(Reuters) - The pace slowed in the third week of enrollment for 2018 Obamacare individual insurance as nearly 800,000 people signed up through the federal government website HealthCare.gov, down about 75,000 people from the previous week, a U.S. government agency reported on Wednesday.   There was an increase, however, in the number of new consumers to the program created by former President Barack Obama, to 220,323 from 208,397 in the previous week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said.  Republican President Donald Trump and lawmakers are trying to undo Obama’s health law but do not have enough votes to repeal it and so must continue to run the insurance program, which offers income-based subsidies. Uncertainty over its future drove 2018 monthly premiums up more than 30 percent on average as insurers such as Anthem Inc, Centene Corp and Molina Healthcare sought to cover higher costs. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 11 million will enroll in 2018, up from 2017’s 10 million, even as the period for sign-ups has been cut in half to six weeks and will end on Dec. 15. Total sign-ups for Obamacare individual insurance in the 39 states that use HealthCare.gov reached 2.28 million during the first three weeks of enrollment. The figures do not include enrollment in Washington, D.C. or the 11 states including New York and California that run their own enrollment and websites.  Among the states using HealthCare.gov with the highest number of individuals signing up were Florida, 498,168; Texas, 271,737; North Carolina, 138,932; Georgia, 119,968; and Pennsylvania, 101,286, the agency said.

Summary: 2018 ओबामाकेयर नामांकन के तीसरे सप्ताह में साइन-अप की गति धीमी हुई


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union told Britain on Friday to spell out what it will pay Brussels for when it leaves the bloc in 2019 or face more delay in talks on future trade ties that are vital for British business. After negotiations in Brussels, the first in a month, Brexit Secretary David Davis said during a news conference with his EU counterpart Michel Barnier it was time for  political discussions  to break a deadlock that has left both sides frustrated about a lack of progress.  Political  talks has in the past been code for Prime Minister Theresa May addressing fellow EU leaders directly, over the heads of Barnier and the EU executive, in order to square a circle in which Brussels will not address the future without a firm line from London on settling what the EU sees as past debts and May will not settle without assurances about future trade. May is due at a Brussels summit on Dec. 14-15 but EU officials insist that any breakthrough must be agreed at lower level first and weeks in advance to let the other 27 members agree a joint position. Progress in December is important for May as businesses seek clarity by the new year, when many will take investment decisions dependent on conditions after Brexit. A British budget due on Nov. 22 will, however, complicate the task for May in persuading hardline Brexit supporters of any need to meet Brussels  demand for tens of billions of euros to cover liabilities incurred in 44 years of EU membership.  Barnier stressed that he was not looking for a number from London but for a clearer undertaking than May gave in September on how far Britain would  honor its obligations .  It is absolutely vital if we are to achieve sufficient progress in December,  Barnier told reporters, adding not all details had to be settled but there needed to be  sincere and real progress . The clarifications should come within the next two weeks, Barnier said:  If that s not the case, then we will continue and that will pull back the opening of discussions on the future.  He said progress had to be made on all three key issues of the divorce talks - the money, the rights of EU citizens in Britain and how to avoid a  hard border  with EU-member Ireland. Davis said both sides made substantial technical progress on all the issues that need to be addressed.  This is now about moving into the political discussions that would enable both of us to move forward,  he said. British discussions with other national governments do not appear to have breached the unity of the 27 for now. And German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, the bloc s most powerful leaders, have taken a particularly tough line on the money issue in Brussels. The EU executive has said Britain will owe it around 60 billion euros when it leaves. London has challenged the legal reasoning behind that but has not offered its own figure. One thing that was clarified on Friday was exactly when Britain would leave the Union. The EU had previously defined  Brexit hour  as  midnight  on March 29, 2019, exactly two years after May triggered the process. But it was unclear whether that meant midnight in Brussels or London. May and Barnier made statements on Friday stating that Brexit will happen in London at 11 p.m. (2300 GMT) on Friday, March 29. That will be midnight in the EU capital.     Davis repeated the declaration made by May in September in Florence that EU countries will not need to pay more or receive less for the remainder of the current EU long-term budget ending in December 2020:  The UK will honor the commitments we made during the period of our membership,  he said. Barnier said both sides moved ahead on citizens  rights and that Britain gave  useful  clarifications on a process through which EU citizens could obtain a  settled status  but the EU needed reassurances on how such a system would work. He said issues related to family reunification, the right to export social security benefits and the role of the European Court of Justice still need work. On the problems of avoiding a  hard border  between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU-member Ireland, Davis and Barnier said more work must be done.

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ इस महीने चाहता है ब्रेक्सिट का पैसा, डेविस चाहते हैं 'राजनीतिक' सुधार


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Columbia University law professor Robert Jackson to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. Jackson is expected to be formally nominated on Friday, the source said. He would fill a vacant spot reserved for a Democrat on the five-member panel. His appointment follows the administration’s decision to nominate Hester Peirce as a Republican commissioner in July and would bring the SEC to full strength and paving the way for Chairman Jay Clayton to push ahead on an agenda of reducing public companies’ regulatory burdens. Jackson could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Jackson is known for his advocacy work in trying to advance new rules at the SEC that would force public companies to disclose their political spending to investors.

Summary: एसईसी की सीट के लिए रॉबर्ट जैक्सन को नामित करेंगे ट्रंपः सूत्र


(Reuters) - Donald Trump was scheduled to hold additional meetings on Friday and Monday as he forms his administration before taking over from Democratic President Barack Obama on Jan. 20.  The Republican president-elect has held more than 90 meetings so far, according to his transition team. Trump was to see the following people in coming days, according to his team: * U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican * Former Trump rival for the 2016 presidential nomination  * Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co * U.S. senator from West Virginia, a Democrat * Meeting originally scheduled for Dec. 9 * U.S. Representative from Idaho, a Republican * Serves on House Judiciary and Natural Resources committees * Was scheduled to meet with Trump on Dec. 8 * Former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, a Republican * Former Trump rival for the 2016 presidential nomination  Technology industry leaders invited for a meeting with Trump, according to media reports citing transition officials.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः यू. एस. हाउस स्पीकर रेयान के बाद, ट्रम्प पूर्व प्रतिद्वंद्वियों फियोरिना, सैंटोरम से मिलेंगे


(Reuters) - U.S. Republicans made progress on Tuesday in addressing the demands of some key senators in the party about their tax legislation, improving the outlook for the bill’s passage. President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress want to pass a tax bill by the end of 2017. Republicans control the Senate by a 52-48 margin, leaving little room for defections in the face of Democratic opposition. Here is a list of Republicans whose votes are pivotal to the bill’s fate. Senator Bob Corker said on Tuesday he had the outlines of a deal satisfying his concerns that the tax cuts could add too much to the national debt. As a deficit hawk, Corker’s main concern about the plan has been red ink - the tax bill is expected to add $1.4 trillion to the national debt over 10 years. Republicans say that gap would be narrowed by additional economic growth. Under the deal that Corker said he had reached with Senate leaders, the bill would be modified to automatically raise tax revenues if growth targets were not reached. The Tennessee lawmaker, a Trump critic who is not running for re-election, voted to advance the tax plan on Tuesday in the Budget Committee. He also spoke to Trump at a Republican lunch. The two feuded recently, with Corker calling the White House an “adult day care center” after Trump attacked Corker repeatedly on Twitter. The moderate senator from Maine has said she has qualms about Senate leaders’ plan to include repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate in the tax bill. The mandate requires people to buy health insurance or face a penalty. But Trump appears to be making a clear bid for Collins’ vote. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Tuesday that Trump backed a Collins proposal to set aside money to help health insurers cover the most expensive patients. Graham said that provision would probably go into an upcoming government funding bill, along with another measure Collins favors to continue Obamacare subsidy payments for low-income people for two years. Collins told reporters she would offer an amendment to the tax bill to include a deduction of up to $10,000 in property taxes. Collins was among three Republicans who voted in July to block a Republican attempt to dismantle Obamacare, Democratic former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, formally known as the Affordable Care Act. The senator from Alaska wanted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, to oil and gas drilling. Provisions to do that were attached to the tax bill as it passed the Budget Committee. Murkowski told reporters on Tuesday she was “feeling better” about the tax bill. She voted against three attempts to dismantle Obamacare earlier this year. But a week ago, she wrote an opinion piece saying she supported repealing the Obamacare individual mandate. Murkowski also wrote that she supported legislation to continue Obamacare subsidy payments for low-income people. Senator Ron Johnson also voted to advance the tax bill in the Budget Committee on Tuesday, although he has been demanding more favorable treatment for “pass-through” businesses as a condition of support. The Wisconsin lawmaker surprised colleagues earlier this month by becoming the first Republican to announce opposition to the tax plan. That earned him a call from Trump. Johnson, formerly chief executive of a polyester and plastics manufacturer, says the legislation unfairly helps corporations over small enterprises organized as non-corporate “pass-throughs.” Those include partnerships and sole proprietorships and account for most U.S. business.   The senator from Montana said in a statement on Monday he opposed the current version of the tax bill because it helped corporations more than other kinds of businesses. “I want to see changes to the tax cut bill that ensure Main Street businesses are not put at a competitive disadvantage against large corporations,” he said. “Before I can support this bill, this improvement needs to be made.” The Arizona maverick and former presidential nominee said on Monday he was still undecided and concerned about “a lot of things” in the tax plan, according to the Wall Street Journal. The war hero infuriated Trump when he joined Collins and Murkowski in voting against the Senate bill last summer to repeal Obamacare. McCain, who is still working after a diagnosis of brain cancer, has said he has almost no working relationship with  Trump. The senator from Arizona, a vocal Trump critic who is not seeking re-election in 2018, has issued a statement saying he was worried about the tax bill’s impact on the national debt. Trump has tweeted that he expects Flake to be a “no” on the tax bill “because his political career anyway is ‘toast.’” Like Corker, Oklahoma conservative Lankford questions whether tax revenues from economic growth will compensate for the expected increase in the national debt under the tax plan.  He has been working with Corker to “trigger” more revenues if needed. “We’re still trying to lock in exactly how we would do it,” he told reporters on Tuesday. The Kansas lawmaker is also wary of the impact on the national debt, pointing to his own state’s recent experience of fiscal problems following tax cuts. A spokesman for Moran said the senator was “determined to pass tax reform” and was working with colleagues to do so.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः रिपब्लिकन सीनेटर कर बिल की लड़ाई देखेंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Friday rolled out a series of education and work training initiatives focused on helping convicted criminals avoid returning to prison, part of President Barack Obama’s legacy-shaping effort to overhaul the U.S. criminal justice system as he prepares to leave office. The measures include a program that will link 67 colleges and universities with 141 correctional facilities to provide education and training to about 12,000 inmates. The program will offer federal Pell grants to prisoners, with an emphasis on inmates set to be released within five years of starting classes. “The bottom line is that our communities are less safe when the stigma of incarceration prevents Americans from truly ever shedding their prison jumpsuit,” White House senior adviser  Valerie Jarrett said on a call with reporters. “When people leave prisons and can’t turn their lives around, they too often end up back behind bars,” she said. Other programs unveiled on Friday will offer $31 million in grants for organizations to offer occupational training and apprenticeship opportunities for young adults and more than $5 million to organizations that help inmates prepare for employment. Obama’s top cabinet members for justice, education, labor and housing praised the reentry initiatives as common-sense reforms that should have been in place long ago. “All the little things that people take for granted generate tremendous obstacles for people who are coming out of the criminal justice system,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a panel hosted by the left-leaning Center for American Progress think tank. Obtaining photo identification or being considered for job opportunities were two examples. “In order to compete, you have to be allowed in the arena,” she added. Hiring people with a criminal history “is not an act of charity, it is an act of enlightened self-interest,” Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said, commending Maryland’s largest private employer, the Johns Hopkins Hospital, for employing so many people with criminal backgrounds. Despite bipartisan support for reform of mandatory minimum sentences for some non-violent federal drug offenders, legislation addressing the issue has stalled in Congress. Jarrett said the White House remains hopeful that criminal justice reform will be approved by lawmakers. “We would like to see those bills move forward as quickly as possible,” she said. “We are going to do everything we can to work with members on both sides of the aisle to make sure it comes to fruition.”

