Washington, US President Barack Obama has warned that a premature attack on Iran would allow it to play the "victim" in the nuclear crisis just days before key talks with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. In some of his toughest comments yet on Tehran's nuclear drive, Obama also warned that Israel and Iran should take seriously possible US action against Iranian nuclear facilities if sanctions fail to stop the country's atomic ambitions. "I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as president of the United States, I don't bluff," Obama told the Atlantic Monthly magazine in remarks published Friday. "I also don't, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising exactly what our intentions are. But I think both the Iranian and the Israeli governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say." Netanyahu arrived in Canada early Friday ahead of key discussions Monday with Obama at the White House, against a backdrop of growing fears that Israel could unilaterally strike suspect Iranian nuclear facilities. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only but ...
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Washington, The United States says it is developing a new model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and had intensified its engagement with potential partners like India and China to conclude such a treaty with them. The US is in talks with a range of countries for bilateral investment treaties and US officials would soon travel to India to conclude one, US Trade Representative (USTR) told a Congressional hearing. "We have, in fact, intensified our engagement, at the same time though, with important potential partners like India and China," Kirk said. The US, he said, had "built on the successful visits" of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the US and President Barack Obama to India. "And (we have) got India to agree to a more robust engagement. We had one session in India, in December. We are travelling to India within the next several weeks for the next meeting of BIT." "We've had over five sessions with China. We concluded a BIT with Rwanda, and we hope to again conclude the model BIT within the very near future that will allow us to go forward more aggressively," Kirk said. Earlier Congressman Wally Herger said that US should be pursuing BITs to help ensure ...
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New Delhi, Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh on Thursday revealed that the malignant lung tumour, for which he is undergoing chemotherapy in the Unites States, is "almost out of his system" after the first cycle of treatment. "Got very good news from dr lawrence today! The tumor is almost way out of the system After reading my todays scan !Second cycle has started," Yuvraj, being treated at the Boston Institute of Cancer Research, wrote on his twitter account. The 30-year-old, who went to US last month, has gone bald during the treatment, which will go on till the last week of March before the process of rehabilitation starts in April. The dashing batsman had earlier got a message from US cycling legend Lance Armstrong, whose own inspirational triumph over cancer is well-documented, wishing him a speedy recovery. "Message from @lancearmstrong makes me feel better! Thank you lance means a lot hope we can meet," tweeted Yuvraj. A photo of the Armstrong's message, posted by Yuvraj, read: "Yuvi, I want you to know that the entire LIVESTRONG team is here for you. "We say it all the time, and truly believe in it: Knowledge is power, Unity is strength, and Attitude is ...
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Washington, India and the United States have signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a framework for conducting a dialogue and to cooperate on future labour and employment issues. The MoU signed here Thursday by Indian Minister of Labour and Employment Mallikarjun Kharge and US Secretary of Labour Hilda L. Solis will enable Indian and US experts to begin a dialogue on issues like skills development, youth employment, mine safety and health, and occupation safety and health. "The road map laid down in the Memorandum of Understanding will facilitate very close cooperation and interaction between our two countries and bring about improvements in the life of workers and their working conditions," said Kharge. "Our governments share a firm commitment to workers and their rights," said Solis. "Today marks the launch of a new programme to share valuable information that will ensure that workers' rights are respected." The memorandum is an outgrowth of a 2010 meeting between Kharge and Solis following a conference of the G20 Labour and employment ministers hosted by the US Department of Labour. Kharge also expressed interest in increasing Indian know-how in the ...
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Washington, The United States wants its relations with Pakistan to remain positive, but their interests sometimes differed as Pakistan considered India as an existential threat, according to Washington's intelligence chief. Testifying before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said the US relationship with Pakistan was a "challenging relationship but an important one," as the interests of the two countries are "not always congruent." Noting that Afghanistan remains a hot spot, Clapper said: "During the past year, the Taliban lost some ground, but ...Taliban's senior leaders continued to enjoy safe haven in Pakistan." To be successful, Afghanistan must have support from coalition forces and its neighbours-particularly Pakistan, he said. Asked by panel vice-chairman Saxby Chambliss about what was being done about safe havens of terrorists in Pakistan, Clapper said that they were talking to Pakistan about it. "Al Qaeda will increasingly rely on ideological and operational alliances with Pakistani militant factions to accomplish its goals with Pakistan and to conduct transnational attacks," he ...
