Orissa tense after church attack

Hindu mobs have vandalised a church and dozens of houses in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, police say.

The overnight attacks took place in the Tikabali and Daringbadi areas of Kandhamal district, police said.

The area has witnessed a fresh bout of violence since Tuesday when police shot dead a protester in the town of Raikia.

Orissa has seen anti-Christian violence for several weeks. At least 20 people, mostly Christians, were killed after a Hindu religious leader was shot dead.

Hindus groups have long accused Christian priests of bribing poor tribes and low-caste Hindus to convert to Christianity.

Christians say lower-caste Hindus convert willingly to escape the Hindu caste system.

Blocked roads

About 20 houses were attacked in the Shankarakhol area and at least three churches were burnt in Simanbadi on Wednesday, senior police officer in Kandhamal, Praveen Kumar, told the BBC.

Police said mobs burnt or damaged at least 40 houses in overnight attacks.

Most of the houses belonged to Christians, they said.

Police said the rioters had blocked roads leading to the trouble spots, making movement of security personnel difficult.

Given the pattern of the violence in the district so far, observers say this suggests that more attacks are being planned by the rioters.

Some roads which were cleared on Wednesday were blocked again overnight, police said.

Mr Kumar said efforts were on to clear the roads.

According to reports, protesting mobs were also chasing away journalists trying to enter the area.

Srinath Jena, the Kandhamal correspondent of the leading Oriya daily Sambad, said he and some other journalists were threatened and chased away by armed rioters when they tried to visit Raikia on Thursday morning.

The man police shot dead in Raikia on Tuesday was demonstrating against the arrests of two people for anti-Christian violence.

Christians accused

Violence broke out last month after Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was shot along with four others in an attack in the Kandhamal district.

A senior Maoist leader claimed responsibility for the killing, but Hindu groups accused Christians.

Hindu mobs burnt down monasteries, churches and an orphanage.

There has also been anti-Christian violence in the southern state of Karnataka.

More than 20 churches and prayer halls have been vandalised by Hindu hard-line groups in the state.

Fresh obstacles for N-deal in US House Barkha Dutt
Thursday, September 25, 2008 (Washington)  

Democrat Congressman Howard Berman, who is a known opponent of the 123 Agreement, has moved the Indo-US nuclear deal bill in the US House of Representatives.

The bill says that US should prevent transfer of nuclear technology and material if India conducts a test in future.

The bill also makes reference to support on Iran. It links passing agreement to support on Iran.

However, the Indian American Republican Council has asked Senate to reject the bill moved by Berman.

As per reports, Berman's bill is not same as the Senate bill.

Howard Berman wants US Congress to vote on all future 123 Agreements. However, a presidential statement can overrule provisions in bill. US President George W Bush had earlier overruled Hyde Act provisions.

As per the sources, India is negotiating on the contents of the presidential statement. They also say that the Senate bill and the House bill will have to be reconciled by a joint committee.

The vote takes place hours before the meeting between Manmohan Singh and George Bush.

 

Update on Indo-US Nuclear deal (24 Sep 2008)

US panel backs India nuclear deal

The Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate has voted in favour of the India-US civil nuclear deal.

Indian officials say it is an important development for the agreement, which must now be passed by the full Senate and the House of Representatives.

The deal will then have to be signed by the US president before it becomes law.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is in the US to attend the UN General Assembly. He is due to meet President George Bush on Thursday.

Officials hope the US Congress will approve the deal before the meeting.

Earlier this month, the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted a ban that had stopped India from getting access to the global nuclear market.

'Significant'

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 19-2 to approve the deal on Tuesday.

"Enactment of this bill will help the US-India relationship grow," news agency Associated Press quoted Senator Joseph Biden as saying.

The chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee - and Democratic candidate for vice-president - added: "Today's committee passage is significant, but several steps remain before this bill becomes law.

"I hope the Congress can complete the job in the few days remaining before adjournment, and I'll continue fighting as hard as I can to achieve this important victory."

Meanwhile, Mr Singh, who arrived in New York on Tuesday, said he was hopeful that the deal would be approved quickly.

India says the deal with the US is vital for it to meet its civil energy demands.

But critics say it creates a dangerous precedent - effectively allowing India to expand its nuclear power industry without requiring it to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as other nations must.

Centrepiece

They say the deal would undermine the arguments for isolating Iran over its nuclear programme and be a disaster for international non-proliferation efforts.

The agreement is the centrepiece of US efforts to bolster ties with India.

Earlier in September, the deal crossed a crucial hurdle when the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group approved it.

Mr Singh said the decision marked "the end of India's decades-long isolation from the nuclear mainstream and of the technology denial regime".

The US restricted nuclear co-operation with India after it tested a nuclear weapon in 1974.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7632817.stm

Published: 2008/09/24 05:27:20 GMT