NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday detailed $5.6 million in contributions he raised for military veterans, and staged a fiery news conference where he attacked reporters for questioning him for months about the money.                  Appearing at Trump Tower in Manhattan, the billionaire accused the media of failing to give him credit for raising the funds at an event in January in Iowa. His tirade, in which he called one reporter “a sleaze” and sarcastically described another as a “real beauty,” overshadowed what otherwise should have been an upbeat event for the presumptive Republican nominee. “The press should be ashamed of themselves,” he told reporters gathered before him. “You make me look very bad. I’ve never received such bad publicity for doing a good job.” While Trump has long had an adversarial relationship with the media, questions about the donations to veterans touched a raw nerve with him as he tries to build a conservative base ahead of the Nov. 8 general election.     Reporters have been persistently asking whether Trump in fact raised all the money he said he had in January and why it took so long to hand donations over to veterans groups. A number of veterans groups listed by Trump on Tuesday as recipients confirmed they had received the donation as listed, ranging from $25,000 to, in one case, $1.1 million, which went to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. Some of the donations arrived in February or March, some as recently as last week around the time a critical article appeared in The Washington Post. The money arrived in the form of a check from the Donald J. Trump Foundation. “We received a $75,000 gift early last week from the Trump Foundation, it was not restricted or earmarked in any way,” said Katherine Fritz, director of development at America’s Vetdogs. Trump’s criticism of the media dashed the hopes of some Republican leaders who want him to tone down his rhetoric and become more magnanimous now that he has sealed the Republican presidential nomination. The Washington Post said Trump only handed over a personal donation of $1 million last week - four months after announcing it - once the newspaper started asking about the money. Trump said the news coverage of his veterans group donations had been close to libelous. Asked whether he would maintain an adversarial stance with reporters if elected president, Trump said: “Yeah, it’s going to be like this.” A reporter told Trump he seemed resistant to the kind of scrutiny that comes with the office of U.S. president. But Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary for President George W. Bush, said the news media should stop fretting about how Trump treats them. “My advice to the press: Stop interviewing yourselves about Trump’s attack on the press. Don’t worry about it. Just do your jobs and be fair,” he said. The contretemps took place on the same day documents were disclosed from a lawsuit involving Trump University, a now-defunct education program that ran a real estate training program. Trump has attacked the presiding judge as hostile to him.  The university documents showed Trump University created a special class to teach students how to cash in on U.S. mortgage foreclosures when the United States was struggling with an entrenched housing crisis in 2009. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton sought to take advantage of Trump’s discomfort over the media scrutiny he has faced. She told CNN that Trump’s tendency to attack his critics “is a recipe for gridlock in Washington.” Clinton defended her own policy toward dealing with the news media, saying she has conducted 300 interviews this year alone. Unlike Trump, she rarely holds news conferences. Her last one was last December. Clinton leads Trump by 11 percentage points in the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. According to the May 27-31 survey of likely voters, 46 percent support the former U.S. secretary of state while 35 percent back Trump.   California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday endorsed Clinton for the Democratic nomination, saying it was the only way to “stop the dangerous candidacy of Donald Trump.”            At his news conference, Trump also bristled at the possibility that Republicans opposed to him might run a third-party candidate as an alternative to Trump or the expected Democratic nominee Clinton. He said a leader of that effort, Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard magazine, “looks like such a fool.” “Let me tell you these people are losers,” said Trump, adding that a third-party candidacy would guarantee Clinton wins the White House and deny Republicans the chance to put conservatives on the Supreme Court. “What you’re going to do is lose the election for the Republicans and therefore you lose the Supreme Court,” he said. Trump read out a list of veterans’ organizations that had received money from the January event, which he attended instead of participating in a Fox News-sponsored candidates’ debate. He said the money was benefiting 41 groups and that the total cash raised could climb as more comes in.  He turned the microphone over briefly to Al Baldasaro, a Trump supporter and a veteran from New Hampshire who also skewered the news media, saying reporters should “get your head out of your butt, focus on the real issues.”

Summary: जुझारू ट्रम्प का कहना है कि उन्होंने पशु चिकित्सकों के लिए 56 लाख डॉलर जुटाए, मीडिया की आलोचना की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he had narrowed his potential vice presidential choices to five or six experienced politicians, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, told AP in an interview that he had not ruled out New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a former rival now supporting Trump’s bid for the White House. “I have a list of people that I would like,” Trump was quoted as saying, adding he wanted his running mate to have political experience to help him “with legislation, getting things through” Washington if he wins the Nov. 8 presidential election. The New York billionaire businessman also said choosing someone who previously held elected office would make it easier to do background checks, in part because that person would have already been checked out by voters, the news media and to some extent, the government, according to the AP. “For the most part, they’ve been vetted over the last 20 years,” it quoted him as saying.  Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, is heading up the vetting effort, a campaign aide said on Tuesday. The vetting group includes former rival Ben Carson and Trump himself, the AP quoted the billionaire businessman as saying.

Summary: ट्रम्प का कहना है कि उन्होंने संभावित साथी चयन को पांच या छह तक सीमित कर दिया हैः एपी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a post that opened after John Kelly became Trump’s chief of staff earlier this year. Senators voted 62-37 to confirm Kirstjen Nielsen, formerly Kelly’s deputy in the White House and his chief of staff when he led DHS. She is considered a cyber security expert and previously served in the administration of Republican President George W. Bush. Nielsen, 45, will take the reins of a department with more than 240,000 employees responsible for immigration enforcement, U.S. border and airport security, disaster response, and protecting U.S. infrastructure from cyber attacks. The agency is at the center of Trump’s efforts to enact broad changes to the U.S. immigration system. Elaine Duke, a civil servant and the DHS deputy secretary, had been serving as acting secretary since Kelly’s departure for the White House in July.  In the last five months she ha been responsible for several controversial DHS decisions, including the end of temporary protected status for thousands of immigrants living in the United States. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a DHS entity, came under criticism for its response to the humanitarian disaster wrought by Hurricane Maria when it struck Puerto Rico in September. In a statement, Duke said she looked forward to working as Nielsen’s deputy, and said Nielsen has “a deep understanding of the issues facing the Department.” Eleven Democrats voted with nearly all Republicans to confirm Nielsen. Republican Senator Lamar Alexander did not vote, and no Republicans voted against her confirmation. House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Republican, said in a statement that Nielsen would bring “the expertise and leadership needed to successfully run the Department.” Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson said in a statement that Nielsen had not yet shown “she has the ability to lead a workforce of 240,000 while keeping the country safe and secure,” and said DHS had so far been used as a “political tool of the White House.”

Summary: सीनेट ने होमलैंड सुरक्षा सचिव के लिए ट्रम्प के चयन की पुष्टि की


(Reuters) - The Republican Party will resume funding the embattled U.S. Senate campaign of Roy Moore after President Donald Trump endorsed the Alabama Republican, who is accused of sexual misconduct against teenage girls. The Republican National Committee will return to the Alabama race to support Moore, an official said on Tuesday. “We are the political arm of the president and we stand with the president,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The RNC cut ties with Moore last month after several women accused the former Alabama judge of sexual assault or misconduct when they were teenagers and Moore was in his early 30s.    Moore, 70, has denied the accusations. Reuters has not independently verified the reports. On Monday, the White House said Trump had called Moore to give him his support. In a tweet that acknowledged the president’s endorsement, Moore quoted Trump as saying, “Go get ‘em, Roy!” In a sign of the deep divide within the Republican Party around the allegations facing Moore, former U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney voiced strong opposition to Trump’s endorsement. “Roy Moore in the U.S. Senate would be a stain on the GOP and on the nation,” Romney wrote on Twitter. “Leigh Corfman and other victims are courageous heroes. No vote, no majority is worth losing our honor, our integrity.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last month said he believed Moore’s accusers and joined other senators in urging him to quit the race. But on Sunday, the Republican McConnell said it was up to Alabama voters to decide whether to send Moore to Washington. Moore will face off with Democratic candidate and former U.S. attorney Doug Jones in a special election on Dec. 12. Trump’s former White House strategist Steve Bannon will campaign with Moore in Alabama on Tuesday, Breitbart News reported.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन पार्टी ने संकटग्रस्त सीनेट उम्मीदवार मूर का समर्थन कियाः अधिकारी