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Washington, Dec 21 : The United States has imposed sanctions on ten Iranian shipping firms affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), including Irano Hind, a joint venture with Shipping Corporation of India. Announcing the sanctions, seen as part of expanded efforts to isolate Tehran, the US Department of the Treasury said Tuesday the ten sanctioned shipping and front companies and one individual based in Malta were affiliated with the IRISL. Accusing the firms of "involvement in Iran's efforts to advance its missile programmes and transport military cargoes," the Treasury said they "have increasingly relied upon multiple front companies and agents to overcome the impact of US and international sanctions and increased scrutiny of their behaviour." "As IRISL and its subsidiaries continue their deceptive efforts to escape the grasp of US and international sanctions, we will continue to take action-as we are today-to expose the front companies, agents and managers working with IRISL and work to stop this illicit business," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. The entities and individual designated Tuesday ...
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New York, Hong Kong SAR overtakes the United States and the United Kingdom to top the World Economic Forum’s fourth annual Financial Development Report released on Tuesday. As the first Asian financial centre to achieve this rank, Hong Kong’s position was bolstered by strong scores in non-banking financial services such as IPO activity and insurance. Although it fell one spot to 2nd place, the United States’ overall score remains almost unchanged compared to last year. While financial stability continues to be a concern, the US was able to offset this weakness with strong financial intermediation results. Particular strengths in this area include highly developed foreign exchange and derivatives markets, as well as comparatively robust M&A and securitization activity. The United Kingdom declined in both score and rank, placing 3rd overall. The greatest contributing factors to the United Kingdom’s decline are lower scores on securitization and IPO activity. The results remained relatively stable among the rest of the top 10 in this year’s Report. Singapore’s decline to 4th place is a result of the securitization markets drying up and a weakening banking ...
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Washington, In a dozen key swing states across the United States, Democratic President Barack Obama is trailing his two leading Republican rivals hoping to challenge him in 2012 presidential election, according to a new opinion poll. While former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney led Obama by 5 percentage points, former House speaker Newt Gingrich led by 3 percentage points, according to Gallup/USA Today poll released Tuesday. The survey, which included Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, found that Obama is running behind Romney, 43-48 percent, while he is losing to Gingrich, 45-48 percent. The results from the dozen swing states are worse for Obama than his performance nationwide, where he leads Gingrich by 6 percentage points and Romney by a single point, the poll says. Meanwhile, the survey also showed the number of Democrats declined in the swing states while the number of Republicans rose since 2008, painting a drastically different electoral landscape for the president's 2012 re-election efforts. In the dozen key states, the number of self-identified Democrats in ...
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Baghdad, The NATO’s training mission in Iraq is on the verge of being closed because the alliance failed to win assurance from the government that its forces would not be liable for persecution. Iraq officials said they had been informed that NATO troops would withdraw by the end of this month after failing to reach a consensus on the issue. A NATO official, however, said no decision has formally been made regarding the withdrawal of troops, The Telegraph reports. NATO’s military advisers were supposed to remain in Iraq until 2013 to train the country’s police and armed forces though the former played no role in combat missions. The United States would withdraw the remaining combat troops at the end of this month because Iraq failed to win parliamentary support for offering them legal immunity. Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is, however, trying to strike a deal with NATO to retain foreign troops in the country to train the country’s air and naval forces in defend against a potential attack. Both sides had earlier spoken about ‘protection privileges’ proposal but failed to finalize the details of the agreement. Analysts have predicted that ...
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Washington, The United States has said foreign direct investment in retail trade would be beneficial to both India and the US but it would wait for the debate over it to play out in a democracy like India. "We understand that this is a domestic Indian issue. We understand the government's decision to allow time for a consensus to be forged. We believe that this is a deal that's in both our countries' interests," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters Thursday. Asked if the US was not disappointed that major American retailers are not going to have access to the world's second-largest market, he parried: "The debate that's going on now in India is similar to debates over economic policy in the United States." "It's a domestic debate right now. We're very clear on our position. This is good for both our countries. We believe it should go forward, but we'll allow that debate to play out in India." "I think it's self-evident that by saying we believe this is in the interests of both our countries that we believe this is a big deal," Toner said when pressed. "The Indian government knows how we feel about this." When a reporter citing the civil nuclear deal ...
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The gross collection under various small savings schemes of Post Office Savings Scheme during 2009-10 and 2010-11 were Rs. 2,50,931 crore and Rs. 2,74,720 crore (provisional) respectively. The gross collection has registered an increase of 8.78%, as compared to the previous year’s collections. Central and State Government take various measures from time to time to promote and popularise small savings schemes through print and electronic media as well as holding seminars, meetings and providing training to various agencies involved in mobilizing deposits under various small savings schemes. This statement was given by Shri Sachin Pilot, the Minister of State Communication and Information Technology in response to a question in Lok Sabha today. ...
