Washington, November 11
US President-elect Barack Obama visited the White House for his first post-election meeting with President George W Bush, a strikingly symbolic moment in the transition of power.

Obama, who will take office on January 20 with the country close to recession, urged Bush to back immediate emergency aid for the struggling US automakers, The New York Times reported.

The president and first lady Laura Bush greeted the newly elected president and his wife, Michelle, with smiles yesterday, even as Obama’s advisers reviewed some of Bush’s executive orders with an eye to reversing them after he is sworn in on January 20.

The two men met privately in the Oval Office for over an hour in talks thought to have encompassed the global financial crisis, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other daunting challenges the Republican president will bequeath to his Democratic successor.

It was their first face-to-face encounter following Obama’s resounding victory over Republican John McCain in the Tuesday’s election, which will make him the US first black president.

Obama had repeatedly attacked Bush’s “failed policies” on the campaign trail, and the Illinois senator swept to power on a theme of change - specifically, change from the unpopular president’s approach to economics and foreign affairs.

Obama’s aides say after taking office he will likely move quickly to roll back Bush’s executive orders that limit stem cell research and expand oil and gas drilling in some areas.

But the members of Obama’s team cautioned on Monday he had not yet decided whether to reverse executive orders. Obama put his hand on Bush’s back cordially as the two couples entered the mansion. The leaders then strolled down the colonnade side by side, chatting.

Obama was the more animated of the two, gesturing with both hands. He had never set foot in the Oval Office before and was ushered in ahead of Bush.

While their husbands met, the first lady gave Michelle Obama a tour of the White House living quarters, which will soon be her new home.

At the end of a two-hour visit, Bush and Obama had nothing to say to mediapersons and both camps were mostly tight-lipped.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino would only say that domestic and international issues were discussed and that Bush “again pledged a smooth transition.”

Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said the leaders agreed on the need to cooperate in the changeover “in the light of the nation’s many critical economic and security challenges. — Reuters

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Tuesday the US government after the election of Barack Obama was in transition and Pakistan would discuss the issue of drone attacks with the new government.

Speaking in the National Assembly, he said he had met the US ambassador and their intelligence officials and conveyed to them Pakistan’s concern over these attacks. Members from both Opposition and treasury benches strongly resented the continued US strikes in tribal areas.

They condemned the American attitude for disregarding the resolution unanimously adopted by the joint session of Parliament on October 26 voicing national indignation over the violation of Pakistan’s air and land space by the US. Several opposition members called for terminating cooperation with the US in protest against its arrogant conduct.

Gilani said the government fully shared the sentiments of the entire nation that drone attacks were unacceptable. It had raised the issue at every forum. He reiterated resolve to safeguard Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity at all costs.

The Prime Minister said President Asif Ali Zardari would have an opportunity to take up the issue with the present and the next US presidents when he proceeds to attend a conference on interfaith harmony in New York. He said Parliament’s resolution reflected nation’s determination to ensure Pakistan’s sovereignty, security and integrity.

Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is scheduled to leave for New Delhi tomorrow leading a 12-member Nepalese delegation to participate in a one-day Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit to be held on Thursday.

This will be his second tour to India after he was elected the Prime Minister of the federal democratic republic of Nepal on May 28,2008, abolishing the 239-year-old monarchy.

During his stay in New Delhi, Dahal will hold a meeting with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh tomorrow evening and with Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on Thursday, officials at the Foreign Ministry of Nepal said.

The leaders will hold a joint press conference on Thursday and jointly meet Indian President Pratibha Patil.

Meanwhile, Nepal's foreign minister Upendra Yadav left for New Delhi today and foreign secretary Gyan Chandra Acharya left on Monday to participate in the ministerial-level and secretary-level meetings of BIMSTEC.

On Friday, Dahal and his team will visit Tehri Dam in northwestern India and return home the same evening.

Moscow, November 11
Unauthorised smoking could have triggered the fire-extinguishing system that led to death of 20 persons on the Russian nuclear submarine, to be leased to India next year, a naval expert said today.

The new theory on what led to the worst accident in Russian navy’s history came as top former naval commander Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov described the massive death toll on board a brand new submarine “gross unprofessionalism and negligence”.

Komoyedov, who is a sitting member of the Duma Defence Committee, has sought a thorough report from the defence ministry and the military prosecutor about the investigations.

Various reasons being put out on the accident come even as Russian officials remain tight-lipped about the lease of the Amur class K-152 Nerpa nuclear submarine to India.

