Obama calls for one-third cut in US-Russia nuclear weapons
Berlin, Jun 19 - President Barack Obama today called for a one-third cut in the number of deployed US strategic nuclear warheads if Russia agrees to a similar reduction, reviving his goal to work toward a world without atomic weapons. Addressing students and government officials at historic the Brandenburg Gate, which once divided East and West Germany, Obama said he had determined that the US could ensure its own and its allies security and maintain a credible deterrent "while reducing our deployed strategic nuclear weapons by up to one third".
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India concerned over allocation of funds by Pak to JuD
Zishan Haider,
Baghdad, Jun 19 - India today raised its concerns over millions of rupees allocated by Pakistan's Punjab province government to Jamat-ud-Dawa-led by Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafeez Saeed, saying New Delhi would "carefully" analyse the matter before taking it up with Islamabad.
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Kerry to arrive in India on June 23
Lalit K Jha,
Washington, Jun 19 - US Secretary of State John Kerry would travel to India on June 23 to co-chair the 4th India-US Strategic Dialogue, his spokesperson said today. Unlike his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, who had visited other Indian cities besides New Delhi during her three trips to the country, Kerry would be staying in New Delhi only.
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US court upholds Exim Bank loan for Air India
Washington, Jun 19 - A US court has rejected a plea by the Delta Airlines to vacate the US Export-Import Bank's support for the sale of 30 Boeing wide-body jets to Air India. At the same time, the US Court of Appeals in Washington DC asked the Exim Bank to further explain its financing decision for the Air India transactions.
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Sarabjit murder case: 38 witnesses deposes before Pakistan panel
Lahore, Jun 19 - A Pakistani judicial commission probing the brutal murder of Indian national Sarabjit Singh in Kot Lakhpat Jail has recorded the statements of 38 witnesses so far. The Inspector General of Prisons of Punjab province, the superintendent of Kot Lakhpat Jail and other prison officials have testified before the one-man commission of Justice Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi of the Lahore High Court, an official statement said. The commission is holding day-to-day proceedings.
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US House passes bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks
Washington, Jun 19 - The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives has approved a legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, one of the most stringent pro-life bills to pass a Congressional chamber in a decade. However, the bill is unlikely to see the light of the day given the veto threat by the White House and the opposition to it by the Democratic Party, which has a majority in the Senate. |
Obama strongly defends NSA surveillance programme
Lalit K Jha,
Washington, Jun 18 - President Barack Obama, under attack for allowing the controversial surveillance programme, has defended the policy by saying the covert operations were "transparent" and had disrupted multiple terrorist plots not just in the US but overseas. |
ACC clean chit to GMR does not change our stand: Maldives
Male, Jun 18 - Taken aback by the country's anti-graft watchdog ruling out any corruption in the leasing of the international airport to GMR, Maldivian government today stuck to its stand saying the contract was illegal and hinted it will be challenged in the court.
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Kerry defers Pak visit because of Syrian crisis
Rezaul H Laskar,
Islamabad, Jun 18 - US Secretary of State John Kerry has been forced to defer a visit to Pakistan till next month because of the crisis in Syria, officials said today. |
US open to bilateral or P5 +1 talks with Iran: Obama
Lalit K Jha,
Washington, Jun 18 - US President Barack Obama today said Washington is open to both P5+1 nuclear talk or those through bilateral channels with Tehran, a day after newly elected Iranian president promised greater openness in his country's nuclear programme. |
Pak's Punjab govt allocates millions of rupees for JuD centre
M Zulqernain,
Lahore, Jun 18 - The government of Pakistan's Punjab province has allocated millions of rupees in its budget for fiscal 2013-14 for the largest centre of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, considered a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba. Besides a grant-in-aid of over Rs 61 million for the JuD centre known as 'Markaz-e-Taiba', the provincial government has allocated Rs 350 million for setting up a "Knowledge Park" at the centre and other development initiatives.
