TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan is seeking to boost its regional soft power by throwing its weight behind dozens of companies investing around Asia and by promoting areas such as education and tourism as it looks to reduce its economic reliance on China.  The self-ruled island is stepping up its presence in the region at a time when relations between Taipei and Beijing have nosedived since Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party won the presidential election last year.  Taiwan must play an even more active and prominent role in order to participate in the future of the region,  Tsai said at an international policy-related forum in Taipei this week.  Redefining Taiwan s role in the region is one of my highest priorities as president.   Taiwan is targeting deeper economic and political relations with 10 countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), six South Asian countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand, a move some analysts say will likely further rile Beijing.     Tensions have risen since Tsai assumed office in May 2016, with Hong Kong seizing nine Singaporean armored vehicles in November after military exercises in Taiwan. China warned foreign countries against maintaining military ties with Taiwan, which it views as a wayward province.  In addition, Panama and Sao Tome and Principe have broken diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China, leaving Taiwan with just 20 countries with which it maintains formal relations. Seventy well-known companies, including Cathay Life Insurance Co, Century Iron and Steel Industrial Co Ltd and Kenda Rubber Industrial Co are considering fresh or expanded investments in the region, according to an economic ministry official. A Cathay spokesman confirmed the company is eyeing opportunities in Southeast Asia, while Century Iron and Steel plans to expand its existing investments in Myanmar, according to a spokesman.   Kenda Rubber, which has projects in Vietnam and Indonesia,  is considering investments in other regional markets, particularly India, a spokesman said.   Taipei said it will provide such companies with greater consulting services and investment protection for their overseas operations and has earmarked an additional T$2.81 billion ($93 million) in its 2018 budget for the policy, 63 percent more than this year.        The policy features new initiatives, including visa-free travel for visitors from several countries, scholarships and internships for overseas students, and a plan to train 1,000 doctors in Taiwan over a four-year period. The push has already seen some success. Taiwan exports to 18 southbound countries grew their fastest in five years, up 13.5 percent in the first half of 2017.  The number of students from southbound countries to Taiwan rose 9.7 percent in the 2016 academic year versus the previous year, while southbound tourist visits climbed 36.7 percent in the first half.    Government officials acknowledge, however, more work needs to be done.   The policy s goal is broad and ambitious,  Minister John Deng, who oversees the policy s implementation, told Reuters.  To deepen the relationships, it s a long road.   Since its inception in 1994, the original southbound policy has been heavily focused on trade and overseas investments.  Tsai s  new  southbound policy is concentrated on several industries, particularly medical cooperation, industrial supply chains, regional agriculture, industry talent cultivation, and innovation-based industries.   The government is reviewing investment agreements with the Philippines and Vietnam, Deng said, and hopes to review agreements with all other southbound partner countries. The Philippines and Indonesia are big markets with stronger growth potential and are the most likely destinations for Taiwanese companies to expand, said Ma Tieying, a DBS economist.        Taiwan s attempts for a stronger regional presence will nevertheless face challenges, including resistance from China, which is heavily promoting its own  Belt and Road  initiative. Taiwan s official stance is that it will work alongside China s own push into the region, but an unpublished strategy recommendation paper guided by a presidential advisor and seen by Reuters, described China s attitude toward the new southbound policy as  antagonistic .  China is likely to pressure big companies in order to influence Taiwan s cross-strait policy direction, the paper said.   China s Taiwan Affairs Office referred a question on the new southbound policy to a response it gave in May, in which it said any moves that  run counter to the rules of economic development and are only based on considerations of political aims will only harm Taiwan s economy and the interests of Taiwanese businesses .  Already, at least one Taiwan university, National Sun Yat-sen University, has faced difficulties setting up an educational center in the Philippines. It was told by more than one Philippines university that a  Taiwan  facility on campus would not be feasible due to China s preferences, according to two people familiar with the matter.  Instead, the center was set up in a business district in Manila.  When contacted by Reuters, National Sun Yat-sen University said it met difficulties securing office space from partner universities. In the future, it hopes to give students broader educational opportunities including ones specific to Taiwan s language and culture, according to Chih-wen Kuo, Vice President for international affairs at the university.   No matter what Taiwan does, China will think that Taiwan is acting behind the scenes to gain something politically or diplomatically,  said Titus Chen, an associate professor at National Sun Yat-sen University.  Beijing will likely do its utmost to frustrate Taiwan s industrial and educational investment moves.

Summary: ताइवान रीटूल्ड साउथबाउंड नीति के साथ सॉफ्ट पावर का निर्माण करना चाहता है


HAMBURG (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday promised $639 million in aid to feed people left starving because of drought and conflict in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen. Trump’s pledge came during a working session of the G20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg, providing a “godsend” to the United Nations’ World Food Programme, the group’s executive director, David Beasley, told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting. “We’re facing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two,” said Beasley, a Republican and former South Carolina governor who was nominated by Trump to head the U.N. agency fighting hunger worldwide. The new funding brings to over $1.8 billion aid promised by the United States for fiscal year 2017 for the crises in the four countries, where the United Nations has estimated more than 30 million people need urgent food assistance. “With this new assistance, the United States is providing additional emergency food and nutrition assistance, life-saving medical care, improved sanitation, emergency shelter and protection for those who have been affected by conflict,” USAID said in a statement. Rob Jenkins, acting head of the USAID’s bureau of democracy, conflict and humanitarian assistance, said of the funding, over $191 million would go to Yemen, $199 million to South Sudan, $121 million to Nigeria and almost $126 million for Somalia. Conflict in all four countries had made it difficult to reach some communities in need of food, he noted. “We’re in a dire situation right now,” said Jenkins, adding that USAID was also concerned with the situation in southern Ethiopia. “The situation in southern Ethiopia fortunately does not rise to the dire situation of the other four, but the situation is deteriorating and might very well be catastrophic without additional interventions,” he said, adding that Washington had already provided some $252 million this year to Ethiopia, “but the needs continue to grow.” Beasley said the U.S. funding was about a third of what the WFP estimated was required this year to deal with urgent food needs in the four countries in crisis as well as in other areas. The WFP estimates that 109 million people around the world will need food assistance this year, up from 80 million last year, with 10 of the 13 worst-affected zones stemming from wars and “man-made” crises, Beasley said. “We estimated that if we didn’t receive the funding we needed immediately that 400,000 to 600,000 children would be dying in the next four months,” he said. Trump’s announcement came after his administration proposed sharp cuts in funding for the U.S. State Department and other humanitarian missions as part of his “America First” policy. Beasley said the agency had worked hard with the White House and the U.S. government to secure the funding, but Trump would insist that other countries contributed more as well. A WFP spokesman said Germany recently pledged an additional 200 million euros for food relief.

Summary: जी-20 शिखर सम्मेलन में, ट्रम्प ने चार देशों को 63.9 करोड़ डॉलर की सहायता देने का वादा किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leaders of an ad hoc group of protesters enraged by Republican Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States vowed on Wednesday to disrupt his inauguration this week by blocking public access to the event. The DisruptJ20 protest group said it will send groups of demonstrators to the dozen entrances to the grassy National Mall where hundreds of thousands of people are expected to gather to watch Trump, who has never before held public office, be sworn in as president on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Friday. “We believe that it’s our role and the role of any people with conscience to try to disrupt this inauguration and have a massive showing of resistance on that day,” Samantha Miller, a DisruptJ20 organizer, said at a news conference. The U.S. Secret Service and Washington police are expecting some 900,000 people to pack into the area between the Capitol and White House on Friday to view the swearing-in and will have thousands of uniformed officers on site. Trump has angered many on the left with demeaning comments about women, immigrants and Muslims, a vow to repeal the sweeping healthcare reform law known as “Obamacare” and plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. His supporters admire Trump’s experience in business, including as a real estate developer and reality television star, and view him as a brash problem-solver. Miller said DisruptJ20 will be sending groups of about 100 protesters to block each of the dozen security checkpoints for people entering the inaugural festivities. “There will definitely be interactions with law enforcement that day, no doubt,” Miller said. Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment on the group’s plans. “We support everyone’s First Amendment right to peaceably protest,” a spokeswoman said in an email, referring to the amendment to the U.S. Constitution that protects the right to free expression. About 3 square miles (nearly 8 square km) of central Washington will be in a security cordon that will include roadblocks, street barricades and about 3,000 extra police, federal officers and 5,000 National Guard troops. The inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue will pass the Trump International Hotel, a rallying point for protesters since the election. A man set himself on fire late on Tuesday outside the hotel, in what he told NBC 4 television was an anti-Trump protest. Police said he was taken to a hospital for treatment and had no details on his condition.

Summary: अमेरिकी विरोध समूह ने ट्रम्प के उद्घाटन समारोह को बाधित करने की कसम खाई


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that under his tax reform plan, wealthy Americans would not gain and might have to pay higher taxes. Meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House, Trump said his main goal is to cut taxes for the middle class and cut corporate taxes to enhance job growth. “The rich will not be gaining at all with this plan. We are looking for the middle class and we are looking for jobs - jobs being the economy. So we’re looking at middle class and we’re looking at jobs,” he said. “I think the wealthy will be pretty much where they are, pretty much where they are. … If they have to go higher, they’ll go higher,” he said.

