Superfast Breaking News

Several nations opposing India's NSG membership bid soften their stand, say reports

With India continuing to win support for its membership bid for the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), even nations that had been so far opposing the South Asian country's entry into the elite nuclear club are reported to have softened their stand.

The development comes amid efforts by India and the United States to push for the former's entry into the nuclear club that controls access to sensitive nuclear technology.

Reuters reported that some of the countries which had been opposing India's NSG membership have softened their stand and are willing to work towards a compromise.

However, the biggest hurdle in India's NSG entry - China – continues to remain defiant

China has been stressing that if NSG decides to induct India, it should also give same treatment to Pakistan, which is its close ally.

"China, if anything, is hardening (its position)," Reuters quoted an unnamed diplomat as saying.

The 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group aims to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons by restricting the sale of items that can be used to make those arms. It was set up in response to India's first nuclear test in 1974.

India already enjoys most of the benefits of membership under a 2008 exemption to NSG rules granted to support its nuclear cooperation deal with Washington, even though India has developed atomic weapons and never signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the main global arms control pact.

But China on Thursday reiterated its position that the NPT is central to the NSG, diplomats said.

Six nations - China, New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria – had been opposing India's NSG membership. Of these, South Africa, New Zealand and Turkey are reported to have softened their stand on India's admission to the group.

India's entry into NSG will shake strategic balance in South Asia, break Indo-Pak nuclear balance: China

Acknowledging that India is "inching closer" to get membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Chinese official media on Thursday said if New Delhi is admitted into the elite grouping, "nuclear balance" between India and Pakistan will be broken.

Stating that India's entry into Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will "shake strategic balance in South Asia and even cast a cloud over peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region", an article in the state-run 'Global Times' however said China could support India's inclusion in the 48 member nuclear club if it "played by rules".

Written by Fu Xiaoqiang research fellow with the state-run think tank China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, the article a second in as many days by the same daily highlights China's strident and vocal opposition to India's entry into NSG and concerns that its all weather ally Pakistan will be left behind because "entry into the NSG will make it (India) a 'legitimate nuclear power'."

"New Delhi seems to have inched closer to NSG membership after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gained backing from the US, Swiss and Mexico in its bid to join the elite nuclear club earlier this month," the article said mentioning for the first time India's progress in getting support from Mexico and Switzerland.

"Becoming a member of the NSG, a bloc that governs civilian nuclear trade worldwide, will grant India global acceptance as a legitimate nuclear power," said the article titled?"Beijing could support India's NSG accession path if it plays by rules".

A commentary in the same daily on June 14 had said that India's admission into NSG would "jeopardise" China's national interest and touch a "raw nerve" in Pakistan.

"If it joins the group, New Delhi will be able to import civilian nuclear technology and fuels from the international market more conveniently, while saving its domestic nuclear materials for military use," said the article in the Global Times, a tabloid daily which is part of the ruling Communist Party of China group of publications headed by People's Daily.

"The major goal for India's NSG ambition is to obtain an edge over Islamabad in nuclear capabilities. Once New Delhi gets the membership first, the nuclear balance between India and Pakistan will be broken," it said.

"As a result, Pakistan's strategic interests will be threatened, which will in turn shake the strategic balance in South Asia, and even cast a cloud over peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region," it said.

The reason why India has scored a big win in garnering support for its NSG membership from some countries is because Washington has started to treat New Delhi as part of the US alliance, the write-up said.

"It was only several years ago that Modi could not even get a US visa, but now he has visited the US more often than any other country during his two years in office," it said.

The US recognised New Delhi as a "major defence partner" during Modi's recent visit, meaning that the White House has given India the treatment as a US military ally, it said.

The article said that over the years, the US has been "bending the rules" to back India's nuclear projects.

"Against the backdrop of Washington's accelerated pace of promoting its pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, it will be highly likely to keep supporting New Delhi's nuclear ambitions, in order to make it a stronger power to contain China," it said.

The attitude of the US has had and will undoubtedly have an impact on some other nations. For those countries which also wish to put a finger in the pie of India's market, many of them begin to back India's NSG membership, or at least not oppose it, the article said in apparent reference to majority of the countries in the NSG supporting India's entry.

