ROME (Reuters) - Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri indicated on Wednesday that he might withdraw his resignation next week, saying matters were  positive  and he would rescind his decision if they remained so, a statement from his press office said. Hariri announced his resignation in a televised statement while he was in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 4, prompting a political crisis in Lebanon and thrusting it back into a regional tussle between Riyadh and its main regional foe, Iran. Lebanese officials say Saudi Arabia coerced Hariri, a long-time ally of Saudi Arabia, into resigning and held him there against his will until an intervention by France led to his return to Lebanon last week. Saudi Arabia denies this. Hariri agreed to shelve the decision after meeting Aoun last week, saying this was to allow for dialogue. Hariri wants all Lebanese to commit to staying out of regional conflicts, a reference to the powerful armed Shi ite group Hezbollah, which Saudi Arabia accuses of sowing strife in the Arab world with support from Iran.  Matters are positive, as you hear, and if this positivity continues we will announce, God willing, to Lebanese next week with President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri the withdrawal of the resignation,  Hariri said on Wednesday. He was speaking during a celebration to mark the Prophet Mohammad s birthday. Earlier on Wednesday, Aoun was quoted as saying that Hariri would  certainly  remain prime minister and Lebanon s political crisis will be resolved in a few days.  We have just finished talks with all the political forces, within and outside government. There is a broad agreement,  the newspaper La Stampa quoted him as saying during a visit to Italy. Aoun did not accept Hariri s televised resignation, accusing Saudi Arabia of holding Hariri in Riyadh and forcing him to step down. Hariri eventually returned to Beirut on Nov. 22 and postponed his resignation. He said on Monday that he would stay on as prime minister if Iran s Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, accepted a policy of staying out of regional conflicts. Asked about that demand, Aoun   a Hezbollah ally   said:  Hezbollah has fought against Islamic State terrorists in Lebanon and abroad. But when the war against terrorism is finished, their fighters will come back to the country,  La Stampa reported. The group has fought alongside President Bashar al-Assad s forces in Syria against rebels seeking to oust him, including factions that were backed by Saudi Arabia.

Summary: लेबनान के हरीरी अगले सप्ताह इस्तीफा वापस ले सकते हैं-बयान


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney is aiming to block Donald Trump from winning the nomination for president at the party’s convention, CNN reported on Thursday, citing an unnamed source close to Romney. The goal is to lock him out of the convention, CNN said.  (Reporting by Timothy Ahmann; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

Summary: रोमनी का उद्देश्य रिपब्लिकन सम्मेलन में ट्रम्प को रोकना हैः सीएनएन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday he expects to unveil a proposal for overhauling the federal tax code this fall and to get legislation passed by the end of the year that includes a lower corporate tax rate. “We want America to wake up on New Year’s Day 2018 with a new tax system,” Ryan said in an interview with The New York Times. He said congressional tax writers were close to releasing their template for the tax system overhaul. Tax reform was a major campaign promise last year for President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress. But the effort has been hamstrung by repeated delays and political distractions since Trump took office in January. The president went on the road at the end of August to tout tax cuts as a way to help American workers and the middle class but Washington’s attention soon shifted to hurricanes battering the southern United States and North Korea’s latest nuclear test. Trump’s treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, said in a separate interview on Thursday with Fox Business Network that tax reform remains a top priority for the president.  Ryan said Trump was very engaged on tax reform and “seriously involved in the details.” The president has said he wanted to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent. Ryan, in the Times interview, indicated a figure that low was unrealistic. “The numbers are hard to make that work. He obviously wants to push this as low as possible - I completely support doing that but at the end of the day we’ve got to make these numbers work. “Our goal is to be at or below the industrialized world average - and that’s 22.5 (percent). So our goal is to get in the mid to low 20s. And we think that’s an achievable goal.”

Summary: हाउस स्पीकर रयान को इस गिरावट में कर योजना की उम्मीद हैः एनवाईटी साक्षात्कार


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday outlined for his staff how an “America First” agenda translates into foreign policy, but did not address the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts, which worry many diplomats. It was the first time Tillerson had addressed all employees since his first day on the job on Feb. 2, when he spoke to hundreds of State Department officials in the building’s lobby, and the most thorough explanation yet of the Trump administration’s approach to foreign policy. Some allies and even some U.S. officials have interpreted Republican President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, which puts Americans’ interests at home ahead of those of its partners overseas, as a threat to retreat from the world. Tillerson said U.S. foreign policy priorities had gotten “a little bit out of balance” in the previous decades, with the United States too focused on promoting economic activity and trade with emerging economies. “These are really important relationships to us, and they’re really important alliances, but we’ve got to bring them back into balance,” he said, speaking without notes and walking around the stage in a packed State Department auditorium. He also signaled that the United States would de-emphasize human rights concerns in some of its interactions with other countries, saying that while U.S. values remain constant, its policies can adapt. “If we condition too heavily that others must adopt this value that we’ve come to over a long history of our own, it really creates obstacles to our ability to advance our national security interests, our economic interests,” Tillerson said. Tillerson gave a tour of U.S. priorities around the world, including in East Asia, Russia, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere, omitting Europe. With regard to North Korea’s nuclear program, Tillerson said the administration is willing to use so-called secondary sanctions to target foreign companies that continue to do business with Pyongyang in contravention of United Nations sanctions. The pressure campaign on North Korea is “at about dial setting 5 or 6 right now,” Tillerson said. On China, Tillerson said the United States has a “tremendous opportunity” to define its relationship with the superpower for the next several decades, and that he sensed great interest by the Chinese leadership to do that as well. He and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will chair a dialogue with their Chinese counterparts in June, in addition to a dialogue focused on economics and trade and led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Tillerson said he had told Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow last month that U.S.-Russia relations were at their lowest point since the Cold War.  “He did not disagree,” Tillerson said. “He shrugged his shoulders and nodded in agreement.” But in remarks lasting nearly 40 minutes, Tillerson did not address the administration’s proposed 28 percent budget cut for U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid, which would reduce funding for the United Nations, climate change and cultural exchange programs. That proposal has made many American diplomats and aid workers anxious.  The Trump administration also has not named candidates for the vast majority of State Department positions requiring Senate confirmation, and many are being filled by career diplomats in “acting” positions. Tillerson began his remarks by thanking those officials, to applause from the crowd. One veteran official who watched the speech criticized Tillerson’s use of the “America First” slogan. The phrase was used in the 1930s by isolationists who sought to keep the United States out of World War Two. “The fact that they still use ‘America First’ shows they know nothing about history, and what’s worse is they don’t care. “It’s offensive,” said the official, who requested anonymity. Tillerson’s remarks followed an invitation to State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development employees this week to participate in an online survey to help identify “efficiency improvements,” in line with a March directive from Trump to “reorganize governmental functions and eliminate unnecessary agencies.” In his speech, the secretary urged employees to fill out the survey and give input on how to reform the agency. Tillerson said the State Department, like many institutions, was built for the Cold War era. He said he recognized that deep change to the State Department “is really stressful for a lot of people” and said the administration has “no preconceived notions on the outcome” of a review. One State Department official faulted Tillerson for not talking in detail about the budget cuts, as well as for not taking questions from employees. Previous secretaries of state, including Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton, held question-and-answer sessions with State Department employees within weeks of taking office. “They wanted to make this look like he was talking to us, but it was more about the appearance than any substance,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Two other State Department officials, however, spoke highly of Tillerson’s remarks, saying it was early to expect him to take questions from the rank and file and saying he provided guidance both on foreign policy and on the challenge of reorganizing the department. “I can understand folks wanting more details. I just don’t think we are in a place where he can provide more details,” said one of these officials about the expected State Department budget cuts. “My big takeaway was put on your big-girl britches, and when you look back you will feel like you were part of making this reform happen.”

Summary: अमेरिका को विदेशी गठबंधनों को संतुलित करने की जरूरतः टिलरसन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Constant cyber attacks on the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and its key weapons programs pose as great a threat as development of intercontinental ballistic missiles by Iran and North Korea, the admiral who heads the agency said on Thursday. Vice Admiral James Syring told a House Armed Services subcommittee that the agency had taken “inordinate” measures to defend its own networks, but he remained concerned about potential vulnerabilities among defense contractors. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency develops and runs a multilayered system of defenses against ballistic missile attacks by potential enemies. The system includes ground-based interceptor missiles in Alaska and California as well as high-end radar equipment to detect attacks. Syring said the agency carried out continuous monitoring of its classified and unclassified networks, but said cyber attacks were increasingly directed against private contractors and unclassified, controlled technical information that they housed on their networks. “What we’ve got to do is get them up to where we are in terms of our protection levels, and I view it as a very near-term, very real requirement across the (Ballistic Missile Defense System),” he said. U.S. defense officials have been increasingly vocal about escalating and constant cyber attacks originating from China, Russia and other countries. Syring did not answer directly when asked about his knowledge of attacks on the agency’s networks by China or the Chinese military, telling lawmakers he would provide fuller answers during a classified hearing.  Syring told a similar Senate hearing on Wednesday that the agency was working “hand-in-glove” with private contractors to ensure that future contracts contained the necessary cyber security requirements, protections and standards. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work told Reuters this week that the Pentagon’s Cyber Investment Management Board had prepared a list of top-priority weapons programs that required cyber security updates and investments. He said the details were classified, but said some of those programs were launched years ago before cyber attacks became commonplace.

