WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday questioned Facebook Inc s (FB.O) decision to overhaul how it handles paid political advertisements amid investigations into alleged Russian interference in U.S. elections.  The Russia hoax continues, now it s ads on Facebook,  Trump wrote on Twitter.  What about the totally biased and dishonest Media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary,  referring to Hillary Clinton, his rival in the 2016 presidential campaign.  Earlier this month, Facebook said an internal review had shown that an operation likely based in Russia spent $100,000 on 3,000 Facebook ads promoting divisive messages in the months before and after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The company initially declined to turn over details on the ads to Congress but said on Thursday it would do so, making a concession to U.S. lawmakers who have threatened to regulate the world s largest social network over ads that run during election campaigns. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook, for the first time, would now make it possible for anyone to see any political ads that run on Facebook, no matter whom they target. Facebook also will demand that political advertisers disclose who is paying for the advertisements, a requirement that under U.S. law applies to political ads on television but not on social media. Zuckerberg said on Thursday the changes would help address concerns that governments including Russia are using Facebook ads to meddle in other countries  elections. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia engaged in cyber attacks to sway the 2016 election against Democrat Hillary Clinton in favor of Trump. U.S. congressional investigators and a special counsel are investigating the matter. Moscow has denied any interference. While Trump dismissed the advertisement controversy, his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, expressed concern.  Well, I think all of these social media providers are faced with many challenges,  Tillerson said on ABC s  Good Morning America,  pointing to their use by militant groups around the world as well as in election campaigns.   But they also have responsibilities,  he said.  And I think they re going to have to think carefully about their responsibilities in this regard.  U.S. election law bars foreign nationals and foreign entities from spending money to expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate.

Summary: ट्रंप ने फेसबुक विज्ञापन विवाद को 'रूस की धोखाधड़ी' करार देते हुए खारिज किया


BEIJING (Reuters) - China s highest profile fugitive, exiled billionaire Guo Wengui, is under attack from a former business partner who claims Guo got him framed for crimes he says he did not commit. After having a conviction for embezzling 855 million yuan ($130 million) from a company owned by Guo quashed, Qu Long told Reuters he is out for revenge.   When he returns I will sue him in China,  Qu said of Guo, two days after being released from jail where he served six years of a 15-year sentence.  If he can t return, I will sue him in the United States. As long as he is on the face of this Earth, I will find a lawyer and make him pay.  In its ruling last Tuesday, the Hebei High People s Court said there was not enough evidence to support the embezzlement conviction.  Qu s interview with Reuters was arranged by the Chinese authorities, who also provided briefings by three members of a special police taskforce investigating Guo, who is living in New York. Chinese officials told Reuters they wanted to get Qu s narrative out through the Western media to counteract a barrage of internet postings by Guo.  The officials and police involved in the case told Reuters that after an investigation that began in 2015 they had discovered that the charges against Qu were fabricated by Guo and government officials Guo had allegedly bribed, including Ma Jian, the former counter-intelligence chief at China s spy agency, the Ministry of State Security. Ma was put under investigation for alleged corruption in 2015 and was expelled from the Communist Party the following  year. He remains in detention and Reuters was unable to reach him for comment. Guo did not respond to requests for comment about Qu. Guo s New York-based lawyer, Josh Schiller, said Qu s threat was  further persecution of Guo in order to silence his speech . Guo, who left China in late 2014 shortly before Ma was detained, has previously denied bribing government officials and says accusations leveled against him are politically motivated. The police and other Chinese officials who talked to Reuters provided no evidence to support their bribery assertions in the  case. Reuters was unable to independently confirm whether Guo engaged in any wrongdoing. Guo is currently living in a $68 million apartment overlooking Manhattan from where he has been using social media to make a series of incendiary, though mostly unverifiable, claims of corruption in the top levels of the Chinese government. His campaign has been timed for maximum impact ahead of next month s critical congress of the ruling Communist Party, which is held only once every five years.   The Chinese authorities are trying to repatriate Guo, who applied for U.S. political asylum earlier this month. In April, at Beijing s request, Interpol issued a  red notice  seeking Guo s arrest on corruption-related charges.    The same month, a video confession from Ma surfaced online, detailing 10 instances where he claimed he abused his power to benefit Guo in exchange for more than 60 million yuan in bribes, including conspiring to detain and frame Qu.       Guo has said Ma s testimony should not be believed, arguing it was likely coerced or made under duress. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the events that Ma cited. Guo and Qu were once friends and business partners, having first met two decades ago and, according to Qu, bonding quickly over a mutual love of motorcycles and sports cars. The two men fell out over a dispute related to the ownership of Tianjin Huatai, an investment holding company, with Guo claiming Qu had reneged on an agreement to hand over control of the company. Qu was initially detained on suspicion of possessing firearms and he was eventually sentenced on the embezzlement charges. Qu denied any wrongdoing.

Summary: चीन के सर्वोच्च प्रोफ़ाइल भगोड़े पर व्यवसायी द्वारा हमला किया गया जो कहता है कि उसे अपराधों के लिए फंसाया गया था


BEIJING (Reuters) - China hopes the United States can  help and not cause problems  in the disputed South China Sea, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday ahead of next week s visit to Beijing by President Donald Trump. The United States has criticized China s construction of islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free nautical movement. U.S. Navy ships have also carried out freedom of navigation patrols in the area, angering China. Speaking to reporters about Trump s trip, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said China has indisputable sovereignty over islands and surrounding waters in the South China Sea.  The essence of the South China Sea problem is some regional countries  illegal occupation of some of China s islands and reefs, Zheng said, adding China was willing to resolve issues peacefully through talks with countries directly involved.   The South China Sea issue isn t an issue between China and the United States,  he added.  We hope that as an external party, the United States can plant more flowers and fewer thorns, help and not cause problems . Zheng said he said he hoped the United States could objectively view the positive developments in the South China Sea and respect efforts by China and Southeast Asian countries to safeguard peace and stability there.  There is no issue with freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and China opposed any parties using it as an  excuse  to harm China s sovereignty and security interests, he added.  The Trump administration has vowed to conduct more robust South China Sea operations. China s claims in the area, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Speaking earlier in the day, another senior Chinese diplomat said China and Vietnam have agreed to manage their dispute in the South China Sea through friendly talks, following an ugly spat over the summer between the two communist neighbors. The countries have long been at loggerheads over the issue, with Vietnam having emerged as the most vocal opponent of China s claims to the majority of the regional sea.  A scheduled meeting between their foreign ministers in August was canceled on the sidelines of a regional gathering in Manila amid an argument about militarization in the South China Sea and island-building.  Hanoi and Beijing, however, have sought to get relations back on track, with a top Chinese leader telling his Vietnamese hosts in September that their two communist parties have a  shared destiny .  Speaking before Chinese President Xi Jinping goes to Vietnam next week for a state visit and to attend a summit of Asia Pacific leaders, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong said leaders of the two countries have had many  deep, frank  discussions on maritime issues.   They reached an important consensus,  Chen told a news briefing.   Both sides will uphold the principle of friendly consultations and dialogue to jointly manage and control maritime disputes, and protect the bigger picture of developing Sino-Vietnam relations and stability in the South China Sea.

Summary: चीन का कहना है कि उम्मीद है कि अमेरिका दक्षिण चीन सागर में 'मदद कर सकता है, समस्या पैदा नहीं कर सकता'


MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States is providing de-facto cover for Islamic State units in Syria and only pretending to fight terrorism in the Middle East, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry said the U.S. air force had tried to hinder Russian strikes on Islamic State militants around the Syrian town of Albu Kamal.  These facts are conclusive evidence that the United States, while imitating an uncompromising fight against international terrorism for the global community, in fact provides cover for Islamic State units,  the defense ministry said.

Summary: रूस का कहना है कि अमेरिका सीरिया में इस्लामिक स्टेट को सुरक्षा प्रदान कर रहा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump intends to nominate Kevin Hassett, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and fiscal policy expert, as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, the White House said on Friday. Hassett, who previously served as a senior economist as the Federal Reserve, needs to be confirmed by the Senate.

Summary: आर्थिक सलाहकार परिषद की अध्यक्षता के लिए हैसेट को नामित करेंगे ट्रंप


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leandra English, who is in a legal battle with the Trump administration over who is acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will spent Tuesday working in the office, she said in a statement. “I plan on spending the day at CFPB headquarters taking calls and meetings with external stakeholders and bureau staff,” she said in a statement.

