YANGON (Reuters) - Muslim militants in Myanmar staged a coordinated attack on 30 police posts and an army base in Rakhine state on Friday, and at least 59 of the insurgents and 12 members of the security forces were killed, the army and government said. The fighting - still going on in some areas - marked a major escalation in a simmering conflict in the northwestern state since last October, when similar attacks prompted a big military sweep beset by allegations of serious human rights abuses. The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group previously known as Harakah al-Yaqin, which instigated the October attacks, claimed responsibility for the early morning offensive, and warned of more. The treatment of approximately 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya has emerged as majority Buddhist Myanmar s most contentious human rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of harsh military rule. It now appears to have spawned a potent insurgency which has grown in size, observers say.  They worry that the attacks - much larger and better organized than those in October - will spark an even more aggressive army response and trigger communal clashes between Muslims and Buddhist ethnic Rakhines. A news team affiliated with the office of national leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said that one soldier, one immigration officer, 10 policemen and 59 insurgents had been killed in the fighting.  In the early morning at 1 a.m., the extremist Bengali insurgents started their attack on the police post ... with the man-made bombs and small weapons,  said the army in a separate statement, referring to the Rohingya by a derogatory term implying they are interlopers from Bangladesh. The militants also used sticks and swords and destroyed bridges with explosives, the army said. The Rohingya are denied citizenship and are seen by many in Myanmar as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite claiming roots in the region that go back centuries, with communities marginalized and occasionally subjected to communal violence. The military counter-offensive in October resulted in some 87,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh, where they joined many others who have fled from Myanmar over the past 25 years. The United Nations said Myanmar s security forces likely committed crimes against humanity in the offensive that began in October. On Friday, the United Nations condemned the militant attacks and called for all parties to refrain from violence. The United States also condemned the attacks on security forces and it warned the government against indiscriminate reprisals.  As government and security forces act to prevent further violence and bring those responsible for the attacks to justice, we expect them to do so in a way that is consistent with the rule of law, protects and respects human rights and fundamental freedoms, demonstrates transparency, and avoids inflaming a tense situation,  the U.S. State Department said in a statement.     The military said about 150 Rohingya attacked an army base in Taung Bazar village in Buthidaung township. Among the police posts attacked was a station in the majority-Rakhine village of Kyauk Pandu, 40 km (24 miles) south of the major town of Maungdaw. Police officer Kyaw Win Tun said the insurgents burned down the post and police had been called to gather at a main station. Residents were fearful as darkness approached.  We heard that a lot of Muslim villagers are grouping together, they will make more attacks on us when the sun goes down,  said Maung Maung Chay, a Rakhine villager from the hamlet. The attack took place hours after a panel led by the former U.N. chief Kofi Annan advised the government on long-term solutions for the violence-riven state. Annan condemned the violence on Friday, saying  no cause can justify such brutality and senseless killing . Military sources told Reuters they estimated 1,000  insurgents took part in the offensive and it encompassed both Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships - a much wider area compared with October. The leader of ARSA, Ata Ullah, has said hundreds of young Rohingya have joined the group, which says it is waging a legitimate defence against the army and for human rights.  We have been taking our defensive actions against the Burmese marauding forces in more than 25 different places across the region. More soon!  the group said on Twitter. Chris Lewa of the Rohingya monitoring group, the Arakan Project, said a major concern was what happened to some 700 Rohingya villagers trapped inside their section of Zay Di Pyin village which had been surrounded by Rakhine vigilantes armed with sticks and swords.   We are running for our lives,  said one of the Zay Di Pyin s Rohingya villagers reached by telephone, adding that houses had been set on fire. The government said the village had been burned down but blamed the fire on the Rohingya. Amid rising tension over the past few weeks, more than 1,000 new refugees have fled to Bangladesh, where border guards on Friday pushed back 146 people trying to flee the violence. Mohammed Shafi, who lives in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh, said his cousin in Myanmar had told him of the trouble.  The military is everywhere. People are crying, mourning the dead,  Shafi said.  Things are turning real bad. It s scary.

Summary: म्यांमार में रोहिंग्या विद्रोहियों के हमले में कम से कम 71 लोगों की मौत


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration does not plan any announcement on Tuesday on a nominee for the Supreme Court, the White House said. President Barack Obama has said he plans to soon present a nominee to fill the vacancy on the high court left by the Feb. 13 death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, despite a stated refusal by Republican leaders in the Senate to consider any nominee during Obama’s final term. Spokesman Josh Earnest was responding to a question at a regular White House briefing.

Summary: सुप्रीम कोर्ट में नामांकन पर मंगलवार को कोई बयान नहीं आयाः व्हाइट हाउस


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Parliament s main Brexit coordinator expressed  great concern  on Wednesday that talks on the role of the EU s top court to ensure EU citizens  rights in Britain after Brexit have stalled. In a letter to the EU s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, Guy Verhofstadt also said that Britain had to ensure common rules between Northern Ireland and Ireland so that there was no need for a physical border between the two.  In order to guarantee the coherence and integrity of the EU legal order, the Court of Justice of the European Union must remain the sole and competent authority for interpreting and enforcing European Union law and not least the citizens  rights provisions of the withdrawal agreement,  he said.  It is with great concern that we note that negotiations in this respect have stalled and even some progress reversed,  he said.

Summary: ब्रेक्सिट के बाद यूरोपीय संघ की शीर्ष अदालत की भूमिका पर बातचीत रुकीः यूरोपीय संघ संसद ब्रेक्सिट समन्वयक


HOLLYWOOD, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump attacked his top Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Friday, calling her “crooked,” and promised his supporters that he would not bore them by becoming overly presidential. The comments undercut what his aides had said would be an attempt by the notoriously blunt-speaking Trump to project a more serious image after his win in New York’s nominating contest this week, including by rolling out more policy details. “I can tell you that if I go too presidential, people are going to be very bored,” the New York real estate baron told Fox News in an interview that will air on Saturday. He added that he worried his supporters would “fall asleep.” He went on to say that Clinton “is a person who’s got many, many flaws” and that she’s “the worst possible representative a woman can have,” as he shifted his focus away from Republican rivals and toward the Nov. 8 presidential election. “The only thing she’s got going is the women card,” Trump said in the excerpts released by the network on Friday. “We call her ‘Crooked Hillary’ because she’s a crooked person. She’s always been a crooked person.”   Clinton said at a campaign event in Pennsylvania she would not respond to Trump’s comments about her. Donna Hoffman, the head of the political science department at the University of Iowa, said Trump’s fiery personality had put him in a bind at this stage of the race. “The impetus to become more presidential is coming from some of the elite organs of the GOP, but he got to where he is today because of his persona,” she said. “To continue this way will keep him alienated from the party, but to change means his supporters will question his authenticity.” In a strong signal that his persona matters, a January survey showed that among Trump’s supporters about 43 percent said they liked him because he “speaks his mind,” while only 8 percent cited his policies. The survey was conducted by the Working America arm of labor organization AFL-CIO. Trump’s win in his home state of New York on Tuesday bolstered his chances for the Republican presidential nomination, prompting a more serious study of his prospects in the general election. Trump will give a foreign policy speech on Wednesday at the National Press Club, part of an expanded policy roll-out the campaign is planning, his aides told Republican leaders and lawmakers this week. The speech will come the day after a round of primary contests in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, in which polls show him likely to do well. But Trump’s rivals have said he lacks foreign policy expertise, and several foreign leaders have said they are concerned about the idea of Trump in the White House. “The mantra that somehow Donald Trump has become the presumptive nominee after New York is ridiculous,” Chad Sweet, campaign chairman for Texas Senator Ted Cruz, said on CNN on Friday.     Nationally, Trump has support from nearly half of all Republicans, compared with 28 percent for Cruz and 17 percent for Ohio Governor John Kasich, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. “Now there’s no path to victory for Cruz so he should get out. They should both get out,” Trump told supporters in Harrington, Delaware. “And when they get out ..., we will start on Hillary Clinton like nobody’s ever seen.” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said on Friday the party was prepared for numerous scenarios, including a contested convention if no Republican has earned the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination. Republican National Committee officials gathered in Hollywood, Florida to take stock of the race for the White House and prepare for the possibility of a contested convention in July in Cleveland.  Mexico’s new ambassador to the United States, Carlos Sada, vowed on Thursday to combat negative publicity in the U.S. campaign after Trump accused Mexico of sending drug traffickers and rapists into the United States and vowed to build a wall at the border. Japanese firms said in a Reuters poll released on Wednesday that a Trump presidency would harm security partnerships.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने क्लिंटन की आलोचना की, वादा किया कि वे बोर नहीं होंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Tuesday he wants to know more about President Donald Trump’s business dealings in relation to Russia, but that congressional investigations may have to avoid the matter if they conflict with an FBI probe. Graham asked former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Monday whether he had concerns about Russian ties to Trump’s business interests. Clapper said he could not comment because the issue could be a subject of an ongoing investigation. CNN reported on Tuesday that Graham intended to look into Trump’s business ties to see if any connections exist between Russia and the Trump campaign or the president’s associates. The White House said it would welcome any fact-finding by Graham and the subcommittee, which he chairs, saying the president has no business ties to Russia. “He has no business in Russia; he has no connections to Russia,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters. “So he welcomes that.” Spicer added that Trump had directed a law firm to send Graham a certified letter stating as much. While Graham expressed interest in finding out whether Trump’s business interests had any Russia ties, he said the subcommittee may have to “steer clear” of the issue if it conflicts with the FBI’s probe of Russia and the Trump campaign. He clarified later that he had not taken any new actions. “This is nothing new here,” he told reporters at the Capitol. “I’m not a prosecutor. But if you ask me if I want to know if there are any Trump business ties to Russia that are inappropriate, the answer would be ‘yes.’” Graham told CNN it would be helpful to see Trump’s tax records but that it was too soon to say whether he would be willing to subpoena them, the network said.

