WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, one of the Republican Party’s most vocal advocates for easing restrictions on U.S. dealings with Cuba, on Friday called on congressional leaders to allow a vote on legislation lifting restrictions on American travel there. “It is time Senate leadership finally allowed a vote on my bipartisan bill to fully lift these archaic restrictions which do not exist for travel by Americans to any other country in the world,” Flake, of Arizona, said, as President Donald Trump  announces a clampdown on U.S. travel and trade with the island. The “Freedom for Americans to Travel to Cuba Act,” led by Flake and Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, of Vermont, is co-sponsored by 55 senators. Flake said he thought it could get 70 votes in the 100-member Senate if the chamber’s Republican leaders allowed a vote.

Summary: अमेरिकी रिपब्लिकन सीनेटर चाहते हैं कि कांग्रेस क्यूबा यात्रा विधेयक पर मतदान करे


(This version of the Dec 6 story corrects paragraph 3 and adds new paragraph 4 to clarify the nature of U.S. sanctions) By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Erik Prince, founder of military contractor Blackwater and a supporter of President Donald Trump, told U.S. lawmakers he had discussed U.S.-Russia relations during a meeting in the Seychelles with a Russian business executive with ties to the Kremlin, but insisted they did not discuss sanctions. In a transcript released on Wednesday of Prince’s testimony last week to the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Prince said he and Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, or RDIF, met for about half an hour in a bar at the suggestion of officials from the United Arab Emirates. The RDIF was put on a U.S. sanctions list in 2015 because at the time it was a subsidiary of VEB, the Russian state development bank. While it no is longer owned by the bank, it remains subject to limited sanctions.  Americans are prohibited from providing extended debt and equity financing to sanctioned entities and their subsidiaries, such as RDIF. However, the fund does not raise debt or equity financing from third parties, according to a lawyer who represents the fund.  The House intelligence panel is one of three congressional committees and a special counsel investigating U.S. allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, and the possibility of collusion between Trump associates and Moscow. Russia denies attempting to influence the U.S. campaign. Trump denies any collusion. Prince was called to testify because of the Seychelles meeting on Jan. 11, 2017, which The Washington Post later described as an effort to connect the incoming Trump administration with Moscow. He met with the committee voluntarily, and did not have an attorney with him. Prince said he had traveled to the Seychelles for a business meeting with UAE officials, who included Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, and they suggested he talk to Dmitriev. “After the meeting, they mentioned a guy I should meet who was also in town to see them, a Kirill Dmitriev from Russia,” Prince told members of the House committee, according to the transcript.  “I didn’t fly there to meet any Russian guy,” Prince said. Prince told reporters after his interview that the panel had wasted time and taxpayer money on a “fishing expedition.” Prince donated to Trump’s campaign, made multiple visits to Trump Tower in New York and said he wrote some foreign policy memos for the Republican candidate, which he delivered to Trump campaign manager Steve Bannon. Democratic committee members noted that Prince said Bannon  had told him about a secret meeting at Trump Tower in December 2016 with UAE officials, shortly before the January Seychelles meeting. Prince said he had met Trump just once, at a fundraiser, before he was elected president in November 2016. Prince’s sister, Betsy DeVos, is Trump’s Secretary of Education. Prince said he had discussed U.S.-Russia relations with Dmitriev, but only in the broadest terms. “If Franklin Roosevelt can work with Joseph Stalin after the Ukraine terror famine, after killing tens of millions of his own citizens, we can certainly at least cooperate with the Russians in a productive way to defeat the Islamic State,” Prince said he told Dmitriev. Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the committee, said after the testimony was released that Prince had been less than forthcoming and sought to represent his meeting with Dmitriev as coincidental. “Prince also could not adequately explain why he traveled halfway around the world to meet with UAE officials and, ultimately, the head of the Russian fund,” Schiff said in a statement.

Summary: ब्लैकवॉटर के संस्थापक प्रिंस ने सेशेल्स में रूसी के साथ बैठक का विवरण दिया


DAKAR (Reuters) - Christian militiamen killed a Mauritanian U.N. peacekeeper in an attack on a camp for displaced people in a Central African Republic diamond-mining town on Monday, the United Nations mission there said. Fighters armed with AK-47s and makeshift weapons also wounded one Zambian and two Mauritanian peacekeepers during the 90-minute gunfight at the police checkpoint in the town of Bria, the U.N. added. The country has been riven by sectarian conflict since 2013 when Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize. That triggered a backlash by Christian anti-balaka fighters. As many as 100 people died in Bria in June during a day of clashes between rival factions. The area is coveted by militia for its surrounding diamond mines. It also hosts tens of thousands of people displaced by the conflict. Even with 13,000 troops, the U.N. mission has struggled to restore order to a country the size of France and has lost 14 peacekeepers in attacks this year alone.

Summary: मध्य अफ्रीकी गणराज्य में आतंकवादियों ने संयुक्त राष्ट्र के शांति सैनिक की हत्या कर दी


JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel plans to appoint a new ambassador to Jordan in a bid to calm Amman s anger over the current envoy s handling of a shooting by an embassy guard in July that has strained relations, an Israeli diplomatic source said on Wednesday.  But Israel has shown no sign of meeting Jordan s demand that it launch criminal proceedings against the guard, who killed two Jordanians in what he called self-defence. He was repatriated along with Ambassador Einat Schlein a day after the incident.  Jordanian authorities say they suspect the shooting was unprovoked but could not investigate the guard due to his diplomatic immunity. A televised welcome he and Schlein received from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outraged Amman. Since Schlein s departure on July 24 the embassy has been shuttered, casting a pall over Israel s ties with Jordan, a U.S.-backed regional security partner and one of only two Arab countries that recognise Israel. The 1994 peace deal with Israel is unpopular among many Jordanians, who often identify with the Palestinians.  An Israeli diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Schlein would not return.  The Jordanians don t want her back, and this has been a big obstacle in patching things up,  the source said.  We re looking for a replacement.  Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for Israel s Foreign Ministry, said:  We are working on a solution that will bring the relations back on track.  Israel says the guard opened fire after being attacked and lightly wounded by a workman, killing him and a Jordanian bystander. Israeli officials have said they were looking into the possibility of compensating the family of the second man.  They say it is highly unlikely Israel would prosecute the guard, as demanded by Jordan. His prospects of continued work in Israeli diplomatic security abroad were in doubt, however, after a Jordanian newspaper published his name and photograph. Israel s consulates in Turkey have been handling Jordanian applications for Israeli visas since the incident.

Summary: संबंधों को सुधारने के लिए इज़राइल जॉर्डन में नया राजदूत नियुक्त करेगा-स्रोत


TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man was killed in a truck collision involving a 21-year-old U.S. marine who was well over the legal alcohol limit for driving, police said of a case that was likely to stoke resentment over the U.S. military presence on the southern island of Okinawa.     In response to the Sunday s fatal accident, U.S. forces in Japan banned, until further notice, all personnel in the country from drinking of alcohol.  The Defence and Foreign Ministries have lodged a stern representation to the U.S. forces in Japan and the U.S. embassy in Japan, asking for the enforcement of discipline, prevention of recurrence and sincere response to the bereaved,  Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference on Monday. U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty expressed his condolences and offered an apology, Suga said. The accident occurred at an intersection in the city of Naha early Sunday morning. The marine was driving a military truck, and the 61-year-old crash victim was in a light truck. The Japanese man was later pronounced dead, while the U.S. serviceman, who was arrested for the fatal accident and driving under the influence of alcohol, suffered scratches, a police official in Naha said. The official said a breath test showed the marine was as much as three times over the legal limit for alcohol.  When our service members fail to live up to the high standards we set for them, it damages the bonds between bases and local communities and make it harder for us to accomplish our mission,  a statement from the U.S. forces in Japan said. Last year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe protested to then-U.S. President Barack Obama about the killing of a young woman in Okinawa, for which a U.S. base worker had been charged. Obama, who was visiting Japan for a Group of Seven summit, expressed  deepest regrets.    The case is under trial. Residents in Okinawa, a reluctant host to the bulk of U.S. bases in Japan, believe that they shoulder an unfair burden in supporting the U.S. military presence in Japan.

Summary: दुर्घटना में जापानी व्यक्ति की मृत्यु के बाद नशे में गाड़ी चलाने का अमेरिकी मरीन पर आरोप


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives stripped a requirement that women register for the military draft from a sweeping annual defense policy bill on Tuesday, but supporters of the provision said they would keep pushing for its passage. Democrats accused the committee’s Republican leaders of using an underhanded ploy to undercut the House Armed Services Committee, which had approved the amendment, and avoid what could be a difficult vote for some party members. “They don’t want to subject their members to a vote on equality for women,” Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, told reporters. Republican Representative Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the amendment was removed because it violated House budget rules due to the cost of  registering women. He said it was replaced with an amendment calling for a broad review of the Selective Service. The House Rules Committee set up removal of the amendment from the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, during a meeting late on Monday. It was taken out of the bill via a procedural vote on Tuesday afternoon. But the effort is not dead. The Senate Armed Services Committee included a similar amendment in its version of the NDAA, and it has bipartisan support in the Senate. The Senate’s Republican Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, said he believed women should register, although he did not expect the country to reinstate the draft. “Given where we are today with women in the military performing virtually all kinds of functions, I personally think it would be appropriate for them to register just like men do,” McConnell told a news conference. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced last year that all combat positions would be open to women, which immediately prompted calls that women also should be required to register. That worried some social conservatives uncomfortable with the blurring of men’s and women’s traditional roles in society. The U.S. military has been an all-volunteer force since the 1970s, but young men have been required to sign up for the Selective Service in case the draft is reactivated.     To become law as part of the NDAA, a version of the defense bill with the amendment would have to be approved by the full House and Senate, and signed by President Barack Obama.

