VILNIUS (Reuters) - Lithuania s government lost its majority in parliament on Saturday after its junior coalition partner quit, saying they has been sidelined over policies ranging from alcohol age limits to subsidies on central heating. A parliament vote on next year s budget, expected by early December, will be the first test for the minority government following the departure of the Social Democrats after less than a year in power. The government will need to convince opposition parties to support it on a case-by-case basis. The Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, the sole party remaining in power, have a block of 57 members in Lithuania s 141-seat parliament. The country, once ruled from Moscow but now a member of both the European Union and NATO, is rebuilding its military in the face of an assertive Russia but has found development hampered by emigration and raising wages, eating away at competitiveness.  All preconditions are in place for our government to continue until the next general election in 2020,  Saulius Skvernelis, prime minister since November 2016, told Reuters.  The Social Democrats took a short-sighted and suicidal decision,  he added. Lithuania s Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, a Social Democrat, told Reuters he will leave his party to continue in the government. At least one of the two other Social Democrat appointees will leave the 15-member government, said Social Democrat chairman Gintautas Paluckas, elected in April this year on a reform mandate.  Relationships within the coalition were bad, our opinions differed on almost all major issues and, since Farmers and Greens looked for votes elsewhere, we had scant possibilities to shape its politics,  he told Reuters.  This will cost us influence in the short term, but we ll be in a position to better represent our supporters in the long term,  he said. The Social Democrats, which have held power for long stretches since Lithuanian independence, have been looking for a way to reconnect with the voters after finishing a distant third in the 2016 general election. Social Democrat rank-and-file overwhelmingly supported leaving the government in a recent poll, in contrast to the party s members of parliament who preferred staying in power.

Summary: जूनियर पार्टनर के जाने से लिथुआनिया को मिली अल्पमत सरकार


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday that the Trump administration’s tax reform plan would produce some “short term issues” when viewed under traditional “static” budget analysis rules. His comments during an interview by International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde suggested that the plan would not be revenue-neutral and would increase deficits in the short term. Mnuchin said that the tax plan would pay for itself when viewed through a “dynamic scoring” analysis, which accounts for the increased tax revenues that would be produced by higher growth prompted by the tax changes. “We’re looking for reforms that will pay for themselves with growth,” Mnuchin said. “Under dynamic scoring, this will pay for itself, under static scoring, there’ll be short term issues.” Mnuchin also said the tax plan would be aimed at helping the middle class to “get more money in their pockets” and would be much simpler. “The tax code is way, way, way too complicated. We want to create a system where the average American can file a tax code on a big postcard,” Mnuchin said.

Summary: ट्रम्प की कर योजना कुछ अल्पकालिक बजट मुद्दे पैदा कर सकती हैः म्नुचिन


MADRID (Reuters) - Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont should come back to the path of the law if he wants talks to take place and he has no right to impose a mediation with the government, Spain s Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said on Tuesday.  Neither Mr. Puigdemont nor anybody else can claim ... to impose mediation. Any dialogue between democrats has to take place within the law,  Saenz de Santamaria said after Puigdemont declared Catalonia s independence from Spain but immediately suspended it to allow time for a mediated solution with Spain. The Spanish government will meet on Wednesday to decide on its response to this declaration.

Summary: स्पेन सरकार का कहना है कि कैटेलोनिया के साथ कोई भी बातचीत कानून के दायरे में होनी चाहिए


SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on Friday he respected a High Court verdict that ruled he was ineligible to sit in parliament because he held dual citizenship, a decision that cost the government it s one-seat majority.  I respect the verdict of the court,  Joyce told reporters in the rural New South Wales town of Tamworth.  It s a pretty simple story, we re off to a by-election.

Summary: ऑस्ट्रेलिया के उप प्रधानमंत्री ने कहा कि वह अदालत के उस फैसले का सम्मान करते हैं जिसमें उन्हें संसद के लिए अयोग्य ठहराया गया था


MUNICH (Reuters) - German police ruled out a political or religious motive behind a knife attack in the city of Munich on Saturday and said a detained man suspected of injuring eight people had mental health problems. The arrest of the suspect in his 30s brought calm back to the streets of the Bavarian capital after a tense morning. Police had asked residents to stay home until they find the attacker who had fled on a bicycle. Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae told a news conference that eight people have been lightly injured in the attack and that the suspect was known to police from previous offences, including burglary.  We have no indication of a terrorist, political, or religious motive,  Andrae said.  I assume it is to do with a psychological disorder of the perpetrator.  Police had earlier said they believe the man, who attacked people at several different locations, acted alone. His victims include a 12-year-old boy and a woman.

Summary: जर्मन पुलिस ने म्यूनिख में चाकू हमले में आतंकवाद की संभावना से इनकार किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday that tax reform talks are nearing a consensus to lower business taxes by closing loopholes and special interest deductions, the latest sign that the unpopular proposed border tax may not be included. Speaking at a New Balance shoe factory in Massachusetts, Ryan stressed the need to “level the playing field” for U.S. companies and their foreign competitors but failed to mention the border adjustment tax, or BAT, which has been his main policy for creating a more competitive U.S. manufacturing base. Ryan’s remarks, coming about a week ahead of an end-of-July deadline for top White House officials and Republican leaders in Congress to agree on a tax reform framework, could indicate that President Donald Trump’s promised tax code overhaul is taking on a more orthodox shape after months of closed-door talks. Republicans in the House of Representatives had billed the BAT as a more effective way to pay for tax cuts than closing loopholes, because it would raise more than $1 trillion over a decade by effectively taxing imports while exempting exports from taxation.   “We are going to slash the corporate tax rate to level the playing field and the business tax rate for all businesses,” Ryan told his audience. “So what we need to do is, we need to throw out those complicated loopholes, those deductions, those special interest loopholes,” he added.   Ryan said cutting the corporate tax rate from a current 35 percent rate to a 20 percent corporate rate is “very realistic.” Administration officials have said negotiators realize Trump’s proposed 15 percent corporate rate is unlikely without expanding the federal deficit.  White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said on Thursday that Republicans should be willing to accept “short-term increases on deficits” for tax reform to drive economic growth.   Ryan said tax reform would also include accelerating business expensing, double the standard deduction for individuals, and retain popular deductions for charity donations, home mortgages and retirement.  “We have basically found where our consensus lies on these major issues, which we think are sort of the key cornerstones of tax reform,” the Wisconsin Republican said. His failure to mention border tax adjustment could fuel speculation that House Republicans are moving away from the idea in discussions among the so-called Big Six principals. The six are Ryan, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House adviser Gary Cohn and the Republican chairmen of two tax-writing committees.

Summary: रयान का कहना है कि अमेरिकी कर सुधार सर्वसम्मति के करीब है, सीमा कर का उल्लेख नहीं करता है


THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic will appeal his conviction and life sentence, his legal team said on Wednesday after a U.N. war crimes tribunal found him guilty of genocide.  It is certain we will file an appeal and the appeal will be successful,  attorney Dragan Ivetic told journalists.

