(Reuters) - About 146,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since violence erupted in Myanmar in late August, U.N. workers said on Wednesday. This has brought to 233,000 the number of Rohingya who have sought refuge in Bangladesh since October 2016. The exodus has put pressure on aid agencies and communities already helping hundreds of thousands of refugees from previous violence in Myanmar.  Following are some details on the crisis gathered from U.N. sources working in the Cox s Bazar district of Bangladesh, on the Myanmar border. *Landmine injuries occurred on Sept. 5 with two children brought in for treatment at the Gundum border area.  *The influx of refugees via marine routes has increased, with a sharp increase noted in Shamlapur from 1,090 individuals on Sept. 4 to 12,500 on Sept. 5. *Around 33,000 refugees have gathered at three new spontaneous settlements that have sprung up at Unchiprang, Moinar Ghona and Thangkhali. There are acute humanitarian needs in these rapidly expanding settlements, especially for emergency health, safe water, food and shelter support. *Four mobile medical teams are being deployed to different locations, and two more are planned. *No deliveries were performed by the midwives in the last two days for new arrivals, indicating that many may have delivered outside of available health facilities. *Strengthened family tracing mechanisms are needed for unaccompanied children and other separated families. Most children have arrived with their mothers as their fathers are missing or arrested.  *A total of 177 incidents of gender-based violence have been reported in the refugee camps since Aug. 27. Eighteen survivors of this violence have been referred for life-saving medical care. About 240 women and 60 men, including survivors of gender-based violence, attended stress management sessions.   *The community clinic in Kutupalong is overwhelmed with patients, resulting in long lines for waiting and inefficient service provision for survivors of gender-based violence seeking emergency health services. The cost of transport prohibits beneficiaries from travelling to health facilities where emergency sexual and reproductive health services are available, including clinical management of rape.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः बांग्लादेश में मानवीय संकट बढ़ता जा रहा है क्योंकि कई रोहिंग्या म्यांमार से भाग गए हैं


QUEBEC CITY, Quebec (Reuters) - Quebec will ban face coverings for people giving or receiving provincial government services under a law passed on Wednesday that rights groups have criticized as marginalizing Muslim women in the mainly French-speaking Canadian province. While the law, which takes effect by July 1, 2018, does not specify which face coverings are prohibited, the debate has largely focused on the niqab worn by some Muslim women, which covers everything but the eyes. People affected by the law would include public-sector employees such as teachers, police officers, hospital and daycare workers. Like France, which passed a ban on veils, crosses and other religious symbols in schools in 2004, Quebec has struggled to reconcile its secular identity with a growing Muslim population, many of them North African emigrants.  We are just saying that for reasons linked to communication, identification and safety, public services should be given and received with an open face,  Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard told reporters in the province s National Assembly.   We are in a free and democratic society. You speak to me, I should see your face, and you should see mine. It s as simple as that,  he said. The National Council of Canadian Muslims said it was deeply concerned by the law s passage and was looking at its legal options.   This legislation is an unjustified infringement of religious freedoms,  said executive director Ihsaan Gardee. The law allows for exemptions under certain circumstances, although it did not provide details. Regulations setting out how the new law will be enforced are yet to come.  Asked in the federal parliament whether he would challenge the law, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who represents a Montreal district, said he would continue to ensure all Canadians are protected by the country s charter of rights and freedoms,  while respecting the choices that different legislative assemblies can make.  France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have imposed restrictions on the wearing of full-face veils in public places, with Denmark on track to set its own ban. Right-wing extremist groups and some local French-speaking media in recent years have targeted Quebec s Muslims as part of a broader debate on the accommodation of religious and cultural minorities in the province. Incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years. In January, six people were killed in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque. A French-Canadian university student has been charged as the sole suspect.

Summary: कनाडा का क्यूबेक प्रांत सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र में चेहरे को ढंकने पर प्रतिबंध लगाएगा


SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that Israel was prepared to act unilaterally to prevent an expanded Iranian military presence in Syria. Russia intervened in the civil war on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2015, joining a de facto alliance with Iranian forces, Lebanese Hezbollah and other Shi ite Muslim militias helping Damascus beat back Islamic State and other Sunni Muslim insurgent groups.  Israel fears an eventual Assad victory could leave Iran with a permanent garrison in Syria, extending a threat posed from neighboring Lebanon by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Meeting Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Netanyahu said Iran was fighting to cement an arc of influence from the Gulf to the Mediterranean.   Iran is already well on its way to controlling Iraq, Yemen and to a large extent is already in practice in control of Lebanon,  Netanyahu told Putin.  We cannot forget for a single minute that Iran threatens every day to annihilate Israel,  Netanyahu said.  Israel opposes Iran s continued entrenchment in Syria. We will be sure to defend ourselves with all means against this and any threat.  Putin, in the part of the meeting to which reporters had access, did not address Netanyahu s remarks about Iran s role in Syria nor his threat to take unilateral military action. But at the United Nations, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters the de-escalation zones established in Syria, of which Iran is guarantor alongside Turkey and Russia, are  real progress on the way to end that tragic war .  We know the position of Israel towards Iran but we think that Iran in Syria is playing a very constructive role,  said Nebenzia. Netanyahu advisers have privately said their focus is on keeping Iranian forces away from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, the Syrian side of which falls under a partial truce brokered by Russia and the United States in recent weeks.  In parallel to lobbying Moscow, Israel has been trying to persuade Washington that Iran and its guerrilla partners, not Islamic State, pose the greater common threat in the region.   Bringing Shi ites into the Sunni sphere will surely have many serious implications both in regard to refugees and to new terrorist acts,  Netanyahu told Israeli reporters after the three-hour meeting - his sixth with Putin since September 2015.  We want to prevent a war and that s why it s better to raise the alarm early in order to stop deterioration.  After the meeting, Netanyahu was due to fly back to Israel for talks with U.S. peace envoys Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt and Dina Powell, who are on a Middle East tour.    Russia has so far shown forbearance toward Israel, setting up a military hotline to prevent their warplanes or anti-aircraft units clashing accidentally over Syria. Israel s air force said last week it had struck suspected Hezbollah arms shipments around 100 times in Syria during the civil war, rarely drawing retaliation and apparently without Russian interference. Russian diplomats have argued that Moscow s stake in Syria deters Iran or Hezbollah from opening a new front with Israel.  We take the Israeli interests in Syria into account,  Alexander Petrovich Shein, Russia s ambassador to Israel, told its Channel One television on Tuesday.  Were it up to Russia, the foreign forces would not stay.   Zeev Elkin, an Israeli cabinet minister who joined Netanyahu in Sochi, said in a radio interview after the talks with Putin that he had  no doubt that it (the meeting) will lead to practical steps . Elkin did not elaborate.

Summary: नेतन्याहू ने पुतिन से कहाः इजरायल सीरिया में ईरान के प्रभाव को रोकने के लिए कार्रवाई कर सकता है


BERLIN (Reuters) - Leaders of German Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservative party agreed on Sunday to pursue a  grand coalition  with the Social Democrats (SPD) to break the political deadlock in Europe s biggest economy.  Merkel, whose fourth term was plunged into doubt a week ago when three-way coalition talks with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens collapsed, was handed a political lifeline by the SPD on Friday. Under intense pressure to preserve stability and avoid new elections, the SPD reversed its position and agreed to talk to Merkel, raising the prospect of a new grand coalition, which has ruled for the past four years, or a minority government.  We have the firm intention of having an effective government,  Daniel Guenther, conservative premier of the state of Schleswig Holstein, told reporters after a four-hour meeting of leading members of Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU).  We firmly believe that this is not a minority government but that it is an alliance with a parliamentary majority. That is a grand coalition,  he said. The meeting came after the conservative state premier of Bavaria threw his weight behind a new right-left tie-up.  An alliance of the conservatives and SPD is the best option for Germany - better anyway than a coalition with the Free Democrats and Greens, new elections or a minority government,  Horst Seehofer, head of the Bavarian CSU, told Bild am Sonntag. An Emnid poll also showed on Sunday that 52 percent of Germans backed a grand coalition. Several European leaders have emphasised the importance of getting a stable German government in place quickly so the bloc can discuss its future, including proposals by French President Emmanuel Macron on euro zone reforms and Brexit. Merkel, who made clear on Saturday she would pursue a grand coalition, says that an acting government under her leadership can do business until a new coalition is formed. The youth wing of Merkel s conservatives raised pressure on the parties to get a deal done by Christmas, saying if there was no deal, the conservatives should opt for a minority government. In an indication, however, that the process will take time, the CDU agreed on Sunday evening to delay a conference in mid-December that had been due to vote on the three-way coalition. The SPD premier of the state of Lower Saxony said he feared there was no way a decision would be reached this year.  It is a long path for the SPD,  said Stephan Weil on ARD television. Merkel is against going down the route of a minority government because of its inherent instability, but pundits have said one possibility is for the conservatives and Greens to form a minority government with informal SPD support. The Greens have said they are open to a minority government.  Even before any talks get under way, the two blocs have started to spar over policy priorities. Merkel, whose conservatives won most parliamentary seats in a Sept. 24 vote but bled support to the far right, has said she wants to maintain sound finances in Germany, cut some taxes and invest in digital infrastructure. She has to keep Bavaria s CSU on board by sticking to a tougher migrant policy that may also help win back conservatives who switched to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).  The SPD needs a platform for its policies after its poorest election showing since 1933. Leading SPD figures have outlined conditions including investment in education and homes, changes in health insurance and no cap on asylum seekers. Most experts believe the SPD has the stronger hand and several prominent economists said they expected the SPD to wield significant influence in a new grand coalition.  If there is a grand coalition or even if there is toleration (of a minority government) I would expect more emphasis on the SPD s programme,  Clemens Fuest, president of the Ifo institute, told business newspaper Handelsblatt.  That would mean higher state spending and smaller tax cuts than would have been agreed with other potential partners. The SPD is divided, with some members arguing that a grand coalition has had its day.  The SPD premier of the state of Rhineland Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, said she preferred the idea of the SPD  tolerating  a minority government over a grand coalition, making clear that the party would not agree to a deal at any price.

