India mulls cross-party probe into telecom scandal

A decision on a cross-party probe into massive telecom scandal in India who rattled the federal government could be taken as early as next week, an official said Friday.

India's opposition parties have been vociferously demanding the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) for a broader investigation into the alleged multi-billion dollar scam.

Several high-profile company executives interviewed by the federal police in connection with the alleged sales below cost of radio waves in 2008.

Researchers have also arrested A. Raja, who quit as minister when the scandal battered telecom Singh coalition government.

Politicians, bureaucrats and corporate officials in the probe have denied any wrongdoing.

Indian Parliament is due to meet for its main budget session from Monday. Opposition calls for a cross-party investigation into the awarding of the 2008 mobile phone licenses paralyzed from the previous meeting.

Conventionally, a joint parliamentary committee announced when parliament is in session, Parliamentary Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Sheyphali Sharan, said. . A decision on the opposition demand, therefore, is expected in two to three days, she explained.

Prime Minister Singh of India, considered the architect of economic reforms the country has come under intense attack by his critics for his handling of corruption in government.

"I'm not afraid to appear before a committee, including a JPC," Singh told a press conference on Wednesday as he sought to defend his administration against a barrage of accusations.

He insists violators will be punished.

According to the government audit, the Treasury lost up to 31 billion U.S. dollars from the 2008 sale of the second generation of wireless spectrum. The damning audit report came on the heels of allegations of massive fraud in the sports and real estate.

Researchers have been probing complaints of financial crime in the Commonwealth Games hosted by India in October last year.

And various politicians, military officers and bureaucrats are the subjects of a separate investigation for allegedly taking apartments meant for war widows.

Calif. gov's newest ally? A 'fur ball' with charm

Gov. Jerry Brown has found an unlikely new best friend in his efforts to work with Republicans and fix California's budget mess.

Brown and first lady Anne Gust Brown officially welcomed Sutter, a 7-year-old Welsh corgi, as the state's top dog this week. The stocky, sable-colored canine with a milky white belly and marble-shaped eyes has been accompanying California's first couple to work at the state Capitol every day.

The dog has emerged as the warm-and-fuzzy counterpoint to the often blunt demeanor of the veteran Democratic politician, and his scratch-me-on-the-belly playfulness has disarmed even the governor's most persistent political foes during the sometimes-testy discussions over how to close the state's $27 billion deficit.

"Sutter and I have developed a relationship," said Senate Republican Leader Bob Dutton, one of the legislative leaders with whom Brown has to negotiate on the state budget. "I met him down at the governor's conference room. As we got to talking, I noticed there was a fur ball under my seat. He was very calm, laying there, sleeping. I think he was looking at me to be a protector of the taxpayer's dollars."

In announcing earlier this week that Sutter would become California's official first dog, Anne Gust Brown told reporters gathered on the steps of the Capitol that "he's going to herd the budget vote." The breed of dog is best known for its herding skills.

"He gives snuggles. He warms up the Republicans. As you see, Senator Dutton is very fond of him," she said.

Brown will take all the help he can get.

He needs some Republican votes in the state Assembly and Senate to put a five-year tax extension before California voters in a June special election. He also has called for about $12.5 billion spending cuts, a proposal that has produced resistance from Democrats.

Italian hostage in Algeria speaks in audio message

A pan-Arab satellite channel has broadcast a purported message from an Italian woman who was abducted by suspected Islamic militants in Algeria's remote southern desert.

Satellite channel Al-Arabiya is broadcasting the short audio message of the woman speaking in French.

The speaker identifies herself as Maria Sandra Mariani and says, "I am the Italian woman who was abducted on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, near Djanet in Algeria."

The message broadcast Friday says she is being held by Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM. The group is active in the area and has often abducted foreign tourists.

The Italian Foreign Ministry is not commenting directly on the message and says it will continue keeping its efforts in the case secret.

Germany opens new Nazi investigation

A German prosecutor told The Associated Press he has a murder investigation against a key witness in the trial of John Demjanjuk opened.

The probe is based on evidence Nagorno Alex may have been involved in the massacre on the Nazis' Treblinka concentration camp in occupied Poland.

Prosecutor Hans-Joachim Lutz told the AP Friday Witnesses say 94-year-old Nagorno participated in mass executions of Jewish prisoners in 1941-1942. He tries to determine whether there is enough evidence for the charges.

Nagorno has testified in the Demjanjuk case, he served as a guard with Demjanjuk in the Flossenbuerg concentration camp in Bavaria.

He also told the court he knew nothing of Treblinka, testified he had heard the name, but "why, I do not know."

AK-47 found at South African terror suspect's home

Police found an AK-47 rifle and ammunition in the house of a South African terror suspect accused of threatening the U.S. and Britain, prosecutors said during a bail hearing Friday.

At the hearing, Brian Roach's lawyers said he would plead guilty to attempted extortion, but not for terror charges. She also said the 64-year-old was not looking to bail.

Roach is accused of sending e-mails threatening to foot and mouth disease in the U.S. and Britain circulated unless the government paid him $ 4 million.

Prosecutors have said police have no evidence that Roach had found the means to his threats.

Roach, who owns an engineering firm outside Johannesburg, and has business interests in Zimbabwe, is accused of saying in emails that he wanted the money to compensate white Zimbabwean farmers for lost land, and accused U.S. and British governments not doing enough to help the farmers.

About 4,000 white farmers have been forced from their farms since 2000 in what the Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe calls a campaign to get more land in the hands of the impoverished blacks. Many of the beneficiaries, though, are top politicians close to Mugabe.

South African researchers worked with American and British officials about the case and arrested Roach on February 12 after a seven month study.