ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish court sentenced a journalist from opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet to three years in prison on Tuesday on a charge of spreading terrorist propaganda over a tweet which the paper briefly posted in May, state media said. The newspaper s online editor, Oguz Guven, was accused of discrediting Ankara s fight against supporters of the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the government says orchestrated a coup attempt last year. The tweet had referred to a prosecutor being killed in a road accident with the expression that he had been  mowed down by a truck . Cumhuriyet, long a pillar of the secularist establishment, says the tweet was replaced within one minute by one saying the prosecutor  died awfully in a truck accident . The prosecutor who died had prepared an indictment against Gulen s network. The cleric denies any involvement in the coup attempt. State-run Anadolu agency said Guven was sentenced to three years and one month in jail. He had been remanded in custody in May but was released in June pending trial. More than a dozen Cumhuriyet correspondents and executives are being tried in a separate case in which prosecutors say the paper was taken over by supporters of Gulen and used to target Erdogan and veil the actions of militant groups.  Prosecutors are seeking up to 43 years in jail for the paper s staff, accused of targeting Erdogan through  asymmetric war methods.  They have denied the charges. Since the failed coup in July 2016, Turkey has jailed more than 50,000 people and closed more than 130 media outlets, raising concerns among Western allies about deteriorating rights and freedoms.

Summary: तुर्की के विपक्षी पत्रकार को ट्वीट करने के आरोप में तीन साल की सजाः एजेंसी


NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. Department of Homeland Security plan to add more than 5,000 border enforcement agents will present logistical challenges and might be unnecessary, according to former government officials familiar with earlier pushes to accelerate border hiring. Three former top officials at U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) told Reuters in interviews that ramping up hiring at the agency, as outlined in a directive on Tuesday, would be expensive, while rapid expansion poses the risk of corruption if screening protocols for recruits are relaxed.  The officials said the agency should get what it needs to secure the border, but they questioned whether such a major staff expansion was necessary, noting that apprehensions at the border have dropped.    “Congress is going to be looking at this very carefully and looking for justification for this kind of money to make sure they don’t write a check that is not necessary,” said W. Ralph Basham who headed U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the George W. Bush administration. “The question will be do we need more agents or do we need money for technology and infrastructure,” he said.  Additional enforcement officers are central to President Donald Trump’s sweeping plan to crack down on illegal immigration, outlined in Jan. 25 executive orders on border security and interior enforcement. Tuesday’s Homeland Security guidance for implementing those orders called for adding more than 5,000 border patrol agents and 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officers, who enforce immigration laws in the country’s interior, among other duties. The White House and Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a question about the rationale behind the number of personnel requested. “At the end of the day, the goal is to get control of the border and enhance the security of the country,” said White House assistant press secretary Michael Short in an email.  The proposed hiring surge would be the largest since the Bush administration, when Congress funded an expansion of border enforcement following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. That effort doubled the number of border patrol agents from nearly 10,000 in 2001 to nearly 20,000 by 2008, according to CBP. The agency was required to meet tight time requirements for hiring, said Basham who was appointed commissioner in 2006 The laser focus on quick hiring, and its cost, ended up “sucking all the air” out of other parts of the department, Basham recalled, leaving gaps for other spending needs. Basham said he supports CBP getting adequate resources and was encouraged that the new Department of Homeland Security guidelines did not mandate a deadline to complete the hiring. But he questioned the need for a renewed expansion of the force. More than 1.6 million migrants were apprehended trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in 2000 compared to 400,000 last year, according to CBP statistics. “Currently the flow is not really anywhere near where it was,” Basham said.  Jim Wong, who was Deputy Assistant Commissioner of CBP’s Office of Internal Affairs from 2009 to 2011, said money might be better spent on other department needs.   “Throwing more human resources at the issue is not necessarily the best way to approach it,” he said.      The union representing border patrol agents, which backed Trump in the presidential election, has long supported adding personnel, saying more manpower is needed to secure the border, said union spokesman Shawn Moran. Homeland Security spokespeople declined to estimate how much the increased hiring would cost.  The 2017 fiscal year budget request for staffing at current levels of more than 21,000 border patrol agents was about $3.8 billion for salary, overtime and benefits, or about $180,000 per officer on average, although officers with different levels of seniority earn different wages. Additional costs could include housing for agents working in remote areas, equipment and support staff, former officials said.   In the last budget cycle, the agency requested funding for 300 fewer officers than the year before to instead invest in replacing aging radios and vehicles. CBP said the request reflected “realistic agent hiring expectations.” Gil Kerlikowske, who headed CBP for three years under President Barack Obama, said one risk of rapid hiring is quality control.  “When you speed up the process and don’t take the requisite time you pay a price later in things like corruption,” Kerlikowske said. During the Bush-era hiring surge, the Border Patrol had problems screening candidates, and internal corruption cases soon spiked, according to congressional testimony and government documents. Congress then passed the Anti-Border Corruption Act in 2010, which made polygraph testing mandatory for all border patrol agents. Since then, tests have revealed candidates who were compromised by drug cartels or were heavy drug users themselves. But the polygraph test and other controls have also slowed the hiring process. A 2012 GAO report found that between 2008 and 2012, only 40 percent of applicants passed their polygraph exams. In addition to polygraph tests, applicants now undergo a rigorous hiring process, including a cognitive exam, fingerprinting, financial disclosure, fitness tests, medical examinations and background checks, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Kerlikowske said when he left the agency at the time of Trump’s inauguration there were 1,200 authorized but unfilled openings for border patrol agents due to the difficulty of finding and vetting enough qualified candidates.

Summary: पूर्व सीमा गश्ती अधिकारियों ने एजेंटों को जोड़ने की ट्रम्प की योजना पर सवाल उठाए


BERLIN (Reuters) - Three German parties resigned themselves to further talks next week to try to form a new coalition after making little progress on Thursday in bridging deep divisions on immigration and climate policy. Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying to unite her divided conservative alliance, which suffered bruising losses in a national election last month, in a pact with two other parties that is untested at federal level. After 11 hours of talks on Thursday, negotiators said they had failed to find much common ground on the difficult topics of climate change and immigration, but would take the weekend to consider the arguments of the other parties.  We hope to take further steps in the course of next week,  Nicola Beer, general secretary of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), told journalists. Immigration was the most divisive topic, with many conservatives keen to take a harder line after blaming their election setback on Merkel s decision to open Germany to more than a million mainly Middle Eastern migrants in 2015 and 2016. An agreement reached between Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian CSU sister party to cap annual refugee numbers had to be the basis of any coalition accord, Andreas Scheuer, CSU general secretary, said after Thursday s talks.  That is really going to be the crunch point,  he said, adding that the issue was the reason for the gains of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the election. Party leaders would meet to seek a solution on refugee policy by next Thursday, sources close to the talks said.  The environmental Greens, who oppose a refugee cap, said positions were far apart on immigration:  The debate on this topic was calm and constructive but the differences remain serious,  said Greens negotiator Michael Kellner. The parties did agree to stick to climate goals that envisage cutting carbon dioxide emissions to 40 percent of 1990 levels by 2020, but were still divided on how to achieve that, sources familiar with negotiations said. Kellner reiterated the Greens  position that Germany should quickly close coal-fired power stations to help fight climate change, a position resisted by the other parties.  We are the first generation to experience climate change and we are the last generation who can stop it,  he said.  The parties made limited progress on European policy, agreeing a broad-brush statement that said that  Germany can only do well if Europe does well  while listing 25 open points for further debate. Politicians say it could take months to form the coalition, leaving Germany hobbled as the European Union looks to its wealthiest country for leadership on governance reform. In a nod to ambitious European reform plans laid out by French President Emmanuel Macron, the statement said Franco-German cooperation was  of paramount importance to us.  The parties  negotiators agreed to further discuss EU reform issues including a euro zone budget - an idea pushed by Macron - and the future of the euro zone s rescue mechanism, the ESM. Sources close to negotiations said there was a consensus against a euro zone budget, but the parties did not want to immediately reject Macron s proposal. The statement stressed that talks with Britain on leaving the EU must respect the interlinkage of the bloc s principles of free movement of capital, citizens, goods and services, which could suggest that Berlin wants to take a hard line with London. Kellner said the parties were far apart on the ESM, which some conservatives want to see play a stronger role in preventing economic crises in the euro zone.