Summary: मर्केल की सी. डी. यू. जर्मनी में विशाल गठबंधन को आगे बढ़ाने के लिए सहमत


BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany s Angela Merkel began the tough task of trying to build a coalition government on Monday after securing a fourth term as chancellor in an election which saw her support slide and the far right making significant gains. With the Social Democrats insisting they will go into opposition and all parties shunning the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), parliamentary arithmetic favors a  Jamaica  coalition of her conservatives (black), the pro-business Free Democrats (yellow), and the Greens - so named because their party colors reflect the Jamaican flag. Merkel s party remains the biggest parliamentary bloc and she has said she is sure a coalition can be agreed by Christmas. But patching together a coalition deal with three wildly differing parties of the right, left and center, will be no easy task, and some investors are unsettled by the prospect of a weaker Merkel at the head of a potentially unstable coalition.     The following is a list of areas in which the three parties are at odds with each other. Merkel s conservatives (CDU/CSU) and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) agree on the primacy of fiscal discipline, but may diverge on the details. The FDP s ambition for a  working middle class  tax cut of 30 billion euros may clash with the CDU s pledge to prioritize investment, though investment in higher education is a shared priority. The conservatives and FDU may accept the Greens  ambition to shutter polluting coal-fired plants and promote green energy, but at a slower pace. However, the Greens  hostility to the terms of major trade deals will be a much more serious sticking point. The FDP s tougher line on immigration is likely to be more of a sticking point for the Greens than for the CDU. The pro-business FDP wants immigration to serve the needs of the economy but, like the other two parties, is committed to the right to asylum for war refugees. The FDP will likely be able to sign up to the CDU s plan to remove the right to remain from those who fail to integrate or break the law. Both parties, traditionally stricter on citizenship policy, are likely to resist the Greens  wish to let anyone born in Germany become a citizen. However, the liberals and the Greens may be able to make common cause on civil liberties: the FDP opposes widespread data retention for security agencies, while the Greens want a security policy that is more responsive to civil rights concerns and opposes mass surveillance. The FDP will be resistant to CDU plans to deepen the euro zone. A coalition incorporating the FDP would also ramp up the pressure on Merkel to agree to a suspension of Turkey s EU accession talks, a key policy demand of the liberals that Merkel has always resisted. The Greens, who traditionally enjoy strong support from Germans of Turkish ethnic background but are sharply critical of the government of President Tayyip Erdogan, are likely to side with Merkel in her attempts to avoid a serious rupture with Turkey. The Greens share the CDU s belief in deepening the EU, but also favor the kind of intra-EU transfers of funds and financial solidarity that raise hackles in the fiscally conservative CDU and FDP. The Greens favor maintaining a tough line against Russia over its annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. FDP officials have expressed divergent views on the issue, but several key members of the party distanced themselves from a call by FDP leader Christian Lindner to set aside the issue of Crimea. There are fissures within the conservative bloc on the issue, with Bavaria s CSU - sister party of Merkel s CDU - more concerned about maintaining economic ties with Russia and probably more open to some easing of sanctions. Ultimately much will depend on whether the foreign ministry post goes to the FDP or the Greens. Regardless of how a coalition is formed, the German government has a longstanding interest in implementing the Minsk ceasefire accord and is looking carefully at a proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin to put U.N. peacekeepers into Ukraine, a stance facing opposition from the United States and Kiev. The Greens oppose large increases in military spending, but may find a compromise that allows small increases paired with increases in development spending. Merkel has said she intends to fulfill a promise to increase military spending to 2 percent of GDP from around 1.2 percent now, in line with a pledge to NATO, but experts and government insiders say Germany will come nowhere near the 2 percent mark over the next four years, so the new coalition government could defer conflicts about the issue. The CDU and the Greens share a belief in investing in housing: the CDU wants financial aid to boost home ownership, while the Greens want to build a million new affordable homes. But the FDP, one of whose slogans is  people can do great things if you let them , is generally opposed to state intervention in the free market. That view could also be a stumbling block when it comes to the CDU s plan to help Germany s automotive sector shift toward electric cars and to support other  strategic  sectors such as microelectronics. The FDP may also resist the Greens  goal of introducing quotas for woman managers at senior levels in the private sector. The Greens and the FDP are both strong supporters of education reform and investment in digital technologies, such as by building fiber optic networks.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः रूढ़िवादी, उदारवादी, प्रगतिशीलः मर्केल की 'जमैका गठबंधन' पहेली


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican tax law writer in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Thursday that he does not expect an upcoming tax reform framework to contain specific numbers on income tax rates for corporations and individuals. “Probably not that specificity,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady said at a policy forum when asked if the plan due for release on Sept. 25 would include target tax rates for individuals and U.S. corporations. “You’re going to see clear approaches on where we want to go on business rates,” Brady added. “You’ll see where we’re going on individual rates.” Asked later about his remarks, the Republican told reporters that House leaders are still in discussions with their counterparts in the White House and Senate to determine what details would be included. “My point is that it won’t have specifics through every region of the tax code that everyone is interested in,” Brady said.

Summary: हाउस रिपब्लिकन का कहना है कि कर योजना में विशिष्ट दरें नहीं होंगी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan will appear before the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on May 23, as part of its investigation of Russia and the 2016 U.S. election, the committee said on Wednesday. Brennan will appear in a session open to the public and press, followed by a closed session.

Summary: हाउस इंटेलिजेंस कमेटी के सामने गवाही देंगे पूर्व सीआईए प्रमुख ब्रेनन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will likely face questions about  his executive order restricting some travel to the United States when he meets with the CEOs of major U.S. companies at the White House on Friday. Companies whose chief executives are expected to attend the meeting of the president’s business advisory panel include JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), General Motors Co (GM.N), Blackstone Group LP (BX.N), IBM Corp (IBM.N), Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), two officials briefed on the meeting said on Wednesday. Activists are already pressuring the CEOs to raise concerns about the travel restrictions at the meeting, which comes at the end of another turbulent week for the Trump administration. Trump’s order last Friday, barring travel into the United States by people from seven Muslim-majority countries, touched off public protests and stirred unease among employees at many big U.S. companies. CEOs have been faced with difficult choices to either criticize Trump’s move at a time when they are trying to win White House support on tax and trade policies, or remain silent and take heat from consumers and employees dismayed by the order. The Trump administration says the travel ban is aimed at strengthening national security. Backlash over the measure knocked the wind out of the post-inaugural stock market rally, although major indexes rebounded on Wednesday.  Trump’s executive order put a 120-day halt on the U.S. refugee program, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and imposed a 90-day suspension on people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Along with protests it has prompted legal challenges in the United States and drawn criticism from several leading U.S. companies. Among those critics, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick wrote in an email to employees Saturday that “the ban will impact many innocent people — an issue that I will raise this coming Friday when I go to Washington for President Trump’s first business advisory group meeting.” Trump will kick off the two-hour meeting with an address lasting 10-15 minutes and will be followed by Stephen Schwarzman, the billionaire founder of private equity group Blackstone (BX.N), who chairs the panel and assembled it at  Trump’s request. Four topics will be discussed —  regulatory relief, women in the work force, tax and trade, and infrastructure — with two to three people talking briefly about each subject to help shape  “how the administration should be thinking,” according to a person familiar with the matter. Investors said the CEOs would be mindful of Trump’s penchant for rebuking companies publicly.  “Given recent history, being called out publicly is something that the CEOs in that room and other CEOs will absolutely be mindful to avoid,” said Jim Russell, vice president at Bahl & Gaynor Inc, which oversees $17 billion and owns shares in several of the companies attending Friday’s meeting. “I’m sure they will pick their fights carefully and articulate them carefully.” It was not clear if all 19 members of the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum would attend Friday’s meeting. Other members include the CEOs of Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N). Tesla founder Elon Musk said this week that the travel order should be modified and he would seek a consensus among members of the advisory council. Ford Motor Co (F.N) Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and CEO Mark Fields have also criticized the travel measure. GM has declined to take a position. On Wednesday, a group of religious investors, human rights groups other activists urged members of the business advisory panel to speak out against the travel restrictions at the meeting with Trump. In a joint letter to the corporate leaders, the group said Trump’s order “undermines respect for human rights and the lives of workers and their families in the U.S. and beyond, and disrupts economic activity  and company operations.”  The letter was signed by dozens of people, including representatives of firms focused on socially-responsible investing like Calvert Research and Management and Domini Impact Investments. Others included representatives of the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable, the Institute for Human Rights and Business and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. Companies that have been most critical of Trump’s immigration orders include Netflix Inc (NFLX.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O), and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), none of which form part of the business advisory panel.