Summary: अमेरिकी रिपब्लिकन ग्राहम ट्रम्प व्यापार सौदों पर उत्सुक हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers will introduce bipartisan legislation on Wednesday that would prohibit states from requiring tech companies to build encryption weaknesses into their products. The move marks the latest foray into an ongoing debate over encryption between Silicon Valley and Washington. While tech companies generally oppose weakened security standards, federal authorities have warned about a “going dark” phenomenon in which criminal suspects use powerful encryption in their communications so that investigators cannot access a phone’s content, even with a warrant. The ENCRYPT Act, sponsored by Democratic Representative Ted Lieu and Republican Blake Farenthold, would prevent any state or locality from mandating that a “manufacturer, developer, seller, or provider” design or alter the security of a product so it can be decrypted or surveilled by authorities, according to bill text viewed by Reuters. The legislation is in response to proposals in recent months in New York and California that would require companies to be able to decrypt their smartphones manufactured after 2017, Lieu said.  “It is completely technologically unworkable for individual states to mandate different encryption standards in consumer products,” Lieu told Reuters in an interview. “Apple (AAPL.O) can’t make a different smartphone for California and New York and the rest of the country.” It is unclear how much momentum the bill will have in the House, though the chamber has staked out positions sympathetic to digital privacy in recent years. Encryption has been an area of disagreement between tech companies and law enforcement authorities for decades, but it gained renewed scrutiny after Apple and Google (GOOGL.O) began offering strong encryption by default on their products in 2014.  FBI Director James Comey told a Senate panel on Tuesday that federal investigators have still been unable to access the contents of a cellphone belonging to one of the killers in the Dec. 2 shootings in San Bernardino, California, because of encryption. But technology companies, privacy advocates and cryptographers say any mandated vulnerability would expose data to hackers and jeopardize the overall integrity of the Internet. A study from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University released last month, citing some current and former intelligence officials, concluded that fears about encryption are overstated in part because new technologies have given investigators unprecedented means to track suspects.

Summary: अमेरिकी कानून निर्माता राज्यों को एन्क्रिप्शन कमजोरियों को अनिवार्य करने से रोकने की कोशिश करते हैं


ZIMBABWE (Reuters) - A Zimbabwean court has postponed to Thursday the bail hearing of former finance minister Ignatius Chombo, who is facing charges of corruption dating back two decades. Chombo, who did not appear at the court on Wednesday, was detained after the military seized power in  Operation Restore Legacy  mid-November, which it said was meant to remove  criminals  around former President Robert Mugabe. The High Court had been due to sit on Wednesday to hear Chombo s appeal against a lower court ruling last week denying him bail pending his trial on Dec. 8, but the state prosecutor said he needed time to prepare his case.  This is the second time the court has postponed the hearing after an initial sitting on Friday was delayed for the same reasons. His lawyer says Chombo will deny the allegations at his trial. Chombo was among members of the G40 political faction allied to 93-year-old Mugabe and his wife, Grace, who were also expelled from the ruling ZANU-PF party.  Ousted ZANU-PF Youth League leader Kudzanai Chipanga s bail hearing was also postponed to Thursday. Chipanga is facing charges of making statements undermining public confidence in the military which helped end Mugabe s 37-year rule. Some supporters of new President Emmerson Mnangagwa have called for unspecified action against G40 but the president has urged citizens not to undertake any form of  vengeful retribution . Mnangagwa, who was sworn in on Nov. 24, and is under pressure to root out rampant corruption stifling the economy. Last week, he opened a three-month amnesty window for the return of public funds illegally stashed abroad by individuals and companies. Upon the expiry of the amnesty at end of February next year, the government will arrest and prosecute those who have failed to comply, he said in a statement.

Summary: जिम्बाब्वे की अदालत ने पूर्व वित्त मंत्री की जमानत की सुनवाई फिर से स्थगित की


PARIS (Reuters) - Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Monday that the  political and militant group Hezbollah must stop interfering in regional conflicts and accept a neutral policy to bring an end to Lebanon s political crisis.  The Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which forms part of the Lebanese government, is fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and in Iraq against Islamic State militants. Gulf monarchies have accused the Shi ite group of also supporting the Houthi group in Yemen and of backing militants in Bahrain. Hezbollah denies any activity in Yemen or Bahrain. Hariri s main patron is Saudi Arabia, Iran s main regional rival, which has also intervened in regional conflicts.   I don t want a political party in my government that interferes in Arab countries against other Arab countries,  Hariri said in an interview recorded on Monday with French broadcaster CNews.   I am waiting for the neutrality which we agreed on in the government,  he said.  One can t say one thing and do something else.  Hariri shocked Lebanon on Nov 4 by resigning from his post in a statement from Saudi Arabia. His resignation, however, has not yet been accepted.   President Michel Aoun held talks on Monday with other Lebanese political leaders over the future of Hariri s government but gave no sign whether they discussed Hariri s demand that the country steer clear of regional turmoil.  Lebanon cannot resolve a question like Hezbollah which is in Syria, Iraq, everywhere because of Iran. It is a regional political solution that needs to be done,  Hariri said.  The interference of Iran affects us all. If we want a policy that is good for the region we shouldn t be interfering.   He said he was ready to stay on as prime minister if Hezbollah accepted to stick by the state policy of staying out of regional conflicts.  However, he said he would resign if Hezbollah did not keep to that, although consultations so far had been positive.  I think in the interest of Lebanon, Hezbollah is carrying out a positive dialogue. They know we have to remain neutral in the region.   He said that if this week s consultations ended positively he would possibly modify the make-up of the government and added that he was open to elections before next year.

Summary: हरीरी का कहना है कि लेबनान को आगे बढ़ाने के लिए हिज़्बुल्लाह को तटस्थ रहना चाहिए


BEIJING (Reuters) - China called on all parties on Friday to exercise restraint after North Korea s foreign minister was quoted as saying he believes the North could consider conducting a hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific Ocean.  Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang also told a daily news briefing in Beijing that China opposes unilateral sanctions outside the United Nations framework. His comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered new sanctions against North Korea on Thursday over its nuclear and missile programs.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया के हाइड्रोजन बम के खतरे के बारे में पूछे जाने पर चीन ने संयम बरतने का आह्वान किया


TOKYO (Reuters) - Israel is willing to resort to military action to ensure Iran never acquires nuclear weapons, the intelligence minister said on Thursday in Japan where he is seeking backing for U.S. President Donald Trump s tougher line on Tehran. Trump said on Oct. 13 he would not certify Iran is complying with an agreement on curtailing its nuclear program, signed by his predecessor, Barack Obama, opening a 60-day window for Congress to act to reimpose sanctions.  If international efforts led these days by U.S. President Trump don t help stop Iran attaining nuclear capabilities, Israel will act militarily by itself,  Intelligence Minister Israel Katz said in an interview in Tokyo.  There are changes that can be made (to the agreement) to ensure that they will never have the ability to have a nuclear weapon.  Israel has taken unilateral action in the past without the consent of its major ally, the United States, including air strikes on a suspected nuclear reactor in Syria in 2007 and in Iraq in 1981. A strike against Iran, however, would be a risky venture with the potential to provoke a counter strike and roil financial markets. An Israeli threat of military strikes could, nonetheless, galvanize support in the United States for toughening up the nuclear agreement but it could also backfire by encouraging hardliners in Iran and widening a rift between Washington and European allies. So far, none of the other signatories to the deal - Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, Iran and the European Union - has cited serious concerns, leaving the United States isolated. Japan relies on the U.S. military to help defend it against threats from North Korea and elsewhere. Tokyo s diplomatic strategy in the Middle East, where it buys almost all its oil, is to maintain friendly relations with all countries, including Iran.   I asked the Japanese government to support steps led by President Trump to change the nuclear agreement,  said Katz, who is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s right-wing Likud party.  The question of whether Japanese companies will begin to work in Iran or not is a very important question.  Katz s visit to Tokyo comes ahead of a planned trip by Trump from Nov. 5 for a summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Officials at Japan s Ministry of Foreign Affairs were not immediately available to comment. Israel, Katz said, wants the nuclear agreement to be revised to remove an expiration date, and to impose tighter conditions to stop Tehran from developing new centrifuges used to make weapons-grade nuclear material.  He also urged sanctions to stop Iran from establishing  Syria as a military base to launch attacks on Israel and action to put a halt to Tehran s development of ballistic missiles.  We will not allow Iran to transform Syria into forward base sea harbors, air bases and Shia militias,  he said.  We will act together with the United States and other countries in the world until they stop the ballistic missiles that threaten Israel.   The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday backed new sanctions on Lebanon s Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.

