LONDON (Reuters) - Foreign banks in Britain view any attempt to make them convert their branches to subsidiaries after Brexit as a  red line  which would likely cause them to rethink their presence in the country, an industry report said on Wednesday.      Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Sam Woods said earlier this year that branches of European Union banks in London might have to apply to become subsidiaries after Britain leaves, a costly exercise that involves building up capital and reserves locally.   Several European banks base the bulk of their investment banking activities, such as sales and trading, in London, operating via a branch structure that relies on capital held by their parent and are mainly supervised by their home regulator.  A requirement to subsidiarize was a clear  red line  for most branches, with both EU and non- EU branches confirming that a subsidiarization approach would cause them to reassess their presence in the UK, possibly leading to the closure of the UK branch,  the report by the Association of Foreign Banks (AFB) and law firm Norton Rose Fulbright found after surveying senior executives from global banks. Woods has said that he will have to decide by Christmas if branches of EU financial firms in London must convert to subsidiaries and be directly supervised by the (Prudential Regulation Authority) PRA. British regulators have been comfortable with this situation with Britain as part of the EU, but once Britain leaves they will want these banks to have enough capital to support their business and ensure that British taxpayers are not left footing the bill in a crisis. The focus so far has been on banks based in Britain applying for licenses to operate on the continent once Britain leaves the EU.  Deutsche Bank has 9,000 staff based in Britain, while BNP Paribas has around 6,500 staff in the country, where it bases the bulk of its investment banking business and Societe Generale has some 4,000 staff in Britain.  A significant majority of EU branch respondents said that enforced subsidiarization would cause them to reconsider their presence in the UK, with the two most likely outcomes being reallocation of regulated activity into the EU, or closure of London branches and withdrawal from the UK altogether,  the report added.  A report from Boston Consulting has estimated the switch to a full subsidiary structure could cost European banks around 40 billion euros ($47 billion) in extra capital Some respondents said that one solution would be to allow branches to continue operating where the parent entity is in a similarly regulated market and only insist on subsidiary status if there was UK deposit taking activity.

Summary: शाखाओं को सहायक कंपनियों में बदलने को बैंक ब्रेक्सिट 'लाल रेखा' मानते हैं


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council urged the Myanmar government on Monday to  ensure no further excessive use of military force in Rakhine state,  where violence has forced more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee the Buddhist-majority Asian country. The United Nations has denounced the violence during the past 10 weeks as a classic example of ethnic cleansing. The Myanmar government has denied allegations of ethnic cleansing. To appease council veto powers Russia and China, Britain and France dropped a push for the Security Council to adopt a resolution on the situation and the 15-member body instead unanimously agreed on a formal statement. The council expressed  grave concern over reports of human rights violations and abuses in Rakhine State, including by the Myanmar security forces, in particular against persons belonging to the Rohingya community.   The Security Council calls upon the Government of Myanmar to ensure no further excessive use of military force in Rakhine State, to restore civilian administration and apply the rule of law, and to take immediate steps in accordance with their obligations and commitments to respect human rights,  it said.  Myanmar has been stung by international criticism for the way its security forces responded to attacks by Rohingya militants on 30 security posts. More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25.   The Security Council stresses the primary responsibility of the Government of Myanmar to protect its population including through respect for the rule of law and the respect, promotion and protection of human rights,  the statement said. It stressed the importance of transparent investigations into allegations of human rights abuses and  in this regard, the Security Council calls upon the Government of Myanmar to cooperate with all relevant United Nations bodies, mechanisms and instruments.   Myanmar has refused entry to a U.N. panel that was tasked with investigating allegations of abuses after a smaller military counteroffensive launched in October 2016. Myanmar s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has pledged accountability for rights abuses and says Myanmar will accept back refugees who can prove they were residents of Myanmar. The Security Council said it was alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Rakhine state and warned that the increasing number of refugees  has a destabilizing impact in the region.   The council demanded that the Myanmar government allow immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian aid and media access. It asked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to report back in 30 days on the situation.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र सुरक्षा परिषद ने म्यांमार से अत्यधिक सैन्य बल को रोकने का आग्रह किया


GENEVA (Reuters) - The top U.N. human rights official on Monday denounced Myanmar s  brutal security operation  against Muslim Rohingyas in Rakhine state, saying it was disproportionate to insurgent attacks carried out last month. Communal tensions appeared to be rising across Myanmar on Monday after two weeks of violence in Rakhine state that have triggered an exodus of about 300,000 Rohingya Muslims, prompting the government to tighten security at Buddhist pagodas. Zeid Ra ad al-Hussein, addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council, said that more than 270,000 people had fled to Bangladesh, with more trapped on the border, amid reports of the burning of villages and extrajudicial killings.  We have received multiple reports and satellite imagery of security forces and local militia burning Rohingya villages, and consistent accounts of extrajudicial killings, including shooting fleeing civilians,  Zeid told the Geneva forum. He cited reports that Myanmar authorities had begun to lay landmines along the border with Bangladesh and would require returnees to provide  proof of citizenship . Rohingya have been stripped of civil and political rights including citizenship rights for decades, he added.  I call on the government to end its current cruel military operation, with accountability for all violations that have occurred, and to reverse the pattern of severe and widespread discrimination against the Rohingya population,  Zeid said.  The situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.   Last year Zeid s office issued a report, based on interviews with Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh after a previous military assault, which he said on Monday had  suggested a widespread or systematic attack against the community, possibly amounting to crimes against humanity .  I deplore current measures in India to deport Rohingyas at a time of such violence against them in their country,  Zeid said, noting that some 40,000 Rohingyas had settled in India, including 16,000 who have received refugee documentation.  Noting India s obligations under international law, he said:  India cannot carry out collective expulsions, or return people to a place where they risk torture or other serious violations.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र ने म्यांमार में 'जातीय सफाई का पाठ्यपुस्तक उदाहरण' देखा


LONDON (Reuters) - A year after a wave of denial-of-service attacks knocked out major websites around the world, millions of unsecured printers, network gear and webcams remain undefended against attack across major European cities, a report published on Tuesday said. Computer security company Trend Micro (4704.T) said that Berlin has more than 2.8 million insecure devices, followed closely by London with more than 2.5 million exposed gadgets. Among the top 10 capitals, Rome was lowest with nearly 300,000 visible unsecured devices, the researchers said. The study was based on calculating the number of exposed devices in major European cities using Shodan, a search engine that helps to identify internet-linked equipment. Trend Micro said that electronics users must take responsibility for managing their own internet-connected devices because of the failure by many gadget manufacturers to build in up-front security by default in their products. The warning comes one year after a wave of attacks using so-called botnets of infected devices caused outages on popular websites and knocked 900,000 Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) users off the internet. (reut.rs/2BjdRII)   Computer experts say the failure to patch millions of insecure devices after last year s Mirai denial-of-service attacks means it is only a question of time before further broad-based outages occur.  Research company Gartner recently forecast that there would be 8.4 billion connected products or devices in 2017, up 31 percent from 2016, and expects the number to triple by 2020. (goo.gl/thR54Q)

Summary: यूरोपीय शहरों में लाखों असुरक्षित उपकरण उजागरः रिपोर्ट


LONDON (Reuters) - An interim review into UK building regulations commissioned after the Grenfell Tower social housing block fire in London which killed 71 people in June, has called for a  culture change  in respect to fire safety. The review, sponsored by the Department For Communities and Local Government (DCLG), said the building industry aimed for  minimum compliance , that enforcement measures were poor and that competence levels among builders and regulators was weak.  It has become clear that the whole system of regulation, covering what is written down and the way in which it is enacted in practice, is not fit for purpose, leaving room for those who want to take shortcuts to do so,  the review said. The Grenfell fire was started by a fridge-freezer but spread quickly, partly because of the use of flammable cladding panels which were afixed to the outside of the 24-storey building, experts have said. The contractor who retrofitted the external insulation on the building said the work was compliant but the manufacturer of the cladding panels had advised in marketing material that non-flammable variants should be used on tall buildings. The building industry s own guidance document said cladding should be able to pass the so-called BS 8414 combustibilty test, which is also stipulated in the building regulations. When tested by DCLG this summer the panels used at Grenfell failed this test. A Reuters review published last week found that 60 high-rise buildings had been fitted with the same kind of cladding as Grenfell since 2006. [nL8N1O120P] The interim report published on Monday, led by Judith Hackitt, a former civil servant and chair of EEF, a manufacturing trade body, also said the building regulations should be clearer. Some industry figures have advocated more specific rules, such as the banning of any flammable materials from the outside of tall buildings. However, many safety experts across different industries say that highly specific rules can invite a box-ticking approach and the emergence of loopholes. After the Piper Alpha offshore oil platform disaster which killed 167 workers in 1988, Britain introduced the  safety case  offshore regulations.  Rather than specify how to be safe, these said rig operators needed to be able to demonstrate that their practices were safe, taking account of industry understanding of risks. The Hackitt review is based on discussions with building contractors, officials and housing authorities about flaws in the current system on the regulations.  The DCLG declined to say if it planned to conduct an anlysis of the root causes of the failings at Grenfell or other housing blocks. Experts say root cause analyses are the best way to identify what failed in a system and therefore, what needs to be fixed.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के ग्रेनफेल टावर में आग लगने से हुई मौतों की समीक्षा के बाद 'संस्कृति परिवर्तन' का आह्वान किया गया


