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Obama, Michelle to miss Taj again
The much-anticipated visit by US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to Agra to view the Taj Majal has been cancelled and the US first couple would instead head to Riyadh to condole the passing away of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the White House said on Saturday.
Agra/Washington: The much-anticipated visit by US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to Agra to view the Taj Majal has been cancelled and the US first couple would instead head to Riyadh to condole the passing away of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the White House said on Saturday.
Obama and Michelle "will travel to Riyadh on Tuesday in order to pay respects to King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the family of the late king Abdullah bin Abdulaziz", the White House said. Obama arrives in India on Sunday on a three-day visit. He was to visit Agra Jan 27. "The US first lady and the President both were keen to visit Taj... specially since they were unable to do so in 2010, but the plan has now been cancelled," an official privy to the visit confirmed.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement that Vice-President Joe Biden was "originally to have led a delegation to Saudi Arabia on the President's behalf". "As the President's and Vice-President's travel schedules became clearer, we determined that the window when the Vice-President would be on the ground in Riyadh coincided with the President's departure from India.
"Accordingly, we adjusted the schedule in coordination with the Indian government so that the President would be able to depart India following his speech on Tuesday to stop in Riyadh to offer his condolences on behalf of the American people."
Delhi turns into a fortress
New Delhi: Over 1,000 NSG snipers and 44,000 Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel will guard the capital on Republic Day, while 15,000 CCTV cameras will keep watch to ensure a safe visit of chief guest US President Barack Obama. The National Security Guard snipers will maintain a hawk-eye vigil from high-rise buildings within a two-km radius of Rajpath, from where the US President along with President Pranab and PM Modi will be watching the Republic Day parade. Police said the remaining 44,000 security personnel -- around 10,000 from the paramilitary forces and 30,000 from Delhi Police -- will be deployed on the streets of the capital starting 5 a.m. Jan 26.
