LONDON (Reuters) - North Korea s  reckless behavior  is a global threat and requires a global response, the head of the NATO military alliance said on Sunday. NATO has not been directly involved in the crisis, which saw Pyongyang carry out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test a week ago, but has repeatedly called on North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.  The reckless behavior of North Korea is a global threat and requires a global response and that of course also includes NATO,  NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with BBC television. Asked whether an attack on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam would trigger NATO s Article 5, which requires each member of the alliance to come to the defense of any other, Stoltenberg said:  I will not speculate about whether Article 5 will be applied in such a situation.    We are now totally focused on how can we contribute to a peaceful solution of the conflict,  he said.   There is no easy way out of this difficult situation, but at the same time we have to ... continue to work for political solution, continue to press also the economic sanctions.  The United States and its allies had been bracing for another long-range missile launch in time for the 69th anniversary of North Korea s founding on Saturday, but no fresh provocations were spotted while the North held numerous events to mark the holiday. Throughout last week, South Korean officials had warned the North could launch another intercontinental ballistic missile in defiance of U.N. sanctions and amid escalating tensions with the United States. British defense minister Michael Fallon also told the BBC he was very concerned about the situation.  We are doing now what we can to bring about a diplomatic solution, what we have to avoid at all costs is this spilling over in to any kind of military conflict,  he said.  The U.S. is fully entitled to defend its own territory, to defend its bases and to look after its people but this involves us, London is closer to North Korea and its missiles than Los Angeles.  Fallon said he did not believe North Korea currently had a missile capable of hitting London but said the missile program was accelerating and their range was getting  longer and longer .  We have to get this program halted because the dangers now of miscalculation, of some accident triggering a response are extremely great,  he said.

Summary: नाटो के स्टोल्टेनबर्ग का कहना है कि उत्तर कोरिया के 'लापरवाह व्यवहार' के लिए वैश्विक प्रतिक्रिया की आवश्यकता है


NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India s home ministry said on Monday it would confidentially share intelligence information with the Supreme Court showing Rohingya links with Pakistan-based militants, in a bid to get legal clearance for plans to deport 40,000 Rohingya Muslims. The Supreme Court is hearing an appeal lodged on behalf of Rohingya against the deportation plan proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi s Hindu nationalist government. India s home ministry submitted an affidavit to the court arguing that the hardline stance was justified by the security threat posed by illegal immigrant Rohingya, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh, from where many have crossed into India. The ministry said the illegal influx of large numbers of Rohingya into India began four to five years ago, long before an exodus that saw more than 400,000 Rohingya flee to Bangladesh since Aug. 25 to escape a Myanmar military counter-insurgency offensive that the United Nations has called  ethnic cleansing . The affidavit went on to say the government had reports from security agencies and other authentic sources  indicating linkages of some of the unauthorized Rohingya immigrants with Pakistan-based terror organizations and similar organizations operating in other countries.  It also said there was information on Rohingya involvement in plots by Islamic State and other  extremist groups  to ignite communal and sectarian violence in India. Senior home ministry official Mukesh Mittal said the Indian government would privately show the court material gathered from  sensitive investigations  to substantiate the claims in its affidavit. Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who filed the plea on behalf of two Rohingya men, will file a rejoinder to the government s affidavit, his office told Reuters. The court will next hear the matter on Oct. 3. Meantime, police said on Monday that they had arrested a suspected member of al Qaeda who they believed was trying to recruit Rohingya living in the country to fight security forces in Myanmar. Senior police officer Pramod Kushwaha told Reuters that British national Shauman Haq, 27, was arrested near a bus stop in Delhi on Sunday. He had come to India via Bangladesh. Rohingya in India voiced worries that they were being unfairly tainted by the allegations and sought more understanding for their plight.  We feel helpless and hopeless,  said Rohingya youth leader Ali Johar, who came to India in 2012 and lives with his family in a Delhi settlement.  The world s largest democracy has given us shelter but they should handle this situation more empathetically.  Modi s government has been criticized by activists for not speaking out against Myanmar s recent military offensive against  Rohingya insurgents, and right-wing groups in India have begun vilifying Rohingya living there. The Rohingya are denied citizenship in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and regarded as illegal immigrants, despite claiming roots that date back centuries. More than 800,000 Rohingya currently live in Bangladesh.

Summary: रोहिंग्याओं को निर्वासित करने की मांग, भारत ने अदालत से कहा कि उसके पास आतंकवादी संबंधों के सबूत हैं


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan s coast guard on Thursday boarded a North Korean fishing boat near a Japanese island where the crew said they had taken shelter from rough seas, the latest in a series of North Korean vessels in distress drifting into Japanese waters. The wooden boat was towed nearer the northern island of Hokkaido for inspection, a coast guard spokesman said. Authorities had yet to decide what to do with the vessel and the ten fishermen on board.  At this point, it is still too early to say what we will do,  he said. Experts say food shortages may be driving fishermen to risk taking their small boats to more dangerous waters closer to Japan. The encounters have attracted greater attention amid tension in the region over North Korea s weapons programs and its latest missile test on Wednesday. There has been no suggestion that the fishermen may be defectors from the impoverished, tightly controlled country which has fired two missiles over Japan in recent tests and regularly threatens to destroy the United States. On Monday, eight bodies believed to be of North Koreans, which had been partly reduced to skeletons, were found in a small wooden ship washed up on a beach on Japan s northwest coast. Two other bodies were found at the weekend on the western shore of the Sea of Japan island of Sado, with life jackets displaying Korean lettering.  Last week, police in northern Japan found eight North Korean men who said they landed after claiming their vessel had lost power and run into trouble. On Thursday, the coast guard issued an advisory to shipping about a half-sunken wooden boat floating in waters close to Sado.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया की एक और नाव जापानी जलक्षेत्र में संकट में पाई गई


JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Zimbabwe s First Lady, Grace Mugabe, has denied assaulting South African model Gabriella Engels with an electric cable in a Johannesburg hotel suite last month, saying an  intoxicated and unhinged  Engels attacked her with a knife. In a previously unreported Aug. 17 deposition seen exclusively by Reuters, Mugabe countered 20-year-old Engels  version, portraying herself as the victim after intervening on behalf of her adult sons Chatunga and Robert Junior who were  in trouble with a drunken young woman . The statement said Grace Mugabe, 52 and a contender to replace her 93-year-old husband as Zimbabwe s president, was thinking about filing attempted murder charges. A group representing Engels dismissed the allegations as lies. According to the model, an irate Mugabe burst into the room where she was waiting with two friends to meet Chatunga on Aug. 13 and started laying into her with an electric cable. Photographs taken by Engels  mother soon after the incident showed gashes to the model s head. She also had bruising on her thighs. In her deposition, Mugabe dismissed Engels  version as  malicious allegations  and said she had been attacked after going to help her sons.  She was worried about them and went to see them at their hotel suite,  the statement said.  Upon her arrival, Ms Engels, who was intoxicated and unhinged, attacked Dr. Grace Mugabe with a knife after she was asked to leave the hotel.   Security was left with no other option but to remove Ms Engels from the hotel suite,  it continued. The statement also alleged that Engels had been in a fight with other women at Johannesburg s Taboo nightclub the previous evening and suggested that may have been the cause of her injuries. Afriforum, an Afrikaans civil society group acting on behalf of Engels, denied both accusations.  Gabriella never attacked Grace Mugabe in any way and she did not participate in the fight at Taboo,  Afriforum said.  It is clear that Grace Mugabe is desperately trying to escape responsibility for her own violent behavior by using lies to falsely portray the victim in this case as the perpetrator.  South Africa granted Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity, allowing her to evade immediate prosecution for assault, although Engels and Afriforum have challenged that decision, saying Mugabe was not in South Africa on official business. They also argued that assault was a  grave crime  that was not covered by diplomatic immunity laws. The decision to let Grace Mugabe return home caused a row in South Africa, with the opposition Democratic Alliance also going to court to overturn the immunity.  According to Zimbabwean intelligence files seen by Reuters, Robert Mugabe lobbied his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma, to have the issue  solved amicably  and out of court but was stymied by Engels  refusal to accept a settlement.  He is trying to avoid the embarrassment of his wife appearing before the court,  one file, dated Aug. 30, reads.  The problem he is facing is that the woman who was assaulted is refusing to accept any money and she just wants justice to be delivered upon Grace.  Afriforum lawyer Gerrie Nel - best known for prosecuting  South African track star Oscar Pistorius over the shooting of his girlfriend - said last month Engels had been approached with a cash offer but had turned it down. The intelligence report is a part of a series of hundreds of files dating back to 2009 that have come from within Zimbabwe s Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO). Reuters has not been able to establish their original author or final audience. The Aug. 30 report said Mugabe was  changing his attitude  to the case and was now backing Grace while accusing Engels of impropriety.  Mugabe wants people to stop castigating his wife and calling her all sorts of names,  it said.  Mugabe is saying that his wife acted in an angry mood like all other women who find their children being involved with sleeping with whores.  Afriforum chief executive Kallie Kriel said this allegation was an  absolute lie  and part of a deliberate attempt by Harare to undermine Engels  credibility as a witness. A spokesman for Zimbabwe s presidency, which has direct oversight of the CIO, was not immediately available for comment. Zimbabwe s ambassador to South Africa did not respond to a request for comment. Zuma has denied any hand in the affair, telling parliament on Aug. 31:  I am not a lawyer. I don t know the point of law and I was not involved in this process. How it was done, I would be lying if I speculate.  His spokesman declined to elaborate.

