Hugh Bonneville presides on 'Downton Abbey' finale

NEW YORK (AP) — The third season of "Downton Abbey" ends this Sunday with a bang.

Exactly what that bang is, we're not going to say, in deference to the maybe half-dozen "Downton" fans who still don't know the shocking truth.

The larger point remains that after Sunday's "Masterpiece Classic" (airing at 9 p.m. Eastern on PBS), viewers must suffer "Downton" withdrawal until next season.

But until then, we'll have our memories.

And what a season this has been! The beloved valet Mr. Bates was sprung from jail and a trumped-up murder charge to begin married life with his bride, the plucky lady's maid Anna. Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, has gotten Downton Abbey back on its feet financially with an able assist from his son-in-law and presumptive heir, Matthew Crawley. Matthew wed his true love, Lady Mary Crawley. But another of Robert's daughters, Lady Sybil, died tragically during childbirth.

Through it all, Robert's mother Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by the sublimely scene-stealing, Emmy- and Golden-Globe-winning Maggie Smith) delivered a barrage of withering, hilarious rejoinders to virtually every narrative twist.

"I remember my very first scene with her in Season One," says Hugh Bonneville, who plays Robert, lord of the manor. "She's complaining about the new electric lights, and suddenly she put her fan up to her face to shield herself from 'the glare,' and spent the entire scene like that. It was so funny, and I was just, 'All right! There's no point in my even being here. She's just marched off with the scene!'"

Now, as then, "Downton" is a plush, penetrating peek into the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their household servants in an English castle of a century ago. With a cast that also includes Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Dan Stevens, Jim Carter and Brendan Coyle, the series this season has drawn an average 11 million viewers each week while spurring another surge of "Downton"-mania, even from first lady Michelle Obama, who pulled strings to get episodes of the new season before it premiered.

"Downton" has even been parsed for its political underpinnings. Last month, Fox News host (and native Brit) Stuart Varney declared that "Downton" celebrates rich people, who "in America today are reviled. They're dismissed as fat cats who don't pay their fair share." Yet on "Downton" the rich people are "generous," ''nice," ''classy" and "they've got style," he said, "which poses a threat to the left, doesn't it?"

It is rare when public television is accused of threatening left-wing orthodoxy, especially on "Fox & Friends" (whose co-hosts Gretchen Carlson and Brian Kilmeade expressed surprise to learn the show isn't called "Downtown Abbey"). But "Downton" has a way of engaging people, both the 99 percent and the 1 percent alike.

And, yes, as the wealthy, patriarchal Lord Grantham, Bonneville does indeed exude classiness and, at crucial moments, generosity.

But that's not the whole picture. Robert Crawley is also confounded by the modern world of post-World War I as it upsets the social hierarchy. Meanwhile, despite his indulgence of underbutler Thomas Barrow's shame (it seems Thomas is gay!), Robert isn't always the most tolerant of men.

"I don't want thumbscrews or the rack, but there always seems to be something of Johnny Foreigner about the Catholics," he sniffs to one of his kind during an exchange about religion.

"I don't think I'd have a huge amount in common with Robert if I met him at a dinner party," Bonneville says. "But I like the guy. I like the fact that while he does bluster and he's pompous sometimes, and he makes mistakes, there's a decency and a love for his family underneath it all."

Impeccably clad in a three-piece gray suit and pink tie for this recent interview, the 49-year-old Bonneville, even firmly planted in a 21st-century Manhattan hotel, looks to the manor born. Nonetheless, he brands himself a member of the British middle class — the son of a surgeon and a nurse who once imagined becoming a lawyer — and his roles have strayed some distance from the lofty likes of Robert Crawley. For instance, Bonneville has been affable and bumbling in "Notting Hill" and "Mansfield Park," and downright villainous in "The Commander."

And coinciding with his "Downton" duties, he also played the addled Head of Deliverance for the Olympics commission in "Twenty Twelve," a riotous BBC miniseries that spoofed preparations for the London Olympics.

"There are people who think I've been doing nothing for 25 years, and then suddenly I get this role on 'Downton Abbey,'" Bonneville says with a laugh. "But I've had a really lovely time for 25 years! I've played everything from Shakespeare to sitcoms to period dramas to modern serial killers. I consider myself a character actor, and I do love playing different instruments in the orchestra when I get the chance."