Summary: उपभोक्ता एजेंसी के अधिकारी अंग्रेजी का कहना है कि वे मंगलवार को कार्यालय में होंगे


(Reuters) - Momentum in Germany is building for a new  grand coalition  between Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservative bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD) to end the political instability created by the collapse of her coalition talks with other parties. The conservatives and SPD have ruled together for the last four years and most ministers are keeping their posts in an interim government until a new coalition or minority government is formed. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier hosts a first meeting of Merkel, the head of Bavaria s CSU conservatives, Horst Seehofer, and SPD leader Martin Schulz on Thursday.  Here are some of the overlaps and differences in policy areas likely to be discussed in any coalition talks. Merkel has stressed she wants to maintain Germany s solid finances. Germany has run a budget surplus since 2014 under the stewardship of her hardline conservative finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble. She has also said she wants some tax cuts, mainly for low and medium earners.  The SPD is far more focused on boosting spending and has in the last few days said it wants to increase investment in education and homes as well as on infrastructure. The SPD wants to increase inheritance tax, some in the party want to insist on raising the minimum wage and it fought the election on a pledge of keeping pensions stable.  The conservatives and SPD both want to increase spending to expand broadband.  An area of possible conflict. Since the election, Merkel has bowed to pressure from her Bavarian allies to put a cap on the number of people Germany will accept on humanitarian grounds. Merkel repeated on Saturday that she wanted to limit the number to about 200,000 a year.  The SPD opposes this, arguing it breaches the constitution s guarantee of asylum to people who are persecuted for political reasons. Some leading party members have said they will not agree to a cap. The SPD is more positive than Merkel s cautious stance towards French President Emmanuel Macron s proposals for a euro zone budget and a euro zone finance minister. The SPD also backs the idea of turning the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) bailout fund into a European Monetary Fund along the lines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  There is little difference on approach to Brexit talks. Broad agreement on most areas of foreign policy, including with the United States and Turkey. The SPD puts greater emphasis on mending ties with Russia which have been hurt by the conflict in Ukraine, but this is more a matter of nuance than a deep policy rift. Also agreement on armed forces missions abroad although the SPD is more skeptical on NATO demands to move towards increasing defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product by 2014. The SPD fought its election on the platform of social justice and wants to improve the lot of the less affluent. A long-standing commitment which several senior SPD members have repeated recently is the idea of making health insurance fairer for everyone by introducing a  citizen s insurance . The SPD also wants to ensure men and women have equal pay and working conditions.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः मर्केल के रूढ़िवादी, एस. पी. डी. ने जर्मन गठबंधन के लिए नीतिगत रेखाएं निर्धारित कीं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration, in the first major review of the country’s coal program in three decades, on Friday ordered a pause on issuing coal-mining leases on federal land as part of new executive actions to fight climate change. The halt could last three years, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told reporters, while officials determine how to protect taxpayers’ stake in coal sales from public lands and how burning coal could worsen climate change. “We have an obligation to current and future generations to ensure the federal coal program delivers a fair return to American taxpayers and takes into account its impacts on climate change,” Jewell said on a conference call. Federal land accounts for over 40 percent of U.S. coal production. Most leases are on public land in Western states, primarily Wyoming, along with Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The review, the administration’s latest move to combat climate change using executive authority rather than wait for congressional action, comes at a tough time for the industry. Since 2012, more than 50 coal companies have filed for bankruptcy in the face of competition from cheap natural gas and clean-air regulations that have raised costs for burning the fossil fuel. National Mining Association President Hal Quinn said development of coal projects on federal land already took more than 10 years and Friday’s announcement just adds more red tape. “The coal supply being cut off by today’s action has been the source of the lowest-cost and most reliable electricity keeping America’s lights on and people working,” he said. Republican lawmakers were quick to criticize the reform effort, accusing the administration of “ravaging” coal country. “Congress will continue to fight back against the president’s ruthless pursuit of destroying people’s low-cost energy sources in order to cement his own climate legacy,” said U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan. President Barack Obama, in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, hinted at the moves, saying he would “change the way we manage our oil and coal resources so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet.” Environmental groups had pressed the White House for years to freeze fossil fuel leases, arguing that allowing coal development on public land undermines the president’s climate agenda. Environmental activists have said that while the coal reform program is a good first step, the administration should extend the review to oil and natural gas for it to meet its goal to slash greenhouse gas emissions. “Any good-faith effort to meet international climate targets necessitates that the vast majority of all remaining coal, oil and natural gas on federal lands must stay in the ground,” said Elijah Zarlin, director of climate campaigns at activist group CREDO. Jewell said the review will examine concerns flagged by the Government Accountability Office and the Interior Department’s Inspector General, as well as members of Congress and the public. She added that the Interior Department will also adopt measures to boost transparency of federal coal leasing. Measures include a public database to show the carbon emitted from fossil fuels developed on public lands, posting online pending requests to lease coal or reduce government royalties, as well as capturing methane emissions from mines. Jewell said the pause will not apply to existing coal production and that the government will allow mining of metallurgical coal used in making steel, as well as emergency leases if more reserves are needed for power generation. “We have plenty of coal,” Jewell said, adding that reserves already under lease are enough to sustain current levels of production from federal land for 20 years.

Summary: अमेरिका ने संघीय भूमि पर नए कोयले के पट्टे रोके, दशकों में पहली समीक्षा


HELSINKI (Reuters) - If the United States withdraws from the Paris climate deal, it would be a big setback, Finland’s Prime Minister Juha Sipila told parliament on Wednesday. “If this is true, it is a big setback. Then, we must find partners to continue, because this work must not stop,” Sipila said. Climate change was a priority for Finland in the Arctic Council as well as the European Union, he said.     U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to make an announcement on whether he will stay in the agreement this week, with media reports on Wednesday suggesting he had made up his mind to withdraw.

Summary: जलवायु समझौते से अमेरिका का हटना 'बड़ा झटका' होगाः फिनलैंड के प्रधानमंत्री


NAIROBI (Reuters) - Men in plain clothes fired shots in the air as hundreds of opposition supporters marched through the Kenya s capital to its election board headquarters on Monday, a Reuters witness said. The demonstrators were demanding reforms ahead of a presidential election scheduled for Oct. 26.  Senator James Orengo from the opposition alliance said they also wanted to warn ruling party lawmakers not to pass a proposed amendment to the election laws that would limit circumstances in which the Supreme Court could nullify an election.

Summary: सैकड़ों प्रदर्शनकारियों ने केन्याई चुनाव बोर्ड मुख्यालय की ओर मार्च किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee issued a bipartisan statement on Thursday rejecting President Donald Trump’s assertion that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the 2016 presidential campaign. The top Republican in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, added his voice to a growing chorus of lawmakers saying there was no sign of a wiretap. In a testy briefing with reporters, White House spokesman Sean Spicer forcefully defended the president, citing news reports of intelligence collection on possible contacts between Trump associates and Russia in the presidential campaign. “There is no question that there were surveillance techniques used throughout this,” Spicer said. The Republican president, without providing evidence, has accused his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, of wiretapping him near the end of the campaign. An Obama spokesman said that was “simply false.”  “Based on the information available to us, we see no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance by any element of the United States government either before or after Election Day 2016,” Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Senator Mark Warner, the committee’s Democratic vice chairman, said in a statement. Ryan also said there was no evidence of surveillance. “The point is, the intelligence committees in their continuing, widening, ongoing investigation of all things Russia, got to the bottom - at least so far - with respect to our intelligence community that - that no such wiretap existed,” the House speaker told reporters. Pressed at the White House briefing on whether Trump would back down from his wiretap accusations, Spicer said: “He stands by it.” Spicer also chastised the media for focusing so much attention on comments disparaging Trump’s claim about surveillance. He said reporters had not focused enough on comments from officials denying evidence of any collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. The Russian government has rejected an accusation by U.S. intelligence agencies that it worked to influence the election in Trump’s favor by hacking computer systems, among other methods. Trump has been dogged by allegations that his associates had ties to Russian officials. Trump fired his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, last month after he failed to disclose contacts with Russia’s ambassador before Trump took office on Jan. 20. An official familiar with the investigations by Congress and intelligence and law enforcement agencies said investigators had looked as aggressively and thoroughly as they could for evidence of any spying on Trump or his associates but had found none. On March 4, six weeks after he took over from Obama, Trump made the wiretap accusations in a Twitter post. “How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!,” Trump wrote. At least four congressional committees included the startling accusation in their investigations of possible Russian meddling in the election campaign and Russian ties to Trump and his associates. On Wednesday, House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican, and top Democrat Adam Schiff told reporters they had seen no evidence that Trump Tower was tapped and said they would ask Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey about the issue during a public hearing on Monday. On March 9, Comey briefed Nunes, Schiff, Ryan, Burr, Warner  and three other top congressional officials on the same intelligence.  Trump appeared to back away from his accusation of wiretapping in a Fox News interview on Wednesday night. “But wiretap covers a lot of different things. I think you’re going to find some very interesting items coming to the forefront over the next two weeks,” Trump said.