Summary: एक्सक्लूसिवः जिम्बाब्वे की ग्रेस मुगाबे का कहना है कि मॉडल ने उन पर चाकू से हमला किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director James Comey told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday that FBI employees who mishandled classified material in the way Hillary Clinton did as secretary of state could be subject to dismissal or loss of security clearance.   Comey addressed the issue at a House of Representatives committee hearing that lasted nearly five hours after House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that Clinton should be denied classified briefings during her campaign for the presidency. Comey, who said on Tuesday he would not recommend that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee face criminal charges, was asked at the hearing if Clinton should face administrative punishment for the way she handled her email. “I don’t think that’s for me to recommend,” he said. Comey did say his employees in the Federal Bureau of Investigation would face discipline for the same behavior. “They might get fired, they might lose their clearance, it might get suspended for 30 days,” Comey said. “There would be some discipline.” Presidential candidates normally get access to classified information once they are formally nominated. As director of the FBI, Comey does not have the authority to revoke Clinton’s security privileges. A group of Republican senators on Thursday asked the State Department to immediately suspend clearances for Clinton and several current and former aides based on the agency’s findings.  The State Department said on Thursday it would conduct an internal review of Clinton’s handling of the emails now that the FBI investigation was over. The department said in April it had suspended plans for a review at the FBI’s request. “I cannot provide specific information about the Department’s review, including what information we are evaluating. We will aim to be as expeditious as possible, but we will not put artificial deadlines on the process,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. A Clinton spokesman on Thursday criticized the congressional hearing for its “partisan motivations,” and expressed confidence that Comey’s testimony had shut down any lingering “conspiracy theories” on the matter.  “Director Comey’s testimony clearly knocked down a number of false Republican talking points and reconciled apparent contradictions between his previous remarks and Hillary Clinton’s public statements,” spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.  The issue of Clinton’s use of private email servers has cast a cloud over her campaign for the Nov. 8 presidential election, raising questions among voters about her trustworthiness and judgment and giving her Republican presidential rival, Donald Trump, an avenue of attack. Comey’s testimony marked the first time he took questions publicly since his announcement the FBI was not recommending charges against Clinton. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch accepted the FBI recommendation and was to appear at another hearing next Tuesday.  Comey had disappointed some Republicans by only rebuking Clinton, not recommending charges against her, for what he called her “extremely careless” handling of classified information while using private email servers.  Under persistent questioning at the hearing of the House Oversight Committee, Comey said Clinton did not break the law. “The question I always look at is, is there evidence that would establish beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody engaged in conduct that violated a criminal statute. And my judgment here is there is not,” Comey said.    Comey also said Clinton knew her email server at her home in Chappaqua, New York, was not authorized to receive classified information. But Clinton may not have had sufficiently sophisticated understanding to know the emails that passed through her personal server were classified, Comey said. Only three of the FBI-reviewed emails were explicitly marked as classified and those were marked with a “C” in the body of the email, not in the header, he said. Comey said his FBI team conducted its investigation of Clinton “in an apolitical and professional way” and he had no reason to believe she had lied to the FBI. Clinton had said publicly she never sent or received any classified information. “I think there is a legitimate concern that there is a double standard, if your name isn’t Clinton or you are not part of the powerful elite that Lady Justice will act differently,” U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said to Comey at the beginning of the hearing. A Democratic member of the committee, Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, defended Comey’s actions by saying: “I firmly believe your decision was based on conviction, not convenience.” Comey, a Republican who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and also served in the administration of former Republican President George W. Bush, has built a reputation as a straight shooter who does not bend to pressure from either party. He has differed sharply with the Obama administration, including over the case of General David Petraeus, who pleaded guilty after he knowingly shared classified information with his biographer and lover. Comey recommended Petraeus be charged with a felony, but then-Attorney General Eric Holder downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor. The hearing took place as Trump met with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill to get them behind his candidacy, discussing a variety of issues, including his campaign style. “I’m going to make you proud,” Trump told House Republicans, according to a participant, Representative Bill Flores.

Summary: एफ. बी. आई. प्रमुख का कहना है कि उनके कर्मचारियों को ईमेल को संभालने के लिए अनुशासन का सामना करना पड़ेगा जैसे क्लिंटन ने किया था


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democrats on Sunday criticized the lack of women on a working group in the Republican-led Senate that will craft a plan to pass legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. As the Senate begins to wrestle with a Republican healthcare bill narrowly approved by the House of Representatives last week, senators questioned why the 13-member working group put together by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell does not include any of the chamber’s five Republican women. “Women’s health is a big part of this and women are a majority of the population, and their health interests deserve to be contemplated in any reform,” Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington wrote on Twitter: “It matters to have women at the table — and it matters when they aren’t.” Republicans pushed their healthcare restructuring through the House on a 217-213 vote, handing President Donald Trump his first major legislative success. But the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority and several members have suggested they will develop their own plans. Democrats are united in opposition to the House bill. Trump pledged on Sunday that the effort to gut former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law would be successful. “Republican Senators will not let the American People down!,” he wrote on Twitter. “ObamaCare premiums and deductibles are way up-it was a lie and it is dead!” The Senate’s healthcare working group includes the Republican leadership, several committee chairmen and a combination of conservatives such as Ted Cruz of Texas and more moderate Republicans from politically important swing states such as Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Critics said the group’s lack of diversity would eliminate crucial viewpoints. “The GOP is crafting policy on an issue that directly impacts women without including a single woman in the process. It’s wrong,” Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California wrote on Twitter on Saturday. Don Stewart, a senior aide to McConnell, said critics were getting “hung up on process” while ignoring the problems of Obamacare such as higher costs and limited choices. “So you can get caught up in process, or you can focus on the actual reality,” Stewart said in an email on Sunday. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who has been working on her own healthcare plan, said she was reaching out to moderate Democrats to try to find common ground. She did not criticize the working group’s all-male make-up but said she wanted to see a broader effort to replace Obama’s 2010 healthcare law. “I would like to see us put together a bipartisan group to solve this problem, of Democrats who acknowledge there are problems with the current law, that it is not working well in several states, and Republicans who also want to make sure that we’re not reducing coverage and we’re giving flexibility,” Collins said on ABC’s “This Week.” Senators have questioned aspects of the House bill, which would slash funding for Medicaid, the program that provides insurance for the poor, and roll back much of its expansion during the Obama administration. It also would allow states to opt out of some existing protections for people with pre-existing health conditions. While insurers could not deny insurance because of such conditions, they would be allowed to decide how much to charge. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, one of the most moderate Democrats in the Senate, said his state “gets absolutely slammed” in the House bill because it has a lot of elderly residents and people with pre-existing conditions. “I just want to work and sit down and try to get something done, but no one’s asked us,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. “Our congressional delegation says, ‘don’t worry, the Senate will fix it.’ And no one has asked any Democrat. And I am the most centrist.” White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said the White House would not dictate the process. “I think we want to let them do their work, let them work this out. They are all very mature. They all know what is going on. They all know the commitments we have made to the American people to repeal and replace a failing program in Obamacare,” he said on the “Fox News Sunday” program.

Summary: डेमोक्रेट्स ने सीनेट के सभी पुरुष स्वास्थ्य सेवा समूह की आलोचना की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday warned of the dangers of authoritarian populism and offered a thinly veiled critique of Donald Trump’s prolific use of Twitter, saying it allowed the president-elect to avoid accountability. In his most pointed public comments about Trump since the Nov. 8 presidential election, Kerry also suggested that the president-elect’s Cabinet nominees were getting a free pass from Congress for failing to submit tax returns and other documentation before their Senate confirmation hearings.  “Every country in the world better ... start worrying about authoritarian populism and the absence of substance in our dialogue,” Kerry told a Washington forum. “If policies are going to be made in 140 characters on Twitter, and every reasonable measurement of accountability is being bypassed, and people don’t care about it, we have a problem,” Kerry said. As an example of the absence of substance in the political debate, he said climate change was given short shrift during the campaign between Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. He contrasted his own vetting for secretary of state and the paperwork he had to provide with exceptions he said are being made for Trump Cabinet nominees before their confirmation hearings. In December, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker said the panel had not asked Rex Tillerson, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, to provide his tax returns, which Corker said was in accordance with precedent. Tillerson, the former chairman and chief executive of ExxonMobil Corp (XOM.N), has not submitted tax returns, but his financial disclosure and ethics agreement has been made public. Kerry, a former senator and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee who became President Barack Obama’s secretary of state in 2013, said it is “quite amazing when you think the hoops I had to jump through with respect to papers submitted, documentation submitted and tax returns. ... Suddenly that’s not as important.” Asked if he believed Trump’s nominees were getting “a free pass,” Kerry chuckled and dodged the question. Walter Shaub, director of the federal Office of Government Ethics, said in a letter to senators last week that he had “great concern” about the hearing schedule for Trump nominees who had not completed the ethics review process, and said it would be “cause for alarm if the Senate were to go forward with hearings on nominees whose reports OGE has not certified.” With 10 days to go before Trump takes office, Kerry said there had been few high-level contacts between current State Department officials and Trump’s transition team. Asked about the transition at a forum at the nonpartisan U.S. Institute of Peace, Kerry said, “It’s going pretty smoothly because there’s not an enormous amount of it.” “There are some people who have been in the building for a period of time, but you know quite candidly, I think there has not been a lot of high-level exchange at this point in time,” Kerry said.     Kerry said he had not yet met with Tillerson, but expected to do so soon. Kerry and Tillerson spoke last month by telephone, according to the State Department.  A spokeswoman for the Trump transition team said she had no comment on Kerry’s remarks. Tillerson’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, and will be closely watched in part due to concerns about his relationship with Russia as ExxonMobil’s top executive. Trump has called for better ties with Russia, while some fellow Republicans in Congress are pushing for a harsher response to what American intelligence agencies have concluded was Kremlin meddling in the presidential election.