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस ने कैदियों को जेल के बाद काम खोजने में मदद करने के उपायों का खुलासा किया


KITCHANGA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was moved to tears on Thursday after visiting a nearly decade-old camp for Congolese displaced by violence in the country’s east, and insisted there has to be a way to hold “safe and fair elections.” Haley, the most senior member of President Donald Trump’s administration to visit Democratic Republic of Congo, traveled by helicopter to Mungote camp in Kitchanga, home to some 15,000 displaced people.  Dozens of excited children waved as Haley left on a U.N. peace-keeping helicopter to return to the provincial capital of Goma. She was visibly upset.  “The reason I got emotional today was the hundred-plus kids that were chasing our cars and seeing us off,” Haley told  reporters after the visit. “All I kept thinking was, what’s going to happen to them? The sad reality, as it looks now, is that they are going to end up just like their parents.” A single mother named Angelique told Haley she had been raped twice. “It’s hard for her when she sits in the kitchen with her seven children because they watched her getting raped,” Haley said as she recounted what Angelique told her. “She doesn’t know what to say to them,” Haley said.  “No one should live like this. We can’t turn a blind eye to all of this,” Haley said.   Congo is the final stop on Haley’s week-long Africa visit, which has also taken her to Ethiopia and South Sudan, where she met with President Salva Kiir. On Friday she is due to meet with Congolese President Joseph Kabila, who has been in power since 2001 when he took over from his father.  Congo has never had a peaceful transition of power, and Kabila refused to step down when his second elected term ended in December, fueling insecurity in a country where millions died in conflicts between 1996-2003, most from hunger and disease. Under an accord struck on Dec. 31 between Kabila’s representatives and opposition leaders, Kabila is barred from trying to change the constitution to stand for a third term. “We have to find a way to have a peaceful situation,” Haley said. “We have to find a way for them to have safe and fair elections, so we that we can get some leaders that know how to handle this situation and get these armed groups to stop.”  The Congolese electoral commission said earlier this month that an election to replace Kabila cannot take place before April 2019, a delay that the opposition said would cause an impatient population to “take matters into its own hands.” The largest U.N. peace-keeping mission is deployed in Congo, costing more than $1 billion annually. Haley is reviewing all operations in a bid to cut costs, as the United States is the largest contributor, paying 28 percent of the budget. The 193-member U.N. General Assembly agreed in June to a $7.3 billion peace-keeping budget, a cut of some $600 Million. The Congo operation has to cut $93 million. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that any further budget cuts could harm the U.N. mission in Congo. “The state is still absent from many parts of the country and all too often preys on the citizens it is meant to protect,” Guterres wrote in a report to the 15-member Security Council last month Peace-keepers kept watch while Haley was at Mungote camp in Kitchanga, where she also visited a small bakery started by 50 women.   “They’re making a profit and they just bought a sheep with the profits that they made,” she said. “So it’s inspiring to see they’re not just sitting here complaining, they’re trying to make the best of the life that they have.”

Summary: अमेरिकी राजदूत हेली ने कांगो के विस्थापित शिविर की भावनात्मक यात्रा की


(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he thinks there is some connection between climate change and human activity and “clean air is vitally important,” a New York Times reporter said in a tweet. Trump, who met Times reporters and editors in New York, “says he is keeping ‘an open mind’” on the issue, the Times’ reporter wrote on Twitter.  Trump has previously called man-made global warming a hoax. “I think there is some connectivity” between humans and climate change, Trump said in the Times interview.

Summary: जलवायु परिवर्तन पर 'खुले दिमाग' रखने की बात करते हैं ट्रंपः न्यूयॉर्क टाइम्स


SOCHI, Russia/RIYADH (Reuters) - Russia s Vladimir Putin won the backing of Turkey and Iran on Wednesday to host a Syrian peace congress, taking the central role in a major diplomatic push to finally end a civil war all but won by Moscow s ally, President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian opposition groups, meeting in Saudi Arabia to seek a unified position ahead of peace talks, decided to stick to their demand that Assad leave power, Al Arabiya television reported, following speculation they might soften their stance after their hardline leader quit. Two days after being visited by Assad in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, President Putin hosted his counterparts Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani there.  In a joint statement, the three leaders called on the Syrian government and moderate opposition to  participate constructively  in the planned congress, to be held in the same city on a date they did not specify.  The congress will look at the key questions on Syria s national agenda,  Putin told reporters at the summit, sitting alongside Rouhani and Erdogan.  First of all that is the drawing-up of a framework for the future structure of the state, the adoption of a new constitution, and, on the basis of that, the holding of elections under United Nations supervision.  There was no word from the leaders on who would be invited. The list of invitees has been a sticking point, with Turkey objecting to some Syrian Kurdish groups attending. Syria s civil war, in its seventh year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and created the world s worst refugee crisis, driving more than 11 million people from their homes. All previous efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution have swiftly collapsed, with the opposition demanding Assad leave power, the government insisting he stay on, and neither side able to force the issue by achieving a military victory. But since Russia joined the war on behalf of Assad in 2015, the balance of power has turned decisively in his government s favor. A year ago, the army forced rebels out of their last urban stronghold, the eastern half of Aleppo. In recent weeks, the self-proclaimed caliphate of jihadist group Islamic State has collapsed. Government forces now effectively control all of Syria apart from a few shrinking rebel pockets and a swathe in the north held by mainly Kurdish forces backed by the United States. Opposition groups held their meeting on Wednesday at a luxury hotel in Riyadh, two days after the leader of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) that has represented them at previous peace talks quit abruptly. HNC chief Riyad Hijab had been known as an uncompromising defender of the position that Assad must have no role in any political transition for Syria, and his resignation had led to speculation the opposition could soften its stance. However, a draft of the meeting s final statement still included the demand Assad leave office at the start of any transition, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported. Having helped Assad s government reach the cusp of victory, Putin now appears to be playing the leading role in international efforts to end the war on Assad s terms.  In addition to hosting Assad, Rouhani and Erdogan, the Russian leader has also phoned U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salman in the past 24 hours. Iran has long supported Assad.  Saudi Arabia, Iran s arch rival in the Middle East and long a backer of rebel groups in Syria and advocate of the position that Assad must leave, has been the main supporter of the HNC. But after King Salman made an historic visit to Moscow a few months ago, Riyadh appears to have come around to Russia s dominant role in Syria. Similarly Turkey, traditionally one of the Syrian leader s implacable foes, has increasingly shown willingness to work with Russia to resolve the crisis.  This summit is aimed at results. I believe critical decisions will be reached,  Turkey s Erdogan said in Sochi before his meeting with Putin and Rouhani. The Syrian government welcomed the final statement from the three-way Iran summit, Syrian state media said on Wednesday, quoting an official source in the Foreign Ministry. It described it as the culmination of Assad s summit with Putin. The other major power with troops in Syria, the United States, has so far kept its distance. Washington has been arming, training and sending special forces to assist a Kurdish group fighting against Islamic State, angering Turkey which is fighting its own Kurdish insurgency. Still, any final settlement that keeps Assad in power will probably require the participation of some kind of opposition delegation willing to negotiate over the demand that he go. U.N. peace talks mediator Staffan de Mistura, host of the formal peace process in Geneva, told the opposition groups at the Riyadh meeting they needed to have the  hard discussions  necessary to reach a  common line .  A strong, unified team is a creative partner in Geneva and we need that, one who can actually explore more than one way to arrive to the goals that we need to have,  he said. De Mistura will meet Russia s defense and foreign ministers on Thursday to discuss preparations for a new round of Geneva talks, Russian news agency RIA reported. Russia said on Tuesday that the resignation of such  radically minded  Syrian opposition figures as HNC chief Hijab would help unite the disparate opposition factions around a more  realistic  platform. [L8N1NR296]

