WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress is set to debate legislation that would extend until May 5 the deadline for a deal on federal spending through September and head off a feared government shutdown at midnight on Friday. The House Rules Committee, in a late-night meeting, voted 8-2 to send the legislation to the full House of Representatives for debate and votes on passage on Friday, just hours before expiry of a deadline for funding many federal agencies. If the measure passes the House, as expected, the Senate would be prepared to promptly take up the bill, in the hope of also passing it and sending it to President Donald Trump to be signed into law. The measure would give Republican and Democratic lawmakers an additional week to work out differences on about $1 trillion in funding for the government through Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year. Without the extension or a longer-term funding bill, federal agencies will run out of money by midnight Friday, likely triggering abrupt layoffs of hundreds of thousands of federal government workers until funding resumes.  The last government shutdown, in 2013, lasted for 17 days, and many lawmakers were nervous about the prospect of another. “I’m confident we will be able to pass a short-term extension” of funding for programs for the fiscal year that began nearly seven months ago, House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters early on Thursday. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi warned that the purpose of the stopgap measure was to tie up loose ends of a deal to provide around $1 trillion in money for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 and not for “kicking the can down the road to have this same back-and-forth” over funding disputes.   House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen expressed optimism in a statement that a final funding package will be completed soon. In the midst of the delicate negotiations, Trump took to social network Twitter to blast Democrats. “As families prepare for summer vacations in our National Parks - Democrats threaten to close them and shut down the government. Terrible!” Trump tweeted in a series of tweets. Negotiators were racing against the clock to resolve remaining disputes in the massive spending bill amid talks that have already handed Democrats at least two major victories, despite Republican control of Congress.     Trump, a Republican, gave in to Democratic demands that the spending bill not include money to start building the wall he wants to erect on the U.S.-Mexico border. His administration also agreed to continue funding for a major component of Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, despite vows to end the program. It remained unclear whether Republicans would prevail in their effort to sharply hike defense spending without similar increases for other domestic programs. Trump has proposed a $30-billion spending boost for the Pentagon for the rest of this fiscal year. Such funding disputes could resurface later in spending bills for the next fiscal year. Disagreements remaining to be ironed out include funding to make a healthcare program for coal miners permanent and to plug a gap in Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program, the government health insurance program for the poor.

Summary: कांग्रेस ने सरकारी बंद को टालने के लिए विधेयक पर शुक्रवार को मतदान की तैयारी की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two prominent U.S. Democratic senators are raising questions about President Donald Trump’s special adviser, Carl Icahn, asking in a letter on Thursday if the activist investor is attempting to persuade the government to lift its “too big to fail” tag from insurer American International Group. On Friday, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, comprising the chiefs of U.S. financial regulatory agencies, will discuss AIG’s designation as a “systemically important financial institution,” commonly known as one that is “too big to fail.” In an agenda for the meeting, the council did not say which institution it will discuss.  However, there are only two non-banks designated as so large and interconnected that they would ruin the financial system if they failed - AIG and Prudential Insurance (PRU.N). The labels trigger stricter oversight and greater capital requirements. Trump has ordered a review of the designation process, currently at the heart of a lawsuit involving MetLife Inc. (MET.N), which many expect will lead his administration to rescind the current designations to try to lighten regulation it considers burdensome.  In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse said Icahn has retained “his massive business interests” while advising Trump on regulation, including his sizable investment in AIG (AIG.N).  AIG company received a $182 billion taxpayer bailout during the 2007-09 financial crisis, which prompted Congress to call for the designations of non-banks in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law as systemically important. Icahn owned a 4.95 percent stake in AIG as of March 31. Concerned about compliance costs, Icahn had publicly pressed AIG to shrink, and tried to convince the FSOC that AIG no longer qualified for the label. Recently though, after AIG sold some assets and appointed a new chief executive, Icahn has not pushed the issue further.      Senators Warren and Whitehouse also noted Icahn met with one current FSOC member, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Jay Clayton, after Clayton was nominated for the position. “Given Mr. Icahn’s recent modification of his position on the breakup of AIG, and his past interactions with administration officials, we write to seek assurances that Mr. Icahn has not provided input on or received information on the pending FSOC decision on AIG’s SIFI status,” they said. The two senators asked about any FSOC measures to ensure  individuals with an interest in its decisions do not inappropriately influence its members. They also asked if any members are subject to recusal on AIG because of interactions with Icahn, and about any staff-level conversations regarding Icahn’s investments. AIG declined to comment, and the White House and Treasury did not respond to requests for comment.

Summary: सीनेटरों को चिंता है कि इकान एआईजी पर नियामकों को प्रभावित कर रहा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey followed a turbulent year for Comey in which he became embroiled in controversy over his handling of investigations involving both Trump and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Here is a timeline of the events that preceded Comey’s firing and Trump’s reaction to them. Comey announced he had recommended no criminal charges filed against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for her handling of classified information while she was secretary of state but called her “extremely careless” for using a private email server. Trump responded to the news by tweeting that Comey’s decision was an example of a “rigged system” in the United States. “Very very unfair! As usual, bad judgment,” he tweeted. Less than two weeks before the Nov. 8 presidential election, Comey announced in a letter to Congress that the FBI had learned of the existence of emails that appeared to pertain to the Clinton investigation and they would be reviewed whether they contained classified information.  The abrupt decision to renew the investigation upset Democrats who believed the announcement would have an impact on voting trends on Election Day and harm Clinton’s chances of victory. Campaigning in Michigan, Trump exulted at the news of a reopened probe into actions surrounding an opponent he had dubbed “Crooked Hillary.” “That was so bad what happened originally, and it took guts for Director Comey to make the move that he made in light of the kind of opposition he had where they’re trying to protect her from criminal prosecution,” Trump said. Two days after his inauguration, Trump was at an event in the White House and saw Comey in the audience. He called out to him and Comey strode up and they warmly shook hands and briefly embraced.   “He’s become more famous than me,” Trump said with a chuckle. Trump fired his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, after only 24 days in office after it was disclosed that Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the contacts he had with Russian ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak. Comey, in testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, said the FBI had been investigating possible coordination between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia. Clinton told a Women for Women event in New York that the Comey announcement threw the election for Trump. “If the election had been on Oct. 27, I would be your president,” she said. Trump responded with a late-night series of tweets. “FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds!” Trump tweeted. White House spokesman Sean Spicer was asked about Trump’s tweet about Comey. “The president has confidence in the director,” Spicer told reporters. May 4, 2017 Comey, in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it made him “mildly nauseous” to think his announcement of the reopening of an investigation into Clinton’s emails affected the 2016 presidential election, but he had no regrets and would make the same decision again.  In four hours of testimony Comey gave an impassioned defense of his decision to reopen the Clinton probe. May 8, 2017 ProPublica reported possible inaccuracies about Comey’s statements about Clinton aide Huma Abedin. It said the FBI was said to be preparing to correct the record but that the plan appeared to be on hold with the bureau undecided about what to do. MIDAFTERNOON, May 9, 2017 At his afternoon daily briefing White House spokesman Sean Spicer was asked whether Trump still had confidence in Comey. Unlike his statement from a week earlier when he said Trump had confidence in Comey, Spicer equivocated. “I don’t want to start speaking on behalf of the president without speaking to him first,” Spicer said. ABOUT 5:30 PM, May 9, 2017 In a brief appearance in the White House press room, Spicer announced Trump had accepted the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire Comey. A letter provided to the news media from Rosenstein cited Comey’s handling of the Clinton probe. The New York Times reported Comey got the news while in Los Angeles where he had been addressing FBI employees there. When a TV in the background flashed the news, Comey at first thought it was a prank, but then got word he had been fired. At the FBI headquarters in Washington, Trump personal aide Keith Schiller was seen leaving the building. A White House official said he had delivered Trump’s letter announcing Comey’s dismissal.

Summary: समयरेखाः एफ. बी. आई. निदेशक कोमी के विवाद का वर्ष गोलीबारी में समाप्त हुआ


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pakistan s foreign minister on Thursday described as  hollow allegations  comments by senior U.S. officials and lawmakers during his visit to Washington this week that questioned Islamabad s resolve in fighting militancy.     President Donald Trump s administration is seeking to implement its regional strategy. While U.S. officials have long been critical of the role Pakistan has played in Afghanistan, senior officials have been more pointed in recent days about Islamabad s alleged support for militant groups. Earlier this week, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States would try  one more time  to work with Pakistan in Afghanistan before Trump would  take whatever steps are necessary  to change Pakistan s behavior. On Tuesday, the top U.S. military officer said he believed Pakistan s main spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate, had ties to the militant group.  You want us to sniff them out, we will do that. You want us to take action against them, whatever action you propose, we will do that... (but) these hollow allegations are not acceptable,  Pakistan s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif told a group of reporters. In August, Trump outlined a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, chastising Pakistan over its alleged support for Afghan militants. Reuters first reported that possible Trump administration responses being discussed include expanding U.S. drone strikes and perhaps eventually downgrading Pakistan s status as a major non-NATO ally. Asif singled out Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, saying the senator was  playing to his constituents  when he criticized Pakistan.   We are not saying we are saints. Perhaps in the past, we made some mistakes. But since the last three, four years, we are wholeheartedly, single mindedly, we are targeting these terrorists,  Asif said. Asif said that Pakistan had less influence over the Taliban than in previous years, which could impact any efforts for peace talks to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan.  He added that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would be visiting Pakistan later this month.