Summary: सीईओ के साथ बैठक में ट्रम्प को यात्रा प्रतिबंध पर सवालों का सामना करना पड़ सकता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn told FBI agents in an interview last month that he had not discussed sanctions against Russia with Moscow’s U.S. ambassador before President Donald Trump took office, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing current and former U.S. officials. Flynn’s Jan. 24 interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation could expose him to charges, since lying to the agency is a felony, but any decision to prosecute would lie with the Justice Department. U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted Flynn’s call with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak after Trump’s election, in which the two discussed sanctions, the Post reported previously. The FBI was not expected to pursue any charges against Flynn over the call unless new information emerged, CNN reported on Thursday, citing law enforcement officials. Flynn resigned on Monday after news reports that he withheld information from Vice President Mike Pence about his conversation with Kislyak.

Summary: फ्लिन ने एफ. बी. आई. को बताया कि उन्होंने रूसी राजदूत के साथ प्रतिबंधों पर चर्चा नहीं कीः वॉशपोस्ट


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Suffering itself after two major earthquakes last month, Mexico plans to send aid including water and electricity experts to Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Maria. The gesture, announced by the Mexican government on Wednesday, follows an awkward series of exchanges between Mexico and the United States over emergency aid in recent weeks. Mexico plans to send some 30 tons of bottled water, mosquito repellent and specialists in power generation, transmission and distribution from the state power utility, Mexico s foreign ministry said in a statement. The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) team would work to mitigate the damage and assist in restoring power supply after Maria, the ministry said. The strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in nearly 90 years, Maria caused at least 34 deaths and inflicted widespread damage to homes and infrastructure, including wiping out power across the Caribbean island. Mexico has had strained relations with its northern neighbor since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, promising to build a wall along the U.S. southern border to keep out illegal immigrants and drugs.  Mexico had planned to send material assistance to the United States after Hurricane Harvey, which hit Texas in late August, but later withdrew the offer after the first of the two quakes struck southern Mexico in early September. Trump was criticized in Mexico for the time he took to offer condolences to his Mexican counterpart, Enrique Pena Nieto, over the first quake, which killed at least 98 people. The U.S. president later said he had been unable to reach Pena Nieto because of poor cellphone reception. Ironically, after Maria struck Puerto Rico, the local cellphone operator of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim proved more reliable than some U.S. competitors during the early days of the communications outage across the island of 3.4 million people.

Summary: तूफान मारिया के बाद मेक्सिको ने प्यूर्टो रिको के लिए सहायता की योजना बनाई


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Reince Priebus, who was replaced on Friday as White House chief of staff, is the latest in a string of officials who have left or been pushed out of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Following is a partial list of officials who have been fired, have left the administration or were nominated by Trump for a position but did not take the job. * Philip Bilden - a private equity executive and former military intelligence officer picked by Trump for secretary of the Navy, withdrew from consideration in February because of government conflict-of-interest rules. * James Comey - Federal Bureau of Information director who had been leading an investigation into the Trump 2016 presidential campaign’s possible collusion with Russia to influence the election outcome, was fired by Trump in May. * James Donovan - A Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker who was nominated by Trump as deputy Treasury secretary, withdrew his name in May. * Michael Dubke - Founder of Crossroads Media, resigned as White House Communications director in May. * Michael Flynn - Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned in February after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador to the United States before Trump took office and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations. * Mark Green - Trump’s nominee for Army secretary, who had served in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, withdrew his name from consideration in May. * Gerrit Lansing - White House chief digital officer, stepped down in February after failing to pass an FBI background check, according to Politico. * Jason Miller - communications director for Trump’s transition team who was named by the president-elect in December as White House communications director, said days later that he would not take the job. * Todd Ricketts - a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team and Trump’s choice for deputy secretary of commerce, withdrew from consideration in April. * Walter Shaub - the head of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, who clashed with Trump and his administration, stepped down in July before his five-year term was to end. * Michael Short - senior White House assistant press secretary, resigned on Tuesday. * Sean Spicer - resigned as White House press secretary last week, ending a turbulent tenure after Trump named Anthony Scaramucci as the new White House communications director. * Robin Townley - an aide to then national security adviser Flynn, was rejected in February after he was denied security clearance to serve on the National Security Council, according to Politico. * Vincent Viola - an Army veteran and a former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange, nominated by Trump to be secretary of the Army, withdrew his name from consideration in February. * Katie Walsh - deputy White House chief of staff, was dispatched to the outside pro-Trump group America First policies in March, according to Politico. * Caroline Wiles - Trump’s director of scheduling, resigned in February after failing a background check, according to Politico. * Sally Yates - acting U.S. attorney general, was fired by Trump in January after she ordered Justice Department lawyers not to enforce Trump’s immigration ban.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः प्रीबस ट्रम्प प्रशासन छोड़ने वाले नवीनतम अधिकारी


DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Wednesday it had test-fired a new ballistic missile, prompting a tough response from a senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump. Iran’s defense minister said the test did not breach the Islamic Republic’s nuclear agreement with world powers or a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing the pact, Iran has test-fired several ballistic missiles since the nuclear deal in 2015, but the latest test was the first since Trump entered the White House. Trump said during his election campaign that he would stop Iran’s missile program. “The recent test was in line with our plans and we will not allow foreigners to interfere in our defense affairs,” Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan told Tasnim news agency. “The test did not violate the nuclear deal or (U.N.) Resolution 2231.” Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, said the United States was putting Iran on notice over its “destabilizing activity” after it fired the missile. “As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,” Flynn said, without explaining exactly what that meant. Flynn said the missile launch defied the U.N. resolution that called on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons. A U.S. official said Iran had test-launched a medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday and it exploded after traveling 630 miles (1,010 km).  The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday and recommended the missile testing be studied at committee level. The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, called the test “unacceptable”.  Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that Tehran would never use its ballistic missiles to attack another country. Some 220 Iranian members of parliament reaffirmed support for Tehran’s missile program, calling international condemnation of the tests “illogical.” “The Islamic Republic of Iran is against weapons of mass destruction, so its missile capability is the only available deterrence against enemy hostility,” the lawmakers said in a statement carried on state media on Wednesday. The state news agency IRNA quoted Ali Shamkhani, head of Iran’s National Security Council, as saying Iran would not seek “permission from any country or international organization for development of our conventional defensive capability”.  The Security Council resolution was adopted to buttress the deal under which Iran curbed its nuclear activities to allay concerns they could be used to develop atomic bombs, in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. The resolution urged Tehran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons. Critics say the resolution’s language does not make this obligatory. Tehran says it has not carried out any work on missiles specifically designed to carry nuclear payloads. The test on Sunday, according to U.S. officials, was of a type of missile that had also been tested seven months ago. Iran has one of the Middle East’s largest missile programs  but it has been dogged by a poor record for accuracy. However, Hossein Salami, deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said on the day of the test that the country was now one of the few whose ballistic missiles were capable of hitting moving objects. This would enable Iran to hit enemy ships, drones or incoming ballistic missiles.  Some of Iran’s precision-guided missiles have the range to strike its regional enemy Israel. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Iran’s new missile test a “flagrant violation” of the U.N. resolution. He said he would ask Trump in their meeting in mid- February for a renewal of sanctions against Iran.

Summary: ईरान ने मिसाइल परीक्षण की पुष्टि की, ट्रंप के सहयोगी ने दिया कड़ा जवाब


SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will reshuffle his cabinet within a day, media said on Monday, a sign the embattled leader hopes to capitalize on a weekend by-election win to refresh his ministry. Turnbull s center-right government regained its razor-thin parliamentary majority through the poll triggered by a constitutional crisis, shoring up his support in a country where three prime ministers have been ousted by their own party since 2010. The changes could include Attorney-General George Brandis quitting parliament to become the high commissioner, or ambassador, to Britain, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. and other media said.  Representatives for Turnbull and Brandis did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment.  Winning that (byelection), allowing him to send off Brandis to London, and then to put in some new faces and get a bit of movement there, that s the positive message running into Christmas and then the new year,  said Stewart Jackson, a specialist in Australian politics at the University of Sydney.  He will last until March. If there s a new disaster there, or any more referrals to the High Court, then it will be on for young and old,  he added, referring to the crisis over the disqualification of lawmakers holding dual citizenship. When Turnbull unseated then prime minister Abbott in 2015, he said the move was necessary because the latter s government had lost 30 opinion polls in a row. Under Turnbull, the government has lost 25 opinion polls in a row. Many commentators say that if the figure reaches 30, which could happen as soon as March, Turnbull s party may consider removing him. Social services minister Christian Porter and employment minister Michaelia Cash are frontrunners to be the next attorney general, the Australian newspaper said. Turnbull may seek to exploit their relative youth - each is 47 - to appeal to a new generation of conservative voters. A spokesman for Porter declined comment. A representative for Cash did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Australian prime ministers are particularly susceptible to poor polling, as political parties have the power to call a spill, or internal leadership vote, and replace the leader with a more popular candidate. MID-YEAR BOOST Turnbull s hopes to reinvigorate performance in opinion polls strengthened on Monday, as his government predicted the national deficit would shrink faster than expected and return to surplus in fiscal 2021 after a decade of deficits.  Treasurer Scott Morrison saw a deficit of about A$23.6 billion ($18.1 billion) for the year to end-June 2018, down from a May forecast of A$29.4 billion, as stronger job creation and higher commodity export earnings offset weakness in wages and consumer spending. The improved outlook enables Turnbull to trumpet his economic credentials by nudging closer to a balanced budget while enabling him to consider income tax cuts in the year before his next scheduled election, in 2019.  The stronger fiscal position is a welcome Christmas present for Treasurer Morrison and the Turnbull Liberal-National government, as they head towards the end of an increasingly difficult 2017,  said Su-Lin Ong, head of Australian economics at RBC Capital Markets.