Summary: सीरिया में नए शांति प्रयास के लिए पुतिन को ईरान, तुर्की का समर्थन मिला


ADEN/GENEVA (Reuters) - The Saudi-led military coalition fighting against Yemen s Houthi movement reopened a land border crossing, partly easing a blockade imposed earlier this week, but aid agencies warned of famine and a health catastrophe if other ports stay shut.  The coalition said on Monday it would close all air, land and sea ports in Yemen to stem the flow of arms to the Houthis from Iran, after Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired toward its capital Riyadh. The al Wadea border crossing, linking Saudi Arabia with territory in eastern Yemen controlled by the Saudi-backed government, was reopened on Thursday, a Yemeni official and witnesses said, letting food and other supplies across. The United Nations has said that a total blockade of Yemen could cause a famine that could kill millions. The government-held southern port of Aden was reopened on Wednesday, but ports in Houthi-held areas are still shut. The Houthis, drawn mainly from Yemen s Zaidi Shi ite minority and allied to long-serving former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, control much of the country including the capital San aa. Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have been waging war against them on behalf of the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, based in Aden. The Saudis and their allies say the Houthis get weapons from their arch-foe, Iran. Iran denies arming the Houthis and blames the conflict in Yemen on Riyadh. Yemen s stocks of fuel and vaccines will run out in a month unless the Saudi-led coalition allows aid into the blockaded port of Hodeidah and the airport at San aa, UNICEF s representative in the country said on Friday. Meritxell Relano, speaking by phone to reporters in Geneva, said fuel prices had risen 60 percent and there were urgent concerns about a diphtheria outbreak, as well as food shortages because of the port closure.  The situation that was already catastrophic is just getting worse,  she said.  The impact of this is unimaginable in terms of health and diseases.  After two years of civil war, Yemen has 7 million people on the brink of famine and has had 900,000 suspected cholera cases in the past six months.  United Nations aid chief Mark Lowcock said on Wednesday that if the coalition did not allow humanitarian aid access to Yemen, it would cause  the largest famine the world has seen for many decades, with millions of victims.  The cholera epidemic had abated in recent weeks with the number of cases slowing amid a major push to fight the disease. But the World Health Organization said the progress could be reversed by the blockade.  If the closure is not stopped in the coming days, we may see that the progress is stopped,  WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a briefing in Geneva.  We can see even more cases and more deaths as a result of not being able to get access to people.  The closure of Hodeidah port prevented a ship setting sail from Djibouti with 250 tonnes of WHO medical supplies on Wednesday. Trauma kits in particular are running short.   If the hostilities continue and the ports remain closed, we will not be able to perform life-saving surgeries or provide basic healthcare,  Chaib said.  Germany will double its aid to UNICEF for Yemen to 20 million euros this year to help deal with looming famine, bringing its total annual aid to Yemen to 70 million, a spokeswoman for the development ministry said on Friday.  The suffering of the people in Yemen is inconceivable and it threatens to become much worse,  Development Minister Gerd Mueller told Passauer Neue Presse newspaper.  We must act now to prevent the death by starvation of millions of women, children and men.

Summary: सऊदी के नेतृत्व वाले गठबंधन ने यमन की सीमा खोली; सहायता एजेंसियों ने अकाल की चेतावनी दी


HENDERSON, Nev. (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump backed off from praising Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, saying he was unsure of his relationship with the Russian president who he has described as a better leader than President Barack Obama. The day after running mate Mike Pence appeared to break ranks with Trump during a vice presidential debate and called Putin “a small and bullying leader,” Trump adjusted his own previously warm rhetoric toward the Russian. “I don’t love (Putin), I don’t hate. We’ll see how it works. We’ll see,” Trump told supporters during a campaign stop in the swing state of Nevada. “Maybe we’ll have a good relationship. Maybe we’ll have a horrible relationship. Maybe we’ll have a relationship right in the middle.” Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has criticized Trump, who often praises Putin, as being too cozy with the Russian leader and questioned the Republican’s business interests in Russia. Those charges were repeated by her vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine during a debate with Pence on Tuesday. In response, Pence denounced Putin for his interference in Syria’s civil war and support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “The small and bullying leader of Russia is now dictating terms to the United States,” Pence said. “The greatest nation on earth just withdraws from talks about a ceasefire, while Vladimir Putin puts a missile defense system in Syria.” The vice presidential encounter set the table for a second presidential debate on Sunday in St. Louis between Clinton and Trump, who needs to rebound from a rocky performance in his first debate, one that gave Clinton a boost in national opinion polls with the Nov. 8 Election Day only five weeks away.         In Nevada, Trump suggested Russia could be a valuable ally in the fight against Islamic State, also known by the acronym  ISIS. “I will say if we get along with Russia and Russia went out with us and knocked the hell out of ISIS, that’s okay with me, folks,” he said. Trump celebrated a strong debate performance by Pence, the governor of Indiana, and said his running mate had won on style and on the issues. “He’s getting tremendous reviews from me and everybody,” Trump told a group of pastors and leaders gathered at a Christian academy in Las Vegas. The encounter between Pence and Kaine, a U.S. senator from Virginia, was the only such debate between the vice presidential contenders, and the two spent most of their time attacking each other’s running mates. For more than 90 minutes at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, Pence sought to project an image as a reassuring presence, in contrast with the bombastic Trump, while Kaine tried to frighten voters away from Trump and make Clinton seem more trustworthy. A CNN/ORC snap poll declared Pence the winner with 48 percent support, compared with 42 percent for Kaine, who frequently interrupted his opponent. The television audience for the debate was 35.6 million viewers, according to preliminary data, about half the number who watched the first encounter between Trump and Clinton.     Republican strategists said Pence’s strong debate performance could provide lessons for Trump on how to approach the second debate - if he was willing or able to learn. “Trump should hopefully learn a lesson - don’t get angry, don’t lose your cool, answer the question you want to answer,” Republican strategist John Feehery said. “The biggest thing is to not get rattled and be able to smile when you are attacked.” Clinton met with advisers at her Washington, D.C., home on Wednesday and did not appear on the campaign trail. An aide said she spoke by phone with Kaine and congratulated him on his debate performance. “Mike Pence didn’t want to defend Donald Trump, and as Senator Kaine said, if you can’t defend the person at the top of the ticket, how can you ask people to vote for you,” Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta told reporters outside her house. (This story corrects quote in 3rd paragraph to put Putin in parentheses)

Summary: बहस के बाद रूस के राष्ट्रपति पुतिन की प्रशंसा करने से पीछे हटे ट्रंप


BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary s ruling Fidesz party, preparing for elections next April, promised on Thursday to highlight what it called a plan by billionaire financier George Soros to bring millions of migrants into Europe. Fidesz asked Prime Minister Viktor Orban s government to carry out a  national consultation  about Brussels  plans to distribute asylum-seekers in the EU, a week after the EU s top court ruled against complainants Hungary and Slovakia. Previous such consultations have taken the form of sending out questionnaires to millions of voters, setting out the government s right-wing nationalist position and asking people if they agree. Soros, a Hungarian-born Jew who has spent a large part of his fortune funding pro-democracy and human rights groups, has been targeted by Orban s government repeatedly. His spokesman has described the government s portrayal of his views on immigration as  fantasy . Orban has been one of the loudest opponents of mandatory migrant resettlement quotas proposed by the EU, arguing this would undermine its sovereignty and social fabric. His stance has gone down well with voters, and Fidesz is firmly ahead in opinion polls. Lajos Kosa, a party vice chairman, said the national consultation should focus on the alleged Soros plan, something that would place migration at the center of the campaign.  The European Commission stops just short of saying that they carry out the Soros plan... but all their steps and ideas with regard to migration point in this direction,  Kosa said, adding last week s EU court defeat for Hungary had  opened the gates . Soros  spokesman Michael Vachon in July dismissed the idea that the financier and philanthropist was promoting a scheme to import millions of illegal immigrants into Europe.  Soros s actual position on migration is that the international community should provide more support to the developing countries that today host 89 percent of refugees and that Europe should accept several hundred thousand fully screened refugees through an orderly process of vetting and resettlement,  he said. He said an anti-migrant billboard campaign by the Hungarian government, showing a smiling Soros and carrying the caption  Don t let Soros have the last laugh , was  reminiscent of Europe s darkest hours . The government ended the poster campaign over the summer.