Summary: साइबर हमला ईरान, उत्तर कोरिया के आई. सी. बी. एम. जितना बड़ा खतराः अमेरिकी एडमिरल


(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday put a restrictive Republican-backed Arizona ballot-collection law on hold until after Tuesday’s election, handing Democrats a victory in an intensifying state-by-state legal battle over access to the polls.  Arizona’s legislature earlier this year passed the law  prohibiting advocacy groups from collecting completed early ballots from voters and delivering them to election offices as part of get-out-the-vote efforts.  Plaintiffs in the case, including the Democratic National Committee, argued the law is unconstitutional because it unfairly impacted the ability of minorities to vote. Polls have shown Republican Donald Trump with a small lead in Arizona over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential race. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this week agreed to revisit a ruling that had refused to block the law and hear the case before an 11-judge panel. That panel voted 6-5 on Friday to prohibit Arizona from enforcing the law now, court records showed. Arizona filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court later on Friday, asking it to reverse the 9th Circuit’s order. Democrats have accused Republicans of enacting state laws intended to make it harder for minorities and others who tend to back Democratic candidates to cast ballots. Republicans have called these laws necessary to guard against voting fraud. Judge Sidney Thomas, the 9th Circuit’s chief judge, wrote that the court’s action would not disrupt Arizona’s ability to conduct the U.S. presidential election.  “It simply would enjoin enforcement of a legislative act that would criminalize the collection, by persons other than the voter, of legitimately cast ballots,” Thomas wrote. He was joined by five other judges appointed by Democratic presidents. Five dissenting 9th Circuit judges, all Republican appointees, argued that the court should not have interfered with Arizona law so close to Election Day, while early voting is already underway. The 9th Circuit covers nine Western states, including Arizona. “We are disappointed in this decision as it will confuse voters and depress turnout,” Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan said in a statement. A representative for the Democratic National Committee could not immediately be reached for comment. Acting in another voting case on Friday, a U.S. judge in Ohio ordered Trump’s campaign not to verbally harass voters near polling places or take pictures of them in the key battleground state.

Summary: एरिजोना में मतपत्र संग्रह कानून चुनाव के बाद तक के लिए स्थगित


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the House of Representatives hope to offer President-elect Donald Trump an alternate plan to his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall, a first test by lawmakers from his own party of one of his key campaign promises. Just a day after Trump’s stunning election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, congressional aides told Reuters the lawmakers wanted to meet with Trump’s advisers to discuss a less costly option to his “big, beautiful, powerful wall.” The plan would involve more border fencing and additional border staffing with federal agents, many of whom belong to labor unions that supported Trump’s candidacy, the aides said. Double layers of fencing would be extended along parts of the roughly 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border, rather than constructing a brick-and-mortar wall, according to the proposal. A House Republican aide and a Department of Homeland Security official said a wall was not realistic because it would block visibility for border agents and cut through rugged terrain, as well as bodies of water and private land. The House aide said House Republicans working on the alternative plan were waiting for Trump’s transition team to be put in place before setting a date for the meeting. A spokesman for Trump did not respond to a request for comment on the lawmakers’ proposal or their desired meeting.  Mexico said on Wednesday that it would not pay for a border wall, as Trump has pledged. Immigration was a central feature of the Trump campaign, focusing on concerns among some voters about illegal immigrants and perceptions they take jobs and pose security risks.  Before the Republican convention in July, party platform committee members successfully petitioned delegates to add language about the proposed wall to the platform statement.  But U.S. Republican Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has called a wall along the entire border a “knee-jerk” reaction and has not mentioned the idea in legislation on Capitol Hill.  If Congress stands up to Trump, his wall may end up being a fence extension, said Steve Legomsky, professor emeritus and immigration law expert at Washington University School of Law. “Congress won’t fund the kind of wall Trump promised, and Mexico won’t pay for it. But to save face, President Trump and congressional leaders will likely agree to a modest extension of the existing border fence,” Legomsky predicted. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Wednesday that border security was an important agenda item that he wanted to achieve “in whatever way is the most effective.” The National Border Patrol Council, a union representing border agents, said the agency had already had a difficult time meeting hiring goals mandated by Congress.

Summary: हाउस रिपब्लिकन ने ट्रम्प का उनकी U.S.-Mexico दीवार पर परीक्षण किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The revised U.S. Senate healthcare plan will keep in place two Obamacare taxes on the wealthy and retain its limit on corporate tax deductions for executive pay in the health insurance industry, a Senate source told Reuters on Thursday.  The taxes on the wealthy - a 3.8 percent net investment tax and a 0.9 percent payroll tax that helps finance Medicare - apply to individuals with incomes above $200,000 and married couples making more than $250,000.

Summary: सीनेट की नई स्वास्थ्य सेवा योजना अमीरों पर ओबामाकेयर-युग के करों को बनाए रखती हैः सीनेट सूत्र


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has proposed ending the publication of the names of banks which finance Russian state-controlled arms producers, in a possible sign that Moscow is preparing for new U.S. sanctions. The draft law would, if adopted, mean the Russian central bank no longer has to publish a list of banks dealing with the arms industry, which included eight lenders as of Oct. 1. Russia s government and the president would be able to include any banks they wanted to in such deals and would no longer publish the criteria for their involvement. Under current regulations only state-controlled or central bank-controlled lenders with capital of not less then 100 billion rubles ($1.7 billion) may get such contracts. Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on Tuesday to discuss building up the country s military. The U.S. State Department last month named 39 Russian defense and intelligence-related entities following the signing in August of a new sanctions law by President Donald Trump to punish Moscow after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded it meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, allegations the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.  The U.S. law calls on the president to impose sanctions on anyone he identifies as having engaged  in a significant transaction with a person that is part of, or operates for or on behalf of, the defense or intelligence sectors  of the Russian government.. The action does not itself impose new sanctions, and determinations will be made on a case by case basis, State Department officials said in October. Banks on the list include state-controlled majors Sberbank, VTB and Russian Agriculture Bank, along with private-owned Rossiya and Gazprombank, in which gas producer Gazprom holds a stake. Sberbank has proposed establishing a special bank to finance Russia s military industry as a means of side-stepping the sanctions, three sources familiar with the talks told Reuters. Sberbank declined to comment.

Summary: रूस ने प्रतिबंधों से हथियार निर्माताओं को धन देने वाले बैंकों को आश्रय देने का कदम उठाया


SAN JUAN (Reuters) - - Creditors of Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank on Wednesday withdrew a lawsuit that sought to prevent a run on the bank ahead of a $422 million debt payment due on May 1. Hedge funds including Brigade Capital Management and Claren Road Asset Management, which hold some of GDB’s $3.75 billion in debt, said in a statement that the lawsuit had no purpose now that Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla has declared a fiscal emergency at the bank. The emergency declaration, issued on Saturday, prevents GDB from lending and paying certain debts, and blocks depositors from withdrawing any money not required to fund essential services. This is essentially what the creditors had sought in their lawsuit, which was filed four days before Garcia Padilla’s declaration. Puerto Rico faces $70 billion in total debt, a 45 percent poverty rate, and a shrinking population, all of which threaten to collapse its economy. GDB owes creditors $422 million on May 1, a payment Garcia Padilla has said it cannot afford. The emergency declaration aimed to keep money in the bank while the bank negotiates a restructuring with creditors. While the U.S. territory has missed some minor debt payments in the last year, a default at GDB - the primary liquidity source for the island’s public entities - would be by far the most significant. Default would also likely push the bank into receivership.  Efforts to avoid that fate parallel a push by federal lawmakers to find a legislative solution to Puerto Rico’s debt.

Summary: गवर्नर के आपातकालीन आदेश के बाद प्यूर्टो रिको के लेनदारों ने मुकदमा रद्द कर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff on Sunday played down the prospect that Trump would revisit Washington’s decades-old “one China” policy, even though he suggested as much a week ago. Since 1979, the United States has acknowledged Taiwan as part of “one China” but Trump prompted a diplomatic protest from Beijing after he accepted a congratulatory phone call on his election win from President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan on Dec. 2. “We are not suggesting that we’re revisiting ‘one China’ policy right now,” Trump aide Reince Priebus said on “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.” “He is not president right now and he’s respectful to the current president,” Priebus said. Last Sunday, Trump himself said in an interview on Fox News Sunday: “I fully understand the ‘one China’ policy, but I don’t know why we have to be bound by a ‘one China’ policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.” Political analysts said that Republican Trump’s call with the president of Taiwan and the comments on the “one China” policy could antagonize Beijing. Trump also inserted himself on Saturday into another sensitive dispute between China and the United States after China on Thursday seized an underwater drone owned by the U.S. military in the South China Sea. Trump called the seizure an “unprecedented act.” U.S. officials described the seizure as the first of its kind in recent memory. It was taken about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch was about to retrieve it, the officials said. Although China vowed to return the drone to the United States, Trump later tweeted that the U.S. should let China keep it.  Priebus on Sunday defended the comments on the drone, saying he does not believe Trump’s comments were provocative and that “80 percent” of Americans agree it was inappropriate for China to have seized the drone in the first place. Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the Chinese would be able to retrieve some “pretty valuable” technical information from the drone through a process known as reverse-engineering. McCain said the Chinese seizure of the drone was a “gross violation” of international law. McCain, a critic of Democratic President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, said the United States was not projecting enough strength in the world and said China’s move reflected that. “Everybody is taking advantage of it, and hopefully that will change soon,” McCain said.

