Arnaud Montebourg, France's minister for industrial recovered has accused ArcelorMittal boss Lakshmi Mittal of blackmail and lies after the steel giant said it would close six facilities in neighbouring Belgium.

Blaming weak demand for cars, ArcelorMittal announced it would close six cold-processing facilities in Liege, Belgium, eliminating 1300 jobs. The company was already embroiled in controversy over the closure of two blast furnaces in France.

Montebourg told French media they don't want Mittal in France anymore, before later retracting his comments. He also urged the European Commission to look into ArcelorMittal's decision to close the Belgian sites.

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U R Ananthamurthy, 80, has been shortlisted for the International Man Booker Prize for fiction. He is the only Indian to have made it to the final list of 10 authors for the prestigious prize. The award is an offshoot of Britain's Man Booker novel-of-the-year prize and is awarded for a lifetime's work. It is open to authors of all nationalities whose work is available in English.

Ananthamurthy who is considered one of the most important voices of 'new movement' in the Kannada language has written five novels, eight short story compilations and three poetry collections that have been translated into other languages in India and in Europe. He is best known for his 1966 novel Samskara. He was also shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian literature in 2012 for 'Bharatipura' published in English in 2010.

He studied English literature at the University of Mysore and earned his doctorate from the University of Birmingham.
Among other finalists of 2013 are Aharon Appelfeld (Israel), Lydia Davis (USA), Intizar Husain (Pakistan), Yan Lianke (China) and Vladimir Sorokin (Russia).

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A number of Indian Americans resplendent in graceful saris and natty Nehru jackets attended the inaugural ball of President Obama, in Washington DC.

Significant among the invitees was Tobby Chaudhuri, a White House advisor and veteran political strategist, and his wife. He stated that the Indian American community has emerged as a force to reckon with at the national level, be it political, social or administrative.

Arun Rao a senior White House official from the Department of Justice was present along with his wife.

Eminent Indian American chief KN Vinod attended the ball with his wife.

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The government of India plans to give top Indian scientists working abroad various VIP offers, to attract them to spend some time in institutions in the country.

Plans include offering high quality scientists an annual remuneration of $100,000 plus furnished accommodations and relocation costs for a minimum of one and up to three years in India.

Planning Commission deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia suggested the proposal in a note circulated to Secretaries of scientific departments and has called a meeting of Secretaries of the science department to discuss his proposal to set up the new 'National Jawaharlal Nehru Science Fellowships'. Once selected, scientists may be offered an option to take up the fellowship when they choose, but within 3 years of their selection.

Officials said China implemented a similar scheme and succeeded in attracting over 1000 of their scientists working abroad.

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According to a study released by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, 84 percent of US NRIs voted for Barack Obama in November's US presidential elections for a second term at the White House.

The study also said that 13 percent of Asian-Americans who were registered Republicans had crossed over and voted for Obama, a Democrat. Bangladeshi Americans were the highest group to have voted for Obama at 96 percent followed by Indian Americans.

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