Summary: ट्रम्प का कहना है कि अमीरों को उनकी कर योजना के तहत अधिक कर स्वीकार करना पड़ सकता है


HONG KONG (Reuters) - Amid calls from Hong Kong s pro-Beijing elite for sweeping new national security laws, government advisers and lawyers say the legislation is likely to be tougher than proposals shelved 14 years ago, raising fears about the city s cherished freedoms. Those demanding urgency for the long-delayed Article 23 are using a fledgling independence movement in the former British colony as justification   even though the independence debate would have been allowed when Article 23 was first proposed in 2003. Lawyers, diplomats and activists fear the new pressure could lead to legal  overkill  in an open city already struggling with increased interference from Beijing s Communist Party rulers.  We can see an intolerance from the central authorities over any kind of independence discussion,  said Simon Young, a professor at the University of Hong Kong law school.  In this atmosphere, there is a concern that we could end up with something that criminalizes even the advocacy of independence, something that goes much further and is tougher than the previous proposals.   Kevin Yam, of Hong Kong s Progressive Lawyers Group, said it was vital to win the argument against independence by persuasion and debate, rather than a sweeping new law that curbs freedoms.  If the government goes too far, it will undoubtedly have a chilling impact on Hong Kong,  he said.  This is of great concern.  The government, in response to Reuters  questions, did not provide information on when or how it would kick-start legislation, but said it  will seek to create a favorable social environment for the community to handle this constitutional obligation ... in a positive manner.  Hong Kong, a free-wheeling global financial hub, has been ruled under a  one country, two systems  formula since Britain handed it back to China in 1997, guaranteeing freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent judiciary and freedom of expression. Those freedoms are outlined in the Basic Law, a mini-constitution that also demands the city pass its own law covering treason, secession and subversion against Beijing. But many see Beijing increasingly involved in Hong Kong s affairs, such as the shadowy detention in 2015 of five Hong Kong booksellers who sold gossipy material critical of Beijing, and a legal interpretation from the Chinese parliament that eventually led to the disqualification of six democratically elected lawmakers. The calls to enact Article 23 follow that pattern, they say. Previous government proposals outlawed incitement to violence but sought to protect political debate. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest against Article 23 in 2003, forcing the government to shelve it. Months-long pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 further heightened political sensitivities surrounding the legislation, and the government has not set a firm timetable to re-introduce it. But now pressure is mounting on Hong Kong to push through the laws after mainland officials expressed concerns in both public and private meetings. Senior Chinese parliamentarian Li Fei used a visit to Hong Kong last week to warn that Article 23 was a  duty that can t be shirked  while the chief of China s Liaison Office in the city also called for action.  Many risks and potential hazards that would affect or even threaten national sovereignty, security and developmental interests have not been effectively eliminated or prevented,  Liaison Office chief and Communist Party Central Committee member Wang Zhimin told pro-establishment lawmakers, according to his office s website. Chinese President Xi Jinping took what some saw as a harder line on Hong Kong s future during his visit in July to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover from the British. Challenges and threats to China s sovereignty and power, or the use of Hong Kong as a base for infiltration and sabotage, were acts that crossed  the red line  and were  absolutely impermissible , Xi said. Two members of Hong Kong s executive council - effectively the cabinet of leader Carrie Lam - have told Reuters that the 2003 bill would almost certainly have to be updated to reflect the fresh concerns. The city s independence movement, which has largely gone underground after most of its young leaders were charged for their roles in various protests, did not exist in 2003. Executive Council member Regina Ip - who pushed the previous bill as Hong Kong s then-security chief - said she could not say if the old proposals were sufficient in 2017.  We must review any proposed legislation against the evolving security situation... that is only natural,  she said. Her colleague and moderate democrat Ronny Tong said he believed, realistically, any new laws could draw the line at organized efforts to promote independence.  If the last version were to be passed, in fact it would not stop ... what is done by the students, because they are not advocating violence,  he said.  Hong Kong people are getting more and more intolerant of Beijing, and they (Chinese rulers) don t like that at all. Even short of independence, they feel that something needs to be done ... to try to make people more respectful to Beijing.

Summary: राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा कानूनों के लागू होने से हांगकांग की स्वतंत्रता के लिए नई आशंकाएँ पैदा हो गई हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. lawmaker who was President Donald Trump’s pick for drug czar withdrew on Tuesday after a report he spearheaded a bill that hurt the government’s ability to crack down on opioid makers flooding the market with the addictive painkillers. Trump had pegged Representative Tom Marino, a Republican from Pennsylvania, to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy, as the administration faces an epidemic of opioid overdoses that is killing tens of thousands of Americans annually. The position required Senate confirmation. Trump wrote on Twitter: “Rep. Tom Marino has informed me that he is withdrawing his name from consideration as drug czar. Tom is a fine man and a great Congressman!” Marino worked as a federal prosecutor under Republican former President George W. Bush, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and served on Trump’s transition team after the Republican president was elected last November. Marino said in a statement he had decided to “remove the distraction my nomination has created to the utterly vital mission of this premier agency.” He defended his role in helping pass the bill that was criticized for weakening attempts to rein in opioid use. He said the legislation would help create “a balanced solution for ensuring those who genuinely needed access to certain medications were able to do so, while also empowering the Drug Enforcement Agency  to enforce the law and prevent the sale and abuse of prescription drugs.” Marino said he had been the target of “unfair reporting” and false allegations by a former DEA employee, who he did not name. The Washington Post and the CBS program “60 Minutes” published an investigation on Sunday that showed Marino had worked to weaken federal efforts to slow the flow of opioid drugs. The legislation championed by Marino, which was passed by Congress and signed into law last year by Democratic President Barack Obama, was the product of a drug industry quest to weaken the DEA’s authority to stem the flow of painkillers to the black market, according to the report. The law made it almost impossible for the DEA to freeze suspicious narcotics shipments, according to government documents cited by the Post. Trump has been criticized for his response to the opioid epidemic. He has yet to declare it a national emergency as he pledged to do on Aug. 10 following a recommendation by a presidential commission.  Asked about that at a news conference on Monday, Trump said he would make the declaration next week. Such a move would boost funding for various forms of treatment and give the government more flexibility in taking steps to expedite action. Nine months into his presidency, Trump has not named a chief for the Drug Enforcement Administration, currently headed by an acting administrator. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were responsible for more than 33,000 U.S. deaths in 2015, the latest year for which data is available. Estimates show the death rate has continued rising. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called Marino’s withdrawal “the right decision,” but added that “the fact that he was nominated in the first place is further evidence that when it comes to the opioid crisis, the Trump administration talks the talk, but refuses to walk the walk.”  No. 2 U.S. Justice Department official Rod Rosenstein, asked about the Marino-backed law during a news conference announcing indictments against accused Chinese fentanyl traffickers, said the Trump administration would review the law.  Rosenstein said he was “not prepared to answer” whether the administration would ask Congress to repeal it. “We are going to look into these issues ... about what tools DEA has available to it. And if we conclude they don’t have the appropriate tools, then we will seek more tools,” Rosenstein said. The Justice Department announced the indictments of two major Chinese drug traffickers on charges of illegally making and selling fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid painkiller, over the internet to Americans. The department said it charged Xiaobing Yan, 40, and Jian Zhang, 38, with conspiring to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and chemically similar drugs. It said Zhang’s actions led to four deaths. Trump’s opioid commission, headed by Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, cited government data showing that since 1999 U.S. opioid overdoses have quadrupled, adding that nearly two-thirds of U.S. drug overdoses were linked to opioids such as heroin and the powerful painkillers Percocet, OxyContin and fentanyl.

Summary: ट्रम्प के ड्रग ज़ार उम्मीदवार ने विचार से नाम वापस लिया


CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian interior minister Habib al-Adly has been arrested after failing to attend his sentencing in a trial over corruption charges, two security sources said on Tuesday. Adly, who served under ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, was due to attend the final hearing in April and hand himself over to authorities, but did not show up and had been missing since then. A copy of the April verdict obtained by Reuters showed that Adly and two other ministry officials were ordered to refund a total of 1.95 billion Egyptian pounds($109.83 million) and were fined the same amount. Adly, who has denied the charges, is due back before the Court of Cassation, Egypt s top civil court, for an appeal in January. His lawyer could not be reached immediately for comment. Egypt s state news agency MENA earlier reported that Adly had been located, but did not disclose his location or whether he had been arrested.  A long-serving official at the head of Egypt s feared internal security apparatus, Adly was acquitted of other graft charges two years ago.  He was also cleared in 2014, along with Mubarak and six aides, of charges related to killing protesters during the 2011 uprising which had led to their downfall. ($1 = 17.7550 Egyptian pounds)

Summary: मिस्र के पूर्व आंतरिक मंत्री हबीब अल-अदली गिरफ्तारः सुरक्षा सूत्र


RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has released 23 of the 200-or-so powerful individuals detained since November on corruption charges after they reached deals with the government, Okaz newspaper reported on Tuesday. The report did not name those involved in what appeared to be the first large-scale release since the royals, business people and government officials were detained in a crackdown spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The suspects have been held at Riyadh s luxurious Ritz Carlton hotel since early November and told to hand over assets and cash in exchange for their freedom.  Okaz said more detainees would be released in the coming days and trial proceedings would begin soon for those who continue to deny the charges against them. Saudi authorities see the settlements not as blackmail but as an obligation to reimburse money taken illegally from the world s top oil producer over several decades. Video posted on social media showed a smiling Saoud al-Daweesh, the former chief executive of Saudi Telecom, telling well-wishers he had been treated decently.  Private Affairs (a unit of the Royal Court) brought us a full lamb dish day and night. They treated us well and did a good job,  he said. Saudi officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Summary: सऊदी अरब ने भ्रष्टाचार के मामलों में बंद कैदियों को रिहा किया, अन्य पर होगा मुकदमाः रिपोर्ट