"However, as a country that has signed neither the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) nor the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), India is not yet qualified for accession into the NSG," it said.

"That's why the bloc is still divided over the case, and countries including New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria have expressed their firm objections to India's membership," it said.

The article made no mention of problems faced by Pakistan in getting into the NSG due to its past record of proliferating the nuclear technology to Iran and North Korea, where as India is seeking entry into group based on clean non-proliferation record.

"As a crucial defender of the international system against nuclear proliferation, China does not wish to see the political and legal foundation of global nuclear security to be challenged by any party who does not abide by rules," the article said without referring to Beijing's own nuclear power cooperation with Islamabad in supplying a number of nuclear reactors, including two 1100 mw reactors currently under construction in Karachi.

"For those countries that are developing nuclear technology without the acceptance of the international community, perhaps counting them into the non-proliferation mechanism will better safeguard nuclear security," it said.

But at the same the article said China backs India's entry if a fair and just principle is worked out through consensus.

"Yet before that, a fair and just principle must be made through common consensus of all current members of the NSG, rather than the US and India's reckless pushing at the cost of rule-breaking".

"So far, all NSG members have signed the NPT. So the question is, if any non-signatory of the treaty wants to join the group, under what condition can it be accepted? If such a standard is to be made one day, then it will be possible for both India and Pakistan to become part of the group," it said.

"Beijing welcomes New Delhi playing a role as a major power in global governance, including producing positive effect in a nuclear non-proliferation organisation," it said.

"As long as all NSG members reach a consensus over how a non-NPT member could join the NSG and India promises to comply with stipulations over the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons while sticking to its policy of independence and self-reliance, China could support New Delhi's path toward the club," it said.

Barack Obama meets Dalai Lama, China fumes

It was Obama's fourth meeting with the Dalai Lama, CNN reported. 

Obama and the Dalai Lama met in the Map Room, on the ground floor of the White House residence. 

Obama and previous presidents have avoided receiving the Dalai Lama in the Oval Office, a setting typically reserved for visiting heads of state or government leaders.

Josh Earnest, the White House Press Secretary, said the meeting's venue indicated that it was a personal greeting rather than formal bilateral talks.

A White House official said that ahead of the talks, the pair discussed a range of issues, including human rights, but declined to provide any further details about the meeting, which was not open to the media.

Later, the White House said the Dalai Lama extended condolences for Sunday's terror attack in Orlando, but declined to provide further details of the discussion.

The Dalai Lama officially retired in 2011 from his political role as the leader of the exiled Tibetan government, but remains the head of Tibetan Buddhists.

On Tuesday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman sharply criticised any decision that could lend legitimacy to the Dalai Lama's claims that Tibet should be independent from China.

"The US government made solemn commitments. It acknowledges that there is only one China, that Tibet is an inseparable part of China and will never recognise the so-called Tibetan government in exile," the spokesman, Lu Kang, said during a press briefing.

Lu said the Dalai Lama is not a purely religious figure, but a political exile who has long engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the guise of religion.

Chinese state-run daily, the Global Times said the meeting showed Obama's "mean side".

"While Obama often says he welcomes China's peaceful rise, his meetings with the Dalai Lama erode his sincerity and make him look more like he is helping the latter continue to make trouble with China," the daily said in an editorial.

New Zealand softens stand on India's NSG membership bid as Pakistan lobbies for its application

As per a report in The Times of India, New Zealand is now pressing for a criteria-based approach for inducting new members as against giving one-time exception to any country.

New Zealand was among the countries including Turkey, South Africa, Ireland, Austria and China which had been opposing India's NSG membership bid ahead of the group's preliminary meeting in Vienna last week.

While New Zealand and some other countries have relented on their position following an appeal by US Secretary of State John Kerry, China and Turkey are continuing to maintain their hardened positions.

Turkey has clearly indicated that it would come aboard only when the NSG agrees to consider the applications of both India and Pakistan simultaneously.

China also maintains a similar position.

India's NSG membership application has been opposed on the ground that the country is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a key requirement for the membership of the nuclear club.

Pakistan, meanwhile, has thanked Turkey for supporting it on the issue and for taking a "principled" stand.