Of course, Bonneville realizes that "Downton" is a good bet for the lead citation in his obituary. He has finally acknowledged it: This show is a cultural phenomenon, not just a fleeting fad. And he has many theories why.

First, the savory writing by series creator Julian Fellowes. Besides, the cast is splendid. The production values are luxurious. And the premise remains rich with possibility.

"This is one of the few settings, alongside a hospital and a police station, where you can legitimately find a real cross-section of society under one roof," notes Bonneville. "But underneath it all, this series is about romance rather than sex, it's about tension rather than violence, and it's about family — both the literal family and the staff as family. It explores the minutiae of those social structures, the nuances of the system as to whether someone's in or out."

Not that he would want to be part of it. He doesn't sentimentalize that long-ago era any more than "Downton" does. And yet ...

"These days," says Bonneville, "we have relationships that are forged, consummated and brought to an end within 24 hours. Back then, the pace of life was slower, and I think we like to breathe out and enjoy that world — albeit for only an hour or so, on a Sunday night."

Just one more Sunday night, for now.

___

Online:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/classic

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Frazier Moore is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. He can be reached at fmoore(at)ap.org and at http://www.twitter.com/tvfrazier

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American, US Airways to merge

CEOs Doug Parker and Tom Horton speak to the "CBS This Morning" co-hosts about the merger of American Airlines and US Airways in their first network morning interview.

AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, and US Airways Group will merge, the companies said Thursday.

If the $11 billion merger is approved by regulators and a bankruptcy judge, it will create the world's largest airline, unseating Chicago-based United Continental Airlines. The combination is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.

Chicago, where the two companies have little overlap, would remain a major hub for the airline.

American Airlines is the No. 2 carrier in the region, with about 27 percent of the market, 500 flights per day and 9,300 Chicago-based employees. O'Hare is American's second-largest hub, after Dallas-Fort Worth, which will be the headquarters for the merged airline.

By contrast, US Airways flights account for just 2 percent of the airline seats flying out of Chicago's airports, and the carrier has 170 employees in Chicago.
 
The combined airline will keep the American Airlines name but will be run by US Airways CEO Doug Parker, while American's CEO, Tom Horton, becomes nonexecutive chairman. The terms of the merger wwere unanimously approved Wednesday by the boards of directors of both companies.

American said the combined airline would have a strong financial foundation and robust global network, with more than 6,700 daily flights to 336 destinations in 56 countries. It also pointed to an enhanced Oneworld Alliance, of which American Airlines is a founding member.

"Our combined network will provide a significantly more attractive offering to customers, ensuring that we are always able to take them where they want to travel, when they want to go," Parker said in a statement.

However, consumer groups have been critical of the rumored merger.

"From a consumer standpoint -- individual traveler or corporate travel department -- there are few benefits to offset the negative impacts of this proposed merger that include reduced competition, higher fares and fees and diminished service to small and mid-size communities," said Business Travel Coalition Chairman Kevin Mitchell.

Charlie Leocha, director of the Consumer Travel Alliance, said the merger offered "no discernible consumer benefits."

"Antitrust regulations were created to protect consumers, not to facilitate industry consolidation," he said. "The claim that this merger will provide more destinations is hollow. Whatever new cities are added by a future [American Airlines-US Airways] network are subtracted from the current airline alliance network that US Airways enjoys with United. The net effect is that, overall, consumers are left with nothing new and no improvement to the status quo."

In Chicago, travelers would be largely shielded from those downsides, experts have said. The region's plethora of flights from O'Hare International Airport and Midway, as well as the presence of many discount airlines, should be enough to hold fares largely in check on most routes after the merger.

Customers can continue to book travel and track and manage flights and frequent flyer activity through AA.com or USAirways.com, and will continue to as usual in the AAdvantage and Dividend Miles frequent flyer programs. At first, there are no changes to the frequent flyer programs of either airline as a result of the merger agreement.

The merger is supported by American Airlines' unions.

"The new American Airlines will return to a position of industry preeminence," said Dennis Tajer, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, the American Airlines pilot union.

