WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in Congress, including party Senate leader Harry Reid, asked the FBI to investigate concerns that the Russian government may be attempting to undermine the U.S. presidential election through cyber attacks that could include tampering with voting results. “The prospect of a hostile government actively seeking to undermine our free and fair elections represents one of the gravest threats to our democracy since the Cold War,” Reid said in a letter to FBI Director James Comey. Reid’s letter, dated Saturday, was first obtained by The New York Times and shared on its website on Monday. It was followed on Tuesday by a letter from four Democrats asking Comey to assess whether campaign officials working for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump may be colluding with Russian interests to carry out recent hacks against the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in order to “interfere with the U.S. presidential election.” That letter was signed by Representatives Elijah Cummings, John Conyers, Elliot Engel and Bennie Thompson, each of whom serves as the top Democrat on a different congressional committee. Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Comey, speaking at a cyber security conference on Tuesday, declined to give details about what the Federal Bureau of Investigation was probing in connection with the political hacking but indicated the agency was closely watching what foreign countries are doing. “We take very seriously any effort by any actor, ... especially nation states, that moves beyond the collection of information ... and offers the prospect of an effort to influence the conduct of affairs in our country, whether that is an election or something else,” he said. The two letters follow a spate of hacking attacks targeting U.S. political databases, including some that officials and cyber security experts have blamed on hackers working for the Russian government. Kremlin officials have denied that. The FBI examined breaches in voter registration databases in Illinois and Arizona but did not specify who might have been behind it. Reid said that the threat of Russian government tampering in the election was “more extensive than widely known and may include the intent to falsify official election results.” He also voiced concerns about possible Russian government efforts to manipulate Trump’s campaign ahead of the Nov. 8 election, and to use it as a vehicle to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Summary: डेमोक्रेट्स ने रूस पर अमेरिकी वोट को प्रभावित करने की कोशिश करने के आरोपों की एफबीआई जांच की मांग की


(Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has confused a lot of English-speakers - though this time not about what he intends with his nuclear program. Responding to U.S. President Donald Trump s bellicose warning to Pyongyang in his first speech to the United Nations on Tuesday, Kim on Friday called Trump a  dotard  - at least in a translation by the state news agency KCNA. The obscure word is old - late Middle English, or around the 14th century - and means senile old person, someone in their dotage. Although Shakespeare and Tolkien used it, the word is barely heard these days and Kim s statement caused a Twitter storm of questions to Merriam-Webster dictionary about its meaning, while searches on Google also increased. Merriam-Webster responded with a tweet, defining dotard as  a person in his or her dotage,  which is  a state or period of senile decay marked by decline of mental poise and alertness,  which quickly became the top trending post on Twitter on Friday, with more than 7,400 retweets and 13,000 likes. There were more than 100,000 mentions of the hashtag #dotard and 189,000 mentions of the word on Twitter on Friday, according to international social media analytics firm Talkwalker. On Google s Ngram Viewer, which tracks the popularity of words over time,  dotard  was a word that peaked in the 18th century. Many social media users also took to Twitter to deliver their best jokes.  By making people look up the word #dotard, Kim Jong Un has done more for American education than Betsy DeVos,  wrote one user, @TurmUp_TheTweet. DeVos is the U.S. Secretary of Education. Other Twitter influencers did not find the insult amusing.   This hashtag is a disgrace: #DotardTrump,  tweeted LoConservative founder Kassy Dillon.  Whether you like him or not, Trump is your president & Kim Jong Un is a dictator & a murderer.   And novelist Elnathan John said:  Am I the only one who doesn t find this Trump-Jong Un war dance funny? Why are we all giggling at these two men who CAN destroy us? #dotard.

Summary: वैसे भी 'डॉटार्ड' क्या है? किम का ट्रम्प का अपमान


SYDNEY (Reuters) - It was supposed to relieve a headache for Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, but a postal vote on whether to legalize same-sex marriage has awakened interest in politics among young voters who could ultimately turf him out of office. There had been strong calls from the public for Australia to become the 25th nation to permit gay marriage, a move that Turnbull supports, but more conservative members of his Liberal Party oppose. Holding a wafer thin parliamentary majority of just one seat, Turnbull opted to call a non-binding ballot as it was  politically the least risky way of putting a highly emotive issue on the agenda. The fierce national debate that ensued persuaded many young Australians to take a far greater interest in politics than they had before. And while that might help Turnbull make the progressive,  liberal amendment to the marriage law that he personally supports, it could cost him in the long term as there is a strong likelihood that the new generation will lean toward the center-left Labor Party rather than his Liberals.  The issue of same-sex marriage has given the opposition a massive advantage in encouraging more young people, who are far more likely to vote for Labor, onto the electoral roll,  said Simon Banks, one-time chief of staff to former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Young Australians previously have been tardy about registering to vote, knowing that once they do the law requires them to cast their ballot or face a fine of A$110 ($86). But the gay marriage issue persuaded more to get their name on the electoral roll.  I wasn t planning to register to vote, I wanted to wait another few years but I wanted to have my say, I wanted to vote  Yes ,  said Rebecca Rodgers, 18, a student from Darwin in Australia s remote north who supports same-sex marriage. The number of Australians aged under 25-year registered to vote now stands at a record high of nearly 1.65 million, making up just over 10 percent of the electorate. Looking at Australia s finely balanced electoral map, there are a number of key marginal seats that could be decided by these young voters the next time the country goes to the polls. Coming from Solomon, Northern Territories, a constituency where the Liberal Party s small majority is endangered, Rodgers has already made up her mind.  I will never vote for Turnbull,  said Rodgers, an indigenous Australian dissatisfied with the ruling party s efforts to tackle the social ills afflicting her community.  Labor supporters are hoping that the new generation of voters will deliver a  youthquake  similar to the one that nearly carried Britain s Labour Party to an unlikely election victory earlier this year. A conservative with social liberal credentials, Turnbull had enjoyed support spread across all age groups since coming to power in 2015. But that appeal has faded, particularly among young people facing dimmer prospects because of the sluggish economy. Nearly one-in-five young Australians are underemployed, according to the Brotherhood of St Laurence, an anti-poverty community and advocacy group. A lack of job opportunities has stoked inequality, and left many young Australians priced out of the property market that has seen home values soar by 69 percent in just nine years. With opinion polls against him, Turnbull would probably favor hanging on until the last possible moment in 2019 to call an election, but Australia hasn t been giving its prime ministers the luxury of time. Turnbull is the country s fifth prime minister in the last decade, and there is already a constitutional crisis brewing that could precipitate an early election. Australia s High Court will rule on Oct. 13 on whether deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce can remain in parliament after being elected while holding dual citizenship, potentially ruling him ineligible under the country s constitution. If Joyce is ruled ineligible and Turnbull is forced to call an election, there will be little scope for him to win over the  youth vote without jeopardizing his core support among the more conservative middle-aged and retired voters, political analysts say.  The Liberal Party has always been very strong among over 55 s so the number one task is for the PM is to make sure that the core, base vote is as strong as he can make it,  said Grahame Morris, former chief of staff to John Howard, Australia s second longest serving prime minister.  If that base walks away, nothing else matters.

Summary: समलैंगिक विवाह मतदान से परेशान ऑस्ट्रेलिया का युवा गंभीर हो जाता है


DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump’s surprise defeat in Iowa at the hands of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz reflected shortcomings in his get-out-the-vote operations and an over reliance on his celebrity status in a state where voters prefer the personal touch. The New York billionaire and former TV reality star generated much enthusiasm for his anti-establishment message, but in the end he was out muscled by Cruz’ more traditional ground game and saw some late-deciding voters side with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio. All signs had pointed to a Trump victory in the first nominating contest in the race for the White House, with the Des Moines Register’s influential poll giving Trump the lead on the weekend before Iowans went to caucus on Monday.  The loss, while not by a large margin, raised questions about Trump’s ability to perform as well in voting contests as he does in polls. Prior to Monday, Trump had repeatedly boasted that he would easily win Iowa, and he has been the front runner in most national polls since last summer.  Sensing victory, Trump had mocked Cruz’s ground game in the hours before voters went to their caucus sites. “I hear they all have these great ground games, they’ve got people pouring in on buses and trucks,” Trump said at a campaign rally. “They are spending all the money they have from special interests. For our country, I want the person who is going to spend the least amount and get the best results.” Trump had relied on what Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann told Reuters was a “stealth” ground effort. For some though, the specifics of Trump’s plan for turning out his supporters on Monday were questionable. Instead of aggressively trying to convert any and all Republicans to his cause as Cruz did, Trump relied mostly on signing up supporters from among those who attended his rallies.  The challenge Trump faced was trying to persuade these people, many of whom had never participated in a caucus before, to show up. Tana Goertz, Trump’s Iowa campaign chair, was frequently an introductory speaker at Trump events and would encourage attendees to make sure they knew where to go to caucus. Leaflets were passed out reassuring voters that the ballot is secret and, “most caucuses take less than 1 hour.” “It’s new to a lot of these people who were supporting him,” said David McNeer, of Newton, Iowa, who steered his precinct into overwhelmingly voting for Trump. “It may be at the end that some of them didn’t come out like they thought were going to come out.” Trump’s bombastic style and flair for the dramatic may in the end have not helped as much as he would have hoped. As Cruz and Rubio went the more traditional route of talking to small groups of people at pizza parlors and hotel conference rooms, Trump would make a dramatic entrance in his private jet, emblazoned with his name, and tear into his rivals at rallies attended by thousands. He made pandering comments like wanting to buy a farm in Iowa and hoping his pregnant daughter would deliver her baby in the state. He did few small events. Gary Updegraff, an enthusiastic Trump backer and precinct chairman in Des Moines, said he believed Trump would adjust his style. “He’s a very smart man, he’s going to analyze this with his people, he’ll talk to his family probably about it. I think the genuineness of Donald Trump needs to come out a little bit more,” Updegraff said. Trump took some initial steps in this direction in the final days before the caucus. He appeared with evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr., who asked Trump friendly questions that played up the candidate’s contributions to charitable causes and pointed out he served cheeseburgers, not caviar, on his plane. At least some of his supporters think Trump might have performed better if he had participated in a Fox News debate last week instead of boycotting in opposition to anchor Megyn Kelly and a Fox news release he felt had a biting tone. “I think a lot of things caught up to him here in the last couple of weeks,” said Trump supporter Brett Ridge of Des Moines, speaking shortly after Trump’s concession speech. “When it comes down to it, he should have been at the debate last week.” Trump noted in his concession speech that some had argued he would never do well in the state. “Iowa, we love you,” Trump said in defeat. “You are very special. I think we might come back here and buy a farm.”  (Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson, editing by Paul Thomasch and Ross Colvin) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency.