Summary: सदन ने महिलाओं के लिए सैन्य मसौदे की आवश्यकता को हटाया


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico is poised to recognize Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez as the winner of last month s election, according to a draft foreign ministry statement seen by Reuters, just days after the Organization of American States called for a fresh vote to dispel widespread allegations of fraud. Mexico s announcement was brokered in coordination with the United States, two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said. The presidents of Guatemala and Colombia had recognized Hernandez, a staunch U.S. ally.  A statement by Mexico, an important player in Central America, would strengthen the position of Hernandez, who declared himself president-elect on Tuesday. It could pave the way for more countries, including the United States, to weigh in the incumbent s favor.  The government of Mexico congratulates Juan Orlando Hernandez for his victory in the general elections,  Mexico s foreign ministry wrote in a draft of the statement seen by Reuters.  The Mexican foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The statement was requested by Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray and awaits final approval, one of the sources said. Honduras  ambassador in Mexico was alerted of the move on Monday. The embassy did not immediately respond to request for comment.  It is likely to enrage the center-left opposition, led by TV star Salvador Nasralla, who has accused Hernandez of stealing the election, sparking violent nationwide protests. The General Secretariat of the OAS on Sunday said the election was plagued with irregularities and should be redone to meet democratic standards.

Summary: मेक्सिको विवादित चुनाव के विजेता होंडुरास के राष्ट्रपति को मान्यता देगाः सूत्र


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Richard Burr, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Wednesday that Facebook ads bought by Russia-linked entities targeted more than just Michigan and Wisconsin, the two states listed in media reports. “There were a lot more states,” he told reporters at the U.S. Capitol.

Summary: रूस के फेसबुक विज्ञापनों ने दो से अधिक राज्यों को निशाना बनायाः सीनेट खुफिया अध्यक्ष


OTTAWA (Reuters) - The United States sees no urgent need for a new energy pipeline between Canada and the United States, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, in a broadcast interview ahead of a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The U.S. government will evaluate new proposals individually, but is looking at new, cleaner technologies, Kerry said to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. “We have some 300 pipelines, it’s not as if we’re pipeline-less,” Kerry said, according to a story on the broadcaster’s website. “Things change, technologies in particular help to change things, and we need to push the technology curve.” Trudeau will attend a state dinner on Thursday, becoming the first Canadian leader to do so since 1997, as the two countries aim to fix a frayed relationship. U.S. President Barack Obama last year blocked the cross-border Keystone XL crude oil pipeline proposed by TransCanada Corp in a victory for environmentalists.

Summary: केरी ने कहा कि अधिक U.S.-Canada पाइपलाइन की कोई आवश्यकता नहीं हैः सी. बी. सी.


BERLIN (Reuters) - German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel on Wednesday called Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory a warning for Germany and Europe, urging policy makers to listen more closely to people’s concerns. “Trump is the pioneer of a new authoritarian and chauvinist international movement. He is also a warning for us,” Gabriel told German newspaper group Funke Mediengruppe in an interview. “Our country and Europe must change if we want to counter the authoritarian international movement,” Gabriel said.

Summary: जर्मनी के गैब्रियल ने ट्रम्प को 'एक नए सत्तावादी आंदोलन का अग्रणी' कहा


HOUSTON (Reuters) - Union Pacific Corp said on Saturday repairs to a rail line damaged by Tropical Stormy Harvey are being hindered by a fire at an Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas. The railroad said the repairs to its line between Houston and Beaumont, Texas, are one of its top priorities. However, the line runs next to the smoldering chemical plant, limiting access for its repair crews.

Summary: यूनियन पैसिफिक का कहना है कि आर्केमा रासायनिक संयंत्र में आग लगने से लाइन की मरम्मत में बाधा आ रही है


DUBLIN (Reuters) - New thinking is needed from the British government to secure agreement on the Irish border and allow Brexit talks to move onto the next phase as the current proposals are not credible, Ireland s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Tuesday. Brussels wants three issues broadly solved before it decides in December whether Brexit talks can move onto a second phase about trade, as Britain wants. These are Britain s exit bill, safeguarding expatriate rights, and the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which will be the UK s only land frontier with the EU after its departure. After the latest round of negotiations ended with little obvious progress last week, Coveney said there was still a way to go on the border proposals before the negotiating teams would be able to move on to the next phase.  The current approach the British government are taking is not compatible with the solutions that we need,  Coveney told reporters.  Some of the ideas they published in their paper late in the summer hint towards finding solutions to those problems, but I don t think they are comprehensive or credible ... We need more detail and we need to see some new thinking that is flexible and recognises the unique challenges of the island of Ireland.  He was referring to proposals in August when London said there should be no infrastructure or electronic surveillance on the 500-km (300-mile) border, with smaller firms exempted from any new customs processes and  trusted trader arrangements  put in place to reduce the burden for larger companies. Coveney said Ireland did not think Britain s three aims of quitting the EU s single market and customs union, that the whole of United Kingdom leave together, and that there be no border infrastructure were compatible. The European Union agreed with Dublin s position, he said. Some 30,000 people travel across the border every day via over 400 crossings without any controls, and the issue is particularly sensitive given the decades of violence over whether Northern Ireland should be part of the UK or Ireland. Around 3,600 people were killed before a 1998 peace agreement. Dublin has said that the best way to retain the status quo is by keeping the same rules and regulations on both sides of the border.  We need a credible plan to avoid the imposition of border infrastructure in the future and we don t have it yet,  Coveney said.

Summary: आयरलैंड का कहना है कि ब्रेक्सिट की सफलता के लिए ब्रिटेन से नई सोच की आवश्यकता है


STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A Swedish court on Monday sentenced a Syrian asylum seeker to eight months in prison after he posed for photos with dead bodies during the conflict in his home country. The man admitted to posing with dead or severely injured people while fighting for the Syrian army in 2014 and that he knew the pictures would be used for propaganda, the district court said.  He denied wrongdoing, however, saying he was following orders.   The man has by his actions exposed the five persons, all of whom were protected under international humanitarian law in armed conflicts, for humiliating or degrading treatment aimed at seriously violating their personal dignity,  the court said. The man sought asylum in Sweden in 2015 and was detained this year after a member of the public sent the photo to the police.

Summary: स्वीडन की अदालत ने सीरियाई शरण चाहने वाले को युद्ध में मारे गए लोगों के साथ पोज देने के लिए जेल की सजा सुनाई


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans expressed increasing pessimism on Sunday about the prospects for the healthcare bill in the U.S. Senate aimed at rolling back Obamacare as lawmakers prepared to return from a week-long recess. One prominent Republican lawmaker, Senator John McCain, said he thought the Republican bill would probably fail. “My view is that it’s probably going to be dead,” McCain,  said on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” adding that Republicans, who narrowly control the chamber, would likely need to work with Democrats on a healthcare bill. President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to put pressure on Republicans to stay the course. “For years, even as a “civilian,” I listened as Republicans pushed the Repeal and Replace of ObamaCare. Now they finally have their chance!” he tweeted.  The Senate bill, which faces unified Democratic opposition, has been further imperiled during the recess, when Republican senators have had to return to their states and face constituents strongly opposed to the measure. Senators return to Washington on Monday. The Senate bill keeps intact much of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature legislation, popularly known as Obamacare, but strips away most of its funding. It repeals most Obamacare taxes, overhauls the law’s tax credits and ends its Medicaid expansion. It also goes beyond repealing Obamacare by cutting funding for the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled beginning in 2025. At least 10 Republican senators have opposed the bill in its current form, but many more have criticized the legislation or said they are undecided. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said on Sunday the draft bill was undergoing a “serious rewrite.” “Clearly, the draft plan is dead,” he said on Fox News. “Is the serious rewrite plan dead? I don’t know. I’ve not seen the serious rewrite plan.” Critics have derided the bill as a giveaway to wealthy Americans who would see some tax increases rolled back. Opponents also warn that the legislation would cause millions of poor and sick Americans to lose healthcare coverage. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which assesses the impact of legislation, estimated 22 million people would lose health insurance over the next decade under the Senate bill. In a separate report, it found the proposal would cut government spending on Medicaid by 35 percent come 2036. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said on Fox News on Sunday that Trump expected Congress to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare before lawmakers leave Washington for their August recess. A spokesman for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Senate leadership was continuing to work with Republican senators and the CBO on the legislation, but did not comment on McCain’s remarks or the bill’s future. Republican Senator Ted Cruz said on Sunday that failure to pass the bill was “not an option” and that the Senate effort must focus on lowering premiums. He pointed to an amendment he offered that is being scored by the CBO. Cruz’s amendment would allow insurers to offer plans that do not comply with Obamacare’s mandate that they charge sick and healthy people the same rates and cover a set of essential health benefits, such as maternity care and prescription drugs, as long as they also offer plans that do comply with the regulations. Cruz’s amendment has drawn support from conservative senators and groups, who say the amendment will help lower premiums. But moderate Republicans and outside critics say it will erode protections for people with pre-existing conditions and make their insurance unaffordable. McConnell has said he plans to hold a vote on the legislation, which needs the support of at least 50 of the Senate’s 52 Republicans, before a six-week recess that begins on July 29. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed its version of a bill overhauling healthcare in May. Yet McConnell himself voiced doubts on the Senate bill’s prospects last week, telling a luncheon in his home state of Kentucky that if Republicans fail to pass a repeal of Obamacare, they may need to work with Democrats to shore up private health insurance markets to keep them from collapsing.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन ने अमेरिकी स्वास्थ्य सेवा विधेयक के भाग्य पर बढ़ते संदेह की आवाज उठाई


