Washington, April 1 (IANS) Ruling that a Bush administration programme continued by President Barack Obama of domestic surveillance without a warrant is illegal, a federal judge has held the government liable for illegally wiretapping an Islamic charity.
Wednesday’s ruling by District Judge Vaughn R. Walker in Northern California District Court reaffirmed an earlier decision that the warrantless wiretaps conducted on an Oregon-based Islamic non-profit organization were illegal, CNN reported.
The United States has designated the Oregon-based al-Haramain Islamic Foundation as a terrorist organization. The group, which has sued the government over alleged warrantless wiretapping, is demanding classified information about the programme launched by President George W. Bush’s administration.
US officials have refused to tell the charity’s lawyers whether the group was subjected to presidentially authorised, warrantless, foreign intelligence surveillance in 2004 and, if so, what information was obtained, CNN said.
The US stance originated under the Bush administration in what is called the “state secrets” defence, which allows courts to block lawsuits against the government on grounds that the litigation could harm national security. Under Bush, the government refused to turn over any classified evidence.
Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder has so far maintained the state secrets defence in the al-Haramain case, but indicated a willingness to consider sharing information with judges in certain cases.
“An additional review was conducted at the highest levels of the Department of Justice to determine whether continued invocation of the privilege was warranted,” the government told the court last May.
“Based on that review, it is the government’s position that disclosure of classified information … would create intolerable risks to national security.”
Walker’s ruling Wednesday rejected that defence, saying that for the purposes of the case, the court decided there was no warrant for the wiretaps because the government refused to confirm one existed, CNN said.
“Defendants have foregone multiple opportunities to show that a warrant existed, including specifically rejecting the method created by Congress for this very purpose,” the ruling said.
In 2007 the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling by Walker in the same case in which he had rejected the government’s state secrets privilege. The ruling, however, left unanswered whether applicable laws could pre-empt the state secrets privilege, so al-Haramain went back to court to continue the fight on that issue.
Washington, April 1 (IANS) US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will discuss opening India’s vast infrastructure needs to financing from US companies, financial investment and economic stability during a visit next week.
Geithner will meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and launch the new US-India Economic and Financial Partnership with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi next Tuesday, a senior Treasury Department official said Wednesday.
Geithner will travel to Mumbai Wednesday for talks with US and Indian business leaders. The vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, Donald Kohn, and other senior US officials also will be on the trip.
The Partnership announced by President Barack Obama during Manmohan Singh’s first state visit to Washington in November, will serve as a platform for greater cooperation on economic issues of importance to both nations, the official speaking to reporters ahead of the trip said.
The new forum will focus on three broad areas for discussion – macroeconomic policy, the financial sector and infrastructure financing – and will meet at the ministerial level alternately in the US and India.
Working group meetings will be held throughout the year to advance discussions on specific economic areas. Geithner, who is making his first trip to India as Treasury chief, will also discuss bilateral cooperation in the G20 group effort to reform global financial markets and deepening India’s capital markets.
Last year, the G20 group of world’s largest economies including India replaced the G7 as the main body for deciding global economic issues.
Geithner would like to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties. The official stressed that the meetings will be a “robust” dialogue, and not simply presentations of wish lists, the Treasury official said.
Noting that India has achieved a “balanced pattern” of growth with strong domestic demand, he said the United States remained interested in India opening up its capital markets in a phased way.
Rich opportunities could come for US financial firms if investments in Indian banks and other institutions were opened up, the official said.
US officials could also learn from India’s impressive experience in amassing financing from the private sector for infrastructure projects, he said.
The United States is India’s largest trading partner, with the volume of trade doubling in the last five years.
Toronto, April 1 (IANS) Sachin Pilot, India’s minister of state for communications and information technology, Wednesday asked Canadian companies to invest in India to take advantage of the IT revolution in the country.
Pilot, who is here to meet with leaders of Canadian companies such as BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) to discuss investment opportunities and issues related to cyber security, said there is a huge scope for Canadian IT companies in India’s telecom sector because of its on-going “exponential growth.’