Summary: ट्रम्प की हार ने उनके जेट-सेटिंग अभियान पर सवाल खड़े कर दिए हैं


BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand s military government on Tuesday said it will not yet lift a ban on political activity, despite a general election scheduled for next year and growing pressure from political parties to lift it. The ban on political party gatherings has been in place since the military seized power in a 2014 coup but there have been growing calls from all political groups to end the ban. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha cited persistent political divisions and mud-slinging as reasons why the ban should stay.  We will not lift the ban today but don t be frustrated,  Prayuth told reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.  Today we are still speaking evil. You must stop this so that everyone is at ease,  Prayuth said, urging all sides to put aside their differences. Earlier this month, Prayuth said Thailand would hold a general election in November 2018 - the news was largely welcomed by investors in Southeast Asia s second-biggest economy. There has been little opposition to junta rule since 2014, partly because authorities have arrested and jailed dozens of critics. The government had said that parties needed to wait until after the funeral of Thailand s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was cremated last week, for a decision on when normal political life will resume. Tensions have been festering in Thailand since 2006 when a coup removed then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Since then, the country has witnessed bouts of unrest including deadly street protests. Thailand is divided broadly between those who align themselves with Thaksin and his sister, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose government was removed in the 2014 coup, and the elite in the capital Bangkok. Thaksin is credited by some as being the first Thai prime minister to tap into the potential of the rural electorate. But he made many enemies among the elite who accuse him of corruption - which he denies. Both Thaksin and Yingluck live abroad. Yingluck fled Thailand in August ahead of a verdict against her in a negligence trial for which she was later found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. Thaksin fled to avoid a 2008 jail corruption sentence. Politicians from major parties were upset about the decision not to lift the political activity ban on Tuesday.  I want the junta to show some sincerity about the election by lifting the ban,  Sunisa Lertpakawat, a member of Thaksin s Puea Thai Party, told Reuters.  We haven t got much time.

Summary: थाईलैंड की राजनीतिक गतिविधियों पर प्रतिबंध अभी के लिए बना हुआ हैः प्रधानमंत्री


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is expected to unveil his strategy this week to overturn landmark 2015 net neutrality rules, a move that will kickoff a new battle over the future of the internet. Ajit Pai, who was named chair of the FCC by President Donald Trump in January, will deliver a speech titled “The Future of Internet Regulation” on Wednesday in Washington, the FCC said. Sources said Pai is expected to announce that he will begin the process of taking public comment to repeal the rules approved by the FCC under President Barack Obama in early 2015. The FCC could hold an initial vote on his proposal at the FCC’s May 18 meeting, the sources said. Pai’s office declined to comment. The rules approved by the FCC in 2015 prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to speedy internet, essentially a “fast lane,” to certain internet services over others. The 2015 FCC rules reclassified internet service providers much like utilities. A federal appeals court upheld the rules last year. Internet providers like AT&T Inc (T.N), Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) have argued net neutrality rules make it harder to manage internet traffic and investment in additional capacity less likely. Advocacy group Free Press Chief Executive Craig Aaron said Monday Pai wants to hand over control of the internet to providers “no matter the cost to our economy and democracy.” Pai, who opposed the net neutrality reclassification in 2015, has repeatedly said he backs a “free and open internet” but under a different regulatory scheme. Some analysts have said FCC action to roll back net neutrality rules could put pressure Congress to adopt legislation that clarifies the extent of FCC authority to regulate internet service. FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said on Thursday that Congress should adopt legislation to resolve the issue and determine “whether there should be rules.”      Websites worry that without the rules they might lose access to customers. Democrats and privacy advocates have said net neutrality is crucial to keeping the internet open.    Reuters and other news outlets reported in early April that Pai was moving quickly to replace neutrality rules. Pai told reporters Thursday he has been meeting with major internet companies and trade groups to discuss ways of protecting an open internet.  “There’s common ground here and there’s room for an agreement here,” Pai said. “Going forward we want to make sure that we have a light touch regulatory framework.” It is not clear what alternative legal framework Pai may endorse to guarantee an open internet. The Internet Association, a group representing Facebook Inc (FB.O), Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and others, met with Pai this month and said “the internet industry is uniform in its belief that net neutrality preserves the consumer experience, competition, and innovation online,” according to a letter filed with the FCC.

Summary: एफ. सी. सी. के अध्यक्ष से उम्मीद की जा रही है कि वे नेट निरपेक्षता को उलटने की रणनीति का खुलासा करेंगेः सूत्र


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday material used in an NBC report about alleged Russian hacking to influence the 2016 U.S. election was not leaked by the White House. President-elect Donald Trump said earlier on Friday that he would ask congressional committees to investigate NBC’s receipt of top secret information. “I certainly feel confident in saying that is not material that was leaked to the public by the White House,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a daily briefing.

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस का कहना है कि उसने एनबीसी रिपोर्ट में इस्तेमाल की गई सामग्री को लीक नहीं किया


BEIRUT (Reuters) - The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has taken the National Hospital in Raqqa, one of Islamic State s last remaining bastions in its former Syrian capital, a militia spokesman said on Tuesday.  The SDF, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, is now fighting Islamic State in the area around Raqqa stadium, said the spokesman Mostafa Bali in a message.   During these clashes, the National Hospital was liberated and cleared from the Daesh mercenaries, and 22 of these foreign mercenaries were killed there,  said Bali.  The stadium is the last major position held by Islamic State after four months of battle in Raqqa and the departure of some of its fighters under a deal on Sunday, leaving only foreign jihadists.  Islamic State has lost swathes of its territory in Syria and Iraq this year, including its most prized possession Mosul, and in Syria it has been forced back into a strip of the Euphrates valley and surrounding areas of desert.  The SDF has been supported by a U.S.-led international coalition with air strikes and special forces operating on the ground since it started the fight for Raqqa in early June.

Summary: U.S.-backed मिलिशिया का कहना है कि वे आईएसआईएस से प्रमुख रक्का स्थिति लेते हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House economic adviser Gary Cohn on Thursday said the administration now expects U.S. economic growth to be “substantially” higher than 3 percent, saying the boost would pay for Republicans’ tax plan.       “We think we can pay for the entire tax cut through growth over the cycle,” Cohn told CNBC. “Our plan was based on a 3 percent GDP growth. We think we can now be substantially above 3 percent GDP growth,” citing the administration’s plans on deregulation and tax reform.

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस के कोहन का कहना है कि अब कर योजना के लिए भुगतान करने के लिए 3 प्रतिशत से अधिक की वृद्धि देखी जा रही है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, reacting to President Donald Trump s comment that Puerto Rico had thrown the U.S. budget  out of whack,  said on Tuesday Trump should stop blaming Puerto Ricans for the hurricane that devastated the island.  Mr. President, stop the blame game. Start making the situation better. That s your job,  Schumer told reporters.

Summary: डेमोक्रेटिक सीनेटर शूमर ने ट्रम्प से कहाः प्यूर्टो रिकान लोगों को दोष देना बंद करें


BEIJING (Reuters) - China s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that China s position on the deployment in South Korea of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system is consistent and has not changed. China has repeatedly opposed the deployment, but earlier on Tuesday Beijing and Seoul agreed to work swiftly to get relations back on track following a year-long standoff over THAAD.

