FEDERAL VOTING .COM

London, May 25 (ANI): American troops in Afghanistan outnumber their counterparts in Iraq, new Pentagon figures show.

According to officials, there are currently around 94,000 troops in Afghanistan compared to 92,000 in Iraq. This is the first time since the second Gulf War (2003) that troops in Afghanistan outnumbers troops in Iraq.

President Barack Obama has pledged to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by the end of August.

Up to 50,000 are expected to remain there until the end of 2011 to help train and equip Iraqi forces, the BBC reports. (ANI)

Beijing, May 24 (ANI): The United States on Sunday asked China to back punitive measures against North Korea over strong evidence that Pyongyang was involved in the sinking of the South Korean warship, Cheonan.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met Dai Bingguo, a state councilor of China who oversees foreign affairs, and raised the South Korean government report that formally accused the North of torpedoing the Cheonan in March, killing 46 sailors.

“We want them to take some steps in the international arena to underscore the seriousness of the matter,” the New York Times quoted a senior Obama administration official, as saying.

“We have to be realistic about what we can expect,” he added.

The official said Beijing is still digesting the findings of the investigation, which was aided by the United States and other countries.

China has reacted with extreme caution, waiting for days to express sorrow to South Korea for the loss of the crew and expressing skepticism about North Korea’s role. (ANI)

Beijing, May 24 (ANI): Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for regenerating an atmosphere of mutual trust between his country and the United States in an opening address to the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue Monday.

‘China and the United States have different national conditions; conflicts and disagreements are hard to avoid,’ the China Daily and Xinhua quoted Hu, as saying in his speech.

‘The crux (of the matter) is to respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, carefully handle sensitive issues and enhance the foundation of mutual trust,’ he added.

The two-day event, which kicked off in Beijing on Monday, will try to find solutions to issues ranging from trade and global economic recovery to regional tensions.

Chinese President Hu Jintao’s special representatives, Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo, co-chaired the two-day meeting with US President Barack Obama’s special representatives, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

About 50 representatives from more than 40 departments of both countries participated in the dialogue.

Hu reaffirmed the importance of developing China-US relations, saying that a sound bilateral ties contributes to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia Pacific region and the world.

He said the world is in the midst of major developments, changes and adjustments while the trend toward a multi-polar world and economic globalization is gathering momentum, adding global issues are becoming more pronounced, and regional and international hot-spot issues keep cropping up.

‘China attaches great importance to its relations with the United States,’ he said, adding that to develop a long-term, sound and steady bilateral relationship meets the shared desire of the two peoples and contributes to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. (ANI)

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Ahead of the India-US strategic dialogue in Washington next week, US Undersecretary of State William Burns Monday held discussions with Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to firm up the agenda for the talks.

Rao and Burns discussed issues related to expanding cooperation in counter-terrorism, trade, education, agriculture, energy and health which have been identified for the strategic dialogue.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will leave for Washington June 1 for the three-day visit which will be co-chaired by his counterpart, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia will be accompanying Krishna. Rao will join the Indian delegation in Washington from Beijing.

This will be the first ministerial-level strategic dialogue between the two countries which are expanding their global partnership across a wide swathe of areas. Clinton had announced the dialogue during her visit to India in July last year.

The talks between Krishna and Clinton are also expected to lay the groundwork for US President Barack Obama’s visit to India later this year.

Warsaw, May 24 (DPA) A US Patriot missile battery has arrived in Poland to be stationed at a military base and provide training to Polish soldiers, the US embassy in Warsaw said Monday.

“An American Patriot Air and Missile Defence Battery arrived Sunday at Morag, home of the 16th Mechanized Battalion of the Polish Land Forces, located in northeast Poland,” the embassy said in a statement. The mission in Poland was to conduct joint training and exercises with the Polish air defence, the embassy added.

The battery comes after Poland’s parliament approved in February an agreement that specifies conditions for the stationing of US soldiers as part of revamped plans for a US missile shield.

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) gives the green light for some 100 US soldiers to be stationed in Poland as part of the shield, which will include Patriot missiles and SM-3s.

Russia has been critical of the US-Polish agreement, which places the missiles in Morag, a town some 60 km from Kaliningrad, Russia.

US President Barack Obama announced Sep 17 that the US would drop former president George W. Bush’s plans for a long-range system in favour of a short-and medium-range system to counter Iran’s ballistic missile programme. It was agreed that Poland would still get the Patriot missile battery.

The battery will be manned by some 100-150 US soldiers, who will be based in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Officials will unveil the battery at an official ceremony Wednesday.

New York, May 23(ANI): U.S. President Barack Obama has said that America needs allies from across the globe to fight against terror in Afghanistan.

“The burdens of this century cannot fall on American shoulders alone. The threat will not go away soon, but let’s be clear: Al-Qaeda and its affiliates are small men on the wrong side of history” The New York Daily News quoted Obama, as saying.

Obama said that the nature of the war in Afghanistan has changed since it started in 2001, but the mission is as important as it was in the days after 9/11.

“There will be difficult days ahead, but we will adapt, we will persist and I have no doubt that together with our Afghan and international partners, we will succeed in Afghanistan,” he added.

Obama’s comments come as some U.S. allies have questioned their own commitment in Afghanistan.