Summary: म्लादिक दोषसिद्धि, सजा के खिलाफ अपील करेगा


CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Philippines (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he would talk with Asian allies about North Korea and the crisis caused by Pyongyang s  reckless  provocations, as he kicked off a week-long trip to the region on Monday to meet defense chiefs in the Philippines.     Mattis  trip to Asia, which will also include stops in Thailand and South Korea, comes just weeks before President Donald Trump s first visit to Asia.     Trump has been locked in a war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, calling him a  rocket man  on a suicide mission for openly pursuing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States.     Trump, in a speech last month at the United Nations, threatened to destroy North Korea if necessary to defend the United States and its allies. Kim has blasted Trump as  mentally deranged.      Mattis, who has emphasized diplomacy, was expected to meet both his Japanese and South Korean counterparts on Monday before meeting with all three of them together. He will attend a meeting from Monday to Wednesday of defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, in the Philippines. He will go to Seoul later in the week for more defense talks.     I will talk with my counterparts, discussing the regional security crisis caused by the reckless DPRK North Korea provocations but also discuss our respect for shared values like sovereignty of the states, their territorial integrity, freedom of navigation through historically international waters, and fair and reciprocal trade,  Mattis told reporters. A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea last week, seeking to promote freedom of navigation. The maneuver prompted anger in Beijing. Trump s trip next month will include a visit to China, which he has been pressuring to do more to rein in North Korea s missile and nuclear programs. China is North Korea s neighbor and biggest trading partner.     Mattis, while in the Philippines, said he would commend the military for defeating insurgents in Marawi City on the island of Mindanao.     Some experts see the siege as a prelude to a more ambitious bid by Islamic State loyalists to exploit Mindanao s poverty and use its jungles and mountains as a base to train, recruit and launch attacks in the region.      It was a tough fight,  Mattis said, adding he thought the Philippines had sent  a very necessary message to the terrorists.      On Thursday, Mattis will lead the U.S. delegation in Thailand for the cremation rites for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Summary: रक्षा प्रमुख मैटिस एशिया में, सहयोगियों के साथ उत्तर कोरिया संकट पर चर्चा करेंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic attorneys general in at least five U.S. states have vowed to fight President-elect Donald Trump in the courts if he rolls back Obama-era regulations or adopts policies they view as infringing upon civil liberties. With Republicans controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress, the Democratic Party looks set to rely more heavily on top law officials in states they run to help keep a check on Trump’s exercise of power. Any efforts by a Trump administration to weaken consumer protection or climate change policies, for example, could lead to conflict between the states and the federal government, attorney general offices in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, Massachusetts, and New York told Reuters. In some instances, that could see them asking a federal judge to block federal action nationwide.  “I view my role as being on the first line of defense against a Trump administration if it chooses to act in an unconstitutional fashion,” said Bob Ferguson, the Democratic attorney general of Washington state. When George W. Bush was president, Democratic states forced his administration to take the first step toward regulating carbon emissions for the first time.  Michael Kelly, a spokesman for Virginia’s attorney general, Mark Herring, said that if a Trump administration “crosses the line and pursues actions that are illegal or violate the Constitution, Attorney General Herring will be ready to stand up and defend the rights of Virginians.”      The Trump transition team did not respond to a request seeking comment. Attorneys general are the top legal officials in the 50 states and are typically elected. After this year’s elections, 21 will be Democrats, in addition to the attorney general for the District of Columbia.  Acting on behalf of their states, they generally have legal standing to bring lawsuits challenging federal regulations or executive actions, including those that may infringe upon civil rights. “The President-elect has made a number of promises that, if implemented, would violate the Constitution or Massachusetts law,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement. “If the incoming administration chooses to try to act in ways that are unconstitutional, my office will take action to protect the rights and liberties of our residents and our state,” she said. A dozen attorney general offices contacted by Reuters declined to discuss potential legal strategies before Trump takes office. Democratic states that sue might initially get a sympathetic hearing, as many federal courts are staffed with judges appointed by President Barack Obama during his eight years in office.  But challengers face one major obstacle, a Supreme Court likely soon to regain its conservative majority once Trump makes an appointment to fill a vacant seat. The court is currently divided 4-4 between conservatives and liberals. Republican-controlled Texas, which took a leading role in challenging Obama’s executive actions, provides a model for the Democratic attorneys general.  Climate change is likely to be area of friction between Trump, who has vowed to roll back regulations aimed at cutting greenhouse gases, and Democratic states, which have supported such efforts at the federal level or enacted their own measures. The top target for Trump is Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which seeks to limit carbon emissions from power plants. Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said his office “will continue to fight to protect New Yorkers’ public health, property, and environment, and to lead the coalition of states defending the Clean Power Plan.” Immigration policy is another potential flashpoint. Trump has said he will rescind an Obama executive order giving deportation relief to up to 4 million people and end federal funding for cities like New York and Los Angeles that give sanctuary to undocumented immigrants.     A federal court blocked the Obama executive order in February 2015 after Texas and 25 other Republican states challenged it. The Supreme Court split 4-4 on the issue in June, leaving the lower court’s ruling in place. On consumer protection, states can both challenge any Trump efforts to loosen regulations and ramp up their own enforcement efforts, said Doug Gansler, a Democrat who served as Maryland’s attorney general from 2007 to 2015. “If the federal government abdicates that responsibility, the more aggressive and progressive state attorneys general will fill that vacuum,” he said.

Summary: 'रक्षा की पहली पंक्ति': डेमोक्रेटिक राज्यों ने अदालत में ट्रम्प से लड़ने का संकल्प लिया


PUEBLO, Colo. (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Monday he “brilliantly used” U.S. tax rules to his advantage in trying to limit the amount he paid in taxes, arguing it helped him survive a difficult period in the real estate market. “I was able to use the tax laws of this country and my business acumen to dig out of the real estate mess ... when few others were able to do what I did,” Trump told a crowd in Pueblo, Colorado. It was Trump’s first extended comments since a New York Times report said he had claimed a $916 million loss on his 1995 tax returns, which experts said might have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for 18 years.  Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for the Nov. 8 election, has seized on the report, arguing the tax records undercut Trump’s business acumen.  “What kind of genius loses a billion dollars in a single year? This is Trump to a T, he’s taken corporate excess and made a business out of it,” Clinton told a rally in Toledo, Ohio, on Monday. Clinton has repeatedly called on Trump to release his full returns, as presidential candidates have done in the past.  Trump was dismissive of the Times’ story in his Pueblo remarks, saying the media was “obsessed with an alleged tax filing from the 1990s.” The Trump campaign has not said, however, that the Times’ story was inaccurate. Instead, his supporters, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have contended that Trump’s aggressive use of provisions under U.S. law to minimize his tax liability was evidence of his “genius” as a businessman and real estate investor. Trump picked up on that theme on Monday. “I have brilliantly used those laws,” he told the crowd in Pueblo. The flap over Trump’s taxes comes during what has been a difficult stretch for the candidate, who faced criticism for his performance in the Sept. 26 debate against Clinton and his subsequent public spat with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. A Reuters/Ipsos online poll last week showed a majority of Americans felt Clinton won the debate, the first of three scheduled between the candidates.. On Monday, the state of New York ordered Trump’s charity, the Trump Foundation, to suspend raising money amid a probe into its activities.

Summary: ट्रम्प का कहना है कि उन्होंने 'शानदार तरीके से' अमेरिकी कर कानूनों का इस्तेमाल किया


NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio presented an $82.1 billion preliminary budget for the city’s 2016-17 financial year on Thursday, noting the city’s strong economic position but striking a cautionary note over the economic outlook.  New York City, which sits at the center of one of the biggest regional economies in the world, has seen strong growth since the recession that followed the 2007-09 financial crisis. That has allowed officials to build budget reserves, but doubts remain whether that growth will continue. “There are lots of real challenges that are coming through to make us uncertain about what our economic future is,” de Blasio said during a presentation at City Hall. “We as New York City have to protect ourselves.” The mayor highlighted concerns over China’s economy, question marks over global growth, the current plunge in the U.S. stock market and terrorism as threats to the city. The city added 213,000 jobs in 2014 and 2015, the strongest two-year gain in recent history. The number of jobs are at an all time high of 4.2 million. Yet de Blasio said the economy may be overdue for a recession and pointed to the devastating effects of the last recession. The budget has nearly $5 billion in budget reserves, including $3.4 billion for retiree health benefits and $1 billion in general reserves in case the city has to “go it alone” during a recession, de Blasio said. The total budget represents a small increase over the previous year’s $81.7 billion. De Blasio, a left-leaning Democrat who took office at the start of 2014, highlighted signature programs such as raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour for all city workers, an initiative that will cost the city $115 million when fully implemented. He also outlined plans to tackle the city’s homelessness problem through millions of dollars for shelter repair, prevention initiatives and programs to move people out of shelters to permanent housing. Dean Fuleihan, the city budget director, said the budget was balanced in the current and coming financial year. He said $1 billion in savings in the 2016-17 budget will come from reductions in debt service and savings in agency spending. The city’s public pension system will consume a larger chunk of revenues as increased mortality projections mean the city will have to pay an additional $600 million. That brings the city’s total annual pension bill to $9.4 billion.

Summary: न्यूयॉर्क शहर के मेयर ने 82 अरब डॉलर का बजट पेश किया, चुनौतियों की चेतावनी दी


BOSTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s executive order on Thursday making it easier for churches to dabble in politics kept faith with his promise to evangelical Christians who helped him win the White House, but could end up benefiting his opponents as well. Leaders of the U.S. religious left, a rising force of opposition to Trump’s hard-line stance on immigration and healthcare, said they were poised to benefit from the move, which lifts the risk of religious groups losing their tax-exempt status if they advocate for particular candidates. “This is going to backfire on Trump,” said the Rev. Jennifer Butler, chief executive of progressive policy group Faith in Public Life. “We are morally outraged at what is going on and we are appalled at the weaponization of religion.” The group plans to mobilize voters who view some of Trump’s policies as immoral. While the group does not endorse candidates, those voters in the 2018 midterm elections would back candidates who oppose those policies. Trump’s order gives religious groups more liberty to do so without jeopardizing tax-exempt status. “We’re going to be mobilizing millions of voters to turn out at the polls and vote their values,” Butler said.  Sojourners, a Washington-based progressive Christian network that advocates for immigrants and the poor, also believes more of its members will now feel free to speak out against Trump’s policies. “I wouldn’t tell people who to vote for but I would tell them what to vote against and this might encourage more churches to speak out against him,” said Jim Wallis, the group’s founder. “Donald Trump’s use of racism and racial bigotry is unchristian. His attack on refugees is anti-Christian.” Trump has repeatedly and angrily denied allegations that his policies are racist, calling immigration limits essential for national security. Before signing the order, the Republican president cited historically black churches and slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. as drivers of U.S. social progress. Evangelical and Roman Catholic leaders as well as a prominent U.S. rabbi joined Trump when he signed the order instructing the Internal Revenue Service to “alleviate the burden of the Johnson Amendment,” the 1954 law prohibiting organizations with tax-free status, including churches, from participating in political campaigns or supporting particular candidates. The move by Trump, who appealed to religious conservatives in his 2016 presidential run, was widely praised by religious organizations that felt hemmed in by the law or openly violated it. “We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced any more,” Trump, who criticized the Johnson Amendment during his campaign, said at the ceremony. Rescinding the law would require an act of Congress. Ralph Reed, a longtime leader of the religious right and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, praised Trump’s executive order in a statement, saying it removed a “sword of Damocles that has hung over the faith community for decades.” Several prominent leaders of the religious left noted that neither Republican nor Democratic policy stances lined up neatly with any major religion’s teaching and said the move could fracture congregations by encouraging leaders to take sides. “Once faith leaders become partisan, it hijacks their moral authority and their impartiality in this hyper-partisan environment,” said Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. The American Civil Liberties Union had threatened a lawsuit to stop the order, but later backed off, saying the most onerous provisions had yet to be enacted and that it fell far short of meeting Trump’s pledge to “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment. Several leaders interviewed said they worried that Trump’s move could be unevenly enforced, allowing conservative Christian churches to promote political candidates without extending the same exemptions to other views or other denominations. “The biggest religious liberty issue now for me is how Christians are going to protect the liberty of Muslims,” said Wallis, of Sojourners. “That’s the top issue, more than whether they have to hire gay people.” Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said his group would keep urging U.S. imams to speak out on moral issues with political consequences, but would urge them to remain nonpartisan. He wondered if all religious leaders would follow that guidance. “These kind of moves, particularly by this administration, have a vast ocean of unintended consequences,” he said.