Summary: चीन का कहना है कि दक्षिण कोरिया में थाड प्रणाली पर स्थिति नहीं बदली है


(Corrects source in headline and first paragraph of Dec. 5 story; adds source in third paragraph) By Vladimir Soldatkin MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has communication channels with North Korea open and Moscow is ready to exert its influence on Pyongyang, Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov as saying on Tuesday.  We have channels, through which we are conducting a dialogue, and we are ready to deploy them, we are ready to exert our influence on North Korea,  Morgulov was quoted as saying at a conference in Berlin.      He also said that neither Washington nor Pyongyang want a real war  but such scenarios exist , according to RIA news agency. The Kremlin has traditionally protected the reclusive state though the latest Pyongyang tests have irked Moscow. North Korea, which conducted its sixth and largest nuclear bomb test in September, has tested dozens of ballistic missiles under Kim Jong Un s leadership in defiance of international sanctions. Morgulov called for other measures than isolation to exercise in dealing with North Korea.  We believe that the isolation alone...will not work, this won t take us forward. By doing this, we will only worsen the situation, which is dangerous. We are really on the brink of a real war,  he said. In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said the Trump administration still wanted a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the nuclear and missile threat from Pyongyang but said:  (North Korea) has shown through its actions that it is not interested in talks. We must remain focused on increasing the costs for Pyongyang to continue to advance its WMD programs.  Morgulov was also quoted as saying that North Korea was seeking a direct dialogue with the United States on its nuclear program, while it was not in need of security guarantees either from China or Russia.

Summary: रूस ने कहा, उत्तर कोरिया पर प्रभाव डालने के लिए तैयारः इफैक्स


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will speed up work on reducing dependency on U.S. payment systems and the dollar as a settling currency, RIA news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Monday. It is a response to the new sanctions against Russia reluctantly signed into law last week by U.S. President Donald Trump. The sanctions targeted Russia’s energy sector, with new limits on U.S. investment in Russian companies. “We will of course intensify work related to import substitution, reduction of dependence on U.S. payment systems, on the dollar as a settling currency and so on. It is becoming a vital need,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying. “(Otherwise) we will always sit on their hook, exactly what they need,” he said, referring to the United States. Russia has already introduced a new national payment system to cut reliance on Western systems, such as Visa and MasterCard. Those operators stopped providing services to clients of one Russian bank after Washington imposed sanctions over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis, including its annexation of Crimea from Kiev and support of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Russian payment system is called Mir, which translates as “World” or “Peace”. “Your card is free from external factors. Created in Russia,” runs an advertisement for Mir cards. To date, more than 13.9 million Mir cards have been issued in Russia, according to the Russian National System of Payment Cards (NSPK), or about 10 percent of the country’s population.  NSPK was established in 2014 and is 100 percent owned by the central bank.  More than 380 banks working in Russia accept these cards which are issued by 120 banks. Practically all trade and service points, including cafes, shops, restaurants and petrol stations accept payments with Mir cards. Furthermore, Mir cards are welcome in sanctions-hit Crimea where Western banks are prohibited to operate.

Summary: मास्को अमेरिकी भुगतान प्रणालियों पर निर्भरता में कटौती करेगाः आर. आई. ए.


MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine lawmakers on Wednesday said they would hold more hearings before deciding whether to confirm the appointment of the country s environment minister, although some said they were likely to approve the step. The confirmation of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu is being closely watched given the policy implications for the mining sector in the world s top nickel ore supplier. Cimatu, a former soldier, replaced staunch environmentalist Regina Lopez who was rejected by the same legislative panel in May after less than a year in office. All ministerial appointments in the country go through a similar process. During her term, Lopez ordered the closure or suspension of 26 of the nation s 41 mines and banned open-pit mining, measures that Cimatu has not reversed. He has said his team was still reviewing the closure and suspension orders.  I am not pessimistic about his confirmation, but we need additional hearings,  Senator Tito Sotto, part of the 25-member Commission on Appointments, told reporters.     Apart from Sotto, two other senators, Juan Miguel Zubiri and Gregorio Honasan, also expressed support for Cimatu.  This is a proud moment for me,  Honasan, also a former soldier, said at the hearing.  I can vouch for his competence and integrity.  The next hearing is set for Sept. 27. Mining is a contentious issue in largely underexplored Philippines following past examples of environmental mismanagement. In 1996, a tailings leak at Canadian-owned Marcopper Mining Corp s copper mine in Marinduque contaminated rivers. The sector contributes less than 1 percent to the economy, with only 3 percent of the 9 million hectares identified by the state as having high mineral reserves being mined, according to government data.

Summary: फिलीपींस के सांसदों ने पर्यावरण मंत्री की नियुक्ति पर फैसला टाला


ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria s next presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on Feb. 16, 2019, the Independent National Electoral Commission said on its official Twitter account on Thursday. The date will mark the end of ailing President Muhammadu Buhari s first term. He has not said if he will run again. Buhari came to power in 2015, promising to crack down on endemic corruption, rid the country of the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency in the northeast and kickstart a flagging economy. Critics say his presidency has been marred by inertia and little progress has been made on those key policies. Buhari has been absent for much of 2017 because of an undisclosed medical problem, which calls into question whether he will stand next year. It also creates uncertainty for his All Progressives Congress party that was created to elect him. A presidency spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Buhari s plans.

Summary: नाइजीरिया में 16 फरवरी, 2019 को राष्ट्रपति और संसदीय चुनाव होंगे


NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic U.S. congressman is asking the Department of Energy’s watchdog to investigate Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s travel on chartered aircraft, the congressman said at a hearing on Thursday. U.S. Representative Frank Pallone said Perry’s trips on chartered planes need scrutiny in light of the “extreme” budget cuts the department faces in a 2018 federal budget proposed by Republican President Donald Trump.  In a letter on Thursday to the Energy Department’s inspector general, Pallone cited a $35,000 trip Perry took from Washington to a private airport in Kansas that was within a 45-minute drive of Kansas City International Airport. “It is unclear why Secretary Perry would require such costly travel in instances where more economical options were readily available,” Pallone wrote. Perry said in his opening statement to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy hearing, that as a former Texas governor he understood the issue of travel oversight and the need to spend money on travel appropriately and thoughtfully. “I travel a lot to do my job. I do it in a way that I think is thoughtful,” he said. Perry’s charter flights have cost taxpayers more than $56,000, according to records the Energy Department released to Reuters on Friday. One of those flights - from a coal mine in Pennsylvania to a nuclear facility in Ohio - occurred just a day before former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned and promised to repay the government for some $52,000 worth of travel including private flights. Perry said on Thursday it would have been “very difficult” to take a commercial flight from the Pennsylvania site to the Ohio plant. Pallone’s letter, which Democratic Representatives Diana DeGette and Bobby Rush also signed, asked the inspector general to determine whether there was a “mechanism for Secretary Perry to reimburse taxpayers” for the flights if they failed to meet ethical and procedural criteria for government travel.  A spokeswoman for the inspector general’s office said the office had received the letter and the inspector-general was reviewing its contents.  Inspectors general for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Interior Department have opened similar investigations into charter travel by Trump’s EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

Summary: सांसद ने अमेरिकी ऊर्जा सचिव से चार्टर्ड उड़ानों की जांच की मांग की


GRAPEVINE, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. immigration authorities signed deals on Monday with 18 of Texas’ 254 counties to expand a program that allows jailers at local sheriffs’ offices to cooperate with federal authorities in immigration enforcement. The deal signed at a sheriffs’ meeting in suburban Dallas comes as both the administration of U.S. Republican President Donald Trump, and Texas, the most populous Republican-controlled state, seek to crack down on “sanctuary cities,” places that shield immigrants who are in the country illegally. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reached what is known as a 287(g) agreement with the counties. The deal trains local agents in the sheriff’s offices to check if the people they have in custody may be in violation of U.S. immigration law. The program has been on the books since 1996 and allows the Department of Homeland Security to enter into formal written agreements with state and local police departments for officers to perform some of the functions of federal immigration enforcement officials.  “There’s no doubt that arresting removable aliens in a jail  is safer for the officers, safer for the community and even safer for the alien himself,” Acting ICE Director Tom Homan told a news conference. A.J. Louderback, sheriff of Jackson County, told the news conference that his county southwest of Houston joined the program to control criminality. The sheriff of Harris County, the most populous county in the state and home to Houston, dropped out of the program earlier this year, saying it cost his office too much in terms of manpower and money. Many of the 18 counties, which have a total population of about 1.5 million, are near Harris County. Texas has a population of about 28 million. The new agreement in Texas is for jails, but a task force model of the program has been used to allow police on patrol to check on people’s immigration status. Civil rights groups contend the method promotes illegal racial profiling. Former President Barack Obama’s administration wound down the task force model and only six new agreements were added between 2012 and 2016, according ICE, part of Homeland Security.  With the addition of the 18 programs in Texas, ICE now has 60 active 287(g) agreements, nearly double the number of programs that were active in 2016. The mandate to expand the program was outlined in an executive order on immigration enforcement signed just days after Trump took office in January.