Summary: ईरान को परमाणु हथियार हासिल करने से रोकने के लिए सैन्य कार्रवाई करने को तैयार है इजरायलः मंत्री


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supreme Court justices on Monday signaled they are likely to leave in place a lower-court’s ruling that Virginia’s Republican-led legislature unlawfully considered race when drawing U.S. congressional districts by packing black voters into one of them. The court heard oral arguments in the case at a time when Democrats are accusing Republicans in various states of taking actions to reduce the influence of black, Hispanic and other voters who often favor Democrats. The focus of the case is on the composition of the majority-black U.S. House of Representatives district held by Democrat Bobby Scott, the only black member of Virginia’s congressional delegation. The eight justices, down one following the Feb. 13 death of conservative Antonin Scalia, heard an appeal by current and former Republican House members challenging the June 2015 lower court ruling that threw out the district. Following that ruling, some black voters from Scott’s district were moved to an adjoining district, which is currently represented by white Republican Randy Forbes, one of the challengers in the case. This is likely to make the district a possible Democratic pickup in the Nov. 8 election. Without Scalia, the court could split 4-4 with its four liberals on one side and four conservatives on the other, which would leave intact the lower-court decision. None of the court’s liberals indicated they are likely to back the Republican challengers. The court may not even decide the merits of the case. The justices could instead rule that House members from adjoining districts do not have legal standing to challenge new boundary lines that imperil their re-election prospects. Some of the justices signaled hostility to the idea that elected House members should receive legal protection when their ability to win re-election is put in doubt. “This is now an incumbency-protection standing rule,” liberal Sonia Sotomayor said of the challengers’ legal argument. Liberal Elena Kagan said even if lawmakers suffered an injury, the question remains whether they have a “legally recognized interest” in their re-election prospects. Several voters in Scott’s district challenged the redistricting plan, approved by the Republican-led legislature in 2012, saying it minimized minority voting power in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. The voters who brought the case in 2013 argued that the district that Scott represents, stretching from Richmond to Norfolk, was racially “gerrymandered,” cramming black voters into it and reducing black influence in neighboring districts. A ruling is due by the end of June. The case is Wittman v. Personhuballah, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 14-1504.

Summary: अश्वेत मतदाताओं के मामले में वर्जीनिया रिपब्लिकन के प्रति शत्रुतापूर्ण न्यायाधीश


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. regulator for Wall Street took the unusual step on Monday of directly asking President Donald Trump to veto a resolution that allows financial companies to block customers from banding together to sue, a request likely to be ignored. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an independent regulator headed by Democrat Richard Cordray, finalized a rule in July barring banks, credit-card issuers and other financial companies from requiring customers to give up their rights to join group lawsuits, known as class actions, and only take potential disputes to closed-door arbitration. Congress recently voted to kill the rule in a special resolution that Trump, a Republican, is expected to sign into law soon. “You alone now have the power to safeguard people’s ability to take action together and go to court when they are wronged,” Cordray, expected to resign soon to run for Ohio governor, wrote to Trump. White House officials were not immediately available to comment on the letter. In class actions, individuals with the same complaint band together to lower lawsuit costs. Trump has not vetoed any legislation since taking office in January. But he has frequently criticized both Cordray, appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama, and the CFPB, established after the financial crisis to protect individuals against predatory lending. Cordray wrote he had never met or spoken to Trump, but that “many have told me.... your mind is made up” about the resolution. Shortly after the Senate passed the resolution last Tuesday, the White House released a statement saying the CFPB rule would give consumers fewer options to resolve disputes quickly and efficiently and would primarily enrich trial lawyers. The administration has also said the CFPB used faulty research to write the rule. The CFPB says its five-year study into mandatory arbitration was thorough and its rule based on sound data. Rule supporters say arbitration is stacked in favor of companies, which hire the mediators, and that the right to trial is enshrined in the Constitution. On Friday, military veterans also asked for a veto. Regulators almost never make personal pleas for vetoes, let alone release their requests publicly.  Cordray has a strained relationship with Republicans, who say he has too much power because he both writes and enforces rules and can only be fired “for cause,” a strict standard nearly impossible to meet. Trump has gone as far as arguing in court filings that the CFPB is unconstitutional and he should have the power to fire its director.

Summary: अमेरिकी नियामक ने ट्रम्प से वर्ग-कार्रवाई नियम को समाप्त नहीं करने के लिए कहा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s Deputy National Security Adviser for strategy, Dina Powell, plans to resign early next year but will continue to have a role in Middle East diplomacy, the White House said on Friday. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Powell, a key player in U.S. diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, had always planned to stay one year at the Trump White House and then return to her home in New York. Powell could be one of several administration officials to leave at the one-year mark of Trump’s presidency. Speculation has centered on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who officials say could be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo, and top economic adviser Gary Cohn may possibly leave also. Powell’s replacement is likely to be Nadia Schadlow, a National Security Council aide who has been working with Powell on a new U.S. national security strategy expected to be released in the next couple of weeks, a senior administration official said. Powell has been one of Trump’s inner circle and a key aide to National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. She engaged in diplomacy throughout the Middle East with Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. “Dina has done a great job for the administration and has been a valued member of the Israeli-Palestinian peace team. She will continue to play a key role in our peace efforts and we will share more details on that in the future,” Kushner said in a statement. Trump’s move to have the United States officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has been denounced across much of the Arab world. His team is working on a framework for a potential Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that aides say could be released early next year.

Summary: ट्रंप की वरिष्ठ सहयोगी दीना पॉवेल अगले साल की शुरुआत में देंगे इस्तीफाः व्हाइट हाउस


(Reuters) - Former U.S. Representative Corrine Brown of Florida was found guilty in federal court on Thursday of fraud for helping to raise $800,000 for a bogus charity and using the funds for concerts and golf, U.S. Justice Department officials said. Brown, 70, was convicted on 18 counts of participating in a conspiracy involving a fraudulent education charity, concealing material facts required on financial disclosure forms and filing false tax returns, the Justice Department said in a statement. “Former Congresswoman Brown chose greed and personal gain over the sacred trust given to her by the community that she served for many years,” acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow said after a jury reached a verdict in Jacksonville. Brown, a Democrat who served 24 years in Congress, lost her re-election bid last year after being indicted. Her sentencing date has not been set. James Smith, her attorney, told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Jacksonville that he would seek a new trial. “She maintains her innocence,” he said. “This is just part one of a very long process.” Prosecutors said Brown participated from 2012 to 2016 in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving the One Door for Education fund, along with her chief-of-staff Elias “Ronnie” Simmons and the charity’s president, Carla Wiley. The group solicited more than $800,000 in charitable donations that they said would be used to pay for college scholarships, computers for schools and other charitable causes, prosecutors said.    The money instead was spent by the three for their own personal use, including for a golf tournament honoring Brown and for luxury box seats at a Beyonce concert. The charity awarded only two scholarships totaling $1,200 to college students, according to trial evidence. Simmons and Wiley previously pleaded guilty to charges stemming from their involvement in the scheme.      Brown, known as a talkative politician who does not shy away from the media, stayed silent as she left the courthouse on Thursday. Brown was elected to Congress in 1992 as one of the first three black members of Florida’s congressional delegation since the Reconstruction period following the Civil War.

Summary: फ्लोरिडा के पूर्व अमेरिकी प्रतिनिधि ब्राउन को धोखाधड़ी का दोषी पाया गया


OSLO (Reuters) - A survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing and the leader of the group that won this year s Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday urged the United States and North Korea to tone down their rhetoric and negotiate together to avoid a nuclear strike. Tensions have risen markedly in recent months over North Korea s development, in defiance of repeated rounds of U.N. sanctions, of nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the United States. A missile test last week prompted a U.S. warning that North Korea s leadership would be  utterly destroyed  if war were to break out. The Pentagon has mounted repeated shows of force after North Korean tests. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was awarded this year s Nobel Peace Prize by a Nobel committee that cited the spread of nuclear weapons by countries like North Korea and the growing risk of an atomic war.  Graphic of Nobel laureates: tmsnrt.rs/2y6ATVW Setsuko Thurlow, an 85-year-old survivor of the Hiroshima bombing on Aug. 6, 1945, and Beatrice Fihn, ICAN s executive director, will receive the prize together on Sunday at Oslo City Hall in front of King Harald and Queen Sonja.   No human being should suffer what we suffered,  Thurlow, who was 13 at the time of the attack and is now an ICAN campaigner, told reporters on Saturday.   I deeply and strongly urge the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. never to use nuclear weapons ... Negotiate.   A diplomatic solution is the only solution.  ICAN s Fihn said that the risk of a nuclear war had increased over the past year.  There is an urgent threat right now,  she told reporters.  I would very strongly urge the leaders (of North Korea and the U.S.) to back down from their very dangerous rhetoric. Stop threatening to use weapons of mass destruction. Engage in a diplomatic solution.  ICAN is a coalition of grassroots non-governmental groups in more than 100 nations that began in Australia. It has campaigned for a U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted by 122 nations in July.  It needs to be ratified by 50 states to come into force. So far only three have done so: the Holy See, Thailand and Guyana. The treaty is not signed by - and would not apply to - any of the states that already have nuclear arms, which include the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France, as well as India, Pakistan and North Korea.       Israel is also widely assumed to have nuclear weapons, although it neither confirms nor denies it. The U.S., Britain and France are sending second-rank diplomats to the award ceremony, which Fihn said was  some kind of protest .