Summary: ट्रम्प की धार्मिक स्वतंत्रता व्यवस्था विरोधियों को एक अनपेक्षित बढ़ावा दे सकती है


VIENNA (Reuters) - Tuesday s blast at Austria s Baumgarten gas hub, which killed one person and disrupted European gas flows, was most likely caused by a loose seal on a filter cap, operator Gas Connect Austria (GCA) said. The hub in eastern Austria is a major regional transfer node, taking gas from as far away as Russia and pumping it towards neighbors including Italy - its biggest recipient - as well as Germany, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia.  The investigating authorities believe that the incident was caused by the seal on the cap of the filter separator,  GCA, a unit of energy company OMV, said on its website.  The cap had come loose and was propelled with great force against another part, causing damage to this part as well. The gas which subsequently escaped was then ignited, leading to a gas fire at two points of origin.  To see the GCA statement, click here: here GCA added that the parts in question were isolated from the rest of the site in accordance with an emergency plan, allowing gas flows to return to normal on Wednesday.

Summary: ऑस्ट्रिया में घातक गैस विस्फोट ढीले फिल्टर कैप के कारण हो सकता हैः संचालक


MADRID (Reuters) - The Spanish government is committed to seeking a joint response with other political parties to the  pro-independence challenge  in Catalonia after Sunday s outlawed referendum, a government statement said on Monday. In meetings with leaders of two other parties, the Socialists and the centrist Ciudadanos, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had shown his readiness to study proposals put forward by other parties to respond to the Catalan issue, the statement said. In conversations with European leaders on Monday, Rajoy thanked them for their support for Spain s constitutional order, the statement said.

Summary: स्पेन के राजोय कैटलन के सवाल पर अन्य दलों के साथ काम करना चाहते हैं


BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump called Germany’s trade and spending policies “very bad” on Tuesday, intensifying a row between the longtime allies and immediately earning himself the moniker “destroyer of Western values” from a leading German politician. As the war of words threatened to spin out of control, Merkel and other senior German politicians stressed the importance of Germany’s Atlantic ties, with Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel suggesting the spat was just a rough patch. Trump took to Twitter early in the day in the United States to attack Germany, a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel ramped up her doubts about the reliability of Washington as an ally. “We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change,” Trump tweeted. The tit-for-tat dispute escalated rapidly after Trump, at back-to-back summits last week, criticized major NATO allies over their military spending and refused to endorse a global climate change accord. On Sunday, Merkel showed the gravity of her concern about Washington’s dependability under Trump when she warned, at an election campaign event in a packed Bavarian beer tent - that the times when Europe could fully rely on others were “over to a certain extent”. Those comments, which caused shock in Washington, vented Europe’s frustration with Trump on climate policy in particular. And while German politicians sided with Merkel, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel signaled that it was time for cooler heads to prevail. TIT-FOR-TAT, FROM TENT TO TWITTER “The United States are older and bigger than the current conflict,” he said, adding that relations would improve. “It is inappropriate that we are now communicating with each other between a beer tent and Twitter,” he said in Berlin. Merkel had already begun finessing her message on Monday, stressing that she was a “convinced trans-Atlanticist”, a message she repeated after a meeting with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Berlin. But Martin Schulz, leader of Gabriel’s center-left Social Democrats, was less emollient earlier in the day when he told reporters Trump was “the destroyer of all Western values”. He added that the U.S. president was undermining the peaceful cooperation of nations based on mutual respect and tolerance. In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said he agreed with Merkel that Europe needed to forge its own path. “This takes nothing away from the importance of our trans-Atlantic ties and our alliance with the United States. But the importance we put on these ties cannot mean that we abandon fundamental principles such as our commitment to fight climate change and in favor of open societies and free trade,” he said.

Summary: मर्केल, मंत्री ने ट्रम्प के आलोचनात्मक ट्वीट के बाद अमेरिकी संबंधों पर जोर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he backs the NATO charter’s demand that all members be prepared to defend each other, weeks after jarring allies by not restating U.S. support for the agreement. At a joint news conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Trump said he supports the NATO charter’s Article 5, the requirement that each member of the alliance defend each other if they come under attack. During a visit to NATO headquarters last month in Brussels, Trump had pointedly not mentioned U.S. support for the critical portion of the NATO charter. He used his speech there to demand that members pay more for the alliance’s defense. A senior White House official later had said the United States does in fact support Article 5 simply by agreeing to the terms of the charter. But having not mentioned it himself, Trump sowed some doubts among allies and the ensuing controversy prompted Vice President Mike Pence to later express explicit U.S. support for the charter. Senior aides to Trump had tried to get a statement of explicit support for Article 5 in the president’s NATO speech but it was not included, a senior administration official said. “I’m committing the United States to Article 5 and certainly we are there to protect and that’s one of the reasons that I want people to make sure we have a very, very strong force by paying the kind of money necessary to have that force,” Trump said. “But yes, absolutely I’d be committed to Article 5,” he said.

Summary: संदेह पैदा करने के बाद, ट्रम्प ने चार्टर के तहत नाटो की आपसी रक्षा का समर्थन किया


SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he doubted that a possible U.S. preventative strike on North Korea would destroy all of Pyongyang s weapons.

Summary: पुतिन का कहना है कि उत्तर कोरिया पर अमेरिकी हमले से शस्त्रागार नष्ट होने का संदेह है


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tempers frayed in Mexico City on Friday as the search for survivors amidst twisted rubble of collapsed buildings began to wind down three days after the country s most deadly earthquake in a generation.  The 7.1 magnitude quake leveled 52 buildings in the sprawling Mexican capital at lunchtime on Tuesday, leaving thousands homeless and close to 300 people dead. Apartment blocks, offices, a school and a textile factory were among the structures that were destroyed. Across the city, thousands of rescue workers and special teams using sniffer dogs and heat sensors combed wreckage, while the massive outpouring of support from volunteers sparked global praise for Mexico s spirit.  Efforts were not fast enough, though, for some family members waiting outside an office building that collapsed in the fashionable Roma neighborhood. As storm clouds gathered over the city, families worried that rain could slow the pace of rescue efforts.  Protesters held signs addressed to President Enrique Pena Nieto and Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera.   Mancera and EPN: We demand results  read one sign.  They are still alive. Don t kill them  and  We don t want machines  read others, referring to rumors that the military would use bulldozers to hasten removal of rubble deemed unlikely to harbor survivors. Many sites had already been cleared of rubble by Friday afternoon and chances were dimming of finding anyone else alive. U.S. rescue workers went to work Friday in the collapsed office building, looking for six people who were still missing. Mexican soldiers and volunteers, supported by teams from as far afield as Israel and Japan, have so far rescued at least 60 people from the ruins in Mexico City and surrounding towns. For many the search was highly personal.  Firefighter Teresa Ramirez Flores, 40, was helping search an office building in Mexico City s Roma neighborhood where her cousin Carolina Muniz, a 43-year-old accountant, was on the second floor when the building collapsed.   We want to be superheroes so that our country doesn t suffer,  she said at a site where volunteers brought a wheelbarrow filled with candy for the rescue teams. After three days though, rescuers were finding more dead bodies than survivors and frustration was increasingly evident.  Luis Ruiz, a 39-year old carpenter, complained that the police would not let him enter the ruins where his sister and two of her children were buried in the rubble.  I felt powerless to be unable to get my family, unable to do anything,  he said. Across the city of 20 million people, many whose dwellings had become uninhabitable sought a place to call home, raising the specter of a housing shortage. Senior officials said there could be 20,000 badly damaged homes in the states of Morelos and Puebla. Julia Juarez, 56, sat in a park where the homeless set up tents.  All the help we have received is from the civilian population. The government has not sent anything at all,  she said.  No food, no clothes, no water, not even an Alka-Seltzer.   Other Mexican volunteers complained of being displaced by foreign rescue workers who flew in to help. Oscar Ruiz, a firefighter from the state of Guanajuato who had raced to the capital after the quake, said he was close to a survivor under the rubble and could hear a heartbeat with a listening device when his team was pulled to make way for Israeli and Japanese teams.  Do you think I wanted that?  Ruiz said. It was not clear what happened after he left the site. In the hard-hit Roma neighborhood, Jorge Hernandez and a team of volunteers from Mexico City packed up to move on to isolated villages in Morelos. He said they were doing so after military commands declined their assistance. Mexico City  is over saturated with support and there are very remote communities in Morelos that have not received help. That s why we are going there. There, they need so much help,  Hernandez said. Tuesday s massive quake struck on the anniversary of the deadly 1985 tremor that killed some 5,000 people in Mexico City.  As the shock of this week began to subside, exhaustion crept in, along with growing discontent. On Thursday, Mexico s Navy apologized for communicating incorrect information in a story about a girl supposedly trapped under a collapsed school in Mexico City. A frantic effort had been made to reach the child, dubbed Frida Sofia by local media, but it turned out that the widely-publicized story had been false, leading to anger. Francisco Ortiz questioned whether attention directed at trying to rescue the phantom girl had diverted resources from other places where they were desperately needed, like the apartment building where his sister, Maria, was trapped beneath debris.  Authorities had waited until Thursday to begin searching the building. The owner, Juan Salazar, said all the renters had been accounted for before realizing that Ortiz s sister Maria, a maid, had been washing clothes on the roof when the quake struck. Salazar said he called civil protection and also implored  passing brigades of rescue workers to help, but it was two days before rescue efforts began.   It was negligence. Nobody wanted to take responsibility, neither the army nor Civil Protection,  said Ortiz.  On Friday afternoon, after a full day s search, rescuers pulled Maria s body from the rubble. (For a graphic on 'Earthquake strikes Mexico' click here)

Summary: मेक्सिको में भूकंप के बाद बचे लोगों की तलाश जारी, गुस्साए लोग


MOSCOW (Reuters) - New sanctions on Russia which U.S. President Donald Trump has signed into law are tantamount to a “full-scale trade war”, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday. Medvedev also said in a Facebook post that the sanctions showed the Trump administration was utterly powerless. “The hope that our relations with the new American administration would improve is finished,” he wrote.

