BAGHDAD/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iraqi armed forces on Saturday dislodged Islamic State from a natural gas-rich border area with Syria, according to the military.  Iranian-backed forces fighting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad s army simultaneously announced the start of an offensive to reach the same border area from the opposite side. An Iraqi military statement said Akashat, a desert region located south of the Euphrates river, was captured in an offensive which had been announced earlier in the day.  The attack on Akashat is meant to pave the way for the recapture of urban centers in the Euphrates valley, including the border post of al-Qaim, it said. Iranian-backed Shi ite paramilitary forces known as Popular Mobilization and Sunni tribal fighters known as Tribal Mobilization took part in the offensive, it added. The Iraqi air force dropped thousands of leaflets overnight on Akashat as well as on al-Qaim and the towns of Ana and Rawa, alongside the Euphrates, telling the militants to surrender or face death, the statement said.    Two different campaigns are also advancing on Islamic State positions on the Syrian side of the border there - Syrian government forces supported by Russian air strikes and Iran-backed militias, and a U.S.-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters known as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). An alliance of Shi ite militias fighting with the Syrian army said it launched an assault to reach al-Bukamal, the Syrian border town on the Euphrates, facing al-Qaim. Securing al-Bukamal is important for Iran s allies as the two other main crossings into Syria, to the north and to the south, are under the control of forces allied with the U.S. Securing a land corridor across Iraq could make it easier for Iran to ferry heavy weapons to Syria should Baghdad approve such transfers. The Shi ite-led Iraqi government in Baghdad has good relations with both Tehran and Washington.     The Russian- and U.S.-backed campaigns against Islamic State in Syria have mostly stayed out of each other s way as the sides seek to avoid conflict, with the Euphrates often acting as a dividing line between them.  But a senior Assad aide this week said the Syrian government was ready to fight the U.S.-backed SDF to recapture the entire country. The cross-border  caliphate  declared by Islamic State in 2014 in effect collapsed in July, when a U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive captured Mosul, the militants  capital in Iraq. The towns in the border region with Syria and Hawija, a northern province close to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, are the only urban centers still under Islamic State control in Iraq. The group overran about a third of Iraq in 2014 in a sweeping offensive that allowed the militants to grab hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weaponry and vehicles left by the fleeing Iraqi forces.

Summary: इराकी बलों ने इस्लामिक स्टेट से सीरिया सीमा पर क्षेत्र पर कब्जा कर लियाः सेना


BERLIN (Reuters) - Members of Germany s Social Democrats (SPD) and Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives argued on Wednesday about repatriating Syrian refugees accused of crimes, a potential foretaste of coalition negotiations on immigration. Migration will be a key issue in coalition talks after an influx of more than a million migrants since mid-2015 hurt both the two major German parties in the September election and helped the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD).  The SPD criticized a proposal by conservative politicians to deport Syrian refugees who commit crimes, accusing the conservative party of moving to the right, RND newspaper group reported on Wednesday. Earlier this month, the AfD called for the repatriation of all the half a million Syrian refugees living in Germany, saying the war there was nearly over.  The conservative interior minister of Saxony state, Markus Ulbig, proposed deporting Syrian refugees who commit offences after evaluating the security situation in their home country, RND reported earlier. Ulbig s proposal, was supported by other regional interior ministers who will meet next week to discuss whether the situation in Syria merits a new status in order to consider sending Syrians back, starting from the end of June 2018.  We have always said: we want to respond to the developments in Syria,  said the spokesman of the head of Christian Democrats in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.  Now we have to ensure in the medium term that people return to their homeland.  The SPD said a halt to deportations for Syrian asylum seekers should be extended at least until the end of 2018.  Now thinking about sending people to this country as quickly as possible - as the conservatives proposed- is cynical and inhuman,  said Eva Hoegl, a senior SPD politician. A spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, which is led by SPD politician Sigmar Gabriel, noted that the conflict was still ongoing, suggesting that it was premature to talk about a new security assessment for the country. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 11 million driven from their homes in Syria s civil war, now in its seventh year. The situation on the ground has changed in the last two years since Russia joined the war on the side of the government, helping it recapture most rebel-held territory.

Summary: जर्मन एस. पी. डी., रूढ़िवादियों ने सीरियाई शरणार्थियों के प्रत्यावर्तन पर बहस की


PRINCETON, N.J. (Reuters) - A citizen’s complaint against New Jersey Governor Chris Christie related to the “Bridgegate” lane-closure scandal can move forward, a judge ruled on Thursday, referring the case to state prosecutors to consider possible criminal charges. Roy McGeady, the presiding judge for Bergen County municipal courts, found probable cause for the criminal complaint filed last month by Bill Brennan, an activist and retired firefighter, a court official confirmed. The complaint of official misconduct accused Christie of knowing about a plot to close down lanes at the George Washington Bridge as an act of political payback. The governor has repeatedly denied any prior knowledge of the closures, which created massive traffic jams in northern New Jersey. The ruling ratchets up the political pressure on Christie, who became a major supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump after dropping his own White House bid and now heads his White House transition team. The controversy surrounding the scandal, which has resulted in criminal charges against two of Christie’s associates, helped scuttle his bid for the Republican presidential nomination and has eroded the governor’s approval ratings in New Jersey. The misconduct case now moves to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, which will decide whether enough evidence exists to support a criminal charge. “The office has no comment at this time,” spokeswoman Maureen Parenta said in an email. Brennan filed the complaint in municipal court in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where Christie allies were accused of deliberately causing a massive traffic jam in September 2013 by closing access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in order to punish the town’s mayor. The bridge is a major link to New York City. The two Christie associates - his former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, and former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive Bill Baroni - have been on trial in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, for their alleged roles in the scandal. Brennan’s complaint was based on testimony from David Wildstein, another Port Authority executive who pleaded guilty in the case and has been cooperating with prosecutors, that Christie was aware of the lane closures at the time. A Christie spokesman, Brian Murray, said the governor would appeal the ruling immediately. “This is a dishonorable complaint filed by a known serial complainant and political activist with a history of abusing the judicial system,” Murray said. “The simple fact is the governor had no knowledge of the lane realignments either before they happened or while they were happening. This matter has already been thoroughly investigated by three separate independent investigations.” Brennan has filed numerous complaints, as well as lawsuits, against various officials in New Jersey over the years. Federal prosecutors have accused Kelly, Baroni and Wildstein of orchestrating the lane closures to send a message to Fort Lee Mayor Michael Sokolich after the Democrat refused to endorse Christie’s 2013 gubernatorial re-election campaign. At the time, Christie was already eyeing a White House run, and his advisers believed a show of bipartisan support would help enhance his national standing. Christie, 54, was among the 17 Republicans who originally vied for the Republican presidential nomination, but he dropped out of the race in February after failing to gain traction in the early voting. He became one of eventual nominee Trump’s staunchest supporters. As head of the New York businessman’s transition team, he would work to smooth the handover from Democratic President Barack Obama to Trump should Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election. U.S. prosecutors are nearing the end of their case against Kelly and Baroni after four weeks of testimony. Lawyers for the two defendants have argued that virtually the entire Christie administration was aware of the scheme and have portrayed Kelly and Baroni as scapegoats. Both were expected to take the witness stand in their defense.

Summary: न्यू जर्सी के नागरिक की 'ब्रिजगेट' शिकायत क्रिस्टी के खिलाफ आगे बढ़ सकती हैः न्यायाधीश


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration will temporarily delay the processing of most refugees from 11 countries deemed to be high-risk, top Cabinet officials wrote in a memo to President Donald Trump and seen by Reuters. The memo, which the administration provided to members of Congress on Tuesday afternoon, said the administration “will conduct a detailed threat analysis and review” for citizens of 11 “high risk countries.” In the meantime, it will “temporarily prioritize refugee applications” from other countries, the memo said. The administration is also temporarily pausing a program that allows refugees already in the United States to apply for their relatives abroad to join them in the country, until additional security measures can be implemented for the program, said the memo, which was signed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.

Summary: ट्रम्प प्रशासन 11 देशों के अधिकांश शरणार्थियों को संसाधित करने में देरी करेगाः ज्ञापन


BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil s Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles will speak to major credit rating agencies on Thursday as the government scrambles to avoid a sovereign debt downgrade due to growing doubts that its proposed pension reform can rein in surging public debt. A vote on the unpopular bill to overhaul the social security system, seen as vital to closing the fiscal deficit, has been delayed to 2018 after failing to muster support in Congress. Lawmakers have warned that handling the hot-button issue ahead of next year s elections would reduce the chances of approval. Meirelles said in a radio interview he will tell rating agencies the delay until February does not mean pension reform will not be approved. He told Radio Estad o it would be  reasonable  for the agencies to wait until the bill is voted on before deciding on a potential downgrade. Lower house Speaker Rodrigo Maia on Monday said pension reform would be hard to approve if the bill is not passed by February. The first vote was put off last week and scheduled for Feb. 19 after the Christmas-to-Carnival holiday recess. Maia told a news conference there is room to discuss a longer transition period for public sector employees, to include those who started working before 2003. While this would add to future pension costs, Maia said the government will refuse to give up one more penny in fiscal savings. The current version of the bill would save 480 billion reais ($146 billion) over 10 years, according to government estimates, down from 800 billion reais in the original proposal, before concessions were made to try to win passage. Brazil s bloated pension system, which is especially generous for public sector employees, is the main cause of a huge budget deficit that cost Latin America s largest nation its prized investment-grade credit rating two years ago. The finance ministry said Meirelles will hold conference calls with rating agency representatives on Thursday. Investors fear that failure to streamline social security could weaken Brazil s recovery from a deep economic downturn, forcing the central bank to raise interest rates from an all-time low and triggering new sovereign rating downgrades in 2018. Last week, Moody s Investors Service calling the delay in voting on the pension bill  credit negative .  This raises the possibility that the reform will not be approved next year, given political uncertainty surrounding the presidential elections,  Moody s said in a note to clients.