Summary: प्रमुख रिपब्लिकन, डेमोक्रेट ने ट्रम्प के ओबामा के वायरटैप दावे को खारिज किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a couple of jolts when they met for the first time on Wednesday as leaders of the United States and Israel. If there were differences, the two men – each immersed in political turmoil on the home front - did all they could to mask them during a White House news conference brimming with smiles, asides and efforts to show how much they like each other. “Bibi and I have known each other a long time — a smart man, great negotiator,” said Trump, referring to the 67-year-old Israeli leader by his nickname. Netanyahu was equally effusive in response: “There is no greater supporter of the Jewish people and the Jewish state than President Donald Trump,” he said, referring to the 70-year-old U.S. president who took office on Jan. 20. Trump went some distance to embrace Netanyahu’s views, upending decades of U.S. Middle East policy by dropping insistence on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu sought to demonstrate personal chemistry with the American property-mogul-turned-politician, an acquaintance since the 1980s, especially after eight years of awkwardness and tensions with his predecessor, President Barack Obama.  But Trump caught Netanyahu off-guard, at one point saying that if a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was going to be reached, “Both sides will have to make compromises.” Turning to Netanyahu, he said, “You know that, right?”  Netanyahu looked momentarily startled and replied, chuckling, “Both sides.” Later, while responding to a question about settlements, a particular point of tension during the Obama years, Trump said, “I’d like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit.” Again, Netanyahu’s face registered surprise before he offered an ironic smile. “We’ll work something out,” said Trump, who has appointed his son-in-law Jared Kushner as his special adviser on the Middle East.  “I think we’re going to make a deal. It might be a bigger and better deal than people in this room even understand. That’s a possibility. So let’s see what we do.” “Let’s try it,” Netanyahu said. Studying his reaction, Trump quickly interjected: “That doesn’t sound too optimistic, but he’s a good negotiator.” In a play on the title of Trump’s 1987 best-selling book, Netanyahu responded, “That’s the art of the deal,” drawing laughter from the audience. Near the end of his comments, Netanyahu sought to show how well he knows Kushner, whose father, Charles Kushner, has donated generously to Israeli causes. “Can I reveal, Jared, how long we’ve known you?” said Netanyahu, looking to Jared Kushner, 36, who was sitting in the front row, next to his wife, Ivanka Trump. “Well, he was never small. He was always big. He was always tall,” Netanyahu said, implying he had known Kushner since he was a baby.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने मुस्कुराते हुए, हाथ मिलाते हुए और एक या दो झटके के साथ नेतन्याहू का अभिवादन किया


BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has issued a warning to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump over the dangers of protectionist trade policies, adding that what he called “fake news” coming out of Russia amounted to a propaganda war. “Whoever wants growth - and I trust this administration will be a growth-friendly one - must be in favor of open markets,” Schaeuble told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. “Protectionism can afford short-term advantages but is almost always damaging in the long term,” he added. The paper said Schaeuble was speaking before the publication of a Trump interview with German daily Bild, in which the president-elect threatened to impose a border tax of 35 percent on vehicles imported to the U.S. market. Schaeuble also said countries must do more to counter attempts to influence politics via fake news, highlighting the high-profile case of a German-Russian girl who Russian media said was kidnapped and raped by migrants in Berlin, a claim later refuted by German authorities.  “Some people are being misled by fake news from Russian-language, state- financed and directed television,” Schaeuble said. “One cannot describe this as anything but a propaganda war.”

Summary: जर्मनी के शेयबल ने संरक्षणवाद पर ट्रम्प को चेतावनी दीः डब्ल्यू. एस. जे.


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he was committed to working with U.S. President Donald Trump to advance  peace efforts with the Palestinians and with the broader Arab world. Netanyahu made the pledge in a speech to the largest U.S. pro-Israel lobbying group at a time when the Trump administration is seeking agreement with his right-wing government on limiting settlement construction on land the Palestinians want for a state, part of a U.S. bid to resume long-stalled peace negotiations. But Netanyahu, speaking via satellite link from Jerusalem, avoided any mention of the delicate discussions and stopped short of reiterating a commitment to a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Israel’s hand and my hand is extended to all of our neighbors in peace,” Netanyahu told the annual convention of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. “Israel is committed to working with President Trump to advance peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbors.” But he repeated his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, something they have refused to do. Netanyahu heaped praise on Trump, who has set a more positive tone with Israel than his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, who often clashed with the Israeli leader. He thanked the new Republican president for a recent U.S. budget request that “leaves military aid to Israel fully funded.” He also expressed confidence in a U.S.-Israeli partnership for preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, following its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and  for “confronting Iran’s aggression in the region.” Addressing AIPAC later on Monday, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, vowed that the Trump administration would watch Iran “like a hawk” to be sure it sticks to the nuclear deal. The accord, which Netanyahu opposed and Trump denounced during his campaign, gave Tehran sanctions relief in return for limits on its nuclear program. On the settlements issue, a round of U.S.-Israeli talks ended last Thursday without agreement. Gaps remain over how far the building restrictions could go, according to people close to the talks. Netanyahu’s coalition is grappling with divisions that have sparked speculation that he could seek early elections. Many Israelis had expected Trump, because of his pro-Israel campaign rhetoric, to give a green light for settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. But Trump unexpectedly urged Netanyahu last month to “hold back on settlements for a little bit.” There is skepticism in the United States and Middle East over the chances for restarting Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy.    Peace talks have been frozen since 2014. Most countries consider Israeli settlements, built on land captured in a 1967 war, to be illegal. Israel disagrees, citing historical and political links to the land, as well as security interests. Trump has expressed ambivalence about a two-state solution, the mainstay of U.S. policy for the past two decades, but he recently invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to visit.

Summary: इजरायल के नेतन्याहू ने शांति प्रयासों पर ट्रम्प के साथ काम करने का संकल्प लिया


BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Homeland Security chief John Kelly will attend the Munich Security Conference in February, and the event’s organizers said on Wednesday they expect other senior U.S. officials to attend also.  Mattis and Kelly were confirmed in their posts just days ago, following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.  “All signs point to a particularly strong participation of both the new administration, as well as Congress,” the group said in a statement.     Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer had invited Trump to visit Munich - and possibly the annual security conference - shortly after his election in November, although U.S. presidents have not attended the event in the past. U.S. vice presidents, by contrast, have frequently attended the annual event in Munich, which draws leaders and diplomats from Europe, the Middle East and the United States. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has been invited but it was not yet clear if he would attend, a spokesman said.  Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German envoy to Washington and the conference’s chairman, said participants would address issues such as the future of transatlantic relations, NATO and the EU, the Ukraine crisis, ties with Russia and the war in Syria. On Jan. 15, Trump said NATO was obsolete because it had not defended against terror attacks but that the military alliance was still very important to him. “I hope that we will not mince words and speak honestly about our disagreements as well as about our common interests and values,” Ischinger said in a statement. Other confirmed participants include U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, European Council President Donald Tusk, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the presidents of Poland, Ukraine, and Afghanistan, and the prime ministers of Norway, Hungary and Iraq. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will participate, as well as Sigmar Gabriel, who will take over as German foreign minister on Friday. Many business leaders, defense and foreign ministers, lawmakers and representatives of non-governmental organizations such as Human Rights Watch also take part.

Summary: ट्रम्प के शीर्ष रक्षा और गृह अधिकारी म्यूनिख सुरक्षा सम्मेलन में भाग लेंगे


WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The leader of the small nationalist party that will decide New Zealand s next government said on Wednesday that  huge  progress had been made in coalition talks, but he has dropped a self-imposed deadline of Oct. 12 to announce the new government. Prime Minister Bill English s ruling National Party won 56 seats at the Sept. 23 election, while a Labour-Green bloc have 54 seats, leaving both needing New Zealand First s nine seats to meet the 61 seats needed for a majority in parliament.  We re making huge progress finding what we agree on, what we don t agree on, what we can still negotiate on, where we might take things into the future by co-operation,  NZ First leader Winston Peters said after four days of talks. Peters told local media on Tuesday evening that he would not be ready to announce his choice by Thursday - a self-imposed deadline. Peters has held the balance of power now three times and has previously served in both National and Labour governments. The New Zealand dollar has fallen around 3.7 percent since the election against the U.S. dollar. The political uncertainty this week took the currency to its lowest levels since late May at $0.7052. The Kiwi has also been under pressure over concerns New Zealand First would see the new government adopt more economically interventionist policies. The party favors restrictions on foreign ownership and more central bank intervention in the foreign exchange market. On Tuesday, Peters fueled those concerns by telling reporters that exporters would welcome the recent fall in the local dollar, adding:  If you re an export-dependent nation, why would you persist with an inflated dollar?  On Wednesday, the Kiwi recovered ground, climbing to $0.7095, its highest since before the final election tally was released on Saturday.  Investors were taking advantage of the lull before Peters announces his decision to buy the currency while it was cheap and get out of short positions, according to brokers.   It s still anyone s guess which way the penny s going to drop with NZ First and people that have been short on the Kiwi will suddenly be thinking:  I may as well take some risk off the table here ,  said Stuart Ive, Wellington-based dealer at OM Financial.

Summary: न्यूजीलैंड फर्स्ट ने सरकार बनाने के लिए बातचीत में प्रगति का दावा किया, लेकिन निर्णय में देरी हुई


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday nominated Columbia University law professor Robert Jackson, an advocate for public disclosure of political spending by companies, for a vacant seat on the five-member U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If the nomination is approved by the U.S. Congress, Jackson would fill a spot reserved for a Democrat. His nomination, announced in a White House statement, follows a July decision by Trump to tap Hester Peirce, a former congressional aide, for a Republican seat on the commission. Approval of the nominees would bring the agency tasked with policing and writing rules for Wall Street to full strength and clear the way for SEC Chairman Jay Clayton to push ahead on an agenda of reducing the regulatory burden on public companies. Jackson is known for his advocacy work in trying to advance new rules at the SEC that would force public companies to disclose their political spending to investors.