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Britain spied on foreign delegates during G20 meetings in 2009
London, Jun 17 - Britain spied on foreign politicians and officials participating in two G20 meetings here in 2009 by using "ground-breaking" intelligence capabilities to get an edge during the high-stakes financial talks, a media report said today. |
Saudi slashes number of Hajj pilgrims by 20 per cent
Riyadh, Jun 16 - Saudi Arabia has slashed the number of Hajj pilgrims, including from India, by 20 per cent this year, citing massive ongoing construction work aimed at expanding grand Mecca mosque as a reason behind the decision. "The decision to reduce the numbers of pilgrims at home by 50 per cent and abroad by 20 per cent is exceptional and temporary until the completion of the expansionist... |
TNA delegation leaves for India on Lanka 13A talks
Colombo, June 16 - Faced with the prospect of having to face a dilution of the northern provincial council powers, a delegation of Sri Lanka's main Tamil party TNA today left for Delhi to hold urgent consultations with Indian leadership. TNA sources said the six member delegation was expected to meet with both India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi. |
Strike affects normal life in Nepal
Kathmandu, June 16 - Normal life was thrown out of gear across Nepal today as 44 different parties, including CPN-Maoist, imposed a general strike to protest the announcement of the date of new Constituent Assembly polls. Private and public vehicles have remained off the roads, and the market areas are closed. Schools, colleges and other businesses also have been affected due to the bandh. |
Musharraf formally indicted in judges' detention case
Rezaul H Laskar,
Islamabad, Jun 16 - An anti-terrorism court in the Pakistani capital has formally indicted former President Pervez Musharraf over the detention of dozens of judges during the emergency rule he imposed in 2007. Musharraf, 69, was indicted during a hearing of the case held at his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad yesterday by anti-terrorism court Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi. |
Woman LeJ suicide bomber involved in Pakistan blast?
Rezaul H Laskar,
Islamabad, Jun 16 - The death toll in the devastating attacks on a women's university bus and a hospital in the Pakistani city of Quetta rose to 25 today even as reports emerged of the involvement of a woman suicide bomber in one of the incidents. The banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for yesterday's attacks, saying they were carried out in retaliation for a raid... |
Bangladesh's main oppn sweeps mayoral polls in 4 cities
Anisur Rahman,
Dhaka, Jun 16 - In a major poll debacle to Bangladesh's ruling Awami League, main opposition BNP today swept crucial mayoral polls in four major cities ahead of the general elections. Candidates belonging to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party of former prime minister Khaleda Zia defeated rivals from Premier Sheikh Hasina's Awami League with a big margin at all the four cities of northwestern Rajshahi... |
With Rouhani’s win, US readies itself for talks with Iran
Washington, June 15 - Despite having reservations on the transparency of the electoral process, the US said it is ready to engage directly with the Iranian Government led by its newly elected President moderate Hassan Rouhani with the hope that the new leader will honor international obligations. “We, along with our international partners, remain ready to engage directly with the Iranian government. |
India's trade practices harming US trade and jobs: Senators
Lalit K Jha,
Washington, Jun 15 - Two influential Senators today asked Secretary of State John Kerry to raise serious concerns of the US over "unfair" trade practices of India that are "directly harming" American businesses and threatening "millions of US jobs", during his visit to New Delhi next week. The Senators made it clear that the US cannot afford to sit back and watch as India adopts policies... |
Indian couple wins right to stay in Australia
Melbourne, Jun 15 - An Indian couple from Punjab have won the right to stay in Australia after applying for refugee status on the grounds that they may be subjected to honour killing in India for an inter-caste love marriage. The couple's plea for refugee status was rejected by Australian immigration and refugee authorities but subsequently a court in Canberra has ruled in their favour. |
Edward Snowden has links with Chinese intelligence: Congressman Peter King
Washington, June 15 - Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who disclosed America's secret surveillance programme, may have been working with the Chinese government to reveal intelligence secrets, a US lawmaker has alleged. "There's a lot of reason for suspicion," Republican Congressman Peter King told MSNBC. Snowden, an American citizen, is currently hiding in Hong Kong. |
Microsoft, Facebook release details of NSA data requests
Lalit K Jha,
Washington, Jun 15 - American tech giants - Microsoft and Facebook - have disclosed the number of requests they had received from the US National Security Agency to reveal details including internet usage of their consumers. |
Nepal's interim govt chief asks parties not to boycott polls
Kathmandu, Jun 14 - Head of Nepal's interim government today appealed to the country's warring political parties not to boycott the long-pending elections and use the historic opportunity to ensure "free and fair" polls on November 19. In his first nationally televised address after assuming the role of executive head in early March, Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi urged all stakeholders for their active participation and cooperation for a free and fair election to new Constituent Assembly.
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Pak set to declare Panja Sahib as holy city
Chandigarh, Jun 14 - The Pakistan government has decided to declare 'Panja Sahib' a holy city and would initiate efforts to sort out all issues related to the welfare of the Sikhs living at the pilgrimage site. This was stated by the President of Pak-Indo Friendship Association and Legal Consulate Ministry of Interior Government of Pakistan Arif Chaudhry, during his meeting with the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here, an official release said here.
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