Summary: पेंशन सुधारों पर संदेह बढ़ने के कारण ब्राजील क्रेडिट डाउनग्रेड को रोकने की कोशिश कर रहा है


(Reuters) - The following are stories and tables about President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for the fiscal year 2018 starting Oct. 1, unveiled by the White House on Monday and due to be delivered to Congress on Tuesday. MAIN STORY - Trump’s first full budget would slash funding for healthcare and food assistance programs that help the poor while it trims the deficit. The plan - if agreed to by Congress - would cut $3.6 trillion in government spending over 10 years, balancing the budget by the end of the decade. More than $800 billion would be cut from the Medicaid program for the poor, and more than $192 billion from food stamps. THE WALL - Trump is asking Congress for $1.6 billion for fiscal 2018 to begin building a wall along the border with Mexico, far short of the amount needed for a project sharply criticized by Democrats and even some conservative Republicans. An internal Department of Homeland Security  plan has estimated the wall’s total cost at $21.6 billion. AGRICULTURE - The White House budget proposed $46.54 billion in cuts to federal funding for the agriculture sector over the next 10 years, with the biggest cut in the form of a $38 billion bite out of farm supports, including new limits on  subsidies for crop insurance premiums and caps for commodity payments. FOREIGN OUTLAYS - The Trump administration’s budget proposal would convert some of the United States’ foreign military grants to loans, part of a larger effort to slash spending on diplomacy, aid and programs abroad by more than 29 percent. ENERGY - Trump’s White House would sell half of the nation’s emergency oil stockpile and open the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling as part of a plan to balance the budget over the next 10 years and ramp up American energy output.  FINANCIAL REGULATION - Two Wall Street financial regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission, would face cuts or major structural changes under Trump’s  budget proposal. The CFPB, created to protect borrowers from predatory lending, would undergo a “restructure” that would cut the federal deficit by $145 million, while the SEC, which polices securities markets, would have its reserve fund used to supplement its budget. ASSUMPTIONS - Trump’s promise to balance the federal budget in a decade rests on a sustained rise to 3 percent annual economic growth and a vague “feedback” effect that lowers the annual deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. The projections are a leap of faith that many economists and the Federal Reserve regard as unlikely. ECONOMY - A table detailing the main economic forecasts underlying the budget proposal DEFICIT - A table detailing the deficit projections from the budget proposal

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्रम्प के 2018 के बजट प्रस्ताव के प्रमुख बिंदु


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives Rules Committee announced on Monday that it will hold a hearing on the Republican healthcare bill on Wednesday at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). The fourth and final House hearing on the bill, known formally as the American Health Care Act, will take place a day before lawmakers are expected to vote on the legislation.

Summary: सदन ने स्वास्थ्य सेवा विधेयक के लिए नियम समिति की सुनवाई निर्धारित की


ROME/PARIS (Reuters) - Italy and France are discussing a ship-building alliance that could lead to partnerships with Europe s second and third biggest defense contractors, Thales and Leonardo, two sources close to the matter said. The idea has emerged as Paris and Rome try to resolve a dispute over a shipyard in Western France which the French government nationalized to block an attempted takeover by Italy s Fincantieri.  France was concerned about job losses at the STX shipyard, the only French site big enough to build aircraft carriers and other large warships.  The two governments hope to resolve the STX shipyard dispute in time for a Sept. 27 summit in Lyon where French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni hope to smooth tensions created by growing French influence over Italian businesses.   Progress has been made toward the possibility of a European civil and military shipbuilding enterprise,  an Italian official with access to the bilateral talks told Reuters.  It s clear that Leonardo, along with Thales, cannot be ignored, even if it is difficult to say now how they will be involved.  A French official familiar with the discussions said Thales and Leonardo could be brought in as partners for Fincantieri and Naval Group, another French shipbuilder and a small shareholder in STX. Thales owns 35 percent of Naval Group. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thales and Leonardo could become shareholders in a wider equity alliance or merely suppliers, but that there was no Thales-Leonardo deal for now. Thales and Leonardo declined to comment.      A spokesman for Naval Group said,  Naval group has always made clear its desire for an industrial alliance at the European level. Continuing discussions with Fincantieri would allow us to intensify the fruitful cooperation we have and, in time, create a global leader.  He declined to comment on the possibility of widening the alliance to Leonardo and Thales. An Italian government source said the two nations may work over the next 12 months to study valuations and flesh out ideas on the military part of the proposal.  Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti is  worried about possible knock-on effects for Italians defense companies, among which Leonardo is the main one,  the source added.

Summary: फ्रेंको-इतालवी जहाज वार्ता में संभावित थेल्स, लियोनार्डो की भूमिकाः सूत्र


ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey said on Monday it would close its air space to Iraq s semi-autonomous Kurdish region and work to hand control of the main border crossing into the region to the central Iraqi government. The attempt to put the Habur border gate under control of the Iraqi central government signals a change of policy from Ankara, which had previously threatened to close the gate after Kurds in northern Iraq voted for independence. The Habur gate is the main transit point between Turkey and Iraq s semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government. The Sept. 25 referendum, in which Kurds in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence, has alarmed Baghdad, Iraq s neighbors and Western powers, all of whom fear further regional conflict could arise from the vote. Ankara, which has been battling a three-decade insurgency in its own mainly Kurdish southeast, fears an independent Kurdish state on its borders would heighten separatist tension at home.   Planes going to or coming from the Kurdistan Regional Government will not be able to use Turkish air space,  government spokesman Bekir Bozdag told a news conference following a cabinet meeting where the decisions were taken.  The cabinet has decided to start work on handing over the control of Habur border gate to the Iraqi government,  he added. Turkey tightened controls at the Habur border gate in the immediate aftermath of the referendum and suspended flights to northern Iraq. It has also held joint military exercises with Iraqi troops on the border. However, it has not yet implemented threats to impose wider sanctions on the Kurdish region or to cut off the hundreds of thousands of barrels of Kurdish oil exported daily via Turkey to world markets. The cabinet decision followed a meeting of Turkey s security council, which was chaired by President Tayyip Erdogan and had advised the cabinet to take such steps. The cabinet also took the advice of the security council and extended for another three months the state of emergency which was imposed after the failed coup attempt in July 2016. The extension for a fifth term will ensure that Turkey will have spent nearly one and a half years under emergency rule.

Summary: तुर्की उत्तरी इराक के लिए हवाई क्षेत्र बंद करेगा, सीमा पर बगदाद के साथ काम करेगा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday the firing of three ballistic missiles by North Korea this week was a provocative act but that the United States will continue to seek a peaceful resolution.  “We do view it as a provocative act against the United States and our allies,” Tillerson said in an interview on Fox News Sunday. “We’re going to continue our peaceful pressure campaign as I have described it, working with allies, working with China as well to see if we can bring the regime in Pyongyang to the negotiating table.”

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया पर 'शांतिपूर्ण दबाव' बनाए रखेगा अमेरिकाः टिलरसन


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race has narrowed since late last week, according to the results of the first Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted since the Orlando shooting rampage on Sunday. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the Nov. 8 election, has blamed Democratic policies for the worst mass shooting in U.S. history and doubled-down on his pledge to ban Muslim immigration, while Clinton has warned against demonizing Muslim-Americans. The poll, conducted from Friday to Tuesday, showed Clinton with an 11.6-point lead - 44.6 percent to 33.0 percent - over Trump, down from the 13-point lead she had in the five days that ended Saturday. The Florida attack, in which a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub and wounded 53 could have a lingering impact on the presidential race, mixing concerns about immigration, gun violence and religious tolerance into what has already been a volatile and sharply negative campaign.  The shooter, Omar Mateen, 29, the U.S.-born son of Afghan immigrant parents, called authorities during the massacre to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State militant group. Federal investigators have said Mateen, who was killed by police, was likely self-radicalized and there was no evidence he received any instruction or aid from outside groups such as Islamic State.  Trump seized on the attack to accuse Democratic President Barack Obama of failing to address “radical Islamic terrorism,” to warn that Clinton’s policies on immigration would allow more potential attackers into the country, and to fine-tune his call for a suspension of Muslim immigration. In a speech on Monday, Trump said he would suspend immigration from countries with a “proven history of terrorism” against the United States, Europe and allied countries “until we fully understand how to end these threats.” Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee,  said Trump’s response to the attack was disturbing. “Prejudice, paranoia and partisanship are not a plan, and will not protect anyone,” Clinton said in a statement.     She re-emphasized her support for coordinated military action in Syria and Iraq and called for tougher controls on firearms sales. Clinton’s slip in the polling was not all Trump’s gain.  The proportion of voters who said they would not vote for either candidate has risen steadily over the past week. About 22.4 percent of likely voters would not pick either candidate, according to the five-day average of results on Tuesday. That was up from 20.6 percent a week ago. Trump’s strident tone on Muslims and national security appears to have helped him in the past, at least with Republicans. He surged in opinion polls among Republicans late last year after attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. According to Reuters/Ipsos polls over the past several months, a majority of Republican voters said he was their party’s best choice to deal with terrorism and trusted him more than his Republican rivals to be commander in chief. Most Republicans also support Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration, while a majority of Americans oppose it. The online poll included 1,063 likely voters and had a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of about 3.5 percentage points.

