PELLA, Iowa /ANKENY, Iowa (Reuters) - U.S. Republican front-runner Donald Trump expressed confidence on Saturday that he could push back attempts by his rivals to knock him off his top perch, saying he could stand on New York’s Fifth Avenue “and shoot somebody,” and still not lose voters. Nine days from the first nominating contest in Iowa, however, it was Republican rival Marco Rubio who won the endorsement Saturday from the Des Moines Register, the state’s biggest and most influential newspaper. On the Democratic side, the Register picked Hillary Clinton.  The endorsements were big developments for both Rubio and Clinton. Rubio, a Florida senator, has been running third behind Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz in Iowa, while Clinton has struggled to fend off a challenge to the Democratic nomination from Bernie Sanders. Trump and Cruz, Trump’s chief obstacle to a victory in Iowa, held competing rallies across the state while in New Hampshire, other candidates battled for votes in that state’s Feb. 9 first-in-the-nation primary for the Nov. 8 election. Trump, the New York billionaire and former reality TV star who has been virtually impervious to attacks from his opponents, pushed the limits of his political rhetoric again in Sioux Center, Iowa. “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters,” he said.  Trump has been a difficult target for criticism from his rivals because not all of his supporters are conservatives and many are most interested in his projection of strength, not where he stands on a particular issue. The latest Reuters-Ipsos tracking poll had Trump pulling in 40.6 percent support of Republican voters nationally. A CNN/ORC poll has Trump up in Iowa with 37 percent to 26 percent for Cruz, who has led in some other Iowa polls. Trump did not repeat the “shoot somebody” line at a later rally in Pella, while stressing to the crowd there that he would tone down his rhetoric as president. Cruz responded to Trump at an event in Ankeny, where he picked up the endorsement of conservative firebrand Glenn Beck, a counterweight of sorts to Trump’s endorsement by 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. “Listen, I will let Donald speak for himself. I can say I have no intention of shooting anybody in this campaign,” Cruz said. Beck was more direct. “There is one thing to have a healthy ego, there is another to give a man who believes those kind of things, who has a habit of anyone who stands in his way of destruction,” Beck said. “To give that man the full power and scope of the office of the presidency is something we will grow to regret.” Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley was an introductory speaker at Trump’s Pella event. Grassley did not endorse Trump but repeated Trump’s signature phrase, saying Republicans have a chance to “make America great again.” During his speech, Trump called Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly biased and said she should not be a moderator at a Fox-hosted Republican debate in Des Moines on Thursday. Kelly’s questioning at an Aug. 6 debate in Cleveland had prompted Trump to unleash a series of insults at her. There was no indication that Fox planned to remove her as a moderator. “Megyn Kelly has no conflict of interest. Donald Trump is just trying to build up the audience for Thursday’s debate, for which we thank him,” said a Fox News spokesperson.  The potential for more chaos in what has been a turbulent race on both the Republican and Democratic sides emerged on Saturday with the news that former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg might launch an independent run for president. A source said part of Bloomberg’s concern was the problem that Clinton is having in defeating Sanders. “I hope he runs,” Trump told reporters in Pella.  At a First In The Nation forum for candidates in Nashua, New Hampshire, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush was notably withering in his criticism of Trump. He reminded voters of Trump’s dismissal of Senator John McCain as not a hero because he got captured during the Vietnam War. McCain spent 5-1/2 years as a prisoner of war. He was a two-time winner of the New Hampshire primary and the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. “It is not strong to insult women. It is not a sign of strength when you insult Hispanics. It is not a sign of strength when you say that a POW was a loser because they got caught. John McCain is a hero,” Bush said.  (Additional reporting by Dustin Volz in Washington and Alana Wise in New Hampshire; Editing by Sandra Maler and Mary Milliken) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency.

Summary: आश्वस्त ट्रम्प कहते हैं कि 'किसी को गोली मार सकते हैं' और मतदाताओं को नहीं खो सकते


VIENNA (Reuters) - Coalition talks between Austrian conservative Sebastian Kurz s party and the far-right Freedom Party began in earnest on Monday as they combed through the nation s finances in search of billions in savings to fund planned tax cuts. Kurz, who is just 31, needs a coalition partner to form a stable government since his People s Party won this month s parliamentary election but fell well short of a majority. He started coalition talks with the third-placed Freedom Party last week. Although both parties  similarly hard lines on immigration dominated the campaign, they have also promised billions in tax cuts and said much of the funding will come from greater efficiency in Austria s administration, which includes a generous welfare state. Having laid out a roadmap for negotiations at their first round of talks on Wednesday, an overview of the country s finances was the main order of business at their second meeting, on Monday.  What we can say today is that there is a significant potential for greater efficiency and that of course we will sound out in the coming days what can be done politically,  Elisabeth Koestinger, chairwoman of Kurz s party and part of his negotiating team, told a news conference after Monday s talks. Neither she nor the Freedom Party s envoy to the joint news conference would be drawn on where those savings would be found.  We did not find any holes,  the Freedom Party s deputy leader, Norbert Hofer, who came close to winning last year s presidential election, told the news conference.  The issue will be better administering this state, reducing loss-causing inefficiencies and then making this released potential available through (tax) relief,  he added. Talks in the 10-person group that includes Kurz and Strache will continue through the week and negotiations in 20 more specialized groups will begin on Tuesday, Koestinger said.  We had a rough overview (of the public finances) from civil servants in the Finance Ministry and we will go into more detail in the coming days,  Koestinger said. Little of substance has emerged from the talks so far. Kurz has said he hopes a deal can be reached before Christmas, and the atmosphere has appeared to be good. Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache said last week the talks made a  very, very good start . Kurz said on Wednesday that he and Strache, 48, address each other with the informal German  du . Strache told tabloid daily Kronen Zeitung the same day that they are on first-name terms, adding:  He calls me HC.

Summary: ऑस्ट्रियाई गठबंधन वार्ता बचत की तलाश के साथ उत्साहपूर्वक शुरू हुई


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI secured a court order in 2016 to secretly surveil the communications of Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, as the agency investigates possible ties between the campaign and Russia, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.  Citing law enforcement and other U.S. officials the Post reported that the warrant for Page was obtained last summer by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. (wapo.st/2p3L6xi) The judge was convinced there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of Russia, the Post said. Page has denied in media interviews that he worked with the Russians to influence the election. In a statement to Reuters on Tuesday, Page said the court order was evidence that the administration of former President Barack Obama wanted to “suppress dissidents” who opposed its foreign policy. “It will be interesting to see what comes out when the unjustified basis for those FISA requests are more fully disclosed over time ...,” he said.     The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters, which could not independently confirm the Post story. The White House and FBI declined to comment.     The FBI and congressional committees are investigating whether Russia tried to influence the election in Trump’s favor, mostly by hacking Democratic operatives’ emails and releasing embarrassing information, or possibly by colluding with Trump associates. Russia denies the allegations, which Trump also dismisses.

Summary: एफ. बी. आई. को रूस की जांच में ट्रम्प के पूर्व सलाहकार की निगरानी के लिए अदालत का आदेश मिलाः वाशिंगटन पोस्ट


NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he hoped that divisions between Democrats would start to heal in coming weeks, now that his former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, has clinched the party’s nomination for the Nov. 8 presidential election. “My hope is that over the next couple of weeks we’re able to pull things together,” Obama said in his first public remarks since primary election wins on Tuesday in California and elsewhere propelled Clinton to victory over rival Bernie Sanders after a hard-fought, months-long campaign.    “What happens during primaries is you get a little ouchy,” Obama told NBC late-night host Jimmy Fallon during a taping of “The Tonight Show” set to air on Thursday. Sanders, who has not conceded the race, is set to meet with Obama at the White House on Thursday at 11:15 a.m. (1515 GMT). Later, at a fundraiser in the Central Park West apartment of Kenneth Lerer, a venture capitalist and chairman of the BuzzFeed medial company, Obama said he was “not too worried” about “bruised feelings” left over from the primary. “We just ended - sort of ended - our primary season,” Obama said, catching his mistake as the crowd of about 60 Democratic donors, who paid up to $33,400 to attend, laughed nervously. “I am concerned about us doing the hard nuts-and-bolts work of turning out people to vote, particularly young people, particularly low-income people,” Obama said. Asked whether Obama thought Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, should quickly end his campaign, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the senator had “more than earned the right to make his own decision about the course of his campaign.” The party will officially vote on Clinton’s nomination at its convention in Philadelphia at the end of July. Obama told Fallon that “it was a healthy thing for the Democratic Party to have a contested primary” and praised Sanders for the “enormous energy and new ideas” he brought to the campaign. “He pushed the party and challenged them. I thought it made Hillary a better candidate,” Obama said. The White House has said Obama, who is very popular among Democrats, will play a unifying role on the campaign trail. “The main role I’m going to be playing in this process is to remind the American people that this is a serious job. This is not reality TV,” Obama told Fallon in a swipe at presumptive Republican nominee and real estate magnate Donald Trump, who starred in a reality television show.