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran s military chief warned Israel against breaching Syrian airspace and territory on a visit to Damascus on Wednesday, raising tensions with Israel as it voices deep concern over Tehran s influence in Syria. General Mohammad Baqeri pledged to increase cooperation with Syria s military to fight Israel and insurgents, Iranian and Syrian state media said.  Iranian forces and Iran-backed Shi ite militias, including Hezbollah, have provided critical military support to Damascus, helping it regain swathes of Syria from rebels and militants.  It s not acceptable for the Zionist regime to violate the land and airspace of Syria anytime it wants,  Baqeri said at a news conference with his Syrian counterpart.   We are in Damascus to assert and cooperate to confront our common enemies, the Zionists and terrorists,  he said, a reference to Israel and Sunni Muslim jihadists including Islamic State.   We drew up the broad lines for this cooperation,  Syrian state media cited the Iranian military chief of staff as saying.      Iran s expanding clout during Syria s more than six-year war has raised alarm in Israel, which has said it would act against any threat from its regional arch-enemy Tehran. Israel s air force says it has struck arms convoys of the Syrian military and Hezbollah nearly 100 times during the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran was strengthening its foothold in Syria and that Israel would  do whatever it takes  to protect its security. Tensions have risen this year between Lebanon s Hezbollah and Israel, which have avoided a major conflict since 2006.  This week, the Israeli military said it attacked a Syrian anti-aircraft battery that had fired at its planes over Lebanon. But the Syrian army said it hit an Israeli warplane after it breached its airspace at the Syria-Lebanon border. [nL8N1MR2EX  Our job is to prevent war, and you do that through deterrence. What we saw in Syria (on Monday) fell within this framework,  the Israeli defense minister told Israel Radio on Wednesday before the Iranian military chief s comments.   We will do whatever is necessary for (our) security,  Avigdor Lieberman added.  We will not change our operating procedures because of shooting or a threat of this type or another.

Summary: दमिश्क से ईरान ने इजरायल का सामना करने का संकल्प लिया


PARIS (Reuters) - Former finalist Simona Halep survived a first-set wobble to reach the third round of the French Open for only the second time in her career with a 7-6(5) 6-2 win over Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas on Wednesday.  The Romanian sixth seed surrendered her serve twice in the opening four games to trail 4-1 but delved into her wealth of experience to finally subdue her 90th-ranked opponent 7-5 in the tie break. More exchanges of breaks followed in the second set before Halep finally found her groove to take a 5-2 lead and set up three match points on Diyas’ serve. The first one went begging but Halep’s gritty baseline play paid off in the next point as Diyas bowed out after flicking a forehand long to end a 10-shot rally. “The first set was very tough and I was very nervous as I seemed to be fighting for every point,” Halep said in a court side interview. The good news for Halep is that the only previous time she reached the last 32, she made it all the way to the 2014 Roland Garros final. Halep and her bizarre black and white zebra print dress will be back on court on Friday when she takes on Japan’s Naomi Osaka for a place in the fourth round.

Summary: टेनिसः हालेप ने तीसरे दौर में पहुंचने के लिए अपनी बुद्धि को बनाए रखा


BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary s main opposition Jobbik party could support deeper European integration, its chairman said on Friday, in a shift apparently aimed at bringing the far-right group closer to the political mainstream. Jobbik, which used to burn EU flags and was widely accused of racism and anti-Semitism, has tried over the past few years to convince voters it has become a more moderate conservative party that supports democratic institutions and civil rights. Chairman Gabor Vona told foreign journalists Jobbik does not want a two-speed EU, in which some member states would enjoy a lesser level of cooperation than others. Instead, it favored waiting until Europe s integration plans became clearer and then holding referendums across the EU to see which countries want to stay in. He also said Jobbik would be willing to join the euro zone as fast as economically sensible, which he called an economic issue, rather than a political one. Jobbik is a distant second behind the ruling Fidesz party in opinion polls ahead of elections due in April 2018, but it says poll results might be misleading with many voters hiding their preferences. Its policy proposals have often been echoed by Fidesz, which is also a right-wing party with strong anti-immigration views, but which has been seen as closer to the European conservative mainstream than more explicitly nationalist Jobbik. Vona said Europe was likely to transform in the next few years. Countries should wait for the bloc s trajectory to become clearer, and then all EU states should hold referendums on whether to remain members.  A referendum about membership would be legitimate but not now,  he said.  What would we vote about? The Juncker plan? The Merkel plan? The Macron plan? We have no idea what the EU means at this moment. We should clarify this together first.   Once we have that we should ask everywhere, not only in Hungary, whether people want whatever Brussels leaders cooked up or not.  Hungarians have warmed considerably to the EU in recent months. According to Eurobarometer, 56 percent of them now say EU membership is a  good thing , up 8 percentage points since March. That is the steepest rise in the EU. Vona said Hungary should join the euro currency as soon as possible, once public debt and competitiveness are appropriate. Ostracised in Brussels even by other far-right groups, Jobbik says it seeks to transcend traditional left-right political divisions and find new allies in the European Parliament after elections to the body in 2019.  We would be happy to see... a regional alliance of central European politicians who can look past left and right and embody common Eastern issues,  he said.

Summary: हंगरी के जोबिक ने मतदाताओं के आशीर्वाद से यूरोपीय संघ को गहरा करने का समर्थन किया


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has invited the leaders of four eastern European countries to a dinner, according to a letter seen by Reuters, in an effort to ease tensions between them and wealthier western member states. In his letter, dated Oct. 2 and addressed to the leaders of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Juncker stressed the  paramount importance  of EU unity, strained by disputes over immigration and other issues as well as by Brexit. While Prague and Bratislava have sometimes struck a more moderate tone, Warsaw and Budapest have constantly been at loggerheads with the bloc s executive Commission in Brussels, as well as with EU heavyweights Germany and France, over what the bloc increasingly sees as their flouting of democratic rules. Juncker proposed a dinner with the leaders of the four  Visegrad group  nations in Brussels on Oct. 18, ahead of an EU summit on Oct. 19-20, citing the need to build  a more united, stronger and more democratic Europe  despite Britain s exit.  I believe that preserving the unity of the (remaining) 27 in this process is of paramount importance,  he said. The eastern states, especially Poland and Hungary, have resisted an EU program for all member states to accept refugees after a mass influx of people in 2015-16, mostly Muslims from the Middle East and Africa. Other points of contention include a reform of EU s labor rules, which France and some other western states say give unfair competitive advantage to cheap workers from the east. Some western countries, notably Italy - on the frontline of taking in refugees and migrants from across the Mediterranean - have suggested cutting the generous aid provided to the easterners through the EU budget if they fail to show European  solidarity  over migration. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico s recent reassurances that his country, a member of the single-currency euro zone, sees itself firmly at the heart of the EU seem to have gone down well in Brussels. The Commission has responded by saying it would work with Slovakia and other eastern member states in tackling what they see as the malpractice of second-class food products being sold by big Western multinationals on their home markets. Soothing relations with Poland and Hungary, however, will prove more challenging.  Poland, led by the eurosceptic Law and Justice party (PiS), is under an unprecedented EU investigation over the rule of law following a series of reforms that critics say threaten the independence of the Polish judiciary. The EU also faces a tough challenge agreeing its next multi-year budget that runs from 2021, with generous handouts to the eastern nations under particular threat as Britain, a leading net donor,  prepares to leave the bloc in 2019.      After pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron won the French presidency this year, Brussels hopes a reinvigorated Paris-Berlin alliance can help usher in reforms needed for the bloc to thrive despite Brexit.  The Franco-German axis is promising to be the strongest in years. They (the easterners) either play along that   or they lose,  a senior EU diplomat said.

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ के जंकर ने रात के खाने के निमंत्रण के साथ यूरोसेप्टिक पूर्वी लोगों को अदालत में पेश किया


MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - A sound detected on Monday in the South Atlantic, near where an Argentine navy submarine with 44 crew went missing five days ago, is not believed to have come from the ill-fated vessel, a navy spokesman said. The sound detected by probes initially raised hopes that crew members aboard the ARA San Juan submarine, which disappeared after reporting an electrical malfunction, may have been intentionally making noise to attract rescuers. But an analysis by Argentine authorities, on the fourth day of a search-and-rescue mission, showed that it was highly unlikely it had come from the German-built submarine, navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters in Buenos Aires.  It does not correspond to a pattern that would be consistent with bangs against the walls in morse code,  Balbi said. He described whatever had been detected as  a continuous, constant sound.  The disappointment followed another letdown earlier in the day, when the navy said satellite calls detected over the weekend did not in fact come from the vessel. (tmsnrt.rs/2zQ8HGZ) The vessel reported an electrical problem and was headed back to its base in the port of Mar del Plata when it disappeared on Wednesday, the navy said. Storms have complicated search efforts as relatives wait anxiously.     More than a dozen boats and aircraft from Argentina, the United States, Britain, Chile and Brazil have joined the search effort. Authorities have mainly been scanning the sea from the sky, as storms have made it difficult for boats. The navy said on Monday night that two boats belonging to French oil company Total SA, which has offshore operations in Argentina, arrived at the Patagonian port of Comodoro Rivadavia to transport rescue equipment the U.S. Navy brought to the country, including a remote-operated vehicle, a mini-submarine, and a submarine rescue chamber.  Gabriel Galeazzi, a naval commander, told reporters that the submarine had come up from the depths and reported the unspecified electrical malfunction before it disappeared nearly 300 miles off the coast.  The submarine surfaced and reported a malfunction, which is why its ground command ordered it to return to its naval base at Mar del Plata,  he said. The malfunction did not necessarily cause an emergency, Galeazzi added. The craft was navigating normally, underwater, at a speed of five knots toward Mar del Plata when it was last heard from, he said.  A warship has a lot of backup systems, to allow it to move from one to another when there is a breakdown,  Galeazzi said. One of the crew is Argentina s first female submarine officer, Eliana Maria Krawczyk, 35, who joined the navy in 2004 and rose to become the master-at-arms aboard the ARA San Juan. The families of crew members have gathered at the Mar del Plata naval base awaiting news. They were joined on Monday by President Mauricio Macri.  We continue to deploy all available national and international resources,  to find the submarine, Macri said on Twitter. Intermittent satellite communications were detected on Saturday and the government had said they were likely to have come from the submarine. But the ARA San Juan sent its last signal on Wednesday, according to Balbi. The calls that were detected  did not correspond to the satellite phone of the submarine San Juan,  he said on Monday, adding that the craft had oxygen for seven days. After that, he said, it would have to surface or get near the surface to replenish air supply. The ARA San Juan was inaugurated in 1983, making it the newest of the three submarines in the navy s fleet. Built in Germany, it underwent maintenance in 2008 in Argentina. That maintenance included the replacement of its four diesel engines and its electric propeller engines, according to specialist publication Jane s Sentinel.