Sartaj Aziz, adviser to Pakistan's PM on foreign affairs, has already dialled foreign ministers of Turkey and Austria to discuss the issue.

"Adviser thanked Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu for the principled position adopted by Turkey at the Vienna meeting that the membership applications of both India and Pakistan be considered together," a statement issued by the Pakistan government said.

Aziz, Pakistan's equivalent of foreign minister, had earlier also spoken to his counterparts in Argentina, Italy, New Zealand, Russia and South Korea to lobby for his country's application and highlight its "credentials for NSG membership".

UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemns Orlando shooting

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the "horrific" mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that claimed at least 50 lives.

"The Secretary-General condemns the horrific attack this morning in Orlando, Florida, in which dozens of people were killed and injured," a statement issued by Ban's spokesperson said.

"He extends his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and expresses his solidarity with the Government and people of the United States," the statement said.

The suspect in the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the US has been identified as 29-year old Omar Mateen, a New York-born man of Afghan descent.

The casualties far exceeded those of the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, where 32 people were killed, and the 2012 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown where 26 people died.

"In the face of hate and violence, we will love one another," President Obama said in a special address from the White House.

"We will not give in to fear or turn against each other. Instead, we will stand united as Americans to protect our people and defend our nation, and to take action against those who threaten us," he said.

White House race: Hillary Clinton vows to prioritise abortion rights if elected

Preserving the right to seek and obtain an abortion will remain a key component of Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, the presumptive Democratic nominee said Friday.

Speaking to the political arm of the national reproductive health and advocacy organization Planned Parenthood, Clinton placed herself in stark contrast to her Republican rival Donald Trump, whom she portrayed as a sexist enemy of women's rights.

"When Donald Trump says 'let's make America great again,' that is code for 'let's take America backward' -- back to a time when opportunity and dignity were reserved for some, not all," Clinton said.

"Back to the days when abortion was illegal, women had far fewer options and life for too many women and girls was limited."

"Donald, those days are over," she said.

Clinton spoke in a direct style that she has recently adopted to challenge billionaire Trump's often brusque manner, referring to the presumptive Republican nominee simply by his first name in an effort to diminish his stature.

She reminded her audience that Trump has advocated scrapping paid family leave, equal pay laws, threatened to defund Planned Parenthood, and could appoint Supreme Court justices who want to strip abortion rights.

"Anyone who would so casually agree to the idea of punishing women like it was nothing... that's someone who doesn't hold women in high regard," Clinton said.

Potentially the first woman to become a US president, Clinton cited her record as a longtime advocate for gender equality, going back to her years as first lady, a US senator and as Barack Obama's secretary of state.

According to a recent Fox News poll, 64 percent of US women hold an unfavorable view of Trump, compared to 49 percent who dislike Clinton. Half of the women polled said they plan to vote for Clinton, versus 32 percent for Trump.

Great Canary Telescope captures image of deepest Earth-based galaxy

World's largest single-aperture optical telescope, the Gran Telescopio Canarias(GTC), which is on the island of La Palma in Spain, has captured an image of deepest Earth-based galaxy.

The galaxy is ten times deeper than any other obtained from the ground and 500 million light years away from the Earth.

GTC researchers managed the rare feat while observing a faint halo of stars around the galaxy UGC0180.

The galaxy UGC00180 was chosen because it is quite similar to our neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy, and to other galaxies to which the researchers have references.

They used the OSIRIS camera on the GTC, also known as the Great Canary Telescope, which has a field big enough to cover a decent area of sky around the galaxy, in order to explore its possible halo.

After 8.1 hours of exposure they could show that it does have a weak halo composed of four thousand million stars, about the same number as those in the Magellanic Clouds, which are satellite galaxies of the Milky Way.

With this measurement, recently published in Astrophysical Journal, the existence of the stellar halos predicted by theoretical models is confirmed, and it has become possible to study low surface brightness phenomena.

As well as beating the previous surface brightness limit by a factor of 10, the observation shows that it will be possible to explore the universe not only to the same depth to which we can go using the conventional technique of star counts, but also out to distances where this cannot be achieved.

"The object of future research is to extend the study to other types of galaxies, to see whether this way of understanding their formation, predicted by the standard model, is correct or not," said study lead author Ignacio Trujillo of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC).