Summary: हंगरी के फिडेज़ ने प्रवासियों के लिए 'सोरोस योजना' के खिलाफ अभियान की तैयारी की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans have reached a tentative budget deal that could allow tax reform legislation to eliminate as much as $1.5 trillion in revenues over 10 years through tax cuts, raising the odds that their planned tax overhaul would expand the federal deficit. Two members of the Senate Budget Committee, Republicans Pat Toomey and Bob Corker, announced the formal agreement late on Tuesday, but their joint news release did not provide dollar figures for revenue reduction or tax cuts. The prospective tax cuts are part of closed-door talks among 12 Senate Budget Committee Republicans who are drafting a fiscal 2018 budget measure needed to help the 100-member Senate pass a tax overhaul with as few as 51 Republicans votes and prevent Democrats from blocking the legislation. The U.S. economy is in a steady expansion and stock markets are rising. But the tax cuts being weighed by congressional Republicans, with encouragement from President Donald Trump, are on a scale normally reserved for times of economic hardship and intended to drive annual economic growth above 3 percent. Trump campaigned last year on a promise of comprehensive tax reform. But Republicans have made little tangible progress toward that ambitious goal so far. Toomey told reporters he is confident that Republicans will agree to a budget resolution that foresees a deficit in the first decade. He said, however, that talks have not settled definitively on $1.5 trillion.   “I’d like to see a bigger number,” said Toomey, who argues that tax cuts would increase economic growth. In their joint news release, Toomey and Corker said they agreed on a budget resolution that would use a standard analysis of the impact of the tax cuts on the deficit. Some Republicans like Toomey have pushed for a “dynamic” model, which tends to assume an increased economic stimulus effect from tax cuts, resulting in smaller projected increases to the deficit. Senator John Thune, a member of the Senate Republican leadership team, said he expected the agreement to provide  maximum flexibility to craft a tax overhaul capable of driving economic growth and ultimately raising worker wages. But looming in the background is Washington’s steady flow of red ink that adds every year to the $20 trillion national debt, a target of outrage not long ago for Republican “fiscal hawks.” In recent weeks, some fiscal hawks have expressed a willingness to consider deficit financing for tax reform but many at levels well below $500 billion.  Toomey’s comments suggest Senate Republicans may be looking to deficit spending as a way to cut taxes on businesses and individuals while avoiding hard decisions that would be needed to raise taxes elsewhere or eliminate popular tax breaks. If adopted by Congress in a budget resolution, the $1.5 trillion figure would set a ceiling on how much revenue tax reform could eliminate over 10 years. Analysts and Democrats have warned that higher deficits resulting from tax cuts would eventually overwhelm economic growth at a time when U.S. interest rates are set to rise. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, whose panel would use the budget figure in crafting a tax reform bill, told reporters he was not sure that revenue losses of $1.5 trillion were needed for tax reform. Senator Ron Wyden, the Senate Finance Committee’s top Democrat, dismissed the development as a distraction from the more important question of how Republican tax reform would ultimately benefit the wealthy. “It looks to me like yet another trial balloon,” Wyden said. Republicans have been unable to agree on how to pay for tax cuts and other proposed tax changes, aside from arguing that some lost revenue would be clawed back from the buoyant economic growth they believe tax reform will deliver. “There’s no way you’re going to be able to do tax cuts that pay for themselves,” said Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, another budget committee Republican. “But I think most people would concede that cutting taxes does stimulate the economy.”

Summary: सीनेट रिपब्लिकन कर कटौती, घाटे के विस्तार पर विचार कर रहे हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of a hard-line Republican conservative faction in the U.S. Congress wants to impeach the nation’s top tax officer and said lawmakers could do this without accusing him of any crime. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen should be impeached within weeks, said Jim Jordan, chairman of the House of Representatives Freedom Caucus, in an interview. Jordan’s demand comes amid numerous Republican attacks on the IRS in recent months. Bashing the tax-collecting agency is a perennial Capitol Hill practice, but Jordan and a handful of other conservatives have been pushing it further than usual. He said Jordan could be impeached simply because he had betrayed the trust put in him by the U.S. public to carry out his job correctly. “When someone violates the public trust in such a way as this individual has, and that agency has, then that’s what warrants ... impeachment,” Jordan said. Impeachment is a formal charge of wrongdoing for a trial that would occur in the Senate, where a two-thirds vote is necessary for removal from office. Republicans control only 54 of the 100 Senate seats, making such a vote unlikely. Asked when the House should act, the Ohio Republican replied: “I hope before we leave for the summer break.”    The IRS said in a statement that Koskinen has provided Congress with full cooperation and truthful testimony and remains focused on serving U.S. taxpayers. On Tuesday, Republicans will detail their complaints about Koskinen at a House Judiciary Committee hearing. Never popular with lawmakers, the IRS angered Republicans in 2013-2014 in a controversy over its handling of applications from conservative political groups for tax-exempt status. The episode caused a shake-up of top IRS personnel. Koskinen was brought in by the Obama administration in late 2013 to restore order. But the House has since approved several bills attacking the IRS and its budget has been sharply cut.      Jordan said a second hearing in June would be about determining the standard for impeachment. The grounds for impeachment listed in the Constitution are “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Koskinen has declined an invitation to testify on Tuesday. He is accused of failing to comply with a congressional subpoena and misleading investigators. Republicans have said his inaction resulted in the destruction of thousands of key emails. Up to now, impeachment has been used against two presidents, a cabinet secretary, a senator and 15 federal judges, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Summary: प्रमुख हाउस रूढ़िवादी चाहते हैं कि आईआरएस प्रमुख पर महाभियोग चलाया जाए


KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A senior Malaysian opposition leader was detained by anti-corruption authorities on Thursday, a source said, as part of a nationwide campaign against graft launched by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Hundreds of people including many high-profile figures have been arrested this year by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC), at a time when a multi-billion dollar scandal involving state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) hangs over Najib. Shafie Apdal, a former close ally of Najib, was detained at the MACC office in the state of Sabah in connection with a RM1.5 billion ($355 million) embezzlement probe, according to a source in the anti-graft agency. The investigation covers alleged corruption involving projects doled out by the federal government through the Rural and Regional Development Ministry between 2009 and 2015, when it was run by Shafie.  He will be brought before a magistrate for a remand hearing tomorrow,  said the source, who was not authorized to issue statements on behalf of the MACC. Shafie could not be contacted. Darell Leiking, Deputy President of his Parti Warisan Sabah party, described the arrest as political persecution.  We shall ensure that we shall fight for justice for all those who this (Najib) regime intends to suppress and intimidate,  Darell told Reuters. Prior to Shafie s arrest, the anti-graft agency detained two of his brothers and several senior Warisan leaders. Shafie, a former vice-president of Najib s ruling United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), quit the party after he was suspended for questioning the prime minister over his handling of the 1MDB scandal. He later founded Warisan to run for office in his home state. Over the past two years, Najib has grappled with the 1MDB scandal which has been the subject of investigations in at least six countries for money-laundering and misappropriation of funds. Malaysia s attorney-general closed the 1MDB probe in January 2016, and cleared Najib of any wrongdoing.

Summary: मलेशिया के प्रधानमंत्री नजीब के पूर्व सहयोगी भ्रष्टाचार की जांच में गिरफ्तारः सूत्र


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman has withdrawn from consideration to be the next director of the FBI, citing the potential for an appearance of a conflict of interest given President Donald Trump’s decision to retain an attorney who works at the same firm. Lieberman works at a New York firm headed by Marc Kasowitz, who has been hired by Trump to represent him amid probes by the Justice Department and Congress into possible ties between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. “With your selection of Marc Kasowitz to represent you in the various investigations that have begun, I do believe it would be best to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest,” Lieberman wrote to Trump in a letter dated Wednesday. A copy of the letter, which was first disclosed by the Wall Street Journal, was provided to Reuters on Thursday. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Lieberman’s withdrawal. Trump told reporters a week ago that he was “very close” to selecting a nominee to replace James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and he said Lieberman was a leading candidate.  Trump fired Comey on May 9, a decision that set off a political firestorm given Comey’s central role in the FBI’s probe of Russian meddling in the election and potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials seeking to swing the vote in Trump’s favor. The Department of Justice appointed a special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller, to lead an independent investigation into the Russia matter. Given Kasowitz’s role, Lieberman might not have been able to participate in the Russia investigation for a period of two years without White House and Justice Department waivers, Kathleen Clark, a professor of legal ethics at Washington University School of Law told Reuters on Wednesday. A federal regulation restricts newly hired government lawyers from investigating their prior law firm’s clients for one year, a period that was extended to two years under an executive order signed by Trump in January. CNN, citing a unnamed senior administration official, reported on Wednesday that Trump wanted to renew the search for an FBI director after having interviewed a number of candidates, including Lieberman. On Thursday, citing unnamed sources, CNN said John Pistole, a former deputy director at the FBI and a former head of the Transportation Security Administration, was under consideration.

Summary: लिबरमैन एफ. बी. आई. निदेशक पद से हटे


(Reuters) - A Maine state official on Wednesday validated a petition by pro-marijuana activists that would allow the state’s voters to determine whether to make recreational use of the drug legal in the northeasternmost U.S. state. Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap found that activists had collected enough verified signatures to be presented to state lawmakers for consideration, his office said in a statement. The state legislature has the option of approving the proposal as written or placing it on the ballot in November. That move followed a ruling by a state judge earlier this month that overruled an initial decision by Dunlap’s office that almost half of the signatures gathered by the campaign were not valid, citing concerns that the signatures of notaries public on various forms submitted did not match up with versions on file in official state records. The referendum would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess marijuana, while levying a 10 percent tax on recreational sales. Marijuana use in public would remain illegal. Maine Governor Paul LePage has publicly opposed the measure, saying he believes marijuana is a “gateway drug” that leads other sorts of narcotics abuse. Voters in four U.S. states plus the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of the drug in similar ballot initiatives. Advocates have pushed for similar referendums this year in a half-dozen other states, including Massachusetts and California.

