YANGON (Reuters) - When the former U.N. chief Kofi Annan wrapped up his year-long probe into Myanmar s troubled northwest on Aug. 24, he publicly warned that an excessive army response to violence would only make a simmering conflict between Rohingya insurgents and Myanmar security forces worse. Just three hours later, shortly after 8 p.m., Rohingya insurgent leader Ata Ullah sent a message to his supporters urging them to head to the foot of the remote Mayu mountain range with metal objects to use as weapons. A little after midnight, 600 km northwest of the country s largest city Yangon, a rag-tag army of Rohingya militants, wielding knives, sticks, small weapons and crude bombs, attacked 30 police posts and an army base.  If 200 or 300 people come out, 50 will die. God willing, the remaining 150 can kill them with knives,  said Ata Ullah in a separate voice message to his supporters. It was circulated around the time of the offensive on mobile messaging apps and a recording was subsequently reviewed by Reuters. The assault by Ata Ullah s group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), was its biggest yet. Last October, when the group first surfaced, it attacked just three police border posts using about 400 fighters, according to Myanmar government estimates. The Myanmar army is now estimating up to 6,500 people took part in the August offensive. Its ability to mount a much more ambitious assault indicates that many young Rohingya men have been galvanized into supporting ARSA following the army crackdown after the October attacks, according to interviews with more than a dozen Rohingya and Rakhine villagers, members of the security forces and local administrators. The brutal October response led to allegations that troops burned down villages and killed and raped civilians. The crisis in ethnically-riven Rakhine state is the biggest to face Myanmar s leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and her handling of it has been a source of disillusionment among the democracy champion s former supporters in the West. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to Myanmar authorities on Tuesday to end violence against Rohingya Muslims, warning of the risk of ethnic cleansing, a possible humanitarian catastrophe, and regional destabilisation. Rohingya leaders and some policy analysts say Suu Kyi s failure to tackle the grievances of the Muslim minority, who have lived under apartheid-like conditions for generations, has bolstered support for the militants. The fledgling militia has been transformed into a network of cells in dozens of villages, capable of staging a widespread offensive. Myanmar s government has declared ARSA a terrorist organisation. It has also accused it of killing Muslim civilians to prevent them from cooperating with the authorities, and of torching Rohingya villages, allegations the group denies. The latest assault has provoked a major counteroffensive in which the military says it killed almost 400 insurgents and in which 13 members of the security forces have died. Rohingya villagers and human rights groups say the military has also attacked villages indiscriminately and torched homes. Myanmar government says it is carrying out a lawful counter-terrorism operation and that the troops have been instructed not to harm civilians.  Nearly 150,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, leading to fears of a humanitarian crisis. Some 26,750 non-Muslim villagers have also been displaced inside Myanmar. Suu Kyi has said she would adopt recommendations of Kofi Annan s panel that encouraged more integration. She has also previously appealed for understanding of her nation s ethnic complexities. In a statement on Wednesday, she blamed  terrorists  for  a huge iceberg of misinformation  on the strife in Rakhine. She made no mention of the Rohingya who have fled. Suu Kyi s spokesman, Zaw Htay, could not be immediately reached for comment.  On Monday, however, he told Reuters Myanmar was carrying out a counterterrorism operation and taking care of  the safety of civilians, including Muslims and non-Muslims.  In an interview with Reuters in March, Ata Ullah linked the creation of the group to communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine in 2012, when nearly 200 people were killed and 140,000, mostly Rohingya, displaced.  We can t turn the lights on at night. We can t move from one place to another during the day,  he told Reuters in previously unpublished remarks, referring to restrictions placed on the Rohingya population s behaviour and movements.  Everywhere checkpoints: every entry and every exit. That s not how humans live.  A Rohingya community leader who has stayed in northern Rakhine said that, while the rest of Myanmar enjoyed new freedoms under Suu Kyi after decades of military rule, the Muslim minority have been increasingly marginalized. Support for the insurgents grew after the military operation last year, he said.  When the security forces came to our village, all of the villagers apologised and asked them not to set the houses on fire - but they shot the people who made that request,  he said.  People suffered because their sons got killed in front of them even though they begged for mercy, their daughters, sisters were raped - how could they live without constantly thinking about it, that they want to fight against it, whether they die or not.  Reuters couldn t independently confirm the villagers  accounts. Last month, a Myanmar government probe - led by former head of military intelligence and now Vice President, Myint Swe - rejected allegations of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during the crackdown last year.  Villagers and police officers in the area say that ARSA had since last October established cells in dozens of villages, where local activists then recruited others.  People shared their feelings with others from the community, they talked to each other, they told their friends or acquaintances from different regions   and then they exploded,  said the Rohingya community leader. Rohi Mullarah, a village elder from the Kyee Hnoke Thee village in northern Buthidaung, said the leaders sent their followers regular and frequent messages via apps like WhatsApp and WeChat, encouraging them to fight for freedom and human rights and enabling them to mobilize many people without the risk of being caught going into the heavily militarised areas to recruit.  They mainly sent phone messages to the villagers, they didn t ... move people from place to place,  he said. He said his village was not involved in the insurgency and even posted a signboard in front of it that said any militants would be attacked by the villagers if they attempt to recruit people. Many Rohingya elders have for decades rejected violence and sought dialogue with the government. While ARSA has now gained some influence, especially among young, disaffected men, many Rohingya elders have condemned the group s violent tactics. In recent months there had been reports of killings of local administrators, government informers and village chiefs in the Rakhine region, leading to speculation the insurgents were adopting brutal tactics to stop information on their activities from leaking to the security forces.  They cut out the government communication by instigating a campaign of fear and took charge in the region,  said Sein Lwin, police chief in Rakhine. . An army source directly involved in operations in northern Rakhine also said it was now much more difficult to get information on ARSA s plans.  The strategy resulted in the  shut down of government mechanisms  in some places  because no government servants dared to stay there , the army source said. A village head from northern Buthidaung township, who asked not to be named, said the insurgents called him several times pressing him to allow some young villagers to take part in their training - an offer he refused.  I tried to stay safe and sometimes I had to sleep at the police station and local administrator s house,  he said. Despite the largely successful clamp down on information by the insurgents, it was a tip off by an informer that stopped the Aug. 25 attacks from being much worse for the Myanmar security services, the army source said.   About an hour after Ata Ullah s men headed for the jungle in the evening of Aug. 24, the army received a signal from the Rohingya informer saying the attack was coming. The 9 p.m. message mentioned imminent multiple attacks, but it did not say where they would occur. The warning was enough for the security forces to withdraw some troops to larger stations and to reinforce strategic locations, saving many lives on the government side, the military source said. The raids by the insurgents came in waves from around 1 a.m. until sunrise, and took place mostly in Maungdaw township where Ata Ullah staged his three attacks in October. This time, though, the distance between the northern- and southern-most points was as long as 100 km (60 miles). The Rohingya also struck in the north of the neighbouring Buthidaung township, including an audacious bid to storm an army base.  We were surprised they attacked across such a wide geographical area - it shook the whole region,  said the army source. (This version of the story corrects date in paragraph 39 to Aug. 24)

Summary: 'और फिर उन्होंने विस्फोट किया': कैसे रोहिंग्या विद्रोहियों ने हमले के लिए समर्थन बनाया


(Reuters) - FBI Director James Comey is set to testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee on Thursday about the agency’s decision not to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton over her use of a personal email server while serving at the State Department, the panel said in a statement. In the statement on Wednesday, Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz said that Congress and the American people have a right to understand the FBI’s investigation in the matter. The panel said the hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m.

Summary: एफ. बी. आई. निदेशक कोमी गुरुवार को हाउस पैनल के समक्ष गवाही देंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has become the latest senior Trump administration official to hire a private attorney, a Justice Department spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Sessions has retained Washington-based lawyer Charles Cooper, whom spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores described as a long-time friend of the former senator.  She did not say when Cooper was hired or whether he would be Sessions’ defense lawyer in the federal probe into alleged Russian interference in last year’s presidential election and possible collusion by Trump’s campaign team. Cooper was present at Sessions’ confirmation hearing and again when he testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month. Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation in early March, shortly after news reports surfaced of his previously undisclosed contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. He has since come under further scrutiny for his role in the  firing of former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey in May. Comey accused the president of dismissing him to undermine the investigation into ties between the Trump campaign team and Russian officials. During his testimony before the Senate committee, Sessions angrily denied any wrongdoing. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and senior adviser Jared Kushner have also hired attorneys as special counsel Robert Mueller, appointed after Comey’s dismissal, leads the Russia investigation.

