Category Archives: Featured

Featured News from the world.

Posted on by

Senate approves nuclear arms treaty with Russia

Washington — The Senate approved the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, signed between USA and Russia, by a 71-26 vote.  For this important security issue even Republicans joined hands and ensured that the treaty was passed.

The treaty will allow each nation to verify nuclear installations of the other country. Each country will have to bring down their number of nuclear warheads to 1550 and nuclear launchers to 700.

President Barack Obama said after the treaty was approved, He further added that it was the most important arms control deal in last two decades. He hoped that the agreement would enhance US leadership to stop growth of nuclear armament and establish peace in the world without them. The agreement clearly shows unity between Republicans and Democrats on the matter of security.” Obama had singed the treaty with Russian President Medvedev in April.

This treaty was hailed by many senior political and had the support of military leaders. The treaty is expected to end the nuclear race between Russia and the USA. It would also prod other countries to regulate their nuclear arsenal plans.

The treaty also had the approval of a majority of Americans. A very recent poll result revealed that 73 percent of people polled approved the treaty and 24 percent rejected the treaty.

Posted on by

Obama wins as Senate poised to pass Nuclear Treaty

Obama signs on START Treaty in Prague

Washington: The New START treaty between the United States and Russia is poised for ratification in the Senate giving a victory to the Obama administration and the White House campaign that tried hard for the approval of the treaty.

Even Republicans who are opposing the treaty are divided. The schism in the Republican Party got pronounced as eleven members of the party joined the Democrats on the issue and the party’s third most important leader, Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee declared his support for the treaty.

The Obama administration has worked hard to see the treaty ratified. Efforts included the firming up of commitment to secure $80 billions for nuclear modernization in the USA.

The treaty restricts the signatory countries to limit their long-range nuclear missiles to 1550 from 2200 in seven years of signing it. Countries that ratify the treaty will limit the number of nuclear launchers to 700.

The treaty will have modes effects on the nuclear capabilities of the USA and Russia. But it can strengthen security relations with Russia and help in persuading other countries to reduce their nuclear arsenal.

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said after the 67-28 vote, “We are on the brink of writing the next chapter in the 40-year history of wrestling with the threat of nuclear weapons.”

Alexander, rendered his support because he felt that the pact “leaves our country with enough nuclear warheads to blow any attacker to kingdom come. I’m convinced that Americans are safer and more secure with the New START treaty than without it.”

Posted on by

Bad weather continues to affect UK flight operations

British Airways

Adding further to agonies of travelers, several airlines in UK thinking of cancellation of flights amidst nonstop snowfall and decreasing temperatures across Europe.

It would be a big disappointment for those who had planned to go on a Christmas vacation.

In a statement, British Airways has said that if weather continues to deteriorate further then there will be no other option than to cancel more flights to avoid any mishaps. The airline has said that its flights will be operated from Heathrow airport of London on Tuesday with just one of its two runways. As of now Heathrow airport is not fully functional as the major portion of the airport covered with snow.

As the number of international and domestic flights has been canceled, thousands of stranded passengers are forced to take refuge in the waiting room of the Heathrow airport, which is also known to be the world’s busiest airport.

The weather department has forecast severe snowfall and low temperatures in the coming week for most of the UK. Keeping in view the weather warnings, one can expect the travel disruptions to worsen further.

Meanwhile, the UK government has given a relaxation at Heathrow airport to night flights, can land until 0100 GMT each day until Christmas. The severe weather conditions have forced several airlines to cancel flights across Europe for many days.

Posted on by

Don’t ask, don’t tell’ repealed, questions remain

Washington: While US President Obama is all set to sign the legislation into law which will allow gays to serve explicitly in the armed forces, the new law will not be implemented immediately and put on hold until certain technical concerns are addressed.

The major concern comes in the minds of US administrators regarding the new legislation is its impact on military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ theory, which stops gays and lesbian serving in the armed forces to reveal their sexual orientation, has been in place for past 17 years. The decision has been taken in the context of social implications to ex-President Truman’s 1948 executive order that recommends freedom and equality for every soldier serving the armed forces.