BEIJING (Reuters) - Some northern Chinese cities failed to improve air quality by much last month, hitting the smog-prone region s overall results in a drive against pollution, the government said as it warned provincial officials to comply with stringent steps to clear the skies.  Some cities did not improve air quality by much or even experienced some volatility, and in a way, they have dragged down the regional air quality level,  Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) spokesperson, Liu Youbin, said at a regular briefing on Thursday. He did not identify the underperforming cities, but the comment comes amid concerns about the country s ability to reduce pollution in winter as it battles to avoid a repeat of the near-record levels of choking smog that enveloped key northern areas at the start of the year.  There is no jesting in war. For those local officials who do not enforce the measures of the campaign effectively and could not improve air quality in time, we will hold them accountable,  Liu added. Data earlier this month showed only four of 28 northern Chinese cities met their air quality targets in October and air quality in 338 Chinese cities worsened in October, with levels of hazardous breathable particles, known as PM 2.5, up 5.6 percent on the year to an average of 38 micrograms per cubic meter.      Beijing is under huge pressure to meet politically crucial air quality targets and clear the skies of toxic smog that blankets the north of the country as homes turn up the heat which is powered by coal. Liu said overall air quality in the northern cities was improving compared with September. Average PM 2.5 levels in the region dropped 15.8 percent in October from the month before, he said.   It shows that our measures are working. As long as we are persistent, and diligently enforce existing measures, regional air quality will definitely improve,  he said.  Under the six-month campaign, 28 northern Chinese cities were ordered to thin traffic and cut industrial output. Thousands of pollution sources including steel mills, coal-fired boilers, cement and ceramic plants, mines and building sites will be shut. These measures, part of Beijing s years-long time war on smog, have already roiled commodities market, fuelling worries that the tough inspections are hurting the already slowing economy.

Summary: कोई मजाक नहीं, चीन सरकार ने उत्तरी शहरों को धुंध के खिलाफ युद्ध में गंभीर होने की चेतावनी दी


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said on Monday he does not want to “destroy” the pending debt restructuring deal for the island’s ailing power utility, but wants to “get a better one” as the U.S. territory’s fiscal situation worsens. Rossello said in an interview that he was invited to Washington for a U.S. congressional hearing on March 22 to discuss the fate of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, also known as PREPA. The new governor said he is aware that his unwillingness to rubber-stamp the existing deal, whereby PREPA’s creditors would take a 15 percent cut on their $8 billion in debt, has vexed stakeholders who thought they were close to a resolution.  But Puerto Rico’s financial picture has deteriorated since the deal was first struck, the governor said, adding that he is willing to renegotiate within the existing framework. “If I didn’t care, I would have just blown the deal up,” Rossello told Reuters. “I’m not here to destroy a deal, I’m here to get a better one, based on the reality that things have changed.”  PREPA’s fate is one of the most contentious issues on an island facing $70 billion in debt. It was a focal point at Monday’s public meeting in New York of the island’s federally appointed financial oversight board. During the meeting, the oversight board approved Rossello’s revised blueprint to steer the island out of economic crisis. [nL2N1GQ0TY]. The board voiced support for Rossello’s efforts to extract deeper concessions from PREPA creditors. They have grumbled privately that his opposition to the deal is political since it dates back more than a year to his predecessor’s time in office. The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources said it would hold a hearing on the status of the deal.  Rossello said he “received an invitation” to the hearing. “I’ll be there,” he said, but would not say if he had been subpoenaed.  Rossello also discussed austerity measures ordered by the board as conditions for its approval of the fiscal plan, including reducing pension spending by 10 percent. The governor said he would not cut benefits to the island’s most vulnerable retirees.  “The board and I are a little over $100 million apart there... and I don’t see any way I can reduce pensions of people already having a hard time getting medications and things,” he said. Rossello believes the island will avoid other austerity measures including furloughs and cuts to Christmas bonuses that the board has directed the utility to impose if it cannot find another $200 million to shore up its accounts by April 30. “I’m very confident we’ll have $200 million in reserve cash, so that we can jump over that obstacle,” he said.

Summary: प्यूर्टो रिको के गवर्नर का कहना है कि वह सुधार करना चाहते हैं, न कि 'नष्ट' करना चाहते हैं, पी. आर. ई. पी. ए. पुनर्गठन


GENEVA (Reuters) - People travelling to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro should avoid visiting impoverished and overcrowded urban areas to prevent catching the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. Athletes and visitors should also consult a health worker before travelling, use insect repellent and clothing on as much of their body as possible, and practice safe sex or abstain during their stay and for at least four weeks after their return, it said. They should also choose air-conditioned accommodation. Pregnant women should avoid travelling to areas with Zika transmission, including Rio de Janeiro, the WHO said.

Summary: रियो में जीका को हराने के लिए, डब्ल्यूएचओ ने सुरक्षित यौन संबंध और खराब क्षेत्रों से बचने का निर्देश दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thirty-six U.S. senators on Tuesday called on federal authorities to investigate the sale of nearly $2 million in shares of credit bureau Equifax Inc by company executives after a massive data breach, and one compared their actions to insider trading. The lawmakers signed a letter asking the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to look into about $1.8 million in stock sales by three executives between July 29 - the day Equifax said it learned that its systems were hacked in mid-May - and when they made it public last week. “If that happened, somebody needs to go to jail,” Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said at a credit union industry conference in Washington. “It’s a problem when people can act with impunity with no consequences. How is that not insider trading?” Cyber security experts believe the breach is one of the largest data hacks ever disclosed. On Wall Street on Tuesday, Equifax closed 2.5 percent higher at $115.96, slightly reversing a 21 percent slide since the hack was reported. In an opinion piece in USA Today, Equifax Chief Executive Officer Richard Smith apologized for the breach and vowed the company “will make changes.” He said more than 15 million people have visited the firm’s support website and 11.5 million are enrolling in credit monitoring and identity theft protection. The company at first thought the intrusion was limited, Smith said. Equifax hired a cybersecurity firm and spent “thousands of hours” investigating before informing the public six weeks after the breach was discovered, he said. “We are devoting extraordinary resources to make sure this kind of incident doesn’t happen again,” Smith said. Smith did not address the stock sale issue. In their letter, the lawmakers, led by Jack Reed, a Democrat, and John Kennedy, a Republican, requested “a thorough examination of any unusual trading, including any atypical options trading, for violations of insider trading law.” “We request that you spare no effort in your investigations and in enforcing the law to the fullest extent,” the lawmakers said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has already said it was investigating the Equifax hack. A spokesman for SEC Chairman Jay Clayton declined to comment. Acting FTC head Maureen Ohlhausen declined to say if that agency was investigating the breach. “We’re trying to get a handle on the scope of all of this. We’re certainly taking this very seriously,” she told reporters at an antitrust conference. The agency has historically probed big breaches but only sued companies that had been sloppy in protecting consumer data. The breach also prompted expressions of concern from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, while the Massachusetts attorney general said her state planned to sue.  Hackers pilfered names, birthdays and addresses, as well as Social Security and driver’s license numbers - a treasure trove for identity thieves. Data of up to 143 million people may have been exposed. Following revelations of the stock sales by Chief Financial Officer John Gamble and two other people, Equifax said in a statement last week that the executives were not aware that an intrusion had occurred when they sold their shares. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said she intended to sue Equifax with allegations of failing to maintain appropriate safeguards to protect customers’ data, including that of nearly three million Massachusetts residents. “In all of our years investigating data breaches, this may be the most brazen failure to protect consumer data we have ever seen,” Healey said in a statement. Equifax had initially appeared to offer credit monitoring to breach victims only if they forfeited their right to file a lawsuit. New York Attorney General A.G. Schneiderman said Tuesday that Equifax removed that language from its website. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Tuesday called the Equifax breach “quite unfortunate” and insisted that his top priority is to make sure financial data is safe. “I am concerned about the global financial system and keeping it safe,” he said at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference in New York. Equifax did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Summary: इक्विफैक्स हैक पर अमेरिकी सीनेटरः 'किसी को जेल जाने की जरूरत है'


