Bush call up Indian PM

India US-PM

In what may be described as a significant move towards the progress of the Indo-US Nuke deal after the Parliament high drama, American President George Bush called up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday night and discussed the future of the deal.

"The heads of both the states expressed their desire to see the US-India civil nuclear issue move forward as expeditiously as possible," US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement, zeenews portal reported.

Bush told Singh he looks forward to continuing to work with his government to strengthen the United States India strategic relationship, Johndroe said, adding that they had also discussed stalled World Trade Organizations talks.

Bush and Singh "discussed the importance of all leading WTO members making contributions to a breakthrough that will put the Doha Round negotiations on a path to conclude an ambitious agreement before the end of the year," Johndroe said.

The telephone conversation came ahead of Bush's White House talks on Monday with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan, India's neighbour and nuclear rival.

The United States and India have been working to secure the international support necessary for their controversial nuclear cooperation agreement, reached in 2005, to win approval.

India said on Thursday it was sending out envoys to lobby for the final international clearances, a diplomatic offensive coming after the UPA government survived a hard-fought confidence vote in Parliament sparked by Left's opposition to the pact.

Meanwhile, India's Minister of State in External Affairs Ministry, Anand Sharma discusses N-deal with Rice.

The US has lauded India's "deep resolve" to go ahead with their nuclear deal as Secretary of State Condoleezza met Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma twice to discuss the "next steps" for finalising the pact.

External Affairs Ministry sources said Rice and Sharma had a meeting on Thursday on "issues related to concluding the historic deal" within hours after they first met last night.

"Both the leaders discussed the next steps for finalising the deal," the sources told agencies.

The two leaders also met last night on the sidelines of ASEAN ministerial meet here and talked on the "entire gamut of issues" relating to the civilian nuclear deal.

They had a "very good" meeting during which Rice appreciated India's "deep resolve to go ahead with the historic nuclear deal", sources said after the first round of talks.

The deliberations reflecting the urgency India and the US were attaching to the nuclear pact assume significance as the IAEA Board of Governors meets on August 1 to consider the agreement for approval.

Manmohan N-powered: Home safe

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 (New Delhi)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday won a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha with a comfortable margin belying predictions of a close contest on a day marred by unseemly scenes over allegations of bribery. The Prime Minister's motion expressing confidence of the House in the Council of Ministers was carried with 275 votes in favour and 256 against. In a House with an effective strength of 541, it was not immediately clear how many abstained. The results were announced after nearly an hour when officials corrected the initial figures, which showed 253 votes in favour of the motion, 232 against and 2 abstentions in a total vote of 487. In the din caused by BJP members demanding Prime Minister's resignation and shouting down his speech, Singh laid his reply to the debate on the table of the House. As Opposition members pressed for a division, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee ordered voting by electronic voting machine. Even before the final result was announced, ruling alliance members went to the Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to greet them on the victory in the confidence motion, the first in over four years of this government. The Prime Minister sought the confidence of the House after the Left parties, which provided outside support since May 2004, withdrew it on the issue of government operationalising the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal by approaching the IAEA. The two-day debate on the motion was often acrimonious but it took an entirely different turn after BJP members shocked the House by producing bundles of currency notes alleging bribes by the Samajwadi Party to them to abstain from voting. Four BJP members, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, were permitted to vote from the inner lobby of the House through slips on account of their ill-health.

BJP MPs lodge complaint against SP with Lok Sabha

BJP MPs Ashok Argal, Mahavir Bhagora and Fagan Singh Kulste - who had dramatically leveled the charges of bribery during the trust vote on Tuesday - have now filed formal complaints with the Lok Sabha secretariat.

The MPs had alleged in the House that they were offered Rs three crore each for abstaining in the trust vote. Thereafter, the secretariat on Wednesday night asked them to present their version officially, sources said.