Summary: ट्रम्प के सहयोगी ने 'एक चीन' नीति को आगे बढ़ाने की संभावना को कम किया


The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS.  The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy.  @realDonaldTrump : - To each member of the graduating class from the National Academy at Quantico, CONGRATULATIONS! [1235 EST] - You are always there for us – THE MEN AND WOMEN IN BLUE. Thank you to our police, thank you to our sheriffs, and thank you to our law enforcement families. God Bless you all, and GOD BLESS AMERICA! #LESM [1428 EST] - Today, it was my tremendous honor to visit Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) at the Marine Corps Air Facility in Quantico, Virginia. I am honored to serve as your Commander-in-Chief. On behalf of an entire Nation, THANK YOU for your sacrifice and service. We love you!  [1658 EST]  - DOW, S&P 500 and NASDAQ close at record highs! #MAGA [1900 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्विटर पर ट्रम्प (15 दिसंबर)-क्वांटिको


LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May is fully focused on tackling extremism, her spokesman said on Thursday, responding to a tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump telling her to focus on  destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism . Asked if May was focused on tackling extremism: her spokesman said:  Yes.    The overwhelming majority of Muslims in this country are law-abiding people who abhor extremism in all its forms. The prime minister has been clear ... that where Islamist extremism does exist it should be tackled head on. We are working hard to do that both at home and internationally and ... with our U.S. partners.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के प्रधानमंत्री मे का ध्यान चरमपंथ से निपटने पर केंद्रित हैः प्रवक्ता ने ट्रंप के जवाब में कहा


(Reuters) - Hurricane Irma dipped in intensity as it passed over Cuba, with maximum sustained wind speeds falling to 130 miles per hour (215 km/h), but is forecast to regain strength as it moves away from the island, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Saturday. The storm will reach the Florida Keys on Sunday morning and is expected to be near the southwest coast of Florida on Sunday afternoon, the NHC said. Irma would remain a powerful hurricane as it approaches Florida, it said.

Summary: एन. एच. सी. का कहना है कि क्यूबा से दूर जाने के बाद इरमा के मजबूत होने का अनुमान है


(In March 13 item, corrects paragraph 7 to show uninsured rising) By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fourteen million Americans would lose medical insurance by next year under a Republican plan to dismantle Obamacare that would also reduce the budget deficit, a nonpartisan congressional research office said on Monday, throwing President Donald Trump and Republicans on the defensive as they press forward with replacement legislation. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office forecast that 24 million more people would be uninsured in 2026 if the plan being considered by the House of Representatives to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act were adopted. Obamacare, as President Barack Obama's signature piece of domestic policy is commonly called, expanded insurance to about 20 million Americans. (bit.ly/2mkdeYA) Hours after the CBO report was released, the House Budget Committee postponed its consideration of the Republican bill to Thursday from Wednesday. Prior to the report, Republicans had been planning to vote soon on the bill in the House, where it is likely to pass, and send it to the Senate, where its outlook is uncertain.  The CBO projected that 52 million people would be uninsured by 2026 if the bill became law, compared with 28 million who would not have coverage that year if the law remained unchanged. Two House of Representatives committees have approved the legislation to dismantle Obamacare that was unveiled by Republican leaders a week ago, but it faces opposition from not only Democrats but also medical providers including doctors and hospitals and many conservatives. The CBO report’s findings could make the Republican plan a harder sell for lawmakers, particularly in the U.S. Senate. The CBO, however, said federal deficits would fall by $337 billion between 2017 and 2026 under the Republican bill. Some health policy experts and Wall Street analysts said the report was more draconian than expected, with the uninsured rate rising more quickly than foreseen. Doctors groups and patient advocates said the bill must be abandoned. The AARP, a nonprofit advocacy group for aging Americans, said Monday that the CBO analysis showed the financial burden of the Republican plan would fall “disproportionately” on Americans 50 to 64 years old. In a five-page letter to House members last week, the AARP has also criticized a tax cut it said would threaten the solvency of Medicare, the government health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, cuts to Medicaid and said the bill does nothing to lower drug costs. Some Republicans worry a misfire on the Republican healthcare legislation could hobble Trump’s presidency and set the stage for losses for the party in the 2018 congressional elections.  The Trump administration defended the healthcare plan, which they say will have a second and third phase that will entice consumers. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said at the White House that Trump’s plan would cover more individuals at a lower cost and it was “virtually impossible” to envision that 14 million people would lose insurance coverage by next year. Democratic leaders in Congress said the bill could result in elderly people being kicked out of nursing homes as it simultaneously gives tax cuts for the richest Americans. “How can they look their constituents in the eye when they say 24 million of you no longer have coverage and those of you who do have it, will have less coverage at more cost to you,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said. Trump himself made no comment on the report. The Affordable Care Act aimed to help restrain U.S. healthcare spending, which is about 17 percent of the nation’s economy, but it has continued to grow faster than inflation.  The proposal would end the Obamacare expansion of the Medicaid insurance program for the poor and would replace Obamacare’s income-based subsidies with fixed tax credits for the purchase of private insurance. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center on Monday said the Republican plan would benefit the wealthiest U.S. households far more than middle-income families. A family making $51,600 to $89,400 a year, including fringe benefits like employer-provided health insurance, would get a tax cut averaging $300. The top 0.1 percent of earners with incomes of at least $3.9 million would get a tax cut of about $207,000, the study said. The CBO estimated that insurance premiums would rise 15 percent to 20 percent in both 2018 and 2019 because fewer healthy people would sign up after the repeal of the Obamacare penalty for declining to obtain insurance. But it said the hikes would be offset after 2020 by a $100 billion fund allocated to states in the bill and deregulation in the insurance market.  By 2026, average premiums for single policyholders in the nongroup market under the legislation would be roughly 10 percent lower than the estimates under current law, in part because insurers will be able to offer plans that cover a lower share of healthcare costs. While the federal government would lose revenues through the repeal of Obamacare’s individual and employer mandates’ tax penalties, CBO said the loss would be surpassed by savings on insurance subsidies and Medicaid payments that Washington would no longer have to provide for people who lost coverage.  At the same time, CBO said the repeal of the individual mandate’s tax penalties would mean higher health insurance premiums for those who retained coverage, because insurers would still have to cover any applicant without being free to raise premiums for older, sicker people, despite lower numbers of younger, healthier customers who are cheaper to insure. Craig Garthwaite, director of the healthcare program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, said the CBO estimates made it harder for Republicans to sell their proposal.  “Overall, this is a really bad number for the AHCA. Far more people are predicted to lose coverage than many estimated - and these losses are going to happen more quickly than we would have thought,” he said. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, a key backer of the plan called the American Health Care Act, said the CBO estimates showed it would ultimately lower premiums.  “Our plan is not about forcing people to buy expensive, one-size-fits-all coverage. It is about giving people more choices and better access to a plan they want and can afford. When people have more choices, costs go down,” Ryan said. Vishnu Lekraj, an equity analyst at Morningstar, said the bill is a net negative for insurers, who would be helped by the elimination of a tax, but hurt by the shrinking individual insurance business. “The headline number will be viewed as a shock to the system tomorrow,” Brian Tanquilut, a stock analyst at Jefferies said of the 14 million losing insurance next year. “The reality of this is that the number being big makes it harder for the bill to pass in its current form.”

Summary: ओबामाकेयर को निरस्त करने की रिपब्लिकन योजना लाखों लोगों को बीमाकृत छोड़ देगीः रिपोर्ट


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy on Thursday vetoed the $40.7 billion biennial budget passed by lawmakers earlier this month, saying the bill would undermine the state’s fiscal stability, education system and economic development. Malloy, a second-term Democrat who is not running for reelection, had said he would not approve the Republican-supported budget.  Without a budget, which is now nearly three months overdue, the state could implement severe cuts on Oct. 1 under an emergency spending plan put in place by Malloy. Republican lawmakers, who do not control the legislature but won support for their budget from a handful of Democrats, have said they may try to override the governor’s veto, which was expected. As the state continues to wrangle over how to close a 2-year, $3.5 billion budget gap, some Connecticut cities are in the firing because of reduced state aid. Credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings on Thursday put nine cities and a school district on alert for possible downgrades. The warning “reflects Connecticut’s ongoing budget impasse and brinkmanship, which could reduce significant amounts of municipal aid payments to local governments,” said S&P analyst Victor Medeiros. “The credit quality of these municipalities could deteriorate further due to weaker reserves and liquidity concerns.” The cities - which include its largest, Bridgeport, and New Haven - are likely to dip into their reserves to offset losses in state aid. The drain on reserves would “make their financial position all the more precarious,” Medeiros said. The capital city, Hartford, was not on the list but has been downgraded four times in the last few weeks. On Wednesday, it fell multiple notches deeper into junk territory as it faces a potential bankruptcy.     Under the Republican plan, Hartford would have lost $6.8 million dollars of state support “at a time when its financial future is in peril, almost certainly forcing it into bankruptcy,” Malloy said in his veto message. Malloy also took issue with proposals to cut state public pension benefits, which could lead to expensive court challenges from public employee unions, and an education funding plan that he said was inequitable. State Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano said in a statement that the veto had “put Connecticut in chaos.” The veto means that cuts under Malloy’s “draconian executive order will remain in effect and create destruction for low and middle income families” unless lawmakers vote to override it, Fasano said.

