Singh,Putin Focus On Terrorism;Pakistani PM in Washington

The focus of Monday's meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin was on terrorism and those who are not vigilant enough about it on their territory,i.e.,Pakistan,even as Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is on a four day visit to Washington.Following their talks,the two leaders strongly condemned countries that tolerate terrorists within their borders.States that provide aid,abetment and shelter for such terrorist activities are themselves as guilty as the actual perpetrators of terrorism.They need to irreversibly shut down terrorist networks,organisations and infrastructure,and show tangible movement in investigating and bringing quickly to justice those responsible for acts of terrorism.*
Singh and Putin expressed opposition to Pakistan's attempts to rehabilitate Taliban militants,and concern about Afghanistan's future post-2014,when NATO and coalition forces will have largely departed the war-torn country.Anti-Taliban sanctions should be maintained,the Indian and Russian leaders agreed.The sides considered it necessary to extend the sanctions regime introduced by the UN Security Council against the Taliban as one of the most important tools of fighting terrorism.They also said the Mumbai attacks were acts of terror whose perpetrators must be brought to book-referring to Lashkar-e-Tayibba in Pakistan,whose efforts to arrest and try the militants are seen to be anemic by Russia and India.*
Agreement on the building of units 3 and 4 at the Kudankula nuclear power plant on India's southern coast was not ready for signing at the meeting between Singh and Putin.India has enacted tough new safety requirements in light of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011.
Even as Putin and Singh were meeting,Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was in Washington for four days of high level talks with US officials,including President Barack Obama on Wednesday,as well as Secretary of State John Kerry and Members of Congress.It is the third meeting between Sharif and Kerry in the last three months;it continued the robust dialogue on our shared goal of a stable,secure and prosperous Pakistan,the State Department said.*
Mr.Sharif tried to draw the US into the Kashmir territorial dispute between Pakistan and India while he was in London,describing it as a nuclear flashpoint.The US rebuffed him,however,saying Kashmir was strictly a matter for the two South Asian nations to resolve among themselves.*
The US has quietly resumed military and economic aid to Pakistan in recent days,following a period of tension after the unauthorised US raid and killing of Osama bin Laden on Pakistani territory in May 2011,as well as a US drone strike that mistakenly killed two dozen Pakistani troops in November 2011.*

Asia This Day:Gold's Second Half Outlook

Samsung is going shopping.The Korean electronics titan is looking to acquire medical device makers.It wants to challenge the likes of GE and Siemens in the industry.
Asians are shopping for gold.India and China are bidding up the price of the precious metal.
Both gold jewelry and bullion are in demand,the latter as security in uncertain economic times.The Indian middle class will continue lifting sales in the second half at the Mumbai bazaar.The wedding season in August will contribute to the increase.
China's property controls have slowed growth in the big cities.Now Beijing is imposing such measures in the smaller ones.According to the Xinhua news agency,Q2 residential land price appreciation slowed.Credit Suisse believes that home inventories are so high,owners will have to cut prices.
Asian shares were mixed Monday morning.Hong Kong,Tokyo and Singapore stocks rose,while Shanghai,Seoul and Sydney issues retreated.
Hong Kong saw scattered clouds Monday.It was 82F,with the humidity at 84%.Winds were W at 8 mph,and thunderstorms were in the forecast.

Shop Talk

A special greeting to Oregon,where I advertised for the first time this week.I always think of Mount Hood when I think of your state,and the Mount Hood daffodils on the property.They are both tranquil thoughts.Goodness knows we can use such thoughts in the wake of the Mumbai battle.It was a somber backdrop for the American Thanksgiving,but we managed to celebrate anyway,not letting the militants have their way.The uncompetitive National Football League games on T.V. were a joke.That can't be good for ratings or the sport itself.There's a real problem with selecting the teams so far in advance.You can't always tell which teams might be incompetent or dominant in a season. It would probably be best to have the day be more fully-scheduled.If the games turn out to be poor,you could just switch the coverage to another one.