WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A free-speech institute on Tuesday sent a letter to President Donald Trump demanding the prolific tweeter unblock certain Twitter (TWTR.N) users on grounds the practice violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Trump’s @realDonaldTrump account recently blocked a number of accounts that replied to his tweets with commentary that criticized, mocked or disagreed with his actions. Twitter users are unable to see or respond to tweets from accounts that block them.  The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University in New York said in its letter that the blocking suppressed speech in a public forum protected by the Constitution. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Twitter Inc said it had no comment. Alex Abdo, the institute’s senior staff attorney, likened Twitter to a modern form of town hall meeting or public comment periods for government agency proposals, both venues where U.S. law requires even-handed treatment of speech. Eric Goldman, a Santa Clara University law professor who focuses on internet law, said that previous cases involving politicians blocking users on Facebook (FB.O) supported the Knight Institute’s position. If the institute should sue, Trump could claim his @realDonaldTrump account is for personal use and separate from his official duties as president, Goldman said. But he called that defense “laughable.” Trump also has a presidential @POTUS Twitter account. The Knight Institute said its arguments would apply with “equal force” to both accounts.  Trump’s Twitter use has drawn intense media attention for his unvarnished commentary about his agenda and attacks on critics. His tweets are often retweeted tens of thousands of times, and can shape the news cycle.  Legal experts have said his tweets may directly affect policy. A chain of postings about his travel ban may hamper his administration’s defense in courts. The letter said Trump or his aides blocked the accounts @AynRandPaulRyan and @joepabike, belonging to songwriter Holly O’Reilly and professional cyclist and author Joseph M. Papp, respectively. O’Reilly was blocked on May 28 after posting a brief animated clip of Pope Francis appearing uncomfortable during a meeting with Trump with a caption, “this is pretty much how the whole world sees you,” the letter said. Papp learned he was blocked on June 4 after responding to a Trump tweet with a tweet labeling the president a “#fake leader.” The accounts are just two of several that have been blocked by Trump or his aides, Abdo said.

Summary: ट्रम्प द्वारा ट्विटर उपयोगकर्ताओं को अवरुद्ध करना अमेरिकी संविधान का उल्लंघन हैः अधिकार संस्थान


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The incoming U.S. administration’s tough talk against China has set the stage for showdowns on everything from security to trade and cyberspace, but contradictory signals are sowing uncertainty over how far President-elect Donald Trump is prepared to go in confronting Beijing. Highlighting the contested South China Sea as a potential flashpoint, Trump’s Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson threw out an explosive challenge to Beijing on Wednesday by calling for it be denied access to artificial islands it is building in the strategic waterway. A Trump transition adviser told Reuters that Tillerson, Trump’s pick to be America’s top diplomat, did not mean to suggest the new administration would impose a naval blockade, which would risk armed confrontation with China, something the new administration was not seeking. But another official authorized to speak on behalf of the transition team pushed back on that view, saying Tillerson “did not misspeak” when he said China should be barred from its man-made islands. Amid the conflicting signals on policy, the team appears to be making progress on plans for a major naval build-up in East Asia to counter China’s rise.  The transition adviser told Reuters about specifics under consideration, such as basing a second aircraft carrier in the region, deploying more destroyers, attack submarines and missile defense batteries and expanding or adding new bases in Japan and Australia.   They are also looking at installing “air force long-range strike assets” in South Korea, bordering China’s nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea, said the adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Trump, who succeeds President Barack Obama on Jan. 20, has vowed to greatly expand the U.S. Navy to 350 ships, but his transition team has not made clear how he will fund this, amid other massive spending plans.  China’s Foreign Ministry said it could not guess what Tillerson meant by his remarks, which came after Trump questioned Washington’s longstanding and highly sensitive “one-China” policy over Taiwan. But an influential Chinese state-run tabloid warned on Friday that blocking Chinese access to South China Sea islands would require the United States to “wage war.” Trump’s pick for defense secretary, retired Marine General James Mattis, did not endorse Tillerson’s message on the South China Sea, which would seem at odds with Washington’s own longstanding commitment to freedom of navigation for all. Asked about the remarks at his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Mattis said China’s actions in the South China Sea were part of a broader attack on the world order, but said the State, Defense and Treasury Departments needed to put together an integrated policy “so we are not dealing with an incomplete or an incoherent strategy.”  The conflicting messages underscore the incoming administration’s struggle in crafting an approach to one of the biggest foreign policy challenges facing Trump, who during his election campaign repeatedly bashed China, saying it was “killing” and “raping” America on trade. A former U.S. official who has informally advised Trump’s transition team said it may not have fully thought through the risks of any new U.S. military or trade pressure on China. “We should not underestimate China’s willingness to retaliate in kind,” the former official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. As part of a drive to protect American jobs, Trump has threatened to declare China a currency manipulator - even though economists say Beijing has been seeking to prop up, not weaken,  its currency. He has also threatened to slap punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, risking a trade war that could hurt both countries and the global economy. Trump has yet to name to his national security team high-level members with deep experience of the region, leading some analysts to question whether the new administration will have enough expertise to translate rhetoric on a more robust Asia policy into action. But Trump has appointed two harsh China critics to his trade team - Peter Navarro, an academic who authored a book entitled “Death by China,” and Robert Lighthizer, a former Reagan administration official. Trump advisers dismiss concerns their approach could prove risky or counterproductive, arguing that a “peace through strength” stance will put real muscle behind U.S. policy in the region after decades of under-resourcing due to U.S. distractions elsewhere in the world. “Once we start correcting the military imbalance, I actually think you will get more cooperation rather than less,” the Trump adviser said. Trump and his cabinet nominees have also vowed to step up pressure on China to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, including by holding out the possibility of “secondary sanctions” on Chinese entities found to be violating sanctions on Pyongyang. But analysts say China may be in no mood to cooperate if Washington is leaning on it on other issues. Those include U.S.  pressure on Beijing to curb cyber hacking of U.S. entities. China’s official responses to recent broadsides have been measured so far as they wait to see how Trump will act once he takes office. “We have seen many conflicting messages from people within his prospective administration,” said Tu Xinquan, a trade expert at Beijing’s University of International Business and Economics.  But analysts say confronting Beijing over hot-button nationalist issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea could trigger strong reactions, especially in a year when President Xi Jinping is seeking to further consolidate power at a  congress of the ruling Communist Party held every five years. Zha Daojiong, a professor at Peking University, said the theme of clash of civilizations was becoming increasingly popular in Chinese circles and this was ominous. “This does not bode well at all ... And it means that the continued war drums from America on the South China Sea would not help matters at all.”

Summary: ट्रंप की टीम चीन की सख्त नीति पर एकजुटता के लिए संघर्ष कर रही है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump held talks on Saturday with 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, a meeting between famous foes fueling speculation that Romney could be in line to be the new U.S. secretary of state. Working to fill administration positions ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump also met for an hour with retired Marine General James Mattis, who is considered a strong contender for defense secretary or another high-ranking job.  On Friday it was announced that Trump had chosen Republican Senator Jeff Sessions to be attorney general, retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn to be national security adviser and Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo to head the CIA. Trump announced on Sunday he would make Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus his White House chief of staff and named Stephen Bannon, former head of the conservative website Breitbart News, as his chief strategist and senior counselor. Below are people mentioned as contenders for senior roles. * Steven Mnuchin, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive and Trump’s campaign finance chairman * Jeb Hensarling, U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee * Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co chief executive officer * Tom Barrack, founder and chairman of Colony Capital Inc * Mitt Romney, 2012 presidential nominee and former Massachusetts governor  * Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City * Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina * Jeff Sessions, U.S. senator from Alabama and early Trump supporter, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee  * John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush * Bob Corker, U.S. senator from Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee * Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq * James Mattis, retired Marine general * David Petraeus, ex-CIA director and retired general * Tom Cotton, U.S. senator from Arkansas       * Jon Kyl, former U.S. senator from Arizona * Duncan Hunter, U.S. representative from California and early Trump supporter, member of the House Armed Services Committee * Jim Talent, former U.S. senator from Missouri who was on the Senate Armed Services Committee  * Kelly Ayotte, outgoing U.S. senator from New Hampshire and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee * Jeff Sessions, senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who takes a hard line on immigration, was announced as the choice on Nov. 18. * Tom Price, U.S. representative from Georgia who is an orthopedic surgeon * Rick Scott, Florida governor  * Rich Bagger, former pharmaceutical executive and former top aide to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie * Bobby Jindal, former Louisiana governor * Michael McCaul, U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee * David Clarke, Milwaukee county sheriff and vocal Trump supporter  * Joe Arpaio, outgoing Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff who campaigned for Trump  * Jeff Holmstead, energy lawyer, former EPA official during George W. Bush administration * Mike Catanzaro, energy lobbyist, former EPA official during George W. Bush administration * Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors  * Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas attorney general * Carol Comer, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management * Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oil and gas mogul, chief executive of Continental Resources Inc * Kevin Cramer, U.S. Representative from North Dakota * Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors  * Larry Nichols, co-founder of Devon Energy Corp * James Connaughton, chief executive of Nautilus Data Technologies and a former environmental adviser to President George W. Bush * Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor, 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee * Jan Brewer, former Arizona governor * Forrest Lucas, founder of oil products company Lucas Oil * Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oil and gas mogul, chief executive of Continental Resources Inc * Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors * Wilbur Ross, billionaire investor, chairman of Invesco Ltd subsidiary WL Ross & Co * Linda McMahon, former World Wrestling Entertainment executive and two-time Senate candidate * Ronald Burgess, retired lieutenant general and former Defense Intelligence Agency chief  * Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * Pete Hoekstra, former U.S. representative from Michigan * Republican U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo was announced as the choice on Nov. 18.  * Michael Flynn, retired lieutenant general and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was announced as the choice on Nov. 18. * Kelly Ayotte, outgoing U.S. senator from New Hampshire and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee * Richard Grenell, former spokesman for the United States at the United Nations  * Peter King, U.S. representative from New York * Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of steel producer Nucor Corp The Trump transition team confirmed he would choose from the list of 21 names he drew up during his campaign, including U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah, and William Pryor, a federal judge with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  * Victoria Lipnic, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission commissioner and former Labor Department official during the George W. Bush administration. * Andrew Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants.