Summary: पाकिस्तान के शीर्ष राजनयिक ने आतंकवादी समर्थन के अमेरिकी दावों पर पलटवार किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The campaign of Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for U.S. senator in Alabama who has been accused of sexual misconduct, appealed on Sunday to President Donald Trump’s supporters, saying a vote for Moore would be a vote for Trump’s agenda. In the final days before Tuesday’s special election, opinion polls show a tight race between Moore, a 70-year-old conservative Christian and former state judge, and Democrat Doug Jones, a 63-year-old former U.S. attorney. Dean Young, chief political strategist for Moore, cast Jones as a liberal who would vote against Trump’s priorities such as building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and cutting taxes. “If the people of Alabama vote for this liberal Democrat Doug Jones, they’re voting against the president who they put in office at the highest level,” Young told ABC’s “This Week.” “So it’s very important for Donald Trump. ... If they can beat him, they can beat his agenda, because Judge Moore stands with Donald Trump and his agenda.” Moore has been accused of sexual misconduct toward women when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s, including one woman who said he tried to initiate sexual contact with her when she was 14.  Moore has denied the misconduct allegations and said they were a result of “dirty politics.” He has said that he never met any of the women involved. Reuters has not independently verified any of the accusations. As the race tightens, Jones has cranked up his attacks on Moore over the allegations and made those charges central to his argument that Moore is an unsuitable choice. The effort by the Moore campaign to align itself as closely as possible with Trump raises the stakes for the president in the Alabama race. Trump has endorsed Moore and praised him on Friday at a rally in Pensacola, Florida, near the Alabama state line. The president’s support of Moore came despite efforts by other senior Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to distance themselves from Moore. Alabama voters went strongly for Trump in last year’s presidential election, favoring him by 62 percent to 34 percent over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Washington has been roiled by sexual misconduct scandals, with accusations leading to the resignations last week of three members of Congress. The growing wave of women reporting abuse or misconduct has brought down powerful men, from movie producer Harvey Weinstein to popular television personality Matt Lauer. Republican leaders have said that if Moore wins, he could face an immediate investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee. Republican Richard Shelby, the senior U.S. senator from Alabama, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he did not vote for Moore and instead backed a write-in candidate. The editorial board of the AL.com website, which covers Alabama news, has endorsed Jones. In an editorial on Sunday, the website urged conservative voters in Alabama to follow Shelby’s lead and consider a write-in candidate if they did not want to vote for Jones.

Summary: रॉय मूर अभियान ने अलबामा की दौड़ को ट्रम्प पर जनमत संग्रह के रूप में डाला


LONDON (Reuters) - Repressive states are to blame for breeding terrorism, Britain s foreign minister Boris Johnson will say on Thursday, in a speech defending Western foreign policy and denouncing Islamist extremism.  Britain suffered four deadly attacks in London and Manchester between March and June this year that killed 36 people, and on Wednesday a man appeared in court accused of plotting to kill British Prime Minister Theresa May. Speaking to diplomats and experts at the Foreign Office in London, Johnson will call for better engagement with Muslim populations worldwide and argue that blaming Western intervention for the rise of Islamist extremism plays into the jihadi narrative, according to a briefing note issued by the Foreign Office.   To assert, as people often do, that the terrorism we see on the streets of Britain and America is some kind of punishment for adventurism and folly in the Middle East is to ignore that these so-called punishments are visited on peoples   Swedes, Belgians, Finns or the Japanese hostages murdered by Daesh - with no such history in the region,  he will say according to advanced extracts of his speech. He will say that Islamist jihadism can have the  addictive power of crack cocaine .

Summary: ब्रिटेन के जॉनसन का कहना है कि चरमपंथ दमनकारी राज्यों से पैदा होता है, न कि पश्चिमी नीति से


(Reuters) - Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny pressed U.S. President Donald Trump about undocumented immigrants in the United States at their first meeting on Thursday, a day before St Patrick’s Day.     “We did discuss the question of immigration, which is so important to the fabric of our people. And I know that in this country, this is an issue that the administration and the president are reflecting upon...We discussed that very constructively this morning,” Kenny said at a lunch event, hosted by House Speaker Paul Ryan at the U.S. Capitol after the two met at the White House. Kenny’s tone was much more convivial than when he spoke in the Irish parliament in June last year, describing the then presidential candidate’s rhetoric as “racist and dangerous.”  Trump has vowed to take a hard line against illegal immigrants, promising to speed up deportations, especially against those with criminal records.  Kenny told reporters after their meeting that he would recommend that any illegal Irish immigrants living in the United States with what he called “small issues,” such as parking fees or traffic violations, clear those as a way to reduce anxiety about their status in the country. The two also discussed the effects of Britain’s exit from the European Union, as well as Northern Ireland, where a recent provincial election saw nationalists Sinn Fein gain ground, Kenny said. Kenny has signaled his intention to step down as Ireland’s prime minister, a move some expect could occur after he returns from his U.S. visit. Trump did not publicly address the illegal immigration topic but he did tout the contributions of Irish immigrants to the United States. Trump told reporters that he planned to visit the country, declaring “I love Ireland.”  (This version of the story corrects paragraph 5 to say “small issues” instead of “small legal issues.”)

Summary: सेंट पैट्रिक दिवस से पहले व्हाइट हाउस में आयरलैंड के प्रधानमंत्री से मिले ट्रंप


BERLIN (Reuters) - German industry associations on Friday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from a landmark agreement to fight climate change, warning that the move would harm the global economy and lead to market distortions. Trump said on Thursday the United States would withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate deal, a move that fulfilled a major campaign pledge but drew condemnation from global leaders and executives. He said his administration would begin talks either to re-enter the Paris accord or to have a new deal with better terms for the United States. “Trump’s climate refusal harms the economy,” said Thilo Brodtmann, Managing Director of Germany’s VDMA engineering industry association, adding that Trump was “putting campaign promises over the long-term interests of the world community.” This would harm the economy as well as the environment, since the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions can go hand in hand with economic growth if companies have planning certainty for investing in efficient technologies, he added. “Europe and its allies, as well as important federal states and companies in the U.S., must now hold their course,” Brodtmann said. In the long term, Europe would profit from its investment in climate-friendly technologies. Germany’s DIHK Chambers of Commerce warned that some U.S. companies could gain short-term advantages by Trump’s decision to pull out of the climate deal.  “Climate protection can be pushed forward in an effective and competition-friendly way only by all states,” said DIHK President Eric Schweitzer. Schweitzer said other countries should stick to their commitments, but warned that attempting to compensate for the U.S. withdrawal by other countries redoubling their commitments would be self-defeating.

Summary: जर्मन उद्योग का कहना है कि ट्रम्प के जलवायु समझौते को वापस लेने से वैश्विक अर्थव्यवस्था को नुकसान होता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he would discuss trade and military issues with the emir of Kuwait at the White House on Thursday, as well as tensions over Qatar. Trump, welcoming Kuwait s Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah to the White House, said Kuwait was helping the United States in the Gulf and things were  coming along nicely.  Kuwait has been trying to heal a bitter dispute between Qatar and four Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, which say Doha supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, charges Qatar s leaders deny.

Summary: ट्रंप ने कहा, कुवैत के अमीर के साथ सैन्य मुद्दों पर चर्चा करेंगे कतर


PARIS (Reuters) - Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri will meet ministers from major powers in Paris on Friday to discuss ways of stabilizing his country a month after his shock resignation plunged it into political turmoil, three diplomats said. The Arab and European diplomats said Hariri would take part in the meeting of the International Lebanon Support Group, a body that includes the five members of the U.N. Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. Hariri resigned as prime minister in early November while he was in Saudi Arabia, prompting a political crisis in Lebanon and thrusting it back into a regional tussle between Riyadh and its main regional foe, Iran. Hariri has now returned to Beirut and indicated that he might withdraw his resignation, which was never accepted by the president.      Lebanese officials say Saudi Arabia had coerced Hariri, a long-time ally of the kingdom, into resigning and held him there against his will until an intervention by France led to his return to Lebanon. Saudi Arabia denies this. A European diplomat said the aim of the meeting would be  to put pressure on the Saudis and Iranians . He added that the meeting would be an opportunity to reinforce that the Lebanese must stick by the state policy of  disassociation , or keeping out of regional conflicts.   Before Hariri sets off, Lebanon s cabinet is this week set to meet for the first time since the political crisis erupted.  The date of the cabinet meeting has not yet been confirmed but it is expected to address Hariri s resignation.  A Lebanese MP who met Hariri on Monday said discussions among politicians were  moving positively  and would result in a  unanimous stance  by the cabinet soon.  The comments from MP Wael Abu Faour were published by Hariri s office on Monday.  The Lebanon support group, launched in 2013, also includes the European Union, the Arab League and the United Nations.

Summary: लेबनान के हरीरी पेरिस में प्रमुख शक्तियों से मिलेंगे


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union and the United States will hold a high-level meeting in Brussels next week to discuss threats to aviation and no further measures concerning a ban on in-cabin electronics larger than cellphones will be announced for now, an EU official said. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly spoke with members of the European Commission and EU national governments on Friday about a possible extension of the U.S. ban on passengers carrying laptops in aircraft cabins to some European airports. An EU official said the two sides had agreed a high-level meeting would take place in Brussels next week, but did not say what day.

