Obama buildup sweeps Trinidad and Tobago

Obama-mania has struck Trinidad and Tobago like a storm - though the Caribbean nation is set to host 34 country leaders from across the Americas, residents only seem to care about United States President Barack Obama.

'I would like to shake his hand,' said a Trinidadian, named Shanti McKenzie. McKenzie was dressed in a T-shirt with Obama's face. 'It's a good thing that he's coming,' she said. 'I wish he was our new prime minister here.' Like many of her compatriots, McKenzie is convinced that Obama 'will be a great change' for Latin America and the Caribbean.

'I hope he can also bring a change in Trinidad,' she gushed. Shanti McKenzie made her way toward the centre of Port of Spain, stopping at some of the many street stands selling all kinds of Obama-themed souvenirs.

Arestes Belford is selling more up-to-date membrane, including photographs with the coats of arms of Trinidad and the United States and a reference to the Summit of the Americas.

Belford is from Trinidad and Tobago but currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. He could not miss an occasion like this to travel to his native country. 'It's the first black president of US and the first one to come to Trinidad in a very long time. I can't remember the last US president who came to Trinidad,' he said.

Behind Belford, the giant screen over a fast-food restaurant between adverts showed music videos from local artists that are dedicated to Obama. 'Barack, Barack, it's Obama, first black president in White House, yo. A moment I'm so happy to see,' raps local star Third Bass on the screen in the main avenue of the country's capital.

'The big boss is coming, the big boss. After God, he's the boss,' he stressed. 'The world respects Obama, we also do.' Beyond the international echo of the presence of the first black US president in Trinidad and Tobago, Albert rejoices about its more mundane aspects.

‘We need many things getting done, and nobody listens to us. Now Obama is coming, and we are getting everything done, the streets,' he said. 'I wish he would come every six months, and then everything here would be very nice.'

Advani’s commitment: No compromise on terrorism

L.K. Advani in Raipur, Citing the example of the US, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani said Saturday the party would adopt a 'zero-tolerance policy' on terrorism if voted to power.

United States did not be opposite any terrorist attack after the 9/11 terrorist strike only because it adopted a tough style and policy against terrorists. The BJP too will adopt a tough attitude and adopt a zero-tolerance policy if voted to power,' the party's PM candidate said at a rally at the Gandhi Maidan late evening.

He appealed to the people to vote for 'a nationalist party - BJP - because if BJP wins in this elections, India will win'. 'If you give us an chance at the centre, I will prove that the 21st century belongs to India just as the 20th century was under enemy control by western countries,' the veteran leader told the well-attended rally.

He said the states administrated by the BJP and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners have set an example of good governance, security and development including in Bihar.

Advani showered praises on Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh for bringing in development in the state, which was created in November 2000 by the BJP-led government at the centre, and termed him a good administrator.

Nuke discussion between US and Iran

US has said it would start conference with Iran over its nuclear program. The decision is has being seen as a further step toward the direct engagement with Iran that US President Barack Obama has promised.

It followed an call to Iran to join in a new round of talks, which would include Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. It also coincided with an unusual face of conciliation toward the United States by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, reports the New York Times.

Ahmadinejad said Wednesday in a talking in Isphahan that his government would welcome talks with the Obama administration, provided that the shift in American policy was "honest."

The Obama administration's choice is the latest in a series of gestures to Iran, ranging from Obama's videotaped New Year's greeting to the Iranian people three weeks ago to an impromptu encounter last week between an Iranian diplomat and a presidential envoy, Richard C. Holbrooke.

He also briefed them on the administration's broader Iran policy review, which is nearing completion, the State Department said. By showing a readiness to engage Iran, American officials said, the administration is trying to build support among allies like Germany and France, and more skeptical players, like Russia, so that if diplomatic efforts fail, it can marshal support for tougher sanctions against Tehran.

US and Russia to renew discussions after a decade

U.S. and Russia will reopen conference to reduce their nuclear weapons, a BBC report mentioned President Barack Obama and his Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as saying on Wednesday here, ahead of the G-20 economic summit which begins on Thursday.

The discussions will be the first such talks for more than a decade. The announcement came on the fringes of the G20 summit of world leaders which is convening in London.

The U.S. and Russia have also agreed to discuss "mutual international co-operation", the two presidents said.

Obama said earlier there were very real differences between Washington and Moscow, but that there was also a broad set of common interests.

After their meeting, Medvedev said that he viewed prospects for future bilateral relations "with optimism". Meanwhile, Medvedev invited his American counterpart to visit Moscow in July - an invitation Obama has accepted.

Pak could get $2.8 billion military support from U.S.

Pakistan could get $2.8 billion in military help from the U.S. in addition to the proposed $7.5 billion civilian help package extend over five years, a defense officer has been quoted as saying.

The executive, speaking on condition of secrecy, told the FOX News channel that the extra money would be spent on 'equipping, training, and building infrastructure directly related to counter insurgency operations'.

Gen. David Petraeus, who heads the U.S. Central Command, separately told the channel that the money would be provided under the 'Pakistani Counter-insurgency Capability Fund'.

The money would be disbursed over five years, with $400 million in 2009, $700 million in 2010 and thereafter, $575 million a year between 2011 and 2013.

Quoting unnamed U.S. officials, the channel said that the money would be spent in a way that would not give Pakistan a greater capacity to attack another country, such as India.

Unveiling his Afghanistan Pakistan policy Friday, U.S. President Barrack Obama said he would ask Congress to authorize $1.5 billion non-military aid for Pakistan every year for five years to enable it build up its infrastructure and institutions.