Summary: कनेक्टिकट के गवर्नर ने बजट पर वीटो कर दिया क्योंकि खर्च में कटौती कर दी गई है


CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Jacob Zuma told South Africa s parliament on Thursday he had received no payments from private companies or individuals during his time as president, as opposition lawmakers walked out in protest over the cost to the state of his legal fees.  Allegations by government and opposition politicians that the wealthy Gupta family of businessmen used a friendship with Zuma to control state businesses and influence appointments are among many scandals that have dogged his presidency.      The Guptas and Zuma have denied any wrongdoing and say they are victims of a politically motivated witch-hunt.  My government is committed to fighting corruption,  Zuma said in response to a question. He also said he would establish a judicial commission to investigate allegations made in a 2016 report by South Africa s corruption-fighting Public Protector.   I did not receive any payments from private individuals or companies during my tenure as president of the Republic of South Africa, other than those disclosed or reported to the necessary authorities,  he said in answer to another question. The main opposition party then walked out of the session, saying Zuma was refusing to answer questions on how much the state had spent on legal fees to fight corruption allegations against him. Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane had asked how much had been spent since May 1, 2009 to defend 783 corruption charges against Zuma that were dropped by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) before he ran for the presidency.  He is going to jail. The president is going to jail,  Maimane shouted before leading the walkout. South Africa s High Court reinstated the charges last year and the Supreme Court upheld that decision in October, rejecting an appeal by Zuma. The 75-year-old president is still trying to prevent the NPA from filing the charges. The  State of Capture  report by the Public Protector, whose job is to uphold standards in public life, recommended a judicial probe into allegations of systemic corruption by Zuma, some of his ministers and heads of state-owned companies. But the president filed an application asking the High Court to set aside the report, saying he would instead set up a judicial commission of inquiry into the allegations. The court is expected to rule on that case soon. Zuma told parliament the judicial commission would investigate those corruption allegations and any others brought to its attention.  After the (High Court) judgment, I will establish it immediately. We will prove the lies and the truths,  Zuma said.  The truth will be found.   The report focused on allegations that Zuma s friends, the businessmen and brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, had influenced the appointment of ministers, which Zuma and the Guptas have denied.

Summary: भ्रष्टाचार के मुद्दे पर विपक्षी सांसदों ने दक्षिण अफ्रीका के राष्ट्रपति जुमा का वॉकआउट किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Key members of the U.S. Congress said Friday they had reached a compromise to shift more than $1 billion to try to keep struggling families together, including those with babies born dependant on opioids. The proposal is driven in part by an opioid crisis that threatens thousands of families. The bill would allow mental health, substance abuse and parenting assistance whenever a child is deemed at “imminent risk” of entering foster care. The measure also offers support for relatives who unexpectedly assume responsibility for a child when a parent cannot. Under current law, such funds may only be spent after a child enters foster care. A spokesman for the Child Welfare League of America, John Sciamanna, called the proposed change “a landmark…, potentially historic.” The legislation involves more than $1 billion over 10 years. Related opioid bills have not included funding. “This bill would make a historic shift in child welfare funding by offering a way for moms and dads to get help and treatment rather than pitching in only after children are removed from home,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. The bill is a compromise between four powerful members of Congress: Wyden; the Senate Finance committee’s Republican chair, Orrin Hatch of Utah; the Republican chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, Kevin Brady of Texas; and the ranking Democrat on Ways & Means, Sander Levin of Michigan. The plan offers “bipartisan solutions for families and children affected by the opioid addiction crisis,” Hatch said in a statement. In December, a Reuters investigation revealed that at least 110 babies had died since 2010 after being born opioid-dependent and sent home with parents ill-prepared to care for them. No more than nine of the 50 U.S. states followed a federal law requiring them to help those newborns, the news agency found. In response to the Reuters series, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asked all states to report by June 30 whether and how they are following the existing law, known as the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. In May, the House passed legislation to improve safety planning for children born dependent on opioid drugs. Reanne Pederson of Devils Lake, N.D., one of the women portrayed in the Reuters series who accidentally smothered her newborn in bed while on drugs, said she was happy to hear about new funding possibilities. “It’s important to me that moms who are struggling with addiction get help,” she said.

Summary: संकटग्रस्त परिवारों की सहायता के लिए कांग्रेस की 1 अरब डॉलर की योजना


ANKARA (Reuters) - The United States is still seeking an explanation from Ankara for the detention of staff at U.S. missions in Turkey which led Washington to stop issuing visas and triggered a diplomatic crisis, the U.S. ambassador said on Wednesday.  Ambassador John Bass said the decision to suspend granting visas was not taken lightly, but the detentions indicated a breakdown in communication between the two NATO allies, whose relations have come under increasing strain.  Unfortunately... the U.S. government still has not received any official communications from the Turkish government about the reasons why our local employees have been detained or arrested,  he told reporters at the U.S. embassy in Ankara. Washington says two locally employed staff were arrested in Turkey this year. In May, a translator at the consulate in the southern province of Adana was arrested and last week a Drug Enforcement Administration worker was detained in Istanbul. President Tayyip Erdogan s spokesman said last week the Istanbul employee, Metin Topuz, had been in contact with a leading suspect in last year s failed military coup. Turkish media reported similar accusations against the translator.  The notion that people in our employment are facing or are under suspicion of terrorism charges here, that is a very serious allegation,  Bass said.  It is one we want to take seriously and we want to better understand the ostensible evidence that supports these allegations . Since the failed military coup in July last year, in which at least 240 people were killed, more than 50,000 people have been detained and 150,000, including teachers, academics, soldiers and journalists, have been suspended from work. Some Western allies fear the crackdown shows the country is slipping ever deeper into authoritarian rule under Erdogan. Ankara says its critics fail to understand the scale of the security challenges in Turkey, which has also faced conflict on its southern borders with Iraq and Syria, and an insurgency in its mainly Kurdish southeast. Erdogan has blamed Bass for the latest dispute, suggesting he acted unilaterally in suspending visa services and declaring that his government no longer considered Bass to be Washington s envoy and would not hold meetings with him.  The U.S. State Department denied Bass acted alone, saying his actions were coordinated with officials in Washington. In a sign that Ankara was stepping back from the pledge to exclude Bass, Turkish television channels reported that he met a foreign ministry official later on Wednesday. The ambassador is due to leave Turkey within days to take up a post in Afghanistan. U.S.-Turkish tensions have risen in recent months over U.S. military support for Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria, considered by Ankara to be an extension of the banned PKK which has waged an insurgency for three decades in southeast Turkey. Turkey has also pressed, so far in vain, for the United States to extradite Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan who is viewed in Ankara as the mastermind behind the failed coup. Another source of friction was the U.S. indictment of Turkey s former economy minister Zafer Caglayan for conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran. A U.S. court also indicted 15 of Erdogan s guards after they clashed with protesters during his visit to Washington in May. In addition to the two detained consulate workers, Turkey is  holding a U.S. pastor on charges which Turkish media say include membership of Gulen s network. Bass called for the release of the Christian missionary, Andrew Brunson, saying he had seen nothing of merit in the charges against him. He denied reports that Turkish police were trying to speak to another consulate employee.  To the best of our knowledge there are not any outstanding requests from Turkish law enforcement officials for any of our local staff to come in and talk to them,  he said.

Summary: अमेरिका अभी भी तुर्की में कर्मचारियों की गिरफ्तारी के लिए स्पष्टीकरण मांग रहा हैः राजदूत


TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump greeted Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Monday with a genteel handshake and nod, but no bow, avoiding the pitfall of U.S. President Barack Obama who was criticized at home for his deep bow to the monarch. Trump, wearing a suit and tie and his wife, Melania, in a long, dark blue dress, were met at the palace entrance by the royal couple, who were both wearing suits. Trump smiled, shook hands and nodded at the 83-year-old emperor before greeting Michiko as well. The four entered the palace where they chatted through interpreters in footage aired live on television, but without sound as is customary. After the meeting, Trump shook hands again, and tapped the emperor’s arm repeatedly with his left hand. “Thank you for the great meeting”, he told Akihito. “I’m sure we will meet again”. Obama came under fire after meeting the emperor in Tokyo in 2009 for what his critics back home said was bowing too low to Akihito. Some U.S. commentators said the U.S. president should not lower his head before foreign monarchs. Akihito has spent much of his reign working to heal the wounds of World War II, which was waged across Asia in his father’s name, Emperor Hirohito. Obama also faced criticism from a different quarter - etiquette experts - who noted he combined a bow with an handshake, which is not done in Japan traditionally, whether meeting the emperor or anyone else. Japanese guests are not supposed to touch the royal couple or shake hands, but foreign guests often do. Hillary Clinton shook hands and air-kissed the empress on both cheeks, then took her hand as they entered the palace when she met the royal pair as secretary of state in 2011, a month or so after the triple disasters of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown hit northeastern Japan in March of that year. Traditionalists say that Japan’s Chrysanthemum throne dates back more than 2,000 years. Akihito was the first royal heir in the Japanese imperial family to marry a commoner — a symbol of Japan’s new modernity and confidence. Japan earlier this year enacted a law clearing the way for Akihito, to step down, clearing the way for the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in nearly two centuries and the accession of his son, Crown Prince Naruhito in late 2018 early 2019. Akihito’s father, Emperor Hirohito, was considered divine until after Japan’s defeat in World War Two. The current emperor is defined by the constitution as a symbol of the people, and has no political authority although he is widely respected.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने जापानी सम्राट का हाथ मिलाया और सिर हिलाकर अभिवादन किया-लेकिन कोई धनुष नहीं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday said Congress would act to provide to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico the same disaster relief following Hurricane Maria that had been granted to Texas and Florida after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. “When we get the information we need from the administration, we will be doing more in Congress to act on all of these hurricane victims wherever they are, because these hurricanes have really wreaked havoc on many of our fellow citizens,” Ryan told reporters at a news conference.