Summary: अमेरिकी अटॉर्नी जनरल सेशंस ने निजी वकील को नियुक्त किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence fired up tens of thousands of anti-abortion activists who gathered on Friday for the 44th March for Life, celebrating a political shift in their favor with the election of President Donald Trump. “Life is winning again in America,” Pence told the demonstrators on the National Mall, near where Trump was sworn in a week ago before hundreds of thousands. The March for Life took place in the same area where even more massive crowds flooded Washington a day after Trump’s inauguration in favor of women’s rights, including abortion rights. Pence, a longtime hero of the anti-abortion movement, is the most senior government official to speak in person at the rally, organizers said. As governor of Indiana, he signed what were seen as some of the nation’s strictest abortion laws. Pence praised “the election of pro-life majorities in the Congress of the United States of America,” Trump’s upcoming nomination of an anti-abortion Supreme Court justice, and the president’s reinstatement on Monday of a policy that cuts off U.S. funding to healthcare providers that promote or provide abortions overseas.    “It’s the best day I’ve ever seen for the March of Life,” he said.  Trump senior aide Kellyanne Conway was one of many women to address the demonstrators before they started their march from the Mall to the U.S. Supreme Court, about 1.5 miles (2 km) away. “We hear you. We see you. We respect you,” Conway said. “And we look forward to working with you.” Protesters hoisted signs saying “Choose life,” “I am the pro-life generation,” and “Equal Rights For Unborn People.” A Christian rock band warmed up the crowd for Pence, leading people in hand-clapping at the rally within sight of the White House. “We’re here to stand up for the unborn because no one else can, and having Donald Trump in the White House makes everyone more enthusiastic,” said Jim Kolar, 59, of West Palm Beach, Florida. Organizers had no immediate estimate of crowd size, but the march to the Supreme Court after the rally filled the street for many blocks amid chants of “We love babies, yes, we do, we love babies, how ‘bout you?” “This is good, this is a good turnout,” said the Rev. Kevin Cusick, a Catholic priest from Benedict, Maryland, who has been coming to the marches off and on for more than 40 years. The March for Life is held each year close to the anniversary of the court’s Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in 1973. Trump has said Roe v. Wade should be overturned and has vowed to appoint an anti-abortion justice to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year. He also has pledged to defund Planned Parenthood, which draws the ire of many Republicans because it provides abortions, along with other services.  Abortion rights supporters say cutting off funding for abortion providers will prevent poor women from getting other critical heath care and birth control that could prevent unwanted pregnancies. The rally comes as the number of U.S. abortions has fallen to a record low. The Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health and rights organization, said last week that it dropped below 1 million in 2013 for the first time since 1975. A Quinnipiac University poll released on Friday showed that 64 percent of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 31 percent said it should be illegal in all or most cases. Anti-abortion forces are often inspired by a religious conviction that life begins at conception and see abortion as murder.

Summary: पेंस ने वाशिंगटन मार्च में गर्भपात विरोधी कार्यकर्ताओं को आग के हवाले किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Super PAC backing Republican Donald Trump is buying TV airtime in parts of Florida beginning this week for a commercial aimed at using first lady Michelle Obama’s words against Hillary Clinton to erode the Democratic presidential candidate’s support from women voters in the battleground state.  The ad – which the Super PAC has already been running online – shows Michelle Obama in 2007 saying, “If you can’t run your own house, you can’t run the White House,” which could be taken as a reference to infidelity by Clinton’s husband, Bill Clinton.  The ad says Michelle Obama was talking about Hillary Clinton. However, at the time, then-candidate Barack Obama denied that his wife’s words referred to his opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination.  Representatives for Clinton and Michelle Obama declined to comment on the commercial.  The Super PAC, Make America Number 1, is hoping the ad, to be aired in the Orlando and Tampa areas, will resonate with women, a spokesman, Hogan Gidley, told Reuters on Tuesday.  Trump has struggled for support from women voters, many of whom have cited his temperament and past negative comments about women, including comedian Rosie O’Donnell and Fox News host Megyn Kelly.  Eleven days ago, the New York businessman’s campaign was shaken by the release of a tape showing Trump lewdly bragging about kissing and touching women without their permission. A series of women have since come forward with allegations about such behavior on his part, but he has denied the accusations.  In Florida, a Quinnipiac University poll released on Monday found Clinton leading among likely women voters, with support from 54 percent of those surveyed, compared with 39 percent for Trump.  Michelle Obama has become one of the most powerful campaigners for Clinton. A speech the first lady gave in New Hampshire last week attacking Trump for the tape was praised by many as one of the most powerful speeches of the campaign.  Make America Number 1 plans to spend $400,000 to put the ad on TV, spokesman Gidley said.  In addition to the TV run, the commercial initially appeared as a Facebook ad. The group spent $72,000 targeting women in nine key battleground states - states where the vote could swing to either candidate.  Super PACs - or super political action committees - are permitted to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, but are prohibited by law from coordinating with a campaign. Make America Number 1 is one of a handful of such groups supporting Trump’s White House bid.  Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton have never directly addressed how they mended their relationship after the fierce 2008 primary campaign, in which Clinton lost to now-President Barack Obama. Both Obamas have campaigned aggressively for Clinton this year.  During last week’s second presidential debate, Clinton called Michelle Obama “my friend.”

Summary: ट्रम्प समर्थक समूह विज्ञापन मिशेल ओबामा को क्लिंटन के खिलाफ खड़ा करना चाहता है


(Reuters) - Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards presented a dire picture of the state’s fiscal situation on Thursday, urging lawmakers to consider a set of budget cuts and revenue-raising measures, including tax increases. Edwards made his remarks before state legislators convene for a special session on Sunday to hash out how to fix the budget woes. The state is contending with a $940 million budget deficit for the current fiscal year and a $2 billion projected deficit for the next fiscal year starting in July. “This is a historic fiscal crisis, the likes of which our state has never seen,” Edwards said during Thursday’s televised address. He warned that the state’s public colleges and universities will face “catastrophic cuts over the next four months.” Louisiana is at risk of not being able to pay student scholarships that have already been awarded, and some campuses will be forced to cancel classes, even file for bankruptcy. “If you are a student attending one of these universities, it means that you will receive a grade of incomplete, many students will not be able to graduate,” said Edwards. “You can say farewell to college football next fall.” The governor also warned that the state’s healthcare system was “on the verge of imploding.” Without new revenues, hospitals that care for a significant portion of poor and under-insured patients would close in places like Lake Charles, Alexandria and Bogalusa. “I don’t say this to scare you. But I am going to be honest with you. No more tricks. No more smoke and mirrors,” said Edwards, a Democrat who took office last month. Louisiana’s former Governor Bobby Jindal had signed a “no tax” pledge, which handicapped the state from raising new revenues. Edwards on Thursday juxtaposed Louisiana’s finances when Jindal took office in 2008 - when the state enjoyed a $1 billion surplus - to today, when the state is facing a looming $2 billion projected deficit. The budget problems in Louisiana, a big oil-producing state, stem in part from the global drop in oil prices, in addition to the state’s reliance in recent years on one-time money and lower-than-expected revenues.  Edwards has proposed several budget fixes, including a 1-cent sales tax hike and increases to alcohol and cigarette taxes. He would freeze hiring for state workers, reduce state contracts, and cut $160 million of state funding. He has also proposed tapping $128 million from the rainy day fund and $200 million from non-coastal BP payments to reduce the current year deficit.

Summary: लुइसियाना के गवर्नर ने कहा कि राज्य की वित्तीय स्थिति गंभीर स्थिति में है


SEATTLE (Reuters) - The financial and political fallout from Britain’s vote to leave the European Union has added to a string of setbacks for President Barack Obama as he works to burnish his legacy before his presidency ends in January 2017. The Brexit decision came after a deadlock in the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday effectively ended Obama’s push to overhaul immigration rules, and the week after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. For Obama, the reversals heighten pressure on him and fellow Democrats to work harder for the Nov. 8 elections - particularly for the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, who represents his best shot at making sure more of his policies are not rolled back. Speaking at two fundraising events in Seattle on Friday night, at the end of an arduous day that saw global markets plunge after the Brexit vote, Obama acknowledged the shifting political winds four months from the vote. “If you didn’t think the stakes were high before, you should think the stakes are pretty high right now,” Obama said at an intimate fundraising dinner at the home of tech executive Steve Singh. Guests, arranged in two long tables, paid $10,000 to $66,800 per couple. Obama has argued technology and globalization can increase opportunities for all, but conceded that recent events show many people are frightened by global competition and feel left behind. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and political novice, has tapped into those concerns about the economy, trade and immigration - fears that also figured into the UK campaign to leave the EU. “Unfortunately, when people are anxious and scared, there are going to be politicians out there who try to prey on that frustration to get themselves headlines and to get themselves votes,” Obama told about 3,000 people who paid $250 and up to attend a campaign-style event on Friday for Washington State’s Democratic Governor Jay Inslee. Clinton regained a double-digit lead over Trump this week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday that showed 46.6 percent of likely American voters supported Clinton while 33.3 percent backed Trump. In April, Obama had taken the unusual step of traveling to London to help the “Remain” camp of the referendum for his friend and ally, Prime Minister David Cameron, who will now leave office before Obama does. The financial uncertainty from Brexit threatens to weigh on the strong U.S. economy and undo some of the recovery seen since Obama took office in early 2009 at the height of the financial crisis. Earlier this week, Obama’s plan to remove the specter of deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants was quashed when the Supreme Court deadlocked over lifting a hold on the action. And two weeks ago, the nation’s worst mass shooting in modern history, at a gay nightclub in Orlando, raised questions about how Obama is dealing with home-grown extremism - and served as a reminder of his failure to convince the U.S. Congress to tighten gun laws. The setbacks show the limits of action that any president can take unilaterally, said Justin Vaughn, a political scientist at Boise State University. “I don’t think Obama’s legacy has taken a hit so much as it came back to earth,” Vaughn said. Still, the impression that his administration is unable to control its own political destiny could weigh on how history views Obama’s time at the White House, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at University of Houston.     “Presidents are often judged by what happens in the ninth inning, so President Obama’s last few months in office are important to cementing and enhancing his legacy,” Rottinghaus said.