Summary: ट्रम्प प्रशासन में प्रमुख पदों के लिए दावेदार


TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed named one of his economic advisors, Taoufik Rajhi, who is a member of Islamist Ennahda party, to the new post of economic reforms minister, a government statement said on Wednesday.

Summary: ट्यूनीशिया के प्रधानमंत्री ने नए आर्थिक सुधार मंत्री को नामित कियाः बयान


KIEV (Reuters) - The Ukrainian parliament voted on Thursday to withdraw a law on the creation of an anti-corruption court, paving the way for the submission of a new law more in line with demands from backers, including the International Monetary Fund. Slow progress establishing an independent court to deal with corruption cases has been one of the main obstacles to the disbursement of loans under a $17.5 billion aid-for-reforms program from the Fund. President Petro Poroshenko has promised to submit a draft law to set up such a court, but first parliament needed to vote to withdraw a similar bill that did not meet recommendations by a leading European rights watchdog. The motion was backed by 235 lawmakers, slightly more than the 226 required to pass. A government source told Reuters the president would submit the new law to parliament by the end of this week.  The IMF and Ukraine s other foreign backers have repeatedly called for Ukraine to improve efforts to root out graft. They see an anti-corruption court as an essential tool for eliminating the power of vested interests. MP Mustafa Nayyem criticized the president for the delays.  It took the presidential administration a whole year to develop this document,  he said in a post on Facebook.  They (the authorities) tried to convince the world that we have no use for it (a court). As a result of public accusations from foreign partners and the noise of street protests, they ve backed down,  he said. Earlier in December, Poroshenko emphasized his commitment to reform, responding to accusations that the Ukrainian authorities were deliberately sabotaging the anti-corruption fight. Establishing the court, sticking to gas price commitments and implementing sustainable pension reform are the key conditions Ukraine must meet to qualify for the next loan tranche of around $2 billion from the IMF.

Summary: यूक्रेन के सांसदों ने भ्रष्टाचार विरोधी अदालत के निर्माण को बढ़ावा देने के लिए कानून वापस लेने के लिए मतदान किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House will comply with a request from the U.S. government’s ethics agency to provide information on which former lobbyists are working in the administration, an administration official said on Friday. Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), said in a letter that the administration was not seeking to impede efforts by the Office of Government Ethics to obtain that information, despite earlier protests from Walter Shaub, the director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE). “OMB shares the belief that the executive branch must uphold the highest ethical standards in accordance with the law,” Mulvaney wrote. “Our concern was, and is, protecting the process related to the data call.” Shaub, an appointee under President Barack Obama in the final year of five-year term, had requested in April copies of waivers the administration of President Donald Trump granted to former lobbyists now appointed to positions in the government. Those requests were sent to agencies across the administration, seeking waivers that would allow former lobbyists to work on issues they had been involved with as paid advocates.  But OMB requested a stay of that request, prompting a fierce response from Shaub. He called the request “highly unusual” and said his agency has the authority to take “corrective action proceedings” against agencies that refuse its requests. In his Friday response, Mulvaney said the requested stay was not an attempt to stifle OGE efforts but rather to provide more time to “ensure sufficient consideration was given to legal questions.” “OMB has never sought to impede OGE,” he wrote. Mulvaney closed the letter by saying the OMB did not grant any lobbyist waivers itself. Shortly after taking office in January, Trump signed an executive order barring lobbyists who joined the administration from working on issues related to their prior work. But the administration has the power to grant waivers to particular hires, exempting them from that restriction.

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस नैतिकता छूट के बारे में विस्तार से बताने के लिए सहमत है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Longtime Trump communications aide Hope Hicks has been named as interim communications director, the White House said on Wednesday, in the latest personnel move for President Donald Trump as he continues to seek someone for the job. The role of communications director had last been filled by Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier who was ousted after just 10 days following an obscene tirade he made to a reporter for The New Yorker magazine. Scaramucci proved to be a divisive figure in the White House. Former press secretary Sean Spicer resigned over his arrival, and Chief of Staff John Kelly, once he took over, fired Scaramucci. Hicks, 28, worked in communications for Trump during his campaign following a tenure with his Trump Organization. She will work with White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, according to the White House.  Scaramucci’s predecessor as communications director, Michael Dubke, resigned in May after about three months in the post.  The search for permanent replacement comes as Trump has repeatedly railed against leaks within his administration. His attorney general has also warned of a possible crackdown on  journalists and their sources who divulge classified information.

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस ने हिक्स को अंतरिम संचार निदेशक नामित किया


DUBAI (Reuters) - Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal has criticized U.S. President Donald Trump s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital, in one of the sharpest reactions emanating from the U.S.-allied kingdom. In a letter to Trump published in a Saudi newspaper on Monday, Prince Turki, a former ambassador to Washington who now holds no government office but remains influential, called the move a domestic political ploy which would stoke violence.  Bloodshed and mayhem will definitely follow your opportunistic attempt to make electoral gain,  Prince Turki wrote in a letter published in the Saudi newspaper al-Jazeera. Trump reversed decades of U.S. policy and veered from international consensus last week by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Most countries say the city s status must be left to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.  Your action has emboldened the most extreme elements in the Israeli society ... because they take your action as a license to evict the Palestinians from their lands and subject them to an apartheid state,  Prince Turki wrote.  Your action has equally emboldened Iran and its terrorist minions to claim that they are the legitimate defenders of Palestinian rights,  he added, referring to the kingdom s arch-foe Shi ite Iran. Saudi Arabia has sought better ties with Washington under Trump than it had under his predecessor Barack Obama, who alarmed Riyadh by signing a nuclear agreement with Iran, Saudi Arabia s arch enemy. Prince Turki is a son of King Faisal, who was assassinated in 1975. His brother, Saud al-Faisal, served as foreign minister for 40 years until 2015, and their branch of the family is seen as influential over Saudi foreign policy, even as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has solidified his authority. Prince Saud championed a 2002 Arab peace initiative which called for normalizing relations between Arab countries and Israel in return for Israel s withdrawal from occupied territories. Although most foreign policy in Saudi Arabia is now overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed, a source at the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies which Prince Turki chairs said he still meets King Salman every week.

Summary: वरिष्ठ सऊदी राजकुमार ने ट्रम्प के 'अवसरवादी' येरुशलम कदम की निंदा की


JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia s military said on Friday it was prepared to take tough measures against rebels who have threatened to  destroy  the mining operations of Freeport-McMoRan Inc in the eastern province of Papua in their independence struggle. Police say an armed separatist group linked to the Free Papua Movement (OPM) is preventing about 1,000 people in five villages from leaving an area near the giant Grasberg copper mine, operated by a unit of the Arizona-based company. A state of emergency has been declared and at least 300 additional security forces have been deployed to the area after a string of shootings since Aug. 17 killed one police officer and wounded six. The group, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM), on Friday denied occupying villages near the mine. Hendrik Wanmang, a representative of TPN-OPM, said none of its more than 2,000 fighters was stationed in the villages.  We cannot mingle with the community,  Wanmang said in a telephone interview.  That would endanger them.  Wanmang also denied police allegations his group had carried out rape and torture of civilians, saying villagers were  continuing to carry out activities as usual . But he warned that Freeport employees and security personnel remained in the area at their own risk.   We are at war against the National Police, Indonesian military and Freeport,  he said.  (TPN-OPM) will continue to fight until the root of this problem - Freeport - is removed,  Wanmang said. A Freeport Indonesia spokesman declined to comment. Papua Police spokesman Suryadi Diaz said the situation in the villages near the town of Tembagapura was  conducive  and the community was functioning  as usual .   They aren t hostage, but if you want to get to these villages you have to get past this armed criminal group,  Diaz said, referring to the OPM. Police were taking  persuasive steps  to resolve the conflict through negotiations and dialogue with community, religious and tribal leaders, he said. Authorities made conflicting statements about the situation. Indonesian military chief Gatot Nurmayanto said the group had taken hostages in the villages and the army would take a  hard  approach if necessary. Tough measures, including armed conflict, would be a last resort if negotiations with the group failed to resolve the issue, Papua military commander George Enaldus Supit said later, clarifying the statement. Wanmang said his group was not interested in negotiating.   If the government wants to send millions of national police and Indonesian military troops to protect the Freeport area, go ahead - they are just trying to protect the deception.  The Grasberg mine has been dogged by security concerns for decades, as pro-independence rebels have waged a low-level conflict in Papua. Between 2009 and 2015, shootings in the mine project area killed 20 people and wounded 59. More recently, Freeport, the world s largest publicly listed copper producer, has been grappling with labor problems at Grasberg and a mine rights dispute with Indonesia. The Freeport dispute is likely to overshadow efforts by President Joko Widodo s government to resolve conflict in Papua, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict said.   Any violence in the Freeport area can involve multiple actors with multiple interests,  it said in a recent report.  Even if the OPM is blamed, Papuans will be asking who else was involved.