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and China failed on Wednesday to agree on major new steps to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China, casting doubt over President Donald Trump’s economic and security relations with Beijing.  The annual economic dialogue session in Washington ended with canceled news conferences, no joint statement and no new announcements on U.S. market access to China. The two sides had a “frank exchange” but failed to agree on most major bilateral trade and economic issues that were important to the United States, a senior U.S. official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. These included U.S. demands for access to China’s financial services markets, reducing excess Chinese steel capacity, reductions in auto tariffs, cutting subsidies for state-owned enterprises, ending Chinese requirements for data localization and lifting ownership caps for foreign firms in China, the official said. “China acknowledged our shared objective to reduce the trade deficit which both sides will work cooperatively to achieve,”     U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a brief statement, highlighting a rare point of consensus. The Chinese embassy in Washington cast the talks in a positive light, saying in a statement that both sides had acknowledged “significant progress” on the 100-day talks and would to work together to reduce the trade deficit. “The two sides will expand areas of cooperation in services and increase trade in services; expand mutual investment, and create a more open, equitable, transparent and convenient investment environment,” the embassy said. Both sides agreed that one of the solutions to address the trade imbalance is for the United States to expand exports to China, instead of reducing imports from China, said Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao after the conclusion of the talks. To address the imbalance, China has been urging the United States to remove regulations on export control and increase the exports of high-tech products to China, the official Xinhua news agency cited Zhu as saying.  China will push for this in a one-year action plan for economic cooperation which both sides discussed, Zhu said.  FAR FROM MAR-A-LAGO The session had been billed as a follow-up to Trump’s first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-A-Lago, Florida, estate in April when Trump hailed Xi’s cooperation in curbing the threat from North Korea. Trump said that this would lead to better trade terms for China. The two leaders launched a 100-day economic plan that has produced some industry-specific announcements, including the resumption of American beef sales in China and pledged to grant limited U.S. access to some financial services sectors. But there have been no new initiatives since, and Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with China’s lack of pressure on North Korea. His administration has threatened new sanctions on small Chinese banks and other firms doing business with Pyongyang.  Ross and Mnuchin said the U.S. position on the China trade relationship would be guided by “the principles of balance, fairness, and reciprocity on matters of trade will continue to guide the American position so we can give American workers and businesses an opportunity to compete on a level playing field.” China’s delegation leader, Vice Premier Wang Yang, left the Treasury building without speaking to reporters. Earlier, he had warned that confrontation between the two countries would be damaging. Investors interpreted the negative signals from the talks and lack of new trade announcements as making it more likely that Trump would forge ahead with broad steel tariffs or quotas based on a national security review, sending steelmakers’ shares soaring. Shares of United States Steel Corp closed up 4.8 percent, while AK Steel rose 3.6 percent and Nucor rose 2.2 percent. Trump, asked by a reporter at the White House after the stock market closed whether he would impose steel tariffs, said: “Could happen.” Potential steel tariffs, which could be announced in the coming weeks, were expected to be a difficult topic in the U.S.-China talks. Ross has blamed massive Chinese excess capacity for a global steel glut that is hurting U.S. producers. Wednesday’s deadlock was unsettling for U.S. business groups that had hoped to put more cracks in Beijing’s market access barriers and obviate more aggressive measures from the White House that could destabilize trade ties. “We are disappointed the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue ended at an apparent impasse. It is important for governments to take tangible steps to address long-standing issues and ensure the commercial relationship remains a source of stability in the overall relationship,” said Jacob Parker, vice president of China operations at the U.S.-China Business Council.  Even if the U.S. and Chinese governments fail to agree on more substantive trade terms, corporate chief executive officers from the two countries pledged to deepen their cooperation and joint investment efforts. Led by Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Alibaba Group CEO Jack Ma, a group of 20 executives said they were committing to increase bilateral trade, including the export of U.S. agricultural goods, liquefied natural gas and consumer products to China. “A stable, growing economic relationship between the United States and China is mutually beneficial to the people of our two countries and for the world,” Ma and Schwarzman said in a statement.

Summary: अमेरिका, चीन व्यापार मुद्दों पर सहमत होने में विफल रहे, अन्य मुद्दों पर संदेह पैदा किया


WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand Labour government will still want to be part of the stalled Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal but only if it allows for foreigners to be banned from buying existing homes, opposition leader Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday. Labour, firming as the frontrunner ahead of the National government in a Sept. 23 election, wants to curb overseas buyers  home purchases in a bid to cool the housing market and make home ownership more affordable for New Zealanders. Foreigners with the right to live in New Zealand would be exempt from Labour s proposed ban, which would still be at odds with provisions in the TPP trade deal as well as New Zealand s free trade agreement with South Korea.  It is an agreement we want to be part of, but we also want to maintain our ability to legislate under our laws to protect what is an overheated housing market,  Ardern said.  We want to be in there but our housing bottom line is pretty firm for us,  she told New Zealand media. The original 12-member TPP, which aims to cut trade barriers in some of Asia s fastest-growing economies, was thrown into limbo in January when U.S. President Trump withdrew from the agreement. The remaining 11 members have said they remain committed to the deal, but implementation of the agreement linking 11 countries with a combined GDP of $12.4 trillion has stalled. Ardern, who has almost single-handedly changed Labour s election chances since becoming leader in August, has made home ownership a campaign focus. She has criticized National for failing to tackle a housing crisis during nine years in government, promising to build more affordable homes and to crack down on foreign speculators. Labour wants to reconsider New Zealand s role in the TPP if foreign investment provisions are not restricted. Banning foreign investment in existing homes would also mean having to renegotiate New Zealand s trading agreement with South Korea, although its free trade deal with China already provides for restrictions on foreign investment.  Korea has the same carve-out ... for themselves so they can restrict New Zealanders ... Australia has that same carve-out in their agreement with Korea, so we don t anticipate that would be a significant sticking point,  she said. National criticized Labour s plans to renegotiate the trade agreement with South Korea, describing it as an  ill-thought out and vague  policy. Support for Labour rose to 41.8 percent in the latest average of opinion polls, nudging above National s 41.1 percent.

Summary: न्यूजीलैंड लेबर अभी भी टी. पी. पी. का हिस्सा चाहता है, लेकिन केवल तभी जब वह विदेशी घरेलू स्वामित्व पर प्रतिबंध लगा सके


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday, the White House said.

Summary: व्हाइट हाउसः ट्रंप ने सोमवार को मिस्र के सिसी से फोन पर बात की


HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish government should actively push the European Union to abolish its directive on daylight saving time, a parliament committee said on Thursday. The parliamentary transport and communications committee gave its recommendation to the government after more than 70,000 Finns signed a citizens petition asking the state to give up the practice. Under daylight saving time clocks move forward by one hour during summer months so that daylight lasts longer into evening. Most of North America and Europe follows the custom, while the majority of countries elsewhere do not. The committee said that after hearing several experts, it concluded that people do not adapt smoothly to the changes. It added that turning the clocks caused short-term sleeping disorders, reduced performance at work and could also lead to serious health problems.  The primary objective should be to abolish the clock movements on uniform basis throughout the European Union,  the committee said in a statement.

Summary: फिनलैंड चाहता है कि यूरोपीय संघ डेलाइट सेविंग टाइम छोड़ दे


VIENNA (Reuters) - The lawyer of an American-Iranian father and son jailed in Iran called on U.S. President Donald Trump to get his officials to press for the men’s release at nuclear talks with Tehran on Tuesday. An Iranian court sentenced 46-year-old Siamak Namazi and his 80-year-old father Baquer Namazi to 10 years in prison each in October on charges of spying and cooperating with the United States. The Namazis’ lawyer, Jared Genser, said he had traveled to the nuclear talks venue in Vienna with Siamak’s brother, Babak, to encourage Washington’s delegation to press the case, adding that he was worried about the detained men’s health. The lawyer said a senior administration official in the U.S. delegation had told him on Monday that the case would be raised directly during the talks on the implementation of a deal reached in 2015 to shrink Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. A State Department spokeswoman did not comment directly on the case, but said: “We continue to use all the means at our disposal to advocate for U.S. citizens who need our assistance overseas.” Iran has not commented on the Namazis’ prison conditions but has repeatedly said that political prisoners are kept under standard condition in Evin prison with full access to medical care.  “In our view, something happening to the Namazis would be devastating not just to one side but to both sides,” Genser told reporters in a hotel near the venue.  “For either or both of the Namazis to die on (Trump’s) watch would be a public and catastrophic failure of his negotiating skills,”     Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps detained Siamak Namazi, a businessman, in October 2015 while he was visiting family in Tehran, relatives said.  The IRGC arrested his 80-year-old father, Baquer Namazi, a former Iranian provincial governor and former UNICEF official in February lat year, family members said. Soon after the sentencing and days before he won the presidential election, Trump said on Twitter: “Iran has done it again ... This doesn’t happen if I’m president!”