Summary: ब्रेक्सिट संकट ओबामा की विरासत को बढ़ावा देने के लिए कठिन दौर से आगे निकल गया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a last-ditch effort to revive a White House plan to protect up to 4 million immigrants from deportation, the Obama administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear a case on which the eight-member court was split 4-4 last month. The June 23 high court decision left in place a lower court ruling that blocked the plan, which has never been in effect. The court is currently one justice short following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February. In a filing, the Justice Department asked the court to take a second look at the case once it has a full complement of nine justices. It is unclear when that would be, as the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate has declined to act on Obama’s nominee, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. As such, even if the Supreme Court was to grant the request, it is unlikely to rule on the case until well after Obama leaves office in January. Acknowledging that the high court rarely rehears cases, Acting Solicitor General Ian Gershengorn said the immigration case is unique because the court could not in future take another case to resolve the issue if the plan is blocked. The high court “should be the final arbiter of these matters through a definitive ruling,” he wrote. Obama unveiled his plan in November 2014. It was quickly challenged in court by Republican-governed Texas and 25 other states that argued that Obama overstepped the powers granted to him by the U.S. Constitution by infringing upon the authority of Congress. “Because we are right on the law, we have prevailed at every stage in this case, and we are confident that we will continue to prevail,” said Marc Rylander, a spokesman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.  As a result of the high court’s 4-4 split, a 2015 lower-court ruling invalidating Obama’s plan was left in place. The plan never was implemented because the lower courts had blocked it. The plan was tailored to let roughly 4 million people - those who have lived illegally in the United States at least since 2010, have no criminal record and have children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents - get into a program that shields them from deportation and supplies work permits. Obama took the action after Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives killed bipartisan immigration legislation that was passed by the Senate in 2013.

Summary: ओबामा प्रशासन ने सुप्रीम कोर्ट से आव्रजन मामले की फिर से सुनवाई करने को कहा


PARIS (Reuters) - Eight suspects have been placed under formal investigation in France following their arrest in joint counter-terrorism raids with Swiss authorities, a judicial source said on Saturday. The suspects were among 10 detained on Nov. 7 by French and Swiss police as the result of a four-month investigation into a group of young Islamists thought to have been radicalized by a Swiss imam, who was among those detained. [nL5N1ND33T] Following the arrests, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told French lawmakers the group was believed to have been planning attacks but had not yet chosen specific targets. Seven of the eight suspects placed under formal investigation have been remanded in custody, the judicial source said. A ninth person arrested in the French swoop was released without charge.

Summary: फ्रेंको-स्विस आक्रमण में गिरफ्तार संदिग्धों पर आतंकवाद के आरोप लगे हैं


LONGVIEW, Texas (Reuters) - Looking for a way to help relieve stress in a heated political season, a Texas golf course owner has given patrons the chance to whack their balls at large posters of the leading presidential candidates affixed to hay bales. In the Republican-stronghold of Longview, where Alpine Target Golf Center is located about 120 miles east of Dallas, Democrat Hillary Clinton has been the overwhelming target for patrons’ golf balls. “Hillary Clinton is taking it a lot on the chin,” owner Mike Williams said on Wednesday of the promotion that started about a week ago. The Trump poster has suffered little damage, Williams said, noting “he is still in great shape.”

Summary: वेज मुद्दाः टेक्सास गोल्फ रेंज ने क्लिंटन और ट्रम्प के लक्ष्यों की पेशकश की


SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea s leader Kim Jong Un said his nuclear weapons were a  powerful deterrent  that guaranteed its sovereignty, state media reported on Sunday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said  only one thing will work  in dealing with the isolated country. Trump did not make clear to what he was referring, but his comments seemed to be a further suggestion that military action was on his mind.  In a speech to a meeting of the powerful Central Committee of the ruling Workers  Party on Saturday, a day before Trump s most recent comments, state media said Kim had addressed the  complicated international situation . North Korea s nuclear weapons are a  powerful deterrent firmly safeguarding the peace and security in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia,  Kim said, referring to the  protracted nuclear threats of the U.S. imperialists.  In recent weeks, North Korea has launched two missiles over Japan and conducted its sixth nuclear test, and may be fast advancing toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. North Korea is preparing to test-launch such a missile, a Russian lawmaker who had just returned from a visit to Pyongyang was quoted as saying on Friday. Donald Trump has previously said the United States would  totally destroy  North Korea if necessary to protect itself and its allies. The situation proved that North Korea s policy of  byungjin , meaning the parallel development of nuclear weapons and the economy was  absolutely right , Kim Jong Un said in the speech.  The national economy has grown on their strength this year, despite the escalating sanctions,  said Kim, referring to U.N. Security Council resolutions put in place to curb Pyongyang s nuclear and missile program.  The meeting also handled some personnel changes inside North Korea s secretive and opaque ruling center of power, state media said. Kim Jong Un s sister, Kim Yo Jong, was made an alternate member of the politburo - the top decision-making body over which Kim Jong Un presides. Alongside Kim Jong Un himself, the promotion makes Kim Yo Jong the only other millennial member of the influential body. Her new position indicates the 28-year-old has become a replacement for Kim Jong Un s aunt, Kim Kyong Hui, who had been a key decision maker when former leader Kim Jong Il was alive.  It shows that her portfolio and writ is far more substantive than previously believed and it is a further consolidation of the Kim family s power,  said Michael Madden, a North Korea expert at Johns Hopkins University s 38 North website. In January, the U.S. Treasury blacklisted Kim Yo Jong along with other North Korean officials over  severe human rights abuses . Kim Jong Sik and Ri Pyong Chol, two of the three men behind Kim s banned rocket program, were also promoted. State media announced that several other high ranking cadres were promoted to the Central Committee in what the South Korean unification ministry said could be an attempt by North Korea to navigate a way through its increasing isolation.  The large-scale personnel reshuffle reflects that Kim Jong Un is taking the current situation seriously, and that he s looking for a breakthrough by promoting a new generation of politicians,  the ministry said in a statement. North Korea s foreign minister Ri Yong Ho, who named Donald Trump  President Evil  in a bombastic speech to the U.N. General Assembly last month, was promoted to full vote-carrying member of the politburo.  Ri can now be safely identified as one of North Korea s top policy makers,  said Madden.  Even if he has informal or off the record meetings, Ri s interlocutors can be assured that whatever proposals they proffer will be taken directly to the top,  he said.

Summary: किम जोंग उन ने परमाणु कार्यक्रम की सराहना की, बहन को बढ़ावा दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has “great heart” for illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children and he wants Congress to produce a legislative solution for them. “I have a great heart for the folks we’re talking about, a great love for them,” Trump said after his administration announced earlier Tuesday it was phasing out a program that protects the so-called Dreamers from deportation. “I can tell you in speaking to members of Congress they want to be able to do something and do it right and really we have no choice,” Trump told reporters.

Summary: अप्रवासी 'ड्रीमर्स' के लिए उनका दिल बहुत अच्छा हैः ट्रंप


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon s monetary situation was stable and markets were normal two days after the prime minister s shock resignation, a local TV channel cited Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh as saying on Monday.  Salameh told LBC there was no danger to the Lebanese pound, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Summary: प्रधानमंत्री के इस्तीफे के बाद लेबनान की मौद्रिक स्थिति स्थिरः सेनबैंक गवर्नर ने स्थानीय टीवी से कहा


BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany s foreign minister said on Saturday that he had been disappointed by British Prime Minister Theresa May s Brexit speech, adding to a downbeat reception from France ahead of the resumption of Brexit negotiations next week.  We heard nothing concrete. It is time for the government of Great Britain to clearly state under what conditions it wants to leave the European Union,  Sigmar Gabriel told reporters in the northern German city of Wolfenbuettel.  In a speech in the Italian city of Florence on Friday, May set out a plan to retain full access to the EU s single market for two years after Brexit, to try to reassure business and reset the tone of stalled negotiations with Brussels. Shortly afterwards, French President Emmanuel Macron said there was still not enough clarity on rules for European Union citizens living in Britain, the divorce bill it would pay, and how the land border with Ireland will work.  If these three points are not clarified, we will not be able to advance on the rest,  Macron said. France, Germany and other EU countries are insisting that Britain reach a deal with the bloc on the terms of its divorce before moving on to negotiate its future trading relationship. On Saturday, Gabriel said the EU would not back away from its demand for Britain to pay some 60-100 billion euros ($72-120 billion) for the divorce, adding that he continued to view Britons  decision to leave the EU as a huge mistake.  The Conservatives in Britain didn t tell their citizens the truth about the consequences, and that is why they seem to be unable to present a clear strategy,  he said.  We need clarity from the British government, and no conflict within the British government between the foreign minister and the prime minister. We re running out of time.  Britain is due to formally leave the bloc in March 2019. Gabriel, a Social Democrat, said Britain had refused to answer the EU s key questions on issues such as its financial obligations under the EU budget, adding:  Thank God, the EU is more unified than ever before.  A leading member of Merkel s conservatives also criticized May s address.  Theresa May s speech underscores the will of London to move ahead with Brexit negotiations, but unfortunately it will not provide a new dynamism in the talks that is so urgently needed,  Michael Stuebgen, European spokesman for the conservatives in the German parliament, said in a statement. He also said May had failed to address the issue of future borders, especially in Ireland.  On this basis, we can hardly expect the needed progress in the Brexit negotiations before the European Council meeting in October,  he said. The EU s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said on Friday that May s speech showed  a willingness to move forward , but that he wanted to hear a  precise negotiating position  when he meets his British counterpart on Monday.  The head of the German Association of Small and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW), Mario Ohoven, said May had wasted an opportunity for a new beginning in the Brexit negotiations.  What German industry needs above all is planning and investment certainty,  he said in a statement.  Looming customs duties and bureaucratic trade obstacles are exactly the opposite of that, and are already resulting in significant damage to the investment climate.   ($1 = 0.8367 euros)

Summary: फ्रांस की बात को दोहराते हुए जर्मनी ने कहा कि मे ने ब्रेक्सिट पर 'कुछ भी ठोस' पेशकश नहीं की