Summary: पापुआन विद्रोहियों की फ्रीपोर्ट को धमकी के बाद इंडोनेशिया ने कड़ी प्रतिक्रिया की चेतावनी दी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, speaking as lawmakers prepared to vote on a bill to address Puerto Rico’s financial crisis, warned on Wednesday that failure to pass the legislation by Friday could lead to a taxpayer funded bailout. “This is the best and possibly the only action we can take to help Puerto Rico,” McConnell said on the Senate floor amid uncertainty over whether the legislation would receive the support needed in a critical procedural vote due at 10:30 a.m. EDT. “Doing nothing now ... (is) the surest route to both a taxpayer funded bailout of Puerto Rico and a humanitarian crisis for its people,” he said.

Summary: सीनेट रिपब्लिकन ने प्यूर्टो रिको में मतदान विफल होने पर बेलआउट की चेतावनी दी


WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that the United States would no longer tolerate North Korea s actions but said the use of military force against Pyongyang will not be his  first choice.  His comment appeared to be in line with classified briefings to Congress in which Trump s top national security aides - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence - stressed the search for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, lawmakers said. A senior administration official, meanwhile, said that the White House has set aside for now consideration of exiting a free trade pact with South Korea, a move being contemplated by Trump that could have complicated relations with Seoul. In a flurry of phone calls with world leaders days after North Korea s sixth and most powerful nuclear test, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping committed to  take further action with the goal of achieving the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,  the White House said.  President Xi would like to do something. We ll see whether or not he can do it. But we will not be putting up with what s happening in North Korea,  Trump told reporters, though he offered no specifics.  I believe that President Xi agrees with me 100 percent,  he added. Asked whether he was considering a military response to North Korea, Trump said:  Certainly, that s not our first choice, but we will see what happens.  Xi, who has been under pressure from Trump to do more to help curb North Korea s nuclear and missile programs, told the U.S. president during their 45-minute call that the North Korean issue must be resolved through  dialogue and consultation.  The focus on negotiations by China, North Korea s main trading partner, contrasted with Trump s assertions over the last few days that now was not the time for talks with North Korea while pressing instead for increased international pressure on Pyongyang. The United States and South Korea have asked the United Nations to consider tough new sanctions on North Korea after its nuclear test on Sunday that Pyongyang said was an advanced hydrogen bomb. Late on Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin indicated that if the U.N. Security Council fails to approve sufficiently strong measures, Trump could authorize him to impose sanctions on any country or entity that trades with North Korea.  We believe that we need to economically cut off North Korea,  Mnuchin told reporters aboard Air Force One as it flew back from North Dakota, where Trump gave a speech on tax reform.  I have an executive order prepared. It s ready to go to the president. It will authorize me to . . . put sanctions on anybody that does trade with North Korea.  Mnuchin said that Trump would consider the order  at the appropriate time once he gives the U.N. time to act.  He provided no further details, including whether Trump would consider slapping sanctions on China, North Korea s largest trade partner. Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Wednesday that resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis was impossible with sanctions and pressure alone. Putin met South Korea s Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of an economic summit in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok amid mounting international concern that their neighbor plans more weapons tests, including possibly a long-range missile launch before a weekend anniversary. Putin echoed other world leaders in denouncing North Korea s latest nuclear bomb test on Sunday, saying Russia did not recognize its nuclear status.  Pyongyang s missile and nuclear program is a crude violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, undermines the non-proliferation regime and creates a threat to the security of northeastern Asia,  Putin said at a news conference.  At the same time, it is clear that it is impossible to resolve the problem of the Korean peninsula only by sanctions and pressure,  he said. No headway could be made without political and diplomatic tools, Putin said. Moon, who took office this year advocating a policy of pursuing engagement with North Korea, has come under increasing pressure to take a harder line. He has asked the United Nations to consider tough new sanctions after North Korea s latest nuclear test. The United States wants the Security Council to impose an oil embargo on North Korea, ban the country s exports of textiles and the hiring of North Korean laborers abroad and subject leader Kim Jong Un to an asset freeze and travel ban, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Diplomats say the U.N. Security Council could also consider barring the country s airline.  I ask Russia to actively cooperate as this time it is inevitable that North Korea s oil supply should be cut at the least,  Moon told Putin, according to a readout from a South Korean official. Putin said North Korea would not give up its nuclear program no matter how tough the sanctions.    We too, are against North Korea developing its nuclear capabilities and condemn it, but it is worrying cutting the oil pipeline will harm the regular people, like in hospitals,  Putin said, according to the South Korean presidential official.  Russia s exports of crude oil to North Korea were tiny at about 40,000 tonnes a year, Putin said. By comparison, China provides it with about 520,000 tonnes of crude a year, according to industry sources. Last year, China shipped just over 96,000 tonnes of gasoline and almost 45,000 tonnes of diesel to North Korea, where it is used across the economy, from fishermen and farmers to truckers and the military. Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May agreed in a telephone call on Tuesday that China must do more to persuade North Korea to cease its missile tests, a spokesman for May said. Sanctions have done little to stop North Korea boosting its nuclear and missile capacity as it faces off with Trump, who has vowed to stop it from being able to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear weapon. China and Russia have advocated a  freeze for freeze  plan, where the United States and South Korea stop major military exercises in exchange for North Korea halting its weapons programs, but neither side is willing to budge. North Korea says it needs to develop its weapons to defend itself against what it sees as U.S. aggression. South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. China objects to both the military drills and the deployment in South Korea of an advanced U.S. missile defense system that has a radar that can see deep into Chinese territory. South Korea s Defence Ministry said the four remaining batteries of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system would be deployed on a golf course in the south of the country on Thursday. Two THAAD batteries have already been installed. For a graphic on nuclear North Korea, click: here

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया की हरकतों को अमेरिका बर्दाश्त नहीं कर रहाः ट्रंप


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly all of New York City’s millionaires would receive big tax cuts under President Donald Trump’s proposed tax overhaul, while  more than one-third of moderate- and middle-income families would face increases, according to a government report issued on Thursday. City Comptroller Scott Stringer said Trump’s overall plan, as proposed during the Republican president’s campaign, would give more than $5 billion of tax cuts to city dwellers. But almost two-thirds of that would go to those earning more than $500,000, even though they bear just over one-half of the total tax burden.  “We already have astounding wealth gaps across the city and across the country,” Stringer told a news conference. “The Trump tax code, if implemented, would only exacerbate it.” The lower taxes for wealthier residents would be achieved through lower marginal tax rates on ordinary and capital gains income and the elimination of the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Trump’s objective is a tax cut for the middle class, not the top 1 percent. He said he is aiming for passage of a comprehensive tax overhaul by the time Congress takes its August recess.  Stringer’s office analyzed tax returns of 365,000 New York City households. It found that 92 percent of the city’s millionaires would receive, on average, a tax cut of at least $113,000. Nearly half of single parents who make $25,000 to $50,000 would experience a tax increase, it said. The tax cuts, which would reduce federal revenue by more than $2 trillion over 10 years, are driving proposed budget cuts that would leave the city, home to 60,000 homeless people, with a weakened social safety net, Stringer said. “I find it incredible that this guy, who comes from New York City, who has major investments here, can’t see what his proposal will do to his hometown,” he said. “And then when you scratch the surface, you realize that part of his agenda and who benefits from it is Donald Trump himself.” Based on the limited information available from Trump’s now-public 2005 federal tax return, his proposal to eliminate the AMT would have benefited him by $31 million that year. In contrast, under his tax plan, a single mother raising two children on less than $50,000 a year would face a tax increase of $464.

Summary: ट्रंप के कर प्रस्ताव से न्यूयॉर्क के अमीरों को होगा फायदाः रिपोर्ट


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday a complete victory had been achieved over Islamic State militants on both banks of the Euphrates river in Syria. In comments released by the Kremlin, Putin said the military operation in the area was now finished, and that the focus would switch to a political process that would eventually involve presidential and parliamentary elections. Putin did not specify whether he was referring to the end of military operations in the whole of Syria, or just the areas around the Euphrates valley.  Russia s military intervention in Syria s civil war in 2015 has turned the tide of the conflict in favor of Moscow s ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and against rebel groups fighting to oust him.  Western governments and rights groups have alleged Russian air strikes killed civilians, an allegation Moscow has denied.  Two hours ago, the (Russian) defense minister reported to me that the operations on the eastern and western banks of the Euphrates have been completed with the total rout of the terrorists,  Putin said.  Naturally, there could still be some pockets of resistance, but overall the military work at this stage and on this territory is completed with, I repeat, the total rout of the terrorists,  he said.  We need to ... move, undoubtedly, on to the next stage - the start of a political process.   Putin also said it was important to establish the Congress of Syrian Peoples, a proposed peace conference that Russia has offered to host, which would lead to the preparation of a new constitution and then presidential and parliamentary elections.  But it is a big and prolonged task,  he said.

