|
|
|
|
|
Special to the tribune
Krishna arrives in Washington
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Worried New Delhi breathes easy
Govt cites Sachar report to justify sub-quota
80% turnout in Andhra bypolls
Assam ultras abduct 20 labourers
GoM in Ahmedabad today to counter Narendra Modi
RSS raps J-K interlocutors’ report
Threat to terror suspects Jat Sikhs seek OBC quota
|
|
Special to the tribune US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday exempted India and six other nations from sanctions saying they had significantly reduced their imports of oil from Iran. “Today I have made the determination that seven economies - India, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan-have all significantly reduced their volume of crude oil purchases from Iran,” Hillary said in a statement. The exemptions will be reviewed after 180 days. The exemption for India coincides with the start of the third round of the US-India Strategic Dialogue. Hillary and External Affairs Minister SM Krishna will co-chair the dialogue in Washington on Wednesday. Hillary said she would report to the US Congress that sanctions pursuant to Section 1245(d)(1) of the National Defense Authorisation Act will not apply to these seven countries’ financial institutions. Section 1245 of the NDAA provides for sanctions on any foreign financial institution that conducts a significant transaction with the Central Bank of Iran, on or after June 28, for the sale or purchase of petroleum or petroleum products. India’s oil imports have been a source of frustration in Washington as the US puts pressure on Iran to dissuade it from developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is intended for peaceful purposes. The US wants India to end its dependence on Iranian oil and train Afghan security forces as it seeks to deepen its relationship with a nation it considers a linchpin of its new defence strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. Indian officials say India has made significant cuts to its imports of Iranian oil, but that it is unrealistic to expect a total reduction overnight. In 2008-2009, the percentage of India’s crude oil imports that came from Iran was 16.42 per cent. By 2011-2012 that number dropped to 10.29 per cent. The decision to provide exemptions is based on scrutiny of data gathered by agencies across the US government, including the Energy Department, the Energy Information Administration, the Treasury Department, the State Department and the intelligence agencies. “We’ve reviewed commercially available data. We review data that is made available at different points in time by importers themselves,” a senior US official said in a background call with reporters. “The Indian government also took steps to publish data on its previous imports through a process of parliamentary questions. These were published on the website of the lower house of Parliament. And it was based on taking into account all of these factors that we reached our decision,” he added. In March, Hillary exempted 10 European nations and Japan from sanctions because they had significantly reduced their oil imports from Iran. Around a third of Iran’s oil exports used to be to Europe. A European Union embargo on Iranian oil will go into effect in July. Hillary touted the exemptions as an example of the Obama administration’s success implementing sanctions against Iran. “By reducing Iran’s oil sales, we are sending a decisive message to Iran’s leaders: until they take concrete actions to satisfy the concerns of the international community, they will continue to face increasing isolation and pressure,” she said.
Krishna arrives in Washington
Washington, June 12 Hours before Krishna arrived here on Monday afternoon by a Acela train from New York, Clinton set the tone for the talks by announcing that India has "significantly" reduced its dependence on Iranian oil and this would get waiver from the Iranian sanctions act of the US Congress. The Strategic Dialogue, said External Ministry spokesperson, is a reflection of the vastness of the India-US relationship. "The issues on the table are pretty clear... it covers a whole host of things apart from discussing strategic and regional issues, we would also have issues related to human resources development," the spokesperson said. — PTI
|
|
Worried New Delhi breathes easy
New Delhi, June 12 Taking India off the list of countries which could face the sanctions coming into force from June 28 has created a positive atmosphere on the eve of the third India-US strategic dialogue, scheduled to take place in Washington tomorrow, senior officials said. For record, MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said: “We have seen the US notification exempting Indian financials institutions from the applications of the provisions of US domestic law for energy-related transactions with Iranian Central Bank and other financial institutions, designated by the US Government. This is a decision taken by the US Government under its domestic law.” The US also announced that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will visit India on June 27-28, primarily to participate in the third annual meeting of the India-US Economic and Financial Partnership with Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee. It is quite clear that New Delhi was worried about the possibility of attracting US sanctions. The threat of sanctions could have also derailed the strategic dialogue. “Now that the issue is off the table, the two countries can concentrate of a whole range of bilateral as well as global issues,” the officials said. When US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited India last month, she did appreciate India for slashing its oil imports from Iran but wanted New Delhi to do ‘even more’ in this regard. However, India had made it clear that although it could not altogether stop purchasing oil from Iran, it was looking for alternate sources crude. It was also politely conveyed to the US that India would abide by the UN sanctions against Iran but not those slapped by individual countries, like the US. In March, the US announced sanctions which threaten to shut out importers of Iranian oil from the US financial system unless they make significant and continuing cuts to their purchases by June 28. Japan and ten European nations had been granted exemption while India and China remained at risk. Clinton has now expanded the list of exempted countries by including in it India, Malaysia, South Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan, saying these nations have significantly reduced their volume of crude oil purchases from Iran. China, however, continues to be on the list of the countries facing US sanctions.
|
|||||
|
Govt cites Sachar report to justify sub-quota
New Delhi, June 12 Additional Solicitor-General Gaurav Banerjee handed over the papers to a vacation bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar. The bench had sought the documents yesterday while hearing the government's appeal against the May 28, 2012 verdict of the Andhra Pradesh High Court striking down the sub-quota for the minorities. Standing by its decision, the government has cited Justice Rajinder Sachar committee's report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslims across the country and the recommendations of Justice Ranganath Mishra on Muslim and Christian Dalits. The documents also included several office notes prepared on the need for sub-quota and the government resolution on pathetic condition of backward Muslims and the need for taking measures to mitigate their sufferings by providing them access to education and employment. The Sachar committee had recommended that a group of Muslims with traditional occupations akin to that of the Scheduled Castes be designated as the most backward classes and provided 'multifarious measures,' including reservation. The panel had said Muslims in the country could be divided into three categories - ashrafs, ajlafs and arzals. "The three groups require different types of affirmative action," the report had said. Arzals, whose occupation was similar to that of SCs, should be designated as MBCs and provided reservation. This particular group, the panel said, required multifarious measures, including reservation as it remained 'cumulatively oppressed.' As head of the National Commission for Linguistic and Religious Minorities, Justice Mishra had recommended that Muslim and Christian Dalits be given the Scheduled Caste status, the government pointed out seeking a stay on the HC verdict. The bench has agreed to hear the appeal tomorrow on an urgent basis as the admission process was on in various educational institutions, including the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology for the 2012-13 academic session.