Summary: लैपटॉप प्रतिबंध पर यूरोपीय संघ, अमेरिका की उच्च स्तरीय बैठक अगले सप्ताह होगी


LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May s meeting with European Union officials last week was  constructive and friendly , her spokesman said on Monday when asked about an unflattering  newspaper account of the meeting in a German newspaper.  I think you re referring to a newspaper article with no quotes in it, but I have no comment whatsoever on that,  the spokesman said. He referred to a joint statement issued following the meeting last week which said the talks were  constructive and friendly.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के प्रधानमंत्री मे की यूरोपीय संघ के अधिकारियों के साथ बैठक 'रचनात्मक और मैत्रीपूर्ण': प्रवक्ता


BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker proposed a bill on Tuesday to allow police and courts to hold people facing deportation orders in custody for extra time to allow them to be turned over to federal immigration officials. The move by the Republican came a week after the state’s top court ruled that law enforcement does not have the legal authority to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests. The ICE requests ask that people facing civil deportation orders be held in custody for up to 48 hours after the cases that brought them into the court system are determined. Baker said the court’s decision overturned longstanding policy in the state. “For years, many local police departments and the trial court have cooperated with ICE to ensure that they can detain violent and dangerous criminals, convicted of crimes like murder and rape, to keep our communities safe,” Baker said in a statement. “This bill allows the state police to honor specific detainers.” Baker’s proposal would limit compliance to cases where the person ICE officials want detained is suspected of violent crimes such as terrorism, street-gang activity or human trafficking, or has been convicted of a felony not directly related to his or her immigration status. ICE detainer requests apply to immigrants in the country illegally who are arrested or otherwise enter the criminal justice system. Baker’s proposal would require a judge’s approval to hold people facing a detainer request for longer than 12 hours after their cases are resolved. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a top priority of his administration. The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union criticized the move. “Baker’s proposed legislation ... is constitutionally suspect because it attempts to authorize state and local law enforcement to detain people without due process,” the group’s executive director, Carol Rose, said in a statement. The leaders of the Democratic-controlled state legislature in Massachusetts did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Baker’s proposal.

Summary: मैसाचुसेट्स के गवर्नर ने आप्रवासन प्रवर्तन को कड़ा करने के लिए विधेयक का प्रस्ताव रखा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Overlooked in all the speculation about running for president, Republican Paul Ryan has quietly laid to rest doubts about his ability as a campaign fundraiser for congressional colleagues. Ryan has raised more than $9 million through his “Team Ryan” network since his first day as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 30, 2015, through the end of January 2016, a Reuters review of U.S. Federal Election Commission filings showed. That haul helps House Republicans and party committees and compares with about $6 million raised by his predecessor John Boehner over the same three-month period in the 2014 campaign cycle and about $7 million in the 2012 presidential election cycle. Ryan has delivered at least $8 million to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), a party group that backs congressional Republicans, again topping Boehner in 2014 and 2012, according to FEC filings through Feb. 29. That has helped put the NRCC in its best cash-on-hand position ever entering an election year, and placed it $2 million ahead of the rival Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.       “I’ll put it this way, Paul Ryan is a finance chair’s dream in terms of fund-raising,” said Representative Ann Wagner, the NRCC’s finance chairman.      The uncertainty this election year about who will win both parties’ presidential nominations has also helped fundraising for congressional candidates, she said.                 Ryan has defied skeptics who doubted last year that he could match Boehner on the cash front and still fulfill a pledge to be at home with his family on weekends. In U.S. politics, the ability to fundraise is a key test of potential for higher office, but Ryan, who ran unsuccessfully for vice president in 2012, has consistently denied he is interested in entering the 2016 White House race.     “Get my name out of it ... I’m not that person,” Ryan said on Monday, speaking from Israel, where he is on a congressional visit, in an interview with talk radio host Hugh Hewitt. Nonetheless Ryan is the center of speculation that he could emerge as a compromise nominee if the party’s presidential nominating convention dissolves in chaos in July. “I’m not running for president ... End of story,” Ryan said.     Despite his fundraising prowess, there are some signs of trouble ahead for Ryan. The mere mention of his name produced boos from supporters of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump at a recent rally in Ryan’s home district. And a Wisconsin conservative has announced he will challenge Ryan in the Republican congressional primary election scheduled for August. On Capitol Hill, Ryan must also preserve a tentative peace he has achieved among warring Republican factions in the Congress. The first test will be to get Congress to pass a budget, and Ryan risks infuriating conservatives if he is forced to compromise with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown, as critics accused Boehner of doing.  “The challenge for Ryan is similar to the challenge Boehner faced. The Republican base, at this point, really doesn’t like its own leadership,” said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. “So just being speaker may eventually take a toll on Ryan’s popularity among Republicans,” he said.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन रयान बड़ा पैसा जुटा रहा है लेकिन व्हाइट हाउस की दौड़ के लिए नहीं


(Reuters) - Russian cyber operatives have attacked Britain s media, telecommunications and energy sectors over the past year, according to prepared remarks by the head of the government s  main cyber defense agency. Ciaran Martin, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), declined to provide any details on the attacks in a speech scheduled for Wednesday in London. The remarks follow comments on Monday from Prime Minister Theresa May in which she accused Russia of spreading disinformation and meddling in elections, echoing a heated debate in the United States over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Russian has strongly denied any election interference in the United States. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond when asked after normal business hours for comment on Martin s remarks. The NCSC, a branch of the GCHQ, Britain s main signals intelligence agency, has been in operation for a year and is charged with shoring up cyber security by working with a wide range of stakeholders. Martin said in his prepared remarks:  I can confirm that Russian interference, seen by the National Cyber Security Centre over the past the year, has included attacks on the UK media, telecommunication and energy sectors.   The agency was  actively engaging with international partners, industry and civil society  to tackle the threat from Russia, he said. Martin echoed May s comments that Russia was trying to  undermine the international system  with information warfare and cyber attacks.  Cyber security experts have long worried about attacks on electrical grids in particular, but Martin offered no evidence that the alleged Russian attacks succeeded in penetrating power systems or other critical infrastructure in the UK.    ( This story has been refiled to fix transposed letters in acronym in 5th paragraph)

Summary: रूस ने ब्रिटेन में ऊर्जा, दूरसंचार और मीडिया पर हमला कियाः सरकारी अधिकारी


DUBAI (Reuters) - The head of Iran s Revolutionary Guards denied on Sunday accusations by Donald Trump that Iran was behind the firing of a ballistic missile at Saudi Arabia from warring Yemen, rejecting it as one of the U.S. president s  slanders .  Saudi Arabia s air defenses intercepted the missile,  bringing it down near the capital Riyadh s airport on Saturday and it did not cause any casualties, state news agencies reported.   A shot was just taken by Iran, in my opinion, at Saudi Arabia ... and our system knocked the missile out of the air  Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to Tokyo. But Mohammad Ali Jafari, head of the Revolutionary Guards who are in charge of Iran s missile program, said:  Mr Trump has said many baseless things and told many lies and frequently falsely accused Iran and this one of those slanders,  Iran s state news agency IRNA reported.               We do not have even the possibility to transfer missiles to Yemen. The missiles belong to them and they have increased their range,  Jafari added. A Saudi-led coalition has launched thousands of air strikes against Houthi rebels and allied forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh who have fired dozens of missiles into Saudi territory over the course of a 2-1/2 year war. Regional and Western sources have said Iran is sending advanced weapons and military advisers to the Houthi movement, stepping up support for its Shi ite ally in the country s civil war. Iran rejects accusations from Saudi Arabia that it is giving financial and military support to the Houthis, blaming the crisis on Riyadh.

Summary: गार्ड्स प्रमुख ने सऊदी मिसाइल के पीछे ईरान होने की ट्रम्प की 'बदनामी' को खारिज किया


GENEVA (Reuters) - Peace and stability must be restored in Myanmar s northern Rakhine state before any Rohingyas can return from Bangladesh, under international standards on voluntary repatriation, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday. Some 20,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to Bangladesh in November, and at least 270 so far in December, bringing the total since violence erupted on August 25 to 646,000, according to the UNHCR and International Organization of Migration (IOM).  The two countries have signed an agreement on voluntary repatriation which refers to establishing a joint working group within three weeks of the Nov. 23 signing. UNHCR is not party to the pact or involved in the bilateral discussions for now.  It is critical that the returns are not rushed or premature,  UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told a briefing.  People can t be moving back in into conditions in Rakhine state that simply aren t sustainable.  Htin Lynn, Myanmar s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, said on Tuesday that his government hoped returns would begin within two months. He was addressing the Human Rights Council, where the top U.N. rights official said that Myanmar s security forces may be guilty of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority. The UNHCR has not been formally invited to join the working group, although its Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly Clements is holding talks in Bangladesh, Edwards said, adding that discussions were  still at a very preliminary stage . He could not say whether UNHCR was in talks with Myanmar authorities on its role, but hoped the agency would be part of the joint working group. Edwards, asked whether the two-month time was premature,  said:  The return timeline of course is something that we are going to have to look closely at ... We don t want to see returns happening either involuntarily or precipitously and before conditions are ready.  In all, Bangladesh is hosting a total of more than 858,000 Rohingya, including previous waves, IOM figures show.  We have had ... a cycle of displacement from Rakhine state over many decades, of people being marginalized, of violence, of people fleeing and then people returning,  Edwards said.   Now this cycle has to be broken, which means that we have to find a way to ensure that there is a lasting solution for these people.  WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher said that it had distributed food to 32,000 people in northern Rakhine in November.  Everybody agrees that the situation is very dire on ground, that all of the U.N. agencies need more access, that the violence has to stop and that these people can live in safety where they want to live,  she said.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र ने रोहिंग्याओं की म्यांमार में जल्दबाजी में वापसी के खिलाफ चेतावनी दी


WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican Marco Rubio’s presidential run has drawn more money from Wall Street donors than any other candidate, according to a Reuters review of campaign finance disclosures, shoring up his position as his party’s establishment alternative to front-runner Donald Trump. The U.S. senator from Florida has received more than $4 million from the employees of banks and investment firms like Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) since launching his bid for the presidency last year, according to the analysis of individual donations totaling more than $200 each. (Click here for a graphic: reut.rs/1Q4ZisK) Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who dropped out of the race on Saturday after poor finishes in the early nominating contests of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, came in second in Wall Street donations, accumulating $2.45 million in contributions, while Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton took third place with $723,361, according to the review. The amounts include contributions to the candidates’ respective Super PACs, fundraising groups that are not directly connected to their campaigns but which spend on their behalf. More money could be on the way for Rubio as the Republican field narrows. Within minutes of Bush leaving the race, for example, some of his donors told Reuters they were preparing to throw their financial support behind Rubio. Wall Street donations, however, can hurt as well as help a candidate, especially with voters who blame bankers for the 2008 financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession. “The idea of raising cash from Wall Street is a tricky one,” said University of Iowa professor Tim Hagle. “Even on the Republican side, there’s a certain mistrust among the base for that sector.”  But Hagle added that the financial support could help Rubio as he seeks to become the Republican party’s anti-Trump candidate. “The advantages of having the additional funding at this critical time seem to be worth the extra criticism that might come his way as a result,” the professor said.U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who won Iowa’s caucuses but trailed Rubio slightly in South Carolina’s primary, where he had hoped to win second place, has drawn just under $85,000 from Wall Street employees, according to the review. The support for Rubio was largely driven by donations to his allied Super PAC, Conservative Solutions. Billionaire investor Paul Singer endorsed Rubio in October and contributed $2.5 million to the Super PAC, according to the filings. In January, Rubio raised $9,792, the third-highest total for the month in the presidential field behind Clinton, with $51,000, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, with $26,000. Christie has also dropped out of the race. Bush raised just $5,513 from the sector in January. Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Donald Trump have received some of the smallest totals from Wall Street. Sanders, who has blamed the financial crisis on Wall Street and has promised to break up big banks, raised $26,650 from bank employees since launching his bid, a tiny fraction of the $96 million he has raised from all sources. Trump, a billionaire businessman who is self-funding his campaign, raised only $1,566 from employees of banks. Most of Trump’s fundraising has come in the form of selling merchandise on his website.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन मार्को रुबियो ने वॉल स्ट्रीट धन उगाहने की दौड़ जीती


ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police summoned a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official on Wednesday over statements made in a U.S. court by a former Turkish police investigator who fled the country last year, the state-run Anadolu Agency said. Anadolu said the FBI official was summoned following testimony given by Huseyin Korkmaz in the trial of a former executive at Turkish state-run bank Halkbank, who is charged with taking part in a scheme to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert confirmed that an FBI attache at the U.S. Embassy  had been brought in to the Turkish ministry . She provided no details. The former bank executive, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, has pleaded not guilty. Halkbank has denied involvement with any illegal transactions. Korkmaz told jurors in a New York court on Monday that he fled Turkey in 2016 out of fear of retaliation from the government after leading a corruption investigation involving high-ranking officials. He said he took his evidence with him. Korkmaz said he had received $50,000 from the FBI and financial assistance from U.S. prosecutors for his rental payments. The FBI declined to comment on Wednesday.  Turkish police said they could not immediately comment on the report that they had summoned an official from the U.S. agency. A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Ankara said the embassy was aware of the report but had no immediate comment. Already strained ties between NATO allies Ankara and Washington have deteriorated further over the court case, in which Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab, who is cooperating with U.S. prosecutors, has detailed a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions. Korkmaz is testifying for the prosecution at the trial. He told the court this week that he began investigating Zarrab in 2012.  Zarrab has implicated top Turkish politicians, including Erdogan. Zarrab said on Thursday that when Erdogan was prime minister he authorised a transaction to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions. Although he has not yet responded to the courtroom claims, Erdogan has dismissed the case as a politically motivated attempt, led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, to bring down the Turkish government. The government blames Gulen s network for last year s failed military coup in Turkey. Gulen has denied any involvement.

Summary: तुर्की पुलिस ने एफ. बी. आई. अधिकारी को तलब कियाः अनादोलु


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 90 Republican foreign policy veterans have pledged to oppose Donald Trump, saying his proposals would undermine U.S. security, in the latest sign of fissures between the Republican presidential front-runner and the party establishment. “Mr. Trump’s own statements lead us to conclude that as president, he would use the authority of his office to act in ways that make America less safe, and which would diminish our standing in the world,” the signatories wrote in a open letter on Wednesday. “Furthermore, his expansive view of how presidential power should be wielded against his detractors poses a distinct threat to civil liberty in the United States,” said the letter, which was posted on a blog called War on the Rocks. The signatories include Robert Zoellick, a former World Bank president and deputy secretary of state; former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff; and Dov Zakheim, a top Pentagon official under President George W. Bush. They represent both centrist Republican foreign policy circles and neoconservatives who favor a robust U.S. international role and wielded clout during Bush’s 2001-2009 presidency. Billionaire businessman Trump won the largest number of states in this week’s Super Tuesday nominating contests, intensifying moves by the party’s establishment wing to derail his path to the nomination. On Thursday, Trump in an interview with ABC News flatly rejected the criticism in the letter and blasted the nation’s military leaders as ineffective. Bryan McGrath, a retired U.S. Navy officer and adviser to Republican Mitt Romney’s unsuccessful 2012 presidential campaign who helped organize the letter, said at least two people declined to sign because of concerns it would fuel Trump’s campaign theme of being an anti-Washington candidate opposed by the establishment. “This is really drawing a bright moral line and saying that if we’re going to keep our souls, we can’t cross it,” said    Eliot Cohen, who served as counselor to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and helped spearhead the letter. Rice was asked to sign but chose not to, in keeping with her general practice of not signing on to such group letters, a spokeswoman for the Stanford University professor said. The list of signatures, which numbered 60 when the letter was released on Wednesday night, had grown to 94 by Thursday afternoon. The signatories did not include other several high-profile former officials such as Bush national security adviser Stephen Hadley or former Secretary of State Colin Powell. It was unknown if they were invited to sign. The letter rejects numerous Trump foreign policy statements, including his “hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric,” his demand that Mexico fund a wall to control illegal immigration across the U.S. border, and his insistence that Japan pay much more for U.S. security assistance. “As committed and loyal Republicans, we are unable to support a Party ticket with Mr. Trump at its head,” the signatories said. “We commit ourselves to working energetically to prevent the election of someone so utterly unfitted to the office.” The War on the Rocks blog calls itself a platform for former diplomats, military and intelligence officers and scholars to comment “through a realist lens” on global affairs.  Trump has alarmed some mainstream Republicans with vows to shred international trade deals. Many fear a Trump presidency would severely strain ties with allies and are concerned about his stated willingness to work more closely with authoritarian Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump also has criticized the Republican Party for its backing of Bush’s 2003 Iraq invasion and has said he supports the practice of waterboarding and other similar interrogation techniques. Max Boot, a foreign policy adviser to Romney’s 2012 campaign and supporter of the Iraq invasion, was among the letter’s signers and said he “would sooner work for (North Korean dictator) Kim Jong Un than for Donald Trump. I think Donald Trump is objectively more dangerous than Kim Jong Un and not as stable.” Kurt Volker, a permanent representative to NATO under Bush, said he did not sign the letter because of concerns that any letter from “national security intelligentsia” could backfire. “He would actually use it as a bragging right,” said Volker, adding he had no intention of working for Trump but wanted to be free to offer advice to any future president, and that such a letter could prompt Trump to hold a grudge. Several others who declined to sign and asked not to be identified, said they feared it could help Democrat Hillary Clinton win the presidency. Trump told MSNBC on Thursday that he would name his foreign policy and national security advisers “in a week or two. ... But ultimately it’s my thought more than anybody else’s.” Those Trump has spoken with on foreign policy include a retired U.S. general and intelligence official, Michael Flynn, who favors closer ties with Russia. Flynn has declined to comment on whether he is advising Trump. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who won popularity for his response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has said he has been having regular talks with Trump but not in a formal role.  (Additional reporting by Phil Stewart, Arshad Mohammed and Susan Heavey; Editing by David Rohde, Stuart Grudgings, Bill Trott and Peter Cooney) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन विदेश नीति के दिग्गजों ने ट्रम्प के वैश्विक दृष्टिकोण की निंदा की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told a congressional panel on Tuesday that he does not expect to meet President Donald Trump’s hiring targets for U.S. Customs and Border Protection or Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents within the next two years.  Trump has called for an additional 5,000 Customs and Border Protection agents and 10,0000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in an executive order, but he did not specify a timeline.  Kelly said he would not “skip on training and standards” to speed up the pace of hiring.

Summary: होमलैंड सिक्यूरिटी सेक दो साल के भीतर आप्रवासन एजेंट को काम पर रखने के लक्ष्यों को पूरा करने की उम्मीद नहीं करता है


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States still has credibility as a mediator with both Israel and the Palestinians, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Friday after President Donald Trump s decision earlier this week to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital.  She said the United Nations has damaged rather than advanced the prospects for Middle East peace.  The United States has credibility with both sides. Israel will never be, and should never be, bullied into an agreement by the United Nations, or by any collection of countries that have proven their disregard for Israel s security,  Haley told the U.N. Security Council.