Summary: रूस के प्रधानमंत्रीः नए अमेरिकी प्रतिबंध 'पूर्ण पैमाने पर व्यापार युद्ध' के बराबर हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Friday President Donald Trump should not rescind an Obama-era program that protects immigrants who entered the country illegally as children, adding that Congress needs to address it. “I actually don’t think he should do that,” Ryan, a Republican, said in an interview with WCLO radio in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin. “There needs to be a legislative solution. That’s one that we’re working on. And I think we want to give people peace of mind,” Ryan said of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program created under Democratic former President Barack Obama.

Summary: हाउस स्पीकर रयान ने कहा कि ट्रंप को आव्रजन कार्यक्रम को रद्द नहीं करना चाहिए


KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Traces of a deadly nerve agent that killed the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were found on the clothes worn by the two women accused of the sensational murder, a Malaysian court was told on Thursday. Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, a Vietnamese, are charged with murdering Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with VX, a chemical poison banned by the United Nations, at Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. A chemical weapons expert with the Malaysian government said his analysis showed traces of VX, its precursors and degradation products on the sleeves of a T-shirt worn by Huong, as well as VX degradation products on Siti Aisyah s sleeveless shirt.      The presence of precursors and VX confirms the presence of VX itself,  the expert, Raja Subramaniam, told the court outside the Malaysian capital.  I also found degradation products of VX, which confirms the presence of VX.  The testimony was used to back the prosecution s position that VX was used in the murder and was the sole cause of death, a scenario defense lawyers disputed this week. [nL4N1ME159] In response to a prosecution question, Raja agreed that VX could be applied on a bare palm and potentially have no effect on a person if washed off quickly enough. The lethality of VX depended on the dosage and where on the body it was applied, he added.  The concentration required varies by a factor of 26, from the cheek, which is sensitive, to the palm, which is least sensitive, to have the same effect,  Raja said. Raja said penetration of VX into the body is highest in areas with higher concentrations of blood, such as the head, neck, eyes and ears. On the least sensitive areas, such as the palm, where larger amounts of tissue and fat deposits block absorption, Raja said an individual would have up to 15 minutes to wash off the nerve poison with running water.  If you decontaminate within 15 minutes, most likely no effect or delayed effect (from VX),  Raja said, citing studies on human test subjects. The women have pleaded not guilty, saying they thought they were involved in some sort of prank for a reality TV show. They face the death penalty if convicted. [nL4N1MD1MK] The trial will resume on Monday.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया की हत्या की आरोपी महिलाओं की शर्ट पर नर्व एजेंट वीएक्स मिलाः विशेषज्ञ


ADEN (Reuters) - The Saudi-led military coalition fighting against Yemen s Houthi movement will allow the resumption of international commercial flights to the country, a Yemeni government minister said, easing its nationwide blockade. The alliance said on Monday it had closed all air, land and sea ports in Yemen to stem the alleged flow of arms to the Houthis from Iran after Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired towards Riyadh, which it blamed on Tehran. Flights by national carrier Yemenia to the pro-Saudi government-held cities of Aden and Seiyun would resume on Sunday, Yemeni Transport Minister Mourad al-Halimi said. The United Nations had warned that a total blockade could cause a famine that could kill millions in Yemen, where 2-1/2 years of war has killed at least 10,000 people and unleashed famine and disease in the already impoverished country. The European Commissioner for humanitarian aid called on the Saudi-led coalition to allow aid to reach the Yemeni population.  The EU urges the Coalition to ensure the immediate resumption of the U.N. s flights and activities in the ports of Hodeida and Saleef and the opening of land borders for humanitarian relief and basic commercial commodities,  Christos Stylianides said on Saturday. The government-held southern Yemeni port of Aden was reopened on Wednesday, but ports in Houthi-held areas are still shut. The coalition reopened the al Wadea border crossing linking Saudi Arabia with territory in eastern Yemen on Thursday.

Summary: यमन का कहना है कि सऊदी के नेतृत्व वाला गठबंधन वाणिज्यिक उड़ानों की अनुमति देगा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, one of the leaders of the “birther” movement that questioned President Barack Obama’s U.S. citizenship, believes Obama was born in the United States, the Trump campaign said in a statement on Thursday. In an interview with the Washington Post released earlier in the day, Trump declined to say whether he believed Obama was born in Hawaii. “I’ll answer that question at the right time. I just don’t want to answer it yet,” Trump told the newspaper. Those comments drew criticism from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who expressed dismay at Trump’s response during remarks to a gathering of Hispanic leaders in Washington. “He still wouldn’t say Hawaii. He still wouldn’t say America. This man wants to be our next president?” Clinton said.  “When will he stop this ugliness, this bigotry? Now he’s tried to reset himself and his campaign many times. This is the best he can do. This is who he is,” she said. A few years into his presidency, Obama, the first African American to win the White House, released a longer version of his birth certificate to answer those who suggested he was not U.S. born. “In 2011, Mr. Trump was finally able to bring this ugly incident to its conclusion by successfully compelling President Obama to release his birth certificate,” Trump senior communications advisor Jason Miller said in a statement late on Thursday. “Having successfully obtained President Obama’s birth certificate when others could not, Mr. Trump believes that President Obama was born in the United States,” he said. Trump has been trying to drum up support among black voters, who overwhelmingly supported Obama in his 2008 and 2012 elections. Many African Americans object to Trump’s involvement in the “birther” movement and the implication that Obama’s presidency was illegitimate.

Summary: ट्रंप का मानना है कि ओबामा का जन्म अमेरिका में हुआ थाः अभियान


NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Monday said lawmakers from his party  insist  Puerto Rico be included in any supplemental federal disaster relief packages for hurricanes Harvey and Irma.  Hurricane Maria slammed Puerto Rico last week, tearing apart buildings and infrastructure, flooding communities and downing communications to nearly all of the U.S. territory s 3.4 million residents.   Puerto Rico has taken a serious punch to the gut,  Schumer said during his opening remarks on the Senate floor.  They need our help they, need it now.  Schumer also urged his constituents to add the U.S. Virgin Islands, which were ravaged by Hurricane Irma several weeks ago, and western U.S. states ravaged by wildfires to future hurricane-related federal relief packages. He asked for additional aid packages to be prepared quickly. President Donald Trump signed a bill on Sept. 8 extending the government debt limit for three months and providing about $15 billion in aid for states struck by Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Irma. Puerto Ricans are U.S. residents but they do not pay federal income tax or vote in presidential elections. There is a growing movement by residents to have their island become the 51st U.S. state, giving them more access to federal funds and the right to vote for U.S. president.

Summary: सीनेट के डेमोक्रेटिक नेता शूमर ने प्यूर्टो रिको से शीघ्र राहत का आह्वान किया


BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The family of a young protester who went missing in Argentina nearly three months ago identified his body on Friday, said a brother of the dead man to journalists after leaving the morgue.  Investigators discovered a body on Tuesday in the Chubut River in Patagonia, near where Santiago Maldonado was last seen at an indigenous rights protest on Aug. 1.   We recognized Santiago s tattoos so we are convinced it is Santiago,  said Sergio Maldonado, the brother, after the family identified the body in Buenos Aires.  Some government opposition and rights groups have said state security forces took Maldonado, a 28-year-old craftsman, after police reportedly clashed with Mapuche Indians who claim territory throughout southern Argentina and Chile.  The groups allege President Mauricio Macri s government covered up Maldonado s whereabouts. Macri s government says there is no evidence showing security forces detained him.  The disappearance and death of Maldonado has overshadowed Sunday s midterm congressional election in a country where potential cases of abuse by security forces are particularly sensitive.  Argentina s 1976-83 military dictatorship secretly detained, tortured and killed people in clandestine prisons, and rights groups say up to 30,000 people  disappeared.   The judge overseeing the Maldonado case said an autopsy completed late on Friday showed no signs of injury on the body.   Now the cause of death needs to be determined,  Judge Gustavo Lleral told journalists.  Former leftist President Cristina Fernandez, who is seeking a Senate seat in Buenos Aires province, has criticized the government s handling of the case, and mass protests and social media campaigns have demanded to know what happened to Maldonado.  The president s office said on Friday that Macri had contacted Maldonado s mother to offer his condolences.  Mourners left candles, flowers and cards outside the morgue in Buenos Aires, while protesters gathered at the Plaza de Mayo.