Summary: अमेरिकी कांग्रेस प्यूर्टो रिको राहत पर कार्रवाई करेगीः सदन के अध्यक्ष


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said on Wednesday he expects the Senate will confirm Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of state. Corker’s comments came after the close of an approximately nine-hour hearing in which senators vigorously questioned Tillerson on his views on Russia, sanctions, climate change and other issues, including China. “I feel good about his confirmation,” Corker told reporters. “I’m going to support his confirmation.” Corker said he felt Tillerson had acquitted himself well in addressing senators’ concerns about his relationship with Russia, although Corker acknowledged that members still had questions. He said he expected Tillerson would spend Thursday answering further questions and talking to more senators.

Summary: कॉर्कर का कहना है कि उन्हें उम्मीद है कि सीनेट टिलरसन को विदेश मंत्री के रूप में पुष्टि करेगी


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s pledge to make Mexico pay for a border wall is “outrageous,” its government said on Thursday, one day after the Republican presidential candidate visited Mexico City for talks with President Enrique Pena Nieto. “The proposal to build the wall, and to believe that Mexico could and would pay for it, is outrageous,” presidential spokesman Eduardo Sanchez told local radio, after Trump’s rapid, impromptu visit to Mexico on Wednesday. “What I know is that Mexico will not pay a single cent if they want to build a wall on that side of the border,” he added. On Twitter early on Thursday, Trump wrote, “Mexico will pay for the wall!” That prompted a Twitter reply from Pena Nieto later in the day: “I repeat what I told you personally Mr Trump, Mexico would never pay for a wall.” Trump has sparked anger in Mexico with accusations on the campaign trail that the country sends rapists and drug runners to the United States, as well as his threats to tear up trade deals and make Mexico fund his planned wall. At a news conference after their 70-minute meeting, Trump said he and Pena Nieto had not discussed who would pay for the wall he wants to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the border. A few hours later, Pena Nieto contradicted Trump, saying he had told the American that Mexico would not foot the bill. However, Trump told a cheering crowd of supporters in Arizona later on Wednesday that Mexico would pay for the wall “100 percent.” After Trump had left Mexico, Pena Nieto was at pains to stress how he had brought home to the New York businessman the offense his comments have caused, calling his proposals a threat to the country. “I was very clear - in private and in public - in stressing that in Mexico we feel offended and hurt by his pronouncements about Mexicans,” Pena Nieto wrote in a piece in the newspaper El Universal on Thursday entitled “Why did I meet Donald Trump?” “In his campaign speeches, Trump has not treated us like partners, nor as allies, based on a distorted picture of Mexico and its people,” he went on, saying he had told Trump future cooperation between the two nations must be based on mutual respect. “Donald Trump’s reaction was positive,” he said.

Summary: मेक्सिको ने यात्रा के बाद ट्रम्प की दीवार बनाने की योजना को 'अपमानजनक' बताया


LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Thursday that talks about moving the Brexit process forward were  ongoing  after Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.  The Prime Minister has this evening spoken with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in separate telephone calls,  a spokesman for May said.  Discussions about taking forward the Brexit process are ongoing,  he said.

Summary: ब्रिटेन का कहना है कि आयरिश और यूरोपीय संघ के जंकर के साथ कॉल के बाद ब्रेक्सिट वार्ता जारी है


BEIRUT (Reuters) - With Islamic State near defeat in Syria, Damascus is setting its sights on territory held by Kurdish-led forces including eastern  oil fields, risking a new confrontation that could draw the United States in more deeply and complicate Russian diplomacy. President Bashar al-Assad and his Iranian allies appear to have been emboldened by events in Iraq, where Kurdish authorities have suffered a major blow since regional states mobilised against their independence referendum, analysts say. Rivalry between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by the United States, and the Syrian government backed by Iran and Russia is emerging as a fault line with their common enemy - Islamic State - close to collapse in Syria. Syria s main Kurdish groups hope for a new phase of negotiations that will shore up their autonomy in northern Syria. Assad s government, however, is asserting its claim to areas captured by the SDF from the jihadist group, known in Arabic by its enemies as Daesh, in more forceful terms.  On Sunday, Damascus declared Islamic State s former capital at Raqqa would be considered  occupied  until the Syrian army took control - a challenge to Washington which helped the SDF capture the city in months of fighting. And the eastern oil fields seized by the SDF in October, including Syria s largest, will be a target for the government as it tries to recover resources needed for reconstructing areas it controls, according to a Syrian official and a non-Syrian commander in the alliance fighting in support of Assad.  The message is very clear to the SDF militants and their backers in the coalition, headed by America: the lands they took from Daesh are rightfully the Syrian state s,  said the non-Syrian commander, who requested that his name and nationality be withheld.    Regarding the resources of the Syrian people in the east - oil and so on - we will not allow anyone to continue to control the country s resources and to create cantons or to think about self government,  added the commander, who is part of a military alliance that includes numerous Iran-backed Shi ite militias from across the region. The Syrian official said the SDF could not keep control of oil resources.  We won t permit it,  said the official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity as he was giving a personal view.     The United States has not spelt out how military support for the SDF will evolve after Islamic State s defeat, a sensitive point due to the concerns of its NATO ally Turkey. Ankara regards Syrian Kurdish power as a threat its national security as its forces are fighting Kurdish PKK rebels over the border in Turkey.  The U.S.-led coalition, which has established several military bases in northern Syria, has been helping the SDF shore up control of the recently captured al-Omar oil field in Deir al-Zor province.      Many people will say that will help them with (political) negotiations, but only if the United States remains with them, otherwise they are going to get clobbered,  said Joshua Landis, an expert on Syria and head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.   I think the Syrian government is going to push on some of these oil wells, in the same way as Iraq just pushed to get Kirkuk oil, and in the same way the Iraqi push is going to embolden the Syrian army,  he said.     Iraqi Kurds took control of large areas outside their autonomous region during the fight against Islamic State. However, last month s independence referendum prompted Western opposition and fierce resistance from Baghdad, Ankara and Assad s Iranian allies, and the Kurdish authorities have since lost much territory to Baghdad, including oil producing areas around the city of Kirkuk.  The Syrian official said this should serve  as a lesson for the Kurds in Syria, so they think about the future . Regional sources say the U.S. unwillingness to stop Iraqi government forces, backed by Shi ite militias, from recapturing Kirkuk sent an encouraging message to Assad and his Iranian allies to retake the SDF-held oil areas in Syria. With critical military support from Russia and the Iran-backed militias, Assad has recovered swathes of central and eastern Syria from Islamic State this year, having defeated many anti-Assad rebel factions in western Syria. The Kurdish YPG militia, the dominant force in the SDF, controls the second largest chunk of Syrian territory - around a quarter of the country. Syrian Kurdish leaders say they are not seeking secession.  The YPG and Damascus have mostly avoided conflict during the Syrian civil war, setting aside historic enmity to fight shared foes. Kurdish-led regions of northern Syria have meanwhile focused on establishing an autonomous government which they aim to safeguard. Moscow has called for a new  congress  of Syrian groups that may start work on a new constitution. The Russian Foreign Ministry published on Tuesday a list of 33 groups and political parties invited to a meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Nov. 18. A Syrian Kurdish official told Reuters the administration in northern Syria had been invited to the congress. Kurdish officials said they discussed their political demands with the Russians as recently as last month. A senior Kurdish politician said government statements directed at the Kurdish-led regions of northern Syria were contradictory, noting that the Syrian foreign minister had said in September that Kurdish autonomy demands were negotiable.  One day they say we are willing to negotiate and then someone else denies this or puts out an opposing statement,   Fawza Youssef said in a telephone interview with Reuters.  One of them declares war and the other wants to come negotiate. What is the regime s strategy? Dialogue or war?  After the final defeat of Islamic State in Deir al-Zor,  the situation will drive all the political sides and the combatants to start the stage of negotiations , Youssef said. The SDF has also pushed into Arab majority areas, including Raqqa and parts of Deir al-Zor, where it is working to establish its model of multi-ethnic local governance. Analysts believe the Syrian Kurdish groups could use the SDF-held Arab areas as bargaining chips in negotiations with Damascus.  There is no other option than to negotiate,  Youssef said.  Either a new stage of tensions and attrition will start - which we are 100 percent against - or a stage of dialogue and negotiations will start.

Summary: असद ने कुर्द क्षेत्रों पर ध्यान केंद्रित किया, नए सीरिया संघर्ष का जोखिम उठाया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday said he wants the House of Representatives to pass a Republican tax cut bill by the Nov. 23 Thanksgiving holiday, echoing President Donald Trump’s call to speed up the party’s efforts to get the measure approved before year’s end.  Referring to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, Ryan told reporters at a news conference, “Our goal is to get it out of the House by then. The Senate’s going to be a little slower on their track.”

