Obama gives Medal of Freedom to 16 luminaries.

U.S. president Barrack Obama took a break from the vitriol of the health care debate on Wednesday to bestow the President Medal of Freedom on 16 luminaries in theatre, sports, science, the humanities and politics, including Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the tennis great Billie Jean King, the actor Sidney poitier and the physicist Stephen Hawking. “This is a change for me and for the United States of America to say thank you to some of the finest citizens of this country and of all countries,” said Mr.Obama at the ceremony in the East Room of the white house, praising the recipients for remainding Americans that excellence is still possible “in a moment when cynicism and doubt too often prevail

It was Mr.Obama’s first chance to award the medal, the highest civilian honour a president can bestow, and there were some emotional moments. When the president hugged Mr.Poitier, it was a poignant reminder of how the actor, who broke racial barriers, had paved the way for Mr.Obama’s own journey to the White House. Ms.King, who was honored for her work advocating for the rights of women and guys, touched her medal to her lips when Mr.Obama draped it around her neck.

And Senator Kennedy’s daughter, Kara, seemed to blink back tears as she accepted the award on behalf of her father, who is battling brain cancer. Mr.Obama introduced the honoress in alphabetical order but saved Senator Kennedy for last, praising him as someone who had fought for soldiers, working families and students for nearly half a century.

Two of the awards-to Jack Kemp, the one-time Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, and Harvey milk, the slain gay rights activist whose life story was recently chronicled in a film starring sean penn-were delivered posthumously. Kemp’s accepted his award: milk’s award was accepted by his nephew, Stuart Milk. The honorees also included Mohammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi economist who pioneered microfinance.

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N. Korea frees U.S. journalists

North Korea on Wednesday released the two American reporters who had been imprisoned in the country since March, issuing a “special pardon” following the surprise visit of the former U.S. President, Bill Clinton.

On Tuesday, Mr. Clinton met North Korean leader Kim Jong-I1, the first high-level visit from the U.S to Pyongyang in almost a decade, and made the case for the release of the journalists. In March, Laura Ling (32) and Euna Lee (36), reporters with American television channel Current TV, were detained by authorities when they were filming a report along the country’s border on the influx of North Korean refugees in to china. They were accused of illegally crossing the border and had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labour for “hostile acts” against the country. State media in North Korea reported that following meetings with Mr. Clinton, Mr. Kim issued a “special pardon” in keeping with the country’s “humanitarian and peace-loving policy.” But analysts have suggested the release had more to do with some sort of “package deal” North Korea struck with the U.S. to end its political and economic isolation – a suggestion Washington has strongly denied.

North Korea currently faces a range of sanctions, which were recently expanded by the United Nation after the country conducted a nuclear test and a series of missile tests in May. In April, North Korea quit the Six-Party Talks initiative set up by the U.S. along with China, Russia, Japan and South Korea to bring about denucleraisation and stability in the region.

On Wednesday, U.S. officials in Washington denied that any sort of political deal had been struck during Mr. Clinton’s visit. Officials said they had no role in planning the visit and described it as a “private mission”. They also rejected reports made by North Korean media on Tuesday that Mr. Clinton had carried a message for Mr. Kim from President Barack Obama. U.S. officials revealed how Mr. Clinton’s surprise visit – the first high-level visit from Washington since Mr. Clinton’s own Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Pyongyang in 2000 – came about.

Officials said Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee had informed their parents in a telephone call that Pyongyang had specifically said it would consider their release only if Mr. Clinton made a trip as a peace envoy. On this occasion, Pyongyang kept up its end of the bargain. Less than 24 hours after he touched down in North Korea, Mr. Clinton left in his private jet in the early hours of Wednesday with the two reporters.

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India –U.S. nuclear deal sent to Congress

As the U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to complete all steps of the civil nuclear deal with India, U.S. President Barack Obama transmitted to the Congress his first report on the landmark accord but the contents were not made public.

The White House while referring to Mr.Obama’s action also said the India-U.S. nuclear deal sealed during the previous Bush Administration opened up new pathways for partnership between the two countries on non-proliferation issue globally.

“Civil nuclear cooperation with India has opened new pathways for a strengthened U.S.-India partnership on non-proliferation issues globally”, National Security Council spokesman Benjamin Chang told PTI.

Mr. Benjamin said Mr. Obama transmitted on Tuesday to the U.S. Congress his first report on the civil nuclear deal.

This is the first report issued by Mr.Obama since the entry into force of the 123 Agreement in December last year.

“The report covers the period of October 4, 2008, to June 30, 2009. It provides an update on U.S. –India civil nuclear cooperation and developments that relate to India’s nuclear-related activities,” Mr. Obama wrote to the Chairman and ranking members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Mr.Obama wrote to them: “Classified information associated with these issues has been provided in a separate classified information associated with these issues has been provided in a separate classified annex.”

The report also includes updates on joint efforts by India and the US to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

This is the first report issued by Mr.Obama since the entry into force of the 123 Agreement in December last year.

The report is being offered pursuant to the reporting requirements of the Henry J Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006 and the United States –India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act of 2008, the latter being the approval legislation for the 123 Agreement.

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Agriculture, most important area of India –U.S. collaboration: Hillary

New Delhi: U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Sunday said agriculture would be the strongest and most important puller of cooperation between the United States and India. During a visit to the Indian agriculture research institute here (IARI), Ms.clinton said: “we collaborated for more than 50 years and today we are called to collaborate once again. We have to work together because it is imperative that we invest in science, that we do more to link farms and markets so that farmers can sell their products, that we extend export of technology and training to bring more assistance to the farmers as a vulnerable community worldwide, and we strengthen our response to climate change which threatens the waterways in the agriculture part of the world”.