Summary: अटलांटिक में आवाज अर्जेंटीना की लापता पनडुब्बी से नहीं आईः नौसेना प्रवक्ता


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Abu Yazan has rarely stepped out of his apartment in northern Lebanon since he was beaten up on the street in June.  The 32-year-old father from Syria was leaving a pharmacy around midnight, when two strangers came up to him asking for a light. Then they asked if he was Syrian.   They both got off the motorcycle and beat me,  said Abu Yazan, who lives near the port city of Tripoli.  The second guy took off his belt and hit me with it on my back, my head. I couldn t do anything.  His wife cried for help but onlookers did nothing. For six years, tensions have simmered as 1.5 million Syrians poured into Lebanon, equal to around a quarter of its population. Refugees have faced waves of hostility since the conflict in neighboring Syria took hold. But the debate over their presence has taken a harder edge in recent months, fueled by political leaders who say Lebanon has lost patience with the social and financial burden of the refugee crisis. As they press demands for refugees to return to Syria, Lebanese politicians have warned of rising public anger. Like Abu Yazan, other refugees say they have hidden in their homes or camps for fear of assault, arrest, or humiliation.  In recent months, most of Lebanon s main parties have united in pushing for repatriation, a difficult demand as war has ravaged much of Syria. Rights groups have warned against forced return, and refugees often say they fear conscription into the Syrian army. Calls for refugees to return come as the Syrian government shores up its rule over the main urban centers and ceasefire deals have eased fighting with rebels in parts of western Syria.  The United Nations refugee agency has not seen a growing trend of reported attacks against Syrians, but has voiced concern about mounting tensions. Reports of attacks remain isolated incidents, spokeswoman Lisa Abou Khaled said, but refugees do  feel more anxious  and afraid.   Tensions escalated in June after Lebanon s army arrested hundreds of Syrians in a raid on refugee camps near the border, during which suicide bombers attacked soldiers.  When four detainees later died in custody, the military said it was from chronic illness. Activists and refugees challenged this account, some blaming the deaths on torture.  In this climate, a video circulated widely on social media of three Lebanese men beating up a refugee on the street. Authorities detained the attackers. Syrians in Lebanon say they have faced widespread harassment. Some of those Reuters interviewed said they felt it deteriorate in recent weeks, but others described it as just part of their daily existence as refugees.   I don t dare walk down the street,  said one refugee living amid makeshift tents in the Akkar region, who declined to be named because of security fears.  I get swear words.  Abu Yazan, who came to Lebanon five years ago, said many people had since extended sympathy to his family, but hostility from strangers and the recent assault scarred him. The attackers threatened to shoot him if they saw him again.   We hear a lot of talk.  You Syrians have robbed us. Go back to your country,  he said.  When we came to Lebanon, it wasn t by choice. We were fleeing a war. We considered them our people, our brothers.  Many Lebanese worry refugees threaten the country s security and burden its sluggish economy, which has been hard-hit by Syria s war. Others say refugees take jobs or strain Lebanon s already dysfunctional public services. The Lebanese government has long avoided setting up official refugee camps. So, many Syrians live in tented settlements, languishing in poverty and facing restrictions on legal residence or work.  During a mass last month, the head of Lebanon s Maronite Christian church, Patriarch Beshara al-Rai, urged politicians to work on returning Syrians to their own country.  The patriarch accused refugees of  snatching (the Lebanese people s) daily bread from their mouths, throwing them into a state of poverty and deprivation.  Nasser Yassin, a researcher of refugee policy at the American University of Beirut, said Lebanese communities were growing weary of hosting large numbers of refugees.  While resentment existed before,  things have changed drastically in the last couple of weeks ... mostly fueled by politicians and other leaders , he said.  Yassin warned against politicians fanning the flames by inflating the actual burden of the refugee crisis.   Imagine that things go out of control, that s a recipe for civil war,  he said. It is an ominous warning in a country whose own 15-year war involved Palestinian refugees.  Politicians fret that any long-term presence of mainly Sunni Syrian refugees could destabilize Lebanon by shifting its delicate sectarian balance.      Syria s conflict has inflamed political rivalries and sectarian divisions that have far from healed since Lebanon s 1975-1990 war.  The United Nations, security forces, and local officials have all mobilized to ease tensions, said Ziad El Sayegh, senior national policy adviser for Lebanon s ministry of displaced. Rights groups and activists have criticized Lebanon for ignoring the crisis in its early years with no national policy to handle the influx of people. The ministry was now developing a policy to coordinate the work of state agencies, he said.   The socio-economic strains have crossed the limit,  Sayegh added.  All of Lebanon wants returns. There is no dispute over that.   Syrians should go back with the help of the United Nations under the right safety guarantees, he said - an issue that has deeply divided Lebanon s political blocs.  Shi ite Hezbollah and its allies, who side with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, have pressed the Lebanese state to work with Damascus, which their critics strongly oppose. Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, allied to Sunni Saudi Arabia, and others insist the United Nations must oversee any repatriation.  Iranian-backed Hezbollah has played a major role in driving Sunni militants from the border, and has sent thousands of its fighters into Syria to support Assad s government. Under evacuation deals that Hezbollah has brokered, thousands of refugees have left Lebanon s northeast border region for Syria since July. Rights groups fear refugees went back because they felt under pressure in Lebanon.  The United Nations says it is still early for safe returns. It took no part in those local deals and raised concerns they did not meet  legal standards and humanitarian principles .  Still, the thousands who have gone back represent a drop in the ocean compared to the scale of Lebanon s refugee crisis.

Summary: लेबनान में सीरियाई शरणार्थियों के प्रति शत्रुता बढ़ी


MONROVIA (Reuters) - Liberia s supreme court cleared the way for a presidential run-off election, ruling on Thursday that it had not found enough evidence of fraud to halt the whole process. Ex-soccer star George Weah will now face off against Vice-President Joseph Boakai in a vote that could mark Liberia s first peaceful transition of power in seven decades. The court dismissed a complaint from the third-place finisher Charles Brumskine s Liberty Party, which had said fraud had undermined the first round of voting in October.  In the absence of sufficient evidence, the court cannot order a re-run of the election,  Justice Philip Banks said, reading out the court s decision.  There were over 5,000 polling places, (so) to present evidence of just a few is problematic,  the judge said.  The evidence should have (shown) ... that they were committed in such magnitude that they could have altered the results.  The winner of round two will replace Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as leader of the small West African country, one of the world s poorest despite abundant diamonds and iron ore.  The delays caused by all the legal wrangling have ratcheted up tensions in a country still recovering from decades of civil war that killed tens of thousands.  However, a spokesman for the Liberty Party said it would accept the result.  If we did not respect the judiciary, we would not have come,  Darius Dillion said.  Liberia has won, our democracy has won.  Liberians are eager for change after Johnson Sirleaf s 12-year rule, which sealed a lasting peace that many doubted was possible, but which has failed to tackle corruption or significantly lift living standards of the country s poorest. Authorities still have to name a date for the run-off. NEC spokesman Henry Flomo told reporters outside the court he believed one could be held in two weeks, but said the date would be announced shortly.  The judges made the ruling with a 4-1 majority.

Summary: लाइबेरिया की अदालत ने राष्ट्रपति पद के चुनाव के लिए रास्ता साफ किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday condemned Venezuela’s weekend gubernatorial elections as neither free nor fair and vowed to use its economic and diplomatic power to support Venezuelans in restoring democracy in the oil-exporting nation. “We condemn the lack of free and fair elections yesterday in Venezuela. The voice of the Venezuelan people was not heard,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. “As long as the (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro regime conducts itself as an authoritarian dictatorship, we will work with members of the international community and bring the full weight of American economic and diplomatic power to bear in support of the Venezuelan people as they seek to restore their democracy.”