An ‘unnamed defence analyst’ quoted by the Moscow Times said: “It was unlikely the accident would scare India away from the deal, as none of the submarine’s most critical systems, weapons and propulsion, were revealed as faulty.”

Pressing at the possibility of cigarette smoke triggering the mishap, chairman of St Petersburg club of submariners, Capt Igor Kudrin (retd) said a person might have lighted a cigarette near a safety gauge switching on the fire-extinguishing system. “After its modification, the fire-extinguishing system (inclusion of automatic Freon release system) began reacting to smoke and temperature above 70°C. — PTI

Lahore, November 11
Over 3,000 Sikh pilgrims from India are expected to participate in events commemorating the 540th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak at Nankana Sahib in Pakistan this year.

Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB)’s deputy administrator (Shrines) Faraz Abbas said celebrations would be held from November 11 to 13 with the main religious events being held at Gurdwara Janamsthan in Nankana Sahib on November 13.

About 25,000 pilgrims from across the world, including over 3,000 from India, were expected to participate in events commemorating the special occasion, Abbas said.

Around 1,200 Sikh pilgrims have already arrived from the US, Britain, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Singapore, Thailand and Germany.

The ETPB would arrange a special welcome for the Sikh pilgrims from India at the Wagah land border when they arrive in four special trains and would be served langar before the same trains leave for Nankana Sahib, Abbas said. — PTI

BRIEFLY

WASHINGTON
US docs seek ban on texting while driving: Tapping out text messages on a cell phone while driving is dangerous, the American Medical Association agreed on Monday, and supported the state legislation to ban it. The group, which represents about 240,000 US physicians, voted to lend its weight to laws that would make it easier for the police to pull over drivers who are doing it. A recent study found that text messaging while driving causes a 400 per cent increase in time spent with eyes off the road. No one should have to worry that other drivers are focused on texting instead of traffic. — Reuters

Islamabad
Pak to build $12.6 b dam: The executive committee of the National Economic Council, country’s highest economic policy making forum, on Tuesday approved the construction of $12.6 billion Diamer-Bhasha dam. Federal minister for water and power Raja Parvez Ashraf said 4,500 MW of electricity would be generated through the dam. The construction work would be completed in seven years and would have the capacity to store 8.1 million acre feet of water. Around 28,000 people would be displaced due to the project. China, Saudi Arabia and the European Union had shown interest in building the dam. — TNS

LONDON
Indian jailed in UK: An Indian national identified as Zakirbhai Shaikh (35) has been jailed for a year and faces deportation for possessing a fake Portuguese passport. He was arrested in Leicester, when the police raided his property and found a passport bearing a false name and a fake Belgian driving licence. Shaikh admitted of possessing false identification at the Leicester Crown Court, where Judge Simon Hammond ordered him to be deported to India after serving six months of a 12-month sentence.— PTI

TOKYO
Japan’s first mom in space: A Japanese astronaut and the mother of one has been picked as a crew member of the space shuttle Atlantis, Japan’s space agency said on Tuesday, making her the country’s first mom to go into the space. Naoko Yamazaki, mother of a six-year-old girl, will board Atlantis, set to lift off sometime after February 2010 for a two-week flight, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said. TOKYO

LONDON
World’s ugliest dog dies: Gus, a nine-year-old Chinese dog that won the title of world’s ugliest canine, died following a long battle with skin cancer. The one-eyed, three-legged dog won the title last summer at the 20th Annual World’s Ugliest Dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in northern California. — PTI

New York
NASA looses contact with Phoenix Lander : The US space agency, NASA, has lost contact with its space probe on Mars Phoenix Mars Lander, five months after it landed on the red planet’s surface. NASA said on Monday that seasonal decline in sunshine at the robot’s arctic landing site is not providing enough sunlight for solar arrays to collect power necessary to charge batteries that operate Lander’s instruments. — PTI

ISLAMABAD
2 killed in Peshawar blast: At least two persons were killed and five others injured when a powerful blast rocked Qayum Stadium in Peshawar at the closing ceremony of the inter-provincial games here on Tuesday. The blast occurred at the main gate of the stadium moments after Governor Owais Ghani and senior NWFP minister, Bashir Ahmed Bilour, left the place. The blast also destroyed four vehicles. “It was apparently a suicide attack,” top district administration official and chairman of the organising committee for the game, Shibzada Anis, told reporters. He said several thousand spectators who watched the closing ceremony were still in the stadium when the blast occurred. The bomber tried to enter the stadium just while the governor and several ministers were leaving the stadium. — TNS