Govt survives confidence vote

India's government yesterday survived a hotly contested confidence vote, clearing the way for it to finalize a landmark nuclear energy deal with the United States.

The Congress party-led government won with 275 lawmakers voting for it and 256 against. The number of abstentions was not immediately clear, although not all 543 members of Parliament's lower house took part in the vote.

The vote capped a week of intense politicking that saw the government rename an airport for a lawmaker's father, promise a high-level job to another, and - rival politicians allege - hand out millions of dollars to many others in an effort to survive.