Summary: ऑस्ट्रेलिया के संकटग्रस्त टर्नबुल ने चुनावी जीत का फायदा उठाने के लिए मंत्रिमंडल में फेरबदल पर विचार किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said on Friday he had removed his name from consideration for a position in Donald Trump’s new administration as the president-elect narrows the field of people he is considering for secretary of state. Giuliani’s withdrawal from consideration came after Trump made clear that he was broadening his search for a secretary of state beyond the four finalists transition aides had identified: Giuliani, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former CIA head David Petraeus and Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee. In recent days, Trump has expanded his search for a secretary of state to include additional lawmakers and corporate executives, such as Rex Tillerson of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and Alan Mulally, a former executive at Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N). The Wall Street Journal, citing two transition team officials, said Tillerson had emerged on Friday as the leading candidate for the State Department job. It said some Trump advisers saw Tillerson as a mold-breaking pick who would bring an executive’s experience to the post of top U.S. diplomat. Giuliani, speaking to Fox News, said he had actually sent a letter withdrawing himself from consideration back on Nov. 29 but that the transition team had rejected it, saying they wanted to continue to keep him in the running for the State Department. “I decided ... that the whole thing was becoming ... very difficult for the president-elect, and my desire to be in the Cabinet was great, but it wasn’t that great and he had a lot of terrific candidates,” Giuliani said in a phone call with Fox. He said he had met Trump on Friday and they agreed it was worth going ahead and releasing the letter as the president-elect narrows his choice for secretary of state. Trump indicated to supporters in Louisiana on Friday that he would have another Cabinet announcement next week “you’re really going to like.” “They’re down to the last two, three, four (candidates), so it made sense to ... get out of the way,” Giuliani said in the Fox interview. He said he had been considered for other positions in the Cabinet but was not keen on a role other than State Department. “That was the only one I had any real interest in. But it wasn’t so overwhelming that I’m terribly disappointed,” Giuliani added, noting that he would continue to act as a friend and informal adviser to Trump. Asked his view on Romney as a possible secretary of state, Giuliani said he agreed with other “very loyal supporters of President-elect Trump” that “Mitt went over the line” in his criticism of the candidate during the campaign. “You can make friends and make up, but I wouldn’t see him as a candidate for the Cabinet,” Giuliani said, though he added he would accept whatever decision Trump ultimately made. Giuliani’s withdrawal was likely to disappoint some of Trump’s most loyal aides, who appreciated how he had supported the president-elect all along and had been resistant to Romney. Earlier on Friday, CNN, citing an unnamed source, reported that Giuliani was told he was no longer in contention for secretary of state. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, praised the former New York mayor in a statement. “Rudy Giuliani is an extraordinarily talented and patriotic American,” the New York businessman said. “He is and continues to be a close personal friend, and as appropriate, I will call upon him for advice and can see an important place for him in the administration at a later date.” Reince Priebus, Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, said in the statement that Giuliani “was vetted by our team for any possible conflicts and passed with flying colors.” Giuliani also told Fox the vetting process had turned up no conflicts.

Summary: गियुलियानी ने प्रशासन में सेवा करने के लिए विचार से नाम वापस लियाः ट्रम्प


Nogales, Ariz. (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday to make his case for increased prosecutions of illegal immigrants, pressuring U.S. attorneys to prioritize cases against criminal migrants. Sessions, a long-time proponent of tougher immigration enforcement, told U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the Port of Nogales, Arizona, that more illegal migrants should be prosecuted as criminals.    It is normally the role of the Secretary of Homeland Security to meet border agents. But Sessions made the visit to highlight his focus on enforcing federal laws as dozens of U.S. cities try to shield illegal immigrants from stepped-up prosecution and deportation efforts. “Why are we doing this?” the former U.S. senator said. “Because it is what the duly enacted laws of the United States require.”   Sessions said that each U.S. attorney would be required to designate a point person on border security prosecutions by April 18. The person in that position, known as a border security coordinator, would be directed to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security, according to Sessions’ memo.  The directive did not go beyond existing laws, but Sessions said his order “mandates the prioritizations of such enforcement” by U.S. attorneys.  The Trump administration has threatened to cut off U.S. Justice Department grants to so-called sanctuary cities that fail to assist federal immigration authorities.  Police in such cities have argued that targeting illegal migrants is an improper use of law enforcement resources. Sessions has said a failure to deport aliens convicted of criminal offenses puts whole communities at risk. Under U.S. law, anyone who harbors or transports an undocumented immigrant, has crossed the border illegally two or more times, resists an immigration officer’s arrest or commits travel document fraud is subject to criminal prosecution.  Other immigrants apprehended for crossing the border illegally face civil procedures, with deportation the only penalty.  Sessions’ announcement was the latest move by the Trump administration to deter illegal immigration. President Donald Trump has also called for not releasing migrants with pending court cases, targeting more people in immigration raids and building a wall on the southwest border.  Speaking just 50 yards from a border fence on the Arizona-Mexico border, Sessions said that adding more fencing to the border will be a “force multiplier” against illegal migration.  He also said the Justice Department plans to add 50 more immigration judges in 2017 and 75 more in 2018. Immigration judges oversee civil immigration cases, but there is a backlog of over 540,000 pending cases due a shortage of judges.

Summary: सत्रों ने प्रवासी कार्रवाई को आगे बढ़ाने के लिए U.S.-Mexico सीमा का दौरा किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Advocates for Americans imprisoned by Iranian authorities said on Friday they were concerned the Trump administration s hard line on Iran would close off the chance for talks to secure the prisoners  release. In a major shift in U.S. policy, President Donald Trump announced he would not certify that Iran is complying with a 2015 nuclear deal and warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement. The administration also designated Iran s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the dominant player in the country s security, economy and politics, as a terrorist group, a move one expert said would make the group less willing to negotiate over the prisoners. Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who was detained by Iran for 18 months, said on Twitter that Trump s Iran strategy  will only hurt American hostages being held in Iran.   I hope I m wrong, but it looks to me as though Americans being held hostage in #Iran were just abandoned by @realDonaldTrump,  Rezaian wrote, using Trump s Twitter handle. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. A State Department official said the United States calls for the  immediate release  of U.S. citizens held  unjustly  in Iran. The seven known American citizens and permanent residents who have been detained in the last two years in Iran are businessman Siamak Namazi and his 81-year-old father Baquer Namazi; Princeton doctoral student Xiyue Wang; art gallery owner Karan Vafadari and his wife Afarin Niasari; Robin Reza Shahini, an Iranian-American from California; and Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese national with U.S. permanent residency.  My biggest frustration is still the U.S. government has no plan for how to resolve this, and my husband has been in prison for 15 months,  Wang s wife, Hua Qu, told Reuters.  She said the new U.S. sanctions made her  afraid  for her husband s fate, because they show  that the relationship is deteriorating.      Wang was arrested in August 2016 while doing dissertation research and has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, allegations his family and university deny.  I don t know when the U.S. government is going to engage Iran,  Qu said.  He is living in this terror everyday. He is in despair.  Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said on a conference call with reporters that designating the IRGC as a terrorist group would  make it far more difficult to have a direct line of communication with them.   The IRGC is going to be in much less of a mood to engage in a serious negotiation with the United States after this,  said Sadjadpour, a friend of Namazi. In January 2016, the Obama administration secured the release of five Americans imprisoned in Iran by agreeing to a much-criticized prisoner swap after protracted direct talks with Iran. In the months following the swap, the Iranian government arrested several more Americans. The IRGC is typically the entity that has detained and interrogated the Americans, according to their family members and human rights groups. Jason Poblete, a U.S.-based attorney for Zakka, said the sanctions could be helpful  if it gets these parties talking to each other.  He criticized the Obama administration s approach to Iran as not being focused enough on  the unconditional release of hostages.   Anything that moves us to speaking clearly with one another, which is what the president s doing, is much better than all this flimsy talk that had been taking place until now,  Poblete said.

Summary: ईरान में हिरासत में लिए गए अमेरिकियों के वकील ट्रम्प के कठोर रुख से चिंतित हैं


DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar s foreign minister said on Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was a death sentence for all who seek peace, Qatari-owned Al Jazeera television reported. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani called the move  a dangerous escalation . Qatar s foreign ministry said earlier on Twitter that Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani had warned of serious implications from the decision in a telephone conversation with Trump.