Summary: ट्रम्प प्रशासन ने आप्रवासन पर टेक्सास काउंटियों के साथ समझौता किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May will speak in a call scheduled for later on Tuesday, the White House said. The White House gave no other details about the discussion, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET. The call comes after the two leaders met in Washington last month.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के प्रधानमंत्री से बात करेंगे ट्रंपः व्हाइट हाउस


ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - As U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson heads to Pakistan on Tuesday to pressure Islamabad to act over militants targeting Afghanistan from its soil, anxious Pakistanis may be equally interested in dissuading Washington s deepening ties with India. Nuclear-armed Pakistan, a staunch U.S. Cold War ally and key player in the U.S.-backed invasion of Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, has watched warily as Washington has in recent years pivoted towards its arch-foe. Islamabad views its much-bigger neighbor as an existential threat and the two nations have fought three wars since their violent separation at the end of colonial rule in 1947. Tillerson, due to meet Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Pakistan s powerful military chiefs in a one-day visit, is expected to urge Pakistan to do more to root out Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network militants operating on its soil. But he is also expected to hear Pakistani officials warn him that drawing nuclear-armed India deeper into Afghanistan would destabilise the region and do little to end the 16-year war that is now America s longest military conflict.  Bringing India into the mix is like adding kerosene to fire,  said Miftah Ismail, a state minister and close ally of Prime Minister Abbasi.  It s a complete red line. India has no political role to play in Afghanistan as far as we are concerned.      Many Pakistanis feel betrayed that its traditional ally is now cosying up to India over Afghanistan. But the anger runs both ways. The United States accuses Pakistan of playing a double game since 2001, offering public backing to Washington while turning a blind eye, or even at times assisting, the Afghan Taliban and other militants who carry out deadly attacks against U.S. forces and their allies in Afghanistan. Pakistan supported the Afghan Taliban in the 1990s as a hedge to Indian influence in Afghanistan, and analysts say its military and security services maintained ties long after the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001. Pakistan denies providing a safe haven for Afghan Taliban and other militant fighters. Tillerson, during a visit to Afghanistan on Monday, said Washington has made some  very specific requests of Pakistan in order for them to take action to undermine the support the Taliban receives and other terrorist organizations receive . U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis earlier this month said the United States would try  one more time  to work with Pakistan in Afghanistan, before opting for more punitive measures. President Donald Trump has vowed to be tougher on Pakistan than his predecessors. The United States has threatened further military aid cuts and U.S. officials have mooted targeted sanctions against Pakistani military figures, but in the past two weeks there have been hints of a slight thawing in ties. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Tillerson last week called Abbasi to thank Pakistan after its army rescued a U.S.-Canadian couple who were held hostage by the Taliban-allied Haqqani network for nearly five years, along with their three children born in captivity. Relations were further boosted when Omar Khalid Khorasani, leader of the lethal Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) group who Islamabad had been trying to catch for years, was killed by a U.S. drone strike last week. India has increased aid to Afghanistan in recent years and last year promised to ship more arms. Such moves have aggravating fears in Pakistan that it will find itself wedged between two hostile neighbors.  Islamabad bristles at the idea that India holds the key to ending the Afghanistan conflict, and fears U.S. meddling could unsettle a delicate balance of power in South Asia.  Promoting a higher involvement of India in Afghanistan will only worsen the historic strategic rivalries playing out in the region,  said Sherry Rehman, Pakistan s former ambassador to United States and a senior member of the opposition Pakistan People s Party. Pakistan points to the 3.5 million Afghan refugees it hosts as proof that it has more than anyone else to lose from chaos in Afghanistan, and has emphasized the need for greater cooperation and intelligence sharing with United States and Afghanistan. But while Pakistan may not like it, India looks set to continue playing a role in Afghanistan, according to Sushant Sareen, a foreign policy analyst at the Vivekananda International Foundation, a think-tank with ties to the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.   The message is very clear that India is an important player when it comes to coordinating policies between Afghanistan and Washington,  said Sareen.

Summary: टिलरसन के पाकिस्तान जाने के बीच इस्लामाबाद संबंधों को गहरा करने से सावधान


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. congressman John Conyers faced increasing pressure to resign on Wednesday, with the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives saying he should step aside if sexual harassment accusations against him were true. With Congress in session, Conyers returned to his home district in Detroit on Tuesday. He has been accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward women who worked for him.  The latest accusation was reported by the Detroit News, which cited a former staffer as saying Conyers sexually harassed her three times between 1997 and 1999. Conyers, 88, has denied the accusations and said he would cooperate with a House Ethics Committee investigation. Asked if Conyers was planning to resign, his attorney Arnold Reed told Reuters, “No.” The Detroit News earlier quoted Reed as saying, “He’s not going to be forced out of office, and no one has told him he has to leave.” “Notwithstanding the credibility of the witnesses, we have a process to determine were these allegations founded? And if they’re founded, yes, he should resign,” Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, said in an interview with MSNBC. Conyers’ office did not reply to a Reuters request for comment. The Michigan lawmaker has stepped down as the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee pending the outcome of the ethics investigation. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, said it was up to Conyers to decide if he should resign from the chamber. “I know what I would do if this happened to me. I will leave it up to him to decide what he wants to do. I think he made the right decision in stepping down from his leadership position,” Ryan said. The House on Wednesday passed a resolution requiring members and their staff to take annual training on sexual harassment.    A bipartisan group of House members also introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of public funds to settle sexual harassment claims against members, and require all previously made payments to be made public. Conyers and his wife Monica left their house in Detroit in separate vehicles on Wednesday. He did not talk to reporters who had gathered outside. Some of Conyers’ colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus have been privately pressing him to resign, according to Democratic aides. Representative Joe Crowley, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, said he believed that in Michigan, Conyers was “taking counsel from his family as well as his constituents.” “And I believe at the end of the day the right thing will be done. I think accountability will be had,” Crowley told a news briefing. Democratic Representative Linda Sanchez said lawmakers were trying to pursue a fair process for both sides. “It appears that there’s more than one complainant, which does heighten my sense of ‘there may be something there,’” Sanchez said, adding that she could not call for Conyers’ resignation unless she has heard all the evidence. Sexual harassment accusations have been made against a number of public figures in recent weeks, including former Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein, Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama and Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota.

Summary: कांग्रेसी कोनयर्स पर इस्तीफे का दबाव बढ़ रहा है


MONROVIA (Reuters) - Liberia s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Tuesday said democracy in the West African country was being threatened, a day after the Supreme Court put a presidential runoff on hold over fraud allegations. Former footballer George Weah was initially set to face Vice-President Joseph Boakai on Tuesday to determine who will replace the term-limited Nobel Peace Prize laureate.  A successful vote would be Liberia s first democratic transfer of power in more than seven decades. But on Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the elections commission to fully examine allegations levelled by Charles Brumskine, who finished third in last month s first round poll. The ruling could push back the run-off date by weeks or even result in the first round being re-run.  Democracy is only as strong as its weakest link and at these moments, our democracy is under assault. Our country s reputation is under assault, our economy is under stress,  Johnson Sirleaf said in a radio address. The National Elections Commission (NEC) has said the first round of voting was largely fair, and international observers said they saw no major problems with the poll. However Brumskine s complaint cites gross irregularities and accuses NEC officials of fraud, an allegation the body denies. A growing chorus of parties have voiced support for Brumskine s case, including Boakai s ruling Unity Party, which last week accused Johnson Sirleaf, one of its own members, of trying to influence the vote. She rejected the accusation.  Allegations, hate speech, inciteful language has been defining what should be a proud moment in our history,  she said on Tuesday.  We politicians must do better ... Historians will look back at this time and judge us by how we conduct ourselves at this critical moment in time.  Boakai, Brumskine and two other first-round candidates - Alexander Cummings and Benoni Urey - held a meeting in the capital Monrovia on Tuesday. While they called upon their supporters to remain calm and pledged to respect the law, they also vowed to fight to ensure the credibility of the vote.  We thought this would be peaceful, transparent, and meet the standard that it would bring dignity to our country,  Boakai said afterward.  Unfortunately the process was peaceful but not transparent, not credible and didn t represent the will of the Liberian people.

Summary: लाइबेरिया के राष्ट्रपति का कहना है कि 'हमारे लोकतंत्र पर हमला हो रहा है'


LONDON (Reuters) - Britain s government said on Thursday it would use legislation to fix the time and date of the country s European Union exit, addressing concerns of Brexiteers who fear slow negotiations and opposition to the divorce could cause delays.  The government said it was proposing a change to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill currently making its way through parliament to set the exit for 2300 GMT on March 29, 2019.   We ve listened to members of the public and Parliament and have made this change to remove any confusion or concern about what  exit day  means,  Brexit minister David Davis said in a statement. The date has previously been implied by a fixed two-year negotiating period triggered on March 29, 2017, but not explicitly stated in law. Prime Minister Theresa May and her team are battling to keep exit negotiations with the EU moving, amid growing concern that talks have yet to begin on a transitional deal to smooth the exit for businesses or the complex terms of a future trade deal. At home, May s government is facing a rough ride in parliament on the withdrawal bill, which forms the central plank of her Brexit strategy. After losing her parliamentary majority in an ill-judged election in June, May has to unite a Conservative Party deeply split over leaving the EU and rely on the support of a small Northern Irish party to get the bill through without defeats. The decision to define the date of Brexit in law came with a clear statement that the government is prepared to consider other concessions - even those proposed by political opponents.  This important step demonstrates our pragmatic approach to this vital piece of legislation,  Davis said.  Where MPs (Members of Parliament) can improve the Bill, whatever their party, we will work with them.  The bill will begin the latest stage of its journey through parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday, when lawmakers will debate and vote on some of the 186 pages of changes that have so far been proposed. The bill is at an early stage, and is expected to take months to make its way through both houses of parliament.

Summary: ब्रिटेन यूरोपीय संघ से बाहर निकलने का दिन तय करने के लिए सहमत


(Reuters) - Mercury Public Affairs, which did work for Paul Manafort related to his lobbying for a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party, is cooperating with a federal probe into Russia’s possible interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, a Mercury partner said. “Mercury takes its obligations to follow all laws, rules and regulations very seriously. Mercury has and will continue to fully cooperate with the Office of the Special Counsel in its investigation,” Michael McKeon told Reuters in an emailed statement.

