Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

The United States said on Wednesday it was very concerned by video of a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi allegedly torturing an Afghan man, footage that could stall a civilian nuclear deal with the United Arab Emirates. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the department was consulting with Congress about the agreement, which could be blocked if an outcry over the video grows. The deal could be worth billions of dollars to U.S. energy companies that build and operate nuclear power plants.

US President Barack Obama on Thursday approved a civilian nuclear deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which some observers see as striking a contrast with Iran's defiant nuclear drive. Obama sent the deal, negotiated by the previous Bush administration to Congress, which must now decide within 90 days whether to block the pact, which provides for US-UAE cooperation on peaceful uses of nuclear energy. His memorandum to the secretaries of state and energy, certifying that the deal was in US interests, did not mention US disquiet over a video of an Afghan merchant allegedly being beaten by a member of the UAE royal family, which raised human rights concerns in Congress.

A videotape of a heinous torture session is delaying the ratification of a civil nuclear deal between the United Arab Emirates and the United States, senior U.S. officials familiar with the case said. Videotape allegedly shows al Nahyan torturing an Afghan grain dealer. Videotape allegedly shows al Nahyan torturing an Afghan grain dealer. Click to view previous image 2 of 3 Click to view next image In the tape, an Afghan grain dealer is seen being tortured by a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE's seven emirates. The senior U.S. officials said the administration has held off on the ratification process because it believes sensitivities over the story can hurt its passage. The tape emerged in a federal civil lawsuit filed in Houston, Texas, by Bassam Nabulsi, a U.S. citizen, against Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan. Former business partners, the men had a falling out, in part over the tape. In a statement to CNN, the sheikh's U.S. attorney said Nabulsi is using the videotape to influence the court over a business dispute.

The United States formally signed a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, hailing it as a "new bargain" that could help prevent the spread of dangerous atomic technology. Stocks "This is a new bargain for the Middle East region and the United States welcomes and applauds the UAE's decision," Ellen Tauscher, undersecretary for arms control, said at the signing ceremony. The pact, which President Barack Obama approved in May and sent to Congress for a 90-day review period, is potentially worth billions of dollars to General Electric Co (GE.N) and Westinghouse Electric, a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp (6502.T).

The United States formally signed a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, hailing it as a "new bargain" that could help prevent the spread of dangerous atomic technology. Stocks "This is a new bargain for the Middle East region and the United States welcomes and applauds the UAE's decision," Ellen Tauscher, undersecretary for arms control, said at the signing ceremony. The pact, which President Barack Obama approved in May and sent to Congress for a 90-day review period, is potentially worth billions of dollars to General Electric Co (GE.N) and Westinghouse Electric, a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp (6502.T).

"The U.S. and India have agreed on procedures for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from the U.S., helping General Electric Co.'s atomic venture bid for contracts to build power plants in the South Asian nation. The agreement will enable India to reprocess U.S. nuclear material under International Atomic Energy Agency standards and allow American companies to participate in the country's civil nuclear energy sector, the U.S. State Department said in a statement today. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, a subsidiary of Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric and Monroeville, Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse, a subsidiary of Tokyo's Toshiba Corp., are likely to bid for nuclear energy contracts as the world's second fastest-growing major economy builds generating plants to end blackouts and reduce poverty. India plans to raise nuclear generation capacity 10-fold over the next decade to sustain its economic growth. The State Department statement didn't provide more details and S.K. Malhotra, a spokesman for India's Department of Atomic Energy, couldn't be reached on his mobile phone. "

"In an attempt to bolster U.S. President Barack Obama's non-proliferation efforts, the United States on May 3 dispensed with decades of Cold War secrecy and published the size of its U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko praised the U.S. step and said Russia would consider doing the same after the ratification of the nuclear arms deal signed by Obama and Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev last month. Russia and the United States hold more than 95 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, enough to destroy the planet many times over, after first developing the weapons in top secret programs in the 1940s."