AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A bill that would restrict access to public bathrooms by transgender people was approved by a Texas Senate committee on Wednesday after hundreds of people lined up for a nearly 21-hour session on that legislation, which critics said promotes discrimination. The bill would require people to use restrooms that correspond with the gender on their birth certificate, not the gender with which they identify.  It will now go to the Republican-controlled Senate where it is expected to pass. Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who guides the Senate agenda, has said the legislation is a priority. Analysts do not expect the bill to make it through the state House of Representatives, where there is more concern about the potential economic impact of such legislation. The bill, which focuses on a heated political issue in the United States, is similar to one enacted last year in North Carolina. That law prompted economic boycotts and the loss of sporting events that were estimated to have cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars. The Texas Association of Business released a study in January in which it said that if the legislation were enacted  it could cost Texas as much as $8.5 billion in the state’s gross domestic product and the loss of more than 185,000 jobs in the first year alone. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has challenged the survey and brought North Carolina Republican Lieutenant Governor  Dan Forest to Texas to rally support for the bill. Nearly 70 businesses, including some of the state’s biggest employers such as American Airlines, sent a letter to Republican leaders this month asking them to reject the bill on the grounds that it would “legalize discrimination.” THIRD-GRADER TESTIFIES Hundreds registered to testify, and more than 250 people addressed the committee. Some waited more than 12 hours while many bill opponents lined the corridors in the Capitol’s dome.  “At the core of this bill is privacy,” Republican state Senator Lois Kolkhorst, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee. Almost all the testimony was against the bill while supporters said it would help prevent sexual predators from targeting women and children. Chelsa Morrison, whose 8-year-old daughter Marilyn started third grade at a suburban Dallas school after a gender transition, choked back tears as she told the committee that her daughter was bullied and if the legislation was enacted it would be devastating. Marilyn told lawmakers, “Trans people are real. You are looking at one right now. This bill is horrifying to me and all of my transgender friends.”  She said it would be embarrassing if she were forced to use the boys’ bathroom. “All we got to do is tinkle and get out. That’s all.” Her mother said later in a telephone interview that Marilyn attended school in the latter part of last year for about a month, then left because of bullying and bathroom restrictions. She is now being schooled at home. Lieutenant Governor Patrick has called the bill common sense legislation. “North Carolina was the tip of the spear,” he told reporters this week. “We will be next to pass a bill that focuses on privacy, a person’s privacy, and public safety.”

Summary: टेक्सास समिति ने ट्रांसजेंडर बाथरूम तक पहुंच पर अंकुश लगाने के लिए विधेयक पारित किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump told several lawmakers on Tuesday that he would work with Democrats in Congress to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system if Republicans fail to pass a measure to repeal and replace Obamacare, a key lawmaker said.  “On healthcare, he made that clear, that if he didn’t get what he wanted, that he was going to work with Democrats on a plan,” for healthcare and that he wanted bipartisan tax reform, U.S. Representative Richard Neal, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said following panel members’ meeting with Trump at the White House earlier on Tuesday.

Summary: स्वास्थ्य देखभाल, करों पर डेमोक्रेट के साथ काम करने के लिए तैयार हैंः सांसद


HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who faces trial in August for allegedly leaking secret grand jury information, on Tuesday ruled out running for a second term. Kane is the first woman and first Democrat elected as the state’s top law enforcement officer, and her current four-year term concludes at the end of 2016. “(I’m) a mother first and foremost,” Kane, who is divorced and has two teenage sons, told reporters at a news conference in Scranton. “I have two very important people at home,” said Kane, 49, of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. “As you all know, being a single mother… that in itself is a full-time job.” She vigorously defended her time in office, especially her efforts to “rid the state of corruption” but declined to answer further questions. Tuesday marked the deadline in Pennsylvania for filing nominating petitions for the May primary election. Kane was expected to face at least two and possibly three Democratic opponents in the primary while at the same time defending herself against the legal charges.  Kane has been in legal hot water ever since her indictment last summer for allegedly passing grand jury information to a reporter as part of a personal feud. Her law license was suspended in October as a result of the grand jury indictment. Kane has portrayed herself as a victim of an “old boys’ network” worried about her efforts to expose prosecutors and Supreme Court judges who had exchanged sexually explicit or offensive emails on state computers.  Last week, Democrats in the state Senate defeated a Republican-led effort to remove her from office on the grounds that her suspended law license made it impossible for her to do her job. One of her chief critics, Representative Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican, said on Tuesday he welcomed her decision not to run but also wished she had resigned.  He said he would continue to support a separate effort in the House of Representatives to impeach Kane.

Summary: मुकदमे का सामना कर रहे पेंसिल्वेनिया के अटॉर्नी जनरल फिर से चुनाव नहीं लड़ेंगे


CAIRO (Reuters) - Six months before Egypt s election, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi s supporters are petitioning for him to run, rallying around the former military commander whose popularity critics say has been dimmed by austerity reforms, security problems and a crackdown on dissidents.   Four years ago, Sisi won a landslide victory after he led the military ouster of then president Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, promising stability following Egypt s 2011 Arab Spring uprising.   Sisi, 62, has yet to declare if he will run, though he is unlikely to face strong opposition. He says he will follow the people s will, and many in Egypt still see him as key to stability in a country where unrest since 2011 has battered the economy.   But some critics say that narrative has been undercut by tough austerity reforms and a currency flotation that has made even the middle-class poorer, and an Islamic insurgency that has extended outside its battleground in the northern Sinai,     The  So You Can Build It  petition campaign launched by a businessman, professors and pro-Sisi independent lawmakers is looking to whip up turnout for Sisi and show he still has the legitimacy of a popular mandate. Less than a month into the campaign, its founders claim they will rally massive support. A host of celebrities have signed up, posing on social media with petition forms that show Egypt s red, white and black flag, and a silhouette of the pyramids.   We will find out from the numbers we have collected what the Egyptian people s support looks like ... especially since there are rumors that there s been a decline in popular support,  said Mohamed Shaaban, the campaign s co-founder and an independent lawmaker allied with Sisi.  Some Sisi opponents say the scale of the campaign shows that Egyptians have few viable opposition candidates to choose from in the election likely to happen around April.  All this negatively affects the political climate in Egypt and increases reluctance to run against Sisi,  Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, nephew of a former president who once backed Sisi but is now considering running against him, said last week.  It will discourage voters and make them more reluctant to go out and vote in the upcoming elections.  Detractors have taken to social media to poke fun at the petition, posting pictures of aliens and U.S. President Donald Trump signing the form. Others have suggested a counter-movement calling instead for Sisi to step down. Under Sisi s presidency, thousands of dissidents have been jailed, the government has shut down independent media and heavily restricted the conducting of opinion polls. There have been no official polls on the upcoming election yet.  However, many Egyptians are wary of challenging the status quo after six years of living through a pro-democracy revolt, a military takeover and a prolonged state of emergency that has left people unwilling to protest or looking for stability. Only two people   Sadat and Khaled Ali, a lawyer who challenged Sisi over a dispute about two islands in the Red Sea   have publicly aired the idea of challenging him and even they say Sisi is likely to win. Last election, Sisi won about 97 percent of the vote on a turnout of 47.5 percent, after voting was extended for a day. This time, his backers want to show his legitimacy not been tarnished by economic and security problems.   The issue is not whether Sisi will win the 2018 election; rather, it is about how much interest and buzz can be generated about the process,  said H.A. Hellyer, senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council.  The more public interest, the better - if turnout and interest is minimal, that won t be catastrophic for the authorities, but is certainly not the image they wish to project domestically or internationally, he added. The campaign was inspired by the 2013  Tamaroud , or  Rebellion , petition, that Sisi used as a mandate to topple the Muslim Brotherhood, said Shaaban. The Tamaroud movement encouraged millions of Egyptians to take to the streets demanding the overthrow of Mursi. Sisi then led the military ouster of Mursi after those protests. Organisers says they are already seeing results. What started off with only 10 offices has mushroomed into a large-scale operation with 178 offices nationwide, said Shaaban, and close to half a million likes on the campaign s official Facebook page.  The numbers are changing by the moment,  said parliamentarian Karim Salem, campaign spokesman and co-founder. Organisers say the campaign is run by volunteers and funded by private donations. Egypt s state news agency reported that 14,000 people had signed the petition in the Nile delta province of Al-Beheira. Reuters could not independently confirm these numbers. The petition form lists five reasons why Sisi should seek a second term   cleansing the country of terrorism, completing his megaprojects, ending corruption, education, and protecting its leadership. Even some of Sisi s supporters who helped propel him into power, such as former campaign officials Hazim Abdelazim and Nour al-Huda Zaki, have turned against him over his handling of the economy and security. Critics point to a dispute that saw his government hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, touching a nationalistic nerve. Egypt has fought an insurgency waged by an Islamic State affiliate in North Sinai since 2013. Hundreds of members of the security forces have been killed. But the group has begun turning its guns towards the mainland in attacks this year. Sisi has inaugurated mega infrastructure projects he promised would turn around the economy, and the IMF has praised the progress of measures it has backed that are meant to curb deficits and create long term growth. But many Egyptians say they are frustrated with the immediate fallout of reforms. The currency devaluation a year ago has cut the Egyptian pound s value in half   though it has stabilised now - and inflation is just off record highs of above 30 percent. In Shaaban s home district in Cairo, middle-class Sayeda Zeinab, where a petition campaign banner with an image of the smiling president hangs above a main square, Essam Moahmed, a baker, expressed discontent over the economy.  Now things are even more expensive than under the Brotherhood. But people can t stand against Sisi,  he said. Sisi acknowledges the tough economic situation many Egyptians face, saying sacrifices like IMF-backed austerity reforms are needed  so we can take our true place.