Summary: ओबामा को उम्मीद है कि 'ओची' डेमोक्रेटिक प्राइमरी के बाद पार्टी जल्दी ठीक हो जाएगी


BANGKOK (Reuters) - Rubber farmers in Thailand, one of the world s biggest exporters of natural rubber, threatened on Friday to protest in the capital Bangkok if the military government does not help to prop up falling prices of the commodity. Prices of Thai natural rubber have fallen from a peak of 179.25 baht ($5.41) per kg in 2011 to 47.75 baht on Friday. But Thai authorities said prices have similarly slumped in other major producers of the commodity. Protests are rare in the junta-ruled Southeast Asian country where a ban on public gatherings has been in place since a 2014 coup. The Natural Rubber Council of Thailand said farmers in the rubber-growing south were calling on the authorities for help.  The price of rubber is now lower than the cost of production,  Uthai Sonlucksub, president of the council, told Reuters. Some farmers from the south want to protest on Monday and accuse the Rubber Authority of Thailand, a government agency, of mismanagement, Uthai said. He did not give details on the kind of help the farmers want. Thailand, along with Indonesia and Malaysia, produce nearly 70 percent of the world s natural rubber. The three countries agreed last year to cut exports to boost market prices but their targets have not always been met. The Thai rubber authority denied the accusations of mismanagement.  Rubber prices are currently low in all of the major rubber producing countries. We are doing our best,  said Sunan Nuanphromsakul, the authority s deputy governor. Thailand s rubber farmers are politically powerful. In 2013, hundreds of farmers staged protests around the country, blocking roads and a regional airport in the south. Those demonstrations eventually turned into a bigger political movement that led to the ouster in 2014 of a civilian government led by then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Thai benchmark unsmoked rubber sheet was quoted at 43.60 baht per kg on Thursday, less than half of this year s peak reached in January.

Summary: थाई रबर किसानों ने कम कीमतों पर विरोध प्रदर्शन की योजना बनाई, सहायता मांगी


BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany s departing finance minister expressed optimism that his country s democratic institutions were strong enough to withstand the arrival of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as the third-largest party in parliament. Wolfgang Schaueble, who is due to step down as finance minister to become president of the Bundestag parliament, told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that AfD s 90-odd elected lawmakers would be constrained by Germany s constitution.  I d like to see more self-confidence,  he told the newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday.  Our free, democratic system based on the rule of law is so strong that nobody can wreck it, neither from within nor from without. Anybody who tries will fail.  The 75-year-old conservative took his new job at the urging of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her conservatives are trying to patch together a three-way coalition with the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats, who are expected to demand the position of finance minister. Also, many in Germany s mainstream felt a senior politician was needed to rein in the first far-right party to enter parliament in 50 years. Schaueble is Germany s longest-serving parliamentarian, and his stature is second only to Merkel s in German politics.  But Schaueble said he was ready to move on:  I decided before the elections after eight years as finance minister and many years  government responsibility to take on a new task.  He added he was confident that a three-party coalition would be agreed, dismissing arguments about a formal cap on immigration as a  false argument . He defended Merkel s 2015 decision to open Germany s borders to over a million migrants fleeing war in Africa and the Middle East.  Even our children will remember with pride the willingness to help that the Germans showed during the refugee crisis,  he told the paper.

Summary: जर्मनों से शॉबल ने कहा, कोई भी हमारे लोकतंत्र को बर्बाद नहीं कर सकता


SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian federal Judge S rgio Moro on Monday said the Car Wash probe, Brazil s largest ever corruption investigation, is nearing completion in the southern city of Curitiba, where it started in 2014.   There are still investigations under way, but a large part of the work has been done,  Moro told reporters in Sao Paulo after a ceremony where he received a distinction from U.S.-based Notre Dame University for his work leading the probe. Brazil s largest corruption probe started almost by accident in Curitiba, when investigators went to a local Car Wash to ask owners why the small company had done several international money transfers. From there it spread to several state-controlled companies, politicians, parties and private engineering groups. But Curitiba remained the host city for almost the whole investigation.     Moro said he is a bit tired due to the workload resulting from the spreading probe, but he ruled out leaving the operation until it is concluded. He also dismissed suggestions that he could run in next year s election, despite the huge popularity he gained among Brazilians. Some pollsters such as Datafolha have included Moro s name in some early surveys.  They are losing their time, because this is not going to happen. Simple as that , he said, adding that he is a professional federal judge and will remain so. Despite the prospect of work related to the Car Wash investigation to end in Curitiba, Moro said they it will go on in other cities who host higher court instances and also in Brasilia, where several parts of the probe are being conducted by the Supreme Court.

Summary: ब्राजील की अब तक की सबसे बड़ी भ्रष्टाचार जांच अपने अंत के करीब, न्यायाधीश ने कहा


MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The African Union s plan to trim its Somalia peacekeeping force (AMISOM) will hurt the mission unless extra equipment is found to offset the troop decrease, the mission s leader told Reuters on Monday. The force of 22,000 deployed a decade ago is set to lose 1,000 soldiers this year as part of a long-term plan to pull out of the country and hand security to the Somali army. AMISOM is confronting the Islamist militant group al Shabaab, whose ranks have been swelled by Islamic State fighters fleeing military setbacks in Libya and Syria. Militants killed more than 500 people in an attack in the capital Mogadishu last month. It was the deadliest such attack in the country s recent history. AMISOM deployed to help secure the government of a country that since 1991 has struggled to establish central control. The peacekeepers helped push al Shabaab out of Mogadishu but the group still frequently attacks civilian and military targets.  Unless we have a proportionate forces multiplier in terms of equipment ... intelligence, electronic intelligence, that (withdrawal) will have a very considerable effect on our mission,  AMISOM head Fransisco Madeira told Reuters.  We believe the U.N. will find ways and means of covering or making up the gap that might result.  The diplomat from Mozambique was speaking on the sidelines of a security conference in Mogadishu. He said it was hard to estimate the number of al Shabaab fighters. Somalia s minister of internal security Mohamed Abukar Islow told Reuters the government wants the lifting of an arms embargo  so that our forces get enough weapons and military equipment.  The United Nations imposed an arms embargo on Somalia shortly after the nation plunged into civil war in the early 1990s. It partially lifted the ban in 2013 to help equip government forces.

Summary: सोमालिया के शांति मिशन को बल के आकार में कटौती से नुकसान हो सकता हैः मिशन प्रमुख


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a major blow to President Barack Obama by putting on hold federal regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions mainly from coal-fired power plants, the centerpiece of his administration’s strategy to combat climate change. The court voted 5-4 along ideological lines to grant a request by 27 states and various companies and business groups to block the administration’s Clean Power Plan, which also mandates a shift to renewable energy away from fossil fuels. The highly unusual move by the justices means the regulations will not be in effect while a court battle continues over their legality. The White House on Tuesday night said it disagrees with the court decision but said it expects the rule will survive the legal challenge. “We remain confident that we will prevail on the merits,” the White House said, adding that the Environmental Protection Agency will continue to work with states that want to cooperate and that it will continue to take “aggressive steps” to reduce carbon emissions.     The plan was designed to lower carbon emissions from U.S. power plants by 2030 to 32 percent below 2005 levels. It is the main tool for the United States to meet the emissions reduction target it pledged at U.N. climate talks in Paris in December. A senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday night that despite the court’s “procedural decision,” the United States can deliver those commitments and take “new and additional steps” to lead internationally on climate change. The Supreme Court’s action casts doubt on the long-term future of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rule because it increases the chances that the conservative-leaning Supreme Court would take the case after a lower court issues a decision on the legality of the regulations and ultimately would strike it down. As recently as June, the high court ruled 5-4 against the Obama administration over its efforts to regulate mercury and other toxic air pollutants. The states, led by coal producer West Virginia and oil producer Texas, and several major business groups in October launched the legal effort seeking to block the Obama administration’s plan. The states said the emissions curbs would have a devastating impact on their economies. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey described the Supreme Court action on Tuesday as a “historic and unprecedented victory” over the EPA. Tom Donahue, chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the high court stay “will ensure that America will not be forced to make costly and irreversible implementation decisions based upon an unprecedented regulation until judicial review is complete.”      For Obama, executing his domestic and international climate change strategy would be a key legacy accomplishment as he nears the end of his time in office in January 2017. House of Representatives Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said, “The Supreme Court’s deeply misguided decision to stay the implementation of the Clean Power Plan will enable those states that deny climate science to slow progress in reducing the carbon pollution that threatens the health of all Americans.” House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy welcomed the Supreme Court’s move, saying it “has now stopped this illegitimate abuse of power after 27 states revolted against the president’s anti-energy agenda.”  The court action also means that, with Obama leaving office in January 2017, the next president will have a say on whether to continue defending the regulation. Before that, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which denied a similar stay request last month, will hear oral arguments in the case on June 2 and decide whether the regulations are lawful. “This is certainly a surprise and it suggests the court has serious concerns” about the regulation, said Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve School of Law. The brief order from the justices said that the regulations would be on hold until the legal challenge is completed. The court’s five conservatives all voted to block the rule. The order noted that the four liberals would have denied the application. Under the EPA rule, each state must submit a plan to comply with its emission-reduction target by September 2016 but can also request a two-year extension. The challengers contended that the Obama administration exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act, the key law that addresses air pollution. More than a dozen other states and the National League of Cities, which represents more than 19,000 U.S. cities, filed court papers backing the rule. Jeff Holmstead, a lawyer for coal-powered utilities that challenged the rule, said the court has never before blocked an EPA rule. “To say it’s unusual is a bit of an understatement,” Holmstead added. Sean Donahue, a lawyer for environmental groups that support the law, said the court action was “surprising and disappointing.” He added that “we remain very confident in the legal and factual foundations for EPA’s rule.” Sam Adams, U.S. climate director for the World Resources Institute, said fighting to uphold the rule is important to ensure the Paris agreement stays intact. “The benefits of the Clean Power Plan are definitely worth fighting for, not only for the United States but the high expectations it hopes to set internationally,” he said.