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Officials from President Donald Trump’s administration are willing to work with Congress as it attempts to pass a new authorization for military operations against Islamic State, U.S. senators said on Wednesday. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis testified at a classified Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, as it writes an authorization for the fight against the militant group in Syria and Iraq. “They expressed a willingness to work on an authorization and I take them at their word,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told reporters. Earlier Wednesday, State said in a letter to the committee’s Republican chairman, Senator Bob Corker, that the administration is not seeking any additional authorization or any revisions to a 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). “The United States has sufficient legal authority to prosecute the campaign against al-Qa’ida and associated forces, including against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,” wrote Charles Faulkner of the Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs. The 2001 AUMF, passed days after the Sept. 11 attacks to authorize the fight against al Qaeda and affiliates, has been used by presidents since as the legal basis for a wide range of military action. Some members of Congress argue that it is long past time to repeal the 16-year-old authorization, especially for the campaign against Islamic State, which did not exist in 2001 and actually fights against al Qaeda in Syria and elsewhere. The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the right to approve such military action. Lawmakers have been struggling with the White House for a bigger say in foreign policy. Corker said Tillerson and Mattis were open to a new AUMF “written in the appropriate way.” He said, “The administration’s not seeking an AUMF (but) ... I’m confident they’ll work with us.” It is not clear that any new AUMF could pass the Senate and House of Representatives. Attempts in recent years have come to nothing. There are disagreements even within the committee over how to proceed. Republican Senator Ron Johnson said he believes the 2001 authorization applies to the anti-IS campaign. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, a leading advocate for a new AUMF, said Mattis and other military leaders agreed congressional action would send a message of resolve to U.S. adversaries and allies, and support the troops. “They think for the mission itself, it would be good to have Congress engaged,” Kaine said.

Summary: ट्रम्प प्रशासन युद्ध प्राधिकरण पर कांग्रेस के साथ काम करने को तैयारः सांसद


SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia s lawmakers have rejected legislation that would tighten citizenship and foreign worker visa rules, a blow to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who had sought to stop a loss of his support base to far-right political parties. In April, Turnbull said Australia would abolish a temporary work visa popular with foreigners and replace it with a new program requiring better English-language and job skills. Turnbull also announced plans to raise the bar for citizenship by lengthening the waiting period and adding a new  Australian values  test. But Australia s senate, where Turnbull s center-right government does not enjoy a majority, rejected the proposal in a late vote on Wednesday, with opposition lawmakers insisting the rules were counter to Australian multicultural values. The senate rejection may further drag on support for Turnbull, which, according to the widely watched Newspoll poll on Monday, languishes at its lowest level in more than two years. The next election is not due until 2019, but continued poor polling could undermine Turnbull s leadership. Mathias Cormann, Australia s special minister of state, said on Wednesday the government will seek to move the legislation through the senate again as soon as they have secured the necessary support.  We will keep working with all non-government senators to secure the necessary support,  Cormann told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio. A spokeswoman for Australian immigration minister Peter Dutton said visa applications would now be considered under the previous rules.

Summary: ऑस्ट्रेलियाई सीनेट ने प्रस्तावित वीजा, नागरिकता प्रतिबंधों को खारिज किया


BERLIN (Reuters) - An Israeli man appealed on Monday against a German court s ruling upholding Kuwait Airways  right to ban him from boarding a flight due to his citizenship, a legal decision that triggered sharp criticism from German officials and Jewish groups. The appeal argues that the ruling accepted a racist Kuwaiti law and allowed the airline to override German laws requiring that airlines transport any passenger with valid travel documents, according to the Lawfare Project, which filed the appeal.  We cannot allow our laws to be subverted by the state-sponsored racism of other nations,  said Nathan Gelbart, the German attorney for the group, which fights anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli discrimination around the world. He said the decision by the Frankfurt district court had allowed  anti-Semitic discrimination to be imported into our country and helped whitewash and sanitize it.  Kuwait Airways has not commented on the decision. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other top officials have vowed to fight anti-Semitism and xenophobia with the full force of the law in recent weeks after protests that included the burning of Israeli flags.  Merkel s spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany had a historic responsibility to stand by Israel and Jews everywhere. Anti-Semitism remains a sensitive issue in Germany, one of Israel s closest allies, more than 70 years after the end of the Nazi-era Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed. The Frankfurt court last month ruled Kuwait Airways had the right to refuse to carry the Israeli man on a flight to Bangkok that began in Frankfurt and included a stopover in Kuwait City since it was abiding by the laws of Kuwait, a country that does not recognize the state of Israel. It said Germany s anti-discrimination law applied only in cases of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnic background or religion, not citizenship. The ruling was sharply criticized by German government officials and the Central Council of Jews in Germany, which said the Kuwaiti law was reminiscent of Nazi policies. Three German state parliaments in Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, have passed resolutions condemning the airline for its policy. Acting Transportation Minister Christian Schmidt also raised concerns about the issue in a letter to Kuwaiti officials, saying it was  fundamentally unacceptable to exclude citizens because of their nationality,  according to the Lawfare Project. No comment was immediately available from Schmidt s office. A foreign ministry spokesman said Germany s ambassador to Kuwait had met Kuwaiti officials on Nov. 28 to deliver the letter and discuss the issue. A spate of anti-Semitic acts in Germany in recent weeks, including the burning of Israeli flags, have triggered concern and calls by top officials to put more emphasis on the Holocaust in integration courses for migrants. Rights groups say anti-Semitism and violent acts have increased in recent years amid growing support for far-right political groups and the influx of over a million migrants from Syria and other countries that are at war with Israel.

Summary: इजरायल ने कुवैत हवाई यात्रा प्रतिबंध पर जर्मन अदालत के फैसले को चुनौती दी


OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he would ask European leaders to help evacuate Africans in danger in Africa after reports appearing to show African migrants being traded there sparked an international outcry.  I will propose that Africa and Europe come to the rescue of the people trapped in Libya, by bringing massive support to the evacuation of people in danger,  Macron said in a speech in Burkina Faso without giving further details.

Summary: मैक्रों ने लीबिया में फंसे अफ्रीकियों को निकालने के लिए यूरोपीय पहल की


ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan s Supreme Court on Friday rejected petitions seeking a review of its July 28 ruling that disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office, upholding a verdict likely to influence the next general election, due in mid-2018. After an investigation into the Sharif family s wealth, the Supreme Court employed a little-used constitutional provision to rule Sharif unfit to hold office because he did not declare a small source of income, which he has disputed receiving.  The country s top court also disqualified three of Sharif s children, including heir-apparent Maryam and her husband, besides ordering a criminal investigation into the Sharifs and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who has stayed in his post. On Friday, a five-judge bench dismissed the petitions filed by the Sharifs and Dar, without specifying reasons.  All the review petitions stand dismissed,  said Asif Saeed Khosa, who headed the bench, which is expected to provide the reasons for its decision next week. It remains unclear, however, whether the Sharifs will be disqualified for a fixed time, perhaps several years, or be barred from office forever. That could have major implications for Nawaz and his daughter Maryam. She is being touted as a future leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, and is likely to run for parliament in the 2018 polls. The ruling party has portrayed the Supreme Court decision as a slap for the electorate in the nuclear-armed nation.  The right to fair trial, which is the right of 210 million people of Pakistan, was not exercised in regard to Nawaz Sharif and his family,  said Anusha Rahman, a government minister. But Fawad Chaudhry, a senior official of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, called the verdict a  victory of good governance in Pakistan . Sharif s disqualification stems from the Panama Papers leaks in 2016 which appeared to show that his daughter and two sons owned offshore holding companies registered in the British Virgin Islands and used them to buy properties in London. In April, the Supreme Court ruled there was insufficient evidence to remove Sharif from office - by a split 2-3 verdict - over the Panama revelations but it ordered further investigations into his family s wealth. The judges in July said Sharif did not declare a monthly salary, equivalent to $2,722, from a company owned by his son when the veteran leader, who had held power twice in the 1990s, become prime minister for the third time. Sharif has kept a grip on the ruling PML-N party, which has a solid majority in parliament, and elected one of his loyalists, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, as his replacement within days of the court decision.