Summary: ट्रंप ने एसईसी की सीट के लिए कोलंबिया के प्रोफेसर जैक्सन को नामित किया


(Reuters) - U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, considered a potential successor to recently departed Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, said on Tuesday he believed he could best serve the Trump administration in his current role.     “I feel like I want to continue to follow through on the policies we’ve put out and it’s where I think I can be most effective,” Gottlieb told Reuters in an interview in New York. He declined to say whether he had been approached about the job by the White House. “I’m not going to get into private discussions I might have had around that,” he said. Gottlieb is one of several potential candidates for the top job at HHS, a post vacated by Price last month following an uproar over his use of private jets for government business. Other names mentioned by health policy experts include Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Gottlieb has won mostly positive reviews since taking over as FDA commissioner in May. He has introduced policies tackling some of the country’s biggest health challenges, including opioid and tobacco addiction and rising prescription drug prices.  The top post at the FDA has always been difficult to fill, Gottlieb noted, and there have been long stretches where the agency has operated under an acting commissioner. Gottlieb once served as senior adviser to FDA commissioner Mark McClellan, who left the agency in 2004 after just two years to run CMS, a move that Gottlieb said was detrimental to the agency. “It’s always challenging to move an FDA commissioner,” he said. “Continuity of leadership there is important.” In a wide-ranging interview, Gottlieb said the situation on the ground in Puerto Rico, where 10 percent of drugs prescribed in the United States are made, was “very bad” and that shortages of some drugs could emerge within as little as two to three weeks. He also said the agency is going to more clearly define regulations around cell therapies. The law currently states that if a cell is extracted from a patient’s body and more than minimally manipulated it is a drug subject to FDA regulation. “Historically the FDA hasn’t vigorously enforced around that line because it didn’t have the implementing guidelines to do that,” he said. At the same time, the agency plans novel measures to make it easier for small academic centers to apply for FDA product approval by pooling data generated from similar work. “If academicians working at different academic sites are doing a similar procedure with stem cells, if they are all following the same protocol, then they’re going to be able to pool their data to submit it for regulatory approval,” he said.

Summary: खाद्य और दवा प्रमुख गॉटलीब ने स्वास्थ्य सचिव से बात की, कहा एफडीए में सबसे प्रभावी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States pulled out of a regional hearing held on Tuesday to discuss the possible effects on human rights from executive orders signed by U.S. President Donald Trump targeting immigrants and refugees, organizers said. The hearing by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), created by the 35-nation Organization of American States (OAS) to protect human rights in the Americas, follows concerns over the impact of three executive orders signed by Trump, including plans to build a wall on the border with Mexico. The U.S. government has appealed a federal judge’s halt on Trump’s ban on refugees and travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries. Trump said the ban was needed to protect the country from Islamist militants but immigration advocates said it discriminated against Muslims. Maria Isabel Rivero, a spokeswoman for the IACHR, said the United States advised the commission on Monday it would not attend the panel, which includes representatives from a number of regional human rights and immigration groups. “If the member state doesn’t want to be represented there is nothing we can do about it but the hearing goes ahead anyway,” Rivero said. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said government lawyers felt it would not have been appropriate to discuss the executive orders while some are under review by U.S. courts. “We did inform the IACHR of our inability to attend these particular hearings because of ongoing litigation around some of these executive orders,” Toner told a conference call with reporters. “We did not feel we could address concerns in an open hearing,” he added. Marselha Goncalves Margerin, advocacy director at Amnesty International, said the lack of U.S. representation at the panel showed “ a total disregard of its commitment to human rights.” She said while it was not unprecedented that member states that are the focus of a hearing do not attend, the panel was an opportunity for the United States to explain the executive orders.  “The U.S. has attended these hearings for the last eight years,” said Goncalves Margerin. “By failing to be present at this hearing, the U.S. joins Cuba and Venezuela in turning its back on people in the Americas who seek justice for human rights abuses.”

Summary: अमेरिका ने ट्रम्प के कार्यकारी आदेशों पर मानवाधिकार समिति से नाम वापस लिया


WEST BEND, Wis. (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said if elected he would force top administration officials to sign a pledge not to accept speaking fees from corporations with registered lobbyists or foreign countries for five years after leaving office.  The pledge - a rare policy pronouncement from the New York real estate mogul - was part of his criticism of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton who, along with her husband, former president Bill Clinton, have accepted millions of dollars in speaking fees since he left office.

Summary: ट्रंप का कहना है कि वह शीर्ष सहयोगियों को बोलने की फीस लेने से रोकेंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins on Tuesday was recorded making critical comments about the Trump administration’s understanding of the legislative process during a Senate subcommittee hearing. Collins discussed Republican President Donald Trump and the federal budget with Democratic Senator Jack Reed at the end of a Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies subcommittee hearing, according to a tape obtained by the Washington Post. On the recording, Collins suggests the Office of Management and Budget is being capricious in its approach to reducing spending. “No thinking about it, no metrics, no nothing. It’s just incredibly irresponsible,” Collins said, according to a Post report and accompanying audio. “I think — I think he’s crazy,” Reed replied in an apparent reference to Trump. “I don’t think he knows there is a BCA (Budget Control Act) or anything,” Collins later said, apparently referring to the president and a 2011 budget law. Collins spokeswoman Annie Clark told Reuters that Collins is worried about the elimination of funding for transportation and housing programs in Trump’s budget. Reed spokesman Chip Unruh said the senator was “letting Senator Collins know he’s in her corner.” “He has said it publicly and privately: The Trump Administration is behaving erratically and irresponsibly,” Unruh said in an email to Reuters. Later in the recording, Collins also responds to a Republican representative, Blake Farenthold, who said recently that he wished he could to challenge her to a duel over her healthcare bill opposition. Collins was one of just two Senate Republicans on Tuesday who voted against beginning debate on a bill to replace Obamacare. “Did you see the picture of him in his pajamas next to this Playboy bunny?” Collins asked Reed, saying that Farenthold was “huge,” and referencing a 2010 picture of Farenthold that made the rounds on Twitter. Collins said in a statement that “neither weapons nor inappropriate words” were the right way to resolve legislative disputes. “I received a handwritten apology from Rep. Farenthold late this morning. I accept his apology, and I offer him mine,” she said.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन सीनेटर ने ट्रंप की आलोचना की


PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - With Hillary Clinton sidelined by pneumonia, President Barack Obama took up the Democrats’ fight against Donald Trump on Tuesday, trying to quash the Republican presidential candidate’s bid to appeal to working-class voters. Obama, whose 50 percent job approval rating could help improve the climate for the Democratic ticket in the Nov. 8 election, rallied party faithful against Trump, the 70-year-old New York real estate developer, at an outdoor event in Philadelphia. “This is a guy who spent 70 years on this earth showing no concern for working people. He spent most of his life trying to stay far away from working people. He wasn’t going to let you on his golf course,” Obama said. Obama’s campaign appearance was his first as a solo act on behalf of Clinton as he tries to ensure Democrats retain control of the White House once his eight years are over in January. The president lauded new census numbers on income growth as proof that his administration’s policies have helped improve the economy, an attempt to undermine Trump’s argument that economic woes are deep. “By so many measures, America is stronger and more prosperous than when we started out on this journey together,” Obama said. Clinton, who was Obama’s secretary of state during his first term, rested at her home in the New York City suburb of Chappaqua, as she recovers from pneumonia. She was diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday but she kept it secret until she nearly collapsed on Sunday at a ceremony in Manhattan marking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. She is to return to the campaign trail on Thursday, her spokesman Nick Merrill said Tuesday evening. Her campaign said in a statement that she will deliver remarks in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday and “discuss her vision for an America that is stronger together.” Trump appeared at a campaign event in suburban Philadelphia after Obama departed, touting proposals that would allow families to deduct child-care expenses from their income taxes and establish paid maternity leave for women whose employers do not offer it. The plan, he said, was aimed to bolster working-class and middle-class families.  With his daughter Ivanka at his side, Trump also appeared to support equal pay for women, traditionally a core issue for Democrats.   “We need working mothers to be fairly compensated for their work and have access to affordable quality child care for their work,” Trump said.  As he did earlier in the day at a rally in Des Moines, Trump steered clear of mentioning Clinton’s illness but stepped up efforts to wring maximum advantage from her controversial comment that his supporters are “deplorables.”  “While my opponent slanders you as deplorable and irredeemable, I call you hardworking American patriots who love your country,” said Trump, who has tried to portray the former first lady as out of touch with ordinary Americans. Clinton said in a speech last week that half of Trump’s supporters belong “in a basket of deplorables” and accused them of being racist and homophobic. She later said she regretted the remark. Trump, who has often bragged about his wealth, has come under fire himself for rhetoric against minorities during his campaign, including describing Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists, suggesting that a judge could not be fair because of his Mexican-American heritage, and proposing a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the United States. After struggling in opinion polls in August, Trump has erased most of Clinton’s lead in national surveys and is competitive again in many battleground states where the White House race is likely to be decided.     The “deplorables” comment featured at a Trump rally in Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday night that saw a resumption of some of the violence that disrupted his events earlier this year.  “Never in history has a major party presidential candidate so viciously demonized the American voter,” Trump told the crowd.  Five people, including a minor, were arrested at the rally and charged with crimes including second degree trespassing and fighting in public, Asheville police said.  A man grabbed an anti-Trump protester’s neck and punched him during the rally, video from NBC and ABC showed. Police said they also obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect in that incident.