Summary: जर्मन गठबंधन वार्ता प्रवास, जलवायु पर लड़खड़ाती है


ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey cast the testimony of a wealthy gold trader in a U.S. court as an attempt to undermine Ankara and its economy on Friday, highlighting how President Tayyip Erdogan may use the politically charged case to rally nationalist support. The trader, Reza Zarrab, told a New York court on Wednesday that Erdogan had authorized a transaction in a scheme to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions. A dual national of Iran and Turkey, Zarrab is cooperating with U.S. prosecutors in the trial of a Turkish bank executive accused of helping Iran launder money. The executive has pleaded not guilty.  This court case has stopped being judicial and become completely political, with the sole aim to corner Turkey and its economy,  Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. The case has aggravated tension between Ankara and Washington, NATO allies already at odds over Syria policy and the United States  failure to extradite the Muslim cleric Turkey accuses of engineering a failed military coup last year. Although the economic fall-out from the case could be substantial - especially if U.S. authorities fine Turkish banks - analysts said that Erdogan is unlikely to be damaged politically at home and could potentially emerge stronger by attracting more nationalist support.  This will bolster his claim that he is fighting an independence battle against foreign enemies,  said Halil Karaveli, editor of the Turkey Analyst, a policy journal.   If there is going to be any political impact, I suspect it will actually help in the electoral sense.  Media coverage of the case has been limited in Turkey and one pro-government outlet branded the trial as a conspiracy by  enemies  of the country. Erdogan, who has governed Turkey for almost 15 years, has not yet responded to the courtroom claims; but had already dismissed the case as a politically inspired attempt to bring down the Turkish government. His government says the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for the failed military coup, was also behind the court case.  Zarrab s deposition before the U.S. court will not impact the outlook of the AK Party constituency. In return, mitigating the possible economic impact will be more of a challenge especially if Turkish banks are eventually fined,  said Sinan Ulgen, an analyst and former Turkish diplomat. International investors have grown nervous about Turkey as ties with the United States have worsened - helping drive the  lira currency down some 10 percent against the dollar in the past three months, to a series of record lows. But the U.S. legal action over the alleged Iran sanctions busting, and the risk that some of the country s banks might be sucked into the case, lies at the heart of the latest investor concerns. U.S. prosecutors charge that the executive of Turkey s state-owned Halkbank, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, helped Iran launder the money. Halkbank, like Atilla, has said it is not guilty of the charges. In his testimony, Zarrab also said that Turkish officials had authorized two Turkish banks, Ziraat Bank and VakifBank, to move funds for Iran. Both Ziraat and VakifBank have denied taking part in any such scheme. Nonetheless, investors are worried about the possibility that Turkish banks could be fined.  If there is a fine that s outsize and the Turkish government doesn t want to pay or allow the bank to pay, it will turn into a political standoff which is not great for banks or sovereign spreads,  said Greg Saichin, head of emerging debt at Allianz Global Investors in London.  This whole issue is weighing heavily on Turkey as a country to allocate (capital) to.

Summary: तुर्की ने जराब मामले को अपनी राजनीति, अर्थव्यवस्था को कमजोर करने का प्रयास बताया


NEW YORK (Reuters) - A prominent Democratic donor worried about the party’s chances of winning the presidency emailed dozens of fans of Vice President Joe Biden on Friday, urging them to remain prepared to donate if Biden jumps into the race. The donor, Bill Bartmann, cited new polling showing Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont nearly tied with the Hillary Clinton, eroding the 30-point lead the former secretary of state held at the end of last year. Bartmann and other party insiders are concerned that Sanders, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, is too far to the left to win against a Republican in the Nov. 8 presidential election.  “We cannot afford to lose the White House,” Bartmann wrote in the email, seen by Reuters.  The email drew a string of affirmative responses, also seen by Reuters. Biden announced in October that he would not seek the presidency, despite support from a group of backers under the name “Draft Biden 2016.” But whispers have continued among some donors who hope that Biden could be convinced to run after all should Clinton’s campaign prove fruitless. “My sitting on the sidelines has a lot to do with my disappointment that the vice president decided not to get in the race,” Patrick Baskette, one of the recipients of Bartmann’s email, told Reuters. Baskette, a public affairs consultant in Tampa, Florida, was a special assistant to Biden during his time as a senator.  Baskette said he was not opposed to either Clinton or Sanders. “I don’t think that they offer the solutions to our nation’s future that Joe Biden does,” he added.     Clinton only barely squeaked out a win against Sanders in the Iowa caucus this week, adding to fears that she could lose a nomination that once was thought all but inevitable for her. Clinton is widely expected to lose the New Hampshire primary to Sanders on Tuesday. “Count me in,” Gary Hindes, chief executive of the Delaware Bay Company LLC and a former chairman of the Delaware Democratic Party, wrote on the email chain.  “I am hoping that the stars line up right and that Joe becomes the nominee,” Hindes said to Reuters. “Sanders is too far to the left,” he added, saying Clinton could be vulnerable as well.  “My heart is with Joe,” Hindes said.      (Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Leslie Adler) SAP is the sponsor of this content. It was independently created by Reuters’ editorial staff and funded in part by SAP, which otherwise has no role in this coverage.

Summary: डेमोक्रेटिक दाता ने संभावित चुनाव के बारे में बाइडन सहयोगियों से संपर्क किया


LONDON (Reuters) - British police are keeping an open mind on whether more than one person was responsible for a London train bombing that injured 30 people, after they arrested an 18-year-old man earlier on Saturday.  We are still pursuing numerous lines of enquiry, and at great pace,   Senior National Co-ordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing Neil Basu told reporters.   Our priorities are ... to identify and locate any other potential suspects.

Summary: लंदन ट्रेन बम विस्फोट में संदिग्धों की संख्या पर ब्रिटेन की पुलिस खुला दिमाग रख रही है


(Reuters) - Republican President-elect Donald Trump is expected to take executive action shortly after being sworn into office on Friday to advance key priorities and reverse some policies of outgoing Democratic President Barack Obama. Some of Trump’s first executive orders will likely undo some of the more than 275 orders signed by Obama during his eight years in the White House. Here is a look at some of the actions Trump may take. Trump’s advisors have recommended he take several steps to limit immigration into the United States within his first days in office, according to several people close to the presidential transition team. Trump will likely seek to undo an Obama executive order known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that allowed people brought into the United States illegally as children to stay in the country on a two-year authorization to work and attend college. Trump would likely let the authorizations given to more than 700,000 people under DACA expire rather than immediately retract them or target such individuals for deportation, the sources said. One of Obama’s first moves as president in 2009 after winning his first four-year term was signing three executive orders to begin closing the detention facility on the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and curtail “enhanced interrogation techniques,” including waterboarding.  Trump said shortly after his election that “we are keeping open” the detention facility and “gonna load it up with some bad dudes,” making rescinding Obama’s actions on the closure of the facility a likelihood. The detention facility began housing detainees identified as foreign terrorism suspects in 2002 under Republican President George W. Bush in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by al Qaeda Islamic militants. Obama has issued several orders related to federal contractors that Trump is likely to re-examine or rescind. One increased the federal minimum wage for employees of federal contractors to $10.10 per hour starting in 2015. Another required all federal contractors to provide their workers with paid sick leave. An executive order Obama signed that requires federal contractors to disclose labor law violations and guides agencies on how to consider such violations is unpopular with business interests and could be undone by Trump. An Obama order that encourages federal agencies to use union-only project-labor agreements to establish the employment terms for federal projects exceeding $25 million is also likely up for reversal. Obama issued dozens of executive actions on climate policy and clean energy that Trump may seek to undo. Obama finalized his Clean Power Plan in 2015 to slash carbon emissions from power plants. The plan is currently held up in federal courts but could be undone or hobbled if Trump takes executive action. Trump could also reverse an Obama order that requires federal government agencies to slash emissions 40 percent from 2008 levels by 2025.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्रम्प की शुरुआती कार्यकारी कार्रवाइयां ओबामा की नीतियों को पूर्ववत कर सकती हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are expected to pass a large aid package for victims of Hurricane Harvey, but specifics of the plan and its price tag are unclear as Congress awaits a funding request from the Trump administration. Rain continued to pound Houston and the Gulf Coast on Monday as President Donald Trump said he expected rapid federal action to help fund a costly recovery. He plans to visit Texas on Tuesday to see storm-hit areas. “We’re dealing with Congress. As you know it’s going to be a very expensive situation,” he told reporters in the White House. Historic flooding from Harvey, which came ashore in Texas last week as a powerful Category 4 hurricane and is now a tropical storm, has killed at least seven people in Texas and was expected to drive 30,000 from their homes. Wall Street analysts estimated insured losses of up to $20 billion, making Harvey one of the costliest storms in history for U.S. insurers. After past disasters, Congress approved billions of dollars in funds to help with relief and recovery, but in recent years, fiscal conservatives have raised questions about costs. Congress will return next week from summer vacation, with the hurricane complicating an already difficult fiscal situation with the federal budget and Trump’s Mexican border wall proposal. Current government funding runs out on Sept. 30. Congress must approve a measure to keep the government funded and prevent a shutdown. Trump threatened last week to shut down the government if Congress did not agree to $1.6 billion in funding to start building his proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Harvey “will increase the pressure on Washington to not shut down the government, but it also makes the September 30 package more cumbersome and complicated,” Chris Krueger, policy analyst at financial firm Cowen & Co, said in a research note. Asked if Harvey made him reconsider his shutdown threat, Trump said: “It has nothing to do with it, really. I think this is separate. This is going to go really very, very quickly.” Congressional Republicans have not spelled out their plan for dealing with the budget and a related, must-pass increase in the federal debt ceiling. Some aides and analysts have speculated that those issues might be swept into a single piece of legislation, possibly including Harvey aid.  House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said on Monday that “Republicans must be ready to join Democrats in passing a timely relief bill.” Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long said more than 450,000 people were expected to seek disaster assistance because of catastrophic flooding. “We will help those affected by this terrible disaster. The first step in that process is a formal request for resources from the administration,” said AshLee Strong, spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan. A Senate Republican aide said it was too soon to say what was needed. “The committee is monitoring the situation in Texas closely,” said Chris Gallegos, a spokesman for the Republican majority on the Senate Appropriations Committee. There is only about $3.3 billion in the federal disaster relief fund. Congress approved $62.3 billion in aid after Hurricane Katrina devastated Gulf Coast communities and flooded New Orleans in 2005. Texas Republican Representative Pete Sessions told MSNBC he expected lawmakers to back any aid package as long as it was not bloated beyond the needed storm response. Some conservatives have balked in the past at authorizing money for disaster relief. In 2005, then-Indiana Republican Representative Mike Pence, now vice president, called on the floor of the House for “offsetting” money spent on Katrina relief with cutbacks elsewhere. Almost the entire Texas delegation - including Sessions and Republican Senator Ted Cruz - opposed the $50.5 billion aid package that Congress approved three months after Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey and New York in 2012. Opponents argued that the Sandy package funded things unrelated to the disaster.       “The Sandy relief bill had more pork in it than a bacon factory,” said Representative Blake Farenthold, a Republican who represents Corpus Christi, which was hit hard by Harvey. Republican Representative Pete King of New York said in a Twitter message on Monday: “I won’t abandon Texas the way Ted Cruz did New York.”

