Iran tests new long-range missile

surface missile that is capable of hitting targets in Europe.

Known as the Sajjil, it was described on state TV as a high-speed, solid-fuel missile with a high level of accuracy.

Defence Minister Mohammed Najjar said the missile was a defensive weapon.

Western nations and Israel suspect Iran is seeking to develop an atomic weapon and some have called for pre-emptive strikes against its facilities.

Speculation of a possible strike either by the US or by Israel rose earlier in the year, but has receded amid the lengthy US presidential election campaign.

However, US President-elect Barack Obama has refused to rule out the option of launching a military attack on Iran.

‘Deterrent doctrine’

Speaking on state TV, Mr Najjar said the new two-stage missile had an “extraordinarily large capability”, but gave few specific details other than its estimated range – of up to 1,200 miles (1,930km).

That would comfortably be enough to strike targets in Israel, as well as bringing into range a swathe of south-eastern Europe.

Iran’s current solid-fuel missile, the Fateh, has a range of just 100 miles (170km). Solid-fuel missiles are reputedly more accurate than liquid-fuel missiles, which make up the majority of Iran’s long-range arsenal.

“This missile test is in the framework of Iran’s deterrent doctrine,” the official Irna news agency quoted Mr Najjar as saying.

“It will only land on the heads of those enemies… who want to make an aggression and invade the Islamic republic,” he added.

In Washington, the US state department said the launch was “of concern to the international community”.

The Pentagon said the latest test demonstrated the need for the US to press ahead with its planned missile shield in Europe.

 

FF hope Obama will help solve Kashmir issue

Srinagar (PTI): The election of Barack Obama as US President has generated hope among Fridom Fighters in Kashmir that the decades-long Kashmir issue would be solved soon.

Welcoming the election of Obama, chairman of Moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umer Farooq (President of J&K) said “We see a role for US in resolution of Kashmir issue and hope that Obama will fulfill his responsibility.”

Mirwaiz, who has been placed under house arrest since this morning ahead of proposed Jamia Masjid march by Freedom fighters of Kashmir, said “We hope that he (Obama) will give practical shape to his encouraging statements on resolution of Kashmir during campaigning.”

Meanwhile, chairman of Hardline faction of Hurriyat Syed Ali Shah Geelani said the election of Obama is a “historic event” for America and “We hope that he will use his good offices to resolve Kashmir issue in its historic perspective.”

Geelani, who is undergoing treatment in Delhi, said bilateral talks between India and Pakistan have failed to deliver in the past.

insa-allah Kashmir will get freedom in next few years.

 

अमरीकी चुनाव: दक्षिण एशियाइयों का दख़ल

अमरीकी चुनाव: दक्षिण एशियाइयों का दख़ल

माइकल ठाकुर राजनीति में प्रवेश को ज़रूरी मानते हैं

अमरीका में बॉबी जिंदल को गवर्नर बने अभी ज़्यादा दिन नहीं गुज़रे है, इस बीच एक और भारतीय मूल का अमरीकी युवा कांग्रेस की कठिन स्पर्धाओं में शामिल हो गया है. डेमोक्रेट पार्टी के अश्विन मादिया मिनेसोटा के एक ऐसे सीट से चुनाव लड़ रहे हैं जो 1960 से रिपब्लिकन पार्टी की रही है. 30 वर्षीय मादिया इराक़ में काम कर चुके हैं और बौद्धिक संपदा मामलों के वकील हैं. यदि वह जीतते हैं तो वो तीसरे भारतीय होंगे जो अमरीकी कांग्रेस में प्रवेश करेंगे. राजनीति में जाने को तैयार आत्मविश्वास से लबरेज दूसरी पीढ़ी के दक्षिण एशियाई, चिकित्सा, कंप्यूटर और व्यापार को छोड़कर कैरियर के रूप में राजनीति को गले लगाने के लिए तैयार है. पुरानी पीढ़ी के विपरीत ये भारतीय राजनीतिक मंच पर भी दखल चाहते हैं. सत्ताइस वर्षिय साई रेड्डी भारतीय मूल के अमरीकी हैं जो रीयल इस्टेट एजेंट है. 2000 में राष्ट्रपति बिल क्लिंटन का भाषण सुनने के बाद राजनीति में उनकी रुचि जागी. उनके बड़े भाई ने 2006 में जॉर्जिया में सचिव के पद के लिए चुनाव लड़ा था और अब उन्होंने ख़ुद को राज्य की राजनीति के लिए समर्पित कर दिया है. रेड्डी कहते हैं, ”हममें से जो यहाँ पैदा हुए वो यह जानते हैं कि इस देश में हमारी संस्कृति और समुदाय का कितना कुछ दांव पर लगा हुआ है.” बराक ओबामा के साथ