Summary: ओबामा ने ट्रम्प को मजदूर वर्ग का मित्र नहीं बताया


NEVATIM AIR BASE, Israel (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin has invested large sums of money to reduce the price of the F-35 stealth fighter program, a company executive said in Israel on Monday, responding to criticism from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about costs. “Since the beginning, we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to reduce the price of the airplane by about 70 percent since its original costing, and we project it to be about 85 million dollars in the 2019 or 2020 time frame”, said Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program leader. Babione was in Israel for the arrival of the first F-35s ordered by the Israeli air force. Trump wrote on Twitter earlier on Monday that the F-35 program and cost is “out of control” and that billions of dollars can be saved on military and other purchases once he is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

Summary: लॉकहीड मार्टिन का कहना है कि कंपनी पहले ही एफ-35 की लागत में कटौती कर चुकी है


NEWPORT, Wales (Reuters) - British police arrested three men in south Wales over last week s bombing of a busy commuter train in west London, meaning five people are now being questioned by detectives over the attack which injured 30 people.  A 25-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday evening in Newport, while two others, aged 48 and 30, were detained at another address in the Welsh town in the early hours of Wednesday, London police said.  This continues to be a fast-moving investigation. A significant amount of activity has taken place since the attack on Friday,  said Commander Dean Haydon, head of London police s Counter Terrorism Command.  We now have five men in custody and searches are continuing at four addresses. Detectives are carrying out extensive inquiries to determine the full facts behind the attack.  The home-made bomb went off on Friday during the morning rush hour on a packed train at Parsons Green underground station, engulfing the carriage in flames, although it appeared that the device did not fully explode.     In the aftermath, the authorities raised Britain s threat level to its highest rank of critical, meaning an attack was considered imminent, but lowered this after arresting two men on Saturday.   An 18-year-old was arrested in the departure lounge at the port of Dover on Saturday and another suspect, 21, was detained hours later in the west London suburb of Hounslow. Both were said by local media to have links to a property in Sunbury-on-Thames, a town just outside London, where police were carrying out a major search.  The house belongs to a couple who have fostered hundreds of children, including refugees. The leader of the local authority was quoted as saying the 18-year-old was an Iraqi who had come to Britain as an orphan.  Islamic State militants said they were responsible for the attack although both British and U.S. officials have cast doubt on the claim, saying there was no evidence any recognized militant group had ordered or organized the bombing. Friday s bombing was the fifth major attack regarded by authorities as a terrorist incident in Britain this year which have claimed the lives of 36 people.

Summary: ब्रिटेन पुलिस ने लंदन ट्रेन बम हमले के मामले में वेल्स में तीन लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया


KABUL (Reuters) - (This September 27th story has been refiled correct headline and first paragraph to show strike caused civilian casualties, not killed civilians; corrects second bullet point to say  missile malfunction .) Suicide bombers and militants firing mortars attacked Kabul s airport during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday, prompting a U.S. air strike that accidentally caused a number of civilian casualties, officials said. The clashes and casualties overshadowed a visit intended to demonstrate U.S. support for the Afghan government and provided a sharp reminder of the risks associated with a more aggressive U.S. policy that is expected to increase the number of air strikes. Hours after Mattis touched down in Kabul, militants fired high explosive ammunition including mortar rounds near the main airport and detonated several suicide vests in an attack claimed by both the Taliban and Islamic State. Gunmen holed up in a nearby house battled security forces for much of the day. U.S. forces conducted an air strike supporting an Afghan special police unit fighting the attackers but suffered a  missile malfunction , causing several casualties, the U.S.-led NATO mission there said. It gave no further details.      Resolute Support deeply regrets the harm to non-combatants,  the statement said.  We take every precaution to avoid civilian casualties, even as the enemies of Afghanistan continue to operate in locations that deliberately put civilians at very high risk.  Mattis  visit came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new strategy for Afghanistan, promising a stepped-up military campaign against the Taliban who have gained ground as they seek to re-establish their brand of Islamic law after their 2001 defeat. The strategy will give U.S. commanders greater freedom to use American firepower against the militants but, speaking a few hours before the air strike, Mattis said they would do  everything humanly possible  to prevent civilian casualties.  We are here to protect the Afghan people while we attack the terrorists,  he told a joint news conference with Ghani and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, accusing militants of hiding behind women and children. Mattis said the Taliban could not hope for a military victory and promised a more  holistic  approach without fixed timetables and involving other countries in the region, including Pakistan.  I want to reinforce to the Taliban that the only path to peace and political legitimacy for them is through a negotiated settlement,  he said. Ghani said his government  remains open to talks with the Taliban  as well as a peace strategy involving Pakistan. Mattis has said the United States will send an additional 3,000 troops to help train Afghan security forces, which are focusing on building up the air force and special forces, but he gave few details of what would change.  I don t want to tell the enemy exactly what we are doing but the whole point is to make certain we have a compelling battlefield advantage over anything the Taliban tries to mass against your forces,  he said. The Taliban have made steady inroads since NATO ended its main combat operation in 2014 and are now estimated to control or contest at least 40 percent of the country. Afghan commanders have regularly pleaded for more air support. However the Kabul air strike showed the risks that the new strategy could cause a repeat of the bitter disputes over civilian casualties that soured relations between Washington and the government of former president Hamid Karzai. Already in the first half of the year, as Afghan and U.S. aerial operations have picked up, U.N. figures have shown a 43-percent jump in civilian casualties caused by air strikes and Ghani called on his allies to limit the damage. There are now about 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan as part of the 13,500-strong NATO-led Resolute Support mission advising and training Afghan forces as well as a separate counter-terrorism mission, targeting Islamic State and al Qaeda. Trump has said he expects NATO allies to increase contributions of both troops and funding to the Afghanistan mission, and Stoltenberg said the credibility of the international alliance depended on maintaining support.  We know the cost of staying in Afghanistan,  he said.  But the cost of leaving would be higher. If NATO forces leave too soon, there is a risk Afghanistan may return to a state of chaos and once again become a safe haven for international terrorism.

Summary: मैटिस की यात्रा के दौरान काबुल हवाई अड्डे पर आतंकवादियों का हमला, अमेरिकी हमले में नागरिक घायल


DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain s government has crushed dissent and violently cracked down on protests in the past year, Amnesty International said on Thursday, and it accused Britain and the United States in particular of turning a blind eye to its abuses. Amnesty said in a report on Thursday that it had documented how the Bahraini government, from June 2016 to June 2017, arrested, tortured, threatened or banned from travel at least 169 activists and opponents or their relatives. Bahraini authorities could not immediately be reached for comment. Bahrain has repeatedly denied systematic rights abuses. Entitled  No one can protect you: Bahrain s year of crushing dissent , the report said that at least six people were killed, including a child, in the crackdowns. The report also accused Western governments, notably the United States and Britain of remaining silent. The two countries have a particularly high level of influence in Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based and where Britain s Royal Navy has a major facility.  Amnesty said U.S. President Donald Trump s policy has shifted from that of his predecessor, Barack Obama, who had publicly criticized the authorities of the tiny Gulf state.   In March 2017, President Trump told Bahrain s King Hamad  there won t be strain with this administration : Bahrain appears to have interpreted this statement as a green light to pursue its repression,  the report said. Bahrain has stepped up a crackdown on critics, shutting down two main political groups, revoking the citizenship of the spiritual leader of the Shi ite Muslim community and jailing rights campaigners. It denounced attempts by previous U.S. and UK governments to intervene in its campaign. In July, a Bahraini court sentenced rights campaigner and prominent activist Nabeel Rajab to two years in jail for allegedly making  false or malicious  statements about Bahraini authorities. Rajab is facing another trial and risks a further 15 years in prison for tweeting.  Using an array of tools of repression, including harassment, arbitrary detention and torture, the government of Bahrain has managed to crush a formerly thriving civil society,  Philip Luther, Amnesty International s director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement. Amnesty said it had received reports of nine cases of government critics being tortured in detention, eight of them in May 2017 alone. Bahrain has been a flashpoint since the Sunni-led government put down Arab Spring protests in 2011. The kingdom, most of whose population is Shi ite, says it faces a threat from neighboring Shi ite theocracy Iran. It accuses the Islamic Republic of radicalizing and arming some members of its majority Shi ite population in an effort to bring about the downfall of the ruling Al Khalifa family. Tehran denies any meddling in Bahrain.

Summary: बहरीन में एक साल के 'दमन' के बाद, पश्चिम चुप हैः एमनेस्टी


(Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Co separate $900 million contracts to continue work on a replacement for the AGM-86B air-launched nuclear cruise missile, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. Although the award for the new Long Range Standoff weapon (LRSO) comes amid rising tensions with North Korea, the Air Force had asked the defense industry last summer for proposals to replace the aging nuclear cruise missiles and intercontinental ballistic missile system as the military moved ahead with a costly modernization of its aging atomic weapons systems. “This weapon will modernize the air-based leg of the nuclear triad,” said Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson in a statement. LRSO, which is a plane launched weapon, “will be capable of penetrating and surviving advanced integrated air defense systems from significant standoff range” Lockheed Martin said in its statement about the award. The relatively small contract award is a milestone that allows Lockheed and Raytheon to continue parallel detailed development and prototyping for the cruise missile replacement. For the next four and a half years, the companies will perform the technology maturation and risk reduction of the weapon. Once complete, the Air Force will choose a single contractor for engineering, manufacturing and deployment. The Air Force plans to procure approximately 1,000 LRSO flight bodies, with development and procurement costs estimated at about $10 billion, according to an Air Force spokesperson. Only some of the bodies will be armed with nuclear weapons, the others will be used for testing or spares. The Air Force has said it plans to start fielding LRSO by 2030. The current cruise missile was first fielded in the early 1980s with a 10-year life. On Monday, the Air Force awarded Boeing Co and Northrop Grumman Corp separate contracts to continue work on the replacement of the aging Minuteman III ICBM system. Modernization of the U.S. nuclear force was expected to cost more than $350 billion over the next decade. The United States plans to replace its aging systems, including bombs, nuclear bombers, missiles and submarines. Some analysts estimated the cost at $1 trillion over 30 years.

