Aziz Haniffa In Washington,DC

Stories by Aziz Haniffa In Washington,DC

'Obama should back India's UNSC bid during visit'

'Obama should back India's UNSC bid during visit'

Rediff.com   27 Oct 2010

United States Barack President Obama during his visit to India -- and preferably during his address to India's Parliament -- should do something big, like declaring 'forthrightly' Washington's support for India's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, another report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has said.

Ahead of India visit, Obama speaks to Zardari

Ahead of India visit, Obama speaks to Zardari

Rediff.com   27 Oct 2010

Obama, who called Zardari on Tuesday evening, held a "detailed conversation covering several important subjects," said an official statement.

Why India is quiet on Iran, Myanmar rights abuses

Why India is quiet on Iran, Myanmar rights abuses

Rediff.com   25 Oct 2010

In the report titled Toward Realistic US-India relations, authored by George Perkovich of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, he cites an exchange between a senior White House official and an Indian businessman on Iran, which shows how poorly American officials understood India for all the talk of a strategic partnership.

US may offer military sweeteners to pacify Pak

US may offer military sweeteners to pacify Pak

Rediff.com   20 Oct 2010

Notwithstanding India's protests, the Obama administration is readying itself to provide Pakistan with even more massive doses of military largesse, as senior United States officials acknowledged that Pakistan's request for additional security assistance would be a top priority on the agenda of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue that begins on Wednesday.

'Time ripe for Obama to back India's UNSC bid'

'Time ripe for Obama to back India's UNSC bid'

Rediff.com   18 Oct 2010

"I believe it would a great thing if the president were to do this during his visit," Karl Inderfurth, professor of international relations at George Washington University, told Rediff India Abroad

Exclusive! Obama may back India's UNSC bid

Exclusive! Obama may back India's UNSC bid

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2010

US officials want President Barack Obama to support India as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, telling him it could make his India visit truly historic, reveals Aziz Haniffa.

Is Michelle the reason for Obama's Amritsar visit?

Is Michelle the reason for Obama's Amritsar visit?

Rediff.com   11 Oct 2010

During his November visit to India, Barack Obama will be paying a visit to Amritsar's Golden Temple, a first for a United States president. This stopover may be unusual for a head of the state and has many thinking. Is this visit being made especially for First Lady Michelle Obama, who will be accompanying her husband to India? May be, for not many know of the Obamas Punjab connection.

Dialogue can resolve Indo-US BPO row: FM

Dialogue can resolve Indo-US BPO row: FM

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2010

With quintessential diplomatic astuteness, the Congress party's master trouble-shooter for decades, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, shrugged off the irritants that loom large in US-India relations -- including the outsourcing controversy -- preceding the visit next month to India of President Barack Obama, saying all of these problems can be resolved through dialogue.

What goes on in Lanka is its own affair: India

What goes on in Lanka is its own affair: India

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2010

Notwithstanding the demise of the mercurial leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Velupillai Prabakharan, who was killed by the Sri Lankan security forces over a year ago, , the pro-LTTE lobby in the United States has remained active, particularly in the US Congress.

Indian activist to join Clinton's task force

Indian activist to join Clinton's task force

Rediff.com   6 Oct 2010

Former United States President Bill Clinton has invited Ruchira Gupta, an activist who has fought against sex trafficking for two decades, to join his CGI Lead Task Force -- a high level group within the Clinton Global Initiative.Gupta is the founder president of Apne Aap Women Worldwide and winner of the 2009 Clinton Global Citizen Award for Leadership in Civil Society.

Anupam Kher's new role

Anupam Kher's new role

Rediff.com   6 Oct 2010

The actor has become the goodwill ambassador of Pratham Education Foundation.

Senator reveals Pak's hypocrisy over drone attacks

Senator reveals Pak's hypocrisy over drone attacks

Rediff.com   4 Oct 2010

United States Senator Carl Levin, the influential and much respected chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, has blasted the Pakistani government for its hypocrisy in privately condoning the US predator drone attacks to eliminate the terrorists in meetings with American officials, and then publicly condemning them as a violation of that country's sovereignty.He argued that these public protestations were a bigger problem.

Choksi appointed Republican Indian Committee chief

Choksi appointed Republican Indian Committee chief

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2010

The newly formed Republican Indian Committee in the United States has appointed Armeane M Choksi -- former World Bank official and venture capitalist and now real estate developer, adjunct professor and community activist -- as its first national president.

'Irritants in ties will not affect Obama's visit'

'Irritants in ties will not affect Obama's visit'

Rediff.com   28 Sep 2010

The irritants that have cropped up in recent weeks in relations between India and the United States figured in the meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on the sidelines of the 65th United Nations General Assembly sessions in New York. But a senior US official said the 'superb cooperation and goodwill' between Washington and New Delhi would eclipse these hiccups and would not be a dampener on President Obama's visit.

Access to Headley is a closed chapter: US

Access to Headley is a closed chapter: US

Rediff.com   28 Sep 2010

United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake, while briefing reporters on the meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on the sidelines of the 65th United Nations General Assembly in New York, said the issue of direct and complete access to Pakistani American and Lashkar operative David Coleman had not come up at all at these talks.

US lawmakers lament 'Hindu persecution' in S Asia

US lawmakers lament 'Hindu persecution' in S Asia

Rediff.com   27 Sep 2010

United States Representative Ed Royce, California Republican and the ranking GOP member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has slammed the alleged ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan and said Hindus have been discriminated much more than any other ethnic group in these countries.

Indian-American part of major breakthrough

Indian-American part of major breakthrough

Rediff.com   27 Sep 2010

Yale University cosmologist Priyamvada Natarajan was part of an international team of astronomers that used a massive galaxy cluster as a cosmic magnifying lens to study the nature of elusive dark energy for the first time. Their findings appeared in August's issue of the prestigious journal Science.Astronomers employ a variety of methods to study the geometry of the universe in order to study the nature of dark energy.

Indian-American Democratic candidates up the ante

Indian-American Democratic candidates up the ante

Rediff.com   27 Sep 2010

With just over a month to go for the general election, the three top-tier Democratic Indian American candidates -- Manan Trivedi, Ami Bera and Raj Goyle -- have upped the ante against their Republican opponents with a chutzpah unprecedented in the annals of Indian-American Congressional campaigns.All three candidates are flush with campaign war chests in excess of $1 million and are strongly backed by the Democratic establishment.

South Asia expert gets India job at US State Dept

South Asia expert gets India job at US State Dept

Rediff.com   23 Sep 2010

The position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs with responsibilities to work specifically on the India portfolio -- which has remained vacant for nearly a year since the controversial Christine Fair declined the offer of the job -- has finally been filled with longtime South Asian expert Alyssa Ayres

China has a greater role in South Asia: US

China has a greater role in South Asia: US

Rediff.com   21 Sep 2010

In controversial remarks more than likely to raise New Delhi's ire less than two months before President Barack Obama India tour, a top United States' State Department official strongly defended a greater Chinese role in South Asia even as he acknowledged India's sensitivities over such a Beijing role.