Summary: नोबेल शांति पुरस्कार विजेता समूह ने अमेरिका, उत्तर कोरिया से बातचीत करने को कहा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders stressed the importance of the U.N.-led peace process in resolving the Syrian civil war, the White House said in a statement. In the more than hour-long phone call, Trump and Putin also agreed to explore ways to cooperate in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State, the statement said. In addition, the two leaders discussed how to achieve peace in Ukraine and the need to keep pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear program, it said.

Summary: ट्रम्प, पुतिन ने सीरिया में संयुक्त राष्ट्र शांति प्रक्रिया के समर्थन पर चर्चा कीः व्हाइट हाउस


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican military fought back against an armed attack in the violent southwestern state of Guerrero on Saturday night, leaving eight suspected gang members and one soldier dead, authorities said on Sunday. At around 11 p.m., troops were making their rounds in the city of Teloloapan, about 155 miles (250 km) from Mexico City, when they came under gunfire from suspected gang members dressed in fake military uniforms, Roberto  lvarez Heredia, a spokesman for the Guerrero Coordinating Group, said in a statement.  The military secured two vans painted in camouflage, weapons and uniforms, authorities said.  A soldier was wounded in the confrontation and died afterward from his injuries. The public prosecutor s office in Guerrero, home to the resort city of Acapulco on Mexico s Pacific coast, has begun an investigation into the attack, authorities said.  Violence has spiked in Guerrero over the past decade as a growing number of criminal gangs vie for control of crops of opium poppies and for drug-trafficking routes.

Summary: दक्षिणी मेक्सिको में सेना और संदिग्ध गिरोह के बीच झड़प में नौ लोगों की मौत


(Reuters) - A former top CIA official attacked Donald Trump on Friday as a danger to national security, saying President Vladimir Putin had made the Republican presidential candidate an “unwitting agent” of Russia. Putin had flattered Trump into supporting positions favorable to Russia, Michael Morell, a longtime CIA officer and former deputy director of the agency, said in an opinion piece in The New York Times. “In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation,” Morell said, in an article in which he endorsed Trump’s rival in the Nov. 8 election, Democrat Hillary Clinton. Morell did not provide evidence for his assertion, but he said Putin had used skills from his past as an intelligence officer to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in an individual. “That is exactly what he did early in the primaries. Mr. Putin played upon Mr. Trump’s vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated,” Morell wrote. Trump’s campaign dismissed Morell’s criticism, linking the ex-CIA officer to the Obama administration’s public response after the September 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. “Count how many reporters will tweet today that Michael Morell lied for #CrookedHillary to cover up Benghazi,” Trump’s campaign said in a Twitter message.  The incident, in which the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed, occurred while Clinton was secretary of state, and Republicans have long criticized her handling of the attack and its aftermath. Critics say administration officials tried to play down the role of Islamist militants in the attacks. Morell approved talking points after the incident. U.S. officials have said any reference to militants taking part was initially dropped for classification reasons. Morell is currently affiliated with Beacon Global Strategies, a consulting firm with ties to senior Democrats with national security expertise, including former defense secretary and CIA director Leon Panetta and former top Clinton aide Philippe Reines.  Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, on Friday dismissed Morell’s comments, saying that  “standing up to Russian aggression is going to be really different under a Trump-Pence administration.” “These people are playing politics,” Pence said of Morell in an interview on NBC’s “Today” program.  Morell’s article, in which he also said Trump had undermined U.S. security with his campaign proposal to combat terrorism by imposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country, added to questions raised by some national security experts about the New York businessman’s qualifications to be president. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of experts criticized Trump’s lukewarm support for the NATO alliance, comments about Russia’s annexation of Crimea and other matters as “disgraceful.” Trump has also drawn criticism for his praise for Putin as a strong leader, particularly after Moscow came under suspicion from U.S. officials as being behind recent hacking of Democratic Party groups. Moscow has denied the allegations.

Summary: वरिष्ठ पूर्व सीआईए अधिकारीः पुतिन ने ट्रम्प को रूस का 'अनजाने में एजेंट' बना दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump made calls to fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate on Friday to mobilize support for their party’s healthcare overhaul while acknowledging the legislation is on a “very, very narrow path” to passage. Five Republican senators have announced they will not support the bill, which is designed to repeal and replace Obamacare, in its current form. White House officials said on Friday that Trump has been in touch with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and made calls on Thursday and Friday to other lawmakers. Trump’s role is expected to become more pronounced in coming days as the vote nears. Senate Republican leaders may rely on the deal-making former businessman to lean on conservative senators who are balking at the bill. “We’re pleasantly surprised with a lot of the support that’s already come out and I think we’ll continue to work through (it,) in particular the four individuals who have expressed some ideas and concerns,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters at a White House briefing. With all Democrats expected to oppose the measure, the Republicans can afford to lose the support of only two of their 52 members if they want to pass the legislation. After Spicer spoke, Republican Senator Dean Heller became the fifth Republican opponent on Friday, saying he would not support the bill in its current form.  “This bill that’s currently in front of the United States Senate is not the answer,” Heller, a moderate who is up for re-election in 2018, said at a news conference in Las Vegas. That could add Heller’s name to Trump’s call list. A White House official said the Trump has pushed his team to stay involved and plans to flex his negotiating muscle, the official said. An outside political group aligned with the White House, America First Policies, said it is planning an advertising campaign targeting Heller for his opposition to the bill. Healthcare stocks closed down 0.1 percent on Friday, clawing back some losses after the sector dropped sharply late in the session on Heller’s announcement. The Senate’s 142-page proposal, worked out in secret by a group led by McConnell, aims to deliver on a central Trump campaign promise to undo former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, which has provided coverage to 20 million Americans since it was passed in 2010. Republicans view the law, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, as a costly government intrusion and say individual insurance markets created by it are collapsing. On Thursday, four of the Senate’s most conservative members said the new plan failed to rein in the federal government’s role. Rand Paul, who has rejected the plan along with fellow Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Ron Johnson, said fundamental problems remained that would leave taxpayers subsidizing health insurance companies. Trump, in an interview with Fox News that aired on Friday morning, called the group of conservative lawmakers “four very good people.” “It’s not that they’re opposed,” he said. “They’d like to get certain changes. And we’ll see if we can take care of that.” Trump said getting approval would require traveling a “very, very narrow path” but that “I think we’re going to get there.” “It’s going to be a good bill,” Trump said in a separate Fox News interview to air on Sunday.   For the House of Representatives’ version of healthcare, Trump held regular meetings with representatives at the White House. He celebrated the bill’s narrow passage last month in a Rose Garden event with House Republican leaders.  Trump later criticized the House bill privately as “mean” and this week called for a health plan “with heart.” He indicated the Senate plan met that request. McConnell said in an interview with Reuters last month that he told Trump early on in the process that he did not need his help but that there may be a role for him later. The Senate bill maintains much of the structure of the House’s but differs in key ways. It would phase out Obamacare’s expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor more gradually, waiting until after the 2020 presidential election, but would enact deeper cuts starting in 2025. It also would provide more generous tax subsidies than the House bill to help low-income people buy private insurance.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने स्वास्थ्य सेवा पर सांसदों से संपर्क किया क्योंकि एक अन्य ने 'नहीं' कहा


TIRANA (Reuters) - Albania is planning to try to lure five-star hotel brands with tax breaks, including scrapping profit and property taxes, to increase its appeal for the higher-end of the tourist trade. With travel and tourism accounting for 8.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2016, rising demand to visit the country between Montenegro and Greece washed by the Adriatic and Ionian Seas is not being met by present facilities and infrastructure. One of Europe s poorest but also most unspoiled countries, Albania has been wooing tourists by encouraging them to  Go Your Own Way , counting on the appeal of adventure tourism. Now, to lure international hotel brands, the government is to pass a law this month to exempt them from profit tax for 10 years, scrap infrastructure tax and property taxes and have them pay a VAT tax of 6 percent for any service on their hotels or resorts. International hotel chains or anyone possessing a franchise from them is welcome provided they invest no less than eight million euros for a four-star hotel and no less than 15 million euros for a five-star hotel, said Elton Orozi, an official at the tourism ministry.  Albania is trying to offer more to tourists who spend more time and money so as to get acquainted with the culture, history and nature,  added Orozi. The incentives will apply to developers only if they do not sell on the units since the government wants to avoid villas being built on the seashore by wealthy Albanians using them as second homes. Building luxury hotels will also depend on whether the investors steer clear of land ownership troubles, which doomed an effort to lure the French Club Med holiday company to Albania more than a decade ago.