Summary: केरी ने 'अधिनायकवादी लोकलुभावनवाद' की चेतावनी दी, ट्रंप के ट्वीट पर कसा तंज


(Reuters) - U.S. civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson released his full platform in the race for Baltimore mayor on Monday, proposals that include a $15-an-hour minimum wage and reforming the police department. Mckesson, who was instrumental in the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, was the last candidate to file paperwork before the campaign deadline this month. “It’s a plan to change Baltimore, to make Baltimore a place that works for people,” the 30-year-old activist said in announcing the plan on the Periscope video site. Baltimore, a majority African-American city, was torn by rioting after a black man, Freddie Gray, died from an injury in police custody in April. Six officers are facing trial in the case.     Mckesson, the son of two now-recovered drug addicts, had released police reform proposals this month that included banning arrest and citation quotas. He also backs ending civil asset forfeiture and “rough rides” and chokeholds by police.     The Teach for America alumnus and former school administrator called for free WiFi and broadband access for all residents. He backed reviving a proposed light-rail system scuttled by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan last year. Mckesson, who rose to prominence during the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, over the police killing of an unarmed black teenager, said he would hire more inspectors to reduce sources of lead poisoning in children and would expand opportunities for artists in Baltimore. Mckesson has called for a city minimum wage of $15 an hour, which would be among the highest in the United States. He backs a public bank and more requirements for companies to hire locally. Mckesson also is in favor of expanded pre-kindergarten classes. He advocates changing state funding formulas so that tax breaks for developers do not cut into  school funding. His distinctive blue Patagonia vest has been seen everywhere from street demonstrations to the television show “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Twenty-nine candidates, including 13 Democrats, are running to replace Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who is not seeking re-election. Primary voting for candidates will be held on April 26, with the actual mayoral vote being held on Nov. 8 alongside the presidential election.  Baltimore has not elected a Republican mayor in more than 50 years.

Summary: बाल्टीमोर मेयर दौड़ में कार्यकर्ता मैकेसन ने मंच जारी किया


HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters in Hong Kong on Thursday demanded full democracy outside government headquarters, speaking out against China s suppression of civil liberties on the third anniversary of a major pro-democracy movement. Unfurling a mass of yellow umbrellas, a symbol of the 2014 movement that blocked major roads in the financial hub for close to three months, the demonstrators gathered at the same spot where police fired tear gas on the crowds three years ago. The 2014 Hong Kong protests were considered one of the boldest populist challenges to China s Communist Party rulers since the 1989 pro-democracy protests in and around Beijing s Tiananmen Square.  We have no fear,  the protesters shouted as police looked on.  We want universal suffrage.  The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of a high degree of autonomy under a so-called  one country, two systems  arrangement. But frustration over China s tightening grip on Hong Kong s civil liberties was a key factor fuelling the 2014 movement, which was forcibly disbanded by police with no concessions granted by Hong Kong or Chinese authorities. Three years on, many of the youth-led movement s leaders are either behind bars or bracing for jail time on charges such as unlawful assembly.  We need to adjust our mentality,  said Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong and one of the leaders of the 2014 protests.  We re not scared. If you want to throw us in prison, do it!  Joshua Wong, aged 17 when he helped lead the movement, and now in jail for unlawful assembly, said Hong Kong was becoming increasingly suppressed, with an estimated 100 activists, most of them young, embroiled in legal proceedings.  As Hong Kong ushers in a heightened authoritarian era, to advocate human rights is to risk becoming a political detainee. This is the new normal,  Wong wrote in a column published in the Guardian newspaper on Thursday.  One simply cannot turn a blind eye and kid oneself that Hong Kong is still the same as it has always been.  An appeals court decision last month to overrule a previous non-jail term and instead imprison Wong and two prominent student activists sparked an international outcry. China s main representative  Liaison  office in Hong Kong couldn t be reached for comment, but Beijing has long stated it respects Hong Kong s  high degree of autonomy  and is supportive of lawful and gradual democratic development until universal suffrage is realized. Political tension has also escalated over posters on university campuses advocating independence for Hong Kong, angering Chinese officials who consider the territory an  inalienable  part of China, and sparking heated standoffs between students and pro-Beijing supporters.

Summary: हांगकांग में प्रदर्शनकारियों ने 'ऑक्यूपाई' वर्षगांठ पर पूर्ण लोकतंत्र की मांग की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Transgender students at U.S. public schools were left in legal limbo on Monday about whether a federal anti-discrimination law enables them to use the bathroom of their choice after the Supreme Court sidestepped a major ruling on the issue. In canceling planned arguments in a bathroom access lawsuit brought by a Virginia transgender high school student, the justices declined to resolve whether transgender students are protected by a law, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, that bars discrimination on the basis of sex in education. Bathroom access has become a key issue in the intensifying battle over transgender rights. North Carolina last year became the first state to require people to use bathrooms matching their gender at birth in public schools and government buildings. About a dozen other states are considering similar measures. President Donald Trump’s administration last month rescinded guidance given to public schools last year by former President Barack Obama’s administration to permit transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity. “We had emphasized this is an urgent situation for transgender students,” said Joshua Block, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who represents Gavin Grimm, the student who brought the case that the Supreme Court dodged. Block said the justices’ action, which threw out a lower court ruling favoring Grimm and instructed that court to reconsider the matter in light of the Trump administration’s stance, was “justice delayed not justice denied.” In the meantime, the question of whether Title IX protects transgender students will continue to be litigated in lower courts and mostly likely will be decided by the Supreme Court in the coming years, perhaps as early as 2018. A handful of cases are pending in federal courts, including Grimm’s, all of which could reach the Supreme Court. Courts are also set to decide the related legal question of whether school policies that limit access to bathrooms violate the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. In Grimm’s case, the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will now take a second shot. Its earlier ruling had been based on the Obama administration’s interpretation, now reversed by Trump, that Title IX protects transgender students. The 4th Circuit separately is due to hear arguments in May in a challenge brought to the North Carolina law, which still may be repealed following a public outcry against it. In the most recent ruling, a federal district judge in Pennsylvania on Feb. 27 decided in favor of three transgender students who attend Pine-Richland High School in the Pittsburgh suburbs. The court ruled that the school’s refusal to allow the students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity violated their constitutional rights. Other cases are pending in Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin. “We expect and urge all schools to meet their moral and legal responsibility to fully respect and include their transgender students, as thousands of schools around the country have already been doing for years,” Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality advocacy group, said after the high court’s action.  Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council Christian conservative advocacy group, said the Supreme Court’s action “provided good news to parents and students concerned about privacy and safety in school showers, locker rooms and bathrooms.” “State and local officials working together with parents are best equipped to design policies that respect the dignity, privacy, and safety concerns of all students,” Perkins said. By the time the transgender bathroom issue returns, the Supreme Court, which has been down one justice for nearly 13 months, likely will have its full complement of nine justices. If Trump’s high court nominee, conservative appellate judge Neil Gorsuch, is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the court would once again have a conservative majority. Gorsuch’s confirmation hearing is due to start on March 20. Transgender rights advocates remain hopeful that conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court’s regular swing vote who ruled in favor of gay marriage in 2015, will side with the court’s liberals on upholding transgender rights.