At the same time, he warned there would be no 'blank cheque' and that Pakistan would have to live up to its commitment in the war against terror.

Obama : US does not plan to put troops in Pakistan

US will go after Al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan after consulting with Islamabad but does not aim to use combat troops on the ground there, President Barack Obama said in an interview.

"If we have a high-value target within our sights, after consulting with Pakistan, we're going after them," Obama said in an interview broadcast on CBS's "Face the Nation" program.

Asked if that meant putting US troops on the ground in Pakistan, Obama said: "No. Our plan does not change the recognition of Pakistan as a sovereign government. We need to work with them and through them to deal with Al Qaeda. But we have to hold them much more accountable."

Obama made his comments in an interview conducted on Friday, the day he announced a new war strategy for Afghanistan that called for the elimination of Al Qaeda militants he said were plotting attacks on the United States from the rough region along the Afghan-Pakistan frontier.

The plan called for another 4,000 US troops to help train the Afghan army, in addition to the 17,000 combat troops he ordered to Afghanistan ahead of elections in August. Spending on the conflict is expected to rise 60 percent from the current $2 billion per month, officials said.

"What we want to do is to refocus attention on Al-Qaeda," Obama said. "We are going to root out their networks, their bases. We are going to make sure that they cannot attack U.S. citizens, U.S. soil, U.S. interests and our allies' interests around the world," he said.

The approach seeks to make trust and improve ties with an ally that Washington has at times supported and at times ignored but now sees as critical in the fight against the militant group that carried out the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, U.S. officials said.

To plant Al Qaeda, Obama said, the United States had to ensure it could not find a base in Afghanistan or Pakistan from which to organize attacks. He said Washington also needed to convince average Pakistanis that the struggle with extremists was not just a U.S. war.

"One of the concerns that we've had building up over the last several years is a notion, I think, among the average Pakistani, that this is somehow America's war and they are not invested," Obama said.

US not interested in Kashmir Issue

US has made it clear that it would turn clear of the Kashmir issue as it seeks to engage India and other key stakeholders in the region in its new policy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

'We don't intend to get mixed up in that issue,' President Barack Obama's National Security Adviser, Gen James Jones, told reporters Friday when asked if the US expected to address issues between India and Pakistan, particularly Kashmir, as part of its new regional come up to.

'But we do intend to help both India and Pakistan build more trust and confidence so that Pakistan can address the issues that it confronts on the western side of the nation,' he said referring to Pakistan's tribal areas which Obama and other US officials have described as terrorist safe havens.

'But no, Kashmir is a unconnected issue,' Jones said. 'But we think that the times are so serious that we need to build the trust and confidence in the region, so that nations can do what they need to do in order to defeat the threat' posed by Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorist groups.

'As America does more, we will ask others to join us in doing their part,' he said referring to Obama Administration's plans to 'forge a new contact group for Afghanistan and Pakistan that brings together all who should have a stake in the security of the region.'

The proposed group will include America's NATO allies and other partners, the Central Asian states, Gulf nations, Iran, Russia, India, and China, Jones said noting, 'All have a stake in the promise of lasting peace and security and development in the reign.

US military introduce BigDog robots in Afghanistan

US military is deploying the robots to Afghanistan to navigate the country's treacherous terrain. Named BigDogs, these robots are being deployed in addition to big guns.

The BigDogs - four-legged robots that can take the helm the country's treacherous terrain - and pilotless helicopters than can transport tons of supplies to very remote bases are just two of the new weapons being tested in Afghanistan. The machine's creator, Boston Dynamics, has a motto - "dedicated to the way things move" - and that's precisely what is both jarring and fascinating about its invention.

Using a gasoline engine that emits an eerie lawnmower buzz, BigDog has animal-inspired articulated legs that absorb shock and recycle kinetic energy from one step to the next. Its robot brain, a sophisticated computer, controls locomotion sensors that adapt rapidly to the environment. The entire control system regulates steers and navigates ground contact. A laser gyroscope keeps BigDog on his metal paws - even when the robot slips, stumbles or is kicked over.

Boston Dynamics says BigDog can run as fast as 4 miles per hour, walk slowly, lie down and climb slopes up to 35 degrees. BigDog's heightened sense can also survey the surrounding terrain and become alert to potential danger. All told, the BigDog bears an uncanny resemblance to a living organic animal.

Routine helicopter flights operating 24 hours a day, year round, are crucial for the American mission. The Marine Corps has recently called for unmanned cargo flights to carry essentials to isolated areas that can be reached only by air. Enter the K-MAX, a remote-controlled helicopter designed to transport heavy loads - even in Afghanistan's high altitudes.

America extends $8 million help to Pakistan

Democratic Senator John Kerry has said the United States must do what it can to "sustain the democracy" in Pakistan.

General David Petraeus, the US military commander for the region, and Richard Holbrooke, the special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, will brief lawmakers Thursday on Pakistan's political crisis, Kerry said, , who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Pakistan's leaders are working very, very hard to try to reach an agreement that will bring elements of the government together in unity and allow them to go forward," said Kerry.

Amidst deepening political crisis in Pakistan, the United States has conceded that it is a difficult situation in Pakistan but said that Washington supports freedom of speech and expression.

Arrest and detention of the opposition leaders supporting the march came out, the State Department asserted that it supports freedom of speech, expression and assembly in Pakistan.

State Department's Acting spokesman Robert Wood told media persons at his daily press briefing that the US stand has been that it supports freedom of speech, of expression, and of assembly in Pakistan.

"What we think is important is that the various parties try to resolve their differences within the political system of Pakistan in accordance with its constitution with respect for the rule of law," Wood said.