NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump chose a former Goldman Sachs banker and a billionaire investor on Tuesday to steer economic policy in his administration and a fierce Obamacare critic to dismantle President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare program.  Republican Trump is expected to name Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner and Hollywood financier, as his nominee for Treasury secretary, a source said, putting a Wall Street veteran in the top U.S. economic Cabinet post. Mnuchin, who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs before leaving in 2002 to launch a hedge fund, served as Trump’s campaign finance chairman. Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, known for his investments in distressed industries, is expected to be named commerce secretary, a source said. The announcements could come as early as Wednesday. The flurry of picks showed Trump, a real estate tycoon with no governing experience, rewarding loyalists and established Washington veterans as he rounds out his circle of top advisers. Republican U.S. Representative Tom Price, an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia, will be Trump’s health and human services   secretary. Seema Verma, the founder of a health policy consulting company, will lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is part of Health and Human Services and oversees government health programs for the poor and the elderly and insurance standards. Trump also announced his choice of Elaine Chao, labor secretary under President George W. Bush, to serve as secretary of transportation, saying in a statement that her expertise would be an asset “in our mission to rebuild our infrastructure.” While Trump made decisions on his economic team, he continued to mull over who should serve as his top diplomat. He dined with former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a one-time critic and the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, at a French restaurant in New York on Tuesday night. Romney sharply criticized Trump during the presidential campaign but he offered praise after their dinner. “He continues with a message of inclusion, of bringing people together,” Romney told reporters. He said Trump’s Cabinet choices so far and speech on Election Night were encouraging.     Trump cast Price and Verma as a “dream team” to help him once he takes office on Jan. 20 with his campaign pledge to repeal Obamacare, the health law formally known as the Affordable Care Act. It has been a target of Republican attacks since its enactment in 2010. Price has characterized Obamacare as “doing real harm to American families” and has co-sponsored legislation to replace it. Verma helped Pence, the Indiana governor, add conservative pieces to Medicaid coverage for the state’s poor by requiring beneficiaries to make contributions to health savings accounts. She also worked on Medicaid programs in Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate Democratic leader, was among the defenders of Obamacare who criticized Price’s selection. “Nominating Congressman Price to be the HHS secretary is akin to asking the fox to guard the hen house,” Schumer said.  The 2010 healthcare overhaul, aimed at expanding insurance coverage to millions more Americans, triggered a long, bitter fight between the White House and congressional Republicans, who said it created unwarranted government intervention in personal healthcare and private industry. Trump has said he will replace Obamacare with a plan to give states more control over Medicaid and allow insurers to sell plans nationally. Price and Verma will both need Senate confirmation. Congressional approval will be needed to repeal and change the health law. White House spokesman Josh Earnest defended Obamacare on Tuesday, saying it had expanded coverage to millions of Americans, boosted consumer protections and shored up the finances of the Medicare program for the elderly. “We’ll see if Trump care measures up,” he said. Trump said after meeting Obama following his Nov. 8 election victory that he would consider keeping the provisions of the healthcare law that let parents keep adult children up to age 26 on their insurance policies and that bar insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions. Price, an early Trump supporter in the U.S. House of Representatives who leads the budget committee, has proposed a plan that would create age-based tax credits for people who buy insurance coverage on their own. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday the eventual congressional plan to replace Obamacare would likely have much in common with Price’s ideas. Price’s plan would also roll back the 2010 law’s expansion of Medicaid for low-income people, a change that helped Obamacare cut the number of uninsured Americans to 29 million in 2015 from 49 million in 2010.  Trump vowed on the campaign trail to “save” Medicare, but Democrats said Price’s plans could amount to privatizing the government program for the elderly. Price has endorsed converting Medicare from a program that covers set benefits to a voucher-style program to help people buy coverage. “We say to Republicans who want to privatize Medicare: Go try it. Make our day,” Schumer said on Tuesday, saying the change would be unpopular with the public. Democrats also criticized the pick because Price has supported barring federal funds for Planned Parenthood, which provides some abortions in addition to birth control, health exams and other services. Trump has met about 70 people as he looks to shape his White House and Cabinet team. Chao, his pick for transportation secretary, was the first Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet position, as labor secretary. She is married to Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Trump saw retired General David Petraeus, a potential candidate for the State Department or the Pentagon, on Monday. On Tuesday, he met Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Corker and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as well as Romney, are in the running for secretary of state. Trump is set to launch a “thank you tour” of states he won in the election, starting with a rally on Thursday in Cincinnati, aides said.

Summary: ट्रंप ने आर्थिक पदों के लिए वफादारों को चुना, मंत्रिमंडल के लिए ओबामाकेयर के आलोचक


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO needs to establish a new regional base for protecting the North Atlantic against increased Russian naval strength, a  senior alliance general said on Monday, as allies consider the next step in a military build-up reminiscent of the Cold War. General Petr Pavel, head of NATO s military committee, will help put the case to allied defense ministers this week for a new planning and strategy base to be located in a chosen NATO ally and focused on keeping Atlantic shipping lanes safe from enemy submarines. It would be the first such expansion in two decades after NATO sharply cut back its commands in 2011.  If we look at the growing capabilities of countries like Russia and China, with a global reach, it is quite obvious that maritime lines of communication have to be protected,  Pavel, a Czech army general, told Reuters in an interview.  We observe increased Russian naval activity in the Arctic in the northern Atlantic ... We also assess that for any future crisis, the reinforcement of Europe and free lines of communication will be vital for European security,  Pavel said.    If approved, the new North Atlantic Command would survey a vast area and, in the event of any potential conflict with Russia, have the task of making sea lanes safe for U.S reinforcements to Europe. Strong in symbolism, the decision is unlikely to revive a much larger Cold War-era Atlantic Command that was disbanded in 2002, but it would broaden NATO s new deterrent against Russia.   Despite NATO s cooperation with Moscow in the Balkans after a 1997 pact formalized friendly ties, the alliance sees the Kremlin s incursions in Georgia and eastern Ukraine and its seizure of Crimea as unacceptable breaches of international law. Pavel described Russia as a  potential threat , while the West was alarmed by Moscow s war games in September that massed tens of thousands of troops and may have tested electronic warfare tools on Latvia, NATO officials say. Since Russia s 2014 Crimea annexation, NATO has sought to reassure its Baltic allies by sending troops to the Baltics, Poland and the Black Sea, setting up a network of NATO outposts, holding more exercises and preparing a rapid response force, including air, maritime and special operations components. The United States have also returned tanks and troops to Europe after a long drawdown at the end of the Cold War. Russia condemns the moves as an aggressive strategy on its frontiers that threatens to destabilize eastern Europe. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will join other allied defense ministers on Wednesday and Thursday to decide whether to approve the North Atlantic Command, as well as a logistics command to focus on moving troops more quickly across Europe.  With renewed purpose since Russia s annexation of Crimea, NATO allies are broadly in favor of the two commands. Many are keen to lock in U.S. support given President Donald Trump s early doubts about the alliance he now says he strongly backs. Pavel cautioned that cost is likely to be an issue for NATO governments and said there were no short cuts in deterrence.   I believe we are now out of the realm of doing more with less. We simply have to understand that wherever we want to do more, there will be resource implications,  Pavel said. The alliance is being asked by Trump to do more in Afghanistan, in fighting Islamist militants and to stop migrants from the Middle East and North Africa reaching Europe. Many European NATO nations are still struggling to meet an alliance goal by 2024 to spend two percent of economic output on defense every year.  We can call it modernization, we can call it adaptation. We simply have to adapt to a new reality,  Pavel said.

Summary: शीत युद्ध की प्रतिध्वनि के रूप में नाटो नई उत्तरी अटलांटिक कमान पर विचार कर रहा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. Senate Republican struggled on Wednesday to salvage major healthcare legislation sought by President Donald Trump, meeting privately with a parade of skeptical senators as  critics within the party urged substantial changes. Republican leaders hope to agree on changes to the legislation by Friday so lawmakers can take it up after next week’s Independence Day recess.. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday abandoned plans to seek passage of it this week because Republicans did not have 50 votes to pass the bill. For seven years, Republicans have led a quest to undo the 2010 law known as Obamacare, Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement. Trump made dismantling it a top campaign promise during last year’s presidential campaign but policy differences within the party have raised doubts Republicans can achieve a repeal. Democrats have unified against the bill and Republicans control the Senate by a slim 52-48 margin, which means McConnell can afford to lose only two Republicans. So far at least 10  - including moderates and hard-line conservatives - have expressed opposition to the current bill, although some indicated they would vote for it with certain changes. McConnell, with his reputation as a strategist on the line, met with a procession of Republican senators in his office on Wednesday. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said party leaders will talk to every Republican senator who has concerns about the bill or is undecided. The House of Representatives passed its healthcare bill last month, only after striking a balance between the center of the party and the right wing. Now McConnell must find a similar sweet spot. During a lunch meeting on Wednesday Republicans made presentations on potential fixes. Senator Rand Paul called for jettisoning more parts of Obamacare to get conservatives on board. Senator Mike Rounds suggested keeping a 3.8 percent Obamacare tax on high earners’ investment income, which the current bill would eliminate. Rounds said the tax could pay for more Americans to receive the tax credits that help pay for health insurance. Senator Bob Corker, who also supports keeping the tax, said one of the issues he was focused on was helping lower-income Americans pay for health plans. “My sense is there’s a good chance that issue and other issues people are trying to get addressed can be addressed,” Corker told reporters. Trump said the bill was moving along well and predicted a “great, great surprise” but did not elaborate. Maine Senator Susan Collins, a moderate, said it would be “very difficult” to reach agreement by Friday. Collins and other centrists were put off by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s projection on Monday that 22 million people would lose medical insurance under the existing bill. Finishing the legislation’s revisions by Friday would be “optimal,” Cornyn said, so the CBO can analyze the new version.. Even then, Democrats could mount a forceful resistance. They have repeatedly said they will not discuss a repeal but have expressed openness to negotiating improvements. The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, proposed Trump call all 100 senators to Blair House across the street from the White House to craft a bipartisan bill fixing Obamacare but Trump said did not think Schumer’s offer was serious. McConnell said Democrats had refused “to work with us in a serious way to comprehensively address Obamacare’s failures in the seven years since they passed it.” The legislation has triggered protests at the Capitol and police said they arrested 40 people, including cancer survivors, on Wednesday for blocking Senate offices. Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act, which passed without Republican support, expanded health insurance coverage to some 20 million people but Republicans call it a costly government intrusion. The Senate bill rolls back Obamacare’s expansion of the Medicaid government insurance for the poor and cuts planned Medicaid spending starting in 2025. It also repeals most of Obamacare’s taxes, ends a penalty for not obtaining insurance and overhauls subsidies that help people buy insurance with tax credits. For graphic on who's covered under Medicaid, click: tmsnrt.rs/2u06kvB (This story fixes attribution of quote in 10th paragraph to Senator Corker from Senator Rounds.)