Ms.Clinton said that with just 3 percent of world’s cropland, India fed 17 percent of the world’s population. “as we look to strengthen agriculture and fight hunger, particularly in south Asia, Africa and elsewhere, India’s leadership is absolutely crucial. I think the bio-security and bio-diversity challenge that we confront is one that we can meet,” she said. Stating that the problem of hunger and malnutrition affected nearly a billion people in the world, the U.S. secretary of state expressed the belief that the world had the resources to face the challenge. She said it was the signature issue of the Obama administration to do what could be done to fight hunger and extend food security.

“And India is well positioned to help us lead this fight. Work has already begun. I just saw that the scientists are developing seeds that produce higher yield, crops that require less water, farm equipment that conserve energy. All of this is part of meeting the challenge that we face from global hunger,” she said, adding that research was a critical component of the comprehensive approach to improving agriculture.

She said there was a need to connect the laboratories where new technologies were being developed and research was being done-to the fields, where the farmers laboured, to the markets, where the crops were sold, and finally to the Labour of the farmers. However, Mr.Clinton said the job at hand was not for the government alone and that private sector had an essential role to play and so did universities, research laboratories, institutions and non governmental organizations.

Ms.Clinton, who was received by union agriculture minister shared power, visited the IARI to oversee the research and education programmes of the Indian council of agriculture research and the work of many of the consultative group on international agricultural research centers that had been key U.S. partners since the green revolution.

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U.S. budget deficit tops $1 trillion

The U.S. federal budget deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time ever and could grow to nearly $2 trillion by this fall, intensifying fears of higher interest rates, inflation and the strength of the dollar.

The deficit has been widened by the huge sum the government has spent to ease the recession, combined with a sharp decline in tax revenues. The cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also is a major factor.

The soaring deficit is making Chinese and other foreign buyers of U.S. debt nervous, which could make them reluctant lenders down the road. It could also force the Treasury Department to pay higher interest rates to make U.S. debt attractive longer term.

“These are mind-boggling numbers,” said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at the Smith School of Business at California State University. “Our foreign investors from China and elsewhere are starting to have concerns about not only the value of the dollar but how safe their investments will be in the long run.”

The Treasury Department said on Monday the deficit in June totaled $94.3 billion, pushing the total since the budget year started in October to $1.09 trillion. The administration forecasts that the deficit for the entire year will hit $1.84 trillion in October.

Government spending is on the rise to address the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and an unemployment rate that has climbed to 9.5 per cent.

Congress has already approved a $700- billion financial bailout for banks, automakers and other sectors, and a $787-billion economic stimulus package to try to jump-start a recovery. Outlays through the first nine months of this budget year total $2.67 trillion, up 20.5 per cent from the same period a year ago.

There is growing talk among some. Obama administration officials that a second round of stimulus may eventually be necessary.

That has many Republicans and deficit hawks worried that the U.S could be setting itself up for more financial pain down the road if interest rates and inflation surge. They also are raising alarms about additional spending the administration is proposing, including its plan to reform health care.

President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner have said the U.S. is committed to bringing down the deficits once the economy and financial sector recover.

The Obama administration has set a goal of cutting the deficit in half by the end of this first term in office.

In the meantime, the U.S. debt now stands at $11.5 trillion. Interest payments on the debt cost $452 billion last year – the largest federal spending category after Medicare-Medicaid, Social Security and defence.

The overall debt is now slightly more than 80 percent of the annual output of the entire U.S. economy, as measured by the gross domestic product.

History shows the dangers of assuming too soon that economic downturns have ended.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt made that mistake in 1936. Believing the Depression largely over, he sought to reduce public spending and to balance the federal budget, but that undermined a fragile recovery, pushing the economy back under water in 1937.

Mr. Geithner travels later this week to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where he is expected to face question about the U.S. deficit. As he did during a visit to China last month, Mr.Geithner will try to reassure investors in West Asia that their U.S. holdings are safe from a calamitous bout of inflation.

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love at large

LOVE AT LARGE

At the numerous inaugural balls the Obama couple made a statement with showing affection in the public. Is it okay for honchos to show affection in public?

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Obama backs economic upturn steps

President-elect barrack Obama will seek on Thursday to rally support for a massive fiscal stimulus package by warning that the United States could remain mired in recession for years without bold action.

Mr. Obama, who will take office on January 20, promised to set a new course for the economy and to move quickly to toughen the financial regulatory system.

I don’t believe it’s too late to change course, but it will be if we don’t take dramatic action as soon as possible”, Mr. Obama said in excerpts from a speech to be delivered later on Thursday. “If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years. The unemployment rate could linger for years. The unemployment rate could reach double digits”. The democratic President-elect will deliver his remarks at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, at 11 a.m. as he prepares to take over from republican president George w. bush, Mr. Obama is about to inherit an economy that has been in recession for more that a year.
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Mr. Obama and his advertisers have been working with the US Congress to craft a two-year stimulus plan that could total more than $775 billion. The package will include tax cuts and money for the building of new roads, bridges and school. It would also pay for renewable energy projects, aid to cash-strapped state governments and enhanced unemployment benefits. Mr. Obama hopes to secure passage of the economic plan by mid-February. “For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs,” he said in the speech experts. “More families will lose their savings.” On Wednesday, a report on the US budget outlook painted a bleak picture this might add to Mr. Obama’s challenges in pushing his plan through congress.

The budget deficit for the current 2009 fiscal year ending September 30 is expected to nearly triple to around $1.2 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. A deficit in that range would be about 8.3 per cent of GDP shattering the previous record of six per cent in 1983.

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