Summary: अमेरिका ने वेनेजुएला के चुनावों की न तो स्वतंत्र और न ही निष्पक्ष होने के रूप में निंदा की


NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian police have arrested two Hindu farmers in connection with the killing of a Muslim man suspected of smuggling cows to a slaughter house, the investigating officer said on Wednesday. Hardline Hindu groups have gained prominence since Prime Minister Narendra Modi s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, and the protection of cows, considered holy by many in the Hindu-majority country, is a priority for them. Police found the body of Ummar Khan, 35 on Friday on railway tracks in Alwar district, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan. The two suspects were detained on Monday and arrested the next day, said Rahul Prakash, the top police officer in Alwar.  It is a clear case of murder over the issue of cow protection and we have also found that the victim was running a cow-smuggling racket,  Prakash said. Khan and two accomplices were using a stolen vehicle to transport five cows when they were attacked by six members of a self-styled cow protection force, he said.  Both sides were carrying guns and were shooting at each other.  Khan was shot dead and his body was thrown onto the railway track, Prakash said. Cow slaughter is illegal in most of India.  Gau rakshaks , or cow vigilantes, run a loosely organized movement that they say is meant to prevent cattle smuggling, with tactics that include highway ambushes. Modi has called for more to be done to prevent such attacks on people accused of eating beef or slaughtering cows. This year, a Muslim farmer died from injuries sustained during an assault by a mob in Alwar, about 180 km (100 miles) southwest of New Delhi, when he was taking cows to his home. Khan s wife, Khurdisan, denied that her husband and been leading any cows to slaughter. She accused members of a right-wing Hindu group affiliated to Modi s party of the murder.  He was bringing the cows home for their milk, not for their meat. I want the government to protect me and my children,  she was quoted as saying by Hindi-language Rajasthan Patrika newspaper.

Summary: मुस्लिम की हत्या के बाद भारतीय पुलिस ने संदिग्ध गोरक्षकों को गिरफ्तार किया


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The front-runner in Mexico s 2018 election has embraced a small, socially conservative party in his bid for the presidency, sparking criticism among progressives that could splinter his support in what is expected to be a tight race. Earlier this week, two-time presidential runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador entered into a coalition with the Social Encounter Party (PES), a tiny party with religious roots that pushes an anti-gay and anti-abortion agenda. The coalition is led by Lopez Obrador s left-of-center MORENA party and also includes the socialist-leaning Labor Party. Lopez Obrador, who is leading in most polls, has been Mexico s best-known leftist since he served as mayor of the capital a decade ago. In previous elections he favored tie-ups with left-wing parties. Some political analysts said a coalition with social conservatives could provide Lopez Obrador with the margin he needs to prevail in a crowded field of candidates, including first-time independents. But cracks in his progressive base are emerging.  It looks like our rights will have to keep waiting,  said Lol Kin Castaneda, a leading gay rights activist who helped push Mexico City s approval of marriage equality in 2010. Mexico s Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage is lawful. Still, fewer than half of the country s 32 states have laws on the books that permit civil marriage for gays and lesbians, and individual same-sex couples in most states must fight to be recognized, often at great cost.  It s an error for MORENA to join forces with PES... In this alliance, PES wins,  Andres Lajous, a left-leaning writer and television pundit, posted on Twitter. Leo Zuckermann, a socially liberal commentator, suggested that Lopez Obrador, popularly known by his initials AMLO, is revealing his true colors by aligning himself with the PES.  People of the left, it s time to recognize that AMLO is a conservative on these issues,  he wrote in newspaper Excelsior. Lopez Obrador, like many Latin American leftists, has traditionally focused on fighting poverty and graft, not divisive social issues like gay rights or a woman s right to an abortion. In the past, he has said such issues are not  so important  compared to the fight against corruption. He has also proposed putting same-sex marriage and abortion to a popular vote, which rankles activists like Castaneda. Asked if she might still support Lopez Obrador, Castaneda was quick to answer.  Right now, I haven t made a decision.

Summary: मेक्सिको में राष्ट्रपति पद के लिए वामपंथी उम्मीदवार ने दक्षिणपंथी पार्टी को गले लगाया


(Reuters) - For-profit education stocks have surged on expectations that President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican Congress may ease regulations imposed on the industry by the Obama administration, Barron’s said in a report. Stocks such as Grand Canyon Education, DeVry Education Group and Capella Education rose about 14 percent last week. Trump won an upset victory in Tuesday’s presidential election.  Jeff Silber at BMO Capital Markets said Trump’s election could be good news for for-profit education companies, according to Barron’s. A federal court trial in San Diego is set to begin on Nov. 28 over claims by former students of now-defunct Trump University that they were defrauded by a series of real estate seminars. A Trump lawyer has requested that the trial be delayed until after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Trump denies the students’ allegations.

Summary: लाभ के लिए कॉलेज ट्रम्प के तहत समृद्ध हो सकते हैंः बैरन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he believed that Republicans’ sweeping tax overhaul would help bring in $4 trillion in foreign profits from U.S. companies. “It’s going to bring back, I would say, $4 trillion back into this country,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Nobody even knows the amount,” he said. Trump’s comments came shortly before he was scheduled to meet with Senate Republicans in an effort to try to build consensus for their proposed $6 trillion in tax cuts and help fill in details on how to pay for them.

Summary: वास्तव में कोई नहीं जानता कि कर योजना से कितना लाभ होगाः ट्रम्प


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, already a White House senior adviser, will take on the additional task of overseeing an effort to overhaul the federal government, the White House said on Monday. Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, will lead a White House Office of American Innovation to leverage business ideas and potentially privatize some government functions as the White House pushes to shrink government, cut federal employees and eliminate regulations. “This office will bring together the best ideas from government, the private sector, and other thought leaders to ensure that America is ready to solve today’s most intractable problems,” Trump said in a memorandum creating the office that includes about a dozen White House officials. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to “drain the swamp,” has enacted a hiring freeze for most civilian federal jobs and proposed massive cuts in U.S. domestic agencies that could shrink the size of government by thousands of workers The Republican president has also proposed sweeping cuts in government regulations and plans to sign an order on Tuesday rolling back some energy regulations. “We have a lot more coming,” he said on Monday at a ceremony signing bills to repeal four regulations, vowing to eliminate every “job-killing regulation that we can find.” A number of recent presidents including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama had mixed success with their own initiatives to reinvent or streamline government using suggestions from the private sector. Kushner has been a regular presence at his father-in-law’s side and was earlier cleared by the Justice Department to serve as a White House senior adviser even as Democrats raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. He has been given a wide range of domestic and foreign policy responsibilities, including working on a Middle East peace deal. He will continue to serve in the other roles even as he takes up the new duties, the White House said.     Last week, Ivanka Trump received her own office in the White House along with access to classified information and a government-issued phone. Aides had said earlier she would not take on a role in her father’s White House. The Washington Post quoted aides as saying she would collaborate with Kushner’s innovation office but would not have an official role. Among past efforts to overhaul the way Washington works, Clinton in 1993 called for “reinventing government.” His reforms led to a slower pace of federal hiring, reducing the federal workforce by 240,000 jobs and closing small offices. Congress did not agree to some of the more aggressive cuts. Bush proposed government management reforms, but ended up focusing largely on restructuring national security agencies after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, folding many agencies into the new Department of Homeland Security. Obama in 2012 proposed closing the Commerce Department and creating a new export agency, saving $3 billion over 10 years and cutting 1,000 plus jobs. His plans failed to get congressional approval.

Summary: ट्रम्प के दामाद सरकार के सुधार की देखरेख करेंगे


(Reuters) - Hurricane Irma swept over U.S. President Donald Trump s 11-bedroom Caribbean mansion on Wednesday, the first of several luxury Trump properties threatened by the storm s path. It was not immediately known whether Irma damaged Trump s beachfront Chateau des Palmiers, or Castle of the Palms, on St. Martin. The gated estate, for sale for $16.9 million, is owned through a trust and had been rented out, U.S. media has reported. But French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said some buildings had been destroyed and social media showed flooded roads and overturned cars on the island that is roughly divided between France and the Netherlands.  The situation was being closely monitored on St. Martin and at a number of Trump properties in Florida, Trump Organization spokesperson Amanda Miller told Reuters in a statement.  Our teams at the Trump properties in Florida are taking all of the proper precautions and following local and Florida state advisories very closely to ensure that everyone is kept safe and secure,  Miller said. While Irma s exact trajectory remained uncertain, Trump s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach - which has been called the  winter White House  and valued by Forbes at $175 million - could also take a hit. Trump bought the estate in 1985 and turned it into an exclusive club, which now boasts a membership fee of $200,000 and is a haven for the tony Palm Beach set who pull up to the gate in Bentleys and Rolls-Royces. A staffer who answered the phone said it was closed and declined to comment further. Palm Beach County declared a state of emergency on Wednesday. Near Miami, Trump owns luxury high-rise condos called the Trump Towers, Sunny Isles and the oceanfront Trump International Beach Resort. Some guests were leaving ahead of the storm but precautions were being taken and resort officials were prepared to oversee evacuations if they were ordered, marketing director Jim Monastra said. At the Trump National Doral, an 800-acre golf resort in Miami that local media reported had completed a $250 million renovation last year, officials tweeted Wednesday that resort operations were going on as normal until further notice.

Summary: तूफान इरमा ने ट्रम्प की लक्जरी संपत्तियों को खतरे में डाला


(Reuters) - Montana Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte was cited for a misdemeanor on Wednesday after a reporter accused him of physical assault on the eve of a special election to fill the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office issued Gianforte a citation for misdemeanor assault, hours after Ben Jacobs, a reporter for the U.S. edition of the Guardian newspaper, said in a Twitter post and in a television interview that Gianforte “body slammed” him at a campaign event in Bozeman.