Summary: सीनेट रिपब्लिकन स्वास्थ्य देखभाल प्रयासों को बचाने के लिए संघर्ष करते हैं


JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran must immediately stop its financial and military support for “terrorists and militias” and he reiterated that it never be permitted to possess atomic arms. “Most importantly, the United States and Israel can declare with one voice that Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon - never, ever - and must cease its deadly funding, training and equipping of terrorists and militias, and it must cease immediately,” Trump said in public remarks at a meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. The United States brands Iran a “state sponsor of terrorism”. It says Tehran’s support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war, Houthi rebels in Yemen’s civil war and the Hezbollah Shi’ite political party and militia in Lebanon have helped destabilize the Middle East.  Trump flew to Israel from Riyadh earlier in the day, on the second leg of his first overseas trip since entering office in January. In his speech at Rivlin’s official residence, Trump said he was deeply encouraged by his conversations with Muslim world leaders in Saudi Arabia. “Many expressed their resolve to help end terrorism and the spread of radicalization. Many Muslim nations have already taken steps to begin following through on this commitment,” he said.   “There is a growing realization among your Arab neighbors that they have common cause with you in the threat posed by Iran,” Trump told Rivlin.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने कहा कि ईरान को 'आतंकवादियों और मिलिशिया' को वित्त पोषण और प्रशिक्षण देना तुरंत बंद कर देना चाहिए


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - (This February 8 story has been refiled to correct word in name of bill to review from relief in second paragraph.) Senior U.S. senators called on Wednesday for the right to review any move the White House might make to ease sanctions on Russia, amid mounting concern in Congress - and among U.S. allies - that President Donald Trump will be too conciliatory toward Moscow. The lawmakers, led by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Ben Cardin, introduced “The Russia Sanctions Review Act of 2017,” modeled on a 2015 bill that let Congress review the Iran nuclear agreement signed by then-President Barack Obama. Trump’s open admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and promises to rebuild frayed U.S. ties with Moscow have raised questions over his commitment to maintaining sanctions against Russia for its involvement in fighting in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The bill announced on Wednesday would require the administration to submit to Congress a description of any proposed sanctions relief, as well as certification that Moscow had stopped supporting actions to undermine the government of Ukraine and ceased cyber attacks against the U.S. government and its people. The legislation would give the Republican-led Senate and House of Representatives 120 days to act, or decline to act, on any sanctions relief. During that period, Trump would be barred from action to ease sanctions. After 120 days, sanctions relief would be granted only if the Senate and House had not voted for a Joint Resolution of Disapproval. The measure is also backed by Republican Senators Marco Rubio and John McCain and Democrats Sherrod Brown and Claire McCaskill. It was not immediately clear whether Republican congressional leaders would back the measure or how it would fare in the House, but the bill has the support of some of the leading foreign policy voices in the Senate. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters he did not want to specifically address the legislation. He pointed to support within the Trump administration for keeping sanctions in place, noting that U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley had addressed the issue of keeping Russian sanctions related to Crimea “very forcefully.” A review of the bill by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has not been scheduled, said a spokeswoman for Senator Bob Corker, the committee’s chairman and author of the 2015 Iran review act. Cardin is the panel’s senior Democrat. The spokeswoman added: “Senator Corker strongly supports keeping sanctions in place against Russia for its continued destabilizing behavior in Ukraine.”

Summary: अमेरिकी सीनेटर किसी भी ट्रम्प रूस प्रतिबंध कार्रवाई पर कहना चाहते हैं


CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump responded to the killing of three police officers in Louisiana on Sunday by renewing his call for greater leadership and “law and order.”  “We grieve for the officers killed in Baton Rouge today. How many law enforcement and people have to die because of a lack of leadership in our country?” Trump, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee posted on Facebook. “We demand law and order.”

Summary: बैटन रूज में गोलीबारी के लिए ट्रंप ने 'नेतृत्व की कमी' को जिम्मेदार ठहराया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private email while secretary of state is closed, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Wednesday, removing a legal cloud that threatened the presumptive Democratic nominee’s presidential bid.   Lynch said she accepted the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s recommendations that no charges be brought in the probe, as Republicans made clear they would not let Clinton’s email headaches fade away easily. “I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation,” Lynch said in a statement. With the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential and congressional elections beginning to heat up, Republicans called on the administration to make public key documents in the Clinton email case. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, speaking at a campaign rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, accused Clinton, his likely Democratic opponent, of bribing Lynch to decide not to press charges. He was referring to reports, including in the New York Times  this week, that Clinton, if elected president, might ask Lynch to stay on as attorney general. “She said she’s going to reappoint the attorney general and the attorney general is waiting to make a determination as to whether or not she’s guilty. And boy was that a fast determination, wow,” Trump said, adding, “That’s bribery folks.” On Capitol Hill, Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 3 House of Representatives Republican, reacted to Lynch’s announcement by proclaiming: “Secretary Clinton broke the law and lied about it.” Senior Senate Republicans insisted that the FBI’s investigation be made available to the public, including a transcript of the more than three hours Clinton spent last Saturday in an interview conducted by the agency. Shortly before Lynch’s announcement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, “I think the next step...is to compare what Hillary Clinton said to the FBI with what Hillary Clinton’s been saying to all of us over the last couple of years during this controversy.” In a blistering attack on Clinton, John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican, said on the Senate floor: “The bottom line is Secretary Clinton actively sought out ways to hide her actions as much as possible” by using a private email account while heading the State Department. “And in so doing, she put our country at risk” by leaving those emails vulnerable to computer hackers. Democrats have questioned Republicans’ motives and accused them of squandering taxpayer dollars with lengthy investigations that have failed to uncover illegal activities. “Republicans are in such desperate shape because of Trump (that) they would seize upon anything” to divert attention, said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. And Senator Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement following Lynch’s announcement: “This investigation is closed and that should be the end of this matter.” On Tuesday, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, had been “extremely careless” in her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, but he recommended no criminal charges be filed in the case. Comey, who was deputy attorney general during the George W. Bush administration before becoming FBI director in 2013, is scheduled to testify on Thursday before a House committee, where Republicans and Democrats are expected to press him on his findings in the Clinton case. Lynch said she met on Wednesday afternoon with Comey and the career prosecutors and agents who had investigated whether Clinton broke the law as result of email servers kept in her Chappaqua, New York, home. One question is whether she mishandled classified information. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, said on Wednesday it appeared Clinton received preferential treatment from the FBI. Asked whether a special prosecutor should be named to investigate the matter, Ryan said the House would not “foreclose any options.” But Ryan did say that because of her messy handling of emails while serving as secretary of state, Clinton should be denied access to classified information during the campaign. Presidential candidates normally get such briefings once they are formally nominated. McConnell, Ryan’s Senate counterpart, stopped short of calling for such action. Clinton’s campaign was anxious to move on after Comey’s announcement, saying in a statement on Tuesday it was pleased with the FBI decision.