LA CELLE-SAINT-CLOUD/PARIS (Reuters) - A French-backed West African military force to tackle Islamist militants must secure its first victories by the middle of 2018 to prove its worth and ensure more concrete support from the United Nations, the French and Malian leaders said on Wednesday.  The G5 Sahel - composed of the armies of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad - launched a symbolic military operation to mark its creation in October amid growing unrest in the region, whose porous borders are regularly crossed by jihadists, including affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State. However, France which has some 4,000 troops in the region, has bemoaned that the militants have scored military and symbolic victories in West Africa while the G5 force has struggled to win financing and become operational. To give the force a boost, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the leaders of the five participating countries, Germany and Italy as well as the Saudi and Emirati ministers at a summit. In a sign Gulf Arab states are upping their influence in the region, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates committed 130 million euros ($152.75 million) on Wednesday, although the initiative has not won support from key regional player Algeria.   As far as the G5 are concerned, we are aware that the clock is ticking,  Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Ke ta told a news conference after the summit of some 15 nations to discuss the force s implementation.  There is an urgency today that we quickly achieve results in the fight against terrorism,  he said, warning of a possible jihadist rush from the Middle East to West Africa. Thousands of U.N. peacekeepers, French troops and U.S. military trainers and drone operators have failed so far to stem the growing wave of jihadist violence, leading world powers to pin their hopes on the new force. Despite French efforts, U.S. reluctance at the United Nations has meant the force does not have direct financial backing from the U.N. making it harder to secure almost $500 million in initial funding for the operation and much-need equipment.  Macron sees the full implementation of the G5 force as a long-term exit strategy for his own forces that intervened in 2013 to beat back an insurgency in northern Mali.   We have a very simple objective which is to have the first victories in the first half of 2018,  Macron said. He added that the aim was to ensure 5,000 men were ready by then.  Macron has personally backed the force, including asking Saudi Arabia s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to contribute to it and prove the kingdom s intention to tackle extremist ideology.  Saudi Arabia on Wednesday confirmed it would provide 100 million euros for the force, while the UAE will provide 30 million euros, bringing commitments to more than half the amount targeted. A separate donor conference is to be held on Feb. 23.  Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are interested in the Sahel. Getting a seat at the table, being seen as security stakeholders, is something that fits in their respective strategies,  said Jalel Harchaoui, a geopolitics researcher at Paris 8 University. Macron said he wanted to push the Security Council to divert funds from the more than 10,000-strong MINUSMA peacekeeping force in Mali to the G5. One notable absence in Paris was Algeria. Authorities in Paris are concerned it is not fully co-operating in tackling militants roaming along its border or pushing the implementation of Malian peace talks that it brokered.  All those who want to take part in the Sahel coalition are welcome. I went to Algeria last week and I invited Algeria to co-operate more actively to the work today. It s Algeria s decision, but I want (their help),  Macron said in reply to a journalist s question. Algiers remains suspicious of military activity by its former colonial ruler near its border. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia has said the mission duplicates existing activities since Algeria has already been co-ordinating counter-terrorism efforts with the G5 for over 10 years.

Summary: 'साहेल गठबंधन' 2018 के मध्य तक इस्लामी आतंकवादियों के खिलाफ जीत चाहता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Wednesday that tax reform will take longer to accomplish than repealing and replacing Obamacare would, saying Congress and the White House were initially closer to agreement on healthcare legislation than on tax policy. “The House has a (tax reform) plan but the Senate doesn’t quite have one yet. They’re working on one. The White House hasn’t nailed it down,” Ryan told an audience in Washington.  “So even the three entities aren’t on the same page yet on tax reform,” he added.

Summary: रेयान का कहना है कि कर सुधार में स्वास्थ्य देखभाल सुधार से अधिक समय लग सकता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wall Street attorney Jay Clayton was officially sworn in as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy on Thursday, the agency announced. As head of the SEC, which polices U.S. financial markets,  Clayton is expected to focus on ways to reduce regulatory burdens to help pave the way for more initial public offerings. With Clayton’s arrival, it will make it easier for the SEC to get more rule-writing done now that it has three members, instead of two. President Donald Trump has yet to nominate the other two commissioners to help round out the five-member panel.

Summary: जे क्लेटन ने यू. एस. एस. ई. सी. के अध्यक्ष के रूप में शपथ ली


BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq s cabinet proposed on Sunday to slash the Kurdish share of the country s revenue in the 2018 federal budget, a move that Kurdish officials said was aimed to further punish them for a Sept. 25 referendum on independence. If approved, the budget would further damage the relationship between Baghdad and Erbil   the semi-autonomous region s capital   already at boiling point after the central government launched a military offensive last month that swiftly recaptured the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. A preliminary draft document seen by Reuters and confirmed by three lawmakers and two Iraqi government officials shows the Kurdistan region s share of the 2018 budget trimmed to 12.6 percent, down from the 17 percent the region has traditionally been entitled to since the fall of Saddam Hussein.  The 12.6 percent figure was  very accurate , said a government financial advisor on condition of anonymity, who said it was based on population data from the trade ministry s ration card program. Iraq s central government and the Kurdish autonomous region have quarreled over money repeatedly since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein. The post-Saddam constitution put in place a system guaranteeing the Kurds self-rule with a share of overall revenue proportionate to their share of the population.  For the past three years, Baghdad stopped sending funds while the Kurds held nearly all of northern Iraq s oil infrastructure and sold enough crude to fund themselves. But the Iraqi government offensive that recaptured oil-producing territory from the Kurds last month means the autonomous region is once again dependent on Baghdad for funds. The central government has demanded a halt to all independent Kurdish oil sales. The reduced budget would dramatically add to the Kurdistan Regional Government s (KRG) financial difficulties. The region says it is already stretched thin due to a three-year war on Islamic State and the cost of supporting hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled the militants. Last year, Iraq s parliament approved the 2017 budget, but all members of the KDP party that rules the Kurdish region stayed away, protesting that the budget failed to allocate enough money for salaries of state workers and Peshmerga fighters, the Kurdish region s security forces. Another proposal inserted into the draft budget would see the central government distribute the Kurdish region s share of the federal budget to the three provinces that make up the region individually, further undermining the KRG s control over the allocation of funds.  It s a dangerous sign which indicates that Baghdad is seeking to undermine the political and economic system in Kurdistan region by cutting the budget share and dealing directly with the provinces,  said Ahmed Hama Rasheed, a Kurd and the secretary of the financial committee in the federal parliament.  It seems that the central government is trying a divide and conquer policy with the Kurdistan region , said Rasheed. Kurdish officials criticized the cabinet proposals, accusing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of using the 2018 budget to punish the Kurds, who overwhelmingly voted to break away from Iraq in the referendum, which Baghdad considers illegal.  In a press conference on Monday, Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said Baghdad had violated the Iraqi constitution by drafting a budget that does not recognize Kurdish entitlements.  Barzani, the nephew of Massoud Barzani who stepped down last week as Kurdish president in the wake of the referendum crisis, said the KRG was  prepared to give them the oil revenue    apparently an offer to negotiate over its own sales of oil   if the central government was prepared to give the Kurds their customary 17 percent share. The budget proposal with the revised trimmed share for the Kurds was rejected by two Kurdish ministers attending Sunday s cabinet meeting, two Iraqi government officials confirmed.  The proposed 2018 federal budget must first be approved by Abadi and then referred to parliament which will vote on it. The secretary general of the Iraqi cabinet, Mahdi al-Allaq, told Iraqiya state TV on Monday the cabinet had finished studying the draft budget and would refer it to the prime minister for final approval in the next cabinet session.

Summary: इराक मंत्रिमंडल ने 2018 के संघीय बजट में कुर्दिस्तान के हिस्से में कटौती करने की योजना बनाई है।


LONDON (Reuters) - A British man posted a picture of Prince George, 4, and the address of his London school as part of a series of possible targets for Islamist militants, a court heard on Wednesday. Husnain Rashid, 31, is accused of posting information on the Telegram messaging service to encourage jihadis to carry out attacks along with information to help them with possible targets such as stadia.  Prosecutor Rebecca Mundy told London s Westminster Magistrates Court that this included posting a picture of Prince George, son of Queen Elizabeth s grandson Prince William and Kate and destined to be the future king, next to a silhouette of a jihadi fighter. The post included the address of his school in southwest London which he started attending in September and was accompanied with the caption  even the royal family will not be left alone , the court heard. Rashid, from Nelson in Lancashire, northern England, is charged with preparing terrorism acts, which involved plans to travel to Syria to engage in fighting, and preparing to assist others to commit terrorist acts. He did not apply for bail and indicated he would plead not guilty to the charges. He was remanded in custody until Dec. 20 when he will appear at London s Old Bailey central criminal court.

Summary: आतंकवाद के आरोपी ब्रिटिश नागरिक ने प्रिंस जॉर्ज की तस्वीर पोस्ट कीः अदालत


TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan has suspended refined oil and LNG exports to North Korea, as well as clothing and textile imports, to comply with United Nations resolutions, a largely symbolic move by the island to show it is a responsible member of the international community. Self-ruled Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, due to Beijing s position that it is simply a Chinese province and so not able to have its own official diplomatic ties with anyone. But proudly democratic Taiwan likes to show that it follows international norms, despite its lack of U.N. membership.  On Sept. 11, the United Nations Security Council unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea over its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, imposing a ban on the isolated nation s textile exports and capping imports of crude oil.    To complement the UN measures, Taiwan said it would suspend liquefied natural gas, crude oil, and refined oil product exports to North Korea with effect from Tuesday, the economics ministry said in a statement.  Taiwan will suspend clothing and related textile good imports from North Korea, it added, adding that written pacts  made before Sept. 11 would prevail for imports until Dec. 10, so long as a special permit is obtained from the trade office.  Taiwan s measure is aimed at  denouncing North Korea s recent successive nuclear tests and actions that jeopardize regional security,  the economics ministry said in a statement. Taiwan and North Korea have only a minuscule trading relationship. Taiwan says its exports to North Korea in the first six months of this year were worth just $36,575, an annual  decrease of more than 90 percent. Last week, North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan s northern Hokkaido region far out into the Pacific Ocean, shortly after its biggest nuclear test this month.