Summary: मिस्र के चुनाव को ध्यान में रखते हुए, सिसी समर्थकों ने जनादेश के लिए अभियान चलाया


HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean soldiers and armored vehicles blocked roads to the main government offices, parliament and the courts in central Harare, a Reuters witness said on Wednesday, after the military said it had seized power in a targeted assault on  criminals  around President Robert Mugabe. Nearby, some Zimbabweans queued for cash outside banks while public taxis ferried commuters to work.

Summary: जिम्बाब्वे के सैनिकों, बख्तरबंद वाहनों ने सरकारी कार्यालयों तक जाने वाली सड़क को सील कर दिया


LONDON (Reuters) - Foreign minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday Britain should expect the United States to drive a very hard bargain in talks to secure a post-Brexit trade deal.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के मंत्री का कहना है कि अमेरिका ब्रेक्सिट के बाद व्यापार वार्ता में कड़ी सौदेबाजी करेगा


MANILA (Reuters) - President Rodrigo Duterte crooned a hit Filipino love song at a dinner in Manila for leaders from across Asia, explaining later that it was  on the orders of U.S. President Donald Trump . Trump and Duterte were among 19 leaders at a glittering  gala in the Philippines capital on Sunday ahead of an annual summit, and at one point Duterte took the microphone to sing  Ikaw  (You), in a duet with local pop diva Pilita Corrales. One of the song s verses, translated from Filipino, begins:  You are the light in my world, a half of this heart of mine .  Ladies and gentlemen, I sang uninvited, upon the orders of the commander-in-chief of the United States,  Duterte said later, according to the ABS-CBN news channel. Duterte, who is sometimes described as the  Trump of the East  because of his brash style, is due to meet the U.S. president on the sidelines of the summit on Monday. The United States and its former colony, the Philippines,  have been strategic allies since World War Two. But their relations have been strained by anti-U.S. outbursts from Duterte and his enthusiasm for better ties with Russia and China. More than 3,900 Filipinos have been killed in a war on drugs that Duterte declared when he took office last year. His government says the police act in self defense, but critics say executions are taking place with no accountability. Duterte said last week he would tell the U.S. president to  lay off  if he raised the issue of human rights when they met. But Trump, who has been criticized at home for neglecting rights issues in dealings abroad, praised Duterte in May for doing an  unbelievable job on the drug problem . Trump and leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Russia, Japan, Canada, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand were entertained by singers and dancers at the dinner. Each of the men sported a cream-colored barong, a traditional Philippines shirt made of fiber from the pineapple plant, hand-embroidered and worn untucked. They were served a four-course Filipino-Asian fusion meal curate and prepared by Chef Jessie Sincioco, who also designed the menu for Pope Francis when he visited the Philippines in 2015.

Summary: "आप प्रकाश हैं"-फिलीपींस के दुतेर्ते ने ट्रम्प के अनुरोध पर कराहते हुए कहा


MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday it hoped that President Donald Trump’s new ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, could help breathe new life into battered U.S.-Russia relations.  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments to reporters in a conference call ahead of Huntsman presenting his diplomatic credentials to President Vladimir Putin later on Tuesday. “We hope that, headed by the new ambassador, the U.S. diplomatic mission to Russia will be able to significantly contribute to repairing the damage done by Washington’s actions to our relations,” said Peskov. Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, an experienced diplomat, was confirmed as ambassador by the U.S. Senate at the end of last month.  Huntsman takes on the post in Moscow as congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller investigate allegations that Russia sought to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Trump’s behalf, as well as potential collusion with Moscow by Trump associates. Moscow denies such activity and Trump dismisses any talk of collusion. Huntsman said at his confirmation hearing that there was no question Russia interfered during the 2016 campaign.

Summary: क्रेमलिनः हमें उम्मीद है कि नया अमेरिकी दूत U.S.-Russia संबंधों को ठीक करने में मदद कर सकता है


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pop star Demi Lovato is jazzed about Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Comic Sarah Silverman’s enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders is no joke. Meanwhile, 1980s sitcom star Scott Baio wants Republican businessman Donald Trump to be in charge.  With Tuesday’s New York primary approaching and California’s contest scheduled for June, celebrities are getting increasingly vocal about their presidential picks. The trend is prompting newfound alliances and rifts among Hollywood’s elite, many of whom have donated to candidates vying for the office and actively campaigned for them.  Celebrities are hardly shy about voicing their political preferences, but their opinions could carry more weight this year. The primaries in New York and California, where many of them live, actually matter for a change. Usually, both parties’ nominees for president are effectively determined earlier in the process. Prominent female comedians are split on whom they support in the Nov. 8 election. While Silverman is backing Sanders, two actresses who have played Clinton in satirical sketches on the show “Saturday Night Live” say they are fans of the former secretary of state. Amy Poehler appeared in a Clinton campaign video while Kate McKinnon said on an episode of “Close/Up with The Hollywood Reporter” last year that she is rooting for her. And cast members from the 1980s sitcom “Cheers” are not toasting the same candidate. George Wendt is listed on Sanders’ website as a supporter while Ted Danson recently campaigned for Clinton in New Hampshire.  Meanwhile, Kirstie Alley voiced enthusiastic support for Trump last week, sparking a Twitter storm.  “HELLO BOYS! This is my formal endorsement of @realDonaldTrump & I’m a woman! (last I checked),” Alley tweeted.   As primary results roll in, like-minded luminaries among the politically active rich and famous are linking up with each other on social media to show their support in numbers. Last week, Jamie Lee Curtis tweeted a photo of herself with  “Scandal” star Kerry Washington. Both women squeezed into a shirt together that said “Yaaas, Hillary!”  Love for a fellow supporter can come in the form of a tweet. After singer Barbra Streisand questioned the criticism over the former first lady’s paid speeches in a tweet in late March, “Girls” star Lena Dunham, who has campaigned for Clinton, declared on Twitter that she was inclined to marry the ten-time Grammy Award winner. Others are engaging in political spats as raucous as the bickering on a Bravo reality show. Actresses Debra Messing and Susan Sarandon traded barbs last month on Twitter over their support for Clinton and Sanders, respectively. Sarandon suggested that “principled people” might have difficulty voting for Clinton due to her environmental record.     “Did you see how @SusanSarandon just called us unprincipled?” Messing tweeted to fellow actress and Clinton supporter Kathy Najimy.     “Alright @DebraMessing report me to the homeroom teacher and let’s STOP,” Sarandon replied.      On the Republican side, celebrity Trump supporters are defending themselves on social media. Singer Aaron Carter’s Twitter endorsement of Trump in February prompted a barrage of snarky comments. He later wrote, “NO! you guys aren’t going to bully me into my beliefs.” While many celebrities are staunch in their views on the next president, some are trying to be more open-minded. Caitlyn Jenner, who famously revealed her identity as a transgender woman last year, said in an interview on the “Today Show” in March that she was a Republican. But her daughter Kendall and stepdaughter Kim Kardashian, as well as fellow costars on Jenner’s reality show “I Am Cait,” are Clinton fans. A month ago, Jenner posted a photo on Instagram with Clinton with the hashtags #learningfrommygirls and #willingtolisten.  Still, Clinton fans would be wise not to count her as a supporter just yet. On a March episode of her show, Jenner said she would “never ever ever vote for Hillary.”

Summary: सेलिब्रिटी अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति ने त्वरित गठबंधन, दरारों को चुना


VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis travels to Colombia this week to encourage a fledgling peace process that ended half a century of war between a succession of governments and the guerrilla group FARC but has left the country deeply divided. Francis, making his 20th foreign trip as pontiff and his fifth to his native Latin America, will spend five days in the country, visiting the capital Bogota and the cities of Villavicencio, Medellin and Cartagena. The Argentine pope had delayed accepting a government and Church invitation to visit Colombia, where about 80 percent of the population is Catholic, until a viable peace process was under way.  He had wanted to go for a long time. Now the moment has come,  Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said. Leftist FARC, by far Colombia s biggest rebel group, introduced its  new political party last week, a major step in its transition into a civilian organization after more than 50 years of war that killed 220,000 people. Under its 2016 peace deal with the government, most FARC fighters were granted amnesty and allowed to participate in politics. Whether the rebels will secure support from Colombians, many of who revile them, remains to be seen. The peace accord, which was brokered by Cuba and Norway, was initially rejected by a less than 1 percent margin in a referendum before being modified and enacted. Like the rest of the country, Colombia s Roman Catholic bishops were divided on their support of the deal, with some saying it was too lenient to the guerrillas. The pope is expected to urge them to put aside their differences during his trip on Sept. 6-10 and help the country move forward.   The greatest task of the Church in Colombia now is to help stem the polarization around the peace process between the government and the guerrillas,  said Archbishop Octavio Ruiz, a Vatican official and Colombian.  This is a time for us to accept the grandeur of forgiveness, to leave behind us this dark period of war and blood.  Hosffman Ospino, a Colombian who is professor of pastoral theology and religious education at Boston College s School of Theology and Ministry, said the country was ready to begin a new phase.  The bishops of Colombia need to play a new role in the peace process so as to help create a political conscience,  he told Reuters.  I think the pope needs to encourage the Church to be an active player in those conversations, in the reconstruction of the social order.  Reconciliation is the main theme of the trip and will be the emphasis for events on Friday in the city of Villavicencio, south of Bogota. There, in what is billed as the  Great Prayer Meeting for National Reconciliation , the pope will listen to testimonials from people whose lives were affected by the violence and then deliver a homily.  Burke, the Vatican spokesman, said those attending the prayer meeting would include victims of violence as well as former guerrillas who have been integrated into Colombian society for some time and are not part of the recent peace process with FARC. He said there would be no formal meeting with opposition politicians, FARC, or the National Liberation Army (ELN), the second-largest insurgent group, which began formal peace negotiations in February after more than three years of secret talks.  The Marxist-led ELN, which was founded by radical Roman Catholic priests in 1964, has said it could declare a unilateral ceasefire during the trip to honor Pope Francis, whom they have praised for bringing attention to the world s poor and disenfranchised.  The trip will have inter-related themes each day.  Builders of Peace, Promotes of Life,  in Bogota,  Reconciliation with God, among Colombians and with Nature  Villavicencio,  The Christian Vocation and Apostolate  in Medellin, and  The Dignity of People and Human Rights  in Cartagena.