Summary: कतर ने ट्रम्प के जेरूसलम कदम को 'शांति के लिए मौत की सजा' कहा


PARIS (Reuters) - France s parliament adopted an anti-terrorism bill on Tuesday that will bolster police surveillance powers and make it easier to close mosques suspected of preaching hatred, but rights groups warned it would lead to civil freedoms being infringed.  Before the vote, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb described France as being  still in a state of war  as authorities struggle to deal with the threat posed by foreign jihadists and homegrown militants.  More than 240 people have been killed in France in attacks since 2015 by assailants who pledged allegiance to, or were inspired by, Islamic State. In the latest attack on Sunday, a man cried Allahu Akbar   God is Greatest   before fatally stabbing two women outside the rail station in Marseille. Legislators in the lower house adopted the bill by a margin of 415 to 127.  Lawmakers realize that today s threat is serious and that we must protect ourselves against terrorists. This must be done in a way that balances security and freedom,  Collomb told reporters after the vote.  This text will help protect French people.  Emergency powers in place since November 2015, when Islamist suicide bombers and gunmen carried out attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, have played a significant role in enabling intelligence agencies to disrupt plots, the government says. The new legislation would see many of those emergency powers enshrined in law, with limited oversight from the judiciary.  The interior ministry, without approval from a judge, will be able to set up security zones when there is a threat, restricting the movement of people and vehicles in and out and with power to carry out searches inside the area.  It will have more power to shut down mosques and other places of worship, if intelligence agencies believe religious leaders are inciting violence in France or abroad or justifying acts of terrorism.  Police will also have greater powers to raid private property, if they have judicial approval, and there will be an increased ability to impose restrictions on people s movements, including via electronic surveillance tags, if they are regarded as a threat to national security. A parliamentary commission will now seek compromise on amendments put forward by the Senate and Assembly before a second reading and definitive vote, expected in mid-October. President Emmanuel Macron, painted by rivals as weak on security during his election campaign, has already acted to bolster counter-terrorism efforts, creating a task force in June to improve coordination among France s multiple intelligence agencies. The anti-terrorism bill has met little resistance from the public, with people still on edge after the series of Islamist-related attacks and smaller incidents that have followed. But rights campaigners say it will curb civil liberties.  France has become so addicted to the state of emergency that it is now injecting several of these abusive measures into ordinary law,  Human Rights Watch said in a statement.  It added that French parliament members had chosen the politics of fear over the protection of hard-won civil liberties and urged parliament and the judiciary to closely monitor how the government uses its new power.  Nonetheless, some conservative opponents of Macron say the draft legislation, which is not as all-encompassing as the state of emergency currently allows, does not go far enough.  We need to rearm the state,  right-wing lawmaker Eric Ciotti said in a radio interview before the vote. He called for authorities to have greater powers to expel foreigners who threaten public safety.

Summary: हमलों की लहर के बाद फ्रांस ने आतंकवाद विरोधी सख्त विधेयक का समर्थन किया


DUBAI (Reuters) - Militants attacked a Bahraini police bus near the Jidhafs area outside the capital Manama, killing one policeman and wounding eight others, the interior ministry said on Friday. The attack targeted the bus on the Khalifa bin Salman highway, the ministry said, adding that the militant group used a handmade bomb.  Investigations are underway to determine the circumstances of this premeditated terrorist attack and arrest the group involved,  the ministry said in a statement on its website. The incident was the latest in a series of attacks targeting policemen in the country where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based. The government blames the attacks on Shi ite militants it says are backed by Iran to destabilize the country, a charge Tehran denies. This month, a blast wounded five policemen on Budaiya road, near Manama, while they were guarding a procession by Shi ite Muslims marking the annual Ashura festival, which commemorates the death of Prophet Mohammad s grandson Imam Hussein some 1400 years ago.

Summary: बम हमले में बहरीन के एक पुलिसकर्मी की मौत, आठ घायल


KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - In a room packed with Malaysian civil servants, foreign ministry secretary general Ramlan Ibrahim raised his right hand as he read out an anti-corruption pledge. He was among thousands of state officials nationwide to take such an oath in the past several weeks, part of an anti-graft campaign called by Prime Minister Najib Razak.  The citizens are becoming more informed   they ask for public service which is more efficient, transparent and fair,  Ramlan said after the event in Putrajaya, the administrative capital. The campaign comes as Najib prepares to meet President Donald Trump in the United States this week, where the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are pursuing investigations into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state fund the prime minister oversaw. Najib must also call a general election by mid-2018 although some commentators have suggested he could do so this year itself. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested  dozens of top officials under the anti-graft campaign, including officers at national oil company Petronas and state-controlled palm oil firm Felda. More than 600 arrests were made just this year, MACC data showed. The actions are unusual in the Southeast Asian country, where corruption is seen as widespread. Four out of five Malaysians aged 18-35 cited corruption as the most serious issue facing the country, according to a survey released last month by the Global Shapers Community, a programme under the World Economic Forum.     But critics say the campaign ignores the elephant in the room: 1MDB. The state fund is being investigated in at least six countries for money-laundering and misappropriation of funds, including an alleged $681 million transfer into the prime minister s personal account.  Malaysia s attorney-general closed the 1MDB probe in January 2016, and cleared Najib of any wrongdoing.   The U.S. Justice Department has sought to seize about $1.7 billion in assets allegedly bought with stolen 1MDB funds. Its lawsuits say those involved included Najib s step-son Riza Aziz and his close associate Jho Low.  In court filings last Tuesday, the FBI, which is conducting a criminal investigation, alleged that potential witnesses in the case fear for their safety and need protection.  But investigations into 1MDB in Malaysia appear to have shut down. MACC had  a roomful  of files on 1MDB, a former MACC official told Reuters, but the commission could not pursue it once Malaysia s attorney-general declared the case closed.  In a way, this campaign is the MACC trying to show that it is doing its job. Even if they cannot secure a conviction (against their targets), the MACC can show that it has done all it could to stamp out major corruption,  said the former official, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Cynthia Gabriel, director of the Kuala Lumpur-based Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4), said there was  enough substance  for MACC to reopen the case on 1MDB.  MACC declined to comment on whether the commission would reopen its 1MDB investigation.   No comment on that, we are very fair in investigating anybody here, whoever they are,  deputy chief commissioner Azam Baki told reporters in Putrajaya. Anti-corruption campaigners say they fear Trump s invitation to Najib to visit the United States may affect the investigations in the United States.  Territorial influence and geopolitical interests of the United States appears to have hollowed out its commitment to fight international corruption, much to the detriment of the future of Malaysia and the world,  Gabriel said. U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Trump s invitation was  particularly inappropriate , given Najib s use of repressive laws to stifle critics.  There s little doubt that Najib will use this White House visit to burnish his credentials going into next year s election in Malaysia, and redouble his repression of critics using the stamp of approval from this visit,  HRW s deputy Asia director Phil Robertson told Reuters.  Najib has said he hopes his visit will drum up more trade and investment for Malaysia.  I would like to see this as a two way mutually beneficial partnership,  he told reporters on Friday.  I hope the U.S. sees Malaysia as a reliable partner on issues such as trade and investment, security partnership, counter terrorism and I also hope that U.S. companies see us as among the best countries to invest in.  A government source said a defense agreement was also on the table, although no details were immediately available. Senior leaders of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) are concerned the party may suffer election losses from the string of graft scandals linked to Najib, a source aware of discussions within the party said. With Najib and the MACC s clean-up campaign, the source said, the party hopes to appease Malaysians frustrated with the corruption and draw back foreign investors who fled as the probe into 1MDB expanded. Besides diverting attention from 1MDB, critics say Najib is also using MACC s anti-graft campaign to target political opponents such as Lim Guan Eng, an opposition leader who is the top elected official in Penang province. He has been charged with abuse of power in the purchase of a bungalow.  You are going after all sorts of offences, but the biggest one, it stinks to high heaven,  said Lim, the secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party.  Everyone can smell it, except you.

Summary: ट्रम्प की बैठक के साथ, मलेशिया के प्रधानमंत्री 1एम. डी. बी. घोटाले को अपने पीछे रखना चाहते हैं


WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s plan to punish a U.S. automaker accused of price-fixing is a sign of how Beijing could retaliate if President-elect Donald Trump upends decades of relations between the two nations. Trump’s assertion that the United States need not be bound by the policy that Taiwan is part of “one China” would erode a bedrock of U.S.-China ties that has underpinned the vast increase in trade and cooperation between what are now the world’s two largest economies. Few expect the disagreement will lead to outright military confrontation, nor even the kind of economic war that many feared could be launched by Trump’s threat during the U.S. presidential campaign to slap tariffs of up to 45 percent on Chinese imports. However, a rising China has plenty of other ways to push back hard if Trump presses on the Taiwan question, which most analysts see as the most sensitive part of the U.S.-China relationship. In what might be a shot across the bow of the Trump administration, due to take office on Jan. 20, the official China Daily newspaper quoted a state planning official saying China will soon penalize an unnamed U.S. automaker for monopolistic behavior. While the official said no one should read “anything improper” into this, shares of General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co skidded. Auto industry sources have told Reuters this specific investigation was already underway before Trump’s recent comments. However, the manner in which it was announced, by saying only that it was a U.S. automaker before a formal announcement of fines, has raised questions around whether officials might be seizing on the case to send a shot across the bow of the incoming Trump administration. Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump, said on Wednesday Trump’s team was aware of the report but it would be premature to comment. In Washington, a Democratic congressional aide said China’s threat to fine the automaker was a “good sharp reminder” to Trump that “they have cards to play too and that if he is thinking that he can enter into negotiations - be it on Taiwan, trade, North Korea, whatever - as if the United States is the sole global superpower ... then he is going to need to think again.” China’s state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, did not responded to Reuters requests for comment on the China Daily story. China’s Foreign Ministry said it did not know any details about the case. “China welcomes foreign companies, including American ones, to invest in and operate in China. At the same time they must respect China’s laws and rules. This point is very clear,” ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said when asked if this was China sending a message to Trump.  Pressure on other U.S. companies, such as Boeing Co (BA.N) and General Electric Co (GE.N), with large interests in China could be one of the most tangible tools of retaliation, together with new limits on access to the country’s huge markets. U.S. business interests in China are estimated at more than $500 billion. Wider economic steps - such as China, America’s biggest creditor, selling a significant part of its $1.16 trillion of U.S. Treasuries, or weakening its currency - seem unlikely, the first because it would slash the value of China’s U.S. bond portfolio and the second because it could accelerate capital flight, experts said. Beijing could speed up a military build-up that had begun to slow along with Chinese economic growth, carry out naval exercises close to Taiwan - which it regards as a renegade province - and withhold diplomatic cooperation on issues such as Iran and North Korea’s nuclear programs. “Taiwan policy is what China considers a core interest ... and it’s prepared to go to great lengths to defend it,” said Eric Altbach, senior vice president at the Albright Stonebridge Group consultancy in Washington and a former deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for China affairs. The consensus within the Obama administration is that Trump, who irked China by taking a phone call from Taiwan’s president, was not fully aware of the potential backlash from Beijing over his questioning of the “one China” policy, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The hope is that by the time Trump takes over from President Barack Obama, he will recognize that China has advanced so far economically, diplomatically and militarily that it is unwise to pick fights with Beijing over such a bedrock principle, he added. A former senior U.S. official took a more pessimistic view. “Trump has basically guaranteed that the first year in the China relationship will be a combative, competitive one, and the question is how bad it will get,” he said. “The Chinese now are basically putting together their list on how to retaliate.” There are at least three ways in which the matter could play out, U.S. China experts said. Trump could backtrack over time, much as former U.S. President George W. Bush did. A second track would be if Trump goes on questioning the “one China” policy without taking concrete action. The third,  considered unlikely by U.S. officials past and present, would be a drift toward military confrontation. Asked if Trump’s “one China” stance could lead to this, a source with ties to the Chinese leadership told Reuters: “We will see what Trump says and does after he becomes president.” A second source with leadership ties said they expected tensions with the United States over Taiwan. But the source said Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has sounded a more nationalistic line than his recent predecessors, could also use the issue to further cement his grip on power. “If (Taiwan) is emboldened by the U.S. support and does something drastic, it could be an opportunity for us. There will be just cause to dispatch troops,” the second source said. While the possibility of Taiwan declaring independence and hence triggering a Chinese invasion seems low, the mere softening in the U.S. commitment to the policy would likely play out in China’s defense posture. “It will alter Chinese defense priorities. I think that’s inevitable now,” said Dennis Wilder, a former CIA China analyst. He said Xi may increase Chinese military spending for 2017 and place new emphasis, over time, on gaining the amphibious capabilities necessary to actually invade Taiwan. “Xi Jinping has to respond to this internally, domestically, and while he doesn’t want an open fight with Trump, he will have to show ... resolve,” he said, citing higher military spending, more defense exercises and tougher rhetoric on Taiwan. “We can anticipate that unless this issue is taken off the table.”

Summary: अमेरिकी वाहन निर्माता को निशाना बनाना ट्रम्प वार्ता पर चीन के संभावित प्रतिशोध का संकेत देता है


ACCRA (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron fears Islamist militants have scored military and symbolic victories in West Africa while a regional military force has struggled to get off the ground, a French presidential source said on Thursday. To help get the new G5 Sahel force operating effectively, he said, France has invited the United States to a summit with the five participating countries as well as the African Union and European Union in Paris next month.  Thousands of U.N. peacekeepers, French troops and U.S. military trainers and drone operators have failed so far to stem a growing wave of jihadist violence, leading world powers to pin their hopes on the new G5 Sahel force. The G5 Sahel initiative - grouping Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger - faces an immense security challenge in a largely desert and weakly governed region and already faces questions over its financing and provision of equipment.  Emmanuel Macron believes that it s not going quickly enough and that the terrorists have registered military and symbolic victories, especially in Niger, and (that) it s urgent to reverse this trend,  the French official said in Ghana where Macron was winding up a three-day Africa trip.  The (objective) will be to accelerate the calendar for the support of the force, and the operational calendar.  The jihadist threat hit home again last month with an attack in Niger in which eight U.S. and Nigerien troops were killed, prompting American officials to forecast that U.S. involvement in the Sahel region would deepen. As well as the leaders of the G5 nations - all former French colonies - and the EU and African Union, the French presidential official said the United States had also been invited to the Dec. 13 summit. The G5 force is to eventually comprise 5,000 men from seven battalions and police the region in collaboration with 4,000 French troops deployed there since Paris intervened in 2013 to beat back an insurgency in northern Mali. It will also have to coordinate with MINUSMA, Mali s U.N. peacekeeping mission. MINUSMA has been frequently attacked in the north where Islamists have regained ground since 2013. A donor conference will be held in Brussels on Dec. 14 to raise funds for the Sahel force. Paris has also asked Saudi Arabia to help finance the force and representatives of the kingdom could also be in Paris on Dec. 13, the official said.

Summary: फ्रांस ने आतंकवादियों के खिलाफ लड़ाई को बढ़ावा देने पर 13 दिसंबर को होने वाले शिखर सम्मेलन के लिए अमेरिका को आमंत्रित किया


DHAKA (Reuters) - Indonesia s foreign minister will fly to Bangladesh on Tuesday for talks following her visit to Myanmar where she urged national leader Aung San Suu Kyi to end ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority there. Bangladesh s foreign secretary, Shahidul Haque, told Reuters Retno Marsudi will meet Bangladeshi officials in Dhaka. Nearly 90,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, following an army crackdown triggered by attacks by Rohingya insurgents in Buddhist-majority Myanmar s northwestern Rakhine state. The Rakhine violence has killed at least 400 people, most of them Rohingya insurgents, according to the Myanmar government, leading to the exodus of Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh that is struggling to cope with the influx. Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia and Turkey, who are trying to pressure Nobel peace prize winner Suu Kyi to end the crisis, are also offering help to Bangladesh deal with the massive inflow of people from across its 271 km (168 mile)long border with Myanmar.

Summary: रोहिंग्या पर म्यांमार की यात्रा के बाद इंडोनेशिया के विदेश मंत्री ने बांग्लादेश के लिए उड़ान भरी


PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech billionaire businessman Andrej Babis was appointed prime minister on Wednesday after his ANO party came first in an October election, and he must now focus on securing parliamentary backing for a minority administration. Running on pledges to fight migration and make the state more efficient, ANO won 29.6 percent of the vote, nearly three times the support won by second-placed center-right Civic Democrats. Despite that strong showing, however, it is unclear whether Babis will be able to win a confidence vote for his government by mid-January as required by the constitution. He also faces the threat of prosecution in connection with his business interests. ANO holds 78 seats in the 200-seat lower house but has so far failed to win the backing of any of the other eight parties. Should he lose such a vote, Babis would stay in power until a new arrangement is found. But given his party s size, it would also most likely have to lead any other arrangement. In a televised ceremony on Wednesday, President Milos Zeman appointed Babis, 63, who set up ANO in 2011 as a protest movement when mainstream parties were embroiled in corruption scandals.  Babis s new cabinet will take power on Dec. 13, allowing him to take part in a European Union leaders  summit the following day. He has pledged to keep the budget in shape but also boost infrastructure investments and public sector wages, and play a more active role in the European Union, especially in securing the EU s external border to stop illegal migration. The Czechs are facing a possible EU suit over refusing to accept migrants under an EU quota system, which Babis said was his first European task.  I will first have to negotiate and convince the European Commission not to sue us and to find a different solution,  he told a news conference after his appointment.  Quotas are not a solution, and the solution is outside Europe, and we have to win over other member states for this.  The far-right, anti-EU and anti-NATO SPD party and the Communists have lent ANO support in several initial votes in return for committee posts for their members, raising the prospect that they may have some kind of agreement to back ANO.  But Babis said on Wednesday he had no deal in place and would talk to all parties to either back the cabinet or abstain from the vote to help it win.  In the week of Dec. 18, we will present the program manifesto and negotiate on whether someone will go into government with us or give us tolerance,  Babis said. Rival parties have criticized Babis, the second-richest person in the country, worth $4 billion according to Forbes, for conflicts of interests. He owns a farming, chemicals, food and media group which has contracts with the state and receives European subsidies. The main sticking point is a police request that parliament strip Babis of his immunity so he can be prosecuted for suspected fraud in tapping European Union subsidies. He denies any wrongdoing. If police drop the case or parliament refuses to lift immunity, Babis may win some votes from other factions. Analysts say a second attempt to form a cabinet, with or without Babis, may have a greater chance of success because many parties suffered losses in the October vote and are keen to avoid an early election, which a prolonged crisis could eventually lead to.