Summary: ताइवान ने उत्तर कोरिया को तेल निर्यात, कपड़ों का आयात निलंबित किया


NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Democratic Party released a video on Sunday slamming Republican presidential hopefuls for their opposition to action on climate change, suggesting the views clash with the reality of rising sea levels and shifting weather patterns. The video features Republican front-runner Donald Trump and his two closest rivals, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, denying man-made global warming, juxtaposed with images of U.S. flooding, wildfires, droughts and heat waves. “I’m not a believer in climate change,” Trump says during a television news interview featured in the clip. The video can be seen at bit.ly/1Qm5iB8.  “Satellite data show there’s been no warming whatsoever,” Cruz, a U.S. senator of Texas, says in another news clip. Rubio, a U.S. senator of Florida, says, “I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it.”     The video aims to put the environmental issue center stage in the November race for the White House.      Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have both laid out plans to combat climate change, while all five Republican presidential contenders have argued that the problem doesn’t exist or have discounted the scope of the issue. The video also draws a link between environmental issues and the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court following the surprise death this month of Justice Antonin Scalia.  President Barack Obama has said he plans to nominate a replacement for Scalia before the November election, but Republicans in Congress have vowed to block the effort. “With so many issues at stake now, with so much potentially heading before the court on clean energy and climate change, we simply can’t afford for our nation’s highest court to be crippled,” a few Democratic members of Congress say in the video. An official for the Democratic Party said the video would be circulated on social media.  (Reporting by Luciana Lopez; Additional reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Leslie Adler) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

Summary: एक्सक्लूसिवः डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टी ने जलवायु परिवर्तन पर जी. ओ. पी. उम्मीदवारों की आलोचना की


BERLIN (Reuters) - A German soldier was charged on Tuesday with plotting to kill senior politicians because of their support for refugees and trying to make it look like asylum seekers carried out the murders. The officer, named only as Franco Hans A., was arrested in April in a case that shocked Germans and stirred a debate about the depth of right-wing radicalism in the Bundeswehr military.   Motivated by a nationalist attitude, he planned to carry out an attack at an unknown time on high-ranking politicians and public figures who stood up for what the accused regarded as an especially refugee-friendly policy,  the federal prosecutor s office said.  He wanted people to believe that his attacks were related to radical Islamist terrorism committed by somebody who had been granted asylum,  it added. The statement did not say whether the soldier had denied the charges or include any statement from his lawyer. Among the targets were Justice Minister Heiko Maas, a senior Social Democrat, Greens politician Claudia Roth as well as human rights activists and journalists, the prosecutor s office added. Prosecutors suspect that Franco Hans A., along with two accomplices, wanted to implicate refugees in their planned attack by posing as an asylum seeker. The case had put pressure on centre-right Chancellor Angela Merkel s government - with her close ally Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen facing criticism for first failing to deal with right-wing extremism in the army and then implying that most soldiers were right-wing radicals. The federal prosecutor s office said the soldier was accused of committing a serious act of violent subversion and violating the military weapons control law, as well as gun and explosives laws. Franco Hans A., who served with an army battalion stationed in France, had used a fake identity to register as a Syrian refugee and moved into a shelter for migrants in Bavaria even though he speaks no Arabic, the prosecutors said. The soldier had previously been detained in late January by Austrian authorities on suspicion of having hidden an illegal gun in a bathroom at Vienna s main airport, they added.

Summary: जर्मन सैनिक पर राजनेताओं को मारने और शरणार्थियों को फंसाने की योजना बनाने का आरोप


PARIS (Reuters) - The independence speech made by Catalonia s leader was a  trick , Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said on Wednesday, although he said there was room for negotiations within the frame of Spain s constitution.  Carles Puigdemont s speech to the Catalan parliament on Tuesday was  a trick to say one thing and do the opposite,  Dastis told French radio station Europe 1. Puigdemont leader balked at making a formal declaration of independence from Spain on Tuesday, calling for talks with Madrid over the region s future in a gesture that eased fears of immediate unrest in the heart of the euro zone. Asked about the possibility of organize another referendum in Catalonia, Dastis said that Spain s constitution does not allow it.   We cannot accept that a portion of the Catalans decide for the whole of Spain,  he said.

Summary: स्पेन के विदेश मंत्री ने कैटेलोनिया के नेता के भाषण को बताया 'चाल'


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s team of economic policy advisers is packed with moguls from the hedge fund and investment banking industries that he has railed against in the past. And none of them are women - a demographic group he needs to court if he hopes to win in November. Trump’s campaign has been powered by a populist message that criticizes corporate America for outsourcing jobs, profiting at the expense of everyday workers and buying influence in Washington. The message resonates best with middle-class and working-class voters buffeted by the forces of globalization.  But among the members of the 13-member team of advisers announced on Friday are hedge-fund billionaire John Paulson and investment bankers Steve Feinberg and Andy Beal, as well as a former top steel executive and a former high-ranking U.S. government official.  “It is a hallowed campaign tradition. Malign an industry, but court its wealthy big shots,” said Erik Gordon, a professor of law and business at the University of Michigan. The reliance on Wall Street executives comes after Trump spent much of his primary campaign lambasting the industry for paying too little in taxes. “The hedge fund guys are getting away with murder,” Trump said in an interview last year. One of the best known of Trump’s panel is Paulson, whose bet against the overheated housing market in 2007 netted him and his investors billions of dollars. His bets have since gone the other way, losing some $15 billion in the last five years. Don Steinbrugge, managing partner at investment consulting firm Agecroft Partners LLC, said Trump could benefit from his advisers’ expertise on global capital markets if he “would listen to them.” Whether Trump will heed the counsel of his conservative-leaning economic advisers or steer his own course was also raised by Lanhee Chen, who served as a top policy aide to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012.  “It’s hard to see a consistent strain of conservative economic thought,” Chen said, citing Trump’s protectionist policies on trade as an example of where Trump differs from the Republican party’s free-market economic orthodoxy. The panel also includes former steel executive Dan DiMicco; oil magnate Harold Hamm; Howard Lorber, the CEO of tobacco company Vector Group Ltd; Trump campaign finance chairman Steven Mnuchin, a former partner at Goldman Sachs who is now chairman and CEO of private investment firm Dune Capital Management LP; and David Malpass, a former official of the U.S. Treasury and State departments. James Pethokoukis, an economist with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, noted the absence of representatives from the tech and venture capital sectors.  “If I was assembling a task force to analyze the big challenges facing the American economy and to develop solutions, I am not sure that a group like this would naturally spring to mind,” he said. But the panel fits with the themes of Trump’s campaign in another way. Trump often has boasted about bringing in successful business people to tackle Washington’s entrenched problems, and many of Trump’s supporters see his background in business as among his biggest assets. Some critics seized upon the lack of women on Trump’s panel. After being asked this week to identify women he might appoint to his cabinet if elected, Trump could only respond with the name of his daughter Ivanka.  Democratic rival Hillary Clinton hit Trump on the comment in a Twitter post, comparing him to Romney who, when asked a similar question during his campaign, said he’d reviewed “binders full of women.” “We know a guy with a binder, @realDonaldTrump. (He might not take your calls, though.)” Clinton’s campaign wrote. The campaign declined to comment on Trump’s advisers. Trump has struggled with women voters since his campaign began. Some 65 percent of women have an unfavorable view of Trump, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, compared with 53 percent who have an unfavorable view of Clinton. Kellyanne Conway, a pollster who works for the Trump campaign, said the emphasis on gender on the economic team is misplaced. Women voters, she said, care more about their economic well-being than the make-up of an advisory group. “What female voters wish to know is whose economic plan will be better for them,” she said.

Summary: ट्रम्प का आर्थिक सलाहकार समूह लोकलुभावन छवि से टकराता है


JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan s former army chief is being confined to his home for security reasons, the country s defense minister said on Thursday. Paul Malong was sacked in May by President Salva Kiir amid resignations by senior generals alleging military abuses and tribal bias as the country s ethnically charged civil war ground on.  He was not arrested, but he [is] confined. There are no charges against him,  Defence Minister Kuol Manyang Juuk told Reuters in an interview.  The oil-rich nation gained independence from neighboring Sudan in 2011. The world s youngest nation plunged into civil war in 2013 when Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, fired his deputy, Riek Machar, a member of the rival Nuer community.  A peace deal between the two sides signed in 2015 collapsed last year amid fighting in the capital. Machar is now in exile in South Africa. Malong, a former elected civilian governor, is a member of the Dinka ethnic group. He was not immediately available for comment. The former army chief had left Juba, the capital, in a convoy of vehicles hours after he was removed from his post, sparking fears he might join a revolt. The defense minister said Malong  was persuaded to come back  to Juba and is  now back in his house.   He said government doctors will be provided in the event Malong needs medical care, and that he must see those doctors  before he decides to go anywhere outside the country.  The minister also said the president had granted amnesty to Thomas Cirillo Swaka, the most senior officer to defect from the military in the last year. Cirillo, who now lives in Ethiopia, says his aim is to overthrow Kiir and accuses him of running a tribalist army and government.  W hope he will respond to the amnesty by the president,   Juuk said.  If he wants, he can come and form his own political party and then we can develop our democratic system.  East African leaders said in June they would push South Sudan s warring sides to revive collapsed peace efforts and delay scheduled elections but did not set a date for that new process.  In July, donors from the European Union, the United States, Britain and Norway said they would offer no further support to implementation of the peace deal until regional leaders find a credible way of re-launching the peace process.