A majority of the Dutch parliament backed a withdrawal of their 2,000 troops, while Canada plans to remove its 2,800 troops by next year. (ANI)

Washington, May 23 (ANI): A top US diplomat has said that Washington is committed to a wide-ranging partnership with Pakistan and believes close ties with both Islamabad and New Delhi will have a positive impact on the South Asian neighbours’ bilateral relations.

“I think it’s pretty clear from the level of engagement that we have with the government of Pakistan that we view this as a crucial relationship,” said James B Steinberg, deputy secretary of state.

He told the Council on Foreign Relations that Washington had a “significant stake in building a Pakistan that is stable, democratic, economically growing and providing for the needs of its people, and dealing with the problems of terrorism and the potential risks of proliferation in that region”.

Steinberg said the Obama administration recognised that addressing the terrorism challenge in the South Asian region would take time, the Daily Times reports.

“If we are going to deal with these challenges, it will take time and will take a sustained relationship and that we are better off if we can build trust and confidence in the sustainability of that relationship.

“That means to make sure that we are not just focusing on one issue, however, it is important at the time, but also understanding that there are a range of concerns and issues,” the deputy secretary of state remarked.

“That’s why, for example, we’ve tried to move forward on our agenda with the reconstruction opportunity zones in Pakistan to create some economic opportunity,” he added. (ANI)

London, May 23 (IANS) “Little Obama”, a film tracking Barack Obama’s formative years in Indonesia, is being made focussing on the “childhood story” of the American president.

“It’s about his friendships, his hobbies, just a childhood story,” said screenwriter and co-director Damien Dematra. “It’s not about politics, it’s just the story of a boy.”

“Little Obama” will chronicle the leader’s childhood in Jakarta, where he lived with his mother and stepfather.

Hasan Faruq Ali, 12, has been roped in to play the young Obama, reports contactmusic.com.

“Hassan has the walk, he has the posture of Barry,” said a childhood friend of Obama’s from 1967-1971 when the president lived in Jakarta. “But Berry was a better ping pong player,” mwza.com quoted the friend as saying.

Produced by Multivision Plus, Indonesia’s largest production company, the film will premiere in Indonesia June 17, the week of Obama’s anticipated visit to the country. The president postponed a planned visit in March to push through health care legislation.

Mumbai, May 23 (IANS) Stand-up comedian Vir Das, who is basking in the favourable reviews of his “Badmaash Company”, is now looking forward to “Delhi Belly”. And he says producer Aamir Khan didn’t make things easy for him as he had to undergo repeated auditions before being selected.

“I auditioned nine times in one year. Then every week I’d read (in newspapers) some bigger Bollywood actor had bagged my role. So, by the time I got in the room with Aamir, I was on cloud nine. He’s nothing less than a genius,” Vir told IANS.

He says there was no interference from Aamir on the sets. “Aamir was heavily into ‘Delhi Belly’ during auditions and the workshops. After that he kind of set us loose.”

Vir is confident he’d make an impact with “Delhi Belly” too. And he has struck a good friendship with Imran Khan, who also features in the movie.

“I can’t talk about my role. But I play a character diametrically opposite to the one in ‘Badmaash Company’. Imran and I became good friends during ‘Delhi Belly’. We’re both comedy fans… and had an insane amount of fun doing this film. We all knew we’d never have an experience like this again.”

He might have got a good start in Hindi films, but he says his fans are upset that he joined Bollywood, which he had been savagely mocking on stage for years.

“Those who have been watching me do stand-up comedy for years think I’ve sold out to Bollywood because I’m now working in the very system that I’ve been religiously mocking and demolishing on stage. But the fact of the matter is I was, I am and I will continue to be a stand-up comedian and I will continue to make jokes on the Indian movie industry,” Vir said.

One of his fans was so upset that she threatened to come after him with a knife. And this is just one of the innumerable hate messages and calls Vir has received ever since he made an impact with his role in con film “Badmaash Company”, which also stars Shahid Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.

Vir admits that Bollywood biggies have a sense of humour about themselves. His favourite brunt of jokes used to be former US president George Bush but now he’s gone on to golfer Tiger woods as well.

“(Barack) Obama doesn’t render himself to the same humour as Bush. So my new best friend is Tiger Woods. And of course IPL (Indian Premier League) jokes,” says Vir, who is apparently steering away from taking potshots at Bollywood now.

“I started as a stand-up comedian and that’s what I remain at heart. I haven’t forgotten my beginnings in Chicago in 2004 as a dog-walker and a doorman at a hotel. So when we were back in the US to shoot for ‘Badmaash Company’, I’d shoot the whole day and then head for the local clubs to do my stand-up acts for two hours almost every evening,” he said.

Vir is amazed by the impact he has made in “Badmaash Company”. “When I signed the film I knew it was a Shahid Kapoor film. I had seen how central he had been to his earlier films and expected this one to be no different. But I was pleasantly surprised when my role turned out to be so substantial.”

Travelling extensively to cities all over for his stand-up comedy acts, Vir says he has had no time to get into a steady relationship.

“Of course I’ve had relationships and girlfriends. But I’m dying for the day when I can say about someone that ‘we’re just good friends’,” Vir said.