Summary: मेन के अधिकारी ने मारिजुआना के वैधीकरण पर मतदान पहल को मंजूरी दी


HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe s top general warned on Monday that the military would not hesitate to step in to end purges against former liberation war fighters in President Robert Mugabe s ruling party after Emmerson Mnangagwa was stripped of his vice president s post. General Constantino Chiwenga, commander of Zimbabwe Defence Forces and a political ally of Mnangagwa who was also expelled from the ruling ZANU-PF, said instability in the party was causing anxiety in Zimbabwe. Chiwenga s statement, read out at a news conference packed with army top brass, comes at a time of a deepening rift within ZANU-PF over who will eventually lead the party after the 93-year-old Mugabe goes.  Mnangagwa s removal provides a boost for Grace Mugabe, the wife of the president, who is supported by the largely youthful G40 faction of ZANU-PF to succeed her husband. Chiwenga said ZANU-PF had been hijacked by people who did not fight in the 1970s liberation war, a clear shot at G40 wing and Grace Mugabe who is a vocal critic of Mnangagwa.       We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that, when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in,  Chiwenga said in a statement read to reporters at the news conference.  The current purging ... targeting members of the party with a liberation background must stop forthwith,  he said.  Mugabe s 37 years in power has been anchored by support from the military, which has always said it will not back anyone for president who did not fight in the liberation war. But the aging leader has been accusing the generals of taking sides in the succession race.  It is rare for the defense forces to publicly take sides in the affairs of ZANU-PF. When Joice Mujuru, a war veteran and Mugabe s deputy of 10 years, was sacked from the ruling party in 2014, the military remained quiet. Political analysts however say the military stayed quiet then because the beneficiary of Mujuru s downfall was the 75-year-old Mnangagwa, a war veteran. Grace, now poised to become a vice president, did not fight in the liberation war. The party appears split over the succession with the G40 faction supporting Grace and another faction, that includes war veterans, rooting for the ousted Mnangagwa. Chiwenga said ZANU-PF had since 2015 been rocked by infighting, which had afflicted the economy, causing serious cash shortages and soaring prices of basic commodities - rare criticism of those in government by the military. Analysts said if Mugabe responded to Chiwenga s statement, he would be compelled to choose sides between war veterans and the young turks rallying behind his wife.  He is in a corner. He has to declare his allegiance. If he condemns that statement, then he is saying therefore I am for the young turks against the war veterans,  said Eldred Masunugure, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.  What we are witnessing is the military saying:  We are willing to intervene if the red line is crossed . It is a warning that the political class in ZANU-PF is about to cross that red line.

Summary: जिम्बाब्वे के शीर्ष जनरल अपदस्थ उपराष्ट्रपति समर्थकों के निष्कासन को समाप्त करने के लिए "कदम उठाने" के लिए तैयार


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton praised the peace deal between Colombia and the rebel group FARC in a statement on Thursday.  “As president, I’ll ensure that the United States remains their partner in that process. The people of Colombia deserve nothing less,” Clinton said. “And the safety and security of our hemisphere and world will be strengthened by Colombia’s success.”

Summary: डेमोक्रेट क्लिंटन ने कोलंबिया-फार्क शांति समझौते का समर्थन करने का संकल्प लिया


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The EU s top diplomat pledged on Thursday to reinvigorate diplomacy with Russia, the United States, Jordan and others to ensure Palestinians have a capital in Jerusalem after U.S. President Donald Trump recognized the city as Israel s capital. The European Union, a member of the Middle East Quartet along with the United States, the United Nations and Russia, believes it has a duty to make its voice heard as the Palestinians  biggest aid donor and Israel s top trade partner.  The European Union has a clear and united position. We believe the only realistic solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine is based on two states and with Jerusalem as the capital of both,  EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told a news conference. She said she would meet Jordan s foreign minister on Friday, while she and EU foreign ministers would discuss Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Brussels on Monday.  The European Union will engage even more with the parties and with our regional and international partners. We will keep working with the Middle East Quartet, possibly in an enlarged format,  said Mogherini, citing Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as Norway.  We remain convinced that the role of the United States ... is crucial,  she said. Mogherini, who also spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, threw her weight behind Jordan s King Abdullah, saying he was  a very wise man  that everyone should listen to as the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.  Trump s decision stirred outrage across the Arab and Muslim world and alarm among U.S. allies and Russia because of Jerusalem s internationally disputed status, and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas urged Palestinians to abandon peace efforts and launch a new uprising against Israel. Mogherini stressed all 28 EU governments were united on the issue of Jerusalem and seeking a solution envisaging a Palestinian state on land Israel took in a 1967 war, but policy divisions within the bloc have weakened its influence.  This is the consolidated European Union position,  she said, saying EU foreign ministers made that clear to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday in Brussels. Hurdles for the EU include its range of positions, ranging from Germany s strong support for Israel to Sweden s 2014 decision to officially recognize the state of Palestine. The EU is also perceived by some in Israel as being too pro-Palestinian, partly because of the EU s long-held opposition to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, diplomats say.

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ ने फिलिस्तीनियों के लिए भी जेरूसलम को राजधानी बनाने पर जोर देने का संकल्प लिया


ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey will take stronger steps in retaliation for the Iraqi Kurdish referendum last week, having already taken some measures in coordination with the Iraqi central government and Iran, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. At a joint news conference in Tehran with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, broadcast live on Turkish television, Erdogan said the referendum had no legitimacy and had only been recognized by Israel. He also said the goal of raising Turkish-Iranian trade volume to $30 billion from $10 billion remained on the agenda and the two countries would conduct trade in their own currencies to limit foreign exchange pressures.

Summary: तुर्की इराकी कुर्द जनमत संग्रह के जवाब में मजबूत कदम उठाएगाः एर्दोगन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - While Democrats and immigration advocates recoiled at hard-line immigration proposals unveiled this week by the White House, they see a chance to force Republicans’ hand on legislation to help young “Dreamers” brought to the country illegally as children. Their focus? A spending bill that Congress will need to pass in December in order to keep the U.S. government open. Republicans, who control both houses of Congress, may need Democratic votes to approve the legislation because of divisions within their party over fiscal restraint.  Democrats are considering insisting on help for the Dreamers as their price for providing the votes that may be required to prevent a government shutdown. Republican President Donald Trump ended the Obama-era DACA program last month that protected the Dreamers, and gave Congress six months to find a solution. “This is all heading towards a December deal on Dreamers as part of an omnibus or spending package,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, a liberal-leaning immigration advocacy group. “If Trump embraces the nativists in his base and says: ‘No deal unless I get everything,’ there won’t be many if any Democratic votes for a spending package that excludes Dreamers.” House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told the Washington Post on Monday she did not rule out withholding Democratic support for the spending bill if needed to obtain a deal to protect the nearly 800,000 Dreamers in the United States. Asked about the possibility of including action on Dreamers in the spending measure, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the administration was not focused on the implementation process at the moment but would get into that at meetings this week after releasing the president’s priorities on Sunday night. In December, Trump and Congress face the expiration of a three-month deal struck on Sept. 8 to prevent a government shutdown.  That surprise deal between Trump and congressional Democrats maintained federal government funding at levels then in place until Dec. 8. Another stopgap bill will likely be needed to replace that, setting up further fiscal and legislative drama in Washington. Republican leaders in the House have struggled in recent years to get a consensus within their party on budget deals. Members of the conservative Freedom Caucus have often demanded deep budget cuts unpalatable to more moderate Republicans. If enough Republican lawmakers break ranks on the budget, House leaders would need Democratic votes to help make up the difference and avoid a government shutdown.  DEAL-MAKING        Trump as a businessman had a reputation for working to get deals by opening with an aggressive list of demands and later leaving the door open to compromise.    Administration officials want his immigration priorities implemented in conjunction with a plan to give Dreamers legal status. The wish list includes funding for a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico and a crackdown on unaccompanied minors who enter the United States from Central America. Pro-immigration advocates dismissed those demands as non-starters and largely brushed off their release as immaterial to the debate because they were unacceptable to Democrats and many Republicans. “I don’t think that the ideas that were presented on Sunday really change the discussion or complicate things at all,” said Tom Jawetz, vice president of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress. Advocates say there is bipartisan support for measures to prevent Dreamers from facing deportation and allow them to secure work permits after Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program enacted under former Democratic President Barack Obama. The White House and many Trump supporters are eager, however, to see key campaign promises on border security enacted in exchange for any such fix. That has advocates focused on the spending, or omnibus bill, as an avenue for Dreamer legislation that could pass both chambers unencumbered by demands related to immigration enforcement.  “It’s highly unlikely that a stand-alone bill could ever reach the president’s desk,” said Tyler Moran, managing director of the DC Immigration Hub, a strategy organization for pro-immigration groups. “The only vehicle is the omnibus bill.” (This story was refiled to fix typographical errors in final paragraph.)