Horton will be board chairman through the first annual meeting of shareholders. After that, Parker will take over as chairman. The board will initially be made up of 12 members, three American Airlines representatives, including Tom Horton, four US Airways representatives, including Doug Parker, and five AMR creditor representatives.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, US Airways stockholders will receive one share of common stock of the combined airline for each share of US Airways common stock then held. American Airlines stakeholders, including labor unions, would own 72 percent of the merged airline, while US Airways stakeholders would own the rest.

gkarp@tribune.com

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Obama challenges GOP to do more than just cut deficit

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address on Tuesday night to try to push past the fiscal battles that plagued his first term - and still threaten his second - as he laid out an agenda he hopes will shape his legacy.

Obama's overarching message was that other things matter beside the Republicans' seemingly all-consuming drive for deficit cutting, embodied in a looming showdown just three weeks away over automatic across-the-board spending cuts.

Those other things, he told Congress, include some traditionally liberal causes, like raising the federal minimum wage and pursuing climate initiatives, and some that have gained bipartisan support, such as immigration reform and curbing gun violence.

"Most of us agree that a plan to reduce the deficit must be part of our agenda," Obama said. "But let's be clear: deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan."

But with Washington so deeply divided, Obama's speech appeared unlikely to go far in helping the Democratic president and his Republican opponents find common ground to ease the ideological gridlock. He offered no tangible new concessions of his own.

Still, Obama's sense of urgency and frustration was almost palpable. He alternately scolded and cajoled lawmakers while expanding on his vision for a more activist government so loathed by conservatives, the same theme he struck in his second inauguration address on January 21.

"The American people don't expect government to solve every problem. They don't expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue. But they do expect us to put the nation's interests before party," he said, pressing Republicans to resolve budget and fiscal differences without drama.

Obama - whose first-term promise to become a transformational, post-partisan president failed to materialize in part because of struggles over the deficit - knows the clock is ticking.

The consensus among Washington insiders is that he has a limited window, possibly as little as a year and a half, to take advantage of the Republicans' post-election disarray and push through his congressional priorities before being reduced to lame-duck status.

SETTING PRIORITIES

Just three weeks after staking out a decidedly liberal philosophy at his inauguration, Obama used his State of the Union address to start fleshing out and prioritizing his goals for the rest of his presidency.

He made clear that job creation and bolstering the middle class would top the list, but he also gave due attention to immigration reform and gun control, which have moved to the forefront at the start of his second term.

Obama's renewed emphasis on pocketbook issues that dominated the 2012 campaign appears to reflect the view that advancing other legacy-shaping initiatives could hinge on how he fares with unfinished economic business from his first four years.

Many of the economic plans he presented in his State of the Union address were familiar to listeners as proposals that Republicans have blocked before, including new investment in modernizing infrastructure, boosting manufacturing, creating construction jobs and helping to ease homeowners' mortgage woes.

There is ample reason to doubt that these ideas - even in repackaged form - will gain much traction in a still-divided Congress where Republicans control the House of Representatives and will oppose almost any new spending Obama proposes.

But the biggest red flags for Republicans may be Obama's call for a hike in the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour, a traditional liberal idea, and his demand that Congress pursue a "market-based solution" to climate change - with a warning that if lawmakers do not act soon, "I will."

Obama's call for a nationwide program to expand pre-school education for the low-income families - another progressive cause - is also expected to run into Republican opposition.

There is little doubt the president is aware that many of these proposals, especially those with spending attached, may be dead-on-arrival in Congress.

But he may be counting on being able to accuse Republicans of obstructionism in the 2014 midterm elections - as he did with some success in the 2012 campaign - as his Democrats seek to win back the House.

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High stakes if Apple e-books antitrust case goes to trial

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the only remaining defendant in the U.S. government's e-books antitrust case, Apple Inc appears headed for a high-stakes trial that could significantly increase the personal computer company's liability in related litigation.

Apple faces a June 3 trial date over civil allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice that it conspired with five publishers to raise the price of e-books and to fight the dominance of Amazon.com Inc.

On Friday, Macmillan became the fifth and final publisher to settle with the government. The Justice Department alleges that Apple came to agreements with each of the publishers meant to ensure that e-book prices at its iBookstore and other retailers would remain higher than those offered by Amazon.com.

At the Apple trial, to be overseen by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan, the Justice Department will seek not monetary damages but a judicial decree that Apple violated antitrust law, court papers said.