Summary: मर्करी पार्टनर का कहना है कि फर्म म्यूलर की रूस जांच में सहयोग कर रही है


DANANG, Vietnam (Reuters) - Whether they like President Donald Trump or not, the U.S. veterans who gather at Hoa’s Place in Danang show little concern that he avoided the war that marked their lives. Trump flies into the Vietnamese resort of Danang on Friday for a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders, landing in a city that for many Americans of his generation was their first sight of Vietnam - and of war. “He’ll finally be able to put on his resume that he was in Vietnam,” said David Clark, 68, who is originally from Akron, Ohio and calls Trump “a joke”. After serving in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 with the Marine Corps, he has now returned to help with projects to address the legacy of the war. Trump never served in the military. He received five deferments during the Vietnam War, including one for bone spurs in his heel, the New York Times reported last year. The paper quoted Trump as saying the bones spurs had been “temporary”.     “Everyone I know tried to avoid it,” said draftee Keith Soukkala, sipping a beer at Hoa’s Place, a favored bar of veterans near Danang’s “China Beach”. “I stayed out as long as I could but I didn’t have any bone spurs,” said Soukkala, who splits his time between Vietnam and Alaska and said he voted for Trump. At 73, he is two years older than Trump and recalls landing in Danang to the humid heat and “a certain smell in the air” at the start of a 13-month tour with the Marine Corps dodging bombs hidden by the communist Viet Cong guerrillas. The seaside resort of Danang has a special place in U.S.-Vietnamese history: it was here that the first U.S. ground troops disembarked in 1965 in the escalation of a war that would last another decade before the communist victory. Close to some of the heaviest fighting in central Vietnam, Danang had a big U.S. air base. China Beach was a relaxation spot for U.S. soldiers back from combat. Now, Danang’s beachfront hotels draw tourists from around the world. Gleaming office towers mark it out as one of Vietnam’s most modern cities and one the communist government sought to showcase with the hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit which Trump will attend. It’s also home to a community of U.S. veterans who returned to a country where a recent Pew Research survey showed the United States was viewed favorably by 84 percent of people. Clark came back in 2013 for a year and is still in Danang, busy with projects to destroy unexploded U.S. bombs and help families affected by the Agent Orange defoliant linked to illness and deformity. Mark O’Connor, 67, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and once part of a helicopter assault team, visits as often as he can to provide bicycles to children in hill villages.      On this visit, though, he said he had come back in the hope of seeing Trump - his support unaffected by the fact the president had not served in Vietnam. “You know, more power to him,” he said. “You can’t feel bad about him and not feel bad about everyone who went to Canada to avoid the draft.”

Summary: वियतनाम में ट्रम्प का ठहराव अमेरिकी दिग्गजों के लिए एक मार्मिक है


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council expressed deep concern on Wednesday about violence in Myanmar s Rakhine state, where about 400,000 Rohingya Muslims have been forced to flee to Bangladesh. In a statement, the 15-member council  expressed concern about reports of excessive violence during the security operations and called for immediate steps to end the violence in Rakhine, de-escalate the situation, re-establish law and order, ensure the protection of civilians.  British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said it was the first time in nine years the council had agreed a statement on Myanmar.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र सुरक्षा परिषद ने म्यांमार में अत्यधिक हिंसा की निंदा की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roger Ailes, the Fox News chairman ousted last month after sexual harassment allegations, is not advising Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump before the presidential debates in the fall, the campaign said on Tuesday. “He is not advising Mr. Trump or helping with debate prep. They are longtime friends but he has no formal or informal role in the campaign,” the campaign said.  Earlier, the New York Times had reported that Ailes was advising Trump ahead of the Sept. 26 first presidential debate with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in a role that could stretch beyond the initial Long Island, New York debate.  Ailes resigned from his post as chairman and chief executive of Fox News Channel last month, ending his 20-year reign over the conservative cable news channel, after Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson sued the 76-year-old claiming sexual harassment.  Trump has spoken highly of Ailes in the past, calling him “a great guy” in a tweet last month.

Summary: फॉक्स न्यूज के पूर्व प्रमुख आइल्स ट्रंप को सलाह नहीं दे रहे हैंः अभियान


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said intelligence reports he viewed at the White House on Friday were the same documents seen by panel Chairman Devin Nunes last week. Nunes, a Republican, sparked a controversy last week when he said he had seen documents at the White House that indicated President Donald Trump and associates may have been caught in incidental intelligence collection before the inauguration. Nunes shared what he had learned with Trump and held a news conference but did not give the information to the rest of the committee, angering Democrats and some Republicans.

Summary: हाउस पैनल में शीर्ष डेमोक्रेट का कहना है कि उन्होंने विवादास्पद खुफिया रिपोर्टें देखी हैं


ALBANY, N.Y. (Reuters) - A New York appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a suit seeking to remove Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz from the state’s primary ballot because of his Canadian birth. The New York Appellate Division agreed with the lower court ruling that the suit should be thrown out because it missed the  deadline for filing an objection to Cruz’s appearance on the April 19 ballot. Lawyers for Cruz successfully argued that the objectors had filed their petition nearly three weeks late. The appeals judges said they would not address the merits of the case, saying they were “academic.” Roger Bernstein, a lawyer for the petitioners, said his clients intend to appeal the decision. New York residents Barry Korman, 81, of Manhattan, and William Gallo, 85, of Manhasset, had filed the suit, arguing that because Cruz was born in Canada, he is not a “naturally born” citizen as the Constitution dictates for a U.S. president. Cruz has defended himself against similar claims in multiple states, saying he was a U.S. natural born citizen at birth because of his mother’s U.S. citizenship at the time. Cruz was born in 1970 in Calgary, Alberta.

Summary: न्यूयॉर्क की अदालत ने क्रूज़ व्हाइट हाउस की बोली को रोकने का मुकदमा खारिज किया


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico s President on Wednesday said that funds would need to be reassigned from other areas of the government towards reconstruction efforts next year after a series of earthquakes that damaged at least 150,000 homes.  Today, the reconstruction needs more resources, and this should be reflected in the presidential budget debate next year,  President Enrique Pena Nieto said in a news conference with ministers who gave a preliminary damage estimate of $2 billion. The government presented its draft 2018 budget earlier this month, but that proposal will now probably have to be modified, he added.

Summary: मेक्सिको के पेना नीटो का कहना है कि आपदा निधि सीमित है, बजट पर फिर से काम करने की आवश्यकता है


(Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law a more relaxed version of state voter-identification requirements than a previously enacted measure struck down by U.S. courts as racially discriminatory. The new measure was designed to remedy flaws the courts found in the original law by providing Texans an alternative to the type of government-issued photo ID they had been required to present in order to vote at polling stations. Voters will now be permitted to cast their ballots by furnishing some other documentation bearing their name and address, such as a bank statement or utility bill, if they also sign an affidavit attesting to having a “reasonable impediment” to obtaining a valid photo ID. Critics contend that the measure, passed by the Republican-controlled legislature last month and signed on Thursday by Abbott, a first-term Republican, is still aimed at discouraging racial and ethnic minorities, who tend to favor Democrats. They particularly object to provisions carrying a prison sentence of up to 10 years for lying on a voter-ID affidavit. The list of valid photo-IDs accepted under both the previous law and the revised measure includes a driver’s license, U.S. military identification, U.S. passport and concealed handgun permit, but not a student ID card. Texas ranks as the most populous Republican-dominated state, with the Republican Party winning every statewide race for elective office for more than 20 years. But shifting demographics have given hope to Democrats that they can eventually turn the state to their column. The original voter ID requirements were signed into law in 2011 by then-Texas Governor Rick Perry, a Republican. Considered one of the nation’s strictest such measures, it has been subject to years of court challenges, with the law’s opponents saying it could exclude up to 600,000 voters. Supporters of such laws have countered they are necessary to protect the integrity of the election system, despite little evidence of actual voter fraud. The U.S. Supreme Court declined in January to hear an appeal by Texas seeking to revive the original law’s requirements.

