India welcomes obama...@desirulez

[Caasanova]

unprecedented ground-to-air security apparatus has been put in place in New Delhi , which prepares to host US President Barack Obama on Sunday.

Authorities in New Delhi have held consultations with their American counterparts on the security aspects of the visit.

Obama, who reaches the capital on Sunday afternoon from Mumbai, will have a busy schedule -- visiting the Humayun's Tomb and Rajghat, meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and addressing Parliament before he leaves on Tuesday.

Hundreds of snipers will keep a watch from rooftops on the routes the President will be taking while aerial surveillance will also be maintained, officials said.

The ITC Maurya Sheraton where Obama is staying has been made out of bounds for the public with Indian and US security agencies taking over the building, a senior official said.

"We have sanitised the hotel. Snipers will be deployed on rooftops on Obama's route. We have a foolproof arrangement for the US President," he said.


Around 2,000 police and paramilitary personnel will be deployed in and around the hotel which had earlier hosted US Presidents Bill Clinton in 2000 and George W Bush [ Images ] in 2006 besides US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last year.

Proximity security to Obama will be given by his guards while the other cordons will be manned by personnel from Delhi Police and paramilitary forces as also the elite National Security Guards (NSG).

[Caasanova]

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan along with Protocol Minister Suresh Shetty and Union Corporate and Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed will receive US President Barack Obama at the Mumbai airport on Saturday afternoon.
But Chavan said he was not sure whether he would be attending the function at Taj Hotel or not.
"I will be receiving Obama at the airport. Will have a look at the invitation and then decide about attending the Taj event," Chavan said just a day after reports that he might boycott Obama event at the Taj Hotel after being asked for ID proofs and other personal details.

[Caasanova]

Mr President,

Welcome to India. We are excited about the prospect of receiving a man of destiny not just for the people of the United States, but also for people around the world, who see you as a messiah of change and hope.

We have a stake in your success because, on it depends the advent of a just, equitable and non-racist world. On this Diwali day, when you arrive in India, the brightest light that we see in the horizon is the one you lit in Washington that cold January night in 2008.

Our welcome is spontaneous and unconditional. Your arrival in India itself is historic, regardless of whatever you may or may not accomplish here in the next four days.

We know that you will arrive in India before recovering from the mid-term shock of losing the House and reducing your majority in the Senate. The fact that your predecessors too had to face such defeats may be no consolation for you.

In your case, the amazing fact is that you never received bipartisan support even in your struggle to tackle the national economic crisis or crucial health reform issues.

There appears to be a conspiracy by vested interests to reverse the historic process that brought you to the White House. The trends you have set in foreign policy from Cairo and Prague break new ground for global peace and prosperity and you should have the time to bring them to fruition.

We see hope in your initiatives and we wish you well.

A NICE JOURNEY
AND WELCOME Mr.OBAMA


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DESIRULEZ

[Caasanova]

South Mumbai wears a deserted look hours before US President Barack Obama's arrival in the city.

Traffic, including taxis, is still moving freely albeit cautiously on Colaba Causeway. But traffic cops say they will pull all traffic off the road around 11 am. After that only residents' cars with passes will be permitted. But getting a car pass is next to impossible on Saturday at the police station.

Along the Gateway, early morning walkers were allowed to walk right up to the barricaded Taj corner

[Caasanova]

US President Barack Obama has arrived in Mumbai on the first leg of his three-day visit that will seek to focus on opening up of Indian markets for American businesses and deal with wide range of political issues, including strategy on counter-terrorism.


























The Air Force One carrying Obama and his wife Michelle touched down at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 12:50 pm.

[Caasanova]

US President Barack Obama arrived here on Saturday at the start of a three-day India visit, focussed largely on the American hunt for markets and jobs, and his first halt was iconic Taj hotel which was ravaged by Pakistani terrorists two years ago.



Within an hour of landing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Obama took off in a US helicopter and then his Cadillac to reach the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel at the edge of the Arabian Sea to pay homage to those who died in the terror attack.
After lunch at the Presidential Suite of the hotel, where he and his wife Michelle will spend Saturday night, he will go to Mani Bhavan, now a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, a childhood hero of the US president

.

[Caasanova]

The mission of USAID is to advance America's interests by strengthening our relationships abroad,' President Obama said last year while nominating Dr Rajiv Shah as Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development.
'Rajiv brings fresh ideas and the dedication and impressive background necessary to help guide USAID as it works to achieve this important goal,' Obama added.



Hailing the nomination, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- under whose jurisdiction USAID falls -- said: 'Dr Raj Shah is a leader in the development community, an innovative and results-oriented manager, and someone who understands the importance of providing people around the world with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty and chart their own destinies.'

Even though the baby-faced, amazingly young, medical doctor and health economist's appointment raised some doubts if he could revive USAID, which had floundered without a leader for some years, the scepticism vanished in the wake of January's Haiti earthquake when Dr Shah led the American humanitarian effort to bring relief to hundreds of thousands of Haitians devastated by the calamity

[Caasanova]

With the Gateway of India looming in the background, United States President Barack Obama spoke at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai on Saturday.



Obama paid tribute to victims of the 26/11 terror attacks on the first day of his visit to India. After his brief address, Obama and his wife mixed with the gathering, shaking hands with some of them and talking to the families of the victims.

[Caasanova]

US President Barack Obama on Saturday described Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi as 'a hero not just to India but to the world'.

"I am filled with hope and inspiration as I have the privilege to view this testament to Gandhi's life. He is a hero not just to India but to the world," Obama wrote in the visitor's book at the Mani Bhavan in Mumbai.

[Caasanova]

BJP on Saturday voiced disappointment over US President Barack Obama making no direct reference to terror emanating from Pakistan in his first speech on arrival in Mumbai, saying his words were not backed with action and intent.


"It was the first address by the US President at a place (Taj Hotel) which saw the biggest terror attack on India.... It was a complete disappointment as the world and the United States had proof that the attack was planned on Pakistani soil by its intelligence agencies. He had words which were not backed with action and intent," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters here.

He said that by skirting a direct reference to Pakistan, Obama "missed" an opportunity to strike a chord with Indians.