Summary: वकील ने ट्रम्प से परमाणु वार्ता में जेल में बंद अमेरिकी पिता और बेटे पर ईरान पर दबाव बनाने का आग्रह किया


GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations called on world powers on Thursday to help arrange the medical evacuation of 500 people, including 167 children, from eastern Ghouta, saying the besieged Damascus suburb has now become a  humanitarian emergency . Nine people died in recent weeks waiting for permission from the Syrian government for the sick and wounded to be evacuated from the rebel-held area to hospitals less than an hour drive from the capital, said Jan Egeland, the U.N. humanitarian adviser on Syria. Russia and Iran, as well as the United States and France, pledged to help during the weekly humanitarian meeting, he said.  It would be incredible if they cannot deliver a simple evacuation of mainly women and children, a 40-minute drive to Damascus city,  Egeland told a news conference in Geneva.  We are convinced that we can do the evacuation if we get a green light from the government. We can then negotiate calm with both sides.  Dozens of mortar bombs landed on Ghouta, the last major rebel stronghold near Damascus, on Wednesday, a war monitor and a witness said, despite a 48-hour truce proposed by Russia to coincide with the start of peace talks in Geneva.  Eastern Ghouta, next door to Damascus, is the eye of the hurricane, it is the epicentre of this conflict. At the moment there are 400,000 people there,  Egeland said. In the past two months, U.N. convoys have delivered supplies to only 68,000 of the 400,000 trapped civilians, he said.   Our not being able to reach eastern Ghouta for many months in most of areas has now led to an undoubtedly catastrophic situation,  Egeland said. Acute malnutrition rates among children there is nearly 12 percent, above the 10 percent emergency threshold, and a five- or six-fold increase since January, he added.  In general I would say that no, there is no calm in this de-escalation zone, there is only escalation in this de-escalation zone,  Egeland said.   That has ended in eastern Ghouta except for (a pause of) two days only, there has been massive loss of civilian life, hundreds and hundreds have been wounded.   We need sustained calm to be able to feed 400,000 people who now beyond doubt are in a humanitarian emergency ,  he said. Civilians in Damascus have also been killed or wounded by mortars coming from eastern Ghouta, he added. In Hassakeh, in northeastern Syria, U.N. aid workers found a desperate situation, Egeland said.  They told about children walking around barefoot, recently displaced children, barefoot in the snow and the cold.  He hoped that the U.N. Security Council would agree on a resolution allowing cross-border aid to continue to enter Syria, supplying 2.7 million people in rebel-held areas.   It is my clear understanding from all members of the Security Council that none wants a break of the pipeline.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र ने सीरिया के पूर्वी घौता से 500 लोगों की तत्काल चिकित्सा निकासी की मांग की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans plan to bring a bill addressing Puerto Rico’s debt crisis to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives by the end of March, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Monday. McCarthy, speaking to reporters at a press briefing, offered no details on the content of the planned legislation. He said two House committees will be in charge of developing legislation, adding that one of them is looking at a “control panel” to help the Caribbean island U.S. territory out of its debt problems. The U.S. Treasury Department has called on Congress to create a fiscal control board for Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla has said his administration would seek to ensure that any such board would respect the island’s autonomy. “Chapter 9” bankruptcy for municipalities also has been discussed, McCarthy said. Last year, House Speaker Paul Ryan said he wanted the Republican-led House to come up with a response to Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis during the first quarter of 2016.  “It’s our intention to meet that deadline to get a bill ... on the floor, before the end of the first quarter,” McCarthy said.  Separately on Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Ryan was likely to discuss Puerto Rico’s crisis during Tuesday’s scheduled meeting at the White House with President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Summary: हाउस रिपब्लिकन मार्च के अंत तक प्यूर्टो रिको विधेयक को आगे बढ़ाएंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - From Pataskala, Ohio, to Conroe, Texas, local government leaders worry that if Republican tax-overhaul plans moving through the U.S. Congress become law, it will be harder for them to pave streets, put out fires, fight crime and pay teachers. A tax plan approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday would sharply curtail a federal deduction that millions of Americans can now claim for tax payments to state, county, city and town governments. Ending that deduction, the local leaders say, could make their taxpayers, especially in high-tax communities, less likely to support future local tax increases or even tolerate local taxes at present levels. The proposed repeal of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction is part of an “assault on local governments” by Republicans in Washington, said Elizabeth Kautz, the Republican mayor of Burnsville, Minnesota, near Minneapolis. “My hope is that we look at being thoughtful about what we’re doing and not ram something through just to get something done before the year is out,” Kautz said of the plan being rushed through Congress by her own party. In the United States, local governments run schools, operate police and fire departments and maintain streets, parks and libraries, among other essential services. The federal government’s role at that level is limited. Cities, towns, counties and states collect their own property, sales and income taxes. Under existing law, payments of those taxes can be deducted, or subtracted from federal taxable income, lowering the amount of federal tax due. The House tax bill just approved would eliminate the deduction for individuals and families of state and local income and sales tax, while capping property tax deductions at $10,000. A bill being debated in the Senate, with Republican President Donald Trump’s support, would kill the SALT deduction entirely for individuals and families, although businesses would keep it. The fate of that bill is uncertain. Ending the SALT tax break is part of a package of changes to deductions that would help Republicans raise more than $1.2 trillion in new federal tax revenues over 10 years. That increase would help offset the $1.4 trillion in revenue that would be lost from cutting the corporate tax rate, another part of both the Senate and House plans. Chuck Canterbury, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents 325,000 law enforcement officers nationwide, wrote a letter to congressional leaders on Tuesday. “The FOP is very concerned that the partial or total elimination of SALT deductions will endanger the ability of our state and local government to fund these (law enforcement) agencies,” said the letter, distributed to reporters. Emily Brock, a director at the Government Finance Officers Association, said if SALT deductions were killed by Congress, voters could revolt. “Can you blame an individual taxpayer?” she asked. “They try to minimize their individual tax liability.” Those who want to curb the century-old SALT deduction argue it only motivates local governments to seek more tax increases and spend more money. “Maintaining the deduction encourages government overspending and taxation,” argues the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonprofit group of conservative state legislators and private activists.  Various other groups are fighting on Capitol Hill to defend the SALT deduction, such as the National Association of Realtors and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Steve Williams, chief financial officer for Conroe, Texas,  said its rapid growth demanded new fire stations, schools, roads and public safety services. Conroe is near Houston and in the congressional district of Republican Representative Kevin Brady, chairman of the House tax committee and a champion of restricting the SALT deduction. “Tax reform comes with picking winners and losers and I think in the final analysis, the people in (congressional) District 8 will be losers,” Williams said. Conroe is part of Montgomery County, which voted 75 percent to 22.5 percent for Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. In Pataskala, Ohio, near the state capital, Columbus, city finance director Jamie Nicholson said the local police department needed a new station. It now works out of an early 1900s building with no holding cell for suspects who are under arrest. “They get handcuffed to a chair,” he said. Given the past difficulty Pataskala has had convincing taxpayers to approve new taxes, he said, eliminating or paring back the SALT deduction might trigger demands for chopping local taxes and blow a huge hole in his budget. Greg Cox, a Republican member of the San Diego County, California, Board of Supervisors, echoed similar concerns about the impact on his community. He said the Republican plan was unfair partly because it let businesses keep the SALT deduction, while taking it away from individuals and families.

Summary: अमेरिकी कस्बों, शहरों को डर है कि यदि रिपब्लिकन कटौती को समाप्त कर देते हैं तो करदाता विद्रोह करेंगे


ANKARA (Reuters) - Two soldiers were killed and another was wounded in an attack by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants which took place as the troops were carrying out security operations in the southeastern province of Hakkari, the military said on Monday. Separately, one soldier was killed and two others were wounded on Sunday in northern Iraq when a grenade detonated by accident, the military said. The wounded soldiers were not in critical condition, it added. The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkey and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the state since the 1980s. Violence in the largely Kurdish southeast has escalated since the collapse of a ceasefire in 2015.

Summary: दक्षिण-पूर्व में तुर्की के तीन सैनिकों की मौत


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - New U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia are inevitably harming bilateral relations but will not change Russian policy, Russia’s United Nations Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said on Wednesday.  “Some U.S. officials were saying that this is a bill that might encourage Russia to cooperate with the United States; to me that’s a strange sort of encouragement,” he told reporters. “Those who invented this bill, if they were thinking they might change our policy, they were wrong.” “They should have known better, that we do not bend, we do not break,” he said. “It is harming our relations inevitably but we will be working in the conditions that exist in the hope it will turn one day.”

Summary: रूस संयुक्त राष्ट्र के दूत का कहना है कि अमेरिकी प्रतिबंधों से मास्को नहीं बदलेगा


SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia s main opposition leader cried foul over local election results after gains for the ruling party in a second round of polls on Sunday, and demanded a snap parliamentary vote. The ruling Social Democrats (SDSM) won in 40 municipalities out of a total 85 in the first round two weeks ago, including in the capital Skopje. Nineteen areas which were undecided on Oct. 16 voted again on Sunday, and the SDSM declared victory in 10. Final results were expected after midnight. Following the second round, the opposition VMRO-DPMNE s leader Nikola Gruevski dismissed the results.  Because of the election violence, raping of democracy ... threats, pressure, massive bribes, the VMRO-DPMNE does not recognize these elections and will never consider them fair and democratic,  Gruevski told reporters.  He said a snap parliamentary vote should be organized by a technical government and demanded the resignation of the head of the state electoral commission and an investigation of the alleged election fraud. Social Democrat Prime Minister Zoran Zaev dismissed Gruevski s claims and asked VMRO-DPMNE to reconsider its rejection of the results.  I am hoping they will find the strength (to act) as  responsible political subjects,  he told reporters.   After the first round, election monitors of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said fundamental freedoms were respected but that irregularities including violence were also observed. Zaev took office in May, nearly six months after December elections, ending a two-year political crisis over a wiretapping scandal that brought down the previous government.  His coalition deal with parties of ethnic Albanians, who make up nearly one third of the country s population, angered nationalists, who stormed the parliament in April after an ethnic Albanian was elected parliament s speaker.  Macedonia wants to join NATO and the European Union, but it is blocked by Greece which says the name Macedonia implies a territorial claim to its own northern province of the same name.  Macedonia, an ex-Yugoslav republic of about 2 million people, avoided violence during the breakup of the former federation in the 1990s but was rocked by an ethnic Albanian insurgency in 2001.

