LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump was wrong to have posted anti-Islam videos on Twitter that had originally been published by a leader of Britain First, a fringe, far-right party, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday. “It is wrong for the President to have done this,” the spokesman said. “Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law-abiding people.  “British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far-right which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents: decency tolerance and respect.”

Summary: ब्रिटेन के अति-दक्षिणपंथी समूह को रीट्वीट करना ट्रंप की गलती थीः ब्रिटिश पीएम मे के प्रवक्ता


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton leads Republican Donald Trump by 4 percentage points in a four-war race for the Nov. 8 election, according to a Washington Post-ABC News opinion poll of likely voters released on Friday. Clinton had 47 percent support compared with Trump’s 43 percent in the poll conducted from Monday to Thursday, the Post said. It said Clinton’s lead was up from 3 points in the previous day’s poll but still “within the range of sampling error.”

Summary: एबीसी न्यूज पोलः वाशिंगटन पोस्ट में क्लिंटन ट्रम्प से 4 अंकों से आगे


RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) - Speaking as a folksy physician running for Virginia governor, Democrat Ralph Northam vowed in a recent campaign ad to fight Donald Trump on cuts to education funding, environmental protections and health care access.  But Northam said he will work with the Republican president when it is in the state’s interest. The balancing act puts Northam, a moderate lieutenant governor with a low-key campaign style, on the front lines of his party’s search for a strategy to exploit Trump’s unpopularity in politically divided states such as Virginia. He is running against Ed Gillespie, former chairman of the Republican National Committee.  The Nov. 7 general election in the competitive southern state is seen as a bellwether for next year’s midterm elections, when voters will decide whether Republicans should continue to control the U.S. Congress and a majority of state governments. After denouncing Trump as a “narcissistic maniac” during the primary campaign, Northam has since dialed back the vitriol. His emphasis on workforce education and policy matters heeds criticism that Democrats lost the White House because voters did not hear what the party stood for.     “The Northam strategy is talk Trump, but don’t just talk Trump,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, noting that Northam seeks to broaden his appeal to uncommitted voters. Most polls show Northam narrowly ahead in a contest Democrats consider a must-win. Virginia is one of only 15 governors’ mansions still held by the party, and its current governor cannot run for re-election due to term limits. Former Democratic President Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail this week for the first time since leaving office to stump for candidates in Virginia and New Jersey, the two states with gubernatorial elections this year. Without naming Trump, he called on voters to send a message by backing candidates like Northam.   A recent poll showed nearly one in three likely Virginia voters were factoring Trump into their decision in the governor’s race, according to a survey from the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University. Northam’s supporters overwhelmingly disapproved of Trump. Distain for the Republican president is why Niel Manson, a 72-year-old retired engineer living near the capital city of Richmond, became a Democrat nine months ago.  Yet the former independent called Northam wise to make his campaign about more than merely reacting to Trump. “There is no benefit in getting in a discussion with Trump, because he changes his mind every 24 hours,” Manson said. The Northam campaign said it has intentionally focused on policies when talking about Trump, seeking to draw parallels to Gillespie.  Northam starts another recent ad highlighting differences between the gubernatorial candidates on climate change. “Now Ed’s going right along with Donald Trump as he tries to roll back our clean air and water protections,” the Democrat says from a picnic table at a waterfront park.  The strategy works to connect the president to a Republican candidate who is not always in lock step with him, said Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes gubernatorial races for the non-partisan Cook Political Report. She said campaigns gearing up for next year’s midterms will learn from Virginia whether such messaging sways independents, or motivates Democrats to turn out in greater numbers than typical for non-presidential years. “This is our first real election to see how these arguments about Trump really do impact Republican candidates,” Duffy said. Gillespie’s campaign declined to comment about Trump’s impact on the race. The president endorsed Gillespie but has not campaigned with him.  Vice President Mike Pence headlined a recent rally for the candidate in southwest Virginia’s heavily Republican coal country. Democratic voter Erin Siraguse, 34, said she based her support for Northam on issues such as his efforts to address affordable housing for teachers around her home in Fairfax County in northern Virginia. She admires how Northam has handled the president’s shadow over this year’s most competitive state race. “Lieutenant Governor Northam has done a wonderful job of talking about Trump without mentioning Trump,” she said.