Summary: टेक्सास के गवर्नर ने मतदाता पहचान पत्र कानून के आसान संस्करण पर हस्ताक्षर किए


The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS.  The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy.  @realDonaldTrump : - At least 24 players kneeling this weekend at NFL stadiums that are now having a very hard time filling up. The American public is fed up with the disrespect the NFL is paying to our Country, our Flag and our National Anthem. Weak and out of control! [0745 EST] - Melania, our great and very hard working First Lady, who truly loves what she is doing, always thought that “if you run, you will win.” She would tell everyone that, “no doubt, he will win.” I also felt I would win (or I would not have run) - and Country is doing great! [0800 EST] - Meeting with “Chuck and Nancy” today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal! [0917 EST] - "Statement from President Donald J. Trump on #GivingTuesday" [bit.ly/2iddEmr] [1127 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्विटर पर ट्रम्प (28 नवंबर)-एन. एफ. एल., प्रथम महिला


The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS.  The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy.  @realDonaldTrump : - It was my great honor to join our wonderful Veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Youngstown, Ohio this evening. A grateful nation salutes you! [0005 EDT]  - People of Ohio are fantastic. Thank you so much. What an evening! [0040 EDT] - The crowd in Ohio was amazing last night - broke all records. We all had a great time in a great State. Will be back soon! [0649 EDT] - Senator @lisamurkowski of the Great State of Alaska really let the Republicans, and our country, down yesterday. Too bad! [0713 EDT] - After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow...... [0855 EDT]  - ....Transgender individuals to  serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming..... [0904 EDT] - ....victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you [0908 EDT]  - President Trump Proclaims July 26, 2017, as a Day in Celebration of the 27th Anniversary of the ADA: bit.ly/2eN938t [0630 EDT] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्विटर पर ट्रम्प (26 जुलाई)-अमेरिकी सैन्य, ट्रांसजेंडर व्यक्ति


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior Democratic lawmakers on Thursday called on the White House to lift orders barring government agency employees from communicating with the public and Congress, saying such restrictions may violate federal laws. Congressmen Elijah Cummings of Maryland, ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, sent a letter to White House counsel Donald McGahn asking for immediate action to address the administration’s “gag orders on federal employees that prevent them from communicating with Congress.  “We urge you to immediately rescind all policies on employee communications that do not comply with the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act and other federal statutes,” they wrote in the letter dated on Thursday.  Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Interior Department, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services have seen directives from the newly minted leadership that limit how they communicate to the public, according to multiple sources. [L1N1FE5FE] At a news conference on Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the White House had not ordered such directives. “I don’t think it’s a surprise we’re going to review the policies, but I don’t have any info at this time,” Spicer added. The letter from Cummings and Pallone asked U.S. President Donald Trump to issue a statement “making clear to all federal employees that they have the right to communicate with Congress and that he and his Administration will not silence or retaliate against whistleblowers.”

Summary: अमेरिकी संघीय कर्मचारी 'गैग ऑर्डर' अवैध हो सकते हैं, सांसदों ने ट्रम्प को चेतावनी दी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress condemned white supremacist groups on Tuesday after their party’s front-runner in the presidential contest, Donald Trump, failed to disavow support for an ex-Ku Klux Klan leader, but the leaders declined further comment on Trump’s controversial White House bid. The comments from the two top Republicans in the U.S. Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, came as many of the party’s lawmakers struggle to come to terms with the growing possibility that Trump will be their nominee. Trump’s policies are often at odds with those of conservatives, and his comments on the campaign trail have often been both incendiary and crude. He has racked up victories in three of the four states that have already held their nominating contests. The comments from Ryan and McConnell coincided with “Super Tuesday,” the biggest voting day in the race to pick the 2016 presidential nominees for the November election. Ryan said any Republican nominee must reject any group “built on bigotry” while McConnell said Senate Republicans condemned groups such as the Klan and “everything they stand for.” The Klan, whose roots reach back to the Civil War, is known for its segregationist, racist views. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Trump did not immediately repudiate support from David Duke, a former Klan leader who is also a former Louisiana state representative. Trump later said he had not heard the questions well because of a bad earpiece. Both Ryan and McConnell said they did not want to weigh in further on the presidential race, something they have declined to do for months. Ryan, a former vice presidential candidate who will chair the Republicans’ national convention in July, reiterated on Tuesday he would support whomever is his party’s nominee. A number of Southern states are among the 11 states holding Republican nominating contests on Tuesday, including Virginia, and opinion polls show Trump is likely to consolidate his status as the favorite to win the nomination. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid scoffed at Ryan’s remark a few hours later. Reid said Republicans were afraid to withdraw their support publicly because the Trump “millions” might turn on them. “Republicans say they’ll support a man who refuses to denounce the Ku Klux Klan. So until they withdraw their support, talk is really cheap,” Reid said. McConnell sidestepped a question on whether it was true, as reported over the weekend by The New York Times, that he had told fellow Republicans in private that they could drop Trump “like a hot rock” if he becomes the party’s presidential nominee. McConnell said he did not recall saying anything like that to reporters. In recent days other lawmakers on Capitol Hill have become more outspoken on Trump. A handful of lawmakers have endorsed him, including Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a conservative. On Sunday evening, Senator Ben Sasse, a conservative Republican from Nebraska, announced on Facebook that he could not support Trump because his “relentless focus is on dividing Americans and on tearing down rather than building back up this glorious nation. “If Donald Trump ends up as the GOP nominee, conservatives will need to find a third option,” Sasse wrote. But in the halls of Congress on Tuesday, there appeared to be few lawmakers prepared to distance themselves from Trump who had not done so already. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who gave up his own presidential quest in December, said, “The party’s been burned and the country’s going to get burned” by Trump. To avoid this, he said, the party should consolidate around an opponent to Trump instead of diffusing the opposition among so many candidates. Trump is now one of five remaining Republican contenders. The others are Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Ohio Governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who had endorsed Jeb Bush before he dropped out, said lawmakers have not shied away from criticizing Trump. “That has happened continually. Many of us did it when he made comments about John McCain many months ago,” she said, referring to how Trump had mocked the military record of McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona. As a Navy pilot, McCain was shot down over Vietnam. Trump said he liked people who weren’t captured.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन नेताओं ने कट्टरता की निंदा की, लेकिन ट्रम्प के बारे में बात नहीं करेंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions plans to announce soon several criminal investigations into intelligence leaks, news outlets reported on Wednesday, as the country’s top law enforcement official faced mounting criticism from President Donald Trump. The announcement has “been in the works for some time and will most likely happen sometime in the next week,” Fox News reported, citing an unnamed U.S. official. The Washington Post also reported the planned announcement, citing multiple unnamed officials. The investigations will look at news stories that publicized sensitive intelligence material, according to the reports. Officials at the U.S. Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, Trump tweeted that Sessions has not aggressively pursued people who leaked intelligence secrets during his time in office, one of a series of criticisms apparently aimed at pushing the former Republican Alabama senator to step down. Trump also said again that he was frustrated that Sessions had recused himself from a federal investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, but stopped short of saying whether he would fire him. Top Republican lawmakers have rallied to Sessions’ defense as allies of the attorney general said Trump appeared to be trying to pressure him to quit by repeatedly criticizing him on Twitter and in interviews. The latest apparent leak involved Sessions himself. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Russia’s ambassador to Washington was overheard via surveillance by U.S. spy agencies telling his bosses that he had discussed campaign-related matters, including issues important to Moscow, with Sessions during the 2016 presidential race. The newspaper cited current and former U.S. officials familiar with U.S. intelligence intercepts. Earlier this month, a report written by Republican members of the Senate’s homeland security panel said the Trump administration faced an “alarming” amount of media leaks that posed potential danger to national security and urged law enforcement officials to step up their investigations.  Separately, Trump’s new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, told Fox News on Wednesday he expected Trump would soon announce a plan to stem leaks, adding that there seemed to be some “political holdovers from the Obama administration that are not helping.” Scaramucci said he recognized it was “impossible” to eliminate leaks in Washington but added: “We’re going to try and hit a cultural reset on these leaks not only here in the White House, but I’m going to be working with the agencies and the departments to do that.” “Now one of the big problems here that I’m discovering in the (communications) team is that senior people are really the guys doing the leaking and they ask junior people to leak for them,” Scaramucci told Fox News in a separate interview later on Wednesday. On Tuesday, he told reporters on Air Force One after Trump’s trip to Ohio that he would probably restructure the communications operation at the White House and fire staff if leaks did not cease: “If the leaks continue, then I’ve got to let everybody go.”  Scaramucci said there were no immediate plans to fire anyone else following the resignation of senior assistant press secretary Michael Short earlier on Tuesday. Leaks of classified intelligence that endanger national security have customarily prompted investigations, including by the administration of President Barack Obama, Trump’s predecessor.

Summary: महान्यायवादी सत्र जल्द ही लीक जांच का खुलासा करेंगेः रिपोर्ट


BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Brazilian government s plan to overhaul the costly pension system will be in trouble if it does not clear the lower house of Congress this year, and it still lacks the votes needed for approval, the Speaker Rodrigo Maia said on Friday. Maia told Reuters that cabinet changes by President Michel Temer benefiting coalition allies should make it clear by next week whether the government can muster the two-thirds super majority of votes needed to pass pension reform in the house.  They don t have the votes yet ... if the bill is left for next year it will be hard to pass,  he said in an interview.

Summary: ब्राजील के स्पीकर का कहना है कि 2018 तक रहने पर पेंशन में बदलाव खतरे में है


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday described as “horror beyond belief” the truck attack in Nice, France earlier this week that killed 84 people. At the beginning of an event to introduce his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Trump also expressed concern for the coup attempt in Turkey on Friday, saying he hoped “it will all work out”.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने नीस हमले को 'विश्वास से परे भयावह' बताया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation expanding the 2012 U.S. Magnitsky human rights act from Russian citizens to cover abusers in any country passed the U.S. Senate on Thursday as part of an annual defense policy bill, leaving the landmark measure on the verge of becoming law. The legislation was included in the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, setting policy for the Department of Defense, despite the recent election of Republican Donald Trump as the U.S. president. Trump has signaled a softer line against Russia, which vehemently opposes the original Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, and its expansion. The Magnitsky Act imposed visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials linked to the 2009 death in prison of Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year-old Russian whistleblower. Backers of the bill have pushed for years to expand its impact to every country, and to make “significant” acts of corruption sanctionable offenses. “Visiting the United States and using our financial institutions are privileges that should not be extended to the worst actors in the international system,” Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. Cardin pushed the measure along with Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, by an overwhelming margin on Dec. 2. The Senate vote sends the measure, including Global Magnitsky, to the White House for President Barack Obama to veto or sign into law. A White House spokesman said shortly after the NDAA passed that he could not yet say how the president would proceed.