Summary: अमेरिकी अटॉर्नी जनरल ने क्लिंटन के ईमेल की जांच बंद की, कहा कोई आरोप नहीं


TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wrapped up a visit to Japan  on Saturday reaffirming Washington’s commitment to its defense treaty with Tokyo amid concerns about President Donald Trump’s approach to the region and the alliance. Mattis reiterated that provocations by North Korea, which is advancing its nuclear weapons and missile programs, as well as China’s growing assertiveness in the South and East China Seas, left no room for doubt about U.S. commitment to Japan’s defense. That was similar to the message that Mattis - making his first overseas trip since taking office - delivered in South Korea, Washington’s other key Asian ally, earlier in the week. He appeared eager to reassure Japan of U.S. resolve, after a 2016 election campaign in which Trump suggested both South Korea and Japan were benefiting from a U.S. security umbrella without sharing enough of the costs. “The U.S.-Japan alliance is critical to ensuring that this region remains safe and secure – not just now, but for years to come,” Mattis told a joint news conference with Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada. But in what could been seen as a subtle prod to Japan to do more, he added: “But make no mistake: in my meetings with Japanese leaders, both our nations recognize that we must not be found complacent in the face of the emerging challenges we face. “As our alliance grows, it will be important for both our nations to continue investing in our defense personnel and capabilities.” Mattis said Tokyo’s financial support for U.S. troops in Japan had been a “model of cost-sharing” while Inada told the same news conference there had been no discussion of whether Japan should increase that funding. Mattis also noted that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has increased defense spending since taking office in December 2012, a move he said was “on the right track.” Japan’s defense spending is around 1 percent of gross domestic product, compared to around 2 percent for China and over 3 percent for the United States. DEEPER THREE-WAY TIES Mattis also repeated that Trump’s administration would adhere to Washington’s commitment to defend disputed East China Sea islands that are under Japanese control but claimed also by China, an assurance that Tokyo has been keen to hear. Inada said she told Mattis that Japan would play a proactive security role, in line with legal changes enacted under Abe that eased the limits of its pacifist constitution on its military’s operations overseas. At the start of her talks with Mattis, Inada said she hoped his visit to Seoul and Tokyo would deepen three-way security ties. Japan’s relations with South Korea have frayed recently due to a feud over wartime history, just as tensions over North Korea make cooperation vital. “South Korea is an important neighbor,” Inada said.  “I want to link Secretary Mattis’ visit to Japan and South Korea to the further deepening of defense cooperation among the three countries.”  Japan’s relations with South Korea have frayed recently due to a feud over wartime history, just as tensions over North Korea make cooperation between the two allies vital. Japan last month temporarily recalled its ambassador to South Korea over a statue near the Japanese consulate in Busan city commemorating Korean “comfort women”. The term “comfort women” is a euphemism for women forced to work in Japanese military brothels. Tokyo says the statue, put in place late last year, and another near the Japanese embassy in Seoul, violate a December 2015 agreement stating the issue - which has long plagued ties - would be “irreversibly resolved” if all conditions were met.

Summary: मैटिस ने जापान के साथ 'आने वाले वर्षों के लिए' अमेरिकी गठबंधन की पुष्टि की


MANILA (Reuters) - As Air Force One took off from Manila on Tuesday at the end of the longest trip to Asia by an American president in more than quarter of a century, at least two of the region s leaders had good reason to feel satisfied. At a summit in the Philippines, Donald Trump forged a  great relationship  with President Rodrigo Duterte, who only a year ago had cursed  son of a bitch  Barack Obama for decrying his administration s bloody war on drug pushers and addicts. And Trump flashed a thumbs-up as he shook hands with Cambodia s authoritarian prime minister, Hun Sen, who praised the U.S. president as a kindred spirit for telling countries to put their own interests first.  You are a great man to me,  Hun Sen said, addressing Trump at a meeting with other Southeast Asian leaders, and then referenced Trump s  America First  policy.  I would like to inform you that if you follow your new policy in respect of the independence and sovereignty of other countries, the United States will have a lot of friends and you will be much respected and loved.  For other leaders across Asia, however, Trump s go-it-alone instincts must have represented a puzzling departure from his predecessors, who were - to varying degrees - standard bearers of multilateralism, democracy and human rights. During a tour that took him to Japan, South Korea, China and Vietnam and the Philippines capital, Trump called for joint efforts to tighten the screws on North Korea and its development of nuclear weapons in defiance of U.N. sanctions. But at an Asia-Pacific summit in Vietnam, he declared that redressing the uneven balance of trade between Asia and the United States was at the center of his  America First  policy, which he says will protect U.S. workers.  Trump s vision has up-ended a consensus favoring multinational trade pacts whose regional champion is now China. On the sidelines of the Vietnam meeting, 11 countries kept alive a Trans Pacific trade deal that Trump walked away from last year in the name of protecting American jobs. One cabinet member from a major ASEAN country told Reuters there was little enthusiasm in the region for Trump s bilateral approach to deals.  As Singapore Prime Minister Lee pointed out, the reason bilateral trade deals are so attractive for the USA, is precisely why no one will want to enter into one with the USA: because the USA could bully anyone on a bilateral basis,  said the Cabinet member who did not want to be named.  Why would anyone sign up for that?  Trump told reporters before leaving that he had sealed deals of  at least $300 billion, possibly triple that figure . U.S. businesses signed around $250 billion dollars worth of deals during Trump s Beijing visit, but many of those were nonbinding. Missing was any agreement on market access or reduction in technology-sharing agreements that American businesses have long complained about. For Trump, dogged at home by low public approval ratings and investigations into Russian links to his election campaign, the deals will be an important prize to flaunt on his return.  The multi-billion-dollar deals he struck in Beijing may not help the U.S. trade deficit,  said a former Japanese diplomat in Tokyo, who declined to be named.  But optically ... he can tell people that because he went to China with business leaders, he was able to come back with a gift.  Although there were few weighty deliverables from Trump s tour, for Asian nations looking nervously at China s increasing assertiveness, it may be welcomed as a sign that his administration is still committed to the region.  What regional countries wanted was for him to simply show up   to underscore that America remained at least notionally committed to Asia,  said Shahriman Lockman, a senior analyst at the Institute of Strategic & International Studies in Malaysia. A senior official in South Korean President Moon Jae-in s administration said Seoul had been worried he  would come to South Korea and engage in unexpected behavior and language, but it turned out Trump was quite considerate.      South Korea was able to rest assured regarding its partnership with the United States,  the official said. He also got good reviews at the start of his Asia tour in Japan, which has been currying favor with Trump since right after his election when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe jetted off to Trump Tower with an expensive golf club as a present.   The most important deliverable is that we can send an almost identical message to the world that we share an identical strategy, a Japanese government official said.  For Asian leaders, Trump s off-the-cuff style, freewheeling tweets, and rhetorical hyperbole, must have been daunting. But one thing they seemed to learn was that he responds well to a lavish reception.  They say in the history of people coming to China there has been nothing like that, and I believe it,  Trump told reporters after his visit to Beijing, where President Xi Jinping extended him the honor of a personal tour of the Forbidden City. One measure of the Asian trip s success, he said, was the  red carpet, like I think probably nobody has ever received.  Diplomats say the bonhomie in Beijing probably stemmed in large part from Washington s expectations Xi will lean more heavily on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump s pronouncements on North Korea during the trip swung from embracing diplomacy to warnings of military intervention. Do not underestimate us. And do not try us,  he said in a speech to South Korea s National Assembly.  Days later, after Pyongyang dismissed the speech as  reckless remarks by an old lunatic,  Trump tweeted:  Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me  old,  when I would NEVER call him  short and fat? . And then he tacked back toward diplomacy. Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!  David Pressman, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President Obama, said Trump arrived in Asia without a North Korea strategy and left without one.  Short and fat is not a nuclear strategy,  he said, adding that Washington s approach to North Korea was fed by  whim, ego, and theatrical calculations of a fickle and uninformed president.

Summary: एशियाई कानों में 'अमेरिका फर्स्ट' बजाते हुए घर लौट रहे हैं ट्रंप


WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump to broadly implement a ban on refugees entering the country from around the world. The justices granted a request from the Trump administration to block a federal appeals court decision that, according to the Justice Department, would have allowed up to 24,000 additional refugees to enter the United States than would otherwise have been eligible. The Supreme Court ruling gives Trump a partial victory as the high court prepares for a key October hearing on the constitutionality of Trump’s controversial executive order, which banned travelers from six Muslim-majority countries and limited refugee admissions.  The March 6 order suspended travel for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days and locked out most aspiring refugees for 120 days in a move the Republican president argued was needed to prevent terrorist attacks and allow the government to put in place more stringent vetting procedures. The order took effect in late June, following a Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the scope of lower court rulings.  In a ruling last week, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins of legal U.S. residents would be exempt from the travel ban. The Justice Department opted not to appeal that part of the 9th Circuit decision. However, the 9th Circuit also ruled that Trump’s refugee policy was too broad, and the court allowed entry to refugees from around the world if they had a formal offer from a resettlement agency.  The Justice Department appealed, and the full Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with the administration in a one-sentence order. Naureen Shah, Amnesty International USA’s senior director of campaigns, said the refugee ban is inherently cruel. “The Supreme Court today has dealt yet another devastating blow to vulnerable people who were on the cusp of obtaining safety for themselves and their families,” she said. “They continue to be subjected to unimaginable violence and fear while their lives are in limbo.” Earlier on Tuesday the state of Hawaii, which challenged the policy, said in a court filing that the U.S. government could still “bar tens of thousands of refugees from entering the country.” All the 9th Circuit ruling did is “protect vulnerable refugees and the American entities that have been eagerly preparing to welcome them to our shores,” Hawaii’s lawyers added. Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said he respected the Supreme Court’s decision and is preparing for the hearing there on Oct. 10.