Among other things, government lawyers want the judge to issue an order enjoining Apple from engaging in any conduct similar to that alleged in the case. Such a judgment could make Apple vulnerable to steep damages in related litigation.

Apple and the publishers also face a class-action suit filed on behalf of consumers and a similar suit filed by dozens of state attorneys general. Neither suit puts a figure on the exact amount of damages sought.

The Consumer Federation of America estimated in a letter last year to the Senate antitrust subcommittee that e-book price fixing would likely cost consumers more than $200 million in 2012. State and federal antitrust laws allow plaintiffs to recover triple the amount of actual damages established at trial.

If Apple loses against the Justice Department, those plaintiffs would be in a "powerful position" to win their cases, according to Harry First, a professor at New York University School of Law specializing in antitrust.

Under the Clayton Act, an antitrust statute, plaintiffs can use judgments obtained by the U.S. government as evidence against defendants.

If Apple loses, it is unclear whether both the states and the private plaintiffs will be able to seek and recover damages for the same conduct.

By contrast, if Apple were to prevail, it would cause "a lot more trouble" for the plaintiffs in the other cases, First said.

Apple declined to comment. It still may settle with the U.S. government.

In December, Apple and four publishers came to an agreement with European Union regulators over their antitrust probe into e-books. The fifth publisher, Pearson Plc's Penguin group, also under investigation, was not part of the European deal announced in December.

LITTLE TO GAIN

Apple may have little to gain by going to trial in the United States, according to some legal experts.

Under settlements with the Justice Department, the five publishers were required to terminate or not renew deals with Apple and other retailers that the government claimed were anti-competitive.

Apple and the government have less to argue over since those deals have been undone, Daniel Crane, a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, said.

"What are they fighting over?" he said.

Crane added that Apple may be interested in going to trial to establish an antitrust principle that might help other aspects of its business such as content deals with entertainment companies.

The trial would be a big test for the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, which has sought to enhance its reputation for its trial capabilities under the Obama administration.

The government has been represented by Mark Ryan, who is director of litigation, a new position in the Antitrust Division. Ryan, who began in January 2012, was hired by Joseph Wayland, the former acting assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division.

Last year Wayland cited Ryan in a speech about the Antitrust Division's focus on enhancing its litigation capabilities. Under the Obama administration, the Antitrust Division has scored a number of high-profile trial victories, including a criminal price-fixing case against Taiwan-based AU Optronics Corp last year and a successful challenge of H&R Block Inc's acquisition of 2SS Holdings Inc, developer of the TaxACT digital tax preparation business, in 2011.

Apple is represented by lawyers at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. One of the law firm's attorneys who recently made an appearance in the case, Orin Snyder, won a favorable settlement last year for Voom HD Holdings, once a unit of Cablevision, following a trial against Dish Network.

Voom sued Dish for $2.4 billion alleging it violated a 15-year contract to carry a suite of high-definition channels, including those devoted to Kung Fu and video games. Under the settlement, Dish agreed to pay $700 million to Cablevision and AMC Networks, which Cablevision spun off last year.

The case is United States v. Apple Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-02826.

(Reporting by Andrew Longstreth; Editing by Howard Goller and Eric Beech)

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IOC president Rogge to meet with wrestling leader

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — IOC President Jacques Rogge says he will meet with the head of wrestling's governing body to discuss ways the sport can fight to save its place in the 2020 Olympics.

The IOC executive board dropped wrestling from the program of the 2020 Games on Tuesday, removing it from the list of 26 sports at last year's London Olympics.

The decision, which still must be ratified by the full IOC in September, has been criticized by wrestling organizations around the world.

Rogge says he has been contacted by Raphael Martinetti, the president of international wrestling federation FILA. He says "we agreed we would meet at the first opportunity to have discussions."

Rogge says he was encouraged that FILA had "vowed to adapt the sport and vowed to fight to be eventually included in the 2020 slot."

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Report: Tracking system needed to fight fake drugs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fighting the problem of fake drugs will require putting medications through a chain of custody like U.S. courts require for evidence in a trial, the Institute of Medicine reported Wednesday.

The call for a national drug tracking system comes a week after the Food and Drug Administration warned doctors, for the third time in about a year, that it discovered a counterfeit batch of the cancer drug Avastin that lacked the real tumor-killing ingredient.