Summary: सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने ओबामा की कार्बन उत्सर्जन योजना पर लगाई रोक


SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired one ballistic missile from Pyongsong, a city in South Pyongan Province, at around 1817 GMT over the sea between South Korea and Japan, South Korea s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday.  South Korea and the United States are currently analyzing what type of missile North Korea was fired, the military said in a text. Minutes after the North fired the missile, South Korea s military conducted a missile-firing test in response to the provocation, the South Korean military added. (This story corrects launch time to 1817 GMT, not 0617 GMT)

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया ने बैलिस्टिक मिसाइल दागी; अमेरिका, दक्षिण कोरिया कर रहे हैं विश्लेषणः दक्षिण कोरिया की सेना


WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Neither major New Zealand political party leader on Monday would rule out appointing nationalist New Zealand First head Winston Peters as deputy prime minister as poll averages showed a neck-and-neck race for a Sept. 23 election. Labour s Jacinda Ardern and Prime Minister and National Party leader Bill English faced off in a fiery televised election debate, the same day tightening poll averages suggested each would still need New Zealand First to form a government. The leaders traded jabs as Ardern accused the center-right National Party of ignoring a housing crisis in its nine years in power, while English criticized his 37-year-old, center-left opponent of putting ideals over concrete projects.  You can t replace a plan with a vision,  English told Ardern. Labour has argued that New Zealand s economic growth rate, among the fastest in the developed world, on the National Party s watch, has masked growing inequality and strains on infrastructure.  Labour also says people are not seeing the benefits of growth, with wages still lagging behind living costs.  People ... feel like they are going backwards. And that s because they are. An economy should be about people,  Ardern said. Both party leaders said they would not make Peters, who would like to slash immigration and increase the central bank s ability to intervene in the currency, finance minister in their governments. Labour s soaring support since charismatic Ardern took over as leader on Aug. 1 may put it in a position to form a government without having to rely on the controversial nationalist party if its momentum is sustained. National, however, looks as if it would likely still be heavily reliant on the New Zealand First Party, whose support is also waning.  Although both major parties are open to forming a coalition with the populist party, Peters has not said which one he would throw his lot in with. Labour s average level of support in opinion polls rose to 39.8 percent, and the Greens  average was 6.2 percent, figures released by media on Monday showed, putting the two parties, which share a working agreement, comfortably ahead of National s 41.6 percent. A party, or combination of parties, needs 61 of Parliament s 120 members in order to form a government in New Zealand s German-style proportional representation system.  The averages suggest Labour and the Green Party would garner 57 seats, compared with National s 51.  If National happen to drop a bit further, they won t have any chance of forming a government because they don t have as many coalition options as Labour,  said Bryce Edwards, a political analyst at Victoria University in Wellington. Only weeks ago, outspoken Peters was expected to be the kingmaker in the formation of government after the vote. But a controversy over mistaken overpayment of superannuation to Peters has hurt his support, while voters have also been drawn to the newly invigorated Labour party. Although the average of polls shows New Zealand First remains decisive in the formation of the next government, the situation could change if its loss of momentum continues, analysts say.  New Zealand First s average fell to 8 percent, down from 9.1 percent on Friday.  Certainly New Zealand First, if they are somewhere in the 5 percent to 7 percent range, there will be a good chance of them no longer being a kingmaker after the election,  Edwards added. Support for the party fell to 6.6 percent in a poll released on Sunday, following a drop to 8 percent in another poll last week. Both polls were used to calculate Monday s average.

Summary: न्यूजीलैंड के लोकलुभावन पीटर्स ने गरमागरम चुनावी बहस में किंगमेकर के रूप में ध्यान आकर्षित किया


(Reuters) - The tax overhaul legislation passed by the U.S. Senate jettisoned a long-held Republican goal of repealing the corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT), a move seen as hurting companies that invest heavily in research and development. The Senate’s inclusion of the AMT puts the bill, passed narrowly last Saturday, on a collision course with Republicans in the House of Representatives, whose version would repeal the corporate AMT. House Republicans are calling for the tax to be eliminated in final legislation to be hammered out by a House-Senate conference committee. Orrin Hatch, chairman of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, said on Wednesday a final tax bill that congressional Republicans hope to get to President Donald Trump for his signature by the Dec. 25 Christmas holiday likely will not retain the AMT. Here are some details on the impact of the AMT and which companies and industries invest the most in R&D. — The 20 percent corporate AMT is an alternative to the regular corporate income tax in computing taxes owed, designed to limit the benefit of deductions and tax credits, including credits for R&D that are popular with Silicon Valley. — With the top corporate rate now at 35 percent, few wind up paying the AMT. But since congressional Republicans want to cut the tax rate to 20 percent, the AMT could affect many companies.  — “Retaining the AMT in reform is even more harmful than it is in its present form,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce business lobby group said on its website. “This cannot be the intended impact from a Congress who has worked for years to enact a more globally competitive tax code.” — Companies in the U.S. pharmaceutical and medical research industry plowed about 17 percent of total revenue into R&D in their most recent fiscal year, according to Thomson Reuters data. — The software industry and IT services invested 14 percent of revenue in R&D while technology and equipment companies invested 12 percent of their revenue in R&D. — The healthcare services and equipment sector spent 5.6 percent of its revenue on R&D in the most recent fiscal year. — Manufacturers also invest significantly in R&D, with Boeing (BA.N) investing 5 percent of its revenue in R&D last year. — “Research and development is the lifeblood of manufacturing. The NAM supports pro-growth tax reform, and is working with key policymakers to ensure the final bill does not inadvertently harm manufacturing,” said Chris Netram, vice president for tax and domestic economic policy at the National Association of Manufacturers lobby group.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः कॉर्पोरेट वैकल्पिक न्यूनतम कर का खतरा फार्मा, तकनीक को प्रभावित करता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, said on Wednesday the administration would make tax reform and trade pact overhauls top priorities as they seek a sustained pace of 3 percent to 4 percent economic growth. Mnuchin also signaled a desire to remove U.S. mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government ownership, a move that could have wide-ranging ramifications for how Americans pay for their homes. The one-time Goldman Sachs banker, together with Wilbur Ross, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, outlined Trump’s economic agenda, including what Mnuchin called the largest tax overhaul since the Ronald Reagan administration, in an interview on CNBC.  Trump announced the economic team nominations, along with that of Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts as Ross’s deputy, in a statement on Wednesday. Mnuchin and Ross reinforced the sweeping proposals Trump put forth in September to simplify the tax code and slash the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, cutting the top rate for all businesses from the present 35 percent. “We think by cutting corporate taxes we’ll create huge economic growth and we’ll have huge personal income,” Mnuchin said in the interview. Tax experts have questioned Trump’s assertion that the proposals would not add to the nation’s debt and deficit.      Mnuchin and Ross said lower tax rates would be offset by reductions in the number of income tax deductions. “Taxes are way too complicated and people spend way too much time worrying about ways to get them lower,” Mnuchin said. He also said the administration would cap mortgage interest deductibility but would allow for some deductions.  In a separate interview on Fox Business Network, Mnuchin said a major tax reform that includes a large middle income tax cut would be achieved within 90 days of the Trump presidency. He also said he expected to reach 3 percent to 4 percent economic growth in the next couple of years. “I think it’s very achievable,” Mnuchin told FBN. Mnuchin also told FBN mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must get out of government ownership. Common shares of both, which trade on the lightly-regulated Pink Sheets market, shot up by around 30 percent to their highest levels in more than two years. The two companies have operated under Treasury Department conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis, when plunging home prices crippled their finances and threatened to bring down the U.S. financial system. Repeated efforts since then to reform the U.S. housing finance system have foundered in Congress. Trump, throughout his presidential campaign, pledged to redraw trade deals to win back American jobs. He has threatened Mexico and China with punitive tariffs that some economists have warned could spark a trade war that could potentially roll back decades of liberalization. Mnuchin and Ross said trade reform would be a top agenda item in the new administration. Both men criticized regional trade pacts, saying they favor bilateral agreements with trade partners. “There’s trade, there’s sensible trade and there’s dumb trade. We’ve been doing a lot of dumb trade,” Ross said. Trump has vowed to kill the Trans Pacific Partnership, an ambitious Asia-Pacific trade pact linking the United States and 11 countries.  Mnuchin said the Treasury and Commerce Departments have trade enforcement capabilities. With regard to China’s foreign exchange policy, he said on CNBC, “If we determine we need to label them as a currency manipulator, that’s something the Treasury would do.” Ross told FBN the United States will impose tariffs if necessary. “There’ll be especially tariffs for punitive purposes for people who dump,” he said. The plans put forth by Mnuchin and Ross mirrored Trump’s stated agenda, said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial in Waltham, Massachusetts. “The color is in how they plan to do it, and here the news is good,” he said. “For Mnuchin, tax reform rather than tax cuts, offsetting cuts to deductions matching rate reductions, means that the deficit impact will be smaller than was feared.” “Similarly, for Ross the note that we will be working on improving trade agreements but with tariffs as a last resort helps reduce fears of disruption,” he said. “Overall, should be positive for markets by emphasizing the business positive policies will be pursued in a minimally disruptive way.” Thomas Simons, money market economist with the Jefferies in New York, characterized the plans as containing “a lot of things that sound good” but offered few details about how they will be executed. Mnuchin and Ross also criticized the financial reform legislation known as Dodd-Frank, passed after the 2007-8 financial crisis, as too complicated and cuts back lending. Asked on CNBC about Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s performance, both men said they believed she had done a good job. That assessment conflicts with Trump’s earlier criticism of Yellen during the campaign. Ross said he believes it is likely the Fed will raise interest rates at its meeting in December.

