The Chinese government has decided to award the English news service, BBC World, a broadcast licence. Seven years ago, it had been thrown off the Star TV network by global media baron Rupert Murdoch to calm down a jittery Chinese regime, alarmed by the BBC?s coverage of the student protest against it.

With this licence, the Beeb will now be able to telecast over China and be received in hotels and foreign residential compounds. Additionally, it will also be received by the thousands of satellite dishes and cable systems in China.

The clearance is being seen as a major coup for BBC boss Greg Dyke and BBC Worldwide CEO Rupert Gavin. Gavin had been part of a trade mission led by culture secretary Chris Smith in 1999 which met up with Chinese authorities.

"This is the first time the Chinese authorities have positively granted us permission to broadcast," says Jeff Hazell, director of sales and distribution at BBC World. "It?s good to be able to regularise our relationship and if the Chinese authorities are happy with how it works out, we hope it could lead to other things."

Now to wait and watch what fare the Beeb dishes out for China. Hopefully it will not be a repeat of the early nineties.

The arrest of film financier Bharat Shah in Mumbai on Monday had its fallout later in the evening at the offices of B4U Entertainment where he is a co-promoter. A Mumbai police team questioned company officials seeking details of the financial transactions between Shah and B4U.

B4U MD Ravi Gupta said that reports of raids on company offices were an exaggeration. According to him, an investigating team led by Arun Borade sought explanations as to what was Shah?s role in the company and how the finances were organised.

Gupta said Shah?s role was strictly as financier of B4U Multimedia International, the Indian arm of B4U which handled advertising and promotions.

Bharat Shah was arrested under the Maharashtra Organised Crime Control Act for his alleged links with Pakistan-based underworld don Chhota Shakeel.

Following these developments, the diamond market in Mumbai has announced a shutdown in protest on Wednesday. The film industry has also announced a shutdown on Tuesday.

Information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj - in an interview to DD National over the weekend - clarified what kind of surrogate advertising will be allowed on television channels beaming into Indian homes without attracting the government‘s ire for violation of the recently passed cable TV amendments imposing the advertising and programming code on private TV channels.
"Where a product is being manufactured and a brand has been built around it by the liquor company, advertising for that product will not considered as surrogate advertising and will be permitted," she told DD National. "Where the product is not being manufactured in substantial quantities, it will be seen as surrogate advertising and will be disallowed."

She gave the example of the UB group‘s Kingfisher beer which also retails Kingfisher Mineral water. "Advertising for Kingfisher will be allowed," she said. "However, advertising for McDowell‘s cricket bats and balls will be perceived as surrogate advertising."

However, it‘s quite likely that they will protest against what constitutes substantial quantity of a product, which is what they have not been clear about. Guess only Aunty Sushma can answer that.

The police have concrete evidence linking Bollywood film financier Bharat Shah to underworld don Chhota Shakeel, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal said in a press briefing after Shah‘s arrest on Monday.

He was a conduit for $50,000 in slush money from an unnamed link in the United Arab Emirates and was also linked to a Rs7.5 million extortion threat against a businessman, Morani, the Press Trust of India quoted Bhujbal as saying.

Shah‘s role in forcing film personalities to sign on films, give dates and even work for lower fees had been clearly established, Bhujbal said.

According to a source, Shah was initially interrogated by the Crime Branch where transcripts of his conversations were played to him after which he is alleged to have confessed to his links with the underworld.

State Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian said Shah had been arrested on a charge of abetting crime under the Maharashtra Organised Crime Control Act and remanded to police custody till 19 January. He has been denied bail.