Summary: कांग्रेस हार्वे सहायता पैकेज पर विचार कर रही है, ट्रम्प का इंतजार कर रही है


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after hosting allied leaders that U.S. President Donald Trump was clear on his commitment to defending Europe and also “blunt” on demands for more defense spending by allies. Trump failed to reassure NATO allies during his first meeting with them in Brussels on Thursday but Stoltenberg said the U.S. leader has been “clear” and “stated strongly” his commitment to both the alliance and its key principle of collective defense. “Trump has been clear on his commitment to NATO. But President Trump has also been clear in the message to all allies that we have to deliver on the pledge we made to increase defense spending,” Stoltenberg said. “He was blunt on that message today and we have seen this plain speaking from President Trump also before.”

Summary: नाटो प्रमुख का कहना है कि ट्रम्प गठबंधन के लिए प्रतिबद्ध हैं, खर्च की मांगों पर 'स्पष्ट' हैं


BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army and its allies reached an air base besieged for years by Islamic State militants on the outskirts of the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday, said a commander in the alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad. Forces this week also broke the siege of a separate government-held enclave in the city in swift advances against the jihadists.

Summary: सीरियाई सेना, सहयोगी पूर्वी सीरिया में इस्लामिक स्टेट द्वारा घेर लिए गए हवाई अड्डे पर पहुंचेः कमांडर


GOTHENBURG, Sweden (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that Iran misunderstood France s  balanced  position in the region, which centered on not taking sides between Sunni and Shi ites, adding that Tehran should be less aggressive in the region. Speaking in Gothenburg, Macron said he wanted Iran to clarify the strategy around its ballistic missile program.  Macron also said he would welcome Saad al-Hariri in Paris on Saturday as Lebanon s prime minister and expected him to return to Beirut in the  coming days, weeks.

Summary: मैक्रों का कहना है कि ईरान क्षेत्र में फ्रांस की 'संतुलित' स्थिति को गलत समझता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton holds a 4-point lead over Republican Donald Trump in a four-way White House race, according to an opinion poll released by Fox News on Monday. Clinton had 48 percent support in the poll of likely voters in Tuesday’s election against Trump’s 44 percent, Fox News said. Clinton had had a 2-point edge in the previous Fox News poll released on Friday.

Summary: फॉक्स न्यूज के सर्वेक्षण से पता चलता है कि क्लिंटन व्हाइट हाउस की दौड़ में ट्रम्प से 4 अंकों से आगे हैं


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Political consultants are sometimes accused of hiding the naked truth about the candidates they represent or the campaigns they devise. But California voting expert Paul Mitchell bared it all after Tuesday’s primary election, running naked around the grounds of the state Capitol building in Sacramento after his prediction in a key race turned out to be wrong. “When improbable things happen, some pay consequences,” Mitchell posted on Twitter early on Wednesday morning. Along with the posting was a photo of the darkened Capitol, a map of a running route from the athletic tracking app Strava and the title, “Streaking.” Last year, Mitchell firmly dismissed predictions that two Democrats would be chosen in Tuesday’s primary to vie for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat in November. He was so sure that would not happen - despite a change in the state’s open primary law advancing the top two vote-getters to the general election regardless of party affiliation - that he vowed to run naked around the Capitol if two Democrats were chosen.  When it became clear on Tuesday night that state Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez, both Democrats, topped the polls and would advance to the general election, Mitchell knew what he had to do. He parked his car in front of the Capitol building in downtown Sacramento in the darkest spot he could find, took off his clothes (including shoes) and ran, he said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.     “I couldn’t put up with all the badgering I would get if I didn’t do it,” he said. “There’s honor among politicos, I guess.” He managed to maintain his privacy to all but a couple of youths on skateboards. “It really doesn’t seem like it’s very dark outside when you’re streaking,” Mitchell said.

Summary: कैलिफोर्निया के मतदान विशेषज्ञ ने राजनीति के बारे में नग्न सच्चाई का खुलासा किया


MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Tuesday warned supporters of detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny not to hold unsanctioned rallies, saying the organizers of such events would be prosecuted. A Russian court sentenced Navalny to his third jail term this year on Monday, disrupting plans by the long-time Kremlin critic to campaign before Russia s presidential election in 2018. His 20-day jail term means he will miss a campaign rally planned in President Vladimir Putin s hometown of St Petersburg on Oct. 7 - the Russian leader s birthday. The Kremlin warned Navalny s supporters to refrain from holding any unsanctioned rallies in his absence.  Public calls for unsanctioned events and rallies run counter to the legislation in force and, certainly, their organizers will be prosecuted,  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters.

Summary: क्रेमलिन ने हिरासत में लिए गए आलोचक नवलनी के समर्थकों से अवैध विरोध प्रदर्शनों से दूर रहने को कहा


(Reuters) - Gasoline and diesel prices rose sharply in North Korea after its sixth nuclear test and as the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions capping fuel supply, market data analyzed by Reuters on Monday showed.  The Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on Sept. 11 banning exports of condensates and natural gas liquids to the North and capping the annual supply of refined petroleum products at two million barrels and crude at its current levels. The price of gasoline sold by private dealers in the capital Pyongyang and northern border cities of Sinuiju and Hyesan spiked to $2.51 per kg as of Sept. 13, up 45.1 percent from $1.73 per kg on Sept. 5, according to Reuters analysis of data compiled by the Daily NK website.  The website is run by North Korean defectors who collect prices via phone calls with traders in the North. Diesel prices also surged 61.5 percent from $1.30 per kg to $2.10 per kg during the same period.   Lee Sang-yong, who speaks regularly to sources inside the North and supervises market data from them, said the price hikes were caused primarily by a cut in supplies as the regime scrambles to hoard fuel, wary of a potential fuel crunch.  North Korean authorities are likely to have intentionally reduced supplies in the market after the nuclear test, thinking the U.N. Security Council sanctions would affect their own repository,  Lee said.  In addition, astute traders are cutting their supplies on the expectations that the prices would go up further, while there s some psychological effect among ordinary citizens who worry about war.  U.N. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Sunday the Security Council has run out of options on containing the North s nuclear programmer and Washington may have to turn the matter over to the Defense Department. North Korea launched a missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday in defiance of the new Security Council. White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster said on Friday, after the latest North Korean missile launch, that the United States was running out of patience:  We ve been kicking the can down the road, and we re out of road.  The latest gasoline price represents a 70.7 percent and 153.5 percent surge compared with statistics posted on June 8 and Dec. 1, respectively, less than one week after the Security Council adopted its last two resolutions on North Korea.  North Korea gets most of its fuel from China and some from Russia. U.S. and South Korean officials have said the North imports some 4.5 million barrels of refined petroleum products and two million barrels of crude oil each year.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र के प्रतिबंधों के बाद उत्तर कोरिया में ईंधन की कीमतें बढ़ीं


MOSCOW (Reuters) - One of Vladimir Putin’s closest friends said on Thursday he believed Donald Trump would be the next president of the United States and that Western leaders were no match for the Russian president. Sergei Roldugin, a childhood friend of Putin’s and godfather to his eldest daughter, made international headlines earlier this year after his name featured in the leaked Panama Papers as the owner of a sprawling network of offshore accounts. Some Western media said the papers suggested Roldugin, 64, was looking after Putin’s money. Putin called such reports “a provocation” and said Roldugin, a famous cellist, had done nothing wrong and spent the money he earned from business on buying expensive musical instruments. Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin on Thursday before Putin bestowed a state award on him, Roldugin said: “I know who will win in America. You may check it later. Trump will win.” He went on to say that politicians changed their behavior once they were in power. “I can’t say I feel euphoria about Trump winning because he said he was with Putin and Hillary (Clinton) hasn’t said that. Putin has said he will work with either and he’s right.”  Trump, the Republican candidate, has been criticized by Clinton, his Democratic Party rival, for praising Putin as a strong leader and saying ties with Moscow should be improved at a time when Moscow and Washington are at odds over Syria and Ukraine. The Kremlin has tried to take a neutral stance on the U.S. election, saying it will respect the choice of the American people, though  Kremlin-backed TV channels have tilted their coverage in favor of Trump, whom Putin called “very talented.” Roldugin told reporters Putin was a more impressive leader than his various Western counterparts. “The one thing I’ve always admired about him is that he is not afraid to assume responsibility. He often comes under heavy criticism, but he is not afraid (of that) and says: ‘Yes that’s what we decided, that’s what I decided.’” “He is not afraid of taking responsibility, unlike many Western politicians and American politicians who, as far as I understand, can’t bring themselves to say ‘That’s what I decided and that’s how it will be.’” Roldugin listed German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and U.S. President Barack Obama as being guilty of not taking responsibility and of concealing the true nature of agreements they had struck.