Summary: ट्रम्प के ट्रेजरी चयन ने करों, व्यापार सुधारों को लक्षित कियाः मीडिया


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Russia s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said on Tuesday that a U.S. aim for the United Nations Security Council to vote on Monday on new sanctions on North Korea over its latest nuclear test is  a little premature.   I don t think we ll be able to rush it so fast,  Nebenzia told reporters. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has said she wanted the 15-member council to vote on Sept. 11 on a U.S.-drafted resolution to impose new sanctions on Pyongyang after it conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sunday.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र के रूसी राजदूतः उत्तर कोरिया के प्रतिबंधों पर सोमवार को मतदान का अमेरिकी लक्ष्य अपरिपक्व है


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May called on EU leaders on Thursday to move forward with Brexit talks, underlining their shared support for free trade and promising to remain a strong partner on security. Hours before the European Union will rule that the Brexit talks have not made enough progress to move to a discussion of the two sides  future ties, May appealed to leaders over a dinner to signal that the negotiations will move forward.  We should be optimistic and ambitious about what we can achieve as we share the same set of fundamental beliefs in free trade, rigorous and fair competition, strong consumer rights and high regulatory standards,  she told the leaders, according to a British government official.  Alongside this I want to be very clear, the United Kingdom is unconditionally committed to maintaining Europe s security.

Summary: ब्रिटेन की मई ने यूरोपीय संघ के नेताओं से ब्रेक्सिट वार्ता में आंदोलन का संकेत देने की अपील की


OSLO (Reuters) - The International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons issued the following statement after winning the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday:  It is a great honor to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 in recognition of our role in achieving the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.   This historic agreement, adopted on 7 July with the backing of 122 nations, offers a powerful, much-needed alternative to a world in which threats of mass destruction are allowed to prevail and, indeed, are escalating.  The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations in one hundred countries.   By harnessing the power of the people, we have worked to bring an end to the most destructive weapon ever created   the only weapon that poses an existential threat to all humanity.  This prize is a tribute to the tireless efforts of many millions of campaigners and concerned citizens worldwide who, ever since the dawn of the atomic age, have loudly protested nuclear weapons, insisting that they can serve no legitimate purpose and must be forever banished from the face of our earth.  It is a tribute also to the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki   the hibakusha   and victims of nuclear test explosions around the world, whose searing testimonies and unstinting advocacy were instrumental in securing this landmark agreement.  The treaty categorically outlaws the worst weapons of mass destruction and establishes a clear pathway to their total elimination. It is a response to the ever-deepening concern of the international community that any use of nuclear weapons would inflict catastrophic, widespread and long-lasting harm on people and our living planet.  We are proud to have played a major role its creation, including through advocacy and participation in diplomatic conferences, and we will work assiduously in coming years to ensure its full implementation. Any nation that seeks a more peaceful world, free from the nuclear menace, will sign and ratify this crucial accord without delay.  The belief of some governments that nuclear weapons are a legitimate and essential source of security is not only misguided, but also dangerous, for it incites proliferation and undermines disarmament. All nations should reject these weapons completely   before they are ever used again.  This is a time of great global tension, when fiery rhetoric could all too easily lead us, inexorably, to unspeakable horror. The specter of nuclear conflict looms large once more. If ever there were a moment for nations to declare their unequivocal opposition to nuclear weapons, that moment is now.  We applaud those nations that have already signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and we urge all others to follow their lead. It offers a pathway forward at a time of alarming crisis. Disarmament is not a pipe dream, but an urgent humanitarian necessity.  We most humbly thank the Norwegian Nobel Committee. This award shines a needed light on the path the ban treaty provides towards a world free of nuclear weapons. Before it is too late, we must take that path.

Summary: परमाणु विरोधी अभियान आईसीएएन ने नोबेल शांति पुरस्कार को 'बड़ा सम्मान' बताया


BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s Foreign Minister said on Monday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s comments that NATO was obsolete had aroused concern across the 28-member alliance. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaking after a meeting with alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, said Trump’s remarks contradicted views expressed by designated Defense Secretary James Mattis. He spoke also of “amazement”. “I’ve spoken today not only with EU foreign ministers but NATO foreign ministers as well and can report that the signals are that there’s been no easing of tensions,” Steinmeier told reporters when asked about Trump’s interview with Bild newspaper and the Times of London. “Obviously the comments from President-elect Trump, that he views NATO as obsolete, were viewed with anxiety,” he said. Trump, who is due to be sworn in as president on Friday, said NATO was obsolete because it had not defended against terrorist attacks.  He said also he had always had “great respect” for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but criticized her 2015 decision to allow in a wave of a million migrants as a “catastrophic mistake” that opened the door to terrorist attacks. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it was “inappropriate” for Trump to weigh directly into the politics of another country by his remarks. “He will have to speak to that, as of Friday he is responsible for that relationship.” NATO has been seen since the 1950s as the keystone of western European defenses, extending its zone of activity in the post-Cold War period to the borders of Russia - much to Russia’s chagrin. The alliance’s founding treaty commits members to consider an attack on any one state as an attack on all. A Kremlin spokesman said he agreed with Trump that NATO, characterized by Russian officials as a hostile remnant of the Cold War, was obsolete. Germany’s transatlantic coordinator, Juergen Hardt, told Reuters he did not expect Congress to allow Washington to give up its leadership role in NATO. He said key U.S. lawmakers, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, had told him several weeks ago they expected Washington to remain a reliable partner in the 28-nation bloc, and he did not expect Trump to reverse the deployment of 4,000 U.S. troops to Poland. Norbert Roettgen, head of Germany’s foreign affairs committee, said Germany should fight to restore Western unity. “Europe is not able to replace the security role of the United States so there is a lot at stake - the very foundations of liberal order internationally and European security. And for that we should fight because it is our very existential interest,” Roettgen told Reuters. Trump repeated criticism of NATO members that fail to meet spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense. Germany is working to gradually boost its military spending, Defence Ministry spokesman Jens Flosdorff told a news conference. Merkel in November said she could not promise the NATO target would be met “in the near future.”

Summary: जर्मनी ने कहा कि नाटो ट्रम्प की 'अप्रचलित' टिप्पणी से चिंतित है


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn continued to throw his support behind the Republican U.S. presidential candidate on Tuesday, saying Donald Trump would reduce the regulation of U.S. companies. Icahn also said that nutrition and weight management company Herbalife would be a strong candidate to go private, saying such a move would allow it to avoid the kind of criticism aimed at it from Pershing Square hedge fund founder William Ackman. “If you look ahead three years, this economy will be a lot better if Trump gets elected” rather than Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Icahn said, speaking at the CNBC “Delivering Alpha” event in New York. Trump has said that Icahn would be a great U.S. Treasury secretary though whether the 80-year-old hedge fund manager would commit to such a role remains unclear. Icahn expressed his frustration at U.S. regulators on Tuesday, specifically the Environmental Protection Agency which he says has neglected to speak to him about his concerns regarding ethanol blending requirements for the fuel refineries in his investment portfolio. Icahn said that fear of “irrational” government regulations are a main reason why chief executives are not re-investing in their businesses and instead buying back stock. Trump would aim to reduce such regulations, Icahn said.  Icahn also addressed his ongoing feud with Ackman, who in 2012 claimed Herbalife was running a pyramid scheme, and made a huge wager against the stock. Icahn emerged later as a buyer of the shares. Herbalife settled a probe of its sales practices with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in July. Icahn has continued buying shares, and the feud with Ackman has continued.  “I think that Herbalife is certainly a candidate to go private. In fact, frankly, wearing my shareholder hat, I think Herbalife is a lot better private and getting away from this Ackman-type criticism,” Icahn said at the CNBC event. “Ackman is out there driving everybody crazy, which is his right to do. He’s obsessed with this.” An Ackman spokesman did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Summary: इकान का कहना है कि ट्रम्प अमेरिकी अर्थव्यवस्था के लिए क्लिंटन से बेहतर हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump issued a video statement early on Saturday in response to the disclosure of a 2005 videotape of him making lewd remarks about women. Here is a text of his statement: “I’ve never said I’m a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone that I’m not. I’ve said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more than a decade-old video are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong and I apologize. I’ve traveled the country talking about change for America but my travels have also changed me. I’ve spent time with grieving mothers who have lost their children, laid-off workers whose jobs have gone to other countries and people from all walks of life who just want a better future. I have gotten to know the great people of our country and I have been humbled by the faith they have placed in me. I pledge to be a better man tomorrow and will never, ever let you down. Let’s be honest. We’re living in the real world. This is nothing more than a distraction from the important issues we’re facing today. We’re losing our jobs. We’re less safe than we were eight years ago and Washington is totally broken. Hillary  Clinton and her kind have run our country into the ground. I’ve said some foolish things but there’s a big difference between the words and actions of other people. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days. See you at the debate on Sunday.”

