Briefing media in New Delhi on Friday Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said that both the countries are currently engaged in talks on an MoU in counter terrorism.

On the issue of Indo US civil nuclear deal She expressed confidence that all the issues relating to its implementations will be resolved with in the time frame.

She affirmed that India will also take on the issue of reforms in United Nations and India’s case for permanent membership in the visit.

Terming the US and India as “strategic partners,” Dr Manmohan Singh said renewing partnership with a new administration and identifying new areas of cooperation will be an important part of his visit as the first state guest of President Barack Obama.

“We are strategic partners. We have good relations. But there is a new administration in America. So it is appropriate that I should renew our partnership,” Dr Singh said in an interview to a daily ahead of his visit that begins on Sunday.

Describing the Indo-US civil nuclear deal as a landmark agreement, Dr Singh said India would like to operationalise it and ensure its objectives are realised in full.

“My hope is that we can persuade the US administration to be more liberal when it comes to transferring technologies to us. The restrictions make no sense. India has an impeccable record of not participating in any proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. So that’s my number one concern,” he said.

He said India and the US could be partners in refocusing attention on an “equitable, balanced global order”.

“We would like to strengthen energy cooperation with the United States — (in) clean coal technology and in renewable energy resources,” he said.

Dr Singh said India would also like to have cooperation in the field of agriculture, where it wants to achieve a second Green Revolution to attain food security.

“We would like to have a second Green Revolution in our country — therefore, cooperation in the field of agriculture, in science and technology, in health, and in dealing with pandemics,” he said.

Asked what he expects to achieve on his visit, Dr Singh said besides nuclear cooperation, he wanted greater cooperation in education, closer linkages between the university systems of the two countries and cooperation in health that includes “working together to devise new vaccines”.

Noting that climate change is a responsibility of all humanity, he said developed countries had an obligation to perform on reduction of carbon emissions.

“I hope that Copenhagen will reaffirm that. Without the US giving a lead, I don’t see a deal at Copenhagen that can become a reality… We recognise our own responsibilities… We have put in place a national action plan to deal with climate change,” he said.

On India’s relations with China, Dr Singh said there is enough space in the world to accommodate the ambitions of both countries.

He also said that the two countries have a long pending border dispute, which they are trying to resolve through dialogue.

“China has emerged as a major trading partner with us. But we have problems with China with regard to our boundary dispute, and we both are engaged in discussions of the boundary,” Dr Singh said.

On Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Dr Singh said while as a signatory to the Non Proliferation Treaty, Tehran has an obligation to not develop weapons but it must be allowed the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

“It must have all the privileges that go with being a member of the NPT, (including) the peaceful uses of nuclear energy… It also has all the obligations that go with NPT membership. Therefore, I think nuclear weapons are not an option,” he said.

Dr Singh, who recently hosted Iran Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in New Delhi, said Iran feels encouraged by the messages it has received from the Obama administration.

“I met recently with the Iranian foreign minister. We did discuss the nuclear question. The message he left with me was that they feel encouraged by the messages they are receiving from the Obama administration,” he said.

Asked about Iran pursuing a nuclear weapons programme, he said: “I had the pleasure of (meeting) the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency a few weeks ago, and he was not so sure that Iran is definitely working towards a nuclear weapon”.

“India and China are two rising powers, very important players on the global scene,” State Department Deputy Spokesman, Robert Wood, said at a news briefing in Washington on Friday.

The United States would be dealing very closely with India and China in coming years, he said. “They’re key, and our relationships with both are growing.”

Wood’s comments came two days after India strongly reacted to the references to the Indo-Pak ties in a Sino-US joint statement issued during President Barack Obama’s China visit and made it clear that it would not brook any third party role in bilateral matters.

“A third country role cannot be envisaged nor is it necessary,” the External Affairs Ministry spokesman said in New Delhi in a terse comment on the statement.

Both Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao had voiced support for improvement in Indo-Pak ties and their readiness to promote peace and stability in the region, listing the situation in South Asia among regional and global challenges.

Observing that the US is engaged in intensive dialogue with both countries, Wood said: “I think both countries also realise the importance of the Indo-Sino relationship, and to work towards improving that not only for regional stability, but for global stability as well.”

However, the Deputy Spokesman refrained from making any comment on India getting a place in the UN Security Council, where China along with the US, Britain, France and Russia is a permanent member.

Responding to a question, Wood said the US does have its concerns with China, which it has raised with the Chinese authorities.

“We have raised them when appropriate, and at all levels of our interaction. Hopefully, China will move in the direction that we’d like to see it go,” he said.