Summary: पुतिन के करीबी दोस्तः डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प अगले अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति होंगे


WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - After months of waiting for the U.S. Congress to act as Puerto Rico’s economic crisis progressively worsened, the Caribbean island is on the verge of securing a relief plan from Washington aimed at helping it address a hobbling $70 billion debt. The Senate is set to launch a debate on Wednesday for legislation establishing a federal oversight board that would be in charge of restructuring the U.S. territory’s debt where one out of every three dollars it earns in revenue is used to pay creditors, according to the U.S. Treasury. “We’re not going to let Puerto Rico go off the cliff here. It’s too important,” said Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. The measure is identical to the plan passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month, as Congress tries to send it to President Barack Obama to sign into law by July 1. That is when Puerto Rico faces a potential default on a chunk of its debt if it cannot make a $1.9 billion payment.  As early as Wednesday, the Senate could cast a procedural vote on the bill that, if successful, would clear the measure for passage this week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also took steps to limit amendments that can be offered to the bill. Some Democrats have complained about the makeup and operation of the oversight board that would be appointed by Washington as well as provisions demanded by House Republicans that potentially could lower minimum wages for some younger workers. “Something needs to be done. We would really love some amendments on key issues like the composition of the board, the procedures for taking Puerto Rico into the bankruptcy court, and then especially, the labor provisions on overtime and minimum wage,” Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia told reporters. But any amendments would delay Congress’ work on the bill and make it impossible to get to Obama before July 1, as the House of Representatives would have to sign off and it is in recess until July 5, after the Independence Day holiday weekend. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew reiterated his call for the Senate to pass the bill on Monday, saying if nothing is done by the Friday deadline, the debt crisis will only ratchet higher. Puerto Rico is reeling from a 45 percent poverty rate, a steady flow of outward migration to the U.S. mainland that further shrinks its tax base and the shuttering of essential services. If Congress does not pass the “Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act,” or PROMESA, before July 1, the island could default on all or part of the debt payment, including General Obligation bonds that are senior to all credits. “The Senate should take up the matter immediately,” Lew said in a letter to McConnell. “Delay will only jeopardize the ability of Congress to conclude its work before July 1, a critical deadline Puerto Rico’s leadership has publicly highlighted for months.” While Puerto Ricans want some sort of relief from the debt their government is saddled with, many of the 3.5 million residents, who are U.S. citizens, nonetheless worry that the proposed seven-member oversight board will trample on San Juan’s self-governing rights. “The bill is not perfect. I do not like the board. I do not like that it doesn’t add a mechanism to make our economy grow, but what is the alternative right now? That is why I call on the Senate to vote for this bill,” Puerto Rican Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said during a panel discussion last week in Washington. Without PROMESA, an existing trickle of lawsuits could turn into a flood. In April when there was little sign of congressional action, Puerto Rico’s legislature passed a local debt moratorium law giving Garcia Padilla the authority to withhold debt payments. Investors on June 21 filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court calling the Puerto Rico Emergency Moratorium and Rehabilitation Act illegal. “We are at the mercy of the judge,” Garcia Padilla said during the panel discussion. PROMESA, if signed into law, puts an immediate stay, or hold, on any future lawsuits and is retroactive to December 2015. The stay remains in effect until the debt has been restructured to a sustainable level with the goal being an orderly restructuring an sustainable amount of debt.

Summary: सीनेट प्यूर्टो रिको ऋण राहत विधेयक पर बहस शुरू करने के लिए तैयार है


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO has joined world powers  diplomatic efforts to stop North Korea s missile program but it cannot yet rely on its U.S.-built shield to defend Europe, experts and diplomats said. The United States says the shield, more than a decade in the planning, is needed to protect against so-called rogue states, a term U.S. officials have used to refer to North Korea and Iran.  But with Berlin, Paris and London potentially within striking distance of North Korea s missiles from next year, officials say the U.S.-led alliance s system needs more radars and special interceptors to destroy a rocket from Pyongyang.  The NATO shield in its current state lacks the reach and early warning radars to shoot down North Korean rockets. It s a weak link,  said Michael Elleman, a missile defense analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).  Early tracking is also difficult because North Korean missiles would be flying over Russia, where NATO obviously cannot put radars,  he added. The sort of interceptor needed to shoot down North Korean ballistic missiles could breach a Soviet-era arms control agreement between the United States and Russia because of its greater range, arms experts say. Moscow has long objected to U.S. missile shield plans, saying their real aim is to neutralize Russia s own nuclear arsenal, rather than meet the perceived threat from  rogue states . Russia s strategic concerns would, therefore, make it hard to renegotiate the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, something arms experts say would be required if a North Korean missile shield were to be fully effective.  Alliance planning to confront any threat from Pyongyang is in its infancy. Following North Korea s country s sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, two senior NATO diplomats told Reuters that protection against the North Korean threat was only beginning to be considered at NATO headquarters in Brussels. That was despite a more forceful diplomatic tone on the crisis and warnings on the scale and immediacy of the threat from U.S. President Donald Trump s new ambassador to NATO, France s defense minister and the alliance s deputy head. While analysts do not expect North Korea to have a reliable intercontinental ballistic missile until next year at the earliest, NATO s European allies could become a target as a way of threatening their closest partner, the United States, a third NATO diplomat said, stressing that was only speculation. The United States switched on its $800 million European missile defense umbrella in May last year at a site in Romania to protect against Iranian rockets.  The system, controlled from a NATO base in Germany, includes radars and interceptors stretching from eastern Europe to the Mediterranean.  A final site in Poland should be ready by late 2018, extending the European umbrella from Greenland and the Azores.    To shoot down a ballistic missile from North Korea would require a new generation of interceptor, the Block II, which is still in development. It is capable of downing ballistic rockets earlier and at a much higher altitude. However, Elleman said that U.S. missile sites in Alaska and California, as well as in Japan and South Korea, were likely to be given priority before Europe, when they are ready in 2018.  There will be a lot of competition for the assets,  he said.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया की धमकी ने नाटो मिसाइल शील्ड को 'कमजोर कड़ी' बताया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on Thursday when asked whether Russia or those responsible for hacking the Democratic Party or Democratic party organizations had shared any information with the United States or Americans over the last year and a half.  “Sir, I’d rather not respond off the top of my head and in any event this would probably best left to a classified session,” James Clapper told a House intelligence committee hearing.

Summary: अमेरिकी जासूसी प्रमुख ने इस पर टिप्पणी करने से इनकार कर दिया कि क्या रूस ने अमेरिकियों के साथ हैक्स से जानकारी साझा की


WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. congressional committee has demanded that former drug executive Martin Shkreli appear at a hearing on drug prices to testify about his former company’s decision to raise the price of a lifesaving medicine by more than 5,000 percent, congressional aides said on Wednesday. Shkreli, who is separately facing federal criminal charges that he defrauded investors, has been served with a subpoena to appear on Jan. 26 before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the aides said. The Senate’s Special Committee on Aging, which is also investigating the company’s drug pricing practices, said on Wednesday that Shkreli has invoked the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination, and has refused to produce subpoenaed documents. Shkreli, 32, fired back at lawmakers on Twitter, writing on Wednesday that the House was “busy whining to healthcare reporters about me appearing for their chit chat next week. Haven’t decided yet. Should I?” He declined an interview request. The outspoken entrepreneur sparked a firestorm last year after he raised the price of Daraprim, a decades-old treatment for a dangerous parasitic infection, to $750 a pill from $13.50 after acquiring it. The medicine once sold for $1 a pill. Shkreli pleaded not guilty last month to criminal charges that he ran his companies like a Ponzi scheme, using each subsequent company to pay off defrauded investors from a prior company. After his arrest, he stepped down as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals and was fired as chief executive of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. KaloBios also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Shkreli’s past companies also include Retrophin Inc, which sued him for alleged mismanagement. Testifying before Congress is risky for someone facing criminal charges because of the chance they could say something prosecutors would later use at a trial. For that reason, many such witnesses invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer questions. To even travel to Washington, Shkreli is required to first get the sign-off of a federal judge because his release on bond restricts him to certain parts of New York state. However, judges typically grant temporary travel waivers to white-collar defendants. U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, said the hearing will give Shkreli a chance to explain his views on drug pricing. “I have been trying for the better part of a year to get information from Martin Shkreli about his outrageous price increases, and he has obstructed our investigation at every turn,” Cummings said in a statement.

Summary: अमेरिकी कांग्रेस समिति ने पूर्व ड्रग सी. ई. ओ. श्क्रेली को सम्मन भेजा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said on Wednesday there was “more investigating to do” after top intelligence officials declined to answer questions about whether President Donald Trump attempted to interfere in the investigation of alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election. “Our intelligence leaders could have laid allegations against (Trump) to rest. They chose not to and didn’t explain why they wouldn’t answer,” Senator Mark Warner said in a statement on Twitter after a committee hearing. “That tells me we have more investigating to do,” he wrote.