देर से सही लेकिन निश्चित रूप से, दक्षिण एशियाई युवा अमेरिकी राजनीति में प्रवेश कर रहे हैं और चुनावी कार्यालय देश में चला रहे हैं.   माइकल ठाकुर

ओहायो के वकील माइकल ठाकुर, रेड्डी की सोंच का समर्थन करते हैं और डेमोक्रेटिक राष्ट्रपति उम्मीदवार बराक ओबामा के चुनाव अभियान में शामिल हैं. माइकल ठाकुर कहते हैं, ” देर से सही लेकिन निश्चित रूप से, दक्षिण एशियाई युवा अमेरिकी राजनीति में प्रवेश कर रहे हैं और अमरीका में चुनावी कार्यालय चला रहे हैं.” माइकल ठाकुर के अनुसार कानूनी फर्म में उनकी नौकरी पक्की है लेकिन वो राजनीति में प्रवेश को ज़रूरी मानते हैं. दक्षिण एशियाई लोग डेमोक्रेटिक और रिपब्लिकन पार्टियां दोनो के अभियान में काफ़ी तादाद में शामिल हैं और इस अभियान में ओबामा कि लिए हरि सेवीगन और प्रीता बंसल शीर्ष सलाहकारों में हैं. हिलेरी क्लिंटन की क़रीबी सहयोगियों में नीरा टंडन रहीं हैं जो भारतीय मूल की ही हैं. मतदाताओं की तादाद में भी इज़ाफ़ा हो रहा है जिसने राजनीतिक दलों और उम्मीदवारों को मजबूर किया है वो दक्षिण एशियाई आप्रवासियों को महत्व दे. प्रवेश द्वार बनेगा

अतहर पाश के अनुसार पाकिस्तान में इस तरह निष्पक्ष चुनाव कभी नहीं हुए

कई लोग ये सोंचते हैं कि ओबामा की अभूतपूर्व सफलता अधिकतर अप्रवासियों को राजनीति में प्रवेश करने के लिए रास्ता तैयार करेगी. रमेश कपूर जो कि डेमोक्रेट के लिए फ़ंड इकठ्ठा करने वालों में से एक हैं ऐसा ही सोचते हैं. वो कहते हैं, ” चूंकि ओबामी अल्पसंख्यक समुदाय से आते हैं, बहुत सारे लोगों का विचार है कि अगर वे जीत जाते हैं तो हम लोगों का भी आत्मविश्वास बढ़ेगा.” अतहर पाशा ने 40 साल पहले कराची छोड़ दिया था और अब टेक्सास में रह रहे हैं, वो कहते हैं कि पाकिस्तान उन्होंने कभी भी एक स्वतंत्र और निष्पक्ष चुनाव नहीं देखा. अतहर पाशा के अनुसार उनका 21 वर्षीय बेटा राजनीति में काफ़ी सक्रिय है और अगर कुछ बनता है उन्हे आश्चर्य नहीं होगा.

 

Obama wins

Obama addresses jubilant crowds in Chicago

Democratic Senator Barack Obama has been elected the first black president of the United States.

“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight… change has come to America,” the president-elect told a jubilant crowd at a victory rally in Chicago.

His rival John McCain accepted defeat, saying “I deeply admire and commend” Mr Obama. He called on his supporters to lend the next president their goodwill.

The BBC’s Justin Webb said the result would have a profound impact on the US.

“On every level America will be changed by this result… [it] will never be the same,” he said.

McCain: ‘We must work together’

Mr Obama appeared with his family, and his running mate Joe Biden, before a crowd of tens of thousands in Grant Park, Chicago.

Many people in the vast crowd, which stretched back far into the Chicago night, wept as Mr Obama spoke.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” he said.

He said he had received an “extraordinarily gracious” call from Mr McCain.

He praised the former Vietnam prisoner of war as a “brave and selfless leader”.
OBAMA GAINS
Ohio
New Mexico
Iowa
Virginia
Florida
Colorado
Nevada

“He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine,” the victor said.

He had warm words for his family, announcing to his daughters: “Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.”