Summary: अमेरिकी वायु सेना ने अगली पीढ़ी की क्रूज मिसाइल के लिए रेथियॉन, लॉकहीड को चुना


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The leaders of Mexico and Canada on Thursday pledged to work toward a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) even as talks taking place in the United States turned sour due to hard-line U.S. demands. Speaking in Mexico City as a fourth round of talks to rehash NAFTA was held near Washington, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said they were committed to a “win-win-win” deal. The talks in the United States hit obstacles, with tensions increasing dramatically Thursday due to U.S. demands that include adding a so-called “sunset clause” to NAFTA that would force negotiations of the $1 trillion pact every five years. Two sources with direct knowledge of the talks in Arlington, Virginia described the atmosphere as “horrible” and highly charged. “We will not be walking away from the table based on the proposals put forward,” Trudeau said at a news conference in response to a question about whether the clause was a poison pill for the talks. Asked whether bilateral deals were possible if talks failed, Pena Nieto said Mexico would keep working with both Canada and the United States to reach a deal that was beneficial for all three countries, but he suggested there could be other ways to move forward. “I think that Canada and Mexico share that the NAFTA agreement is a good mechanism, not the only one, but it is a good mechanism to boost the development of the region,” Pena Nieto said. U.S. President Donald Trump says NAFTA, originally signed in 1994, has been a disaster for the United States and he has frequently threatened to scrap it unless major changes are made. Besides the sunset clause, the United States also wants to modify dispute settlement mechanisms and boost the amount of U.S. content that autos must contain to qualify for tax-free status. Business leaders from all three countries have said the U.S. proposals could derail the talks.  Earlier on Thursday Mexican Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said Mexico was analyzing tariffs and import substitution plans in case NAFTA was scrapped. “We have the possibility of identifying tariff measures, we have the possibility to identify other markets to be our providers and other markets that we can turn to,” Meade told senators in the capital.  “We’re working on that, we have been working and perfecting the analysis to identify not only industries but companies that could help the contingency if we don’t reach a satisfactory negotiation.” Meade did not give details of what tariffs were being analyzed. In 2011, Mexico successfully used targeted tariffs on U.S. goods such as pork and cheese to win a dispute over trucks.  Meade’s comments and the tensions at the talks drove the peso to a nearly five-month low of 18.92 against the dollar, a fall of more than 1 percent in the session. The currency has shed close to 4 percent since Oct. 3 on concerns the NAFTA talks could founder.

Summary: कनाडा, मैक्सिको ने नाफ्टा वार्ता के साथ बने रहने का संकल्प लिया, मेक्सिको योजना बी पर काम कर रहा है


KIEV (Reuters) - Several thousand people marched through central Kiev on Sunday to protest against the detention of Ukrainian opposition figure Mikheil Saakashvili and call for the impeachment of President Petro Poroshenko. Saakashvili, president of his native Georgia for nine years until 2013, moved to Ukraine after a popular uprising there and served under Poroshenko as a regional governor from 2015-2016, before falling out with the Ukrainian leader. He was detained in Kiev on Friday, following a dramatic standoff earlier in the week where he clambered on a roof to avoid law enforcement and was freed from a police van by his supporters. He accuses the Ukrainian authorities of widespread corruption. Prosecutors accuse him of assisting a criminal organization, charges he says were trumped up to undermine his political campaign against Poroshenko. A large number of police in riot gear guarded Sunday s rally, which was peaceful in contrast with protests last week that resulted in clashes between Saakashvili s supporters and law enforcement.  A lot of people are looking for the changes. It is more difficult when Mikheil is not with us,  his wife, Sandra Roelofs, said in a speech at the rally.   We remember his words:  When they catch me, you continue despite anything, because Ukraine wants changes, Ukraine has to become a better country ,  she said. Protesters shouted  Shame  and  Impeachment  as they marched to Maidan square, the scene of the 2013-14 pro-European protests that ousted a Moscow-backed president and installed a new leadership that promised to eliminate entrenched corruption. A few snowballs were thrown at the windows of a branch of Roshen, the confectionary business owned by Poroshenko, who was a wealthy chocolatier before he went into politics. Saakashvili has launched a hunger strike to protest against his detention, which will last until a court rules on whether to release him under house arrest. The saga has attracted international attention to Ukraine at a time when the authorities face a chorus of criticism from reformers and foreign donors over perceived backtracking on reforms and attacks on anti-corruption institutions. While Saakashvili has a core base of supporters, he enjoys limited support across Ukraine. Only 1.7 percent of voters would support his party, the Movement of New Forces, in elections, according to an October survey by the Kiev-based Razumkov Centre think-tank.

Summary: हजारों साकाश्विली समर्थकों ने यूक्रेन के राष्ट्रपति के खिलाफ विरोध प्रदर्शन किया


TORONTO (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice will not be filing an emergency stay on Friday night to overturn a Seattle’s judge ruling that blocked a U.S. executive order temporarily barring refugees and nationals from seven countries from entering the United States, a spokesman said. The White House had earlier said the emergency motion would be filed “at the earliest possible time.”

Summary: न्याय विभाग सिएटल आप्रवासन फैसले के खिलाफ तत्काल रोक नहीं लगाएगा


SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday named a new attorney general and promoted two junior lawmakers from rural Queensland state to his cabinet in a reshuffle he hopes will bolster his flagging popularity. Australian leaders often revamp cabinets before the start of a new year but for center-right Turnbull the move is an attempt to salvage his leadership, ravaged by dismal opinion polls. Last month, Turnbull s ruling Liberal-National coalition made its worst showing in a Queensland election in more than a decade, when it won 34 percent of the vote as Pauline Hanson s populist One Nation clawed into its conservative base.  A large number of marginal seats in the country s third most populous state of Queensland often give its voters a crucial say in deciding federal elections. The reshuffle was sparked by the resignation of Attorney General George Brandis from the Senate. Turnbull said he would ask Brandis to be the country s next High Commissioner, or ambassador, to the United Kingdom. Turnbull gave cabinet positions to Queenslanders John McVeigh and David Littleproud, who both took office 18 months ago. He dropped infrastructure minister Darren Chester, from the urban state of Victoria, giving the portfolio to deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, the leader of the Nationals, which features prominently in Queensland.  It s a ministry that showcases the depth of the Liberal and National team, with well-earned promotions for talented individuals, a number of young and upcoming MPs bringing new skills and energy to the frontbench,  Turnbull told reporters in Sydney. Asked why he removed Chester, whose duties included running the Australian part of the fruitless search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Turnbull said his cabinet had  to take into account matters of geography , but did not elaborate. The pitch to voters in the northeastern state of Queensland was obvious, said Stewart Jackson, a specialist in Australian politics at the University of Sydney.      Everybody s been spooked by One Nation,  Jackson said.  The emphasis will shift back towards Queensland where the National Party was traditionally strong.  The overhaul also brings youth into a government that has narrowly retained its razor-thin majority in parliament after a constitutional crisis triggered a series of by-elections. The two promoted Queenslanders, Littleproud and McVeigh, are 41 and 52 respectively. The new attorney general, social services minister Christian Porter, from the iron ore-rich state of Western Australia, is 47. Employment minister Michaelia Cash, who takes the expanded title of minister for jobs and innovation, and Nationals member Bridget McKenzie, who joins cabinet as minister for sport, rural health and regional communications, are also 47. Turnbull gave no reason for the departure of Brandis after 17 years, but called him a  stalwart  who had backed tougher national security laws and the legalization of same-sex marriage, a measure parliament passed this month. In 2015, when Turnbull unseated then prime minister Tony Abbott, he said the move was necessary because Abbott s government had lost 30 opinion polls in a row. Under Turnbull, the government has lost 25 opinion polls in a row. Many commentators say that if the figure reaches 30, which could happen as soon as March, Turnbull s party may consider removing him.