Summary: दक्षिण सूडान के बर्खास्त सेना प्रमुख को जुबा होम में 'सीमित' रखा गयाः मंत्री


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. lawmaker accused the Food and Drug Administration on Friday of failing to hand over documents that would show whether its criminal office is fulfilling the critical mission of protecting public health. “The FDA’s long-overdue response leaves key questions unanswered about the performance and effectiveness of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations,” House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden told Reuters in a statement. An FDA spokeswoman did not have an immediate comment. Walden’s comments come about four months after the congressional panel launched an examination into the criminal office and how it was managing cases involving food, drugs and devices. The review came after Reuters reported that FDA agents were concerned that managers, including former OCI Director George Karavetsos, were forcing them to pursue often toothless cases involving mislabeled foreign-imported injectable drugs, at the expense of cases with more potential to protect the public health. The agents said they had become the “Botox Police” and were spending hours chasing down doctors who purchased authentic versions of Allergan’s popular anti-wrinkle drug that were labeled for use in other countries. Those concerns came at a time when the office was seeing more than half its opened cases ultimately get closed without action, Reuters found. Reuters also reported on how the FDA permitted Karavetsos to relocate back to Florida in mid-2016 and run the OCI from its Miami office, even after the FDA had already paid more than $25,000 to move him to Maryland in 2015. The FDA did not meet the committee’s October deadline to provide written answers to questions until Jan. 19. The next day, Karavetsos departed to work for DLA Piper where he will represent drug and device industry clients. In its letter reviewed by Reuters, the FDA listed its investigative priorities and said that traditional metrics used to gauge success, such as arrests and convictions, cannot capture the impact of its public health mission. It also provided annual data on arrests, convictions, and the number of opened cases. However, it omitted preliminary-stage investigative numbers from the total number of cases opened each year, which makes the conviction rate appear higher, according to a side-by-side comparison. Walden said the FDA did not provide a performance plan, among other things. He also complained of redactions on a separate record, which according to a committee aide contained salary and compensation information for Karavetsos.

Summary: सदन के सांसद ने एफ. डी. ए. आपराधिक कार्यालय जांच में और दस्तावेज मांगे


ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met Pakistan s civilian and military leaders on Monday and urged them to  redouble  their efforts to rein in militants accused of using the country as a base to carry out attacks in neighboring Afghanistan. Mattis, on a one-day visit to Pakistan, said the South Asian nation had made progress in the fight against militancy inside its borders but needed to make more. More than 100 days since U.S. President Donald Trump announced a South Asia strategy that calls for a firmer line toward Islamabad, U.S. officials and analysts say there has been only limited success and it is not clear how progress will be made. U.S. officials have long been frustrated by what they see as Pakistan s reluctance to act against groups such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network that they believe exploit safe haven on Pakistani soil to launch attacks in Afghanistan.  The Secretary reiterated that Pakistan must redouble its efforts to confront militants and terrorists operating within the country,  the Pentagon said in a statement. Mattis, who visited Pakistan for the first time as defense secretary, said before the trip that the goal for his meetings with Pakistani officials would be to find  common ground . In his discussion with Mattis, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the two allies shared objectives.  We re committed (to) the war against terror,  he said.  Nobody wants peace in Afghanistan more than Pakistan.  Mattis also met with high-ranking officials from Pakistan s powerful military, including army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Lieutenant-General Naveed Mukhtar, the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency that U.S. officials say has links with Haqqani and Taliban militants. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mattis  conversations had been  straightforward  and specific. The official said one of the topics of conversation was getting Pakistan to help bring the Taliban to the negotiating table   In August, Trump outlined a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, chastising Pakistan over its alleged support for Afghan militants. But beyond that, the Trump administration has done little to articulate its strategy, experts say.  U.S. officials say they have not seen a change in Pakistan s support for militants, despite visits by senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.  We have been very direct and very clear with the Pakistanis ... we have not seen those changes implemented yet,  General John Nicholson, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan, said last week. Pakistani officials have pushed back on the U.S. accusations and say they have done a great deal to help the United States in tracking down militants. U.S. official expressed hope relations could improve after a U.S.-Canadian couple kidnapped in Afghanistan were freed in Pakistan in October with their three children. While the Trump administration has used tougher words with Pakistan, it is has yet to change Islamabad s calculus. Some experts say the United States loses clout in Pakistan when it is seen as bullying. While Mattis traveled to the region earlier this year, he did not stop in Pakistan, but visited its arch rival, India, a relationship that has grown under the Trump administration.   There is not an effective stick anymore because Pakistan doesn t really care about U.S aid, it has been dwindling anyway and it is getting the money it needs elsewhere ... treat it with respect and actually reward it when it does do something good,  said Madiha Afzal, with the Brookings Institution. Mattis  brief visit to Islamabad comes a week after a hardline Pakistani Islamist group called off nationwide protests after the government met its demand that a minister accused of blasphemy resign. Separately, a Pakistani Islamist accused of masterminding a bloody 2008 assault in the Indian city of Mumbai was freed from house arrest. The White House said the release could have repercussions for U.S.-Pakistan relations.  I think for Pakistan, the timing is very bad. There is talk about progress being made against extremists and here you have a situation where religious hardliners have basically been handed everything they wanted on a silver platter,  said Michael Kugelman, with the Woodrow Wilson think tank in Washington.

Summary: अमेरिकी रक्षा प्रमुख ने पाकिस्तान से आतंकवादियों के खिलाफ प्रयासों को दोगुना करने का आग्रह किया


(Reuters) - The director of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s Asian American and Pacific Islander outreach efforts is leaving the campaign for a position with the Colorado Democrats, a campaign official said on Saturday. The departure of Lisa Changadveja comes ahead of Democratic nominating contests in states with the highest proportion of Asian American voters, like Washington later this month and California in June. “She was an instrumental part of helping build our AAPI program and those efforts will continue with events over the next few weeks,” campaign spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said in an email to Reuters. “The campaign is expected to announce a new Director of AAPI Outreach very soon.” Changadveja had announced her departure to campaign supporters in an email dated March 18, saying she had “tremendous faith in the campaign’s commitment and ability to continue engaging our community as we move through the rest of the primary and prepare for the general election.” “I will be leaving Hillary for America as I have recently accepted a new job at the Colorado Democratic Party,” she said in the email, seen by Reuters. Changadveja did not immediately return requests for comment.     Minority communities have been key voting blocs for the Clinton campaign, helping her rack up wins over Bernie Sanders, the U.S. senator from Vermont who is her main rival for the Democratic nomination to the Nov. 8 presidential election.  Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders form about 6 percent of the U.S. population, a figure that does not include people of mixed race, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  They make up nearly 15 percent of the population of California, which holds its nominating contest in June, and around 9 percent of the state of Washington, which holds its Democratic caucus on March 26. Asian Americans have also been among the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States, on occasion outstripping the growth in the Latino population, according to the Census.  A study by the University of California, Los Angeles last year found that the Asian-American electorate will double to 12 million voters by 2040.  Changadveja joined the Clinton campaign in September, according to her LinkedIn page. She previously served as the LGBTQ and AAPI director for Ready for Hillary, a Super PAC that supported a Clinton run for the presidency, according to the page.

Summary: क्लिंटन के एशियाई-अमेरिकी आउटरीच निदेशक ने अभियान छोड़ दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump hopes to find a way to avert a government shutdown later this week in a Thursday meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers, the White House said on Wednesday. Congressional Republican leaders as well as U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are scheduled to meet with Trump on Thursday. Pelosi and Schumer did not attend a previously scheduled meeting with Trump last week after he said on Twitter that he did not expect to reach a deal with the Democratic leaders.

Summary: ट्रम्प को सांसदों के साथ बैठक में सरकारी शटडाउन से बचने की उम्मीद हैः व्हाइट हाउस


SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - An El Salvador court on Tuesday ruled in a civil case that former President Mauricio Funes and one of his sons had illegally enriched themselves and ordered them to pay nearly $420,000 in restitution to the government, a prosecutor said.  The country s second civil court ruled that Funes could not justify $206,665 of his assets, while his son Diego Funes could not prove the origin of $212,484, government prosecutor Cecilia Galindo told reporters following a closed-door ruling.  The court also recommended that prosecutors file criminal charges against Funes, she said.  El Salvador s attorney general had sought to recover $1.23 million from Funes and his family.  The court acquitted Funes  ex-wife and the current social inclusion minister, Vanda Pignato, of similar charges, Galindo said. She did not specify why the court had levied a smaller fine than was sought by prosecutors.   Funes, a former journalist, was elected in 2009 and brought the party formed by a former leftist guerrilla group, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), to power for the first time following a 1980-1992 civil war. His term ended in 2014 and he sought asylum in Nicaragua last year after claiming he was being politically persecuted.  Funes said in his Twitter account that he rejected  the unjust and arbitrary sentence  of the court.    You can not condemn defendants for stealing money from the state and say their assets are illegal just because there is pressure from the Right to do so. We will appeal this sentence,  Funes said in a post.