Summary: शीर्ष सीनेट खुफिया डेमोक्रेटः 'अधिक जांच करने के लिए'


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump unveiled a new national security strategy on Monday, calling for Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorism and saying Washington had to deal with the challenge posed by North Korea s weapons programs. In a wide-ranging speech, Trump said his security strategy for the first time addresses economic security and would include a complete rebuilding of U.S. infrastructure as well as a wall along the southern U.S. border. Trump said the United States wanted Pakistan to take decisive action to help fight extremism, and that Washington had  no choice  but to deal with the challenge posed by North Korea s nuclear and missile programs. Trump said the security strategy would also end mandatory defense spending limits, frequently called  sequester,  but did not mention if he had consulted with members of Congress about a possible bill to end the caps established in 2013 budget legislation.  We recognize that weakness is the surest path to conflict and unrivaled power is the most certain means of defense. For this reason, our security strategy breaks from damaging defense sequester,  Trump said.  We re going to get rid of that.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया की हथियार चुनौती से निपटने के अलावा अमेरिका के पास कोई विकल्प नहीं हैः ट्रम्प


(Reuters) - Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, said he is considering running for U.S. president in 2016, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The 73-year-old founder of the eponymous financial information group was critical of the quality of debate in the presidential contest and said he was “looking at all the options” when asked whether he was considering a run, the newspaper said. “I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters,” Bloomberg told the Financial Times in an interview, adding that the U.S. public deserved “a lot better.” Bloomberg has told aides to draw up plans for an independent campaign for the U.S. presidency, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Jan. 23, confirming a report in the New York Times. He would be willing to spend at least $1 billion of his own money on a campaign for the November 2016 election, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the former mayor’s thinking. Bloomberg has given himself an early March deadline for entering the race, the source said, after commissioning a poll in December to see how he would fare against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the Republican and Democratic front-runners. No third-party candidate has ever won a U.S. presidential election. But Bloomberg, who has close Wall Street ties and liberal social views, sees an opening for his candidacy if Republicans nominate Trump or Texas Senator Ted Cruz and the Democrats nominate Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the source said.    A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed a third-party presidential run by Bloomberg would be a long shot but could help real estate mogul Donald Trump if he lands the Republican nomination. In a matchup between Trump and Clinton, adding Bloomberg’s name to the ballot would trim Clinton’s lead over Trump to six percentage points from 10, according to the poll conducted from Jan. 23 to Jan. 27. In a matchup pitting Trump versus Sanders, adding Bloomberg would erode Sanders’ lead over Trump to seven points from 12, the poll results showed. In all matchups, Bloomberg himself would land just 10 percent or less of the vote in November. The 73-year-old financial information industry billionaire, who earned a reputation as a social liberal with strong Wall Street ties during his time as New York City mayor, has considered a White House run for years.      (Additional reporting by Dustin Volz and Steve Holland in Washington and Chris Kahn in New York; Reporting by Eric Walsh in Washington; Editing by Andrew Hay) SAP is the sponsor of this content. It was independently created by Reuters’ editorial staff and funded in part by SAP, which otherwise has no role in this coverage.

Summary: न्यूयॉर्क सिटी के पूर्व मेयर ब्लूमबर्ग का कहना है कि उनकी नजर 2016 की राष्ट्रपति पद की दौड़ पर हैः एफटी


NEW YORK (Reuters) - In his first news conference since the Nov. 8 election, President-elect Donald Trump set social media ablaze on Wednesday with remarks including harsh criticism of the press and a defense of his goal to improve ties with Russia. The session, held in the lobby of his Trump Tower headquarters in Manhattan, featured a number of viral moments, like an exchange with a reporter whom Trump accused of peddling “fake news.” “I’m not going to give you a question,” Trump told the journalist from CNN, which reported on Tuesday that the Republican president-elect had been briefed by U.S. intelligence agencies about allegations that Russian operatives had compromising information about him. “You are fake news!” he told the reporter in a moment that reverberated on Twitter. Trump’s comment that reporters were “the only ones who care” about whether he released his tax returns stirred up 165,000 tweets during the session. Social media users asked others to “retweet if you’re not a reporter and still care about seeing Trump’s tax returns.” In Russia, the hashtag #TrumpPressConference was a top-trending topic during the news conference and for several hours afterward.  “If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability because we have a horrible relationship with Russia,” Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said in reference to the Russian president. “I don’t know that I’m going to get along with Vladimir Putin. I hope I do. But there’s a good chance I won’t,” Trump said, prompting thousands of tweets from people in Russia. U.S. intelligence agencies have said Russia was behind a hacking campaign aimed at boosting Trump’s presidential candidacy against Democrat Hillary Clinton. There were some 80,000 tweets worldwide stamped with the #TrumpPressConference tag during the hour-long session with about 250 reporters. Twitter sentiment regarding Trump during the event was 14 percent positive, 63 percent neutral and 23 percent negative, according to global digital marketing technology company Amobee. Also stirring Twitter reaction were Trump’s comments about the wall he has pledged to build on the U.S.-Mexican border and to have Mexico pay for. He said he would not wait for negotiations with Mexico before beginning construction, but added: “Mexico in some form ... will reimburse us.” In response, former Mexican President Vicente Fox tweeted: “Neither today, nor tomorrow nor never Mexico will pay for that stupid wall.”

Summary: ट्रम्प समाचार सम्मेलन ने दुनिया भर में सोशल मीडिया पर आग लगा दी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Besieged by controversy at home, U.S. President Donald Trump is under pressure to stick to the script and avoid fresh flare-ups when he embarks this week on his first foreign trip, a nine-day trek to the Middle East and Europe. White House officials and Republicans close to the administration say Trump, who campaigned on an “America First” slogan, wants to demonstrate leadership abroad on his visit with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Israel and the West Bank, the pope at the Vatican, NATO leaders in Brussels and G7 counterparts in Sicily. Trump faces fierce criticism over his sharing of sensitive national security information with Russian officials and his firing last week of FBI Director James Comey. Allegations that he previously asked Comey to end an investigation into his former national security adviser drew a new round of attacks on Tuesday. A Republican strategist close to the White House said Trump needed a strong trip to help put the past tumultuous 10 days behind him. “If the White House is looking for this international trip to turn the page, then it really needs to come off well without any balls dropped or serious mistakes,” said the strategist, who requested anonymity. “This is their time to shine, to show Americans and the world that the White House isn’t becoming a circus of errors.” Airing his frustrations on Twitter, Trump has lashed out at leaks to the news media from officials inside his administration. Confidants say a staff shake-up is possible, although major changes are unlikely before Trump’s foreign trip. His political woes will add to Trump’s challenges as he tries to bolster ties abroad. “This trip combines so many different things and actors that the question is going to be what’s the message that he wants to communicate when he’s out there,” said Lanhee Chen, who advised Republican Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012 and Marco Rubio’s in 2016. Some doubt whether Trump, a businessman-turned politician who never held elective office before becoming president in January, is ready for a smooth presidential debut abroad. One Republican official, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, said after meeting Trump recently he did not think  the president had a firm enough grasp on the nuances of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “I don’t think he understands it,” said the official, adding that Trump needed more detailed briefings before leaving on Friday. “I think it’s a very difficult challenge and I hope he’s going to talk to a lot of smart people.” White House advisers insisted Trump was up to speed on the Middle East, having already hosted Arab, Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the White House. “His way of doing diplomacy, which really contrasts with President Obama’s approach, is to ... prioritize the personal relationship,” said Michael Singh, a foreign policy adviser to former Republican President George W. Bush. To prepare for his trip, Trump has been meeting with briefers including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster, deputy national security adviser Dina Powell and senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Conversations with some officials who have briefed Trump and others who are aware of how he absorbs information portray a president with a short attention span. He likes single-page memos and visual aids like maps, charts, graphs and photos. National Security Council officials have strategically included Trump’s name in “as many paragraphs as we can because he keeps reading if he’s mentioned,” according to one source, who relayed conversations he had with NSC officials. Trump likes to look at a map of the country involved when he learns about a topic. “He likes to visualize things,” said a senior administration official. “The guy’s a builder. He has spent his whole life looking at architectural renderings and floor plans.” Although Trump has a string of golf resorts around the world that he has visited, the trip could take him out of his comfort zone. He generally prefers his own bed to hotel rooms. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he often flew home after a day of campaigning rather than staying in hotels overnight. Presidential rhetoric and gaffes abroad have caused  problems for some of Trump’s predecessors. Bush drew fire after his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Slovenia in June 2001, when he said he had looked the former KGB chief in the eye and “I was able to get a sense of his soul.” The comment was seen as naive. Even body language is watched carefully. Democratic President Barack Obama was criticized for bowing to Japanese Emperor Akihito in a visit to Japan in November 2009. One Gulf Arab official said Trump’s decision to make Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, the first stop on his trip would send a message that America did not see Islam as an enemy.     The trip could be a chance for the president to counter critics who accuse him of being anti-Muslim because of the order he issued, now blocked by U.S. courts, temporarily banning entry into the United States by citizens of several Muslim-majority countries.     But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that if Trump, who is prone to speaking off-the-cuff, ended up undercutting his own message, it could be damaging. “It can backfire, I mean it can seriously backfire,” the official said. Ari Fleischer, former press secretary to Bush, said that since the trip would be Trump’s first overseas, the stakes were higher. “The meaning and importance of his first trip abroad will be exaggerated, but it gives him a chance to get bipartisan accolades, or a chance to fail badly and have the failure exaggerated,” Fleischer said.

Summary: विवादों में घिरे ट्रंप ने विदेश यात्रा को बढ़ावा देने की मांग की


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called on North Korea on Wednesday to stop its missile and nuclear tests and for the United States and South Korea not to hold military drills in December as it would  inflame an already explosive situation.   We strongly call on all concerned parties to stop this spiral of tension,  he told the U.N. Security Council.  It is essential to take a step back and weigh the consequences of each move.