Summary: ट्रम्प कार्ड की तलाश में, डेमोक्रेट वर्जीनिया के गवर्नर की दौड़ देख रहे हैं


LONDON (Reuters) - Britain s intention to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit is inconsistent with its plan to withdraw from the European Union s single market and customs union, a committee of lawmakers said on Friday. The Irish border, which will be the only land link between the EU and Britain after Brexit, is proving to be one of the most problematic issues in a slow diplomatic process which is testing the patience of politicians, businesses and investors.  The EU is looking to Britain to provide a solution on how to manage the flow of goods between Ireland and the British province without erecting politically inflammatory border controls. Britain has said it wants to withdraw from the EU s customs union, within which goods can move freely, but will not contemplate border posts or other infrastructure that could disrupt 20 years of delicate peace in Northern Ireland.  We cannot at present see how leaving the customs union and the single market can be reconciled with there being no border or infrastructure,  said opposition lawmaker Hilary Benn, chair of the Brexit committee which is scrutinising the negotiations.  The British government has said it is seeking a flexible and imaginative approach to the border that goes beyond existing EU precedents, and has mooted technological solutions or a new form of customs union. But ministers have been criticised by their counterparts in Ireland for a lack of detail.  Progress on the border issue is crucial to Britain s hopes of moving negotiations on to the subject of trade and future relations - something businesses are impatient to find out about as they contemplate the need to relocate. Deputy Irish Prime Minister Simon Coveney said on Thursday that  significantly more clarity  was needed before a Dec. 14-15 summit which could agree the start of  phase two  talks on trade. The committee, which based its report on evidence from Brexit minister David Davis, also said the government needed to publish more detail on both its short-term plans for a post-departure transition period, and its long-term vision of a future trading relationship with Europe.  If phase two of the talks do start next month, then ministers need to move beyond words like  bespoke  and  special  and actually explain what it is they are seeking,  Benn said.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के सांसदों ने ब्रेक्सिट के बाद आयरलैंड सीमा से बचने की योजना पर संदेह जताया


LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has lost support of senior cabinet officials after it emerged he had business links to scandal-plagued Brazilian company Odebrecht, two government sources said on Thursday, amid opposition calls for him to resign. Cabinet members were shocked to learn on Wednesday about payments Odebrecht said it had made to a company controlled by Kuczynski, who had repeatedly denied having any ties to the construction firm, the sources said. Key ministers and lawmakers within Kuczynski s party want him to step down, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Kuczynski has denied any improper earnings and offered to explain the matter to Congress.

Summary: पेरू के कुजिंस्की ने घोटाले के बीच प्रमुख मंत्रियों का समर्थन खो दियाः सूत्र


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A draft order calling for a review of whether a defunct CIA program to interrogate terrorist suspects in secret overseas “black site” prisons should be revived is not a White House document, the White House said on Wednesday. “It is not a White House document,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters. “I have no idea where it came from, but it is not a White House document.”

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस का कहना है कि पूछताछ आदेश का मसौदा व्हाइट हाउस का दस्तावेज नहीं है


BEIRUT (Reuters) - A U.S.-backed campaign against Islamic State in eastern Syria will accelerate now the jihadist group has been defeated in its former capital Raqqa, a spokesman for U.S.-allied Syrian militias said on Wednesday. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which announced the defeat at Raqqa on Tuesday, will redeploy fighters from the city to frontlines with Islamic State in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, Talal Silo told Reuters by telephone. Islamic State is already losing ground rapidly in Deir al-Zor, the last region where it has a significant foothold in Syria. The SDF and the Syrian government, backed by Russia and Iran, are fighting separate campaigns against the group there. Silo said the Raqqa victory would have a  positive impact  on the SDF s campaign in Deir al-Zor because it meant fighters could be redeployed as internal security forces take control of Raqqa.  Most of the military forces will head towards these areas to continue the participation in the campaign with the Deir al-Zor Military Council,  he said. The Council is a militia leading the SDF s campaign in the province.  This is all to the benefit of the campaign and accelerating the end of this campaign,  he said. The SDF s campaign has been focused on areas east of the Euphrates River, which bisects Deir al-Zor province. The government s campaign has focused mostly in areas to the west of the river. The U.S.-led coalition and Russian military are holding face-to-face deconfliction meetings   to prevent inadvertent clashes between planes and troops under their respective commands - though the campaigns have occasionally come into conflict near the Euphrates River.   The Syrian army and its allies are battling for control of the last remaining IS-held areas of Deir al-Zor city, and have also recently captured the town of al-Mayadin from IS. The U.S.-led coalition said it would be pushing further into Deir al-Zor province to clear remaining Islamic State fighters, but there is no plan for SDF fighters to move into Deir al-Zor city itself.   Our goal is to defeat (Islamic State) in Iraq and Syria and if there are still areas where they hold territory then we will do what we can to clear those areas,  Col. Ryan Dillon, the coalition spokesman, said. The last major Islamic State-held town in Deir al-Zor is Albu Kamal, which is the last Syrian town before the Iraqi border.