Summary: साल्वाडोर की अदालत ने पाया कि पूर्व राष्ट्रपति फुनेस ने अवैध रूप से खुद को समृद्ध किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump asked Congress on Monday for $4 billion to support missile defense to counter the threat from North Korea, just ahead of his first visit to South Korea since taking office in January. “This request supports additional efforts to detect, defeat, and defend against any North Korean use of ballistic missiles against the United States, its deployed forces, allies, or partners,” Trump wrote in a letter to Congress. Trump repeated his request that Congress provide $1.6 billion to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. Trump’s plan to construct the wall was a centerpiece of his successful presidential campaign, but it has been questioned by some of his fellow Republicans, as well as most Democrats, in Congress. He made his request during his maiden trip to Asia as president, featuring repeated meetings with regional partners and others largely focused on how to address North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Trump had originally asked for $9.9 billion for the year ended Sept. 30, 2018, for missile defense, which some lawmakers had dismissed as too low. Trump’s request included $700,000 to repair damage to Navy ships after recent fatal collisions, and $1.2 billion for increased troop levels in Afghanistan and the administration’s South Asia strategy in his supplemental budget request. The budget request said the funds for South Asia would support the deployment of 3,500 more troops. The Republican leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives Armed Services Committees, Senator John McCain and Representative Mac Thornberry, said in a joint statement that they welcomed Trump’s request and looked forward “to giving it the serious consideration it deserves.” Members of the two committees are working on a final version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which sets out policy for the Pentagon. McCain and Thornberry said the submission of the budget amendment before that work was completed means that NDAA conferees will be able to consider whether to incorporate the additional funding into the final agreement. “This request also underscores the threat posed by the rogue North Korean regime and the urgent need to boost our missile defense capabilities to meet it,” McCain and Thornberry said in a statement. The $2.1 billion for missile defense makes up the bulk of the request. It would pay for 20 more missiles that could intercept incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) launched from North Korea, a network of radars, and other equipment designed to protect the United States. Boeing Co (BA.N) is the prime contractor for the anti-ballistic missiles, known as Ground-Based Interceptors, and Raytheon Co (RTN.N) makes the missile’s “kill vehicle,” which pops off the top of the defending missile above the earth’s atmosphere and seeks out and destroys the attacking missile’s warhead. The request also includes money for 50 Lockheed Martin Corp-made (LMT.N) Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors. The United States has THAAD interceptors in Guam that guard against any intermediate-range ballistic missile attacks from North Korea.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया का हवाला देते हुए मिसाइल रक्षा के लिए 4 अरब डॉलर और चाहते हैं ट्रंप


(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name former Goldman Sachs partner and Hollywood financier Steven Mnuchin as his nominee for Treasury secretary and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross to head the Commerce Department, according to Republican sources. The following is a list of Republican Trump’s selections for top jobs in his administration: Mnuchin, 53, is a relatively little-known but successful private equity investor, hedge fund manager and Hollywood financier who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs (GS.N) before leaving in 2002. He assembled an investor group to buy a failed California mortgage lender in 2009, rebranded it as OneWest Bank and built it into Southern California’s largest bank. The bank came under fire for its foreclosure practices as housing advocacy groups accused it of being too quick to foreclose on struggling homeowners. Ross, 78, heads the private equity firm, W.L. Ross & Co. His net worth was pegged by Forbes at about $2.9 billion. A staunch supporter of Trump and an economic adviser, Ross has helped shape the Trump campaign’s views on trade policy, blaming the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico and the 2001 entry of China into the World Trade Organization for causing massive U.S. factory job losses. Chao, 63, was labor secretary under President George W. Bush for eight years and the first Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet position. Chao is a director at Ingersoll Rand, News Corp and Vulcan Materials Company. She is married to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM PRICE Price, 62, is an orthopedic surgeon who heads the House of Representatives’ Budget Committee. A representative from Georgia since 2005, Price has criticized Obamacare and has championed a plan of tax credits, expanded health savings accounts and lawsuit reforms to replace it. He is opposed to abortion. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: GOVERNOR NIKKI HALEY Haley, a 44-year-old Republican, has been governor of South Carolina since 2011 and has little experience in foreign policy or the federal government. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley led a successful push last year to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol after the killing of nine black churchgoers in Charleston by a white gunman. DeVos, 58, is a billionaire Republican donor, a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and an advocate for the privatization of education. As chair of the American Federation for Children, she has pushed at the state level for vouchers that families can use to send their children to private schools and for the expansion of charter schools. [L1N1DO0KC] Sessions, 69, was the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump’s presidential bid and has been a close ally since. The son of a country-store owner, the senator from Alabama and former federal prosecutor has long taken a tough stance on illegal immigration, opposing any path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.  NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: RETIRED LIEUTENANT GENERAL MICHAEL FLYNN Flynn, 57, was an early supporter of Trump and serves as vice chairman on his transition team. He began his U.S. Army career in 1981 and served deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. Flynn became head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2012 under President Barack Obama, but retired a year earlier than expected, according to media reports, and became a fierce critic of Obama’s foreign policy. Pompeo, 52, is a third-term congressman from Kansas who serves on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, which oversees the CIA, National Security Agency and cyber security. A retired Army officer and Harvard Law School graduate, Pompeo supports the U.S. government’s sweeping collection of Americans’ communications data and wants to scrap the nuclear deal with Iran.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्रंप ने अपने प्रशासन के लिए शीर्ष पदों को भरा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch on Tuesday pledged independence from President Donald Trump, bristled at his criticism of the judiciary and said not even the president is above the law amid Democratic concerns he would be beholden to the man who selected him. Answering questions from senators during a more than 11-hour session on the second day of his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Gorsuch said Trump never asked him to overturn the 1973 Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion nationwide, saying if the Republican president had done so, “I would have walked out the door.” Trump promised during last year’s presidential campaign to appoint an anti-abortion justice who would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which many conservatives want reversed. If confirmed by the Senate as expected to fill a 13-month-old vacancy, Gorsuch would restore the nine-seat court's conservative majority at a time when Republicans control Congress and the White House. But the conservative federal appeals court judge from Colorado repeatedly said he was beyond politics. (GRAPHIC - Confirming Gorsuch: How it works tmsnrt.rs/2mB9WPR)  “When I became a judge, they gave me a gavel not a rubber stamp,” Gorsuch said. “I am my own man,” he added. Trump has assailed the judiciary both as a candidate and since taking office on Jan. 20. He condemned federal judges who put on hold his two executive orders to ban the entry into the United States of people from several Muslim-majority countries, calling one a “so-called judge” and suggesting that blame for a future terrorist attack should go to the courts. “When anyone criticizes the honesty or integrity or the motives of a federal judge, well I find that disheartening, I find that demoralizing, because I know the truth,” Gorsuch said. When Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal asked if that included Trump, Gorsuch said, “Anyone is anyone.” Gorsuch previously made similar remarks in private to senators including Blumenthal, but Trump at the time accused Blumenthal of misrepresenting Gorsuch’s comments. Trump indicated in a speech on Tuesday night that his approach was unlikely to change. “The courts are not helping us, to be honest, it’s ridiculous. Somebody said I should not criticize judges, OK, I’ll criticize judges,” he said. Gorsuch’s steady, measured performance during the marathon session, marked by a few moments of indignation under Democratic questioning, indicated he was on track for confirmation. Democrats probed Gorsuch on whether he would be willing to hold Trump accountable. Asked by Senator Patrick Leahy whether a president has the power to violate a law on surveillance of Americans, Gorsuch said, “Nobody is above the law in this country, and that includes the president of the United States.” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said if Trump resumes the use of waterboarding, a prohibited form of simulated drowning, on detainees, he “may get impeached.” Gorsuch said he would not speculate on whether Trump could be prosecuted if he authorized waterboarding, but repeated, “No man is above the law.” Republicans have praised Gorsuch, 49, as highly qualified for a lifetime appointment as a justice. Democrats, who have slim chances of blocking his nomination, have questioned his suitability, with some portraying him as favoring corporate interests and insufficiently independent from Trump. Chuck Grassley, the panel’s Republican chairman, asked Gorsuch “whether you’d have any trouble ruling against a president who appointed you.” “That’s a softball, Mr. Chairman,” Gorsuch said. “I have no difficulty ruling against or for any party, other than based on what the law and facts in the particular case require. And I’m heartened by the support I have received from people who recognize that there’s no such thing as a Republican judge or a Democratic judge. We just have judges in this country.” “I have offered no promises on how I’d rule in any case to anyone. And I don’t think it’s appropriate for a judge to do so, no matter who’s doing the asking,” Gorsuch added. Gorsuch refused to offer his opinion of Trump’s travel ban, saying it was an ongoing case. When Leahy brought up a Republican lawmaker’s suggestion that Gorsuch would uphold Trump’s ban, the nominee said, “A lot of people say a lot of silly things” and that lawmaker “has no idea how I’d rule.” Gorsuch said rulings should be based on the law and not politics, adding, “A good judge doesn’t give a whit about politics or the political implications of his or her decision.” Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse pressed Gorsuch to call for the anonymous financial backers behind the Judicial Crisis Network conservative legal advocacy group’s $10 million campaign supporting his nomination to identify themselves, but the nominee refused, saying he would not engage in politics. But Gorsuch added, “Nobody speaks for me.” The seat Gorsuch was nominated to fill has been vacant since the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. Some Democrats have said Republicans “stole” a Supreme Court seat last year when the Senate refused to consider former Democratic President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace Scalia, appellate judge Merrick Garland. Questioned by Leahy, Gorsuch called Garland an “outstanding judge,” but refused to answer whether Obama’s nominee had been treated fairly by Senate Republicans. Gorsuch said Supreme Court precedents deserve respect, even as he sidestepped answering whether he thought a series of contentious cases from the past had been decided correctly, including Roe v. Wade and cases on gun rights, political spending, religious rights and the ruling tipping the 2000 presidential election to Republican George W. Bush. Gorsuch did say that the issue of gay marriage, which the Supreme Court legalized in 2015, was “absolutely settled law.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Gorsuch looked like “he’s playing dodge ball,” saying the nominee “has bent over backwards to avoid revealing anything.” The confirmation hearing resumes on Wednesday morning and is scheduled to last through Thursday. Grassley has said the committee is likely to vote on Gorsuch’s nomination on April 3. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the full Senate would vote on confirming Gorsuch before lawmakers’ mid-April recess.

