WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pomp and circumstance were like any big Washington celebration: a regal backdrop, the patriotic music, the military precision of the ceremony. But the throngs who attended Friday’s inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump came for change. Dramatic change.  Some came to hear about changes in America’s world view or a desire for stronger borders. Some wanted to hear how change would ripple into their hometown. Some hankered for u-turns in policies; some wanted an entirely new approach to governing.  Trump, like President Barack Obama in 2008, tapped into a desire for change and cast himself as a challenger to the Washington establishment. But, this time, the demands came from a slice of America that feels neglected during the Obama administration.  “Obama’s had eight years and I can see my neighbors in worse shape than they were eight years ago,” said Carol Reiller, 66, a retiree who drove seven-plus hours from Buffalo, New York, with her grandchildren to see the swearing-in ceremony. Many of the inauguration attendees were focused on economic issues. In dozens of interviews with supporters, they pinned their hopes and expectations on everything from job creation to improved border security to a revival of American manufacturing. Christian Early, 37, said many of his friends have lost work in the construction industry and he is looking for Trump to turn that around.  He wants quick approval of the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline from Canada through the United States, pressure on U.S. companies to repatriate cash in offshore tax havens, and an immediate loosening of financial regulations. “If he does those things, he will be creating jobs,” said Early, a bank officer from Annapolis, Maryland. “If he’s not making an earnest effort within one year, he’ll just be another politician.” Like thousands in the crowd, Early wore one of Trump’s signature “Make America great Again” baseball caps, a bright red sign of solidarity in an audience overwhelmingly opposed to just about everything symbolized by the city they had come to visit. For his part, Trump’s inaugural address channeled the resentment of the white working class in an echo of his fiery campaign speeches, darkly portraying a dysfunctional country riven by unemployment, poverty and crime that he would change in a movement of nationalism and trade protectionism. George Weber, 51, a car dealer who traveled from Missouri, said he voted for Trump with the hope that he will get Washington “working for the people…. I want to see him shaking things up right away.” Even veterans of previous inaugurations felt the mood this time was different. Marie Quinn, 76, from Richmond, Virginia, said she’d attended Republican inaugurations since Ronald Reagan’s presidency, but felt this one promised to bring more historic change. “This one will probably be much bigger,” she said, predicting that Trump would put the country on a new course. Many attendees said they were eager for Trump to fulfill his promises of a crackdown on illegal immigration. Joshua Rojas, 25, a Mexican-American graduate student who worked as a bank teller to fund his trip, said he understood some of the immigrant community’s concern about Trump, since his own father, a minister, was brought to America as an illegal immigrant. “Trump isn’t popular among Hispanics and sometimes he takes it a little far, but what he’s saying he will do still excites me,” Rojas said. “Illegal immigration is a big burden to local government.” Not everyone who attended the ceremonies was keen on the change Trump is promising. Lani Lutar, 39, a small business owner from San Diego, came for the Women’s March on Washington, an event scheduled for Saturday and expected to draw large crowds. She supported neither Trump nor his opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but she got an inaugural ticket from her congressman’s office. Lutar wanted to “appreciate the significance of this amazing ceremony of the best country in the world.” But even the impressive pageantry did not erase her misgivings about Trump. “I worry a lot about a lot of things, his treatment of people of different religions, of women, his racist comments, there’s a lot,” she said. Some of Trump’s supporters echoed those concerns, talking hopefully about the need to unify a nation bitterly divided by a combative and controversial campaign. Francie Keener, 37, wearing a lipstick-red dress to match the ubiquitous Trump cap, thought the new president’s speech was a good start. It showed that “he supports everybody,” the New Yorker said. “I hope people can rest a little easy now.” Susan Suhovsky, 64, a Catholic school teacher from New York, suggested, however, that Trump still has a way to go in softening his often combative rhetoric. “I hope when he speaks, he cleans up how he talks,” she said. “That is a concern, because you represent our country…. He talks like a New Yorker.”

Summary: ट्रम्प समर्थकों की अलग-अलग उम्मीदें परिवर्तन के वादे के इर्द-गिर्द एकजुट होती हैं


RAQQA/DUBAI (Reuters) - While Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was accusing the West of turning a blind eye to Islamic State smuggling, a member of his parliament was quietly doing business with the group, farmers and administrators in the militants  former stronghold said. The arrangement helped the Syrian government to feed areas still under its control after Islamic State took over the northeastern wheat-growing region during the six-year-old civil war, they said. Traders working for businessman and lawmaker Hossam al-Katerji bought wheat from farmers in Islamic State areas and transported it to Damascus, allowing the group to take a cut, five farmers and two administrators in Raqqa province told Reuters. Katerji s office manager, Mohammed Kassab, confirmed that Katerji Group was providing Syrian government territories with wheat from the northeast of Syria through Islamic State territory but denied any contact with Islamic State. It is not clear how much Assad knew of the wheat trading. Cooperation over wheat between a figure from Syria s establishment, which is backed by Shi ite power Iran, and the hardline Sunni Islamic State would mark a new ironic twist in a war that has deepened regional Sunni-Shi ite divisions. Reuters contacted Katerji s office six times to request comment but was not given access to him. His office manager Kassab, asked how the company managed to buy and transport the wheat without any contact with Islamic State, said:  It was not easy, the situation was very difficult.  When asked for details he said only that it was a long explanation. He did not return further calls or messages. Damascus, under U.S. and EU sanctions over the conflict and alleged oil trading with Islamic State, strongly denies any business links with the hardline Islamist militants, arguing that the United States is responsible for their rise to power. The self-declared caliphate they set up across large parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014 has all but collapsed after Western-backed forces drove them out of their Iraqi stronghold, Mosul and surrounded them in Raqqa, where they are now confined to a small area. Russian and Iranian-backed Syrian forces are attacking them elsewhere, such as Deir al Zor on Syria s eastern border, where Kassab says he was speaking from, in a continuing struggle for the upper hand between world powers. Five farmers in Raqqa described how they sold wheat to Katerji s traders during Islamic State rule in interviews at the building housing the Raqqa Civil Council, formed to take over once the city is retaken.  The operation was organized,  said Mahmoud al-Hadi, who owns agricultural land near Raqqa and who, like the other farmers, had come to the council s cement offices to seek help.  I would sell to small traders who sent the wheat to big traders who sent it on to Katerji and the regime through two or three traders,  he said. He and the other farmers said they all had to pay Islamic State a 10 percent tax, or zakat, and sold all of their season s supplies to Katerji s traders under the multi-layered scheme. Local officials said Katerji s traders bought up wheat from Raqqa and Deir al-Zor and gave Islamic State 20 percent.  If a truck is carrying 100 sacks, they (Islamic State) would keep 20 and give the rest to the trucker,  said Awas Ali, a deputy of the Tabqa joint leadership council, a similar, post-Islamic State local body allied to the Kurdish-led forces now attacking Raqqa. Ali said he learned of the details of the arrangement with Katerji by speaking with Islamic State prisoners and others who worked in the group s tax collection and road tolling systems.  Katerji s trucks were well known and the logo on them was clear and they were not harassed at all,  Ali said, adding that Katerji s people were active during the last buying season, which lasts from May to August. The farmers also said the trucks were identifiable as Katerji s. The truck drivers were even allowed to smoke cigarettes as they passed through the checkpoints, something Islamic State enforcers punished with whippings elsewhere, Ali and several other sources said.  I would sell an entire season s supplies to Katerji s traders, said farmer Ali Shanaan.  They are known traders. The checkpoints stopped the trucks and Daesh would take a cut and let them pass,  he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. The wheat was transported via the  New bridge  over the Euphrates River to a road leading out of Raqqa, the farmers and local officials said. Control of the bridge is now unclear as the militants in Raqqa come close to defeat. Raqqa-based lawyer Abdullah al-Aryan, who said he had been a consultant for some of Katerji s traders, said Katerji s trucks brought goods into Islamic State territory as well as wheat out.  Food used to come from areas controlled by the government. Medicine and food,  he said. Islamic State rule involved shooting or beheading perceived opponents in public squares, imposing its own extreme version of sharia, Islamic law, and then providing basic goods such as bread and setting up ministries and taxation. Several farmers said they saw Islamic State documents which were stamped at checkpoints to allow the wheat trucks to pass. They belonged to the department which imposes taxes. Islamic State may have exported some of the wheat. Local officials and farmers said the militants, as well as a rebel group, had sold the contents of grain silos in the northeast to traders across the Turkish border. Assad has accused his enemies, including Turkey and Western countries, of supporting the group, something they deny. In an interview in March with a Chinese news agency, published by Syrian state news agency SANA, Assad said:  As for the other side, which is the United States, at least during the Obama administration, it dealt with Daesh through overlooking its smuggling of Syrian oil to Turkey, and in that way Daesh was able to procure money in order to recruit terrorists from all over the world.  Asked whether Syrian companies were dealing with Islamic State to secure wheat, Internal Trade and Consumer Protection Minister Abdullah al-Gharbi said in August:  No, not at all.  Speaking to Reuters at a Damascus trade fair, he added:  This doesn t exist at all. We are importing wheat from Russian companies in addition to our local crop and this talk is completely unacceptable.  The wheat buying season ended in August and IS has lost control of the wheat-growing areas, either to government forces or the Syrian Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces. Assad has traditionally relied on a close-knit set of businessmen most notably Rami Makhlouf, his maternal cousin, to help keep Syria s economy afloat. Makhlouf is subject to international sanctions and relies on various associates to do business.  Katerji is a household name around Raqqa and elsewhere. Farmer Hadi likened him to a late Greek shipping tycoon, Aristotle Onassis. Katerji is the Onassis of Syria,  he said.  Katerji s facebook profile page shows him shaking hands with Assad and he regularly posts pictures of the president, who he describes as  a beacon of light for pan-Arabism, patriotism and loyalty . He is member of parliament for Aleppo, a key battleground recovered by the government late last year, and is part of a new business class that has risen to prominence during the war. The United States and EU have imposed a range of measures targeted both at the government and some of the many armed groups operating in Syria, but foodstuffs are not restricted. U.S. and European sanctions on banking and asset freezes have, however, made it difficult for most trading houses to do business with Assad s government and made local supplies increasingly vital. Flat bread is a subsidized staple for Syrians, who have suffered under a conflict estimated to have killed several hundred thousand people and forced millions to flee their homes. The government needs around 1.5 million tonnes annually to feed the areas it controls and keep Syrians on Assad s side. Syria s bread-basket provinces of Hasaka, Raqqa and Deir al-Zor account for nearly 70 percent of total wheat production. While the government looks set to retake much of Deir al-Zor province soon, Hasaka is mostly under the control of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, who are also likely to hold sway in Raqqa along with Arab allied groups.  Ali, from the Tabqa council, predicted that would not stop the wheat trade.  People like Katerji, with a lot of money and power, their activities will never be completely frozen,  he said.  It is just going to disappear from one area and go to another.