Summary: फ्लोरिडा हमले के बाद क्लिंटन पर ट्रम्प को थोड़ा फायदा हुआः रॉयटर्स/इप्सोस पोल


BUDAPEST (Reuters) - U.S. financier George Soros on Monday denounced a Hungarian government campaign against him as  distortions and lies  designed to create a false external enemy. Soros, 86, is a Hungarian-born Jew whose longtime support for liberal and open-border values in eastern Europe have put him at odds with right-wing nationalists, in particular the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban, who faces elections in April 2018, last month sent to voters seven statements attributed to Soros that, among other things, called for the European Union to settle a million migrants a year and pay each of them thousands of euros.  The statements ... contain distortions and outright lies that deliberately mislead Hungarians about George Soros s views on migrants and refugees,  said a statement issued by Soros s Open Society Foundations.  With Hungary s health care and education systems in distress and corruption rife, the current government has sought to create an outside enemy to distract citizens. The government selected George Soros for this purpose,  it said. The ruling Fidesz party s vice chairman said Soros was engaged in a  frontal assault  against Hungary.  What Soros writes about immigration, in general, is a pro-immigration stance that is open about its disdain for the nation state,  Gergely Gulyas told a news conference.  Decisions made in Brussels echo that in the field of immigration policy.   Days before a recent immigration decision in the European Parliament Soros was meeting with the rapporteur on the subject as well as five different EU commissioners. I am not a conspiracy theorist but this holds some clues.  Soros said each of the seven statements was a distortion or lie, refuting them one by one. It said Soros proposed admitting an annual 300,000 refugees to the EU only while strengthening European border controls and making migrant relocations within the bloc voluntary, not mandatory as Budapest asserted. It said Soros proposed no payments to migrants, rather EU subsidies to member states to help them cope with migration. To three other proposals attributed to Soros - that he wanted milder criminal sentences for migrants, to push national cultures and languages into the background to facilitate easier integration of migrants and sanctions against countries that oppose migration, the Open Society statement said,  Nowhere has Soros made any such statement(s). This is a lie.  Orban once received a Soros grant to study at Britain s Oxford University but later turned against the billionaire philanthropist, vilifying him as an alleged mastermind of a global agenda to weaken nation states. The election campaign of Orban s Fidesz party has built on a series of billboards warning Hungarians,  Don t let Soros have the last laugh  and showing a laughing Soros in black and white. Some of the billboards have had  stinking Jew  scrawled on them. The billboards, along with calls from Orban to preserve Hungary s  ethnic homogeneity  and his endorsement of a World Two Hungarian leader who allied with Nazi Germany, drew accusations of anti-Semitism earlier this year. Alluding to the billboards and to Orban s rejection of immigration, especially from Muslim nations, the Open Society Foundations accused Budapest of  stoking anti-Muslim sentiment and employing anti-Semitic tropes reminiscent of the 1930s . Fidesz pulled the billboard campaign just before a July visit to Budapest by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Orban vowed to fight anti-Semitism. The government has denied its campaign was anti-Semitic, and re-launched the billboards in the autumn in promoting a  national consultation  with voters. Gulyas said it was  outrageous  that Soros called the campaign anti-Semitic. Immigration which Soros supported was bringing hundreds of thousands of people into Europe whose cultural background was inimical to Jewsm he said.  It is not us who should be facing anti-Semitism charges,  he said, adding that Fidesz also had nothing against Muslim culture but was against mass immigration of people with a different cultural background to Hungary s Christian roots.

Summary: सोरोस का कहना है कि हंगरी सरकार उनके खिलाफ हमलों में झूठ बोल रही है


FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force has developed a new framework for assessing the resilience of its satellites that should allow it to start the acquisition process for more military communication and missile detection satellites this autumn, a senior official said at the Farnborough Airshow this week. Lockheed Martin, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp and Raytheon Co are keeping a close eye on these satellite programs, which could be worth billions of dollars and represent the first big new business opportunities in the military space market for some time. U.S. officials have grown increasingly concerned about the need to protect their military satellites - which are critical to being able to identify targets, navigate, communicate and operate drones - given the growing use of electronic jammers and other threats. Winston Beauchamp, the U.S. Air Force deputy undersecretary for space, told Reuters that officials had developed a new set of criteria over the past year to help military leaders determine their options for more satellites. The Air Force had previously looked at the options for follow-on satellites in both programs but until now had not included specific criteria for their resilience, or their ability to operate in the face of “hostile action or adverse conditions,” such as electromagnetic interference. Beauchamp said senior Pentagon leaders last week endorsed the work done so far on the framework and further work planned before it is presented to Defense Secretary Ash Carter for approval in the fall. Once that decision is made, the Air Force hopes to begin the long-awaited acquisition process to buy follow-on satellites for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) system built by Lockheed Martin for protected satellite communications, and new missile warning satellites, also currently built by Lockheed under the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) program. Work was already underway on the acquisition strategy for each of the two programs so they could begin shortly after the resilience decision this autumn, Beauchamp said. The U.S. Air Force was also focused on increasing coordination and planning among allies for its space operations, as well as more multilateral wargaming and work on developing rules of engagement and joint concepts of operations. “We are thinking more broadly about how to conduct operations in a joint manner,” Beauchamp said. “In the past it was tacked on at the end. But we’d like to find a way to shift the planning to the left in a number of areas.”

Summary: अमेरिका ने इस साल और अधिक सैन्य उपग्रह खरीदने का लक्ष्य रखा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s administration is set to unveil revised self-driving vehicle guidelines next week in Michigan, responding to automakers’ calls for elimination of legal barriers to putting autonomous vehicles on the road, sources briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao was expected to unveil the revised guidelines next Tuesday at a self-driving vehicle testing facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan, four people briefed on the matter said. A spokesman for Chao did not immediately comment. The White House Office of Management and Budget approved the undisclosed Transportation Department changes to the guidelines on Aug. 31, according a posting on a government website. On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a sweeping proposal to speed deployment of self-driving cars without human controls and bar states from blocking autonomous vehicles. The measure could help many automakers and tech companies keep their pledges of getting self-driving cars on the market by 2020 or 2021. The House will vote on the bill under fast-track rules that allow no amendments. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators working on similar legislation has not introduced a bill. The bill, passed unanimously by a House panel in July, would allow automakers to obtain exemptions to deploy up to 25,000 vehicles without meeting existing auto safety standards in the first year. Over three years, the cap would rise to 100,000 vehicles annually. The House measure would require automakers to provide regulators with safety assessment reports proposed in the 2016 self-driving guidelines, but would not require pre-market approval of advanced vehicle technologies. Consumer advocates have called for giving the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration quicker access to crash data and more funding to oversee self-driving cars. Automakers and technology companies, including General Motors Coand Alphabet Inc’s self-driving unit Waymo, have sought easier federal rules for self-driving technology, while some consumer groups have pushed for more safeguards. The Obama administration issued guidelines for self-driving cars in September 2016, calling on automakers to voluntarily submit details of self-driving vehicle systems in a 15-point “safety assessment” and urging states to defer to the federal government on most vehicle regulations. Automakers raised numerous concerns about the Obama administration guidance, including the suggestion that automakers should submit systems to regulators for review before putting them on the market.  Companies including Waymo, GM, Ford Motor Co, Uber Technologies Inc, Tesla Inc and others are aggressively pursuing automated vehicle technologies.

Summary: अमेरिका संशोधित स्व-ड्राइविंग कार दिशानिर्देशों का अनावरण करेगाः सूत्र


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the House of Representatives tax committee said on Wednesday that achieving a permanent cut in the U.S. corporate tax rate could take “several steps.” Republican Representative Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee which is working to write a tax reform bill, told reporters: “That’s our goal and I think it’s going to take several steps through the process to achieve that.” Brady did not elaborate on his comment but said Senate rules for reconciliation bills were a concern. Under Senate rules, tax cuts must expire if they add to the federal deficit outside a 10-year budget window.