Summary: अमेरिकी सदन के अध्यक्ष रयान ने नवंबर के अंत तक कर विधेयक पर मतदान की मांग की


DUBAI (Reuters) - A ship carrying 5,500 tonnes of flour docked in Yemen s Hodeidah port in the Red Sea on Sunday, the first after more than two weeks of a blockade by a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi movement, local officials said. Saudi Arabia and its allies closed air, land and sea access to the Arabian Peninsula country on Nov. 6, to stop what it calls a flow of arms to the Houthis from Iran. The action came after Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired towards its capital Riyadh.  Iran has denied supplying the Houthis with weapons.  The delivery is the first aid to arrive through Hodeidah port, controlled by the Houthis, after the coalition allowed a flight carrying humanitarian aid workers to the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday.   The ship is 106 meters long and carries 5,500 tonnes of flour,  one of the Yemeni officials said. Aid agencies said the blockade had worsened the humanitarian crisis in Yemen where the war has left an estimated 7 million people facing famine and killed more than 10,000 people.  The coalition gave clearance for U.N. flights in and out of Sanaa from Amman on Saturday, involving the regular rotation of aid workers.  After re-opening Sanaa airport, UNICEF has also sent vaccines there. The charity Save the Children said an estimated 20,000 Yemeni children under the age of five were joining the ranks of the severely malnourished every month,  an average of 27 children every hour .

Summary: सऊदी के नेतृत्व वाले गठबंधन ने यमन के होदेइदाह बंदरगाह में प्राथमिक चिकित्सा जहाज को अनुमति दीः स्थानीय अधिकारी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will nominate former U.S. Representative Heather Wilson to become Air Force secretary, the White House said on Monday. Wilson, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, has been President of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology since 2013, it said in a statement. “Heather Wilson is going to make an outstanding secretary of the Air Force,” Trump said in the statement.

Summary: हीथर विल्सन को वायु सेना सचिव के रूप में नामित करेंगे ट्रम्प


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. senator on Wednesday said Russian internet trolls, seeking to polarize Americans, helped fuel a debate ignited by President Donald Trump over whether NFL players should have the right to kneel during the national anthem.     The assertion, made by Republican James Lankford, comes as congressional investigators probing Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election are focusing on how Russian agents used social media to spread divisive political content. “We watched, even this weekend, the Russians and their troll farms, their internet folks, start hashtagging out #TakeAKnee and also hashtagging out #BoycottNFL,” Lankford, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said during a hearing on threats faced by the United States. “They were taking both sides of the argument this weekend ... to try to raise the noise level of America and make a big issue seem like an even bigger issue as they are trying to push divisiveness in this country,” Lankford said.  Lankford did not provide evidence to corroborate his statement. A Lankford aide said U.S. intelligence shared with senators showed that Russian troll operations relied on social media to meddle in U.S. issues going back to last year’s presidential election in an effort to divide Americans.      Such activity has also been occurring in Europe for years, the aide said. A website built by researchers working with the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a bipartisan, transatlantic project to counter Russian disinformation, showed tweets promoting both sides of the football debate from 600 accounts that analysts identified as users who spread Russian propaganda on Twitter. A Senate aide said the website was viewed as credible among congressional investigators. Facebook this month revealed that suspected Russian trolls purchased more than $100,000 worth of divisive ads on its platform during the 2016 election cycle. Twitter is expected to privately brief the Senate panel on Thursday, and the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday technology companies would testify about Russian interference in an open hearing next month. Trump last week said that football players should be fired for kneeling during the national anthem. The players want to draw attention to what they say is social and racial injustice. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia orchestrated a multi-pronged cyber offensive on the 2016 election to discredit Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and help Trump, a Republican, win.  Russia denies seeking to influence the U.S. election, and Trump has dismissed claims of collusion as fake news. (This version of the story has been refiled to remove extraneous word “layers” in paragraph 11)

Summary: सीनेटर का कहना है कि रूसी इंटरनेट ट्रॉलों ने एन. एफ. एल. बहस को उकसाया


GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations condemned a   coordinated series of attacks  on Myanmar security forces on Friday and called on all sides in the crisis in the northern state of Rakhine to refrain from violence. At least 21 insurgents and 11 members of the security forces were killed in the troubled Rakhine state on Friday when militants staged a major coordinated attack on 24 police posts and an army base, the military said. The statement, issued by the U.N. resident coordinator in Myanmar, Renata Lok-Dessallien, and read out to a Geneva news briefing, urged  all parties to refrain from violence, protect civilians and restore order .  We are deeply concerned about the security situation in Rakhine state,  she added.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र ने म्यांमार के सुरक्षा बलों पर हमले की निंदा की, शांति बनाए रखने का आह्वान किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday said lawmakers are examining whether there is any action they can take over Hillary Clinton’s email practices while secretary of state, saying it appeared she had received preferential treatment from the FBI. Ryan, a Republican, said the House of Representatives would not “foreclose any options” when asked whether a special prosecutor was necessary to get to the bottom of the Democratic presidential candidate’s use of a private email server while she ran the State Department. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday it would not recommend charges regarding Clinton’s email, although FBI Director James Comey rebuked the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate for “extremely careless” handling of classified information.  The FBI decision, Ryan said, “looks like” preferential treatment for Clinton. Ryan, who was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012, said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper should deny Clinton access to classified information during the campaign, although presidential candidates normally get such access once they are formally nominated. Clinton’s campaign, responding to Ryan’s remarks, said House Republicans appeared to be trying to launch another “sham of an inquiry” against Clinton now that they had ended their two-year probe of the deaths of four Americans at a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi while Clinton was secretary of state. “For weeks Republicans have said they trusted FBI Director Comey to lead an independent review into Secretary Clinton’s emails, but now they are second-guessing his judgment because his findings do not align with their conspiracy theories,” campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said in an emailed statement. The campaign said on Tuesday it was pleased with the FBI’s decision, noting that the candidate has said repeatedly that it was a mistake to use her personal email while secretary of state. Ryan noted that two House committees are looking into the Clinton email matter — the Judiciary committee and the Oversight Committee, where Comey has been invited to testify on Thursday. “He (Comey) did say that short of prosecution, some kind of administrative action might be in order,” Ryan said, adding: “I think it’s the least we can do, given how she was so reckless in handling classified material and sending classified information on insecure servers.” “So look, I think that’s something that the administration should do on its own, but we’ll look into seeing if that’s something we can do as well,” Ryan said. Senate Republican leaders said they thought Clinton’s testimony to the FBI should be released to the public. But Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid dismissed as political the Republican calls for Clinton to stop getting classified information. “The Republicans are in such desperate shape because of (Republican presidential candidate Donald) Trump, they would seize upon anything,” Reid told reporters. He said the FBI investigation had been thorough. “It’s over and it’s time to move on.”

Summary: रयान का कहना है कि कांग्रेस क्लिंटन के ईमेल के उपयोग पर कार्रवाई करने पर विचार कर रही है


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Politicians from North and South Korea will not hold direct talks in Russia on Monday about Pyongyang s nuclear and missile program despite attending the same event and being urged to do so by Moscow, Russian news agencies said on Sunday. Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of Russia s upper house of parliament, is due to discuss the missile crisis in separate talks with a deputy head of North Korea s legislature and the head of South Korea s parliament on the sidelines of a congress of parliamentarians in St Petersburg on Monday. Moscow has called on the two countries to use the opportunity to have their own direct talks to try to narrow their differences.  But the RIA news agency on Sunday cited Piotr Tolstoi, the deputy speaker of the Russian lower house of parliament, and an unnamed member of North Korea s delegation as saying there would not be any direct talks. The unnamed North Korean delegate was quoted as saying that U.S. pressure on Pyongyang and U.S. and South Korean military exercises meant preconditions for such talks had not been met. Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the upper house of parliament s foreign affairs committee, said Moscow would try again on Monday to encourage the two delegations to hold face-to-face talks despite the lack of progress. Russian news agencies quoted him as saying that the North Korean delegation had so far declined to hold such talks, while the South Korean delegation had said it was ready for such a meeting.  We will definitely not try to coerce or talk somebody into anything,  the Interfax news agency cited Kosachyov as saying.   (But) it will be pity, both on the human and political level, if another opportunity to de-escalate tensions in relations between North Korea and South Korea is missed.  North Korea s nuclear tests and missile launches have stirred global tensions and prompted several rounds of international sanctions at the U.N. Security Council. A de-escalation plan, backed by Russia and China, would see North Korea suspend its ballistic missile program and the United States and South Korea simultaneously call a moratorium on large-scale missile exercises, both moves aimed at paving the way for multilateral talks.