Fake and substandard drugs have become an increasing concern as U.S. pharmaceutical companies move more of their manufacturing overseas. The risk made headlines in 2008 when U.S. patients died from a contaminated blood thinner imported from China.

The Institute of Medicine report made clear that this is a global problem that requires an international response, with developing countries especially at risk from phony medications. Drug-resistant tuberculosis, for example, is fueled in part by watered-down medications sold in many poor countries.

"There can be nothing worse than for a patient to take a medication that either doesn't work or poisons the patient," said Lawrence O. Gostin, a professor of health law at Georgetown University who led the IOM committee that studied how to combat the growing problem.

A mandatory drug-tracking system could use some form of barcodes or electronic tags to verify that a medication and the ingredients used to make it are authentic at every step, from the manufacturing of the active ingredient all the way to the pharmacy, he said. His committee examined fakes so sophisticated that health experts couldn't tell the difference between the packaging of the FDA-approved product and the look-alike.

"It's unreliable unless you know where it's been and can secure each point in the supply chain," Gostin said.

Patient safety advocates have pushed for that kind of tracking system for years, but attempts to include it in FDA drug-safety legislation last summer failed.

The report also concluded that:

—The World Health Organization should develop an international code of practice that sets guidelines for monitoring, regulation and law enforcement to crack down on fake drugs.

—States should beef up licensing requirements for the wholesalers and distributors who get a drug from its manufacturer to the pharmacy, hospital or doctor's office.

__Internet pharmacies are a particularly weak link, because fraudulent sites can mimic legitimate ones. The report urged wider promotion of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's online accreditation program as a tool to help consumers spot trustworthy sites.

The Institute of Medicine is an independent organization that advises the government on health matters.

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MacFarlane gets Oscar-hosting advice from Crystal

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Despite getting advice from Billy Crystal and working as hard as he can to prepare to host the Academy Awards, Seth MacFarlane thinks his hosting gig is a "one-off" and that he'll be "flayed by the press" no matter what he does.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday from the Dolby Theatre, where he'll host the 85th annual Oscar ceremony on Feb. 24, the entertainer was alternately confident and self-deprecating.

"I'm not feeling a lot of pressure from myself," he said. "There is sort of a comfort in knowing that no matter what you do, you're going to get the same reactions in the reviews. So I could put on the worst or the best show in the world and I will still be flayed by the press."

Still, he said he's spent five months trying to strike a comedic balance that will satisfy the fans of his animated shows and the comparatively highbrow audience inside the Dolby Theatre.

"I've set myself up for the hardest job in the world because the fans of 'Family Guy' and 'Ted' and the shows and whatnot that I do are expecting one thing. If I deliver that, this crowd will walk out," he said.

He promises to add bite to the show —"The whole point of their bringing me on was to give it a little bit more of an edge"— but acknowledges there will be a lot of ego in the audience.

"You have a room full of people who are at the top of their game — they're successful, they're being honored, they're attractive — and yet this is also the group with the thinnest skin on the planet," he said, "so it's a tough group."

Ultimately, he hopes to hybridize the pointed barbs of three-time Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais with the classy style of Crystal, who hosted the Oscars nine times, most recently last year.

The 39-year-old entertainer said Crystal gave him some helpful advice, including "get comfortable with your shoes before you go on stage."

MacFarlane will sing during the show and is also a nominee for his original song for "Ted," but said he expects to lose the category to Adele.

He's aiming for "very much a classic Oscars with a much more current edge," and said, "It's impossible to work any harder than I have in preparation for this," but he still doesn't think he'll be invited back.

"This will probably be the only time I'm asked to do this," he said. "It feels like a one-off. But I'm still thrilled to be doing it. It's going to be a lot of fun. I will very much enjoy having done it once it's over."

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Contact AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at www.twitter.com/APSandy.

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Online:

www.oscars.org

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Downtown condo market seeing rebound

Downtown Chicago's condo market is on the rebound after many moribund years, as sales volume and pricing improve in a market constrained by a lack of inventory.

It's a rare piece of good news for downtown condo owners as well as for developers pondering projects and trying to line up financing.