The Lok Sabha witnessed unprecedented drama on July 22 when the BJP members walked in the middle of the House flashing wads of currency notes claiming that it was given by a Samajwadi Party leader as bribe. (With PTI inputs)

FIH awards 2010 World Cup to India

Sports:

The provisional status is over now. India has been officially allotted the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup for 2010 and it would be hosted at New Delhi.
The decision was announced by International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Els van Breda Vriesman at the conclusion of two days of meetings with Indian hockey officials in Hyderabad, on Friday.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) had earlier provisionally allotted the 2010 World Cup to Delhi with the condition that the Indian Hockey Federation would fulfill certain provisions listed the Project Promoting Indian Hockey, initiated by the International Olympic Committee in collaboration with the Indian Olympic Association and the FIH.
With IOA suspending IHF and installing an ad hoc committee to deal with men's hockey matters in India, the IOA directly negotiated with the FIH.
The World Cup would be organised as a joint venture between FIH and the IOA with the profits from it being pumped back into developing hockey in India via the Project Promoting Indian Hockey, Vriesman said.
At the meeting it was also decided to have one body to govern both men's and women's hockey in the country. The IOA has given provisional recognition to the Indian Hockey Confederation, a joint body of IHF and the Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF). It would be officially confirmed after the IOA General Assembly in November.

The IHC will be later be renamed as 'Hockey India', Kalmadi announced. The IOA and FIH also announced that Ric Charlesworth's resignation as technical advisor of Indian hockey has been accepted, ending his role with Indian hockey.

Woman accuses grandson of rape in Delhi

The accused says he raped his grandmother to teach her a lesson as she was unnecessarily harassing his wife::

New Delhi: In a bizarre case, a 28-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after his 78-year-old grandmother accused him of rape in their southwest Delhi home, the police said.

The victim in her police complaint said her grandson Kuldeep consumed alcohol and raped her on Tuesday in their Jaffarpur Kalan home when his wife and one-year-old daughter were away.

The police said the elderly woman was taken to Rao Tula Ram Hospital where doctors confirmed a sexual assault.

“Kuldeep said he raped his grandmother to teach her a lesson as she was unnecessarily harassing his wife,” said a police official.

The police said Kuldeep, a labourer, was living with his grandmother since his childhood though his parents lived in another house. The accused got married three years ago.

Aarushi murder scares New Delhi kids

Noida/New Delhi: The brutal murder of teenager Aarushi Talwar and her family's domestic help has hit the city's children. They are now wary of servants and some are even scared of their own parents!

Many student helplines have been ringing continuously ever since Aarushi's dentist father Rajesh Talwar was arrested for her murder. And schools, set to open after summer vacations, are now gearing up to discuss the issue with their students and provide counselling wherever necessary.

The Delhi Public School (DPS) in Noida, where 14-year-old Aarushi studied, plans to hold a prayer meeting apart from counselling sessions.

"We will have discussions and prayer meetings with the students once the school reopens. We have our team of counsellors and we are all geared up to tackle the issue," Nina Sehgal, principal of DPS (Noida), told IANS.

Psychologist Aruna Broota said children have indeed been very scared ever since the murders took place.

"They tell me that they don't want to sleep with their parents any more. Some who don't have problems with their parents want the servants out, especially male," revealed Broota, who said she had talked to children aged 6-10 years.

DPS (Noida) apart, many other schools also admit that kids are stressed and will need emotional help.

"Children are stressed and insecure and we will definitely organise counselling sessions for them," said Anuradha Sharma, principal of Ryan International School (Noida).

But Asha Prabhakar, vice principal of Bal Bharti Public School, said it was better not to talk about the issue as the case was not yet solved.

"We have our own team of counsellors to tackle the issue and help both children and parents. But the case remains unsolved and nothing has been established. So, we have decided not to remind students about it and not to talk to them about it," she said.

Said Ashna Sirohi, Aarushi's friend and classmate: "There should be a discussion between students and counsellors regarding the issue. People have sullied her character and it's high time that things should get cleared."

Aarushi was found dead in her Jalvayu Vihar apartment in suburban Noida May 16. The Noida police initially named the Talwar's servant Hemraj as the prime suspect but retracted after his body was found on the terrace of the house the next day.