Summary: ऑस्ट्रेलिया के टर्नबुल ने अपील को व्यापक बनाने के उद्देश्य से मंत्रिमंडल में फेरबदल किया


LONDON (Reuters) - Protecting Britain from cyber crime is as important as defending it against terrorism, the head of Britain s GCHQ spy agency said  on Monday. Britain has suffered a number of high-profile cyber attacks this year, including one in May on the state-run National Health Service which crippled some computer systems and caused huge disruption, and another on parliament in June. Writing in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Jeremy Fleming,  said the speed of technological advances, whilst providing great opportunities for businesses, individuals and countries, was also giving enemies new means to threaten the nation s security.  If GCHQ is to continue to help keep the country safe, then protecting the digital homeland   keeping our citizens safe and free online   must become and remain as much part of our mission as our global intelligence reach and our round-the-clock efforts against terrorism.  The National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of GCHQ, said last week it had dealt with almost 600 significant incidents which required a nationwide, coordinated response.   In July, Fleming s predecessor at GCHQ, Robert Hannigan, said Russia was causing cyberspace mayhem and should face retaliation if it continued to undermine democratic institutions in the West. Fleming said that Britons benefited greatly from the ease and speed of connections and from the security provided by default encryption.  Hostile states, terrorists and criminals use those same features... to undermine our national security, attack our interests and, increasingly, commit crime,  he said. Traditionally Britain s security chiefs rarely spoke in public but increasingly the head of the three intelligence agencies   GCHQ, MI5 and MI6   have become more open in explaining their work and countering criticism.

Summary: ब्रिटिश जासूस प्रमुख ने कहा कि साइबर सुरक्षा आतंकवाद से लड़ने के समान ही महत्वपूर्ण है


ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran and Turkey should prevent Iraq s Kurdistan region from declaring independence, Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Tehran, state TV reported. Relations have generally been cool between Shi ite Iran and mainly Sunni Turkey, a NATO member. But both have been alarmed by the Iraqi Kurds  vote for independence last month, fearing it will stoke separatism among their own Kurdish populations.      Turkey and Iran must take necessary measures against the vote ... and Baghdad should make serious decisions ... serious and rapid decisions must be taken,  Khamenei was quoted as saying.  The Iraqi Kurdish secession vote is an act of betrayal toward the entire region and a threat to its future.  Iran and Turkey have already threatened to join Baghdad in imposing economic sanctions on Iraqi Kurdistan and have launched joint military exercises with Iraqi troops on their borders with the separatist region.  Erdogan, who was on a one-day trip to Tehran, said earlier that Ankara was considering taking further measures against Iraqi Kurdistan.  We have already said we don t recognize the referendum in northern Iraq... We have taken some measures already with Iran and the Iraqi central government, but stronger steps will be taken,  he said. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Erdogan vowed to work closely together to prevent the disintegration of Iraq and Syria and to oppose the Iraqi Kurds  drive for independence.  We want security and stability in the Middle East ... The referendum in Iraq s Kurdistan is a sectarian plot by foreign countries and is rejected by Tehran and Ankara,  Rouhani said, according to state TV.   We will not accept a change of borders under any circumstances.  Iraq s autonomous Kurdistan region said on Tuesday it was calling presidential and parliamentary elections for Nov. 1. Baghdad responded by announcing further punitive measures. The central government, its neighbors and Western powers fear the vote in favor of secession could spark another, wider conflict in the Middle East region to add to the war in Syria. They fear it could derail the fight against Islamic State.  The Kurds are the region s fourth-largest ethnic group, spread across Iran, Turkey, Syria and Iraq, all of which oppose any moves toward a Kurdish state. Khamenei accused Iran s arch foe the United States of planning to create a new Israel in the Middle East by supporting the Kurdish vote in Iraq.  America and Israel benefit from the vote ... America and foreign powers are unreliable and seek to create a new Israel in the region,  he said. The United States opposed the referendum as a destabilizing move at a time when all sides in the region are still fighting Islamic State. Erdogan, whose security forces have been embroiled in a decades-long battle with Kurdish separatists in southeast Turkey, repeated his accusation that Israel was behind the Iraqi Kurds  referendum.  There is no country other than Israel that recognizes it. A referendum which was conducted by sitting side by side with Mossad has no legitimacy,  he said, referring to the Israeli intelligence agency. Israel has denied Turkey s previous claims of involvement in the vote, but has welcomed the Kurds  vote for independence. Rouhani also said that Tehran and Ankara planned to expand economic ties.  Turkey will import more gas from Iran... Meetings will be held to discuss the details,  he said.

Summary: ईरान, तुर्की को कुर्द अलगाव के खिलाफ कार्रवाई करनी चाहिएः खामेनेई


CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A federal judge in Cincinnati temporarily blocked the implementation of a state law that would have effectively de-funded 28 Ohio Planned Parenthood clinics, in a ruling on Monday. U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett granted a two-week stay halting the diversion of federal funding in a ruling on a May 11 lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and Southwest Ohio. The Ohio law signed in February by Republican Governor John Kasich stripped $1.3 million in federal taxpayer funds from any healthcare organization that provides abortion services. The law was scheduled to go into effect on Monday. The new rules affected funding for Planned Parenthood programs for mothers’ and infants’ health, HIV counseling and testing, and sex education. Planned Parenthood offers abortions in some of its Ohio clinics, but not all of them. In a 20-page opinion, Barrett said the law was enacted to make it difficult for women to obtain an abortion, and said that Planned Parenthood had shown it could successfully win its legal action. He wrote that Planned Parenthood would be “forced to end health care and education programs and terminate employees, depriving thousands of Ohioans of high-quality, affordable health care services and education programs.” Ohio already has a law barring the use of state funding for abortions. The lawsuit was one of a number of legal actions filed by Planned Parenthood over access to healthcare at its centers since mid-2015, when anti-abortion activists began releasing videos purporting to show group officials negotiating prices for aborted fetal tissue. Ohio Right to Life president Mike Gonidakis chastised Barrett as an “activist judge” for the ruling. “Despite the will of the people, Planned Parenthood will continue to feed at the trough of taxpayer dollars for another two weeks. Today, Planned Parenthood’s greed and power are on full display in Ohio,” Gonidakis said in a statement. Jerry Lawson, chief executive of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio, applauded the ruling. “This ruling is a victory for the tens of thousands of Ohioans that rely on Planned Parenthood for care each year,” he said in a statement. Planned Parenthood attorneys had argued that the new law would be an unconstitutional burden on abortion rights and that it violated the equal protection clause by treating the organization differently from other healthcare providers.

Summary: न्यायाधीश ने ओहायो कानून को रोक दिया जिसने नियोजित पितृत्व के लिए धन को अवरुद्ध कर दिया था


LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said Tuesday that farm officials want to lay the groundwork so American agricultural exporters can seize new opportunities in Cuba if the trade embargo on the country is lifted. The normalization of trade relations would allow U.S. farmers to use lower transportation costs to edge in on the European Union’s food exports to Cuba, Vilsack said. President Barack Obama has been using his executive powers to chip away at the half-century-old trade embargo, imposed on the communist-ruled nation in 1960, but cannot lift it without approval from Congress that is unlikely under current Republican leadership. “There are still preliminary steps that can be taken to prepare for that day,” Vilsack said in an interview in Peru. “When it happens, the United States will be in a very good position to reclaim a portion of the market we’ve lost.” Vilsack cited soybeans, rice, poultry and biofuels as new markets U.S. farmers could tap in Cuba, which in turn could sell organic products to its former Cold War foe. The Obama administration is asking Congress for $1.5 million for on-the-ground studies into challenges to agricultural trade in Cuba, from pests to a diplomatic void left by decades of hostile relations. “We have not had people on the ground,” Vilsack said. “We need to develop relationships with the people in Cuba so we know who to do business with and who actually makes the deals.” Vilsack, who visited Cuba last month, said state agricultural commissioners and secretaries have also been traveling to the island on trade missions. “They have been down to Cuba and they have come back with small contracts for commodities,” Vilsack said. Vilsack said farmers were the most excited about the reopening of relations with Cuba, once a global sugarcane powerhouse. The U.S. would aim to meet 50 percent of Cuba’s food and agricultural needs if trade resumes fully, up from less than 15 percent now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement to Reuters after the interview. Vilsack also said he was optimistic Obama would persuade Congress to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal before the end of his term, despite the recent surge in anti-trade rhetoric in presidential campaigns. “The president is very committed to getting it done and he intends to work as long and hard as he needs to ultimately get it passed,” Vilsack said.