Summary: पूर्वी सीरिया में आईएस के खिलाफ अभियान तेज किया जाएगाः एसडीएफ मिलिशिया


DUBAI (Reuters) - The Saudi-led coalition will allow four cranes into the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah to boost humanitarian aid deliveries into wartorn Yemen, the Saudi ambassador to Sanaa said on Wednesday. Saudi-led forces blocked the port for more than three weeks last month in response to Houthi missile attacks, adding to food shortages in Yemen. A coalition spokesman said on Wednesday the Houthis had fired 83 ballistic missiles towards the kingdom since the war started in 2015.

Summary: सऊदी के नेतृत्व वाला गठबंधन यमन के होदेइदाह बंदरगाह में क्रेन की अनुमति देगा


(Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bob Corker has spent much of the past two months in a very public war of words with President Donald Trump, something highly unusual for a member of Congress and White House occupant from the same political party. The following are some facts about the Republican senator from Tennessee:  - Corker, 65, was elected to the Senate in 2006 and will leave in early 2019. Corker’s criticism of Trump has increased since he announced he would not seek a third term next year, but they had clashed before, including after Trump’s reaction to a white supremacist rally in August that many viewed as equivocal. - Corker built a fortune as a successful construction firm owner before entering politics. As mayor of Chattanooga, his first Senate campaign was marked by a Republican National Committee advertisement criticized as racial politicking against his African-American opponent, Harold Ford. Corker asked the RNC to take down the spot. - In the Senate, Corker is known as a fiscal conservative with a reputation for working with Democrats to craft deals in areas from immigration to debt reduction. His independent streak and outspoken personality has made him a popular guest on talk shows. - Corker became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2015, becoming a leading national security voice. He was on Trump’s shortlist to be secretary of state before the selection of Exxon Mobil executive Rex Tillerson, with whom Corker frequently consults. - Corker has faced harsh criticism from the far-right, echoed in Trump’s tweets, for legislation that gave Congress the right to review the 2015 Iran nuclear pact before it went into effect. Trump’s charges that Corker was responsible for the  deal have been widely rejected as false, given that Corker was one of its leading critics. Corker is also a member of the Budget, Banking and Aging committees.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः सेवानिवृत्त रिपब्लिकन कॉर्कर ट्रम्प के साथ सार्वजनिक लड़ाई में उलझे हुए हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supreme Court justices, hearing a dispute over presidential powers a day before the U.S. election, indicated on Monday they might curb a president’s authority to staff top administration posts in a case involving the National Labor Relations Board. The eight justices heard an hour-long argument in a 2014 legal challenge brought by Arizona-based private ambulance company SW General Inc to President Barack Obama’s temporary appointment of Lafe Solomon in 2011 as NLRB general counsel. Obama also nominated Solomon to fill the position permanently, a move that required U.S. Senate approval. The company, a subsidiary of Envision Healthcare Holdings Inc, challenged Solomon’s appointment after the labor board found SW General had committed an unfair labor practice by discontinuing bonus payments for long-term employees. If SW General wins, the NLRB order would be thrown out because of Solomon’s participation. Solomon filled in for former general counsel Ronald Meisburg, who resigned in 2010. Obama withdrew Solomon’s nomination after it stalled for more than two years. The Senate ultimately confirmed Richard Griffin to the post in 2013. SW General argued that Solomon should not have continued to fill the position on a temporary or “acting” basis pending Senate confirmation. In a 2015 ruling against the administration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said a 1998 federal law bars officials from serving in an acting role while awaiting Senate confirmation unless they were previously the “first assistant” to that post. The administration contends others who fill posts temporarily can also be nominated, including those previously confirmed by the Senate to another position. The Supreme Court in 2014 limited presidential powers in another case involving the NLRB, ruling that three 2013 appointments Obama made to the board while Congress was in recess were invalid. Justice Anthony Kennedy questioned whether new constraints on presidential appointment power would make as much of a practical difference as Obama’s administration claims, calling the system  “quite capable of accommodating” a ruling in favoring SW General. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said concerns about past government actions taken by acting officials being challenged retroactively were overblown. The administration said 100 appointments over the past 18 years would have been invalid under the approach sought by the company, including several in sensitive national security jobs. Justice Elena Kagan said with the recent history of “partisan bickering” over appointments, “we would have heard about it” if members of Congress had objected in the manner the company does. The outcome of the case could assume added importance if the next president faces protracted nomination battles and opts to appoint officials on a temporary basis. A ruling is due by the end of June.