Summary: पुतिन ने सीरिया में यूफ्रेट्स के दोनों किनारों पर "पूर्ण जीत" की घोषणा की


NEW YORK (Reuters) - A wealthy Turkish gold trader’s decision to hire former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to represent him, as he defends against charges he conspired to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran, raises a potential conflict of interest, prosecutors said. At least eight big banks allegedly victimized by the trader, Reza Zarrab, are current or former clients of Giuliani and Mukasey’s law firms, acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim in Manhattan said in a letter dated Monday to the federal judge hearing the case. The banks’ relationships with the law firms require a special hearing, known as a “Curcio” hearing, to make sure Zarrab understands the potential conflict, Kim said. Giuliani is a lawyer for Greenberg Traurig, while Mukasey, who is also a former federal judge, is a lawyer for Debevoise & Plimpton. Neither firm had an immediate comment. The eight banks are Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Standard Chartered Plc, UBS Group AG and Wells Fargo & Co. “Through various deceptive acts, including layering the transactions and omitting information concerning the Iranian nexus, Zarrab and his co-conspirators allegedly tricked numerous U.S. financial institutions into processing barred transactions, thus exposing them to significant potential loss,” Kim said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, explaining the potential conflict of interest. Prosecutors accused the Iranian-born Zarrab and two others of engaging in hundreds of millions of dollars of transactions for Iran’s government and Iranian entities from 2010 to 2015, in a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions. A trial is scheduled for Aug. 21. Zarrab has been in federal custody since his March 21, 2016, arrest in Miami, while en route to Disney World with his wife and daughter. Holding a Curcio hearing now could eliminate one ground for appeal if the case goes against Zarrab. The case has been closely watched in Turkey, where Zarrab was arrested in 2013 in a corruption probe into individuals with close ties to Tayyip Erdogan, then Turkey’s prime minister and now its president. Zarrab is a dual national of Iran and Turkey. Another lawyer for Zarrab, Benjamin Brafman, said in a letter on Monday that Giuliani and Mukasey’s roles “will not require any appearance in court and, accordingly, a hearing is not required.” The case is U.S. v. Zarrab, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00867.

Summary: तुर्की के सोने के व्यापारी ने अमेरिकी प्रतिबंधों के मामले में गिउलिआनी, मुकासे को काम पर रखा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kevin Hassett, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute with an expertise in fiscal policy, is being eyed as a potential chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President-elect Donald Trump, CNBC said on Twitter on Thursday. Citing a Trump team official, the financial cable channel said Hassett was “on a long short list.”

Summary: कर नीति विशेषज्ञ की नजर व्हाइट हाउस के वरिष्ठ आर्थिक पद परः सीएनबीसी


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Saad al-Hariri, who sparked a crisis by resigning as Lebanese prime minister on Nov. 4 during a visit to Saudi Arabia, is on his way to the airport, he said early on Saturday, before his flight from Riyadh to France.  Hariri s abrupt resignation while he was in Saudi Arabia and his continued stay there caused fears over Lebanon s stability. His visit to France with his family to meet President Emmanuel Macron is seen as part of a possible way out of the crisis.   I am on the way to the airport,  he said in a Tweet.  However, Okab Saqr, a member of parliament for Hariri s Future Movement, said that after Hariri s visit to France, he would have  a small Arab tour  before traveling to Beirut. Macron, speaking in Sweden, said Hariri  intends to return to his country in the coming days, weeks . The crisis has thrust Lebanon into the bitter rivalry pitting Saudi Arabia and its allies against a bloc led by Iran, which includes the heavily armed Lebanese Shi ite Hezbollah group.  In Lebanon, Hariri has long been an ally of Riyadh. His coalition government, formed in a political deal last year to end years of paralysis, includes Hezbollah.  President Michel Aoun, a political ally of Hezbollah, has called Hariri a Saudi hostage and refused to accept his resignation unless he returns to Lebanon. Saudi Arabia and Hariri say his movements are not restricted. On Wednesday, Macron invited Hariri to visit France along with his family, providing what French diplomats said might be a way to reduce tensions surrounding the crisis by demonstrating that Hariri could leave Saudi Arabia. Lebanese politicians from across the political spectrum have called for Hariri to return to the country, saying it is necessary to resolve the crisis.  Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who heads President Aoun s political party, said on Thursday Beirut could escalate the crisis if Hariri did not return home.  We have adopted self-restraint so far to arrive at this result so that we don t head towards diplomatic escalation and the other measures available to us,  he said during a European tour aimed at building pressure for a solution to the crisis. Saudi Arabia regards Hezbollah as a conduit for Iranian interference across the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. It says it has no problem with Hezbollah remaining a purely political party, but has demanded it surrender its arms, which the group says are needed to defend Lebanon.  Although Riyadh has said it accepted Hariri s decision to join a coalition with Hezbollah last year, after Hariri announced his resignation Saudi Arabia accused Lebanon of declaring war on it because of Hezbollah s regional role. Lebanon, where Sunni, Shi ite, Christian and Druze groups fought a 1975-1990 civil war, maintains a governing system intended to balance sectarian groups. The prime minister is traditionally from the Sunni community, of which Hariri is the most influential leader. On Friday, Hariri said in a tweet that his presence in Saudi Arabia was for  consultations on the future of the situation in Lebanon and its relations with the surrounding Arab region .  His scheduled meeting with Macron in Paris on Saturday, and a lunch that his family will also attend, comes the day before Arab foreign ministers meet in Cairo to discuss Iran.  Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut, says it appears Saudi Arabia hopes the ministers will adopt a  strongly worded statement  against Iran. But she said not all the countries share Riyadh s view that one way to confront Iran is to apply pressure on Lebanon.  There is quite a widespread understanding that there is only so much Lebanon can do and it doesn t serve anybody to turn Lebanon into your next arena for a fight between Iran and Saudi Arabia,  said.

Summary: लेबनान के हरीरी शुक्रवार को सऊदी अरब से फ्रांस के लिए रवाना हुए


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The No. 2 Republican in the U.S. Senate said on Thursday he believes the party will unite behind presumptive nominee Donald Trump. “I think you will see people unifying behind the nominee ... people don’t want four more years of this administration under Hillary Clinton,” Senator John Cornyn told reporters after a meeting with Trump.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन कॉर्निन ने भविष्यवाणी की है कि पार्टी ट्रम्प के आसपास एकजुट होगी


PARIS (Reuters) - Never let it be said that President Emmanuel Macron doesn t care about how he comes across. For the first television interview of his five-month-old presidency, an hour-long appearance on France s TF1 during Sunday primetime, everything on screen seemed scrupulously chosen to highlight elements of the 39-year-old s education, world view and ambitions for France. Seated at a marble-topped designer table, three interviewers on the other side, Macron had on the wall over his shoulder a large modernist painting with the words  Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite  - the national motto - arranged around the French flag and an image of Marianne, the national symbol.   While the interview took place in the gilded, classical Elysee Palace, home to French presidents since 1848, Macron and his wife Brigitte have updated many of the rooms with contemporary art, designer rugs and angular metal furniture. On his office desk, from where one of several cameras provided a wide-angle of the scene, the titles of books Macron is supposedly reading were on show. Alongside a tome on India, there was one entitled  Le Genie Allemand  (The genius of the Germans), another by former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta about building Europe in a harsh world, and another by an economist called  Towards the World of 2050 . Others touched on literature, culture and financial regulation, sending subtle and not-so-subtle messages to European leaders and French citizens alike. A paperweight in the colors of the French flag weighed down one pile. Since taking office in May, the former investment banker and civil servant has been meticulous in managing his image, talking about the need to ensure the presidency is elevated, dealing solemnly with the weightiest issues of the day. At the same time, he has insisted that he is not a  president of the rich    as critics have labeled him   but in touch with ordinary citizens via frequent visits to factories, businesses, fairs and markets. The obsessiveness about how he comes across has also tripped him up. He was ridiculed for dressing up in an olive flight suit to address the military, and three months into his presidency, French media reported he had already spent 26,000 euros ($30,700)on makeup.  And an opinion poll after the interview showed many people were not convinced by his message on social issues. French journalists have expressed frustration that he does not make himself more available for interviews or at press conferences, something his predecessor Francois Hollande did all too regularly, sometimes responding to text messages. Instead those around Macron describe the need to be  Jupiterian    taking big decisions from on high   rather than getting caught in the melee of daily journalism. During Sunday s interview, Macron rejected criticism that he had been dismissive towards unionists, saying his use of words like  slackers  and the phrase  kicking up a bloody mess  to describe protesters were him  telling it straight .  We re taking care of the parts of France where things aren t going so well,  he said.  I m doing what I said I would do during the election campaign.  Throughout the interview Macron was polite but combative, unwilling to cede the word to his questioners and at times turning the event into a lengthy policy presentation. He talked repeatedly of long-term vision rather than quick results. Some reviewers criticized the failure to elicit news. Macron s concern for image was evident immediately after his election victory - that evening he crossed the courtyard of the Louvre to the strains of Beethoven s Ode To Joy, the official anthem of the European Union. A fly-on-the-wall documentary released the next day told the inside story of his campaign, largely painting the thrusting president in a positive light. But whether his approach can win over more of the public than the 24 percent who voted for him in the first round of the election is questionable. While 9.7 million people tuned in to watch on Sunday, a poll by Harris Interactive showed 61 percent  were not convinced  by what he said, especially on social issues.

