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Showing posts from September, 2008

Bush urges lawmakers to okay bailout plan

Snubbed by his own party in Congress the day before, President George W. Bush on Tuesday urged lawmakers to approve his financial bailout package and warned a failure to do so would mean a “painful and lasting” economic hardship for the United States.

Senate vote on N-deal today, says Reid

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is urging colleagues in the Senate to take up the US-India nuclear deal for a debate on Tuesday followed by a vote, which sources say could take place on Wednesday.

Sneaking Past The Gate

The GMAT exam, considered an impregnable format, finds it can be cheated on too

123 enters last lap

The House of Representatives in Washington on Saturday evening (Sunday morning in India) approved a civilian nuclear cooperation Bill that will lift a three-decade-old ban on nuclear commerce between the US and India.

Now, The Antithesis

A US senate bill resurrects India's Hyde Act fears, dirties the ground cleared for the nuclear deal ...

McCain, Obama spar over strikes in Pak

John McCain and Barack Obama sparred briefly over Pakistan in the first presidential debate in Oxford, Mississippi, on Friday night. McCain took Obama to task for threatening Pakistan with military strikes, a suggestion the Democrat promptly took umbrage at.

123 vote put off again

The House of Representatives on Friday (Saturday in India) debated a Bill on the US-India civilian nuclear deal but put off a vote even as a supporter of the initiative said delaying further action would be perceived in India as an insult to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

N-deal bogged down, Rice coming to seal it

The US House of Representatives was expected on Friday (Saturday in India) to debate and vote on a Bill that seeks to approve US-India civilian nuclear trade, even as efforts in the Senate appeared to have been stalled on Friday afternoon after a lawmaker blocked the deal from a vote.

US lawmakers agree on $700 b bailout

Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Thursday announced that they had reached an agreement on the outline of a $700 billion bailout plan to rescue the troubled US financial system.

US House further knots up nuke deal

Complicating matters further for the smooth passage of the US-India civilian nuclear agreement, two lawmakers have introduced competing bills in the House of Representatives.

Senate panel okays N-deal with a rider

A bill passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday seeks to impose punitive measures in case India tests a nuclear weapon - provisions that sources describe as being harsher than those contained in the Hyde Act.

Pak still an ally: Bush

President George W. Bush met Pakistan’s newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari in New York on Tuesday and promised to help Pakistan improve its economy and security.

Bush & Co pin hopes on PM’s visit

Having shepherded the U.S.-India civilian nuclear agreement all the way up to Capitol Hill, President George W. Bush’s administration now hopes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s September 25 visit to Washington will provide the momentum to push the deal over the finish line.

Pakistan building third reactor, says report

A US think-tank says Pakistan is close to completing construction of its second plutonium production reactor and is building a third. The Institute for Science and International Security says this may sharpen a nuclear arms race with India.

N-deal: India to dedicate 2 sites for US reactors

In an acknowledgement of the lead role the U.S. has played in helping end its nuclear isolation, India has promised to dedicate at least two sites for U.S. firms seeking to set up reactors under a civilian nuclear agreement. It has also committed to purchasing reactors from US firms.

Non-proliferation lobby busy trying to derail N-deal

The non-proliferation lobby is going all out to try and derail or at the very least, put the brakes on the US-India civilian nuclear agreement, which appears headed toward a photo-finish in Congress.

N-deal: Be done with it fast: Rice

As US lawmakers prepared to conduct a hearing on the US-India civilian nuclear agreement in what is the final step for the deal, secretary of state Condoleezza Rice was busy urging lawmakers to swiftly approve it.

N-deal’s fate to be known on Sept 26

Friends and foes of the US-India civilian nuclear agreement have begun lining up as the deal enters its final stage-Congressional approval. Having cleared hurdles at the IAEA and the NSG, the agreement must now win the support of the US Congress, which is scheduled to end its session on September 26.

Divert anti-terror aid to upgrade Pak F-16s, Bush admn to Congress

The Bush administration on Tuesday urged Congress to divert hundreds of millions of dollars from anti-terrorism funds to upgrade Pakistan’s ageing fleet of F-16s.

Through A Maze Of Mirrors

Tied down by lack of time, the deal awaits Congressional clearance.

Capitol Hill should not rush with deal: Democrat lawmakers

Even as the Bush Administration is asking Congress to speedily approve a US-India civilian nuclear agreement, three Democrat lawmakers are urging colleagues on Capitol Hill not to rush.

No sensitive N-tech for India: Report

Members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group privately agreed not to sell “sensitive technologies” to India, a decision that convinced opponents of the civil nuclear deal to eventually back the initiative, according to a report in the Washington Post.

Bush doctrine, what’s that, asks Palin

In her first major interview since Sen. John McCain picked her as his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin all but proved her critics right as she fumbled through answers on questions of foreign policy. It is not likely, however, that her performance would put off her supporters, who relate to her social conservative beliefs.

Bush secretly okayed raids inside Pakistan

U. S. President George W. Bush “secretly approved” orders in July that for the first time allow U.S. Special Forces to conduct ground assaults inside Pakistan without permission from the Pakistani government, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

Bush presents deal to Congress, invites PM to White House on 25th

President George W. Bush on Wednesday presented a complete package on the U.S.-India civilian nuclear deal to Congress saying he had determined that it poses no “unreasonable risk” to security and should be approved this year.

Rice busy working the phones

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wants to get a complete “package” of the U.S.-India civilian nuclear agreement to Congress for an up or down vote “within the next 24 to 48 hours,” a State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday.

‘Waiver must be consistent with US Act’

If the Bush administration wants to get the US-India civilian nuclear agreement wrapped up before the end of the year it must assure Congress that a recent India-specific waiver given by the Nuclear Suppliers Group is consistent with the US Act that enables nuclear cooperation with India, according to a senior lawmaker.

123 Deal: US to work on quick wrap up

An India-specific exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was won only after a flurry of phone calls from President George W. Bush and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice to leaders of a handful of countries opposed to the deal.

The Bear Hunter

Republican V-P candidate Sarah Palin is catching flak. Did McCain get it wrong?

Did Palin have an affair?

Did Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain’s ultraconservative running mate and champion of family values, have an extramarital affair with her husband’s business partner? If a US supermarket tabloid is to be believed, Sarah did. But it’s not often that The National Enquirer is taken seriously. This time, however, the situation is slightly different.

White House calls it historic achievement

US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomed the decision by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to lift the nuclear trade embargo on India, the White House said on Saturday.

McCain accepts nomination

Eight years after being denied a shot at the White House by George W. Bush, Senator John McCain on Thursday formally accepted the Republican Party's presidential nomination promising Americans that “change is coming.”

US denies covering up N-deal details

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is under fire for purportedly misleading Parliament over the US-India nuclear deal. The Bush administration on Thursday denied it had tried to cover up details of the agreement in order to protect the Prime Minister.

Pak preparing for war on India: Obama

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama says Pakistan is diverting US aid to prepare for a war against India.

I’m going to Washington to serve people: Palin

Sarah Palin, the Republican Party's presumptive vice-presidential nominee, lashed out at Democrats and the press on Wednesday night in what was arguably the most important speech of her political career.

No nuke trade if India tests: US

The Bush administration has assured members of Congress that the US has the right to terminate nuclear commerce with India in the event of a nuclear test by New Delhi, according to a correspondence revealed this week.

McCain’s surprise choice

The confetti had barely settled on the Democratic National Convention in Denver when Sen. John McCain unveiled what may be the biggest surprise of the 2008 campaign season: his choice of running mate.