Summary: चुनाव से कुछ दिन पहले अर्जेंटीना के लापता प्रदर्शनकारी के शव की पहचान की गई


NEW YORK (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group Inc’s decision to exit most of its Obamacare health insurance exchanges next year means rivals will need to raise prices further to prop up an unprofitable business, healthcare analysts and policy experts said on Tuesday. The largest U.S. health insurer’s move would likely reduce consumer choices, particularly in states where UnitedHealth has been one of only a handful of players to offer insurance under President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, they said. Large pullbacks by providers like Anthem Inc and Aetna Inc are unlikely as they each await approval from the administration for proposed merger deals with smaller rivals, some analysts said. Spokespeople for Aetna and Anthem declined to comment on Tuesday. UnitedHealth is one of the biggest sellers of Obamacare plans, offering them in 34 states in 2016. The company warned in November that it was losing too much money on the business due to low enrollment and high service costs. On Tuesday, it said it would exit all but a handful of those markets. Many of the estimated 650,000 UnitedHealth plan members at the end of 2016 would need to find another insurer. “You will see significant rate increases for 2017 as the (health) plans try to figure out what is a premium at which (they) can make money,” said Caroline Pearson, senior vice president at research firm Avalere Health.  The government provides income-based tax credits to most exchange users, which would help soften the blow from any higher premiums, she said. “In terms of viability of the exchanges, I don’t think that this is going to affect that in the long term,” said Yevgeniy Feyman, deputy director of health policy at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Even if other insurers decided to leave, he said, he could not envision the exchanges being so unprofitable that they ceased to work. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found UnitedHealth’s departure would leave only one insurer in 29 percent of the 1,855 counties where it offered health plans. The report found that if United had not participated in the exchanges in 2016, the national weighted average benchmark “silver” plan would have been about 1 percent higher in 2016. Republican lawmakers have repeatedly sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which provides tax credits to help uninsured individuals buy medical coverage. They have said it creates unwarranted government intervention in personal healthcare and have warned that insurers would be left to cover sicker and older individuals. U.S. health insurers including Aetna and Anthem have also lost money on the exchanges, but have not said they would exit. The Obama administration estimates more than 12 million people signed up for private insurance on the exchanges for 2016. Insurers are in the midst of submitting proposed premium rates for 2017 ahead of mid-May deadlines set by state exchanges and insurance regulators. Aetna Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini has questioned whether the Obamacare business was sustainable, but said he was working with the government to improve it. Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish has said that the company was committed to the exchanges. “I would still be surprised if other major insurers followed United’s lead. United was in some sense in a category all its own,” Kaiser Family Foundation Senior Vice President Larry Levitt said.  Health plans sold to individual members represented a small part of UnitedHealth’s revenue compared to large-scale contracts with employers, while Aetna and Anthem both had substantial business serving individuals. Aetna and Anthem are undergoing a U.S. Department of Justice review of what would be an historic consolidation in the health insurance industry. Aetna has proposed buying rival Humana Inc, while Anthem has agreed to buy Cigna Corp.

Summary: यूनाइटेडहेल्थ के ओबामाकेयर से बाहर निकलने से प्रतिद्वंद्वियों पर मूल्य निर्धारण का दबाव बढ़ता है


PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he had a good conversation with President Barack Obama on Wednesday, after earlier tweeting that the transition was not going smoothly. “He called me. We had a very, very good talk ... generally about things. ... was a very, very nice call, and I actually thought we covered a lot of territory,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort. “Our staffs are getting along very well and I’m getting along very well” with him, Trump said. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump tweeted: “Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks. Thought it was going to be a smooth transition - NOT!”

Summary: ट्रम्प का कहना है कि बुधवार को ओबामा के साथ उनकी 'बहुत अच्छी बातचीत' हुई


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Kuwait s ambassador to Lebanon told President Michel Aoun the Gulf monarchy supports his efforts to overcome the  delicate situation  and stands by Lebanese sovereignty, Aoun said in a tweet on Tuesday. Lebanon s Saudi-allied Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri declared his resignation on Nov. 4 in a broadcast from Riyadh, throwing Lebanon into political crisis. Saudi Arabia, an ally of Kuwait, has accused Lebanon of declaring war on it because of the influence of Iran-backed Hezbollah, and has advised Saudi citizens to leave Lebanon.

Summary: कुवैत ने औन से कहा कि वह लेबनान की संप्रभुता का समर्थन करता है


PALM BEACH, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said in a tweet on Sunday that he won the popular vote in the Nov. 8 election “if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally”, though he provided no evidence of widespread voter fraud.  The allegation by Trump, who won the required votes in the Electoral College to secure the presidency, comes as Democratic rival Hillary Clinton’s lead in the popular vote over Trump has surpassed 2.0 million votes and is expected to grow to more than 2.5 million as ballots in populous states such as California continue to be tallied. Clinton’s legal team said on Saturday it had agreed to participate in a recount of Wisconsin votes after the state’s election board approved the effort requested by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, which Trump has called “ridiculous.” “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” the Republican Trump tweeted as reporters waited for him to leave his Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida to fly back to his residence in New York City. The U.S. presidential race is decided by the Electoral College, based on a tally of wins from the state-by-state contests, rather than by the national vote. Trump has surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. The Electoral College results are expected to be finalized on Dec. 19. Trump takes office on Jan. 20. “It would have been much easier for me to win the so-called popular vote than in the Electoral College in that I would only campaign in 3 or 4 states instead of the 15 states that I visited,” Trump added in follow-up tweets. Several hours later, Trump tweeted, again without citing evidence: “Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California - so why isn’t the media reporting on this? Serious bias - big problem!” Clinton won all three states. A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  Before the election, Trump made unsubstantiated allegations that the results of the election might be “rigged” against him but several studies have found no evidence of widespread or significant voter fraud in the United States. Since the vote, his message has alternated between appealing for unity and railing against his opponents and the media. In a video message released ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, Trump said he hoped it would be a time for Americans “to begin to heal our divisions” following a “long and bruising political campaign.” In a tweet on Saturday, Trump derided the fundraising effort by Stein to launch recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania as a “scam” that is “is now being joined by the badly defeated and demoralized Dems.”  Those states had voted Democratic in recent presidential elections but all voted narrowly in favor of the Republican Trump in this month’s election. The recounts are not expected to change the results of the election. Stein, who won about 1.0 percent of the national vote, has said she wants a recount to guarantee the integrity of the U.S. voting system, a push that came after some computer scientists and election lawyers raised the possibility that hacks could have affected the results. Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration has said there is no evidence of electoral tampering, but experts have said that the only way to verify the results are accurate is to conduct a recount.

Summary: बिना किसी सबूत के, ट्रम्प कहते हैं कि अवैध मतदान ने उन्हें अमेरिकी लोकप्रिय वोट की कीमत चुकाई


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Real estate billionaire Donald Trump’s coarse rhetoric has won him some fans, but there’s at least one large group in America that is increasingly unimpressed: women. Half of U.S. women say they have a “very unfavorable” view of the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, up from the 40 percent who felt that way in October. The survey was taken from March 1-15, and included 5,400 respondents.  The rise in anti-Trump sentiment among women could pose a problem for the New York billionaire in his quest for the White House. Women form just over half of the U.S. population, and they have turned out at higher rates than men in every election since 1996, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “If the presidential election were tomorrow, women would be a big problem for Trump,” Republican strategist David Carney said. “But he has time to fix it.” A Trump campaign official did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Trump has said that he has had good relationships with women in his business career and is well-liked by women voters.     Several women who oppose Trump, interviewed by Reuters this week, said their disapproval was based on a range of factors from his disparaging comments about women he dislikes - such as Fox News host Megyn Kelly - to his hard-line views on immigration and his ribald exchanges with rivals. “I think Trump is very scary,” said Mariah Dobias, a 25-year-old cook who was voting in Ohio’s primary on Tuesday. “He says he is going to make America great, but he doesn’t say how he is going to do it besides alienating whole groups of people.” Carolyn Hostetler, a conservative from Tennessee, told Reuters she disliked “the way he has belittled women.” Some of Trump’s female supporters, meanwhile, said they liked his straight talk, and believe he could strengthen America’s position on the world stage. “He’s a little unpredictable, as we’ve seen,” said Kathleen Douglas, a 65-year-old college professor from Winter Park, Florida who supports Trump. “He’s going to put other world leaders on edge.”         Trump does not have a similar image problem with men. The Reuters/Ipsos polling results showed that just 36 percent of men said they have a “very unfavorable” opinion of Trump, a level that has held steady in recent months. Republican women are also much more likely to approve of Trump, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. Among women who identify as Republican, he has been holding around 60 percent favorability since the start of the year.      Trump’s relative appeal among men versus women was evident in the most recent round of nominating contests on Tuesday, when Trump extended a broad lead over rivals.  In Florida, exit polls conducted by Edison Research showed that Trump’s support among Republican women voters was 40 percent, versus 52 percent among males. In Ohio, where Trump came in second to the state’s governor, John Kasich, 33 percent of women voters backed Trump, compared with 40 percent of men. If the GOP frontrunner were to run against Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton in the general election, likely women voters would support Clinton over Trump by nearly 14 percentage points, according to the March polling data. Among men, Clinton would win by about 5 percentage points. At a precinct in Florida’s Winter Park, Darlene Monzadeh, a 52-year-old stay-at-home mom who had been a supporter of Jeb Bush, said Trump lost her vote during a debate when he exchanged potshots with his rivals. “It changed my opinion. When they catfight all the time and act like little boys, pointing fingers, raising voices,” she said, adding she now supports Kasich.     Trump has been accused by critics of misogyny since he launched his campaign. He complained last year that Fox News host Megyn Kelly had asked him tough questions in a debate and referred to “blood coming out of her wherever.” He more recently sent a Twitter post suggesting she was a “bimbo.”  He has called television personality Rosie O’Donnell a “fat pig” and made fun of former presidential rival and ex-HP chief executive Carly Fiorina’s face, saying, “Would anyone vote for that?” An anti-Trump attack ad launched by the Our Principles Super PAC this week featured women repeating words that Trump has used to describe women, including “fat pig” and “dog.” Several of his female supporters defended Trump against the ad on social media.