Summary: मैसेडोनिया के विपक्ष ने नगरपालिका मतदान के परिणामों को खारिज कर दिया


BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina fired the head of its navy a month after a submarine disappeared in the South Atlantic with 44 crew members onboard, a government spokesman said on Saturday. Letting go of Navy Admiral Marcelo Eduardo Hip lito Srur was the first known disciplinary action taken by President Mauricio Macri s administration since contact was lost with the ARA San Juan on Nov. 15.  It was decided to remove him,  a government spokesman said. Families of the crew members criticized Macri s government for not clearly communicating with them and for abandoning rescue efforts. The navy said on Nov. 27 that water that entered the submarine s snorkel caused its battery to short-circuit before it went missing. The navy had previously said international organizations detected a noise that could have been the submarine s implosion the same day contact was lost. Hope of rescuing survivors was abandoned on Nov. 30. The navy said it searched for double the amount of time the submarine would have had oxygen. An international search for the submarine is still underway.

Summary: पनडुब्बी दुर्घटना पर अर्जेंटीना ने नौसेना प्रमुख को बर्खास्त किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said on Thursday that Americans deserved to hear from both former FBI chief James Comey and President Donald Trump as investigations proceed into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. “The American people need to hear your side of the story, just as they need to hear the president’s description of events,” the panel’s Republican chairman, Richard Burr, said. “We will establish the facts, separate from rampant speculation and lay them out for the American people to make their own judgment,” he said.

Summary: अमेरिकियों को कोमी और ट्रम्प दोनों से सुनना चाहिएः रिपब्लिकन पैनल के अध्यक्ष


(Reuters) - Oklahoma voting officials have denied a request from the Russian consulate in Houston to monitor the Nov. 8 general elections in the state, saying foreign delegates are not allowed into polling stations, an official said on Friday. The move comes as the U.S. government this month formally accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations to interfere with the U.S. election process. The consul general made similar requests to officials in Texas and Louisiana, local news reports said, and was rebuffed in both states. The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Houston was not immediately available for comment.  The consulate asked to have personnel in Oklahoma to study the Nov. 8 presidential election and was told that state law forbids anyone other than election officials and voters into areas where votes are being cast, said Bryan Dean, spokesman for the Oklahoma State Election Board. In a letter provided by Oklahoma, Russian Consul General Alexander Zakharov asks to have a consulate officer “at one of the ballot stations of Oklahoma with the goal of studying the U.S. experience in organization of (the) voting process.”  Oklahoma Secretary of State Chris Benge said he hopes the Russian officials can watch the U.S. election process on TV. “It is truly an amazing system,” he wrote back in a letter provided by the state. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing that individual states maintain the authority to approve or deny requests from parties to observe elections. When asked if it was a worry to have the Russian request coming on the heels of the U.S. accusations of the country trying to meddle in the vote, he replied: “We don’t have anything to hide … and we’re confident in the electoral system.”  U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that the Russian government was conducting or orchestrating cyber attacks against the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, possibly to disrupt or discredit the election, in which Democrat Hillary Clinton faces Republican Donald Trump. A Kremlin spokesman has called the U.S. allegations “nonsense,” the Interfax news agency reported.

Summary: ओक्लाहोमा ने राज्य में चुनाव की निगरानी के लिए रूसी अनुरोध को अस्वीकार कर दिया


BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he would use all means necessary, including secret services, to combat what he called efforts to undermine him by U.S. financier George Soros. Soros said in a video that Hungary under Orban was more oppressive than it was during the Cold War Soviet occupation.  He cannot reach me, but he exploits and oppresses the people who are in opposition in Hungary.   The spat marks a new high in the conflict between Orban and Soros, allies in dismantling Communism during the 1980s who have grown apart. Soros has described Orban as a dangerous autocrat while Orban accuses the financier of interference in Hungarian politics through its support of opposition groups.  We want a different future, and...it was my duty to enlist all possible tools of the state, including intelligence, the secret services, legal and public debate,  Orban said in an interview.  Therefore we ordered an intelligence report on the composition, workings and Hungarian and European influence of this Soros machinery.  Orban told public radio that Hungarian secret services had completed a report this week about a network of non-government organizations and other groups funded by Soros in Hungary and in Europe. He did not disclose its findings. At the heart of their conflict is immigration, which Orban rejects as an existential threat to the continent, while Soros has promoted a more lenient policy mix, including controlled immigration and aid to migrants in Europe and at home. The ruling Fidesz party faces elections in April next year, and Orban - a strong favorite for a third consecutive term - said he expected Soros to work on behalf of his pro-immigration opponents.  They will support publications, do propaganda, strengthen civil groups, and pay hundreds, thousands of people.   By election time they will establish  civil centers  which will work like campaigning parties, meaning the Soros network has entered the Hungarian election campaign.  Daniel Makonnen, a spokesman for Soros  Open Society Foundations (OSF) in Budapest, told Reuters that OSF planned  two new funding centers in the east and south of the country. The centers, in the cities of Debrecen and Pecs, will make grants of a total of $1 million each this year and next for local education, health care and anti-poverty programs, he said. Immigration or electoral politics will not be on their agenda, nor will they open more branches, Makonnen added.  We have differences we cannot bridge because he considers us enemies,  Soros said of Orban in a video message which surfaced online after Orban s interview on Friday.  I have no personal grudge but a difference in principle. I oppose his system.  A government spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Soros s latest remarks. Soros said Orban wanted to expel his organizations.  I think the current system is more oppressive than it was during the Russian occupation.

Summary: हंगरी के प्रधानमंत्री ओरबान और अमेरिकी फाइनेंसर सोरोस के बीच चुनाव के दौरान झड़प


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. senators introduced a bill on Tuesday they said would prevent President Donald Trump from launching a nuclear first strike on North Korea on his own, highlighting the issue days before the Republican’s first presidential trip to Asia. The measure would stop Trump, or any U.S. president, from launching an attack on North Korea, or spending any money on a military strike, without congressional approval, unless North Korea has first attacked the United States. Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have been building after a series of nuclear and missile tests by North Korea and bellicose verbal exchanges between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The CIA has said North Korea could be only months away from developing the ability to hit the United States with a nuclear weapon, a scenario Trump has vowed to prevent. “I worry that the president’s enthusiasm will not be checked by the advisers around him,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, the legislation’s lead sponsor, told reporters on a conference call. Some Republicans have also expressed concern about Trump’s rhetoric, but none co-sponsored the bill, which is backed by seven Democrats and Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent. Republicans control majorities in both the Senate and House, and there has been no indication that congressional leaders would allow a vote. Similar measures introduced earlier this year have also failed to advance. However, backers said they might try to pass it later this year by introducing it as an amendment to legislation such as a  as a must-pass spending bill. “I have confidence that if this came to a vote on the floor of the Senate, it would prevail,” Murphy said. Lawmakers have been trying to take back more control over foreign policy from the White House. Congress passed a bill in July barring the president from lifting sanctions on Russia without lawmakers’ approval, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday held a hearing on a new authorization for the use of military force, or AUMF, to exert some authority over the campaign against Islamic State and other militant groups. At that hearing, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said Trump does not have the authority to use force against North Korea without an imminent threat, but they did not define what such a threat would be.

Summary: डेमोक्रेट चाहते हैं कि उत्तर कोरिया पर बमबारी करने से ट्रम्प को रोकने के लिए एक कानून बनाया जाए


JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A sudden decision forcing all Congolese nationals to travel on biometric passports from next month has provoked a backlash from lawmakers already vexed by revelations about the documents  high cost. Even though Democratic Republic of Congo sits near the bottom of the U.N. Human Development Index, the passports it introduced in 2015 are among the world s most expensive.  A Reuters investigation in April showed that $60 of their $185 purchase price goes to a company registered in the United Arab Emirates whose owner is believed to be a close relative of Congo President Joseph Kabila. Despite a subsequent outcry, Vice Foreign Minister Aggee Aje Matembo Toto said at the weekend that, from Oct. 16, citizens would no longer be able to use non-biometric passports, some of which are not due to expire until 2020.  Those that tried to would have their document confiscated and replaced with a photocopy, he said in a statement that justified the change on security grounds. The abrupt ban taps into a climate of political instability fed by militia violence since Kabila last December refused to step down at the end of his mandate.  Not only is this decision inopportune but it is ...above all unacceptable in the (current) politico-social context,  Zacharie Bababaswe, a deputy from Kabila s majority coalition wrote in a letter to Aje Matembo Toto. Opposition lawmaker Juvenal Munubo submitted a formal demand for Aje Matembo Toto to give parliament an explanation.  Aside from the withdrawal of this unpopular decision ... no remedy will be able to reduce tensions,  Munubo wrote on Twitter. Congolese citizens expressed displeasure on social media, posting under a hashtag translating as:  Don t touch my passport .  Reports in the Congolese media and by activist groups about the wealth Kabila has accrued over his 16 years in power have also stoked resentment, while his supporters say he and his family have broken no laws.