Summary: कैसे एक व्यापारी ने असद को सीरियाई लोगों को खाना खिलाने में मदद करने के लिए इस्लामिक स्टेट के साथ समझौता किया


BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it hoped the United States would not allow transit by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen when she visits Guatemala next month. China hopes the United States “does not allow her transit, and does not send any wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ forces”, the ministry said in a statement sent to Reuters.

Summary: चीन को उम्मीद है कि अमेरिका ताइवान के राष्ट्रपति को पारगमन की अनुमति नहीं देगा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday urged  a quick return to civilian rule  in Zimbabwe after its army took charge earlier this week, and called events there  a concern.    Zimbabwe has an opportunity to set itself on a new path, one that must include democratic elections and respect for human rights,  Tillerson told the foreign ministers from the African continent ahead of a meeting in Washington.

Summary: टिलरसन ने जिम्बाब्वे में नागरिक शासन की वापसी का आग्रह किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michigan legislators need to pass legislation quickly to overhaul Detroit’s beleaguered public schools before courts intervene, the state’s governor said on Friday. Republican Rick Snyder said he is still pushing a plan for the school system that he offered last year that he said would provide $700 million to deal with the schools’ massive debt and make other investments. “I need legislative support,” he told MSNBC in an interview. “I’ve asked the legislature to do that and I want to get that done before we have court intervention in the situation.” Snyder spokesman Dave Murray said municipal bankruptcy is not an option the state wants for the Detroit Public Schools, although Snyder would have the ultimate say on whether the district could head to federal bankruptcy court. Snyder’s plea for action comes after teachers’ protests closed nearly all Detroit schools this week. All but nine of the district’s 97 schools closed because of the teachers’ sickout on Wednesday over complaints about low pay and crumbling infrastructure. Detroit’s schools, like the city, have suffered from financial hardship that has shaken the region in recent years. The schools now are run under state oversight. Declining enrollment as well as heavy pension and debt obligations have left the district strapped for cash and it could run out of money as soon as April. Bills were introduced earlier this month in the Michigan legislature to create two entities - the Detroit Community District to run the schools, and the current Detroit Public Schools to retire debt. The school system faces an estimated $3.5 billion in debt, according to one report from a nonprofit public affairs group, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.

Summary: मिशिगन के गवर्नर ने अदालत के हस्तक्षेप से पहले डेट्रॉइट स्कूलों पर कार्रवाई का आग्रह किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s call for $1.5 billion this year to help build a wall along the border with Mexico could be in jeopardy as fellow Republicans in Congress weigh delaying a decision on the request. Republican Senator Roy Blunt, a member of his party’s leadership, told reporters on Tuesday that money for the wall likely would not be coupled with a spending bill that must pass by April 28 to avoid shutting down federal agencies whose funding expires then. Blunt said the must-do funding “comes together better” without Trump’s additional request for the border wall and military programs and could be considered “at a later time.” Democrats are threatening to block the bill funding federal agencies from April 29 to Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year, if money for the border wall is included. They object to one of Trump’s premier 2016 campaign promises, saying it is poorly planned and that there are other border security measures already constructed or under consideration. When he ran for president, Trump pledged Mexico would pay to build the wall, designed to keep illegal immigrants and drugs from entering the United States. The Mexican government has said it will not do so. The initiative has also faced resistance among Republicans, including lawmakers representing some border towns. The federal government would have to purchase land in many locations in order to construct the edifice, which could make construction costs soar. Reuters reported the wall could end up costing as much as $21.6 billion, far more than the $12 billion Trump cited. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart also expressed skepticism about Congress’ ability to approve funds for the wall, given the super-majority vote needed in the Senate for most major legislation. Asked about the wall, Diaz-Balart, a senior member of the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee and a leading voice on immigration policy, said: “I’m always willing to look at other things we can do to try to get that 60-vote threshold” on border and interior security. Lawmakers said progress was being made on legislation to keep the government running beyond April 28. House Speaker Paul Ryan removed another potential land mine on Tuesday when he said a Republican drive to end federal funding for women’s healthcare provider Planned Parenthood would be best accomplished on legislation other than the upcoming funding bill. Democrats have vowed to stop the must-do money bill if it ended Planned Parenthood’s federal funds.

Summary: अमेरिकी सीमा की दीवार के लिए ट्रम्प के वित्तपोषण अनुरोध ने कुछ रिपब्लिकन के बीच बाधा उत्पन्न की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If he becomes U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo would have three assets Rex Tillerson did not: experience in government, the confidence of President Donald Trump, and a defter touch with Congress and the bureaucracy. But he still would suffer from problems that have afflicted Tillerson, chief among them a boss who has shown little regard for diplomacy and no qualms about undermining his secretary of state with tweets, current and former U.S. officials said. News media reports, first published by the New York Times, that Trump has a plan to replace his embattled secretary of state with Pompeo, a former U.S. congressman who now heads the Central Intelligence Agency, drew mixed reviews from serving U.S. officials. Some argued that things at the State Department can hardly get worse than they have been under Tillerson, whose 10-month reign has been marked by an exodus of top diplomats, deep dismay at planned 30 percent budget cuts, and conflicts with Trump. “Anybody could play the hand he’s been dealt better than Tillerson,” said one U.S. official on condition of anonymity, saying things can only get better. But others argued that any new secretary of state would face the same obstacles as Tillerson, who was undercut this year when Trump told his chief diplomat to stop “wasting his time” trying to negotiate with North Korea. “This is a hellish environment for a secretary of state,” said one State Department official on condition of anonymity. It was not clear whether Trump plans to throw Tillerson, who in October reportedly called the president a “moron,” overboard. Tillerson has not directly addressed whether he made the comment, though his spokeswoman denied it. Asked on Thursday if he wanted Tillerson to stay, Trump sidestepped the question saying: “He’s here. Rex is here.” “There are no personnel announcements at this time,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders later said in a statement that left Tillerson twisting in the wind. Trump was alienated by the reported “moron” comment and Tillerson positions that differ from Trump’s on North Korea and the Gulf standoff between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations, said another senior official. Tillerson has embittered many in the State Department by embracing the planned budget cut, failing to get top officials into key diplomatic jobs, relying on a handful of aides and keeping his distance from career diplomats. If Trump went with Pompeo, he would tap a former Army armor officer and Harvard Law School graduate who was in his fourth term representing a Kansas district in Congress when he was chosen to lead the CIA, where officials say he has enjoyed a less hostile relationship with career spies than Tillerson has had with career diplomats. While some intelligence officers say Pompeo tends to tell the president what he wants to hear rather than giving him their assessments, others say they have been impressed by his intellect, his willingness to listen and his advocacy of more robust covert operations.  Current and former officials said Pompeo was likely to get along better with Congress and with the White House, not least because of his conservative bent. However, they said Pompeo would need to resist the planned budget cuts and find a way to grapple with Trump’s tweets. “If the president undercuts what he is trying to achieve diplomatically, convinces people that whatever you agree to with the secretary of state will be overturned by the president ... then he is basically neutered,” said Richard Boucher, a former top U.S. diplomat who now teaches at Brown University. “So the question is not whether Pompeo can do the job but whether the president is going to let Pompeo do the job.”

Summary: पोम्पिओ विदेश मंत्री की 'नारकीय' भूमिका के लिए संपत्ति ला सकते हैं


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday he wanted to be shown at least one fact proving Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. “I don’t know anything about this fact. It’s amazing that serious people are making a mountain out of a molehill,” Lavrov told a news conference during a visit to Belgium. His comments were broadcast live by Russian state Rossiya 24 TV channel. Lavrov was reacting to reports that U.S. President Donald Trump’s eldest son was blamed for meeting a Russian lawyer that emails show might have had damaging information about Hillary Clinton last year.

Summary: रूस के लावरोवः मुझे कम से कम एक तथ्य दिखाएँ कि मास्को ने अमेरिकी चुनाव में हस्तक्षेप किया


ISMAILIA,Egypt (Reuters) - At least 24 militants and six soldiers were killed on Sunday in attacks on military outposts in North Sinai, the Egyptian military said in a statement. The statement did not give details, but security and medical sources said about 20 members of the security forces had also been injured when more than 100 militants repeatedly attacked security outposts south of the border town of Sheikh Zuweid. The attackers used car bombs and rocket propelled grenades (RPG), the sources said. The militants also clashed with the security forces using light weapons, the sources added. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. Hours later, air raid sirens went off in a part of southern Israel and the Israeli military said two rockets were fired from Sinai at Israel. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. On Friday, the militant group claimed an attack on security forces in the peninsula that killed at least six soldiers. Egypt is fighting an insurgency by militants affiliated with Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed since 2013, when the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi after mass protests. The militants have also extended their campaign to other parts of Egypt, most recently attacking churches in Cairo and other cities with the loss of dozens of lives.