Summary: पोप ने 50 साल के युद्ध के बाद शांति प्रक्रिया को बढ़ावा देने के लिए कोलंबिया का दौरा किया


ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Iraqi Kurdish authorities would pay the price for an independence referendum which was widely opposed by foreign powers. Iraq s Kurds overwhelmingly backed independence in Monday s referendum, defying neighboring countries which fear the vote could fuel Kurdish separatism within their own borders and lead to fresh conflict.  They are not forming an independent state, they are opening a wound in the region to twist the knife in,  Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party in the eastern Turkish city of Erzurum. Erdogan has built strong commercial ties with Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq, which pump hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil daily through Turkey for export to world markets.  We don t regret what we did in the past. But since the conditions are changed and the Kurdish Regional Government, to which we provided all support, took steps against us, it would pay the price,  he said. Turkey has repeatedly threatened to impose economic sanction, effectively cutting their main access to international markets, and has held joint military exercises with Iraqi troops on the border. However, after Erdogan said that Iraqi Kurds would go hungry if Ankara halted the cross-border flow of trucks and oil, it has said that any measures it took would not target civilians and instead focus on those who organized the referendum. Iraq s Defense Ministry said on Friday it plans to take control of the borders of the autonomous Kurdistan region in coordination with Iran and Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Bin Yildirim, speaking on Saturday, did not refer specifically to those plans, but said Ankara would no longer deal with Kurdish authorities in Erbil.  From now on, our relationships with the region will be conducted with the central government, Baghdad,  he said.  As Iran, Iraq and Turkey, we work to ensure the games being played in the region will fail.

Summary: तुर्की के एर्दोगन का कहना है कि इराकी कुर्द अधिकारी वोट के लिए "कीमत चुकाएंगे"


PARIS (Reuters) - A revolt by 100 members of French President Emmanuel Macron s governing party has exposed tensions in the fledgling movement as it prepares to elect a leader handpicked by him on Saturday. Created about 18 months ago when Macron was still relatively unknown, En Marche s membership has risen quickly to 360,000   membership is free   but retaining members could be harder as his popularity has waned following his rise to power. The activists who quit this week said the party that helped Macron, a centrist, triumph in this year s presidential election and then won a parliamentary majority had become less open and lost its appeal as a movement that would do things differently. The number of defectors is small, and none is a lawmaker, but their complaints underline the challenges 51-year old government spokesman Christophe Castaner will face as party chief.  We need to reinvent our political movement,  Castaner, the only candidate, told party members ahead of Saturday s party congress.  That is key to accompany the reforms carried out by the government and parliament.  A Socialist for about three decades until he backed Macron s election bid, and a former lawmaker from southeastern France, Castaner will aim to change what opinion polls show is Macron s image of a  president of the rich.  He will also set out to transform En Marche (LREM) into a more established party with the strength and depth required to compete in the next local and national elections.  The next ballot, for the European Parliament, is in 2019 and local elections will be in 2020 at the earliest.   Although mocked as an empty shell by rivals from long established parties, En Marche attracted many newcomers to politics and quickly proved effective in propelling the former economy minister of Socialist President Francois Hollande into the presidency. Supporters set up more than 3,000 local committees across France in the months leading to the presidential election, helping make up for Macron s disadvantage of not having an army of elected officials to promote his candidacy. But some of those who joined En Marche with high hopes now say there is a lack of democracy in the party.  Castaner s election shows an autocratic way of doing things,  said Tiphaine Beaulieu, one of the members who quit this week and issued a strongly worded statement condemning what En Marche has become. Complaining that Castaner is the only leadership candidate, she said arrogance and a lack of democracy were now features of how the party worked.  Opposition parties have also criticized En Marche, and taken Macron to task over the fact that Castaner may keep his role as junior minister for relations with parliament when he becomes party chief.    So the new world according to Macron is choosing (your party leader) alone in your Elysee office,  Socialist lawmaker Luc Carvounas wrote on Twitter, referring to the president s official residence, the Elysee Palace in Paris. Forty-eight percent of voters trust Macron with pursuing the right policies for France, a Harris Interactive poll showed last month, a drop from 57 percent in the same survey when he was elected in May. En Marche officials say that over the last six months, En Marche has gained about 160,000 new members, so the loss of 100 activists is not a significant number.  Once the euphoria of victory has passed, it is quite normal that some may have the blues a bit,  said Laurent Saint-Martin, a 32-year old lawmaker who was not involved in politics before he joined LREM.  But activists are still here. The question is simply how we work together,  he said.  The party was built for the presidential and parliamentary election, many have left to become lawmakers or work in government, so it is normal that we should reconstruct it.

Summary: फ्रांसीसी राष्ट्रपति की पार्टी दलबदल से प्रभावित है क्योंकि यह नेता चुनती है


SEOUL (Reuters) - Rattled by rising tensions with North Korea, South Korea is taking extra measures to try to ensure the safety of the 2018 Winter Games, including setting up a crack cyber defense team and doubling the number of troops, according to officials and documents reviewed by Reuters. The Games take place next February in the mountainous resort town of Pyeongchang, just 80 km (50 miles) from the heavily fortified border with North Korea. They come after a series of missile and nuclear tests show the North making rapid advances in its weapons program and as inflammatory rhetoric between Pyongyang and Washington stirs up concerns about another conflict on the Korean peninsula. South Korea s Defense Ministry will deploy some 5,000 armed forces personnel at the Games, double the 2,400 on duty during the 2002 World Cup, which South Korea co-hosted with Japan, according to government officials and documents reviewed by Reuters. Pyeongchang s organizing committee for the 2018 Games (POCOG) is also selecting a private cyber security company to guard against a hacking attack from the North, tender documents show. The committee is seeking to fast-track the selection as tensions rise in the wake of South Korea s controversial deployment of the U.S. THAAD anti-missile system, and as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tests weapons at an unprecedented rate.  Cyber threats have increased due to external factors such as the THAAD deployment and recent North Korean missile launches,  the committee said in the document. The committee will make all-out efforts to ensure the Pyeongchang Olympics are the safest ever, it said.   We strongly believe we can host the Olympics successfully as we have invested a lot and prepared well for cyber security,  it said in a statement in response to queries from Reuters.      South Korea has blamed the North for a series of hacking attempts in the last few years, including a 2013 cyber attack against South Korean banks and broadcasters that froze computer systems for more than a week. Pyongyang denied any responsibility.    While South Korea faces unique challenges with its hostile and nuclear-armed neighbor, the level of threats and security to counter them have escalated globally since South Korea last hosted a major international sporting event.  The POCOG is hiring a private security contractor, stipulating the firm should be capable of running around 500 personnel to operate X-ray screening each day during the event, a separate document seen by Reuters shows.  It has earmarked 20 billion won ($17.6 million) for the screening security measures and another 1.3 billion won for the cyber security protection, according to the documents.     An official from the National Intelligence Service, South Korea s spy agency, is in charge of security operations, working with the government s anti-terrorism center, the organizing committee s spokeswoman told Reuters. South Korea has also created a new Special Weapons and Tactics team to guard against terrorism around the Games, Asia s first Winter Olympics outside Japan.   We will search Olympic venues to check for bombs, protect athletes and visitors, and guard against any attempts to assassinate key figures,  Jin Jeong-hyeon, a police inspector from the SWAT team, told Reuters.  In late August, the POCOG held a two-day briefing with major Olympic sponsors including McDonald s Corp (MCD.N) and Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) to talk about the measures being put in place, according to a government statement. It gave them a look at emergency evacuation facilities during the briefing, though further details were not disclosed.  While some observers view Pyongyang s threats as bluster, others point to instances of North Korean aggression during the 2002 World Cup and ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics as reasons to be concerned. In June 2002, as South Korea prepared to play Turkey in the playoff for third place at the World Cup, North Korean patrol boats crossed the disputed maritime border and exchanged fire with South Korean vessels, killing six South Korean sailors. In November 1987, just nine months before South Korea was set to host the Summer Games in Seoul, North Korean agents detonated a bomb on Korean Air Flight 858, killing all 104 passengers and 11 crew. One of the agents later told investigators the order had come from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and one of the aims had been to frighten international athletes and visitors from attending the Seoul Olympics. Other Olympics have also been affected by violence, most notably the killing of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian militants at the 1972 Munich Games. Mexican police and military killed hundreds of civilians during a protest just days before the Mexico City Olympics in 1968.  South Korea s sports minister Do Jong-whan said this week Seoul was  very concerned about aggressive remarks  traded between Pyongyang and Washington but did not believe Kim would risk a war against countries participating at the Olympics.  The International Olympics Committee is encouraging the participation of North Koreans as athletes, judges or  wild cards  to help ensure the safety of the Olympics, Do added. Chang Ung, North Korea s IOC member, said earlier this month that the Pyeongchang Olympics will not be affected by the escalating crisis on the peninsula and North Korea will hopefully be able to send athletes. Figure skating, short track speed skating and Nordic skiing could potentially feature North Korean athletes, he said.   Despite the heightened security measures, there isn t a lot South Korea can do to reassure participants, said Lee Soo-hyuck, a former foreign affairs presidential secretary.  This issue is more about whether North Korea would decide to carry out hostile actions or not.