Summary: अल्बानिया ने कर छूट के साथ लक्जरी होटल ब्रांडों को आकर्षित किया


SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - A North Korean state agency threatened on Thursday to use nuclear weapons to  sink  Japan and reduce the United States to  ashes and darkness  for supporting a U.N. Security Council resolution and sanctions over its latest nuclear test. The Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, which handles the North s external ties and propaganda, also called for the breakup of the Security Council, which it called  a tool of evil  made up of  money-bribed  countries that move at the order of the United States.  The four islands of the archipelago should be sunken into the sea by the nuclear bomb of Juche. Japan is no longer needed to exist near us,  the committee said in a statement carried by the North s official KCNA news agency.   Juche is the North s ruling ideology that mixes Marxism and an extreme form of go-it-alone nationalism preached by state founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of the current leader, Kim Jong Un. Regional tension has risen markedly since the reclusive North conducted its sixth, and by far its most powerful, nuclear test on Sept. 3, following a series of missile tests, including one that flew over Japan. The 15-member Security Council voted unanimously on a U.S.-drafted resolution and a new round of sanctions on Monday in response, banning North Korea s textile exports that are the second largest only to coal and mineral, and capping fuel supplies. The North reacted to the latest action by the Security Council, which had the backing of veto-holding China and Russia, by reiterating threats to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.  Let s reduce the U.S. mainland into ashes and darkness. Let s vent our spite with mobilization of all retaliation means which have been prepared till now,  the statement said. Japan s Nikkei stock index and dollar/yen currency pared gains, although traders said that was more because of several Chinese economic indicators released on Thursday rather than a reaction to the North s latest statement. South Korea s won also edged down around the same time over domestic financial concerns. Despite the North s threats, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he was against having nuclear weapons in his country, either by developing its own arsenal or bringing back U.S. tactical nuclear weapons that were withdrawn in the early 1990s.  To respond to North Korea by having our own nuclear weapons will not maintain peace on the Korean peninsula and could lead to a nuclear arms race in northeast Asia,  Moon said in an interview with CNN. South Korea s Unification Ministry also said it planned to provide $8 million through the U.N. World Food Programme and UNICEF to help infants and pregnant women in the North. The move marks Seoul s first humanitarian assistance for the North since its fourth nuclear test in January 2016 and is based on a longstanding policy of separating humanitarian aid from politics, the ministry said. The North s latest threats also singled out Japan for  dancing to the tune  of the United States, saying it should never be pardoned for not offering a sincere apology for its  never-to-be-condoned crimes against our people , an apparent reference to Japan s wartime aggression. It also referred to South Korea as  traitors and dogs  of the United States. Japan criticized the North s statement harshly.  This announcement is extremely provocative and egregious. It is something that markedly heightens regional tension and is absolutely unacceptable,  Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, visiting India, called for strict enforcement of the U.N. resolution, saying the world must force a change. The 15-member Security Council voted unanimously on a U.S.-drafted resolution and a new round of sanctions against North Korea on Monday in response to its latest and most powerful test, banning North Korea s textile exports that are the second largest only to coal and mineral, and capping fuel supplies. North Korea had already rejected the Security Council resolution, vowing to press ahead with its nuclear and missile programs. A tougher initial U.S. draft of Monday s resolution was weakened to win the support of China, the North s lone major ally, and Russia. Significantly, it stopped short of imposing a full embargo on oil exports to North Korea, most of which come from China. The latest sanctions also make it illegal for foreign firms to form commercial joint ventures with North Korean entities. U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed that North Korea will never be allowed to threaten the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile, but has also asked China to do more to rein in its neighbor. China in turn favors an international response to the problem. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the international community had reached a  high consensus  on trying to realize a peaceful solution.  We urge the relevant directly involved parties to seize the opportunity and have the political nerve to make the correct political choice as soon as possible,  Hua told a regular press briefing. The North accuses the United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, of planning to invade and regularly threatens to destroy it and its Asian allies. The United States and South Korea are technically still at war with North Korea because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty. (For a graphic on North Korea's missile and nuclear tests, click tmsnrt.rs/2vXbj0S)

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया ने जापान को 'डूबने' की धमकी दी, अमेरिका को 'राख और अंधेरा' कर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department is considering formally declaring the crackdown on Myanmar s Rohingya Muslims to be ethnic cleansing, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, as lawmakers called for sanctions against the Southeast Asian country s military. Pressure has mounted for a tougher U.S. response to the Rohingya crisis ahead of President Donald Trump s maiden visit to Asia next month when he will attend a summit of Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, in Manila. U.S. officials are preparing a recommendation for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that would define the military-led campaign against the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing, which could spur new sanctions, the U.S. government sources said. The proposal - part of an overall review of Myanmar policy - could be sent to Tillerson as early as this week, and he would then decide whether to adopt it, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Rakhine state in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, mostly to neighboring Bangladesh, since security forces responded to Rohingya militants  attacks on Aug. 25 by launching a crackdown. The United Nations has already denounced it as a classic example of ethnic cleansing. Three U.S. officials testifying at a Senate hearing on Tuesday declined to say whether the treatment of the Rohingya  was ethnic cleansing, but listed new measures including targeted sanctions that Washington is considering. Those steps, however, stopped short of the most drastic tools at Washington s disposal such as reimposing broader economic sanctions suspended under the Obama administration.  I m not in a position ... to characterize it today, but to me this very closely resembles some of the worst kind of atrocities that I ve seen during a long career,  Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark Storella said when pressed to say whether he viewed the situation as ethnic cleansing. Senator Ben Cardin, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he considered the treatment of the Rohingya  genocide  and is working on bipartisan legislation that could spell out whether additional sanctions are needed. Myanmar, also known as Burma, insists that action was needed to combat  terrorists.  The recommendation to Tillerson - first reported by the Associated Press - is not expected to include a determination on whether  crimes against humanity  have been committed, as this would require further legal deliberations, one U.S. official said.  The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Some U.S. lawmakers criticized Aung San Suu Kyi, head of Myanmar s civilian-led government and a Nobel peace laureate once hugely popular in Washington, for failing to do more. Senator Bob Corker, Republican chairman of the committee, chided Suu Kyi for what he called  dismissiveness  toward the plight of the Rohingya and said it might be time for a  policy adjustment  toward Myanmar. At the hearing, Patrick Murphy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian And Pacific Affairs, said additional  sanctions were being considered, but cautioned that doing so could lessen Washington s ability to influence Myanmar.

Summary: अमेरिका ने म्यांमार के रोहिंग्या संकट को 'जातीय सफाया' बताया


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union wants a post-Brexit transition in which Britain would no longer have a say in the bloc but would still fall under EU laws, according to EU documents and diplomats of the bloc s 27 remaining states. Here is a summary of the EU s vision of both the immediate period after Britain leaves the bloc and its future trade relationship, as outlined in the documents seen by Reuters ahead of a meeting of the 27 on Wednesday.    The EU plans to engage with Britain on these two issues only after the first, ongoing round of divorce talks advances enough to merit new negotiations with London on what comes after Brexit. The current, slow-moving talks have focused mainly on matters surrounding Britain s actual split from the bloc, namely the exit bill, safeguarding expatriate rights and the future Irish border. The EU is waiting for Britain s moves on these key issues before it agrees to open talks about the transition and future ties. That may happen in December but is not a given.  * Crucially, the EU is determined to ensure Brexit does not leave Britain better off economically or otherwise, as this could create a precedent undermining the bloc s purpose and existence in the future. A discussion document for the Wednesday meeting in Brussels hence says that  a non-member of the Union, that does not live up to the same obligations as a member, cannot have the same rights and enjoy the same benefits as a member.  * Britain s request for a transition period of about two years in which the status quo would be largely preserved  would require a temporary application of Union law to and within the United Kingdom together with... regulatory, budgetary, supervisory, judiciary and enforcement instruments and structures,  it reads. * EU 27 will look further into how such a temporary arrangement would impact the bloc s cooperation with third countries, including on trade, fisheries or air transport. * The bloc will also seek to ensure Britain adheres to EU rules - including any changes - during transition, and the possible avenue for communication with London since it would  no longer be represented in the EU institutions and participate in the decision-making process.   * For any agreement on the future ties with London, the EU expects safeguards to preserve financial stability and rules out British participation in parts, but not all, of its single market. * The bloc is keen to protect itself against  unfair competitive advantages through... tax, social, environmental and regulatory measures and practices.  * Beyond trade, the EU is keen to maintain cooperation with Britain on security - including fighting terrorism and international crime - defense and foreign policy. * The bloc seeks a  balance of rights and obligations  for Britain and is determined to preserve the  indivisible  four freedoms of its single market - of goods, capital, services and labor.  * Inside the bloc, the EU wants to preserve the role of the top European Court of Justice, from whose jurisdiction London wants to remove itself. * After Britain leaves, no agreement between the EU and UK would apply to Gibraltar without a separate accord between London and Madrid.      * In preparing their own stance on transition and future ties, the 27 will  bear in mind the UK position.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ब्रेक्सिट के बाद संक्रमण और ब्रिटेन के साथ भविष्य के संबंधों के बारे में यूरोपीय संघ का दृष्टिकोण


PHOENIX (Reuters) - Police fired pepper spray to disperse protesters outside a rally by U.S. President Donald Trump in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday after being pelted with rocks and bottles, police said. Police have not given an estimate of the number of protesters, but Arizona media said there were several thousand. Police did not say whether the pepper spray was used on pro- or anti-Trump protesters, or both. “People in the crowd have begun throwing rocks and bottles at police,” Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sergeant Jonathan Howard said. “Police have responded with pepper balls and OC (oleoresin capsicum) spray in an attempt to disperse the crowd and stop the assaults,” he said. Four people were arrested during the protest, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said during a news conference.  “We had tens of thousands of people downtown peacefully exercising their first amendment rights,” Williams said. “What’s unfortunate is that a very small number of individuals chose criminal conduct.” Police called on the crowds to disperse. Many of the protesters quit the scene, while dozens of police in riot gear and carrying shields sought to clear remaining protesters from the downtown area. The Phoenix Fire Department said it treated 56 people for heat exhaustion and dehydration at the convention center. Twelve people were taken to the hospital.