Summary: सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने ट्रंप के शरणार्थियों पर व्यापक प्रतिबंध की अनुमति दी


BEIJING (Reuters) - China has leverage to persuade North Korea to go back to talks over its nuclear ambitions, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday, after meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. North Korea s rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons and missiles has fueled a surge in regional tensions as United Nations-led sanctions appear to have failed to bite deeply enough to change its behavior. Western diplomats have said that China is largely responsible for patchy enforcement. But Beijing bristles at the notion that it should be doing more to rein in North Korea, which does about 90 percent of its trade with China, saying it is fully enforcing U.N. sanctions and that everyone has a responsibility to lower tension and get talks back on track.  We want to force the negotiations ... and it s true that China is well placed to push,  Le Drian told reporters during a joint briefing with Wang after arriving in Beijing for a four-day visit. A military solution was an  extreme  option, he said. China advocates for a  dual suspension  plan to address the issue in which Pyongyang would halt its nuclear and missile programs and Washington would stop military exercises with its allies in the region, though U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled it out. Wang said the proposition is  realistic and feasible .  France thought it was a real proposition but that the conditions to realize it have not been met. But if we don t have the conditions we have to create the conditions,  Wang said. Le Drian countered that he didn t see it as the right approach.   I don t believe much in the double-suspension strategy, because first of all [North Korea] isn t prepared to negotiate the very principle of this nuclear program,  Le Drian said. Le Drian has said previously that bellicose statements by Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have created fears of a dangerous miscalculation, particularly since Pyongyang conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3. Washington this week imposed sanctions on 13 Chinese and North Korean organizations Washington accused of helping evade nuclear restrictions against Pyongyang and supporting the country through trade of commodities like coal.  The U.S. Treasury also put North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism. But North Korea last week ruled out negotiations with Washington as long as joint U.S-South Korea military exercises continue, and said that Pyongyang s atomic weapons program would remain as a deterrent against a U.S. nuclear threat.  The air forces of South Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold a regular joint drill in December, which will include hundreds of aircraft and about 12,000 U.S. personnel.

Summary: फ्रांस के ले ड्रियन का कहना है कि चीन उत्तर कोरिया को बातचीत के लिए 'अच्छी तरह से तैयार' है


ADEN (Reuters) - A Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes on Yemen s capital, Sanaa, local media said, lending support to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh after he signaled he was abandoning his support of the Iran-aligned Houthis - a shift that could pave the way to end three years of war. In a speech on Saturday, Saleh appeared to indicate the end of his loyalists  alliance with Houthi fighters. He said he was ready to turn a  new page  in ties with the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, if it stopped attacks on Yemeni citizens and lifted a siege.  Residents on Sunday, however, said a coalition air strike overnight killed 12 Yemeni civilians in one family in the northern province of Saada, the home territory of the Houthis. The attack could not be verified. Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television said on Sunday coalition aircraft pounded Houthi outposts in southern Sanaa overnight, but gave no details on casualties.  Separately, the Houthis, who together with Saleh s loyalists, control most of northern Yemen, said they had fired a cruise missile toward a nuclear power plant under construction in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a report quickly denied by the UAE. Saleh s announcement on Saturday was welcomed by the Saudi-led coalition, which has been backed by the United States and other Western powers. The coalition, which includes the United Arab Emirates, is trying to help Yemen s internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi back to power, but it has struggled to advance against Houthi-Saleh forces. A split between Saleh s armed allies and the Houthis could tip the balance of power.   Army units loyal to Saleh have been clashing with Houthi fighters in the past five days, adding a new layer to an already complex situation in Yemen. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash appeared to back Saleh s side in remarks on his official Twitter page.  The events in Sanaa are murky, but its national uprising needs support ... to protect the Arabian Peninsula from Iranian expansion,  he said. Residents in Sanaa reported on Sunday that the Houthis appeared to be clawing back some territory lost to Saleh over the previous four days, and Houthi tanks were deployed amid heavy gun battles in the city s central Political District. The area is a stronghold of Saleh s loyalists under the command of his nephew Tareq, an influential army general. The fighting has cut off the airport road, prompting the United Nations to try to evacuate at least 140 aid workers from Sanaa, according to U.N. and other aid officials. The U.N. was awaiting approval from the Saudi-led coalition, they said.  Residents earlier said Houthi fighters seized the television studios of Yemen Today, a news channel owned by Saleh, after clashes that damaged the building. Residents said 20 employees were trapped inside. The Red Cross said dozens of people have been killed in clashes over the past five days and called for civilian lives to be spared. In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi called for calm and restraint.  All internal disputes should be resolved through dialogue to block the grounds for any abuse by the enemies of the Yemeni nation,  he said, according to a statement on the ministry s website. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, and the proxy war between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed Hadi has created widespread hunger and disease, in one of the worst humanitarian crises of recent times. More than 10,000 people have died since 2015, more than two million have been displaced and nearly a million have been infected by a cholera outbreak. Famine threatens much of the country. Yemen descended into violence in late 2014 when the Houthis, a group that follows the Zaidi branch of Shi ite Islam, marched on Sanaa and seized control of the government. Backed by government troops loyal to Saleh, the Houthis fanned out across the country, forcing Hadi to flee to Riyadh. His ouster led the alliance headed by the Saudis to join the fighting. The Houthis said the missile fired on Sunday was directed toward the al-Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, but provided no evidence of any attack. There were no reports of any missiles reaching Abu Dhabi. The country s crisis management authority said the al-Barakah was well protected and urged the public not to listen to rumors.  The National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority denies claims by the coup trumpets in Yemen that they fired a missile toward the airspace of the United Arab Emirates,  the department said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM. It said the nuclear power project was  fortified and sturdy against all possibilities. And enjoys all measures of nuclear safety and security that such grand projects require . The Houthis had said Abu Dhabi, a member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting against them since 2015, was a target for their missiles.  The Barakah project, which is being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) (015760.KS), is expected to be completed and become operational in 2018, the UAE energy minister has said. It is the second time this year the Houthis have said they have fired missiles toward the UAE. A few months ago, they said they had  successfully  test-fired a missile toward Abu Dhabi, but there were no reports of any rockets being intercepted by or falling in the UAE.

Summary: सऊदी के नेतृत्व वाले हवाई हमलों ने यमन के सालेह का समर्थन किया क्योंकि वह हौथियों के खिलाफ स्थानांतरित हो गया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday laid some of the blame for the tone of the presidential campaign on political journalism that has been pinched by shrinking newsroom budgets and cheapened by a focus on retweets and likes on social media. In a speech to a journalism awards dinner, Obama urged journalists to ask tougher questions of the candidates vying to be president. He voiced dismay over the vulgar rhetoric, violence at rallies and unrealistic campaign pledges that have continually grabbed headlines, in a thinly veiled reference to Republican front-runner Donald Trump. “The number one question I’m getting as I travel around the world or talk to world leaders right now is, ‘What is happening in America?’ about our politics,” Obama said, describing international alarm over whether the United States will continue to function effectively. “It’s not because around the world people have not seen crazy politics. It is that they understand America is the place where you can’t afford completely crazy politics,” he said. “When our elected officials and our political campaigns become entirely untethered to reason and facts and analysis, when it doesn’t matter what’s true and what’s not, that makes it all but impossible for us to make good decisions on behalf of future generations,” Obama said. He said the media landscape has changed since his first presidential campaign in 2008, when “there was a price if you said one thing and then did something completely different. “The question is, in the current media environment, is that still true? Does that still hold?” he said. He said news organizations have a responsibility to dig deeper despite the faster pace of “this smartphone age” and steep financial pressures in the news business. Voters “would be better served if billions of dollars in free media came with serious accountability, especially when politicians issue unworkable plans or make promises they can’t keep,” Obama said. The New York Times earlier this month reported that Trump has so far earned almost $1.9 billion worth of media coverage, compared with $313 million for the next closest Republican challenger, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and $746 million for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Summary: ओबामा ने कहा कि राष्ट्रपति पद की दौड़ के लहजे के लिए पत्रकार आंशिक रूप से जिम्मेदार हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump is stacking his trade transition team with veterans of the U.S. steel industry’s battles with China, signaling a potentially more aggressive approach to U.S. complaints of unfair Chinese subsidies for its exports and barriers to imports. Led by Wilbur Ross, a billionaire steel investor and Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, Dan DiMicco, the former CEO of steelmaker Nucor Corp, and three veteran steel trade lawyers, the team is expected to help shift the U.S. trade focus more heavily toward enforcement actions aimed at bringing down a chronic U.S. trade deficit, Washington trade experts said.     Based on their past efforts, this could include more challenges to China’s trade practices through the World Trade Organization and more U.S. government-initiated anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases against a wider range of Chinese products. The latter would be argued before the U.S. International Trade Commission - a forum where the steel industry has had considerable success. Ross, DiMicco and other leaders of Big Steel have been on the front-line in U.S. trade battles against the world’s export superpower. Hit by a flood of cheap imports from China and other countries, the U.S. steel industry has brought 16 new cases in the past three years, seeking punitive duties from the Commerce Department to combat below-cost dumping and unfair subsidies that slashed prices of various steel products to historic lows last year, causing layoffs at U.S. steel mills. (See graphic tmsnrt.rs/2gUFGAf) Some of these cases have resulted in massive penalties against Chinese imports, including duties of more than 500 percent on Chinese cold-rolled steel used in autos and appliances.    Lawyers Robert Lighthizer and Jeffrey Gerrish have represented United States Steel and Stephen Vaughn has represented AK Steel in these cases. The three are also part of Trump’s trade team. Lighthizer, Gerrish, Vaughn, Ross and DiMicco either declined to comment for this story or did not respond to Reuters’ requests for interviews. Trade experts familiar with their views and their history of confrontation with China, however, say they will not be afraid to push the limits of what is legal under World Trade Organization rules in defense of U.S. trade interests.   Lighthizer, who along with DiMicco is considered a strong candidate to be the new U.S. Trade Representative, is known for his work during the Reagan administration pressuring Japan into voluntary export restraints.  “Bob Lighthizer is very smart, very strategic and totally fearless,” said a Washington attorney who has worked with him for three decades and asked not to be named because Trump’s USTR selection process was still under way. “If he’s in charge you can expect him to use every tool available to create leverage to get China and anyone else to stop the cheating. He is no fan of the WTO.” Lighthizer told a congressional panel in 2010 that the WTO’s dispute resolution system was ineffective and that the United States “should consider aggressive interpretations of WTO provisions that might help us deal with Chinese mercantilism.” Such tactics could include imposing temporary import quotas and surcharges and factoring in the effect of currency manipulation into U.S. anti-dumping duties, he said. Ross, who advised Trump’s presidential campaign on economic issues, has signaled he will use access to the lucrative U.S. consumer market as leverage to negotiate better trade terms. The United States is China’s biggest export market. During his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to levy a punitive 45-percent tariff on Chinese goods and label Beijing a currency manipulator. It is not clear though whether he will follow through on those threats once he takes office. Ross told CNN last week that Trump will not be “willy nilly slapping a 45 percent tariff on everything,” but will maintain the threat of tariffs as part of negotiations. In an emailed statement to Reuters, Ross said he would divest “all holdings and board seats that pose conflicts” but declined to answer other questions on his plans for Trump’s trade policy and engagement with China.  The personal blog of DiMicco, meanwhile, gives some indication of how he would approach China if he was named head of USTR. He has accused China of waging a “mercantilist trade war” on the United States for two decades, through currency manipulation, unfair subsidies and intellectual property theft. On the issue of currency manipulation, many economists disagree, saying Beijing is no longer keeping its yuan artificially undervalued to make its exports cheap, citing the hundreds of billions of dollars in reserves it has spent to prop up the yuan’s value this year. A key question for Trump’s trade team is how far they can push China to change its trade practices without provoking a trade war that will hurt both countries. “If what they plan to do is get a little scratchier with China on enforcement within the existing WTO rules, that’s OK,” said Scott Miller, a China trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “But if they go outside those guardrails, it will be unpleasant because that will draw retaliation.”  He Weiwen, vice president at the Center for China and Globalization, a government-affiliated think-tank in Beijing, said any punitive action against China by the Trump administration would invite a retaliatory response. “We will certainly respond in the same way,” he said, adding that Washington and Beijing “should find good solutions that are acceptable to both and not go to extremes. It will hurt both.” Chinese state media have warned that any new tariffs imposed by Trump would lead to retaliation against Boeing aircraft, Apple iPhones and U.S. corn and soybeans.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने चीन के साथ इस्पात युद्ध के दिग्गजों के साथ व्यापार दल को पैक किया