Summary: कॉर्पोरेट कर में कटौती 'कई कदम' ले सकती हैः हाउस टैक्स पैनल की अध्यक्षता


DHAKA (Reuters) - Pope Francis called on Thursday for decisive measures to resolve the political reasons that caused mostly Muslim refugees in Myanmar to flee to Bangladesh and urged countries to help the Dhaka government deal with the crisis. However, just as on the first leg of his trip, in Myanmar, he did not use the word Rohingya to describe the refugees, which is contested by the Yangon government and military. In a speech before Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid and diplomats hours after arriving under heavy security in Dhaka, the chaotic and dusty capital of 14 million people, Francis instead spoke of  refugees from Rakhine State . In his speech, Francis, who used the term Rohingya twice this year in appeals from the Vatican, praised impoverished Bangladesh s  spirit of generosity and solidarity  in helping  a massive influx of refugees from Rakhine State . The exodus of some 625,000 Muslim Rohingya people from Rakhine state to the southern tip of Bangladesh was sparked by a military crackdown in response to Rohingya militant attacks on an army base and police posts on Aug. 25.  Scores of Rohingya villages were burnt to the ground, and refugees arriving in Bangladesh told of killings and rapes. The United States has said the campaign by mainly Buddhist Myanmar s military included  horrendous atrocities  aimed at  ethnic cleansing . The military denies the accusations.  None of us can fail to be aware of the gravity of the situation, the immense toll of human suffering involved, and the precarious living conditions of so many of our brothers and sisters, a majority of whom are women and children, crowded in the refugee camps,  Francis said at the presidential palace.  It is imperative that the international community take decisive measures to address this grave crisis, not only by working to resolve the political issues that have led to the mass displacement of people, but also by offering immediate material assistance to Bangladesh in its effort to respond effectively to urgent human needs.  Even though his calls for justice, human rights and respect in Myanmar were widely seen as applicable to the Rohingya, who are not recognized as Myanmar citizens or as members of a distinct ethnicity, rights groups such as Amnesty International said they were disappointed he did not defend them by name. In studiously avoiding the highly charged term, the pope has so far followed the advice of church officials in Myanmar, who feared it could set off a diplomatic incident and turn Myanmar s military and government against minority Christians. Francis is due to meet a group of Rohingya refugees in Dhaka on Friday. In his address to the pope, the president of Bangladesh, which is predominantly Muslim, used the term Rohingya several  times and accused the Myanmar army of committing  ruthless atrocities . He called for a  safe, sustainable and dignified return  of the refugees to their homes. Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an accord last week on terms for the return of Rohingya, though rights groups are skeptical Myanmar will follow through on the deal and have called for independent observers for any repatriation. There are concerns about protection for Rohingya from further violence if and when they go home, and about a path to resolving their legal status - most are stateless - and whether they would be allowed to return to their old homes. The pope s visit to the South Asian country unfolded under heavy security. While Francis stuck to his custom of using a simple car, he was escorted by many armored military and police vehicles. The country was shocked on July 1, 2016, when gunmen stormed a caf  in Dhaka s upscale Gulshan neighborhood, killing 22 people, most of them foreigners, in an overnight siege. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility.

Summary: पोप ने म्यांमार के शरणार्थियों के लिए निर्णायक कदम उठाने का आग्रह किया, 'रोहिंग्या' से परहेज किया


MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday it fully understood why the Russian lower house of parliament planned to discuss banning representatives of U.S. media organizations in retaliation for what it says is U.S. mistreatment of Russian media. Russian lawmakers are to discuss a proposal to bar U.S. media from accessing the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, the RIA news agency quoted the chair of one of the chamber s committees as saying earlier on Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters that the Kremlin understood why lawmakers wanted to hit back against the United States for its mistreatment of Russian media. Peskov said Russian media had been subjected to  outrageous  attacks in the United States which violated freedom of speech.

Summary: क्रेमलिन का कहना है कि वह समझता है कि रूसी संसद अमेरिकी मीडिया पर प्रतिबंध क्यों लगाना चाहती है


HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe s ruling ZANU-PF party called on Friday for President Robert Mugabe to resign, the main state newspaper The Herald reported, the latest sign that the aging leader s authority has collapsed after an army takeover. The newspaper said that ZANU-PF branches in all 10 provinces had met on Friday and had also called for Mugabe s wife Grace, whose ambitions to succeed her husband triggered the unfolding political crisis, to resign from the party.  Mugabe appeared in public on Friday for the first time since the army took charge, as the ruling party made plans to force him to step down after almost four decades in power. The president, who is 93, opened a graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University in Harare. He wore blue and yellow academic robes and a mortar board hat and appeared to fall asleep in his chair as his eyes closed and his head lolled. Mugabe led the country s liberation struggle and has dominated its politics since independence in 1980. A senior member of the ZANU-PF ruling party said it wanted him gone.  If he becomes stubborn, we will arrange for him to be fired on Sunday,  the source said.  When that is done, it s impeachment on Tuesday.  The Herald reported that ZANU-PF would convene a special Central Committee meeting on Sunday to  realign the revolutionary party with current political developments.  The military, which seized power on Wednesday, has so far treated Mugabe carefully. It said in a statement on national television it was  engaging  with Mugabe, referred to him as Commander in Chief and said it would announce an outcome as soon as possible. ZANU-PF has also called for a mass meeting in the capital on Saturday to show its support for the War Veterans group in their bid to remove Mugabe. The veterans, Mugabe s former comrades from the liberation war, who enjoyed a privileged position under his rule for decades, had chafed in recent years as his wife Grace positioned herself to succeed him. They finally turned on him decisively after he sacked Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week. The Herald newspaper on Friday said that ZANU-PF wanted Mnangagwa reinstated as vice president because he was dismissed  without endorsement of the central committee . Many Zimbabweans suspect the military s plan is to hand power to Mnangagwa, a long-serving Mugabe confidant and liberation war veteran nicknamed  the Crocodile . If so, the generals may be waiting until Mnangagwa can be reinstated as vice president before arranging for Mugabe to resign. Mugabe is revered as an elder statesman and independence leader but he is also viewed by many in Africa as a president who crippled his country by remaining in power too long. He calls himself the grand old man of African politics. Zimbabwe s official newspaper, the Herald, ran photographs late on Thursday showing Mugabe grinning and shaking hands with military chief General Constantino Chiwenga, who led the army takeover. The images stunned Zimbabweans who said it meant Mugabe was managing to hold out against Chiwenga s coup. Some political sources said he was trying to delay his departure until elections scheduled for next year. The ZANU-PF source said he would not be able to stay that long. Anxious to avoid a protracted stalemate, party leaders were drawing up plans to dismiss Mugabe at the weekend if he refused to quit, the source said.  There is no going back,  the source told Reuters.  It s like a match delayed by heavy rain, with the home side leading 90-0 in the 89th minute.  The army is camped on his doorstep. Grace Mugabe is under house arrest and her key political allies are in military custody. The police, once a bastion of support for Mugabe, have showed no signs of resistance to the army. Furthermore, he has little popular backing in the capital, a stronghold of support for opposition parties that have tapped into the anger and frustration at his handling of the economy, which collapsed after the seizure of white-owned farms in 2000. After stabilising briefly when Mugabe was forced to work with the opposition in a 2009-2013 unity government, the economy has collapsed again. Unemployment is now running at nearly 90 percent and chronic shortages of hard currency have triggered hyperinflation, with the prices of imports rising as much as 50 percent a month. Mugabe has won a series of elections but his critics in Africa and the West say his handling of the economy has been disastrous and he has used violence to maintain power. Botswana s President Ian Khama told him to resign.  I don t think anyone should be President for that amount of time. We are Presidents. We are not monarchs. It s just common sense,  Khama said. Still, African states are keen that whatever outcome is achieved in Zimbabwe, it happens within the framework of the constitution, which may give Mugabe some leverage over the terms of his departure.  We note with great concern the unfolding political development in Zimbabwe and we hope that they will not lead to unconstitutional change of government,  South African President Jacob Zuma said at a Southern African Development Community meeting in Botswana s capital Gaborone. Dumiso Dabengwa, a Zimbabwean liberation war veteran and KGB-trained former intelligence chief, said Mugabe s fate was sealed but old age was causing him to dig in his heels.  At his age, everybody becomes very stubborn and he would be no exception,  he told reporters in Johannesburg.   He certainly will not do it easily, but I think the people will show him that he s no longer wanted.  U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday urged  a quick return to civilian rule  in Zimbabwe.  Zimbabwe has an opportunity to set itself on a new path, one that must include democratic elections and respect for human rights,  Tillerson told African foreign ministers ahead of a meeting in Washington. (For a graphic on 'Zimbabwe's struggling economy' click here)

Summary: जिम्बाब्वे के मुगाबे को सत्ता से हटाने के लिए सत्तारूढ़ दल ने उठाए कदम


WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who is recuperating from pneumonia, plans to resume campaigning on Thursday, her spokesman said. Clinton “has spent the day catching up on reading briefings, making calls” and watching on television President Barrack Obama’s speech at a campaign appearance for the former secretary of state in Philadelphia, spokesman Nick Merrill said on Tuesday. “We will resume campaign travel on Thursday, more details to come,” he added. Hours after Clinton, 68, almost collapsed on Sunday at a New York memorial ceremony for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, her doctor said she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier. Clinton said on Monday that she would rest a few days before resuming her campaign for the Nov. 8 election against Republican Donald Trump. Clinton said she had ignored doctor’s order to rest and had not revealed her diagnosis earlier because “I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal.”