Summary: महिलाओं के बारे में भद्दी टिप्पणियों के जवाब में ट्रम्प के वीडियो बयान का प्रतिलेख


MIAMI/TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Walter Hodgdon scrapped plans to ride out Hurricane Irma on Saturday when shifting forecast models suddenly put his home on a barrier island on Florida s Gulf Coast directly in its path. Within hours, Hodgdon and his partner had hastily boarded up their home and were driving to North Carolina, having the time to store just a few valuable glasswares in an inner closet.   Last night, during one of the models, they drew a line right over our house,  said Hodgdon, 58, who lives on Terra Ceia where Tampa Bay meets the Gulf of Mexico.  We figured if we are going to leave, we are going to leave completely.  Hodgdon and his partner, Nels Gullerud, were among the scores of people living on Florida s west coast forced to make last-minute decisions about whether to hunker down - or flee - amid one of the fiercest Atlantic storms in a century.  Storm models that earlier in the week projected Irma to bear most heavily on eastern Florida now had the storm barreling right up the western coastline, menacing population hubs around Tampa and Fort Myers.  People haven t known exactly what to do, because the situation changes every 12 hours,  said Adam Gray, pastor of Redeeming Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, who two days ago week talked to relatives on the east coast about staying with him. Now his wife and young child had evacuated, while he stayed behind to help church members board up their houses and locate spare rooms on higher ground. He planned to open the church to those unable to find shelter. Others in Irma s path decided to take their chances. As surrounding neighborhoods evacuated, Andrea Prather of Fort Myers stocked up on bottled water and food to ride out the storm with her boyfriend and her cat. The 51-year-old pop singer felt safe on the 25th floor of a high-rise built to withstand hurricane-force winds. Still, as the most recent hurricane models showed the storm heading her way, her jitters flared.   When it made that turn, that s when I had that anxiety pit in my stomach,  she said.  How can anyone be totally prepared?  Michael Albrecht, a communications professor at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, decided to stay at his parents  fourth-floor condo in South Pasadena, near the Gulf of Mexico.  He decided he would be safer in the concrete building with aluminum storm shutters, high above any storm surge, than at his own one-story house in nearby Gulfport, on a street prone to flooding and surrounded by tall trees that could fall down.  No branches can hit you up here on the fourth floor,  said Albrecht, 40.  I m worried about what if it s a week without air conditioning and electricity. That ll be inconvenient but not life-threatening.  But after a week of making and changing evacuation plans, Dionna Duncan, 48, on Saturday morning simply opted to leave her home in Palm Harbor, Florida. She had been working all week, without time to prepare. Plywood and other supplies were sold out. She could only put out a few sandbags. She remembered to take 200-year-old family pictures. But she left hanging in her closet the wedding veil that her daughters had wanted to wear someday.  You just forget, because you are in such a hurry,  said Duncan, who works in the insurance industry and had for years made detailed disaster plans.  When you are staring something like this in the face, it doesn t matter what your experience is. Most of your knowledge just escapes you.  Retiree Ann Pinsker, 71, and her husband chose to evacuate from their Fort Lauderdale condo on Florida s east coast on Thursday when they thought the storm was headed that way. After a 3-1/2-hour drive stretched into 9-1/2 hours, they now fear the storm is headed directly at the hotel where they are staying in Lakeland, in the central part of the state.  With Fort Lauderdale now predicted to be spared the brunt of the storm, their neighbors are sending them photographs from a  hurricane party  they are holding in the building.  I wish we were there,  Pinsker said.  But hindsight is 20-20.

Summary: भागने के लिए या रहने के लिए? इरमा का रास्ता बदलना कुछ लोगों को पुनर्विचार करने के लिए मजबूर करता है


MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered police to halt activities in his deadly war on drugs and leave all operations to the drug enforcement agency, amid unprecedented scrutiny of police conduct. Duterte s office on Wednesday made public a memorandum telling police, the military and other state bodies to leave to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)  as sole agency  the conduct of all campaigns and operations. It was unclear why Duterte had ordered the change in the role of the police, who have been responsible for the vast majority of arrests and killings in the 15-month-old campaign. Neither the presidential spokesman nor the communications secretary immediately responded to Reuters  requests for comment. The order could blunt the intensity of the crackdown, since the drug enforcement agency has only a fraction of the manpower of the 190,000-strong police. But it was not the first time the mercurial leader has decreed that the agency lead the drugs war. Duterte suspended police anti-drugs operations in late January, to cleanse a force he called  corrupt to the core , but lifted that ban five weeks later, saying drugs were flooding back to the streets and the gains of the war were being lost. The memorandum, signed on Tuesday, ordered the police force at all times to  maintain police visibility, as a deterrent to illegal activities , while restricting operations to the drug agency. Its aim was  to bring order to the operation or campaign against illegal drugs, thus pinpointing precise accountability , the document said. More than 3,900 Filipinos have been killed in what the police called self-defense after armed suspects resisted arrest. Critics dispute that and say executions are taking place, with zero accountability, allegations the police reject.  Police and drug enforcement agency spokesman said the two agencies would follow the president s decision, but did not elaborate. Duterte s move follows the August killing of a teenager by police that sparked rare public outrage after a security camera showed the victim in custody, contrary to a police report that he was a drug dealer who tried to shoot them.  It also follows a protest against Duterte last month by thousands of people in Manila, and a series of opinion polls highlighting doubts among many Filipinos about official police accounts, and whether those killed were all drug dealers. A poll released on Sunday showed a sharp decline in public opinion about Duterte s performance and personality, though sentiment about him remained positive overall. Rights lawyers on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court to try and stop the war on drugs, saying it was illegal and allowed the police to circumvent legal procedure.

Summary: फिलीपींस के राष्ट्रपति ने फिर से ड्रग्स के खिलाफ युद्ध में पुलिस को दरकिनार कर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will Host Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House next week to discuss the fight against Islamic State militants, the Syria crisis and advancing peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the White House said in a statement.  The April 5 meeting between the two leaders comes after Trump’s Middle East envoy met with Abdullah earlier this month.

Summary: 5 अप्रैल को जॉर्डन के शाह अब्दुल्ला की मेजबानी करेंगे ट्रम्पः व्हाइट हाउस


BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine President Mauricio Macri s business-friendly coalition is poised to win an important Senate seat in two weeks, opinion polls showed on Sunday, potentially damaging former populist President Cristina Fernandez s attempted comeback. Esteban Bullrich, formerly Macri s education minister, received 33.9 percent of voter intention in the contest for Buenos Aires province, home to about 40 percent of voters, according to a poll by consultancy Management & Fit seen by Reuters. Fernandez earned 29.6 percent of voter intention. Another poll by Poliarquia Consultores published in La Nacion newspaper showed Bullrich earning 37.7 percent of voter intention, compared to 35.2 percent for second-place Fernandez. A loss would diminish her chances of returning to the presidency in 2019. The Oct. 22 legislative elections will be closely watched by investors as a signal of Argentines  appetite to return to Fernandez s interventionist policies, and as an indication of Macri s ability to carry out the rest of his agenda.   The one who is weak is the Peronist party, the one who is expanding and getting more influence is the government,  Poliarquia director Alejandro Catterberg told Reuters.  Cristina is only really present in Buenos Aires.  While Macri s  Let s Change  coalition will not obtain a majority in either house of Congress, a strong performance would help in negotiations with opposition lawmakers over reforms to Argentina s tax code and capital markets regulations. The winner receives two seats for their coalition while the second-place finisher receives one, meaning Fernandez will likely enter the Senate either way. Moderate Peronist Sergio Massa is polling a distant third, the surveys showed. Since taking office in December 2015, Macri has introduced a number of reforms economists say were necessary to stabilize Latin America s No. 3 economy, including allowing the peso currency to float and cutting subsidies for energy consumption. Fernandez has criticized the measures during the campaign.  The opinion polls show Bullrich has gained momentum since narrowly losing an Aug. 13 primary. Government data shows the economy improving in recent months, while Macri s nationwide approval rating has risen to its highest level since early 2016 at 46.5 percent, according to Management & Fit. Its poll of 1,000 respondents in Buenos Aires was conducted between Sept. 30 and Oct. 3, and has a 3.1 percent margin of error. Poliarquia consulted 1,130 respondents between Oct. 3 and Oct. 6. It has a 2.97 percent margin of error.