The GTC project is a partnership formed by several institutions from Spain and Mexico, the University of Florida, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and the IAC.

India going to be America's 'great ally'; Modi bringing much-needed reforms: US House Speaker

The Indian government is going to be America's "great ally" and there is a need to nurture this relationship, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has said.

In a major foreign policy speech here in which he was highly critical of President Barack Obama's policies, the US-India relationship was the only aspect of it which was appreciated by Ryan.

"I think you need, and in particular, specifically under Modi's leadership, and he and I have discussed this at great length yesterday, (US-India) have a great potential for the future particularly with the seas, in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, making sure that we help police the global commons and international order, namely China building, you know, runways on islands in contested areas," Ryan said.

He said this in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress at his invitation.

Modi was the first foreign leader to be invited to address a joint sitting of the Congress under Ryan's speakership.

On Wednesday, Modi and Ryan had a one-on-one interaction before the Prime Minister's address. Ryan also hosted a lunch for the visiting leader.

A day later, Ryan was all in praise for Modi.

"I think the Indian (government), the new Indian government, is going to be a great ally of ours and we have better security cooperation with them. That's one thing that we need to nurture and grow," Ryan told the audience at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think tank.

"And those of us who are fans of Modi, you know, he's a conservative who wants, who embraces free enterprise. He's bringing needed reform to the country," Ryan said, according to the remarks released by his office.

"That's the kind of an alliance that we need to forge and build upon. That stands in stark contrast, I would argue, to the Obama foreign policy of the last eight years where we have neglected our allies and we have basically rewarded our enemies, our adversaries," said the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Except for his comments on India, Ryan slammed Obama's foreign policy.

"We know that this new Obama foreign policy concept, leading from behind, can now be declared an unambiguous failure. It is making us unprepared. It is reducing our military capability and strength," he alleged.

"It is confusing our allies and incentivising our adversaries. And all that does is tempt fate. So we are saying we've got to reset our system. We've got to restructure and reaffirm our foreign policy, in particular our military policy if we want to prevent these problems on the horizon from getting out of control," Ryan said.

In response to a question, he said Modi's address to the joint session of the Congress was a great day.

"So we just heard the prime minister of India at the Capitol Hill yesterday. It was a great day. He spoke before Congress and it was a great moment for the growing friendship between our two countries. The main reason I think this moment was so notable is that nowadays it's so rare," Ryan said referring to the bipartisan support that India-US relationship enjoys in the Congress.

"On the past seven years, our friendships have frayed. Our rivalries have intensified. It's not too much to say that our enemies no longer fear us and too many of our allies no longer trust us," he said.

In the Republican document on foreign policy and national security released by Ryan, the party said India and the US working together for betterment of the world.

"We must also embrace emerging partners that could help keep the peace in their region and beyond," the document said.

"India, the world's largest democracy, shares common interests with the world's oldest democracy, the United States and we must build upon that foundation to work together in shaping world events," it said.

As part of its objective of advancing American interest, the 25-page document calls for "deepening relations" with emerging powers like India.

The foreign policy document released by Ryan is also critical of the Pakistan policy of the Obama Administration.

The Obama administration failed to prioritise economic growth in its approach to foreign aid and development, preferring high-profile "presidential initiatives" and short-term responses such as loan guarantees and enterprise funds, it said.

"In places like Pakistan, the administration has made major investments in infrastructure but failed to accomplish the reforms necessary to create a positive environment for economic growth. Without reform, these initiatives will do little to improve livelihoods," the policy paper said.

UN chief to visit Belgium, Russia, Greece

 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will leave New York on June 13 for Brussels, Belgium, to participate in the European Development Days before attending an event in Russia and visiting Greece, a UN spokesman has said.

In Brussels, the secretary-general will meet with Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, and a number of commissioners as well as other senior officials attending the celebration of the European Development Days, Europe`s leading forum on development and international cooperation, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

While in Belgium, the secretary-general will also participate in an Advisory Board meeting of the Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL) initiative, and meet with King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, who is one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals Ambassadors, he said.