Summary: मिस्र के सिनाई में हमलों में 24 आतंकवादी, छह सैनिक मारे गएः सेना


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan called on Wednesday for an end to Obamacare’s financial protections for people with serious medical conditions, saying these consumers should be placed in state high-risk pools.  In election-year remarks that could shed light on an expected Republican healthcare alternative, Ryan said existing federal policy that prevents insurers from charging sick people higher rates for health coverage has raised costs for healthy consumers while undermining choice and competition. The rule, a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, has been praised by patient advocates for providing access to medical care for people who previously could not afford private health insurance. The Affordable Care Act also bars insurers from excluding coverage for pre-existing conditions. “Less than 10 percent of people under 65 are what we call people with pre-existing conditions, who are really kind of uninsurable,” Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, told a student audience at Georgetown University.  “Let’s fund risk pools at the state level to subsidize their coverage, so that they can get affordable coverage,” he said. “You dramatically lower the price for everybody else. You make health insurance so much more affordable, so much more competitive and open up competition.” Charging the same rates to individuals regardless of their medical history is also a key part of group health plans in the private sector. House Republicans, after repeated votes to repeal Obamacare, have promised to produce their own alternative to the Affordable Care Act as part of a broader policy agenda intended to attract voters in the Nov. 8 presidential election. The policy document is expected just ahead of the Republican presidential nominating convention in July. High-risk pools, which existed before the healthcare law, are state-level entities that guarantee coverage for people with health problems. Analysts say they can be prohibitively expensive and offer less than optimal health coverage.  Republicans have proposed state-based risk pools as an Obamacare alternative in the past. Last week, the conservative Republican Study Committee recommended risk pools as part of the House policy agenda, saying premiums should be capped at 200 percent of a state’s average.

Summary: रयान बीमार उपभोक्ताओं के लिए ओबामाकेयर लागत सुरक्षा को समाप्त करना चाहते हैं


(Reuters) - Hurricane Irma was churning toward Florida on Friday, prompting the governor to plead with residents in the evacuation zone to flee their homes before the powerful and immense storms slams into the southern half of the state on Sunday.  Following are five of the most deadly and destructive hurricanes to make landfall in Florida, listed in chronological order: - Great Miami Hurricane, 1926 Miami s population had boomed in the early 1920s, and hurricanes were a strange phenomenon to new residents. When the eye of the storm came, people wandered outside in the deceptive calm. After they eye had passed, they were caught off guard by deadly winds and high waves. Outside Miami, flooding at Lake Okeechobee also caused many deaths. The storm killed at least 372 people in the state.  - Okeechobee Hurricane, 1928 It made landfall in Palm Beach County, Florida, unleashing waves as high as 20 feet (6 meters). In Palm Beach, a haven for the wealthy, some structures were flattened. The south shore of Lake Okeechobee, where migrant farm workers lived, was flooded as water topped dikes. At least 2,500 people are believed to have died from the storm in Florida, according to the National Weather Service. - Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane, 1935 The hurricane struck the Florida Keys as a Category 5, the highest ranking possible. It killed more than 200 World War One veterans who were in the Keys to build a highway. The storm ranks as the most intense hurricane to hit the United States, based on a record low barometric pressure reading of 26.35 inches, according to the National Weather Service. It generated wind speeds of up to 200 miles per hour (322 km per hour). After ravaging the Keys, the storm moved north off the western coast of Florida before turning inland. In all, more than 400 people died in Florida.   - Hurricane Andrew, 1992 The hurricane struck South Miami-Dade County and caused an estimated $26 billion in damage. That ranked as the most expensive storm in U.S. history, until Hurricane Katrina inundated New Orleans and pummeled other parts of the U.S. South in 2005. More than a dozen people were directly killed by the storm in Florida, with others dying of indirect causes.  - Hurricane Wilma, 2005 While the death toll of five victims in Florida was low, compared with other hurricanes, Wilma caused more than $20 billion in property damage. It rambled across the southern part of the state, generating wind gusts of more than 100 miles per hour (161 km per hour).

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः फ्लोरिडा के सबसे घातक और विनाशकारी तूफान


SOFIA (Reuters) - Couples lining up to face each other are given 30 seconds to chat before moving on - in a version of speed dating that, rather than sparking romance, aims to promote understanding and integration for new immigrants. At a social center in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, the locals stand on one side, the immigrants - many refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and other war-torn countries - face them.  The quick-fire conversations - in which participants have just seconds to share their dreams and stories of love, pain and family - are aimed at starting a dialogue between two communities that in normal daily life rarely speak to each other on an equal footing.  It s so good to have an event like this, especially for refugees,  said Rodi Naamo, a 26-year-old Syrian Kurd who arrived in Bulgaria in 2015, when hundreds of thousands of migrants passed through the Balkans en route to Germany and northern Europe.  Bulgarians also appreciated the speedy encounters, as well as the Middle Eastern food and traditional Afghan dances afterwards.  I really enjoyed it, it helped me overcome prejudices,  said Milka Bocheva, a Bulgarian who runs an online business.  They (the refugees) are just people like us, we gave such similar answers.  Bulgaria stands out in the region for its significant Muslim minority, some 12 percent among 7.1 million mainly Orthodox Christians - a legacy of its history as part of the Ottoman Empire.  Despite that, large parts of the population are concerned about the influx of asylum-seekers and migrants.  Naamo, who returned to Bulgaria after a short spell in Germany, to work in a call center, believes opinions are starting to change.  I decided to stay here, this is my country. I ll bring my family here,  he said.

Summary: बुल्गारियाई प्रवासियों को जानने के लिए 'स्पीड डेटिंग' का उपयोग करते हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday called the Myanmar military operation against the Rohingya population  ethnic cleansing  and  threatened targeted sanctions against those responsible for what it called  horrendous atrocities.   The situation in northern Rakhine state constitutes ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya,  U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement, using a term he avoided when visiting Myanmar, also known as Burma, last week.  The United States will also pursue accountability through U.S. law, including possible targeted sanctions  against those responsible for the alleged abuses, which have driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh, he said. The United States shifted its stance in part to raise pressure on Myanmar s military and civilian leaders, who have shared power for the past two years under an uneasy arrangement after decades of military rule, to address the crisis. Rights monitors accused Myanmar s military of atrocities, including killings, mass rape and arson, against the stateless Rohingya during so-called clearance operations after Rohingya militants  Aug. 25 attacks on 30 police posts and an army base. More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Rakhine state in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, mostly to neighboring Bangladesh, since the crackdown, which followed the insurgent attacks.      These abuses by some among the Burmese military, security forces, and local vigilantes have caused tremendous suffering and forced hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children to flee their homes,  Tillerson said. While repeating U.S. condemnation of the insurgent attacks, he added:  No provocation can justify the horrendous atrocities that have ensued.  Myanmar s 2-year-old government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has faced heavy international criticism for its response to the crisis, though it has no control over the generals with whom it shares power.  It s not a situation that is completely under her authority, but certainly we are counting on her to show leadership and also to work through the civilian government with the military to address the crisis,  a senior U.S. official told reporters in a conference call. The term  ethnic cleansing  is not defined in international or U.S. law and does not inherently carry specific consequences, a second senior U.S. official said on the call. Murray Hiebert, a Southeast Asia analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, said the State Department s use of the term and threat of sanctions  will likely have limited to no impact on the ground.   It is likely to create more distrust between the United States and Myanmar s military and government and push them closer to China, Russia, and its more authoritarian neighbors in Southeast Asia,  he added.  The U.S. move came the same day as a U.N. tribunal convicted former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic of genocide and crimes against humanity for massacres of Bosnian Muslims and ethnic cleansing campaigns, and imprisoned him for life. The second U.S. official said Washington was analyzing whether genocide or crimes against humanity had occurred in Myanmar, which would violate international law, but has made no determination on either and that this would take time to assess.  In the end it s a court that has to decide that, as we ve just seen with the verdict against Mladic,  he said. A top U.N. official in September described the military actions as a textbook case of  ethnic cleansing,  but the United States until Wednesday had avoided the term.  Washington has sought to balance its wish to nurture the civilian government in Myanmar, where it competes for influence with China, with its desire to hold the military accountable for the abuses. U.S. officials also worry that the mistreatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority may fuel radicalism. The first U.S. official said Washington would work with Bangladesh and Myanmar to encourage the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya.  We have focused on the issue of voluntary returns,  the official said.  We don t want people to be forced to return to a situation in which they feel uncomfortable.   Congressional pressure for a tougher U.S. response to the Rohingya crisis mounted before President Donald Trump s first visit to Asia this month to attend a summit of Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, in Manila. U.S. government sources told Reuters in October that officials were preparing a recommendation for Tillerson that would define the military-led campaign against the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing, which could spur new sanctions. In early November, U.S. lawmakers proposed targeted sanctions and travel restrictions on Myanmar military officials. Rights group Amnesty International called for a comprehensive arms embargo against Myanmar as well as targeted financial sanctions against senior Myanmar military officials.