Summary: रूस में दक्षिण कोरिया से मिलने को तैयार नहीं उत्तर कोरियाः एजेंसियां


OMAHA, Neb. (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday that North Korea s missile launch over Japan  put millions of Japanese into duck and cover  before it landed in the Pacific Ocean, and added that top U.S. officials had fully coordinated after the test-launch.  We have just got done with the calls we always make to coordinate among ourselves. Steady as she goes,  Mattis told reporters traveling with him during a visit to the U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees U.S. nuclear forces.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया के प्रक्षेपण ने जापान में लाखों लोगों को 'डक एंड कवर' में डाल दियाः मैटिस


HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe s sacking of his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa was part of a wider purge, state media said on Tuesday, in a clear out analysts say is meant to neutralize any resistance to the political rise of his wife, Grace. Mugabe sacked his long-time ally Mnangagwa on Monday for showing  traits of disloyalty , abruptly removing a favorite to succeed the 93-year-old leader and boosting the likelihood of Grace Mugabe becoming his next deputy and potential successor. State television ZBC said the purge went beyond removing Mnangagwa, 75, as half of the ruling ZANU-PF s national provincial executives separately met and passed resolutions expelling supporters of the former vice president on Monday. ZANU-PF leaders in the eastern Manicaland region called for the expulsion of cyber security minister Patrick Chinamasa, a former finance minister before he was moved in a cabinet reshuffle on Oct. 9, ZBC said in an online report. Chinamasa, fellow cabinet ministers Oppah Muchinguri, Chris Mushohwe and 36 other party members and officials were accused of being Mnangagwa allies who were disrespectful to Mugabe.  The province recommended the expulsion of 39 individuals from the province who were involved with the Mnangagwa-aligned  Lacoste  faction, which is accused of not respecting the party s one center of power principle,  ZBC said. The three cabinet ministers did not respond to calls for comment. The process to weed out Mnangagwa allies was repeated in four other provinces, the state Herald newspaper said. A senior ZANU-PF official from Matabeleland South Province told Reuters that the provincial executive there had on Tuesday passed a resolution to fire 15 senior members linked to Mnangagwa, including state security minister Kembo Mohadi. Remaining provinces were holding separate meetings on Tuesday, two ZANU-PF sources in Harare told Reuters. Recommendations by the provinces will be discussed by ZANU-PF s supreme decision-making Politburo at its sitting next week and if adopted will seal the fate of the officials. International Crisis Group s southern Africa senior consultant Piers Pigou said purges of ZANU-PF members seen as supportive of Mnangagwa would neutralize any potential fight-back.   Survival is going to be the name of the game for many people,  he said. Five ZANU-PF provinces and the youth wing also recommended that Grace become vice president, ZBC said, opening the way for the first lady to serve next to her husband in government. Grace has said ZANU-PF plans to change its charter this month to allow Mugabe to appoint a female vice president at a special congress set for mid-December.

Summary: जिम्बाब्वे के मुगाबे ने सफाई का दायरा बढ़ाया, पत्नी के उत्तराधिकार का रास्ता साफ किया


(Reuters) - Qatar s foreign minister suggested on Tuesday that measures taken by Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states in their dispute with Qatar had hurt the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State, according to the text of an interview with CNBC. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar in June, suspending air and shipping routes with the world s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, which is also home to the region s biggest U.S. military base. The four countries have said that Qatar supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, charges Doha s leaders have denied. All countries involved in the dispute are U.S. allies Asked if the fight against Islamic State had suffered because of the crisis, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said,  Definitely yes,  according to the CNBC International transcript. He said most of Qatar s food and medicine supplies, some of which would go to the U.S. Al Udeid air base, normally came via its land border that is now blocked by its bigger neighbor. The airspace blockade meant that Qatari aircraft providing logistical support for the base could only fly north from Qatar toward Iran, the minister said, and Qatari officers participating in U.S.-led activities against Islamic State or working with Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet were expelled.  So there are a lot of things which undermine ... the global efforts in countering ... Daesh,  Sheikh Mohammed said, referring to Islamic State by an Arabic acronym. The minister said his country sought to resolve the crisis through dialogue, but Saudi Arabia wanted to destabilize Qatar.  They are into escalation, they are into thinking about regime change and other things,  Sheikh Mohammed said. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have denied seeking to depose Qatar s government. Kuwait has been trying to resolve the dispute among its fellow Arab countries and U.S. President Donald Trump has also said he would be willing to mediate.

Summary: कतर का कहना है कि खाड़ी संकट इस्लामिक स्टेट के खिलाफ लड़ाई को नुकसान पहुंचाता हैः सीएनबीसी


BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least one Islamic State car bomb killed dozens of people at a refugee gathering on the east side of the Euphrates River in Syria on Saturday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.  It said the blast also caused many injuries and took place between the Conoco and Jafra energy fields, an area controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

Summary: पूर्वी सीरिया में इस्लामिक स्टेट की बमबारी में दर्जनों लोग मारे गएः युद्ध पर्यवेक्षक


(Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a $6.3 billion piece of legislation on Wednesday designed to spur medical innovation, speed access to new drugs, expand mental health treatment, and combat opioid abuse. The bill, known as the 21st Century Cures Act, provides $4.8 billion to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over 10 years to support brain, cancer and precision medicine research. It also provides $500 million to the Food and Drug Administration to approve drugs and devices more quickly. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to cut “red tape” at the FDA. He has not commented specifically on 21st Century Cures. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week. It is expected to pass, though possibly not before some additional changes are made. It would then go to President Barack Obama for signature. The bill calls for $1 billion over two years to treat and prevent opioid abuse, including improving prescription drug monitoring programs, training for health care providers, and expanding access to opioid treatment programs. Critics of the bill, including Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a Democrat, said it contains too many give-aways to the pharmaceutical industry and will allow companies to push treatments with limited proof of efficacy. Speaking on the Senate floor on Monday, Warren said she could not vote for the bill despite its many positive elements and would not be a “lackey” for the drug industry. Warren, along with Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, also objects to a provision that would allow companies to hide payments to doctors under the auspices of continuing medical education. Grassley co-authored the Sunshine Act which led to the creation of a database listing drug and device company payments to doctors. “A lot of earlier payments to doctors were under the umbrella of Continuing Medical Education,” Grassley said in a statement on Monday. “We shouldn’t create a loophole that would let drug and medical device companies mask their payments to doctors under a payment category that’s too broad and could gut the spirit and the letter of the Sunshine Act.” The bill would add an additional reporting exemption for physicians who receive indirect payments for speaking fees. Patients groups hailed the bill, saying it would bring patient voices to the center of the drug approval process. “This is a patient-centered bill,” said Ellen Sigal, chair and founder of Friends of Cancer Research, a patient advocacy organization. “It fosters innovation and doesn’t lower safety standards.”

Summary: व्यापक अमेरिकी स्वास्थ्य विधेयक के सदन के मतदान से गुजरने की उम्मीद है


BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. and Turkish troops are  illegal invader  forces on Syrian territory and Syria will  deal with  them, a top adviser to President Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday. Bouthaina Shaaban also said in a television interview that Damascus would not give up on the northern city of Raqqa, which was liberated from Islamic State last month by the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).  Turkey today is a colonizer country, its forces on our soil are illegal, just as the American forces are on our soil  illegally,  she told Lebanese channel al-Mayadeen.  We will deal with this issue as we deal with any illegal invader force on our lands,  she said, without elaborating. Assad s forces, helped by Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, have managed to reestablish control over most of Syria over the past two years. The United States and Turkey are backing various rebel groups opposed to both Assad and to Islamic State. Turkey has started setting up observation points in Idlib province in northwest Syria under a deal with Assad s allies, Russia and Iran. The U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State in Syria has repeatedly said it does not seek to fight Assad s forces, though Washington and Ankara both want the president to step down. The SDF has said Raqqa will be part of a decentralized  federal Syria  and hopes for a new phase of negotiations that will shore up Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria, but last Friday a senior Iranian official said Syrian government forces would advance soon to take the city.  Everything is up to the Syrians and to discussions between Syrians, and there cannot be discussion on the division or cutting up of a part of the country or on so-called federalism,  Shaaban said. She added that what happened in Iraqi Kurdistan  should be a lesson  to the SDF, referring to Iraq s Kurdish leaders who suffered a major blow when the central government in Baghdad - backed by Iran and Turkey - retaliated against them for holding an independence referendum last month. Shaaban also said comments by the Syrian foreign minister in September, when he said Damascus was open to negotiations with the Kurds over their demand for autonomy within Syria s borders, had been misinterpreted.  I don t think any government can discuss with any group when it comes to the topic of the country s unity,  she said. Earlier on Tuesday, Assad said the army and its allies would keep fighting in Syria after it has driven Islamic State militants from their last significant stronghold in the country, in Deir al-Zor province. He also indicated that he might take the war to the SDF, which controls more than a quarter of Syria, by saying the war must target those who seek to  divide and weaken states .