(Reuters) - As the U.S. presidential campaign heats up, Facebook Inc is going out of its way to show its neutrality - an increasingly urgent matter for the social network as evidence of its power  continues to emerge. Recent studies have shown the site has extraordinary influence. According to research scheduled to be published in August in the Journal of Communication, when people tagged their friends on Facebook in voting reminders, turnout increased by 15 to 24 percent.  During U.S. presidential primary elections this year, a Facebook reminder that informed people when their state’s voter registration deadline was approaching and provided a link helped produce a surge of nearly 650,000 new voter registrations in California alone, according to Secretary of State Alex Padilla. In the United Kingdom, a Facebook reminder days before the deadline to register to vote on whether the country should exit the European Union led to 186,000 people registering online to vote, according to the government.  “Generally, getting people out to vote could swing a national election,” said Katherine Haenschen, a PhD student at the University of Texas, Austin and author of the upcoming Journal of Communications study. Facebook is eager to show that its political involvement is limited to seemingly neutral activities such as encouraging voting. The company this week released some of the guidelines that govern its all-important News Feed - the place most people see postings on Facebook - and has pushed back hard against recent allegations of political bias in its “Trending Topics” module. At the same time Facebook has embraced its role as a “new town hall” for politics, hosting events and helping candidates more effectively leverage their platforms, said Katie Harbath, Facebook’s global politics and government outreach director Her team helps candidates by answering their questions and providing advice, such as how to use Facebook Live and how to increase engagement on their pages.   Still, concerns about Facebook’s role in shaping political attitudes are unlikely to abate anytime soon. Some people object even to voter-registration drives. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, for example, alleged this week that Google and Facebook were trying to encourage a “remain” vote in Britain’s referendum on European Union membership by encouraging voting, asserting that media users are disproportionately youthful and pro-Europe.    A more common complaint is that Facebook and other social networks serve as an echo chamber of ideas and beliefs, as users decide which people and pages they will follow and customize their News Feed.   A 2015 study in Science showed that Facebook users tended to interact and click on content that was more in line with their ideological views.  Facebook customer Tom Steinberg wrote in a post this week -one that quickly spread over Twitter - that he had actively looked on Facebook for people celebrating Britain’s vote to exit the European Union last week but could not find any.  Steinberg, who said he was in favor of remaining in the European Union, urged tech leaders to do more to address the echo chamber on social media.  “To not act on this problem now is tantamount to actively supporting and funding the tearing apart of the fabric of our societies,” Steinberg wrote. “We’re getting countries where one half just doesn’t know anything at all about the other.”  Adam Mosseri, vice president of product management for News Feed, said the team tries to help users find new pages to follow, though he did not cite any specific efforts aimed at encouraging people to diversify their feeds.

Summary: माइक्रोस्कोप के तहत फेसबुक का राजनीतिक प्रभाव


BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina s lower house on Thursday suspended a vote on President Mauricio Macri s pension reform plan, after the debate became a shouting match and protesters and police clashed violently outside Congress. The bill, which passed the Senate last month, is crucial for Macri s efforts to cut the fiscal deficit but has drawn criticism from opposition politicians and labor unions, who say it will hurt retirees and welfare recipients. Before Thursday s scheduled vote, the country s top union called a general strike for the following day. Demonstrators threw stones at metal barriers set up outside parliament, and security forces responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.  The incident showed strong obstacles remain for Macri s pro-business agenda, which includes tax and labor reforms. While his  Let s Change  coalition swept October s legislative midterm vote, he lacks a majority in either chamber.  We will not back down,  opposition lawmaker Mirta Tundis told local television.  It is outrageous that year after year, those who have less are affected most.  The pension reform would change the formula used to calculate benefits. Payments would adjust every quarter based on inflation, rather than the current system of twice-yearly adjustments linked to wage rises and tax revenue. Economists say the current formula means benefits go up in line with past inflation. Left unchanged, that could harm Macri s efforts to cut the fiscal deficit. Under the new formula, benefits would increase by 5 percentage points above inflation, according to Cabinet Chief Marcos Pena. The plan would take effect at a time of lower inflation expectations, hence slowing the pace of pension benefit increases.  This formula guarantees the sustainability of the system and that retirees will not lose to inflation,  Macri-allied  lawmaker Luciano Laspina told reporters. Macri is aiming to cut the fiscal deficit to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product next year from 4.2 percent this year, and to reduce inflation to 8-12 percent from above 20 percent this year. ($1 = 17.4300 Argentine pesos)

Summary: अर्जेंटीना कांग्रेस ने विरोध प्रदर्शनों के कारण पेंशन सुधार मतदान को निलंबित कर दिया


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Green groups on Friday slammed U.S. President Donald Trump for choosing a nominee for White House environmental panel who wrote in an opinion article last year that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. The White House said on Thursday that Trump had nominated Kathleen Hartnett White, who served as Texas’s top environmental regulator under the state’s former governor, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The council sets the administration’s environmental policy goals.  White, now a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Institute, has questioned the notion that burning fossil fuels is causing harmful increases in global temperatures. In an opinion article  in the Austin American-Statesman newspaper on June 20, 2016, she said natural gas had been “falsely maligned” and should be known as the “gas of life.”  Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook said on Friday that assertion indicated that White would facilitate “the rampant looting of environmental and public health protection policies,” according to a news release. The Environmental Working Group describes itself as “a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment.” The Sierra Club environmental group called White “a fossil fuel industry apologist” in a news release on Friday.  White did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  “Kathleen Hartnett White is eminently qualified having served as an environmental regulator and on numerous environmental boards and commissions,” a White House spokeswoman said. “Her nomination was cleared by the Office of Government Ethics. We look forward to Mrs. White being confirmed.”  An overwhelming majority of scientists think that carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels is a major contributor to global climate change, triggering sea level rise, droughts and more frequent violent storms. White is not the first person Trump has picked to join his administration who rejects that scientific consensus. In March, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said he did not believe carbon dioxide was a major contributor to global warming.

Summary: ग्रीन समूहों ने व्हाइट हाउस पर्यावरण नीति पद के लिए ट्रम्प के चयन की आलोचना की


RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinians switched off Christmas lights at Jesus  traditional birthplace in Bethlehem on Wednesday night in protest at U.S. President Donald Trump s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital. A Christmas tree adorned with lights outside Bethlehem s Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born, and another in Ramallah, next to the burial site of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, were plunged into darkness.  The Christmas tree was switched off on the order of the mayor today in protest at Trump s decision,  said Fady Ghattas, Bethlehem s municipal media officer.  He said it was unclear whether the illuminations would be turned on again before the main Christmas festivities. In a speech in Washington, Trump said he had decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital and move the U.S. embassy to the city. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump s move  marked the beginning of a new approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said it was an  historic landmark . Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East condemned the U.S. decision, calling it an incendiary move in a volatile region and the European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at the possible repercussions for any chances of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

Summary: फिलिस्तीनियों ने ट्रम्प विरोधी प्रदर्शन में बेथलहम में क्रिसमस की बत्तियाँ बंद कर दीं


PARIS (Reuters) - At least eight people were killed on the Franco-Dutch Caribbean island of Saint Martin by hurricane Irma, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said on Thursday. Collomb said the toll was likely to rise in the coming hours.

Summary: तूफान इरमा ने सेंट मार्टिन में कम से कम आठ लोगों की जान लीः मंत्री


LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May withstood new attempts to force concessions on her blueprint for leaving the European Union on Wednesday, the second day of a parliamentary debate that is deepening divisions over Brexit. May has been weakened by losing the Conservative Party s majority in a June election and faces hostility from many lawmakers, including some Conservatives, to various parts of the EU withdrawal bill which requires parliamentary approval. All attempts to amend the bill, on severing ties with the EU, have been voted down so far, but a debate next month on precisely when Britain should leave, and whether a time should be set at all, is be to test her authority. May urged lawmakers to work together ahead of a debate on several amendments aimed at entrenching EU protections on a wide range of issues from the environment to workers  rights.   We will be leaving the European Union on the 19th of March, 2019, and of course there is a lively debate going on in this place and that s right and proper, and that s important,  May said during the weekly prime minister s question time.  We are listening carefully to those who wish to improve the bill and I hope that we can all come together to deliver on the decision that the country took that we should leave the European Union.  The debates are likely to last for weeks on a bill seen by May as crucial to give companies confidence that there will be no major legal changes that affect business when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019. On the first day of debate on Tuesday, lawmakers broke down party lines in turning on each other with catcalls, jeers and accusations of treachery. Behind the debates is the fear of pro-Brexit lawmakers that Britain may never leave the EU, and of pro-EU politicians who are worried Britain might crash out of the EU without a deal.  Exit day  has become the focus for most in parliament with some lawmakers saying pro-Brexit politicians want a firm date on the bill - 11:00 p.m. on March 29, 2019 - to limit flexibility in talks with the EU that are deadlocked largely over money. May and her ministers are stepping up contacts with EU officials, trying to find ways to put pressure on negotiators in Brussels to try to push the talks forward by December, movement businesses say they need to make investment decisions.  On Wednesday, May met Manfred Weber, a leading lawmaker in the European Parliament and an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in London, where he expressed confidence that the difficulties in the talks could be overcome. The parliamentary debate is yet another headache for a prime minister, who has lost two ministers to scandals and faces calls to fire her foreign minister, Boris Johnson, over remarks he made about a jailed Iranian-British aid worker in Iran. She has tried to ease tensions by offering lawmakers some concessions on the bill, but has yet to convince all her lawmakers, many of whom have said they will not vote with the government on at least one of the debates, namely on  exit day .