The US and China have often differed on the issue of human rights and Washington has been raising it with the Chinese authorities along with its other concerns

The incident occurred around 2.30 am local time at the mine situated in Hegang city in China’s Heilongjiang province, when 528 miners were working under it, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

It said rescuers had retrieved 11 bodies while another 118 people were still trapped.

The rescue headquarters said that a gas outburst caused the explosion in the Xinxing Coal Mine owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group.

The company said that 399 miners escaped the accident in the mine, which is located over 400 kms east of the provincial capital of Harbin.

“I do not consider that I have received a final answer,” ElBaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in Berlin.

“We have not received any written response from Iran. What I got of course is an oral response, which basically said ‘we need to keep all the material in Iran until we get the fuel,” he said.

“That to me is a case of extreme mistrust.”

He added, “I believe that frankly the ball is very much in the Iranian court. I hope that they will not miss this unique and fleeting opportunity.”

In an attempt to draw Iran into talks and guarantee that its nuclear ambitions are peaceful, six world powers have offered to reprocess some of its low-enriched uranium abroad.

But on Wednesday, Iran appeared to reject the proposal out of hand, prompting US President Barack Obama to warn of “consequences” in the form of toughened sanctions.

Representatives from the six powers — the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany — were meeting in Brussels on Friday to discuss the next steps in what ElBaradei called “an environment of desperation.”

“The reality is that the international presence in Afghanistan has provided a significant influx of assistance dollars and contracts and so on,” Gates told reporters ahead of an international defence summit at Halifax in Canada.

“So it seems to me that the place for us to start is to deal with corruption that may be associated with contracts we’re letting or work that we’re having done and development projects that we’re undertaking in partnership with others including with the Afghans,” he said on Friday.

“I think the place to start is the place where we have the greatest leverage and that’s where we’re writing the checks.”

Gates’s comments at a joint press conference with Canada’s defense minister follow the inauguration on Thursday of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who now faces intense pressure to stem corruption in his country.

The defence secretary’s stance echoed that of Secretary of States Hillary Clinton, who this week in Kabul said the United States was working to track development aid.

“As we call for accountability from others, we will hold ourselves accountable as well,” she said.

Karzai has earned the opprobrium of the international community since a fraud-tainted election highlighted the massive levels of official corruption in Afghanistan.

Ahmadinejad stressed the “need for cooperation between the two countries in various fields,” according to a statement distributed in Brasilia by the Iranian embassy.

“While there is an unfair polemic in Western countries against Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme, the people of Brazil side with the Iranian people.”

Pointing to Brazil’s own nuclear programme, Ahmadinejad said Brazilians “understand that a few arrogant powers… are trying to prevent other nations from having access to advanced science.”

Ahmadinejad arrives in Brazil on Monday for a busy day-long visit that includes a meeting with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, signing bilateral trade deals, a visit to Congress, a press conference and a speech at a Brasilia University, according to the embassy.

It will be the first visit by an Iranian president to Brazil, and Ahmadinejad’s third round of talks with Lula, who is scheduled to visit Tehran in early 2010.

Israel, whose conservative government considers Ahmadinejad-ruled Iran an existential threat, has already blasted Brazil’s “mistake” in hosting the firebrand leader.

Brazil has backed Iran’s nuclear development programme, as long as it serves peaceful, civilian uses. Lula said in September that he was against sanctions on Iran, preferring instead diplomacy.

His stance contrasts with the US, its Western allies and Israel, which charge that Tehran is seeking to develop a nuclear bomb under the cover of its suspect nuclear programme.

“The expansion of West Bank settlements must be frozen,” Lula said after meeting for two hours with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Friday.

“The borders of the future Palestinian state should be preserved, and freedom of movement needs to be guaranteed in the occupied territories.”

For his part, Abbas blasted Israel’s decision to pursue settlement activity as an “obstacle on the road to peace” in the Middle East.

He noted that under the US-backed 2003 roadmap, a peace plan that calls for a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel, the Jewish state is required to freeze all settlement construction.

The roadmap also demands that Israel dismantle all settlement outposts, or dwellings the state itself considers illegal.

“Therefore if the Israeli government continues to build, notably in occupied east Jerusalem, that will mean it is erecting obstacles along the road to peace,” Abbas said.

The Palestinian leader called on Lula, who met last week with visiting Israeli President Shimon Peres, to play a greater role in international efforts to reach an agreement on Middle East peace.

“We appreciate the efforts of Brazil,” Abbas told reporters in the northeastern city of Salvador.

“With respect to you, President Lula, we would like you to have a role, and you’re ready for it,” he said, adding that “the world can benefit from” Brazil’s influence in the region.