Summary: एक्सक्लूसिवः साइबर यूनिट से लेकर सैनिकों तक, दक्षिण कोरिया ने तनाव के बीच ओलंपिक सुरक्षा की अतिरिक्त परत जोड़ी


DANANG, Vietnam (Reuters) - Efforts to revive the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal foundered on Friday when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau failed to show up for a meeting to agree a path forward without the United States. The lack of a deal on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit underscored the convulsions in global trade policy since U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the TPP early this year in the name of an  America First  approach. Speaking ahead of the APEC summit, Trump said he only wanted bilateral trade deals in Asia - and deals in which the United States was not at a disadvantage. It was left to President Xi Jinping of China to champion a multilateralist vision of trade with a speech in the Vietnamese resort city of Danang that described globalisation as an irreversible trend. It was partly to counter China s growing dominance in Asia that Japan had been lobbying hard for the TPP pact, which aims to eliminate tariffs on industrial and farm products across an 11-nation bloc whose trade totaled $356 billion last year. Japan said ministers from the 11 remaining countries reached broad agreement to push ahead with it on Thursday, though Canada had said that was not true. The leaders of 10 of the countries arrived for a meeting on Friday, but officials said Trudeau did not.  The Canadian side said today they are not yet at the stage where its leader can confirm the agreement reached among ministers,  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters, adding that all the other leaders had agreed. Canadian officials said the TPP was not dead and they were still at the table in Danang. They say Canada cannot be rushed into an agreement if it isn t beneficial enough for Canadian jobs.  If we need to keep working at other tables, so be it. Let s get it right,  said one Canadian official. Canada s position is complicated by renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the Trump administration. An agreement to push forward TPP would have been a boost for the principle of multilateral trade deals as opposed to the Trump approach. APEC, whose leaders hold their full summit on Saturday, has itself been buffeted by the changes under Trump. Talks between trade and foreign ministers from the group failed to reach agreement on their usual joint statement in the face of U.S. demands to remove language about supporting free trade and fighting protectionism.  I see a tremendous shift,  Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said at the summit.  I see the rise of anti-globalisation, the rise of more inward-looking (policies), which ironically is against the whole philosophy of setting up of APEC.  Trump set out a strong message which made clear there was no turning back - particularly in a region which he believes is taking U.S. jobs by running trade surpluses with the United States.  We are not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore,  Trump said.  I am always going to put America first, the same way that I expect all of you in this room to put your countries first.  He expressed a willingness to do bilateral deals in the region on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit, while saying the United States had suffered from World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules by obeying them while others did not.  It signaled clearly a move away from the rules-based multilateral system that the U.S. has actually done very well under,  James Fatheree of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce business lobby group told Reuters.  We have done well in helping lead the system.  President Xi made clear China s aspiration to take that leadership role in a speech that immediately followed Trump s.  Should we steer economic globalisation, or should we dither and stall in the face of challenge? Should we jointly advance regional cooperation or should we go our separate ways?  Xi asked.  Openness brings progress, while self-seclusion leaves one behind.

Summary: टी. पी. पी. व्यापार समझौता अव्यवस्थित, कनाडा ने वार्ता रोकी


BEIRUT (Reuters) - A prominent Syrian opposition leader said on Thursday U.N. mediation to end the country s six-year conflict has failed and the revolution would continue. Riyad Hijab, chairman of the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC), rejected comments by U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura that President Bashar al-Assad s opponents must accept they have not won the war.  De Mistura s statements reflect the defeat of U.N. mediation,  Hijab wrote on Twitter.  The Syrian revolution continues,  he said. De Mistura had repeatedly made  un-studied  remarks on the conflict, he said. Hijab, a former Syrian prime minister under Assad, called for a new a U.N.  approach on the Syrian issue , without elaborating. Assad has won a series of military victories but rebel groups still hold large parts of the northwest of the country and substantial enclaves in the southwest, in Homs province and near Damascus. De Mistura said on Wednesday the opposition must be  unified and realistic  in accepting it had not won the war. He did not say Assad was victorious.  Victory can only be if there is a sustainable political long-term solution,  de Mistura said, suggesting the conflict was almost over because many countries were involved principally to defeat Islamic State and a national ceasefire should follow. The remarks come ahead of a round of Syria talks between Damascus allies Russia and Iran and opposition backer Turkey in Astana next week. Several rounds of negotiations in Astana and a separate U.N.-sponsored track in Geneva between the government and the HNC have produced no visible progress on ending the war that broke out after a popular uprising in 2011. Russia and Iran have stood by Assad. Some Western countries have softened their initial stance that he should leave power immediately, saying he could be part of a transitional period.

Summary: सीरिया के विपक्षी नेता का कहना है कि संयुक्त राष्ट्र की मध्यस्थता विफल रही है


PARIS (Reuters) - Lebanon s Saad al-Hariri said on Saturday he would travel to Beirut in the coming days and announce his position on the crisis in his country after holding talks with President Michel Aoun.  With regard to the political situation in Lebanon, I will go to Beirut in the coming days, I will participate in the independence celebrations, and it is there that I will make known my position on these subjects after meeting President Aoun,  Hariri said after meeting French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

Summary: हरीरी का कहना है कि वह बेरूत लौटने पर लेबनान के संकट पर स्थिति स्पष्ट करेंगे


GENEVA (Reuters) - The humanitarian situation in Yemen is a  catastrophe , and cholera cases could reach a million by the end of the year, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday. Warring parties in Yemen - including the western-backed Saudi-led coalition - are all using disproportionate force, leading to  very excessive  civilian casualties, said Alexandre Faite, the head of the Red Cross delegation in Yemen. In addition, suspected cases of cholera have reached 750,000, with 2,119 deaths, Faite said, and the Red Cross expects at least 900,000 cases by the end of the year.  The situation has really evolved in a very dramatic way and I think that it s nothing short of a catastrophe,  Faite told a news briefing in Geneva.  Civil war in Yemen has killed more than 10,000 people since it began in March 2015. Control of the country is split between  the Iran-aligned Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. Opposed to the Houthis are a Saudi-led coalition. With the main port of Hodeidah damaged, the Red Cross brings medical aid, including insulin, into Yemen with occasional cargo planes to Sanaa. Other goods come by land convoys from Jordan and Oman and by ship from Jordan, Oman and Dubai.  A ship from Karachi with 500 metric tonnes of rice is now due on Oct 7 in Hodeidah, the first ICRC shipment there since early February. Faite called on all sides to open Sanaa airport to commercial flights for essential aid supplies and to make progress toward allowing the Red Cross to visit prisoners of war.     I don t think political settlement is coming soon and I m very worried that the extension of the conflict would lead to more problems,  Faite said.  This is why humanitarian aid, access of essential goods should be there,  he said.  There is a bottleneck . Although the death rate for cholera victims has dropped to less than 0.3 percent, Faite said Yemen s  health sector is really on its knees in Yemen ... the health staff is on its knees as well because they are not paid.  For the first time, the Red Cross is now providing health workers with food parcels, he said.  In terms of access to even water, electricity, there isn t a power grid in the main cities in Yemen. Without the ICRC and other organizations fixing (pumping stations) there wouldn t be any running water in Sanaa,  he said.

Summary: यमन में वर्ष के अंत तक हैजा के मामले 10 लाख तक पहुंच सकते हैंः रेड क्रॉस


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eight Republican candidates have qualified for the prime-time Fox News/Google debate on Thursday, with Donald Trump winning the center-stage spot as the top-polling candidate, Fox News announced on Tuesday. But Trump said on Tuesday he likely will not attend the debate. This will be the last one before the Iowa caucuses on Monday marking the first contest in the nomination race for the Nov. 8 presidential election.  Trump has been engaged in a public spat with Fox News that began at a debate last August in which he said he was subject to unfair questioning by moderator Megyn Kelly.  “Let’s see how much money Fox makes without me in the debate,” Trump told the news conference in Marshalltown, Iowa. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who failed to qualify for the main event in the last debate, made the cut this time. The other participants in the 9 p.m. EST debate will be Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore qualified for the 7 p.m. EST debate for low-polling candidates. After failing to qualify for a prime-time debate held earlier this month, Paul declined to participate in the so-called undercard debate.  (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency.

Summary: गुरुवार की बहस के लिए आठ रिपब्लिकन उम्मीदवार योग्य; ट्रम्प अनिश्चित


BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that he believes, like Xi, that there is a solution to the North Korea issue. It was too bad that past U.S. administrations let trade get out of kilter but we will make it fair to both sides, Trump also told Xi as they begun formal talks at Beijing s Great Hall of the People.