Summary: मोंटाना में रिपब्लिकन कांग्रेस के उम्मीदवार को रिपोर्टर-शेरिफ के साथ घटना के बाद उद्धृत किया गया


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia s Defence Ministry on Saturday criticized German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, saying it was bewildered by her assertion that Moscow planned to send more than 100,000 troops to war games on NATO s eastern flank this month. On Thursday, the German defense minister said the war games, code named Zapad or  West , were a clear  demonstration of capabilities and power of the Russians .   Anyone who doubts that only has to look at the high numbers of participating forces in the Zapad exercise: more than one hundred thousand,  von der Leyen told reporters at an EU defense ministers  meeting in Tallinn. Russia has said that its joint war games with Belarus will be purely defensive in nature, rejecting what it called false allegations that it might use the drills to train for invasions of Poland, Lithuania or Ukraine.  We are bewildered by the statements of Ursula von der Leyen, publicly talking through her hat and making arbitrary allegations about 100,000 Russian troops ...and about hidden threats to Europe,  Russia s military said in a statement. Russia has said around 13,000 troops from Russia and Belarus and almost 700 pieces of military hardware will be used in the exercises to be held in Belarus, the Baltic Sea, western Russia and Russia s exclave of Kaliningrad on Sept. 14-20. General Valery Gerasimov, chief of Russia s general staff, used a meeting on Thursday with General Petr Pavel, chairman of the NATO military committee, to reassure him about the upcoming war games.  It is hard to imagine that Ursula von der Leyen s colleagues from NATO, other competent German ministries or her own subordinates deliberately misled her,  Russia s defense ministry said.  It is much easier to suppose the opposite.   (For a graphic on Russia's Zapad war games, click tmsnrt.rs/2xQtYwH)

Summary: रूस ने युद्ध खेलों पर जर्मन रक्षा मंत्री की टिप्पणी की निंदा की


BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany must brace itself for turbulent times under U.S. President Donald Trump, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Sunday, adding that free trade and trans-Atlantic cooperation to fight extremism and terrorism were key for Berlin. Steinmeier, who in August said Trump was a “Hassprediger” or “hate preacher”, wrote in the mass-circulation Bild newspaper that some members of the new U.S. administration understand the importance of allies like Germany.  “I know, we must prepare ourselves for turbulent times, unpredictability and uncertainty,” Steinmeier said. “But I am convinced that we will find in Washington attentive listeners, who know that even big countries need partners in this world.” Trump unsettled German leaders with remarks such as that Britain will not be the last country to leave the European Union and with threats to impose high tariffs on imports from China and Mexico. Their response after he took office on Friday has been mixed. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who attended the opening of a museum outside Berlin as Trump was being sworn in on Friday, has said she would seek compromises with Trump on issues like trade and military spending and that she would work on preserving the important relationship between Europe and the United States. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Friday Germany should prepare for a rough ride under the new U.S. president and that Europe would have to craft a new economic policy geared toward China should Trump pursue protectionism. Trump has also criticised Merkel’s decision in 2015 to throw open Germany’s borders to asylum seekers, and has said he believes the NATO military alliance is obsolete. German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper to be published on Monday: “NATO is not a (business) deal. You can’t buy trust.” Under fire from Trump for not meeting NATO’s goals of spending two percent of national output on defence, Germany said this week it would meet that goal and demanded that the new U.S. administration map out a consistent foreign policy. Von der Leyen said that European countries should be ready to modernise the almost 70 years old military alliance and split its financing in a fairer manner.

Summary: जर्मनी को ट्रम्प के नेतृत्व में अशांत समय के लिए तैयार रहना चाहिएः विदेश मंत्री


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - There were more murders in October in Mexico than in any month over at least 20 years, according to official data, in the latest grim milestone in 2017, a year on course to register the highest homicide tally since modern records began.  Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto s failure to tackle growing drug violence is seen as a major weakness ahead of next July s presidential election, where he faces an uphill battle to keep his centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in power.  The data, published by Mexico s interior ministry on Monday, showed there were 2,371 murder investigations opened in October.      With 20,878 murders nationwide in the first 10 months of 2017, this year is on track to overtake 2011 as the most violent since the government began publishing such data in 1997. There were an average of 69 murders a day so far this year, putting Mexico on track to overtake the 2011 homicide tally before the end of November. In 2011, there were an average of 63 murders per day, according to Reuters calculations.   In a speech earlier this month, Pena Nieto acknowledged that crime and violence had been rising.  It has to be said, we re still not satisfied, and we still have lots more to achieve,  he said.  Security needs to remain an utmost priority for the government.  However, he also added that certain sectors of society are engaged in  bullying  Mexico s institutions, belittling the work of the police and military. Those comments were ridiculed online, where many criticized the rising violence and graft that have stained his administration. In further bad news for Pena Nieto s unpopular government, Silvestre de la Toba, the head of the Baja California Sur state human rights commission, was shot dead on Monday. His killing drew criticism from U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson, who tweeted that his death should be fully investigated.  Baja California Sur, which includes the popular resort of Los Cabos, is one of the states that has seen the sharpest rise in murders. There were 409 in the first 10 months of 2017, up 178 percent from the same period last year.

Summary: मेक्सिको में सबसे घातक माह रहा, 2017 सबसे खराब वर्ष रहा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump indicated an openness on Monday to delaying his push to secure funds for his promised border wall with Mexico, potentially eliminating a sticking point as lawmakers worked to avoid a looming shutdown of the federal government. Trump, in a private meeting with conservative media outlets, said he may wait until Republicans begin drafting the budget blueprint for the fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1 to seek government funds for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the White House confirmed. Trump, whose approval ratings have slid since he took office, is facing a Friday deadline for Congress to pass a spending bill funding the government through September or risk marking his 100th day in office on Saturday with a government shutdown. “Now the bipartisan and bicameral negotiators can continue working on the outstanding issues,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement on Monday night. Earlier on Monday, Schumer reiterated an assertion made last week that bipartisan negotiations in Congress were going well until the White House began demanding money for the wall as a condition for accepting a funding bill. Although Republicans control both chambers of Congress, a funding bill will need 60 votes to clear the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 52 seats, meaning at least some Democrats will have to get behind it. If no spending measure covering April 29 to Sept. 30 is in place before 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Saturday, government funds will halt and hundreds of thousands of the country’s several million federal employees will be temporarily laid off. Those in jobs deemed essential such as law enforcement are expected to keep working in the hope they will receive back pay. Non-essential sectors such as national parks are liable to be closed and programs such as federally funded medical research will grind to a halt. Failure to approve a government funding bill could also throw new doubts over Republicans’ ability to fashion a budget blueprint for the next fiscal year or to succeed in a major effort to cut corporate and individual taxes that Trump has touted. Congressional leaders will likely have to decide by late on Tuesday whether negotiations are progressing enough to try to pass a spending bill funding the government through September, Senator Roy Blunt, a member of the Republican leadership and Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters on Monday. If negotiations have slowed or stalled, Congress could pursue a short-term extension of existing spending levels to avoid a government shutdown, giving lawmakers more time to reach a deal. Leading Democrats have said they would support such a measure only if talks are progressing. Short-term funding measures, known as continuing resolutions that cover periods of days, have been used to avert government shutdowns in the past. But in 2013, conservative Republicans forced a 17-day shutdown in a failed attempt to repeal former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. A Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare imploded in Congress last month and the White House said on Monday that another vote could not come for weeks. But Trump has dangled the prospect of funding some elements of the law, which enabled millions more Americans to secure healthcare coverage, in exchange for Democrats’ support in the spending talks. The White House had offered to include $7 billion in Obamacare subsidies that allow low-income people to pay for healthcare insurance in exchange for Democratic backing of $1.5 billion in funding to begin construction of a barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border. It was unclear on Monday whether delaying wall funding until later spending negotiations would invalidate the White House pledge to include Obamacare subsidy funding for low-income people in the current proposal funding the government through September. Trump has argued that a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is needed to stem the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the United States. In a Twitter message on Monday, Trump wrote: “If... the wall is not built, which it will be, the drug situation will NEVER be fixed the way it should be!” Earlier on Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump’s demand that Congress include funds for the construction of the wall remained a White House priority. “The president has made very clear that he’s got two priorities in this continuing resolution: No. 1, the increase in funding for the military and No. 2, for our homeland security and the wall,” Spicer told reporters. The White House is confident in the direction of the talks and an announcement is expected soon, Spicer said, although he declined to say specifically whether Trump would sign a bill that did not contain money for border security and the wall. Trump has said Mexico will repay the United States for the wall if Congress funds it first. But the Mexican government is adamant it will not provide any financing and Trump has not laid out a plan to compel Mexico to pay. Department of Homeland Security internal estimates have placed the total cost of a border barrier at about $21.6 billion.  Aside from inflaming relations with a major trading partner, the planned wall has angered Democrats. They showed no sign of softening their opposition on Monday and sought to place responsibility for any shutdown squarely on Trump and congressional Republicans.