Summary: अमेरिकी उच्च न्यायालय की कार्रवाई ने ट्रांसजेंडर छात्रों को कानूनी उलझन में छोड़ दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. Congress had a rough start to its first session of the Donald Trump era on Tuesday when a public outcry that included a dressing-down from the president-elect prompted the House of Representatives to backtrack on its plans to defang an ethics watchdog. It was supposed to have been a ceremonious beginning in which lawmakers set plans to enact Trump’s agenda of cutting taxes, repealing Obamacare and rolling back financial and environmental regulations. With Trump set to be sworn in as president on Jan. 20, Republicans will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 2007.  The moment was overshadowed, however, by a an uproar over a surprise move by Republicans in the House of Representatives in a closed-door meeting late on Monday to weaken the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, which is in charge of investigating ethics accusations against lawmakers. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to “drain the swamp” and bring ethics reform to Washington, was not pleased by the timing. “With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority,” he said on Twitter on Tuesday. “Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance!” The ethics office was created in 2008 following several corruption scandals. Some lawmakers have charged in recent years that it has been too quick to investigate complaints from outside partisan groups. Lawmakers wanted to have greater control of the watchdog, and inserted changes into a broader rules package, set to pass when the House convened on Tuesday. Even before Trump’s tweet, many House Republicans, including top leaders, had opposed the measure and worried about its ramifications. Trump’s tweet prompted an emergency meeting and a quick change of course by Republicans. “It was taken out by unanimous consent ... and the House Ethics Committee will now examine those issues,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan.  As expected, Ryan was re-elected speaker on a vote of 239-189. He was first elected speaker in October 2015 after predecessor John Boehner retired following repeated revolts by House conservatives. The speaker election was part of the ceremony involved in the first meeting of the 115th Congress, as the 435 members of the House of Representatives and a third of the 100-member Senate were sworn in. Ryan, who kept his distance from Trump during his campaign only to embrace him after his Nov. 8 victory, said Republicans understood from the 2016 election that Americans were dissatisfied with Washington. “We hear you. We will do right by you and we will deliver,” Ryan said. Trump has made clear he wants to move swiftly to enact proposals he outlined during the campaign such as simplifying the tax code and slashing corporate tax rates. He also promised to make good on a Republican pledge to repeal and replace Democratic President Barack Obama’s 2010 signature Affordable Care Act - a law better known as Obamacare. “People must remember that ObamaCare just doesn’t work, and it is not affordable,” Trump said on Twitter on Tuesday, adding: “It is lousy healthcare.” In the first step of a process that could take years, Republican Senator Mike Enzi introduced a resolution on Tuesday to provide for repeal of the law. House Republicans also took a step to clear the decks later for Obamacare repeal by approving a procedural rule making it harder for Democrats to impede progress on such legislation. But Republicans face a dilemma on a replacement program to provide health insurance to people who do not have a plan at work or cannot afford private coverage. The White House says the law has expanded coverage for 20 million Americans, including an estimated 13.8 million people who buy insurance on exchanges, many who receive tax credits to make it affordable. “If Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act they’ll be hastening the demise of Medicare that millions of seniors rely upon for their basic healthcare needs,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not address Obamacare in remarks on the Senate floor on Tuesday. He has said his top priorities for the new Congress were dealing with the “massive overregulation” he said had been a brake on the U.S. economy and making changes in the tax code to stop companies from moving jobs out of the country. Republicans might use upcoming spending bills funding government agencies to try to kill some environmental and banking regulations. Trump also is expected to try to use his executive powers toward that end. Leading Democrats warned of a fierce battle over Obamacare and said they planned to mobilize grassroots support for it. Obama is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with congressional Democrats to discuss strategies for fending off the Republican attacks on Obamacare. But Senator Charles Schumer, in his first floor speech as the top Democrat in the Senate, said he was ready to work on some issues with Trump. “If the president-elect proposes legislation that achieves that - on issues like infrastructure, trade, and closing the carried interest loophole, for instance - we will work in good faith to perfect and, potentially, enact it,” Schumer said. “When he doesn’t, we will resist.” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told a packed House chamber that Democrats would work with Trump “wherever we can,” including reforming taxes and trade deals. Pelosi also warned that Democrats would “stand our ground” and fight Trump and Republicans if they attempt to weaken environmental regulations or civil rights protections.

Summary: ट्रम्प-युग की कांग्रेस के पहले दिन अमेरिकी रिपब्लिकन के लिए कठिन शुरुआत


ATHENS (Reuters) - A Russian cybercrime suspect told Greek judges on Friday he had  nothing to do  with allegations of masterminding a money-laundering operation using bitcoin. Alexander Vinnik was speaking to a hearing considering his extradition to the United States. He was arrested on a U.S. warrant in a hotel in northern Greece in late July and Russia has since also requested he be sent home on fraud charges.    The U.S. Justice Department says Vinnik facilitated crimes since 2011 including computer hacking, fraud and drug trafficking by laundering at least $4 billion through BTC-e, an exchange used to trade bitcoin and other digital currencies. Vinnik, who was escorted handcuffed through the back door of a Thessaloniki court, denies any wrongdoing. If extradited to the United States, he faces up to 55 years in prison.  He asserts that he has nothing to do with the charges against him,  one of his lawyers, Xanthippi Moisidou, told reporters. The judges are scheduled to announce their verdict on the U.S. request on Oct. 4. A court date for the Russian request has not yet been set.  We hope for, and we expect, a positive result,  said Alexandros Lykourezos, another of Vinnik s lawyers. He said the prosecutor s proposal in favor of extraditing Vinnik was  unsubstantiated.  Greece s justice minister can approve extradition to one country and block the other in the event of competing requests from two or more countries. Vinnik is one of seven Russians arrested or indicted on U.S. cyber crime charges this year and Moscow has sought the extradition of its nationals wanted by the U.S. before.  Yevgeniy Nikulin, an alleged Russian hacker, was arrested in Prague last year and both the United States and Russia want him extradited. Russia s Foreign Ministry had criticized Nikulin s arrest, saying it showed Washington was mounting a global manhunt against Russian citizens.

Summary: अमेरिका और रूस द्वारा वांछित बिटक्वाइन धोखाधड़ी संदिग्ध के प्रत्यर्पण पर ग्रीस विचार करता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s phone conversation with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday, which prompted a diplomatic protest from China, was simply a “courtesy call,” Vice President-elect Mike Pence said on NBC on Sunday. Asked whether any shift in policy should be read into the call, Pence said: “I don’t think so.” The call with Tsai was the first by a U.S. president-elect or president with a Taiwanese leader since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979. “This was a courtesy call. The democratically elected president of Taiwan called to congratulate the president-elect,” Pence said.  China’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it has lodged “stern representations” with what it called the “relevant U.S. side,” urging the careful handling of the Taiwan issue to avoid any unnecessary disturbances in ties. Pence said he was not aware of any contact between the Trump transition team and the Chinese government since Friday, and did not expect Trump’s team would reach out this week to ease tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as its own. Pence said the call was similar in nature to one between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping after the Nov. 8 election. “I think I would just say to our counterparts in China that this was a moment of courtesy. The president-elect talked to President Xi two weeks ago in the same manner. It was not a discussion about policy,” Pence said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Trump lambasted China throughout the U.S. election campaign, pledging to label the country a currency manipulator on his first day in office. Asked on ABC’s “This Week” whether Trump would make good on that pledge, Pence said decisions on policy would come after Trump takes office on Jan. 20. “It will be for the president-elect to decide whether he implements that policy after the inauguration,” Pence said.

Summary: ताइवान के राष्ट्रपति के साथ ट्रम्प की बातचीत एक 'शिष्टाचार भेंट' थीः पेंस


GENEVA (Reuters) - A convoy from the United Nations and Syrian Arab Red Crescent entered towns in the besieged Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta on Monday, bringing aid to 40,000 people for the first time since June 2016, the United Nations said. A tightening siege by government forces has pushed people to the verge of famine in the eastern suburbs, residents and aid workers said last week, bringing desperation to the only major rebel enclave near the Syrian capital. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Twitter they had entered the towns of Kafra Batna and Saqba. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent said in a separate tweet that the inter-agency convoy had 49 trucks.  They carried food, nutrition and health items for 40,000 people in need, OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said.  The last time we reached these two locations were in June 2016,  he said. A health worker in Saqba who was present when the convoy started to offload said that nine trucks of foodstuffs, including milk and peanut butter, and four trucks of medicines had arrived so far.  Technical specialists were on board to assess needs in the towns in order to plan a further humanitarian response, he said.  More aid to complement today s delivery is planned in the coming days,  Laerke added. At least 1,200 children in eastern Ghouta suffer from malnutrition, with 1,500 others at risk, a spokeswoman for the U.N. children s agency UNICEF said last week. Bettina Luescher, spokeswoman of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), said the convoy carried nutrition supplies for 16,000 children. Food, fuel and medicine once travelled across frontlines into the suburbs through a network of underground tunnels. But early this year, an army offensive nearby cut smuggling routes that provided a lifeline for around 300,000 people in the enclave east of the capital.

Summary: 40, 000 की सहायता के साथ काफिला दमिश्क के उपनगरों में घुसाः यू. एन.


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans on Sunday urged President Donald Trump’s new chief of staff John Kelly to rein in the chaos within the White House on Monday but said the retired Marine Corps general will be challenged to assert control. In his first six months in office, Trump has upended White House convention with a loose decision-making style and an open-door policy to his Oval Office for advisers, both internal and external. Infighting among his senior staff has become bitter and public. “He’s going to have to reduce the drama, reduce both the sniping within and reduce the leaks, and bring some discipline to the relationships,” Karl Rove, a Republican strategist and former White House adviser to George W. Bush, said on “Fox News Sunday.” Trump announced Kelly would replace his embattled chief of staff Reince Priebus at the end of a particularly chaotic week that saw his first legislative effort - healthcare reform - fail in Congress. “He (Trump) is in a lot of trouble. This week was the most tumultuous week we’ve seen in a tumultuous presidency,” Rove said. On top of the healthcare debacle, Trump came under fire for banning transgender people from the military, and was pilloried for politicizing a speech he made to the Boy Scouts. Adding fuel to the fire, his new communications director Anthony Scaramucci unleashed a string of profane criticism about Priebus and Trump strategist Steven Bannon to a New Yorker magazine reporter. Republicans welcomed Trump’s decision to bring in Kelly, who starts on Monday. “I think he will bring some order and discipline to the West Wing,” said Republican Senator Susan Collins and Trump critic on  NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The last week heightened concerns in Trump’s party that the distractions and West Wing dysfunction would derail other legislative priorities, including tax reform and debt ceiling negotiations. White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said he thought Priebus had been effective “but was probably a little bit more laid back” in the way he ran the office. “I think the president wants to go in a different direction, wants a little bit more discipline, a little more structure in there,” said Mulvaney, who reports to the chief of staff. It is not yet clear whether all of Trump’s senior staff will answer to Kelly. Some members, including Scaramucci and senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, report directly to Trump, a structure which gives them more power. “I will do whatever the president and our new chief of staff General Kelly ask me to do,” Conway told Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday.” Kelly should be empowered to be the gatekeeper to the Oval Office, said Mike Huckabee, the former Republican governor of Arkansas, whose daughter Sarah Sanders is Trump’s spokeswoman. “That’s what needs to happen, but that’s going to be up to the president,” Huckabee said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “The president has a very different style, he’s very open, the door is open, he invites people to just come on it to a meeting,” Huckabee said. To be effective, Kelly needs to find a way to work within Trump’s untraditional style, said Corey Lewandowski, who was a former campaign manager to Trump, and remains close to the president. “The thing that General Kelly should do is not try to change Donald Trump,” Lewandowski said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Anybody who thinks they’re going to change Donald Trump doesn’t know Donald Trump,” Lewandowski said.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन ने व्हाइट हाउस की अराजकता को ठीक करने के लिए नए ट्रम्प चीफ ऑफ स्टाफ से आह्वान किया