Summary: ब्रेक्सिट योजना पर नई चुनौतियों का सामना करना पड़ सकता है, और भी आने वाले हैं


(Reuters) - The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources said it will work to identify red tape and other bureaucratic hurdles to speed up Puerto Rico’s recovery and rebuilding, as the island struggles to recover from the impact of Hurricane Maria. Committee Chairman Rob Bishop said in a press call on Wednesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal partners will also likely be engaged for years in helping Puerto Rico get back on its feet. Bishop added that an emergency response will be executed through FEMA and local officials. “An emergency funding package is taking place as we speak to support those efforts,” he said. On Tuesday a White House official told Reuters the White House was preparing a $29 billion disaster aid request to be sent to Congress after hurricanes hit Puerto Rico, Texas and Florida. The request was expected to come on Wednesday. It will combine nearly $13 billion in new relief for hurricane victims with $16 billion for the government-backed flood insurance program.  Bishop said under evaluation was also the question of whether to modify or give additional power to the oversight board tasked with overseeing Puerto Rico’s debt restructuring. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were battered by hurricanes Irma and Maria. Hurricane Maria knocked out power to Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents last month, devastating the island’s already dilapidated electric power infrastructure. Following a closed-door meeting of the committee, Puerto Rico’s Republican delegate, Jenniffer Gonzalez, told reporters there are ongoing discussions among members of Congress, White House aides and the Treasury Department over a possible short-term loan to Puerto Rico, which she said will face a liquidity crisis in November.  She said it was unclear whether Trump might be able to issue an executive order, if he so desired, to provide quick financial help or whether Congress would have to act. Representative Raul Grijalva, the senior Democrat on the panel, said of PROMESA after the meeting: “I said let’s open it up and see what is working and see what is not applicable in this situation, what we need to suspend.” PROMESA is the federal 2016 rescue law under which Puerto Rico in May filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Summary: अमेरिकी सदन समिति प्यूर्टो रिको में सुधार की बाधाओं की जांच कर रही हैः अधिकारी


LONDON (Reuters) - British counter-terrorism police were monitoring events after media reports of a blast on a train in Parsons Green station in west London on Friday, but the investigation into the incident is being led by transport police, a security source said. Armed police rushed to an incident at a London underground station on Friday with local media reporting there had been an explosion on a packed rush-hour commuter train. Counter-terrorism officers were on the scene of the incident.

Summary: ब्रिटेन की परिवहन पुलिस लंदन की घटना की जांच कर रही है, आतंकवाद-रोधी पुलिस को जानकारी


BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a newspaper she would be prepared to become involved in a diplomatic initiative to end the North Korean nuclear and missiles program, and suggested the Iran nuclear talks could be a model.  South Korea on Saturday braced for a possible further missile test by North Korea as it marked its founding anniversary, just days after its sixth and largest nuclear test rattled global financial markets and further escalated tensions in the region.  If our participation in talks is desired, I will immediately say yes,  Merkel told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in an interview to be published on Sunday. She pointed to negotiations that led to a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers in 2015. Back then, Germany and the five countries on the United Nations Security Council with veto power took part in talks that led to Iran agreeing to curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most sanctions. Merkel said that was  a long but important time of diplomacy  that ultimately had a  good end  last year, referring to when the deal was implemented.  I could imagine such a format being used to end the North Korea conflict. Europe and especially Germany should be prepared to play a very active part in that,  Merkel added. She said she thought the only way to deal with North Korea s nuclear program was to come to a diplomatic solution, adding:  A new arms race starting in the region would not be in anyone s interests.  Europe should stand united in trying to bring about a diplomatic solution and  do everything that can be done in terms of sanctions , she said. Merkel is expected to win a fourth term in office in a Sept. 24 vote, with polls giving her conservatives a double-digit lead over their rival Social Democrats. Merkel is widely seen in Germany as a safe pair of hands at a time of global uncertainty such as the North Korea crisis, Britain s looming departure from the European Union and Donald Trump s presidency in the United States. Merkel has spoken to leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about North Korea this week. The newspaper said, without naming its sources, that she would speak by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Summary: मर्केल ने उत्तर कोरिया संकट को समाप्त करने के लिए ईरान-शैली की परमाणु वार्ता का सुझाव दिया


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 : - “On 1/20 - the day Trump was inaugurated - an estimated 35,000 ISIS fighters held approx 17,500 square miles of territory in both Iraq and Syria. As of 12/21, the U.S. military estimates the remaining 1,000 or so fighters occupy roughly 1,900 square miles...” via @jamiejmcintyre  [1749 EST] - Just left West Palm Beach Fire & Rescue #2. Met with great men and women as representatives of those who do so much for all of us. Firefighters, paramedics, first responders - what amazing people they are! [1811 EST] - “On 1/20 - the day Trump was inaugurated - an estimated 35,000 ISIS fighters held approx 17,500 square miles of territory in both Iraq and Syria. As of 12/21, the U.S. military est the remaining 1,000 or so fighters occupy roughly 1,900 square miles..” @jamiejmcintyre @dcexaminer [2109 EST] - "Arrests of MS-13 Members, Associates Up 83% Under Trump" bit.ly/2liRH3b [2146 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

Summary: ट्विटर पर ट्रम्प (27 दिसंबर)-ट्रम्प, इराक, सीरिया


CAIRO/AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Arabs denounced President Donald Trump s plan to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem as a slap in the face but few thought their governments would do much in response. Trump phoned allies in the Middle East late on Tuesday to tell them the United States would acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday and prepare to move its embassy there.  It incites feelings of anger among all Muslims and threatens world peace,  said Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Imam of Egypt s al-Azhar mosque, one of Islam s most important institutions.     The gates of hell will be opened in the West before the East,  he added, warning of the possible reaction.  Israel s sovereignty over East Jerusalem, which it seized in the 1967 war, is not recognized internationally, and under the U.S.-brokered Oslo accords of 1993 the city s status was to be decided in negotiations with Palestinians.  Arab governments issued statements of concern or condemnation and emergency meetings of both the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation have been called. But the U.S. decision has been taken.    In a bitterly divided region, backing for Palestinians is often seen as a unifying position, but it is also often a source of internal recriminations over the extent of that support.  A cartoon in al-Arabi al-Jadeed, a London-based Arabic news website, showed Trump raising a hand against an Arab as if to slap him, wearing a large glove marked with the Israeli flag.   In Lebanon, the Daily Star newspaper ran a full page photograph of Jerusalem on its cover with the headline  No offense Mr. President, Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine .  Around the Arab world - including Egypt and Jordan, its only two countries to recognize Israel - and across the bitter divide between allies of regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, people denounced the move.   Neither I nor my children nor my children s children will give up our right to Palestine and Jerusalem,  said Hilmi Aqel, a Palestinian refugee born in Jordan s al-Baqaa camp after his family fled the fighting that accompanied Israel s creation.    America does what it wants because it s powerful and thinks it won t feel the consequences ... Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine, not of Israel. It never can be,  said Nada Saeed, 24, a property broker in Cairo.   This is a provocation for the Arabs,  said Mahdi Msheikh, 43, a taxi driver in Beirut s Hamra district.  However, few people Reuters interviewed on Wednesday expected their governments to take any real action.   What saddens me most about this is that Palestine in the past was an ultimate rights cause for us as Syrians and Arabs ... Palestine has retreated from our priorities,  said a lecturer at Damascus university, who asked not to be named.       Saudi Arabia, home to Islam s holiest sites, pushed a plan in 2002 offering Israel peace with all Arab countries in return for a Palestinian state including east Jerusalem.  But a recent newspaper report suggested it was willing to compromise on several areas that are regarded by Palestinians and some other Arab countries as red lines. Riyadh has denied that and called on Trump not to move the embassy.   The current events on the world stage and especially in the Gulf help Trump take this step because the most important thing is that Saudi Arabia is not against it,  said Adnan, a 52-year-old trader in Beirut.  The kingdom s top clergy issued a mild statement saying Saudi Arabia supported Jerusalem, but did not explicitly denounce Trump s move.  Many Saudi Twitter users posting under the hashtag  Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine , shared a film clip of the late King Faisal, who launched the 1973 Arab oil embargo against the West, pledging never to accept Israel.  But one Twitter user posting with a common Saudi family name said that while Muslims and Arabs would be provoked by the move, its top royals would not be. Instead, they would  suppress any move or call to jihad against the Zionist enemy , he wrote. In Cairo, Khaled Abdelkhalik, a lawyer, said:  We paraded Trump as an ally of the Arabs, but he turned out dirtier than his predecessors.   Jordan, which agreed peace with Israel in 1994 while the peace process with the Palestinians still seemed on track, held a special session of parliament.   I call on my colleagues to tear up the treaty of humiliation and shame,  said MP Yahya Saoud, referring to the peace deal. Jordan, like Lebanon, is home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees.   This is a conspiracy that is denying us our rights, the first of which is to return. They think we are a branch of thorns that they can step on and break,  said Fadia, a social worker with two daughters in Lebanon s Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp.   But we are a bomb. If they step on it, it explodes,  she said.  In Israel, analysts said that despite such warnings, they expected little violence or opposition.   The moderate camp in the Arab world needs the United States as well as Israel in order to face their main threat, which is Iran,  said Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies.   We may see some public announcements maybe denouncing the American decision, but in substantive terms I don t think much will change.