Summary: अमेरिका ने रोहिंग्याओं के खिलाफ म्यांमार के कदमों को 'जातीय सफाया' बताया


COX S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - The World Food Program (WFP) appealed on Sunday for 75 million dollars in emergency aid over the next six months to help alleviate the suffering of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar. Since August 25th, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled their homes in majority Buddhist Myanmar, overwhelming aid agencies in neighbouring Bangladesh.  The bottom line? This is a deplorable situation. This is as bad as it gets. We need 75 million for the next six months,  David Beasley, WFP executive director, told reporters after visiting refugee camps in Bangladesh near the Myanmar border.  I say we can end world hunger with a few billion dollars. I tell donors, if you can t give us the money, stop the wars,  added Beasley, whose U.N. agency is the main humanitarian organisation battling hunger worldwide. The United Nations is currently seeking 200 million dollars from donors to help tackle the crisis among the Rohingya Muslims.

Summary: विश्व खाद्य कार्यक्रम ने रोहिंग्या संकट के लिए 75 मिलियन डॉलर की मांग की


CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt signed on Tuesday a memo of understanding with China worth about $739 million for an electric train to a new capital the north African country is building, the Egyptian investment minister said.  Egypt also signed during President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi s visit to China an agreement for funding worth $45 million for a satellite project, Minister Sahar Nasr said.

Summary: मिस्र ने राजधानी के लिए नई ट्रेन के लिए 73.9 करोड़ डॉलर के वित्त पोषण पर चीन के साथ ज्ञापन पर हस्ताक्षर किएः मंत्री


(This 13th September story was refiled to correct the headline and first paragraph to make clear more documents released from earlier breach, not a new hack) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Democratic National Committee said on Tuesday the organization had been hacked by Russian state-sponsored agents who were trying to influence the U.S. presidential election and they may have released more documents after a similar leak in July roiled the party. A link to the documents was posted on WikiLeaks’ Twitter account and attributed to alleged hacker Guccifer 2.0. The release came during a presentation on Tuesday from a person speaking on behalf of Guccifer 2.0 at a London cyber security conference, Politico reported. Reuters could not immediately access the documents.  “There’s one person who stands to benefit from these criminal acts, and that’s (Republican presidential nominee) Donald Trump,” DNC interim Chair Donna Brazile said in a statement. “Not only has Trump embraced (Russian President Vladimir)Putin, he publicly encouraged further Russian espionage to help his campaign,” she said. Trump in July invited Russia to dig up emails from Clinton’s time as secretary of state, prompting Democrats to accuse him of urging foreigners to spy on Americans. He later said he was speaking sarcastically. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned as DNC chair on the eve of July’s Democratic National Convention after WikiLeaks published an earlier trove of hacked DNC emails that showed party officials favoring eventual nominee Hillary Clinton over U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders during the party’s nominating contests. Three other senior officials also stepped down from the DNC after the leak. “We have been anticipating that an additional batch of documents stolen by Russian agents would be released,” said Brazile, who took over from Wasserman Schultz on an interim basis. Democratic Party sources said the party and Clinton’s presidential campaign were deeply concerned about possible publication by WikiLeaks or other hackers of a new torrent of potentially embarrassing party information ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

Summary: अमेरिकी डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टी का कहना है कि और दस्तावेज लीक हुए, रूसियों को दोषी ठहराया


ANKARA (Reuters) - The United States has told Turkey that jailed gold trader Reza Zarrab is in good medical condition, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Thursday. Bozdag was speaking a day after Turkey asked U.S. authorities about Zarrab, who is awaiting trial in the United States on charges of evading U.S. sanctions on Iran. Last week the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons website showed that Zarrab had been released, but a U.S. spokesman said on Monday that he remained in federal custody.

Summary: अमेरिका ने तुर्की को बताया है कि जेल में बंद सोने के व्यापारी की हालत अच्छी हैः उप प्रधानमंत्री


HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe s President Robert Mugabe defied expectations he would resign on Sunday, pledging to preside over a ZANU-PF congress next month even though the ruling party had removed him as its leader hours earlier. ZANU-PF had given the 93-year-old less than 24 hours to quit as head of state or face impeachment, an attempt to secure a peaceful end to his tenure after a de facto coup. Mugabe said in a address on state television that he acknowledged criticism against him from ZANU-PF, the military and the public, but did not comment on the possibility of standing down.

Summary: जिम्बाब्वे के मुगाबे ने तत्काल इस्तीफे की उम्मीदों को नकारा


NEW YORK (Reuters) - One would expect voters from the heavily Democratic Brooklyn neighborhood of Cobble Hill to pick presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 general election. Just don’t expect them to advertise it. Like lawns and windowsills in liberal pockets across the country, much of the neighborhood is bereft of pro-Clinton signage in the final weeks before the election. It’s a stark contrast to the 2012 and 2008 campaigns, when President Barack Obama whipped up a frenzy of support from Democrats and his signature “Hope” and “Forward” signs were ubiquitous.  The scarcity of lawn and window signs is an indication of the Democratic nominee’s struggle to generate enthusiasm among left-leaning voters, a challenge that’s borne out in polling data, and could potentially haunt her if voters fail to turn out on election day. Clinton leads Republican challenger Donald Trump by four percentage points among likely voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Friday.  But Americans of all political stripes have been more critical of Clinton than they were of Obama when he was running for his second term four years ago, according to the daily tracking poll.  Among Democrats, 78 percent say they have a favorable view of Clinton, lower than the 89 percent favorability rating Obama had at this point in the race in 2012. Clinton’s favorability drops to 28 percent among independents versus Obama’s 47 percent. Nancy Kimmel Viola, a 63-year-old social worker who lives about a mile away from Clinton’s campaign headquarters in Brooklyn, keeps a “Bernie 2016” sticker taped to the front door of her Carroll Gardens home, a vestige of her support for the unsuccessful bid of Sen. Bernie Sanders. While she plans to vote for Clinton, she confesses that her “heart’s not in it.” “I have to vote for her.” Viola said. “Having Trump in there is too scary.” In Denver, residents in the Democratic stronghold of Park Hill posted many yard signs over a local zoning issue, but few for the presidential race. “Most of us around here will vote Democratic, we always do, but we’re not overly enthusiastic for Clinton,” said resident Pablo Marron. “But we are united in our opposition to Trump.” In the heavily Democratic Denver suburb of Northglenn, banners for local office-seekers littered a major roadway, but there were no accompanying Clinton signs. In the affluent liberal Washington DC suburb of Chevy Chase, Maryland, signs for the Democratic nominee appeared only roughly once every 10 blocks. The lack of enthusiasm isn’t just hitting the Clinton campaign. Americans from both major parties say they are generally less interested in voting this year than they were in 2012, according to the Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, which compared results gathered during the first 20 days of September with the same period of 2012. The Clinton campaign did not respond to emailed requests for comment. Clinton’s online store displayed roughly a dozen different signs and banners for sale, ranging from an 11-inch by 17-inch sign, sold at $10 for a pack of two, to a four-foot by six-foot “Hillary for America” banner, which retailed for $100. Sales data was not immediately available and a request for comment from the store went unanswered. For some, there is a “hold your nose quality” to this election, said Matthew Dallek, associate professor at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. “The lack of signage” in liberal enclaves may indicate, Dallek said, “that there just isn’t this sort of enthusiasm that existed for Obama.” But there are some blocks that buck the trend. On a street in Gowanus, Brooklyn, no fewer than four homes bore pro-Clinton signage, including a life-size cutout of the Democratic nominee, which rests in the windowsill of retired lawyer Chris Morrison’s home. The beaming cardboard Clinton prompts many passersby to take pictures, said Morrison, a staunch Clinton supporter. “You don’t see as much signage this time around. In this neighborhood I don’t get so concerned (because everyone is) more or less on the same page,” said Morrison, 66. “I worry when I go to some other places.”

Summary: कुछ डेमोक्रेट के लिए, यह क्लिंटन के लिए मतदान है-और इसे चुप रखना है।


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Immigration advocates on Thursday mounted a long-shot effort to revive part of U.S. President Barack Obama’s plan to shield millions of immigrants from deportation by filing a lawsuit challenging the national scope of a court order that blocked it. With favorable court rulings, the lawyers filing the lawsuit say it has the long-term potential to unravel decisions that blocked Obama’s November 2014 plan nationwide. The White House program, if it had been fully implemented, could have allowed up to four million people with no legal immigration status to obtain work authorization. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in New York on behalf of Martin Batalla Vidal, 25, an immigrant from Mexico who has lived in the United States since he was seven and has benefited from the program.  He initially received a three-year work authorization, which has now been revoked due to a Texas judge’s ruling in February 2015 that blocked Obama’s plan. Texas and 25 other states had challenged it. Vidal would still be eligible for a two-year work authorization under an earlier program, which has not been challenged and was not covered by the injunction. Vidal’s lawyers at the National Immigration Law Center say that if he wins, the ruling could have broad implications because it could help to eventually reinstate Obama’s program for up to 60 percent of potential applicants in parts of the country not covered by the Texas ruling.  The Texas judge’s ruling was upheld on appeal. On June 23, the Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 on the case, leaving the appeals court decision in place.  The court is currently one justice short following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February. The Supreme Court is currently considering whether to rehear the case once it has a full complement of justices.