Summary: मैक्री का गठबंधन अर्जेंटीना के मध्यावधि चुनाव जीतने के लिए तैयारः जनमत सर्वेक्षण


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian federal prosecutors said on Tuesday they charged two people over a foiled attack in 2015 on a high-speed train between Brussels and Paris. In August 2015 a machinegun-toting attacker wounded three people on a Thalys train before being overpowered by passengers, one of a series of militant attacks that has rocked Belgium and France over the past two years. The two men, named as Mohamed B. and Youssef S., were  indicted for participation in the activities of a terrorist group,  prosecutors said. They were among four people detained by police on Monday after houses were searched in Brussels and elsewhere in Belgium. The two others were released after interrogation.

Summary: बेल्जियम के अभियोजकों ने हाई-स्पीड ट्रेन पर हमले को विफल करने के लिए दो लोगों पर आरोप लगाया


ROME (Reuters) - The brother of the man who killed two women with a knife outside Marseille train station last week was probably a foreign fighter in Syria and Iraq, Italian investigators said on Monday. Italian police arrested 25-year-old Tunisian Anis Hannachi in Northern Italy on Saturday evening. He had been in Italy since Oct. 4 or earlier, police said. His older brother, the 29-year-old Ahmed, was shot dead by a French soldier after killing the two women on Oct. 1.  Ahmed lived south of Rome with his Italian wife from 2008 to 2014, and was known to police only for  petty crimes , Italy s chief anti-terrorism prosecutor Franco Roberti told reporters.   Ahmed never showed any signs of radicalization in Italy,  Roberti said.  The investigative hypothesis we re working on is that the younger brother radicalized the older one.  The militant Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Marseille attack, but did not name Ahmed as the assailant. Anis has refused to talk to Italian investigators, Roberti said. He was arrested on an international arrest warrant issued by the French, who are investigating the Marseille attack as a  probable  terrorist action. It is likely that Anis will be extradited to France in a matter of days, Roberti added.   Anis was flagged as a dangerous individual who probably had been a foreign fighter  in Iraq and Syria, Claudio Galzerano, director of an Italian anti-terrorism police squad, told reporters.  Anis was arrested on suspicion of complicity in his brother s attack and membership of a terrorist group. He had been fingerprinted and photographed by police in 2014, when he reached Italy by boat and was immediately sent back home. However, that previous identification meant police were sure they had arrested the right man when they tracked him down on Saturday evening riding a bicycle in the center of Ferrara, in Northern Italy.  He had no identification on him, gave police a false name, and told them he was Algerian, Galzerano said. Police are now investigating Anis s possible contacts in Italy.  The Marseille attacker s estranged wife told Italy s Corriere della Sera newspaper on Sunday that she did not believe Ahmed had become a radical Islamist.  He didn t care about religion,  Ramona Cargnelutti told Corriere in an interview.  I ve never seen him enter a Mosque.  While admitting she had not seen him for more than two years, she said the murder of the two women was more likely a robbery gone wrong because he was a drug user and always in need of cash. Roberti said Italian prosecutors will be talking to Cargnelutti in the coming days as part of their investigation.

Summary: मार्सेल हमलावर शायद भाई द्वारा कट्टरपंथी बनाः पुलिस


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Republican Congress to pass a short-term government spending bill later on Thursday to avoid a shutdown when current funding expires at midnight on Friday. Republicans in the House of Representatives have unveiled a stopgap spending bill that would allow the government to stay open at current funding levels. “Pass the C.R. (continuing resolution) TODAY and keep our Government OPEN!” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने कांग्रेस से अल्पकालिक व्यय विधेयक पारित करने का आग्रह किया


(Reuters) - Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper on Monday criticized Donald Trump’s comments about fracking, saying the Republican presidential candidate does not completely understand the issue,  the Denver Post reported. Trump, during a campaign in Colorado, said that while he supports fracking, he also believes state and local governments should be able to ban fracking, the Denver Post reported. (dpo.st/2aIHGZy) Hickenlooper, a former geologist, called the issue a “tricky thing” when asked why he thought Trump was wrong to support locals’ ability to ban fracking, the publication wrote.  He also added that if total responsibility is given to local authorities, any oil and gas activity would be voted to be banned, and people who own these private properties with the minerals would lose out, the publication reported.  The Colorado Supreme Court has a ruling in force which does not allow local governments to ban fracking. A representative for Trump was not immediately available for comment.

Summary: कोलोराडो के गवर्नर का कहना है कि ट्रम्प फ्रैकिंग के मुद्दे को नहीं समझते हैंः डेनवर पोस्ट


(Reuters) - Republicans and Democrats will battle in a dozen U.S. states that will hold elections for governor on Tuesday, and many of the races could be close calls.  Drawing national attention because of a debate over transgender rights, Republican Governor Pat McCrory is seeking a second term against Roy Cooper, a Democrat who has been the state’s attorney general since 2001. Polls show Cooper with a modest lead in a state that also has competitive races for president and the U.S. Senate.  In one of the year’s closest gubernatorial races, polls put Republican former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens in a dead heat with Democrat Chris Koster, the state’s attorney general. They are bidding to succeed Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat who has served the maximum two terms in office.  Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who initially sought re-election, withdrew from the gubernatorial race in July to campaign as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s running mate. Lieutenant Governor Eric Holcomb, a Republican, stepped in for Pence and will compete against Democrat John Gregg, a former state lawmaker. Gregg narrowly leads Holcomb, according to polls. Democratic businessman Jim Justice leads Republican state Senate President Bill Cole in polls, though data is sparse. Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was barred by term limits from running again.  Democratic Governor Steve Bullock is battling Republican tech entrepreneur Greg Gianforte to keep his seat. A poll conducted last month by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research put Bullock ahead of Gianforte 47 percent to 45 percent.  Democrat Colin Van Ostern has a modest lead over Republican Chris Sununu in recent polls. Both are members of the state’s Executive Council, which helps to administer state government, and are seeking to succeed Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan, who is running for the U.S. Senate. The term is two years.  Republican Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott and Democrat Sue Minter, a former state transportation secretary, are vying to succeed retiring Governor Peter Shumlin, a Democrat. One poll last month gave Scott a seven-point lead, while another showed a dead heat. The term is two years.  Democratic Governor Kate Brown is favored against Republican Bud Pierce, an oncologist. Brown was sworn in last year after her predecessor, John Kitzhaber, resigned in scandal. The election is for the final two years of Kitzhaber’s term. Polls put incumbent Governor Gary Herbert, a Republican, at an advantage over Democrat Mike Weinholtz, a healthcare executive, in Utah. Herbert, who took office in 2009 after his predecessor, Jon Huntsman, resigned, is seeking a second full term.  Democratic Governor Jay Inslee is widely favored in the polls to win a second term against Republican Bill Bryant, a businessman and former commissioner of the Port of Seattle.  Republican Doug Burgum, a former Microsoft Corp executive, is expected to defeat Democratic State Representative Marvin Nelson in the solid Republican state of North Dakota. Governor Jack Dalrymple, a Republican who was eligible to run for re-election in 2016, declined to seek another term. Democrat John Carney, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, had a wide lead in a University of Delware poll last month against Republican Colin Bonini, a state senator. Democratic Governor Jack Markell is prohibited by term limits from running for re-election to the position he has held since 2009.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः 12 राज्यों में राज्यपालों की नियुक्ति की तैयारी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said on Wednesday that women who end pregnancies should face punishment if the United States bans abortion, triggering a torrent of criticism from both sides of the abortion debate, including from his White House rivals. After MSNBC broadcast a clip of an interview with Trump, the billionaire businessman rowed back his remarks, first saying that the abortion issue should be handled by states and later that doctors who performed abortions should be the ones held responsible.  “The doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman,” Trump said in his last statement. “The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb.” Trump’s earlier statements drew heavy fire from abortion rights supporters and opponents alike. Abortion has long been a divisive issue in American politics, even though the procedure was legalized in a Supreme Court ruling more than 40 years ago. Opposition to abortion has become a central plank in the platform of most conservative politicians.  Trump has won support from Republican voters for selling himself as a Washington outsider. But the New York real estate tycoon, who once supported abortion access, has come under pressure from conservatives to prove he is truly one of them. At the same time, he has drawn criticism for comments that offended women and minority groups. “Of course, women shouldn’t be punished,” rival Republican candidate John Kasich said on Wednesday, saying he opposed abortion except in specific cases such as rape.  U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, the third candidate for the Republican nomination for the Nov. 8 election, said Trump had not thought through the issue. “What’s far too often neglected is that being pro-life is not simply about the unborn child, it’s also about the mother,” he said in a statement. Abortion rights supporters were equally incensed. “What Donald Trump said was outrageous and dangerous. I’m constantly taken aback at the kinds of things that he advocates for,” Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton told MSNBC. “Once again, he has showed us who he is.” Dawn Laguens of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the political arm of the women’s health group, called Trump “flat-out dangerous” in a statement. Abortion was legalized in the United States in 1973, when the Supreme Court declared that a woman’s constitutional right to privacy protected her decision to end a pregnancy.  In the decades since, there have not been enough votes on the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling, but numerous states have passed laws aimed at restricting abortion. In the MSNBC interview, which is to air in full later on Wednesday, Trump said if the United States banned abortion, some women would seek to end pregnancies illegally. “There has to be some form of punishment,” he said. Asked what form he would advocate, Trump said: “That I don’t know.” Anti-abortion groups said Trump’s comments were at odds with their own stance. “In all the positions the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken around the issue of abortion, they have not called for punishment of women who’ve had abortions,” said Don Clemmer, a spokesman for the group. After the backlash started, Trump’s campaign sought to moderate his view. “This issue is unclear and should be put back into the states for determination,” Trump said in a statement provided to Reuters by email. Later, Trump walked back his comments further to say doctors, not women, should be responsible. The dust-up was evidence of further discord among Republicans over Trump’s candidacy. On Tuesday, both Trump and Kasich, the Ohio governor, abandoned pledges to support the party’s eventual nominee. Cruz did not explicitly abandon the pledge but said Trump would not be the nominee. Trump had already outraged many women after he said Fox News’ Megyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever” when she asked tough questions in a televised debate, which many saw as a reference to menstruation. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll in March, 66 percent of all likely women voters said they had an “unfavorable” view of Trump. But among the 460 Republican women who responded to the poll, 62 percent had a “favorable” view of him, while 38 percent did not. In other remarks that have set off furious reactions, Trump has called illegal immigrants from Mexico criminals and rapists and has pushed for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.  In Wednesday’s MSNBC interview, Trump said he would not rule out the possibility of using nuclear weapons to combat Islamic State militants. “I would never take any of my cards off the table,” he said.