Summary: ट्रम्प की फीनिक्स रैली में प्रदर्शनकारियों को तितर-बितर करने के लिए पुलिस ने काली मिर्च स्प्रे का उपयोग किया


LJUBLJANA/BELGRADE (Reuters) - In 2009, Serbian general Vladimir Lazarevic was convicted by a U.N. court of war crimes over the forced deportation of more than 700,000 ethnic Albanians during the 1989-99 Kosovo war.  The squat, bespectacled Lazarevic was one of the chief executors of a systematic effort to empty the then-Serbian province of ethnic Albanian civilians and raze their homes in the last bloody chapter in the collapse of Yugoslavia. This week, two years after he was released from jail, the 68-year-old found a new job   lecturer to the next generation of Serbian soldiers at the country s Military Academy. Where a war crimes conviction might count as a minus in most countries, in Serbia it has become a badge of honor.  The role models for the cadets should be Serbian generals, in particular those who have proven themselves in the toughest of times,  Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin told the Vecernje Novosti newspaper on Wednesday, confirming the appointment. The move has alarmed human rights activists in the Balkan country. But Lazarevic is not alone.  He is one of a trio of convicted Serbian war criminals who have risen to political prominence since serving out their sentences, testing trust in the country s claim to have left behind its dark past and embraced Western democracy. Civil society activists and Western diplomats are warning of the damage to Serbia s image abroad and to the slow process of reconciliation in the region   a key condition of integration with the European Union. Accession talks with the EU opened at the end of 2015 and are not expected to end before 2022.   The message is very dangerous; it s playing with fire,  said Natasha Kandic, a prominent human rights lawyer in Serbia who has spent years documenting war crimes in Kosovo and elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia.   This is not even historical revisionism, it s the introduction of crime as a recommended act,  Kandic told Reuters.  It s the end of any vision of European integration, good neighborly relations, regional cooperation   none of that makes any sense after this.  A spokeswoman for the EU s foreign policy arm did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not obtain a phone number for Lazarevic, who rarely appears in the media. A spokeswoman said Vulin was not immediately available to comment.  Convicted war criminal Nikola Sainovic, a close ally of late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic during the Kosovo war, was appointed to the governing board of Serbia s co-ruling Socialist Party within a week of being released in 2015.  Former army officer Veselin Sljivancanin, convicted in The Hague over the killing of more than 200 Croat prisoners of war at a pig farm in the Croatian town of Vukovar in 1991, is now a regular feature at events of the ruling Progressive Party of conservative President Aleksandar Vucic. Lazarevic, Sainovic and Sljivancanin have always denied any wrongdoing. While there is no law barring them from political roles, their prominence and the enthusiasm with which they have been embraced sit uneasily with the image Vucic has projected of a reformed former ultranationalist determined to take Serbia into the European mainstream.  Vucic, Serbia s information minister during the Kosovo war, wowed European capitals this year with his choice of a lesbian technocrat as prime minister. The appointment of Vulin, a hardliner and former ally of Milosevic s exiled widow, as defense minister in June was seen as a nod to nationalists and Serbian ally Russia, however. Last week, Vulin told a gathering of army veterans that Serbia need no longer feel ashamed but  quietly proud  of officers such as Lazarevic,  the bravest of the brave.  Afterward, Washington s ambassador to Belgrade, Kyle Scott, took to Twitter.  Unfortunately, months of work on improving Serbia s image in the US can be undermined with just one statement,  he wrote on Oct 11. Kosovo, which declared independence with Western backing in 2008 but is not recognized by Serbia, said the appointment  demonstrated that  Serbia has never changed.   We are deeply disturbed by the systematic glorification of war criminals in Serbia, and their rehabilitation in senior political, security, and education institutions,  Kosovo s deputy prime minister, Enver Hoxhaj, told Reuters. Kosovo s prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, is himself a veteran of the war, a former guerrilla fighter against Serbian forces who was twice tried and twice acquitted of war crimes by the U.N. court in The Hague. But convicted war criminals have made it into public office in other parts of the former Yugoslavia: the mayor of the northern Bosnian town of Velika Kladusa, Fikret Abdic, is a notorious former warlord, while Johan Tarculovski, the only Macedonian to be convicted of war crimes in The Hague, is now a member of parliament. The gradual  normalization  of relations between Serbia and Kosovo is central to Serbia s EU accession hopes, but the process has dragged on for years. Hoxhaj lamented what he called  the silence of the international community on Serbia s derailing from the alleged commitment to European values, democracy, rule of law and international justice.

Summary: युद्ध अपराधी या रोल मॉडल? यह सर्बिया में एक पतली रेखा है


PARIS (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that France s military would continue its fight against lslamic State in Syria, but that the fall of the militant group s bastion in Raqqa needed to lead to an inclusive political system to restore stability.  The battle against Islamic State did not end with the fall of Raqqa and France will maintain its military effort as long as necessary,  Macron s office said in a statement.  The challenges of stabilization and reconstruction will not be less than those of the military campaign.  In a declaration formally announcing Raqqa s liberation from Islamic State after four months of battles, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday that Raqqa would be part of a decentralized federal Syria.  France has supplied weapons to the SDF, has special forces operating in the region and has been one of core countries bombing militants as part of the U.S.-led coalition. The statement also said it was vital that governance in Raqqa respected all communities.  This principle should apply first and foremost to the city of Raqqa, under conditions that will enable the restoration of normal living conditions, the return of the displaced and refugee populations, and the sustainable return of peace and stability,  the statement said.  The fight against Islamic State has taken place amid a wider, multi-sided civil war between the government of President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Iran and Russia, and an array of rebel groups supported by other powers.  Syria must finally find a way out of the civil war, which has fueled terrorism since the suppression of the democratic movement by the Bashar al-Assad regime. A negotiated political transition is more necessary than ever,  the statement said.

Summary: फ्रांस के मैक्रों ने कहा कि रक्का का पतन इस्लामिक स्टेट के खिलाफ लड़ाई का अंत नहीं है


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California voters on Tuesday were poised to choose two Democrats to face off against each other in the race to succeed Barbara Boxer in the U.S. Senate, shutting out Republicans in a sign of diminished support in America’s most populous state. State Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez will meet in what would be the state’s first single-party Senate election under a 2010 California law advancing the top two primary vote-getters to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. With 16 percent of precincts reporting in early returns on Tuesday, Harris, 51, led the crowded field of 34 candidates with 40 percent of the vote. None of the Republican contenders came close to Sanchez, 56, who was firmly in second place with 16  percent of the vote. Boxer, 75, a Democrat, is retiring after 24 years in the Senate. Republicans hold no statewide offices in California and represent about 27 percent of registered voters. The state, home to former Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, last elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1988. On Tuesday, former California Republican Party chairman Duf Sundheim was in third place with 10 percent in early returns, followed by fellow Republican Phil Wyman with 6 percent.       Harris is the daughter of two college professors. Of African-American and Indian descent, she was raised amid civil rights activism in Berkeley and Oakland, eventually becoming a prosecutor in San Francisco. She was elected attorney general in 2010 and 2014. For the primary, Harris ran a tightly controlled campaign, touting her role negotiating a settlement with big banks over the mortgage meltdown and using her position as the state’s top prosecutor to fight human trafficking, cyber crime and other issues. Sanchez, who represents Orange County near Los Angeles, has served in Congress since 1997. Her win in the once staunchly Republican county was an early sign of California’s demographic shift, as the state became more ethnically diverse and far more Democratic. Such a matchup could easily go negative, experts said, straining relationships within a party that are already bruised by the tense competition between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination for the Nov. 8 election. Clinton and Sanders also face off in California on Tuesday. “The fact that they’re both in the same party doesn’t mean they’re going to treat each other with kid gloves,” political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said of Harris and Sanchez. “When ideological and policy differences aren’t as great, it’s only natural for the candidates to focus on personal issues,” said Dan Schnur, who heads the Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. Sanchez, seeking to become the state’s first Latina U.S. senator, has raised less money than Harris and trails her by about 8 percentage points in polls. But factors including a recent surge in voter registration among Latinos will make her a strong competitor in the general election, analysts said. She has positioned herself more to the political center than her opponent. With support from Latinos, independents and Republicans, Sanchez could win in November despite Harris’ advantages, Schnur said. “We’re prepared for any turn in the race,” said Harris spokesman Nathan Click. A Sanchez campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Summary: कैलिफोर्निया अमेरिकी सीनेट की दौड़ से रिपब्लिकन को बाहर करने के लिए तैयार है


BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping urged joint efforts to keep Sino-U.S. ties on track during a meeting with President Donald Trump on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the German city of Hamburg, state news agency Xinhua said.