Summary: इजरायल और फिलिस्तीन दोनों के साथ अमेरिका की विश्वसनीयता हैः हेली


BATON ROUGE, La. (Reuters) - David Duke, a former leader of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan, launched his candidacy on Friday for the U.S. Senate from Louisiana, saying white people are threatened in America and that he hears echoes of his views in Donald Trump’s rhetoric. Duke, a Republican, is a former Louisiana state legislator and unsuccessful candidate for governor who served a 15-month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2002 to felony charges of tax evasion and mail fraud. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, drew criticism in February for failing to quickly disavow support from Duke. At a news conference in Baton Rouge after officially filing as a candidate to succeed outgoing Republican Senator David Vitter, Duke, 66, said he watched Trump’s speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday in Cleveland and heard echoes of his own past political platforms. “I don’t really care what Donald Trump says about me. I respect what he’s doing,” Duke said. In an online video announcing his candidacy, Duke also said, “I’m overjoyed to see Donald Trump and most Americans embrace most of the issues that I’ve championed for years.” In his video, Duke said he believes in equal rights and respect for all Americans but “what makes me different is I also demand respect for the rights and heritage of European-Americans.” Duke’s announcement came as Louisiana’s capital grapples with racial tensions after the fatal July 5 shooting by police of a black man named Alton Sterling and the July 17 shooting deaths of three police officers by a black U.S. Marine Corps veteran. In his comments to reporters, Duke called the Black Lives Matter protest movement that arose after a series of killings of black men by police in various U.S. cities a “terrorist group.” Duke said that “European-Americans” need a politician to fight for their interests and that white people are threatened in the United States. Duke, the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, said he was no longer affiliated with the group. ‘HATE-FILLED FRAUD’ Duke’s announcement drew and swift and scathing condemnation from Republican leaders and others. The Republican Party of Louisiana called Duke a “felon and hate-filled fraud” who does not embody Republican values. Ward Baker, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which supports Republican candidates in Senate races, said Duke will never get the organization’s backing. Louisiana does not hold party primaries. Instead, candidates from all parties are placed on the same ballot. If no one wins a simple majority in the Nov. 8 election, the top two vote-getters enter a runoff. Duke used this system to his advantage when he ran for governor in 1991 and made it to a runoff against former Governor Edwin Edwards, who had left office under a cloud of controversy for misconduct in office. Other candidates seeking to replace Vitter in the Senate include Republican U.S. congressmen Charles Boustany and John Fleming. Vitter did not seek re-election to the Senate after a prostitution scandal helped derail his bid to become Louisiana governor. “I strongly denounce the racism, bigotry and anti-Semitism of David Duke. His views are a relic of ancient history and are repugnant to Louisianians,” Boustany said.  A spokesman for Fleming said the congressman “is wholly focused on uniting Louisiana voters of all races, creeds and religions.”  In February, Trump initially blamed his failure to reject Duke’s support on not having heard an interviewer clearly.  “I disavowed David Duke all weekend long, on Facebook, on Twitter, and obviously, it is never enough,” Trump told NBC’s “Today” show after being widely criticized.

Summary: पूर्व कू क्लक्स क्लान नेता ड्यूक लुइसियाना में अमेरिकी सीनेट के लिए दौड़ते हैं


(Reuters) - Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday: Two senior senators ask the FBI and Justice Department for any information they have on Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that predecessor Barack Obama wiretapped him during the presidential campaign. The top U.S. doctors’ organization and several hospital groups come out strongly against a Republican plan backed by Trump to overhaul America’s healthcare system as Democrats mount a fierce battle to thwart the bill. The state of Hawaii can sue over Trump’s new executive order temporarily banning the entry of refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries, a federal judge rules. Trump’s immigration policies could lead to collective expulsions of migrants in a breach of international law, the U.N. human rights chief says. The United States says “all options are on the table” to deal with North Korea and dismisses China’s suggestion of a “dual suspension” of U.S. and South Korea military drills and Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear tests.     Trump meets with business leaders including Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk and real estate developers, as the administration seeks partnerships with the private sector to boost infrastructure spending. Trump is “extremely concerned” about a security breach at the CIA that led to anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks publishing agency documents on its hacking tools and authorities are focusing on contractors as the likeliest source of the leak. Trump’s administration is weighing a deployment of up to 1,000 American soldiers to Kuwait to serve as a reserve force in the fight against Islamic State as U.S.-backed fighters accelerate the offensive in Syria and Iraq, U.S. officials tell Reuters. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says substantial negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement likely will not get started until the latter part of this year and could take a year to complete. Three Democratic lawmakers are questioning the White House about its handling of Trump’s son-in-law’s potential conflicts of interest now that he is serving as an official adviser. Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger says his seat on Trump’s business advisory council provides an opportunity to voice opinions that will benefit the company and its shareholders. Interviews with nearly a dozen corporate executives and lobbyists say the Trump they see in private meetings is very different from the Trump who criticizes companies on Twitter.

Summary: हाइलाइट्सः ट्रम्प प्रेसीडेंसी 8 मार्च को शाम 6ः33 बजे ईएसटी


CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have met for the first time in public in what Egypt said was part of an effort to revive the Middle East peace process. Egyptian authorities said in a statement the two had met on Monday ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Sisi separately met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his residency, where they agreed to continue working toward a two-state solution. The meeting came just days after Egypt helped broker an agreement with the Palestinian Hamas group to dissolve the administration that runs Gaza and hold talks with Abbas  Fatah movement, its Palestinian rivals . For much of the last decade, Egypt has joined Israel in enforcing a land, sea and air blockade of the Gaza Strip, a move to punish Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since a brief Palestinian civil war in 2007. Netanyahu has said in recent weeks that ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors have been improving and that cooperation exists  in various ways and (at) different levels .   Egypt was the first of a handful of Arab countries to recognize Israel under the U.S.-sponsored peace accord in 1979. But Egyptian attitudes to its neighbor remain icy due to what many Arabs see as the continued Israeli occupation of land that is meant to form a Palestinian state. In recent weeks, Egypt has hosted delegations from Fatah and Hamas to help reach an agreement between the two sides and talk about the Gaza border. But reunification a decade after their battle for control may hinge on whether complex power-sharing issues can be resolved. Under pressure from the blockade, Hamas has sought to mend ties with Egypt, which controls their one border crossing. Egypt under Sisi has been wary of ties between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, which Sisi ousted from power after mass protests. (This story has been refiled to remove extraneous words in paragraph 2.)

Summary: मिस्र के सिसी और इजरायल के नेतन्याहू पहली बार सार्वजनिक रूप से मिले


BRASILIA (Reuters) - Former Brazilian senator and environmental minister Marina Silva said on Saturday that she would seek her party s nomination to run for president next year.  Silva announced her plans at a meeting of her Sustainability Network Party, or REDE, which would officially nominate her at its national convention in April. The 59-year-old environmentalist, born into a rubber-tapping community in the Amazon rainforest, was minister under former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. She has run in the previous two presidential elections but never made it to a second-round vote.  Silva said she would seek her party s nomination because  Brazilians want a country free of corruption  and that she had the ethical bearings to deliver on that.  Supporters have praised her as Brazil s most principled politician, which could play a large role in the next election. Since early 2014, Brazilian prosecutors and police have carried out an unprecedented anti-corruption drive that has revealed political graft touching every major party, but not Silva s. Silva has remained committed to fiscal responsibility, inflation targeting and a floating exchange rate, the so-called tripod of economic policies that gave Brazil stability after a period of rampant inflation and erratic growth in the 1990s.   In the latest election survey conducted by the respected Datafolha polling institute and published Saturday on the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper s website, Silva ranked third, with 10 percent of respondents saying they would vote for her.  But that poll included Lula as a possible candidate.  Lula was convicted in a corruption trial in July. If a higher court upholds that conviction before the October election, he could not run.  Without Lula, the Datafolha poll had Silva trailing right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro, a federal lawmaker who won 21 percent approval, compared with her 16 percent. Datafolha interviewed 2,765 voters across Brazil on Nov. 29-30. The poll had a two-percentage-point margin of error.  In the 2010 election, Silva, then with the Green Party, took a surprising 20 percent of the first-round vote, but it was not enough to push her into a runoff with eventual winner Dilma Rousseff.  In 2014, she ran for vice president on the Brazilian Socialist Party ticket headed by Eduardo Campos, who died when his campaign plane crashed just two months before the election. Silva took his spot and won 21 percent in the first round, again missing out on a runoff.