Summary: ट्रम्प की जेरूसलम घोषणा पर अरबों में निराशा और रोष


BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany s foreign minister Siegmar Gabriel met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Turkey on Saturday, in a chance to discuss strained ties between the NATO allies after a series of diplomatic incidents. Gabriel and Cavusoglu discussed  bilateral relationships as well as difficult themes and expectations on both sides  in an informal meeting in the Turkish city of Antalya, the German foreign ministry said on Twitter, without giving further detail.    The meeting came a day after the announcement of the release of a further German national who had been detained in Turkey for political reasons, leaving the tally of those still in jail at nine.  Ties between the two allies deteriorated after Turkish President Recep Erdogan launched a crackdown on political opponents after a failed coup last year. Germany has criticized the mass arrests and refused to extradite people Turkey says were involved in the plot. Relations with Turkey are a contentious issue in talks on forming a coalition government that Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservative bloc is holding with two other parties after she lost support in an election in September.

Summary: बंदी की रिहाई के बाद जर्मन, तुर्की के विदेश मंत्रियों की बैठक


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday told British Prime Minster Theresa May the United States would continue to help the United Kingdom thwart attacks, the White House said in a statement after a blast on a London commuter train earlier in the day. In a telephone call with May, Trump expressed support for those injured and  pledged to continue close collaboration with the United Kingdom to stop attacks worldwide targeting innocent civilians and to combat extremism,  the White House said.

Summary: हमले के बाद ट्रम्प ने ब्रिटेन के साथ 'घनिष्ठ सहयोग' का वादा कियाः व्हाइट हाउस


HONOLULU (Reuters) - Preserving natural places will help the world adapt to warming temperatures, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday as he began a 10-day trip to stress the urgency of curbing climate change and attend a G20 meeting in China. “No nation, not even one as powerful as the United States, is immune from a changing climate,” Obama said after landing in Hawaii, the Pacific island state where he grew up. Obama, who is racing to cement his legacy on climate change before his presidency ends on Jan. 20, will make a rare visit to Midway Atoll on Thursday, deep inside the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument where he expanded protections last week. The tour leads up to a meeting in China on Saturday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is hosting the G20 group of leading economies. Obama and Xi worked together in Paris last year to secure a global deal to cut carbon emissions and are expected to take the next steps soon to help bring that agreement into force. Native Hawaiian student Narrissa Spies said she hoped Obama’s trip to Midway would inspire him. Spies, 34, went there in 2010 on a “life-changing” marine studies visit. “I saw what my ancestors must have seen on the main Hawaiian Islands 200 years ago,” said Spies, a PhD candidate now studying coral resistant to stresses like warming water. Earlier on Wednesday, Obama stopped in to a summit about the health of Lake Tahoe, the deep alpine lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains on the Nevada-California border whose average surface temperature reached an all-time recorded high last year. “The challenges of conservation and combating climate change are connected, they’re linked,” said Obama, who was interrupted by protesters yelling: “Keep it in the ground,” a campaign to limit fossil fuel production. Green groups have urged Obama not to rest on his laurels. The U.S. Supreme Court put his plan to slash carbon emissions from power plants on hold earlier this year. “We’re hoping that he will actually withdraw the Arctic from his five-year plan on offshore drilling, like he did with the Atlantic, because it’s an even worse place to drill,” said marine biologist Jackie Savitz of the Oceana conservation group.

Summary: ओबामा ने विदेश यात्रा से पहले अपने देश में जलवायु प्रगति पर प्रकाश डाला


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans packed churches on Sunday to pray for the victims of the country s deadliest quake in 32 years as rescue teams searched against the odds for any survivors trapped under rubble since Tuesday s tremor shook Mexico City and nearby states. As another aftershock jolted southwestern Mexico on Sunday, the death toll from Tuesday s 7.1 magnitude earthquake climbed to 320 people. With thousands of buildings damaged, survivors slept on the street outside their homes and estimates of the cost of the earthquake ran as high as $8 billion. Many have been traumatized by the second major quake to strike Mexico City in their lifetime after a devastating 1985 tremor killed an estimated 10,000 people. In the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the national shrine of the majority Roman Catholic country, thousands of people gathered to pray.   I came to ask God for strength for those who lost loved ones and for the Virgin to watch over us and keep us safe,  said 69-year-old Maria Gema Ortiz.  Thanks to all those who came from other countries to help. Thanks to all and long live Mexico!  Makeshift places of worship have popped up next to the crumbling cement and mangled steel of collapsed buildings in the deeply religious country. In upscale Roma, one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods of the capital, a priest led mass for nearly two dozen people under a blue tarp while a nun handed out small cards with an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, who according to the Catholic faith first appeared to an Aztec convert in 1531. More than 44,000 public schools in six states were due to reopen on Monday, but only 103 of the 4,000 public schools in Mexico City would open so as not to impede rescue and relief efforts. In addition, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, with 350,000 students at campuses in and around Mexico City, will resume classes on Monday. Like many Mexicans, 36-year-old Claudia Avila was determined to return to some semblance of normality.  We are afraid, but life must go on,  said Avila, whose sons are 9 and 16.  Tomorrow I will take my children back to school. They know that if something happens, they must protect themselves. It has been a rude awakening.  Rescuers narrowed their search to a handful of buildings in the sprawling metropolitan area of 20 million people, using advanced audio equipment to detect signs of life beneath tonnes of rubble, with help from teams from as far afield as Israel and Japan.  The search and rescue in Mexico City continues as a priority, with cooperation from national and international groups,  tweeted Miguel Angel Mancera, Mexico City s mayor. The search for survivors continued in a ruined office building in the Roma neighborhood and in a five-story apartment building in historic Tlalpan. Authorities called off efforts in the upper-middle class Linda Vista zone after pulling 10 bodies from the rubble, while work at the Tlalpan building was briefly halted on Saturday by a magnitude 6.2 aftershock. Roberto Hernandez, 62, leading a group of Mexico s famed  mole  rescue workers at the collapsed office building in Roma, said he believed 30 people were trapped in the rubble, though it was not clear how many were sill alive.  We can t guarantee there is life but we can guarantee we ll turn over every last stone,  Hernandez said.     Tuesday s quake, which flattened dozens of structures in Mexico City, was the second major earthquake to strike the country of 127 million people this month.  A massive 8.1 magnitude quake on Sept. 7 off the southwestern coast of Mexico killed around 100 people, most of them in the nearby states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. A series of aftershocks since then have sown panic. The latest tremor, of 5.7 magnitude, struck on Sunday off the west coast, with its epicenter 80 km (50 miles) south-southwest of Tonala, in Chiapas, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of significant damage. Many more quakes are likely, warned Xyoli Perez Campos, director of Mexico s National Seismological Service.  We have already recorded more than 4,300 aftershocks,  Campos said.  So more aftershocks are to come. What we don t know is if they are going to be of significant magnitude.   President Enrique Pena Nieto visited 12 communities in Mexico state, which borders the capital city, promising that aid would be directed only to those truly affected by the quake and that the government would help rebuild homes and businesses.  I am publicly promising that ... the affected homes, the families affected and the people in the whole of Joquicingo and the state of Mexico, get back on their feet,  he said from that town.

Summary: भूकंप से मरने वालों की संख्या 320 हुई, मेक्सिको के लोग चर्च गए


NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ tax and benefit plans would raise income for most Americans but his proposal for single-payer healthcare would help generate record federal deficits, two Washington think tanks said on Monday.  An analysis by the Tax Policy Center said that although most people would pay higher taxes under Sanders’ plan, the average household income would increase by nearly $4,300 in 2017 after his proposed benefits were factored in.  Those benefits include an expansion of the Social Security government pension plan, paid family leave and free tuition at public colleges, ideas that have generated support for Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, as he seeks to become the Democratic nominee for the Nov. 8 presidential election.  Only the wealthiest 5 percent of households would end up paying more in new taxes than they got back in benefits, according to the center, a joint effort run by two Washington-based think tanks, the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. But Sanders’ plans would also increase federal deficits to “unprecedented levels,” the center said, relying largely on a new estimate of the cost of his healthcare proposals published on Monday in a separate analysis by the Urban Institute.  Sanders has proposed a single-payer healthcare system, a more significant overhaul than the tweaks that Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton wants to make to the Affordable Care Act, a signature policy achievement of Democratic President Barack Obama. The Urban Institute estimated Sanders’ healthcare plan would require an increase in federal spending of $32 trillion over the next decade but that new revenue sources proposed by Sanders only covered just under half of that amount.  The overall result would be an increase in annual federal budget deficits by $18 trillion over the next decade, the Tax Policy Center said.  Warren Gunnels, Sanders’ policy director, called the new cost estimate “wildly” overestimated in a statement on Monday. He said the analyses were wrong to assume that state and local governments would stop their own spending on healthcare, thereby shifting $4.1 trillion in costs to the federal government.  Gunnels said the reports also underestimated what the Sanders campaign forecast would be trillions of dollars in savings in administration, paperwork and drug prices seen in other Western countries with single-payer systems. The Sanders campaign has estimated that his proposed healthcare system would save more than $6 trillion over the next 10 years, compared with the current system.