Summary: क्लिंटन गुरुवार को फिर से प्रचार शुरू करेंगी, 'विवरण आने वाला है'


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed confidence that the Republican-led Senate would ultimately prevail in  passing legislation aimed at repealing and replacing the 2010 healthcare law passed under his predecessor, former Democratic president Barack Obama. “It’s very tough ... I think we’re going to get it over the line,” Trump told reporters at the White House ahead of a separate event on energy, adding that healthcare was “probably the toughest subject” to get passed in Congress.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने कहा कि सीनेट रिपब्लिकन स्वास्थ्य सेवा विधेयक को पारित कर सकते हैं


BRASILIA (Reuters) - Three senior Brazilian law enforcement officials, including the former prosecutor general, said new leaders of the federal police and prosecutors  offices are curbing an anti-corruption drive that challenged centuries of impunity in Latin America s biggest country. Rodrigo Janot, who until mid-September was Brazil s prosecutor general and remains an influential senior prosecutor, told Reuters this week he believes that President Michel Temer, whom he charged on three different counts of corruption, appointed a new head of federal police specifically to  divert   graft investigations. Separately, two other senior law enforcement officials said that Raquel Dodge, Janot s replacement as prosecutor general, told some senior prosecutors in the capital Brasilia to shift away from corruption probes and stop talking publicly about anti-graft efforts. In a statement, the president s office said the police chief was appointed after consultations with the police force. It criticized any suggestions the new director would hinder investigations.  Only someone ill-informed or ill-intentioned could suppose that interference in investigations is possible,  Temer s office said. A spokeswoman for Dodge said the new prosecutor general was vigorously combating corruption on numerous fronts. Fernando Segovia, the new police director, in an email to Reuters said his office will strengthen the fight against corruption. Brazil s crackdown on graft in recent years led to dozens of convictions of senior politicians, government officials and corporate executives, inspiring many Brazilians to believe that a longstanding culture of impunity was changing.  It also helped spawn similar crackdowns elsewhere in Latin America. But in Brazil, where Congress recently shielded Temer from charges, some investigators and prosecutors say that elected officials are finding ways to outmaneuver them, especially as they seek, before elections next year, to retain seats that give them constitutional safeguards against prosecution. The sprawling nature of many of Brazil s inquiries, conducted by investigators in dozens of far-flung offices, would make any concerted effort to derail them difficult, corruption experts said. But Janot s dissent, and growing criticism expressed by other senior officials, reveal a growing rift at the top levels of Brazilian law enforcement at a time when some investigators believe Temer and Congressional allies are out to quash landmark investigations.  Now is the time to speak up,  Janot told Reuters,  so that all this effort will not have been in vain.  The effort, including  Operation Car Wash  and several other major investigations, involves probes into kickbacks by private construction firms to government officials and politicians in exchange for public works and other contracts. It uncovered billions of dollars worth of illicit payments and led to sharing of evidence with 40 other countries, many of which launched their own probes and convicted officials based on Brazilian investigators  findings. During a rare, two-hour interview in Brasilia, Janot was especially critical of Segovia s appointment to head the federal police, which spearheaded Car Wash and other investigations. The 61-year-old prosecutor, who stepped down as prosecutor general because the second of his two terms in the office expired in September, said he believes that  Segovia was named to complete a mission   to divert the focus of the investigations.  Janot cited public commentary made by the new police chief, including Segovia s criticism of prosecutors  investigations at a press conference shortly after he took office.  By the statements he has made, it appears he was selected for the mission to discredit the investigation,  Janot added. Segovia, 48, who has spent over two decades on the force, in the email said he seeks to  strengthen investigations of crimes against public coffers and involving corruption.   I have made clear in all my public statements that we will broaden and strengthen Operation Car Wash,  he added. The new police chief was appointed with strong support from Temer s ruling Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, or PMDB. His appointment surprised some within the federal police because Segovia has never held what is considered one of the force s major posts, according to other investigators and law enforcement experts. During a press conference on Nov. 20, ten days into the new job, Segovia criticized prosecutors for their case against Temer, calling it a rushed investigation. He belittled the evidence, including a video shot by federal police of a Temer aide accepting a bag with 500,000 reais ($150,000) in cash.  A single bag does not provide the criminal evidence needed,  Segovia said, prompting widespread scorn in Brazilian press and social media.  It cannot be denied that the statements made by the new director of the federal police were extremely unfortunate,  read an editorial in the Folha de S. Paulo, Brazil s largest newspaper, afterward. When Dodge took office on Sept 19, she was widely criticized by police, prosecutors and many others in Brazil for failing in a speech to acknowledge the historic  Car Wash  probe. The two senior law enforcement officials, who requested to remain anonymous, said that the new prosecutor general has told other prosecutors to shift their focus from graft. Dodge also told some prosecutors to stop using the word  corruption  so much in public, they said. The prosecutor general s spokeswoman did not respond to questions about whether Dodge told prosecutors to avoid the word  corruption  or whether she told prosecutors to de-emphasize graft cases. Janot declined to comment on Dodge s dealings with other prosecutors, saying he has a  professional and respectful  relationship with his successor. Although it is early in the tenure of both Dodge and Segovia, some prosecutors and police investigators say they are already seeing a significant slowdown in procedures necessary to pursue some cases. Janot, for instance, said Dodge s office has filed far less paperwork with Brazil s Supreme Court than would have been expected given the caseload when she took over. The paperwork is a key step in many big investigations because only the top court can authorize probes involving elected federal officials. A spokeswoman for the top court did not respond to a request for comment on the volume of the paperwork. Before his term expired, the prosecutor general s office this year sent an average of 302 requests related to the  Car Wash  corruption investigations to the Supreme Court each month, Janot said. Dodge s office said it had filed a total of 450 requests since she took office in mid-September, representing an average of 180 per month, or a roughly 40 percent drop. Some experts say it is too soon to know whether a shift away from corruption investigations is underway or even possible to orchestrate, particularly because of the number of investigators pursuing cases across Brazil. More time is needed, they say, to evaluate Dodge s administration.  Even if Dodge and Segovia were strategically appointed to stop or create delays in investigations, I doubt they would succeed because the process has become decentralized,  said Carlos Pereira, a professor of public administration at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro and a leading expert on corruption. Still, those involved in ongoing cases are troubled by any prospect of a slowdown, particularly with national elections looming next October, which would prolong constitutional protections for many office-holders facing charges.  The risks increase exponentially as the elections approach,  said Carlos Lima, the top regional prosecutor in Curitiba, the southern city where the  Car Wash  investigations began. During his conversation with Reuters, Janot criticized Segovia s support from Temer and his allies, some of whom are also facing investigations and charges.  A person with close ties to these people   some under investigation, some charged   I cannot say if they should be allowed to run an institution of the size and importance of the federal police,  Janot said. In the email, Segovia said  I have no type of political or party ties with the PMDB or any other political party.  Temer, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, staved off prosecution largely because allies in the lower house of Congress, which must authorize charges against a sitting president, voted against it. The vote outraged many Brazilians because some of those who voted against the charges in Congress are also being investigated. Temer will still face charges once he leaves federal elected office. The pushback is such that a Congressional committee is now investigating how federal prosecutors carried out their probe against Temer.  We re going to investigate those who have always investigated us,  said Carlos Marun, a PMDB Congressman and Temer ally, who danced on the lower house floor after it voted against sending the president for trial. Marun himself is facing a corruption trial in his home state of Mato Grosso do Sul. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Summary: एक्सक्लूसिवः ब्राजील के पूर्व शीर्ष अभियोजक ने कहा कि उत्तराधिकारी, पुलिस प्रमुख ने भ्रष्टाचार की जांच को धीमा कर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump put pressure on Democrats on Sunday as U.S. lawmakers worked to avoid a government shutdown, saying Obamacare would die without a cash infusion the White House has offered in exchange for their agreement to fund his border wall. The escalated push to get Trump’s priorities, which Democrats reject, into spending legislation could jeopardize prospects for an agreement to keep the government open. If talks fail, the government would shut down on Saturday, Trump’s 100th day in office. “Obamacare is in serious trouble. The Dems need big money to keep it going - otherwise it dies far sooner than anyone would have thought,” the Republican president said in a Twitter post. In a second tweet, he added: “The Democrats don’t want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members.”  MS-13 is a criminal gang with members of Central American origin.  The president’s tweets appeared after White House budget director Mick Mulvaney accused Democrats of “holding hostage national security” by opposing $1.5 billion to help build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, one of Trump’s top campaign pledges.  Democrats have said they would not support legislation that ends federal subsidies to help low-income people buy health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. The healthcare law was former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement, which Republicans are trying to repeal and replace. On Sunday, Democrats called for Trump to stop making “poison pill” demands.     Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said negotiations between Democrats and Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate were “going quite well” and that he was hopeful a deal could be reached. “The only fly in the ointment is that the president is being a little heavy handed, and mixing in and asking for things such as the wall,” Schumer told reporters. “We’d ask him to let us do our work, not throw in some last-minute poison pills that could undo it, and we could get this done,” he said. Trump wants money for the wall included in spending legislation that Congress must pass by Friday to keep the federal government operating through Sept. 30, when the 2017 fiscal year expires. Mulvaney and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus played down the danger of a shutdown. Mulvaney said talks between Republicans and Democrats could produce an agreement as early as Sunday. “I’m pretty confident we’re going to get something that’s satisfactory to the president in regard to border security within the current negotiations,” Priebus said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Trump had been clear about his desire for a wall. “I would suspect he will be insistent on the funding,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union.” The White House is expected to address another Trump campaign promise this week with a Wednesday announcement on tax reform that Mulvaney said would offer “governing principles, some guidance, also some indication of what the rates will be.” But he said basic elements of the plan remained undecided, including whether to have deficit-funded tax cuts that would not be permanent. “You can either have a small tax cut that’s permanent, or a large tax cut that is short term,” he said. In a tweet on Saturday, Trump promised that a “Big TAX REFORM AND TAX REDUCTION will be announced next Wednesday.” Legislative text on tax reform is not expected until June, Mulvaney said.    Spending legislation will require Democratic support to clear the Senate, and the White House says it has offered to include $7 billion in Obamacare subsidies to help low-income Americans pay for health insurance, if Democrats accept funding for the wall. Democrats showed no sign of softening their opposition to wall funding on Sunday and sought to place responsibility for any shutdown squarely on Trump and Republicans who control the House of Representatives and the Senate.   “The Democrats do not support the wall,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The wall is, in my view, immoral, expensive, unwise.” Senator Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, called on Trump to “back off.”  “To think that he would consider shutting down the government of the United States of America over this outlandish proposal of a border wall ... that would be the height of irresponsibility,” he told CNN.