Summary: टीवी पर, फ्रांस के मैक्रॉन स्टाइल में दिखते हैं, दर्शक सामग्री पर सवाल उठाते हैं


BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States government upholds and sticks to the  one China  policy, U.S. President Donald Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday during talks in Beijing, China s official Xinhua news agency reported. As president-elect, Trump broke with protocol and accepted a congratulatory phone call from the Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in December, angering China, which claims the self-ruled island as integral Chinese territory.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने कहा कि अमेरिका 'एक चीन' नीति को बनाए रखता है और उस पर कायम हैः सिन्हुआ


PARIS (Reuters) - France s hardline CGT union on Wednesday said it would not join the far-left party of Jean-Luc Melenchon in Sept. 23 protests against labor reform in a sign that opposition to President Emmanuel Macron s plan is divided. The union will instead march next week, its leader Philippe Martinez told Paris Match magazine. France s second-largest union the CGT and Melenchon s France Unbowed party are the main opponents of the plan, which includes a cap on payouts for dismissals adjudged unfair and greater freedom for employers to hire and fire.  The largest and third-largest union, the CFDT and FO, have said they would not take to the streets.  The CGT is independent from political parties,  Martinez said. He held a rare meeting with Melenchon on Wednesday. Opinion polls show voters do not like the reforms overall but back most of its individual measures, including direct negotiations between bosses and their staff in small firms. Many in the conservative Republicans party, the biggest opposition bloc in parliament, back the reform.  The CGT can mobilize tens of thousands of activists and its absence could impact turnout for Melenchon s rally. The union lost its position in March as France s biggest. France Unbowed has 17 lawmakers and so can do little to block reforms in the 577-strong parliament but Melenchon is popular and attracted 19.6 percent of the votes in the first round of the presidential election in April. The rally is a key test of the party s capacity to mobilize voters against Macron. Forty-five percent of voters say Melenchon s party is Macron s strongest opponent, more than twice the figure for the Republicans or the far-right National Front, an Ifop-Fiducial poll showed on Tuesday.

Summary: फ्रांसीसी संघ ने कहा कि मैक्रों सुधारों के खिलाफ दूर-वाम विरोध में शामिल नहीं होगा


PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo s Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj was removed from an international arrest warrant issued by Serbia, lifting an obstacle to him travelling outside the country, the justice minister said on Friday. Early this year Ramush Haradinaj, a former Kosovar guerilla leader who in September took over as prime minister, was arrested in France on an arrest warrant issued by Serbia. He was released after a French court rejected Belgrade s extradition request. Despite many attempts by Pristina, Belgrade refused to remove his name from the Interpol red notice.  Today I was informed that Interpol has removed 18 people from Kosovo that are wanted by Serbia and this list includes also the prime minister,  Abelard Tahiri, Kosovo s Justice Minister told Reuters.  After today s decision all these individuals are free to travel outside the country without any problem.  Haradinaj and others are wanted by Serbia for allegedly committing war crimes. Serbia has charged Haradinaj with murdering Serbs in the late 1990s war. The 1998-99 conflict ended after NATO bombed the now-defunct Yugoslavia, then comprising Serbia and Montenegro, for 78 days to force a withdrawal of its troops from Kosovo and end a counter-insurgency campaign against ethnic Albanians. Haradinaj, who has twice been tried and acquitted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in the Hague, denies any wrongdoing. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Serbia refused to recognize its former breakaway province.

Summary: कोसोवो के प्रधानमंत्री को अंतरराष्ट्रीय गिरफ्तारी वारंट से हटाया गयाः मंत्री


BERLIN (Reuters) - Key allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday downplayed reports about a crisis among parties in a potential coalition government, saying it was important to work out differences and reach a sustainable agreement. Merkel was due to meet with leaders of the other parties on Sunday to smooth the waters after last week s exploratory talks ran into trouble over immigration and climate policy. The chancellor, whose conservative alliance came first but lost seats in the Sept. 24 national election, is trying to forge a three-way coalition with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and environmental Greens that is untested at a national level. Bild am Sonntag newspaper said Merkel would try to  rescue  the talks by meeting with Horst Seehofer, who heads the conservative Bavarian CSU party, two officials from the Greens and FDP leader Christian Lindner at an undisclosed location. Volker Kauder, parliamentary leader of the conservatives, told broadcaster ZDF that such meetings were not unusual, even once a coalition had been formed. He said it was important to demonstrate that the mainstream parties could govern, a clear nod to the protest votes that propelled the far-right Alternative for Germany party into parliament for the first time.  It s about more than the individual party positions, it s about building trust in the ability of the democratic parties to take action,  Kauder said. Peter Altmaier, Merkel s chief of staff, told broadcaster ARD a coalition deal looked more promising now than weeks ago, but it could take time to work out solutions on climate and immigration that would stand the test of time.  We need a result that is in the interest of the country and that will last for four years,  he said. The exploratory talks are due to continue Monday after the three sides failed to reach agreement on immigration and climate issues during an 11-hour session on Thursday. The possible coalition partners remain at odds over how to meet carbon dioxide emission targets and capping migration. Many conservatives want to take a harder line on immigration, blaming their election setback on Merkel s decision to allow in more than a million migrants in 2015 and 2016. They want to limit refugee numbers, but the Greens reject such a cap. Other issues such as pensions and labor regulations - which could be on the agenda on Monday - appear less contentious. The three blocs are also nearing agreement on the issue of legalizing marijuana through pharmacies or other licensed distributors, the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper reported. Alexander Lambsdorff, deputy leader of the FDP parliamentary group, said the FDP and Greens had  no choice but to talk to each other  given the current political circumstances. The Social Democrats, junior partner to the conservatives over the last four years, have vowed to stay in opposition.

Summary: जर्मन गठबंधन वार्ता को पुनर्जीवित करने के लिए मर्केल और पार्टी के नेताओं की बैठकः मीडिया


RICHMOND (Reuters) - Virginia Republicans on Monday sued to nullify Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe’s order restoring voting rights to 206,000 felons, a move that could affect the November presidential election. The lawsuit in the Virginia Supreme Court asked justices to require the voting registrars not to sign up felons based on McAuliffe’s April 22 order and to cancel felons’ registrations since the order was issued. Republicans argued that McAuliffe’s order was unconstitutional. The lawsuit was headed by leaders of the Republican-controlled state legislature. “The Governor is authorized to restore the voting rights of any convicted felon through an individualized grant of clemency, but he may not issue a blanket restoration of voting rights,” the lawsuit said. Virginia is considered a key swing state in the 2016 election. The governor’s order could tip the balance in favor of the Democratic candidate who wins the party’s nomination. House Speaker William Howell said in a statement that  McAuliffe’s order violated 240 years of practice. “Governor McAuliffe’s executive order defies the plain text of the Constitution, flouts the separation of powers, and has no precedent in the annals of Virginia history,” Howell said. McAuliffe and other Democrats have hailed the restoration of rights to felons who have served their sentences and completed probation as being long overdue. Since signing the order, McAuliffe has said that nearly 80 percent of the felons whose rights were restored are nonviolent offenders who have been free for more than a decade. Caucasian felons made up 51.5 percent of the total whose rights were restored, and African-Americans 45.9 percent. Before McAuliffe’s order, felons had to petition the governor individually for restoration of their voting rights.  About two dozen states have eased restrictions on felons casting ballots over the past two decades, according to the Sentencing Project, a prison reform advocacy group.

Summary: वर्जीनिया जी. ओ. पी. ने अपराधियों को मतदान का अधिकार बहाल करने पर राज्यपाल पर मुकदमा दायर किया


KABUL (Reuters) - (This version of the July 23 story corrects reference to A-29 Super Tucano in para 7. The aircraft are built in the United States under an agreement between their Brazilian manufacturer, Embraer and Sierra Nevada Corp.) As the U.S. administration prepares its new strategy for Afghanistan, the Kabul government and its Western allies are working hard to develop an air force that gives government forces the advantage in their war against Taliban militants. The level of equipment, training and assets falls far short of matching the air assets the Americans still maintain in Afghanistan, but billions of dollars are earmarked for the force which is being built up almost from scratch. “That is what will provide the asymmetric advantage to break the stalemate on the ground,” Brigadier-General Phillip Stewart, commander of TAAC-Air, the Resolute Support mission advising the air force, told Reuters. A four-year, $7 billion expansion plan is aimed at training more flight and maintenance crews and increasing the number of aircraft in the Afghan Air Force (AAF). “In 2014, remember, we (NATO and the U.S. military in Afghanistan) had the best air force in the world and the coalition pulled out and we realized we hadn’t grown the Afghan Air Force,” Stewart said. U.S. officers say the aim is to build a counter-insurgency force able to support troops fighting in remote and forbidding terrain with air strikes, supplies and intelligence. The air force is already conducting some air strikes using Brazilian-designed A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft and specially adapted MD-530 scout helicopters and it is building capacity in other areas. Last month, an Afghan air crew parachuted around 400 kg of supplies to an isolated border police outpost, the first time the AAF had conducted an aerial supply drop. “We can do casualty evacuations, we can take cargo, we can take ammunition, we can transport vehicles to different places where they can’t go by road,” said Major Khail Shinwari, an Afghan C-130 Hercules pilot. The AAF has about 120 aircraft in service, ranging from small propeller Cessna 208s to old Soviet-era helicopters, as well as the A-29s, MD-530s and its four veteran C-130 Hercules transporters. In coming years, the old Russian Mi-17s helicopters, which are increasingly difficult to maintain, will be replaced by American UH-60 Black Hawks. The AAF says it is flying up to 140 sorties a day, carrying supplies and providing close air support to troops fighting the Afghan Taliban and Islamic State. But whether it can be built up quickly enough to turn the tide against the stubborn Taliban insurgency is unclear. All the air power of the NATO-led coalition was not enough to defeat the militants and the AAF is nowhere near being able operate alone. U.S. drones, F-16s and Apache attack helicopters are still heavily engaged in areas like Helmand, where U.S. aircraft conducted at least 52 air strikes in the space of five days last week in support of Afghan forces. For the moment, the Afghan A-29s are still using unguided bombs rather than the guided weapons used by the Americans, and the MD-530 helicopters, which came into service in 2015, fire machine guns and rockets attached to their landing gear. “It’s close air support but not as anyone who grew up in the U.S. Air Force would understand it,” Stewart said. “It’s not precision, it’s .50 cal(ibre machine guns) and rockets but they get close to their work and they’re very good.” U.S. trainers say Afghan pilots and crews are being trained to a standard comparable with their American counterparts. But the length of time it takes to train crews - up to four years for pilots and as much as seven years for specialized mechanics - means it will be years before the air force can operate fully independently. For the moment, the emphasis is on building a force suitable for Afghanistan, which means using less complicated equipment such as the C-208s or MD-350 helicopters “at the expense of maybe getting some bigger, sexier platform,” Stewart said. The aim is to increase the effectiveness of the security forces, which advisers hope to get to a point where the Taliban are forced to negotiate a political settlement. As the AAF has grown, however, it has faced increasing pressure from army units to step up operations. Advisers say one of the main risks it faces is overstretch. “They just don’t have the airplanes and sometimes the ground forces will become frustrated because they want more,” Stewart said.