Summary: ट्रम्प के उच्च न्यायालय ने स्वतंत्रता की शपथ ली, कहा कि वह 'रबर स्टाम्प' नहीं हैं


ABUJA (Reuters) - A court on Monday ordered Nigeria to pay 88 billion naira ($288 million) in damages to victims of the 1967 civil war for failure to fully de-mine and clear the land of other weaponry after the end of hostilities.  The ruling calls on the government to pay 50 billion naira directly to war victims in 11 states and put 38 billion naira toward de-mining and the construction of schools, courts, churches and mosques in the affected areas.  A judge for the Economic Community of West African States Court of Justice ruled that there remain  large quantities  of live bombs deprived communities of farmland since the civil war ended in 1970.      Sovereign states do not have to respect the court s rulings and there is no framework for making them binding. The office of President Muhammadu Buhari did not immediately comment on the ruling.  A million people died in the 1967-70 civil war over the short-lived Republic of Biafra. ($1 = 305.3000 naira)

Summary: अदालत ने नाइजीरिया को 1967 के युद्ध पीड़ितों को 28 करोड़ डॉलर का भुगतान करने का आदेश दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to help Puerto Rico climb out of a debilitating debt crisis hit new resistance in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, prompting Republicans to cancel a planned work session that was set for Thursday on the measure. The House Natural Resources Committee’s planned “markup” of legislation Republicans unveiled late on Tuesday was being called off, panel Chairman Rob Bishop announced in a statement. He said the Obama administration was still negotiating provisions and that it would be “unfair to all members to force a vote” with the talks ongoing. One congressional aide said the abrupt move was being taken because there was not enough support among panel members to get the legislation approved and sent to the full House of Representatives for debate. It was unclear when the committee would reschedule a work session. Earlier on Wednesday, a U.S. Treasury official told the committee that the U.S. Congress must allow Puerto Rico to erase a share of its debt or investors will face a long, uncertain fight to recover their money from the cash-strapped island. Republicans who control Congress outlined a plan this week to help Puerto Rico write off billions of dollars in debt if an agreement with creditors is out of reach. That plan would create a forum for investors to negotiate with Puerto Rico officials while the island’s government tries to curb deficit spending that has created $70 billion in debt. Such a plan would signal to Wall Street that the Puerto Rico financial crisis is manageable, said Antonio Weiss who is handling the issue for the Treasury Department. Without congressional action, Weiss said, investors face years of combat in the courts. “Chaos will ensue and the (Puerto Rico) economy will face another lost decade,” he told the Natural Resources panel of the House of Representatives. As a territory of the United States, Puerto Rico answers to Congress and its people are American citizens. Roughly 2.5 percent of the island’s population is migrating to the mainland each year to escape the financial crisis, Weiss said. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday said the Congressional rescue plan was the right move but many Republicans disagree. Wall Street would be rattled if Congress rewrote the terms of Puerto Rico debt and that could sour investor appetite for other municipal bonds, said Representative Jeff Duncan of South Carolina. “I believe we’re going down a slippery slope here,” Duncan said on Wednesday at a hearing on the proposal. Rather than meddle in markets, he said lawmakers should stand aside and let Puerto Rico settle its disputes with investors.  Rob Wittman, a Virginia Republican who also sits on the Natural Resources panel agreed. “Congressional intervention at this point would serve to alter the rule of law,” he said in a statement. Weiss told lawmakers that the current rescue plan was not perfect but it was the cheapest option since it only involves rewriting some rules for investors. “The alternative to this legislation ... will in fact become a bailout,” Weiss said. He noted that the Zika virus is spreading across Puerto Rico and the island is poorly-equipped to handle that emergency while the financial crisis looms.

Summary: अमेरिकी कांग्रेस पैनल ने प्यूर्टो रिको ऋण विधेयक पर काम स्थगित किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump dismissed a growing controversy about ties between his aides and Russia on Thursday as a “ruse” and “scam” perpetrated by a hostile news media, and denied any of his associates had contacts with Moscow before last year’s election. “The leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake,” Trump told a news conference, referring to media reports that his presidential campaign team had contacts with Russian intelligence officials.  Trump, who frequently assailed the news media, also said he had not directed his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, to talk to Russia’s ambassador about U.S. sanctions before taking office. Trump said he had asked the Justice Department to look into the leaks of “classified information that was given illegally” to journalists regarding the relationship between his aides and Russia.  He also said he did not think that Russian President Vladimir Putin was taking actions that would test him early in his term in office. Trump, who took office on Jan. 20 and has voiced support for improved ties with Russia, added he personally had no business deals in that country. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that phone call records and intercepted calls showed members of Trump’s presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the Nov. 8 election in which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.     Pressed by reporters about whether he was aware if any member of his presidential campaign team had contacts with Russia before the election, the Republican president said: “Nobody that I know of.” Wary Democratic lawmakers challenged Republicans, who control Congress, on Thursday to conduct a credible investigation into contacts between Trump’s associates and Russia. The process could take months and might never be made public. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump’s favor. Trump has spoken admiringly of Putin, who had a tense relationship with former President Barack Obama over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, Russian military actions in Syria and other matters. Even fellow Republicans have expressed unease about Trump’s comments about Putin. Flynn, a close adviser to Trump during his campaign, was seen by Moscow as a leading advocate of warmer ties with Russia. Trump fired Flynn on Monday after the retired lieutenant general misled Vice President Mike Pence about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador to the United States, before Trump took office, regarding U.S. sanctions on Moscow. Flynn told FBI agents last month he had not discussed sanctions against Russia with the ambassador before Trump took office, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. Flynn’s Jan. 24 interview with the FBI could expose him to charges, since lying to the agency is a felony, but any decision to prosecute would lie with the Justice Department. U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted Flynn’s call with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak after Trump’s election, in which the two discussed sanctions, the Post reported previously. Obama imposed the new sanctions on Russia on Dec. 29 after the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion about Moscow’s interference in the election campaign. A U.S. official familiar with the transcripts of the calls with the ambassador said Flynn indicated that if Russia did not retaliate, that could smooth the way toward a broader discussion of improving U.S.-Russian relations once Trump took power. That was potentially illegal under a law barring unauthorized private citizens from interfering in disputes the United States has with other countries. Trump forcefully defended Flynn’s discussion with the Russian ambassador. “What he did wasn’t wrong,” Trump told the news conference.  “Mike was doing his job. He was calling countries and his counterparts. So, it certainly would have been OK with me if he did it. ... I didn’t direct him, but I would have directed him because that’s his job,” Trump said. “No, I didn’t direct him, but I would have directed him if he didn’t do it. OK?” said Trump, who added the problem was Flynn’s having misled Pence. A wealthy new York real estate developer with global business interests, Trump also portrayed himself as having no ties to Russia. “I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia. I have no loans in Russia. I don’t have any deals in Russia,” Trump said. Critics of the president have called on him since the election campaign to release his tax returns, saying that would shed more light on his business dealings. Trump has said he will not do so while his tax affairs are under audit by the Internal Revenue Service. “I have nothing to do with Russia, haven’t made a phone call to Russia in years, don’t speak to people from Russia. Not that I wouldn’t. I just have nobody to speak to,” Trump said.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने रूस के विवाद को शत्रुतापूर्ण मीडिया द्वारा 'घोटाला' बताते हुए खारिज किया


(Reuters) - Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian on Thursday called an emergency City Council meeting next week to discuss whether the distressed New Jersey gambling hub should file for municipal bankruptcy. Governor Chris Christie’s veto on Tuesday of legislation that aimed to stabilize the city’s tax base and boost its cash flow left the city with “no other option but to explore bankruptcy,” Guardian said in a statement. State lawmakers have been pushing for a full takeover of city operations, saying local officials have not done enough to cut costs. Only city officials can file for bankruptcy, but the state, which already oversees the city’s finances, must ultimately approve it.

Summary: अटलांटिक सिटी, एन. जे., दिवालियापन पर चर्चा करने के लिए आपातकालीन बैठक आयोजित करेगा


LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has an “incredibly strong and enduring” relationship with the United States and will build on it when Donald Trump takes office as president, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday. Trump said on Twitter that “many people” would like to see Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage as British ambassador to Washington, a break with usual diplomatic protocol and an appeal that was quickly dismissed by British officials. “We have an excellent ambassador to the United States and he will continue in his work,” the spokesman told reporters, pointing out the ambassador only took office this year and normally the job is held for at least four years. “We appoint our ambassadors,” he added.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के प्रधानमंत्री के प्रवक्ता ने कहा, 'हम अपने राजदूतों की नियुक्ति करते हैं'


BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Friday urged all parties in Syria to try to find a  political settlement in the six-year-old war after a U.S. military strike on a Syrian airfield, which came as China’s president met with U.S. President Donald Trump.  China also hoped that “relevant parties stay calm, exercise restraint and avoid doing anything that might raise tensions”, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. “The latest developments in Syria again speak to the urgent need for a political settlement to resolve the Syria issue,” Hua Chunying told reporters at a regular briefing. “We call on all relevant parties to resolutely stick to promoting a political settlement and not abandon efforts to find a political settlement.” U.S. officials said the military launched dozens of cruise missile strikes against an airbase controlled by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s forces in response to the chemical attack on Tuesday in a rebel-held area. Facing his biggest foreign policy crisis since taking office in January, Trump took the toughest direct U.S. action yet in Syria’s civil war, raising the risk of confrontation with Russia and Iran, Assad’s two main military backers. China has routinely sided with Russia in blocking action by the U.N. Security Council on Syria, and Beijing’s special envoy for the Syrian crisis has praised Russia’s military role there as effective in combating international terrorism.  While relying on the region for oil supplies, China tends to leave Middle Eastern diplomacy to the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, namely the United States, Britain, France and Russia. But China has urged that a diplomatic resolution to the violence there be found and has hosted Syrian government and opposition figures. While showing no interest in getting involved militarily, China’s Defence Ministry said last year that it had been providing medical equipment and training for Syria. Beijing has its own security concerns about violence in the region, worried that Uighurs, a mostly Muslim people from western China’s Xinjiang region, have been fighting with militant groups in Syria and Iraq. A group purporting to be affiliated with the Islamic State issued a bloody video in late February, showing ethnic Uighur fighters training in Iraq, killing prisoners, and vowing to plant their flag in China.

