The Daily Indian

Notwithstanding sharp differences with Moscow on key security issues, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has invited Russia to cooperate more closely with NATO allies.

“While Russia faces challenges to its security, NATO is not among them. We want a cooperative NATO-Russia relationship that produces concrete results and draws NATO and Russia closer together,” Clinton said in a major foreign policy speech on NATO yesterday. The Russian Government has come forward with its proposals for a new European Security Treaty and a new NATO-Russia treaty, she said.

“Now, we believe that some of Russia’s proposals contain constructive ideas and we welcome the opportunity to engage seriously with Russia on this important subject,” she said.

Despite assurances by Australian leadership, attacks on Indians continued with two more youths, including a cabbie, being brutally assaulted and robbed in separate overnight incidents in Brisbane.

The latest attacks, the seventh on Indians within a fortnight, came a day after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said these were “regrettable” but should be seen in the context of “broader incidences of violence”.

In the first incident, a 25-year-old youth was assaulted and robbed while using a phone box near his home in Macgregor in Brisbane’s south last night, police said.

The youth was punched in the head twice and his wallet stolen. Police, who have not disclosed his identity, described the attacker as being tall, of Pacific Islander appearance, with black curly hair.

In a separate incident, a taxi driver was attacked early this morning after an argument broke out with two men in Carindale, in Brisbane’s southeast.

The men punched the driver on his face several times and smashed the car’s windscreen. The driver was taken to the Princess Alexandra hospital for cuts on his face and swelling on his right eye. Two men, aged 28 and 25, are helping police with their enquiries, local media reported.

Meanwhile, the government again stressed that there was no indication that the attacks were racially motivated.

British winners of the prestigious Nobel Prize, including Indian-origin biologist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and economist Amartya Sen, were honoured here by Premier Gordon Brown to celebrate their achievements.

Ramakrishnan was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry while Sen won the same for welfare Economics in 1998. They and other Nobel Prize winners from Britain were honoured at a dinner reception hosted by Brown and his wife, Sarah Brown, at 10, Downing Street yesterday.

The UK ranks top in Europe in terms of the number of Nobel prizes won, and is second globally only to the US.

The Prime Minister said: “Britain was where the first novel was written, the theory of gravity was first formulated, and penicillin was first created to save millions of lives.

“All of you, the pride of our country, are heirs of that legacy who have nobly enlarged it. You stand on mountaintops of our time, of human aspiration and achievement,” he said.

Some 7,000 people killed in the Haiti quake have already been buried, Peruvian Prime Minister Velasquez Quesquen said from Port-au-Prince where he is supervising Peru’s relief efforts.

“Over the past few hours, they’ve buried some 7,000 Haitians and (Haiti’s) government is asking for earth moving equipment to clear rubble,” Quesquen told the N cable channel after meeting with Haitian President Rene Preval.

Quesquen said that on arriving in Haiti he had been met with scenes of chaos. “Authorities are just beginning to get organised while the United Nations have taken command of the humanitarian relief effort.”

Peru, he added, has sent two planes with aid to Haiti, but only one loaded with medical supplies managed to land at the Port-au-Prince, after the capital’s quake-damaged airport struggled to cope with all the arrivals.

Indian immigrants who have acquired British citizenship or permanent residency here have termed the Indian government’s refusal to allow dual citizenship as ‘unfair’, and may protest outside the Indian High Commission here over the issue.

Last week, the Highly Skilled Migrants Permit Forum and Association of Immigrants wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urging him to initiate moves to allow dual citizenship so that Indians abroad with foreign citizenship could have the security of full Indian citizenship.

Amit Kapadia, Executive Director of the HSMP Forum, said: “It is not only the Indian citizens who work and settle abroad but also their families, relatives and friends in India who would also want them to retain their Indian citizenship alongside their foreign documents.

“Denying dual citizenship is not only unfair but a clear disregard for India’s proudly held democratic ideals.

Ahead of leaving for Copenhagen later this week, US President Barack Obama held a conference call with leaders of Britain, France and Germany, besides calling Bangladeshi and Ethiopian Prime Ministers in his last ditch effort to arrive at a successful deal on climate change.

“The President believes that we can get an operational agreement that makes sense in Copenhagen over the next few days,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters at his daily briefing.