In his invitation to Canadian companies, he said, “Though our two countries have great relationship, but it has now to be translated into business. High technology is opening big opportunities for foreign companies in India.’
The minister said India’s IT and BPO exports have touched $60 billion, but Canada’s share was just $600 million. “Which is low by Canadian standards,’ he said.
Pilot said the opportunities for foreign companies in India’s telecom revolution can be gauged from the fact the country currently has 560 million mobile subscribers and “adding 15 million each month.’
The telephone density in India, he said, has gone up from just 1.5 a few years ago to 50 percent. But the tele-density was even much higher than this in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore, he said.
However, the government was targeting rural India to offer broadband connectivity to every village to spread education, provide health care and make the country a knowledge hub, he said.
According to Pilot, the Indian telecom and IT sector will need investments to the tune of nearly $400 billion in the coming years, offering huge prospects for foreign players in software and hardware.
He said most of Forbes’ 500 companies have set up shop in India because of its “great market, R & D facilities and support by the government.’
Pilot said a task force on IT has prepared a comprehensive report to make India a software and hardware hub.
Referring to US President Barrack Obama’s opposition to outsourcing of IT jobs to India and other countries, he said the Indian IT sector has maintained growth rate of 30 percent and not been much impacted by recent global developments.
Pilot will meet top bosses of BlackBerry Thursday before leaving for India.
He is the second minister to visit Canada this year. Kamal Nath, minister for road transport and highways, was here last week to woo Canada companies.
The visits by Indian ministers follow visits by as many as 13 Canadian ministers, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to India last year.
(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)
Washington, April 1 (DPA) The US Defence Department said Wednesday it was willing to issue a 60-day extension of the deadline for bids on a lucrative contract to build the next generation of aerial refuellers.
The decision would push the May 10 deadline to July 9, allowing the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) more time to come up with a proposal after its US partner, Northrop Grumman, dropped out earlier this month.
Spokesman Geoff Morrell said the extension will only go into effect if EADS formally notifies the Pentagon of its intention to provide a bid, saying that a notification in the next two weeks would be a “reasonable” timeframe.
EADS had expressed interest in rejoining the process to compete against US rival Boeing, but wanted more time.
An EADS bid would help the Pentagon avoid the criticism associated with awarding a non-competitive bid to Boeing for the $35-billion deal to build the first 179 KC-X tankers.
Morrell said the Pentagon would shorten its period to evaluate the bids, in order to keep the announcement of the final decision sometime this fall on schedule.
The Northrop-EADS partnership had originally won the bid, but Boeing lodged a protest with a congressional agency that determined errors were made in the process, prompting the Pentagon to reopen the competition earlier this year.
But Northrop withdrew, complaining the new requirements unfairly favoured Boeing.
The contract to replace the ageing fleet of KC-135s has been a sensitive issue internationally and in the US. Boeing supporters in Congress have said that awarding the contract to EADS would cost American jobs.
Congressional backers of EADS, mostly from southern states, argue that the firm’s plan to build an assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama, will provide more jobs, and that Boeing relies on foreign contractors to build parts of the plane.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy raised the issues with President Barack Obama in a meeting on Tuesday and said he was satisfied that the Pentagon is committed to a fair process.
Washington, March 31 (IANS) Expressing satisfaction at the conclusion of an India-US agreement on reprocessing spent fuel, the White House has said President Barack Obama is glad that US is strengthening a very close bilateral relationship in an important region.
“Well, obviously the President is a proponent of the agreement between the two countries,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Tuesday pointing out that Obama had supported the India-US civil nuclear deal even as a senator. And he “is glad that in an important region of the world we’re strengthening a very close bilateral relationship.”
“Obviously the President, as you know and as many of you have seen, has spent considerable time on our relationships with Afghanistan, Pakistan and India in order to see security strengthened and our mutual goals worked on in an important region in the world,” Gibbs said.
At the Pentagon too, an official noted India and US have a strong military to military relationship and US was exploring new ways to partner with and sell weapons and other military hardware to India.