It will be noticeable that after the legislation taking form of law, how effective it proves and to what extent it is enforced.

Some people opine that there will be a sharp fall in the rate of discharge cases of gays. Military officials have given a clear indication that the law will be executed in a true manner. People believe that the time has changed, now the gay marriage is permitted in several states, views of society toward gays and lesbian have changed.

Most of the people in the United States see nothing wrong in gays and lesbians serving armed forces. The gay issue in the military has been a touchy issue for the administration. Until 1993, all recruits had to fill a column in the questionnaire asking about sexual orientation; if said yes, it means not eligible to join the military. So far, 13,500 military personnel have been dismissed under the law.

Posted on by

Unique Occurrence of Winter Solstice with Lunar Eclipse in 2010

Lunar Eclipse as predicted in December

There will be unique phenomena in the space this year as winter solstice will correspond with a full lunar eclipse.

The occurrence of winter solstice with lunar eclipse will be for the first time in last 456 years.

As NASA reports, this will be first time since 1955 when winter solstice, which is the shortest day in a year will coincide with a lunar eclipse.

Another lunar eclipse had occurred this year on 26 June. Many astrologers and scientist are regarding this incident very special. Many ancient cultures considered winter solstice as a time of revitalization. Many Greco-Roman customs and rituals were performed on occurrence of winter solstice, as it was considered an auspicious day.

Shane Hawkins a university professor in Greek and Roman studies at Carleton University in Ottawa stated that astrologically a solstice in winter is considered a time for rebirth because sunlight reverts back from this point of time and days starts becoming larger every day. People might feel overwhelmed with excitement if the coincidence of winter solstice and lunar eclipse really occurs on December 21.

People in North and South America will be able to see the lunar eclipse post midnight on Tuesday. The eclipse will be visible till 5:30 am. It will be visible in Europe too but for  a very short while.

Posted on by

CIA Official Leaves Islamabad Following Identity Exposure

CIA officals

A US intelligence official has been asked to return back from Pakistan after being identified by ISI. The top CIA official has been accused of spying by the Pakistan intelligence agency in reaction to the law suit against a Pakistani secret agent in New York reportedly. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, ISI chief has been accused of being involved in the Mumbai terrorist attacks by a New York court.

The CIA official has been called off in hurry following the US president’s warning to Pakistani diplomats against safeguarding terrorists in the country.

The US security official was continuously receiving life threats on phone after his identity was revealed in Islamabad.

Officials also revealed that they suspected Pakistani intelligence being operated in the United States. They added that the ISI– Directorate for Inter—Services Intelligence—Pakistan’s intelligence agency  had played a great role in identifying the CIA official in Islamabad probably in reaction to the case filed against the ISI chief over Mumbai attacks in Nov 2008.

This is likely to affect the diplomatic relations between the United States and Pakistan adversely.  CIA’s decision to call back its official also indicates the increasing conflict between the two countries which have been regarded as allies so far. There may be further increase in tension between the two nations in future as the United States is expected to pressurize Pakistan over safeguarding terrorists in its territory.

Posted on by

UK Court Grants Bail to WikiLeaks Chief

WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange

The WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange gets relief in the United Kingdom as a court granted him bail against rape allegations and charges of sexual assault. He is facing charges of rape and sexual assault in Sweden which he reportedly committed in August.

UK judge Duncan Ouseley accepted to release Assange on strict conditions following the decision of the City of Westminster. The court also released his passport. He checked in from a local police station in the night. The jury granted bail to WikiLeaks chief on Tuesday on a bail of$310,000, however within 2 hours his bail was cancelled against an appeal. It was then announced that Assange would be kept in custody for another 48 hours.

Assange needs to report in the court again on Jan 11 for next hearing over his extradition. He had surrendered to the British police last week. The 39 year old man, who has moved the entire world by disclosing confidential document of the US administration and many other countries is facing charges of sexual assault and rape which he denied.