Summary: सीमा दीवार समझौता कराने के लिए ट्रम्प ने ओबामाकेयर पर डेमोक्रेट पर दबाव डाला


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

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


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton formally concluded the U.S. Democratic presidential race on Tuesday with a win in the District of Columbia primary, then turned her focus to uniting the party during a 90-minute private meeting with defeated rival Bernie Sanders. Clinton, who secured enough delegates to clinch the nomination last week, met with Sanders in a downtown Washington hotel as the sometimes bitter primary combatants searched for common ground ahead of the Nov. 8 election against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Sanders has resisted pressure to bow out and endorse Clinton in a show of party unity, choosing to continue his campaign as leverage to win concessions from Clinton on his policy agenda and reforms to the Democratic Party nominating process. Both camps described the meeting as “positive” and said the two noted their shared commitment to stopping Trump and pursuing issues such as raising the minimum wage, eliminating undisclosed money in politics, making college affordable and making healthcare coverage more accessible. Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said the meeting was “a positive discussion about how best to bring more people into the political process and about the dangerous threat that Donald Trump poses to our nation.” Also attending were Sanders’ wife Jane, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and the two campaign managers, Jeff Weaver for Sanders and Robby Mook for Clinton. Sanders had promised to stay in the Democratic race until the final vote was cast in the Washington, D.C., primary, although in the past week he has stopped talking about capturing the party’s nomination and instead focused on ways to advance his policy goals. He scheduled a national video address to supporters on Thursday night, telling them in an email message that “the political revolution continues.” At a news conference before the Washington meeting, Sanders said he would also demand changes to make the Democratic nominating process more equitable, including replacing the Democratic National Committee leadership, letting independents take part in the voting and eliminating superdelegates, who are unelected and are free to support any candidate. “The time is long overdue for a fundamental transformation of the Democratic Party,” Sanders said. Clinton easily beat Sanders in the District of Columbia, winning 79 percent to his 21 percent in a primary that closed the more than four-month, state-by-state battle for the Democratic nomination that began on Feb. 1 in Iowa. During a visit to Capitol Hill earlier on Tuesday, Sanders told Democratic senators he would take his message of progressive values and party reform to the convention. “I’m open to that, I think we should all be open to that,” Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois told reporters afterward. “It’s not a surprise that the American people are skeptical of all of us in political life. And we ought to step back and reassess why, and what we can do about it.” Top Democrats have taken steps in the last week to begin rallying behind Clinton and ease Sanders out of the race without alienating his supporters.  President Barack Obama endorsed Clinton on Thursday, hours after meeting with Sanders at the White House. Clinton also secured the endorsement of Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a leader of the party’s progressive wing. Clinton already has turned her attention on the campaign trail to the race with Trump, rejecting the New York businessman’s renewed calls for a ban of the entry of foreign-born Muslims into the United States after the mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, Florida, by an American man who claimed allegiance with Islamic State militants. “I have clearly said that we faced terrorist enemies who use a perverted version of Islam to justify slaughtering innocent people. We have to stop them, and we will,” Clinton said in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. “But I will not demonize and declare war on an entire religion.”

Summary: क्लिंटन ने डी. सी. प्राइमरी जीता, सैंडर्स के साथ उनकी 'सकारात्मक' बैठक हुई


MONROVIA (Reuters) - Liberia s Supreme Court has halted preparations for next week s presidential run-off vote between former soccer star George Weah and Vice President Joseph Boakai until it considers a challenge to first round results by a losing candidate who alleged fraud.     The decision casts further doubt on the Oct. 10 poll that losing parties say was marred by foul play at polling stations and at the highest levels of government.  It could also delay a second-round vote scheduled for Nov. 7 to find a successor to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 and is the country s first elected leader since a 14-year civil war ended in 2003. In a writ issued late on Tuesday, the court instructed the Liberty Party of third-placed Charles Brumskine, who made the complaint, and the National Elections Commission, to file briefs by Thursday.   This is a big step in the right direction,  said Liberty Party Chairman Benjamin Sanvee.  The Court recognizes the gravity of the issues and has taken action in defense of the law and democracy.   This week, Boakai s ruling Unity Party announced it was backing the legal challenge. It accused Johnson Sirleaf, one of its own members, of interfering in the October vote by holding private meetings with election magistrates. Johnson Sirleaf denied the meetings were inappropriate. Observers from the European Union and the Carter Center say they saw no major problems with the first round vote. The Supreme Court s decision is an example of an increasingly assertive role some African judiciaries are playing in overseeing elections. Kenya s Supreme Court annulled the results of a presidential election in August. National Elections Commission chairman Jerome Korkoya questioned the need for the Supreme Court s decision, which he said has halted preparations for the vote, including training polling station staff.   Let me categorically say I see no reason, legal or otherwise, for such an order,  he told reporters.  The election was transparent and credible.   Looking to head off a crisis, the chairman of West African regional body ECOWAS, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe, and the African Union chair, Guinea s president Alpha Conde, arrived in the capital Monrovia on Wednesday.  There have been some complaints, some challenges. That process is ongoing in keeping with the rule of law,  Johnson Sirleaf said at a news conference alongside Gnassingbe, Conde, Weah, Boakai and three other candidates.   This democratic process must be concluded within the time frame of the constitution so that I may be able to retire and end this transition successfully,  she said.     The streets of Monrovia remained calm though the court ruling raised tension in the capital where memories of the war are fresh. Large numbers of riot police deployed outside the Supreme Court and election commission headquarters.  I see this entire process as critical to our survival as a nation. We must do all to avoid sliding into war,  said student David Farmah.  No one has money to have a re-run of the election. It should go ahead.  Weah won the first round with 38.4 percent of the vote to Boakai s 28.8 percent. He has tapped into frustration with Johnson Sirleaf s 12-year tenure, which has seen a post-war peace consolidated and the economy quadruple in size but has failed to root out corruption and alleviate poverty.  Morluba Morlu, a senior official from Weah s CDC party, said on Wednesday he still expected the run-off to go ahead next week.  It is sad for a ruling party that has been in power for 12 years (to) be crying,  he said of Unity Party s support for the legal challenge.  We don t want any mockery of this election.

Summary: लाइबेरिया के सर्वोच्च न्यायालय ने धोखाधड़ी के आरोपों पर चुनाव की तैयारी रोक दी


ZALAVAR, Hungary (Reuters) - Twice a month a few dozen Russian orthodox believers gather in a small Catholic chapel whose foundations date back to the 11th century, their temporary place of worship as they do not have a church of their own in western Hungary. These worshippers now have a good chance of having their own church built in the spa town of Heviz, after Prime Minister Viktor Orban granted 2.4 billion forints ($9 million) in the budget to the renovating and building of Russian Orthodox churches. Channelling state money to the Hungarian branch of the Russian church, which had just 2,365 followers in the latest census in the mostly Catholic country of 10 million, was seen by political analysts and critics as a bid to win favor with  President Vladimir Putin.  Orban signed off the decree and it was published on Feb. 1, the day before he received Putin in Budapest. It was their fourth meeting in two years and Putin was back on Aug. 28 for a judo event when they met again. On that day, Orban allocated an additional 313 million forints to the Russian Orthodox church. Although the amounts are small, some analysts and critics see the bolstering of the Russian Orthodox Church with state cash as significant in the context of Russian-Hungarian relations.   This move is on the one hand a gesture toward Vladimir Putin, and the Russians, a small community living here in Hungary, but at the same time it really shows the ... influence of Russia on Hungary,  said Peter Kreko, director of think-tank Political Capital.  Hungary s alignment to Russia is unsettling to fellow European Union member states where Russia s alleged interference is taken with such alarm that several countries have moved to set up agencies to counter it.  Inside the European Union, Hungary promotes scrapping economic sanctions imposed after Russia s annexation of Crimea in 2014, saying it hurts trade.  Trade ties between Russia and Hungary include a gas supply pact with Gazprom and a deal for Russia to finance and build a nuclear power plant. Construction is due to start next year.  In February, Orban said Hungary wanted  open and transparent  relations with Russia.   On the western half of the continent, there is a strong anti-Russian sentiment ... and anti-Russian politics has come into fashion,  Orban said at a joint news conference with Putin.  We had to defend our economic relations in this environment.  When asked about the church grant, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Reuters:  We work together with all the churches very closely.  The 2.4-billion-forint grant to Russian Orthodox churches compares to around 11 billion for similar investments and programs in other churches also in the 2017 budget. Andras Racz, an associate professor at Pazmany Peter Catholic University, said that both sides wanted different dividends from the relationship.  The cooperation is pragmatic from both sides, just they want different things: the Hungarian side wants primarily economic benefits ... while the Russian side has primarily political and strategic motivations, which of course includes some long-term strategic economic position building,  he said. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Russian Orthodox church emerged from decades of oppression to find post-communist politicians ready to help re-establish its role. Religion helped fill the ideological vacuum left by the failure of Marxism, while the church, an integral part of Russian history and culture, fitted well into the new nationalism.  The church has developed into a thriving institution that works closely with the Kremlin to promote common interests.  With backing from oligarchs, it has built or restored tens of thousands of churches, mostly at home but also in over 60 countries including distant locations such as Havana, Caracas, Bangkok and Pyongyang. As the Russian Orthodox believers left the small, Christian chapel in Zalavar, with the smell of incense lingering, priests removed Russian icons from the walls. Some Russian tourists were happy to hear that a church would be built in the spa town of Heviz, where thousands of Russians arrive on charter flights to take the waters of one of the world s biggest thermal lakes, landing at a nearby airport at a former Soviet army base.   I think this is not only a matter of religion, but also our history ... so this is good, this is appropriate,  Aleksander Kulchitskii, on holiday from the Russian city of Ryazan, said. Some Hungarians, however, were less convinced. Klara Kispal, a pensioner on holiday in Heviz, said she agreed with Orban s anti-migration policies but she could not support paying for a Russian Orthodox church in the town.  I don t think this is a good move... I am religious, Roman Catholic, and (the government) should promote our religion not a foreign religion,  she said.