But he added: “Even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. But America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.”

Hours after Mr Obama’s victory was announced, crowds were still celebrating in Chicago and on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC.

From red to blue

Mr Obama captured the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, before breaking through the winning threshold of 270 electoral college votes at 0400 GMT, when projections showed he had also taken California and a slew of other states.

I find myself strangely emotional about this. I want to go wake up my neighbours and hug them
Amy Scullane, Boston

Then came the news that he had also seized Florida, Virginia and Colorado – all of which voted Republican in 2004 – turning swathes of the map from red to blue.

Several other key swing states are hanging in the balance.

In Indiana and North Carolina, with most of the vote counted, there was less than 0.5% between the two candidates.

However, the popular vote remains close. At 0600 GMT it stood at 51.3% for the Democratic Senator from Illinois, against 47.4% for Arizona Senator Mr McCain.

The main developments include:
Mr Obama is projected to have seized Ohio, New Mexico, Iowa, Virginia, Florida, Colorado and Nevada – all Republican wins in 2004.
He is also projected to have won: Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Delaware, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Maryland, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Rhode Island, California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon.
Mr McCain is projected to have won: Alaska, Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Kansas, North Dakota, Wyoming, Georgia, Louisiana, West Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota.
Turnout was reported to be extremely high – in some places “unprecedented”.
The Democrats made gains in the Senate race, seizing seats from the Republicans in Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Colorado. They also increased their majority of the House of Representatives.
Exit polls suggest the economy was the major deciding factor for six out of 10 voters.
Nine out of 10 said the candidates’ race was not important to their vote, the Associated Press reported. Almost as many said age did not matter.

Several states reported very high turnout. It was predicted 130 million Americans, or more, would vote – more than for any election since 1960.

Many people said they felt they had voted in a historic election – and for many African-Americans the moment was especially poignant.

Congratulations… You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life

President George W Bush

John Lewis, an activist in the civil rights era who was left beaten on an Alabama bridge 40 years ago, told Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church: “This is a great night. It is an unbelievable night. It is a night of thanksgiving.”

Besides winning the presidency, the Democrats tightened their grip on Congress.

The entire US House of Representatives and a third of US Senate seats were up for grabs.

Democrats won several Senate seats from the Republicans, but seemed unlikely to gain the nine extra they wanted to reach the 60-seat “super-majority” that could prevent Republicans blocking legislation.

ओबामा की ऐतिहासिक जीत

अमरीका के राष्ट्रपति चुनावों में इतिहास रचते हुए डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टी के उम्मीदवार बराक ओबामा अमरीका के पहले अश्वेत राष्ट्रपति बनने जा रहे हैं. रिपब्लिकन उम्मीदवार जॉन मक्कैन ने हार मान ली है.

अमरीकी राष्ट्रपति चुनने के लिए 538 इलेक्टॉरल कॉलेज मतों में से 270 की आवश्यकता होती है. चुनावों के ताज़ा रुझानों के मुताबिक ओबामा को इससे ज़्यादा मत मिलेंगे. इस बारे में आधिकारिक घोषणा में कुछ समय लगेगा.

मैक्केन के हार स्वीकार कर लेने के बाद, अपने भावुक समर्थकों को संबोधित करते हुए ओबामा ने कहा, “अमरीकी लोगों ने घोषणा की है कि बदलाव का समय आ गया है. अमरीका एक शताब्दी में सबसे गंभीर समस्याओं से जूझ रहा है मैं सभी अमरीकियों को साथ लेकर चलना चाहता हूँ – उनकों भी जिन्होंने मेरे लिए वोट नहीं डाला….ये नेतृत्व का एक नया सवेरा है. जो लोग दुनिया को ध्वस्त करना चाहते हैं, उन्हें मैं कहना चाहता हूँ कि हम तुम्हें हराएँगे. जो लोग सुरक्षा और शांति चाहते हैं, हम उनकी मदद करेंगे…”
अमरीकी लोगों ने घोषणा की है कि बदलाव का समय आ गया है. अमरीका एक शताब्दी में सबसे गंभीर समस्याओं से जूझ रहा है. मैं सभी अमरीकियों को साथ लेकर चलना चाहता हूँ – उनकों भी जिन्होंने मेरे लिए वोट नहीं डाला….ये नेतृत्व का एक नया सवेरा है. जो लोग दुनिया को ध्वस्त करना चाहते हैं, उन्हें मैं कहना चाहता हूँ कि हम तुम्हें हराएँगे. जो लोग सुरक्षा और शांति चाहते हैं, हम उनकी मदद करेंगे…”

डेमोक्रेट बराक ओबामा

रिपब्लिकन पार्टी के उम्मीदवार जॉन मैक्केन ने रुझानों के आधार पर ही अपनी हार स्वीकार कर ली थी और इसे ‘अमरीका के इतिहास में अश्वेत अमरीकियों के लिए इसे एक महत्वपूर्ण क्षण’ बताया था.