Summary: पाकिस्तान की शीर्ष अदालत ने पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री शरीफ को हटाने की चुनौती खारिज की


ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish court has ordered the release of a parliamentarian who was the former spokesman for Turkey s pro-Kurdish opposition party, a party official said on Friday. The court ruled that Ayhan Bilgen be released after a monthly review of his detention since he was arrested in the southern city of Diyarbakir over accusations that he was a member of an armed terrorist group, the official told Reuters. Bilgen had served as spokesman and head of the pro-Kurdish Peoples  Democratic Party s (HDP) parliamentary group. The ruling comes amid growing concern among opposition parties, human rights groups and Turkey s Western allies that President Tayyip Erdogan is using a crackdown on suspected supporters of last year s failed coup to muzzle dissent. Since the failed coup, some 50,000 people have been arrested and more than 150,000 sacked or suspended from the military, civil service and private sector.     Nine HDP deputies are jailed pending trial, more than 70 elected mayors from the HDP s southeastern affiliate have been remanded in custody in terrorism-related investigations, and their municipalities taken over by state officials. Thousands of party members have also been arrested. The Turkish government says the HDP is an affiliate of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state and is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The HDP denies direct links. Turkey s parliament has also stripped four HDP lawmakers, including the party s co-chairwoman Figen Yuksekdag, of their parliamentary status, reducing the presence of the country s third-largest party in the 550-seat assembly. The HDP had 59 lawmakers elected to parliament in the November 2015 general election. The party s co-leader Selahattin Demirtas has also been in jail since November 2016. (This story corrects number of jailed deputies in paragraph 6)

Summary: तुर्की की अदालत ने कुर्दिश समर्थक पार्टी के पूर्व प्रवक्ता को रिहा करने का आदेश दियाः पार्टी अधिकारी


NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump reassured manufacturers gathered in the White House Roosevelt room on March 31 that a massive infrastructure program was coming soon. “We’re going to make it happen” this year, he said, according to Drew Greenblatt, the president of Marlin Steel in Baltimore, who was present. “That was actually the first thing that he talked about behind closed doors with us,” Greenblatt added. But putting a trillion-dollar infrastructure program to work could be easier said than done, as some of the projects suggested to the administration underscore.  Project lists submitted by the North America’s Building Trades Unions and by an outside developer who helped with the transition both contain projects that infrastructure builders call “shovel ready.” But, for a range of reasons, shovel ready does not always mean ready for shovels to break ground. That means any effort to jump-start projects, put people to work and inject economic stimulus could drag on Trump’s promise for a 10-year, $1 trillion infrastructure project After North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) president Sean McGarvey met with Trump on January 23, the group submitted a total of 26 bridge, pipeline and water projects. A second list of 51 projects was assembled by Ohio developer Dan Slane, who assisted with the transition, including everything from inland waterways to ports to a new FBI headquarters. While details on Trump’s plans are scant, a senior administration official said they’re looking for ways to shorten the lengthy permitting process. “The current system has just lost its way,” he said. Nine projects have garnered the support of both Slane and the NABTU, appearing on both lists; of those, seven have yet to start construction, and one has only done preliminary construction, highlighting how hard it is to launch infrastructure projects as quickly as Trump wants to do. “The shovel ready moniker that they put on projects, it’s just rarely applicable,” said Bill Miller, president and chief executive of two companies that overlap the two lists. The Power Company of Wyoming LLC is building the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project, and TransWest Express LLC is developing the TransWest Express Transmission Project, crossing Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nevada.  The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind project, which is being built in part on federal land, took eight years and “tens of millions of dollars” before it could recently start construction. The TransWest Express transmission project is still waiting for several state-level permits, Miller said. “To be shovel ready is incredibly expensive and time consuming,” Miller added. The administration says it wants to get ground broken fast. But some of that just might be out of the president’s hands, such as state-level permitting. “A significant part of the president’s infrastructure plan will focus on streamlining regulating and permitting so that it is easier for all viable projects to move forward in a timely manner. These reforms might not be driven by the hurdles facing a single project, but rather will create more certainty in the process overall,” a White House spokesperson told Reuters. The delays that have beset a desalination plant proposed by Poseidon Water, a developer of water-related infrastructure, in Huntington Beach, California illustrate how clashing interests and regulations can hold up projects. Poseidon first proposed the idea of a plant to turn salt water into drinking water for Orange County in the late 1990s and started permitting in the early 2000s, said Scott Maloni, a vice president at Poseidon and the Huntington Beach project manager. The city of Huntington Beach originally approved the project in February 2006. But Poseidon still needed to secure 24 permits from state agencies, such as approval from the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board for the plant’s national pollutant discharge elimination system, which is required by the Environmental Protection Agency.  After the city issued the necessary local approvals in 2006, project builder Poseidon was able to apply to the California Coastal Commission.  That application was amended several times over the years as the project evolved. For example, the plant had to alter its design after the state began phasing out power plants that use seawater for cooling purposes. Poseidon had planned to desalinate that wastewater, and changed its design to instead take in water directly from the ocean instead. In 2013, Poseidon shelved the permit application after the state’s coastal commission directed the company to look into concerns about the effects of the operation on fish larva in the area.  The application was resubmitted in 2015, and then withdrawn yet again in September 2016, because the commission wanted proof the plans complied with new, 2015-passed rules from the State Water Board on desalination plants.  That compelled Poseidon to redesign the plant’s seawater intake and discharge technologies. The project still needs three more approvals, from the State Lands Commission, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Coastal Commission. Poseidon says they’re confident they’ll secure the last approvals soon. But even then, construction might not start until the second quarter of 2018, Maloni said. And the objections from environmentalists haven’t stopped.  The plant is “far from a done deal,” said Mandy Sackett, the California policy coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation. The foundation argues that the plant is unnecessary, expensive and energy-intensive, putting marine life at risk. Sackett said the foundation will continue to fight the project.  “There’s still several opportunities for public input and important regulatory review that is yet to be completed,” she said.

Summary: ट्रम्प की बुनियादी ढांचा योजना में कुत्ते की 'फावड़ा तैयार' परियोजनाओं में देरी


RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Thursday upheld a 2013 Virginia law requiring prospective voters to show an approved photo identification before they cast their ballots. The state’s Democratic Party had challenged the law, signed by former Republican Governor Robert McDonnell, saying it was politically motivated and intended to deter young and minority voters from turning out on Election Day. “The court’s mission is to judge not the wisdom of the Virginia voter ID law, but rather its constitutionality,” wrote U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson in his decision. While he noted that the measure created an “inconvenience” for potential voters who did not have drivers’ licenses or other government-issued ID, he said that was not enough to strike it down. “While the merits of this voter identification law, and indeed all aspects of Virginia’s voting regime, can be reasonably debated, it remains true that Virginia has created a scheme of laws to accommodate all people in their right to vote,” Hudson wrote.  Lawyers representing the state Democratic Party said in a filing that the Republican-dominated state legislature passed the photo ID law “to stall, if not reverse, the growing success of the Democratic Party in Virginia.” The state argued that ID was necessary to ensure that only registered voters cast ballots and to prevent voter fraud. In 2008, President Barack Obama became the first Democrat to carry Virginia in more than 40 years, in part because of turnout among black, Latino and young voters. Obama carried the state again in 2012. In the most recent statewide elections, Democrats also swept all top offices: governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Moreover, the state’s two U.S. senators are both Democrats. Hudson acknowledged that Virginia, a former slave state, has “an unfortunate history of racial and statutory artifice to hinder black voting.” The ruling comes a month after another federal judge upheld a similar requirement in neighboring North Carolina. A federal court this week ordered Kansas to register thousands of eligible voters who have been blocked from registering. That ruling resulted from an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed on behalf of Kansas residents who tried to register to vote through the Kansas Department of Motor Vehicles and had been forced to provide additional documentation of citizenship.

Summary: अमेरिकी न्यायाधीश ने वर्जीनिया के मतदाता पहचान पत्र कानून को बरकरार रखा


VIENTIANE (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama may speak informally with Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte but is not expected to hold a bilateral meeting during a summit in Laos, a White House official said on Tuesday. “He tends to interacts with all the leaders at these events,” Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters, referring to Obama and the ongoing Asian summit. “I would not expect a formal bilateral meeting, but I think we’ll have an opportunity to interact with him, as with all leaders.”

Summary: ओबामा लाओस में दुतेर्ते के साथ अनौपचारिक रूप से बात कर सकते हैंः व्हाइट हाउस


OSLO (Reuters) - An 85-year-old survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima will jointly accept the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize together with this year s laureate, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, ICAN said on Thursday. Setsuko Thurlow, who was 13 at the time of the bombing on Aug. 6, 1945, will be on stage in Oslo on Dec. 10 together with Beatrice Fihn, ICAN s executive director, to receive the Nobel Peace Prize award.   Thurlow has been a leading figure in ICAN since its launch in 2007,  ICAN said in a statement on Thursday.  She played a pivotal role in the United Nations negotiations that led to the adoption of the landmark treaty outlawing nuclear weapons in July.  Thurlow has for seven decades campaigned against nuclear weapons. Born in Japan, she now lives in Canada.  At Hiroshima, she was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building about 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mile) from Ground Zero. Most of her classmates, who were in the same room, were burned alive, she said in an account of her experiences.  In her speech announcing the prize in October, the leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said the risk that nuclear weapons might be used was now  greater than it has been for a long time .

Summary: हिरोशिमा में जीवित बचे व्यक्ति को आईसीएएन के साथ संयुक्त रूप से नोबेल शांति पुरस्कार मिलेगा


MANILA (Reuters) - Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said he raised the issue of human rights and extrajudicial killings during a conversation with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was  receptive  to his comments. Human rights groups had called on leaders at an Asian summit in Manila to pressure Duterte over the thousands of Filipinos killed during his 16-month-old crackdown on illegal drugs. Trudeau said Canada had a reputation for being frank in discussing issues like the rule of law and human rights with partners everywhere.  I also mentioned human rights, rule of law and specifically extra judicial killings as being an issue that Canada is concerned with,  he told a news conference in Manila.  I will always bring that up. The president was receptive to my comments and it was throughout a very cordial and positive exchange.