Summary: ट्रंप ने चीन के राष्ट्रपति शी जिनपिंग से कहा कि उनका मानना है कि उत्तर कोरिया का समाधान है


(Reuters) - As facts emerge about Omar Mateen, the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, questions have arisen about how well-known he was to U.S. intelligence agencies. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said on Monday that Mateen was on a watchlist between May 2013 and March 2014 while he was under investigation after claiming a connection to or support for multiple Islamist extremist groups, including al Qaeda, Hezbollah, al-Nusra and Islamic State. The FBI maintains three watchlists and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence runs one database. People are placed on a watchlist according to the threat level they are believed to pose. Comey did not specify which watchlist named Mateen.  Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton has supported stricter gun laws and said on Monday she would push for laws that would prevent people on a no-fly list from buying guns. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has embraced gun rights, said he would meet with the leading U.S. gun rights group about preventing people on a government watchlist from buying guns. The U.S. government maintains the following databases: Terrorist Watchlist or Terrorist Screening Database (about 420,000 names): Established after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Terrorist Watchlist is intended “to positively identify known or suspected terrorists trying to obtain visas, enter the U.S, board aircraft, or engage in other activity.” Prior to 2001, intelligence agencies maintained dozens of individual lists. The Terrorist Watchlist is run by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center with the goal of consolidating the U.S. government’s watchlists into a single database.   No-Fly List (about 16,000 names): A subset of the Terrorist Screening Database, the No-Fly List prohibits people known or suspected of terrorism from boarding a plane that departs from or arrives in the United States.   Selectee List (about 16,000 names): A subset of the Terrorist Watchlist, the Selectee List includes individuals who are permitted to fly, but receive more intensive screening. In addition to the thousands of records updated daily from federal, state and local law enforcement, the Selectee List provides an additional level of screening for individuals thought to present a greater threat.  Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, database (about 1.1 million names): Run by the National Counterterrorism Center, part of the Office of the National Director of Intelligence, the TIDE Database shares information with the FBI’s watchlists. As of December 2013, it contained about 1.1 million people, about 25,000 of them U.S. citizens. Unlike the FBI’s database, TIDE is viewable only by counterterrorism professionals in the U.S. intelligence community and is not shared with local law enforcement.  Federal agencies propose people for inclusion on the TIDE database based on an evaluation of the threat they pose. Reasons someone may be added to the TIDE database include committing terrorist activity, preparing or planning a terrorist activity or providing support, such as funds or housing, for a terrorist organization.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ऑरलैंडो गोलीबारी के बाद अमेरिकी आतंकवाद निगरानी सूची पर नज़र


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jared Kushner’s lawyer failed to give the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee documents President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser received about a “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite,” the committee’s leaders said on Thursday. In a letter to Kushner’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, Senators Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein, the Judiciary Committee’s Republican chairman and top Democrat, listed the documents and emails among materials Lowell has failed to produce. Kushner, the letter said, also forwarded to an unidentified campaign adviser emails from September 2016 concerning Wikileaks, the whistleblower group that published emails U.S. intelligence agencies determined Russian military intelligence had hacked from Democratic Party accounts. “It appears that your search may have overlooked several documents,” the letter said of Lowell’s responses to three requests for materials related to the committee’s investigation on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. “Mr. Kushner and we have been responsive to all requests,” Lowell said in a statement. “We provided the Judiciary Committee with all relevant documents that had to do with Mr. Kushner’s calls, contacts or meetings with Russians during the campaign and transition, which was the request. We also informed the committee we will be open to responding to any additional requests and that we will continue to work with White House Counsel for any responsive documents from after the inauguration.” When asked about the letter, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders referred reporters to Lowell. Trump denies any collusion between his campaign and Moscow. Russia denies a January report by three U.S. intelligence agencies that it conducted an influence operation to skew the 2016 presidential vote in favor of Trump over his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team last month subpoenaed Trump’s campaign for documents containing specified Russian keywords from more than a dozen officials. According to the Journal, a person familiar with the matter said the campaign has been complying voluntarily with the request. Grassley’s and Feinstein’s letter to Lowell also specified keywords, including Clinton, WikiLeaks, hacking, and the names of four Russian banks. Kushner remains one person of interest to the investigations by Mueller and congressional committees, according to a source with knowledge of the probes. Among other things, investigators want to know if Kushner knew during the 2016 campaign that Russia was hacking Democratic emails in an effort to help Trump and whether he tried to create a secret back channel between the Trump White House and the Kremlin, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. Investigators also want to know if Kushner took part in or knew of any post-election efforts by Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, or others to lift U.S. economic sanctions on Russia in exchange for financial investments or other business deals. A May 26 Reuters report quoted two sources who said Kushner and Flynn discussed with former Russian ambassador to Washington Sergey Kislyak creating a “back channel” between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that would bypass the State Department and U.S. intelligence agencies. Flynn, a former Army general who led the Defense Intelligence Agency and later was a Trump campaign adviser, was fired in February as national security adviser after misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Kislyak. The letter to Lowell also said he had failed to produce “communications with Sergei Millian, copied to Kushner.” Millian, who has used multiple aliases, is a Belarussian-born émigré who in 2006 helped incorporate the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored trips to Russia by U.S. businessmen. After a December 2011 trip arranged by the chamber and a quasi-governmental agency in Russia called Rossotrudnichestvo, FBI agents questioned participants about whether Russian spies had approached them during the visit, one of the travelers said. Millian, who met Trump on at least one occasion, has boasted of his ties to the former New York real estate developer and reality television star. He has denied being a Russian spy.

Summary: अमेरिकी सांसदों ने रूस की जांच में ट्रम्प के दामाद कुशनर से अधिक जानकारी मांगी


DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Friday gave a  cautious welcome  to a speech in Florence by British Prime Minister Theresa May, who called for Britain to stay in the single market under its current terms during a two-year transition period.  I d give the speech a cautious welcome. I think it is a genuine effort by the prime minister to move things along and make progress,  Varadkar told journalists.   We will of course need further clarity and further understanding as to how a transition period might work. But requesting a transition period is also a step in the right direction,  he said.  Varadkar said he was particularly happy about May s reassertion of support for protections for Northern Ireland s Good Friday peace deal and for a frictionless border between Ireland and Northern Ireland with no physical infrastructure.

Summary: आयरलैंड के प्रधानमंत्री ने मे के भाषण को 'चीजों को आगे बढ़ाने का वास्तविक प्रयास' कहा


TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese sports official promised on Friday to work with the builder of a showpiece stadium for the 2020 Olympics to stamp out  death by overwork , a designation authorities applied last week to the suicide of a stadium worker. The parents of the 23-year-old petitioned the government this year to recognize his suicide as  karoshi  - or  death by overwork , with media saying he had worked 200 hours of overtime a month before his death.  To our regret, illegal overtime was recognized as a result of inspection by the labor ministry,  said Tadashi Mochizuki, director of stadium manager the Japan Sport Council (JSC), which is part of a joint venture with construction firm Taisei Corp.  We, JSC and Taisei, took it sincerely and we ll do the utmost (to comply with the law) in proceeding with construction.  Authorities unveiled a model of the new stadium in the Japanese capital, which is set to be completed in November 2019, after construction begun in December 2016. Japan s fast-ageing society has left employers grappling with an acute labor shortage. It officially recognizes two types of  karoshi : cardiovascular illness linked to overwork, and suicide following mental stress related to work. Employers face few curbs on overtime and pay, so that more than a fifth of company staff exceeded a government overtime threshold of 80 hours a month, a white paper showed in 2016. The trend was spotlighted by a high-profile death from overwork in 2015 at advertising giant Dentsu Inc. Last week, public broadcaster NHK said a 31-year-old reporter died four years ago of overwork. To tackle the problem, the government plans sweeping reforms of job practices, including overtime caps and better pay for part-time and contract workers.

Summary: जापान ने ओलंपिक क्षेत्र के निर्माण के दौरान अधिक काम करने से और मौतें नहीं होने का संकल्प लिया


ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police found bomb making equipment and detonators during an early-morning raid at three addresses in Athens on Tuesday, it said in a statement. Nine persons were being questioned, police said. Earlier police officials told Reuters the individuals were being quizzed for alleged links to DHKP/C, an outlawed group blamed for a string of attacks and suicide bombings in Turkey since 1990. Police sources earlier said unspecified material in jars was found, and was being tested. The police statement said  commercial goods, which could potentially be used in making explosive materials  were found.

Summary: ग्रीक पुलिस को डेटोनेटर, बम बनाने की सामग्री मिलीः बयान


MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, who withdrew from a presidential election re-run set for Oct. 26 saying it should only take place once wide-ranging reforms are undertaken, urged his supporters on Sunday to hold protests. Authorities have banned protests in central Nairobi and other hotspots in a bid to keep a lid on mounting political turmoil in the build-up to the repeat vote, in which Odinga had been set to challenge President Uhuru Kenyatta once again.  The Supreme Court nullified Kenyatta s victory in the original election on Aug. 8, citing procedural irregularities. On Friday, Odinga said his withdrawal meant the poll had been  canceled  and that there should be fresh nominations for a new vote.  Come out in large numbers tomorrow like you have done today and fear no-one. This is your country and you have the right to protest,  he told a crowd in the coastal city of Mombasa. The election board has said the vote will go ahead, with Kenyatta facing six other candidates, none of whom polled more than 1 percent in August.  During a trip to London last week, Odinga told Reuters that he might consider returning to the Supreme Court for clarification on whether the Oct. 26 poll was legal.   I went to tell our friends in London the truth of what was happening here. Jubilee should know that we are not interested in a coalition government,  he said, referring to Kenyatta s party. Despite the ban, protests have taken place in the East African country   a regional and trade gateway which is the region s richest economy and an important Western ally in the fight against militant Islamists. On Friday, Kenyan police shot dead two people and wounded a third when a crowd tried to storm a police station in the town of Bondo in the southwest county of Siaya during a rally. Police also used teargas to break up small demonstrations in Kenya s three main cities   Kisumu, the capital and the port of Mombasa   the same day, defying the ban on rallies in city centers. Hospital authorities said 20 people were injured in Kisumu, an opposition stronghold.   I am ready to die for change in Kenya,  James Orengo, an opposition senator and lawyer who led Odinga s successful petition at the Supreme Court, told the crowd in Mombasa, which numbered in the thousands.