Summary: आधे अमेरिकी महिलाओं का ट्रम्प के बारे में 'बहुत प्रतिकूल' दृष्टिकोण हैः सर्वेक्षण


BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany s Social Democrats (SPD) will do everything in their power to ensure that Berlin embraces the European ideas of French President Emmanuel Macron, SPD leader Martin Schulz said on Wednesday. Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives are hoping to form a coalition with the SPD after failing to get a three-way coalition with the liberal Free Democrats and Greens off the ground. The SPD will debate the idea of once again joining such a coalition at a congress on Dec. 7-9. Schulz criticized Merkel indirectly for not embracing Macron s ideas, which include closer cooperation in defense, migration and a deeper integration of the euro zone.  Our congress will be about this tomorrow. What are our possibilities, our options, our instruments for ensuring that Germany embraces these French ideas,  Schulz said at an SPD conference in the party s Berlin headquarters.  France is making proposals and Germany is not engaging. This is not acceptable,  he added.

Summary: एस. पी. डी. नेता ने मैक्रों को गले लगाने के लिए जर्मनी पर दबाव डालने का वादा किया


CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafik s lawyer said on Sunday she had met with him at a hotel in Cairo, her first contact with him since his arrival in Cairo on Saturday. Shafik s family and lawyer said earlier they had lost contact with him after what they called his deportation from the United Arab Emirates to Cairo, days after announcing his intention to run for president of Egypt next year.  I had a meeting with Shafik an hour ago at one of the hotels in New Cairo and confirmed his health,  Shafik s lawyer, Dina Adly, wrote on Facebook.  He confirmed that his health was good and that he was not subjected to any investigations,  she wrote. Adly did not say whether Shafik was free to leave the hotel, which she did not identify by name.

Summary: मिस्र के पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री के वकील ने काहिरा के होटल में उनसे मुलाकात कीः फेसबुक बयान


LONDON (Reuters) - Lawmakers from Britain s ruling Conservative Party vented their anger on Wednesday against Prime Minister Theresa May s pursuit of welfare reforms, reinforcing doubts about her authority over a party divided by Brexit.  Several members of May s party spoke out against the government during a symbolic debate in parliament by demanding changes or even an outright halt to the implementation of a new welfare payment system which has been dogged by design problems. May leads a minority government, propped up by a small Northern Irish party, faced with the task of delivering a smooth departure from the European Union - something which requires a deeply split parliament to approve large amounts of new legislation. The opposition Labour Party won a symbolic vote on a motion calling for the welfare plan to be paused, but May s party avoided a full blown public rebellion by ordering its lawmakers to abstain, thereby masking the extent of internal unrest.  The Labour motion passed by 299 votes to zero with one Conservative rebel, but does not force the government to act.    Nevertheless, Conservative lawmakers openly criticized the government s approach and demanded changes during the debate  Why are we undermining a policy with the potential to change lives for the better by not addressing a fundamental flaw at its heart?  said Sarah Wollaston, the only Conservative lawmaker to formally vote against the government s orders. The defeat comes as ahead of debates on Brexit legislation, which had been expected to start this week but have yet to be scheduled. Ministers are sifting through hundreds of proposed changes, some of which are backed by enough Conservative lawmakers to inflict a more damaging defeat on May s government.  Labour, which wants to topple May s government and take control of the troubled Brexit process, had urged Conservative lawmakers to rebel on the welfare vote and later called the tactical abstention a sign of the government s weakness.  Yet again the prime minister and the Tories (Conservatives) cannot command a majority in the House of Commons. The prime minister is in office but not in power,  said Labour s welfare spokeswoman Debbie Abrahams after the vote. Welfare minister David Gauke accused the Labour Party of trying to wreck the reforms and vowed to listen to lawmakers  concerns but proceed with the policy. The welfare reform, known as  Universal Credit , is designed to simplify payments to claimants by consolidating six different types of state benefits into one.  The policy was first implemented for a small number of claimants in 2013 under May s predecessor David Cameron, but the expansion of the program to more people has been beset by long delays and criticism that it risks harming vulnerable citizens. The government is pressing ahead with the latest phase of the program despite concerns voiced by lawmakers from all parties that claimants must wait six weeks for payment. The government says they have taken measures to stop this happening.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के सांसदों ने कल्याणकारी सुधारों को लेकर पीएम मे की नाजुक सरकार पर गुस्सा निकाला


BEIJING (Reuters) - China sentenced a prominent rights activist to eight years in jail for subversion on Tuesday, his lawyer said, the harshest sentence passed in a government crackdown on activism that began more than two years ago.  In a separate case, a rights lawyer avoided criminal punishment despite being found guilty of inciting subversion, because he admitted his crimes, the Chinese court trying him said. Wu Gan, a blogger better known by his online name  Super Vulgar Butcher , plans to appeal against the eight-year sentence handed down by the Tianjin Municipality s No. 2 Intermediate People s Court, his lawyer, Yan Xin, told Reuters.  The harshness of the sentence prompted the German embassy in Beijing to issue a statement expressing disappointment. Wu regularly championed sensitive cases of government abuses of power, both online and in street protests. He was detained in May 2015 and charged with subversion.     The activist criticized China s political system online and used performance art to create disturbances, as well as insulting people and spreading false information, according to a statement from the court posted on its website.   He carried out a string of criminal actions to subvert state power and overthrow the socialist system and seriously harmed state security and social stability,  the court said.  Before his arrest, Wu used his platform to cast doubt on the official version of events in an incident in early May 2015, in which a police officer shot a petitioner in a train station in northern Heilongjiang province. Wu s refusal to bow to pressure or admit guilt likely explains his harsh sentence, said Kit Chan, Hong Kong-based director of China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group.  Wu Gan is being punished for his non-conformity,  she said. His sentence is the most severe in what rights groups have called an unprecedented attack on China s rights activists and lawyers, known as the 709 crackdown, which began in full force on July 9, 2015. The hardline approach to rights activism has shown no sign of softening as Chinese President Xi Jinping enters his second five-year term in office. In the other case concluded on Tuesday, rights lawyer Xie Yang received no punishment after being found guilty of inciting subversion and disrupting court order, the Changsha Intermediate People s Court said on social media. The court released a video of the proceedings, in which Xie said he accepted the outcome and would not appeal. He also thanked authorities and said he will be a law-abiding citizen. Xie had worked on numerous cases deemed sensitive by Chinese authorities, such as defending supporters of Hong Kong s pro-democracy protests. In May, he confessed to the charges against him in what rights groups called a scripted  sham  trial. In January, Xie s wife and lawyer released detailed accounts of torture suffered by Xie at the hands of the authorities, which were widely reported on in the international media. Chinese state media branded those reports  fake news  and said the accounts were concocted as a means of gaining attention. Xie s lawyer told Reuters he stands by the account.  In both cases these have been serious concerns about violations of due process of law,  the German embassy in Beijing said in a statement.  The decision to hand down both sentences the day after Christmas, when there would likely be less attention from diplomats and international observers,  reeks of cynical political calculation , said Patrick Poon, Hong Kong-based researcher for Amnesty International. Asked about the verdicts, China s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing that Amnesty is biased when it comes to China and should not be believed, adding that China abides by the rule of law.

Summary: चीन ने कार्यकर्ताओं पर कार्रवाई में अब तक की सबसे कठोर सजा सुनाई


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. nuclear commander said on Saturday that he would resist President Donald Trump if he ordered an “illegal” launch of nuclear weapons. Air Force General John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), told an audience at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada that he had given a lot of thought to what he would say if he received such an order. “I think some people think we’re stupid,” Hyten said in response to a question about such a scenario. “We’re not stupid people. We think about these things a lot. When you have this responsibility, how do you not think about it?” Hyten, who is responsible for overseeing the U.S. nuclear arsenal, explained the process that would follow such a command.  As head of STRATCOM “I provide advice to the president, he will tell me what to do,” he said in his remarks, retransmitted in a video posted on the forum’s Facebook page.  “And if it’s illegal, guess what’s going to happen? I’m going to say, ‘Mr. President, that’s illegal.’ And guess what he’s going to do? He’s going to say, ‘What would be legal?’ And we’ll come up with options, of a mix of capabilities to respond to whatever the situation is, and that’s the way it works. It’s not that complicated.” Hyten said running through scenarios of how to react in the event of an illegal order was standard practice, and added:   “If you execute an unlawful order, you will go to jail. You could go to jail for the rest of your life.” The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hyten’s remarks. They came after questions by U.S. senators, including Democrats and Trump’s fellow Republicans, about Trump’s  authority to wage war, use nuclear weapons and enter into or end international agreements, amid concern that tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs could lead to hostilities. Trump has traded insults and threats with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and threatened in his maiden United Nations address to “totally destroy” the country of 26 million people if it threatened the United States. Some senators want legislation to alter the nuclear authority of the U.S. president and a Senate committee on Tuesday held the first congressional hearing in more than four decades on the president’s authority to launch a nuclear strike.