Summary: चीन ने सभी पक्षों से सीरिया में युद्ध का राजनीतिक समाधान खोजने का आग्रह किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Donald Trump’s presidential campaign appealed to Capitol Hill for support on Monday as his attacks on the Muslim parents of a decorated American soldier killed in Iraq drew sharp rebukes from fellow party members. Trump’s criticism of Khizr Khan and Ghazala Khan, who took the stage at last week’s Democratic convention, sparked growing concern and dismay from Republican lawmakers responding to the latest Trump outburst to blindside his party colleagues. Republican Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war and the most prominent veteran in Congress, along with the commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, joined the chorus of condemnation, reflecting the highly regarded place the military and its veterans hold with many in the United States. Trump’s dispute with the Khans has dominated the White House campaign in recent days and underlined the uneasy alliance between many leading Republicans and the party’s freewheeling, unorthodox nominee for the Nov. 8 election. Rob Wasinger, a onetime congressional candidate who has been working for the Trump camp on congressional outreach, sent an email to senior Senate aides saying, “We want to get several member statements out today on this, and would really appreciate your help.” A similar appeal was made to Republicans in the House of Representatives, according to a senior aide. Attached to the appeal were talking points lawmakers could use to try to tamp down the controversy growing since last week’s appearance at the Democratic convention by the Khans, the parents of U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed by a bomb in Iraq 12 years ago. Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Trump, said that the campaign was grateful to have support in Congress and that Republicans are working to keep Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton from winning the presidency. Wasinger refused to comment when contacted by telephone. The appeal did not generate any help for Trump. A senior Senate Republican aide, who asked not to be identified, said Republican senators were pleased with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s statement on Sunday calling Captain Khan “an American hero” and noting “a travel ban on all members of a religion is simply contrary to American values.” At the same time, the aide said the controversy would probably not cause Republican senators to withdraw their endorsements of Trump. In a convention speech delivered with his wife at his side, Khizr Khan showcased his son’s military service and criticized Trump’s call for a temporary ban on Muslims from entering the United States, holding up a copy of the U.S. Constitution and suggesting Trump read it. Since then, Trump has complained he was “viciously” attacked by the couple and suggested Ghazala Khan might not have been “allowed” to speak, implying her silence reflected restrictions placed on women by some traditional Muslims.  McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate and current chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a lengthy statement sharply criticizing Trump’s comments. “While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us,” said McCain, a prisoner of war for five years during the Vietnam War. His counterpart on the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Mac Thornberry of Texas, echoed McCain, saying in a statement he was “dismayed at the attacks Khizr and Ghazala Khan have endured after they spoke about their son’s service and sacrifice.” The head of the 1.7 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars also said Trump’s attack on the Khans went too far. Trump and Clinton spoke to the group’s national convention last week. “Election year or not, the VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression,” said Brian Duffy, the national commander of the country’s oldest and largest war veterans organization, referring to families who have lost relatives in wars. President Barack Obama did not mention Trump by name, but said military families who had lost loved ones in service should be honored for their sacrifice. “No one has given more for our freedom and our security than our Gold Star families,” Obama said at the Disabled American Veterans national convention in Atlanta. “Our Gold Star families have made a sacrifice that most of us cannot even begin to imagine. They represent the very best of our country.” In the talking points sent to lawmakers, the Trump campaign said he had been asked about the Khans’ comments during the convention and wished them well. The talking points also noted that Trump “wants to end radical Islamic terror, so that our soldiers like Mr. Khan’s son will be safe.” The list also says Trump had not directly compared his sacrifices to the Khans. Trump said over the weekend he had also made sacrifices in his life by working hard, creating jobs and being successful. The Khans bristled at that suggestion and, in numerous television appearances over the weekend, said Trump was ignorant about Islam and about their family’s sacrifice.   Trump’s off-the-cuff insults and controversial proposals such as the Muslim ban and a plan to keep illegal immigrants out by building a wall along the Mexican border, have made many in the party establishment reluctant backers of his White House bid. On Monday, during a town hall event in Columbus, Ohio, Trump told supporters he thought the November election might be “rigged.” Later that day, he said former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders “made a deal with the devil” when he agreed to back Clinton. “She’s the devil,” Trump said, referring to Clinton. In his statement, McCain recalled how Humayun Khan died, saying that when a suicide bomber aimed his vehicle toward a building housing hundreds of U.S. soldiers, the captain told his subordinates to stay away, then ran toward it. McCain thanked the Khans for coming to America, saying “your son was the best of America, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation – and he will never be forgotten.”  In a remarks to television networks on Monday, Khizr Khan said Trump lacked the empathy to be a leader and chided him for throwing the first salvo in their exchange. Trump has tried to shift focus from the Khans. “This story is not about Mr. Khan, who is all over the place doing interviews, but rather RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the U.S. Get smart!” Trump said Monday on Twitter. Ghazala Khan wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post on Sunday saying she had remained silent during her husband’s remarks to cope with making her grief public during the convention. On Sunday, Democratic rival Clinton said Trump had scapegoated the parents. In addition to Senate Majority Leader McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan issued a statement supporting the family.  Trump drew similar opprobrium a year ago when he said McCain, who as a naval aviator was shot down and taken prisoner during the Vietnam War, was not a hero because he had been captured. In an open letter, 23 Gold Star families said Trump cheapened their sacrifice and called for an apology. “This goes beyond politics. It is about a sense of decency,” it said. “That kind decency you mock as ‘political correctness.’”

Summary: ट्रम्प अभियान ने कैपिटल हिल से खान विवाद में उनका समर्थन करने को कहा


(In March 16 item, corrects timing of legislative session in final paragraph) By Rich McKay ATLANTA (Reuters) - A religious freedom bill described by opponents as being discriminatory against same-sex couples passed the Georgia state legislature on Wednesday night in an 11th-hour vote ahead of the session’s close.  The legislation, dubbed the Religious Liberty Bill, still has to be signed by Georgia’s Republican Governor Nathan Deal to become law. Deal has made clear that he will not sign a bill that allows discrimination, but his office did not immediately respond to request for comment on Wednesday night. Similar bills in states like Indiana and Arkansas sparked storms of criticism last year, forcing many lawmakers to retreat from the provisions. The Georgia bill, reworked several times by lawmakers amid criticism that earlier versions went too far, declares that no pastor can be forced to perform a same-sex wedding.  The bill also grants faith-based organizations – churches, religious schools or associations - the right to reject holding events for people or groups of whom they object. Faith-based groups also could not be forced to hire or retain an employee whose beliefs run counter to the organization’s. Opponents say the bill could be used to deny services and discriminate against same-sex couples. “The decision by the legislature today was to make an egregious and discriminatory bill even worse,” the Human Rights Campaign, which represents the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, said in a statement.  “It’s appalling that anti-equality extremists in the legislature are trying to ignore the will of the people of Georgia,” it said. Mike Griffin, a lobbyist and spokesman for the Georgia Baptist Convention, applauded the bill’s passage. He said that while the bill did not give them everything they wanted, he added: “We feel we’ve advanced our protection of our First Amendment Right to religious freedom.” “Our rights of religious liberty don’t end inside the four walls of a church,” he said. In a late added amendment, the proposed law says that it cannot allow discrimination already prohibited by federal law, which opponents said could nullify some of its provisions. More than 300 large corporations and small businesses, including Delta Airlines and Coca Cola, have signed a pledge decrying the Georgia legislation and urging the state lawmakers to drop it. The state legislature is set to wrap up its current legislative session next week.