Summary: डेमोक्रेट्स बजट की लड़ाई को 'ड्रीमर्स' पर ट्रम्प के हाथ को मजबूर करने के अवसर के रूप में देखते हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, a hawkish Iraq war veteran who has said he did not consider waterboarding to be torture, is likely to be chosen by President Donald Trump as the next leader of the Central Intelligence Agency amid a Cabinet shake-up, senior administration officials said. Here are five facts about the Arkansas Republican: - Cotton, 40, is a staunch Trump ally who has vigorously opposed the Iran nuclear deal. He served one term in the House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 2014 as part of a Republican wave. Cotton sits on the Intelligence Committee but has no experience managing a large organization. - Cotton has given a qualified endorsement of the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to boost Trump’s prospects. “I have no doubts about the intelligence community’s assessment,” he said in an Oct. 5 interview with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius.  - Cotton wants to boost the defense budget, saying the U.S. military is in crisis, and has pointed to both Russia and China as growing threats. He accused Moscow of trying to divide NATO and said China was “seeking control over the Pacific Rim.”  - A decorated Army veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Cotton appeared to align himself with Trump’s support of waterboarding, saying he did not consider it torture. “Waterboarding isn’t torture. We do waterboarding on our own soldiers in the military,” the former paratrooper told CNN in November 2016. Waterboarding, the practice of pouring water over someone’s face to simulate drowning as an interrogation tactic, was banned by Democratic President Barack Obama days after he took office in 2009. - Cotton is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School. A father of two, he has a reputation as a devoted family man who once apologized for being late for an intelligence hearing because he was tending to a baby in his office.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः टॉम कॉटन के बारे में पांच तथ्य, सी. आई. ए. के लिए ट्रम्प की संभावित पसंद


LONDON (Reuters) - Foreign minister Boris Johnson was accused by a government statisticians of misusing state data after he repeated a pro-Leave campaign mantra that Britain would have an extra 350 million pounds a week after Brexit. The figure had been a central part of the campaign s  let s take back control  message, with suggestions that the money could instead be used to fund state healthcare. Johnson was one of the few prominent members of the campaign not to abandon the pledge after it won the summer 2016 referendum on EU membership. David Norgrove, of the UK Statistics Authority, said he was  surprised and disappointed  that Johnson was still quoting a figure that confused gross and net contributions.  It is a clear misuse of official statistics,  Norgrove said in a letter to the minister on Sunday.  He said the number quoted did not include the rebate that Britain receives from the EU, nor did it include payments from Brussels to support, for example, agriculture and scientific research. Johnson, whose carefully tussled blonde hair and apparent bumbling manner has made him one of Britain s most recognizable politicians, mentioned the figure again in a Saturday newspaper article that laid out his vision for post-Brexit Britain.  Once we have settled our accounts, we will take back control of roughly 350 million pounds ($476 million) a week,  he wrote.  It would be a fine thing, as many of us have pointed out, if a lot of that money went on the NHS (National Health Service).  Johnson later added he was  surprised and disappointed  by Norgrove s letter, which he said  was based on what appeared to be a wilful distortion of the text of my article , according to the BBC. Britain had no control of EU spending in Britain or of a rebate that was part of a funding arrangement agreed with other EU states, Johnson said. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics in April 2016 showed Britain s weekly net contribution to the EU to be about 190 million pounds a week.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के विदेश मंत्री ने 'ब्रेक्सिट लाभ' मंत्र को पुनर्जीवित करने के लिए आलोचना की


DAKAR (Reuters) - Rapidly expanding access to the internet across Africa is helping grassroots opposition movements take on once-invulnerable regimes. Many entrenched rulers have a simple response: pulling the plug.  While countries in the Middle East and China employ firewalls and block virtual private networks to control web access, leaders in Africa increasingly prefer the blunter instrument of outright outages. Critics say that infringes not just the rights of individuals but also undermines the burgeoning economies of some of the world s poorest countries. Since the start of 2016, governments in 13 African nations have intentionally shut down the internet on 21 occasions, mainly during elections and protests, according to a database run by online rights group Access Now. That compares to seven shutdowns in the previous two years.  Earlier this month, tech entrepreneur Sama Tanya saw Cameroonian police fire teargas into a residential building during protests by the country s English-speaking minority. As choking women and children poured onto the street, he considered documenting the crackdown to share on social media, only to realize the internet connection had been cut.   I couldn t even reach my family to tell them. I was worried, but I couldn t share a thing,  he said by telephone from the city of Buea, the epicenter of the demonstrations.  Rights group Internet Without Borders says cutting access is a violation of international law and defies a July 2016 U.N. resolution affirming that  the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online.   Internet freedom declined worldwide for the sixth straight year in 2016, according to an annual report from Freedom House.  Africa is becoming a new testing ground for authoritarian practices online,  said Francois Patuel, West Africa researcher at Amnesty International.  We have seen disruptions in Togo and in other countries but also arrests for what people are saying online. Often what people say online can be used against them in court.   Internet cuts in Africa date back to the 2011 Arab Spring when rulers in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya sought to control the spread of information.  Today, the intent is the same, but the methods have evolved.  Governments slow internet speed by reducing bandwidth, or  throttling , and target and shut down certain URLs like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, a process known as filtering. Although free apps like VPN Monster and Turbo VPN can circumvent filtering using VPNs which mask the location of a computer or phone, even a VPN won t help you if you don t have an internet connection in the first place. When Gabon shut down internet access for several days last year as violent street protests erupted against President Ali Bongo s contested re-election, it likely only required flipping a virtual switch at state-run Gabon Telecom.  Gabon Communications Minister Bilie-By-Nze acknowledged in a Reuters interview that internet access had been disrupted, but declined to comment further. During elections in Gambia in December, the government ordered the shutdown of the internet s  landing point , the central point from which service is supplied to the whole country, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. In Togo, authorities appeared to have organized a mobile data shutdown during opposition protests against President Faure Gnassingbe last month, according to people who were there who said fixed internet lines remained available.  Certain people post images to amplify the situation or publish photos of horror,  Togo s Security Minister Colonel Damehame Yark told reporters earlier this month.  The government decided to cut the internet because we have to protect the population.   Democratic Republic of Congo asked telecommunications companies to block social media networks in December. Providers declined to comment at the time on whether they would comply, but one industry executive said all companies had signed an agreement to respect national security injunctions.   When a sovereign government gives licenses to telecoms companies, those companies have little choice but to comply with the government s demands,  said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Oracle Dyn, which monitors international internet traffic flows. Orange and Airtel, which provide service in countries where there have been shutdowns, did not respond to requests for comment for this story. MTN, the continent s top mobile phone operator, provided a link to a company statement outlining its dedication to internet freedom but declined to comment further. Outages may be aimed at political opponents or social disruptors but businesses crucial to Africa s economic growth can get also caught up in the crackdown. Sub-Saharan Africa s internet shutdowns have cost the region up to $237 million in economic losses since 2015, according to a recent report by the UK government-funded Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa.  Shutdowns are  adversely affecting the livelihoods of citizens, undermining the profitability of business enterprises, and reducing the GDP and competitiveness of countries that implement them,  the report said. Etta Ayuk s small tech start-up Skylabase, which provides software to banks, lost three major clients and $20,000 worth of business when the internet was shut down from January to April in Anglophone Cameroon, forcing him to fire nearly half his employees. During the outage, Ayuk and his remaining staff crammed onto buses every morning for the 70-km (44-mile) drive to Francophone Cameroon s commercial capital, Douala, to use the internet there. Gridlock often made it a three-hour trip each way. Cameroon s government declined repeated requests for comment.     Ayuk is considering rebasing to Gambia, which has not had a government shutdown since Adama Barrow became president in January 2017. Barrow is encouraging internet start-ups.   I am a child of Cameroon, I don t want to leave,  he said.  But the political situation is not supporting us.

Summary: वेब-आधारित असहमति के खिलाफ अफ्रीकी शासकों का हथियारः बंद स्विच


BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton put Donald Trump on the defensive and showed a better grasp of foreign policy issues, according to a sampling of people across Asia who watched the fiery first U.S. presidential debate.     In China, the debate was streamed live on China’s Twitter-like Weibo service and attracted thousands of comments despite the lack of a translation into Chinese.  Some called Trump “a loose cannon”, while others thought that as a businessman he was best qualified to lead the world’s largest economy.  William Hua, a Chinese lawyer who watched the debate at an American Chamber of Commerce event in Beijing, said he thought Clinton came out on top. He was most concerned, though, about an issue that didn’t come up in the debate. “Donald Trump says Japan and South Korea can develop nuclear weapons? It seems absolutely ridiculous,” Hua said.  Trump said in an interview with The New York Times in March he would consider letting Japan and South Korea build their own nuclear weapons, rather than rely on America for protection against North Korea.  Opinion polls have shown the two candidates in a tight race leading up to the debate. A CNN poll of debate watchers released after the event found 62 percent felt Clinton won compared to 27 percent for Trump.   In a sign investors also saw Clinton as the winner, U.S. S&P500 stock futures rose as did Asian shares. “Markets started to call the debate for Hillary within the first 15 minutes or so, with the Mexican peso surging in what is probably its busiest Asian session in years,” said Sean Callow, a senior currency analyst at Westpac in Sydney.  The Mexican currency has risen and fallen in recent weeks depending on polling numbers for Trump, who has vowed to take trade protectionist measure against the United States’ southern neighbor and build a wall across the U.S. border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigration. Trump raised eyebrows among a packed crowd watching the debate at The American Club in Singapore when he lashed out against China.  “Look at what China is doing to our country,” Trump said not long after the debate began. “They are devaluing their currency and we have nobody in our government to fight them ... They are using our country as a piggy bank to rebuild China, and many other countries are doing the same thing.” Landy Eng, a former employee of the California state government who’s been living in Singapore the past 20 years, said he was an undecided voter. “But Trump’s China-bashing is something I’m not particularly in favor of,” he said.  Still, Eng said he does like the  “disruptive” factor of Trump’s campaign and thinks it is making Clinton a better candidate. Aloysius Lee, a 65-year-old retiree from Hong Kong, who watched the debate at The Foreign Correspondents’ Club in the territory, said that Trump was too unpredictable.  “Hillary is the kind of person you can do business with, at least from my point of view,” Lee said. With Trump, “you don’t know what’s going to happen next, you don’t know what he’s going to say next”. South Koreans, watching the debate on TV screens in the lobby of Seoul’s central train station, said they were with Clinton on the issues.  “Trump has ideas of withdrawing U.S. forces from our country, and in terms of national security, Trump is a threatening figure,” said Lee Hyo-jin, 26. “So I support Hillary,” she said. Trump during the debate again said if U.S. allies like Japan and South Korea “don’t pay their fair share, they may have to defend themselves or help us out.” Asked about Trump’s comment, Japan’s Defence Minister Tomomi Inada told a regularly scheduled news conference on Tuesday the U.S.-Japan military alliance does not just benefit Japan “but is also in the interests of the United States.”  Clinton seemed to have the better temperament during the debate, according to some Asian viewers.  Li Jiaoli, 21, an editing intern from China’s southwestern province of Sichuan, said Clinton seemed more presidential while Trump’s expressions made her laugh.  “Trump’s responses were too aggressive. High-level politicians should have more self-control,” Li said. The debate prompted a storm of tweets around the region, many of them commenting on the optics of the debate. “Trump is looking worked up and angry and sulky and shouty -She looks utterly in control by contrast,” said Barkha Dutt, news anchor on India’s NDTV in a tweet. “She ignores his barbs & attacks; he gets baited by every one of hers.”  Mel Fryer, 30, a waitress at the Mercantile Hotel in Sydney’s historic Rocks district said she was “terrified” at the prospect of a Trump presidency, while the debate screened to an empty pub. “But he’s going ok,” she said of his debate performance. “He uses simple words and simple phrases and gets his point across.”