Summary: कांगो में गैर-बायोमेट्रिक पासपोर्ट पर प्रतिबंध ने हंगामा खड़ा कर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Mexico this week along with the Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to discuss issues including border security with the southern neighbor amid frayed relations under new U.S. President Donald Trump. Tillerson and Kelly will meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and other top Mexican officials during the two-day visit on Wednesday and Thursday, the State Department said in a statement. They will discuss border security, law enforcement and trade, the State Department said. The Feb. 22-23 visit comes amid tensions between the United States and Mexico since Trump took office on Jan. 20. Trump has vowed to build a wall on the U.S. southern border, slap a hefty tax on Mexican-made goods entering the country and pull out of a trade deal with Mexico if he cannot renegotiate it to benefit the United States. Pena Nieto canceled a planned January meeting of the two leaders in Washington after Trump said his counterpart should not attend if he was unwilling to pay for the wall.     Despite the tensions, senior Mexican and American military and interior officials spoke this month in a sign that communication remained open between the two countries.

Summary: शीर्ष अमेरिकी राजनयिक, सुरक्षा प्रमुख बुधवार को मेक्सिको का दौरा करेंगे


(Reuters) - Republican U.S. President-elect Donald Trump resumed holding meetings at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, following the Christmas holiday as he prepared to take over the White House from Democrat Barack Obama on Jan. 20. Below is a list of meetings for Wednesday, according to Trump’s transition team. *Co-CEO, founder and director of Carlyle Group * CEO of Marvel Entertainment, a unit of Walt Disney Co * Co-owner of Runway Vineyards  * Under consideration for agriculture secretary * Former U.S. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety under President George W. Bush * Under consideration for agriculture secretary * Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush * Will discuss health care reform  * President of the World Jewish Congress

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः कार्लाइल ग्रुप, मार्वल, वर्ल्ड ज्यूइश कांग्रेस के प्रमुखों से मिलेंगे ट्रंप


WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration reversed a decision late on Thursday and said fiancés would be considered close family members and therefore allowed to travel to the United States as its revised travel ban took effect. The U.S. State Department concluded “upon further review,  fiancés would now be included as close family members,” said a State Department official who requested anonymity. The Trump administration had previously decided, on the basis of its interpretation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, that grandparents, grandchildren and fiancés traveling from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen would be barred from obtaining visas while the ban was in place. The 90-day ban took effect at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT Friday), along with a 120-day ban on all refugees.  On Monday, the Supreme Court revived parts of Trump’s travel ban on people from the six Muslim-majority countries, narrowing the scope of lower court rulings that had blocked parts of a March 6 executive order and allowing his temporary ban to go into effect for people with no strong ties to the United States. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, who also requested anonymity, said it would be updating its guidance to state that fiancés would not be barred from obtaining visas while the ban was in place. The Supreme Court exempted from the ban travelers and refugees with a “bona fide relationship” with a person or entity in the United States. As an example, the court said those with a “close familial relationship” with someone in the United States would be covered.  The state of Hawaii asked a federal judge in Honolulu on Thursday evening to determine whether the Trump administration had interpreted the court’s decision too narrowly. Hawaii said in a court filing that the U.S. government intended to violate the Supreme Court’s instructions by improperly excluding from the United States people who actually have a close family relationship to U.S. persons, echoing criticism from immigrant and refugee groups.  Hawaii called the refusal to recognize grandparents and other relatives as an acceptable family relationship “a plain violation of the Supreme Court’s command.”  Hawaii’s Attorney General Doug Chin asked U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu, who blocked Trump’s travel ban in March, to issue an order “as soon as possible” clarifying how the Supreme Court’s ruling should be interpreted. Watson ordered the Justice Department to respond to Hawaii’s request by Monday, and said he would allow Hawaii to reply by July 6. A senior U.S. official did not answer directly when asked how barring grandparents or grandchildren would make the United States safer, but instead pointed to Trump’s guidance to pause “certain travel while we review our security posture.” The U.S. government expected “things to run smoothly” and “business as usual” at U.S. ports of entry, another senior U.S. official told reporters. A handful of immigration lawyers gathered at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Thursday in case of any problems. “We’re going to keep fighting this ban, even if it applies very narrowly,” said Sirine Shebaya, a senior staff attorney at Muslim Advocates. “It’s still a Muslim ban, and its still trying to send a message to a whole community that they’re not welcome here.” The administration said refugees who have agreements with resettlement agencies but not close family in the United States would not be exempted from the ban, likely sharply limiting the number of refugees allowed entry in coming months. Hawaii said in its court filing it was “preposterous” not to consider a formal link with a resettlement agency a qualifying relationship. Refugee resettlement agencies had expected that their formal links with would-be refugees would qualify as “bona fide.”  The administration’s decision likely means that few refugees beyond a 50,000-cap set by Trump would be allowed into the country this year. A U.S. official said that, as of Wednesday evening, 49,009 refugees had been allowed into the country this fiscal year. The State Department said refugees scheduled to arrive through July 6 could still enter. Trump first announced a temporary travel ban on Jan. 27, calling it a counterterrorism measure to allow time to develop  better security vetting. The order caused chaos at airports, as officials scrambled to enforce it before it was blocked by courts. Opponents argued that the measure discriminated against Muslims and that there was no security rationale for it. A revised version of the ban was also halted by courts. The State Department guidance, distributed to all U.S. diplomatic posts on Wednesday evening and seen by Reuters, fleshed out the Supreme Court’s ruling about people who have a “bona fide” relationship with an individual or entity in the United States. It defined a close familial relationship as being a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling, including step-siblings and other step-family relations. A department cable said grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, fiancés, “and any other ‘extended’ family members” were not considered close family. The guidelines also said workers with offers of employment from a company in the United States or a lecturer addressing U.S. audiences would be exempt from the ban, but that arrangements such as a hotel reservation would not be considered bona fide relationships.

Summary: यात्रा प्रतिबंध लागू होने के बाद ट्रम्प प्रशासन ने मंगेतरों पर नीति बदली


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States hopes its determination that ethnic cleansing  occurred against the Rohingya will raise pressure on Myanmar’s military and civilian leadership to respond to the crisis and allow displaced people to return home, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. “The determination does indicate we feel it was ... organized planned and systematic,” a senior U.S. official told reporters on a conference call. “It does not point the finger at any specific group, but there is a limited number of groups that can be involved in that planning and organization.”

Summary: अमेरिका को रोहिंग्याओं के प्रत्यावर्तन की अनुमति देने के लिए म्यांमार पर दबाव बनाने की उम्मीद


The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS.  The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy.  @realDonaldTrump : - Remember, Republicans are 5-0 in Congressional Races this year. The media refuses to mention this. I said Gillespie and Moore would lose (for very different reasons), and they did. I also predicted  “I” would win. Republicans will do well in 2018, very well! @foxandfriends [0623 EST] - Ivanka Trump will be interviewed on @foxandfriends. [0642 EST] - The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long! [1341 EST] - My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in the train accident in DuPont, Washington. Thank you to all of our wonderful First Responders who are on the scene. We are currently monitoring here at the White House. [1351 EST] - Our deepest sympathies and most heartfelt prayers are with the victims of the train derailment in Washington State. We are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with local authorities... bit.ly/2Bail99 [1435 EST] - Over the past 11 months, I have travelled tens of thousands of miles, to visit 13 countries. I have met with more than 100 world leaders and everywhere I traveled, it was my highest privilege and greatest honor to represent the AMERICAN PEOPLE! bit.ly/2BajKwn [1519 EST] - When the American People speak, ALL OF US should listen. Just over one year ago, you spoke loud and clear. On November 8, 2016, you voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! bit.ly/2Ba2kQr [1528 EST] - As the world watches, we are days away from passing HISTORIC TAX CUTS for American families and businesses. It will be the BIGGEST TAX CUT and TAX REFORM in the HISTORY of our country! bit.ly/2BbAjI6 [1540 EST] - 70 Record Closes for the Dow so far this year! We have NEVER had 70 Dow Records in a one year period. Wow! [1725 EST] - With the strategy that I announced today, we are declaring that AMERICA is in the game and AMERICA is DETERMINED to WIN!OUR FOUR PILLARS OF NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY: bit.ly/2BdrOfJ [1849 EST] - Together, our task is to strengthen our families, to build up our communities, to serve our citizens, and to celebrate AMERICAN GREATNESS as a shining example to the world.... bit.ly/2Bdsjq7 [1954 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

Summary: ट्विटर पर ट्रम्प (18 दिसंबर)-कांग्रेस की दौड़, ट्रेन दुर्घटना, कर में कटौती


MANILA (Reuters) - The father of the leaders of the pro-Islamic State Maute group that seized control of a southern Philippine town in May died while in government custody, authorities said on Sunday. Cayamora Maute was taken to a hospital on Sunday afternoon after his blood pressure rose but he died along the way, the Philippines  prison bureau said. The May 23 occupation of Marawi City by the Maute group, led by his two sons and which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, triggered a brutal urban battle with military forces that entered its fourth month last week. It has raised concern that Islamic State, on a back foot in Syria and Iraq, is building a regional base on the Philippine island of Mindanao that could pose a threat to neighboring Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore too. More than 700 people, including 130 soldiers, have been killed since the militants, aided by foreign fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East, seized control of city of 200,000.       Maute had several ailments when he was taken into custody in June, including diabetes and hypertension, Xavier Solda, spokesman at the Bureau of Jail and Management and Penology told reporters.  The extent of his involvement in the group is not immediately clear but when he was arrested in June, a military spokesman expressed hope he could persuade his sons to stop fighting and surrender.       This is an unfortunate incident for his family, but more so to the victims of terrorism in Marawi and their relatives who are awaiting justice and expecting that Cayamora would answer and atone for his involvement in the Marawi rebellion,  Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Eduaro A o said in a statement. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has extended martial law on the southern island of Mindanao until the end of the year, to give him time to crush the rebel movement.