उनका कहना था, “मैं सीनेटर ओबामा का प्रशंसक हूँ. मैं आप से अपील करता हूँ कि अगले चार साल आप उन्हें सहयोग दें. लाखों अफ़्रीकी अमरीकियों के लिए एक नया दौर शुरु हुआ है. अमरीका दुनिया का सबसे महान देश है. ओबामा ने ये साबित कर दिया है कि अमरीका सभी लोगों को अपने सपने साकार करने का बराबर का अवसर प्रदान करता है.”

कई राज्यों में पछाड़ा

ओबामा ने ओहायो, न्यू मेक्सिको और पेन्नसिलवेनिया जैसे महत्वपूर्ण राज्यों में अपने रिपब्लिपन जॉन मैक्केन को करारा झटका देते हुए पछाड़ दिया. दक्षिणी राज्यों में मैक्केन को कुछ सफलता मिली लेकिन ये पर्याप्त नहीं था.

अमरीका में चुनाव: बीबीसी हिंदी विशेष

महत्वपूर्ण है कि केलिफ़ोर्निया में अभी मतदान ख़त्म ही हुआ था कि मैक्केन ने अपनी हार स्वीकार कर ली.
मैं सीनेटर ओबामा का प्रशंसक हूँ. मैं आप से अपील करता हूँ कि अगले चार साल आप उन्हें सहयोग दें. लाखों अफ़्रीकी अमरीकियों के लिए एक नया दौर शुरु हुआ है. अमरीका दुनिया का सबसे महान देश है. ओबामा ने ये साबित कर दिया है कि अमरीका सभी लोगों को अपने सपने साकार करने का बराबर का अवसर प्रदान करता है

रिपब्लिकन जॉन मैक्केन

इससे पहले अनेक प्रांतों में मतदान केंद्रों पर लंबी कतारें देखी गईं. अनुमान लगाया जा रहा है कि 1960 के बाद रिकॉर्ड वोटिंग हुई.

अमरीका में मुख्य पार्टियों का इतिहास

राष्ट्रपति पद के लिए इस बार चुनाव अभियान लगभग दो साल तक चला और इस प्रचार को अमरीका के इतिहास में अब तक का सबसे महँगा चुनाव प्रचार कहा जा रहा है, जिसमें लगभग लगभग 2.4 अरब डॉलर ख़र्च हुए है.

मैक्केन दक्षिणी में सफल

बीबीसी संवाददाता निक ब्रयांट के अनुसार पेन्नसिलवेनिया और न्यू हेंपशायर को रिपब्लिकन मैक्केन ने निशाना बनाया था लेकिन ये प्रांत डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टी के पाले में गए.

लेकिन मैक्केन को सबसे करारा झटका ओहायो में लगा क्योंकि पिछले कई दशकों में कोई भी रिपब्लिकन उम्मीदवार बिना ओहायो जीते व्हाइट हाउस में नहीं पहुँच पाया है. लेकिन यहाँ भी रुझान ओबामा के पक्ष में रहा.

वर्ष 2004 के अमरीकी चुनाव

वर्ष 2000 में ख़ासे विवाद का केंद्र रहे फ़्लोरिडा में भी ओबामा ही आगे रहे.

ओहायो, पेन्नसिलवेनिया और कई अन्य राज्यों में मैकेन ने ख़ासी महनत की लेकिन कामयाबी नहीं मिली

उधर रिपब्लिकन जॉन मैक्केन ने दक्षिणी राज्यों में ख़ासी सफलता पाई और जॉर्जिया जैसे प्रांत में भी आगे निकल गए लेकिन वे लगातार पिछड़ते ही चले गए.

उम्मीद के अनुसार केंटकी में जॉन मैक्केन आगे रहे, वहीं वरमोंट में बराक ओबामा ने बढ़त हासिल की है.