Summary: पहली राष्ट्रपति बहस के बाद एशियाई दर्शकों ने क्लिंटन को सराहा


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday that he wants North Korea to understand it has  no bright future  if it continues on its current path and that the reclusive country needs to change its policies. Abe told reporters he wants to discuss the North Korea situation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korean President Moon Jae In separately when they meet this week in Vladivostok. Abe and Putin are also expected to discuss economic cooperation and a peace treaty between the two nations.

Summary: जापान के प्रधानमंत्री ने कहा कि अगर उत्तर कोरिया वर्तमान रास्ते पर चलता रहा तो उसका कोई उज्ज्वल भविष्य नहीं है।


OSLO (Reuters) - The anti-nuclear group which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize accused the United States, Britain and France on Wednesday of snubbing its disarmament work by planning to send only second-rank diplomats to the award ceremony next month.  It s some kind of protest against the Nobel Peace Prize,  Beatrice Fihn, director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), told Reuters of a plan by the three nations to send only deputy chiefs of mission.  They like their nuclear weapons very much and don t like it when we try to ban them,  she said, accusing the three of wrongly opposing ICAN s work  when North Korea and the United States are exchanging threats to use nuclear weapons . The annual December 10 Nobel prize ceremony in Oslo, attended by King Harald and Queen Sonja, is the highlight of the diplomatic calendar in Norway. The prize comprises a diploma, a gold medal and a cheque for $1.1 million. Olav Njoelstad, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, confirmed the three nations would send only deputies. He said the awards committee always preferred to see chiefs of mission.  That being said, we are neither surprised nor offended by the fact that sometime foreign governments prefer to stay away from the ceremony in protest or, as in this case, because they prefer to be represented by their deputy chiefs of mission,  he told Reuters.  The Nobel Peace Prize is, after all, a political prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee takes notice of the joint decision of the British, French and U.S. embassies,  he said. The British embassy confirmed it was sending a deputy ambassador and said in a statement  the UK is committed to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons.  We share this goal with our partners across the international community including U.S. and France.  The U.S. and French embassies were not immediately available for comment. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Kenneth Braithwaite to the post of ambassador in Oslo, currently held by an acting ambassador. ICAN, a coalition of grassroots non-government organizations in more than 100 nations, campaigned successfully for a U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted by 122 nations in July this year. But the agreement is not signed by - and would not apply to - any of the states that already have nuclear arms, which include the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France, as well as India, Pakistan and North Korea. Israel neither confirms nor denies the widespread assumption that it controls the Middle East s only nuclear arsenal. It was not clear whether other nuclear powers would send Oslo ambassadors to the Nobel ceremony.   The absence of ambassadors from the United States, Britain and France  is disappointing but at the same time we are focused on getting a majority of states in the world to join this treaty,  Fihn said. She said the three nuclear states were exerting pressure on other nations  not to engage in this treaty .

Summary: अमेरिका, ब्रिटेन, फ्रांस पर परमाणु विरोधी नोबेल पुरस्कार की अवहेलना करने का आरोप


LONDON (Reuters) - British Brexit minister David Davis said on Monday the government would allow parliament the opportunity to debate, scrutinize and vote on any final Brexit agreement, offering a concession to Conservative Party rebels. Prime Minister Theresa May is under pressure to offer a  meaningful vote  on any deal for Britain s departure from the European Union.  Members of her own party are willing to vote against the government to stymie a bill which she says is needed to sever ties with the bloc.  I can now confirm that once we ve reached an agreement we will bring forward a specific piece of primary legislation to implement that agreement,  Davis told parliament.  This also means that parliament will be given time to debate, scrutinize and vote on the final agreement we strike with the European Union. This agreement will only hold if parliament approves it.  May s blueprint for Britain s exit from the EU faces a crucial test starting on Tuesday, when lawmakers will debate the EU withdrawal bill that she says is crucial to give companies confidence that the rules will not change after Brexit. Lawmakers have proposed 186 pages of amendments to the bill, which largely  copy and paste  EU rules and regulations into British law but also, critics say, hand the government wide-ranging powers and cut parliament out of some Brexit planning. Davis said the government would allow parliament the chance to vote on a  withdrawal agreement and implementation bill  once it has secured a Brexit deal with the European Union, which both sides aim to do by late next year.  This confirms that the major policies set out in the withdrawal agreement (with the EU) will be directly implemented into UK law by primary legislation,  he said. Primary legislation means making law by acts of parliament or statute. Some lawmakers welcomed the move, but others said the change in procedure would mean that if Britain failed to negotiate a deal with the EU, parliament would have no say, and that there would not be time for a proper chance to have sway over a deal.  Hasn t he just given the game away on what a sham offer this is? Totally worthless to parliament, essentially trying to buy off people,  Chris Leslie, a member of the opposition Labour Party and a pro-EU campaigner, said.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के मंत्री ने किसी भी ब्रेक्सिट सौदे पर संसद में नए मतदान की पेशकश की


WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The leaders of New Zealand s main parties prepared on Sunday to start talks with Winston Peters, the leader of a nationalist party who emerged as kingmaker after an inconclusive general election, but Peters indicated he was in no rush to pick a side. Prime Minister Bill English s National Party won the largest number of votes in Saturday s general election, securing a comfortable margin over the Labour opposition after what had shaped as one of the closest votes in recent history. But it was Peters and his often controversial New Zealand First Party who emerged in a position of power, with both National and Labour needing his support to form a government under New Zealand s proportional representation system. The National Party, which has been in power for a decade, secured 46 percent of the vote, while Labour had 35.8 percent and New Zealand First 7.5 percent. A final tally, including overseas votes, will be released on Oct. 7. The results so far secured 58 seats for National in the 120-seat parliament and 45 for Labour. New Zealand First has nine seats and the Green Party has seven. Labour and the Greens already have a working agreement, with Labour leader Jacinda Ardern potentially in a position to form a coalition government with 61 seats if she wins Peters  support - the bare minimum needed. Peters, who has served in previous Labour and National governments, appeared to be in no hurry. He told reporters on Sunday he had not yet received any calls from National or Labour, and had not contacted them. The colourful populist, a rugby-loving former foreign minister, has in the past backed the party that won the most votes but said he was discussing options with members of his own party first.  I m doing it one-by-one by phone,  said Peters, a lawyer of indigenous Maori and Scottish descent. Asked how long it might be before he made a decision, Peters said:  How long before I pick you up and throw you into the water over there?  Ardern, a charismatic 37-year-old, revived her party s flagging fortunes after only taking over as leader in August but fell far short of what early opinion polls suggested could have been a stunning turnaround. She said it would be hard to complete coalition talks until all votes were tallied. Speaking outside her home in Auckland on Sunday, she said her centre-left party would not concede until  we are sure that a stable government has been formed . English said he would proceed with negotiations with New Zealand First.  The shortest path to stable government is a two-party coalition between National and New Zealand First,  English told a news conference. Analysts saw English and his National Party as the clear favorites.  I think it s fairly obvious that it will be a National-New Zealand First government,  said Grant Duncan, associate professor at Massey University. National and Labour were both expected to maintain a policy of fiscal prudence if they form the next government, although they differ on monetary policy, trade and immigration.  That would likely have implications for the New Zealand dollar, the world s 11th most-traded currency. The currency had tended to rise when National rose in the pre-election polls.  Clearly when we open on Monday morning we re at the moment no better off   it s either going to be Labour or National leading the country,  Stuart Ive, a Wellington-based dealer at OM Financial, said on Sunday. Peters has been in parliament since 1978 and was a member of the National Party until he formed New Zealand First in 1993. He was first cast as kingmaker in 1996, when he famously put off coalition talks the day after the election to go fishing. He has often expressed views, such as opposing Chinese migration, that have been criticized as xenophobic. His policies consistently center around tight immigration controls and reduced taxation. (Click tmsnrt.rs/2joJZGV for a graphic on 'New Zealand parliamentary elections') (Click tmsnrt.rs/2faMawe for a graphic on 'New Zealand markets react to opinion polls')

Summary: न्यूजीलैंड की सत्तारूढ़ पार्टी चुनाव के बाद आगे लेकिन किंगमेकर को निर्णय लेने की कोई जल्दबाजी नहीं


ADEN (Reuters) - A Salafist imam was shot dead by gunmen early on Saturday in Aden, southern Yemen, witnesses and local officials said, the third killing of a Salafist imam this month. Sheikh Adel Al Shehri, imam of a mosque in Inmaa district west of Aden, was shot while he was heading to the mosque for morning prayers. No one has claimed responsibility for the three killings and no motive has been made clear, but some of the ultra-conservative Salafists back secession for southern Yemen, and have been a major component of the breakaway southern army. A former Aden governor has declared a council that seeks secession for southern Yemen. A referendum on independence would be announced soon, he said. Aden is also dominated by local forces backed by the United Arab Emirates - a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen s civil war in 2015 to restore President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power but which are hostile toward Islamists.