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Sunday the government will proceed with a scheduled sales tax increase in 2019 unless the economy suffers a shock as big as the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers. He also defended the government s plan to divert some of the proceeds from the scheduled tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent to child care and education, saying that investing in children will  undoubtedly lead to stronger economic growth .  Our administration has worked on fiscal reform more than any other administration,  Abe told a television program as his ruling bloc headed for a big win in Sunday s general election.  In order to pay back Japan s public debt, you need economic growth,  he said.  We d like to proceed with fiscal reform by spurring economic growth and investment,  Abe said, suggesting his administration will continue to focus on reflating growth rather than fiscal austerity. Abe s ruling bloc was set for a big win in Sunday s election, bolstering his chances of becoming the nation s longest-serving premier. Abe twice delayed the sales tax hike to 10 percent after an earlier increase to 8 percent tipped Japan into recession. Analysts say increasing the levy is crucial to rein in Japan s huge public debt which, at twice the size of its economy, is the biggest among major industrialized nations.

Summary: जापान के आबे ने कहा कि जब तक अर्थव्यवस्था को बड़ा झटका नहीं लगता, तब तक कर वृद्धि में देरी नहीं करेंगे


ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is working with Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to make changes to their healthcare overhaul plan to ensure it has enough support to be approved by lawmakers, a White House spokesman said on Wednesday. “We’re obviously in talks with Speaker (Paul) Ryan, the entire leadership team over there ... to get the best outcome based on feedback from members,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters during a briefing.

Summary: स्वास्थ्य योजना में बदलाव पर रिपब्लिकन नेताओं के साथ काम कर रहे हैं ट्रंपः प्रवक्ता


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will work closely and carefully with Britain and the European Union to ensure a smooth transition after Britain voted to leave the European Union, the State Department’s No. 2 official said on Friday. “We will work very closely, carefully with both the UK and with the EU to do what we can to make sure the process ... goes smoothly as possible,” Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a conference in Washington. “It will not affect the special relationship with Britain.”

Summary: अमेरिका ब्रेक्सिट के बाद सुचारू रूप से संक्रमण के लिए ब्रिटेन, यूरोपीय संघ के साथ काम करेगाः ब्लिंकन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate resolved a technical issue on Thursday that had stalled a new package of sanctions on Russia but the measure faces opposition in the House that could mean more delays, lawmakers said. The Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act, which also includes the Russia sanctions, passed the Senate in a 98-2 vote on June 15.   Many lawmakers hoped the bill would become law in time to send a strong message to Russian President Vladimir Putin before President Donald Trump’s meeting with him in Germany next week.  But the Senate bill stalled when House Republican leaders said it violated a constitutional requirement that legislation affecting revenues originate in the House, known as a “blue slip” violation. Lawmakers from the two chambers have bickered about it since. Democrats accused House Republicans of trying to kill the bill to please Trump after administration officials said they had concerns about it. House Republican leaders insisted their objection was solely a procedural one. “The speaker has made clear that we will take up sanctions once the House receives it,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Speaker Paul Ryan. The Senate resolved the procedural issue on Thursday. But the delay means the House will not vote until after the G20, because of Congress’ recess next week. “This is now going to be a referendum on the Republican leadership, if they are going to go along with the president’s coddling of Putin and the Russians, then that will have to be their legacy,” said Representative Eliot Engel, the top House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrat. Engel and Republican committee chairman Ed Royce have said they want the sanctions passed quickly. Some House Republicans have reservations. Representative Pete Sessions, whose home state of Texas is central to U.S. energy, said he wanted assurances about how the bill would affect businesses. Representative Mark Meadows said he would look at the bill closely after hearing from the Italian, German and British ambassadors, who had energy-related concerns. “It could potentially run into trouble. But it’s too early to tell,” Meadows said. The legislation would put into law sanctions previously established via ex-President Barack Obama’s executive orders. It includes sanctions on mining and other industries, and targets Russians responsible for cyber attacks or supplying weapons to Syria’s government. It also sets up a review process that would require Trump to get Congress’ approval before easing sanctions on Russia.

Summary: सीनेट ने रूस प्रतिबंध विधेयक में संशोधन किया, इसे सदन में भेजा


PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Wednesday it was imperative the United Nations Security Council apply more pressure on North Korea to prevent it jumping another hurdle toward an effective nuclear weapons capacity that could lead to a dangerous military escalation. Amid heightened tension on the Korean peninsula, North Korea has escalated a war of words with the United States, warning of full-out nuclear war if Washington takes military action against it over its nuclear and missile ambitions. “We have to avoid all military escalation,” Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told LCP television. “This threatens nuclear proliferation in the region, but also directly threatens North America. It’s a major danger.” Ayrault, who was in China last week and whose country has no diplomatic representation in North Korea, said it appeared that Beijing was increasingly worried by the behavior of its neighbor. “China is scared of chaos and destabilization of the regime that would result in millions of refugees in the region so we can make progress through international pressure ... sanctions and discussions between the Security Council members to take measures,” he said.  U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday that Washington would work with its allies and China to put economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea but added that America would defeat any attack with an “overwhelming response”. “There is no time to lose because all of the money North Korea has is being used for nuclear investment and research which would enable the country to jump another hurdle,” he said.

Summary: फ्रांस का कहना है कि उत्तर कोरिया को अगली परमाणु बाधा पार करने से रोकने के लिए दबाव की आवश्यकता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will hold his final press conference as president on Wednesday, the White House said. The press conference will be held at 2:15 ET (19:15 GMT). Obama is set to leave office on Friday when he will be succeeded by Republican President-elect Donald Trump.

Summary: ओबामा बुधवार को अंतिम संवाददाता सम्मेलन करेंगेः व्हाइट हाउस


LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday that comments by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson about jailed Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe should not be used by the Islamic Republic to bring additional charges against her. Johnson told the British parliament s foreign affairs committee last Wednesday that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been teaching people journalism, a statement that the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a charity organization for which she works, said was incorrect.  Last week s remarks by the Foreign Secretary provide no justifiable basis on which to bring any additional charges against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe,  a spokesman for the British Foreign Office said.  While criticizing the Iranian case against Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the Foreign Secretary sought to explain that even the most extreme set of unproven Iranian allegations against her were insufficient reason for her detention and treatment.  Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager, is serving a five-year jail sentence after being convicted of plotting to overthrow Iran s clerical establishment. She was brought again into court on Saturday, three days after Johnson s remarks, and accused by a judge of  spreading propaganda against the regime .  She is not a journalist and has never trained journalists at the Thomson Reuters Foundation where she is project manager in my Media Development team,  Monique Villa, Thomson Reuters Foundation chief executive, said in a statement.  I see a direct correlation between this statement by Boris Johnson, who rightly condemned the treatment that Nazanin has received in Iran, and the fact that Nazanin was brought once again into Court on Saturday 4 November.  The charges against Nazanin were denied by her family and the Foundation, a charity organization that is independent of Thomson Reuters and operates independently of Reuters News. Tulip Siddiq, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party, said Johnson had failed to retract his comments, which she said had undermined efforts to secure Zaghari-Ratcliffe s release.  By suggesting Nazanin was in Iran  teaching people journalism , Boris Johnson has endangered the cause to secure her release,  Siddiq, who is the lawmaker for the area where Zaghari-Ratcliffe lived in London, said in an emailed statement.  The Foreign Secretary s failure to retract his comments to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee is unforgivable,  Siddiq said.  His comments were both untrue and unhelpful to her case.  The Iranian Embassy in London could not be reached for comment.