Summary: ओबामा आप्रवासन कानूनी लड़ाई में मुकदमे ने नया मोर्चा खोला


NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will provide Myanmar with $25 million for development projects including prefabricated houses in troubled Rakhine state to enable the return of Rohingya Muslims who have fled the area, the foreign ministry said on Thursday. More than 600,000 Rohingya have escaped to Bangladesh after attacks by insurgents on Myanmar security forces in August triggered a military crackdown that the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing.  The international community demands the Rohingya be allowed to go home in safety, and Bangladesh and Myanmar have begun talks on repatriation, but huge doubts remain about the Rohingya ever being able to return in peace to rebuild homes and till fields. India, which is concerned about the influx of the refugees into its territory, has stressed economic development of the Rakhine region as a way to help lower tensions.  Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held talks with Myanmar leaders on Wednesday and signed a memorandum of understanding to support development of Rakhine and help create jobs.   This is intended to help the Government of Myanmar achieve its objective of restoration of normalcy in Rakhine State and enable the return of displaced persons,  the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.  Under this MoU, Government of India proposes to take up, among others, a project to build prefabricated housing in Rakhine State so as to meet the immediate needs of returning people.   India will spend $25 million over the next five years on development of the impoverished region, foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.  Besides housing, the proposals include building schools, healthcare facilities and building bridges and roads.  India has been trying to promote economic cooperation with Myanmar to try to push back against China s expansive involvement in infrastructure development across south Asia.  Beijing has also stepped into the Rohingya crisis and proposed a three-phase plan including a ceasefire, bilateral talks and then tackling poverty long-term.

Summary: भारत ने शरणार्थियों की वापसी में मदद के लिए म्यांमार के रखाइन को 25 मिलियन डॉलर देने का वादा किया


BEIJING (Reuters) - China is tightening security for next month s twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress, cancelling police leave in Beijing, limiting tourism to Tibet, and clamping down on the spread of political rumors.  High-level meetings in China are typically accompanied by a security crackdown - as well as uncharacteristically smog-free blue skies - with the stability-obsessed party not wanting to run the risk that anyone or anything offers a distraction.     Thousands of policemen from other provinces have been sent to the Chinese capital to reinforce, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. A second source, with ties to the country s security forces and citing conversations with senior police officers, said all police leave in Beijing had been canceled starting from early September.     Beijing Communist Party chief Cai Qi on Wednesday asked the city for  120 percent  effort to ensure safety for the congress, the official Beijing Daily said.      We must hold the line for social control, eliminate all destabilizing factors, hold the line for cyber security and resolutely crack down on political rumors and harmful news,  Cai said. Beijing s largest market for metal building materials will be shuttered from Friday and is being relocated to Hebei province taking with it more than 10,000 industry workers and stall owners, according to the Beijing Daily. The market s unceasing growth had created a  messy environment  where migrants congregate, the paper said, without mentioning the crucial party gathering.  Many of the tightened security measures target migrants, with ID checks at metro stations and patrols outside government ministries to ensure any petitioners from out of town are rounded up immediately should they attempt to make a scene. Some 2,000 delegates will converge on Beijing for the Congress, staying at hotels across the city, and security will only get tighter as its opening nears, meaning any protests will be quickly shut down.   China s ongoing clampdown on cyberspace has seen WhatsApp, the messaging service run by Facebook, periodically unavailable in the past few weeks, while certain gifs using images of President Xi Jinping cannot be posted to group chats on messenger app WeChat. China s Internet regulator, in a statement to Reuters, said the government had the legal right to prevent the spread of  violent, terrorist and other illegal information .  As a well-known global app, WhatsApp should really proactively take steps to block the dissemination and spread of illegal information,  it said, without elaborating or making a specific mention of WeChat.     New limits have been placed on discussion in private group chats. Rules released at the beginning of September make companies and group owners accountable for breaches of content rules.  China s cyber watchdog on Monday also imposed the largest possible fines of 100,000 yuan ($15,110) on tech giants Tencent Holdings Ltd, Baidu Inc and Weibo Corp for failing to censor online content. The measures are far from restricted to just keeping Beijing secure. Measures have also been introduced in strategically sensitive places in other parts of China.      Security has been heightened at ports along the Yangtze River, with the Maritime Safety Administration saying last week that it was considering curbs on loading and unloading hazardous or flammable chemicals from Oct 11 to Oct 28.       Travel for foreign tourists to Tibet is also being restricted, some travel agents said. Tibet is always sensitive for Beijing given the opposition to Chinese rule that exists within the Tibetan community, and even in normal times foreigners need permission to go there. An official at China International Travel Service Ltd said the government had told it that no foreigners were allowed to visit Tibet from Oct. 18-28 because of the Congress. Three other travel agencies confirmed a ban would be lifted in late October. Organizers of a discussion on politics in the Middle East canceled the event in Beijing because they were worried about potential pressure from the authorities, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.     The word  democracy  was only used once in the adverts, not in a sensitive way, but still they thought it was best to cancel,  the source said, declining to be named.      Feng Xiaogang, a famous Chinese film director known for work that brushes against sensitive issues and the limits of censorship, announced last week that the Sept 30 release of  Youth , his latest film, had to be delayed.    Feng gave no explanation.     However, a source with ties to the censors told Reuters that the authorities had considered it risky to screen the film before the congress, as it is partially set during China s 1979 war with Vietnam - a touchy subject. The fear was that it could spark debate about the morality and necessity of the conflict. In and around Beijing, efforts have also been ramped up to ensure the skies remain blue over the Congress and not polluted by the city s notorious smog.    The city of Handan, near Beijing, has ordered steel mills to halve output a month earlier than the usual mid-November cutbacks aimed at curbing air pollution, according to media reports. Rounds of inspections by the authorities to check up on health and safety or environmental requirements have left small businesses closed for days, weeks or months, owners and employees say. Factories on the outskirts of Beijing, even those that make luxury goods, have been closed for days while inspections are carried out, according to one employee who declined to be named. Some low-end, fast food-type restaurants in Beijing have also been ordered to close, ostensibly to prevent fire risks and to limit pollution, residents say.  There s so many inspections at the moment,  said a pancake seller who gave her family name as Liu.  What am I supposed to do if they make me shut?

Summary: कुछ भी मौका न छोड़ते हुए चीन ने कांग्रेस के सामने सुरक्षा, सामाजिक नियंत्रण बढ़ाया


NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump on Saturday presented his vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, as the man who can unify a fractured Republican party and help him bridge the gap created by the candidate’s outsider status. In a wide-ranging speech in which he touted his own “landslide” victory in the Republican primaries, Trump cast Pence as a perfect complement for the White House: a veteran of government, a man with a Midwestern sensibility and strong Republican credentials as a job creator and budget balancer.   “Indiana Governor Mike Pence was my first choice, I’ve admired the work he’s done, especially in the state of Indiana,” Trump said at an event in New York City.  “And one of the reasons is party unity, so many people have said, party unity. Because I’m an outsider,” he added in explaining his decision. Trump and Pence made their debut just two days before the beginning of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where delegates from around the country will convene to officially nominate the pair as their party’s ticket for the Nov. 8 election. Frequently straying from the notes on the lectern, Trump talked about himself and likely Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, often detouring from the purpose of the event: to introduce a little-known politician to the broader public. “Back to Mike Pence,” Trump said, interrupting himself during a lengthy explanation about why evangelical voters support his candidacy. He then read a series of statistics highlighting the job growth in Indiana.     “He looks very good,” added the New York real estate mogul, who is known to comment openly on people’s appearances.   Trump had a bit of a winding path to settle on Pence, a devout Christian and conservative. He postponed his planned Friday announcement after the deadly attack in Nice, France and saying he had not made his “final, final decision,” Trump privately had second thoughts on who to pick in late-night conversations on Thursday, said a Republican source familiar with the situation. Trump had been annoyed that the element of surprise had been taken away by the leaking of Pence’s name, the source added. Trump ended up announcing Pence as his running mate on Twitter on Friday.  Saturday’s event in a New York City hotel ballroom had few of the traditional hallmarks of what is arguably one of the most important decisions for a presidential candidate. Before it started, supporters listened to the Rolling Stones song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” a tune in regular rotation at Trump events. There were no “Trump Pence” signs distributed to the crowd or adorning the room. The two appeared together on stage only briefly - each standing out of view while the other one spoke.  On stage, they made scant eye contact and shook hands rather than raising arms together in the classic pose of running mates. Neither offered anecdotal stories about their private time together.       Pence, in sharp contrast to Trump, delivered a prepared speech, discussing the love of his wife and country and his adoration for Ronald Reagan. He gave a full-throated call to fellow Republicans to back Trump. “Lets come together as a party, as a people, as a movement, to make America great again and that day begins when Donald Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States of America,” Pence said. Trump has struggled to bridge the gap between himself and the establishment and conservative wings of the party. The drastically different styles highlighted Pence’s ability to provide a complementing tone to the presidential ticket.     It’s unclear when the two will appear together again. Pence heads back to Indiana for a solo event on Saturday night, and the Trump campaign hasn’t released a schedule for the convention that would include a joint appearance. The pair recorded an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that is scheduled to air on Sunday night.         One of their big challenges will be to brook their policy differences in public. Pence gave a nod to that by saying “strong Republican leadership can bring about real change.” Trump has made renegotiating trade deals a central theme of his campaign, while Pence has spoken in favor of trade agreements. In an appearance on Friday night on Fox News, Pence offered a moderated take on trade, saying he agrees with Trump that deals should be renegotiated.  He also softened his vocal opposition to Trump’s call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.      “I am very supportive of Donald Trump’s call to temporarily suspend immigration from countries where terrorist influence and impact represents a threat to the United States,” Pence told conservative Fox News commentator Sean Hannity. Pence added that he supports Trump’s call for building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Summary: घुमावदार भाषण में, ट्रम्प ने उपराष्ट्रपति को पार्टी को एकजुट करने के लिए पेंस को व्यक्ति के रूप में चुना