Summary: अमेरिकी परमाणु जनरल का कहना है कि वह ट्रम्प के 'अवैध' हमले के आदेश का विरोध करेगा


PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia s main opposition leader Kem Sokha was arrested and accused of treason on Sunday and a leading independent paper said it was being forced to shut down as Prime Minister Hun Sen s government intensified a crackdown on his critics. Hun Sen said Kem Sokha had been plotting with the United States, increasing his anti-American rhetoric as Cambodia heads towards elections next year in which the authoritarian leader s grip of more than three decades is at stake. The U.S. State Department expressed concern at the arrest of Ken Sokha and action against the media. It raised doubt over whether the Southeast Asian country can hold a fair election. Hun Sen, 65, a former Khmer Rouge cadre, who is now one of China s closest regional allies, said Kem Sokha had been arrested for treason in which the United States was implicated.  It s an act of treason with conspiracy with a foreign country, betraying his own nation. This requires arrest,  Hun Sen told a group of garment workers, according to the pro-government Fresh News website. Kem Sokha, 64, has led the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) since his predecessor resigned in February, saying he feared a government plan to shut it down. Kem Sokha was taken from his home in handcuffs after a night-time police raid. The opposition party lost to Hun Sen s Cambodian People s Party in local elections in June, but it did well enough to increase expectations of a close contest in the 2018 vote. The government released a video on its Facebook page in which Kem Sokha appeared to tell a group of supporters about a strategy to win power which he said had the support of  the Americans  rather than an immediate plot to topple Hun Sen. In the video, Kem Sokha said the Americans had hired academics to advise on strategy to change Cambodia s leaders.  And if I follow such a tactic and strategy and if I could not win, I do not know what else to do,  he said. The opposition party made no immediate comment on the veracity or content of the video. Earlier, it said Kem Sokha s arrest was politically motivated and violated the law because of the immunity granted to elected lawmakers. The party called for his release and urged the international community to intervene. If Kem Sokha is found guilty of any offence, it could allow the government to shut the party under a new law. Kem Sokha made no immediate comment and it was not clear if he had been charged or had legal representation at this stage. The government has stepped up attacks on the United States and last month ordered the expulsion of the U.S. State Department-funded National Democratic Institute pro-democracy group. Earlier in the year, it suspended joint military exercises with the United States, which has voiced fears over the human rights situation. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the charges against Kem Sokha appeared to be politically motivated. Her statement did not directly address Hun Sen s accusations against the United States. Nauert also highlighted recent steps by the Cambodian government against independent media and civil society, saying they  raise serious questions about the government s ability to organize credible national elections in 2018 which produce an outcome that enjoys democratic legitimacy . In a sign of the pressure on the media, The Cambodia Daily said it was ceasing publication after the government ordered it to pay a crippling $6.3 million tax bill by Monday. The English-language paper, founded by an American journalist, was known for critical coverage of issues such as corruption, human rights and the environment.  After 24 years and 15 days, the Cambodian government has destroyed The Cambodia Daily, a special and singular part of Cambodia s free press,  it said in a statement. During Hun Sen s rule Cambodia emerged from the devastating Khmer Rouge genocide to enjoy record years of economic growth of  above 7 percent, but disaffection has been increasing and he only just won the 2013 election against a unified opposition.

Summary: कंबोडिया के मुख्य विपक्षी नेता गिरफ्तार, कार्रवाई बढ़ने पर पेपर बंद


BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian opposition applauded a U.S. cruise missile attack on an airbase near Homs on Friday but said it must not be a one-off and was not enough on its own to stop government warplanes from hitting rebel-held areas. The Syrian opposition has long criticized the United States for failing to protect rebel-held areas from government air strikes, demanding the creation of a no-fly zone or the provision of anti-aircraft weapons to rebel groups. U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to launch missiles at the airbase, from which he said a deadly chemical weapons attack had been launched, marked a dramatic departure from the more cautious approach of his predecessor Barack Obama. It was welcomed by opposition officials, but they called for more.  “One airbase is not enough. There are 26 airbases that target civilians,” tweeted Mohammad Alloush, a senior rebel official. George Sabra, a prominent opposition politician, told al-Hadath TV: “The truth is that militarily, if it is limited to this strike, then it has no meaning.” The Free Syrian Army, a loose alliance of rebel groups that includes factions that have received military support from the United States, called the U.S. strike the “correct starting point” for finding a “just political solution” to the war “We view that the responsibility of the United States is still great, and does not stop with this operation,” it added in a statement, warning that the Damascus government and its allies could commit “acts of revenge” against civilians. American officials described the attack - the first direct U.S. assault on the government of President Bashar al-Assad in six years of civil war - as a one-off that would not lead to wider escalation. Syrian officials and their allies also said they did not expect the attack to lead to an expansion of the conflict. The strikes targeted the base at Shayrat, 40 km (25 miles) southeast of Homs city, from which Washington and Syrian opposition groups say Syrian warplanes launched a chemical weapons attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun this week. The Syrian government has strongly denied responsibility and says it does not use chemical weapons. The Homs governor said on Friday the base was being used to provide air support for operations against Islamic State east of Palmyra. Hassan Haj Ali, commander of the Free Idlib Army rebel group, which fights under the FSA umbrella, told Reuters the strikes came at a “very important phase” and showed Syrians that “there is still humanity in this world”. He said he did not expect further such U.S. attacks, however. Nasr al-Hariri, chief negotiator of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said on Twitter that the strikes “should they continue, would kick off a correct start in combating terrorism”.   The Saudi-based HNC, the main opposition body which includes political and armed groups, has participated in U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Geneva. “We hope for the continuation of the strikes in order to prevent the regime from using its planes to launch any new air raids or going back to using internationally banned weapons,” said Ahmad Ramadan, head of the media office of the Syrian National Coalition political opposition group.  “The airbase targeted by the U.S. strike was used to kill Syrians,” Ramadan said. The American attack “sends a clear message to the regime and its backers” that they can no longer avoid repercussions, he added.

Summary: सीरियाई विपक्ष ने कहा, एक अमेरिकी हमला पर्याप्त नहीं है


KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Lawyers for two women accused of murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Tuesday low enzyme levels in his blood may have been caused by liver disease or hormone pills rather than a lethal nerve agent. Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, a Vietnamese, are charged with murdering Kim Jong Nam by smearing his face with VX, a chemical poison banned by the United Nations, at Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. The women have pleaded not guilty, saying they thought they were involved in some sort of prank for a reality TV show. They face the death penalty if convicted. Nor ashikin Othman, a chemical pathologist with Kuala Lumpur Hospital, told the court outside Kuala Lumpur blood samples taken from the victim showed low levels of cholinesterase - an enzyme needed in muscle control - which  could be caused by exposure to poison such as insecticide or a nerve agent  such as VX or Sarin. But she agreed with the defense that low enzyme levels could also have been due to other causes such as liver disease or the taking of female hormones by a man.  Yes, the enzyme levels could be slightly lower by the taking of hormone pills by a man,  she said. In response to a question, Nor ashikin also said it was possible the accused had had no contact with VX whatsoever as their blood samples yielded normal levels of cholinesterase. But they could have also been exposed to a low dose of the poison, washed their hands with soap and water or ingested an antidote, she said. Siti and Huong are accused of smearing the deadly nerve agent on the victim s face and eyes. The trial has so far referred to the victim as Kim Chol, the name on the passport used by Kim Jong Nam. The post mortem report, made available to the media, said that VX was detected on swabs of Kim Jong Nam s eyes and face, in the blood, plasma and urine. The report described the victim s body as covered with tattoos. These include a large black tattoo on the chest of a man with two fish-like fingers, and one of  abstract-like motifs  on his upper right arm that extends to his upper back. Police have also named four North Koreans as suspects in the case and an Interpol red notice, an international alert just short of an arrest warrant, has been issued for the four, who remain at large. The trial continues on Wednesday.

Summary: रक्षा विवाद उत्तर कोरियाई नेता के सौतेले भाई को मारने के लिए इस्तेमाल किया जाने वाला तंत्रिका एजेंट


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China acknowledged a shared goal of reducing the trade deficit with the United States during day-long talks, the U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday. In a brief statement after the U.S.-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross offered few details of the talks. There was no sign of agreement on major issues involving trade and U.S. demands that China open its markets more to American companies. “China acknowledged our shared objective to reduce the trade deficit which both sides will work cooperatively to achieve,” the statement said.