Summary: यू. एस. डी. ए. प्रमुख ने कहा कि किसान क्यूबा के संभावित बाजारों की प्रतीक्षा कर रहे हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn declined on Monday to comply with a subpoena from the Senate Intelligence Committee as it investigates possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Flynn invoked his Fifth Amendment constitutional protection against self-incrimination, according to a letter to the Senate committee from his attorney, which was seen by Reuters. Flynn’s attorneys did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The retired lieutenant general is a key witness in the Russia probe, which has roiled the first months of President Donald Trump’s presidency with a spate of negative news reports. Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner, the top Republican and Democrat on the intelligence panel, said in a statement they were disappointed by Flynn’s decision, but would “vigorously pursue” his testimony and documents related to the investigation. The committee is conducting one of the main congressional probes into U.S. intelligence agency reports of Russian meddling in the election and whether there was collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and Trump denies any collusion. Separately on Monday, the Washington Post reported that Trump asked two of the country’s top intelligence officials, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael Rogers, to help him deny any collusion between his team and Russia during his presidential campaign. Coats and Rogers declined the request, the Post reported. Flynn apparently misled Pentagon investigators about his foreign connections when he sought to renew his security clearance in early 2016, according to a document obtained by congressional Democrats and released in part on Monday. Interviewed as part of the clearance renewal process, Flynn said all of his foreign trips as a private citizen “were funded by U.S. companies,” according to excerpts of a March 14, 2016, report compiled by security clearance investigators. In fact, a trip Flynn made to Moscow in December 2015, where he attended a gala dinner and sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was paid for by Russia Today, which U.S. officials consider a state-run propaganda arm, according to documents previously released by the House Oversight Committee. The document is the latest to shed light on how Flynn received a clearance and was hired as Trump’s national security advisor. He was forced to resign in February after less than a month for failing to disclose the content of his talks with Sergei Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, and misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations. Excerpts were released by Representative Elijah Cummings, ranking Democrat on the House committee. Flynn’s decision to decline to comply with the Senate Intelligence Committee subpoena was first reported by the Associated Press. His attorney wrote to the committee that “the context in which the Committee has called for General Flynn’s testimonial production of documents makes clear that he has more than a reasonable apprehension that any testimony he provides could be used against him.” Flynn’s legal team said he was rejecting the subpoena because the committee spurned his offer, made by the retired Army general in a May 8 letter, “to give a full account of the facts and to answer the committee’s questions, should the circumstances permit, including assurances against unfair prosecution. We stated that, absent such assurances, General Flynn would respectfully decline your request for an interview and for production of documents.” It was not clear what the committee would do if Flynn decided not to comply. Burr and Warren did not elaborate. Several panel members said they were waiting to learn more before coming to any conclusion about what might come next. “We’ll see what the future brings,” Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein told reporters, adding: “ This may portend that (Flynn) faces something serious.”     Senator James Lankford, a Republican panel member, said Flynn was within his rights to invoke the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. “We will get to the truth one way or another,” Lankford said on Twitter. “We need facts, not speculation & anonymous sources.” A Congressional Research Service report outlined three main options if Congress decides to enforce the subpoena: seeking criminal prosecution through the executive branch, asking the courts for a civil judgment and using a dormant power of “inherent contempt” to detain and imprison an individual. The latter option has not been used in 75 years. Congress has more often relied on the criminal contempt statute recently. Reuters reported on Thursday that Flynn and other advisers to Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the U.S. presidential race. Two other former Trump associates - one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Republican operative Roger Stone - have turned over documents the Senate panel had requested, while a third - campaign adviser Carter Page - had not yet complied, NBC News reported, citing a congressional source. Flynn has acknowledged being a paid consultant to the Turkish government during the campaign.

Summary: फ्लिन ने रूस की जांच में सीनेट के सम्मन को अस्वीकार किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it will take up a proposal this month to revise its rules to allow law enforcement personnel to identify threatening callers, following a series of threatening calls to Jewish community centers. In March, the FCC granted an emergency temporary waiver to Jewish community centers and telecommunications carriers that serve them to help track down callers who have made threats by unmasking phone numbers used to call in threats. FCC rules generally require phone companies to respect a calling party’s request to have caller-ID information blocked from the party receiving the call. Jewish community centers and schools in at least 13 U.S. states reported receiving bomb threats this year, stoking fears of a resurgence of anti-Semitism. The “episode raised the question of whether we need to make permanent changes to our rules,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a blog post Thursday. The FCC will “consider a proposal to change the rules to ensure that all threatened parties and associated law enforcement personnel have quick access to the information they need to identify and thwart threatening callers,” he added. In April, prosecutors identified an Israeli-American teenager accused of making dozens of bomb threats to Jewish community centers in separate criminal complaints filed in U.S. federal courts in Florida and Georgia that linked him to hundreds of threatening calls in 2015 and 2017. Michael Ron David Kadar, 18, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen who is Jewish and lives in Israel, made at least 245 threatening telephone calls between Jan. 4 and March 7 this year, many targeting Jewish community centers in the United States, according to the Florida complaint. The FCC has only rarely granted waivers to access caller information. In 2015, the Middletown School District in New York state was inundated by phone calls making terrorism threats from anonymous numbers. Following the calls, then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler approved a special waiver in 2016 to access the caller information of the individuals making the threats.

Summary: एफ. सी. सी. धमकी भरे कॉल की पहचान करने के नियमों में संशोधन पर मतदान करेगा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator John McCain said on Thursday the goal of the intelligence community’s review of Russian hacking and any influence on the 2016 U.S. election is not intended to question the result of the November poll. He also told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on cyber security issues that the panel, which he chairs, intends to hold a series of hearings on the issue during the coming months.

Summary: सीनेटर मैक्केन का कहना है कि रूस की हैकिंग जांच का उद्देश्य अमेरिकी चुनाव परिणाम पर सवाल उठाना नहीं था


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Expanding the U.S. Navy to 355 ships as recommended by military leaders and backed by President Donald Trump would cost some $400 billion more over the next 30 years than the currently planned 308-ship fleet, according to a study released on Monday. The annual cost to build, crew and operate a 355-ship fleet would be about $102 billion, or 13 percent more than the $90 billion needed for the currently planned Navy, according to the study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The $102 billion cost of the 355-ship fleet is 33 percent more than Congress appropriated in 2016 for the current 275-ship Navy, the CBO said. To achieve the larger force, the Navy would need $26.6 billion annually for ship construction, which is 60 percent more than the average amount that Congress has appropriated for shipbuilding in the past 30 years, the CBO study said. The Navy’s 2017 shipbuilding plan called for boosting the size of the fleet to 308 ships, which was expected to cost $21.2 billion per year to implement over 30 years. With Trump pressing for an expansion of the fleet to 350 ships during the presidential campaign last year, the Navy released a new force structure assessment in December seeking a 355-ship Navy. Taking into consideration older ships being retired, creating a 355-ship fleet would require the Navy to buy about 329 new ships over 30 years, compared with 254 under its previous plan for a 308-ship fleet, the CBO study found. The Navy would have to buy about 12 ships per year under the larger fleet plan, versus about eight per year under the earlier plan. The larger fleet would require more civilian and uniformed personnel and more aircraft, pushing up overall operating costs, the CBO said. The increase in shipbuilding would force all seven U.S. shipyards to expand their work forces and improve their infrastructure in order to meet the demand for vessels, the CBO said. The greatest challenge would be building submarines to meet the force structure requirements, the report said. The study said the earliest the Navy could achieve a 355-ship fleet would be the year 2035, or 18 years from now.

Summary: ट्रम्प समर्थित नौसेना विस्तार से 30 वर्षों में लगभग 400 अरब डॉलर की लागत बढ़ेगीः अध्ययन


MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish judge on Thursday freed on bail the Catalan parliament s speaker and four lawmakers while authorities continue to investigate their roles in Catalonia s banned independence drive. The Supreme Court had summoned them to answer charges of rebellion after they enabled an Oct. 27 declaration of independence that prompted the Spanish government to dissolve the Catalan parliament and sack the regional administration. Speaker Carme Forcadell will be transferred to the Alcala Meco prison outside Madrid and kept there until she pays 150,000-euro bail, court sources said. The four lawmakers must pay bail of 25,000 euros while a fifth was released without bail. Judge Pablo Llarena wrote in Thursday s ruling:  All the accused ... have expressed that either they renounce future political activity or, those that remain active, will in future renounce any actions outside the constitutional framework.  The judge s decision to reject prosecutors  requests to jail them gives the separatists, whose leader Carles Puigdemont went into self-imposed exile in Belgium last week, some breathing space as lower courts have been steadily tightening the legal noose. Eight former members of the Catalan government and the leaders of the two main pro-independence grassroots groups remain in custody awaiting trial at the High Court on charges of rebellion and sedition. On Thursday, the High Court rejected an appeal presented by their lawyers for their release, a court spokeswoman said. The High Court last week issued an arrest warrant on rebellion charges for Puigdemont, the former regional government president, and four former members of his cabinet who are with him in Brussels. After the ruling, Puigdemont tweeted:  Carme Forcadell will spend the night in prison for allowing a democratic debate. For allowing speaking and voting! That s Spanish democracy for you.  The Catalan independence push has deeply divided Spain, dragging it into its worst political crisis since the return of democracy four decades ago and fuelling anti-Spanish sentiment in Catalonia and nationalist tendencies elsewhere. The struggle has also divided Catalonia itself, and cracks have begun appearing within the pro-independence movement. On Tuesday, Puigdemont s PDeCAT party failed to agree on a united ticket to contest a regional election with another secessionist party, making it difficult for the pro-independence camp to govern Catalonia after the vote and press ahead with its bid to split from Spain. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called the election following the independence declaration, which the Constitutional Court ruled was against the constitution. Forcadell earlier told the Supreme Court that the declaration was not legally binding, according to court sources, in a comment that could undermine the secessionist push. At the time she described Rajoy s actions as a  coup  and an  attack against democracy . The Supreme Court on Thursday took a softer tone than the High Court did in its own ruling that jailed the former government members.  Citizens supporting an idea of independence is legitimate,  Judge Llarena wrote. But, he added:  It can be excluded that the accused aspired to gain independence through legal means.  The Supreme Court decided on Thursday to take over two other cases against Forcadell and the lawmakers currently overseen by a Catalan court, suggesting its judges were looking to centralize all legal proceedings involving the independence vote under one roof. The Supreme Court, which handles cases against defendants with parliamentary immunity, has legal powers to also take over the Spanish High Court case involving the government members but so far has made no statement on its intentions.

Summary: स्पेन की सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने कैटेलोनिया की संसद के अध्यक्ष को जमानत पर रिहा किया