Summary: कनाडा के ट्रूडो का कहना है कि उन्होंने फिलीपींस के दुतेर्ते के साथ मानवाधिकारों, हत्याओं को उठाया


Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas.  The following are some questions and answers about the virus and current outbreak: How do people become infected? Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same type that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found. How do you treat Zika? There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but the World Health Organization (WHO) had said early in 2016 that it would take at least 18 months to start large-scale clinical trials of potential preventative shots. A vaccine is not expected to be ready for widespread use for at least two or three years. U.S. government researchers said they started their first clinical trial of a Zika vaccine. How dangerous is it? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years. According to the World Health Organization, there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly in babies, a condition defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. In addition, the agency said it could cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis. Conclusive proof of the damage caused by Zika may take months or years. Brazil reports the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly at more than 1,700 as doctors and Brazilian health officials find that some suspected cases of microcephaly are not the disorder. Suspected ones under investigation had declined to 3,257. Brazil registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2. Current research in Brazil indicates the greatest microcephaly risk is associated with infection during the first trimester of pregnancy, but health officials have warned an impact could be seen in later weeks. Recent studies have shown evidence of Zika in amniotic fluid, placenta and fetal brain tissue. What are the symptoms of Zika infection?     People infected with Zika may have a mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and fatigue that can last for two to seven days. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue or chikungunya, which are transmitted by the same type of mosquito. How can Zika be contained? Efforts to control the spread of the virus focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and taking precautions against mosquito bites such as using insect repellent and mosquito nets. U.S. and international health officials have advised pregnant women to avoid travel to Latin American and Caribbean countries where they may be exposed to Zika. How widespread is the outbreak? Active Zika outbreaks have been reported in at least 54 countries or territories, most of them in the Americas, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Brazil has been the country most affected. (1.usa.gov/1ovAJyh) Africa (1): Cape Verde  Americas (45): Anguilla, Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saba, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelmy, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Eustatius, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Cacos, U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela. Oceania/Pacific Islands (8): American Samoa, Fiji, Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga.  What is the history of the Zika virus? The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. Outbreaks of Zika have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Southern Asia and the Western Pacific. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys and was first identified in people in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania, according to the WHO.  Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact? The World Health Organization (WHO) said sexual transmission is “relatively common” and has advised pregnant women not to travel to areas with ongoing outbreaks of Zika virus. It also  advised women living in areas where the virus is being transmitted to delay getting pregnant. The U.S. CDC is investigating about a dozen cases of possible sexual transmission. Those cases involved possible transmission of the virus from men to their sex partners. But the CDC issued updated recommendations for preventing and testing for Zika infection on July 25, warning that the virus can be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected female partner. A reported case of female-to-male sexual transmission in New York City, and limited human and non-human primate data indicating that Zika virus RNA can be detected in vaginal secretions, led to the new warning, the agency said. CDC’s expanded warnings on sexual exposure to Zika now  caution against sex without a condom or other barrier method of protection with any person, male or female, who has traveled to or lives in an area with Zika, including female to female transmission with a pregnant partner. British health officials reported Zika was found in a man’s semen two months after he was infected, suggesting the virus may linger in semen long after infection symptoms fade. The PAHO said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. There is no evidence Zika can be transmitted to babies through breast milk. The WHO has identified Zika cases in Argentina, Chile, France, Italy and New Zealand as likely caused by sexual transmission.  What other complications are associated with Zika? Zika has also been associated with other neurological disorders, including serious brain and spinal cord infections. The long-term health consequences of Zika infection are unclear. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः जीका वायरस क्यों खतरे का कारण बन रहा है


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Leaders of France, Italy and the United Kingdom urged social media companies on Wednesday to more swiftly remove  terrorist content  from the internet, with the aim of stopping it from being uploaded in the first place.  The tech companies have made significant progress on this issue, but we need to go further and faster to reduce the time it takes to remove terrorist content online,  British Prime Minister Theresa May said in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly of world leaders in New York. She said there was a need  to increase significantly the efforts to stop (extremist content) being uploaded in the first place.  French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni later pushed in a separate event hosted by May for such content to be removed swiftly.  This is what must be done. In one hour the content must be identified, analyzed and withdrawn to avoid it being broadcast widely. Experience shows that this is possible,  said Macron, speaking through an interpreter.  We have a real battlefield for hearts and minds and (it) is the web,  Gentiloni said. He said economic and privacy issues were a hurdle in this process,  but we also have to know, if we are aware of the fact that this battlefield is so relevant, that we can t reduce our ambition because of the difficulties.  Several websites across the internet list ingredients for making bombs or instructions on how to use vehicles to attack pedestrians. Online retailer Amazon.com said on Wednesday it was reviewing its website after an investigation found it could help users buy the ingredients to make a bomb using its  Frequently bought together  and  Customers who bought this also bought  features. The European Union has threatened legislation if internet companies do not better police what is available on the web.  Removing all of this content within a few hours - or indeed stopping it from appearing on the internet in the first place - poses an enormous technological and scientific challenge,  said Kent Walker, general counsel for Alphabet Inc s Google.  The haystacks here are unimaginably large and the needles are both very small and constantly changing.  Walker spoke on behalf of Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp, Google subsidiary YouTube and Twitter Inc, all members of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism created in June under pressure from governments in Europe and the United States after a spate of militant attacks. Its aim is to share technical solutions for removing extremist content and work more closely with counter-terrorism experts. Walker said between August 2015 and June 2017, Twitter had suspended almost a million accounts for the promotion of terrorism, and that the use of technology and artificial intelligence had allowed Facebook to root out  terrorist clusters.

Summary: मे, मैक्रों, जेंटिलोनी चरमपंथी ऑनलाइन सामग्री को तेजी से हटाने पर जोर दे रहे हैं


BEIJING (Reuters) - There are many pressure points China can push to express its anger at Donald Trump’s call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen last week, including luring away more of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and ramping up military deployments in the Taiwan Strait. China’s irritation with the call, the first by a U.S. president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, has mostly been directed at the self-ruled island China claims as its own. But it could also make life difficult for the United States and its allies in the region. Shi Yinhong, head of the Centre for American Studies at Beijing’s Renmin University, who has advised the government on diplomatic issues, said China was still in a wait-and-see period when it came to Trump, noting Beijing’s reaction to the call had been quite restrained. But that would change if Trump continued like this in office, Shi said. “Without a doubt, if the Chinese government judges a president Trump wants to challenge the ‘One China’ principle followed since President Carter, China will definitely make a very strong response.” That could include policy toward North Korea, where China has been working with Washington to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear program, or in the disputed South China Sea. “Everything is possible,” he said. Beijing could, for example, ease up on United Nations sanctions on North Korea, providing economic succor to a country developing missiles that could target the United States, or take a more aggressive stance to U.S. freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea, where it has so far limited itself to verbal warnings. Washington and Beijing have also cooperated on the multilateral agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program and on climate change, areas that Trump has said he wants to revisit to get a better deal for the U.S. The status of Taiwan is an unresolved issue from China’s civil war, when defeated Nationalist forces fled there in 1949, posing a pointed challenge to the Communist Party’s claim to rule all of China. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring what it calls a “renegade province” under its control, and Taiwan estimates that China has hundreds of missiles targeting the island over the narrow straits that separate them. The Global Times, an outspoken and influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said punishing Taiwan was the best way to convey a message to Trump. “The Chinese mainland can let Taiwan lose one or two diplomatic allies as a punishment as well as a warning. The mainland can also strengthen its military deployment,” it said in editorials in its Chinese and English editions. The number of countries maintaining formal ties with Taiwan, which until 1971 held China’s seat at the United Nations, has since been whittled away by China to just 22, mostly poor nations in Latin America and the Caribbean. An unofficial diplomatic truce between China and Taiwan ended earlier this year after Tsai was elected in January, when China established ties with former Taiwan ally Gambia. Last week a large Chinese business delegation visited Panama, another Taiwan friend. Tsai says she wants peace and stability with China, but China fears she wants to push the island’s formal independence, one of the core principles of her Democratic Progressive Party. China could also step up its divide-and-rule policy favoring pro-China politicians in Taiwan with trade and access deals, while excluding those from the ruling party. The People’s Daily overseas edition said the Trump-Tsai call set a “terrible precedent” for China-U.S. ties and put a big question mark over a smooth transition in the relationship. Jia Qingguo, dean of the School of International Relations at Peking University and a government advisor, said the incident would help Chinese leaders get past initial uncertainty about Trump and better understand what his administration could mean for China, but “in a negative way”. “Donald Trump is hurting the relationship, and that will also hurt U.S. interests. If he continues this when he is in office, I assume we will have more frictions - over trade, over Taiwan. This is bad for both countries.” Beijing also has to bear in mind the opinion of a Chinese public brought up to insist on sovereignty over Taiwan. “Taiwan is simply a province of our China,” said one user on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter. “Anywhere, anytime we can bring things to a conclusion. Have no worries about that.” China and Taiwan have nearly gone to war three times since 1949, most recently ahead of the 1996 Taiwan presidential election. Then, China carried out missile tests in waters close to the island, hoping to dissuade people voting for Lee Teng-hui, whom it suspected of harbouring pro-independence views. Lee won by a landslide. In the intervening 20 years, Chinese wealth and power have grown. “China is much stronger now,” said Jia, the academic and advisor. “Presumably a U.S.-China confrontation over Taiwan would have a much more negative impact on the international order and relations between the two countries.”