कई जगह उथल-पुथल

चुनाव में लगभग तीन करोड़ वोटरों ने ‘अर्ली वोटिंग’ के तहत अपना वोट दर्ज कराया था जो कि एक रिकॉर्ड है.

जहाँ ओबामा ने अपने गृह प्रांत इलिनॉय ने परिवार सहित वोट डाला वहीं मैक्केन ने एरिज़ोना में वोट डाला.

न्यू हैम्पशायर में सबसे पहले मंगलवार को वोट डाला गया जहाँ बराक ओबामा ने अपने प्रतिद्वंदी को पछाड़ दिया. वर्ष 1968 के बाद यह पहला मौका है जब रुझानों के मुताबिक यह शहर डेमोक्रेट के पाले में गया.

 

Gaddafi attacks Obama on Israel

Gaddafi attacks Obama on Israel Libya’s leader has strongly criticised US presidential candidate Barack Obama for saying Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel. Col Muammar Gaddafi said he was either ignorant of the Middle East conflict or lying to boost his campaign. Mr Obama was speaking to pro-Israel lobbyists in the US last week. Referring to him as “our Kenyan brother”, Col Gaddafi also said Mr Obama might suffer from an inferiority complex because of his African origins. The issue of race could make Mr Obama’s behaviour “more white than white people”, Col Gaddafi suggested, rather than acting in solidarity with African and Arab nations. The comments came during a speech to mark the 38th anniversary since the US evacuated Wheelus Air Force base in Tripoli. Israel claims Jerusalem as its “eternal, undivided” capital, but the Palestinians want the eastern half – occupied by Israel in 1967 – as the capital of a future Palestinian state. The Americans left Libya shortly after Col Gaddafi came into power in a bloodless coup in 1969. ‘Campaign lie’. The BBC’s Rana Jawad in Tripoli says the speech was a passionate critique of past US policies towards Libya but emphasised that current relations are not confrontational. We tell him to be proud of himself as a black and feel that all Africa is behind him :Col Gaddafi However, Col Gaddafi’s defiant and famously politically incorrect rhetoric returned when talking about Mr Obama towards the end of the speech. “The statements of our Kenyan brother of American nationality Obama on Jerusalem… show that he either ignores international politics and did not study the Middle East conflict or that it is a campaign lie,” he said. “We fear that Obama will feel that, because he is black with an inferiority complex, this will make him behave worse than the whites.” “This will be a tragedy,” Gaddafi said. “We tell him to be proud of himself as a black and feel that all Africa is behind him.” Conspiracy theory Mr Obama’s epic primary campaign against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton ended in his victory early this month. The presidential election will be in November. Correspondents say he has largely avoided playing on past racial struggles in the US and has drawn support among black and white Americans. In addition, Mr Gaddafi suggested Mr Obama’s comments may have been informed by a fear of assassination by Israeli agents, “the same fate as [former US President John F] Kennedy when he promised to look into Israel’s nuclear programme”. Conspiracy theories abound about Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, which the US authorities say was carried out by a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald.

 

Jobs’ outsourcing to India, China not reversible: Obama

outsourcing of American jobs to India and China cannot be reversed. “Revolutions in communications and technology have sent jobs wherever there’s an internet connection, that have forced children in Raleigh and Boston to compete for those jobs with children in Bangalore and Beijing,” Obama said in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina. “We live in a more competitive world, and that is a fact that cannot be reversed,” he added. Fresh from his victory over Hillary Clinton to clinch the Democratic party nomination to the White House, Obama said the country must invest in the research and innovation to create jobs and industries. “I understand that the challenges facing our economy didn’t start the day George Bush took office, and they won’t end the day he leaves. Some are partly the result of forces that have globalised our economy over the last several decades,” he said, kicking off a series of speeches across the country focusing on the economy. Observing that America’s challenges on economic front cannot be overcome by building ‘protectionist walls’, Obama said the country needs to focus on improving plight of the middle-class and investing in education. “This nation has faced such fundamental change before. And each time, we’ve kept our economy strong and competitive by making the decision to expand opportunity outward, to grow our middle class, to invest in innovation, and most importantly, to invest in the education and well-being of our workers,” the 46-year-old Democrat said. Obama said the country will have to place a greater emphasis on areas like science and technology that will define the workforce of the 21st century. “We’ll need to invest in the research and innovation necessary to create jobs and industries of the future right here in North Carolina, right here in the US. “And one place where that investment would make an enormous difference is in a renewable energy policy that ends our addiction on foreign oil, provides real, long-term relief from high gas prices and high fuel costs, and builds a green economy that could create up to five million well-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced,” the Senator from llinois said. Obama said the US can also create millions of new jobs by rebuilding our schools, roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure that needs repair. “And because we know that we can’t or shouldn’t put up walls around our economy, a long-term agenda will also find a way to make trade work for American workers.” “We do the cause of free trade — a cause I believe in — no good when we pass trade agreements that hand out favours to special interests and do little to help workers who have to watch their factories close down. There is nothing protectionist about demanding that trade spread the benefits of globalisation as broadly as possible,” Obama said.