Summary: रूस ने अमेरिका, दक्षिण कोरिया से दिसंबर में सैन्य अभ्यास नहीं करने का आह्वान किया


TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - An exit poll by a Honduran TV channel gave a strong lead to President Juan Orlando Hernandez, a staunch U.S. ally of the center-right National Party, after polling stations closed in the poor Central American nation s election on Sunday. The Channel 5 exit poll gave Hernandez 43.93 percent of the vote, with Salvador Nasralla, who helms a broad left-right coalition called the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, trailing on 34.70 percent.  The Honduras election tribunal is due to give its first official count later in the evening.

Summary: टीवी स्टेशन के चुनाव एक्जिट पोल में मजबूत बढ़त के साथ होंडुरास के राष्ट्रपति


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm the head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, which will decide the fate of deals like AT&T Inc’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Inc and the merger of Bayer AG and Monsanto Co. The Senate voted 73 to 21 to confirm Delrahim. The Senate also confirmed Heath Tarbert, by a vote of 87 to 8, to be an assistant secretary of the Treasury. He is expected to oversee the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which assesses proposed transactions to ensure they do not harm national security.  Tarbert, now at the law firm Allen & Overy LLP, will take the reins of CFIUS at a time when the inter-agency panel has balked at approving deals involving Chinese buyers in areas as disparate as semiconductors, insurance and aluminum. The confirmations mean that the Trump administration, after eight months, will finally have two of the top people in place who decide if mergers may go forward. Their first decisions will give investors a framework to use to decide which deals to push.  As head of the Antitrust Division, Delrahim will oversee a department that decides whether to allow multibillion dollar corporate mergers and acquisitions and also whether to seek jail terms for executives guilty of price-fixing.  Delrahim is currently deputy assistant to the president. As a candidate, President Donald Trump pledged to stop the AT&T purchase of Time Warner. He has not repeated that since becoming president. Delrahim said in May that he would decline to discuss antitrust matters with the White House. “The independence of the decisions made in prosecuting and reviewing mergers as well as other conduct is a serious one that should be free from any political influence,” he said. “They will be free if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed.” Trump has three other major antitrust positions to fill. The Federal Trade Commission, which should have five people, needs a permanent chairman and two commissioners, one Republican and one who is either a Democrat or an independent. Antitrust experts who have followed Delrahim’s career expect him to follow in the footsteps of a former boss, Hewitt Pate, who headed the division from 2003 to 2005. Under Pate, the division was criticized for allowing too many deals, but it sued to stop US Airways from merging with United Airlines and blocked a deal to combine DirecTV and EchoStar Corp.

Summary: सीनेट ने अविश्वास, सी. एफ. आई. यू. एस. के लिए ट्रम्प अधिकारियों की पुष्टि करने के लिए मतदान किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday will sign a directive asking for a speedy probe into whether imports of foreign-made steel are hurting U.S. national security, two administration officials said on Wednesday. Trump is to sign the memorandum related to section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 at a White House event that is expected to include leaders of some U.S. steel companies. The law allows the president to impose restrictions on imports for reasons of national security. There are national security implications, one of the officials said, from imports of steel alloys that are used in products such as the armor plating of ships and require a lot of expertise to create and produce. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross launched the probe on Wednesday night. Trump’s directive will ask Ross to conduct it “with all deliberate speed and deliver the results to the president with his recommendations,” a second official said. The move is another step in Trump’s “America First” policies in which he has tried to boost U.S. manufacturers and preserve American jobs. It comes as he tries to coax China into taking a more active role in reining in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. The first official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the directive is not aimed at a specific country but is “product oriented.” He said there is concern when a domestic industry is hurt by imports from a foreign entity “that hampers our ability to maintain production and maintain the expertise necessary for these high national security-concerned products, specific alloys and so forth.”

Summary: ट्रंप ने विदेशी इस्पात के आयात की जांच की मांग कीः अधिकारी


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon s national carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) on Friday lifted restrictions on carry-on electronic devices on planes traveling from Beirut to London, the airline said.  Britain implemented curbs on electronic items in the cabin in March on direct flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia in response to unspecified security threats.  Passengers had to check devices larger than a mobile phone such as laptops into the plane s hold.      These devices can as of Friday be carried in the cabin on direct MEA flights from Beirut to London,  provided specific random additional security measures are implemented at the London flight segregated gate,  MEA said in a statement. Britain s Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter confirmed the ban had been lifted for MEA flights to London with immediate effect on his Twitter page on Friday.   British Airways, which operate the only other direct route from Beirut to London, has not lifted the restrictions, the airline told Reuters on Friday.

Summary: लेबनान की मिडिल ईस्ट एयरलाइंस ने लंदन की उड़ानों पर इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स प्रतिबंध हटाया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Thursday rejected separate bids by 16 states and two Democratic lawmakers to defend the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a legal battle that could defang the agency created under former President Barack Obama. In a brief order, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a request to intervene filed by the states, including New York and Connecticut. The court also rejected similar motions filed by nonprofit consumer groups and two lawmakers, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and congresswoman Maxine Waters of California, also seeking to defend the board. The state officials, led by Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, said in a court filing they were concerned the Trump administration would fire the agency’s independent director, Richard Cordray, who was appointed by the Democrat Obama. The agency was created during Obama’s presidency in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. The court ruled last October that the structure of the agency, charged with guarding consumer finances, was unconstitutional. The agency immediately asked the court to reconsider its decision but the Trump administration could drop the appeal. The state officials asked to be able to defend the agency in the lawsuit brought by mortgage lender PHH Corp and ensure the case is not declared moot if Trump’s administration drops the appeal of the ruling. Under the 2010 law, the director can be fired only “for cause,” limiting a president’s ability to remove him. The appeals court ruled that this restriction was an unlawful limitation on presidential power.

Summary: अमेरिकी अदालत ने उपभोक्ता एजेंसी का बचाव करने के लिए राज्यों की बोली को खारिज कर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. Senate Democrat said on Friday he would force a vote on the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to repeal landmark net neutrality rules, but the move was unlikely to block a ruling that could reshape the digital landscape. The FCC voted Thursday along party lines to reverse the Obama era rules barring internet service providers from blocking or throttling internet traffic, or offering paid fast lanes. A group of state attorneys general vowed to sue. On Friday, Senator Charles Schumer of New York said he would force a vote on the FCC action under the Congressional Review Act. Republicans scuttled internet privacy rules adopted under the Obama administration using the same procedural vehicle. “There will be a vote to repeal the rule that the FCC passed. It’s in our power to do that,” Schumer said in New York. “Sometimes we don’t like them, when they used it to repeal some of the pro environmental regulations, but now we can use the CRA to our benefit and we intend to.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell opposes Schumer’s effort and backed the FCC repeal, a spokesman for the Republican said Friday. A reversal of Thursday’s FCC vote would need the approval of the Senate, U.S. House and President Donald Trump. Trump also backed the FCC action, the White House said Thursday. This week’s FCC order grants internet providers sweeping new powers to block, throttle or discriminate among internet content, but requires public disclosure of those practices. Internet providers have vowed not to change how consumers get online content. The FCC rules also seek to bar states from imposing their own net neutrality requirements. The FCC said the rules would take effect once the White House Office of Management and Budget approved the new transparency rules, which could take several months. Democrats say net neutrality is essential to protect consumers, while Republicans say the rules hindered investment by providers and were not needed. Moody’s Investors Service said in a note Friday the FCC vote was “credit positive” for internet service providers that could have faced rate regulation under the 2015 rules that would have treated them like public utilities. Moody’s said providers “will tread lightly when it comes to engaging in paid prioritization and throttling, as there could be significant negative public reaction to these acts.” Moody’s said “at least in the near term, the cost of negative publicity on their existing businesses far outweighs the benefit of additional revenue streams these companies can generate from paid prioritization agreements.”

Summary: सीनेट डेमोक्रेट्स एफसीसी नेट न्यूट्रैलिटी निरस्त करने पर मतदान करने के लिए मजबूर करेंगे