Summary: ब्रिटेन का कहना है कि जॉनसन की टिप्पणी जेल में बंद सहायता कर्मचारी के खिलाफ ईरान के अधिक आरोपों को उचित नहीं ठहराती है


MANILA (Reuters) - Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte attacked Canada s Justin Trudeau at the end of a summit of Asian and Western nations for raising questions about his war on drugs, a topic skirted by other leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump. At the traditional news conference by the host nation at the end of the summit on Tuesday, Duterte was asked how he had responded to the Canadian prime minister raising the issue of human rights and extra-judicial killings in his anti-drugs drive.  I said I will not explain. It is a personal and official insult,  the Philippines president said in the course of a rambling answer, although he did not refer to Trudeau by name.  I only answer to the Filipino. I will not answer to any other bullshit, especially foreigners. Lay off.  Earlier in the day, Trudeau told a news conference that during his meeting with Duterte  the president was receptive to my comments and it was throughout a very cordial and positive exchange . Human rights activists had been hoping that leaders at the summit, including Trump, would raise the issue of the thousands of users and small-time pushers killed in the campaign that was launched by Duterte after he took office in mid-2016. His government says the police act in self-defense during drug-busts, but critics say executions are taking place with no accountability. There was no pressure from Trump on the drugs war when he met Duterte on Monday and the U.S. president later said the two had a  great relationship . A joint statement after the meeting only said the two sides  underscored that human rights and the dignity of human life are essential, and agreed to continue mainstreaming the human rights agenda in their national programs.  Duterte cursed Trump s predecessor, Barack Obama, last year for raising concerns about the war on drugs and he subsequently declared that he was breaking ties with the United States, a close ally of the Philippines since World War Two. The relationship appears to have got back on track after the bonhomie between him and Trump. Trudeau also said that he raised the issue of the exodus of Rohingya during a meeting with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, another sensitive topic bypassed by most other leaders, although he did not mention the Muslim minority by name.  This is a tremendous concern to Canada and to many, many countries around the world,  he said. The government in mostly-Buddhist Myanmar regards the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and does not recognize the term. Over 600,000 Rohingya have fled to refugee camps in Bangladesh since military clearance operations were launched in response to attacks by Rohingya militants on Aug. 25.  The plight of the Rohingya has brought outrage from around the world and the United Nations has called the operations ethnic cleansing. There have been calls for democracy champion Suu Kyi to be stripped of the Nobel peace prize she won in 1991 because she has not condemned the military s actions. Some countries in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), particularly Muslim-majority Malaysia, have voiced strong concern over the issue recently. However, in keeping with ASEAN s principle of non-interference in each others  internal affairs, it appeared to have been put aside at the summit, which brought Southeast Asian nations together with the United States, Russia, Japan, China, India, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Duterte reported that China had agreed at the summit to work on a code of conduct in the South China Sea with ASEAN nations to ease tensions over disputed claims to the busy and resource-rich waterway. The group also signed agreements on protecting migrant labor and fighting terrorism and cybercrime. Trump skipped the plenary session of the summit because of scheduling delays, but he said his marathon trip to Asia had been a  tremendous  success. He told reporters on Air Force One that he had delivered his prepared remarks during a lunch before the summit meeting.  Trump said at least $300 billion, possibly triple that figure, of deals had been agreed in the trip. He did not elaborate.  We ve explained that the United States is open for trade but we want reciprocal, we want fair trade for the United States,  he said. Trade and concern about possible protectionism under Trump s  America First  agenda have come up during his visit to the region, which included stops in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam before concluding in the Philippines. After Trump left Manila, a group of Asia-Pacific nations pursuing a separate Beijing-backed trade deal that does not include the United States agreed to  intensify efforts  in 2018 to bring their negotiations to a conclusion. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) appeared to have been given new impetus at the summit by Trump s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, to which China is not party. The two trade deals are not mutually exclusive. ASEAN is joined in the RCEP talks by China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.

Summary: फिलीपींस शिखर सम्मेलन के अंत में दुतेर्ते ने कनाडा के राष्ट्रपति ट्रूडो को लताड़ा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan is running again for the job in the next Congress, a spokeswoman said on Thursday after a media report quoted several unidentified House Republicans as saying they expected him to step down next week. “He is running,” Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said. The Hill cited four House Republicans as saying that they expected Ryan to step aside as Speaker after next Tuesday’s general election. “Speculation is growing that Paul will not return,” the Hill quoted a “senior GOP lawmaker close to leadership” as saying. It quoted a member of the Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative Republicans, as saying that if Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wins, Ryan will get “a good share of the blame” among House members who support Republican candidate Donald Trump. Ryan last month told fellow Republicans that he would not defend or campaign for Trump and would instead focus on re-electing Republicans to keep the majority in the House. This angered some Trump supporters in the House, who felt the Wisconsin congressman should stand by Trump. One of them, Representative Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma, tweeted: “if Paul Ryan isn’t for Trump, then I’m not for Paul Ryan.” But Ryan, who as Speaker is the country’s highest-ranking Republican, has a great deal of support in the Republican caucus, and it is far from clear that his critics would be able to oust him if they tried. House Republicans, who currently number 246, plan to have closed-door leadership elections in mid-November. Ryan is expected to win their nomination for Speaker at that gathering, but the actual election to the Speaker’s post would not be held until the new Congress convenes in January. All members of the House, both Republican and Democrat, will vote in the Speaker election and Ryan will need 218 votes - a majority of the House’s 435 members - to win. This could be a challenge if Republicans lose a substantial number of seats in next week’s elections, and if some of those who remain decide to oppose Ryan.

Summary: अमेरिकी सदन के अध्यक्ष रयान फिर से चुनाव के लिए दौड़ रहे हैंः प्रवक्ता


ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - More than 300 Baloch separatist militants have surrendered over the past few months, Pakistani government officials said, after a ceremony to mark the downing of guns and militants  return to civilian life. The surrenders are part of government efforts to end a decade-long insurgency in the southwestern Baluchistan province by offering amnesties and financial rewards to soldiers and commanders to help them re-integrate into the society. In a high-profile ceremony on the lawn of the Baluchistan provincial assembly in the western city of Quetta, the regional capital, some 313 militants from three separatist movements handed over weapons to Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, the Chief Minister of the province.  I will hug all that who believe in integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan but will not tolerate (those) who will challenge the writ of the State,  Zehri said at the ceremony on Saturday. Pakistani government officials say about 2,000 militants have surrendered over the past 18 months. In April, the government held a similar ceremony where about 400 militants handed over their guns. The latest ceremony saw surrenders by 143 militants from the Baloch Republican Army (BRA), 125 fighters from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and 17 from Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), according to officials. Under the agreement, foot soldiers are given 500,000 rupees ($4,700) and the top-level commanders receive about 1 million rupees ($9,500) to help them and their families build a life after militancy.     Baluchistan s government and the powerful army, which has a huge say in the running of Pakistan s poorest province, tout the amnesties as an effective way to reduce the power of separatists who accuse Islamabad of exploiting Baluchistan. While security has improved in Baluchistan over the past few years, critics and human rights groups say the army has crushed dissent and free speech, while separatists accuse security officials of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances. The military denies abuse claims. Pakistan s desire to dismantle the insurgencies has grown in urgency amid vast Chinese investment from Beijing s Belt and Road infrastructure splurge. China has frequently urged Pakistan to improve security, especially in Baluchistan. A new transport corridor (CPEC) through Baluchistan, linking Western China with Pakistan s Arabian Sea port of Gwadar, is due to become operational in late 2018.  Separatists have vowed to disrupt CPEC, and earlier this week China warned its citizens of a security threat inside Pakistan.

Summary: पाकिस्तान का कहना है कि 300 से अधिक बलूच अलगाववादी आतंकवादियों ने आत्मसमर्पण कर दिया है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 fighter jet program is essential for the security of the United States and its allies, a Pentagon official said on Monday, looking to defend the program a week after President-elect Donald Trump criticized it for delays and cost overruns. “The F-35 program and cost is out of control,” Trump wrote on Twitter last week, echoing campaign promises to cut waste in federal spending. “Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.” Speaking with reporters on Monday, Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan, who runs the F-35 program for the Pentagon, said that if he had an opportunity to speak with the Trump transition team, he would tell them that the program is now under control after years of delays. “There is a perception that this program is out of control,” Bogdan said. “So, if given the opportunity I would like to try and explain to the new administration that this is a vastly different program from 2011.” Bogdan said the incoming administration was trying to get industry and the Defense Department to get a better value for its money. “I applaud the new administration for that, because that is what we should all be striving for,” he said. Trump’s Twitter broadside sent defense shares tumbling and fanned concerns that the incoming administration will reduce defense contractors’ profit margins and cut broader federal spending, threatening U.S. factory jobs even as Trump promises to boost manufacturing employment. The F-35 program, which has been described as the most expensive weapon system in history, has been dogged by problems, with the Pentagon’s chief arms buyer once describing as “acquisition malpractice” the decision to produce jets before completing development.

