Sources close to Mohamed Mushin say he regrets the indiscretion of purchasing the shares that he did, and even though it was perfectly legal, it gave the perception of conflict of interest, that his buying them under the Friends and Family IPOs seemed as it was a quid pro quo by the two companies that had secured handsome Bank contracts.
The IPO offerings to Bank officials were "the least of the Bank's problems. At the end of the day, whatever they may have gotten with stock options or whatever, I think is nothing compared to the rampant corruption that is being practiced on the Bank's lending operations," says former Bank official Steve Berkman.
This would make him the highest-ranking Indian American ever in the US Department of State. Over a month ago, Verma was appointed as one of the leads of the Agency Review Team overseeing the US Department of Defence for President-elect Barack Obama's Transition.
Indian Intelligence agencies have drawn much flak for their glaring lack in communication that failed to preempt the 26/11 terror attacks last year. American intelligence agencies operating in South Asia also don't share information with each other, Massachusetts Democrat and Senator John F Kerry, who recently visited Indian, Pakistan and Afghanistan, revealed during a Congressional hearing on Tuesday.
United States President-elect Barack Obama's Secretary of State designate Senator Hillary Clinton, appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of her confirmation process on Tuesday, said that the Obama administration will condition military aid to Pakistan, on its commitment to counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism.
The incoming Obama administration on Tuesday declared that the Mumbai terror attacks threw up new challenges for American diplomacy. US Secretary of State designate Hillary Clinton listed the 26/11 strikes as among the six major new challenges for American leadership though diplomacy that has emerged since the November presidential elections.
United States Secretary of State designate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday vowed to build on the economic and political partnership with India, as she said that US and the world leaders must work together to solve the most pressing problems. "We will build on the economic and political partnership with India, the world's populous democracy...," she told a Senate confirmation hearing.
Congressman John Conyers of Michigan -- Gupta's home state where he was born and raised and went to medical school -- in his letter urged his fellow Democrats to join him in 'signing a letter to President-elect Barack Obama that Dr Sanjay Gupta not be nominated for the post', arguing that the celebrity physician and medical correspondent 'lacks the requisite experience needed to oversee the federal agency that provides crucial health care assistance.'
United States vice president-elect Joe Biden will lead a bipartisan Congressional delegation on a visit to Southwest Asia before he takes office alongside Barack Obama on January 20. For security reasons, details of the trip and the countries to be visited have not been released. Biden would be accompanied by Senator John Kerry, the former Democratic Presidential candidate and the incoming Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Two weeks ahead of his inauguration, United States President-elect Barack Obama's incoming cabinet faced a hiccup when Commerce Secretary-designate Bill Richardson withdrew citing an ongoing federal grand jury investigation
Former chairman of India's Atomic Energy Commission Dr M R Srinivasan said India's nuclear reactors, spread along the country's coastline, are secure against the threat of terrorist strikes.
Retired Vice Admiral P S Das said the methodology of 26/11 clearly indicated that the terrorists had received months of professional training, most likely from Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence.
At a seminar in Washington, DC, a group of former diplomats, military leaders, politicians, businessmen and others said the minimum requirement from Pakistan is 'an irrevocable disbandment of the infrastructure of terrorism.'
At a seminar in Washington, DC, the consensus among a high-profile group of former diplomats, military leaders, politicians, businessmen and others was that the Mumbai terror attacks was a tangible manifestation of a global threat that calls for a global response.
Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh contributed anywhere from $1 to $5 million to the Clinton Foundation, and so did industrialist Lakshmi Mittal, chief executive of ArcelorMittal, according to information released by the non-profit organisation set up by the former President Bill Clinton to fund a variety of charitable activities around the world, including combating the scourge of HIV/AIDS.
'This is something the ISI would have wanted to prevent. There was no direct ISI involvement whatsoever,' claims American national security expert Harlan Ullman, who has close links with the Pakistani government and military.
If Pakistan continues to dilly-dally in bringing the perpetrators to justice and closing down the terrorist camps that operate within its borders, influential US lawmaker Ed Royce says he will lead the fight in the United States Congress to cut the massive military and security assistance to Pakistan.
Vanda Felbab-Brown, a fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution and the Afghanistan expert at the much-respected Washington think-tank, has said that the United States is urging India to exercise restraint against perhaps launching punitive attacks against Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks. It should convince India that Washington's concerns are genuine and not governed by its own vested interest vis-a-vis its global war on terror.
Billionaire S P Hinduja believes the 'whole world has awakened to this evil of terrorism' because of the Mumbai attacks. He said he was especially glad that the attacks 'have mobilised our youth like never before.'
Powell, who agreed that there were similarities between the Mumbai attacks and the attack in December 2001 when the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad had launched attacks on the Indian Parliament, said at the time Islamabad had promised to completely eliminate and dismantle these terrorist networks, and was surprised to find that seven years later they were still very much alive and thriving.