The two leaders discussed the long-stalled Middle East peace process and a way forward for the Palestinian territories.

“The peace process will benefit from the contribution of other countries other than those traditionally involved” in negotiation efforts, Lula said.

In recent weeks, Brazil has hinted at ambitions to play a role in Middle East affairs as the country seeks to boost its international profile to match its growing economic heft.

After Peres and Abbas, Lula is expected to meet on Monday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as part of a flurry of talks with Middle East leaders.

Abbas is to head to Argentina on Sunday to meet with President Cristina Kirchner.

On Thursday, Brazil’s foreign ministry expressed “deep concern” over Israel’s announcement that it would build hundreds of new homes in a settlement in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians want to make the capital of their future state.

US President Barack Obama warned the decision could lead to “very dangerous” consequences.

The Jewish state said it would erect 900 new homes at the Gilo settlement in east Jerusalem, which Israel invaded and occupied during the Six Day War of 1967 and subsequently annexed in a move not recognized by the international community.

EU leaders met in Brussels especially to select their first full time president and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, new posts created by the Lisbon Treaty, which will come into force on 1st December.

Rompuy selected in a closed-door meeting would be the first permanent president of the world’s largest economy and the chief representative of 500 million people.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown earlier withdrew his support for former Prime Minister Tony Blair to become EU president, Brown’s spokesman said, opening the way for a compromise in which Ashton, the EU’s trade commissioner, will become the high representative for foreign affairs.

“The Department of State warns US citizens of the risks of travelling to Nepal, and urges caution when travelling in that country,” the State Department said in its travel advisory issued on Thursday.

It said that the US is concerned about the security situation in Nepal, and asked American citizens to obtain updated security information before they travel and to be prepared to change their plans on short notice.

The State Department said political violence remained a problem in Nepal as protests, demonstrations and disruptions continue to occur, often without advance notice.

Given the nature, intensity, and unpredictability of disturbances, American citizens are asked to exercise special caution during times when demonstrations are announced, avoid areas where demonstrations are occurring or crowds are forming, avoid road travel, and maintain a low profile, said the travel advisory.

The Young Communist League, youth wing of CPN-Maoist, and several other armed groups continue to engage in extortion, abuse, and threats of violence, particularly in rural areas and the Terai (the border region with India), the State Department said.

Youth groups from the other two main political parties, Nepali Congress and United Marxist-Leninist Party, have also been formed and clashes continue to take place among these political rivals.

“In some instances, this has caused local authorities to impose curfews without prior notice. Violent actions by multiple armed splinter groups in the Terai region along the southern border with India remain a significant concern,” the advisory said.

It said crime in the Kathmandu Valley and in the major cities of Nepal continues and includes violent crime, robberies by armed gangs and the harassment of female travellers and added that police resources to combat such crime are limited.

Well aware that a large number of American nationals go to Nepal for trekking, the travel advisory said theft and muggings occasionally occur in popular tourist and trekking areas such as Chitwan, Pokhara and the Annapurna region and the Thamel area of Kathmandu.

“Visitors to Nepal should practise good personal security when moving about and avoid walking alone after dark, carrying large sums of cash, or wearing expensive jewelry.

“Women are advised to pay attention to local customs and dress appropriately in public,” it said.

“We know that there is a cross-border fertilization of extremism and terrorism. Afghanistan cannot get control over its territory and defeat the Taliban if they can go across the border into Pakistan as a safe haven,” Clinton told the Azadi Radio in an interview.

Similarly, Pakistan cannot root out the people that threaten them and their government if they can seek refuge across the border in Afghanistan, she said according to a transcript released by the State Department.

“That’s why we look at Afghanistan and Pakistan together when it comes to this fight against terrorism,” she said.

Having recently visited Pakistan, Clinton said she knows that the Pakistani military is working very hard in South Waziristan, and they do have to have priorities as to how they will spend their resources and their troops.

“But we will continue to press them to go after all of the extremists in Pakistan, some of whom target Pakistan, some of whom, as you know, target Afghanistan.

And we think there has to be an effort to root out the extremists in Pakistan who threaten Afghanistan,” she said.

“So that is the message that I took to Pakistan when I was there a few weeks ago. It’s the message that I continue to stress with our friends in Pakistan,” Clinton said.

In another interview to BBC, Clinton said the US has a national security interest in going after the syndicate of terror that al-Qaida has helped to pull together, which includes elements of the Afghan and Pakistan Taliban.

“It is a direct threat to the United States, to our allies, our interests, our values. And we are determined to defeat al-Qaeda,” she said.