Summary: चीन के शी ने China-U.S संबंधों को पटरी पर रखने के लिए संयुक्त प्रयासों का आग्रह कियाः सिन्हुआ


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A plan to raise California’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 cleared its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday, putting the state on track to become the first in the nation to commit to such a large pay hike for the working poor. The measure, incorporating a deal Governor Jerry Brown reached with labor leaders and fellow Democrats in the Legislature, was approved on a party-line vote of 12-7 by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, where a previous version of the bill had stalled last summer. One Democrat, Tom Daly, joined six Republicans in opposing the measure, which now advances to the full Assembly for action as early as this week. It would then return to the Senate for a final vote. If enacted, the bill would put California, home to one of the world’s biggest economies, in the vanguard of a growing number of U.S. states and cities that have moved in recent years to surpass the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009. Supporters say such measures are necessary to help low-paid workers who have been slipping into poverty due to stagnant earnings and rising living expenses. Opponents say raising the mandatory wage floor puts undue strain on businesses still struggling to rebound from a prolonged U.S. economic slump. The measure would gradually raise California’s hourly minimum wage from the current level of $10 to $15 by 2022 for large businesses and by 2023 for smaller firms. It also would head off a pair of competing ballot initiatives lacking a provision to allow the governor to suspend the increases in hard economic times, a deal breaker for Brown. Raising the minimum wage has cropped up on many Democratic candidates’ agendas ahead of the November elections, and the issue could help galvanize supporters at the polls. But passage is not assured without backing from more moderate Democrats, including business-friendly Assembly members in swing districts who have recently held up bills that were priorities for the party’s progressive wing, including a plan to cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. According to the governor’s office, 2.2 million Californians earn the state minimum wage of $10 an hour. The bill would ultimately benefit 5.6 million workers, raising their wages by an average of 24 percent, according to an analysis from the University of California, Berkeley. Retail employees account for 16 percent of affected workers, and restaurant employees 15 percent.

Summary: कैलिफोर्निया के न्यूनतम वेतन को 15 डॉलर तक बढ़ाने की योजना को प्रमुख पैनल ने मंजूरी दी


ATHENS (Reuters) - The Greek parliament passed a law on Tuesday to make it easier for people to change their legally recognized gender, a move that angered the Church but was welcomed as long-overdue by human rights groups. The law will allow people to change their gender on official documents with a court ruling, and without requiring medical tests or sterilization, as is the case now.   It has been condemned as  immoral  by the Greek Orthodox Church and as a  monstrosity  by right-wing politicians.  Until now, anyone needing to officially change their gender had to be diagnosed with a  gender identity disorder  and have their reproductive organs removed, a practice condemned by human rights campaigners.   Absolutely no tradition, no perception of family calls for people to be sidelined or tossed aside into a social and institutional abyss,  Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who supported the law, told a heated discussion in parliament.  The law applies to anyone over the age of 15 and allows a person to change legal gender twice. Applicants must not be married and a final decision will be taken by a court.  The main opposition conservative New Democracy party voted against the bill saying it was a  sloppy  attempt to divert public attention from Greece s financial woes.   Your only goal is to stay in power,  said conservative lawmaker Simos Kedikoglou.  You ve found various methods of deception and this bill is the latest proof.  Supporters rallied outside parliament during Monday s debate, holding a banner reading:  Transgender rights are human rights .  The Church had urged the government to withdraw the bill.  For every human, gender is a sacred legacy. It is a precious thing for a woman to know about her feminine nature, and for a man to be aware of his male nature,  Bishop Nicolaos of Mesogaia told Greek Skai TV. The Church, he said, embraced  people with difficulties.  The bill passed by 171 votes in the 300-seat parliament, but it exposed fissures in the ruling coalition of Syriza and right-wing Independent Greeks party.       Most Independent Greeks approved the bill in principle but voted against an article setting the minimum age at 15, arguing that was too young.

Summary: ग्रीस ने लिंग परिवर्तन कानून पारित किया जिसका ऑर्थोडॉक्स चर्च ने विरोध किया


(Reuters) - After months of internal discord, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday were still trying to craft a bill to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, a law they have been attacking since it was enacted in 2010. Two attempts in recent weeks to pass an overhaul bill have collapsed in confusion, with conservatives pushing for a more complete repeal and moderates keen to avoid going too far for fear of angering their constituents. Obamacare brought health insurance coverage to millions of Americans. The first version of the Republican bill, known as the American Health Care Act, or AHCA, would have left 24 million more Americans without coverage, according to an estimate by nonpartisan congressional researchers. The House has recently added two amendments to the AHCA to try to appease both conservatives and moderates. Here are the latest versions of the bill’s main provisions:  The Republican plan would maintain some of Obamacare’s most popular provisions. It would allow young adults to stay on their parents’ health plan until age 26 and it would ban insurers from setting a lifetime dollar limit on coverage. An amendment introduced by moderate Republican Representative Tom MacArthur would let states opt out of Obamacare’s mandate that insurers charge sick and healthy people the same rates. It would also allow states to opt out of Obamacare’s requirement that insurers cover 10 essential health benefits, such as maternity care and mental health treatment.  The measure would provide states with $100 billion, largely to fund high-risk pools to provide insurance to the sickest patients. An amendment added Wednesday would provide another $8 billion over five years to help those with pre-existing conditions pay for health insurance. The bill would let insurers mark up premiums by 30 percent for those who have a lapse in insurance coverage of about two months or more. Insurers won another provision they had long sought: The ability to charge older Americans up to five times more than young people. Under Obamacare, they could only charge up to three times more. The Republicans want to end in 2018 Obamacare’s income-based tax credits that help low-income people buy insurance. These would be replaced with age-based tax credits ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 per year that would be capped at upper-income levels. While Obamacare’s credits gave more help to those with lower incomes, the Republican plan would be largely age-based. The Republican bill would abolish most Obamacare taxes, including on medical devices, health insurance premiums, indoor tanning salons, prescription medications and high-cost employer-provided insurance known as “Cadillac” plans. Those taxes paid for Obamacare. Republicans have not said how they would pay for the parts of the law they want to keep. The bill would also repeal the Obamacare financial penalty for the 2016 tax year for not purchasing insurance, as well as a surtax on investment income earned by upper-income Americans. It would repeal the mandate that larger employers must offer insurance to their employees.  Under Obamacare, more than 30 states, including about a dozen Republican states, expanded the Medicaid government health insurance program for the poor. About half of Obamacare enrollees obtained insurance through the expansion. The bill would allow the Medicaid expansion to continue until January 1, 2020, providing states chose not to expand. After that date, expansion would end and Medicaid funding would be capped on a per-person basis. State Medicaid plans would no longer have to cover some Obamacare-mandated essential health benefits, fulfilling a Republican promise to return more control to the states.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः रिपब्लिकन की ओबामाकेयर योजना मेडिकेड विस्तार, करों को हटा देगी


KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda on Wednesday denied its foreign minister had engaged in corrupt activities with a Hong Kong man who has been charged with bribery and other violations by U.S. authorities. Chi Ping Patrick Ho, 68, who heads the China Energy Fund Committee (CEFC), a charity based in Hong Kong and the U.S. state of Virginia, was charged with violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Ho was accused of among other issues of being involved with bribes and promises of other benefits to Sam Kutesa, Uganda s foreign affairs minister, in exchange for promises of business contracts for an unnamed Chinese firm.  Kutesa is also a former president of the U.N. General Assembly. The Ugandan foreign ministry said the  interaction and engagement  that Kutesa had with Ho was  in fulfilment of his official functions as president of the U.N. General Assembly .   It is therefore erroneous to insinuate or infer that Hon. Sam Kutesa, from references made to him and CEFC...is linked to the bribery allegations,  a statement said. Ho s attorney has declined to comment to Reuters on the charges.

Summary: युगांडा ने अपने विदेश मंत्री के खिलाफ भ्रष्टाचार के आरोपों का खंडन किया


(Reuters) - Legislation to raise taxes in Republican-controlled Kansas to help balance the budget was defeated on Wednesday after the state Senate failed to override the governor’s veto. The Senate’s 24-16 vote to override, which fell short of a two-thirds majority requirement, came just hours after the House overrode the veto. The measure would have increased individual income tax rates and ended a business tax exemption to raise an additional $590 million in fiscal 2018, which begins on July 1. Republican Governor Sam Brownback said on Tuesday night that he planned to veto it “because the legislature failed to fulfill my request that they find savings and efficiencies before asking the people of Kansas for more taxes.” Kansas is not the only state with Republicans controlling both the governor’s office and legislature to have skirmishes over taxes.  Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has pushed back against a legislative move to phase out the state’s income tax by 2057. On Tuesday, House lawmakers revised the proposal to gradually reduce the rate from 4.25 percent to 3.90 percent in 2021, when it would result in a $1.1 billion drop in revenue, according to a legislative analysis. “Half of a billion dollars will come due in 2019 and over one billion by 2022, years in which we have planned funding specifically to invest in modernizing our state’s infrastructure,” Snyder said in a statement. In Oklahoma, where revenue is sinking, Governor Mary Fallin proposed expanding the sales tax base to services to raise about $834 million for the fiscal 2018 budget. Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb, who was elected separately from Fallin, resigned from the governor’s Cabinet last week, citing the tax plan. “While I respect the determination with which Governor Fallin met her obligation to present a balanced budget to the legislature, I cannot support her proposed tax increases,” Lamb, who remains lieutenant governor, said in a statement. In Kansas, Brownback enacted legislation in 2012 reducing tax rates by as much as 29 percent in a move intended to improve the state’s business climate. But state coffers have shrunk, causing Kansas to miss revenue targets. This month, S&P offered a pessimistic assessment on the state’s finances, revising the outlook on Kansas’ AA-minus credit rating to negative from stable, citing structural budget pressures.