On June 16, the secretary-general will be in St. Petersburg, Russia, for the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual international conference dedicated to economic and business issues held under the auspices of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The secretary-general is scheduled to meet Russian President Putin, as well as with other participating senior officials, said the spokesman.

On June 17, the secretary-general will travel to Athens, Greece, where he will meet President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, among others, he said.

He will then go to the island of Lesvos June 18, to meet with refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, as well as local volunteers and authorities, he said.

The secretary-general is expected to be back in New York on June 19.

Japan protests as Chinese Navy sails near disputed isles

 A Chinese naval ship sailed into waters surrounding disputed East China Sea islands for the first time early Thursday, prompting Tokyo to summon the Chinese ambassador to protest, the Japanese government said

Russian naval ships were also seen in the area around the same time.

A Chinese naval vessel entered waters surrounding the Tokyo-administered isles, called Senkaku in Japan and also claimed as the Diaoyu islands by China, around 00:50 am (1550 GMT Wednesday), according to the Japanese foreign ministry.

It was a 3,963-ton Jiangkai class frigate, spotted by Japan`s guided-missile destroyer Setogiri, the Japanese defence ministry said.

Contiguous waters are a 12-nautical-mile band that extends beyond territorial waters. Under international rules, they are not the preserve of any single country, although the resident power has certain limited rights.

"The fact that (China) sent a naval ship to the contiguous waters of our Senkaku Islands for the first time is an act that unilaterally increases tension and our nation is gravely concerned," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular briefing.

Relations between Japan and China deteriorated in 2012 when Tokyo "nationalised" some of the islets.

Since then, the two largest Asian economies have taken gradual steps to mend fences but relations remain tense.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki summoned Chinese ambassador Cheng Yonghua around 2:00 am to lodge a protest.

Saiki "expressed grave concerns and protested, while demanding the ship immediately leave our nation`s contiguous zone," the ministry statement said.

During his meeting with Saiki, Cheng claimed the Chinese frigate was allowed to sail in the waters, Kyodo News said, citing an unnamed source.

The frigate left the zone at about 3:10 am, the Japanese government said.

Japan`s Defence Minister Gen Nakatani, who was visiting Thailand, told Japanese journalists that Tokyo was taking a measured response.

"We will continue our calm handling of this issue so as not to unnecessarily escalate the situation," Nakatani said in an televised group interview.

"We will continue to act firmly in order to defend our territorial land, waters and air space," he said.

Chinese coast guard vessels routinely travel around the disputed islands.

Three Russian military vessels were also seen in the waters around the disputed islands around the same time, a Japanese defence official said.

The Russian ships entered the area around 9:50 pm Wednesday and left around 3:05 am Thursday, he said.

Suga said Japan was analysing whether the Chinese and Russian moves were in anyway related.

But he added that a lack of territorial disputes with Russia in the regional waters made its moves less concerning.

President Pranab Mukherjee arrives in Namibia,uranium supply may dominate talks

President Pranab Mukherjee today arrived in Namibia for a two-day state visit during which key negotiations on Uranium supply for civil nuclear use will take place besides other bilateral issues.

Namibia despite being one of the largest producer of Uranium and having a treaty with India for peaceful use of nukes does not supply the fuel to India because of Palindaba treaty among African Union countries which bars export of the element to non-NPT signatories.

"Regarding uranium, there is a proposal which has been pending at their end basically because of African Union decisions. Whether we can move them along, in terms of becoming a supplier of uranium for us that is one of the key objectives that we have there," Secretary (Economic Relations) Amar Sinha had said.

The treaty signed in 2009 with India sets the framework for long term supply of uranium but it is pending ratification by Namibian Parliament.

"Namibia as you know is the fourth largest producer of uranium, but they have an African Union Agreement which sort of impedes the implementation of agreement. Namibia has not been able to break that unity, the binding commitment that they took, it's called the Pelindaba Treaty," Sinha had said.

During talks, India might raise the issue of uranium supply impressing upon Namibia.

"And the fact is because this MoU which we thought will kick in quickly has not happened and we have had been looking in signing agreements with other countries like Kazakhstan, Australia and few others. So eventually if we actually meet our requirements from non-Namibian sources, it will be a loss for the Namibian industry," he said.