Summary: बुडापेस्ट के मास्को के करीब होने के कारण, ओरबान रूसी रूढ़िवादी चर्चों को धन देता है


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Tuesday he expects U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to tell Congress early next week of plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, a move that would produce talks by late August. Guajardo said he would have more information after meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Vietnam on Thursday as part of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings. During the 2016 U.S. election campaign, Trump vowed to scrap the 1994 deal between the United States, Canada and Mexico if he cannot adjust it to benefit U.S. interests. “Probably the notification will be sent to Congress by the U.S. executive at some time early next week,” Guajardo told Mexican media on Tuesday a day after meetings in Washington with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and other U.S. officials. In Washington, Ross declined to predict the exact timing of the notification, saying that there were more consultations with Congress needed first. In a meeting on Tuesday, U.S. senators said Ross and new U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expressed their preference to keep the current trilateral format in the NAFTA talks.   Guajardo also said that a dispute over sugar with the United States could be resolved within two weeks, before a June 5 deadline to break the impasse.  The U.S. sugar industry pressed the U.S. Commerce Department late last year to withdraw from a 2014 agreement that sets prices and quotas for U.S. imports of Mexican sugar unless the deal could be renegotiated. The U.S. sugar lobby wants Mexico to export less refined sugar and has become emboldened since Trump took office. A U.S. Commerce Department spokesman said Ross and Guajardo  discussed possible solutions and that they continue to work toward a negotiated settlement. Any deal, however, would need agreement from the U.S. sugar producers who brought an anti-dumping case against Mexican competitors. On Monday, Mexico’s sugar chamber said no deal had been reached in talks on Monday to resolve the dispute.

Summary: मेक्सिको को अगस्त के अंत तक नाफ्टा वार्ता की उम्मीदः अर्थव्यवस्था मंत्री


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Facebook said on Monday it would partner with 50 broadcast stations, print and online publications for an Election Day live video blitz, as the social media company aims to build on the momentum of its popular Facebook Live video streaming service.  The move comes as Facebook and rival sites like Twitter increasingly embrace live video to draw in users and boost traffic. Facebook warned last week that revenue growth would slow this quarter because of “ad load,” or the number of ads that Facebook can put in front of customers without alienating them, offsetting strong earnings that handily beat Wall Street estimates. Each outlet partnering with Facebook will publish a 15-minute live video centered on the presidential election in one of the 50 states. The content will be featured on Facebook’s “Election 2016” site on Tuesday and include the hashtag #50states. While Facebook is not selling ads on the Election Day livestreams, it could generate more visits to the site, bolstering its reputation as a destination for live news and pushing back against Twitter, where users often “live-tweet” major events. Asked whether the Facebook Live initiative was a response to the popularity of “live-tweeting” events among social media users, Jason White, manager of U.S. news media partnerships at Facebook, said Facebook Live was something that “works really well on our platform.” “I think for us we really wanted to give the news media and especially local (outlets) something to raly around on Election day,” said White, regarding the 50 States project.  He said the company is exploring the possibility of including advertising breaks in live video in the future but said that no specific plans had been made yet. Frank Mungeam, vice president of digital content for broadcast and digital media firm TEGNA, told Reuters that six of his company’s local broadcast stations, one each from Colorado, Washington state, Minnesota, Idaho, Maine and South Carolina, were participating. Mungeam, who said Facebook was not paying his company for the content, added: “Facebook’s platform offers an extended reach.” Twitter said last week its government-focused handle, @gov, would provide election information to users via direct message, while Snapchat on Sunday featured a photo filter encouraging people to vote. Facebook launched Facebook Live for selected public figures in 2015 and made it available to all users in April 2016, allowing members to broadcast video live from their smartphones. Social media sites have been seizing on live video content to attract users. In September, Twitter broadcast its first National Football League game, attracting generally positive feedback. It launched its livestreaming app, Periscope, in March 2015. Asked about live-streaming video and social media in general, Stefan Sideris, director of global social media operations at Amobee, a digital marketing technology company, said he saw a clear trend toward bigger companies adopting the technology. “Brands and media companies are interested in connecting and engaging with consumers to bring the conversation together over live video,” Sideris said. “Live will ultimately drive a lot of social activity.”

Summary: फेसबुक ने चुनाव के दिन लाइव वीडियो ब्लिट्ज के लिए समाचार आउटलेट्स के साथ साझेदारी की


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California lawmaker Raul Bocanegra resigned from the state assembly on Monday, a week after local media reported that six women had accused him of sexual harassment, while denying any criminal wrongdoing. On Nov. 20 the Los Angeles Times published a report in which the women accused Bocanegra of groping or harassing them.  Previously, the newspaper reported that Bocanegra had been disciplined by the state for inappropriate behavior in 2009. Reuters has not independently confirmed the allegations. Bocanegra’s staff did not immediately reply to Reuters requests for comment. Bocanegra, a Democrat, wrote on Facebook on Nov. 20, “News stories were reported a few weeks ago about a regrettable encounter when I was a legislative staffer in 2009. It was a moment that I truly regret, that I am very sorry for, and for which I have accepted responsibility for my actions.”  Bocanegra said in the post that he planned to resign from the legislature at the end of the session in September 2018.  In a statement posted on Monday on that Facebook page, Bocanegra wrote that he was resigning from the State Assembly effective immediately. “While I am not guilty of any such crimes, I am admittedly not perfect,” he wrote. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon confirmed in an emailed statement that Bocanegra had resigned.  Legislatures in several states are grappling with claims of sexual harassment and abuse. Bocanegra’s resignation came a day before the California statehouse is scheduled to begin hearings on sexual harassment.

Summary: यौन उत्पीड़न की मीडिया रिपोर्ट के बाद कैलिफोर्निया के सांसद ने दिया इस्तीफा


WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The leader of the New Zealand First Party, which emerged as the kingmaker after an inconclusive weekend election, said on Wednesday he would not make a decision on who should form government until after the Oct. 7 release of a final count. Still to be counted are  special votes , ballots from overseas voters and those who vote outside their home constituencies, which account for 15 percent of total votes. While they are not expected to change the result, with the ruling National Party ahead with a comfortable 10 point lead, they could add seats to the possible Labour-Green coalition, making New Zealand First more comfortable to go with them, despite the fact they did not win the largest number of seats.  I can t with any intelligence - and nor can my colleagues -tell you what we re going to do until we ve seen all the facts,  Winston Peters, the outspoken leader of the New Zealand First Party, told a press conference in Wellington. Peters, who spoke after meeting with his caucus, gave little away on what his party will demand in return for supporting Prime Minister Bill English or opposition Labour leader Ardern to form a coalition government. Negotiations are expected to take weeks, with those who have worked with Peters saying the final decision will be his.  Nobody knows what Winston Peters or NZ First will do, at this stage they don t know what they ll do,  Tau Henare, a former lawmaker for both NZ First and National, tweeted on Wednesday.  But when Winston finds out, they ll know.  The 72-year-old Peters, a colorful populist and former foreign minister, has served in both National and Labour governments in the past. The National Party secured 58 seats, ahead of the 52 won by the Green Party and Labour in Saturday s election, leaving both still in need of NZ First s nine seats to reach the tally of 61 required to form a government. Both parties have indicated in recent days that they are willing to offer the carrot of the deputy leadership to Peters.  An alternative option, and one that Peters took in 2005, was to strike a confidence and supply deal, in which New Zealand  First would vote in favor of a governing party s important legislation, like the budget, but remain outside cabinet. On paper, Peters has more in common with Labour policies,   including curbing immigration, and those who know him say that he d find the option of serving as a high-ranking cabinet member to a relative political newcomer like 37-year-old Ardern an attractive proposition. He has also been scathing of English s performance as leader. But Peters also has a track record of siding with the party that wins the most votes in an election, and is less than complimentary about Labour s minority partner, the Green Party.  Everything is negotiable,  said NZ First MP Tracey Martin.  It depends how flexible the National Party wants to be, I suppose.  Peters has been in parliament since 1978 and was a member of the National Party until he formed New Zealand First in 1993. He was first cast as kingmaker in 1996, when he famously put off coalition talks the day after the election to go fishing.