Summary: चेक राष्ट्रपति ने आंद्रेज बाबिस को नया प्रधानमंत्री नियुक्त किया


BARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalonia s separatists look set to regain power in the wealthy Spanish region after local elections on Thursday, deepening the nation s political crisis in a sharp rebuke to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and European Union leaders who backed him. With nearly all votes counted, separatist parties won a slim majority in Catalan parliament, a result that promises to prolong political tensions which have damaged Spain s economy and prompted a business exodus from the region. Rajoy, who called the elections after sacking the previous secessionist government, had hoped Catalonia s  silent majority  would deal separatism a decisive blow in what was a de facto independence referendum, but his hard line backfired. The unexpected result sets the stage for the return to power of deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont who campaigned from self-exile in Brussels. State prosecutors accuse him of sedition, and he faces arrest if he were to return home.  Either Rajoy changes his recipe or we change the country,  Puigdemont, said in a televised speech. He was flanked by four former cabinet members that fled with him. At jubilant pro-independence rallies around Barcelona, supporters chanted  President Puigdemont  and unfurled giant red-and-yellow Catalan flags as the results came in. Puigdemont s spokesman told Reuters in a text message:  We are the comeback kids.  The result unnerved global markets, contributing to a softer euro and subdued sentiment in stock markets. Opinion polls had predicted secessionists to fall short of a majority. More than 3,100 firms have moved their legal headquarters outside Catalonia, concerned that the indebted region, which accounts for a fifth of the national economy, could split from Spain and tumble out of the EU and the euro zone by default. Spain has trimmed its growth forecasts for next year, and official data shows foreign direct investment in Catalonia fell 75 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, dragging down national investment. The EU s major powers, Germany and France, have backed Rajoy s stance despite some criticism of his methods at times. On Oct. 1, when Catalonia staged an independence referendum, Spain declared it unconstitutional and national police used tear gas and batons to prevent some Catalans from voting. When Catalan parliament declared independence after the referendum, Rajoy invoked constitutional powers to impose direct rule from Madrid on the region. He has said he would rescind direct rule regardless of the election result, but could re-impose it if a new government again pursued secession. There was no immediate comment from Rajoy after the election results. The narrow victory for Puigdemont s secessionist camp presents a fresh headache for the EU, which had defended the Spanish judiciary s pursuit of separatist leaders on grounds that they had violated Spain s constitution. Puigdemont s attempts to gain international support in Brussels have come to nothing so far. He has called the EU a  club of decadent countries  for declining to mediate a solution. Separatist parties won 70 seats out of 135, with Puigdemont s Junts Per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) party retaining its position as the largest separatist force. Unionist party Ciudadanos (Citizens) won the most votes, but other unionist forces   Rajoy s People s Party and the Socialist Party   registered a dismal performance.  It s a bitter victory,  said Paloma Morales, a 27-year-old student at a Ciudadanos rally.  It means four more years of misery.  Analysts said the ball was back in Rajoy s court.  What this shows is that the problem for Madrid remains and the secession movement is not going to go away,  said Antonio Barroso, deputy director of research at London-based research firm Teneo Intelligence. Turnout on Thursday reached a record high with over 83 percent of eligible Catalans voting. Puigdemont s former deputy, Oriol Junqueras, and several other Catalan politicians are in prison, along with the leaders of the two main separatist grassroots movements.

Summary: कैटेलोनिया के अलगाववादियों ने स्पेन और यूरोपीय संघ को फटकार लगाते हुए चुनाव जीता


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday praised Saudi Arabia for  exposing  Iran s role in Yemen and Tehran s provision of missile systems to Houthi militia fighting there, following the interception of a missile fired toward the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday.  We continue to maintain strong defense ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and work together on common security priorities to include combat operations against violent extremist organizations, and neutralizing Iran s destabilizing influence in the Middle East region,  said Pentagon spokesman Marine Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway.

Summary: अमेरिका ने यमन में ईरान की भूमिका को उजागर करने के लिए सऊदी अरब की प्रशंसा की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s threats to slap steep tariffs on Chinese and Mexican imports may have won him votes in Republican primaries but they would likely backfire, severely disrupting U.S. manufacturers that increasingly depend on global supply chains.  The Republican presidential front-runner’s campaign pledges to impose 45 percent tariffs on all imports from China and 35 percent on many goods from Mexico would spark financial market turmoil and possibly even a recession, former trade negotiators, trade lawyers, economists and business executives told Reuters.  “I don’t mind trade wars when we’re losing $58 billion a year,” Trump said in a Feb. 25 debate, referring to the 2015 U.S. goods trade deficit with Mexico. Economists dispute the idea the United States is “losing” money as the trade deficit is simply the difference between what the United States imports and what it exports to a country.  "Imposing tariffs or putting up trade barriers may sound good, but it will hurt our economy and credibility," said Wendy Cutler, the former acting deputy U.S. Trade Representative who helped lead U.S. negotiations in the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal last year.  Among those hardest hit would be the U.S. auto industry, which has fully integrated Mexico into its production network. Some $118 billion worth of vehicles and parts flowed north and south across the border tariff-free last year, according to U.S. Commerce Department data.  A 35 percent tariff would raise costs for Ford Motor Co's U.S.-assembled F-series and medium-duty pickup trucks that use Mexican-made diesel engines, one of its most profitable vehicle lines. (Graphic on U.S.-Mexico auto and parts trade: tmsnrt.rs/1UN3wun)  Ford CEO Mark Fields on Wednesday defended the company’s investment strategy, which includes $9 billion for U.S. plants over the next four years, saying, “We will do what makes sense for the business.”  Buyers of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s popular Ram 1500 pickup trucks assembled in Saltillo, Mexico, could see their $26,000 base price pushed up by $9,000 if the tariff is fully passed on to consumers. A Chrysler spokesman declined to comment on Trump’s statements.  Trump’s campaign said in a statement that U.S. trade policy constitutes “unilateral economic surrender” and needs complete change because it allows foreign competitors to shut out U.S imports, devalue their currencies and unfairly target U.S. industries.  “I don’t think he does our issue any favors by making it so incredibly jingoistic and bombastic,” said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a group that allies domestic steelmakers and other manufacturers with the United Steelworkers union.  “But I believe there’s widespread agreement ... that there is something amiss with our economic relationship with China and it’s past time that our government pushes back a little more forcefully.”  It would take years for U.S. industry to rebuild supply chains devastated by sudden tariff hikes on Chinese and Mexican goods and any retaliatory measures, said Peter Petri, a Brandeis University professor who has co-authored an influential study on the effects of the TPP trade deal on national income.  Even if U.S. firms were able to make such a transition, Petri said this would likely result in a permanent annual reduction in U.S. national income of more than $100 billion, or 0.8 percent.  Trump’s tariff plans would effectively violate NAFTA and revoke U.S. commitments to the World Trade Organization, say trade lawyers.  Beijing and Mexico City “are just going to retaliate on the things that are likely to hurt us most,” said Susan Schwab, the U.S. Trade Representative from 2006 to 2009 in the George W. Bush administration. Schwab negotiated major portions of free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.  In 2009, Mexico slapped duties up to 25 percent on more than 90 different U.S. farm goods, from pork to frozen potatoes due to foot-dragging by U.S. lawmakers on allowing Mexican truckers on to U.S. roads, as specified under NAFTA. The National Potato Council estimates that U.S. growers lost about $70 million in revenue over 31 months, a 50 percent cut from their third-largest export market.  Mexico’s economy minister, Ildefonso Guajardo said last week that big tariffs on Mexico would return the United States to “an isolationist, xenophobic and protectionist vision.”  And a full-scale tariff war with China would likely expose the largest U.S. export sectors to steep duties, including aircraft, semiconductors, corn and soybeans, trade lawyers said.  Retaliatory tariffs would also hurt growing U.S. vehicle exports to China - at 300,000 a year now equivalent to the annual output of a large assembly plant. General Motors Co is now planning to import a Buick sport-utility vehicle from a Chinese joint venture plant.  A GM spokesman declined to comment.  China’s state-run Global Times newspaper called Trump “big-mouthed, anti traditional and abusively forthright” in an editorial, but did not directly address his tariff proposals.  A long-running U.S.-China trade dispute over solar panels illustrates how tariffs can sometimes cause unanticipated damage.  In 2012, the U.S. Commerce Department slapped anti-dumping duties of up to 78 percent on Chinese solar panels after German-owned SolarWorld AG complained that below-cost Chinese imports were hurting its U.S. production.  China responded with its own 57 percent duties against U.S. producers of polycrystalline silicon, the raw material for photovoltaic cells. This put the brakes on an industry that was fast expanding to meet demand from Chinese solar panel makers.  Hemlock Semiconductor, controlled by Dow Corning, abandoned construction of a $1.5 billion new polysilicon plant in 2014. Dow Corning spokesman Jarrod Erpelding said Hemlock “serves as a strong example of how trade disputes often have unintended consequences.”  “This is really stupid,” said Francine Sullivan, chief legal officer of REC Silicon in Moses Lake, Washington, which halted production this year. “The necessity and value in putting on tariffs to protect solar panels in the U.S. was just not thought through. We’ve suffered enormous financial damage as a result of this.”  The Trump campaign said measures like tariffs would level the playing field and help bring “millions of manufacturing jobs back to the United States.”  But Durwin “Oodie” Royal, a furnace operator at U.S. Steel Corp’s Lone Star Tubular Operations in Texas, knows first-hand that such relief can be temporary.  Workers at the plant cheered when the United States imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese drilling pipe in 2009 and 2011. But the company announced on Friday that it would temporarily idle the tube mill, laying off 450 workers as it battles a slump in U.S. oil and gas drilling, a continued global steel glut and “unfairly traded imports.”  “When they slap tariffs on one country, the imports just come in from another country,” said Royal, who expects to be among those workers who are idled.  After the tariffs were imposed on China, South Korean imports surged, he said. “Right now, we’re just limping along like everybody else.”