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Moga, February 4 (Doaba News Service)- Rice traders in the state have been importing raw rice of poor quality from outside states and mixing it with locally produced rice, the milling of which is in progress these days. It’s strange that this is being done at a time when the state already has a buffer stock of rice over 80 lakh metric tonnes and paddy 95 lakh metric tonnes under the milling process in the state. But rice millers are allegedly mixing quantities of low-priced rice grains imported from other states with FCI stocks and selling the better rice in the open market at higher prices. The entire procurement of paddy in Punjab is sent to private millers for cleaning, shelling and polishing of grains. Millers return the finished product back to the FCI for the central pool. It is learnt that during the past two months, after the rice milling process began in the state, raw rice of various varieties worth crores of rupees is being imported from other states like Bihar, UP, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka by rice millers/traders, the maximum quantities of which are mixed in locally milled rice, and is being given to FCI stocks. This practice is going on particularly in ...
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Jalandhar, February 2 (Doaba News Service)- Ignoring the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Rural Development, the Punjab Government has failed to appoint ombudsman under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) even after five months. The Union Government had asked the Punjab Government to appoint ombudsman for the redressal of grievances of the job card holders, engaged in different projects under the NREGA, in the state. In an order dated September 7, 2009, Amita Sharma, Joint Secretary (NREGA), had directed different states and Union Territories to appoint ombudsmen so that the grievances be redressed in a time-bound manner. The Union Government has also directed the states to set up offices of the ombudsmen within three months from the date of issuance of the order. The government has also said that expenditure incurred for this purpose would be met out of the provision for the administrative expenditure under the scheme. The union government had decided to appoint the ombudsmen after massive grievances arose with regard to the implementation of the scheme across the country. Talking to The Tribune, DR Karnus Raju, NREGA Commissioner, Punjab, claimed that ...
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Chandigarh, January 29 (Doaba News Service)- The state government yesterday announced the Punjabi Shiromani Sahit Awards for 2009 and has selected noted writer Kartar Singh Duggal for the “Punjabi Sahit Ratan” award worth Rs 5 lakh. It has been agreed upon by the Punjab State Language Advisory Board meeting held here today, which was presided over by state Education and Language Minister Upinderjit Kaur. During the meeting, 17 personalities were unanimously chosen for different Shiromani awards by the board that included “Shiromani Punjabi Sahitkar” award to be conferred on Piara Singh Bhogal and “Shiromani Hindi Sahitkar” award on Ravinder Kalia while Rajinder Nath Rehbar has been selected for “Shiromani Urdu Sahitkar” award. “Shiromani Sanskrit Sahitkar” award will be given to Prof Jagdish Prasad Semwal and “Shiromani Punjabi Kavi” award to Jaswant Deed. Rajinder Singh Bhaseen has been chosen for “Shiromani Punjabi Gyan Sahitkar/Alochik” award while Darshan Gill will be conferred with “Shiromani Punjabi Sahitkar (overseas)” award. Besides, Mohan Kahlon has been selected for “Shiromani Punjabi Sahitkar” award (outside Punjab) and ...
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Chandigarh, January 22 (Doaba News Service)- This is bad news for an agrarian state. The Punjab government has failed to spend grants of Rs 110 crore, procured under the various flagship agriculture schemes of the Government of India. In a communication from the Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of India, to the Punjab Chief Secretary, SC Agrawal, it has been pointed out that the state has not spent large amounts of money allocated to it under major national schemes. Giving details of the unused grants, the Union Government Secretary, T Nanda Kumar, has stated in his letter that the state government has not spend almost Rs 30 crore allocated under the National Food Security Mission. The scheme was launched in 2007 and is aimed at increasing the production of rice and pulses. Another Rs 28 crore given to Punjab for work under the National Horticulture Mission has not been spent. The mission was launched to promote the holistic growth of horticulture through area-specific strategies. Another Rs 27 crore was given to Punjab under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), which, too, has not been used. The RKVY was also launched in 2007 to encourage public spending ...
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Jalandhar, January 22 (Doaba News Service)- Hold your breath for a while. The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), which is in dire fiscal straits, wants a whooping increase of about 51 per cent in the existing tariff across the board for all consumers to meet its aggregate revenue requirement (ARR) for the next fiscal year (2010-11). For the current fiscal year, the increase in the tariff, ordered by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) was in the range of 10-12 per cent for various categories of consumers to generate a revenue of Rs 759 crore to meet its ARR. The PSEB has pegged a cumulative revenue gap of Rs 6,575 crore in the petition submitted to the PSERC for the next fiscal year and has prayed to the commission to raise the tariff accordingly to realise the amount from the power consumers. The commission has sought objections from the public on the petition. How the commission would deal with such a huge increase in the tariff, it remains to be seen. Already, there is a difference of opinion in the PSEB and the commission over the consumption of power in the farm sector. The commission had last year reduced the projected consumption in the farm ...
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