Summary: जैसे-जैसे अमेरिका अफगान रणनीति पर विचार कर रहा है, नई वायु सेना से उम्मीदें लगाई जा रही हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday said “nothing is off the table” in terms of a response to Iran’s ballistic missile test. Trump made the comment in response to a question about whether he would consider military options to respond to Iran, a day after his national security adviser put Tehran on “notice.”

Summary: ईरान को जवाब देने के लिए कुछ भी तय नहीं हैः ट्रंप


BEIRUT (Reuters) - The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Wednesday its campaign to capture Raqqa from Islamic State (IS) was in its final stages and its fighters had seized 80 percent of the city. In its fight against a separate operation waged by the Syrian army and its allies, Islamic State has collapsed along the west bank of the Euphrates downstream of Raqqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday.  IS has lost swathes of territory in Syria this year, attacked from the north by the SDF and from the west by the Syrian army, which has pushed it back across the desert to its last strongholds in the Euphrates valley.  The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, launched its offensive on the jihadist group in Raqqa city in June, backed by U.S.-led air strikes and special forces on the ground. The city had served as Islamic State s de facto capital in Syria. In a statement on Wednesday, the SDF said it had opened a new front against IS on the northern edge of Raqqa. This was  a feature of the final stages of the Euphrates Wrath campaign, which is nearing its end .  We can say that 80 percent of the city of Raqqa has been liberated,  the statement said. An SDF media official said the main obstacles facing the alliance in Raqqa are avoiding civilian casualties and a high concentration of mines. He estimated that 700 to 1,000 IS fighters remain in the city. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday that Islamic State now controls only 5 percent of the city and its remaining militants there have nearly run out of food and munitions. In Deir al-Zor province of eastern Syria, Islamic State is battling two separate offensives, launched by the SDF on one side and the Syrian army and its allies on the other. The Syrian army, backed by Russian and Syrian war planes, has captured about 100 km (160 miles) of the west bank of the Euphrates this month, reaching Raqqa provincial border on Wednesday, the Observatory reported. Syrian troops also crossed to the eastern side of the river on Monday. The SDF s advances have been on the eastern bank of the river. The convergence of the two rival offensives has increased tensions in Deir al-Zor. The U.S.-backed militia on Monday warned against any further Syrian army advances on the eastern riverbank. On Tuesday, Russia s Defence Ministry said the Euphrates had risen as soon as the Syrian army began crossing it. The only way that could have happened was if upstream dams held by the U.S.-backed opposition had been opened, it said.  A fire at a major gas field known as Conoco raged through Tuesday night and into Wednesday, the Observatory said, after Syrian state media reported that the army was advancing toward it. Islamic State had fled the area, the Observatory added.  The hardline militants lost their main stronghold in Iraq, the city of Mosul, in July to Western-backed Iraqi forces.

Summary: एस. डी. एफ. का कहना है कि रक्का अभियान अंतिम चरण में है


MOSCOW/WARSAW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was tired of hearing allegations from Warsaw that a 2010 plane crash that killed then Polish President Lech Kaczynski was the result of a Russian conspiracy, drawing a sharp rebuke from Warsaw. Responding to a question from a Polish reporter at an annual news conference, Putin said it was time for Poland to move beyond the plane crash, turn a new page, and  grow up . A Polish Air Force Tu-154 plane crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk on April 10, 2010, killing all 96 people on board, including President Kaczynski, whose twin brother Jaroslaw is now the leader of Poland s ruling Law and Justice Party, in power since 2015. A previous Polish government concluded that pilot error was to blame for the crash, but Law and Justice ordered a new investigation which concluded this year that the plane was brought down by explosions on board. The crash remains deeply divisive in Poland, where many politicians emerged from an anti-Communist tradition that long saw Moscow as an enemy. Poland s defense minister denounced Putin s comments.  In the mouth of the leader of a country that is responsible for the Katyn genocide, as well as for the Smolensk tragedy, such words are really shocking,  Antoni Macierewicz told public radio PR 24, referring to a Soviet massacre of thousands of Polish officers and intellectuals during World War Two, as well as the Smolensk crash.  President Putin should finally face the truth: two explosions which eventually destroyed the Tu-154 were incontestably identified by official expertise,  Macierewicz said.  The new investigatory commission created by Macierewicz said in April this year that blasts most likely tore the plane into pieces killing all 96 people seconds before it hit the ground.  It repeated allegations that Russian air traffic controllers had deliberately set the plane on the wrong descent path. Polish prosecutors said then they would press charges against two controllers. Moscow rejected the allegations.

Summary: पोलैंड को बड़ा होना चाहिए और हवाई दुर्घटना के लिए मास्को को दोषी ठहराना बंद करना चाहिएः पुतिन


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch is known for questioning how far courts should go in deferring to federal agencies on interpreting the law, a view that could be important for U.S. companies and, perhaps, for President Donald Trump. Nominated by Trump on Tuesday to fill a vacancy on the nation’s highest court, the 49-year-old Gorsuch is widely viewed as a sharp-eyed jurist and a crisp writer who has the potential to be a persuasive voice on the court. In a recent case, Gorsuch took a dim view of a landmark 1984 high court ruling, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Widely cited, the ruling directed judges nationwide to defer to agencies’ interpretation of laws that may be ambiguous. It is known as “Chevron deference.”  Last August, in a case over immigration rules, Gorsuch called the doctrine the “elephant in the room” that concentrates federal power “in a way that seems more than a little difficult to square with the Constitution.” Showing his willingness to tackle the issue head on, he added, “Maybe the time has come to face the behemoth.” If Gorsuch can persuade other Supreme Court justices to question Chevron deference, companies arguing before the high court against federal regulations might have a better chance on issues ranging from the environment to immigration. At the same time, broader skepticism of deference to agencies could have long-term consequences for Trump. The new president is moving swiftly to reshape the federal bureaucracy, appointing agency heads who could upend the legacy of President Barack Obama on emissions, health care and internet policy. The court’s views on agencies’ agendas will be critical. “The idea that President Trump of all people would be the one to choose a justice who might push the court to reduce the executive power is pretty ironic,” said John Nagle, a professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School. If the Supreme Court were to overturn or limit the Chevron precedent, lower courts could become more active in deciding the ultimate meaning of a statute, making it less likely that an agency’s view would stand, Nagle said.  “It could make it more difficult for the Trump administration to defend some of its regulatory actions in federal court,” said Case Western Reserve University School of Law professor Jonathan Adler.  Republicans in Congress, particularly when Obama was in office, frequently complained about Chevron deference. They have even debated legislation that would override it. The House of Representatives passed such a bill on Jan. 11, although it is unlikely to win approval in the Senate. Gorsuch is not the first judge to take aim at the issue. In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency over its regulations for limiting pollution from mercury and other toxic materials. At that time, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a separate opinion saying the government’s position “raises serious questions about the constitutionality of our broader practice of deferring to agency interpretations of federal statutes.” While Thomas has argued the doctrine threatens the Constitutionally-mandated separation of the different branches of government, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy have said it may threaten individual liberties, said Andrew Grossman, a conservative lawyer who has represented companies challenging government regulations. “Gorsuch may be the one to bring the court together on fundamental questions of administrative power that have sparked so much controversy and divisiveness in recent years,” Grossman said. Some court-watchers say that in practice the justices are inclined to support executive actions that are in keeping with their own views. But an analysis of their votes carried out by Jack Beermann, a professor at Boston University School of Law, showed that such an outcome is not uniform.

Summary: ट्रम्प के सर्वोच्च न्यायालय के नामित व्यक्ति ने प्रशासनिक एजेंसियों की शक्ति पर सवाल उठाए


(Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump doubled down on his threat to stay away from an upcoming Republican debate, when he took to social media Tuesday to complain about one of the moderators, Fox News correspondent Megyn Kelly. On Tuesday afternoon, Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump) tweeted “Should I do the #GOPdebate?” with a Twitter poll and a link to an Instagram video of himself complaining about Kelly of Fox News, which is owned by Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O). She is expected to moderate the Thursday debate.  “Megyn Kelly’s really biased against me,” Trump said in the video. “She knows that, I know that, everybody knows that. Do you really think she can be fair at a debate?” That same video garnered more than 190,000 views on Facebook in roughly an hour. The poll, which was embedded in Trump’s tweet, showed a near-split between respondents who felt he should attend the debate (52 percent) and those who felt he should skip it (48 percent). Overall, the poll had received more than 11,000 responses in the first two hours after it went live. Fox News appeared unfazed by Trump’s comments. “We learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president,” a spokesperson for Fox News said. “A nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.” Trump accused Kelly last August of asking him tougher questions than other candidates during a debate. His comments drew outcry, with some accusing the business tycoon of sexism. Trump’s bravado led some on social media to compare the Republican candidate to a pro wrestler psyching out his competition before a big match. “Not a chance he or she won’t show,” author Harlan Coben (@HarlanCoben) tweeted Tuesday, in reference to both Trump and Kelly. “This is straight out of pro wrestling hype handbook.” “I always think Donald Trump reminds me of a WWE character,” tweeted Rob E\m/ (@harvesterofsoro), “then I remember he actually was.” The WWE website lists Trump as a 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee. WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon is one of just 49 people Trump follows on Twitter. Trump leads a crowded field of Republican candidates vying to represent the party in the November election.  (Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and David Gregorio) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency.