Summary: दीवार के लिए धन जुटाने के लिए ट्रम्प के दबाव में देरी हो सकती है क्योंकि सरकार बंद हो रही है


WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump called the U.S. air traffic control system out of date on Thursday and criticized its $10 billion yearly price tag but stopped short of calling for privatization of the program. “I hear we’re spending billions and billions of dollars, it’s a system that’s totally out of whack,” Trump said during a picture-taking session at the White House ahead of his sitdown with airline and airport executives. His comments heartened advocates of privatization who have long sought to move away from the system they see as outdated.  “We want to get the government out of the role of managing the air traffic control system,” Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Co’s chief executive officer, told Trump during the picture-taking session.  The Federal Aviation Administration spends nearly $10 billion a year on air traffic control funded largely through passenger user fees, and has about 28,000 air traffic control personnel. Trump said he had been informed that ongoing modernization efforts to the air traffic control system were already obsolete by the pilot of his private jet.  “I hear the government contracted for a system that’s the wrong system,” Trump said. “It’s way over budget, it’s way behind schedule and when it’s complete it’s not going to be a good system.” The FAA has spent nearly $3 billion since 2007 to implement an updated system, “NextGen,” which would utilize satellites to monitor aircraft instead of radar and make other changes.     “NextGen is one of the most ambitious infrastructure and modernization projects in U.S. history,” the agency said in a statement. “The FAA invited airline stakeholders to help develop the blueprint for NextGen and they continue to have a seat at the table in setting NextGen priorities and investments through the NextGen Advisory Committee.” The Government Accountability Office said in a 2016 report that the United States “is generally considered to have the busiest, most complex and safest ATC system in the world.” (bit.ly/1Q9oiOF) The chief executives of United Airlines Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc, Southwest and JetBlue Airways Corp were among those who attended the meeting. After the meeting, Airports Council International-North America President and CEO Kevin Burke told reporters on a conference call that airport officials had urged Trump to lift the cap on airport passenger fees to address airport infrastructure needs.  Trump proposed during his campaign to spend $1 trillion over a decade to upgrade the country’s infrastructure. Trump also told the executives he recognized that U.S. airlines were facing pressure from foreign carriers. Heads of the three largest U.S. passenger carriers - American Airlines Group Inc, United and Delta - have urged the Trump administration to denounce the U.S. Open Skies agreements with the three major Middle Eastern carriers, which they accuse of having been unfairly subsidized by their governments.     The three airlines, Qatar, Etihad and Emirates [EMIRA.UL], have denied that their governments unfairly subsidize them. The Gulf airlines operate around 200 flights per week to 12 U.S. cities. “I know you’re under pressure from a lot of foreign elements and foreign carriers,” Trump said, adding that he wants foreign carriers also to do well. “They come with big investments, in many cases those investments come from their governments, but they are still big investments,” he said.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने अमेरिकी हवाई यातायात नियंत्रण पर अरबों खर्च करने की आलोचना की


DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia welcomed  the reconciliation of rival factions Hamas and Fatah and said it will help Palestinians to gain their legitimate rights, the state news agency SPA reported on Friday. Citing an official source in the kingdom s foreign ministry, SPA said Saudi Arabia hopes the reconciliation will  realize the brotherly Palestinian people s hope of ending divisions and achieving unity . Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement on Thursday after Hamas agreed to hand over administrative control of Gaza, including the key Rafah border crossing, a decade after seizing the enclave in a civil war.

Summary: सऊदी अरब ने हमास और फतह के बीच सुलह समझौते का स्वागत किया


HANOI/MANILA (Reuters) - Authorities in Vietnam prepared to move a million people from low-lying areas along the south coast on Monday as a typhoon approached after it battered the Philippines with floods and landslides that killed more than 230 people. Typhoon Tembin is expected to slam into Vietnam late on Monday after bringing misery to the predominantly Christian Philippines just before Christmas. Vietnam s disaster prevention committee said 74,000 people had been moved to safety from vulnerable areas, while authorities in 15 provinces and cities were prepared to move more than 1 million. The government ordered that oil rigs and vessels be protected and it warned that about 62,000 fishing boats should not venture out to sea.  Vietnam must ensure the safety of its oil rigs and vessels. If necessary, close the oil rigs and evacuate workers,  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was quoted as saying on a government website. Schools were ordered to close in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, a working day in Vietnam. On Sunday, Tembin hit the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, parts of which are contested by several countries, including Vietnam and China.  No casualties were reported in outposts there. Vietnam, like the Philippines, is regularly battered by typhoons that form over the warm waters of the Pacific and barrel westwards into land. Tembin will be the 16th major storm to hit Vietnam this year. The storms and other disasters have left 390 people dead or missing, according to official figures. In the Philippines, rescue workers were still struggling to reach some remote areas hit by floods and landslides that Tembin s downpours brought, as the death toll climbed to more than 230. Scores of people are missing. The full extent of the devastation was only becoming clear as the most remote areas were being reached. Health worker Arturo Simbajon said nearly the entire coastal village of Anungan on the Zamboanga peninsula of Mindanao island had been wiped out by a barrage of broken logs, boulders and mud that swept down a river and out to sea.  Only the mosque was left standing,  Simbajon said.  People were watching the rising sea but did not expect the water to come from behind them.  Manuel Luis Ochotorena, head of regional disaster agency, said he expected the death toll to rise.  Many areas in Zamboanga peninsula are still without power and communications, some towns are cut off due to collapsed bridges, floods and landslides,  he said. Tens of thousands of people on Mindanao have been displaced by the storm, which struck late on Friday. The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons a year and warnings are routinely issued. But disaster officials said many villagers had ignored warnings this time to get out coastal areas and move away from riverbanks. In 2013, super typhoon Haiyan killed nearly 8,000 people and left 200,000 families homeless in the central Philippines.  (This version of the story was refiled to fix spelling in paragraph two)

Summary: वियतनाम में तूफान की आशंका, फिलीपींस में मरने वालों की संख्या बढ़कर 230 हुई


ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - U.S. Senator John McCain said on Sunday he would like relations between United States and Pakistan to improve as they have a common enemy in the Islamic State and other radical Islamist groups. Relations between Pakistan and United States have been frayed over the past decade, with U.S. officials frustrated by what they term Islamabad’s unwillingness to act against Islamist groups such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network. Pakistan rejects harboring militants but says there are limits to how much it can do as it is already fighting multiple Islamist groups and is wary of “blowback” in the form of more terror attacks on its soil.  McCain, visiting Pakistan as part of a U.S. delegation, said he had an “excellent meeting” with Pakistani foreign ministry officials. “We come back with a message that we have a common enemy in ISIS, radical Islam and terrorism, and we look forward to closer relations and resolving the differences we have,” McCain told Pakistan’s national PTV channel. Relations between United States and Pakistan were tested again in May by a U.S. drone strike that killed Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour on Pakistani soil.  As part of the visit, McCain traveled to Miranshah, the capital of the restive North Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan. The region was effectively run Islamists by groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and the Haqqani network until the Pakistani military launched operations against them in 2014. “I was very impressed with the progress (on the ground),” said McCain, who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I see us working together in confronting a common challenge – radical Islamic terrorism – and these kinds of meetings are very helpful to both those countries,” McCain added. The Islamic State has struggled to gain a major foothold in Pakistan, analysts say, but officials worry the group may pose a threat in the future.  Pakistan said the country’s top foreign policy official Sartaj Aziz had briefed the U.S. delegation - which includes Senators Lindsey Graham, Benjamin Sasse and Joe Donnelly - about faltering peace talks to end the civil war in Afghanistan. So far China, United States and Pakistan have struggled to persuade the Afghan Taliban to meaningfully embrace the talks. “No country had as much vital stakes in the success of these joint efforts, as Pakistan, (Aziz) remarked,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Summary: सीनेटर मैक्केन, पाकिस्तान की यात्रा पर, इस्लामी लड़ाई में बेहतर संबंध चाहते हैं


RIYADH (Reuters) - A Saudi-led coalition accused Yemen s Houthi militia of a  dangerous escalation  on Sunday after Saudi air defense forces intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards Riyadh. Saudi Arabia also announced financial rewards for information leading to the arrest of 40 leaders it said were responsible for  planning, implementing and supporting the Houthi terrorist group s various terrorist activities . The bounties topped out at $30 million for the armed group s leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the state news agency reported. The missile was brought down on Saturday evening near King Khaled International Airport on the northern outskirts of the capital and did not cause any casualties.      The Houthis  dangerous escalation came because of Iranian support,  coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said in a televised news conference. Rocket launch vehicles used to fire the missile were made in Iran, he added. Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse arch-foe Iran of supplying missiles and other weapons to the Houthis, saying the arms were not present in Yemen before the conflict began in 2015. Iran denies the charges and blames the conflict on Riyadh. Yemen s civil war pits the internationally recognized government, backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies, against the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The war has already killed more than 10,000 and displaced millions, with around 500,000 cholera cases reported in the country since the worst outbreak in decades started in April. The Saudi-led coalition s statement on Sunday echoed accusations by U.S. President Donald Trump, who described the missile as  a shot just taken by Iran  against Saudi Arabia. The head of Iran s Revolutionary Guard Corps dismissed Trump s comments as slander. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Sunday the missile launch by Houthi rebels showed there was a danger of ballistic proliferation across the region. Saudi Arabia has signaled its intention to buy separate air defense systems from the United States and Russia.

Summary: सऊदी के नेतृत्व वाले गठबंधन ने मिसाइल को यमन संघर्ष का 'खतरनाक विस्तार' बताया


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in his first NATO meeting in Brussels, told allies that the United States will uphold previous agreements and ensure the alliance has the capability to defend itself, including from Russian aggression. He also pressed allies to meet a defense spending goal of 2 percent of gross domestic product, urging each country to either meet or have a plan in place to fulfill funding commitments to NATO by a May summit of NATO leaders.

Summary: टिलरसन ने पहली गठबंधन बैठक में कहा कि अमेरिका नाटो के लिए प्रतिबद्ध है


BANGKOK (Reuters) - People in Thailand celebrated the Loy Krathong or  floating basket  festival on Friday, following a year of mourning for late King Bhumibol Adulyadej that saw many celebrations muted or canceled. The mourning ended on Monday after a five-day funeral last week, and many citizens have returned to wearing colored garments after having stuck to black for a year.  Participants in the festival pay respects to the water spirits, floating small, traditionally-hand crafted rafts carrying flowers, bamboo and candles on waterways in an ancient ritual. The rafts are also thought to carry away bad luck and usher in good fortune during the festival, which is celebrated all over Thailand, but is particularly spectacular in the north. Festivities will stay in a low key this year, out of respect for the late monarch, however, authorities in the capital said.   We will not have excessive celebrations but will focus more on showcasing Thai culture,  Chalermpon Chotinuchit, of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), told Reuters. The BMA urged celebrants to use rafts made from natural materials this year, after environment groups flagged concerns about non-biodegradable components clogging rivers and drains. Festival participants also struck a somber note.   It will be a sadder period this Loy Krathong because everyone loves the late King Rama IX,  said 23-year-old Nanthicha Sorndee. Safety concerns have prompted national carrier Thai Airways International to cancel some roundtrip flights between Bangkok and Chiang Mai on Friday and Saturday, it said in a statement, without elaborating.  The northern Thai city celebrates Loy Krathong alongside Yi Peng, a festival in which brightly lit lanterns are wafted into the sky.