Summary: अमेरिकी कांग्रेस ने मैग्निट्स्की मानवाधिकार अधिनियम को विश्व स्तर पर लागू करने के लिए मतदान किया


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - With NAFTA talks grinding toward stalemate, U.S. President Donald Trump may be tempted to carry out his threat to withdraw from the trade pact, but legal experts say such a decision  could be defeated, or delayed significantly by court challenges. The constitutional and statutory authority for who can terminate the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement - Trump or the U.S. Congress - is deeply disputed, and it may take the U.S. Supreme Court or a truce between the White House and Capitol Hill to sort it out.    Private sector executives said that major U.S. business groups are preparing legal challenges to any withdrawal by the  United States, although the plaintiffs had not yet been determined. Litigation would lay bare the fault lines between Trump’s populist vision and the pro-trade, business friendly lawmakers of his Republican Party, many of whom are increasingly nervous that NAFTA will collapse and cause economic damage.. “I think this is headed for a huge legal morass if the president were to unilaterally send a notice of withdrawal,” said Jennifer Hillman, a Georgetown University law professor and former World Trade Organization (WTO) appellate judge. “There will be immediate challenges across the board.”    NAFTA’s original text allows a country to withdraw from the agreement six months after it provides written notice to the other parties, but neither the agreement nor U.S. implementing legislation specifies how that should be decided. Once the six-month period ends, the president can declare the restoration of U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico to WTO levels, although some legal experts say Congress may ultimately have authority over this. The three countries were wrapping up a fifth round of talks to update NAFTA on Tuesday with major differences yet to be resolved. The NAFTA implementing law would be untouched by a Trump withdrawal, creating what some call a “zombie” trade pact without tariff-free access, but other provisions would remain. Some of those rules are opposed by the Trump administration, including the “Chapter 19” arbitration system that often thwarts U.S. anti-dumping cases against Canada and Mexico, as well as labor, environmental and regional content requirements that U.S. officials see as weak. Trump would need Congress’ approval to repeal that law. Winning that vote could be extremely difficult, as most congressional Republicans follow their business and farm constituents in being advocates of free trade in general and NAFTA in particular. “The president would want to get Congress on board so that the implementing legislation is coherent,” said Dean Pinkert, a trade lawyer and former U.S. International Trade Commission member. Almost any court challenge would argue that Trump needs congressional approval to quit NAFTA because Congress has explicit authority in the U.S. Constitution over tariffs and trade. But the president historically has held power over foreign policy matters such as international treaties. The Supreme Court is often reluctant to rule on questions of authority between the executive and legislative branches of government and prefers legislative solutions instead. In a 1979 case, the court sided with President Jimmy Carter after Senator Barry Goldwater challenged his authority to nullify a defense treaty with Taiwan. But that pact did not  have a trade component and was clearly a foreign policy issue. If the Supreme Court did rule on a NAFTA withdrawal challenge, much would depend on how the case is argued, said     Tim Meyer, an international law professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.  “If the case is successfully framed as to who has authority over foreign affairs, I think the president wins,” Meyer said. Georgetown University’s Hillman said her reading of the constitutional question and implementing legislation stacks up against Trump - that Congress only explicitly intended for the president to implement NAFTA, not the reverse. “NAFTA unequivocally falls under the commerce clause of the Constitution,” Hillman said.

Summary: ट्रंप के नाफ्टा से हटने को अदालत में कड़ी चुनौतीः कानूनी विशेषज्ञ


BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - The government of Congo Republic on Saturday agreed a ceasefire with rebels in the southeast region of Pool, halting a 15-year conflict that rights groups say has cost dozens of lives and forced tens of thousands to flee. Political violence spiked in the Central African oil producer after a contested presidential election in April 2016 was won by President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has ruled for 33 of the last 38 years. A militia led by Frederic Bintsamou, better known as Pastor Ntumi, which fought Sassou Nguesso during and after a 1997 civil war, has been blamed by the government for deadly raids on police, military and government bases, and has also halted trade through the Pool region with blockades. In return, the government has bombed the Pool region, including one helicopter raid last year on a residential area that Amnesty International said killed at least 30 people. The unrest has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes and sparked allegations from human rights groups of abuse by government troops. Ntumi s so-called Ninja rebels have clashed with the Congo government since 2002 and have long sought an end to government military intervention in the Pool region. The peace agreement between the two sides was signed by Interior Ministry security advisor Fran ois Nd  and Pastor Ntumi s representative, Jean Gustave Ntondo.   Today is a great day for the Congolese. This is the day we have just signed the cessation of hostilities agreement,  said Ntondo.  Under the deal, the militias have agreed to hand over arms and allow the free movement of trade between the capital Brazzaville and the commercial hub of Pointe Noire. During hostilities, trains and cars were often halted by militias.  The government will oversee a commission that will monitor the peace, and loosen security in the region to allow people to travel to and from their family homes.

Summary: कांगो गणराज्य ने 'निंजा' विद्रोहियों के साथ शांति समझौते पर हस्ताक्षर किए


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A bill requiring all single-occupancy public restrooms to be open to anyone regardless of gender or gender identity passed the California Assembly on Monday, and will proceed to the state Senate. The most populous U.S. state already bars discrimination against transgender people, including in public restrooms. The measure by state Assemblyman Phil Ting, a Democrat from San Francisco, goes farther, saying that single-use restrooms should not be reserved for one sex. “Restrooms are a necessity of life, making equal access to them a civil rights issue,” Ting said in a press statement. The measure passed on a 55-19 vote. A date has not been set for the Senate to consider the bill. Supporters have said that in addition to protecting transgender or gender fluid people, the bill would also cut down waiting time at single-occupancy public restrooms by allowing anyone to use facilities previously reserved for men or women. The bill came during a nationwide furor over a law passed by the state of North Carolina requiring people to use restrooms consistent with their biological sex. On Monday, a fight between the Obama administration and North Carolina over that law escalated as both sides sued each other, trading accusations of civil rights violations and government overreach.  The U.S. Justice Department’s complaint asked a federal district court in North Carolina to declare that the state is violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act and order it to stop enforcing the ban. North Carolina’s Republican governor, Pat McCrory, and the state’s secretary of public safety sued the U.S. agency in a different federal court in North Carolina, accusing it of “baseless and blatant overreach.”

Summary: कैलिफोर्निया विधानसभा ने लिंग-तटस्थ शौचालय विधेयक पारित किया


CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Thursday he would work with U.S. lawmakers if elected to tie federal funding and tax breaks for colleges and universities to a “good faith” commitment by them to lower tuition costs for students. “If universities want access to all of these federal tax breaks and tax dollars paid for by you,” Trump told a rally in a Philadelphia suburb, “they have to make good faith efforts to reduce the cost of college.” Trump did not offer specifics on how he would tie federal funding to changes in college tuition.  His Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, has proposed making in-state tuition for colleges and universities free immediately for families earning $85,000 or less, and free by 2021 for families making up to $125,000 a year.  Trump, a New York businessman, has not said much about the cost of college while campaigning. But U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who competed against Clinton for the Democratic nomination, made government-funded college tuition central to his campaign platform.  Sanders drew a great deal of support from the youngest group of American voters, and Trump, who needs to win over more women and young people before the Nov. 8 election, took up a similar theme in his proposal. U.S. student debt has surged about 24 percent to around $1.2 trillion since 2012, according to figures earlier this year from the New York Federal Reserve, leaving many graduates with mortgage-sized tabs before they enter the workforce.

Summary: ट्रम्प का कहना है कि वह ट्यूशन कम करने के लिए विश्वविद्यालयों पर दबाव डालेंगे


TORONTO (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp is formally requesting arbitration over U.S. President Barack Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, seeking $15 billion in damages, the company said in legal papers dated Friday.  TransCanada submitted a notice for an arbitration claim in January and had then tried to negotiate with the U.S. government to “reach an amicable settlement,” the company said in files posted on the pipeline’s website. “Unfortunately, the parties were unable to settle the dispute.” TransCanada said it then filed its formal arbitration request under North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) provisions, seeking to recover what it says are costs and damages. The Keystone XL was designed to link existing pipeline networks in Canada and the United States to bring crude from Alberta and North Dakota to refineries in Illinois and, eventually, the Gulf of Mexico coast.      Obama rejected the cross-border crude oil pipeline last November, seven years after it was first proposed, saying it would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to the U.S. economy. TransCanada is suing the United States in federal court in a separate legal action, seeking to reverse the pipeline’s rejection. NAFTA, whose arbitration provisions allow companies to challenge governments before international panels, has been a target of recent anti-free-trade sentiments in the United States. The heads of NAFTA members, Canada, the United States and Mexico, are expected to meet in Ottawa for a North American leaders’ Summit on June 29. Canada was supposed to host the meeting early last year but canceled it amid tension between then Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Obama over the Keystone XL pipeline. TransCanada and the U.S. Department of Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Summary: ट्रांसकानाडा ने औपचारिक रूप से कीस्टोन एक्सएल अस्वीकृति में नाफ्टा हर्जाने की मांग की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn on Friday pleaded guilty to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, prosecutors said, adding that he had spoken with a top member of Trump’s transition team regarding his communications with Russia’s ambassador to the United States.  Federal prosecutors also said Flynn had been directed by “a very senior member” of Trump’s transition team regarding a December 2016 United Nations vote.  Flynn also filed materially false statements and omissions in his March 7, 2017, foreign agent filing over his company’s work with the Turkish government, according to prosecutors.