BERLIN (Reuters) - Members of Germany s Social Democrats (SPD) will get to vote on any decision by the leadership of the center-left party to join a future coalition government, leader Martin Schulz said on Friday.  There is nothing automatic about the direction we are moving in,  Schulz said.  If a discussion results in us deciding to participate in any form whatsoever in the formation of a government, we will put it to a vote of party members.  Schulz made the remarks said during a brief news conference, shortly after the German president announced he would host a meeting next week with Schulz and Chancellor Angela Merkel to find a way out of a political impasse.

Summary: जर्मन एस. पी. डी. सरकार की किसी भी भूमिका को मतदान के लिए रखेगीः शुल्ज


NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States is worried about the  tragedies  in Myanmar affecting Rohingya Muslims and U.S. authorities are pressing government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar s military leaders to stop the crackdown, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Thursday.  Not only have we pressed her, we pressed the military,  Haley told reporters, referring to Suu Kyi. She said U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford was calling the head of Myanmar s military to say  this cannot continue.

Summary: रोहिंग्या पर सू की और म्यांमार की सेना पर दबाव बना रहा है अमेरिकाः हेली


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Six Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers hit Islamic State targets in Syria s Deir al-Zor province on Sunday, Russian news agencies cited Russia s Defense Ministry as saying. The bombers that flew from an airfield in Russia hit  terrorist strongholds  in the valley of the Euphrates river, the agencies reported.

Summary: रूसी लंबी दूरी के बमवर्षकों ने सीरिया में इस्लामिक स्टेट के ठिकानों पर हमला कियाः एजेंसियां


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump said on Monday he would work closely with NATO allies to defeat Islamic State militants if he wins the White House, reversing an earlier threat that the United States might not meet its obligations to the Western military alliance. In a policy speech, Trump said he would wage a multi-front “military, cyber and financial” war against Islamic State, although it was not clear how that would differ from the Obama administration’s fight with the jihadist group.  “We will also work closely with NATO on this new mission,” said Trump, whose remarks about the defense organization earlier this summer drew heavy criticism from allies and even some of his fellow Republicans. Trump said a newly adopted approach to fighting terrorism by the organization had led him to change his mind and he no longer considered NATO obsolete. He was apparently referring to reports the alliance is moving toward creating an intelligence post in a bid to improve information sharing.    While Trump appeared to claim credit for prodding NATO to focus more on the threat of terrorism, the 28-nation alliance has been grappling with the issue for more than a decade. NATO invoked Article 5, its collective self-defense mechanism, for the first time in its history to offer support to the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Trump called for shutting down access to the internet and social media for those aligned with Islamic State, which holds territory in Syria and Iraq. But he said he did not want to detail military strategy because it would tip off potential foes. “We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism just as we have defeated every threat we’ve faced at every age and before,” Trump said, blaming his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, and President Barack Obama for aiding the rise of Islamic State. In a speech in the swing state of Ohio, Trump also said that in implementing his call for a temporary ban on Muslims immigrating to the country, he would institute “extreme vetting” and develop a new screening test to try to catch people who intend to do harm to the United States. As president, he said, he would ask the U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security to identify regions of the world that remain hostile to the United States and where normal screening might not be sufficient to catch those who pose a threat. The Clinton campaign said Trump’s plan to have immigrants submit to ideological tests was “a cynical ploy to escape scrutiny of his outrageous proposal to ban an entire religion from our country and no one should fall for it.” Reading from a teleprompter, Trump said Clinton did not have the judgment and character to lead the country. “Importantly, she also lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on ISIS and all of the many adversaries we face,” he said.  Trump, a wealthy New York businessman whose volatile campaign has alienated some in the Republican establishment, faced a fresh rebuke on Monday as he falls behind Clinton in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 8 election. The Wall Street Journal, a leading conservative voice, said in an editorial he should fix his campaign within weeks or step down. Echoing growing alarm about Trump’s candidacy among many leading Republicans, the newspaper said Trump had failed to establish a competent campaign operation. “If they can’t get Mr. Trump to change his act by Labor Day, the GOP will have no choice but to write off the nominee as hopeless and focus on salvaging the Senate and House and other down-ballot races,” the newspaper said. Labor Day, which falls on Sept. 5 this year, marks the end of U.S. summer vacations and traditionally launches the final phase of the long U.S. election season.  “As for Mr. Trump, he needs to stop blaming everyone else and decide if he wants to behave like someone who wants to be president - or turn the nomination over to Mike Pence,” it said, referring to the Indiana governor, who is Trump’s vice presidential running mate. Adding to Trump’s woes this week was the news, first reported by The New York Times, that the name of his campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was on secret ledgers showing cash payments designated to him of more than $12 million from a Ukrainian political party with close ties to Russia.  Manafort denied any impropriety in a statement on Monday.   “I have never received a single ‘off-the-books cash payment’ as falsely ‘reported’ by The New York Times, nor have I ever done work for the governments of Ukraine or Russia,” he said.  Artem Sytnik, the head of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau, confirmed in a briefing with reporters that Manafort’s name appeared on a ledger and that more than $12 million had been allocated as an expenditure, referencing Manafort. But Sytnik said the presence of Manafort’s name “does not mean that he definitely received this money.” The Clinton campaign said the news was evidence of “more troubling connections between Donald Trump’s team and pro-Kremlin elements in Ukraine.” Trump has spoken favorably in the past of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last month, he invited Russian hackers to find “missing” emails from Clinton’s time as secretary of state, when she used a private email server to conduct government business, although he later described that comment as sarcasm.    The current RealClearPolitics average of national opinion polls puts Clinton 6.8 points ahead of Trump, at 47.8 percent to Trump’s 41 percent. Polls also show Trump trailing in states such as Pennsylvania that are likely to be pivotal in the election.

Summary: ट्रंप ने इस्लामिक स्टेट को हराने के लिए नाटो के साथ काम करने का वादा किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global warming helped fuel the hottest year on record in 2016, with greenhouse gas concentrations reaching a new high, a U.S. government report released on Thursday said. The report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also cited a strong El Nino cycle as a factor behind the third consecutive year of record global warmth.

Summary: जलवायु परिवर्तन ने 2016 में ईंधन रिकॉर्ड गर्मी में मदद कीः अमेरिकी सरकार की रिपोर्ट


(This version of the May 5, 2016 story has been corrected to make clear Ralph Nader ran as a Green Party candidate) By Ginger Gibson and Jonathan Allen WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s emergence as the last man standing in the Republican presidential race has prompted his critics inside the party to intensify their search for a candidate they could back as a serious third-party alternative. Political operatives are courting donors, calling potential candidates and developing legal contingency plans for overcoming onerous ballot qualification laws. “This is as much as anything a battle for the future of American party politics,” said Republican strategist Joel Searby, who is working with conservative writer Bill Kristol, among others, on an effort to identify a third-party candidate to run in the Nov. 8 presidential election. A separate group, Conservatives Against Trump, which includes blogger Erick Erickson, has been holding calls and meetings to discuss third-party candidates as well as other options to stop the New York billionaire from winning the White House. The hurdles to a third-party candidacy are immense. No independent candidate has ever won a presidential election, although some have played spoilers. But the efforts by the Republican groups underscore the unusual divisiveness of Trump’s candidacy within Republican ranks ahead of a likely general election fight with Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. Trump’s opposition to free trade is at odds with the views of many Republicans, especially in the party’s business wing. Many of Trump’s critics also find his rhetoric offensive, including his call to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the country and his comment describing Mexican immigrants to the United States as rapists and drug dealers. Some Republicans say they worry that any third-party candidate would only siphon votes away from Trump and help Clinton win the election. Ralph Nader’s Green Party presidential run has been blamed by some Democrats for the razor-thin defeat of Democratic nominee Al Gore in the 2000 election. Ross Perot’s independent candidacy in 1992 was seen by some Republicans as contributing to President George H.W. Bush’s loss to Democrat Bill Clinton.   One outcome, though rare, may be that no candidate crosses the necessary threshold of 270 votes in the U.S. Electoral College. In that case, the vote for the next president would pass to the U.S. House of Representatives, currently controlled by Republicans.   Deborah DeMoss Fonseca, who recruited donors for former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush and is working with Conservatives Against Trump, said her group was trying to find a candidate who would be high-profile enough to compete with Trump and Clinton. But finding a candidate of that caliber who would be willing to run is no easy feat. Searby’s group has reached out to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and James Mattis, a retired U.S. Marine Corps general, among others, but both declined after discussions. Republican U.S. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska has emerged as a favorite of the Republicans seeking a third-party candidate. Kristol has had warm words for him. Sasse, a freshman lawmaker and former Bush administration official, is a strong critic of Trump and has called for an alternative candidate to him. But he says that person should be someone other than him. On Wednesday, the morning after Trump emerged as the presumptive presidential nominee, phones at the office of Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson were ringing off the hook with calls from small-government Republicans who feel they cannot get behind Trump. But as a Libertarian, Johnson holds views on some issues, such as the legalization of marijuana, that are antithetical to the views of some Republicans.  In March, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, said he had considered jumping into the race as a third-party candidate but opted against it, saying he feared it would only serve to help get Trump elected. One of the biggest hurdles to a third-party run is simply getting on the ballot in enough states to mount a viable campaign. Texas requires more than 79,000 signatures from voters who did not participate in either primary. Its deadline is Monday. Among other states, North Carolina’s deadline is the end of May, and Illinois and Florida in mid-July. “A third-party candidate is a pipe dream,” said Republican strategist Tony Fratto, who worked in Bush’s administration and strongly opposes Trump. “What’s going to happen is Hillary Clinton is going to win big. It won’t be close.”