Summary: फिलीपींस के इस्लामी चरमपंथी नेताओं के पिता की सरकारी हिरासत में मौत


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There is “simply no place” in American public discourse for “hate and violence” displayed in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday. Just before meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Tillerson commented on the shared values between the United States and Canada, then said, unprompted: “I think that’s why it’s appropriate to comment on the recent events in Virginia and our condemnation of that kind of hate and violence,” according to a pool report. “There is just simply no place for that in our public discourse and I want to add our condemnation of that,” Tillerson said, a day after President Donald Trump insisted that both left- and right-wing extremists were violent during a weekend rally by white nationalists in Charlottesville.

Summary: टिलरसनः अमेरिकी सार्वजनिक विमर्श में नफरत और हिंसा के लिए 'बस कोई जगह नहीं'


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter voiced opposition to extending a temporary government funding bill well into next year, saying it would negatively impact the military, including in the fight against Islamic State.  Washington has been operating since Oct. 1 under a stopgap spending bill, known as a “continuing resolution,” to keep most federal programs running. It expires on Dec. 9. House and Senate leaders are negotiating the end date for a new temporary funding bill. “The most problematic shortfalls DoD (Department of Defense) will face in a long-term CR (continuing resolution) are in the operations and munitions accounts that fund counterterrorism operations and assistance in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, among other priorities,” Carter wrote in the letter to top Congressional leaders. Carter said the Pentagon had never been under such a situation during a presidential transition, calling it “unprecedented and unacceptable.”

Summary: पेंटागन ने अस्थायी अमेरिकी वित्तपोषण विधेयक के विस्तार के प्रभाव के खिलाफ चेतावनी दी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday demanded that investigators apologize for looking into Russian interference and possible collusion with his 2016 election campaign, accusing predecessor President Barack Obama of having “colluded or obstructed,” but he did not provide evidence. Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Mueller, along with several congressional committees, are investigating allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia used cyber attacks and fake media stories to help Republican Trump against his Democratic Party opponent, Hillary Clinton. “The reason that President Obama did NOTHING about Russia after being notified by the CIA of meddling is that he expected Clinton would win... and did not want to ‘rock the boat.’ He didn’t ‘choke,’ he colluded or obstructed, and it did the Dems and Crooked Hillary no good,” he wrote on Twitter. Russia has denied meddling in the election and Trump has repeatedly called the investigations a witch hunt. In a Fox News interview broadcast on Sunday, Trump said he had learned that Obama had known about the Russia issue long before the election but that he “did nothing about it.”   An official from Obama’s White House, who spoke on condition of anonymity, rejected Trump’s criticism and noted that Obama had raised the meddling issue directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The Obama administration’s interest in making sure the response was bipartisan wasn’t for the sake of being bipartisan. It was necessary because we needed the buy-in from state and local election administrators – many of whom were Republican partisans and/or skeptical of federal government,” the official said. The White House referred any questions about the Russia investigations to Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz.  Representatives for Kasowitz did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Trump’s latest statement.  “With 4 months looking at Russia...they have zero “tapes” of T (Trump) people colluding. There is no collusion & no obstruction. I should be given apology!” Trump said in another Twitter post on Monday. The Obama administration formally accused Russia in October of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 election. In December, Obama ordered intelligence agencies to review cyber attacks and foreign intervention in the election and to deliver a report before he left office on Jan. 20. The intelligence agencies said in January they had concluded that Moscow tried to tilt the election in Trump’s favor, including by hacking into senior Democrats’ emails and leaking them.  Following a weekend Washington Post report about the Obama administration’s responses to the Russian matter, the top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, criticized the Obama administration on Sunday for not taking earlier and tougher action against Russia.

Summary: ट्रंप ने बिना सबूत दिए कहा कि ओबामा ने रूस के साथ सांठगांठ की थी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chief executive of the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association urged President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday to quickly nominate new board members to the U.S. Export-Import Bank to allow the export financing agency to resume functioning. Dave Melcher said billions of dollars worth of potential orders were in limbo because the agency’s board lacked the necessary number of board members to back important trade deals. “The Senate can protect American manufacturing jobs by restoring the quorum to the Export-Import Bank’s board of directors,” Melcher said in a speech before more than 300 industry and media representatives Tuesday in Arlington, Virginia.  Boeing Co, one of the largest U.S. exporters, and other aerospace companies have raised similar concerns.

Summary: अमेरिकी एयरोस्पेस उद्योग ने ट्रम्प से पूर्व-आईएम बैंक को काम फिर से शुरू करने में मदद करने का आग्रह किया


HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe s former president Robert Mugabe was granted immunity from prosecution and assured that his safety will be protected in his home country under a deal that led to his resignation, sources close to the negotiations said on Thursday. Mugabe, who had led Zimbabwe from independence in 1980, stepped down on Tuesday after the army seized power and the ruling party turned against him. Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former vice president sacked by Mugabe earlier this month, is set to be sworn in as president on Friday. A government source said Mugabe, who is 93 and was the world s oldest serving head of state, told negotiators he wanted to die in Zimbabwe and had no plans to live in exile.  It was very emotional for him and he was forceful about it,  said the source, who is not authorized to speak on the details of the negotiated settlement.   For him it was very important that he be guaranteed security to stay in the country...although that will not stop him from traveling abroad when he wants to or has to.  Mugabe resigned as parliament began a process to impeach him, sparking wild celebrations in the streets. His sudden fall  after 37 years in power was triggered by a battle to succeed him that pitted Mnangagwa against Mugabe s much younger wife Grace.   The outgoing president is obviously aware of the public hostility to his wife, the anger in some circles about the manner in which she conducted herself and approached ZANU-PF party politics,  a second source said.   In that regard, it became necessary to also assure him that his whole family, including the wife, would be safe and secure.  Mugabe had clung on to power for a week after the military intervened. He angered many Zimbabweans when he did not resign in a televised address on Sunday as many had anticipated. The government source said the tipping point for Mugabe was the realization that he would be impeached and ousted in an undignified way.  When the process started, he then realized he had lost the party,  the source said. Mugabe will receive a retirement package that includes a pension, housing, holiday and transport allowance, health insurance, limited air travel and security. The elderly ex-president was  rugged and drained  by events of the past week and may travel to Singapore for medical checks in the coming weeks, the source said. He had been due to leave for the Southeast Asian country in mid-November before the military put him under house arrest. Mugabe has maintained that he leads a frugal life and that he does not possess any wealth or properties outside Zimbabwe.  But last month a legal quarrel between Grace and a Belgian-based businessman over a $1.3 million diamond ring lifted a veil on the wealthy lifestyle of Mugabe and his wife, nicknamed  Gucci Grace  for her reputed dedication to shopping. In Zimbabwe, Mugabe runs a dairy business and the family has several farms while local and foreign media have reported that Grace has bought properties and luxury cars in South Africa. Addressing a cheering crowd in Harare on Wednesday night,  Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was entering a new stage of democracy. He had returned to the country earlier in the day, having fled for his safety when Mugabe sacked him as vice president two weeks ago to smooth a path to the succession for Grace.   The people have spoken. The voice of the people is the voice of God,  Mnangagwa told thousands of supporters gathered outside the ruling ZANU-PF party s offices in the capital. On Thursday, Mnangagwa urged the country s citizens not to undertake any form of  vengeful retribution . Some of his supporters have been calling for unspecified action against the G40 group that backed Mugabe and his wife. The army appears to have engineered a trouble-free path to power for Mnangagwa, who was for decades a faithful lieutenant of Mugabe and member of his elite.  His own human rights record also stirs hostility in many Zimbabweans.  Mnangagwa was Mugabe s state security minister in the 1980s when a Korean-trained army brigade cracked down on the minority Ndebele, who supported the PF-ZAPU party of Mugabe s then-main rival Joshua Nkomo. Rights groups say up to 20,000 people died during the operation, which Mugabe later said was a moment of madness.   Mnangagwa denied responsibility in an interview with Britain s New Statesman last December. Restoring Zimbabwe s fortunes and international standing will be a challenge. Human rights abuses and flawed elections prompted many Western countries to impose sanctions in the early 2000s that further damaged the economy, even with Chinese investment to soften the blow. Staging clean elections next year will be key to winning fresh funds. In its first official comments since Mugabe resigned, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change said it was cautiously optimistic a Mnangagwa presidency would not  mimic and replicate the evil, corrupt, decadent and incompetent Mugabe regime . Zimbabwe s bourse, which had been on a rapid rise, lost $6 billion during the military intervention as its main index fell by 40 percent. Analysts say it will fall even further before recovering. Zimbabwe was once one of Africa s most promising economies but suffered decades of decline as Mugabe pursued policies that included the violent seizure of white-owned commercial farms and money-printing that led to hyperinflation.  Most of its 13 million people remain poor and face currency shortages and sky-high unemployment, something Mnangagwa promised to address.  An International Monetary Fund official said Zimbabwe s economic situation remained  very difficult  as sustainable growth is threatened by high government spending, an untenable foreign exchange regime and inadequate reforms. Immediate action is critical, Gene Leon, IMF mission chief for Zimbabwe said. Britain s Minister for Africa, meanwhile, said the former colonial power wants Zimbabwe s new rulers to place the country on a more democratic and prosperous path.  Zimbabweans suffered for too long as a result of Mugabe s ruinous rule,  Minister Rory Stewart said on arriving in Harare.