Summary: विश्लेषकों का कहना है कि सैंडर्स की योजना से आय बढ़ती है लेकिन अमेरिकी घाटा भी बढ़ता है


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO allies on Tuesday welcomed President Donald Trump’s decision to commit more forces to Afghanistan, as part of a new U.S. strategy he said would require more troops and funding from America’s partners. Having run for the White House last year on a pledge to withdraw swiftly from Afghanistan, Trump reversed course on Monday and promised a stepped-up military campaign against  Taliban insurgents, saying: “Our troops will fight to win”.  U.S. officials said he had signed off on plans to send about 4,000 more U.S. troops to add to the roughly 8,400 now deployed in Afghanistan. But his speech did not define benchmarks for successfully ending the war that began with the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and which he acknowledged had required an  “extraordinary sacrifice of blood and treasure”. “We will ask our NATO allies and global partners to support our new strategy, with additional troops and funding increases in line with our own. We are confident they will,” Trump said. That comment signaled he would further increase pressure on U.S. partners who have already been jolted by his repeated demands to step up their contributions to NATO and his description of the alliance as “obsolete” - even though, since taking office, he has said this is no longer the case. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement: “NATO remains fully committed to Afghanistan and I am looking forward to discussing the way ahead with (Defense) Secretary (James) Mattis and our Allies and international partners.” NATO has 12,000 troops in Afghanistan, and 15 countries have pledged more, Stoltenberg said. Britain, a leading NATO member, called the U.S. commitment “very welcome”. “In my call with Secretary Mattis yesterday we agreed that despite the challenges, we have to stay the course in Afghanistan to help build up its fragile democracy and reduce the terrorist threat to the West,” Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said. Germany, which has borne the brunt of Trump’s criticism over  the scale of its defense spending, also welcomed the new U.S. plan. “Our continued commitment is necessary on the path to stabilizing the country,” a government spokeswoman said. In June, European allies had already pledged more troops but had not given details on numbers, waiting for the Trump administration to outline its strategy for the region.Nearly 16 years after the U.S.-led invasion - a response to the Sept. 11 attacks which were planned by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan - the country is still struggling with weak central government and a Taliban insurgency. Trump said he shared the frustration of the American people who were “weary of war without victory”, but a hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum for groups like Islamic State and al Qaeda to fill.

Summary: 'पूरी तरह से प्रतिबद्ध' नाटो ने अफगानिस्तान पर नए अमेरिकी दृष्टिकोण का समर्थन किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Another U.S. Republican senator has moved closer to re-election while keeping some distance from Donald Trump, and experts say this suggests the party’s presidential candidate may be having little down-ballot impact, at least at the primary stage.  Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire still faces a tough general election challenge on Nov. 8 but she crushed a pro-Trump, Republican challenger in a primary contest on Tuesday, winning close to 80 percent of the vote. Ayotte has refused to endorse Trump although, like a number of Republicans, she has said she will vote for him. Some Republicans, such as Ohio Senator Rob Portman, have endorsed Trump but excluded him from their campaigns. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska won her primary in August although she had said she did not know whether she would vote for Trump. Trump, a New York businessman who has never held elected office, at first criticized Ayotte. Then he changed course early last month and endorsed her, along with fellow Republicans House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain. With Ayotte’s victory, all incumbent Republican senators running for re-election have won their primaries this year. This is not uncommon but it is unusual for so many senators to hold their party’s presidential nominee at arm’s length.  U.S. senators serve six-year-terms. One-third of the 100-member Senate faces voters every two years. The outcome so far shows some voters are distinguishing this year between Trump and the rest of the ballot, said Nathan Gonzales, editor of The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, a non-partisan newsletter.  “His impact has been less dramatic than what was initially expected, but there is still time for things to get worse for the Republican Party,” Gonzales said in a telephone interview. “At a time when Republicans in presidential primaries basically rejected everybody from the status quo, they are not doing that in Senate or House primaries,” Norman Ornstein, a political scientist at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, said by telephone. Republicans are still worried that voters who do not like Trump will not turn out to vote for other Republicans in the general election on Nov. 8, Gonzales said.  “Is there a Trump drag (on down-ballot candidates)? There doesn’t appear to be much of one,” said Jennifer Duffy, senior editor at the non-partisan Cook Political Report. Ohio’s Portman, who has not appeared with Trump on the campaign trail, easily beat his primary opponent and has opened up a lead over his Democratic challenger in the general election. McCain and Ryan have had very public differences of opinion with Trump but they also prevailed in their primary races. Ayotte beat a field of four challengers in New Hampshire, receiving nearly 80 percent of the vote, according to election results posted online by the state.  She must still take on Democratic New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan in the general election. Ayotte was leading Hassan by 52 percent to 44 percent in a Sept. 6-8 NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll, according to the website RealClear Politics. “I think you probably have a lot of people in the primary who were not going to pay as close attention to what she was saying about Trump,” Ornstein said of Ayotte. “In the fall it may be a different matter, as certainly Maggie Hassan is going to try to tie her to Trump.”

Summary: अमेरिकी रिपब्लिकन सीनेटर ट्रम्प के झगड़े के बावजूद फिर से चुनाव की ओर बढ़े


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan and the United States are preparing to hold a summit meeting around May 25, government sources told Reuters on Friday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama will likely meet ahead of a Group of Seven summit to be held in western Japan on May 26 and 27, the sources said, declining to be identified because the schedule is not yet official. They are expected to discuss issues such as the global economy, North Korea and the South China Sea, according to the sources.

Summary: जापान, अमेरिका 25 मई के आसपास शिखर बैठक की तैयारी कर रहे हैंः सरकारी सूत्र


SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - When RYB Education Inc became enmeshed in allegations of child abuse at one of its Beijing kindergartens, it touched off an angry online furor in China, a police inquiry and a precipitous fall in the company s New York-listed shares. Barely a week later, the firm appears to have weathered much of the storm, for now. Chinese police said late on Tuesday some claims of abuse were unfounded, although one teacher was in custody for using knitting needles to discipline children. The company s shares closed up 23.33 percent in New York on Tuesday, after falling over 40 percent last week when allegations first emerged of abuse that included sexual molestation and forced medication. However, shares fell over 10 percent in pre-market trade on Wednesday after the company said there were parent complaints about other RYB-branded kindergartens and that it was cooperating with police. It gave no other details. RYB s actions over the week represented a case of effective crisis management, experts said, rare in the Chinese corporate world where companies tend to hunker down in the face of adverse news and allow events to play out. RYB appeared to have taken  some good corrective actions , said James Robinson, managing director of communications consultancy APCO Worldwide s Shanghai office, adding a well-oiled response and open channels of communication with government stakeholders were key.  It s essential for companies to respond swiftly, even if it s just to acknowledge they are aware of an issue and are investigating further.  Led by chief executive and founder Shi Yanlai, a vocal proponent for China s early child education sector, RYB appeared to have hit all the right buttons last week.  When I heard the news, I was personally shocked and very angry,  Shi said in an investors call on Friday.     This issue has struck an alarm bell for us,  she said,  adding the firm would look to speed up the installation of  blanket surveillance  tools at its schools and day care centres. RYB announced a $50 million share buyback and said it had dismissed a teacher suspected of involvement in the case as well as the head teacher of the Beijing school.      Shi helped set up RYB in 1998 when her own son was born. It now has over 1,300 play and learn centres and nearly 500 kindergartens in around 300 cities in China. Most are operated on a franchise model.  As the case became a lighting rod for wider anger in China about a lack of trained teachers, low wages and poor regulatory oversight in the massive and fast-growing private pre-school sector, Shi underscored that she was a mother herself and repeated frequently in local media interviews that the children were the top priority. On Wednesday, the kindergarten in Beijing was operating as normal, with parents milling around waiting for children to finish class. A handful of police officers were the only sign of last week s troubles. At the company s headquarters in southern Beijing, an RYB  official said the police had only released their preliminary findings and that the firm could not provide comment until the investigation had finished. Shi also refused to comment for this story. Teachers, investors and experts said RYB had so far had got off fairly lightly, with a lot of the anger being aimed at regulators and wider issues in the market. Beijing is sending inspectors to the city s kindergartens, while China s education ministry is doing a broad investigation into the sector.  I m not really surprised,  wrote Zhang Xiaolong, an education sector executive who has half a million followers online, referring to Tuesday s recovery in RYB s shares.  After such a serious issue, the government hasn t taken away RYB s license to operate schools, and so it seems like it s being treated like an isolated incident.  Teachers in China said the furor over the case - hundreds of millions posted online about it last week - reflected bubbling tensions over the fast development of the private pre-school sector and a lack of resources for teachers.  Thresholds for kindergarten teachers getting into the profession are too low; but also status, social recognition and levels of respect for the role are lacking,  said Zhong Qian, the head of a private kindergarten in Chengdu.  Increasingly there s a mismatch between the demand from students and the need for teachers.  RYB has survived similar scandals in the past, at another of its Beijing kindergartens earlier this year and before that at a nursery in northern Jilin province. Before it listed shares in New York in September, its IPO prospectus flagged abuse by teachers as a risk. Teachers and academics, however, said that it was tough to stamp out abuse, especially at franchised, private-sector schools where competition was tough, requirements and checks on teachers were less strict and salaries were low.  It s often one of the poorest paid professions in China, certainly right down bottom of the pay scale,  said Geoffrey Crothall, communications director at China Labour Bulletin.  Schools often just want bodies in there who can supervise kids and pay them as little as possible.  The state-run Global Times wrote on Wednesday that even after the police report, there was still fierce criticism online of the case.   As often is the case when authorities intercede in a case that has touched a nerve about people s welfare, a raging debate has continued to ferment,  the newspaper wrote in a commentary. Robinson, the communications consultant, added:  For RYB, it seems they ve taken some good corrective actions, but I don t know whether it s enough. The facts are still emerging.

Summary: स्कूल में वापसीः चीन के किंडरगार्टन में अभी के लिए बच्चों के साथ दुर्व्यवहार का तूफान है


DUBAI (Reuters) - State-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines said it will start flying regularly to Iraq on Monday after a 27-year halt, state news agency SPA said. The carrier s director general, Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser, will accompany reporters and passengers on the first flight to depart from the Saudi city of Jeddah to Baghdad, SPA said late on Sunday. There have been no flights between Saudi Arabia and Iraq since former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded neighboring Kuwait in 1990. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are both wooing Baghdad in an effort to halt the growing regional influence of arch-foe Iran. In August the two countries said they planned to open the Arar land border crossing for trade for the first time since 1990. That announcement followed a decision by the Saudi cabinet this month to set up a joint trade commission with Iraq. Saudi Arabian budget airline Flynas was the first Saudi airline to fly to Iraq in more than 25 years.