Summary: धार्मिक स्वतंत्रता विधेयक जॉर्जिया राज्य विधायिका से पारित


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump urged the chief executives of the Big Three U.S. automakers on Tuesday to build more cars in the country, pressing his pledge to bring jobs to America and discourage the car industry from investing in Mexico. Trump, who has threatened to impose 35 percent tariffs on imported vehicles, opened a White House meeting with General Motors Co CEO Mary Barra, Ford Motor Co’s Mark Fields and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s Sergio Marchionne by saying he wanted to see more auto plants in the United States. In return, the new Republican president has vowed to cut regulations and taxes to make it more attractive for businesses to operate in the United States. He promised during his campaign to be a job-creating president and stressed that message in his inaugural address last Friday. “We have a very big push on to have auto plants and other plants - many other plants,” he told reporters at the start of the meeting. “It’s happening. It’s happening big league.” Matt Blunt, who heads a U.S. automaker trade association and attended the meeting, told Reuters that Trump asked what his administration could do “on domestic and trade policy that would help make the United States more competitive and strengthen the ability of automakers to add production here.” The hour-long meeting was the latest sign of Trump’s uncommon degree of intervention for a U.S. president into corporate affairs as he has repeatedly pressured automakers and other manufacturers to “buy American and hire American.” It was the first time the heads of the big three automakers met jointly with a U.S. president since a 2011 session with Barack Obama to tout a deal to nearly double fuel efficiency standards by 2025. Automakers have urged the Trump administration to rethink those aggressive mandates. The auto executives on Tuesday raised the issue of the fuel efficiency rules, trade policy and other regulatory matters, another person briefed on the meeting said. Marchionne told reporters afterward that Trump did not give them specifics on what regulations he would cut. The companies also discussed autonomous and electric vehicles and Trump asked about advanced vehicles, the person said. With flattening U.S. auto sales and excess capacity in the United States, U.S. automakers have been reluctant to open new U.S. auto plants in recent years. GM and Ford last built new U.S. assembly plants in 2004, while Fiat Chrysler opened a new transmission plant in Indiana in 2014. Kristin Dziczek, an analyst at the Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research, said automakers still had excess capacity in North America after suffering in the 1990s and 2000s from overcapacity and shifts in market share. Building a new plant would take three or more years and cost at least $1 billion, industry experts said. Automakers have expanded operations at existing U.S. plants to meet rising demand for trucks and SUVs. GM, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and foreign automakers have announced new U.S. jobs and investments in recent weeks.  Coinciding with Tuesday’s meeting, Toyota Motor Corp said it would add 400 jobs and invest $600 million in an Indiana plant, aiming to boost production of a popular SUV by 10 percent. Ford’s Fields said automakers wanted to work with Trump to create a “renaissance in American manufacturing” and that Trump’s economic priorities were encouraging, including his move on Monday to formally bow out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact championed by Obama.  “The mother of all trade barriers is currency manipulation. And TPP failed in meaningfully dealing with that, and we appreciate the president’s courage to walk away from a bad trade deal,” Fields told reporters after the meeting. Barra said there was a “huge opportunity” to work together with the government to “improve the environment, improve safety and improve the jobs creation.” U.S. automakers have collectively added more than 78,000 jobs since 2009, the year when GM and Chrysler, now a unit of Italian-American Fiat Chrysler, filed for bankruptcy as part of government bailouts during the U.S. recession. They have invested more than $40 billion in U.S. facilities during that period.  Despite the vocal pressure from Trump, the companies are unlikely to truly change their existing business plans for now, said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting with AutoForecast Solutions. “We need to have more concrete policies from the president,” he said. “Automakers will make decisions on whether there is a solid business case. Does it make more sense to build outside the U.S. or to build in the U.S.?” GM said in 2014 it would invest $5 billion in Mexico through 2018, a move that would allow it to double its production capacity, and Barra has said the automaker is not reconsidering the plan. While automakers are adding U.S. jobs, they are also cutting U.S. production of small cars. On Monday, GM ended two shifts of production of small cars in Ohio and Michigan, cutting about 2,000 jobs. Barclays auto analyst Brian Johnson said in a note on Tuesday that “automakers will be willing to make a deal that would bring back jobs to the U.S. in return for a slower ramp of (fuel efficiency) targets and related state-level mandates.”  Auto stocks rose on Tuesday. U.S.-listed shares of Fiat Chrysler gained 5.84 percent to $10.88, while Ford was up 2.44 percent to $12.61 and GM rose 0.96 percent to $37.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने अमेरिकी वाहन निर्माताओं से बात की, नए अमेरिकी संयंत्रों पर जोर दिया


BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Lebanese taxi driver with a previous arrest for drug use has confessed to killing a British woman who worked at the British Embassy in Beirut, a senior Lebanese security official said on Monday. A second security source said preliminary investigations into the murder of Rebecca Dykes showed the motive was purely criminal, not political. The suspect, who worked for the Uber [UBER.UL] taxi service, had immediately confessed to the crime, which took place early on Saturday, the source said. The senior security official said the suspect was 41 years old and had been arrested on drug-related charges in the period 2015-17, which the official said might not show up on his judicial record. The second security source said the suspect had a criminal record but gave no details.  Lebanon s state news agency NNA identified the suspect by the first name Tariq and the initial H, and said he had picked Dykes up in his taxi in Beirut s Gemmayzeh district on Friday evening before assaulting and killing her. Uber declined to confirm the suspect s name or how long he had been driving for the service.  The incident was the latest to highlight the issue of safety at Uber in various countries around the world.  We are horrified by this senseless act of violence. Our hearts are with the victim and her family,  said Uber spokesman Harry Porter.  We are working with authorities to assist their investigation in any way we can.   Porter said the company uses commercially licensed taxi drivers in Lebanon, and the government carries out background checks and grants licenses.  Only drivers that have clean background checks and clean judicial records are licensed, he said. The suspect s background check did not show any convictions, or he would not have been licensed, Porter said. Police traced the suspect s car through highway surveillance cameras, they said. Police only said they had arrested a suspect and that it was not a political crime. Dykes, who was strangled, was found by a main highway outside Beirut, a security source said on Sunday. She worked at the British Embassy for the Department for International Development.   The whole embassy is deeply shocked, saddened by this news,  Britain s ambassador to Lebanon, Hugo Shorter, said on Sunday.  We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca,  Dykes  family said in a statement. We are doing all we can to understand what happened.  In September, San Francisco-based Uber was stripped of its operating license in London over concerns about its approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers.  In India, the company was sued twice by a woman who was raped in 2014 by an Uber driver, first for failing to maintain basic safety procedures and again alleging executives improperly obtained her medical records. The Uber driver was convicted of the rape and sentenced in 2015 to life in prison. Uber settled the first lawsuit and has agreed to settle the second. In Brazil, a company policy of accepting cash payments for rides made drivers the target of robbery and murder. Following a Reuters investigation, Uber in February rolled out new safety requirements, including requiring new cash users to register with a social security number. And in Houston, Texas, a 2016 city investigation found that Uber s background checks were so insufficient the company cleared drivers with criminal histories including murder, assault and 17 other crimes. Uber is facing a host of problems, including allegations of sexual harassment, data privacy violations and a lawsuit and criminal investigation over alleged trade-secrets theft. New Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi, who replaced co-founder Travis Kalanick in August, has been critical of past practices and vowed a new era of compliance. The company is in the midst of a stock sale in which Softbank Group will take a stake in the company ahead of an anticipated 2019 initial public offering.

Summary: लेबनान ने ब्रिटिश दूतावास कर्मचारी की हत्या के संदेह में उबर चालक को हिरासत में लियाः सुरक्षा अधिकारी


JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa s Justice Minister Michael Masutha on Friday denied parole to the killer of anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani, saying he had not expressed remorse for the murder. Janusz Walus has served more than 20 years of a life sentence for the assassination of Hani, who was a senior member of the now-ruling African National Congress (ANC) and head of the South African Communist Party. Walus, 64, emigrated from communist Poland in 1981 and became involved in far-right politics in South Africa.  He shot Hani outside the anti-apartheid activist s home in 1993. The killing triggered nationwide riots that threatened to derail South Africa s 1994 transition to multi-racial democracy after decades of white apartheid rule. Masutha also blocked Walus  parole application in 2015, a decision that triggered several court challenges. The Supreme Court of Appeal referred the matter back to the justice minister for reconsideration.  Masutha said on Friday a psychologist s report had highlighted Walus  political ideology as a risk factor. The report said Walus  expressed remorse for the fact that the victim s children are fatherless and the wife is a widow .  However, he showed no remorse for murdering Chris Hani. He still rationalizes his actions and insists that they were politically motivated. His ideas about communism still stand.

Summary: दक्षिण अफ्रीका के रंगभेद विरोधी नेता हनी के हत्यारे को पैरोल देने से इनकार कर दिया गया


SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Watergate scandal pales in comparison to events in Washington surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump and alleged links between his campaign and Russia, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Wednesday. Clapper questioned Trump’s continued pro-Russian stance, saying his sharing of intelligence with Russia “reflect either ignorance or disrespect, and either is very problematic”. “I think if you compare the two that Watergate pales, really, in my view, compared to what we’re confronting now,” Clapper told reporters in Canberra, Australia’s capital. The break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in Washington in 1972, and subsequent cover-up, brought down former Republican U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1974. Clapper’s appearance in Canberra comes before highly anticipated testimony by sacked FBI director James Comey before the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday.  The committee is examining whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian officials to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. [nL1N1J320B] [nL1N1J31ZP] Trump in May removed Comey as director of FBI, despite a U.S. Justice Department probe into contacts between presidential aides and Russia, raising the specter of political interference in the investigation. Trump has called the probe a “witch hunt” and said there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia. Clapper said it was “inexplicable” that Trump continued his pro-Russia stance despite evidence Moscow sought to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. “His subsequent actions, sharing sensitive intelligence with the Russians and compromising its source, reflect either ignorance or disrespect and either is very problematic,” said Clapper.  Trump disclosed highly classified information about a planned Islamic State operation to Russia’s foreign minister in an Oval Office meeting in May, two U.S. officials have said.[nL2N1IH1O9]

Summary: ट्रम्प-रूस की तुलना में वाटरगेट 'कमजोर' हैः पूर्व अमेरिकी खुफिया प्रमुख


PARIS (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that there would be casualties in two of its Caribbean territories, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, after Hurricane Irma hammered the islands.  At this moment, it is too early to have a total figure, but I can already say that the impact will be hard and cruel,  Macron said after a crisis meeting to assess the situation.  There will be casualties and the material damage on both islands will be considerable.   He gave no further details.

Summary: तूफान इरमा के फ्रांसीसी क्षेत्रों में टकराने के बाद मैक्रों को हताहतों की उम्मीद है