Summary: गर्भपात पर बोले ट्रंप, हर तरफ से हो रही है आलोचना


(Reuters) - Several countries, the United Nations and journalist groups are demanding the release of Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo from detention in Myanmar. The reporters were arrested on Dec. 12 after being invited to meet police officials on the outskirts of Yangon. They had worked on stories about a military crackdown in Rakhine state, scene of more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh since late August. Myanmar s Ministry of Information has said the reporters  illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media,  and released a photo of them in handcuffs. It said the reporters and two policemen faced charges under the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, though officials said they have not been charged. Their exact whereabouts is not known. Reuters  driver Myothant Tun dropped them off at Battalion8 s compound and the two reporters and two police officers headed to a nearby restaurant. The journalists did not return to the car.  Reuters President and Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said  the arrests were a  blatant attack on press freedom  and called for the immediate release of the journalists.  Here are reactions to their detention from politicians and press freedom advocates around the world:   ** U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States was  demanding their immediate release or information as to the circumstances around their disappearance.   ** British Minister for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field said,   I absolutely strongly disapprove of the idea of journalists, going about their everyday business, being arrested. We will make it clear in the strongest possible terms that we feel that they need to be released at the earliest possible opportunity.  ** Swedish Foreign Minister Margot called the arrests a  threat to a democratic and peaceful development of Myanmar and that region.  She said,  We do not accept that journalists are attacked or simply kidnapped or that they disappear ... To be able to send journalists to this particular area is of crucial importance.   ** U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said countries should do everything possible to secure the journalists  release and freedom of the press in Myanmar. Guterres said,  It is clearly a concern in relation to the erosion of press freedom in the country.  He added:  And probably the reason why these journalists were arrested is because they were reporting on what they have seen in relation to this massive human tragedy.   ** Canada s Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, the former editor of Thomson Reuters Digital, tweeted that she was  deeply concerned  by the reports about the arrests.  Freedom of the press is essential for democracy and must be preserved,  she said. ** President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani called on Myanmar to protect media freedoms and release the two reporters. ** Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, information adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said,  We strongly denounce arrests of Reuters journalists and feel that those reporters be free immediately so that they can depict the truth to the world by their reporting.   ** Japan s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe s spokesman Motosada Matano said his government was closely watching the situation, and that Japan has been conducting a dialogue with the Myanmar government on human rights in Myanmar in general. ** The Committee to Protect Journalists said,  We call on local authorities to immediately, unconditionally release Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. These arrests come amid a widening crackdown which is having a grave impact on the ability of journalists to cover a story of vital global importance.  ** The Foreign Correspondents  Club of Myanmar said it was  appalled  by the arrests and  gravely concerned  about the state of press freedom in Myanmar. It called on authorities to ensure the reporters  safety and allow their families to see them. ** The Foreign Correspondents  Club in neighboring Thailand said it was  alarmed by the use of this draconian law with its heavy penalties against journalists simply doing their jobs.  The club called for the journalists to be released.  Wielding such a blunt legal instrument has an intimidating effect on other journalists, and poses a real threat to media freedom,  it said.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः म्यांमार में रॉयटर्स के संवाददाताओं की गिरफ्तारी पर अंतर्राष्ट्रीय प्रतिक्रिया


LONDON (Reuters) - Russian-based operatives placed three adverts on Facebook in the run-up to Britain s 2016 referendum on EU membership, spending just 97 cents to raise the issue of immigration, the social media platform said on Wednesday.  Some British lawmakers have called for an inquiry into whether Russia meddled in Britain s vote to leave the EU after social media platforms said Russian operatives sought to interfere in the U.S. election of Donald Trump. Russia denies meddling in Brexit or the U.S. election.  Facebook sent its findings to the Electoral Commission which is examining how digital campaigning is affecting politics in Britain, including activity funded from outside the country.     Facebook said it had examined whether any account profiles or pages linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA) had funded ads during the Brexit vote. The IRA is a Russian organization that according to researchers employs hundreds of people to push pro-Kremlin content on social media.  We have determined that these accounts associated with the IRA spent a small amount of money ($0.97) on advertisements that delivered to UK audiences during that time,  Facebook said.   This amount resulted in three advertisements (each of which were also targeted to U.S. audiences and concerned immigration, not the EU referendum) delivering approximately 200 impressions to UK viewers over four days in May 2016.   A separate cross-party British parliamentary committee is also investigating whether any Facebook ads were bought by Russian-linked accounts around the EU referendum and the 2017 UK election.  The issue of whether Russia intervened in the 2016 U.S. presidential election is the subject of multiple investigations. Facebook said in October that Russia-based operatives published about 80,000 posts on the social network over a two-year period in an effort to sway U.S. politics and that about 126 million Americans may have seen the posts during that time. The Electoral Commission, which oversees the running of British elections, said it would say more about its findings in due course.

Summary: फेसबुक का कहना है कि रूस से जुड़े खातों ने ब्रेक्सिट पर विज्ञापनों पर सिर्फ 97 सेंट खर्च किए


CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. House Republican tax bill released on Thursday would put an end to tax-exempt debt issuance by state and local governments for an array of health care, education, and economic development financing, which took municipal market participants by surprise.  The proposed elimination of low-cost funding through private activity bonds, which many in the $3.8 trillion U.S. municipal market were not expecting, would raise nearly $39 billion for the federal government over the next nine years, according to a summary of the legislation. “This came as quite a shock,” said Barbara Thompson, executive director of the National Council of State Housing Agencies, noting that there had been assurances from Congress that private activity bond issuance would be retained. Thompson said it would be devastating for the country’s production of affordable housing. “The bill will increase borrowing costs and harm the ability of state and local governments to build and to maintain the infrastructure,” needed for critical health, education, ports, airports, and low-income housing, Sandy MacLennan, president of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, said in a statement.    Non-profit hospitals, which are major issuers of tax-free bonds to fund capital projects, would also be hit.  “For many communities, tax-exempt financing, such as private activity bonds, has been a key to maintaining vital hospital services,” Tom Nickels, executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, said in a statement.  “If hospital access to tax-exempt financing is limited or eliminated, hospitals’ ability to make investments in new technologies and renovations in the future will be challenged.”  Also on the chopping block are advance refunding bonds, which issuers in the U.S. municipal bond market use to take advantage of lower interest rates before outstanding bonds can be called.  “Current-law advance refunding bonds provide state and local governments with incentives to issue two sets of federally subsidized debt to finance the same activity,” the House bill’s summary stated. Tax-credit bonds, which never really caught on with investors, would be repealed but federal tax credits for existing bonds would remain in place. Bonds issued for professional sports facilities would be subject to federal taxation under the bill. The Alternative Minimum Tax would end under the legislation. That tax is applied to earnings from a small percentage of muni bonds sold by issuers such as airports and housing authorities that have substantial private-activity components in their deals. The proposals are not a sure thing. The bill has a long legislative process ahead with changes expected before it could be voted into law. Bill Gale, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said the likelihood of the final bill including the elimination of private activity bonds was “not high.” “It is hard to get support. There are an enormous number of revenue raisers in here and every one of them is politically going to be hard,” Gale said.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन कर विधेयक में कुछ नगरपालिका ऋण को समाप्त करने की मांग की गई है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Johnathan Smith resigned from the U.S. Justice Department on Inauguration Day, he looked forward to spending time with his infant son, but that plan unraveled a week later when President Donald Trump unveiled his explosive foreign travel ban. Within two weeks, Smith had a new job as legal director of civil rights group Muslim Advocates and was drafting briefs for a successful court challenge to the ban, joining other former top Obama administration lawyers now fighting Trump. It is not surprising that Smith and some of his colleagues, political appointees of Democratic President Barack Obama, would leave the Justice Department now led by Republicans. What is unusual is how fast they have signed up to be Trump adversaries. Some Republican lawyers say they were less hasty in moving into oppositional roles post-election. George Terwilliger, a senior Justice Department official under President George H.W. Bush, described the Obama lawyers’ actions as “unprecedented to my memory – and really bad form.” One reason for the Obama lawyers’ quick moves, some of them said, was Trump’s aggressive use of executive authority from day one, which was guaranteed to attract court challenges. Obama faced legal fights over executive power and some of his challengers were formerly lawyers for President George W. Bush, over issues such as immigration and Obamacare. But those came later in Obama’s presidency.  Besides Smith, other lawyers who have jumped into the fray include former Attorney General Eric Holder, who is advising California’s legislature on challenging Trump over immigration, environmental regulations and healthcare; and former acting solicitor general Neal Katyal, who is helping Hawaii contest Trump’s revised travel ban. Influential Manhattan prosecutor Preet Bharara and another 45 Obama-era U.S. attorneys are out of jobs after the Trump administration asked them to resign on Friday. Many of the Obama lawyers keep in touch, but reject the notion, proffered by some Republicans, that Obama is behind resistance efforts. Some of the lawyers credit their rapid transition to Trump’s hardline positions on key issues and to ethical concerns about his presidency and business interests. “There’s a unique threat to our democracy and Constitution that we see in the assault the president is mounting on the Muslim community,” said Smith, who worked on religious discrimination issues at the Justice Department. Norman Eisen, who was Obama’s top ethics lawyer and later ambassador to the Czech Republic, had expected to focus on his work at a think tank after Trump’s election. But instead, he said, “the ethics emergency of constitutional dimensions has galvanized me back into my initial Obama role.”  Eisen is now also chairing Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group he co-founded. The group has already sued Trump over alleged ethics violations. Other Obama appointees taking on Trump include former White House lawyer Ian Bassin who has founded United to Protect Democracy, a new group probing Trump over ethics; and James Cadogan, who worked with Smith at the Justice Department, and is now at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, a civil rights group already clashing with the new administration. Some career government lawyers, who are not political appointees and normally do not resign in power shifts, have also resigned to oppose Trump. One is Sharon McGowan, who worked on LGBT issues at the Justice Department. On Inauguration Day, she was offered a job as director of strategy at Lambda Legal, an LGBT advocacy group. McGowan said she decided to leave Justice when Trump named Jeff Sessions, a hardline conservative Alabama senator, to be attorney general. That was a “game-changer,” she said. “I knew there would be no chance for me to preserve what I’ve been working on so hard.”