With a steady stream of apartment projects delivering in the next two years, the lack of new condo construction could signal opportunities for companies interested in pursuing smaller projects in key neighborhoods because the demand is there. Until those projects materialize, condo owners looking to sell face a better market than they have in several years.

Sales of existing downtown condos rose 31.2 percent last year, to 4,675 units sold, while the median sales price of $300,000 was a gain of about 2.6 percent from 2011, according to data from Appraisal Research Counselors.

Another piece of good news for current condo owners: Of the 65 downtown buildings studied by the firm, the average sales price per square foot of units sold during the second half of last year rose while the number of distressed condo sales in those buildings saw a substantial drop. Distressed sales, which accounted for  28 percent of sales since 2010, fell to 17 percent of sales during the second half of 2012.

In addition, only 1,104 newly constructed condo units remain unsold downtown.

"When we see more transactions occurring, that's a really good indication of demand," said Gail Lissner, a vice president at the firm. "The look of the condo market has changed in terms of unsold inventory."

Lissner's remarks came Tuesday during a lunchtime briefing on the local housing market.

Most of the unsold inventory, more than 500 units, is in the South Loop and the bulk of it is in the newly named and repositioned 500-unit South Loop Luxury by Related.

The three buildings, once called One Museum Park West, 1600 Museum Park and Museum Park Place 2 were taken over by New York-based Related Cos. in July have been renamed the Grant, Adler Place and Harbor View, respectively.

Since December, 40 units there are under contract, according to Related Midwest, which officially launched sales in the project Tuesday.

Other new projects reporting positive sales trends are Park Monroe Phase II, a 48-unit adaptive reuse project with 16 sales and CA3, a 40-unit building with 18 sales.

"These are all great indicators of strong sales," Lissner said. "Price stabilization has occurred in the market. You don't hear people talking about bottoming out. That was so yesterday."

mepodmolik@tribune.com | Twitter @mepodmolik

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Woman dead after falling from SUV; driver arrested after chase

Police are investigating the death of a woman who fell from an SUV that kept on traveling down the Bishop Ford Expressway this morning, eluding officers for five miles until it crashed on an exit ramp at 127th Street in Alsip, authorities said.

The driver was taken into custody, and police said they were investigating whether Jennifer Mitchell, 27, was pushed from the SUV around 154th Street in Dolton shortly before 1 a.m., officials said.

Mitchell was struck by a semi as she lay on the road, according to Master Sgt. Jason LoCoco said. The truck driver stopped and was not taken into custody. A second vehicle may have also struck the woman, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Minutes later, a state trooper spotted the SUV on the Tri-State Tollway near159th Street, Master Sgt. Greg Minx said. The trooper signaled for the driver to pull over but he refused, according to police.  The trooper followed the SUV until it crashed on an exit ramp by 127th Street, some five miles away.

The driver, a 28-year-old man, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn but his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, LaCoco said.

The driver was taken into police custody but has not been charged. Police he has not been cooperative.

Authorities shut all southbound lanes of the Bishop Ford from 147th Street to 159th Street for several hours as they investigated the incident. The lanes have since been reopened.

asege@tribune.com

Twitter: @AdamSege

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Nokia protests against Indian tax probe

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish phone maker Nokia said on Tuesday it was protesting against a tax investigation in India, a crucial market, in the latest dispute involving a foreign company's tax.

Nokia said it has not yet received any information on potential claims resulting from the investigation that started in January.

Last week, Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell's Indian unit said it would challenge a local tax claim on a share sale, while British mobile phone firm Vodafone is trying to settle a long-running $2 billion tax dispute with Indian authorities.

Countries like India are crucial for Nokia's attempt to hold on to global market share. Earlier on Tuesday, it announced an expansion of its Asha line of low-end smartphones and India is widely seen as a key market for such cheaper models.

Nokia said the actions of the tax authorities were "unacceptable and inconsistent with Indian standards of fair play and governance."

The company objected to officials entering its factory in Chennai, southern India, which is one of its biggest facilities. Nokia said it has invested over $330 million in Chennai since setting up the factory in 2006.

A senior Indian tax official said in January that the investigation related to allegations that Nokia may have evaded around 30 billion rupees ($558 million) in taxes.

Nokia said on Tuesday it was in full compliance with local laws as well as a bilateral tax treaty between India and Finland related to withholding tax.

(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Erica Billingham)

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