Summary: ब्राजील की पर्यावरणविद मरीना सिल्वा 2018 में राष्ट्रपति पद के लिए चुनाव लड़ेंगी


SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Japan’s defense minister on Saturday backed the United States using any option to deal with North Korea, including military strikes, and said Tokyo wanted to build a deeper alliance with Washington that could play a regional security role.  “The United States is making clear through both words and deeds that all options are on the table. I strongly support the U.S. position,” Japanese Minister of Defense Tomomi Inada said during a speech at a regional security conference in Singapore. Pyongyang’s accelerating nuclear and missile programs are stoking fear in nearby Japan and prompting a harder line on North Korea from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A Japanese helicopter carrier and destroyer are concluding three days of drills with two U.S. aircraft carriers in the Sea of Japan that also included simulated combat sorties between U.S. Navy F-18s and Japanese air force F-15s. The exercise followed three ballistic missile tests by Pyongyang in as many weeks. The latest on Monday reached an altitude of 120 km (75 miles) before falling into international waters in the Sea of Japan, but inside an exclusive economic zone where Japan has jurisdiction over the exploration and exploitation of maritime resources. Apart from using the U.S. alliance to tackle its belligerent neighbor, Japan also wants the military partnership to exert influence on other parts of Asia, including the highly contested South China Sea, Inada said. China claims almost all the disputed waters, which is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, and its growing military presence has fueled concern in Japan and the West.  “The robust, long-standing Japan-U.S. alliance now functions as a public good that contributes to the peace and stability of the region,” she said. Beijing often rails against the United States, Japan and other countries for what it sees as interference in the South China Sea, insisting it is for claimant countries involved in disputes to work them out. Inada also called on European navies to provide “a regular and visible presence” in the region. A French amphibious assault carrier visited Japan in April after sailing through the South China Sea. Japan’s military later trained with the French force alongside U.S. and British contingents in what sources earlier told Reuters was meant as a show of force aimed at China.

Summary: जापान के रक्षा मंत्री ने उत्तर कोरिया पर सभी अमेरिकी विकल्पों का समर्थन किया, गहरा गठबंधन चाहते हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a critic of federal environmental regulation, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, his transition team said on Thursday. The choice, which enraged environmental activists and cheered the oil industry, signals that the Republican president-elect plans to move ahead with his promise to cut back regulation and free up drilling and coal mining, in a likely reversal of Democratic President Barack Obama’s environmental agenda. “For too long, the Environmental Protection Agency has spent taxpayer dollars on an out-of-control anti-energy agenda that has destroyed millions of jobs, while also undermining our incredible farmers and many other businesses and industries at every turn,” Trump was quoted as saying in a statement from the transition team.  Pruitt has been a harsh opponent of Obama’s measures to curb climate change and has helped lead a legal effort by some states to throw out an integral piece of Obama’s climate change strategy that requires states to curb carbon output. Since becoming the top prosecutor for the oil- and gas-producing state in 2011, Pruitt, 48, has launched multiple lawsuits against regulations put forward by the agency he is now poised to lead, suing to block federal measures to reduce smog and curb toxic emissions from power plants. “The American people are tired of seeing billions of dollars drained from our economy due to unnecessary EPA regulations, and I intend to run this agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for American businesses,” Pruitt was quoted as saying. The transition team statement called Pruitt “a national leader against the EPA’s job-killing war on coal” who will help implement Trump’s energy plan.

Summary: अमेरिकी पर्यावरण एजेंसी का नेतृत्व करने के लिए प्रुइट को नामित करेंगे ट्रम्पः बयान


BARCELONA/MADRID (Reuters) - Catalonia will move on Monday to declare independence from Spain after holding a banned referendum, pushing the European Union nation toward a rupture that threatens the foundations of its young democracy. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said he favored mediation to find a way out of the crisis but that Spain s central government had rejected this. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy s government responded by calling on Catalonia to  return to the path of law  first before any negotiations. Mireia Boya, a Catalan lawmaker from the pro-independence Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) party, said a declaration of independence would follow a parliamentary session on Monday to evaluate the results of the Oct. 1 vote to break away.  We know that there may be disbarments, arrests ... But we are prepared, and in no case will it be stopped,  she said on Twitter. Puigdemont told the BBC he would ask the region s parliament to declare independence following the referendum, which Spain s government and constitutional court say was illegal and in which only a minority of Catalans voted. In a televised address on Wednesday night, Puigdemont said:      This moment calls for mediation. We have received various offers in the last hours and we will receive more.   Without specifically mentioning plans for an independence declaration, he added:  I am sure that in the next few days we will show the best of our country when the institutions of Catalonia will have to apply the results of the referendum.  Today we are closer than yesterday to our historic wish.  Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy s government replied that Puigdemont had wasted an opportunity to put Catalonia back on a legal course.  If Mr. Puigdemont wants to talk or negotiate, or wants to send mediators, he knows perfectly well what he must do first: Return to the path of the law,  it said in a statement. Participants in the referendum opted overwhelmingly for independence, but turnout was only about 43 percent as Catalans who favor remaining part of Spain mainly boycotted the ballot. Spain was only restored to democracy following the death in 1975 of military dictator Francisco Franco, under whom the Catalan language and traditions were suppressed. The constitutional crisis in Spain, the euro zone s fourth-biggest economy, has shaken the common currency and hit Spanish stocks and bonds. Madrid s borrowing costs have risen sharply and reached their highest since March on Wednesday. The cost of insuring against potential losses on Spanish bank debt and Spanish, Italian and Portuguese sovereign debt has also jumped, suggesting an impact on the wider euro zone. Bank stocks were hit especially hard as the Ibex stock index .IBEX fell below 10,000 points on Wednesday for the first time since March 2015. In a sign of the nervous public mood, Catalonia's biggest bank, Caixabank (CABK.MC), and Spain's economy minister had earlier sought to assure bank customers that their deposits were safe. Puigdemont criticized Spain s King Felipe VI who on Tuesday lambasted the  irresponsible behavior  of the Catalan leaders. He said the king had disappointed many people in Catalonia by failing to call for dialogue and he accused King Felipe of endorsing the policies of Rajoy, which he said had been  catastrophic  for Catalonia. The EU executive called again on Wednesday for the Spanish government and Catalan authorities to open a dialogue.  It s time to talk,  the European Commission s deputy head, Frans Timmermans, told the European Parliament. Various attempts to find a mediated solution to the crisis emerged on Wednesday.Pablo Iglesias, leader of the left-wing Podemos party, proposed the Spanish and Catalan government try to agree on a mediator while the FC Barcelona football club said it had joined other groups in Catalonia seeking a negotiated solution. Spanish media reports said the Catalan regional government had been in touch with senior church figures to sound out the possibility of them playing a mediating role. But the Spanish government rejected mediation. Rajoy told Iglesias that Puigdemont had to give up the idea of unilaterally declaring independence, a government source said.  That is not negotiable. You can t deal with people who plan to blackmail the state so brutally,  the source added. Rajoy, a conservative who has taken a hard line on Catalan independence, is considering the unprecedented step of dissolving the Catalan parliament and triggering regional elections, ruling party lawmakers say. But he is struggling to secure support from across the traditional political divide - a lack of consensus that could compound Spain s worst political crisis for decades. In a sign that Spanish police reinforcements sent to Catalonia might be there for an extended stay, an army logistics unit sent bunkbeds, kitchens and showers to an army barracks near Barcelona in case the police need to use the military base at some point, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said. Some police staying at hotels in Catalonia have come under pressure from local residents to leave. Spain has been jolted by the Catalan vote and the Spanish police response to it, with batons and rubber bullets used to prevent people voting. Hundreds were injured in scenes that brought international condemnation. Catalans came out onto the streets on Tuesday to condemn the police action, shutting down traffic, public transport and businesses, and stoking fears about intensifying unrest in a region that makes up one-fifth of the Spanish economy.  As a businessman, as a Spaniard and as a person, I am very worried and I am scared by what s going on (in Catalonia),  said Juan Roig, chairman of Spain s biggest food retailer Mercadona. Pro-independence parties that control the Catalan government staged the referendum in defiance of a Constitutional Court ruling that the vote violated Spain s 1978 constitution, which states that the country is indivisible. Catalonia has its own language and culture and a political movement for secession that has strengthened in recent years. Outside Catalonia, most Spaniards appear strongly opposed to its independence drive. Opinion polls conducted before the vote suggested a minority of around 40 percent of residents in Catalonia backed independence. But a majority wanted a referendum to be held, and the violent police crackdown angered Catalans across the divide.

Summary: कैटेलोनिया सोमवार को स्पेन से स्वतंत्रता की घोषणा करने के लिए आगे बढ़ता है