Summary: सऊदी अरब एयरलाइंस ने 27 साल बाद इराक के लिए उड़ान फिर से शुरू की


MOSCOW (Reuters) - In his book, ‘Art of the Deal,’ Donald Trump said the best deals were ones where both sides got something they wanted. His credo, applied to a potential U.S.-Russia deal, flags an awkward truth for Vladimir Putin: He wants more from Trump than vice versa.  As aides try to set up a first meeting between the two presidents, the mismatched nature of their respective wish lists gives Trump the edge, and means that a deal, if one is done, may be more limited and longer in the making than the Kremlin hopes.  “What the two countries can offer each another is strikingly different,” said Konstantin von Eggert, a commentator for TV Rain, a Moscow TV station sometimes critical of the Kremlin.  “The U.S. has a stronger hand. In biblical terms, the U.S. is the three kings bearing gold, while Russia is the shepherds with little apart from their good faith.”  Appetite for a deal in Moscow, where parliament applauded Trump’s election win, is palpable. The Kremlin blames Barack Obama for wrecking U.S.-Russia ties, which slid to a post-Cold War low on his watch, and with the economy struggling to emerge from two years of recession, craves a new start.  Trump's early moves spark alarm, resistance within the governmentCOMMENTARY: War College: Russia's hybrid war against the WestIran confirms new missile test, says it does not violate nuclear deal Trump’s intentions toward Moscow are harder to discern, but seem to be more about what he does not want — having Russia as a time-consuming geopolitical foe — than his so far vague desire to team up with the Kremlin to fight Islamic State.  Trump has hinted he may also push for a nuclear arms deal.  Putin’s wish list, by contrast, is detailed, long and the items on it, such as getting U.S. sanctions imposed over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine eased, are potentially significant for his own political future.  He is looking to be given a free hand in the post-Soviet space, which he regards as Russia’s back yard.  Specifically, he would like Trump to formally or tacitly recognize Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in 2014, as Russian territory, and pressure Kiev into implementing a deal over eastern Ukraine which many Ukrainians view as unpalatable.  The icing on the cake for him would be for Trump to back a Moscow-brokered Syrian peace deal allowing President Bashar al-Assad, a staunch Moscow ally, to stay in power for now, while crushing Islamic State and delivering regional autonomy.  For Putin, described in leaked U.S. diplomatic cables as an “alpha-dog,” the wider prize would be respect. In his eyes, a deal would confer legitimacy and show Russia was a great power.  But, like a couple where one side is more interested than the other, the expectational imbalance is starting to show.  Trump spoke by phone to five world leaders before talking to Putin on Jan. 28 as part of a bundle of calls. The White House readout of the Putin call was vague and four sentences long; the Kremlin’s was effusive and fifteen sentences long.  Nor does Trump seem to be in a rush to meet. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said the two might only meet before a G20 summit due to take place in July.  Trump has good reason not to rush.  With U.S. intelligence agencies accusing Moscow of having sponsored computer hacking to help Trump win office, a deal would hand fresh political ammunition to Trump’s opponents, who say he has long been too complimentary to the Russian leader.  A delay would have the added advantage of postponing a chorus of disapproval from foreign allies and Congress, where there is bipartisan determination to block sanctions relief.  For Putin though, in his 17th year of dominating the Russian political landscape, a deal, or even an early symbolic concession such as easing minor sanctions, matters.  Expected to contest a presidential election next year that could extend his time in the Kremlin to 2024, he needs sanctions relief to help lift the economy out of recession.  U.S. and EU financial sector sanctions have cut Russia’s access to Western capital markets and know-how, scared off foreign investors, and — coupled with low global oil prices — have exacerbated an economic crisis that has cut real incomes and fueled inflation, making life harder for millions.  Since Putin’s 2012 election, consumer prices have risen by 50 percent, while a fall in the value of the rouble against the dollar after the annexation of Crimea means average salaries fell by 36 percent from 2012-2016 in dollar terms.  Official data puts inflation at 5.4 percent, but consumers say the real figure is much higher, and fear of inflation regularly ranks among Russians’ greatest worries in surveys.  An easing of U.S. sanctions could spur more foreign investment, helping create a feel-good factor.  “It would be a huge bonus if it happened,” said Chris Weafer, senior partner at economic and political consultancy Macro-Advisory Ltd, who said he thought Putin wanted to put rebuilding the economy at the heart of his next term.  The economy matters to Putin because, in the absence of any more land grabs like Crimea, greater prosperity is one of the few levers he has to get voters to come out and support him.  With state TV affording him blanket and favorable coverage and with the liberal opposition still weak, few doubt Putin would genuinely win another presidential term if, as expected, he decided to run.  But for the win to be politically durable and for Putin to be able to confidently contemplate serving out another full six-year term, he would need to win big on a respectable turnout.  That, an election showed last year, is not a given.  Around 4 million fewer Russians voted for the pro-Putin United Russia party in a September parliamentary vote compared to 2011, the last time a similar election was held.  Although the economic benefits of a Trump deal might take a while to trickle down to voters, its symbolism could boost turnout, helping Putin prolong a system based on himself.  “It would be presented to the Russian people as a huge victory by Putin,” said von Eggert. “It would be described as a validation of his strategy to go to war in Ukraine regardless of the consequences and to turn the country into Fortress Russia.”

Summary: सौदे की कलाः क्यों पुतिन को ट्रम्प से अधिक एक की आवश्यकता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. Senate on Tuesday ruled out taking  action on any nominee put forth by President Barack Obama to the Supreme Court in a political power move intended to thwart his ability to change the court’s ideological balance. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will not hold hearings or vote on any nominee to replace long-serving conservative Justice Antonin Scalia until after the next president takes office next January. Scalia died on Feb. 13. McConnell, a Republican nemesis of Obama during the president’s seven years in office, said he even would refuse the standard courtesy of meeting with whomever Obama chooses. Under the U.S. Constitution, the Senate has the power to confirm or reject a president’s Supreme Court selection. With the U.S. presidential election looming on Nov. 8, Republicans were aiming to allow the next president to fill Scalia’s vacancy, hoping a Republican will be elected. “This nomination will be determined by whoever wins the presidency in the fall,” McConnell said, adding that the overwhelming view of Senate Republicans was that “this vacancy should not be filled by this lame-duck president.” Obama’s nominee could tip the court to the left for the first time in decades. Scalia’s death left the court with four liberal and four conservatives. Not since the contentious nominations by Republican presidents of Robert Bork in 1987 and Clarence Thomas in 1991 has there been such an intense fight over a Supreme Court vacancy - and Obama has yet to announce his pick.  The White House and Senate Democrats condemned McConnell’s stance. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid called it “obstruction on steroids,” adding: “Gone are the days of levelheadedness and compromise.” McConnell and other congressional Republicans have sought to block numerous Obama initiatives, including his signature healthcare law, the Iran nuclear deal, immigration policy and efforts to battle climate change. McConnell invoked a past statement by Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden, to help justify Supreme Court inaction. McConnell noted that Biden, as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman in 1992, argued for postponing action on Supreme Court nominees during an election year. Biden has since said he was speaking hypothetically because there was no Supreme Court vacancy at the time. McConnell made his announcement after Chairman Chuck Grassley and the other Republican members of the Judiciary Committee sent him a letter saying the panel would not hold confirmation hearings. Grassley had previously left open the possibility of convening hearings. Alluding to the Nov. 8 presidential election, Republican senators told McConnell in the letter they wanted “to ensure the American people are not deprived of the opportunity to engage in a full and robust debate over the type of jurist they wish to decide some of the most critical issues of our time.” If the Senate does not consider a nominee until after a new president takes office, it would be unlikely that the Supreme Court would have its full complement of nine justices any sooner than early 2017. That would mean the court would be shorthanded for more than a year, hampering its ability to decide cases. In cases that end in 4-4 rulings, lower-court decisions stand and no national precedent is set. Reid said the Republican strategy was driven by the Republican party’s right wing. “It’s what Donald Trump and Ted Cruz want,” Reid said, referring to two of the Republican presidential candidates. But Reid said Senate Democrats would not become “the obstruct caucus” and block legislation such as appropriations bills in retaliation for the Republican inaction. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said blocking a hearing for Obama’s nominee would be unprecedented and would “subject the Supreme Court to the kind of politics that they’ve been insulated from for more than two centuries.” “Since 1875, a president’s nominee has never been denied a hearing unless that president later withdrew that nomination,” Earnest said. In remarks on the Senate floor, McConnell said, “Presidents have a right to nominate, just as the Senate has its constitutional right to provide or withhold consent. In this case, the Senate will withhold it.” Chuck Schumer, a member of the Senate Democratic leadership, predicted that the Republican position would crumble as voters put pressure on vulnerable Republican Senate incumbents seeking re-election to consider Obama’s nominee. “It’s not just a risky strategy, it’s the wrong strategy and it’s going to fail,” Schumer said of the Senate Republicans. But Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican Judiciary Committee member, countered, “I’m not concerned about that (public pressure). We’re standing for a principle that the next president ought to resolve this problem.” Democrats are badly outnumbered in the 100-member Senate, falling far short of the 60 votes needed to advance controversial legislation much less a Supreme Court nomination. Counting the two independents who caucus with them, Democrats control 46 seats, with the remaining 54 held by Republicans.

Summary: सीनेट रिपब्लिकन ने ओबामा उच्च न्यायालय के चयन पर कार्रवाई से इनकार किया