Summary: ट्रम्प के ताइवान कॉल के लिए लागत कौन एकत्र करता है?


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Time magazine’s annual “100 most influential people” list had a notable omission this year: John Kasich, the only member of the current presidential field who did not to make the cut. The list included Kasich’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, front-runner Donald Trump and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, along with Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, in its “leaders” category, but not the Ohio governor. Kasich has trailed Trump and Cruz throughout the campaign and his organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his omission from the Time list. The “Time 100” bills itself as a collection of “world leaders,” “great minds” and “other icons of the moment,” according to a statement released to the media. Trump was depicted in the list as a “rule breaker,” Cruz a “conservative crusader,” Clinton a “Democratic fighter” and Sanders a “populist provocateur.” Other U.S. political figures who made the cut included Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Time Deputy Editor Radhika Jones, who oversees the list, told Reuters they chose to include the candidates who are “most changing the game.” “There was never going to be a way to get all the candidates,” on the list Jones explained, citing the list’s global scope. International leaders on the Time 100 included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन उम्मीदवार कासिच 'टाइम 100' से आगे निकल गए


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Airlines operating at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport have begun implementing measures in compliance with U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban on refugees and nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries, airport sources said on Sunday. The measures would include denying U.S.-bound travel for nationals from those countries - Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen - who were not U.S. green card holders, the sources said. U.S.-bound journeys from Beirut typically involve transfers in Europe, Turkey or Gulf Arab countries.

Summary: बेरूत में एयरलाइंस ने ट्रम्प यात्रा प्रतिबंध के अनुरूप उपायों को लागू किया-हवाई अड्डे के सूत्र


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia s King Salman arrived in Moscow on Wednesday, Russian state television footage showed. The Rossiya-24 channel showed Salman s plane arriving at Vnukovo airport outside the Russian capital.

Summary: सऊदी राजा मास्को पहुंचेः रूसी राज्य टीवी


NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T Inc (T.N) Chief Executive Randall Stephenson on Thursday met in New York with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, an opponent of  the company’s acquisition of Time Warner Inc (TWX.N).  A spokeswoman for Trump confirmed the meeting after Stephenson was seen entering Trump Tower. Stephenson, who was accompanied by Robert Quinn, AT&T’s senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs, would not answer questions from reporters.  AT&T said later on Thursday that the company’s $85.4 billion deal for Time Warner was not discussed. “The conversation focused on how AT&T can work with the Trump administration to increase investment in the U.S., stimulate job creation in America, and make American companies more competitive globally,” AT&T said in a statement.  During his campaign for the White House, Trump said AT&T’s proposal to buy Time Warner, owner of CNN and the Warner Bros movie studio, was an example of a “power structure” that was rigged against him and voters. “It’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few,” said Trump, who has repeatedly accused the media of being biased against him and his campaign. Since the election, Trump has not commented publicly on the AT&T-Time Warner deal, but he has been critical of CNN. He sparred with a CNN reporter on Wednesday during a televised news conference.  A person briefed on the matter said AT&T requested the meeting with Trump late last week.  As Thursday’s meeting was about to get under way, Trump tweeted: “@CNN is in a total meltdown with their FAKE NEWS because their ratings are tanking since election and their credibility will soon be gone.” Representatives from AT&T and Time Warner declined to comment on Trump’s tweet.  A Trump transition official told Reuters earlier this month that the president-elect still opposed the deal, which would require antitrust approval by the U.S. Department of Justice. It could also face a review by the Federal Communications Commission, although the companies are considering ways to structure the deal to avoid that.  Time Warner shareholders will meet on Feb. 15 to decide whether to approve the merger.

Summary: टाइम वार्नर के विलय की योजना के बीच ए. टी. एंड. टी. के मुख्य कार्यकारी, ट्रम्प ने की मुलाकात


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and other officials will be called to testify next month to a congressional panel about the crisis over lead-contaminated water in the city of Flint, a congressional office said on Thursday. U.S. Representative Brenda Lawrence, a Democrat, requested the Feb. 3 hearing of the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee last week, said her communications director, Tracy Manzer. The invitation will be specifically for the governor and he cannot send a representative on his behalf, Manzer said. Susan Hedman, administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 5 office in Chicago, and Dan Wyant, former director of Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality, are among the other invitees. Wyant resigned in December over the growing crisis in Flint. Flint, a financially strapped city north of Detroit, switched water supplies in 2014 to save money. Complaints about the water began within a month of the change, but officials did not take steps to remedy the situation until October 2015 after tests showed elevated levels of lead in some tap water in the city and in some children. “The purpose of the hearing is to identify precisely what went wrong in the process and to ensure that those who were responsible are to be held accountable and that this never happens again,” Manzer said. Snyder, a Republican, has rejected calls from critics for his resignation over the crisis. He asked the Michigan state legislature this week to approve $28 million to assist Flint and said there would be additional funding requests. The Michigan House approved the funding unanimously on Wednesday and the bill was in the Senate on Thursday. The U.S. House committee can subpoena people to appear before it if they do not respond to invitations. (Story corrects headline and paragraphs 1, 2 to show governor will be called to testify but has not been called yet. Representative Lawrence’s spokeswoman corrected what she previously said.)

Summary: मिशिगन के गवर्नर को फ्लिंट जल संकट पर कांग्रेस की सुनवाई के लिए बुलाया जाएगा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump has chosen first-term Republican U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana, a former Navy SEAL commander, as his interior secretary, a senior transition official said on Tuesday. Zinke, 55, will be nominated to head the Interior Department, which employs more than 70,000 people across the United States and oversees more than 20 percent of federal land, including national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite. Zinke’s choice was something of a surprise since some Republican officials wanted him to challenge Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Tester of Montana in the 2018 elections. Zinke emerged after Trump had toyed with the idea of nominating U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state for the position. He is a proponent of keeping public lands under federal ownership, putting him at odds with some in his Republican Party who are more favorable to privatization or placing them under the control of states. It remains unclear where Zinke would stand on opening up more federal lands to increased drilling and mining, something Trump promised he would do as president. Trump’s official energy platform calls for opening “onshore and offshore leasing on federal lands, eliminate moratorium on coal leasing, and open shale energy deposits.” A Trump aide told Reuters last week that McMorris Rodgers had been picked for the post. She had met Trump at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, shortly after the president-elect began his Cabinet search. On Tuesday, a source close to the congresswoman said she had never been offered the job. “It was an honor to be invited to spend time with the president-elect, and I’m energized more than ever to continue leading in Congress as we think big, reimagine this government, and put people back at the center of it,” McMorris Rodgers said in a Facebook post. Zinke had been an early Trump supporter, backing the New York businessman for president in May. His nomination must now be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. “Congressman Zinke is a strong advocate for American energy independence, and he supports an all-encompassing energy policy that includes renewables, fossil fuels and alternative energy,” Trump spokesman Jason Miller said before a meeting on Monday between Zinke and Trump at Trump Tower in New York.  Zinke, a member of the House of Representatives subcommittee on natural resources, has voted for legislation that would weaken environmental safeguards on public land. But, unlike other candidates who were on the short list for the interior secretary job, Zinke opposes the transfer of public lands to the states, a position that echoes Trump’s. Trump has said he does not think public land should be turned over to the states and should be protected. “I don’t like the idea because I want to keep the lands great, and you don’t know what the state is going to do,” Trump said in an interview with Field & Stream magazine in January. Trump said putting states in control of public land would make it easier to sell it off for energy or commercial development. He thinks the federal government needs to focus on conservation. “I mean, are they going to sell (states) if they get into a little bit of trouble? I don’t think it’s something that should be sold,” he said. “We have to be great stewards of this land. This is magnificent land.” In July, Zinke resigned as a delegate to the Republican nominating convention because the party platform called for transferring public lands to the states. “What I saw was a platform that was more divisive than uniting,” Zinke told the Billings Gazette. “At this point, I think it’s better to show leadership.” Public land comprises more than 30 percent of Montana, according to the Montana Wilderness Association. The League of Conservation Voters, which ranks lawmakers on their environmental record, gave Zinke an extremely low lifetime score of 3 percent.  The Wilderness Society, a leading conservation group, said it was concerned by Zinke’s support for logging, drilling and mining on public lands. The Interior Department also oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs and handles tribal policy. Under Obama, the department played a big role in efforts to curb the effects of climate change by limiting fossil fuel development in some areas.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने कांग्रेस सदस्य, पूर्व सील ज़िंके को आंतरिक सचिव के रूप में चुना


BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Iraq cautioned its citizens that there may be unrest during a referendum on independence planned by the  Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq, opposed by the central  government in Baghdad.   In particular, U.S. citizens should avoid travel into and within territories disputed between the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and the Government of Iraq,  the travel warning said. The KRG has resisted calls by the United Nations, the United States and Britain to delay the referendum. Iraq s powerful neighbors, Iran and Turkey, strongly oppose the vote as they fear could fuel separatism among their own Kurds.

