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US nudges India on nuclear deal
Kolkata (AFP) Oct 28, 2007 US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged India Sunday to quickly conclude a nuclear energy deal, stalled due to opposition from the communists who prop up India's federal coalition. "We want the nuclear deal to move forward as quickly as possible," Paulson said after a function in Amtala village, 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Kolkata, capital of the Marxist-ruled state of West Bengal. "This deal is a very important for India's economic growth, energy security and environmental protection efforts," said Paulson, who is on a four-day visit to India. The content of the nuclear deal between New Delhi and Washington was finalised in August and has been heralded as a major shift in ties. The deal seeks to bring India into the loop of global atomic commerce after a gap of three decades, with the country expected to also put some of its nuclear facilities under international safeguards. But after a meeting last week with its communist allies, the government indicated it would hold off implementing the deal that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says is vital for the future energy needs of an economy steaming along with an annual growth rate of nine percent. The communists say the pact could harm the country's nuclear weapons programme as well as India's non-aligned foreign policy. Singh appeared to buckle under pressure from the four party Left-bloc after they stood their ground, threatening to topple Singh's government and force early elections if the pact went ahead. In Kolkata on Sunday, Paulson met Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and West Bengal's communist chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Details of the meeting were not immediately available. Meanwhile, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger said India's failure to complete the deal would be a regarded as a setback in Washington. "It (failure of the deal) would certainly, in an intangible way, affect calculations because when an American leader goes down a certain road, he stakes his prestige on the ability to get it executed," Kissinger said in an interview to CNN-IBN news channel. "So in that sense, it would undoubtedly be a setback." Related Links Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Japan court refuses to stop nuclear plant on quake fear
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 26, 2007A Japanese court on Friday refused to shut down a nuclear power plant, rejecting a plea by residents who fear radiation if a major earthquake strikes. |
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