Summary: ट्रम्प की शुल्क योजना तेजी से बढ़ सकती है, चीन, मैक्सिको के साथ व्यापार युद्ध छेड़ सकती है


AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Spanish diplomat has been proposed to head the world s chemical weapons watchdog at a critical time for the organization s disarmament work in Syria, diplomats said on Wednesday. A vote on the appointment of Fernando Arias, 65, is expected to be taken by the 41-member executive council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on Thursday. The change of leadership comes as the OPCW and U.N. weapons inspectors investigate ongoing use of banned nerve agents, including sarin and mustard gas, in the Syrian civil war. Syrian officials remain unable to explain how banned chemicals have been found in the country, meaning the new leader could face a showdown among members over whether Syria should be reported to the United Nations for non-compliance.  We believe that we have a strong successor in Ambassador Fernando Arias of Spain, and hope that the executive council will agree his nomination by consensus,  said Ambassador Peter Wilson, head of the British delegation at the OPCW. Arias will have to overcome fundamental differences between major powers Russia and the United States, which jointly drafted a deal to rid Syria of its chemical weapons in 2013 after a sarin attack killed hundreds of civilians near Damascus, but have since ended cooperation at the OPCW. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons during the more than six-year civil war. But despite a massive international mission to destroy its toxic arsenal, OPCW inspectors have found use of chemical weapons is systematic and ongoing.  Diplomats say Arias, Spain s ambassador to the OPCW and the Netherlands, where the organization is based, is known as a strong negotiator and mediator, making him a good match for the job. Under Arias  direction, the OPCW adopted a contentious decision in 2016 condemning the use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces and Islamic State militants.  A rare vote at the consensus-based OPCW signaled the break in cooperation between the United States and Russia, which back different sides in the war. The United States had sought to impose sanctions on those responsible through the OPCW s executive council, but dropped the proposal in the face of fierce Russian opposition.  An alternative text drafted by Spain was supported by a majority, including Germany, France, the United States and Britain, but opposed by Russia, China, Iran and Sudan. Arias nomination must be formally be approved by all the OPCW s member countries, represented through the Conference of States Parties, which is expected by December. He will succeed Ahmet Uzumcu of Turkey, who has headed the since July 2010. Arias, who previously served as Spain s ambassador to the United Nations, will be appointed for a four-year term through July 2022 and can seek reappointment. He was picked over candidates from Denmark, Hungary,  Lithuania, South Korea, Burkina Faso and Iraq, diplomatic sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the process was confidential. Born in Madrid, Arias also held positions in Mauritania, Bulgaria, Montenegro and was as deputy ambassador in China.

Summary: रासायनिक हथियारों पर नजर रखने वाली संस्था सीरिया की जांच के लिए नया नेता लाएगी


CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The head of the Cleveland police union on Sunday urged Ohio’s governor to declare a state of emergency and to suspend laws allowing the open carrying of firearms during the Republican National Convention, after the shooting of six police officers in Louisiana. “I don’t care what the legal precedent is, I feel strongly that leadership needs to stand up and defend these police officers,” Steve Loomis, the head of the police union, told Reuters in an interview at the union’s headquarters on Sunday. The four-day convention is due to begin on Monday.

Summary: पुलिस संघः क्लीवलैंड में रिपब्लिकन सम्मेलन में बंदूकों को खुले में ले जाने पर रोक लगाई जानी चाहिए


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 : - Based on the fact that the very unfair and unpopular Individual Mandate has been terminated as part of our Tax Cut Bill, which essentially Repeals (over time) ObamaCare, the Democrats & Republicans will eventually come together and develop a great new HealthCare plan! [0658 EST] - WOW, @foxandfrlends “Dossier is bogus. Clinton Campaign, DNC funded Dossier. FBI CANNOT (after all of this time) VERIFY CLAIMS IN DOSSIER OF RUSSIA/TRUMP COLLUSION. FBI TAINTED.” And they used this Crooked Hillary pile of garbage as the basis for going after the Trump Campaign! [0824 EST] - All signs are that business is looking really good for next year, only to be helped further by our Tax Cut Bill. Will be a great year for Companies and JOBS! Stock Market is poised for another year of SUCCESS! [17:17 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

Summary: ट्विटर पर ट्रम्प (26 दिसंबर)-हिलेरी क्लिंटन, कर कटौती विधेयक


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross easily won confirmation as U.S. commerce secretary on Monday, clearing President Donald Trump’s top trade official to start work on renegotiating trade relationships with China and Mexico. The U.S. Senate voted 72-27 to confirm the 79-year-old corporate turnaround expert’s nomination, with strong support from Democrats. Ross is set to become an influential voice in Trump’s economic team after helping shape the president’s opposition to multilateral free trade deals such as the now-scrapped Trans-Pacific Partnership.  Ross drew votes from 19 Democrats and one independent, partly because of an endorsement from the United Steelworkers union for his efforts in restructuring bankrupt steel companies in the early 2000s, which saved numerous plants and thousands of jobs. Ross was criticized by some Democrats as another billionaire in a Trump Cabinet that says it is focused on the working class, and for being a “vulture” investor who has eliminated some jobs. Reuters reported last month that Ross’s companies had shipped some 2,700 jobs overseas since 2004.   The investor will oversee a sprawling agency with nearly 44,000 employees responsible for combating the dumping of imports below cost into U.S. markets, collecting census and critical economic data, weather forecasting, fisheries management, promoting the United States to foreign investors and regulating the export of sensitive technologies. While commerce secretaries rarely take the spotlight in Washington, Ross is expected to play an outsize role in pursuing Trump’s campaign pledge to slash U.S. trade deficits and bring manufacturing jobs back to America. Trump has designated Ross to lead the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, a job that in past administrations would have been left to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. Ross will join other major players on the economic team, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council. Some experts said Ross could serve as a counterweight to advisers such as Peter Navarro, the University of California-Irvine economics professor who heads Trump’s newly created White House National Trade Council. Navarro has advocated a controversial 45 percent across-the-board tariff on imports from China that Trump threatened during his campaign.        “I expect that Ross will quickly become the administration’s chief trade spokesman, and that Navarro’s influence will be felt indirectly, rather than through public statements or testimony,” said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow and trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. At his confirmation hearing, Ross downplayed chances of a trade war with China, while calling it the “most protectionist” large economy. He vowed to level the playing field for U.S. companies competing with Chinese imports and those trying to do business in China’s highly restricted economy. Ross, estimated by Forbes to be worth $2.9 billion, built his fortune in the late 1990s and early 2000s by investing in distressed companies in steel, coal, textiles and auto parts, restructuring them and often benefiting from tariff protections put in place by the Commerce Department.

Summary: ट्रम्प के व्यापार सम्राट रॉस ने आसानी से सीनेट की पुष्टि जीत ली


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After struggling to find a consistent message and consolidate party support, Donald Trump is honing his attack on Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton and the foundation bearing her family’s name in hopes of making it a rallying cry for fellow Republicans. Trump began hammering the Democrat this week over the Clinton Foundation, an organization created by her and her husband former President Bill Clinton that funds aid programs in developing countries.  On Monday, Trump called for the foundation to be shut down and for a special prosecutor to be named to investigate it. In particular, he accused Clinton of having turned the charity into a “pay-for-play” scheme in which wealthy donors to the organization got favors from the State Department while Clinton was secretary of state from 2009-2013. The Clinton campaign denied that, saying Clinton never took any action because of donations to the foundation. After a primary campaign that left the party bitterly divided, Trump has struggled to find an attack line that fellow Republicans can rally behind. His criticism of the parents of a dead Muslim American soldier who spoke at the Democratic National Convention drew strong rebukes from many in his own party. His attacks on Clinton’s health have been dismissed as conspiracy theories.  Clinton, who leads in nearly every national and swing state opinion poll ahead of the Nov. 8 election, has largely avoided criticism about the foundation, although there was a spate of media investigations last year after she announced she was running for president. Her main Democratic rival, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, did not attack her on that front during the primary campaign. The focus on the foundation is likely to build some confidence among Republicans that Trump’s campaign is healing internal divisions. Last week, Trump shook up his campaign’s top leadership, putting Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway in top jobs. Campaign chairman Paul Manafort resigned. Chris Collins, a Republican member of Congress, said supporters have been urging Trump to focus on Clinton.  “Anything we can do to put her character forefront in the campaign is going to help Donald Trump,” Collins said in a phone interview. Republican Chairman Reince Preibus said if Trump continues  to remain “measured,” he could be “tied or ahead” in the polls by the first week in September. Recent Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls have found Clinton increasing her lead over Trump during August. The latest poll, on Monday, showed Clinton at 45 percent, and Trump at 33 percent. Clinton’s campaign has pushed back at the attack. Clinton spokesman Robby Mook said the foundation will not shut down given its humanitarian work, and he did not see it hurting Clinton’s lead in polls. “This is an absurd call by Donald Trump. It is an act of desperation on his campaign given the turmoil that we’ve seen from his campaign in recent weeks,” he told MSNBC. Trump abandoned plans to deliver a policy speech on Thursday about immigration. The postponement came as signs of internal disagreement on his immigration policy became public, but the move also allowed him to focus on what he and his advisers see as a Clinton weakness.  The foundation has long been a potential liability for Clinton. The fact it accepted corporate and foreign donations sparked criticism that it represented a conflict of interest while Clinton was secretary of state. On Sunday, the foundation announced it would no longer accept foreign donations if Clinton is elected and that the group is prepared to hand off programs to other charity organizations. Democrats are hopeful Trump is making an issue of the foundation too late for it to make a difference.  Most American voters already have an opinion of Hillary Clinton, said Jim Manley, a Democratic strategist who once worked for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.  “The views are pretty hardened on both sides, and I don’t think anything is going to move that needle,” he said. Both Clinton and Trump have unusually high “unfavorable” ratings among voters, although Trump currently scores worse on that score, opinion polls show.  The dual controversies over the foundation and over Clinton’s use of a private server and email account while secretary of state dovetailed on Monday. Conservative legal group Judicial Watch sought to make the case that previously unreleased emails provide evidence that Clinton offered access to donors to the foundation while she was secretary of state.

Summary: क्लिंटन फाउंडेशन पर हमला करते हुए, ट्रम्प ने रिपब्लिकन रैली की मांग की