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The conservative House Freedom Caucus came out in support of a reworked U.S. healthcare overhaul bill even though it would not fully repeal Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, the group said in a statement on Wednesday. The group last month helped sink an effort to pass a Republican healthcare overhaul, called the American Health Care Act. But it remained unclear whether the amended bill could win enough support from moderate Republicans to get the 216 votes needed to pass the U.S. House of Representatives given unanimous Democratic opposition. “While the revised version still does not fully repeal Obamacare, we are prepared to support it to keep our promise to the American people to lower healthcare costs,” the House Freedom Caucus said in a statement posted on the website of its chairman, Republican Representative Mark Meadows. Republicans in Congress have made repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, a central campaign promise for seven years. Republican President Donald Trump also made it a top campaign promise.  The Republican healthcare bill would replace Obamacare’s income-based tax credit with a flat age-based credit, roll back an expansion of the Medicaid government health insurance program for the poor and repeal most Obamacare taxes. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated 24 million fewer people would have insurance under the bill.   In its statement, the House Freedom Caucus said it welcomed an amendment that would let states seek waivers from some Obamacare requirements, including the highly popular provision mandating that insurers charge those with pre-existing conditions the same as healthy consumers and that insurers cover so-called essential health benefits, such as maternity care.  The amendment was hammered out between Meadows and Representative Tom MacArthur, a leader of the so-called Tuesday Group of Republican moderates in the House.  Yet several moderates said on Wednesday they had not yet made a decision on whether to support the bill while others remained opposed. Some complained that they had not been part of discussions drafting the amendment, saying they had only seen it after it was released. “It doesn’t address any of the concerns I’ve been raising for weeks,” said Republican Representative Charlie Dent, including how to reform Medicaid.  Republican Representative Chris Collins, another member of the Tuesday Group, said pressure to follow through on Republicans’ top campaign promise for the past seven years had shifted from the party’s conservative wing to the moderates. “We need to get this passed to fulfill our campaign promise, and this is the compromise that looks like it will make it happen,” he said. Republican leaders have not scheduled a vote on the bill. They said they would do so when they are confident they have the votes needed for passage.

Summary: रूढ़िवादियों ने नवीनतम अमेरिकी स्वास्थ्य सेवा विधेयक का समर्थन किया, बाधाएं बनी हुई हैं


SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will introduce random searches of workers entering and inside its airports as it increases security after a recent foiled terrorism plot, officials said.  These measures strengthen existing controls to ensure airport workers are authorized, properly identified and appropriately trained before entering secure airside areas,   Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said in a statement Sunday.   They may also be subject to security screening in the course of their duties.  Airport security was tightened in July after police foiled  Islamic-inspired  plans for a bomb attack on an Emirates flight from Sydney.  Police said they arrested four men in city-wide raids on July 28 after one of them days earlier had allegedly tried to bring an improvised explosive device on to a flight. The device was not allowed aboard as it exceeded the baggage weight limit.   Extra screening of hand and checked luggage since the incident has led to some travel delays around the country.  Some of the measures will be obvious to the public, some will not be,  Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said at the time.  The Council of Australian Governments earlier this month signed off on a facial biometric agreement to give state and federal police real-time access to passport, visa, citizenship and driver s license images for criminal investigations including those involving suspected terrorists. The prime minister denied the agreement was  Big Brother -style mass surveillance, but the  logical next step .  The alternative is to not use the data at all,  he told the ABC s AM program.   The infrastructure minister s office did not respond Sunday when asked when the latest measures would take effect, but said they would be rolled out to  provide flexibility for airports to ensure continue to function efficiently and effectively .

Summary: हमला विफल होने के बाद ऑस्ट्रेलिया ने हवाई अड्डे की सुरक्षा कड़ी की


PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - When President Donald Trump was elected last November, Republican lawmakers enthusiastically joined his call to rewrite the tax code and dismantle Obamacare in the first 100 days of his presidency. But as congressional Republicans gathered for an annual policy retreat in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the 100-day goal morphed into 200 days. As the week wore on, leaders were saying it could take until the end of 2017 - or possibly longer - for passage of final legislation. Trump had a different idea when he spoke to lawmakers in Philadelphia, telling them: Enough talk. Time to deliver. The divergent views on the timetable were among many indications of tensions that simmered just below the surface at the three-day Republican retreat. Before the cameras, Trump and Republicans sought to convey an image of a happy, unified family, playing down differences over tax policy, whether to reinstate torture interrogation techniques and investigating 2016 election fraud. And clearly there is none of the open warfare that has sometimes erupted among Republicans, such as when Senator Ted Cruz infuriated many of his colleagues by leading a standoff over Obamacare that partially shut down the government in 2013. But barely visible in Philadelphia, there are potential flashpoints of disagreement within the Republican rank-and-file in Congress as well as between Republican lawmakers and the unorthodox new president. These include how and when to replace Obamacare if Republicans succeed in their quest to repeal it; how to revamp the multi-layered tax code, whether to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico and the nature of the U.S. relationship with Russia. When it comes to tax reform, senior congressional aides said the spring of 2018 might be a more likely time than this year for the passage of legislation. Republican lawmakers lavished praise on Trump in public. In dozens of interviews, many said they felt he would be an energetic champion of issues they cared about. But some also voiced fears that his big agenda would drive up deficits and said they were still searching for details on his plans. Several Republican lawmakers and aides said they were wary of the cost of his plan to build a wall on the border with Mexico. Republican leaders have said the wall proposal under discussion would cost $12 billion to $15 billion cost but some congressional aides say it could end up easily topping $20 billion. Republican Representative Will Hurd, whose Texas district partially borders Mexico, went a step further, calling the wall an ineffective tool for stopping illegal immigration. Others warned a border adjustment tax on foreign goods to pay for that wall could hurt U.S. companies’ profits, raise costs for American consumers and spark retaliation by foreign trading partners. Some lawmakers also worry that some of their constituents could be at risk of losing healthcare coverage if the push to repeal Obamacare moves too quickly. Republican Representative Tom Cole said rank-and-file lawmakers have an incentive to fall in line behind Trump. “You don’t want to be the reason why we weren’t successful in getting these things done,” he said. Still, Cole said Republicans are taking stock of the potential cost of the biggest items on Trump’s agenda such as the wall, infrastructure projects, tax cuts and beefing up military spending. “I think they worry about it,” Cole said.  Following Trump’s speech to the lawmakers on Thursday, Senator James Risch said that no decisions had been made on the replacement of Obamacare, a complex law that has expanded healthcare insurance to millions of Americans. “It’s going to take a while to resolve it,” Risch said. Asked by reporters whether Republicans had a clear idea of what Trump would like to replace Obamacare with, Risch responded, “In detail, no.”

Summary: ट्रम्प, रिपब्लिकनों की रणनीति से तनाव बढ़ता जा रहा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday blasted Senator John McCain for dealing a possibly fatal blow to the latest Republican attempt to dismantle Obamacare. According to a new independent analysis, the bill awaiting a Senate vote could lead to 21 million fewer Americans having health insurance. McCain, an Arizona Republican who is being treated for brain cancer and cast a crucial “no” vote to defeat a similar bill in July, said on Friday that he could not “in good conscience” vote for the proposal authored by Republican Senators Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham. “He campaigned on Repeal & Replace. Let Arizona down!” Trump wrote about McCain on Twitter early Saturday morning. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will schedule a vote on the Graham-Cassidy bill by Sept. 30, the last day when it could pass in the chamber with a simple majority of 51 votes instead of the 60 typically required. The bill would take federal money spent on the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled, as well as subsidies to help individuals buy private insurance, and deliver it to the states in block grants.  The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which analyzes legislation, has not had time to assess the Graham-Cassidy bill before the expected vote. McCain, a close friend of Graham, said he could not support it without knowing how much it would cost, its effect on insurance premiums, and how many people would be affected. But the Brookings Institution said on Friday that the Graham-Cassidy bill could leave at least 21 million fewer Americans with health insurance by 2020 to 2026. The Washington think tank has generally been supportive of Obamacare, which is formally known as the Affordable Care Act.  The coverage estimate “likely understates” reductions in insured Americans because it is not clear how states would use the money or if they would face obstacles in setting up new programs, according to Brookings researchers. “What is clear, however, is that the legislation would result in very large reductions in insurance coverage,” they wrote. Late Saturday, six associations representing U.S. doctors, hospitals and insurers said they opposed the bill because it would cause patients with pre-existing conditions to lose coverage and result in more expensive health insurance. “The Senate should reject it,” the groups said in a statement.   U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price told Fox News Channel’s ‘America’s News HQ’ on Saturday that he is “providing technical assistance and information” to senators working on the bill.  Price said that the bill was “not dead” despite McCain’s announcement and wavering support from several other Republican senators. “The reason it’s not dead is because it’s not finished. The bill hasn’t been completed. We continue to work with the authors on it through this weekend,” Price said. The Senate Finance Committee on Monday will hold a hearing on the Graham-Cassidy bill. Cassidy, a physician, is expected to testify. CBO estimates of previous Republican proposals showed they could lead to more than 20 million fewer insured Americans. This complicated passage in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 52 seats and Democrats are unanimously opposed to repeal-and-replace measures.  Republicans need at least 50 votes to pass the bill, relying on Vice President Mike Pence to break a tie. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has said she was leaning against the Graham-Cassidy bill, as has Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Kansas Senator Jerry Moran and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski are undecided. After blasting McCain, Trump on Saturday singled out Paul and Murkowski. “I know Rand Paul and I think he may find a way to get there for the good of the Party!” Trump wrote on Twitter. Regarding Murkowski, he tweeted that in Alaska: “Deductibles high, people angry!”   The insurance industry, hospitals, consumer activists, the AARP advocacy group and organizations such as the American Medical Association, American Heart Association and American Cancer Society all oppose the bill.  Shares of some health insurers closed higher on Friday after McCain announced his opposition. Centene Corp ended up 1.6 percent,  while Humana Inc gained 0.2 percent and Aetna Inc rose 0.1 percent, reversing earlier losses.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने रिपब्लिकन स्वास्थ्य सेवा विधेयक का समर्थन करने के लिए अमेरिकी सीनेटरों पर दबाव डाला