Summary: दुखी ट्रम्प विरोधी रिपब्लिकन तीसरे पक्ष के उम्मीदवार की भर्ती करना चाहते हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator John McCain, the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned Iraq s government on Monday of  severe consequences  over any further misuse U.S.-provided weaponry against Kurdish forces.  The United States provided equipment and training to the government of Iraq to fight (Islamic State) and secure itself from external threats   not to attack elements of one of its own regional governments, which is a longstanding and valuable partner of the United States,  McCain said.  Make no mistake, there will be severe consequences if we continue to see American equipment misused in this way.

Summary: मैक्केन ने इराक को कुर्दों के खिलाफ अमेरिकी हथियारों के दुरुपयोग के खिलाफ चेतावनी दी


KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has submitted a new draft law to parliament for the creation of an anti-corruption court, the parliamentary website showed late on Friday. Slow progress establishing an independent court to deal with corruption cases has been one of the main obstacles to the disbursement of loans under a $17.5 billion aid-for-reforms program from the International Monetary Fund. A committee will now need to review and approve the bill, before it can be voted on by parliament, the next session of which is in January.

Summary: यूक्रेन के राष्ट्रपति ने संसद में भ्रष्टाचार विरोधी अदालत का कानून प्रस्तुत किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of 27 U.S. senators sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday urging him to take a tough line against Russia over what they termed its “military land grab” in Ukraine. The letter, whose 12 Republican and 15 Democratic signatories included some leading foreign policy voices from Trump’s Republican party, was an early sign that lawmakers will publicly assert themselves on international matters where they disagree with his White House. The New York property developer becomes president on Jan. 20. Trump signaled during his campaign that he might take a softer line in dealings with Moscow, repeatedly praising Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leadership. Putin said recently Trump confirmed to him that he was willing to mend ties. “In light of Russia’s continued aggression and repeated refusal to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereign right to choose its own destiny, we also renew our call for the United States to increase political, economic and military support for Ukraine,” said the letter, led by Senators Richard Durbin, a Democrat, and Rob Portman, a Republican, who are co-chairmen of the Senate Ukraine caucus. In the letter, seen by Reuters before its public release, the senators also said they believe Russia’s annexation of Crimea should not be accepted and the United States should not lift sanctions imposed on Russia for its behavior in eastern Ukraine.  President Barack Obama and Putin have had a challenging relationship, with stark differences over Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Syria. Tensions have risen more with Obama’s Democratic Party in particular over cyber attacks attributed to Russia during the U.S. presidential election.     Among Republican senators who signed the letter were John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Lindsey Graham, head of the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the State Department. A majority of Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including ranking Democrat Ben Cardin, signed the letter. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on Senate Armed Services, also did so.

Summary: अमेरिकी सीनेटरों ने ट्रम्प से यूक्रेन पर रूस पर सख्त रुख अपनाने का आग्रह किया


CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court sentenced a British woman to three years in prison on Tuesday for smuggling around 300 painkiller tablets into the country, in a ruling her defence team said she would appeal to have overturned or commuted. Laura Plummer, a 33-year-old shop worker from Hull, was arrested in October after the Tramadol tablets were found in her suitcase. Her family told British newspapers she bought the tablets for her Egyptian partner living in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada. Plummer attended a hearing in her case on Monday, before Tuesday s sentencing. The court also ruled that she must pay a fine of 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($5,600). Tramadol is a legal, prescription medicine in Britain, but it is banned in Egypt. Plummer was arrested on arrival from Britain in October, and her detention was extended twice prior to her court appearance. Plummer s family said on Tuesday they were disgusted by the way the trial had been conducted.   From day one, this has been a complete nightmare. Yesterday in the court she wasn t even allowed her own interpreter. She had to get the court s interpreter who was interpreting the wrong answers,  her sister Jayne Synclair said, speaking on BBC television. The family said Plummer had also been forced to sign Arabic-language documents which she did not understand.  She s on the verge of a mental breakdown ... It s just horrendous,  her sister said. Her lawyer said Plummer would appeal, seeking to reverse the verdict or get a commuted sentence, which is possible in the two months after sentencing. He added that she did not know Tramadol was banned in Egypt. Speaking to the court on behalf of Plummer, the lawyer,  said she had no criminal intent in bringing in the painkillers. On Monday the lawyer, Mohamed Othman, told Reuters:  It is illogical that she was dealing in Tramadol. She had only 320 pills. Even the plane ticket is almost double the price of those pills.  A spokesman from Britain s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said:  We will continue to provide assistance to Laura and her family following the court ruling in Egypt, and our embassy is in regular contact with the Egyptian authorities.

Summary: मिस्र में दर्द निवारक दवाओं की तस्करी के आरोप में ब्रिटिश महिला को तीन साल की जेल की सजा


ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - South Sudanese rebels accused the government army of attacking one of their bases overnight as a new round of peace talks between the warring sides opened in the Ethiopian capital on Monday.  Rebel spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel said government troops attacked a rebel base in the town of Lasu in the south of the country late on Sunday.   They are in the IO base,  he said, referring to the name of the rebel group. Army spokesmen were not immediately available to comment when called by Reuters on Monday afternoon. The talks in Addis Ababa have been convened by the East African bloc IGAD and are aimed at bringing the warring sides back to the negotiating table after a 2015 peace deal collapsed last year during heavy fighting in the capital, Juba.      The war began in 2013 between soldiers of President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and his former vice president, Riek Machar, a Nuer. Tens of thousands of people have died and a third of South Sudan s 12 million population have fled their homes.  Highlighting the widespread nature of the violence, army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang earlier said four aid workers from the French organization Solidarites International had been kidnapped a day earlier by the rebels near the western city of Raja.  The state government, based in Raja, said in a statement eight civilians had been killed and the four aid workers kidnapped in what it described as an ambush by the rebels.  The French organization said it had lost contact with three members of its team on Saturday. It gave no indication of their fate and it was not immediately clear why it gave a different number of those involved.  An IO rebel statement said:  The SPLA IO forces also rescued four humanitarian staff ... they are currently safe and sound with our forces around Raja and will be handed over ... as soon as possible.   It was not immediately clear what the rebels said they had rescued the aid workers from. The war has mutated from a two-way fight into a fragmented conflict, making peace more elusive, the top United Nations peacekeeper in the country told Reuters earlier this year.  Diplomats and analysts question whether the will to end the fighting exists, as Kiir s government holds the military upper hand and rebel leader Machar is under house arrest in South Africa. [L3N1NG5D4] Machar sent representatives to the Ethiopian capital for the talks. Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn voiced strong criticism of the warring sides at the forum in Addis Ababa.  ... More than half of the people of South Sudan are either refugees in neighboring countries, internally displaced within South Sudan or suffering from food insecurity in their own village,  he said.   It is equally clear that all this suffering is taking place because you the leaders of South Sudan have repeatedly failed to talk to each other, to negotiate, to be tolerant, to make compromises,  he added.  Today, I appeal to you to stop this intransigence.