 

Jobs’ outsourcing to India, China not reversible: Obama

outsourcing of American jobs to India and China cannot be reversed. “Revolutions in communications and technology have sent jobs wherever there’s an internet connection, that have forced children in Raleigh and Boston to compete for those jobs with children in Bangalore and Beijing,” Obama said in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina. “We live in a more competitive world, and that is a fact that cannot be reversed,” he added. Fresh from his victory over Hillary Clinton to clinch the Democratic party nomination to the White House, Obama said the country must invest in the research and innovation to create jobs and industries. “I understand that the challenges facing our economy didn’t start the day George Bush took office, and they won’t end the day he leaves. Some are partly the result of forces that have globalised our economy over the last several decades,” he said, kicking off a series of speeches across the country focusing on the economy. Observing that America’s challenges on economic front cannot be overcome by building ‘protectionist walls’, Obama said the country needs to focus on improving plight of the middle-class and investing in education. “This nation has faced such fundamental change before. And each time, we’ve kept our economy strong and competitive by making the decision to expand opportunity outward, to grow our middle class, to invest in innovation, and most importantly, to invest in the education and well-being of our workers,” the 46-year-old Democrat said. Obama said the country will have to place a greater emphasis on areas like science and technology that will define the workforce of the 21st century. “We’ll need to invest in the research and innovation necessary to create jobs and industries of the future right here in North Carolina, right here in the US. “And one place where that investment would make an enormous difference is in a renewable energy policy that ends our addiction on foreign oil, provides real, long-term relief from high gas prices and high fuel costs, and builds a green economy that could create up to five million well-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced,” the Senator from llinois said. Obama said the US can also create millions of new jobs by rebuilding our schools, roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure that needs repair. “And because we know that we can’t or shouldn’t put up walls around our economy, a long-term agenda will also find a way to make trade work for American workers.” “We do the cause of free trade — a cause I believe in — no good when we pass trade agreements that hand out favours to special interests and do little to help workers who have to watch their factories close down. There is nothing protectionist about demanding that trade spread the benefits of globalisation as broadly as possible,” Obama said.

 

Danger of US downturn ‘has faded’

