Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has expressed her happiness over lifting of sanctions by the United States on her country. She felt that her countrymen should now take responsibility for ushering in democracy in Myanmar. She considered the process as a common goal with President Thein Sein.

Suu Kyi, who is on a landmark visit to the United States, met President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday.

Addressing the media with Ban, Suu Kyi appreciated the support of the the US Congress for many years for the democratic movement in Myanmar.

The US had announced yesterday it is lifting sanctions on Myanmar President Thein Sein and parliamentary speaker Thura Shwe Mann. US Congress also honoured Suu Kyi with the highest civilian honour at a ceremony in Washington. The US Treasury Department also acknowledged steps taken by Sein and Mann to promote political reforms and human rights.

Ban said the areas of cooperation with Myanmar are on track. These include normalisation of the UN activities in the country, helping the first-ever census of population and housing, and helping the nation eliminate drugs and promote socio-economic development. He said this will be UN's continuing priority to work with the Myanmar government. He said UN count on Aung Suu Kyi's continuing commitment and leadership, and it has great expectations of her leadership.He said the UN and Suu Kyi must work together for Myanmar's democratisation.

A White House official says that US President Barack Obama will not concede industries of the 21st century to China, India or Europe, a top presidential aide has said as he defended the administration's loan guarantee programme.

White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, told reporters this to reporters in Ohio. Opponents had been attacking Obama, highlighting reports of top donors landing plum administration posts and securing government aid. They cite at the top of that list the Department of Energy loan guarantees that went to alternative energy companies.

Carney said the investments made in the Recovery Act have already helped renewable energy production double in the United States.

The statement came after the World Trade Organization announced a major victory for the US in a trade dispute with China.

Carney said that Obama feels very strongly that taking action to ensure that American companies and American workers are able to compete on a level playing field with China and other countries is something that resonates across the country with Americans.

Reacting to US President Barack Obama's assertion(ddava) that the government must carry out "difficult" economic reforms, India Inc said India remains a strong investment destination with strong long-term growth prospects.

Acknowledging that the nation lagged in reforms in sectors like retail, aviation, defence and insurance, India Inc said Obama or any other person cannot be dictating Indian government or Indian policy makers.

Industry chamber Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said. US has also had lot of limitations like the recent
restrictions imposed on BPOs But Indian economy is till doing much better than most of the developed countries.

CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said India was resilient and was still growing at 6 per cent during the time of global economic uncertainties. FICCI Secretary General Rajiv Kumar said India's long-term growth remains strong and intact.

Reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism is high on the agenda of discussions in the two-day nuclear security summit The World leaders at the summit will review the progress made since the first nuclear security summit held in Washington in 2010. Over 50 Heads of States and Governments are participating in the summit. 

They include U.S. President Barack Obama, his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani apart from Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Heads of international organisations like U.N., IAEA, European Union and Interpol were also participating in the summit. 

the Prime Minister's summit reports from the venue that the U.S. President and the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh exchanged pleasantaries at the beginning of the summit. The South Korean President is hosting a dinner in honour of visiting dignitaries