Summary: दक्षिण सूडान के विद्रोहियों ने शांति वार्ता फिर से शुरू होने पर सेना पर हमले का आरोप लगाया


(Reuters) - The campaign group Human Rights Watch on Friday condemned the arrest by Saudi authorities of some 30 clerics, intellectuals and activists this week as a  coordinated crackdown on dissent , and Amnesty International echoed the sentiment. The arrests were made after exiled opposition figures called for demonstrations following Friday s afternoon prayers, which did not appear to attract much support amid a heavy security deployment. Activists this week circulated on social media lists of people detained. They included prominent Islamist preacher Salman al-Awdah, as well as some people with no clear links to Islamist activity or obvious history of opposition. The detentions come amid widespread speculation, denied by officials, that King Salman, 81, intends to abdicate in favor of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed, who dominates economic, foreign and domestic policy. There are also growing tensions with Qatar over its alleged support of Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, which is listed by Riyadh as a terrorist organization.  These apparently politically motivated arrests are another sign that Mohammed bin Salman has no real interest in improving his country s record on free speech and the rule of law,  said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. The New York-based group said the arrests fitted a pattern of human rights violations against peaceful activists and dissidents, including harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns, travel bans, detention and prosecution. Crown Prince Mohammed has rocketed to the pinnacle of power in the kingdom, pushing a reform agenda called Vision 2030 aimed at weaning the country off oil and introducing social reforms. Critics say he is not doing enough to liberalize politics in a country where the king enjoys absolute authority. Amnesty International also denounced the crackdown, urging the authorities to reveal the whereabouts of the detainees and give them access to families and lawyers.  In recent years we cannot recall a week in which so many prominent Saudi Arabian figures have been targeted in such a short space of time,  said Samah Hadid, the group s director of campaigns in the Middle East.  It is clear that the new leadership under Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is sending a chilling message: freedom of expression will not be tolerated, we are coming after you.  A government spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. All public protests are banned in Saudi Arabia, as are political parties. Labor unions are illegal, the media are controlled and criticism of the royal family can lead to prison. Riyadh says it does not have political prisoners, but senior officials have said monitoring of activists is needed to maintain social stability. The al-Saud family has always regarded Islamist groups as the biggest internal threat to its rule over a country in which appeals to religious sentiment cannot be lightly dismissed and an al Qaeda campaign a decade ago killed hundreds. Islamist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which originated in Egypt and briefly held power there after the 2011 Arab Spring, represent an ideological threat to Saudi Arabia s dynastic system of rule. The Brotherhood-inspired Sahwa movement agitated in the 1990s to bring democracy to Saudi Arabia and criticized the ruling family for corruption, social liberalization and working with the West, including allowing U.S. troops into the kingdom during the 1991 Iraq war. The Sahwa were weakened by a mixture of repression and co-optation, but remain active. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport links with Qatar in June over its alleged support for Islamists including the Brotherhood   a charge Doha denies. At a mosque in central Riyadh that protest organizers had identified as one of several potential gathering spots, the imam warned worshippers against demonstrating.  All the groups that exist today and call for political action or aspire to rule   they are all misguided, deviant groups headed by the Muslim Brotherhood,  he said. Most people seemed to heed that message, with no demonstrations reported across the kingdom.

Summary: मानवाधिकार समूहों ने असहमति पर कार्रवाई के रूप में सऊदी गिरफ्तारी की निंदा की


WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland s Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski, commenting on Brexit proposals presented on Friday by British Prime Minister Theresa May, said that protecting the rights of European Union citizens in the United Kingdom was one of the key conditions.  We can agree to talk about a transitional period in relation between the EU and the UK only if that could lead to complete fulfillment of the UK s commitments toward the EU,  Szymanski, Poland s sherpa to the EU, said in emailed comments.  Another condition is also full protection of our citizens  rights in the UK. Membership of the UK in the single market as well as the customs  union translates into regulatory and financial obligations of the UK toward the EU.

Summary: पोलैंड का कहना है कि ब्रिटेन में यूरोपीय संघ के नागरिकों के अधिकारों की पूर्ण सुरक्षा ब्रेक्सिट में महत्वपूर्ण है


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia vetoed on Friday a Japanese-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution to extend by one month an international inquiry into who is to blame for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, just a day after Moscow blocked a U.S. push to renew the investigation. The mandate for the joint inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which was unanimously created by the 15-member Security Council in 2015, ends on Friday.  Syrian ally Russia has now cast 11 vetoes on possible Security Council action on Syria since the country s civil war began in 2011.  The U.N./OPCW investigation found that the Syrian government used the banned nerve agent sarin in an April 4 attack and has also used chlorine as a weapon several times. It blamed Islamic State militants for using mustard gas.

Summary: रूस ने सीरिया में रासायनिक हथियारों की जांच को कुछ समय के लिए बढ़ाने की कोशिश को रोका


NEW YORK (Reuters) - The White House is hiring Ty Cobb, a veteran Washington lawyer with experience as a prosecutor and defense attorney to assist with Russia-related investigations, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Cobb has been a long-time partner at the law firm Hogan Lovells in Washington and represented people in government during the 1990s Clinton administration. Cobb did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokesman for the law firm declined to comment.  “We have no announcement at this time,” a White House spokeswoman said. A federal special counsel and several congressional panels are investigating allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential connections between Russian officials and the  campaign of then-candidate Donald Trump. Moscow has denied any interference and the President has denied any collusion. The intelligence agencies said earlier this year that Russia sought to help Trump win the election by hacking private emails from Democratic Party officials and spreading false information. Cobb is expected to be an intermediary between the White House and Congress, as well as outside attorneys. Trump met with Cobb about the role last month, Reuters exclusively reported on July 3. Bloomberg News wrote about his hiring earlier on Friday. Cobb’s role is separate from Trump’s outside legal team, led by New York lawyer Marc Kasowitz. Constitutional lawyer and evangelical radio talk show host Jay Sekulow, Washington lawyer John Dowd, and Michael Bowe, a partner at Kasowitz’s firm, are all on that team. Cobb, who sports a handlebar mustache, is a distant relative of the famous early 20th century baseball player of the same name.   Washington lawyer Robert Bennett, also of Hogan Lovells, who represented President Bill Clinton in the sexual harassment case filed by Paula Jones, said Cobb knew how to handle a crisis where politics and the law intersected. “Given recent developments, they really need him and need to listen to him,” said Bennett. In the 1990s, Cobb, 66, represented former Democratic National Committee fundraiser John Huang and former White House aide David Watkins, who was probed over the Clinton White House travel office.  In 2006, Cobb also represented former CIA official Mary McCarthy, who was fired after she was accused of providing classified information to reporters. No charges were brought against McCarthy.     Cobb graduated from Harvard University and earned his law degree at Georgetown. In the 1980s, he was a federal prosecutor in Baltimore, where he led a regional drug and organized crime task force.

Summary: वकील टाय कॉब रूस की जांच को संभालने के लिए व्हाइट हाउस में शामिल होंगे


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Indiana Governor Mike Pence, the Republican nominee for U.S. vice president, lost another round in federal court on Monday in his bid to keep refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war from resettling in his state. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago affirmed a lower-court ruling that Pence’s order seeking to bar state agencies from helping the resettlement of Syrian immigrants discriminates against the refugees based on their national origin. The setback for Pence comes a day before he is scheduled to debate the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, on national television. Pence was among more than 25 U.S. governors, mostly Republicans, who urged President Barack Obama to stop resettling refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war after November attacks by extremists in Paris that killed 130. Critics of the resettlement program have argued that it leaves the United States vulnerable to infiltration by militants from Islamic State, also known as ISIS, which has seized vast swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq and claimed responsibility for attacks on civilians in Paris and elsewhere. But Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner, writing for the three-judge panel that sided unanimously against Pence, said the governor’s assertions of a national security threat were presented “without evidence” and amounted to “nightmare speculation.” All three appellate panel members are Republican appointees, including Judge Diane Sykes, who Pence’s running mate, Donald Trump, has said he would nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court if he wins the Nov. 8 presidential election. A Pence spokeswoman, Kara Brooks, said the FBI and U.S. Homeland Security Department have acknowledged “security gaps” in screening of Syrian refugees. She also quoted a State Department spokesman who said last month that he “‘wouldn’t debate the fact that there’s the potential for ISIS terrorists to try to insert themselves’ into the refugee program.”  Pence’s order was blocked by a U.S. district judge in February after a court challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and he appealed.  The ACLU welcomed the court’s ruling on Monday as upholding the group’s position that the governor “may not constitutionally or legally discriminate against a particular nationality of refugees that are extensively vetted by the federal government.” Indiana has accepted 150 Syrian immigrants between Oct. 1, 2015, and Aug. 31, 2016, accounting for about 9 percent of all refugee arrivals in the state during that period, according to the State Department.

Summary: सीरियाई शरणार्थी मामले में अमेरिका ने पेंस के खिलाफ अदालत में पक्षकारों से अपील की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and former adviser K.T. McFarland were the Trump transition officials who spoke to former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn about his contacts with Russian officials, CNN reported Friday. McFarland went on to serve in the Trump White House and has been nominated to be the U.S. ambassador to Singapore. CNN also reported she met with investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking at contacts between Russians and the Trump administration.