Asked how the nuclear deal would affect India-US military ties, Defence Department spokesman Geoff Morrell said he didn’t know that it does, but noted the United States has an excellent military to military relationship with India.
“We have very strong military-to-military relations with the Indian government, with the Indian military; have had them for some time,” he told reporters noting Defence secretary Robert Gates recently visited India and reaffirmed the Obama administration’s commitment to have strong working relationship with the Indian military.
“The secretary just visited India recently and reaffirmed our strong working relationship with Indian military, exploring new ways in which we can partner and exercise and do disaster-relief work, and sell weapons and other military hardware to the Indians,” Morrell said.
Washington, Mar.31 (ANI): Nine American senators have cut across their established political affiliations to demand tighter sanctions against the military regime in Myanmar ahead of elections to be held in that country later in the year.
In a letter to US President Barack Obama, the senators agreed with his administration that election laws have made a ‘mockery’ of democracy, and therefore, there was a need for a more robust response.
‘We believe that exercising this authority represents one of the most powerful instruments at our disposal for pressuring Burma’s leaders to change course,’ news.com.au quoted the senators as saying in their letter.
They urged President Obama to appoint a special representative on Myanmar, a position required by law but vacant as senior State Department officials spearhead policy on the reclusive southeast Asian nation.
The Obama Administration initiated a dialogue with the junta last year.
The junta plans to hold elections later this year which most foreign observers believe are aimed at legitimizing its rule.
The main opposition National League for Democracy has decided to boycott the election rather than give in to pressure to oust its leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate who is under house arrest.
Besides Republican Mitch McConnell, the letter was also signed by fellow GOP stalwarts John McCain, Sam Brownback, Susan Collins and Judd Gregg.
It was also signed by Democrats Barbara Boxer, Russ Feingold and Dianne Feinstein and independent Joe Lieberman. (ANI)
Washington, March 31 (DPA) US President Barack Obama declared that he wants to see the UN Security Council adopt sanctions against Iran within “weeks” over the Islamic republic’s refusal to resolve the dispute over its nuclear activities.
“I’m not interested in waiting months for a sanctions regime to be in place. I’m interested in seeing that regime in place in weeks,” Obama said Tuesday at a press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Iran was at the top of the agenda during Sarkozy’s first visit to the White House since Obama took office, and the French leader was unwavering in his support for additional sanctions.
“We will make all the necessary efforts to ensure that Europe as a whole engages in the sanctions regime,” Sarkozy said through a translator.
Obama accused Iran of rejecting his overtures to resolve the dispute diplomatically. He said the door remains open for negotiations, but his administration will move forward on persuading the Security Council to enact sanctions.
The US, France and other allies suspect Iran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability. Tehran insists its work is solely for civilian energy.
Obama and Sarkozy also discussed the conflict in Afghanistan, but the US president did not request additional French troops, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. The Afghan conflict is unpopular in France, which has limited its troop deployment to about 3,700.
Obama is boosting the US presence there by 30,000 troops this year.
The two leaders discussed the Middle East peace process, climate change, the global economic recovery, trade and financial regulation.
While the US, Britain and France have backed sanctions against Iran, the other two permanent members of the Security Council – China and Russia – have been reluctant to get behind stronger measures.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been more open to the idea, but Beijing, which has economic ties with Iran, has continued to resist. Obama attributed China’s position to an unwillingness to place its immediate commercial interests ahead of long-term stability in the Middle East.
The US will continue the diplomatic effort to persuade China to join the cause, Obama said.
The two leaders discussed the competition for the lucrative contract to build to next generation of US Air Force refuellers, with Obama pledging that the awarding of the contract will be fair toward European manufacturer EADS, a potential bidder against US rival Boeing.
Obama said he has received assurances from Defence Secretary Robert Gates that there will be no favoritism for the US bidder.
“The rebidding process is going to be completely transparent, completely open, and a fair competition,” Obama said, while saying he will not “meddle” in the decision.
Sarkozy said he raised the issue with Obama during the meeting and was satisfied the process will be fair, and it would encourage EADS to submit a bid for the $35-billion contract to build the first 179 planes.