Summary: यमन के सलाफी इमाम की अदन में हत्याः सूत्र


BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Thousands of state workers protested in the Romanian capital on Wednesday against the Social Democrats-led government s plan to shift social security taxes to employees. The government, which also aims to reduce income tax to 10 percent from 16 percent, plans to cut social security payments from Jan. 1 to 35 percent from 39.25 percent. But payments are now jointly made by workers and employers. About 3,000 public sector workers in Bucharest demanded the cabinet scrap the plan to shift the burden of social security taxes to employees. Protesters blew whistles and some held banners saying:  We pay you to serve, not mock us.  The Finance Ministry has yet to release a draft bill on its tax plans.  The government s proposal to transfer social security contributions to workers is an experiment whose negative consequences will again be carried exclusively by employees,  protest organizer, the Cartel Alfa union, said in a statement. Romanian and foreign investors have criticized the Social Democrats  plans for tax changes which they complain have been announced without prior consultation or impact assessment. They have urged more predictable fiscal policies. The government s plan for fiscal loosening has raised concerns in Brussels. The European Commission has said it expects Romania to run the largest budget deficits in the European Union this year and next. The government has said it would keep the deficit below the EU ceiling of 3 percent of gross domestic product. The government said a 25 percent wage hike approved for public sector workers for 2018 will cover changes to social security contributions. But net wages will stay virtually flat. Finance Minister Ionut Misa has said the planned changes to social security contributions would mean private firms would have to raise gross wages but said this would not mean extra costs as companies no longer contributed to social security.

Summary: सामाजिक सुरक्षा भुगतान स्थानांतरण को लेकर रोमानिया में राज्य के कर्मचारियों ने विरोध प्रदर्शन किया


NEW YORK (Reuters) - The race to succeed Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie got under way this week when a former Goldman Sachs executive entered the ring as the first Democratic contender to succeed Christie, whose popularity has slumped. Phil Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive and U.S. ambassador to Germany who has never held elected office, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the gubernatorial  election in November 2017.  Christie, who is not eligible to run for a third term, won the governorship in 2009, when he beat one-term Democrat Jon Corzine, also formerly of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Murphy, who served as U.S. ambassador to Germany until 2013, said he would focus on issues such as equal pay for women and a higher minimum wage - legislative initiatives that Christie has either already vetoed and is expected to veto.  “It’s time for a governor who has your back. I will,” promised Murphy, 58, in a campaign ad released on Monday. He is a married father of four who lives in Middletown and retired in 2006 after 23 years at the Wall Street investment bank. Political observers say other possible candidates include Democrats such as state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Republicans such as Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr and Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno. Christie has seen his approval ratings fall to fresh lows in recent weeks. He has been tarnished by the “Bridgegate” scandal and criticized as a no-show leader preoccupied first with his own presidential campaign and when that failed, with role as a top adviser to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. “His approval ratings are terrible. They have been low and keep going down. He will leave unpopular,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of political history at Princeton University. A poll of New Jersey voters last month showed 31 percent approve and 63 percent disapprove of Christie’s performance as governor, said John Weingart, associate director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics. Voters will likely seek a candidate very different from Christie, Zelizer said, particularly on transparency and righting the state’s finances.  “They are looking for someone who is antithetical to him. Someone they can trust, someone who is devoted to the state, and someone who seems clean and immune from scandal,” Zelizer said. “They want a governor who will bring in new kinds of industry and new pockets of growth.”

Summary: न्यू जर्सी के गवर्नर की दौड़ क्रिस्टी की मंजूरी में गिरावट के साथ शुरू हुई


TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras faced a growing election crisis on Wednesday, with its U.S.-friendly president edging ahead in troubled vote count that his centrist rival, a television game show host allied with leftists, has rejected, saying he is being robbed. Three days after polling stations closed in Honduras  presidential election, there was growing international concern with no clear winner and both men claiming victory, despite nearly a fifth of ballots remaining uncounted. Stricken with poverty, drug gangs and one of the world s highest murder rates, Honduras is one of the United States  closest military and ideological allies in Central America. On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department urged a quick conclusion to the vote count, which has been widely criticized. Resolution to the festering crisis had appeared possible on Wednesday when both candidates vowed to respect the final result once disputed votes had been scrutinized, issuing identical signed statements brokered by the Organization of American States (OAS). But the accord did not last long. Centrist opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla - who had watched with disbelief as his original 5-point lead evaporated, allowing center-right President Juan Orlando Hernandez to edge ahead by 3,000 votes - told reporters that he rejected the document he had signed just a few hours before. Nasralla cited an hours-long technical glitch at the election tribunal, and fears that Hernandez was planning to unilaterally declare himself victorious, as his reasons for dismissing the results of the electoral body.  They take us for idiots and want to steal our victory,  said Nasralla, who heads a coalition of leftist and centrist parties.  The document I signed today with the OAS has no validity,  he added, calling it a  trap  and pledging to take to the streets to defend his votes. The OAS said in a tweet that it regretted Nasralla had withdrawn from the pact, and that it would continue working for  justice  in the elections. Later on Wednesday, police fired tear gas to disperse Nasralla supporters gathered outside the election tribunal where the vote was being counted. The fumes entered the building, prompting its staff to be evacuated, television images showed. With around 82.89 percent of ballots counted, the center-right Hernandez had 42.2 percent of the vote, while Nasralla was on 42.1 percent, the tribunal said. Hernandez s National Party appears set to retain control of Congress.   As he caught his rival, Hernandez s blue-clad supporters celebrated, chanting the president s name at a party base in capital Tegucigalpa, TV images showed, while thousands of Nasralla supporters took to the streets.  I m here so that justice and the will of the people is carried out, because we elected Salvador Nasralla, and Juan Orlando Hernandez wants to steal his victory,  said 22-year-old David Ramirez, a red political flag draped over his shoulder.   The election body published more than half of the results of Sunday s election early on Monday, but faced international criticism for an ensuing 36-hour delay in releasing further data. The count halted again late on Wednesday afternoon. Tribunal chief David Matamoros apologized to the nation for a fresh computer glitch that derailed operations.  We ve had a problem that we regret and that we didn t expect to have, and that we re resolving as quickly as possible,  he said.  Sometimes in an election, you can have a system failure, but never in a moment as critical as this.  International observers said the delays were damaging the credibility of authorities and threatened to undermine the legitimacy of the next president. On Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert urged Honduran authorities to review the election results without delay.  We urge all candidates to respect the results,  she said.  Behind closed doors, the parties of Hernandez, the pre-vote favorite, and Nasralla were discussing immunity from prosecution for current officials and carving up positions in government, two diplomats told Reuters on Tuesday. With a booming voice and finely coiffed hair, Nasralla is one of Honduras  best known faces, hosting a sports programme and a television game show that features scantily clad women. In one interview, he boasted of his penis size and his sexual performance.  He is backed by leftist former President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a coup in 2009 after he proposed a referendum on his re-election. The possible return of Zelaya risks fueling concern in Washington. Hernandez has won U.S. praise for helping tackle a flow of migrants to the north and extraditing drug cartel leaders to the United States. He was credited with lowering the murder rate and boosting the economy, but was also hurt by accusations of ties to illicit, drug-related financing that he denies.

Summary: चुनाव संकट ने होंडुरास को प्रतिद्वंद्वियों की गर्दन और गर्दन से घेर लिया है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will raise the issue of defense spending during his trip to Ottawa on Friday, a senior U.S. Treasury official said.  Earlier this week, Canada unveiled plans to bulk up its military amid doubts that it could continue to rely on the United States as the world’s foremost global leader. [nL1N1J418R] “I expect we’d cover issues related to defense spending and we saw of course Canada’s recent announcements just in the last couple of days about that,” the senior Treasury official said in a conference call with reporters on Thursday. President Donald Trump has scolded NATO allies, which includes Canada, for not spending enough on defense and has so far declined to personally affirm the alliance’s mutual defense doctrine. While in Ottawa, Mnuchin is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Deputy National Security Adviser Dina Powell will accompany Mnuchin on the trip, Treasury said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said that Mnuchin would raise trade issues with his Canadian counterpart. Tensions between the traditionally close allies have been rising over the Trump administration’s accusations of unfair trade practices by its northern neighbor. The United States and Canada will soon begin talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA). Mexico is also a member of the pact. During Friday’s talks, the United States wants to get a sense of Canada’s thoughts on timing and issues on trade before starting negotiations, the senior Treasury official said. Canada is already at odds with the United States over dairy subsidies, as well as exports of lumber and airliners. Mnuchin is expected to raise tax reform, financial regulation and countering terrorist financing as part of the discussions, the senior Treasury official added.

Summary: यू. एस. ट्रेजरी के म्नुचिन ओटावा यात्रा पर रक्षा लाएंगेः यू. एस. अधिकारी