Summary: कुशनर, ट्रम्प के पूर्व सलाहकार मैकफारलैंड ने फ्लिन से रूस के संपर्कों के बारे में बात कीः सीएनएन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming days decides a high-profile immigration case in favor of the Obama administration, the ruling could have an unexpected beneficiary: Republican presidential contender Donald Trump.   The Obama administration is asking the high court to revive its 2014 proposal to protect up to 4 million people from deportation, a plan that was blocked by lower courts. The court could rule that a president has broad authority to interpret and enforce federal immigration law.  Such a ruling would allow Obama to implement his signature executive action on immigration, aimed at the parents of U.S. citizens’ children, before he leaves office. It could also help Trump, who has put forth his own sweeping and controversial plans on immigration ahead of the Nov. 8 election. “To the extent the court has language about the president’s wide authority in immigration law generally, that would certainly strengthen Trump’s hand.” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law expert at Cornell Law School. The Supreme Court’s ruling will come at a key phase in the presidential election cycle, with candidates Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton trading jabs over immigration policy following the mass shooting in a Orlando nightclub in which a gunman killed 49 people.  Trump has proposed curbing immigration from countries with a history of terrorism, blocking the entry of Muslims and deporting the estimated 11 million people in the United States who entered the country illegally.  If he wins the race for the White House, Trump might need to invoke his own executive authority - as happened with Obama - if the U.S. Congress does not approve his proposals, which have sparked outrage at home and abroad. The current case is unlikely to provide any support for Trump’s  proposal to bar Muslims, which legal experts say would face other legal hurdles because it targets people on the basis of religion. But legal experts say it could help Trump if he seeks to block entry from certain countries under a provision of immigration law that gives the president the power to suspend entry of noncitizens whose entry “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”  That provision has previously only been used block entry of small groups of people, such as officials linked with foreign governments hostile to the United States. Applying it to entire countries could prompt a similar lawsuit to the one filed against Obama. Clinton could also seize on an Obama victory in the case, but her own immigration proposals are more modest. She has said that absent action by Congress to reform the system entirely, she would keep Obama’s program in place and seek to expand on it. Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress passes laws and the executive branch enforces them. In the immigration context, Congress has traditionally given the president considerable leeway to interpret how to implement the laws. The high court, evenly split 4-4 between liberals and conservatives following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February, could decide the case on narrower grounds than the broad question of executive power.  It could avoid touching on immigration law at all by finding that the states challenging Obama’s proposal did not have legal standing to sue. The court could also split 4-4, which would leave in place the lower court decision blocking the plan but without setting any legal precedent.     U.S. presidents generally have discretion to enforce immigration law, but the plan’s challengers said Obama exceeded the limits of his authority by setting up a program that would allow millions to gain temporary legal status and work permits.  Critics say his plan was unlawful in part because it effectively granted relief from deportation to a much bigger class of people than had ever benefited from any similar programs in the past. Texas and 25 other states who filed suit said it was an unconstitutional abuse of power. Obama’s lawyers told the Supreme Court that Obama was acting within the government’s exercise of prosecutorial discretion to decide who to deport.

Summary: सुप्रीम कोर्ट में ओबामा की आव्रजन जीत से ट्रंप को फायदा हो सकता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Thursday tapped Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell to become head of the U.S. central bank, promoting a soft-spoken centrist to replace Janet Yellen when her term expires in February 2018. In five years as a Fed Governor Jerome Powell has been a consistent, middle of the road voice, backing the consensus crafted by Fed chair Janet Yellen that interest rates should be raised slowly so labor markets could recover, that financial stability risks were muted, and that new regulations had made the economy safer. Following is a collection of quotes from select policy speeches he has delivered since 2015: On Rates:  “The financial crisis did significant damage to the productive capacity of our economy, and the damage was of a character, extent, and duration that cannot be fully known today…It seems plausible that at least part of this supply-side damage could be reversed if the economy enjoys a period of sustained growth.4 To encourage that outcome, as monetary policymakers consider removing accommodation, we should look for a little more proof than usual that labor markets are tightening or other supply-side constraints are binding.” - April 2015 speech to New York Council on Foreign Relations: (Graphic: U.S. labor market measures vs interest rates - reut.rs/2h7hsFx) On Financial Stability:  “The bottom line is that there has not been an excessive buildup of leverage, maturity transformation, or broadly unsustainable asset prices…Overall, I do not see leveraged finance markets as posing undue financial stability risks. And if risk-taking does not threaten financial stability, it is not the Fed’s job to stop people from losing (or making) money.”  - January 2017 speech to American Finance Association, Chicago  (Graphic: U.S. stocks and leverage - reut.rs/2iolCp6) On Regulation: “We have substantially increased the capital, liquidity, and other prudential requirements for large banking firms. These measures are not free. Higher capital requirements increase bank costs, and at least some of those costs will be passed along to bank customers and shareholders. But in the longer term, stronger prudential requirements for large banking firms will produce more sustainable credit availability and economic growth.” - June 2017 speech to Salzburg Global Seminar, Salzburg, Austria (Graphic: Commercial credit and bank profitability - reut.rs/2h8lfCm) On the Current Economy: “Risks to the forecast now seem more balanced than they have been for some time. In particular, the global picture has brightened as growth and inflation have broadly moved up for the first time in several years. Here at home, risks seem both moderate and balanced, including the downside risk of lower inflation and the upside risk of labor market overheating. The Committee has been patient in raising rates, and that patience has paid dividends…. If the economy performs about as expected, I would view it as appropriate to continue to gradually raise rates.” - June 2017 speech to the Economic Club of New York (Graphic: The inflation conundrum - reut.rs/2za4ltY) Other issues may confront Powell in his confirmation hearings and as chair, such as whether to keep the current system of paying banks interest on their reserves as the main method of setting short term interest rates, and whether to rely on monetary policy rules: On Reserve Interest:   “Simple to operate and has provided good control over the federal funds rate.” - June 2017 speech to the Economic Club of New York (Graphic: Bank reserves at the Fed - reut.rs/2z7Qdl8) On Policy Rules:  “I am unable to think of any critical, complex human activity that could be safely reduced to a simple summary equation. In particular, no major central bank uses policy rules in a prescriptive way, and it is hard to predict the consequences of requiring the FOMC to do so, as some have proposed. Policy should be systematic, but not automatic.” - February 2017 speech to the Forecasters Club of New York (Graphic: Monetary policy rules vs reality - reut.rs/2h7mMZE)

Summary: फेडरल रिजर्व के गवर्नर पॉवेल के नीतिगत विचार, उनके अपने शब्दों में


BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand s defense technology agency plans to set up a joint center with China to produce and maintain military equipment in the latest sign of the strengthening security relationship since a 2014 coup. The plans to establish the facility - and discussions on a Chinese naval center to serve submarines Thailand ordered this year - point to a growing Chinese security presence in the oldest U.S. ally in the region as elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The Thai government s Defence Technology Institute (DTI) will set up Thailand s first commercial joint defense facility with China in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen in July, a defense ministry spokesman said. It will be responsible for assembly, production and maintenance of Chinese land weapon systems for the Thai army.  All our production will be for domestic official usage,  defense ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich told Reuters, adding that it could become an assembly and maintenance center for all states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Specific details, he said, were subject to further discussions between the ministry and China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) - which makes tanks and weapons among other heavy equipment. NORINCO did not respond immediately to an emailed request for comment. Its website describes it as  a pioneer and leader of Chinese military trade, and an important team to implement China s Going Global strategy . Kongcheep said the Chinese would provide training and technology transfer, but details of any Chinese personnel in Khon Kaen were among things being discussed. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not respond when contacted by Reuters for comment. China has become an increasingly important source of weapons for Thailand, particularly since the United States and Western countries downgraded ties after the army seized power in 2014. Major purchases since 2015 include orders for 49 Chinese tanks and 34 armored vehicles worth over $320 million - much more than the army has bought from other countries, although it also ordered helicopters from both Russia and the United States. The biggest Chinese purchase is the Royal Thai Navy s order for three submarines at a cost of over $1 billion. Thai and Chinese armies and air forces have begun joint exercises, complementing Thailand s continuing drills with the U.S. forces. On the civilian front, Thailand and China plan development of a high-speed rail link as part of Beijing s Belt and Road initiative. Relations with the United States are warming again too, however, particularly since new U.S. President Donald Trump hosted junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha at the White House. The joint weapons manufacturing center in Khon Kaen - apparently similar to one in Pakistan - could complement China s growing military presence in neighboring Cambodia, said Paul Chambers, who has researched Thai military and regional security.  It opens the door for the potential of growing Chinese military influence in mainland Southeast Asia,  said Chambers, of Naresuan University in the northern Thai province of Phitsanulok. New legislation taking effect next year will allow Thailand s Defence Technology Institute to operate on a commercial basis, but it will remain entirely under government ownership. Thailand s Defence Ministry said the government was also holding preliminary discussions with Ukraine, Russia and South Africa about joint defense manufacturing facilities, similar to the deal with China.

Summary: थाईलैंड की चीन के साथ संयुक्त हथियार कारखाने की योजना है


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman confirmed on Wednesday he had received an email in January last year from an adviser to Donald Trump about a Moscow real estate project, but said he had neither replied nor discussed it with Putin. The Washington Post reported this week that Michael Cohen, one of Trump’s closest business advisers, had emailed Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, seeking his help in advancing a stalled Trump Tower development project in Moscow. Trump was running to become president at the time.   Peskov, answering questions about the matter on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, said he had seen the email among many others he said he received every day, but had not responded to it because the request was not the kind of thing he dealt with in his job as Kremlin spokesman. “I can confirm that among the mass of e-mails there was an e-mail from Mr. Michael Cohen. This really happened,” said Peskov. He said Cohen had written about “a certain Russian company and certain people” who wanted to build a skyscraper in Moscow and wanted his help in making the stalled project a reality. But Peskov said the request was off topic and that responding to it fell outside his job description. “Because we do not react to such (questions about) business themes, and this is not our job, we left this matter without a response,” said Peskov. He said the Kremlin had not received any other similar requests on the subject and that he had not raised the subject of Cohen’s original email with Putin. “We cannot discuss the hundreds and thousands of various requests from different countries we get with President Putin,” said Peskov.

Summary: क्रेमलिन का कहना है कि टावर परियोजना के बारे में ट्रम्प के सलाहकार को ईमेल मिला था लेकिन उन्होंने इसे नजरअंदाज कर दिया