Summary: फॉक्स बहस के मध्यस्थ केली के पक्षपाती होने के बारे में ट्विटर पर मतदान कर रहे हैं ट्रम्प


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Donald Trump directly asked Russian President Vladimir Putin during their talks at a weekend summit in Vietnam whether allegations of Russian meddling in last year s U.S. presidential election were true, RIA news agency reported on Sunday. The U.S. president said on Saturday he believed Putin s denial of the accusations despite the view of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russian interference did take place. Trump later distanced himself from his remarks. According to RIA, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked how Trump had raised the question about alleged Russian meddling, said:  In fact, Trump asked whether that information could be true, how true it could be, and President Putin, for his part, explained his position, which is that Russia did not interfere in any election and this could not be the case.  Putin also said he did not understand  the groundless statements on the issue being made in the United States , Peskov added. The Russian issue has clouded Trump s first year in office. Trump s initial comments on Saturday drew criticism at home because U.S. intelligence agencies have long since concluded there was Russian meddling through hacking and the release of emails to embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. On Sunday, Trump was careful to make clear he sided with the intelligence agencies under his own leadership. He has previously called the allegations of election campaign collusion with Moscow a hoax.

Summary: ट्रंप ने पुतिन से पूछा कि क्या रूस के हस्तक्षेप के आरोप सच हैंः आर. आई. ए.


RIYADH (Reuters) - A panel set up by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen to investigate civilian casualties found a series of deadly air strikes largely justified, citing the presence of armed militiamen at the homes, schools and clinics that were targeted. The Joint Incidents Assessment Team said on Tuesday it had discovered mistakes in only three of 15 incidents it reviewed, and maintained the coalition had acted in accordance with international humanitarian law.      Saudi Arabia and its allies have been bombing the Iran-aligned Houthi movement since the Houthis seized much of northern Yemen in 2015. The Houthis have in turn fired rockets toward Saudi cities and villages. They say their attacks are in response to Saudi strikes on Yemeni cities and villages. The war has killed more than 10,000 people. The coalition has been repeatedly criticized for civilian casualties. Human Rights Watch accused it on Tuesday of war crimes, saying air strikes that hit family homes and a grocery store were carried out either deliberately or recklessly, causing indiscriminate loss of civilian lives. The United Nations said on Monday it had verified 5,144 civilian deaths in the war, mainly from coalition bombardment, and an international investigation was urgently needed.  The minimal efforts made towards accountability over the past year are insufficient to respond to the gravity of the continuing and daily violations involved in this conflict,  U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra ad al Hussein said in Geneva. Speaking in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday, the panel s legal advisor, Mansour Ahmed al-Mansour, told journalists the coalition had made  an unintended mistake  in bombing a water well-drilling rig north of Yemen s capital Sanaa last year after confusing it with a ballistic missile launcher. The raid reportedly killed 30 people and JIAT recommended the coalition provide  appropriate humanitarian assistance , without elaborating. It urged the same for strikes in Sanaa in June and September 2015 when bombs targeting military objectives mistakenly hit civilian buildings due to  a technical malfunction in aircraft systems . Mansour denied the coalition hit a U.N. compound in Aden in June 2015, which the U.N. secretary general said at the time caused serious structural damage and one casualty. About a January 2016 attack near Saada which killed a Medecins Sans Frontieres ambulance driver and at least five other people, Mansour disputed the vehicle was clearly marked and said the coalition had legitimately targeted it and an ammunition depot it was parked beside.  The vehicle was used for military purposes due to the secondary explosion in the vehicle, which was obvious,  he said. The investigators also absolved the coalition of responsibility for attacks on a Coca-Cola factory in December 2015 and a centre for the blind the following month.

Summary: सऊदी गठबंधन ने अपने हवाई हमलों की जांच की, खुद को साफ किया


BERLIN (Reuters) - Some senior members of Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservative bloc and potential coalition partners have backed the idea of an immigration law as a possible way to help solve Germany s migrant policy jigsaw.  Merkel, who won a fourth term in a Sept. 24 election albeit with heavy losses to the anti-immigrant far right, is considering a three-way coalition with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and environmentalist Greens - a tie-up as yet untested at the national level in Germany. Among their various differences, migration is shaping up as a major sticking point due to the insistence of the conservatives  Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), on a refugee cap after almost one million migrants poured into the country in 2015, with tens of thousands more since. A formal cap is rejected by the other parties - as well as Merkel. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier brought the issue to the fore on Tuesday, saying in a speech that German policy must be able to differentiate between political refugees and economic migrants so as to  define legal access to Germany . Greens co-leader Cem Ozdemir, who has long argued for an immigration law, welcomed the intervention of the president, a center-left Social Democrat.  That would be a wise step,  Ozdemir told Deutschlandfunk radio on Wednesday, saying that implementing the idea would be an urgent priority for the next government. Steinmeier s foray into domestic politics was unusual for the presidency, a largely ceremonial post though with sometimes strong moral influence, but at least generated some convergence on the immigrant issue among potential coalition allies. Armin Laschet, the Christian Democratic premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany s most populous state, told the Handelsblatt daily that a CDU/CSU-FDP-Greens coalition  would create an immigration law that covers the scale of immigration .      In remarks to Die Zeit weekly, Bavarian Economy Minister Ilse Aigner stuck to the CSU demand for an annual cap of 200,000 immigrants, preventing any recurrence of the 2015 crisis,  so that no backdoors stay open and so there is no lack of clarity . The other parties argue that a cap would breach the constitution, which guarantees asylum to people persecuted on political grounds.  Concerns about immigration run especially high in Bavaria, the main entry point for refugees in 2015 when close to 1 million - many fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa - cascaded into the country. The idea of an immigration law is not new. Several parties have argued for it in the past and many experts argue it could help Germany s economy as targeted, legally controlled migration could plug gaps in the labor market. The devil would be in the detail but the FDP is keen on a points system and has cited the Canadian model. There are variants in other countries, such as New Zealand and Australia. It is unclear whether an immigration law will be enough for the CSU, who risk heavy losses in a state election next year.  Senior CSU figures are still digging in their heels. Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the Augsburger Allgemeine that an upper limit is necessary and is a lot more than a matter of semantics.

Summary: एजेंडा में पहला जर्मन आप्रवासन कानून, मर्केल ने गठबंधन की मांग की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the Federal Communications Commission to cancel a vote scheduled for Thursday on a measure to reverse a 2016 rule that limits the number of television stations some broadcasters can buy. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi warned that the changes could be harmful to consumers, hitting their wallets and their access to an independent media voice, as she cited press reports of a possible acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc (SBGI.O) of Tribune Media Co stations (TRCO.N). Under rules adopted in 1985, stations with weaker over-the-air signals could be partially counted against a broadcaster’s ownership cap. But last year, the FCC under Democratic President Barack Obama said those rules were outdated after the 2009 conversion to digital broadcasting - which eliminated the differences in station signal strength - and revoked them in September. Federal law limits companies to owning stations serving no more than 39 percent of U.S. television households; there is a dispute over whether the FCC has the authority to amend the ownership limits. The 2016 decision did not require any company to sell existing stations, but could bar new acquisitions. Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O) in September challenged the FCC rule in federal court. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in March that he wanted to repeal the Obama FCC decision and “launch a comprehensive review of the national ownership cap” later this year. In a letter, Pelosi and Representative Frank Pallone, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, urged Pai to drop the plan, which could allow the Sinclair-Tribune tie-up. “That would be bad news for consumers in Tribune’s markets in two ways: First, consumers would lose an independent voice in their media market; and second, consumers could see their cable bills go up because Sinclair charges cable operators more than Tribune for retransmission consent,” they wrote. Another Democrat, Representative Anna Eshoo, wrote Pai asking him to drop the plan, saying that further consolidation “will ensure there are fewer independent news outlets serving as a counter-balance to misleading or inaccurate information.”  Tribune and a spokesman for Pai both declined comment.    Reuters reported in March that Sinclair had approached Tribune to discuss a potential combination, in a deal that would hinge on regulations being relaxed. Pai’s broad FCC ownership review could launch a new wave of consolidation in the broadcast television industry, analysts and companies said. CBS Corp (CBS.N) lobbyist John Orlando urged the FCC in January to reverse the Obama decision and reinstate the prior rule, citing increased competition. “Time is of the essence in providing broadcasters the ownership breathing room they so desperately need to compete with other video services,” he said, according to a CBS FCC filing. “Our industry has been frozen in time for more than three years.... Since then, our video competitors have marched on unfettered by ownership limits,” he said, referring to online outlets and cable companies.