CARACAS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Venezuela s cash-strapped government insisted it had successfully begun efforts to refinance some $60 billion in bonds, though creditors disagreed following fruitless talks and a ratings firm declared the nation in selective default. Venezuelan bonds slid on Tuesday after S&P Global Ratings announced that Venezuela was in selective default for failing to make $200 million in overdue coupon payments on its 2019 and 2024 global issues within a 30-day grace period.  Investors, meanwhile, voiced concern after President Nicolas Maduro s negotiators met briefly with bondholders in Caracas on Monday but failed to present firm proposals to alleviate the OPEC nation s crippling foreign debt amid an unprecedented economic meltdown.  The process of refinancing Venezuela s foreign debt began with resounding success,  the socialist government said late Monday, complaining about U.S. financial sanctions and what it called unfair assessments from international ratings agencies.  The government repeated pledges to honor all its foreign debt and said Monday s talks were attended by 100 or so participants, including bondholders from Venezuela, the United States, Panama, Britain, Colombia, Chile, Japan and Argentina. However, attendees at the meeting came away confused over how Venezuela plans to avoid a default, given its parlous state finances, and how any refinancing could be worked out amid U.S. President Donald Trump s sanctions. The U.S. measures block the issuance of any new Venezuelan debt and impose sanctions on the country s chief negotiators, Vice President Tareck El Aissami and Economy Minister Simon Zerpa, on drug and corruption charges.  Venezuela has dismissed those accusations as politically motivated fabrications by Washington to tarnish the country s reputation.  The bondholder meeting in Venezuela was a non-event, lasting only 20-30 minutes with reports of only 10 non Caracas-based investors...and the only official that spoke was drug kingpin VP Tareck El Aissami  said Siobhan Morden, head of Latin American fixed-income strategy at Nomura, who did not attend. Four years of recession in the South American nation, fueled by failing socialist economics and a plunge in global oil prices, have hit Venezuelans hard. Many skip meals or suffer from malnutrition and preventable diseases, due to severe shortages of food and medicine and triple-digit inflation.   With some $9 billion in payments looming for 2018, a default would be a short-term relief for the government, enabling Maduro  to spend on desperately-needed food and medicine imports ahead of next year s presidential election.  But that strategy could also backfire if it sparks aggressive legal challenges from abroad, including moves to seize assets of state oil company PDVSA, [PDVSA.UL] which is the cash-cow for Venezuela s socialist system.  Despite concern that U.S. sanctions could prevent Venezuela hiring advisors, the government has appointed lawyer David Syed - a former partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe - to advise it, working alongside a team at global law firm Dentons, according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters news service.  On another flank of the country s creditworthiness, a committee of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) is looking into whether PDVSA triggered a credit event through late payment of its 2017N bond this month. The group said it would reconvene on Thursday to continue discussions of whether or not PDVSA was in default. ISDA also said on Tuesday it had received another request from investors as to whether Venezuela had triggered a credit event due to the late payment of the coupon on its sovereign bonds. Bondholders had told Reuters on Monday they had not yet received payments on the 2019 and 2024 bonds but were unconcerned about the delay, which they said was partly due to increased bank vigilance following the U.S. sanctions. In its statement on Monday, S&P Global Ratings said it could raise Venezuela s ratings again if the government made payments on the overdue coupons and remained timely on other payments before the restructuring is completed. However, it said it saw a one-in-two chance that Venezuela could default again within the next three months and it listed a further four bonds with overdue coupon payments due in the coming weeks, with unpaid obligations totaling $420 million. The Luxembourg Stock Exchange said on Tuesday said it was temporarily halting trading of Venezuela s 2019 and 2024 bonds due to the  event of default  in order to make changes to the way in which the securities are traded. Fitch Ratings also downgraded PDVSA due to  payment default  on notes due on Oct. 27 and Nov. 2 after  processing delays that resulted in bondholders receiving principal payments up to one week after the due date.  Venezuela s sovereign bonds, already the most distressed in the benchmark JPMorgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Plus (EMBI+) 11EMJ, have whipsawed over the past week.  The index measures the spreads of 13 Venezuelan sovereign bonds versus benchmark U.S. Treasuries.  Last week, as the Caracas talks loomed, investors bought Venezuela s bonds on speculation there might be progress in finding a solution, driving a 1,095 basis-point narrowing in spreads from Nov. 7 through Monday.  However, on Tuesday, spreads ballooned by 714 basis points as investors dumped Venezuelan bonds. (For a graphic on 'Venezuela's economy' click tmsnrt.rs/2pPJdRb)

Summary: वेनेजुएला का कहना है कि ऋण पुनर्वित्त चल रहा है, एस एंड पी ने चयनात्मक चूक का आह्वान किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan will address the Republican National Convention this month after his staff reached a deal with party officials and the campaign of presidential candidate Donald Trump, Politico reported on Monday. Ryan, who had publicly vacillated over whether or not to support his party’s controversial nominee, will deliver a 10-minute speech that focuses on “the sharp contrast between Republican ideas and four more years of Obama-like progressive policies; and the need for conservatives to unite around Republican candidates in advance of a critical election,” an aide to the speaker was quoted as saying.

Summary: हाउस स्पीकर रयान रिपब्लिकन कन्वेंशन को संबोधित करेंगेः पोलिटिको


NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya s election board must give access to election returns to parties challenging President Uhuru Kenyatta s victory in last month s presidential election, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday.  Access to the original vote tally forms and a copy of the voter register must immediately be granted to the petitioners, a former lawmaker and two human rights activists, the judges said. They denied a request for access to the electronic devices used in vote counting. The legal challenges come after the court nullified Kenyatta s August victory and ordered a new election, an unprecedented move in Africa. The current proceedings may be the last chance for legal scrutiny of the second election, held on Oct. 26. The protracted political crisis has stirred fears for the stability of the east African nation, a regional hub for trade, diplomacy and security. The court is on a tight schedule. It has until Nov. 20 to rule on the two petitions. If the election result is upheld, Kenyatta will be sworn in on Nov. 28. Chief Justice David Maraga told the petitioners they must file a report on their findings from the returns by Thursday afternoon.  After Wednesday s ruling, lawyers for the petitioners began presenting their cases, arguing the poll s outcome is void because the election board did not hold fresh nominations after the earlier poll was invalidated, among other reasons.   Our position is you cannot have a fresh presidential election without a fresh round of nominations,  said Benjamin Musyoki, a lawyer for former legislator Harun Mwau. The lawyer for the two activists, Julie Soweto, also argued that voter turnout - just 39 percent, because opposition leader Raila Odinga boycotted the election - required the court to consider whether the election conformed  to the spirit and intent of the constitution.  Violence before and during the election also marred the process, Soweto said. She also referred to remarks by the election board chair the week before polling - he said he could not guarantee the vote would be free and fair, citing interference from politicians and threats of violence against his colleagues [L8N1MT0XK]. The process in the Supreme Court, however, may not repair the rifts opened by this year s prolonged elections season. A poll released by research firm Ipsos found that 80 percent of Kenyans think the country is going in the wrong direction. Pessimism about the country s path was at a record high - higher than during drought and food shortages earlier this year or a prolonged teachers  strike in 2015.  Human rights groups say at least 66 people have died in election violence, mostly at the hands of police cracking down  on opposition supporters. Electioneering has also disrupted East Africa s richest economy. The government lowered its forecast for 2017 economic growth to 5.5 percent, partly because of the  political uncertainty.  The Supreme Court was created by a 2010 constitution that followed a violent political crisis three years earlier. Around 1,200 people were killed in ethnic clashes after a disputed election in 2007. However, analysts said the moves by Kenya s court may  embolden other judiciaries in Africa. This month, Liberia s Supreme Court halted a presidential run-off until the election board investigates claims of fraud in the first round of voting.

Summary: केन्या की अदालत ने चुनाव को रद्द करने की मांग करने वाले मामले में मतदान विवरणी तक पहुंच प्रदान की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission would have stronger policing powers over the derivatives market, along with a boosted budget, under legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. The bill, introduced by Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Mark Warner in the Senate and Elijah Cummings in the House of Representatives, also would add new tasks to the regulator’s rulemaking agenda. “The only way to make sure that derivatives can never lead to a financial crisis and taxpayer bailouts again is to put in place clearer rules and stronger oversight,” Warren said in a statement.  The bill likely will fizzle in the Republican-led Congress. It could also become part of this year’s election fights, as the relationship between Wall Street and Washington frequently moves to center stage in presidential and congressional campaigns.   Democrats such as Warren, who is campaigning for her party’s presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton, regard the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law passed after the 2007-09 financial crisis as crucial for preventing another massive meltdown. That law greatly expanded the CFTC’s reach, as swaps and derivatives had played a key role in the breakdown of banks and other firms. They also seek further regulation, saying vulnerabilities persist in the financial system. The presumptive nominee for the Republican Party, real estate developer and television star Donald Trump wants to repeal Dodd-Frank. Many in the party say the law has gone too far, drying up liquidity and freezing capital. The proposed legislation “gives the CFTC a stable funding stream and the tools necessary to help deter future illegal acts by permitting penalties large enough to impact the bottom lines of even the largest financial firms,” Cummings said. The CFTC currently is funded through annual appropriations from Congress, unlike the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is backed by user fees and fines.  CFTC Chair Timothy Massad has sought a change, saying millions of dollars more in funds would help the agency keep up with technology advancements in the markets it oversees and with “high-powered defense teams” in its enforcement cases. Republicans in Congress say the funding process keeps the agency accountable to elected leaders. The Democrats’ bill would move the CFTC to the same model as the SEC. It would also put certain foreign exchange swaps under CFTC jurisdiction, change how derivatives are treated in bankruptcy, require posting initial margin in inter-affiliate swaps, and require regulators to review derivatives clearinghouses.