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some 5.8 million homes and businesses in Florida and nearby states still had no power on Tuesday after the pummeling from Hurricane Irma, as utility companies scrambled to get the lights back on in one of the biggest power restoration efforts in U.S. history. The total number of customers, representing about 12 million people, dipped from a peak of more than 7.4 million customers, or about 15 million people, late on Monday. Fuel shortages in the state also eased as 37.6 percent of gas stations were without fuel statewide, down from 46 percent Monday evening, according to fuel information service GasBuddy.  Major utilities in Florida - including NextEra Energy Inc s Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Corp and Emera Inc s Tampa Electric - have mobilized tens of thousands of workers to deal with the outages after Irma landed early Sunday and carved a destructive path up Florida, which has a population of about 20 million. FPL, the state s largest utility, said its outages dipped to around 2.5 million customers by Tuesday evening from a peak of more than 3.6 million on Monday morning, but that was still more than half of its customers.  In total about 4.5 million FPL customers were affected by the storm, with more than 1.7 million having their service restored already, mostly by automated devices.  We restored power to about 40 percent of the customers impacted by Irma in just one day,  FPL spokesman Rob Gould told a news conference on Tuesday. By comparison, only 4 percent of 3.2 million customer outages following Hurricane Wilma in 2005 were addressed in the same time.  The faster restoration time was due to $3 billion FPL spent on improvements including underground lines, concrete poles and intelligent devices to help restore power, Gould said.  More than 60,000 workers from across the United States and Canada were involved in the restoration efforts, including those from the affected companies and other utilities, said Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute, an industry trade group.  The industry s Irma response is one of the largest power restoration efforts in U.S. history,  Kuhn said.  Some Florida utilities, including FPL, had warned customers it could take weeks to restore power in the hardest hit areas.    However, FPL, said on Tuesday that would restore power to eastern Florida by this weekend, and to western Florida by Sept 22. The state s gas supplies were severely disrupted before and during the storm as ports were closed, cutting Florida off from waterborne deliveries the state relies on. As ports began to reopen, queues of tanker trucks waited to be refilled. Gainesville and Miami had the highest number of stations out of fuel on Tuesday afternoon, with 62 percent and 49 percent respectively, according to GasBuddy.  It was too soon to say what the power restoration would cost FPL, but in 2016, the company said it spent about $315 million to restore power after Hurricanes Hermine and Matthew, according to NextEra s federal filings. Most of those costs were related to Matthew, which caused a third as many outages as Irma did for FPL. To recover restoration costs, FPL files with state regulators and, if approved, adds a storm surcharge on the monthly bills of its nearly 5 million customers. That surcharge was capped at around $4 per month for the average residential customer, according to NextEra s 2016 annual report. The company said, however, it could request an increase if storm restoration costs exceed $800 million in any calendar year. Florida s second biggest power company, Duke, serving the northern and central parts of the state, said it still had about 1.2 million outages Tuesday morning, according to the company s website, while Duke s outages in North and South Carolina climbed to about 160,000. In Georgia, utilities reported around 1.2 million customers without power Tuesday morning, down from a peak of more than  1.4 million on Monday night. FPL said its two nuclear plants in Florida were safe. Both reactors at its Turkey Point facility, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Miami, remained shut early Tuesday, while both reactors at its St. Lucie plant, about 120 miles (190 km) north of Miami, were operating at full power.

Summary: इरमा के बाद 85 लाख अमेरिकी ग्राहकों के लिए रोशनी अभी भी बंद है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will take its first steps toward repealing President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reform act by the end of the week, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday. Speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” McConnell said: “There ought not to be a great gap” between repealing the act and replacing it and that Republicans would be “replacing it rapidly after repealing it.” McConnell did not define what he meant by “rapidly.” Another top Republican, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, told Fox News that it could take two years to fully replace the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. “I think everybody recognizes that there will be a transition period,” Scalise said. “President-elect Trump and our leaders have said nobody is going to get the rug pulled out from underneath them.” Scalise cited a previously proposed Republican bill to repeal the healthcare law that laid out a two-year transition period for putting in place an alternative. “That’s a benchmark for what we’re looking at again,” he added. Since his election on Nov. 8, Trump, who will be sworn in as Obama’s successor on Jan. 20, has made clear he wants to move swiftly on his campaign pledge to repeal and replace the 2010 law.  Republicans have a chance to make good on the Republican president-elect’s promise since they control both chambers of Congress. House Republicans took a step last week to clear the decks for Obamacare repeal by approving a procedural rule that would make it harder for Democrats to impede progress on such legislation. Repealing the act without an immediate replacement raises the question as to what happens to those who have insurance under Obamacare. On ABC’s “This Week,” Obama said that while the law could theoretically be repealed, “suddenly 20 million people or more don’t have health insurance.” “I think Republicans now are recognizing that may not be what the American people, including even Trump voters, are looking for,” he said. The healthcare law extended insurance coverage to millions of Americans through an expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor and the creation of online exchanges where consumers can shop for private health insurance coverage. The law also provides for subsidies to help individuals and families afford coverage purchased on the exchanges. Reince Priebus, Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, told “Face the Nation” that while repealing and replacing Obamacare all at once would be ideal, it “may take time” to get all elements of the new plan ready. Obamacare came under renewed criticism recently after the government disclosed that benchmark 2017 Healthcare.gov premiums would rise 25 percent compared with 2016. Several large health insurers have withdrawn from the market, saying they are losing money. Obama said he expected the law to survive, albeit in a modified form. “If in fact the Republicans make some modifications,” he said, “and re-label it as Trumpcare, I’m fine with that.”

Summary: सीनेट इस सप्ताह ओबामाकेयर निरस्त करने पर कार्रवाई करेगी, मैककोनेल कहते हैं


PARIS (Reuters) - Most French voters are now dissatisfied with Emmanuel Macron s performance, a poll showed on Sunday, a dramatic decline for a president who basked in a landslide election victory less than four months ago. The poll, conducted by Ifop for newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD), showed Macron s  dissatisfaction rating  rising to 57 percent, from 43 percent in July. Forty percent expressed satisfaction with the centrist leader - down 14 points from July. French government spokesman Christophe Castaner said the ruling party was going through a tricky time, but added that displeasing some people was a price worth paying if the government wanted to push through reforms.  Yes, we are encountering difficulties, but you cannot just spend your time only looking at polls when you re in government. We are there to transform the country. Our country needs us to take risks, and we are taking risks,  Castaner told BFM TV. Macron, for his part, spent Sunday holding a telephone dialogue with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, in which the two discussed the Syria and Middle East crisis and the fate of a French journalist detained in Turkey. Macron has pushed himself onto the international stage since winning power in May. He hosted high-profile visits from Russian leader Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump and he is midway through a series of visits to various European capitals. However, he has suffered some setbacks at home, including tough debates in parliament over labor reforms, a standoff with the military and cuts to housing assistance. Social media commentators and political opponents criticized the president after it emerged he spent 26,000 euros ($31,000) on makeup during his first 100 days in office and his office also backed down on plans to give his wife a formal, paid role after a public backlash. Bernard Sananes, head of French polling company Elabe, said the latest survey could encourage Macron s political opponents, after his party won a commanding majority in parliament.  It could mean, for the government, that the opposition mobilizes itself again,  Sananes told BFM TV. The Ifop poll showed the cumulative drop in Macron s popularity ratings since May was bigger than that of previous Socialist president Francois Hollande over the same period. The poll also showed a drop in popularity for Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, with 47 percent expressing satisfaction with him - down 9 points from last month. Macron, France s youngest leader since Napoleon, faces a big test next month when the far-left CGT trade union leads a rally to protest against plans to deregulate the jobs market.  Now is the key time, with the labor executive orders to be presented,  said Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Geneva-based investment firm Prime Partners. ($1 = 0.8386 euros)

Summary: फ्रांस में अधिकांश लोग अब मैक्रों से असंतुष्ट हैंः सर्वेक्षण


GENEVA (Reuters) - Syria s opposition must accept that they have not won the six-and-a-half year war against President Bashar al-Assad, U.N. peace talks mediator Staffan de Mistura said on Wednesday. De Mistura suggested the war was almost over because many countries had got involved principally to defeat Islamic State in Syria, and a national ceasefire should follow soon after. The main rebel-held area, the city of Idlib would be  frozen .   For the opposition, the message is very clear: if they were planning to win the war, facts are proving that is not the case. So now it s time to win the peace,  he told reporters. Asked if he was implying that Assad had won, he said pro-government forces had advanced militarily, but nobody could actually claim to have won the war.   Victory can only be if there is a sustainable political long-term solution. Otherwise instead of war, God forbid, we may see plenty of low intensity guerrilla (conflicts) going on for the next 10 years, and you will see no reconstruction, which is a very sad outcome of winning a war.  De Mistura plans to join ceasefire talks in the Kazakh capital Astana next week, which he said should help resolve the fate of Idlib, a city of 2 million where rebels designated as terrorists by the United Nations are gaining influence.  I am confident...there will be a non-conflictual solution - let s say not a new Aleppo, that s what we want to avoid at any cost, if we have learned from the past,  he said, referring to the greatest battle and humanitarian crisis of the war.  If that takes place Idlib may become frozen in a way in order to avoid becoming a major tragic end to the conflict.  Meanwhile Islamic State was facing imminent defeat in its two main zones of influence - in the city of Raqqa and around the city of Deir al-Zor.  The fact is that Deir al-Zor is almost liberated, in fact it is as far as we are concerned liberated, it s a matter now of a few hours.   Raqqa s fall would follow within days or weeks, leading to the  moment of truth  for a round of negotiations in October. Since early 2016, de Mistura has overseen a tortuous series of peace talks in Geneva that has made almost no visible progress. He said the next round could see an accelerated and more pragmatic approach.  The issue is: is the government, after the liberation of Deir al-Zor and Raqqa, ready and prepared to genuinely negotiate and not simply announce victory, which we all know, and they know too, cannot be announced because it won t be sustainable without a political process?   Will the opposition be able to be unified and realistic enough to realize they did not win the war?