Most of the diplomats and the US administration justified Assange’s arrest for disclosure of country’s confidential security information. The disclosure has hampered US reputation and its foreign relations.

Nonetheless, the Swedish court called his arrest as a consequent judiciary process following the charges of sexual assault and rape made against him and clarified that it had nothing to do with politics.

Posted on by

Air Force Bans Sites Publishing WikiLeaks’ Documents

WikiLeaks

Washington: The Air Force has banned the websites of major dailies, news organizations and blogs which publish WikiLeaks documents, according to Air Force officials. The personnel have been asked not to view these sites on work computers until further clearance is issued.

The Air Force has issued warning against the violators and said that the legal actions would be taken if anyone tries to access the banned sites. But at the same time, the officials conceded that the enforcement of the decision might not be fully effective because the personnel who have access to these cables at homes would be able to read the secret documents. The Air Force cyber specialist team, however, has worked very hard on procedures to keep classified documents off unclassified computer terminals. Only those sites having entire set of classified documents, not just excerpts, have been be banned, according to Air Force officials.

Meanwhile, Spokesmen in the Army, navy and Marines have clarified that there is no such intention to ban the portals of news organizations as the US government has already issued a directive in which it explicitly mentioned that the federal employees and contractors should not read the secret WikiLeaks’ documents and other classified materials.

A senior official in the US administration has stated that the decision to allow certain departments and employees to access the secret cables was made in order to let them verify the impact of the documents leaking in the public domain and evaluate the damage done to country’s security.

Posted on by

US likely to impose sanctions on Ivory Coast over poll verdict

Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo in the center

Abidjan, Ivory Coast – Following the UN allegation over controversial presidential  election in Ivory Coast, the US government has issued a warning against former president  Laurent Gbagbo regarding wrongdoings to the electoral process and showing disrespect for the verdict. The United States has asked the ex-president to leave the presidential office at the earliest as the UN claims that the election was won by Gbagbo’s opponent.

Meanwhile, the African Union has shown deep concerns over the recent developments in the Ivory Coast politics and decided to suspend the country from the union’s membership. Gbagbo did not accept his defeat in the presidential election and rejected the electoral commission’s verdict, which showed that the opposition party leader Alassane Ouattara won the election by a considerable margin of votes.

Ivory Coast has been in news since the verdict came last week. The world community has shown its disapproval over Gbagbo’s unconstitutional act and asked him to immediately step down as a president. Gbagbo has been ignoring the world community’s voice since last week and even did not take call from Barack Obama. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came openly to talk on the Ivory Coast’s issue and said that the US government has asked Gbagbo to transfer power to his opponent in a constitutional manner otherwise he would be facing a dire consequences.

Gbagbo, who spent many years as an expatriate in France, may face a travel ban as the international community including the European Union and the United Nations have also condemned the act.

Posted on by

US Admits WikiLeaks Endangers American Interests

US officials are worried as new leaks could affected the relations with other nations

The ‘thermonuclear effect’ of Wikileaks disaster has finally been acknowledged. The US administration confessed that the disclosure of confidential documents by the WikiLeaks has raised a question over US foreign policies and its intentions.

State Department spokesman P J Crowley stated that the US considers WikiLeaks action have hampered US interests and put many people’s live under risk by exposing them. Crowley said this while addressing reporters in a press conference and supported Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd who opined the documents were provided to WikiLeaks by somebody within American administration.

Crowley further clarified that the government is taking appropriate actions against those who have violated the Constitution and American laws by leaking confidential information and a suspect has been arrested too. However he stated that nobody could be held responsible from the investigation done so far.

The US secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton talked with officials and diplomats from different countries to mitigate the aftermath of the damage in foreign relations caused by the disclosure of documents. When asked, Crowley said that he was not aware of any of Clinton’s talks with Australian Minister Rudd or other international leaders regarding WikiLeaks issue.

Crowley also added that Clinton’s conversation with international diplomats showed US adherence to continue its cooperation with other nations and work for each others interests.