Sachar panel findings
|
|||||
|
80% turnout in Andhra bypolls
Hyderabad, June 12 The political future of the jailed YSR Congress Party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and his fledgling party hinges on the outcome of the bypolls, held for 18 Assembly constituencies and Nellore Lok Sabha seat. The results will be declared on June 15. For 39-year-old Jagan, now in judicial custody following his arrest by the CBI in the disproportionate assets case, the bypolls provided an occasion to test his popularity and to establish himself as a sole political successor to the legacy of his illustrious father and former Congress Chief Minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy. The ruling Congress, plagued with infighting, growing rebellion and leadership vacuum, also has high stakes in the bypoll battle as it prepares to face the political consequences of sending Jagan to jail and virtually disowning YSR’s legacy. The bypolls turned out to be an acid test for the CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy as he faces the twin challenges of growing internal squabbles and the emergence of Jagan as a formidable political force. Opposition Telugu Desam Party hopes to benefit from the perceived anti-incumbency factor.
key Elections *
The results will be declared on June 15 * The ruling Congress also has high stakes in the bypoll battle as it prepares to face the political consequences of sending Jagan to jail and virtually disowning YSR's legacy
|
|||||
|
Assam ultras abduct 20 labourers
Guwahati, June 12 One of the labourers, however, managed to escape from the clutches of the rebels today, according to Karbi Anglong Deputy Commissioner PK Buragohain. The labourers were abducted at gunpoint on Sunday afternoon by a group of heavily armed militants from the construction company's camp site from Lungnit, a remote location in the insurgents-infested Singhasan hill range. The police has suspected that the abduction was carried out by the outlawed Karbi People's Liberation Tigers, a group that has been involved in extortion from various construction companies working in power and cement projects in the hill districts.
|
|||||
|
GoM in Ahmedabad today to counter Narendra Modi
New Delhi, June 12 Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni and Law and Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will also travel to the city as part of the grand exercise mounted by the GoM to interact with the regional media. Although the Gujarat pit stop will be the second in the regional outreach planned by the GoM this month, the timing of the visit comes in the backdrop of a sharp political campaign unleashed by Modi against the UPA-II government in the past few days. With political parties gearing up for the Assembly poll due at the end of the year, Modi has already launched a campaign to retain power in the state. And as part of the strategy, the Chief Minister has launched a tirade against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and policies of the Congress-led government at the Centre. Over the past few days, Narendra Modi has attacked the handling of the economy by the Centre, falling value of the rupee, rise in the price of essential commodities, inflation and corruption. While the mandate of the GoM is to project the development the work done by the UPA-II - which completed three years in office - and the focus on social sector issues underscoring the ‘Bharat Nirman’ plans, the interaction offers the Central ministers the occasion to respond to some of these charges being hurled by the Gujarat Chief Minister.
|
|||||
|
RSS raps J-K interlocutors’ report
New Delhi, June 12 RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, while speaking at a training camp of educationists in Nagpur, expressed his surprise at some of the suggestions made by the three interlocutors appointed by the Centre to find a solution to the Kashmir problem. “The report cannot be accepted at any cost as it serves only separatists’ cause,” he said. Journalist Ashwani Kumar, who was the chief guest at the valedictory function, supported Bhagwat’s views on Hindutva. Kumar recalled the sacrifices made by Lala Jagat Narain and Ramesh Chandra during militancy days in Punjab. Commenting on the present political and economic situation in the country, Kumar said India had become weak internally. —TNS
|
|||||
|
M’rashtra jail staff told to be vigilant
Shiv Kumar/TNS Minister of State for Home Satej Patil issued orders to monitor food served to terror suspects in the wake of Siddiqui's murder, according to sources. While high-profile prisoners like Ajmal Kasab, convicted for the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, have been provided with maximum security, other prisoners are lodged in jails with lesser security, say sources. "Some of the jails like Pune's Yerwada jail do not have enough manpower," said a senior bureaucrat. Reports say 92 of the 350 posts in the Yerwada jail are vacant. Vacancies in some of the jails are still to be filled. Personnel deputed to guard prisoners involved in sensitive cases are deployed for other duties too, hampering their effectiveness, say officials. Following Siddiqui's murder, the state government has ordered a review of security in high-security jails. As gangsters from various gangs are lodged together in jails, their rivalry plays out behind bars while security is lax, say sources. For instance, officials said, Siddiqui's killers claimed to have killed him because he had planned to set off blasts at a major Ganesh pandal in Pune. Investigators are, however, not buying their story.
|
|||||
|
Jat Sikhs seek OBC quota New Delhi, June 12 Inclusion in the list means that the community will be entitled to reservations in jobs and educational institutions of the Central government. The delegation included Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Punjab CLP leader Sunil Jakhar, senior leaders, sitting and former Members of Parliament and MLAs. A spokesperson of the Haryana Government claimed, “Chidambaram assured the delegation that he would ask the commission to expedite the report.”
|
|||||
Gelatin sticks found from Maoist bunker
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
New Delhi, June 12