The Pentagon plans to award a contract to replace the ageing fleet of KC-135s, which has been in disarray for years. EADS and its US partner, Northrop Grumman, won the contract, but Boeing successfully protested the outcome, prompting the Pentagon to revoke the decision and restart the competition.
Northrop pulled out of the process earlier this month, accusing the Pentagon of favoring Boeing. EADS has expressed an interest in bidding on its own and has asked the Pentagon to postpone a May 10 deadline for submitting proposals.
Obama and Sarkozy along with their wives planned to have a private dinner at the White House Tuesday evening. Before the afternoon meeting, the two couples had lunch at a famous Washington diner, Ben’s Chili Bowl, a spot frequented by Obama.
“When I walked in, I saw a huge photograph of President Obama, and I’m afraid that, when you go back to that restaurant, you may see a smaller photograph of the French president,” Sarkozy said.
Washington, March 30 (IANS) Harold “Terry” McGraw III, chairman, president and chief executive officer of The McGraw-Hill Companies, has been elected chairman of US-India Business Council (USIBC), succeeding Indra Nooyi, the Indian-born chairman and CEO of PepsiCo.
“India is a tremendous growth engine for the global economy, and a strong US-India partnership will continue to generate meaningful benefits for the citizens of both nations,” said McGraw.
“Trade between the US and India has doubled in the last three years benefiting the economies of both our countries, and additional growth is possible. I look forward to working with business leaders and policymakers here and in India to strengthen relationships and establish partnerships that will help drive long-term growth and prosperity.”
India is projected by Standard & Poor’s to grow 7.7 percent in 2010 and 8.3 percent in 2011, far exceeding other parts of the world.
“We will focus on four key areas that build on the strong foundation set by Indra and the USIBC Board: trade and job creation, infrastructure improvements, technology sharing, and inclusive economic growth for our two societies,” added Mr. McGraw.
“We see tremendous opportunities for companies in our two countries to collaborate, and we view President (Barack) Obama’s upcoming visit to India as a chance to move ahead on a vigorous trade agenda.”
The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information and education company providing knowledge, insights and anaylsis in the financial, education and business information sectors through leading brands including Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, JD Power and Associates and Platts.
McGraw-Hill established business operations in India 40 years ago. Through its partnership with CRISIL, India’s leading ratings, research, and risk and policy advisory company, Standard & Poor’s is helping facilitate access to capital to drive economic growth and job creation in the country.
Through its partnership with Tata, McGraw-Hill Education is delivering innovative, digital solutions to help workers acquire the 21st century skills they need to succeed in today’s global economy.
India is home to McGraw-Hill’s largest employee population outside of the US and is the company’s fourth largest market. McGraw visited the country earlier this month week to deepen the company’s relationships with customers, partners, employees and policymakers.
McGraw’s predecessor, Nooyi, heads PepsiCo, the global food and beverage company, which operates substantial food processing and agricultural operations in India, and pledged more than $500 million in investment to expand its businesses there during her tenure as USIBC Chair.
“As US-India relations continue to grow and develop, USIBC is fortunate to have a leader of Terry’s background, vision, and enthusiasm,” said Nooyi.
During Nooyi’s tenure as chairman, the USIBC has experienced unprecedented growth, driven by an enhanced commitment to membership service and the launch of new USIBC initiatives including the Green India Initiative, the Coalition for Healthy India and USIBC’s Education Initiative.
“I want to thank Indra for her excellent leadership and commitment to USIBC during these past two years,” said McGraw. “Her contributions to USIBC and to US-India relations have enhanced the cultural understanding between our countries and have set a very high standard for which she has all of our gratitude and respect.”
USIBC President Ron Somers said: “Terry has proven to be an effective advocate of international business issues and American engagement in the global economy. He has an outstanding track record as a business leader and his company has a long history in India that will help us realise the exciting opportunities associated with our two dynamic economies.”