Summary: अमेरिका ने कुर्द स्वतंत्रता जनमत संग्रह के दौरान नागरिकों को संभावित अशांति की चेतावनी दी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama’s advisers would recommend he veto a bill in the House of Representatives that prohibits use of funds to transfer individuals detained at the Guantanamo Bay military prison to the United States or any foreign country, the White House said on Tuesday.  The bill was introduced in the House and is making its way through Congress. It faces a tough battle in the Senate. Operation of the prison “weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners, and emboldening violent extremists,” the White House said in a release.

Summary: ओबामा ग्वांतानामो हस्तांतरण के वित्तपोषण को रोकने के लिए हाउस बिल को वीटो करेंगेः व्हाइट हाउस


DUBAI, - Billionaire Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns investment firm Kingdom Holding 4280.SE, is among people detained and under investigation by a new anti-corruption body, a senior Saudi official told Reuters on Sunday. Also detained and under investigation is former Saudi finance minister Ibrahim al-Assaf, said the official, who declined to be identified under briefing rules. Neither man could be reached immediately for comment. King Salman announced late on Saturday the creation of a new anti-corruption committee chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said had detained 11 princes, four current ministers and tens of former ministers.

Summary: अरबपति सऊदी राजकुमार अलवलीद जांच में हिरासत मेंः अधिकारी


MADRID (Reuters) - The leader of Spain s Socialists, the main opposition to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy s conservative People s Party (PP), said on Monday the party would back government action if Catalonia makes a unilateral declaration of independence on Tuesday.  We ll support the response of the rule of law in the face of any attempt to break social harmony,  Pedro Sanchez said during a conference in Barcelona.

Summary: स्पेन के समाजवादी नेता का कहना है कि वह कैटेलोनिया पर सरकार का समर्थन करेंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously backed former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman to be President Donald Trump’s first ambassador to Russia on Tuesday, clearing the way for his likely approval by the full Senate. At his Sept 19 confirmation hearing, Huntsman had said there was “no question” Moscow meddled in the 2016 U.S. election, and pledged to bring up the matter with the Russian government. Allegations that Russia interfered in the vote to boost Trump’s chances of winning the White House, denied by both Trump and Moscow, have shadowed the first months of Trump’s presidency. Huntsman’s tough line during his hearing was welcomed by several members of the foreign relations panel. Many members of Congress, including several of Trump’s fellow Republicans, are concerned the president will not take a hard enough line in dealings with Russia to combat Russian expansionism in eastern Europe or its support for Syria’s government in that country’s civil war. A vote by the full Senate on Huntsman’s confirmation has not yet been scheduled.

Summary: अमेरिकी सीनेट पैनल ने रूस में ट्रम्प के राजदूत के रूप में हंट्समैन का समर्थन किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama formally announced the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar on Friday by terminating an emergency order that deemed the policies of the former military government a threat to U.S. national security. “I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency ... has been significantly altered by Burma’s (Myanmar’s) substantial advances to promote democracy, including historic elections in November 2015,” Obama said in a letter to the U.S. House and Senate speakers. A U.S. Treasury statement said that as a result of the termination of the emergency order the economic and financial sanctions administered by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control were no longer in effect. The move followed a meeting between Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Obama in Washington last month, when she called for the lifting of economic sanctions against her country, and he said he was willing to do this. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won a sweeping victory in the November elections. Obama’s letter pointed to the formation of a democratically elected, civilian-led government as a result of the election, the release of many political prisoners and improved human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and freedom of association and peaceful assembly. “While Burma faces significant challenges, including the consolidation of its democracy, the United States can, and intends to, use other means to support the government and people of Burma in their efforts to address these challenges,” Obama’s letter said. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and democracy icon, helped persuade the West to impose sanctions on Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, during her years as a jailed opposition leader. She is now trying to strike a balance between showing her people the economic rewards of a democratic transition while keeping pressure on the country’s generals for further reforms.   Some members of the U.S. Congress have expressed concerns about the extent and durability of change in Myanmar and introduced legislation seeking to give lawmakers some influence on the process of easing sanctions. Rights groups condemned last month’s announcement, saying it  forfeited leverage on Myanmar’s military. Officials of the U.S. administration have said the removal of sanctions would not apply to military-to-military assistance, given the extent of the military’s involvement in politics and rights abuses. Suu Kyi herself has been criticized for doing too little to address the plight of Myanmar’s stateless Rohingya Muslim  minority. The State Department said last month that several restrictions would remain in place, including barring visas for military leaders.

Summary: ओबामा ने म्यांमार पर अमेरिकी प्रतिबंध हटाने की घोषणा की


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese companies overwhelmingly want Prime Minister Shinzo Abe s ruling coalition to stay in power in this Sunday s national election but about two-thirds want it to lose seats, a Reuters poll found. The survey suggests corporations want political stability but don t want to hand Abe a landslide victory for fear he might become complacent about reviving the economy. Many companies in the survey expressed concern that a big election win would encourage Abe to invest his energy in a long-held ambition to revise Japan s pacifist constitution, at the expense of economic policy.  We need political stability. But the top priority should be economic steps, not revising the constitution,  wrote a manager of a construction company, who preferred an outcome in which the ruling bloc of Abe s Liberal Democratic Party and partner Komeito may lose seats, but keep a simple majority. Japanese go to the polls on Sunday to elect representatives for the country s 465-member lower house, the more powerful of Japan s two-chamber national diet, or parliament. Forecasts published last week predicted Abe s coalition would win around 300 seats, close to the two-thirds super-majority it held before he called the election. Along with like-minded parties, the LDP bloc also has a majority in the upper house, which would be needed to revise the constitution. The corporate survey was conducted Sept 28 to Oct 12 and found that 94 percent of companies hoped Abe s coalition would win the election. However, some 48 percent wanted his bloc to obtain a smaller majority, while 20 percent hoped the ruling camp would retain the 323 seats it held before the lower house was dissolved last month. Seven percent wanted the ruling bloc to win more seats.  Those who expect the unexpected like Brexit and (Donald) Trump s presidency are doomed to disappointment. This election has no single, overriding issue,  said Masaki Kuwahara, senior economist at Nomura Securities, who reviewed the survey results.  Split votes among opposition parties should help Abe s coalition.  The campaign has seen the emergence of Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike s new Party of Hope, which advocates a freeze on a planned sales tax hike in 2019. The Reuters survey showed a slim majority wanted Abe to stick to a budget-balancing goal, while opposing his plan to divert revenue from a planned hike in the national sales tax towards education and child-care, rather than towards debt repayment.  Abe must be playing to the gallery by promising such a plan that may attract voters in the election. How on earth will Japan be able to finance the cost of social security services?  a manager of a metal products machinery maker wrote in the survey. Asked what policies should be tackled after the election, fiscal consolidation - or efforts to curb the industrial world s heaviest public-debt burden - was the top choice, picked by 35 percent, followed by additional fiscal stimulus, chosen by 14 percent. Just 5 percent wanted further monetary stimulus, underscoring the dominant market view that easy-money policy has its limits. Only 3 percent said revising the constitution should be a top priority.    Many companies are wary of a potential collapse of public finances, which would destabilize the financial system and broader economy,  Kuwahara said.  They also fear that revising the pacifist constitution will send a wrong signal to Asian neighbors  who suffered from Japan s wartime aggression. The survey, conducted for Reuters by Nikkei Research, polled 548 big and mid-sized firms that reply on condition of anonymity. Around 230 companies answered the questions on the outlook for the election and policies.

Summary: जापान इंक आबे को चुनाव में जीतना चाहता है, लेकिन कम बहुमत चाहता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Rifle Association endorsed Republican Donald Trump for U.S. president on Friday and he responded by promising to serve the country’s top gun lobby group well.  Trump, his party’s presumptive nominee for the Nov. 8  presidential election, praised the NRA and took a swipe at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, saying she wants to abolish the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms. The billionaire businessman has opposed gun-free zones and promised to protect Americans’ rights to self-defense. “I will not let you down,” Trump told the gathering in Louisville, Kentucky. The NRA is the country’s leading gun-rights advocacy group.

Summary: शीर्ष अमेरिकी बंदूक लॉबी समूह एन. आर. ए. ने राष्ट्रपति पद की दौड़ में ट्रम्प का समर्थन किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Jordan’s King Abdullah on Monday discussed a range of issues from speeding up the fight against Islamic State, the crisis in Syria, and efforts to reach an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, the White House said. Abdullah, the first Arab leader to hold talks with the new administration, also raised the issue of potential changes to the U.S. embassy in Israel, the White House said in a statement.  President Donald Trump is expected to greet Abdullah at a prayer event in Washington on Thursday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer separately told reporters in a daily briefing.

Summary: पेंस, जॉर्डन के अब्दुल्ला ने इस्लामिक स्टेट, सीरिया, इजरायल में अमेरिकी दूतावास पर चर्चा कीः व्हाइट हाउस