Summary: एक साल के शोक के बाद थाईलैंड का 'फ्लोटिंग बास्केट' उत्सव लौटता है


(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wants to build a wall on the border with Mexico, boost spending on the military and slap trade tariffs on China. Here are those positions and others the real estate developer, who has never held elective office, has put forward to convince the American people that he should be the next U.S. chief executive: Trump has proposed collapsing the current seven income tax brackets to three with rates of 12 percent, 25 percent and 33 percent. The current top rate is 39.6 percent. He also would eliminate the estate tax, and slash the corporate rate to 15 percent from 35 percent. His plan would allow families to deduct childcare costs from income taxes and offer further support through an existing tax credit for lower-income people. He would also provide six weeks of paid maternity leave for new mothers through temporary unemployment insurance. He has proposed paying for it by cracking down on fraud in the unemployment insurance program and through other changes to the system. Trump has proposed increasing spending on the U.S. military and infrastructure but says he would reduce spending on other categories by 1 percent each year. However, the Social Security and Medicare programs for the elderly would be exempt from cuts. Some economists questioned whether Trump’s ideas for reducing spending would be enough to make up for major tax cuts, particularly since many Republicans believe Medicare and Social Security must be revamped to control government outlays. Trump launched his presidential campaign with his vow to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and has said he would insist that the United States’ southern neighbor pay for it. He has promised to triple the number of immigration enforcement officers, hire more Border Patrol agents and boost penalties for overstaying visas. Trump has said he would prioritize the deportation of people in the United States illegally who have committed crimes and of those who have arrived recently or overstayed visas. He would require people seeking legal status to leave and reapply. Trump said that after his immigration goals are achieved, he would determine what to do about people still in the country illegally.     Trump has proposed ideological screening, or “extreme vetting,” of people coming to the United States to determine whether they share American values. He has proposed a ban on immigration from countries where vetting would be difficult. Initially, he proposed a temporary ban on all Muslims from entering the United States. Critics, including some of Trump’s defeated rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, said the initial plan to ban all Muslims was discriminatory and likely unconstitutional. Others have since said his “extreme vetting” idea might not be feasible.     Trump has promised a “dismantling” of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law enacted following the financial crisis, but has given few details.     The Republican Party’s platform calls for reinstating Glass-Steagall, the 1930s-era law that forced the separation of investment banks from deposit-taking institutions. Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, said in July that his campaign backed this change. Republican lawmakers have so far been unable to undo many of their most-despised pieces of the Dodd-Frank law, and many in their ranks oppose a return to Glass-Steagall.     Trump has offered few details about his plans to combat Islamic State but has said he would “knock the hell out of” the militant group. He says he is keeping the details of strategy a secret so as not to disclose them to the enemy. Trump has said if he wins, he would give U.S. generals 30 days after he takes office on Jan. 20, 2017 to propose their own plans.     Trump has said he opposes accepting refugees fleeing violence in Syria, and instead has said he would create “safe zones” there, which he says would be funded by Gulf states. President Barack Obama has said a safe zone in Syria would require a large U.S. military commitment, something unlikely to be popular with Americans weary of lengthy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.     Trump has said he would have a “very, very good” relationship with Russia. He has said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin was a better leader than Obama.     Trump has said could work with Russia to combat Islamic State. He also said he would look into recognizing Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014, as Russian territory and lifting sanctions on Russia imposed by Western nations for what they called an illegal land grab.     Trump has criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, saying some U.S. allies have not met their defense commitments. In July, he said if Russia attacked a NATO member, he would consider whether the country has paid up before providing defense.   NATO leaders say the sanctions against Russia are key to persuading it to change that country’s behavior in Ukraine, where it has backed ethnic Russian separatists, and that the alliance has long been focused on fighting international terrorism.     Trump has made criticism of China’s trade practices a central campaign theme. He has vowed to formally label China a currency manipulator, impose tariffs on Chinese imports and bring unfair trade cases as punishment for what he believes are improper subsidies.     Trump has called for a stronger U.S. military presence in the South China Sea.     He has said he would pull the United States out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. Though the trade agreement does not include China, Trump has said he is concerned it could try to enter it through the “back door.” TPP supporters, including Obama, have said China hoped to reach its own deal that would make it the leader in Asian trade. They have said the pact would enable the United States to take a leadership role in the region instead of China.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः आप्रवासन, अर्थव्यवस्था और अन्य मुद्दों पर ट्रम्प की नीतियाँ


NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed Nirmala Sitharaman as defence minister on Sunday as part of a cabinet reshuffle, as he seeks to get economic growth back on track and modernise the armed forces before national elections in 2019. Sitharaman, 58, who was promoted from being a junior trade minister, becomes the first female defence minister since Indira Gandhi was in charge of the department when she was prime minister 35 years ago. She will take over from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who held both portfolios but said last week he wanted to concentrate on the economy. Growth in Asia s third-largest economy slowed to its weakest pace in three years in the last quarter and government promises to boost manufacturing and create tens of thousands of jobs for one of the world s youngest workforces have failed to take off. Sitharaman has been running the trade ministry where she built up a reputation as a tough negotiator.  At defence she will be charged with carrying out a military modernisation programme estimated to cost $150 billion to fully equip India s armed forces. Modi also named a new minister for the railways to restore confidence in the world s fourth-biggest rail network after a string of accidents, as well as a new leader to head a planned clean up of the river Ganges that has failed to make headway. Piyush Goyal, who has been credited with turning around the coal mining sector, will run the railways while remaining coal minister. Nitin Gadkari who heads the highways and shipping ministry will also look after the ministry of water resources and the Ganges rejuvenation department, the government said in a statement.  Four of the nine new ministers appointed by Modi are retired bureaucrats, including K J Alphons, known as Delhi s demolition man for launching a crackdown on illegal structures in the capital despite facing intense political pressure.  They also include a former police commissioner and a diplomat, reflecting Modi s faith in bureaucrats to deliver on his goals rather than politicians who are often untested in governance. Modi also promoted Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the minister of minority affairs and one of a handful of Muslim leaders in his party, to the cabinet.   Naqvi has been trying to deflect criticism that the government is either failing to or unwilling to protect Muslims involved in the meat trade after a number of attacks by hardline Hindu vigilantes who are pushing harder for protection of the cow, an animal they consider sacred.   I congratulate all those who have taken oath today. Their experience and wisdom will add immense value to the council of ministers,  Modi said before leaving for China to attend a summit of the BRICS group of countries -  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Critics, however, said the cabinet changes would make little difference since Modi and his office were directly running the government with little real power given to the ministers.   What s the fuss about a cabinet reshuffle in a one-man cabinet? Prime minister s office reshuffle would have mattered more,  said Yogendra Yadav who runs an independent political group.

Summary: भारत ने नए रक्षा मंत्री की नियुक्ति की, अर्थव्यवस्था पर फिर से ध्यान केंद्रित करने के लिए मंत्रिमंडल में फेरबदल किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will  vote later on Wednesday on whether to send its tax legislation to a conference to hammer out differences with the U.S. House of Representatives’ version of the plan.  Speaking on the chamber’s floor, McConnell also said Congress later this week would pass a short-term continuing resolution measure to continue funding the federal government while lawmakers work on a longer-term spending bill. He did not give any dates.

Summary: कर विधेयक पर सदन के साथ काम करने के लिए सीनेट बुधवार को बाद में मतदान करेगीः मैककोनेल


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain s ruling Conservatives barred two of their own lawmakers in the European Parliament after they broke the party whip and voted for a motion demanding London do more to meet EU demands in Brexit talks.  Julie Girling and ... Richard Ashworth were suspended from the Conservative Party last night after supporting a resolution ... to block Brexit talks moving forward,  the party said on Sunday in a statement that highlighted divisions over Britain s move to quit the European Union in 18 months. Prime Minister Theresa May supported the move. A government source said the two had behaved  totally irresponsibly .      They left the party no choice but to act,  Ashley Fox, leader of the 20-strong group, said in the statement, describing the decision of Ashworth and Girling, a former group leader and chief whip respectively, as  extremely regrettable . Girling, who like Ashworth and Fox opposed Brexit during last year s referendum, defended her decision to vote with the overwhelming majority in Strasbourg on Tuesday on a non-binding resolution which urged EU leaders not to accept London s request for talks on post-Brexit trade without further concessions.  I did not vote to prevent trade talks,  she said, noting she called for such negotiations. However, she said in a statement that it was  patently obvious  that the EU s test of  sufficient progress  on key divorce issues were not yet met.  Her vote, she said, put the interests of her constituents over party discipline and referred to support on the far-right for Britain to walk out without a deal:  I have never agreed to silently acquiesce as our country heads towards a cliff edge,  she said, describing that as  wanton economic self-harm .  May, who also opposed Brexit, is battling to contain in-fighting over approaches to Brexit and threats to her leadership after an uncertain party conference performance last week. Her Brexit minister David Davis is due back in Brussels this week for further talks. The party statement said Davis had written to leaders of the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties to complain after most British MEPs voted with the majority. He urged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to suspend most of his MEPs.