Summary: अमेरिका ने कहा कि चीन ने द्विपक्षीय व्यापार घाटे को कम करने के लक्ष्य को स्वीकार किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump picked Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci, a long-time supporter, to be his White House communications director on Friday, a White House official said. Currently at the Export-Import Bank, Scaramucci is expected to start his new job in August, the official said. No other changes were immediately expected in a communications operation that includes press secretary Sean Spicer and his deputy, Sarah Sanders, the official said. The appointment comes as the White House deals with questions around a special counsel probe and several congressional investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential collusion with Trump’s campaign. The communications position has been vacant since Michael Dubke resigned in May as communications director. Spicer has been serving a dual role as press secretary and communications director since Dubke left. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Scaramucci was interviewed by Trump on Friday morning and the job had been offered and accepted. Scaramucci, a Republican fundraiser and founder of Skybridge Capital, was earlier offered the post of U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने व्हाइट हाउस संचार के प्रमुख के रूप में फाइनेंसर स्कारामुची को चुनाः अधिकारी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday dashed any remaining hopes that President Barack Obama’s signature Pacific-Rim trade deal would come up for a vote before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. “It’s certainly not going to be brought up this year,” McConnell said of the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at a news briefing in Washington. McConnell said any decisions on TPP or other future trade agreements would be up to Trump, who would still have the authority for four more years to negotiate “better deals” with expedited approval procedures in Congress. Trump excoriated TPP on the campaign trail as a “disaster” and “a rape of our country,” tapping into populist anger at globalization, trade and manufacturing job losses that helped propel his candidacy. In an opinion piece published on Monday, Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Alexander Gray reiterated his opposition to major trade deals.   “Trump will never again sacrifice the U.S. economy on the altar of foreign policy by entering into bad trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement, allowing China into the World Trade Organization, and passing the proposed TPP,” Navarro and Gray wrote in Foreign Policy magazine. “These deals only weaken our manufacturing base and ability to defend ourselves and our allies.”  The Obama administration has been promoting TPP among lawmakers and industry groups in anticipation of a long-shot, post-election vote despite opposition to the deal by Trump and his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. While there are many Republican supporters of free trade and TPP in Congress, McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Wednesday they were now focused on laying the groundwork with Trump to pass Republican-focused healthcare and tax reform legislation next year. A spokeswoman for Ryan said he had not had a change of heart since he said on a radio talk show in October that the House would not bring TPP up for a vote because of problems with several provisions and insufficient support in the House. McConnell said his priorities for the post-election “lame-duck” session were passing a government funding extension and medical innovation legislation. White House spokesman Josh Earnest was still trying to sell the TPP agreement in a news briefing on Wednesday. “President Obama does continue to believe that this is the best opportunity that the Congress has to take advantage of the benefits of a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement that cuts taxes, 18,000 taxes, that other countries impose on American products,” Earnest told reporters. “We’ve got a strong case to make.” But the strong vote for Trump in industrial states made it unlikely Republicans would be willing to go against him on trade policy, analysts said. “It’s fair to say that TPP is now in the dustbin of history,” said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a pro-trade think tank in Washington. “I don’t see a path forward for the United States to join.”

Summary: मैककॉनेल ने ट्रम्प के पदभार संभालने से पहले प्रशांत व्यापार समझौते पर मतदान की उम्मीद जताई


RIYADH (Reuters) - Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, born in 1953, headed the Saudi Arabian National Guard, an elite internal security force originally based on traditional tribal units that was run by his father for five decades.  As the Sandhurst-trained preferred son of the late King Abdullah, he was once thought to be a leading contender for the throne. He was also the last remaining member of Abdullah s Shammar branch of the family to retain a key position at the top of the Saudi power structure, after brothers Mishaal and Turki were relieved of their posts as governors in 2015. That run in power ended on Saturday, when he was relieved of his post at the National Guard by a royal decree. Miteb had been in effective command of the force since his father became the country s de facto leader in 1996, when King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke, but was only officially named as its commander in 2010.  He s very pragmatic. I think he s a lot smarter than people think he is. And he s very ambitious,  said a diplomatic source in the Gulf. His position was consolidated in 2013 when the National Guard was given its own ministry and he was named as minister. The guard formed a power base for King Abdullah for decades as a sort of parallel army, serving as a bulwark against any possible military coup and providing the country s powerful tribes with their main link to the government. Its origins can be traced back to the kingdom s founder, King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, who led white-clad  Ikhwan  tribal warriors in conquering much of the Arabian peninsula in the first three decades of the 20th century. After Ibn Saud s death, Saudi authorities transformed the Office of the Jihad and Mujahideen, which managed the Ikhwan and other tribal forces, into the National Guard. It remains administratively distinct from the other two pillars of the Saudi security architecture, the ministries of interior and defense. The National Guard today runs military academies, housing projects and hospitals, and is a prodigious source of revenue for U.S. military contractors who train its some 100,000 active members and 27,000 irregular volunteers. The Vinnell Corporation, now a subsidiary of Northrup Grumman, has held contracts to modernize the institution for nearly four decades.  Miteb is well-liked by tribal leaders and, more important, by recruits who benefit from his largesse,  wrote scholar Joseph Kechichian in his book Power and Succession in Arab Monarchies.  In less than fifty years, the Guard transformed a segment of the Saudi population from destitute tribal elements into well-off, well-armed, and well-trained recruits.  As commander, Miteb also inherited from his father the responsibility for the annual Janadariyah festival, which draws millions of Saudis each winter to celebrate the traditions, architecture and folklore of the kingdom s various regions. For many Saudis, the festival is a major expression of national pride, safeguarding a cultural heritage that is fast disappearing in the kingdom s rapidly modernizing society. It is politically beneficial to be associated with it.  Prince Miteb s business interests are thought to include ownership of the prestigious Hotel de Crillon in the center of Paris, which the French newspaper Le Figaro reported that he bought in 2010 for $354 million. His father specifically instructed him to distance himself from excessive commercial activities, according to Kechichian s book. He is married to a daughter of Saleh Fustock, who hails from a Lebanese family and whose sister was one of King Abdullah s most important wives. Fustock owns Arab Builders for Trading, the local partner for Vinnell at the National Guard. The prince is an avid equestrian and his son Prince Abdullah was part of the bronze-medal-winning Saudi equestrian team at the London Olympics in 2012.

Summary: सऊदी राजकुमार, नेशनल गार्ड से मुक्त, एक बार सिंहासन के दावेदार के रूप में देखा जाता था


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday said the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email use is being driven by facts and should be free of political interference. “The rule of law is paramount,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a daily press briefing following reports that the U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch had a meeting with former President Bill Clinton.

Summary: क्लिंटन के ईमेल की जांच तथ्यों से प्रेरित, राजनीति से नहींः व्हाइट हाउस


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Wednesday ideas for deeper euro zone integration in an effort to help unite the broader European Union, as eurosceptic sentiment grows across the EU and Britain prepares to leave the EU in 2019. The Commission, the EU s executive arm, presented a package of proposals aimed at giving the 19 countries sharing the euro better protection against future financial crises. But plans to tighten cooperation among the 19 euro countries have sparked concern among the eight non-euro countries that they will become second-class members of the EU, with less say - and less funds - in the future. To alleviate those fears, the Commission stressed that all their proposals were open to all EU members, even though that clashes with the thinking of some euro zone leaders, such as French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron has called for creating a euro zone budget of several hundred billion euros, a euro zone finance minister and a euro zone parliament. The Commission proposed creating cash incentives for countries for structural reforms and special funds for non-euro economies, all of which - except Denmark - are obligated to adopt the euro at some point, to prepare for euro adoption.  But heavyweight Germany was quick to pour cold water on one key part of the plans putting in doubt just how far they would get.   The Commission backed the idea of setting up what it calls a euro zone  stabilisation function , because the monetary policy of the European Central Bank cannot deal with economic crises that hit only one or a few countries in the euro zone. That would be a pool of money to protect investment with loans and a relatively  limited grant component , the Commission said. To be effective and credible, it should be big enough to pay out at least 1 percent of GDP and be allowed to borrow.  Access to the  stabilisation function , managed by the Commission, would be for those who stick to EU rules.  The money would come from loans from the EU budget, voluntary contributions from governments and loans from the euro zone bailout fund with guarantees from the EU budget. The Commission said that for this to work,  a limited borrowing capacity could be constructed  in the next EU budget. Germany expressed reservations though.  I don t think it makes sense to prejudge anything, but the outgoing government was not convinced that new buffers at the European level are necessary,  Germany s acting finance minister Peter Altmaier said. Instead of a euro zone finance minister, the Commission called for naming a pan-European Minister of Economy and Finance, who would also be a senior member of the European Commission and chair meetings of euro zone finance ministers. The minister would also oversee the work of the euro zone bailout fund as the chairman of its board, much like the head of euro zone finance ministers, the Eurogroup, does now. The job might be created when the next European Commission starts work in November 2019, the Commission said, and whoever gets it would be accountable to the European Parliament. Under the current arrangement, the chair of the euro zone finance ministers, the closest thing the bloc now has to a single finance minister, often testifies before the parliament s economic committee, but it has no power over him or her. Euro zone finance ministers have little enthusiasm for allowing the Commission, which is only an observer at their monthly meetings, to chair their talks. Other euro zone integration ideas, floated by Germany, include transforming the euro zone s government-owned and run  bailout fund into a European Monetary Fund. The Commission backed that idea, but said the EMF should become an EU institution, which would be overseen by the European Parliament   an idea officials have said would not fly with governments.  The EMF, which the Commission hopes to get agreement on by mid-2019 from governments and the European Parliament, would also provide a 60 billion-euro backstop for the bank-funded Single Resolution Fund. The Commission did not address the proposal of Germany and backed by Slovakia and the Netherlands to create a sovereign insolvency mechanism that would put pressure on governments to conduct prudent fiscal policy. Economists were not impressed with the Commission proposals.  A first browsing of the documents allows us to conclude that hardly anything will change,  ING economist Carsten Brzeski wrote in a note to clients.  Today s proposals go in the right direction but are not new and clearly not a game changer.

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ के कार्यकारी ने यूरोपीय संघ को एकजुट करने के लिए यूरो क्षेत्र के गहरे एकीकरण का प्रस्ताव रखा