Summary: केन्याई विपक्षी नेता ओडिंगा, जिन्होंने फिर से मतदान से नाम वापस ले लिया, ने विरोध प्रदर्शन का आह्वान किया


MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The most powerful U.S. business lobby accused the Trump administration of making “poison pill proposals” to sabotage NAFTA on Tuesday, as Mexico’s foreign minister said the demise of the regional trade pact would hurt bilateral cooperation. The process of renegotiating the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement has turned increasingly acrimonious. Mexico accuses U.S. President Donald Trump of spoiling for a “protectionist war” with proposals aimed at balancing trade. Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said on Tuesday that an end to NAFTA would mark a breaking point in U.S.-Mexican relations and affect bilateral cooperation in other areas. Mexico is a key partner of the United States in fighting drug trafficking and stemming illegal immigration across the U.S. southern border.  Videgaray spoke after Trump warned again that he would like to scrap the treaty that created one of the world’s biggest trade blocs. “I happen to think that NAFTA will have to be terminated if we’re going to make it good,” Trump said in an interview with Forbes published on Tuesday. The Mexican peso weakened for the fifth straight session on Tuesday amid the increased tensions, and hit its weakest level against the dollar since early June. A fourth round of negotiations starting in Washington on Wednesday to modernize NAFTA has been prolonged by two days to Oct. 17, two sources in Mexico said. Trump’s hardline position did not appear to have wide support ahead of the talks, with many U.S. businesses and farmers lining up to back the existing agreement. Speaking in Mexico City, Thomas Donohue, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s president and chief executive, listed several U.S. proposals that he said would undermine $1 trillion in annual trilateral trade, including a “sunset clause” to force regular negotiations. His comments marked the second broadside the chamber has launched against the Trump administration’s stance on NAFTA in less than a week. It has argued repeatedly that the trade pact is critical to U.S. industries such as agriculture and manufacturing. “There are several poison pill proposals still on the table that could doom the entire deal,” Donohue said at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico, where he said the “existential threat” to NAFTA threatened regional security. U.S. officials have suggested incorporating a sunset clause in NAFTA that would kill it unless it was renegotiated every five years. The officials have also suggested eliminating a key dispute resolution mechanism, much to the dismay of Canada. Donohue singled out plans to make automakers source more parts in North America, as well as proposed changes to the dispute resolution mechanism as obstacles to NAFTA’s renewal. He also cited plans to limit Canadian and Mexican access to U.S. government procurement rules. Automakers in Mexico say excessive content requirements could do serious damage to the industry’s competitiveness. “The impact would be the opposite of what’s intended:  U.S. industry would source more inputs from Asia and less from the U.S. That’s right — this proposal would actually send business overseas,” Donohue said. He also slammed the emphasis placed by the White House on reducing the U.S. trade deficit. “It’s the wrong focus and is impossible to achieve without crippling the economy,” he said.  The chamber sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday signed by more than 300 local U.S. business groups in support of NAFTA. The United States, Mexico and Canada began renegotiating NAFTA this summer. Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw if he does not win concessions to reduce a U.S. trade deficit of around $64 billion with Mexico.  “The president has strongly criticized this agreement for years. We realize that as bad as it has been for us, it has been great for Mexico and Canada. Naturally they will defend this lopsided accord,” U.S. trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Tuesday. “To rebalance will require substantial change and not mere tweaking. The president has vowed to bring jobs and investment back to America. We will do no less,” he added.

Summary: अमेरिकी व्यवसायों को डर है कि नाफ्टा बर्बाद हो जाएगा; मेक्सिको ने परिणामों की चेतावनी दी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 40 lawmakers urged the Trump administration on Wednesday to reimpose U.S. travel bans on Myanmar s military leaders and prepare targeted sanctions against those responsible for a crackdown on the country s Rohingya Muslim minority. In a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a group of Republican and Democratic members of the House of Representatives called for  meaningful steps  against Myanmar s military and others who have committed human rights abuses in an offensive that has driven more than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims out of the Southeast Asian nation.  Burma s authorities appear to be in denial of what has happened,  stated the letter.  We urge you to do everything possible to ensure protection and security for those trapped inside Burma or willing to return, as well as oppose forcible returns from neighboring countries.

Summary: सांसदों ने अमेरिका से म्यांमार की सेना पर लक्षित प्रतिबंध लगाने का आग्रह किया


BARINAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Tirelessly traversing the lethargic plains of Venezuela, a brother of former leader Hugo Chavez and an ally of a famous opposition detainee vie for votes. The governorship race in Barinas state   the Chavez family s stronghold - is the most emblematic of state elections taking place nationwide on Sunday just weeks after opposition-led protests that shook Venezuela and claimed at least 125 lives.  At every rally, Hugo Chavez is out front, showing us the way,  enthuses Argenis Chavez, 59, an electrical engineer and incumbent governor, jumping on a bike and evoking his late elder brother at every campaign stop.  In Barinas, defeating the government means defeating the Chavez family who have wielded power at whim for 18 years,  counters opposition rival Freddy Superlano, 41, wearing a shirt with the image of his arrested party leader Leopoldo Lopez. This year s prolonged protests failed to bring down the government of President Nicolas Maduro, but they hardened global opinion against the ruling socialists and led to U.S. sanctions. Now, opposition leaders want their demoralized supporters  to turn out en masse at the gubernatorial polls to overturn Maduro s majority in 20 of Venezuela s 23 states. The government, in turn, wants to minimize seemingly inevitable losses, and trumpet the election as proof against accusations of autocracy in Venezuela.  Look at our  dictatorship  then: an election where most candidates are from the opposition!  Chavez ironically told Reuters, as red-shirted supporters danced around him at a rally. With voters angry over a crushing economic crisis, polls show the opposition coalition would win handily in normal circumstances. One recent survey gave the coalition, which aspires to win 18 governorships, 44.7 percent of voter intentions versus 21.1 percent for the government. Circumstances are far from normal in Venezuela, however, and the government has threatened to ban any candidates linked to violence in protests. Furthermore, as in past elections during the ruling  Chavismo  movement s 18-year grip on Venezuela, state resources are being mobilized heavily for official candidates.  Distribution of subsidized food at government rallies is commonplace, state-run companies lend transport for the events,  and state media give Maduro s candidates unfettered air-time. One opposition candidate s brother has been arrested for  alleged car theft in what the coalition says is an attempt to intimidate its ranks. Perhaps the biggest disadvantage for the opposition is the electronic ballot sheet itself.  Despite primaries to choose a single opposition candidate per state from the plethora of parties within the Democratic Unity coalition, the pro-Maduro election board is declining to modify the ballot list to narrow it down to one name. All initial candidates from before the primaries are listed on the ballot instead, something that could confuse opposition supporters and dilute their vote, benefiting the ruling Socialist Party s candidates. Further stoking opposition supporters  skepticism, the election board is using a new vote machine provider after long-term partner Smartmatic accused it of inflating numbers in July s controversial election of a Constituent Assembly super-body. On a walkabout in an unpaved shantytown on the outskirts of Barinas city, Superlano told Reuters government candidates were using helicopters to campaign while he and other opposition aspirants spent hours on the road to reach remote communities.  The government was also exploiting Venezuelans  hunger, during a period of unprecedented scarcity, by handing out food bags in return for promises of votes, he said.   It s a macabre plan,  said Superlano, a lawmaker from Lopez s Popular Will party who won the opposition primary in Barinas.  Even with all that, they are losing!  Having dealt a hugely symbolic blow to  Chavismo  by winning five of six congress seats for Barinas in 2015 elections, the opposition now wants to end 18 years of nearly unbroken control of the governorship by Chavez family members.  While there is widespread discontent over food shortages, idle land and rising malnutrition in a fertile region that should be Venezuela s bread basket, the government is running a rigorous campaign and painting Superlano as  the candidate of the violence  in reference to this year s protests. Maduro supporters say the opposition, backed by Venezuela s elite and the U.S. government, is intent on taking power by force to seize control of the nation s oil riches.    They want war for Venezuela. We want peace,  said 65-year-old retiree Ramon Alvarran, proudly wearing a red T-shirt depicting the eyes of Hugo Chavez at a rally for his brother.  Elsewhere though, resentment against Maduro is palpable.   My kids don t have a crumb in their stomachs yet today,  said Daris Gonzalez, 36, whose three children had not eaten by lunchtime. Like many in her poor and once staunchly  Chavista  neighborhood, Gonzalez is now leaning toward the opposition.    There has to be change. We cannot go on like this.  Offsetting such sentiment, many young grassroots opposition supporters feel their leaders have sold out - and betrayed the memory of slain protesters - by entering an election on an unfair playing field. Abstentions could hurt their numbers.  Should the opposition triumph on Sunday, the government can limit the impact by restricting funding and taking authority away from the governors  offices, as it has done in the past when offices have fallen to opponents.  Any overt dirty tricks, however, risk bringing more international sanctions or torpedoing an already fragile, foreign-led mediation with the opposition that Maduro needs to improve his international image.   Following the gubernatorial election, the opposition wants to shift attention to demanding a date, and guarantee of free conditions, for the 2018 presidential election to advance their ultimate goal of ending socialist rule.  People are very angry and their anger has a face: Maduro,  said Carlos Ocariz, an opposition candidate trying to hold Miranda state for the opposition against a rising star on the government side, Hector Rodriguez.