Summary: सीरियाई विपक्ष को यह स्वीकार करना चाहिए कि उसने युद्ध नहीं जीता हैः संयुक्त राष्ट्र


(Reuters) - Eugene Kaspersky, the CEO of the Russian cybersecurity software firm that bears his name, had a big American dream.  He wanted his company to go beyond selling anti-virus software to consumers and small businesses and become a major vendor to the U.S. government - one of the world’s biggest buyers of cybersecurity tools.  Kaspersky set up a U.S. subsidiary, KGSS, in Arlington, Virginia that would be focused on winning that business. He sponsored flashy conferences with high-profile speakers -including Michael Flynn, who was briefly President Donald Trump’s national security adviser - sought to join U.S. trade groups and even underwrote programming on National Public Radio.  All of this was done to burnish Kaspersky’s image and help it become an accepted vendor for the U.S. government despite its Russian roots, according to people familiar with the strategy.  But Eugene Kaspersky was never able to overcome lingering suspicions among U.S. intelligence officials that he and his company were, or could become, pawns of Russia's spy agencies. Kaspersky "has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage efforts," the company said.  Kaspersky’s American ambitions were further eroded by the sharp deterioration in U.S.-Russia relations following Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, and later when U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia had hacked the 2016 U.S. presidential election.  Testifying before the U.S. Congress in May, U.S. intelligence chiefs for the first time publicly expressed doubt that Kaspersky products could be trusted.  FBI agents last month interviewed Kaspersky employees, asking whether they reported to Russia-based executives and how much data from American customers could be seen by Russian employees, according to three current and former employees. The FBI declined to comment on Thursday.  On Tuesday, the U.S. General Services Administration, the government agency that manages the federal bureaucracy, removed Kaspersky from a list of approved vendors, saying GSA’s mission was to ensure the security of U.S. government systems.  There is also a bill before Congress that would explicitly bar the Defense Department from using any Kaspersky products.  Kaspersky says his company is being targeted for political reasons.  “These reckless actions negatively impact global cybersecurity by limiting competition, slowing down technology innovations and ruining the industry and law enforcement agency cooperation required to catch the bad guys,” he said in a statement to Reuters.   The Arlington offices of KGSS were empty when a Reuters reporter visited them on Thursday. A Kaspersky spokeswoman said most of the staff, which number less than 10, often work from home.  The U.S. clampdown comes even though officials have offered no public evidence to suggest the company has done anything untoward or that the Russian government is using its software to launch cyber attacks.  Two former employees and a person briefed on the FBI case told Reuters that Kaspersky software has at times inappropriately inspected and removed files from users’ machines in its hunt for alleged cyber criminals, even when those files were not corrupted by viruses.  “Kaspersky Lab believes it is completely unacceptable that the company is being unjustly accused without any hard evidence to back up these false allegations,” the Kaspersky spokeswoman said in response in an email.  It is extremely rare for a company to be singled out for federal buying restrictions in the absence of clear evidence of wrongdoing.  “This sets a really dangerous precedent” where other nations could make similar, unsubstantiated claims against U.S. vendors, said Robert M. Lee, a former cyberwarfare operative for U.S. intelligence and now CEO of cybersecurity startup Dragos.  The Russian government has denounced the Kaspersky crackdown and said it does not rule out retaliatory measures. Officials at U.S. tech companies with significant operations in Russia say they fear they could become targets.  Federal contracting databases reviewed by Reuters show only a few hundred thousand dollars in purchases from Kaspersky, and an employee confirmed the company’s federal government revenue was “miniscule.”  But Kaspersky also sells to federal contractors and third-party software companies that incorporate its technology in their products, so its technology may be more widely used in government than it appears from the contracting databases, U.S. officials say.  Founded in 1997, Kaspersky grew rapidly through the 2000s to become one of the world's leading anti-virus software companies. (Kaspersky's global reach: tmsnrt.rs/2uWTQoV)  But the company was dogged from the start by suspicions about its ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the KGB. Eugene Kaspersky attended a KGB school and the company has acknowledged doing work for the FSB.  As the company grew, Kaspersky was determined to overcome those fears.  “We have to be more American than Americans,” Kaspersky told Reuters in 2013, when a U.S. goodwill offensive began.  A cornerstone of the effort was a series of KGSS-hosted conferences in Washington where prominent U.S. officials including Flynn, a former Defense Intelligence Agency director, former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden and House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul discussed cybersecurity issues.  The company privately courted U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials by sending experts to brief them on nation-state hacking campaigns uncovered by the firm, according to people present at those meetings.  “They came to us and said, ‘We want to change our image, we know people don’t trust us’,” said one former senior Obama administration official who took part in some of those meetings.  But the suspicions never subsided. When the company sought to join one Washington-based technology trade organization, it was “politely told it couldn’t happen,” according to an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter.  The source said industry group officials had an inside joke: “Kaspersky (membership) is like having the Kremlin join.”  Not coincidentally, Kaspersky’s government sales effort never gained traction. In an email to Reuters, the company noted “complexities associated with doing business with North America’s government sector.”  Privately held Kaspersky said its U.S. revenue, most of which comes from selling anti-virus software to consumers and small businesses, slipped from $164 million in 2014 to about $156 million in 2016.  Some U.S. national security experts say Kaspersky is being treated unfairly. Lee said he has long been bothered by the “public shaming” of Kaspersky by people who make allegations without presenting evidence.  The U.S. government has the right to choose not to use Kaspersky products for any reason, he said, but “the way they are doing it” is wrong.  “I don’t believe in geographic restrictions that say, ‘Because Kaspersky is a Russian-based company, therefore it is bad,’” said former White House cybersecurity policy coordinator Michael Daniel. “You would want your decision to be based on actual corporate bad behavior.”

Summary: अमेरिकी सरकार की कार्रवाई ने कैस्परस्की के अमेरिकी सपने को खतरे में डाला


BERLIN (Reuters) - The chief of staff to German Chancellor Angela Merkel said he was optimistic that the parties exploring forming a government together would reach agreement despite failing to achieve a breakthrough in overnight talks. Interviewed on ARD television on Friday, Peter Altmaier said he was confident that Merkel s conservative camp, the pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens could overcome divisions on migration and climate change policy, but declined to say how long it would take.  We negotiated the whole day yesterday, and that s not a bad sign - it shows that we take the task seriously and want to come together,  he said.  I don t want to say tomorrow or the day after, but I believe the problem is solveable.

Summary: जर्मन गठबंधन गतिरोध हल किया जा सकता हैः मर्केल के शीर्ष सहयोगी


(Reuters) - The following people are mentioned as contenders for senior roles as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump puts together his administration before taking office on Jan. 20, according to Reuters sources and other media reports. Trump already has named a number of people for other top jobs in his administration. * Chuck Conner, a former acting secretary of the U.S. Agriculture Department and current head of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives * Tim Huelskamp, Republican U.S. representative from Kansas * Sid Miller, Texas agriculture commissioner  * Sonny Perdue, former Georgia governor * Navy Admiral Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency * Ronald Burgess, retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and former Defense Intelligence Agency chief  * Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * Pete Hoekstra, Republican former U.S. representative from Michigan     * John Allison, a former chief executive officer of regional bank BB&T Corp and former head of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank * Paul Atkins, former SEC commissioner  * Thomas Hoenig, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp vice chairman and former head of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank * Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a venture capitalist, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former Food and Drug Administration deputy commissioner * Jim O’Neill, a Silicon Valley investor who previously served in the Department of Health and Human Services * Debra Wong Yang, a former U.S. attorney who was appointed by former President George W. Bush * Ralph Ferrara, a securities attorney at Proskauer Rose LLP * Paul Atkins, a former SEC commissioner who heads Trump’s transition team for independent financial regulatory agencies * Daniel Gallagher, Republican former SEC commissioner The Trump transition team confirmed the president-elect would choose from a list of 21 names he drew up during his campaign, including Republican U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah and William Pryor, a federal judge with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. * Dan DiMicco, former CEO of steel producer Nucor Corp * Robert Lighthizer, former deputy U.S. trade representative during the Reagan administration * Wayne Berman, senior executive with private equity and financial services firm Blackstone Group LP  * David McCormick, president of investment manager Bridgewater Associates LP  * Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and Fox News commentator  * Navy Admiral Michelle Howard  * Scott Brown, former Republican U.S. senator from Massachusetts * Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and Republican nominee for vice president in 2008. * Jeff Miller, former Republican U.S. representative from Florida who was chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee * Larry Kudlow, economist and media commentator * Mick Mulvaney, Republican U.S. representative from South Carolina * David Malpass, former chief economist with investment bank Bear Stearns and a senior Trump adviser

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्रम्प प्रशासन में वरिष्ठ पदों के लिए दावेदार