Summary: डेमोक्रेट्स ने एफसीसी से टीवी स्वामित्व नियमों को संशोधित करने की योजना को छोड़ने का आग्रह किया


PHOENIX (Reuters) - Phoenix’s mayor on Wednesday urged a federal probe into the local county’s handling of voting in Arizona’s presidential nominating contest, questioning whether minority voters were granted a fair chance to cast their ballots. Greg Stanton asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a decision by Maricopa County officials to slash the number of polling locations in Arizona’s most populous county and leave minority-heavy areas with seemingly fewer sites. The Democratic mayor called the vote “a fiasco” after voters had to wait in line for several hours on Tuesday to cast their ballots. Donald Trump won the state’s Republican contest, while Hillary Clinton won on the Democratic side.  “Because of the unacceptably disparate distribution of polling locations, I respectfully request the U.S. Department of Justice investigate what took place [...] to ensure all voters are treated equally,” Stanton said in the letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch. He said it was the latest in a series of moves by county and state officials that had created “a culture of voter disenfranchisement.” Complaints of long waits at the polls – some as long as five hours - were common, with hundreds of voters still trying to vote long after the polls closed. There also were reports of polling stations running out of ballots. The county’s top election official took the blame on Wednesday for making the cost-cutting decision to cut the number of polling sites to 60, compared with the 200 in 2012. County Recorder Helen Purcell said she underestimated the number of people who would vote, in part citing the rise in mail-in ballots. “If we had to do it all over again, we would have done it differently, but I take the blame for that,” Purcell told the county Board of Supervisors. “We were not prepared, that was our fault.” Arizona Governor Doug Ducey a Republican, said the long lines were unacceptable and called on election officials to evaluate what went wrong and what could be done to prevent a repeat.

Summary: फीनिक्स के महापौर ने काउंटी द्वारा राष्ट्रपति पद के नामांकन के मतदान से निपटने की जांच का आह्वान किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the coast of Yemen on Friday during a training mission and a search was under way for one U.S. service member, the U.S. military said. U.S. Central Command said in a statement that five other service members aboard the aircraft had been rescued after the crash, which took place about 20 miles (32 km) off the southern coast of Yemen at 7 p.m. (16000 GMT). A U.S. official told Reuters that the cause of the crash was under investigation.  When the incident took place the helicopter was not very high above the water,  CENTCOM spokesman Colonel John Thomas said.  The United States has been carrying out air strikes against al Qaeda in Yemen, with at least 80 launched since the end of February.  A small number of ground raids using U.S. Special Operations forces have also taken place, including one in January which resulted in the death of a U.S. Navy Seal. There have been a number of aviation mishaps involving U.S military aircraft in the past few months.  The U.S. Coast Guard recently said that it had suspended its search off Hawaii for five Army aviators missing since their Black Hawk helicopter crashed earlier this month. In April, a Black Hawk U.S. Army helicopter crashed on a Maryland golf course, killing one crewmember and seriously injuring two others. Last month, a military transport plane crash killing 16 service members including elite special operations forces in northern Mississippi.

Summary: अमेरिकी ब्लैक हॉक हेलीकॉप्टर यमन में दुर्घटनाग्रस्त, एक सेवा सदस्य लापता


LONDON (Reuters) - A British government official cast doubt on a newspaper report on Tuesday that Britain and the EU had reached a financial settlement of between 45 billion and 55 billion euros.  I do not recognize this account of the negotiations,  said the government official, who declined to be named.

Summary: ब्रिटेन सरकार के अधिकारी का कहना है कि ब्रेक्सिट बिल के कथित समझौते को 'मान्यता नहीं देता'


BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would be focusing  very strongly  on the U.S opioid crisis, which he has declared a public health emergency. Trump said shortly before arriving in Beijing he would discuss as a  top priority  stopping the  flood of cheap and deadly  fentanyl  manufactured in China  when he meets Xi.  Every year drug trafficking destroys millions and millions of lives,  Trump said in Beijing, standing next to Xi at the end of formal talks between the two.  Today President Xi and I discussed ways we can enhance coordination to better counter the deadly drug trade and to stop the lethal flow of poisonous drugs into our countries and into our communities,  he added.  A special emphasis will be placed on the new phenomenon - fentanyl - destroying lives by the millions. We re going to be focusing on it very strongly, the president and myself,  Trump said, without elaborating. Speaking later to reporters, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump and Xi agreed to take new steps.  On the critical issue of opioids, we made some good progress to curb the flow of harmful narcotics into the United States in order to save American lives,  Tillerson said.   The president committed to taking new actions including agreements to control the export and movement of fentanyl precursors, sharing intelligence on drug trafficking, and exchanging trafficking information,  he added, referring to Xi. China s drug control agency last week disputed Trump s claim that most of the synthetic drug fentanyl at the heart of the U.S. opioid crisis was produced in China. Opioids include prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic drug 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The Centers for Disease Control estimated that 20,000 Americans were killed by fentanyl last year, surpassing common painkillers and heroin for the first time. American law enforcement agencies and drug control experts say most of the fentanyl distributed in the United States, as well as precursor chemicals, originate from China. While Chinese officials dispute these claims, Beijing has taken steps to crack down on the production and export of synthetic drugs, and has placed fentanyl and 22 other related compounds on its list of controlled substances.

Summary: ट्रम्प का कहना है कि वह और चीन के शी ओपिओइड संकट को समाप्त करने की कोशिश करेंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump spoke on Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron to extend his condolences on the devastation to the French territories of St. Barthelemy and St. Martin due to Hurricane Irma, and to offer U.S. support to the French government, the White House said in a statement.

Summary: इरमा के फ्रांसीसी द्वीपों पर हमले के बाद ट्रम्प ने फ्रांसीसी राष्ट्रपति को अमेरिकी समर्थन की पेशकश की


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) - Hurricane Harvey s destruction in Texas may not have altered Florida s well-tested storm plans, but it appears to have infused residents with a new sense of urgency as they prepare for approaching Hurricane Irma. Officials said Harvey s devastating flooding, coupled with the sheer power of Irma, ranked as the strongest Atlantic storm on record, had sharpened the focus of Floridians who were somewhat indifferent about preparing for past hurricanes.  A lot of times they end up having hurricane parties here instead of evacuating,  Monroe County spokeswoman Cammy Clark said by phone.  That s been the opposite this time around.  Monroe County includes the Florida Keys, which ordered evacuations for all residents and tourists. Clark said she saw a steady stream of traffic leaving the travel destination as she drove to work early on Wednesday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center forecasts that Irma may strike southern Florida on Saturday, when it could still be a major hurricane.  As it neared Puerto Rico on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (295 kph), Irma was a Category 5 storm, the highest level on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity.  This storm is bigger, faster and stronger than Hurricane Andrew,  Florida Governor Rick Scott told a news conference on Wednesday, referring to one of the costliest storms in U.S. history that struck southern Miami-Dade County 25 years ago. For south Florida, Hurricane Irma  is a once-in-a-generation storm. It s the Big One for us,  Ed Rappaport, acting director of the hurricane center, told WFOR-TV in Miami on Wednesday evening.  Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez on Wednesday evening announced mandatory evacuations for most of the county s coastal cities beginning at 9 a.m. (1300 GMT) on Thursday. Miami-Dade has a population of 2.7 million. The evacuation orders affect more than 100,000 residents, the Miami Herald reported. Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine had already urged residents of that city on Tuesday to evacuate.  We don t want any heroes,  he said.  We want people to bring themselves to a safer place than a barrier island.  Officials across Florida said they saw signs of people taking Irma more seriously than past storms.  Residents were stocking up on water and batteries and even complaining that county leaders were not being quick enough to announce evacuations, said Don Walker, spokesman for Brevard County Emergency Management. Houston officials were criticized for not ordering an evacuation ahead of the flooding that left hundreds of people in the country s fourth-largest city trapped in their homes.  Everyone is really in tune with this storm system. My neighbors are talking about it, and we don t usually do that,  Walker said. For years, many Florida residents, joined by an ever-growing number of newcomers, paid little heed to hurricane warnings as most opted to stay in their homes, county officials said. Not this time around.  I ll tell you for the community, heck yeah, they re taking this more seriously,  said Teri Barbera, spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff s Office, noting that many stores were out of bottled water by Monday.  They re not playing.

Summary: हार्वे के विनाश के बाद फ्लोरिडा के निवासियों ने इरमा की चेतावनियों पर ध्यान दिया


BERLIN (Reuters) - German voters are punishing the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) for walking out of three-way coalition talks last month as a poll showed on Thursday support for the party falling and the popularity of its leader Christian Lindner tumbling. The FDP in mid-November quit exploratory talks to form a coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives and the environmentalist Greens. Lindner said back then it was better not to govern than to govern the wrong way. Some observers speculated that the FDP had planned the move well in advance to boost its standing among voters from the center-right political spectrum and to show the party puts policy principles before power. But the monthly DeutschlandTrend survey, conducted by Infratest Dimap pollster for ARD public broadcaster, showed that support for the FDP fell 3 percentage points to 9 percent, making it the smallest party in parliament. Merkel s conservatives gained 2 percentage points to 32 percent, the Social Democrats (SPD) were unchanged at 21 percent. The far-right Alternative for Germany stood at 13 percent, followed by the Greens with 11 percent and the Left party with 10 percent. The popularity of FDP leader Lindner plunged 17 percentage points to only 28 percent. Merkel s popularity fell 3 percentage points to 54 percent, her lowest level in the survey since October 2016. The list of Germany s most popular politicians was topped by SPD Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel who shot up 8 percentage points to 65 percent. Greens co-leader Cem Ozdemir came in second with an approval rating of 57 percent.

Summary: जर्मन मतदाताओं ने गठबंधन के वॉकआउट के लिए एफ. डी. पी. नेता को दंडित कियाः सर्वेक्षण