The USIBC, which is comprised of 330 of the largest US companies investing in India and more than two dozen global Indian companies, aims to strengthening US-India commercial ties and deepening two-way trade
Beijing, Mar 30 (ANI): China has appreciated the “positive remarks” made by United States President Barack Obama and other officials of his administration on Sino-U.S. relations.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said that China valued the reaffirmation by the U.S. Government on its commitment to China on the Taiwan and Tibet-related issues.
Earlier on Tuesday, Obama said that the United States was devoted to working with China to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive U.S.-China relationship.
“The U.S. would take concrete actions to steadily establish a partnership with China to deal with common challenges,” The Xinhua news agency quoted Obama, as saying.
Talking about the relations between the two countries, Gang said that they had developed positively since the Obama administration took office in January 2009.
“China and the United States are both countries with important influence in the world. A sound China-U.S. relationship is in the basic interests of the two peoples and is conducive to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and the world,” The Xinhua news agency quoted Gang, as saying.
He also reiterated that the Chinese Government is committed to developing long-term, healthy and stable relations with the U.S.
“China hopes to work with the U.S. to strengthen dialogue, communication and cooperation and handle sensitive issues appropriately, so as to make joint efforts to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive Sino-U.S. relationship for the 21st century,” Gang added. (ANI)
London, Mar.30 (ANI): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has apologised ‘unreservedly’ to actress Joanna Lumley after the country’s Veterans Minister claimed she had spearheaded a campaign for Gurkhas’ rights, but had stayed silent as veterans suffered.
Brown moved to defuse a row over an accusation by Kevan Jones, the Defence and Veterans Minister, that Miss Lumley had maintained a ‘deathly silence’ over problems faced by some Gurkhas setting in Britain following her campaign that won them the right to do so.
Yesterday, at an impassioned Westminster press conference, Lumley said his claims were ‘smears which must have put doubts in the hearts of’ supporters of the campaign.
She said that she and fellow campaigners had only remained silent at the behest of Gordon Brown who asked them to help iron out ‘bumps in the road’ away from the public eye.
‘I want to say to the people of this country, what you did was to back a just cause and we have not stopped working solidly for the Gurkhas in the quiet, as we promised the Prime Minister we would,’ she said.
‘It has been suggested that I somehow was parachuted in, took the headlines and ran. I feel that is a smear. The idea that we have somehow lured Gurkhas over her with promises of paradise is absolutely and completely untrue.
‘The people who made those accusations must know them to be untrue.’
Lumley helped force the Government into abandoning rules that prevented Gurkhas who retired before 1997 settling freely in Britain. All those with more than four years service now have the right to apply for settlement in Britain along with their families.
But giving evidence to the home affairs committee earlier this month, Mr Jones said that since the change, some veterans had been misled about what they could expect on arrival.
Some had been encouraged to make donations to veterans’ organisations in Nepal, which then refer them to solicitors in Britain, he said. Others mistakenly believed that they would be entitled to free housing.
Mr Jones said that, having raised the issue and forced the change, Miss Lumley had a responsibility to help explain the new rules to the Gurkhas. She had not done so, he said, adding: ‘Her deathly silence, frankly, irritates me.’
He also accused ‘rogue solicitors’ of cashing in on the former fighters’ plight and launched an inquiry into the activities of lawyers Howe and Co, who provide legal help to Gurkhas and campaigned alongside Miss Lumley.
Yesterday, the inquiry fully exonerated the firm of wrongdoing. Its senior partner Martin Howe said Mr Jones’ comments had been ‘extremely defamatory’ and accused him of deliberately lying to the committee.
Mr Jones apologised ‘unreservedly for any offence caused’ to Miss Lumley but not to Howe and Co. He stressed his only concern had been to stop middlemen ‘ripping off vulnerable ex-Gurkhas’ trying to move to Britain.
Lumley said she also received an ‘unreserved apology’ by phone from the Prime Minister shortly after the press conference.
‘He wanted to say that he thought the world of what we were doing and that he welcomes all Gurkhas to this country,’ she told reporters.
A Downing Street spokesman confirmed the call, saying:
‘The Prime Minister has spoken to Joanna Lumley and reiterated his commitment to the policy that was brought in last year,’ The Telegraph quoted him, as saying. (ANI)