Summary: रक्तपात के बाद, वेनेजुएला की सरकार और दुश्मन वोट के लिए लड़ते हैं


KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday called on U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan. “Our message is that the Americans should draft a policy not to take away the independence and sovereignty of other nations.     Most importantly they should withdraw all their troops from Afghanistan,” the Taliban said in a statement in reaction to Trump’s surprise election win.

Summary: तालिबान ने ट्रम्प से अफगानिस्तान से अमेरिकी सैनिकों को वापस लेने का आह्वान किया


BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday an attack by the United States on a Syrian airbase from which it said a chemical weapons attack was launched this week was understandable given the Syrian people’s suffering. “The attack of the United States is understandable given the dimension of the war crimes, given the suffering of innocent people, and given the blockage in the U.N. Security Council,” Merkel said. She described the strikes as “limited and targeted”.

Summary: मर्केलः सीरिया की पीड़ा को देखते हुए सीरिया पर अमेरिकी हमला समझ में आता है


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU governments will study a new proposal aimed at overcoming the deep splits over sharing responsibility for asylum-seekers that has soured relations in the bloc since the migrant crisis of 2015, diplomats said on Wednesday. Estonia, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, put what it called  the mother of all compromises  to EU envoys, hoping to reconcile countries like Italy, which bear the brunt of arrivals from across the Mediterranean, and eastern states fiercely opposed to being obliged to take in immigrants. Previous proposals have failed to make headway; governments which complain about unfair burdens stemming from an EU rule that asylum claims must be handled in the country where people enter the EU want others to be obliged to take in a share. Ex-communist countries in the east, with little recent history of immigration, especially from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, have resisted attempts by the EU executive to force them to take quotas, leading to stalemate and division that, at the height of the crisis, threatened the Union s cohesion. Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered in a September election for her decision to allow over a million people to enter during the crisis, has been pressing other countries to demonstrate  solidarity  on the migrant issue. Under the Estonian plan, the executive European Commission would determine  fair shares  of asylum-seekers that countries would be expected to take in at their own borders - largely based on their population and wealth. But it would trigger an  early warning  if arrivals looked about to test such levels. In such circumstances, other member states would be asked to offer assistance in a range of ways, not simply taking in people but also offering material aid, personnel, funding and so on - something countries like Poland and Hungary have suggested they might offer as an alternative to accommodating migrants. The emphasis would be on averting crises by prompt action. But if crisis conditions persisted, such that a country was sheltering 150 percent or more of its fair share - a number that would also take into account its previous record of taking in refugees - then a more formal procedure could oblige other states by majority vote to make good on offers of  solidarity . The most sensitive part of that - relocating asylum-seekers from one member state to another - would, however, only take place if both states involved agreed voluntarily to the terms. EU leaders agreed in October to avoid a repeat of clashes in 2015 when relocation quotas were forced through by majority vote, prompting legal challenges from some eastern states.. They have set a target of agreeing a consensual system by June. Estonian officials said they believed the proposal offered a good balance between pushing states to show solidarity and those who argue that their societies cannot accept immigration, especially from Muslim countries. By offering a diverse range of ways to show solidarity, the proposal gets away from previous suggestions that states could just pay cash to keep people out.  We have a good understanding where the possible middle ground lies,  an Estonian spokesman said, noting past discussions with each of the other member states and describing Wednesday s presentation to envoys as  well received .

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ प्रवासियों पर विवादों को कम करने के लिए नई योजना पर विचार कर रहा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top tax law writer in the U.S. House of Representatives insisted on Tuesday that tax reform will happen this year, despite concerns among some experts that a tax code overhaul could drag into 2018, or even collapse altogether. President Donald Trump is still seeking his first major legislative achievement and has focused on tax reform. But he has done little to advance it recently, amid constant distractions over Russia, North Korea and race relations. In Congress, as they did for their failed push to dismantle Obamacare, Republicans are ramping up a nationwide publicity campaign in favor of tax law changes without first deciding on exactly what changes they want to make. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, a Texan, is scheduled to deliver a speech on the issue on Wednesday at former President Ronald Reagan’s ranch in Santa Barbara, California. Other committee members will also attend. Ahead of his remarks, Brady told CNBC on Tuesday that the House, Senate and White House are united around a common tax plan, with details being hammered out. No legislation has been introduced. House Republican leaders had an ambitious plan earlier this year, but key pieces of it have been discarded. No replacement revenue-raising provisions have been agreed upon. Nevertheless, Brady said, “We are on track to deliver transformational, bold tax reform this year.” At the same time, he acknowledged that details have yet to be finalized: “We have a lot of work left to do.”    Corporate lobbyists and independent experts said Congress and the administration are far apart on critical issues such as how to slash rates without ballooning the federal deficit. “The Republicans all agree on lower tax rates, just not on how to pay for them,” said Stephen Shay, a Harvard Law School lecturer who advised on tax policy at the U.S. Treasury under former Democratic President Barack Obama. Shay put the odds of tax reform occurring before the November 2018 midterm congressional elections at 50-50.  Expectations for tax reform have fallen off sharply among investors on Wall Street, where many now believe congressional gridlock is more likely than an overhaul. “Economically, it (tax reform) is a no-brainer. But from here to there, it’s a long and winding road. And we’re finding more land mines on that road pretty much every week,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at broker-dealer Commonwealth Financial Network.  Major tax reform last occurred in 1986 as the result of a broadly bipartisan effort that took several years. Under Trump, tax reform is a highly partisan venture.  Republicans have only a few months to overcome internal divisions and other obstacles to get tax reform done by Jan. 1. The push will collide next month with efforts to prevent a government shutdown and a default on U.S. debt.  Still, some experts said tax legislation might still fly. “There’s still an expectation that there will be some sort of tax bill that gets to the president’s desk that he can sign before the midterm elections,” said Rohit Kumar, a tax policy expert at accounting and consulting group PwC and a former senior Senate tax aide.  “I think there’s a lot of uncertainty about whether we can call that ‘tax reform’ or whether that’s something more like ‘tax relief.’”

Summary: सदन के कर अध्यक्ष सुधार पर आश्वस्त हैं, अन्य कम


CHICAGO (Reuters) - A young Singaporean blogger who says he was persecuted for his political opinions in the Southeast Asian country was released on Tuesday from U.S. detention in Chicago after a federal immigration panel ruled in his favor.     The federal Board of Immigration Appeals upheld a March decision by a Chicago immigration judge granting asylum to Amos Yee, 18, who had been jailed twice in Singapore for social media postings critical of government officials, his attorneys said on Tuesday.  Now I can criticize the Singapore government without being sent to prison,  Yee told Reuters after his release.  Yee s trials in Singapore were closely watched by rights groups and the United Nations, and fueled debate in Singapore over censorship, the limits of free speech and political correctness. Yee had been in U.S. immigration detention since December 2016 when he arrived seeking asylum, according to Yee s attorney  Sandra Grossman. The court made its ruling on Sept. 21, but Grossman said she only learned of the outcome this week. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which opposed Yee s asylum application and argued the Singapore government had legitimately prosecuted him, could not be immediately reached.  The department could appeal the ruling to a circuit court but Grossman said she believed it was unlikely. Chicago immigration Judge Samuel Cole found Yee s prosecution, detention and treatment by Singapore authorities  constitute(s) persecution on account of Yee s political opinions.  Officials at Singapore s embassy in Washington could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday. In March, the country s Ministry of Home Affairs issued a statement in which it quoted Yee s remarks against Muslims and Christians and noted Yee had pleaded guilty to charges against him. In September last year, Yee pleaded guilty to six charges of deliberately posting comments on the internet - in videos, blog posts and a picture - that were critical of Christianity and Islam. He was sentenced to six weeks in jail. In 2015, Yee was convicted on charges of harassment and insulting a religious group over comments he made about former premier Lee Kuan Yew and Christians soon after Lee s death. His sentence at the time amounted to four weeks in jail. The case now goes back to a Chicago immigration court to complete any security investigations or exams as part of the asylum process.

Summary: शरण के लिए अमेरिकी फैसला जीतने के बाद सिंगापुर के ब्लॉगर को रिहा कर दिया गया


(Reuters) - Myanmar police said on Tuesday they would drop pending charges against two journalists working for Turkey s state broadcaster, their interpreter and driver, who were jailed in November for violating an aircraft law by filming with a drone. Cameraman Lau Hon Meng from Singapore, reporter Mok Choy Lin from Malaysia, Aung Naing Soe - a local journalist who was interpreting for the pair - and driver Hla Tin were detained by police on Oct. 27 near Myanmar s parliament building in the capital Naypyitaw. They are currently each serving a two-month prison sentence under a colonial-era aircraft law, but all four still face further charges for importing the drone. The two foreign nationals have also been charged with an immigration offence. Police Lieutenant Tun Tun Win and an immigration officer - the complainants - appeared in a Naypyitaw courtroom on Tuesday and asked that the court drop the charges. Tun Tun Win told Reuters higher police officials had ordered the case dropped because the four did not mean to endanger national security by flying the drone. Additionally, he said, the decision was intended  to forward the relationship between countries , referring to the two journalists  home countries, Singapore and Malaysia. A law officer - the government s prosecutor in the case - was expected to tell the court the charges were formally dropped in another hearing set for Thursday, defense lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told Reuters.  The higher authorities already instructed to terminate with good intention, but the procedure can only be accomplished on that day (Thursday),  the lawyer said. The four are set to complete their sentences under the aircraft act on Jan. 9, but may be released earlier for good behavior, he added. The case had raised concerns over freedom of the press in Myanmar, where a civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi took power last year but the military retains control of security matters, including the police. Two Reuters journalists were arrested on Dec. 12 after they went to meet police officers for dinner on the outskirts of Myanmar s largest city Yangon. Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, have now been in detention for two weeks with no access to visitors or to a lawyer.  They had covered the crisis in western Rakhine state that has driven 655,000 stateless Rohingya Muslims across the border to Bangladesh since August. The reporters are being investigated under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