Summary: एफ-35 प्रमुख ने ट्रंप की आलोचना के बाद कार्यक्रम का बचाव किया


PALERMO, Italy (Reuters) - Police in the Sicilian capital of Palermo scooped up 25 suspected mobsters on an array of charges on Tuesday, including a woman accused of filling in as boss for her imprisoned husband.   More than 200 police, two helicopters and five canine units took part in the early morning roundup of the suspects. They are accused of extortion, handling stolen goods, vandalism and being mafia members, according to the arrest warrant seen by Reuters. With extensive use of wiretaps and ambient recordings, police reconstructed territorial divisions in the city and the internal power struggle that made Maria Angela Di Trapani, 49, a powerful figure inside one of the city s historic clans.  Her husband, Salvatore  Salvino eyes of ice  Madonia, who is in jail for murder. Police said she carried messages from her husband to clan members and organized monthly payments to the families of imprisoned mobsters. She also designated who should be running the mob family s business, or who should be  acting boss , on behalf of her husband. In one wiretap, an accused clan member refers to her as  the mistress of the house , and the police statement on the arrests said she was the real boss of the Resuttana neighborhood.  For all intents and purposes, she acts like a real man,  a turncoat told investigators, according to the court documents.  The Sicilian mafia, or Cosa Nostra, has been hurt by a series of arrests in recent years, weakening the crime network, especially compared to the Calabrian  Ndrangheta. With many bosses in jail, their wives have begun to play larger roles.  While Cosa Nostra has been much weakened by the result of judicial investigations, this case shows the continuing ability to use violence, intimidation, and the mafia code to force business and shop owners to pay extortion,  the warrant reads. During the two-year investigation, police documented 33 separate crimes and 22 attempts, many successful, to extort shops and businesses, police said.

Summary: इटली पुलिस ने पालेर्मो जाल में महिला माफिया प्रमुख और 24 अन्य को गिरफ्तार किया


LONDON (Reuters) - London Mayor Sadiq Khan called on British foreign minister Boris Johnson on Sunday to resign after a series of gaffes which he said had offended Libyans, Americans, the Spanish and others. Speaking on the BBC s Andrew Marr show, Khan said Johnson  has to go .

Summary: लंदन के मेयर ने ब्रिटिश विदेश मंत्री जॉनसन से इस्तीफा देने को कहा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort will surrender to federal authorities later on Monday amid an ongoing probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign, CNN and the New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources. The Times, citing someone involved in the case, said Manafort’s former business associate Rick Gates was also told to surrender to U.S. authorities. Manafort was seen leaving his home early Monday morning, according to a Reuters witness, but it was unclear where he was headed.

Summary: मैनफोर्ट, पूर्व सहयोगी को अमेरिकी रूस की जांच में आरोपों का सामना करना पड़ाः रिपोर्ट


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday said Puerto Rico faces a fiscal crisis but that a solution should come from the White House or Congress. “This is really something that I’m not an expert on,” she told a meeting of the House Financial Services Committee. “What the appropriate programs are for Puerto Rico to deal with its longstanding problems - I think that’s squarely a matter for Congress and the administration to consider.”

Summary: फेड के येलेन का कहना है कि प्यूर्टो रिको आर्थिक संकट का सामना कर रहा है, कांग्रेस के लिए मामला


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico must be ready to respond immediately with its own tax measures if the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump imposes a border tax, the economy minister said on Friday, warning such protectionism may trigger a global recession.  Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has promised a “major border tax” on companies that shift jobs outside the United States, and such a measure could hobble Mexico’s exports to its top trading partner. “It is clear we need to be prepared to immediately neutralize the impact of such a measure,” Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said in an interview on Mexican television.  “And it is very clear how - take a fiscal action that clearly neutralizes it,” he said.  Trump has repeatedly attacked Mexico over trade, jobs and immigration since he first launched his run for the White House in 2015, driving the peso currency to historic lows and unnerving investors, especially in the auto sector.  Guajardo said Trump’s proposed tax “was a problem for the entire world” and that it “would have a wave of impacts that could take us into a global recession.”  Nonetheless, the minister said he expected foreign direct investment in Mexico this year to total around $25 billion, with investment in the energy and telecommunications sectors expected to more than make up for the loss of a planned $1.6 billion Ford Motor Co. (F.N) factory that the company said this month it is cancelling. Trump had strongly criticized the plan, but Ford said its decision was not the result of pressure from Trump. Guajardo also praised the government of Japan and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) for their “reasonable” response to Trump’s threat to impose a significant border tax if the company does not stop making its Corolla model in Mexico for the U.S. market. Toyota said last week the automaker has no immediate plans to curb production in Mexico.  “Toyota has 10 plants in the United States... and employs more than 130,000 Americans. If I were Mr. Trump, I’d treat them with more respect,” Guajardo said. He added that he expects total foreign direct investment during the six-year term of President Enrique Pena Nieto, which ends in late 2018, to average $30 billion annually. Guajardo has previously warned that U.S. corporate tax cuts proposed by Trump, as well as the border tax, could undermine foreign investment in Latin America’s No. 2 economy. Mexico slapped a tax on U.S. high fructose corn syrup in the early 2000s after the United States refused to allow free trade in Mexican sugar.

Summary: मेक्सिको किसी भी अमेरिकी सीमा कर का 'तुरंत' जवाब देगाः मंत्री


WASHINGTON/HAVANA (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday expelled 15 Cuban diplomats to protest Cuba s failure to protect staff at the U.S. embassy in Havana from a mysterious spate of health  attacks,  spurring new tensions between the former Cold War foes. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the expulsions from Cuba s embassy in Washington were also intended to ensure  equity  in staffing levels, after he recalled more than half the U.S. diplomatic personnel in Havana on Friday. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez denounced the decision as  unjustified,  accused the United States of insufficient cooperation with Cuba s investigation of the health incidents and urged Washington to stop politicizing the matter. The steps taken by Republican President Donald Trump s administration delivers another blow to his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama s policy of rapprochement, including actions likely to erode the normalization of a relationship dominated for decades by mutual hostility and suspicion. The latest U.S. move was communicated to Cuban Ambassador Jose Ramon Cabanas on Tuesday, and the diplomats were given seven days to leave, a State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.  Until the Government of Cuba can ensure the safety of our diplomats in Cuba, our embassy will be reduced to emergency personnel to minimize the number of diplomats at risk of exposure to harm,  Tillerson said in a statement.  We continue to maintain diplomatic relations with Cuba, and will continue to cooperate with Cuba as we pursue the investigation into these attacks,  he added. The United States announced on Friday that it was sharply reducing its diplomatic presence in Cuba, as it warned U.S. citizens not to visit the Communist-ruled island because of the alleged attacks it says have caused hearing loss, dizziness and fatigue in 22 U.S. embassy personnel. The State Department had said the embassy was halting regular visa operations for Cubans seeking to visit the United States and would offer only emergency services to U.S. citizens. Cuba has denied involvement in any attacks and says it has reinforced security for U.S. diplomatic personnel. Rodriguez said lack of U.S. cooperation had stymied its own investigation into the matter. Authorities had not provided access to the injured people and the doctors who examined them, or to the homes where the attacks allegedly took place, he said, adding that evidence had been delivered late.  Rodriguez urged the United States to cooperate more and said Cuba was also working with Canada on the investigation as Canadian diplomats have reported similar symptoms. So far, none of the probes have yielded any answers about how the alleged attacks were carried out or who was responsible. Several Cuban-American Republican lawmakers, including U.S Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, had urged that Cuban diplomats be kicked out in retaliation for the Cuban government s failure to get to the bottom of the attacks.  I commend the U.S. State Department for expelling a number of Cuban operatives from the U.S.,  Rubio, an influential voice on Trump s Cuba policy, said in a statement. But James Williams, president of Engage Cuba, a Washington-based pro-engagement lobbying group said:  This decision appears to be purely political, driven by the desire of a handful of individuals in Congress to halt progress between our two countries.   It looks like we are returning the threats and tensions of the 1960s,  said Maria Fernandez, a 45-year-old office worker in Havana.  This is madness by Trump. It s really sad, because we are so close, and yet so far away from a sincere rapprochement.  Trump, who in June vowed to partially roll back the detente with Cuba agreed by his Democratic predecessor Obama after five decades of hostility, called the Cuban government  corrupt and destabilizing  in his address to the United Nations last month. Cuba described his comments as  unacceptable and meddling.  Rodriguez urged the United States  not to continue politicizing this matter, which can provoke an undesirable escalation and could rarify and reverse even more bilateral relations.  In Havana, U.S. diplomats frantically selling off their belongings at garage sales and on social media, said they were disappointed to be ordered to leave. In a message on Facebook, the embassy s top official, career diplomat Scott Hamilton, said he would also be leaving.  I am an optimist and hope we will return one day, before too long,  he wrote.  Hasta la proxima Cuba.