Summary: मे की पार्टी ने ब्रेक्सिट वोट पर दो यूरोपीय संघ के सांसदों को निलंबित कर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday it was important to maintain a strong dollar in the long term, adding that President-elect Donald Trump’s recent comments that the currency was too strong were focused on short-term impacts. “When the president-elect made a comment on the U.S. currency, it wasn’t meant to be a long-term comment,” Mnuchin said in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. Mnuchin, a Wall Street veteran, added that Trump’s comments that the dollar was too strong were focused on short-term market factors that had pushed the greenback higher, hurting U.S. exports. “The long-term strength over long periods of time is important” for the dollar, Mnuchin said.

Summary: ट्रेजरी नॉमिनी म्नुचिन कहते हैं कि लंबे समय तक डॉलर की मजबूती महत्वपूर्ण है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday  that Senate Republicans would unveil their tax reform proposal on Friday. McConnell also told reporters that Republican Senator Rand Paul, who was injured in a confrontation with a neighbor at his Kentucky home on Sunday, would return to Congress next week.

Summary: अमेरिकी सीनेट रिपब्लिकन शुक्रवार को कर प्रस्ताव का अनावरण करेंगेः मैककोनेल


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - National security adviser H.R. McMaster said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump did not have an inappropriate conversation or one that caused a lapse in national security when he met with senior Russian officials last week at the White House. “I stand by my statement that I made yesterday,” McMaster told a White House briefing. “What I’m saying is really the premise of that (Washington Post) article was false, that in any way the president had a conversation that was inappropriate or resulted in any kind of lapse in national security.”

Summary: अमेरिकी सुरक्षा सलाहकार का कहना है कि ट्रम्प ने राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा में कोई चूक नहीं की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday repealed a rule put forth in the final days of the Obama administration that limited emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas drilling on federal lands, in the latest move by Republican lawmakers to overturn regulation on the energy industry. The Senate is expected to vote next on repealing the rule, which was part of former President Barack Obama’s efforts to curb climate change. Congress this week repealed pollution and anti-corruption rules on energy companies.

Summary: सदन ने संघीय भूमि पर मीथेन उत्सर्जन पर ओबामा के नियम को निरस्त किया


TRIPOLI/TUNIS (Reuters) - An armed alliance involved in a three-week battle over the Libyan smuggling hub of Sabratha said it had taken control of the coastal city on Friday. A group called the Operations Room and its allies have been fighting the Anas al-Dabbashi brigade, a major facilitator of migrant smuggling that recently said it had changed tack and struck a deal with the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli to stop boats setting off across the Mediterranean.  Sabratha city has been liberated from the militias   the Dabbashi militias and their alliance,  said Operations Room spokesman Saleh Graisia.  Now the city is fully controlled by the Operations Room ... the militias have escaped to the west.  A senior member of the Dabbashi brigade confirmed that its men had retreated.  It is over,  he said in a message sent to Reuters.  They took over Sabratha.  The setback for the Dabbashi brigade creates new uncertainty over control of future migrant flows from Libya.       Since a 2016 deal between the EU and Turkey to block crossings in the Aegean, Libya has been the gateway for the vast majority of migrants trying to reach Europe by boat, and the area around Sabratha has been the most common departure point. From July, the number of crossings dropped sharply, a change attributed to increased activity by Libya s EU-trained coastguard and to the Dabbashi brigade blocking departures in return for offers of an amnesty and jobs in the security forces. The head of the Dabbashi brigade, Ahmed al-Dabbashi, said his men were then targeted by opponents who wanted to continue smuggling. Rivalries in Sabratha are also tied into overlapping political, ideological, tribal and economic differences. Both the Dabbashi brigade and the Operations Room, which was created last year to force Islamic State militants from Sabratha, have links to the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). Since 2015, the Dabbashi brigade has guarded an oil and gas facility west of Sabratha run jointly by Libya s National Oil Corporation (NOC) and Italian firm Eni. Italian officials have visited Sabratha as part of efforts to block migrant flows from there. The Libyan National Army (LNA), which has opposed the GNA and is headed by prominent commander Khalifa Haftar, has also claimed ties to the Operations Room, leading to fears that the clashes in Sabratha could lead to a broader escalation of the conflict which developed in Libya after a 2011 uprising. The LNA is based in eastern Libya but is seeking to expand its reach in the west of the country. Milad al-Zawi, a spokesman for the LNA s special forces, said this week that around 40 of its soldiers had been fighting in Sabratha.    We hope that Sabratha is a good sign for the LNA,  he said on Friday. The GNA also welcomed developments in Sabratha, expressing  deep satisfaction  and claiming the Operations Room as its own. The fighting in Sabratha has left dozens dead and injured and has caused extensive damage to residential areas. The city s Roman ruins, which are a UNESCO world heritage site, have also been damaged.   Sabratha s municipal council appealed on Friday for displaced families not to return to their homes until they had been checked for explosives.  The military engineering unit is working to defuse booby traps inside the city,  said Operations Room spokesman Graisia.

Summary: सशस्त्र बल ने लीबिया के प्रवासी तस्करी केंद्र में जीत का दावा किया


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe s support ratings have recovered to the 50 percent level, a poll released on Tuesday showed, helped by public jitters over North Korea s missile and nuclear tests and by disarray in the main opposition party. A September 8-10 survey by the Yomiuri newspaper put support for Abe s administration at 50 percent, up 8 points from the previous month. Abe s support had sunk below 30 percent in some polls in July, battered by suspected cronyism scandals and perceptions among voters that he had become arrogant after more than four years in office. His ratings improved slightly cabinet reshuffle in early August. Since then, news has been dominated by rising regional tensions over North Korea s ballistic missile tests, including one that flew over northern Japan. Abe has spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump by phone numerous times, seeking to demonstrate the U.S.-Japan alliance is firm. Pyongyang last week carried out its sixth and biggest nuclear test and Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera warned more provocations could be in store after the U.N. Security Council stepped up sanctions, imposing a ban on the North s textile exports and capping crude oil imports.  Japan also wants to take leadership to change North Korea s policies while coordinating closely with other countries,  Abe told reporters on Tuesday. With parliament in recess, Abe was  able to use the  crisis  in North Korea to monopolize the spotlight by getting the media to portray him as a strong leader,  said Koichi Nakano, a  political science professor at Sophia University. Japan s opposition Democratic Party, meanwhile, failed to  improve its ratings after the election last month of a new leader, former foreign minister Seiji Maehara. The Democrats also face likely defections to an embryonic party that allies of popular Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, an ex-ruling party lawmaker, are trying to form. Sixty percent of voters did not hold hopes for Maehara s leadership compared to 33 percent who did. Support for his party languished at 5 percent versus 40 percent for Abe s Liberal Democratic Party, the Yomiuri said. Reflecting Koike s popularity, the yet-to-be-launched  Japan First  party, fared better, with 41 percent expressing hopes for the new group. Whether Abe can maintain the gains in popularity remains to be seen.  The scandals have not gone away and in a couple of weeks, Abe will have to convene the Diet ... so the recovery in  support levels may well turn out to be temporary,  Nakano said.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया की सुरक्षा चिंताओं के बीच जापान के प्रधानमंत्री आबे की रेटिंग 50 प्रतिशत बढ़ी


NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senior BlackRock Inc executive made a donation to an unsuccessful U.S. presidential candidate last year, an action that may prohibit the world’s largest asset manager from collecting some fees from a state government, a company regulatory filing showed. Mark Wiedman, a BlackRock senior managing director, donated $2,700 to the presidential campaign of Ohio Governor John Kasich, who was seeking the Republican Party nomination, according to a filing made earlier this year with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and reviewed by Reuters on Monday. Federal securities rules prohibit companies or their executive officers from making donations to government officials who could influence the hiring of a fund manager or have authority to appoint a person who could do so and then providing asset management services to their governments for a fee. The ban is in effect for two years after the contribution is made.  The state of Ohio uses BlackRock-managed funds, and its relationship with BlackRock “substantially predates” the donation, the filing said. In the May filing, BlackRock asked the SEC for permission to accept fees from the state of Ohio, saying that exceptions to the rule have been granted before. Without such a ruling, BlackRock said it could face a loss of approximately $37 million. BlackRock said Wiedman asked for and received a refund of his campaign contribution to Kasich, which was “made because of the personal political beliefs of the contributor and not because of any desire to influence the award of investment advisory business.” The SEC has not yet responded to BlackRock’s request. In an emailed statement, BlackRock said its application is “fair and reasonable, and consistent with the intent of the relevant rule.” “The contribution in question was made solely in support of Mr. Kasich’s presidential campaign and for no other purpose,” BlackRock spokeswoman Tara McDonnell said in the statement. “Through BlackRock’s robust policies and procedures, we discovered the contribution in question, and both BlackRock and Mr. Wiedman worked together to promptly address the error, including obtaining a refund of the $2,700 contribution,” McDonnell said. A spokesman for the SEC, Ryan White, declined to comment on the filing. A spokesman for Kasich did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the donation. Wiedman is global head of iShares and index investments, a booming business within BlackRock that includes its exchange-traded funds. The iShares brand brought in nearly $74 billion of new cash into BlackRock in the second quarter. BlackRock manages $5.7 trillion overall.

Summary: अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति पद के उम्मीदवार को दान देने को लेकर ब्लैकरॉक शुल्क अधर में