Summary: अमेरिकी सांसदों ने अधिक धन की मांग की, डेरिवेटिव नियामक के लिए अधिकार


MOSCOW/GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday he would take part in the latest round of Syrian peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana on Friday, with a month to go before he hopes to break the deadlock in political talks in Geneva. De Mistura s Geneva peace process reached deadlock this month, missing what said was a  golden opportunity  to close out almost seven years of war. Blaming intransigence on both sides, he told the U.N. Security Council he would start 2018 with a proposal to involve a wider constituency in constitutional and electoral reform, since the warring sides were stuck. He said on Thursday he planned to hold the next round in Geneva in the second half of January.   I am planning to go to Astana just after this meeting,  de Mistura said in Moscow at the start of Syrian talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. U.N. timetables routinely slip, but the presence of many of the global power elite at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos on Jan. 23-26 could also create some political momentum. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have made big gains on the ground since Russia joined the war in late 2015, but the fighting shows no sign of ending conclusively.  De Mistura s humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said that although fewer people were now under siege or out of reach of humanitarian aid, 2017 had defied expectations by being worse than 2016 in many respects, and fewer aid convoys were going in.  In December we haven t reached a single soul (in besieged areas),  Egeland told reporters in Geneva. He hoped Astana might bring a cessation of hostilities in the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, where Assad s forces are besieging almost 400,000 people. U.N. aid convoys are waiting for Syria s government to give them a green light. Food prices have risen eightfold since August, Egeland said.   495 people were on the priority lists for medical evacuations. That number is going down. Not because we are evacuating people, but because they are dying.  Russia, Iran, China, Egypt, Algeria and Iraq could all bring their influence to bear, he said.   If we are going to get out of this quagmire it is because there will be political agreements, really. So I hope that out of the Astana meetings in the next couple of days we will have some kind of impulse for a change on the humanitarian side.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र मानवीय आशाओं के साथ अस्ताना में सीरिया वार्ता में शामिल होगा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump met with U.S. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa on Monday, feeding speculation she could be on the short list for consideration as his vice presidential running mate, Fox News reported. Ernst told the network that she and the New York real estate mogul had a “good conversation.” “I will continue to share my insights with Donald about the need to strengthen our economy, keep our nation safe, and ensure America is always a strong, stabilizing force around the globe,” she said. Trump had tweeted that he would meet Ernst in New Jersey. “She has done a great job as Senator of Iowa!” he said. Trump met with Indiana Governor Mike Pence, also mentioned as a potential running mate, and his wife on Saturday. Republican sources have told Reuters that former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie top Trump’s vice presidential short list. Other names to watch included U.S. Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Governor Mary Fallin of Oklahoma, the sources said.

Summary: उप राष्ट्रपति बनने की अटकलों के बीच ट्रंप ने सीनेटर अर्न्स्ट से की मुलाकात


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four current and former U.S. secretaries of state, including Hillary Clinton, gathered at the State Department on Tuesday to mark the ceremonial opening of a museum on American diplomacy. The privately funded U.S. Diplomacy Center will formally open in 2018. It includes an exhibition hall named after Clinton, who lost the November presidential election to Republican Donald Trump. Other halls in the nonpartisan center are named for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and predecessors Henry Kissinger and James Baker.  In the light-filled hall named in Clinton’s honor, marked by glass walls and a glass roof, she joked that it “is the most transparent part” of the center, an apparent reference to the controversy over her use of a private email server which dogged her presidential ambitions. In her brief remarks, Clinton did not mention Trump or the campaign. She said that democracy, freedom and the rule of law were under attack around the world and that the world faced “a rising tide of authoritarianism and illiberalism.” “The longstanding bipartisan goal of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace is under enormous pressure,” she said. “We should remember that the world looks to America as the indispensable nation not just because of the size of our military or the strength of our economy,” she said. “It looks to us because America stands for universal values and aspirations. And if we stay true to those values like the best of the men and women whose leadership and service will be commemorated here, then our country will weather every storm on the horizon.” Former top U.S. diplomats Madeleine Albright, who will donate her personal collection of more than 200 pins to the center, and Colin Powell also spoke at the ceremony.  Supporters of the center include private American companies Boeing Co, Intel Corp and FedEx Corp; the Kuwaiti, Qatari, United Arab Emirates and Brunei governments; and the Clinton Family Foundation, according to a panel in the exhibition hall. Nearly $48 million in private sector funds have been raised for the center, and $18 million more is needed, according to the website of the Diplomacy Center Foundation created to support the museum.

Summary: क्लिंटन, अन्य पूर्व शीर्ष राजनयिकों ने नए कूटनीति केंद्र को चिह्नित किया


(Reuters) - U.N. human rights experts warned that asylum seekers could face torture if not given safe harbor and the Vatican called for  openness to other cultures on Wednesday, adding to a drumbeat of international criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel curbs. Trump’s executive order last Friday put a 120-day halt on the U.S. refugee program, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and imposed a 90-day suspension on people from seven predominantly Muslim countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The move, which his administration says is aimed at protecting the United States from terrorist attacks, has been condemned by many countries and has sparked protests and court challenges in the United States. A panel of U.N. human rights experts urged the Trump administration on Wednesday to protect people fleeing war and persecution, and said the measure contravened international humanitarian and human rights laws. It “risks people being returned, without proper individual assessments and asylum procedures, to places in which they risk being subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the experts said in a statement. The experts, including the U.N. special rapporteurs on migrants, racism, human rights and counter-terrorism, torture, and freedom of religion, also said the measure could lead to “increased stigmatization of Muslim communities.”     The Vatican, in its first comment on the order, said it was concerned. “Certainly there is worry because we are messengers of another culture, that of openness,” the Vatican’s deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, told an Italian Catholic television station. “Pope Francis, in fact, insists on the ability to integrate those who arrive in our societies and cultures,” he said, also commenting on Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.  In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani stepped up his criticism of Trump’s immigration policies, including the travel ban, dismissing the U.S. businessman-turned-president as a political novice. Tehran has already vowed to respond with legal, political and reciprocal measures. “It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world,” Rouhani said in an address on state television.   Libya’s U.N.-backed government also criticized Trump’s ban on its nationals. The order has put in question participation of Libyans invited to a conference on Libya planned in Washington this month.  The measure was one of a flurry of executive orders signed by Trump, a Republican, since he took office on Jan. 20. “Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country!” Trump said on Twitter early Wednesday. Reaction to the travel curbs from some Muslim majority countries not on the list of seven designated countries has been more muted.  The United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, said on Wednesday the ban was an internal affair not directed at any faith, and noted that most Muslims and Muslim countries were not included. The UAE, a major oil exporter, is a close ally of the United States and a member of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamist militants in Syria.  In the United States, four U.S. states - Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington - have sued to overturn the order on the grounds it flouts constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.

Summary: शरणार्थियों के बारे में चिंतित, संयुक्त राष्ट्र के विशेषज्ञों ने ट्रम्प के कदम की निंदा की


(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday dismissed a bid by construction trade groups to block controversial Obama administration rules designed to speed up union elections, saying the National Labor Relations Board had broad authority to implement them. The Texas-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims by Associated Builders and Contractors Inc and a Texas chapter that the so-called “quickie” election rules violated employers’ free speech rights and would lead to union harassment of workers.  “The board ... conducted an exhaustive and lengthy review of the issues, evidence and testimony, responded to contrary arguments, and offered factual and legal support for its final conclusions,” Circuit Judge Edith Brown Clement wrote.  The 5th Circuit is considered to be one of the most conservative appeals courts in the country and is a popular venue for legal challenges to Obama administration initiatives. The decision affirmed a 2015 ruling by a federal judge in Austin, Texas. The state’s chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business was also a plaintiff but was not involved in the appeal.  The rules, which took effect in April 2015, have shortened the period between a union filing a petition to represent workers and an election, from the previous median of 38 days to as little as two weeks.  Under the rules, employers cannot bring legal challenges to the way union campaigns are conducted until after an election and are required to share workers’ names and contact details with unions once they file election petitions. The NLRB said the changes were necessary because a small number of companies were intentionally dragging out the election process, sometimes for months, to coerce workers to vote against unions.  Associated Builders and Contractors in its lawsuit said there was no evidence that was common, but the 5th Circuit on Friday said it was not the court’s role “to weigh the evidence pro and con.” NLRB spokeswoman Jessica Kahanek declined to comment. ABC did not immediately return a request for comment. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business-backed groups last year made similar claims in a separate lawsuit challenging the new rules in federal court in Washington, D.C. A judge dismissed the case, and the groups did not appeal.  President Barack Obama in March 2015 vetoed a measure from Republicans in Congress that would have stopped the rules from taking effect. The case is Associated Builders and Contractors Inc v. National Labor Relations Board, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 15-50497.

Summary: अमेरिकी अपील अदालत ने 'त्वरित' संघ चुनाव नियमों को बरकरार रखा


SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Singapore government s laws limiting critical speech and peaceful assembly are overly broad and make the country a repressive place severely restricting what can be said and published, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. In its first wide-ranging report on Singapore in 12 years, the group called on the government to amend or repeal laws and rules that restrict speech and assembly and drop charges against individuals for peaceful speech and assembly. Singapore s Ministry of Communications and Information did not immediately have a comment on the report. The government has held the position that Singapore s laws and regulations were needed to maintain social order and harmony. The Singapore s attorney-general s office has started contempt of court proceedings against the prime minister s nephew and authorities are prosecuting a prominent human rights activist for organizing assemblies without permit.  Beneath the slick surface of gleaming high-rises, however, it is a repressive place, where the government severely restricts what can be said, published, performed, read, or watched,  the 133-page report said.  Singapore promotes itself as a modern nation and a good place to do business, but people in a country that calls itself a democracy shouldn t be afraid to criticize their government or speak out about political issues,  the group s Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson said. Human Rights Watch called on the Singapore government to amend or repeal in entirety laws that it said were too broadly worded and used to  arrest, harass, and prosecute critical voices,  including the Sedition Act and the Public Order Act. The report is partly based on interviews with civil society activists, journalists, lawyers, academics and opposition politicians, many of whom declined to be identified  due to fear of possible repercussions,  the group said. Late in November, Singapore authorities charged human rights activist Jolovan Wham for organizing public assemblies without a police permit. In August, the Singapore attorney-general s office began court proceedings against Li Shengwu, the grandson of the country s founder, over a Facebook post in which he said the government is  very litigious and has a pliant court system.

Summary: ह्यूमन राइट्स वॉच ने सिंगापुर से अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता, सभा कानूनों में ढील देने का आह्वान किया