LONDON (Reuters) - Britain wants an outline agreement with the European Union by the end of March 2018 on the transitional arrangements that will apply temporarily after it leaves the bloc, Brexit minister David Davis said on Wednesday. Davis was addressing confusion caused by Prime Minister Theresa May this week over the exit timetable, but he then  stumbled into a new row about when lawmakers would get to vote on a final deal. His department later issued a clarification. May is seeking a so-called implementation period of around two years after Britain s exit from the EU in March 2019, during which its access to the EU single market would stay largely unchanged while new arrangements are put in place.  I would be aiming to get certainly the outlines of it agreed, if we could, in the first quarter (of 2018) ... but it s a negotiation,  Davis told a parliamentary committee. Earlier this week May unnerved corporate executives, keen to know the trading rules they will face, by saying any transitional deal would not be agreed until the entire exit agreement was sealed, more likely towards the end of 2018. Last week EU leaders said at a summit that they would begin preparations to move into  phase two  of the Brexit negotiations in December, a step forward that would allow London to discuss its future trade relationship with the bloc. Davis said he expected to receive guidance from the EU on its approach to a transitional period by December, and that a deal allowing Britain to maintain conditions similar to the status quo would be struck quickly afterwards. However, having reassured businesses on the trade deal, Davis then angered lawmakers by suggesting the EU would push negotiations right up to the end of March 2019, meaning parliament might have to vote to approve the exit deal after Britain had already departed the bloc. Political opponents accused the government of trying to subvert democracy by not giving parliament a proper say. A spokeswoman for Davis  department later issued a clarification, saying the government was working to get the final deal agreed by October 2018 and that it intended to give lawmakers a vote before Britain left.  This morning the Secretary of State (Davis) was asked about hypothetical scenarios. (Chief EU negotiator) Michel Barnier has said he hopes to get the deal agreed by October 2018 and that is our aim as well,  the spokeswoman said.    May is already facing a rough ride in parliament on her minority government s key piece of Brexit legislation, which is on hold while ministers plow through hundreds of proposed amendments - some of which have enough support to inflict an embarrassing defeat.   This U-turn exposes another self-created shambles in government over Brexit,  Pat McFadden, an opposition lawmaker, said in a statement issued by the pro-European campaign group Open Britain.   Despite Davis s comments on the transition deal, Britain and the EU remain at odds on the overall timeline of the negotiations, which incorporate a withdrawal deal on the terms of the divorce, the transitional deal, and a future trade deal.  Britain wants to finish everything by the time it leaves in early 2019, while the EU thinks it could take until 2020 to tie up trade terms. Davis said he believed Britain would be able to seal a trade and customs arrangement by the end of the two-year exit process, adding that it was important to do so to avoid getting trapped in a protracted negotiation.  It s not a good position to get into to be still negotiating during such an arrangement,  Davis said.  If we were doing the negotiation during a period of transition, I suspect what we would get offered is a year extension and another year extension, each time paying a fee.  An EU official said on Tuesday that the EU will only negotiate on the details of a free trade deal after Britain has actually left in March 2019 because the EU s own laws do not allow it to negotiate trade agreements with its own members. Asked about this approach, Davis said a trade deal could be signed  a nanosecond  after Britain leaves, implying that he hoped for a more flexible approach from Brussels.

Summary: ब्रेक्सिट समय सारिणी की उलझन के बीच, ब्रिटेन का लक्ष्य 2018 की शुरुआत तक संक्रमण की रूपरेखा तैयार करना है


CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian military officer was killed and two other people were wounded in a shell attack on a military airport near the town of Arish in the North Sinai region on Tuesday, the army spokesman said in a statement on Facebook. It said the attack took place during a visit of Egypt s interior and defense ministers to the area. A security source said neither minister had been hurt during the attack.  Those wounded were an officer and a soldier, a second security source said. The statement also said a helicopter had been damaged during the attack, and that security forces had  dealt with the source of fire , without elaborating. The Egyptian military is battling a years-long Islamist insurgency in North Sinai that has killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen. Attacks claimed by Islamic State s Sinai branch have expanded to include civilian targets in the past year. The group is widely believed to have carried out an attack on a mosque last month, the deadliest in Egypt s modern history, which killed more than 300 people according to state media. However Islamic State did not claim that attack.

Summary: मिस्र के उत्तरी सिनाई में हवाई अड्डे पर हमले में अधिकारी की मौत


JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel shot down a pilotless plane over the Golan Heights on Tuesday and said it was probably an Iranian-built aircraft on a  reconnaissance mission for the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group along Israel s frontier with Syria. The incident came hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to address the U.N. General Assembly and cite Israeli concerns about an entrenchment in Syria of Iranian and Hezbollah forces that have been helping Damascus beat back Islamist-led rebels. The drone was launched from an air base near Damascus and was downed with a Patriot interceptor missile over the Golan demilitarized zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces since the ceasefire deal that followed their 1973 war, the military said.   As we understand, it was on a reconnaissance mission along the border and the Golan Heights on behalf of Hezbollah,  a military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus, told reporters.  Our intelligence suggests it was ... Iranian-made.  Asked whether the drone might have been armed, Conricus said that information was not yet available. He said Israeli warplanes had also been scrambled. Officials from Syria, Hezbollah and Iran had no immediate comment on the incident. The Golan, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 conflict, has seen spillover violence from the Syrian civil war. Israel has at times fired to foil what it deemed deliberate cross-border attacks.  Our message is: The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) will not allow any violation of Israeli sovereignty and we will not allow Iranian forces, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad or Shi ite militias of any kind to approach the Israeli borders,  Conricus said. (This story has been corrected at paragraph 3 to show demilitarised zone established after 1973 war.)

Summary: इजरायल ने सीरियाई सीमा पर ईरान निर्मित ड्रोन को मार गिरायाः सेना


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - There is no way Mexico would fund Donald Trump’s “terrible” plan to build a wall along its border with the United States if the Republican front-runner wins the U.S. presidential election, the Mexican finance minister said. Trump, the New York billionaire developer and former reality television star, sparked outrage in Mexico when he vowed to force Latin America’s second largest economy to pay for a wall along the southern U.S. border to stem the flow of illegal immigration and drugs. In a televised interview late on Wednesday, Finance Minister Luis Videgaray categorically rejected the proposal.     “Under no circumstance will Mexico pay for the wall that Mr. Trump is proposing,” he said. “Building a wall between Mexico and the United States is a terrible idea. It is an idea based on ignorance and has no foundation in the reality of North American integration.” Trump has accused Mexico of sending rapists and drug runners across the U.S. border and has vowed to increase fees on some Mexican visas and all border crossing cards as part of a broader plan to force Mexico to pay for the wall. Former conservative Mexican presidents Felipe Calderon and Vicente Fox have compared Trump to Adolf Hitler while fears of a Trump presidency have helped stoke a spike in the numbers of immigrants trying to enter the United States.  (Reporting By Alexandra Alper; Editing by Simon Gardner and Bill Trott) 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: मेक्सिको का कहना है कि वह ट्रम्प की 'भयानक' सीमा दीवार के लिए भुगतान नहीं करेगा


TOKYO (Reuters) - Emperor Akihito, who has spent much of his nearly three decades on Japan s throne seeking to soothe the wounds of World War Two, will step down on April 30, 2019 - the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in about two centuries. A 10-member Imperial Household Council of lawmakers, royals and supreme court justices, chaired by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, agreed on the timing on Friday. Akihito, who turns 84 on Dec. 23 and has had heart surgery and treatment for prostate cancer, said in rare remarks last year that he feared age might make it hard for him to fulfil his duties. He will be succeeded by his heir, 57-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito.  This is the first abdication by an emperor in 200 years and the first under the (post-war) constitution,  Abe told reporters after announcing the recommendation.  I feel deep emotion that today, the opinion of the Imperial Household Council was smoothly decided and a big step was taken toward the imperial succession.  The cabinet still has to sign off on the decision on the date, which it will likely do next week. Once considered divine, Japan s emperor is defined in the post-war constitution as a  symbol of the state and of the unity of the people , but has no political power. Akihito, along with Empress Michiko, has spent much time trying to address the legacy of World War Two, which was fought in the name of his father Hirohito, and consoling victims of disasters or other woes.  He is widely respected by average Japanese.  Both the emperor and empress thought tirelessly about the people,  said Taeko Ito, a 72-year-old caregiver.  Now he is elderly and I wish from my heart that he can have a rest.   Akihito and Michiko, the first commoner to wed a Japanese monarch, have worked to reconcile ties across Asia, soured by Japan s aggression before and during World War Two, with numerous visits abroad. In 1992, he became the first Japanese monarch in living memory to visit China, where bitter memories of the war run deep. During that visit the emperor said he  deeply deplored  an  unfortunate period in which my country inflicted great suffering on the people of China . Akihito has consistently urged the Japanese never to forget the horrors of war, remarks that have garnered increased attention since Abe took office in 2012 and sought to adopt a less apologetic tone over Japan s past military aggression.  He redefined the job. He wanted to modernise the monarchy and take care of the unfinished business ... and bring the imperial household closer to the people,  said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University Japan.  He s been remarkably successful on all fronts. He is deeply admired and respected. His moral authority is unquestioned.  Once Akihito steps down a new  imperial era  will begin, replacing the current  Heisei  or  achieving peace  period which began on Jan. 8, 1989, the day he took the throne. Japan uses the Western-style Gregorian calendar but has also preserved the ancient custom in which the reign of a new emperor ushers in a new era. The last time a Japanese emperor abdicated was in 1817.  Post-war law had not allowed for abdication, so a one-off law was adopted in June to let Akihito step down, but it left details such as the timing to be worked out. An early proposal that he retire at the end of 2018, his 30th year on the throne, was rejected over worries it would conflict with rituals and other duties around then. Another date considered was March 31, 2019, the end of the business year. But subsequent ceremonies would have coincided with a busy time for many people and nation-wide local elections in early April, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. Some Japanese lamented that the process was taking too long.  It s the same for me - life is not so long,  said a 79-year-old retiree, Asataro Nishizawa.  They should have granted his wish sooner, while he is still vigorous.  The abdication law did not address the problem of the future of an ageing, shrinking imperial family and the related issue of whether women should be allowed to ascend the throne. Eleven-year-old Prince Hisahito, the son of Akihito s younger son Prince Akishino, is the emperor s only grandson and will be second in line to the throne after his father following the abdication. Naruhito s daughter, Princess Aiko, who turned 16 on Friday, cannot inherit the males-only throne.

Summary: जापान के सम्राट अकिहितो 30 अप्रैल, 2019 को गद्दी छोड़ देंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump stands by his allegation that former President Barack Obama ordered Trump Tower to be wiretapped during the 2016 campaign, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Thursday. “He stands by it,” Spicer said at a daily briefing. Spicer’s comments came after the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee said they saw no evidence to support Trump’s claim.