Summary: म्यांमार पुलिस तुर्की प्रसारक के लिए काम करने वाले पत्रकारों को रिहा करेगी


(Reuters) - Jeff Sessions may be known as a pro-business conservative but as U.S. attorney general he is unlikely to shy away from indicting big companies and individuals for serious white-collar crimes, legal experts said, citing his record as a lawmaker. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named Sessions, a four-term senator from Alabama and former federal prosecutor, to lead the Justice Department. Sessions, 69, an early supporter of Trump, is expected to accept the cabinet post if confirmed. A spokesman for Sessions did not respond to a request for comment. Because of the dearth of big banks and companies in his home state, there is little in Sessions’ track record as a federal prosecutor and state attorney general from the 1970s to the 1990s to suggest how he might approach complex cases of corporate malfeasance. But a review of his record in the Senate indicates he will likely push for corporate indictments, instead of settling for fines, and may focus on putting more executives in prison, lawyers who specialize in white-collar crime said. For example, during a 2010 confirmation hearing for James Cole, Sessions questioned the former U.S. deputy attorney general about the “dangerous” philosophy of not charging companies criminally because of concerns that doing so could lead to bankruptcy and hurt employees and shareholders. “Normally, I was taught if they violated a law, you charge them. If they didn’t violate the law, you don’t charge them,” Sessions said during the hearing. Matthew Schwartz, a former federal prosecutor and lawyer at Boies, Schiller & Flexner, said Sessions’ remarks suggested that he may be more willing than the current administration to require a guilty plea from corporations with less concern for  collateral consequences.  He said Sessions would also likely support the Justice Department’s renewed efforts to prosecute executives, outlined in a policy memo last year by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. While an unabashed businessman, Trump was highly critical of Hillary Clinton’s ties to Wall Street, accusing his Democratic rival of being beholden to the interests of big investment banks.  That message resonated with many working class voters who suffered in the financial crisis of 2008 and are still angry that no top-level Wall Street figures have been prosecuted for acts that almost brought down the global financial system.  “Until we see evidence to the contrary, it appears that the new Justice Department will be one that will seek to hold every individual accountable to the fullest extent. So the stakes may be higher,” Schwartz said. Jackson Sharman, a white-collar defense lawyer in Alabama, said that he believed Sessions would want to be as tough on white-collar as on street criminals. He pointed to Sessions’ recent opposition to a crime bill that would have shown sentencing leniency for non-violent offenders. Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor and Columbia Law School professor, who has testified before Sessions’ Senate Judiciary Committee, agreed that the Alabama senator will be “a strong supporter” of corporate enforcement. In the past, Sessions has come out in favor of tough Justice Department tactics against companies accused of fraud.  In 2007, corporate counsels pushed for a law that would have stopped the Justice Department from pressuring companies to waive attorney-client privilege during fraud investigations. But during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sessions argued against any such rule, noting that prosecutors regularly pressure street criminals to waive constitutional rights using the threat of tougher penalties if they do not co-operate.  Sessions said the Justice Department should be able to use similar leverage against corporations.  Corporate crime “is not easy to prosecute or investigate. They have the best lawyers that you can find, and they utilize all the legitimate tools that they have,” Sessions said. “And you have to be strong... a prosecutor cannot be a weak-kneed person going up against a major corporation in a fraud case.”

Summary: व्यवसाय समर्थक सत्र कॉर्पोरेट अपराध पर आसान नहीं होंगेः वकील


(Reuters) - U.S. officials should be respectful of the Mexican 2018 presidential election, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Thursday, after a top U.S. security official suggested a win by a leftist candidate would be bad for both nations. Speaking with senators on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly agreed with Republican Senator John McCain’s view that “if the election were tomorrow in Mexico, you would probably get a left-wing, anti-American president of Mexico. That can’t be good for America.” Kelly, who was speaking at a Senate committee on homeland security and governmental affairs hearing, echoed that viewpoint. “It would not be good for America or for Mexico,” he said.   Though Kelly and McCain stopped short of naming anyone in particular, their comments were seen in Mexico as a clear swipe at leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a populist who many see as the frontrunning candidate in the 2018 presidential election.  Speaking at a news conference in Washington on Thursday, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said he broached the issue with Kelly. “I told him in a respectful but clear manner that the electoral decisions ... correspond to Mexicans alone and that what we expect from the United States is respect toward the Mexican electoral process,” Videgaray said. For his part, Lopez Obrador rejected the accusation that he was “anti-American.” “Our relationship with the United States will be one of friendship and cooperation, but not one of submission. We are a free and sovereign nation,” he said according to a press release. Regarding the looming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Videgary said Mexico would prefer to conclude the talks this year rather than in 2018, when the Mexico’s election takes place. Some view Videgaray, a former finance minister now leading complex trade, security and migration negotiations with the Trump administration, as a possible presidential candidate in 2018 for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Summary: मेक्सिको ने 2018 के राष्ट्रपति चुनाव के लिए अमेरिका से सम्मान का आग्रह किया


MOSCOW (Reuters) - A proposed increase in U.S. defense spending is an internal matter for Washington and does not concern Russia unless it disrupts the existing strategic balance of power, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peso told reporters on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump this week proposed a $54 billion increase in defense spending and said he wanted to launch the biggest military buildup in American history to make up for what he called a depleted armed forces.

Summary: क्रेमलिन का कहना है कि अमेरिकी सैन्य वृद्धि से शक्ति संतुलन बाधित नहीं होना चाहिए


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Erik Prince, who founded a private military contractor that has faced lawsuits for shootings and other misconduct in Iraq, is considering challenging a Republican Senator from Wyoming in a primary next year, the New York Times reported on Sunday. Steve Bannon, U.S. President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, had urged Prince to run for the seat now held by John Barrasso, an ally of Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as part of an effort to shake up Republican leadership, the paper said. Prince, a former Navy SEAL and the brother of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, founded the company formerly known as Blackwater. Some of its guards had been convicted of killing 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007, an incident that outraged Iraqis and inflamed anti-U.S. sentiment around the world. Prince has told DeVos that he would like to run against Barrasso, a person with knowledge of the conversation told the Times, and he traveled this weekend to Wyoming to investigate how to attain residency. Efforts by Reuters to reach Prince and DeVos for comment were unsuccessful.  North Carolina-based Blackwater was sold and renamed several times after the Baghdad incident. It is now called Academi and  is based in northern Virginia. Prince later co-founded FSG, a separate logistics, security and insurance provider. A company spokesman had no comment on the Times report.

Summary: ब्लैकवॉटर के संस्थापक प्रिंस अमेरिकी सीनेट चुनाव लड़ रहे हैंः न्यूयॉर्क टाइम्स


(Reuters) - Maryland’s House of Delegates on Monday approved legislation to bar police statewide from checking the immigration status of individuals they arrest or keeping them locked up longer than otherwise warranted at the request of federal agents seeking to deport them. The state Senate in Annapolis, which like the lower house of the General Assembly is controlled by Democrats, has yet to consider the bill, and Republican Governor Larry Hogan issued a statement vowing to veto the measure if it reached his desk. “This legislation would interfere with our state and local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal law enforcement authorities,” Hogan said. Supporters say the measure, which cleared the House of Delegates on a largely party-line vote of 83-55, is designed in large part to maintain the trust of immigrant communities in local law enforcement and government agencies. It would prohibit state and local police officers from stopping, arresting, searching or detaining an individual for purposes of suspected immigration violations.  It would also bar police from honoring administrative “detainer” requests from federal immigration authorities seeking to keep jailed individuals in custody after they should otherwise be released on bond. Other provisions would require the state attorney general to issue guidelines to public schools, courthouses and hospitals on limiting immigration enforcement in those places. And it would restrict state funds from being used to create a registry of people on the basis of immigration status, nationality, religion or ethnic origin. The measure follows in the footsteps of dozens of municipalities and local jurisdictions across the country that have declared themselves “sanctuary cities,” including San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington. So far no such statewide designations have been enacted. Republican President Donald Trump in January signed an executive order seeking to withhold federal funds from local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.  At the time, he said local jurisdictions put U.S. citizens at risk by releasing criminals who should be deported and who, in some cases, commit additional offenses after being released from jail.

Summary: मैरीलैंड के सांसदों ने आव्रजन प्रवर्तन पर अंकुश लगाने के लिए विधेयक पारित किया


KABUL (Reuters) - The commander of the Taliban s  special forces  branch, known as the  Red Unit,  was killed last week in Helmand province by Afghan forces, according to Afghanistan s main intelligence agency. The National Directorate of Security (NDS) said Mullah Shah Wali, also known as Mullah Naser, was killed in an air operation in Helmand. The province is a Taliban stronghold in the heartland of Afghanistan s lucrative drug trade. Wali became the commander of the Taliban s  Red Unit  as well as deputy shadow governor of Helmand province three years ago and was directly involved in Taliban offensives, the statement said.     The  Red Unit  is thought to be equipped with advanced weapons, including night vision scopes, 82mm rockets, heavy machine guns and U.S.-made assault rifles, according to the Afghan military. Wali was killed alongside a suicide bomber and two other Taliban commanders in Helmand s Musa Qala district, according to the NDS.     The United States has worked hard to build up Afghan air support and attack capabilities since they were found inadequate after most foreign forces withdrew three years ago.

Summary: अफगानिस्तान में तालिबान के 'विशेष बलों' के कमांडर की हत्याः अधिकारी