Summary: ओबामा के वकीलों ने ट्रम्प के खिलाफ लड़ाई में शामिल होने के लिए तेजी दिखाई


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump picked up the endorsement on Monday of the union representing 5,000 federal immigration officers, a boost of support for his immigration policy ahead of his first debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump has laid out a hardline position on illegal immigration, proposing to build a wall along the U.S. southern border with Mexico and take other steps to crack down on the flow of undocumented people crossing into the United States. With immigration likely to be discussed at the debate, the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council, a union representing 5,000 federal immigration officers and law enforcement support staff, announced it would support Trump, in what was described as its first endorsement of a candidate for elected office. The union’s president, Chris Crane, outlined in a statement why his group is backing Trump, saying his union members are “the last line of defense for American communities” and that his members “are prevented from enforcing the most basic immigration laws.” A CNN/ORC poll released on Sept. 7 said that among registered voters, 49 percent said they trusted Clinton to handle immigration, a slight advantage over Trump, who was at 47 percent.  Crane said the endorsement was conducted by a vote of the union’s membership and that Clinton received only 5 percent of the vote.

Summary: बहस से पहले, अमेरिकी आव्रजन अधिकारियों ने ट्रम्प का समर्थन किया


(Reuters) - U.S. Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina backed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination on Friday, giving her campaign a vital boost from the state’s most influential black politician ahead of next week’s primary. Clyburn’s endorsement comes as Clinton battles rival Bernie Sanders for the support of blacks in the South Carolina contest on Feb. 27, when more than half of the voters are likely to be black. Polls show Clinton with a solid double-digit lead in South Carolina, fueled by strong African-American support. Clyburn’s backing could help solidify that lead. “Campaigns are and should be about the future, and I believe that the future of the Democratic Party and the United States of America will be best served with the experience and know-how of Hillary Clinton as our 45th president,” Clyburn said at a news conference in South Carolina. Clyburn, the No. 3 ranked Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives and the only Democrat in Congress from South Carolina, stayed neutral in the bitter 2008 race between Clinton and Barack Obama. But he said he decided to get involved this time because Clinton was well positioned to tackle many of the challenges facing minorities and the country. “Hillary Clinton is a fighter, and that’s what we need for our next president,” Clyburn said. Clinton and Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, have been courting support from black civil rights leaders and voters as the Democratic race has moved on from mostly white Iowa, where Clinton narrowly won, and New Hampshire, where Sanders routed Clinton. For more on the 2016 presidential race, see the Reuters blog, “Tales from the Trail” (here).  (Reporting by John Whitesides and Megan Cassella; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

Summary: दक्षिण कैरोलिना के प्रमुख डेमोक्रेट क्लाइबर्न ने राष्ट्रपति पद के लिए क्लिंटन का समर्थन किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Justice Anthony Kennedy’s legal reasoning in a 2015 immigration case suggests the U.S. Supreme Court’s frequent swing vote would be skeptical of President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries. The little-noticed case involved an Afghan-born naturalized U.S. citizen named Fauzia Din who argued she had the right for a full explanation from the U.S. government as to why her Afghan husband was denied entry. The justices ruled 5-4 against her.  Kennedy wrote in a concurring opinion that in some circumstances the U.S. government’s motives in denying someone entry could be subject to legal review.  In their lawsuit challenging Trump’s Jan. 27 ban, the states of Washington and Minnesota cited Kennedy’s opinion. Lower courts have temporarily blocked the ban, but the administration may ask the Supreme Court to revive it. Trump’s executive order barred entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days and imposed a 120-day halt on all refugees, except refugees from Syria who are barred indefinitely. Curbing entry to the United States as a national security measure was a central premise of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, originally proposed as a temporary ban on all Muslims. He has voiced frustration at the legal challenge to his order. Washington and Minnesota argued that Trump’s order violated the U.S. Constitution by discriminating against Muslims. Trump during the presidential campaign called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” In the 2015 case, Din, who lives in Fremont, California, sued the U.S. government after her husband, Afghan citizen Kanishka Berashk, was denied a visa in 2009. She objected to the government’s visa denial under a law giving consular officials wide discretion to bar people linked to “terrorist activities.” The high court’s ruling overturned a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that said Din was right to insist the government give her more information about the visa denial. Kennedy’s opinion suggested he could be willing to dig into the Trump administration’s rationale for the order, said Mark Haddad, the Los Angeles-based lawyer who represented Din in the 2015 case.  “The ostensible reason for the travel ban is security but that’s not a good faith concern if the underlying reason is religious animus,” Haddad said.  Kennedy’s opinion showed he is “not prepared to give complete and total deference to the executive branch in the enforcement of immigration laws,” Haddad added. Samuel Alito, one of the court’s most conservative justices, signed onto Kennedy’s opinion. In total, six of the current eight justices suggested in that 2015 case that the government was not immune from scrutiny over immigration-related decisions if there was evidence of a questionable motive. The case brought by Washington and Minnesota, or one of several similar disputes around the country, could reach the high court quickly in the wake of Thursday’s decision by a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit upholding a Seattle district judge’s decision to block Trump’s order. The Trump administration would need to win the support of five of the current eight justices to reinstate the order while litigation over the legality of the directive continues. It could also seek to end the litigation by issuing a new order.  Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s nominee to fill a lingering vacancy, is awaiting Senate confirmation hearings and is unlikely to be seated on the court for at least two months. The 2015 case, called Kerry v. Din, was cited both by the challenging states and the Trump administration in their court fight. Washington state’s lawyers argued Kennedy’s opinion showed that courts must look at what motivated the government’s decision beyond the words that appear in the order itself. They cited the previous comments by Trump and others expressing a desire to keep Muslims from entering the United States. The administration noted in court papers Kennedy also made it clear that the government is entitled to deference, especially on national security. Anil Kalhan, an immigration law professor at Drexel University’s Kline School of Law in Philadelphia, said there are multiple ways of interpreting Kennedy’s opinion, which could muddy the waters.  Kennedy’s opinion “doesn’t necessarily mean he would reach the same conclusion” on Trump’s ban, Kalhan said. In Tuesday’s 9th Circuit oral argument, administration lawyer August Flentje called the executive order “facially legitimate,” meaning there is no need for courts to inquire further into motive. Judge Michelle Friedland immediately pounced: “Haven’t there been allegations here of bad faith?” She said Kennedy’s opinion in the Din case as well as a 1972 Supreme Court ruling in a case with similar themes “envision that’s something we should look at.” The 1972 case involved professors objecting to the U.S. government’s decision not to allow a Marxist academic to speak at a Stanford University conference. The appeals court cited both cases in its Thursday ruling.

Summary: ट्रम्प यात्रा प्रतिबंध लड़ाई में, न्यायमूर्ति कैनेडी की 2015 की राय बड़ी है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Banking Committee voted on Tuesday to advance Jay Clayton’s nomination as the next head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to the full Senate for approval. The committee voted 15 to 8, with some Democrats including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown of Ohio voting against him amid concerns about his close ties to Wall Street through his career as a deal-making attorney for the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

Summary: सीनेट बैंकिंग पैनल ने क्लेटन के एसईसी नामांकन के पक्ष में मतदान किया