Summary: ट्रम्प के पूर्व सलाहकार फ्लिन ने एफ. बी. आई. से झूठ बोलने का अपराध स्वीकार किया


TALLINN (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May will press on Friday for Britain to have a new security partnership with the European Union after Brexit, visiting 800 British troops in northern Estonia to strengthen her case. Security cooperation is seen by British government officials as one of their strongest arguments to gain leverage in the complicated talks to unravel more than 40 years of union, and May will again underline Britain s role in European defense. In a speech in Florence last week, May sought to re-set the tone of talks and nudge them forward, after they all but stalled over the divorce settlement, especially over the so-called Brexit bill. But after another week of talks in Brussels, EU negotiators said there had not been enough progress yet to move to the next phase of discussions on a transition period after Brexit or a future trade deal.  With the largest defense budget in Europe, a far-reaching diplomatic network, world-class security, intelligence and law enforcement services, and our position at the heart of NATO, the UK s role in Europe s defense has never been more vital,  May said on the eve of an EU meeting in the Estonian capital.  As we prepare for Brexit, I want to build a bold, new security partnership with the EU. A partnership that reflects our shared history, promotes our common values, and maintains a secure and prosperous Europe.  The informal get-together in Tallinn, arranged before a  digital summit  on issues ranging from data and cybersecurity to taxing online businesses, has no set agenda, allowing May another chance to pitch her Brexit ideas. She sought to re-set the tone of the negotiations, using the speech in Florence to offer some concessions on the future role of the European court in Britain and over the cost of the divorce, moves which were cautiously welcomed. But by focusing on defense in Tallinn, May will want to show that Britain has something to offer its European neighbors and will say she is ready to share British expertise - including through the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) - to help EU nations build up their own cyber-security capability.  We will continue to work with our NATO allies, our European neighbors and the EU, to support a future partnership of unprecedented breadth and depth,  she said in a statement.  That will guarantee the security and stability of the continent for generations to come.

Summary: ब्रिटेन की मे ने ताल्लिन में सुरक्षा पर यूरोपीय संघ के साथ मामला दर्ज कराया


RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia s air defense forces intercepted a ballistic missile fired from warring Yemen over the capital Riyadh on Saturday, state news agencies reported. The missile was brought down near King Khaled Airport on the northern outskirts of the city and did not cause any casualties, said Saudi state-owned Al Ekhbariya TV. Rocket fragments fell near the airport grounds, but air traffic carried on normally, the Saudi civil aviation authority said on its official Twitter account. Saudi Arabia is part of a coalition carrying out bombings of the Iran-allied armed Houthi movement in Yemen which has taken over the capital Sanaa and other parts of the country during its civil war. Saudi Arabia, which supports the internationally-recognized Yemeni government based in Aden, has frequently intercepted missiles fired from its neighbor. Residents of northern Riyadh reported hearing a single deafening explosion that rattled windows around 20:20 local time, followed by rumbling and other sounds.  We heard an enormous loud boom and went outside, then heard a low rumbling noise like thunder and six to 12 smaller explosions,  one resident told Reuters. The missile was fired into Saudi territory from Yemen at 20:00 local time, the spokesman of a Saudi-led military coalition said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA. Saba News, which is run by the Houthi rebels, reported that the missile was a Burkan H2 and that the airport had been the target. U.S. President Donald Trump commented on the missile interception during comments on U.S. military hardware on Sunday.  A shot was just taken by Iran, in my opinion, at Saudi Arabia...and our system knocked the missile out of the air. Nobody makes what we make, and now we re seeing it all over the world,  he told reporters on Air Force One en route to Tokyo. Saudi Arabia and its allies, which receive logistical and intelligence help from the United States, accuse the Houthis of being a proxy of Iran. The Saudi-led coalition has launched thousands of air strikes against the Houthis. On Wednesday, witnesses said one such strike killed 26 people at a hotel and adjoining market in northern Yemen, although the coalition said on Saturday it had hit a legitimate target. The Houthi and allied forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh have fired dozens of missiles into Saudi territory over the course of a 2-1/2 year war, including a ballistic missile shot down near Mecca in July. The conflict has led to one of the world s worst humanitarian crises and killed at least 10,000 people.

Summary: सऊदी अरब का कहना है कि उसने राजधानी के पास मिसाइल को रोक दिया


ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - At least five people were killed in a town in Ethiopia s restive Oromiya region on Thursday after police opened fire during a protest, witnesses said. Protesters had blocked the main road in Ambo, some 130 km (80 miles) west of the capital Addis Ababa, to demonstrate against sugar shortages, before police arrived to disperse the crowd.  They (police) then fired live rounds. We know of ... five people who died from gunshot wounds,  one of the protesters told Reuters. Another witness said he saw up to 10 wounded people taken to hospital. The regional government s spokesman confirmed that deaths had occurred, but did not give details.  Demonstrations happening in Ambo have resulted in death and injuries,  Addisu Arega Kitessa said in a Facebook statement, adding that they were organized by  enemies  of the region. The province was wracked by protests for months in 2015 and 2016. Nearly 700 people were killed last year in one bout of unrest provoked by plans to implement a development scheme for Addis Ababa that opponents said amounted to a land grab, according to a parliament-mandated investigation.  Broader anti-government demonstrations over politics and human rights abuse then followed, forcing the government to impose a nine-month state of emergency that was finally lifted in August.  Separately, ethnic clashes killed at least 11 people this week in the same region. Another bout of violence along Oromiya s border with the country s Somali region last month displaced hundreds of thousands of people. The developments highlight tensions in the country where the government has delivered high economic growth but it often accused of curbing political freedoms. The government denies clamping down on free speech and blames rebel groups and dissidents abroad for stirring up violence.

Summary: इथियोपिया में विरोध प्रदर्शन के दौरान पुलिस की गोलीबारी में कम से कम पांच लोगों की मौत हो गई


PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech lawmakers voted on Wednesday to let police bring fraud charges against Andrej Babis, the leading candidate to become prime minister in next month s elections. Babis, a billionaire businessman and founder of the poll-leading ANO party, denies allegations that he hid ownership of one of his firms to receive a 50-million Czech crown ($2.29-million) EU subsidy meant for small business in 2008. The 63-year-old former finance minister has dismissed a police investigation into the case as a ploy by political and business adversaries to chase him out of politics.  You will not silence me, intimidate me, stop me. And you will not get rid of me,  Babis told parliament before MPs overwhelmingly voted to lift the immunity from prosecution granted to lawmakers. He ended up backing the motion himself, saying he wanted to clear his name, though other ANO party deputies boycotted the vote.  So, give me up. I ask you to lift my immunity so that the truth can be revealed,  he told the lower house.  Wednesday s decision, backed by 123 to four, does not stop Babis from standing in the Oct. 20-21 election. But it could dent his support. Several potential coalition partners have said they could not work with a prime minister charged with a crime. Babis s ANO party, a junior member in a Social Democrat-led government, leads opinion polls by a double-digit margin - though there have been no major surveys taken since the police requested his immunity be lifted on Aug. 10. The party has promised to revamp politics and root out what Babis calls mafia-like networks of business and political interests. Governments led by the traditional parties - the center-right Civic Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats - brought the country into NATO and the European Union but lost many voters in recent years amid a series of corruption scandals. Babis s adversaries argue he got rich in the environment that he now criticizes, often doing business with the state. His Agrofert group is the biggest Czech private employer with more than 30,000 staff. The subsidy under investigation, was paid for building a conference center near Prague called Stork Nest, before Babis entered politics. The police investigation is expected to last well beyond the October vote and Babis will win immunity again if reelected to parliament, as expected, which would force the police to ask again for permission to charge him.

Summary: चेक प्रधानमंत्री पद के उम्मीदवार बाबिस को मतदान के बाद धोखाधड़ी के आरोपों का सामना करना पड़ेगा


LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Britain s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was time to begin  serious negotiations  on Brexit, hours before Prime Minister Theresa May visits Brussels in an attempt to unlock the stalled talks.   We think in the UK that it is time to get on with these negotiations ... for us to start some serious conversations about the future and the new relationship, the deep and special partnership we hope to construct,  Johnson told reporters.  I think we will work very much in the interests of both sides ... let s put a tiger in the tank, let s get these negotiations going and stop letting the grass grow under our feet. We hope very much that our friends and partners will take that message and really begin to do some serious negotiations.  Johnson, arriving for talks in Luxembourg with his European Union peers on Monday, also said London made a  very good  and  fair  offer on safeguarding expatriates  rights after Britain leaves the European Union. May s office said on Sunday she would meet the European Union s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and the head of the bloc s executive Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, in Brussels on Monday.

Summary: ब्रसेल्स की ओर बढ़ते हुए ब्रिटेन के जॉनसन ने कहाः गंभीर ब्रेक्सिट वार्ता शुरू करने का समय आ गया है