies to defer U.S. taxes on their foreign profits.

In place of the check-the-box rules, the administration proposed $15.5 billion in new taxes. These would make it harder for companies to abuse so-called transfer-pricing rules to improperly inflate expenses through trades between subsidiaries.

The proposals are part of a broader package of international tax changes the budget estimates will generate about $122.2 billion over a decade.

Patents, Trademarks

The new proposal takes aim at the transfer of licenses, patents, trademarks and other intangible property to subsidiaries in tax havens. Two administration officials said they made this change after weighing input from businesses and concluding targeting transfer pricing and foreign tax credit abuses would be more effective than last year’s proposals.

The officials said the change would force companies to pay immediate U.S. tax when income generated by products for which the license has been transferred to a low-tax countries produces an “excessive return” because of the tax savings.

Martin Sullivan, a former staff economist for the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation in Congress, said the proposal would likely affect insurance, drug and technology companies.

‘Bigger’ Than Estimate

“It’s bigger than the estimate,” Sullivan said, referring to the $15.5 billion revenue projection.

A fee imposed on 50 of the biggest financial firms such as New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp. would raise another $90 billion. Eliminating tax breaks for fossil-fuel industries would produce another $40 billion.

The budget’s tax proposals otherwise are little changed from last year. For businesses, the administration calls for a permanent extension of a credit for research and for a $33 billion credit for small businesses that hire workers. It seeks renewal of a temporary tax incentive worth $38 billion for companies to buy equipment by offering a 50 percent write-off rather than slower depreciation over time.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, and House Ways and Means Committee Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat, pledged to act quickly on tax legislation to stimulate hiring.

Baucus reiterated his preference for delaying action on Obama’s international tax reforms until Congress tackles a more comprehensive overhaul of the tax laws.

Finance Committee

“I intend to work in the Finance Committee to prepare for comprehensive tax reform that will meet the goals of making U.S. businesses more competitive globally and making America a more attractive location for business investment,” Baucus said.

For individuals, the budget allows lower tax rates established under President George W. Bush for Americans in the top two brackets to revert to 36 percent and 39.6 percent, from 33 percent and 35 percent currently. Capital-gains and dividend tax rates would increase to 20 percent for people earning more than $250,000.

Obama asked Congress to extend all of Bush’s tax cuts that apply to Americans earning under $250,000. He also proposes almost doubling a tax credit that helps Americans pay for child care and increasing federal subsidies for Individual Retirement Accounts.

The budget assumes the federal estate tax, which expired Jan. 1 and was replaced with a capital-gains tax, will be reinstated retroactively with a 45 percent rate applied when married couples’ estates exceed $7 million.

Minimum Tax

Obama’s budget assumes Congress will continue to index the alternative minimum tax for inflation. The minimum tax can impose higher rates on families earning between $75,000 and $500,000 when their deductions are too high relative to their income. It originally was intended to affect only millionaires and is now ensnaring people with lower incomes because it was never indexed for inflation.

The plan also proposes to require general partners at private-equity firms and other investment partnerships such as venture-capital firms and hedge funds to pay ordinary income-tax rates on their compensatory share of profits called “carried interest,” which currently qualifies for the 15 percent capital-gains treatment. That proposal, which would exempt real- estate partnerships, would raise $24 billion.

Mobile-Phone Tax

The budget also urges repeal of a law requiring workers to pay taxes when they use employer-provided mobile phones and similar equipment for personal reasons.

In addition, the budget revives a proposal from last year that would limit the value of itemized deductions for gifts to charities, investment expenses and mortgage interest. People in the highest brackets would be able to deduct 28 percent of such expenses, instead of a percentage equal to their top marginal tax rate.

It also resurrects taxes on businesses, including the elimination of $36.5 billion in tax preferences for the oil, gas and coal industries.

More broadly, the budget again proposes to repeal an accounting method known as “last-in, first-out” that benefits oil companies, retailers, textile makers, consumer-products companies and others that keep a lot of inventory in inflationary environments. That repeal would generate $59 billion over the decade.

Other proposals included in both the new budget and last year’s request include new levies on securities dealers, life- insurance products, and the elimination of certain techniques that allow the wealthy to use trusts to dodge estate taxes.