Exactly a week after President Barack Obama formally nominated him as the White House Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra, 34, has gone on indefinite leave after his former Office of the Chief Technology Officer of the District of Columbia was raided by the FBI in a sting operation that involved alleged bribery, fraud, and money laundering and resulted in the arrest of two individuals, including an Indian entrepreneur.
Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, who wrapped up three days of intensive discussions with the hierarchy of the new Obama administration at the State Department, White House, and Pentagon, and also met with the leadership in the US Congress, apparently has every reason to be satisfied that the transformed US-India relationship is ready to be launched to the next level of the partnership.
The Obama administration has shelved the idea of launching a massive military evacuation of nearly 200,000 Tamil civilians trapped in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam strongholds, sources have told Rediff India Abroad.
President Barack Obama has nominated Rahul 'Richard' Verma, currently a partner with the top-notch international law firm in Washington,DC -- Steptoe & Johnson LLP -- as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, and sources told Rediff India Abroad that considering that he has been a much respected Congressional staffer, his confirmation process before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the coming weeks would be a shoo-in.
While providing a read-out of the Clinton-Menon meeting Wood was asked if there would be a follow-up meeting between the two countries soon, or if Clinton would be going to India sometime, to which he replied, "At some point, the Secretary will be going to India, but there's isn't any plan at this moment of her travel. But you know, when there is, we'll certainly let you know."
Pelosi told the assembled gathering and many lawmakers who year after year have approved unanimous resolutions condemning the Chinese repression of the Tibetans that "the welcoming of India of the Tibetan refugee community is a testament to the close ties between the Indian and Tibetan people."
The situation in Sri Lanka, where thousands of Tamil civilians are trapped in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's strongholds, permeated the 45-minute discussion on Monday between United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. This was the first high-level interaction between India and the Obama administration in Washington.
Sen was evidently overcome with emotion by the tributes and accolades paid to him at a farewell reception on Sunday by a coalition of Indian American associations of the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
On the eve of the first high-level talks between India and the new Obama Administration in Washington, with the arrival of Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, who will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior US officials later today (Monday), outgoing Ambassador Ronen Sen has dismissed concerns over the momentum of the relationship under the new dispensation in DC.
Outgoing Ambassador Ronen Sen said on Sunday that the biggest legacy of the US-India civilian nuclear deal was not just civil nuclear cooperation that it would entail, but the restoration of trust between the two countries that was terribly eroded after Washington cut off nuclear fuel to India's Tarapur reactor following India first nuclear explosion in 1974.
Ambassador Frank G Wisner, the erstwhile US envoy to India, who for years -- as vice-chairman, external affairs for American International Group -- was the face of this global insurance conglomerate--which is now being bailed out by the US government to the tune of $150 billion -- in India and was largely responsible for pushing for New Delhi's opening up of the insurance sector to foreign investors, has quit AIG and joined the top-notch lobbying firm of Patton Boggs, which w
Outgoing United States Ambassador to India, David Mulford, believes that India can help stimulate the world economy in the wake of the global economic meltdown.Mulford observed that "Developing countries have tended to be recipients during times of difficulty, but this time, some of them may be stimulators and producers. That is an important thought to bear in mind when you are in the condition that the United States is today."
On March 5, President Obama named Kundra the Federal Chief Information Officer at the White House.The Federal CIO directs the policy and strategic planning of federal information technology investments and is responsible for the supervision of federal technology spending. The Federal CIO establishes and oversees enterprise architecture to ensure system interoperability and information sharing and to ensure information security and privacy across the federal government.
In perhaps what could be his valedictory address before he departs from Washington when his terms expires on March 31, the Indian ambassador to United States, Ronen Sen--a key protagonist of the US-India civilian nuclear agreement--said the consummation of the deal freed India from "an albatross around our necks," in the form of nuclear technology and fuel isolation that worsened after India's May 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests.
US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has said the attack on Sri Lanka cricketers in Lahore is a reminder of the threat of militancy not just to Pakistan, but to the entire world.
James Otis, who owns the personal belongings of Mahatma Gandhi including the iconic round glasses that are being put on auction on Thursday, has said that he is prepared to reach a financial settlement with the Indian government and take the items off the auction block. "But if the (Indian) government announces some major scheme for the poor, I will even donate these items," he added.
David C Mulford, who will soon vacate his post as United States'ambassador to India, has urged the Obama administration to ensure the implementation of the India-US civilian nuclear agreement.In an interaction at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Mulford said, "The nuclear deal may be completed, but the work isn't done. There is unfinished business there to be done."
She will also be the first serving diplomat to be posted in Washington in more than two decades after K Shankar Bajpai.
India's non-inclusion in United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's first overseas trip to Asia has elicited diametrically opposite views from two South Asia experts. While one argues that China's inclusion in Clinton's itinerary is a clear indication that for the Obama administration New Delhi is not in the same league as Beijing, the other contends that her itineraries are not illustrative of the priorities that the administration attaches to particular countries.
United States' Ambassador to India David Mulford, who will soon vacate his position, feels that the 'credible evidence' gathered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that was handed over to Pakistan, had forced Islamabad to admit that its nationals were complicit in the terror attack on Mumbai.Mulford also expressed hope that this will pave the way for joint US-India counter-terrorism cooperation without any of the earlier hang-ups.
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