Summary: मुगाबे को मिली छूट, जिम्बाब्वे में सुरक्षा का आश्वासनः सूत्र


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso on Wednesday retracted a remark to lawmakers of his faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that could be interpreted as a defense of Adolf Hitler s motive for genocide during World War Two. Tuesday s comment by Aso, who also serves as finance minister, drew criticism from a U.S.-based Jewish group. The incident followed a rare June apology by Japan s central bank over a board member s praise for Hitler s economic policies.  It is clear from my overall remarks that I regard Hitler in extremely negative terms, and it s clear that his motives were also wrong,  Aso said in a statement. Aso said he wanted to stress the importance of delivering results, but not defend Hitler.  It was inappropriate that I cited Hitler as an example and I would like to retract that.  Aso is no stranger to gaffes, having retracted a comment in 2013 about Hitler s rise to power that was interpreted as praising the Nazi regime. Referring at the time to Japan s efforts to revise its constitution, he said the constitution of Weimar Germany had been changed before anyone realized, and asked,  Why don t we learn from that technique?   On Tuesday, Kyodo news agency quoted Aso as saying,  I don t question your motives (to be a politician). But the results are important. Hitler, who killed millions of people, was no good, even if his motives were right.  The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center expressed  distress and disappointment  at Aso s comment.   This is just the latest of a troubling list of   misstatements and are downright dangerous,  the center s head, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, said in a statement on Tuesday.  These words damage Japan s reputation at the very time when all Americans want to show their solidarity with Japan, our sister democracy and ally, following the missile launch from Kim Jong Un s North Korea,  he added. Aso s gaffe came after U.S. President Donald Trump drew sharp criticism for comments that blamed  many sides  for this month s violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.     In June, Bank of Japan board member Yutaka Harada told a seminar Hitler s economic policies had been  appropriate  and  wonderful  but had enabled the Nazi dictator to do  horrible  things.

Summary: जापान के एसो ने आलोचना के बाद हिटलर की टिप्पणी को वापस लिया


SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Friday China would see “very bad consequences” for its economy and bilateral U.S. relations if it backs away from its stated goals to open its markets and rebalance its economy toward consumer-led growth. Lew, in an interview with Reuters in Seoul, said he would “keep the pressure” on Chinese officials during talks in Beijing next week to stick to their reform commitments and execute pledges to reduce excess industrial capacity that is distorting world markets. China faces diminished economic prospects in the medium and long term if it fails to continue its reforms, Lew said. “Frankly, if China takes a time-out or a step back on the reform agenda, that will have very bad consequences for China’s economy and it will flow over and not be good in terms of our bilateral economic relations,” Lew said. The U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue meetings on June 6-7 in Beijing come at a time of increasing trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The U.S. Commerce Department has recently imposed steep anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on a wide-range of Chinese steel products, while U.S. business groups have complained about new Chinese regulations they say favor local firms. Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan is plumbing five-year lows against the dollar, raising concerns about the potential for another devaluation as the Federal Reserve prepares to resume interest rate increases after pausing for the past few months. Lew said China had largely been keeping its G20 commitments to avoid competitive currency devaluations, adding that its action in recent months to spend reserves to support the yuan, also known as the renminbi or RMB, have been consistent with those commitments.   “China’s intervention in the last year has not been to devalue but it’s been largely to support the RMB,” Lew said. “I think the test of whether China’s moved decisively in an orderly way to a more market-oriented exchange rate is whether they’re willing to tolerate movement in both directions.” Likewise, Lew said South Korea also needed to resist temptations to intervene in currency markets when there is upward pressure on the won. He said Seoul had refrained from active interventions for the past six to nine months. “We have made it clear that we’ve recognized that. But we’ve also said that that has to be a durable policy. It has to be a policy that can withstand pressure when markets are going in both directions,” he said. He said South Korea’s interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade bloc, assuming the deal is ratified,  would provide an incentive to improve its exchange rate policy. A currency side-agreement to the TPP would require transparency in interventions and commitments to avoid interventions to gain trade advantages. The U.S.-China economic and foreign policy talks in Beijing will also provide a forum to air U.S. business groups’ concerns about regulations in China that they say favor domestic firms. For example, foreign insurers have raised concerns about new cyber security regulations that require “secure and controllable” information technology. “Whether it’s an anti-monopoly law, or a national security law, if it’s being either designed or implemented in a way that’s designed to create undue burdens on foreign competition, that’s problematic,” Lew said. Lew said it was important for the next U.S. president to continue the Strategic and Economic Dialogue because otherwise such disputes may not be discussed on a bilateral basis. At a separate meeting on Friday with South Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, Lew said that coordinated global action was needed to increase pressure on North Korea to drop its pursuit of nuclear weapons. A senior Treasury official said that this would require additional actions by China to adhere to new sanctions aimed at cutting off North Korea from the international financial system until it changes its behavior.

Summary: ट्रेजरी ल्यूः चीन के सुधारों पर रोक के 'बहुत बुरे परिणाम' होंगे


HONOLULU (Reuters) - Hawaii this week will resume monthly statewide testing of Cold War-era nuclear attack warning sirens for the first time in at least a quarter century, in preparation for a possible missile strike from North Korea, state officials said on Tuesday. A recording of the wailing air-raid siren - familiar to  older generations who grew up hearing it on a regular basis - was played at a news conference by Governor David Ige, civil defense and emergency management officers in the state capital, Honolulu. Ige said he believed Hawaii was the first in the nation to reintroduce statewide nuclear siren drills.  The announcement, though planned weeks earlier, came hours after North Korea s latest test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan. The Pentagon said the rocket posed no danger to the United States, its territories or allies. But state emergency management authorities said they decided in recent months to reactivate the state s nuclear attack sirens for the first time since the 1980s after experts deemed some of North Korea s missiles were capable of reaching Hawaii. The wailing air raid sirens - distinguished from steady-tone sirens already in use to warn of hurricanes, tsunamis and other natural disasters - were set to return on Friday.   Both sirens will be sounded in separate 50-second intervals from more than 400 locations across the central Pacific islands starting at 11:45 a.m. in a test that will be repeated on the first business day of each month thereafter. The exercise is being launched in conjunction with public service announcements urging residents of the islands to  get inside, stay inside and stay tuned  when they hear the warning. A single 150-kiloton weapon detonated over Pearl Harbor on the main island of Oahu would be expected to kill 18,000 people outright and leave 50,000 to 120,000 others injured across a blast zone several miles wide, state Emergency Management Agency officials have said, citing projections based on assessments of North Korea s nuclear weapons technology. While casualties of that scale would be unprecedented on U.S. soil, an agency fact sheet stressed that 90 percent of Hawaii s 1.4 million-plus residents would survive  the direct effects of such an explosion.  Oahu, home to a heavy concentration of the U.S. military command structure, as well as Honolulu and about two-thirds of the state s population, is seen as an especially likely target for potential North Korean nuclear aggression against the United States. In the event of an actual nuclear missile launch at Hawaii from North Korea, the attack sirens would give island residents and tourists just 12 or 13 minutes of warning before impact, according to the state s fact sheet. In that case, residents are advised to immediately take cover  in a building or other substantial structure.  Although no designated nuclear shelters exist, staying indoors offers the best chance of limiting exposure to radioactive fallout. Calling the North Korea threat a  new normal,  Ige said,  A possibility of attack today is very remote, but we do believe that it s important that we be proactive, that we plan and are prepared for every possibility moving forward.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया के खतरे के बीच शीत युद्ध के समय के परमाणु सायरन परीक्षण फिर से शुरू करेगा हवाई


BEIRUT (Reuters) - A woman in south Lebanon was killed on Monday after her four-year-old son accidentally shot her with a hunting rifle, a security source and the state news agency NNA said. The incident followed another accidental death in which an 11-year-old boy shot his 8-year-old relative last week in another town in southern Lebanon, NNA said. Gun control is not strict in Lebanon. People have regularly been killed by stray bullets shot during celebrations political events. Lebanese officials have often called for restraint of gun use and celebratory gunfire.

Summary: बंदूक दुर्घटना में लेबनान की महिला की चार साल के बेटे ने गोली मारकर हत्या कर दी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday the DACA program for people who arrived in the country illegally as children should be part of a larger discussion on border security and Congress would welcome a proposal to address those issues. “As Congress debates the best ways to address illegal immigration through strong border security and interior enforcement, DACA should be part of those discussions. We look forward to receiving the Trump administration’s legislative proposal as we continue our work on these issues,” McConnell said in a statement.

Summary: सीनेट के रिपब्लिकन नेता का कहना है कि डी. ए. सी. ए. को सीमा सुरक्षा चर्चा का हिस्सा होना चाहिए