The US economy may have avoided a major decline, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said. Mr Bernanke said the risk of a substantial downturn had “diminished over the past month or so”. Playing down recent unemployment rises, he said a series of interest rate reductions combined with tax cuts was helping the US offset its difficulties. Earlier, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama attacked his rival John McCain’s economic policies. In his first speech since Hillary Clinton left the presidential race, Mr Obama accused Mr McCain, the Republican party’s candidate, of “a full-throated endorsement” of President George W Bush’s economic policies. The McCain camp responded by saying that measures Mr Obama was proposing would weaken the US economy. Inflation fears Mr Bernanke gave his assessment of how the US economy was faring at a bankers’ conference in Chatham, Massachusetts. He said that “the risk that the economy has entered a substantial downturn appears to have diminished over the past month or so”. He added that despite a recent rise in unemployment, which last month saw its biggest jump in 20 years, a series of reductions in interests rates in the last nine months combined with tax cuts had helped to offset the risks threatening the economy. Mr Bernanke did say, however, that rising energy prices – which saw the cost of oil hit a record high on Friday – risked pushing up inflation. Mr Bernanke said recent rate reductions and tax cuts had helped “The latest round of increases in energy prices has added to the upside risks to inflation and inflation expectations,” he said. If consumers and businesses believe the record oil prices will continue to rise, they could change their spending habits to make inflation a self-fulfilling prophecy, says the BBC’s Jane O’Brien in Washington. That, and a weak dollar, our correspondent added, could force the Fed to raise rates later this year or next, though Mr Bernanke said that the Fed would be robust in dealing with this issue. “The Federal Open Market Committee will strongly resist an erosion of longer-term inflation expectations, as an unanchoring of those expectations would be destabilising for growth as well as for inflation,” Mr Bernanke said. Our correspondent says that there has been progress in repairing the credit markets that sparked the US housing slump, the Fed has made swingeing interest rate cuts and the government is spending $168bn on top of tax rebates to help stimulate recovery. But last week’s jump in unemployment rates and record fuel prices rocked already jittery markets, our correspondent says, and for the average American, Mr Bernanke’s soothing words may seem hard to believe. ‘Different vision’ Polls indicate that the economy has surpassed the war in Iraq as the biggest concern for American voters. Mr Obama pledged immediate relief for the hardest hit Mr Obama hopes that focusing on the economy will persuade undecided voters to support him, correspondents say. Speaking in Raleigh, North Carolina, Mr Obama launched his Change That Works for You tour – a nationwide schedule of speeches focusing on the economy. “When it comes to the economy, John McCain and I have a fundamentally different vision of where to take the country, because for all of his talk about independence, the centrepiece of John McCain’s economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush’s policies. “I have a different vision for the future. Instead of spending $12bn a month rebuilding Iraq, I think it’s time we invested in our roads and schools and bridges.” Mr Obama pledged “an immediate $50bn” to those hardest hit by the US “downturn”. He also accused Mr McCain of doing nothing to help 1.5m people facing foreclosures across America, “even as he [Mr McCain] supported spending billions to bail out Wall Street”. He promised to introduce a windfall tax on the profits of American oil companies. The McCain camp hit back by portraying Mr Obama as a tax-and-spend liberal. “While hardworking families are hurting and employers are vulnerable, Barack Obama has promised higher income taxes, social security taxes, capital gains taxes, dividend taxes, and tax hikes on job creating businesses,” campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said. On Monday, Mr McCain was holding fundraising events in Virginia and in the capital, Washington. Source: BBC

 