Summary: अमेरिका ने क्यूबा के 15 राजनयिकों को निष्कासित किया, हवाना के साथ तनाव बढ़ा


DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran on Sunday to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban against people from Iran and six other Muslim nations, state news agency IRNA reported. A note handed to the envoy, who represents U.S. interests in Iran because Washington and Tehran have no diplomatic ties, said Trump’s executive order “was based on false and discriminatory pretexts and (went) against human rights conventions”, IRNA said.

Summary: ईरान ने अमेरिकी वीजा प्रतिबंध के विरोध में स्विस राजदूत को तलब किया


BERLIN (Reuters) - Christian Lindner, head of the Germany s pro-business Free Democrats, confirmed parties seeking to forge a German coalition government would continue discussions later Friday, and said he was optimistic that the remaining differences could be overcome. Lindner told reporters that some progress had been made on many issues, but said there were still differences over climate and migration.  We decided that we should use the next days to overcome the remaining differences,  he said.  Such a historic project ... should not fail due to a few missing hours.

Summary: प्रो-बिजनेस एफ. डी. पी. का कहना है कि जर्मन गठबंधन सौदा संभव है


SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - On the eve of an independence referendum in Iraq s Kurdistan region, one man is campaigning against a  Yes  vote which he fears could stoke tension in the Middle East. With the 5 million Kurds in Iraq who are eligible to vote united by dreams of statehood, the outcome of the Sept. 25 referendum in the autonomous region in northern Iraq is in no doubt. But with Baghdad making clear it opposes independence for a region that has abundant oil reserves, some voters fear now is not the time to start moves to break away from Iraq   and rich businessman Shaswar Abdulwahid Qadir has taken up their cause. Despite being branded a traitor by political enemies, he has taken on the establishment by launching a  No for now  campaign to explain the economic and political risks of a  Yes  vote.  A  No  vote is better for our people, better for Kurdistan s future,  the 39-year-old businessman told Reuters after a rally on Saturday in a soccer stadium in Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan s second largest city. Warning against the consequences of an independence declaration, he said:  It will bring to our people an unstable situation after the referendum.  Qadir s goal is not to resist independence forever. But he fears a  Yes  vote now would unleash the wrath of governments in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria which could see it as a precedent that could encourage separatist-minded Kurds in those countries. Iraq s parliament voted on Tuesday to reject the referendum and authorized the prime minister to  take all measures  to preserve Iraq s unity. Western powers want a delay because they are worried the vote will derail cooperation between Iraq and the Kurds against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Qadir is almost alone among Kurds in raising his voice openly against the  Yes  campaign led by President Masoud Barzani and his Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), which say independence would be preceded by dialogue with Baghdad.  But Qadir believes there are others who share his concerns. At the rally in Sulaimaniya, Qadir was welcomed into the stadium by dancers in colorful traditional dress and by a crowd chanting his name. But he delayed the start by an hour to allow the stadium he helped refurbish to fill up   and it never did. About 2,500 people attended, filling only about one third of the arena. After he began speaking, a scuffle broke out when a man in the crowd tried to throw something at Qadir during his speech. The businessman says he is undeterred by criticism and attacks which he says have affected his business.  I m ok with all of it, because I believe in another way for Kurdistan,  he said. Critics say Qadir has used his media conglomerate to advance his agenda and the fortune he made through a business empire that includes real estate, television stations and a theme park make his life very different to those he says he represents. Many Kurds have been hit by Baghdad s decision to cut   funding to Iraqi Kurdistan in 2014 in protest at its construction of a pipeline to export oil to Turkey.  Such actions by Baghdad have increased antagonism among the Kurds, who suffered under late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and increased their desire for independence   a desire uniting the about 30 million Kurds in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. But interviews by Reuters in several cities in Iraqi Kurdistan showed that some voters are worried about the possible fallout of the referendum even though they favor independence. Some are worried it could embolden the entrenched elite in Iraqi Kurdistan, which has long been plagued by political disunity and where Barzani has been a powerful force for more than two decades and president since 2005.  This referendum is not for the country, it s for the dictators in power,  said Ahmed Nana, a 22-year-old barista at a coffee shop in Sulaimaniya.  We all want a passport, a nationality, we want a reason to be proud, to have our own country. But right now, this referendum is a sideshow to distract from our political problems.   Parliament has not met since a coalition government broke up in 2015 and some factions support independence but not necessarily under Barzani s leadership. The regional government has called presidential and parliamentary elections for Nov. 1, but many Kurds doubt the voting will go ahead and the independence referendum has widened political divisions.   Nothing has polarized Kurdish society as much as this vote,  said Bahra Saleh, an analyst at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani. Compounding the stalemate is the economic crisis triggered by Baghdad s decision to cut funding and compounded by low oil prices and the conflict with Islamic State.  The region is billions of dollars in debt and public salaries have been steeply cut since 2014, particularly affecting civil servants, Peshmerga fighters and teachers. Before holding the referendum, the regional government  needs to prepare the region economically for the region to sustain itself,  said Mohammad Tofiq Raheem, a leader of the Gorran party which was part of the coalition that ended in 2015. The regional economy depends partly on Turkey s goodwill to allow oil exports but also on trade with Iraq. There is also a generational split. Older Kurds hope the long struggle for statehood, dating at least to the division of the Middle East by colonial powers after World War One, will now end but younger people are driven by more than nationalism.  Independence is what we ve been dreaming of for years,  the said Saleh, the analyst.  But not like this. In a way that makes sense, in a way that won t risk civil war.

Summary: अमीर टाइकून ने स्वतंत्रता को लेकर इराकी कुर्द नेताओं को घेरा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is  deeply concerned  about the political environment in Kenya as police and protesters clashed ahead of its presidential election on Oct. 26, the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Friday.   It said that while the United States did not back any party or candidate, it fully supports the work of an election board, adding:  Unfortunately, in recent weeks actors on all sides have undermined the electoral commission and stoked tensions.

Summary: अमेरिका ने चुनाव से पहले केन्या के बारे में 'गहरी चिंता' जताई


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Meg Whitman, the head of technology firm Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE.N), said on Sunday that Donald Trump was “unfit” for the U.S. presidency, and criticized New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, whose failed presidential bid she supported, for endorsing him. But, later in the day, Trump picked up another high-profile endorsement, from U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a leading conservative. Trump’s insurgent campaign has riven the Republican Party, with party leaders openly discussing how to thwart the will of the tens of thousands of members who have voted for Trump, helping him comfortably win in three of the four states that have so far held nominating contests. Party leaders are nervous that Trump, a billionaire real-estate developer from New York City who deviates from some of the central tenets of Republican conservatism, may alienate voters if he is their candidate in the Nov. 8 general election. He has proposed banning Muslims from entering the United States and declined a journalist’s invitation on Sunday to condemn the Ku Klux Klan, the violent white-supremacist group. Christie, who scrapped his own presidential bid earlier this month, became the most prominent Republican figure to break ranks with party leadership by endorsing Trump on Friday ahead of this week’s “Super Tuesday” contests, when voters in 11 states go to the polls. Whitman, who was a co-chairwoman of the national finance committee of Christie’s campaign, said in a statement to reporters that Trump would take the country on “a dangerous journey” and that Christie was aware of this. “Chris Christie’s endorsement of Donald Trump is an astonishing display of political opportunism. Donald Trump is unfit to be president”, said the statement from Whitman, who is chief executive and president of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and chairman of HP Inc (HPQ.N). She called on Christie’s donors not to follow him to Trump, who has predominantly funded his campaign with personal loans. Representatives of Christie and Trump did not respond to requests for comment. Earlier on Sunday, Trump was asked repeatedly if he would unequivocally condemn the Klan and other support from white supremacists. “I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper after being asked about his endorsement by David Duke, a former Klan leader. “If you would send me a list of the groups, I will do research on them and certainly I would disavow if I thought there was something wrong.” Previously, Trump had seemed less uncertain about his views on Duke. “David Duke endorsed me?” he said in a response to a reporter. “Alright. I disavow. OK?”  His latest backer, Senator Sessions, has had to defend his own controversial comments about the Klan in the past. In 1986, he admitted during an unsuccessful confirmation hearing to become a federal judge that he had said he thought the Klan was “OK” until he came to believe that some members smoked marijuana. He explained that these remarks were a joke and has since called the Klan “destestable.”     In a separate interview on Sunday, Trump also defended posting on his Twitter account a quote sometimes attributed to Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini. He told NBC News he did not realize that the quote - “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep” - was associated Mussolini but said it did not matter because it was a good aphorism all the same. Many party leaders hope U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida will somehow overtake Trump before the party’s nominating convention in July, despite Rubio’s not having won any states and lagging behind in Trump in opinion polls.  In recent days, Rubio has taken to adopting Trump’s habit of using adolescent insults to denigrate his rival, suggesting on Friday that Trump urinated in his trousers during last week’s televised debate. Rubio and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, the only Republican to yet beat Trump in a primary election, both criticized Trump’s reticence to speak ill of the Klan on Sunday. “We cannot be a party that nominates someone who refused to condemn white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan,” Rubio told a crowd of voters in Purcellville, Virginia, MSNBC reported.  (Additional reporting by Alana Wise in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) 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: टेक सीईओ व्हिटमैन ने ट्रम्प को अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति बनने के लिए 'अयोग्य' कहा