Summary: ट्रंप वायर टैपिंग के आरोपों पर कायम हैंः व्हाइट हाउस


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. law enforcement official, under questioning from Republicans at a congressional hearing on Tuesday, shed no new light on the Justice Department’s decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton over her handling of sensitive emails. Attorney General Loretta Lynch deflected questions about the department’s inquiry into Clinton’s use of a private email system while she was secretary of state, an issue that has hounded her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Republicans grilled Lynch at the House of Representatives committee hearing over Justice’s decision not to charge Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Nov. 8 election. “Lynch has no intention of answering ... even the most basic questions about the legal elements the government is obligated to prove in a criminal prosecution,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Republican. Democratic lawmakers at the hearing largely avoided the subject, asking Lynch about gun control and policing reforms.  Lynch referred questions about the department’s decision to an FBI-led investigative team that recommended not bringing charges. She said she was “extremely proud” of the team’s work, testifying one week after the FBI closed its year-long probe. The emails case is a favorite target for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, as well as other Republican politicians. Goodlatte and Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz asked the Justice Department on Monday to investigate whether Clinton committed perjury in testimony to Congress about the emails. Other investigations continue. At least one federal judge is seeking to establish whether Clinton set up the email system to thwart laws governing the public’s access to official records. Judge Emmet Sullivan of the district court in Washington, who is overseeing a lawsuit accusing the State Department of not complying with records requests by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, is considering whether to order that Clinton give testimony about the system under oath.  Clinton’s lawyers argued against her having to testify in court papers filed on Tuesday, saying she had no more information to provide that was not already in the public record and that the Justice Department still had her emails and computer equipment. Judge Sullivan is due to rule on whether to order the deposition after a hearing next Monday. FBI Director James Comey told a congressional hearing last week he recommended against charging Clinton because there was insufficient evidence that she acted with bad intent. He added that any of his employees who handled emails the way Clinton did could be subject to dismissal or loss of security clearance.

Summary: अमेरिकी अटॉर्नी जनरल ने क्लिंटन के ईमेल पर सांसदों के सवालों को टाल दिया


GENEVA (Reuters) - Syria’s political opposition hopes Hillary Clinton wins the U.S. presidential election next week because she has a better understanding of the conflict than Donald Trump, according to members of a delegation holding talks at the United Nations. Khaled Khoja and Hind Kabawat, in Geneva on Monday to press for U.N.-led negotiations on the release of Syrian detainees, said they trusted Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State, to deliver on the opposition’s top priority - protecting civilians. Clinton has called for the establishment of a no-fly zone and “safe zones” on the ground in Syria to protect non-combatants. Trump says this could “lead to World War Three” due to the potential for conflict with Russia, which is providing military support to President Bashar al-Assad. Kabawat said Trump, who has never held public office and has no foreign policy experience, saw Islamic State, also known as ISIS, as the only alternative to Assad in Syria.  “For us a woman’s leadership at this time would be a good thing. Also for many, like Trump and others, they think that the Syrian conflict is comparing Assad with ISIS and they have to take one side or the other, and of course for them Assad will look more prominent than ISIS,” said Kabawat.  “She (Clinton) knows that is wrong. She knows that there is this moderate opposition that believes in democracy and freedom. This is what we are aiming for, to have a president of the U.S. with good experience who knows the difference between the different oppositions.” Assad, whose forces have regained much territory against their opponents with the help of Russian warplanes, has branded all those opposed to his rule as “terrorists”.  Trump has said defeating Islamic State should be a higher priority than trying to persuade Assad to step aside, a departure from a long-held U.S. policy objective. Khoja, leading the Syrian opposition delegation in Geneva, disagreed with this viewpoint. “Dealing with only the ISIS issue will not help with solving the crisis in Syria or the region because the root cause of the crisis is the (Assad) regime itself,” he said. Kabawat, an attorney and a member of the opposition High Negotiations Committee, added that the Syrian political opposition wanted to see women playing an equal role to men in the nation’s politics. The opposition delegation, which has links to the Free Syrian Army but not with Islamic State or al Qaeda-linked groups, is in Geneva this week to revive the issue of prisoner releases, sidelined during months of fruitless peace talks. Khoja said more than 100 armed groups had shown their willingness to cooperate but there had been no sign of cooperation from Assad’s government or Russia, adding that the United Nations should form a committee on the matter. “If it’s needed, if there is a response from the regime side to release the detainees and stop killings inside Syria, then we can have the representative of the military groups also in this committee, and if the regime wants to send someone to this committee, we can discuss it,” Khoja said.  The Syrian Network of Human Rights has documented more than 90,000 detainees held by the Syrian government, 6,000 held by Islamic State and 2,400 held by the rest of the opposition, but estimates the real numbers are twice as high.

Summary: सीरियाई राजनीतिक विपक्ष का कहना है कि क्लिंटन को अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति पद जीतने की उम्मीद है


BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq s Kurdish leadership rejected on Sunday a demand by the Iraqi government that it cancels the outcome of an independence referendum as a precondition for talks to resolve the dispute. Kurdish leaders who met to discuss the crisis in the town of Dokan renewed their offer to  resolve peacefully  the crisis with Baghdad.   The Kurdish parties are ready for talks between Erbil and Baghdad,  they said in a statement, referring respectively to the seat of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq and the federal capital of Iraq.  The talks between Erbil and Baghdad should be under the supervision of international parties,  the statement added. Among those at the meeting were KRG President Masoud Barzani, Iraqi President Fuad Masum   a Kurd who holds a largely ceremonial position in the federal state   and Hero Talabani, widow of Jalal Talabani, a Kurdish leader who died earlier this month.  They rejected what they described as  military threats  from Iraqi forces against Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and pledged to defend Kurdish-held territory in case of an attack. The KRG and the Shi ite-led central government in Baghdad have been at loggerheads since the Sept. 25 vote and its loud call for Kurdish independence. Tension between two parties has flared around the multi-ethnic oil city of Kirkuk, which Peshmerga forces took in 2014 when Iraqi security forces collapsed in the face of an Islamic State onslaught. The Peshmerga deployment prevented Kirkuk s oilfields from falling into jihadist hands.

Summary: कुर्द नेताओं ने स्वतंत्रता मतदान को रद्द करने, बातचीत के प्रस्ताव को नवीनीकृत करने की बगदाद की मांग को अस्वीकार कर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has turned to senior adviser Brian Deese, an economic expert who previously led the administration’s climate change efforts, to head a team formed to pick a Supreme Court nominee and win confirmation, the White House said. White House counsel Neil Eggleston will be a part of that team and will steer the legal process, including the vetting of potential candidates, administration officials said on Monday. Leading Republicans have vowed to block any nominee Obama chooses, leaving the White House with the challenge of finding someone it believes could change Republican minds or galvanize enough public support to pressure them to back down.  Obama has been in the early stages of choosing a candidate to replace conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia since his death two weeks ago.  The process is likely to take at least a month, and the Deese-led team was created to ensure the entire White House staff was not consumed with the potentially legacy-defining project. The group will report regularly to chief of staff Denis McDonough, senior advisers and Obama. Deese has a history of taking on projects important to the president within the White House. He was involved in leading the administration’s bailout of the U.S. auto industry, budget deals with Congress and, most recently, international climate change talks that culminated in a Paris deal to fight global warming. “The president has relied on Brian in a variety of critical situations to do important work and to take on important projects,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.  “Given Brian’s performance in his other priorities, I don’t think it’s particularly surprising he would be tapped for this responsibility too.” Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said repeatedly that the Senate will not confirm an Obama nominee in this election year. McConnell and other congressional leaders are scheduled to meet with the president on Tuesday. The White House keeps an ongoing list of potential candidates for the Supreme Court for instances in which a vacancy opens up, according to a former administration official involved in the process previously. That list is now being reviewed and is open to new entrants. Candidates will be vetted and interviewed before Obama makes his final decision.

Summary: ओबामा के सलाहकार डीज़ व्हाइट हाउस की सुप्रीम कोर्ट प्रक्रिया का नेतृत्व करेंगे


ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek court on Wednesday backed the extradition to Moscow of a Russian citizen who also faces being sent to the United States on allegations of laundering billions of dollars in bitcoin. Alexander Vinnik, the suspected mastermind of a $4 billion bitcoin laundering ring, is one of seven Russians arrested or indicted worldwide this year on U.S. cybercrime charges. Judges ruled last week that he should be extradited to the United States, a decision Russia criticized as unjust and illegal and which Vinnik is challenging at Greece s supreme court. Should it decide to uphold the ruling to extradite him to the United States, the final decision is in the hands of Greece s justice minister, who can approve extradition to one country and block the other. Vinnik denies all charges against him. But he has agreed to be returned to Russia where he is to be tried on lesser fraud charges.  That is his wish - to be extradited to Russia and to give his account before the Russian judicial authorities,  Alexandros Lykourezos, the lawyer leading Vinnik s defense, told reporters after the ruling in Thessaloniki.  In the United States, where he faces up to 55 years in prison, Vinnik is accused of running BTC-e   a digital currency exchange used to trade bitcoin   to facilitate crimes ranging from computer hacking to drug trafficking since 2011. He has told Greek judges that he was a technical consultant to BTC-e and not its operator. Vinnik was arrested while on holiday in a seaside village in Greece in July. Russia then sought his extradition as it has done with other nationals wanted by the United States.  The supreme court hearing is expected within the next three weeks, Lykourezos said.

Summary: ग्रीस में बिटक्वाइन धोखाधड़ी के संदिग्ध के प्रत्यर्पण के लिए रस्साकशी में अमेरिका, रूस