Summary: न्यूजीलैंड की किंगमेकर पार्टी ने सरकार के फैसले को 7 अक्टूबर तक के लिए टाल दिया


ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - A New York judge on Thursday withheld judgment until Monday morning on a challenge from two New York residents seeking to remove Senator Ted Cruz from the state’s primary ballot for the presidential primary because of his birth in Canada. The plaintiffs objected to Cruz’s inclusion in the ballot for the state’s April 19 primary election for the Republican party’s presidential nomination, claiming the senator from Texas is constitutionally ineligible to assume the White House. New York Supreme Court Judge David Weinstein promised to decide if the case will proceed by Monday. He said the objectors, Barry Korman, 81, of Manhattan, and William Gallo, 85, of Manhasset, Long Island, could argue the merits later next week if he decides they have standing. Republican front-runner Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned Cruz’s eligibility for the White House, and residents in Alabama, Pennsylvania and Texas have filed legal challenges to block him from appearing on the ballot.  An Illinois judge dismissed a similar challenge there this week on a technicality. Some legal experts say it is unlikely any judge in the U.S. will block Cruz’s presidential run. In their Feb. 19 petition, the two New York residents attached a birth certificate for Cruz, showing he was born in December 1970 in Calgary, Alberta, in Canada, and arguing he was not “naturally born” in the United States as the Constitution dictates for any U.S. president. Cruz has said he is eligible to run because of his mother’s U.S. citizenship. His father is a Cuban immigrant. Lawyer Grant Lally, appearing for Cruz in Albany, said the judge should dismiss the case because the objectors missed a deadline to file their petition, and added the matter is a federal, not a state, issue. Roger J. Bernstein, a lawyer for the objectors, said the challenge needed a judge’s attention. “The voters of the Republican Party need clarity,” he said.   (Editing by Richard Valdmanis and 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: न्यूयॉर्क के न्यायाधीश ने जन्म स्थान के मुद्दे पर क्रूज़ की मतपत्र चुनौती पर विचार किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House may name an acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Justice Department said in a memo on Saturday that endorsed an action by the Trump administration. “The President may designate an Acting Director of the CFPB,” the eight-page memo said. On Friday, the White House said Mick Mulvaney, President Donald Trump’s budget director, would lead the CFPB on an interim basis.

Summary: न्याय विभाग का कहना है कि व्हाइट हाउस नए उपभोक्ता प्रहरी का नाम रख सकता है


JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli branch of the U.S. Republican party began a campaign on Monday to get American voters living in Israel to cast absentee ballots in favor of Donald Trump. According to the Israeli chapter of the Republican party, around 300,000 Americans are eligible to vote in the November presidential elections. They live in Israel or in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Marc Zell, the head of Republicans Overseas Israel branch,  said the campaign aimed to rekindle interest in U.S. politics among second- and third-generation citizens, many of whom have children who will be eligible to vote for the first time. “We want to try to attract new voters who perhaps in the past had no special interest in voting in the U.S. elections,” Zell told Reuters. Tzvika Brot, who is heading the campaign, estimated that about three-quarters of American-Israelis would support the Republican party. A Democratic party representative in Israel disputed that estimate, telling Israel Radio the majority of Israeli and U.S. Jewish voters had always preferred the Democrats. A poll of Jewish Israelis conducted in May found 40 percent of respondents backed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and 31 percent supported Trump. The poll didn’t specify whether those who responded were eligible to vote in the U.S. election. The pro-Trump drive opened at a shopping mall in the central Israeli town of Modiin and will focus on areas with high concentrations of American-Israelis. Brot said he hoped the new votes being sought might help tip the balance in swing states.  Trump, who has accused the administration of President Barack Obama of lacklustre support for Israel, won his party’s nomination for the presidency last month. He has rejected last year’s nuclear deal with Iran and called for more investment in missile defense in Europe. His views, including a vow to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and a proposal to impose a temporary ban on Muslims seeking to enter the country, have polarized the Republican party and caused widespread consternation. Trump has also been criticized for his lack of foreign policy knowledge. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said last month he would put at risk U.S. and world security with his “politics of fear and isolation”.

Summary: इजरायल में रिपब्लिकन ने राष्ट्रपति पद के लिए ट्रम्प के वोट की मांग की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five U.S. Republican lawmakers raised concerns on Thursday with the Obama administration about implementation of a law meant to make it harder for people to enter the United States if they have visited certain countries, in a letter seen by Reuters. Kevin McCarthy, top Republican in the House of Representatives, and four other House members said in the letter that the Department of Homeland Security is making overly broad exemptions to allow people to skirt the new requirements.  The bill was enacted into law in December following the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris and the Dec. 2 shootings in San Bernardino, California. The law was designed to keep people who have traveled to Syria, Iraq, Iran and Sudan from coming to the United States except through the normal visa process.  Under the existing U.S. Visa Waiver Program, citizens of 38 mainly European countries can travel for up to 90 days to the United States visa free. The new law required that travelers who have been to Syria, Iraq, Iran or Sudan since March 1, 2011, must get a visa to come to the United States. Several of the Islamic State attackers who killed 130 people in France held European passports that would have allowed them to easily enter the United States under the waiver system. According to the letter, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is making exceptions to the new law for people who visited the four specified countries to do humanitarian work, journalism or for “legitimate business-related purposes.” “These exemptions from the travel restrictions were not provided for in the law, are contrary to congressional intent, and are in breach of the agreement we reached with members of your administration,” the letter said.  The lawmakers said the Department of Homeland Security must provide Congress with details of every visa waiver for those who have traveled to the listed countries on a monthly basis, including name and nationality of each traveler and the justification for granting the visa waiver.  The letter asked the administration to provide no later than Feb. 12 emails and other documents that led them to the decision on making exemptions. “Had your administration complied in good faith with the bipartisan agreement we reached, we would not be writing you today,” the letter said.  The letter was signed by Kevin McCarthy, Michael McCaul, Bob Goodlatte, Edward Royce and Candice Miller.

Summary: रिपब्लिकनों ने वीजा छूट विधेयक के कार्यान्वयन पर चिंता जताई


The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS.  The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy.  @realDonaldTrump : - No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote. [0611 EDT] - The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built. [0620 EDT] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्विटर पर ट्रम्प (14 सितंबर)-DACA, U.S.-Mexico सीमा दीवार


(Reuters) - Melania Trump rose to her husband’s defense on Monday, describing lewd comments the Republican presidential nominee made on a leaked 2005 video in which he bragged about groping women as “boy talk.”      Trump, who has kept a low profile during her husband’s presidential bid, gave her first television interviews since the Oct. 7 release of the tape that has shaken Donald Trump’s campaign. He trails Democrat Hillary Clinton in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 8 election. Melania Trump told CNN her husband was engaged in “boy talk, and he was led on - like, egged on - from the host to say dirty and bad stuff” in the conversation with “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush.  NBC said on Monday that Bush was leaving the “Today” show, following his role in the taped conversation with Donald Trump. Melania Trump, a Slovenian-born former model, added in a CNN interview that aired on Monday night that she was surprised because she had never heard her husband use that kind of language before.   “No. No, that’s why I was surprised, because I said like I don’t know that person that would talk that way, and that he would say that kind of stuff in private,” Melania Trump said.  She told CNN that her husband behaved at times like an overgrown boy and that she saw his “Access Hollywood” remarks as in keeping with that behavior. “Sometimes I say I have two boys at home. I have my young son and I have my husband. But I know how some men talk, and that’s how I saw it, yes,” she said.  Trump told CNN she agreed with first lady Michelle Obama that kissing or groping someone without consent constituted sexual assault, adding: “But every assault should be taken care of in a court of law. And to accuse, no matter who it is, a man or a woman, without evidence is damaging and unfair.” In partial transcripts from a separate interview with Fox News, she said she had forgiven her husband for the comments in the tape, which was first published by the Washington Post. “Those words, they were offensive to me and they were inappropriate. And he apologized to me. And I ... accept his apology. And we are moving on.” They were her first public comments since a statement she issued after the tape’s publication in which she said her husband’s remarks did “not represent the man that I know.” Melania Trump told Fox News that her husband, a New York businessman and former reality television star, was committed to running for office even though it was difficult because he had been “in so many shows, so many tapes” over the years. Asked if it was fair for the media or her husband to bring up charges of infidelity in former President Bill Clinton’s past, Melania Trump told Fox News: “Well, if they bring up my past, why not?” After Trump denied during a debate with Clinton on Oct. 9 that he had actually done the things he bragged about in the tape, a number of women accused him of groping and kissing them without permission in incidents stretching back decades. He has denied the charges.  Asked about those accusations, Melania Trump told Fox News: “All these women are coming out and they are allegations but they are not true. Why now? Why three weeks before the election?” “I believe my husband,” she told CNN. “This was all organized from the opposition. With the details that they got, did they ever check the background of these women? They don’t have any facts.”

Summary: मेलानिया ट्रम्प ने डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प की टेप की गई टिप्पणियों को 'बॉय टॉक' कहा