America, this is our moment, thunders Obama

Obama declares nomination victory Barack Obama has declared himself “the Democratic nominee for president of the United States”. He was speaking to a cheering crowd on the last day of the primary season, as projections showed he had earned enough delegates to clinch the nomination. Of the states that voted, Montana was won by Mr Obama and South Dakota by his rival Hillary Clinton, US media say. In her own speech to supporters, Mrs Clinton refused to concede and said she would make a final decision later. If confirmed as the Democratic presidential nominee, Mr Obama would be the first black candidate to be nominated by one of the major US parties. BBC North America editor Justin Webb says a fabulously well-planned and executed campaign helped give him the edge over his rival. Role for Clinton? Mr Obama’s speech was delivered in St Paul, Minnesota, where Republicans are set to hold their presidential nominating convention. DELEGATE COUNT Winner: Needs 2,118 delegates Super-delegates: Obama, 389; Clinton, 282 Total delegates: Obama, 2,154; Clinton, 1,919 South Dakota and Montana (early results): Obama, 15; Clinton, 13 Source: AP projections at 0430 GMT on 4 June In the address, he paid tribute to Mrs Clinton and hinted that she would play a role in any future Obama administration.”What gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning is an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans,” he said.”When we finally win the battle for universal healthcare in this country, she will be central to that victory.”Mr Obama also praised Republican rival John McCain’s “many accomplishments”, although he accused the Arizona senator of choosing to deny his own achievements.Speaking in New York, Mrs Clinton congratulated Mr Obama and his supporters “for all that they have accomplished”.But she said she was making “no decisions tonight” about her continued presence in the race.She later spoke to Mr Obama by phone, and he repeated an offer to “sit down when it makes sense to you”.Mr Obama’s campaign said she responded positively, though no meeting was expected on Wednesday.Mr Obama will be tempted to offer Mrs Clinton some inducement to play ball, but may also be tempted to be rid of her and her husband and to strike out on his own, Justin Webb reports.Primaries over Earlier, she told congressional backers that she was “open” to the idea of being Mr Obama’s vice-presidential running-mate. Hillary Clinton: ‘I will be making no decisions tonight’ Mr Obama was only a few delegates short of the 2,118 needed ahead of the polls closing in South Dakota and Montana. And although he failed to win in South Dakota, he had managed to pick up enough endorsements during the day from the remaining uncommitted “super-delegates” – party officials with a free choice over who to support – to pass the winning post as soon as polls closed in the state. His projected victory in Montana added even more delegates to his tally. In South Dakota, with 99% of the state’s precincts reporting, Mrs Clinton was winning with 55.3% of the vote, to Mr Obama’s 44.7%. Before the voting was complete, Republican presumptive nominee John McCain delivered a speech to supporters in Louisiana, in which he declared that “the primary season is over, and the general election campaign has begun”. He attacked Mr Obama for being “the wrong change”, and defended himself against the Obama campaign’s criticism that he will continue President Bush’s policies, saying he had “not seen eye to eye” with the president on many issues. Sources:BBC ———————————————————————— From a dark horse in the Democrat race to the first black US presidential candidate from a major party, Barack Obama has had a meteoric rise from political obscurity to be at a sniffing distance of the White House. The 46-year-old Harvard-educated first-time Senator from Illinois had a prolonged bitter battle with powerful Democrat rival Hillary Clinton for winning the nomination — a roller-coaster run that was dominated by frequent controversies, mostly related to his race and religion. Son of a father who travelled from a small Kenyan village to pursue University education in Hawaii and went on to marry a white woman from Kansas, Obama started his political career as a low-paid community organiser. The Columbia University graduate and the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review served for eight years in the Illinois state Senate. In 2004, he entered the Capitol Hill after a landslide Senate election victory and soon became a media darling and one of the most visible figures in Washington, with two best-selling books to his name. The father of two young daughters, who appeared with his wife Michelle to declare victory before a cheering crowd in St Paul, described it as a “defining moment” for the nation which abolished slavery 200 years ago but is still battling the scourge of racial discrimination. “Tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another — a journey that will bring a new and better day to America,” Obama, who projected himself as a candidate for “change”, said. “America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on policies of the past,” he pledged. There were reports earlier that Clinton would concede, but her campaign said she was “absolutely not” prepared to do so. Clinton praised Obama warmly in an appearance before supporters in New York. But she neither acknowledged Obama’s victory nor offered a concession of any sort. “This has been a long campaign, and I will be making no decisions tonight,” she said. Instead, the 60-year-old said she would spend the next few days determining “how to move forward with the best interests of our country and our party guiding my way.” US media reports quoted lawmakers as saying that during a conference call Clinton expressed willingness to serve as Obama’s running mate in November if she was asked to. The Obama campaign, however maintained that it was “too early” to discuss the issue. “We don’t have a long list or a short list,” said David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist. “Obviously she’s an incredibly formidable person.” Obama supporters gathered in large numbers outside a convention centre in St Paul. Festive mood prevailed all over as Obama walked in with wife Michelle amid loud cheers in an arena draped with huge American flags and the trademark “Change We Can Believe In” banners. Diving into general election mode, Obama took on presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, saying it’s “time to turn the page on the policies of the past.” The 71-year-old Vietnam war veteran also did not mince his words while addressing a gathering in Louisiana, the home state of Indian-American Governor Bobby Jindal who has been apparently short-listed for Republican vice-presidential nominee. “No matter who wins this election, the direction of this country is going to change dramatically. But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change, between going forward and going backward,” McCain said. Obama, however, said “It’s not change when John McCain decided to stand with George Bush [Images] 95 per cent of the time, as he did in the Senate last year.” After their respective party conventions in August and September formally nominates them, the two candidates will vie to succeed President George W Bush [Images], who has seen his popularity dip in opinion surveys amid fears of an economic recession and criticism over the handling of Iraq war. Analysts feel the Bush legacy can hurt the chances of McCain but he may gain from the divisions that emerged within the Democrats during the epic nominating battle that drew record turnouts in primary after primary – more than 34 million voters in all. Obama won a stunning victory in the first contest, the Iowa caucuses in January. Clinton came back with an upset five days later in New Hampshire. They traded victories through the Super Tuesday contests on February 5, when almost half the states voted. Then Obama had 11 straight victories and the Clinton campaign never fully recovered. Obama drew his strength from blacks and younger, more liberal and wealthier voters in many states. Clinton was preferred by older, more downscale voters, and women. The African-American Senator, the son of a Kenyan man and a white woman from Kansas, has a tough task ahead in a country where race remains a bitterly divisive issue. Clinton appeared to be playing up race factor during the primaries by insisting she would be the strongest candidate to beat McCain, pointing to Obama’s problems attracting working-class white voters. Source: Rediff.