The strength of Namibian economy is mineral with mining sector which contributes around 11 per cent to the GDP and it fetches 50 per cent of their foreign exchange earnings making them highly dependent on that.

Another material in abundance is diamond but the mining works through long-term contracts, monopolies and cartels so despite being largest users of diamonds, it does not reaches Indian shores directly from Namibia.

"We are one of the largest users of the diamonds in terms of the polishing and finishing but it doesn't comes directly to us and I don't think there is possibility right now because they have a long term commitment with DeBeers. Indian diamond merchants based outside in Antwerp source it from DeBeers and then it gets shipped to India," he said.

India will offer assistance to Namibia in setting up Mining Engineering trading set up. 

Tourists sight 2 cubs at Ranthambore Tiger Reserve; authorities say there could be few more

In what could be termed as a joyous moment for all the wildlife lovers, two cubs were sighted at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

These cubs were spotted in Dhakda in Kachida area of the park in zone 5 by some lucky tourists.

As per the forest department, T-73 could be the mother of the two three-month-old cubs and the possibility for more cubs cannot be denied.

T-73, a small tigress is the daughter of T-17 aka Sundari, that was the most sighted tigress in the zone.

This is definetly a good news for wildlife enthusiasts as for a very long time, the area has been devoid of any tigers.

Besides, T-73 is also the first tigress to select this area and live here.

VHP affiliate wants ministry on cow welfare and even sets a deadline for Modi govt

The Bharatiya Govansh Rakshan Samvardhan Parishad has even given a deadline to the Narendra Modi government for the same while reminding it of its pre-poll promise to protect cows, considered sacred by Hindus.

A leader of the organisation told theHindustan Times newspaper that the ministry was needed to ensure a complete ban on cow slaughter, consumption of beef and protection of Indian breeds, some of which are on the brink of extinction.

The demand comes at a time when consumption of beef has become a controversial issue and has even led to attacks by some fringe right-wing groups.

Dadri lynching incident is one such example.

Cow protection is one of the key areas on which the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), parent organisation of the VHP as well as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, focuses on.

Already, laws on cow protection have been formulated by several states ruled by the BJP.  

Fodder scam: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav appears in Ranchi CBI court

 RJD chief Lalu Yadav on Monday appeared in a special CBI court here over his involvement in a multi-crore fodder scam.

On June 2, the court had summoned 38 people accused in a case related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.31 crore from Dumka treasury including the RJD chief. 

Lalu arrived on Ranchi on Sunday evening from Patna. 

The case trial is under process.

Lalu Yadav had already been convicted in a fodder scam and he was awarded five years sentence in October 2013. He is currently on bail.

Narendra Modi's address to US Congress: From humour to terrorism 

Addressing a joint sitting of the US Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday touched upon various issues including terrorism, yoga, economy, Indo-US strategic ties and civil nuclear cooperation.

In the course of his 45-minute speech, PM Modi not only covered all major aspects of the growing relationship between India and the US, but also included humour when he compared the functioning of the US Congress with the chaos in the Indian Parliament.

Here are the some top quotes of PM Modi's speech, which was well received by the American lawmakers, who interrupted his address more than 40 times to cheer him.

- Terrorism is being "incubated in India's neighbourhood".

- SIRI (an iPhone programme) tells us that India's ancient heritage of Yoga has over 30 million practitioners in the US. It is estimated that more Americans bend for yoga than to throw a curve ball.

- India lives as one; India grows as one and India celebrates as one.

- For my government, the Constitution is its real holy book. And, in that holy book, freedom of faith, speech and franchise, and equality of all citizens, regardless of background, are enshrined as fundamental rights.

- In every sector of India's forward march, I see the US as an indispensable partner.

- I am informed that the working of the US Congress is harmonious, he said much to everybody's laughter. I am also told that you are well-known for your bipartisanship. Well, you are not alone. Time and again, I have also witnessed a similar spirit in the Indian Parliament, especially in our Upper House.

- Connecting our two nations is also a unique and dynamic bridge of three million Indian Americans. They are among your best CEOs, academics, scientists, economics, doctors, even spelling bee champions.

Modi is the fifth Indian Prime Minister after Rajiv Gandhi, PV Narasimha Rao, Atul Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh to address a joint sitting of the US Congress.