In the final step to operationalise the India-United States nuclear agreement, American President George W Bush has sent the text of the landmark agreement to the US Congress for final approval.The move by the White House comes five days after the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group granted a waiver for India to carry out nuclear commerce.In a statement, the White House said it was transmitting the text of the agreement 'concerning peaceful uses of nuclear energy'.
Indian Defence Minister A K Antony -- on his maiden visit to the United States met Defence Secretary Robert Gates in the Pentagon on Tuesday. Antony was received with full ceremonial honours in the River Parade Field before engaging in over an hour-long discussion on bilateral, regional and international issues with Gates. Sources said that no major bilateral agreements vis--vis military sales or contracts were signed during the meeting.
Defence Minister A K Antony, on his maiden visit to the United States, lauded the Indian American community for their sustained activism and lobbying on behalf of the India-US civilian nuclear deal, which he said was catalytic in helping to fructify it.Antony was speaking at a reception, organised by the Indian American community of the Washington, DC metropolitan area, at the Indian embassy."You played a major role in shaping public opinion in India and the US," Antony said.
Indian-Americans in the Washington metropolitan area accorded visiting Indian Defence Minister A K Antony -- on his maiden visit to the United States on the invitation of Defence Secretary Robert Gates -- a rousing welcome on his arrival at the Washington Dulles International Airport on Sunday evening. Dr Parthasarathy Pillai, a community icon in the Washington, DC area and erstwhile national president of the National Federation of Indian Associations were at the airport.
Inder Singh, 31, director of the Drug Access program that is part of the Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative, took a unique business approach to a major global health problem, negotiating the price cut of an artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for malaria by a third while slashing the price volatility of artemisinin, a vital ingredient for the therapy, by 70 percent.
After becoming the first ever Indian American to be elected Governor last year, Jindal has been given a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention at prime time, making him the first Indian American to speak at the political convention of a major party.Republican party sources told rediff.com that while it is unlikely that Jindal will be McCain's vice presidential nominee, he nonetheless remains "a strong voice on behalf of Senator McCain."
The final draft of the 2008 Democratic Party Platform, which will be voted on during the Democratic National Convention next week in Denver, Colorado, has declared that the United States and India are 'natural strategic allies'. In the section entitled 'Renewing American Leadership', which contains a paragraph that calls for 'Lead in Asia', the platform stated, "We are committed to US engagement in Asia."
In a statement made available to rediff.com, Obama, said, 'Musharraf has made the right decision to step down as President of Pakistan. It is in the interests of his country and the Pakistani people to end the political crisis that has immobilized the coalition government for too long.'
The nonproliferation lobby in the United States, which is vehemently opposed to the India-US nuclear deal, has objected strongly to the new draft proposal submitted by the Bush administration to the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna, before it convenes on August 21 to consider the India-specific exemption from NSG rules. The group has termed the proposal 'an abomination that should be flatly rejected by the NSG'.
Both the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama, have issued messages congratulating India, its people, and the Indian-American community on India's 61st anniversary of its Independence, with Obama issuing a similar message congratulating Pakistan, its people and the Pakistani-American community too.
What has peeved the administration most is the civilian government's lack of control of its border areas and failed peace deals with extremist elements. These failed efforts by Islamabad have led to exponential growth of these jihadis. The mounting evidence of the collusion of Pakistani intelligence with the Taliban and Al Qaeda, in launching attacks against American forces in Afghanistan, is worrying the Bush administration.
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has all but confirmed the Central Intelligence Agency's assertions that certain elements in Pakistan are working with the Al Qaeda and undermining the United States-led war on terror. "I would say they're not our theoretical ally; they are our ally," she said, but acknowledged, "there are elements in Pakistan that one worries that there are connections to the militants in the region."
Even before the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement gets a nod from the Nuclear Supplier's Group, a hint of the US Congressional opposition has surfaced, in the form of a salvo fired by Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.Berman, a California Democrat, was the author of several 'killer amendments' to the enabling Hyde Act when it was debated and voted on the floor in 2006, all of which were defeated.
Neel Kashkari, who was nominated by President George W Bush to the post of Assistant Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs, has been confirmed by the Senate and has begun work in his new job, even if it is only for the next six months.
The influential Indian-American community has swung back to action to push the N-deal ahead.
At a press briefing at Washington DC's National Press Club on the eve of the IAEA board of governors meeting, nonproliferation experts called on the NSG not to reach a consensus on the accord, since it was 'seriously flawed and would undermine the professed objectives of the NSG'
The Bush administration's point man for South Asia, Richard Boucher, has said that while Washington fully recognises the terrorist threat Sri Lanka continues to face from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, it should continue acting like a democracy and protect all of its citizens. The senior diplomat feels that there is a need for a political solution "alongside whatever is going on militarily and we hope the Tamil Tigers will see that as well."
'The liberalisation of the Indian economy has triggered a growing belief in education, because they believe they can be a part of the economic bandwagon and benefit from it.'
'Building a world that is more free and equal and more just also means forging a more effective regional framework in Asia and the Pacific. And, that is why I am going to work with America's partners around the world, not just to defeat terrorism, but also to prevent the kind of violence that we saw over the weekend in India and to promote political stability and unleash economic prosperity,' Obama said.
Maryland House Majority Leader, Kumar Barve, 49, the longest-serving Indian American legislator who was first elected in 1990, and has served in this leadership position since 2003 making him one of the most influential politicians in the state, has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, and under a plea agreement received no jail time but only unsupervised probation and ordered to pay a fine of $200 and court costs.
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