Summary: असद के सलाहकार का कहना है कि तुर्की, अमेरिकी सेनाएँ सीरिया में 'अवैध आक्रमणकारी' हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to Moscow this week will be an early test of whether the Trump administration can use any momentum generated by a missile attack on a Syrian air base to craft and execute a strategy to end the Syrian war. Even before Trump ordered last week’s strike in retaliation for a nerve gas attack, Tillerson’s visit was certain to be dominated by thorny issues, including Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, an apparent violation of an important arms control treaty, and seeing what cooperation, if any, is possible in the fight against Islamic State. Now, Tillerson, a former oil executive with no diplomatic experience, is charged with avoiding a major U.S. confrontation with Russia while exacting some concessions from Moscow. Those include getting rid of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s remaining chemical weapons and pressing Assad to negotiate Syria’s future. The Kremlin said on Monday Tillerson was not scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit, a move that could point to tensions. It may also suggest that Tillerson will instead follow strict diplomatic protocol and only meet his direct counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The State Department said last week a meeting had not been confirmed with Putin, who met with Tillerson when the Texan headed Exxon Mobil. Russia, along with Iran, is Assad’s primary backer, and its intervention in Syria’s war has been crucial to ensuring his grip on power, although no longer over the entire country. Tillerson said he had not seen hard evidence that Russia knew ahead of time about the chemical weapons attack, which killed at least 70 people, but he planned to urge Moscow to rethink its support for Assad in the April 12 talks. “I’m hopeful that we can have constructive talks with the Russian government, with Foreign Minister Lavrov and have Russia be supportive of a process that will lead to a stable Syria,” Tillerson told ABC’s “The Week” on Sunday. The U.S. cruise missile strike on Thursday, meant to dissuade Assad from using chemical weapons again, gives Tillerson more credibility with Russian officials and will boost his efforts, observers and former officials said.   “The demonstration of the administration’s willingness to use force has the potential to add some leverage to the diplomacy,” said Antony Blinken, a deputy to former Secretary of State John Kerry. The U.S. strike - ordered less than three days after the gas attack - could make it clear to Russia that the United States will hold Moscow accountable for Assad, Blinken said. Tillerson ought to be “very matter of fact” in his meetings, Blinken said, sending Russia a message that: “If you don’t rein him in, we will take further action.” Tillerson said on Thursday that Russia had “failed in its responsibility” to remove Syria’s chemical weapons under a 2013 agreement, which he argued showed Russia was either complicit with the gas attacks or “simply incompetent.” Securing a Russian commitment on eliminating Assad’s chemical weapons is likely to be first on his agenda, said Evelyn Farkas, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Obama administration. The talks will be a major test of Tillerson’s diplomatic skills. As a former chief executive at Exxon Mobil, he has experience doing business in Russia, but no background in the often public negotiations that international diplomacy requires. It also is unclear if Trump, who has expressed skepticism about multilateral institutions such as the European Union and United Nations, will have patience for the protracted negotiations that a comprehensive deal on Syria would require. Russia condemned the missile strike as illegal and Putin said it would harm U.S.-Russia ties. Moscow also said it would keep military channels of communication open with Washington, but would not exchange any information through them. It was an unforeseen turn of events for Trump, who praised Putin repeatedly during last year’s election campaign and said he would like to work more closely with Russia to defeat Islamic State. Just over a week ago, top administration officials were signaling that removing Assad is no longer a U.S. priority. But one senior official said it was significant that Russia suspended, and did not cancel, cooperation with the United States after the air strike. Nor did Lavrov cancel Tillerson’s visit to Moscow, suggesting Russia may be willing to tolerate the single strike. As of this weekend, the talks were still on. “They’re going to try to draw a line around this incident,” said Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia during the George W. Bush administration. “They are still not giving up on working with the Trump administration.” The Trump administration also wants to keep the focus in Syria on defeating Islamic State rather than opening a conflict with Russia or Syria’s government. Another U.S. official said one hope is that Moscow will see Tillerson’s visit and a discussion about how to cooperate to stop Assad’s use of banned weapons as a tacit acknowledgement of Russia’s great power status, one of Putin’s main ambitions. “The strikes aren’t necessarily a bad thing for Russia,” said Andrew Tabler, a fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “Russia’s had a very hard time getting President Assad to come to the negotiating table in any kind of meaningful way.” Now, Tabler said, the Russians can point to more U.S. strikes as the price of further intransigence by Assad. (This version of the story corrects paragraph 9 to remove sentence on Tillerson meeting with Putin on Wednesday)

Summary: बढ़ते तनाव के बीच टिलरसन को मॉस्को में कड़ी बातचीत का सामना करना पड़ा


NEWBERRY, S.C. (Reuters) - Pope Francis forcefully injected himself into the U.S. presidential campaign on Thursday, assailing Republican candidate Donald Trump’s views on U.S. immigration as “not Christian” in a sign of growing international concern at the billionaire businessman’s election prospects. Trump struck back. No stranger to controversy, the longtime party front-runner in national opinion polls dismissed the leader of the world’s Roman Catholics as “disgraceful” for questioning his faith. He said he was a proud Christian. Francis told reporters during a free-wheeling conversation on his flight home from a visit to Mexico: “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” Trump has accused Mexico of sending rapists and drug-runners across the United States’ southern border and has vowed if elected president to build a wall to keep out immigrants who enter illegally. It was not the first time U.S. allies have voiced concern over comments by Trump.  More than half a million Britons signed a petition to bar him from entering Britain, where he has business interests, in response to his call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States. British lawmakers decided against a ban as a violation of free speech. Asked if American Catholics should vote for someone with Trump’s views, Francis said: “I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt.”  It remained to be seen if the pope’s comments would strengthen Trump in the run-up to the Nov. 8 election to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama. Trump’s swipes at rival candidates and heated exchanges with others have bolstered his standing in nominating contests and opinion polls. One of Trump’s Republican rivals, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, speaking in Columbia, South Carolina, said he would not question anyone’s relationship with God. But Bush, a Catholic, said: “It only enables bad behavior when someone from outside our country talks about Donald Trump.” Trump, a real estate developer and former reality TV show host, said: “If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’ ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president.” ISIS is one of the acronyms used for Islamic State.  Trump was in South Carolina, which on Saturday will hold a Republican nominating contest. At a later town hall meeting televised on CNN, Trump said he had “a lot of respect” for Francis but that the pope had been influenced by hearing only Mexico’s side of the border issue. The pope’s statement also had been exaggerated by the media, he said. “I think he said something much softer than it was originally reported by the media. I think that he heard one side of the story, which is probably by the Mexican government,” he said. “He didn’t see the tremendous strain that the border is causing us with respect to illegal immigration, with the drugs pouring across the border.” Thomas Groome, director of the Boston College Center on the Church in the 21st Century, said Francis’ comments were entirely in keeping with his focus on mercy. “The pope is commissioned to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s his job,” Groome said. “So when he was asked a direct question, he gave Trump the benefit of the doubt, he said we have to be sure he said this, but if he said this, it is not Christian.” Groome called Trump’s suggestion that Islamic State militants would target the Vatican egregious. “Now it becomes a challenge to ISIS,” he said. Patrick Hornbeck, chairman of the department of theology at Fordham University in New York, said Francis’ words were not surprising given the poverty he had just seen in Mexico. “There is very little common ground between Pope Francis and Donald Trump,” Hornbeck said. He predicted the pope’s words on electoral politics would have little effect on any U.S. Catholics who liked Trump as a candidate. Trump has said he would deport millions of illegal immigrants if he wins the White House. Last week, responding to the pope’s plan to visit the U.S.-Mexican border, he said Pope Francis did not understand the issues. “The pope is a very political person ... I don’t think he understands the danger of the open border that we have with Mexico,” Trump told the Fox Business Network. Asked about being called a “political person,” Francis said on Thursday: “Thank God he said I was a politician because Aristotle defined the human person as ‘animal politicus.’ So at least I am a human person.” Republican Catholics appear to support Trump more than other Republicans do, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll that showed 43 percent of likely Republican Catholic voters supported Trump, compared with 38 percent of Republican voters generally. The Pew Research Center has said 71 percent of the U.S. population identifies as Christian. That includes the 21 percent of the U.S. population that identifies as Catholic.  The pope was winning the social media battle on Thursday, with overall sentiment negative for Trump and positive for Francis, according to social media analytic firm Zoomph. Author Dan Dicker @Dan_Dicker tweeted: “Let’s see @realDonaldTrump insult his way out of this.” Trump’s social media director, Dan Scavino @DanScavino tweeted: “Amazing comments from the Pope - considering Vatican City is 100 percent surrounded by massive walls.” Evangelical Christian leader Jerry Falwell Jr., who has endorsed Trump, described him as generous to his employees and family, adding: “I’m convinced he’s a Christian. I believe he has faith in Jesus Christ.” Trump was not always at odds with the pope. In 2013, the year Francis began his papacy, Trump compared himself to the pope favorably. “The new Pope is a humble man, very much like me, which probably explains why I like him so much!” Trump tweeted on Christmas Day 2013.  (Reporting by Emily Flitter and Steve Holland in South Carolina and Philip Pullella aboard the papal plane; Additional reporting by Anjali Athavaley, Susan Heavey, Chris Kahn, Scott Malone, Emily Stephenson, Amy Tennery, Mohammad Zargham and John Whitesides; Writing by Howard Goller and John Whitesides; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Peter Cooney) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

Summary: पोप ने वैश्विक चिंता का संकेत देते हुए कहा कि ट्रम्प 'ईसाई नहीं' हैं


HOUSTON (Reuters) - Officials in Orange County, Texas, will implement a curfew starting Saturday from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. CDT, the county’s emergency management officials said in a statement. County and city officials are working to keep the community safe and give its residents “peace of mind” in the aftermath of storm Harvey, the statement said.

Summary: ऑरेंज काउंटी, टेक्सास, हार्वे के बाद शनिवार को कर्फ्यू शुरू करेगा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A proposal by a U.S. Senate committee to cancel the Defense Department position of acquisition chief could lead to an increase in costs, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Tuesday. The Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act aims to cancel the position of under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics because it slows innovation.  The committee is proposing to divide the responsibilities between a new office in the Pentagon that deals with research and another which would address business management. If the acquisition chief position, currently held by Frank Kendall, was cut, it would separate research and engineering from manufacturing and could derail progress made on lowering growth in contract costs over the last three decades, Carter said at the Sea-Air-Space conference. “Separating these functions makes no sense, as procurement and sustainment costs are controlled by decisions made during development,” Carter said. The proposal still has to take a number of steps before it becomes law. The Senate version of the defense bill must be reconciled with the House’s version before being voted on in both chambers. If passed, that version would be sent to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature, or veto.     On Monday, the White House said it would veto the House’s version of the bill because it would shift $18 billion of wartime Overseas Contingency Operations, or OCO, funds to avoid automatic budget cuts to military programs.

Summary: पेंटागन के अधिग्रहण प्रमुख पद में कटौती से लागत बढ़ सकती हैः कार्टर