Summary: कंसास और अन्य राज्यों में करों को लेकर रिपब्लिकन लड़ रहे हैं


CARACAS/SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (Reuters) - With some nursing wounds, others jailed and many heading abroad, Venezuela s young opposition supporters are demoralized by the ruling socialists  shock election win this month, after prolonged protests failed to oust President Nicolas Maduro. Having for months led rallies and battles against Maduro s security forces in which scores died, youth demonstrators reluctantly abandoned the streets as the opposition turned its attention to the Oct. 15 gubernatorial vote. Though the opposition looked set to win comfortably due to public anger over food and medicine shortages, plus soaring inflation, the government took 18 of 23 governorships.     That left thousands of young protesters furious and disillusioned with opposition leadership. Many had vigorously opposed participating in the election because it would legitimize what they see as a dictatorship.   We have been betrayed,  said graphic designer Manuel Melo, 21, who lost a kidney when hit by a water cannon jet.  The political opposition does not represent us,  he added, in his small bedroom in a poor neighborhood of the teeming capital Caracas. A stylized picture of a heart emblazoned one wall of the room, while a gas mask, used to protect him from tear gas during the unrest, adorned the other. Melo and many others now see the protests, which left 125 people dead and thousands wounded or in jail, as a waste of time.  They have little stomach to return to the fight and view the leaders of the opposition Democratic Unity (MUD) coalition as traitors for abandoning the streets in favor of a ballot they believe was rigged by the pro-Maduro election board. Their disillusionment heightened this week when four of the five winning opposition governors with the Democratic Action party broke ranks with the coalition to swear themselves in before an all-powerful legislative superbody that Maduro s foes had vowed never to recognize. That set off a round of unseemly in-fighting and recriminations within the opposition, with heavyweight leader Henrique Capriles saying he would abandon the coalition while Democratic Action leader Henry Ramos remained a member.  I m totally dejected because after all these protests, the election, nothing has changed,  said student Javier Lara, 18, who watched a fellow protester die in unrest in the volatile city of San Cristobal on the border with Colombia. Like many young Venezuelans, Lara now plans to head abroad as soon as possible - to Peru in his case.  We ve been sold out by the opposition,  he said.   The Democratic Unity coalition finds itself in crisis.  Its strategy of contesting the gubernatorial elections backfired spectacularly. In the wake of defeat, stunned opposition leaders could not even agree whether to pursue fraud allegations, with some refusing to accept the election results and others publicly admitting defeat.  A breakup, or reformulation of the coalition, now looks inevitable, with a new strategy and possibly fresh blood needed for the 2018 presidential election.  Though polls routinely showed the opposition had majority support, many Venezuelans view their leaders as an elitist group out-of-touch with their problems.  The MUD is all over the place,  said Antonio Ledezma, a veteran politician and former opposition mayor who is under house arrest.  The international community deserves an explanation of our behavior.  Some young opposition supporters are seeking inspiration away from traditional leaders. They voice admiration for Lorenzo Mendoza, a billionaire businessman who has shied away from politics, and Juan Carlos Caguaripano, a former National Guard captain who led an August attack on a military base. Heaping humiliation on the opposition, Maduro says daily in speeches that  peace  has won and a U.S.-backed plot to oust him has been defeated.  To stoke his foes  disarray, Maduro has urged Democratic Action leader Ramos - a hate figure for some younger opposition supporters - to stand in the next presidential vote.   Get ready for 2018, I m waiting for you!  Maduro said this week, exulting in the opposition s  chaos ,  back-stabbing  and  divisionism .

Summary: वेनेजुएला के विपक्ष ने प्रदर्शनकारियों को दर्द से भर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Department of Homeland Security has prepared new guidance for immigration agents aimed at speeding up deportations by denying asylum claims earlier in the process.  The new guidelines, contained in a draft memo dated February 17 but not yet sent to field offices, directs agents to only pass applicants who have a good chance of ultimately getting asylum, but does not give specific criteria for establishing credible fear of persecution if sent home.   The guidance instructs asylum officers to "elicit all relevant information" in determining whether an applicant has "credible fear" of persecution if returned home, the first obstacle faced by migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border requesting asylum. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2m4aPAs) Three sources familiar with the drafting of the guidance said the goal of the new instructions is to raise the bar on initial screening in order to ease strain on the courts and reduce the number of immigrants allowed to stay in the United States, often for years, while they await a hearing. The administration’s plan is to leave wide discretion to asylum officers by allowing them to determine which applications have a “significant possibility” of being approved by an immigration court, the sources said. The guidance was first reported and posted on the internet by McClatchy news organization. In 2015, just 18 percent of asylum applicants whose cases were ruled on by immigration judges were granted asylum, according to the Justice Department. Applicants from countries with a high rate of political persecution have a higher chance of winning their asylum cases.  A tougher approach to asylum seekers would be an element of President Donald Trump’s promise to crack down on immigration and tighten border security, a cornerstone of his election campaign and a top priority of his first month in office. The guidelines are contained in two draft memos signed by Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and currently under review by the White House, according to two people familiar with them. The memos also outlined plans for greatly expanding the categories of people that immigration agents target for deportation, and gives them wide discretion in deciding who to deport. Previously, recent arrivals and convicted criminals were the prime targets. The new plan would include migrants who have been charged but not convicted of crimes, and would also apply to illegal immigrants who have been in the country for many years. The memos also call for quickly hiring 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as well as 5,000 more border patrol agents. The DHS declined to comment for this story, referring questions to the White House, which did not respond to a request for comment. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, an applicant must generally demonstrate “a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”   Immigration lawyers say any applicants who appear to meet that criteria in their initial interviews should be allowed to make their cases in court. They oppose encouraging asylum officers to take a stricter stance on questioning claims and rejecting applications.  Interviews to assess credible fear are conducted almost immediately after an asylum request is made, often at the border or in detention facilities by immigration agents or asylum officers, and most applicants easily clear that hurdle. Between July and September of 2016, U.S. asylum officers accepted nearly 88 percent of the claims of credible fear, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data. Asylum seekers who fail the credible fear test can be quickly deported unless they file an appeal. Currently, those who pass the test are eventually released and allowed to remain in the United States awaiting hearings, which are often scheduled years into the future because of a backlog of more than 500,000 cases in immigration courts. Between October 2015 and April 2016, nearly 50,000 migrants claimed credible fear, 78 percent of whom were from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala or Mexico, according to statistics from USCIS.  The number of migrants from those three countries who passed credible fear and went to court to make their case for asylum rose sharply between 2011 and 2015, from 13,970 claims to 34,125, according to data from the Justice Department.  Former border patrol chief Mike Fisher credits that trend to advice from immigration lawyers who know “asylum officers are going to err on the side of caution and refer most cases to a judge.”  The new guidance on asylum seekers is for border personnel implementing Trump’s Jan. 25 executive order on tightening U.S. border security.  Among other measures, the president’s directive calls for expediting eligibility claims of those attempting to stay in the United States and promptly deporting those whose claims are rejected. Some immigration officers familiar with the draft guidance say they are concerned that a rapid increase in deportations of asylum seekers could strain overcrowded detention facilities and create transportation problems.  Deportations take time and coordination, even when immigrants are quickly targeted for expulsion. U.S. officials must get approval from a deportee’s home country before repatriation can take place, and transportation can be complicated and expensive. Immigrants from non-contiguous countries are flown home by plane, while Mexicans are often bused across the border.   Homeland Security personnel who worked on the guidance say they hope to expand detention space by at least 8,000 beds. The money to pay for that would require congressional sign-off. The extra beds, they say, would further the president’s goal, expressed in his executive order on border security, of ending the practice known as “catch and release” in which migrants, including asylum seekers, are freed pending a court hearing. The new guidance calls for expanding detention, but acknowledges that ending the practice “may not be immediately possible.”  A congressional aide familiar with the administration’s plans said DHS is considering expanding its contracts with private prison companies like GEO Group (GEO.N) and CoreCivic (CXW.N), which currently hold most immigrant detainees. Immigrants rights advocates say they fear that raising the bar on the credible fear test could screen out migrants with a rightful claim to asylum, because asylum officers may dismiss cases that could make it through court if the asylum seeker were given legal counsel, said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.     Asylum applicants have the right to appeal denials of credible fear claims and may request to see a judge to assert their claim to be in the United States for other reasons, such as family ties. For that reason, raising the bar on credible fear might not deter asylum seekers as much as the Trump administration hopes, said former border patrol head Fisher.

Summary: ट्रम्प प्रशासन ने शरण प्रतिबंध बढ़ाने और निर्वासन में तेजी लाने की योजना का मसौदा तैयार किया