On the conference call with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy, Obama talked about the climate change negotiations that are currently going on in Copenhagen.

“This conference was one of a number of conversations that the President has held with leaders from around the world in the last few days. A day earlier Obama called Prime Ministers of Ethiopia and Bangladesh,” Gibbs said.

“I believe that all of these countries share the strong goal of getting something done by the end of this week in Copenhagen. The President certainly shares that and believes that we can make progress assuming we meet some of those operational goals,” he said.
Obama reviewed efforts by the US on climate change, reiterated his commitment to making progress towards a successful conclusion of an operational agreement in Copenhagen, he said.

India Tuesday said the 10-year military agreement with Russia on technical cooperation will enhance the operational capability of its defence forces.

‘The agreement will help enhance operational capability of Indian defence forces in the next decade by providing various systems,’ India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters here as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrapped up his three day visit to Russia.

Manmohan Singh in Russia: Full Coverage

Historic pact will expand horizon of Indo-Russian nuke ties: PM

Manmohan Singh had ‘fruitful and successful’ talks with Russian leaders, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The 10-year military pact was among the three defence agreements signed between India and Russia after the annual summit talks between Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. It provides for acquisition, licensed production, upgrades and modernisation of defence equipment as well as the development of new and advanced weapon systems, Rao said.

The agreement will also facilitate ‘capacity development’ of the Indian defence industry, she said.

The agreement, which ensures after-sales support for Russian arms and military, will ensure timely and adequate supply of spares and services to maintain readiness of Russian imported military equipment to India, she said.

The gala closing ceremony of the ‘Year of India in Russia’ at the famous Bolshoi Theatre here due to be attend by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Vladimir Putin tomorrow has been cancelled in the wake of state mourning in memory of the 112 victims of the nightclub fire tragedy.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has declared national mourning tomorrow in memory of 112 people killed in nightclub fire on Friday night in Russia’s Urals city of Perm.

Under presidential decree flags will fly at half mast in the country and all the theatres would be closed.

TV and radio stations have also cancel entertainment programmes tomorrow when the funeral of victims of nightclub fire would take place.

Prime Minister Singh arrived here today on a three-day visit to Russia during which the two sides are expected to sign a framework agreement on civil nuclear cooperation and three defence pacts.

A fire and explosion that broke out in a nightclub in the Russian city of Perm during the early hours of Saturday killed over 102 and injured 134.

“As of now, there are 102 dead and 134 injured,” a government spokesman was quoted, as saying.

Two airplanes, equipped to transport people with burns and staffed with doctors, psychologists and rescuers, flew from Moscow to Perm early on Saturday.

Claiming that the mishap was caused by fireworks rocket gone wrong, police officials ruled out any terrorist hand behind the incident.

“The accident was due to a violation of instructions when launching fireworks. There is no chance it was a terrorist act, I can say that 100 percent,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted investigative committee’s spokesman Vladimir Markin, as saying.

“There were fireworks launched at the scene, and one hit the plastic ceiling, setting all ablaze. People panicked and succumbed to burns, general crush and gas poisoning,” the Perm region’s public security minister Igor Orlov was quoted as saying.

So-called “cold fireworks”, which give off less smoke and heat and so can be used indoors, were apparently the conflagration’s cause, as they require careful planning and expert use, investigators said.

Sharing India’s views, French President Nicolas Sarkozy today said the upcoming Copenhagen meet on climate change should not miss the opportunity to tackle the problem as it would be a “historic failure” and asserted that New Delhi will not be a deal-breaker.

Sarkozy, who held a luncheon meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here and discussed climate change, said he was “fully confident” that the latter would attend the Copenhagen Summit being held on December 18.

As of now, Singh, who is here for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), is not going to Copenhagen where Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh will be representing India at the meet.

“India has nothing to lose and everything to gain by being in Copenhagen. If India is to be heard, it needs to be present,” Sarkozy said addressing a press conference here.

Noting that there was a “tremendous sense of urgency” surrounding the Copenhagen summit, Sarkozy said, “We can’t afford to miss the opportunity. It is imperative that heads of state and government are present on December 18-19 in Copenhagen.”

His views reflect those of India which has been insisting that the efforts to take some decision should not be given up and some results must be achieved at the upcoming meeting.