Summary: अमेरिकी शीर्ष अदालत राष्ट्रपति की नियुक्ति की शक्तियों पर रोक लगा सकती है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will make his first trip to Asia next week and meet with senior officials to discuss North Korea’s recent missile tests and U.S. economic and security interests in the region. He will arrive in Japan on March 15, continue on to South Korea on March 17 and visit China from March 18-19. The trip comes after Pyongyang’s latest missile launches and the assassination in Malaysia of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother have added urgency to the region’s security situation. U.S. President Donald Trump faces a growing test of resolve after vowing while campaigning to get tough on North Korea. Trump’s aides are pressing to complete a strategy review on how to counter Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear threats. Trump has attacked China on issues ranging from trade to the South China Sea and what he perceives as China’s lack of interest in reining in nuclear-armed North Korea. Last month, Trump held his first face-to-face talks with a member of the Chinese leadership, top diplomat Yang Jiechi who outranks Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and the White House said it was a chance to discuss shared security interests and a possible meeting with President Xi Jinping. Wang and Tillerson met last month in Germany on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 top economies. “I think that Secretary of State Tillerson is a person who is willing to listen and is a deep communicator,” Wang said at his annual news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, on the sidelines of China’s parliament.  “I believe we can establish a good working relationship,” he added.

Summary: अमेरिकी विदेश मंत्री एशिया की पहली यात्रा करेंगे


VIENNA (Reuters) - Founded by former Nazis six decades ago, Austria s far-right Freedom Party (FPO) long ago left the political fringes to establish itself as a mainstream party that could now return to power following a strong showing in Sunday s election. The anti-immigration and anti-Islam party is often associated abroad with its former firebrand leader Joerg Haider, who praised Hitler s employment policies. But the FPO under Heinz-Christian Strache - its leader since the ousting of Haider in 2005 - has broad support in Austria. It led opinion polls for months before Sebastian Kurz seized control of the conservative People s Party in May and rode it to victory in Sunday s parliamentary election.  Kurz has not yet named his preferred coalition partner, but the FPO could well emerge as kingmaker. The FPO, which helps govern in two provincial and several local governments, says Kurz hijacked its hardline stance on immigration and curtailing social benefits for foreigners.  One thing is clear: nearly 60 percent of the Austrian population voted for the FPO program,  Strache said after winning more than a quarter of the vote to the conservatives  nearly 32 percent, according to projections. The FPO s performance has worried leftist and liberal Austrians, some of the country s European Union partners - including German Chancellor Angela Merkel - and the World Jewish Congress, though the party today denies being anti-Semitic or anti-EU.  The FPO today is much more radical than it was when it last entered government with the (People s Party) OVP in 2000, but as society as a whole has shifted to the right it is not that obvious,  said Andreas Peham, analyst at the Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance that researches the far-right.      In 2000, the EU imposed sanctions on Austria over the FPO s joining the government. Such a step seems unlikely today, given populist movements in Europe that drove Britain from the EU and put a far-right party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), into the German parliament. On Monday AfD leader Joerg Meuthen hailed the FPO s result, saying:  Among European parties the FPO is certainly the one closest to us.  ANTI-IMMIGRANT Like the AfD in Germany s Sept 24 election, the FPO  benefited from public unease about a large influx of mostly Muslim migrants and asylum seekers into Europe. Austria took in about 1 percent of its population in asylum seekers in 2015, boosting support for the FPO even among long-time immigrants.  The FPO is focusing on asylum policy, not on foreigners,  said Margarethe Schramek, a 51-year-old nurse who said many of her friends from Poland and ex-Yugoslavia also voted for the far right in Sunday s election.   You cannot ignore the people. You are not a Nazi just because you vote for the FPO,  said Schramek.         Strache has worked for years to sharpen the party s focus from broadly anti-foreigner to fiercely anti-Islam.  Not every Muslim is a terrorist, but nearly every terrorist in Europe in years past was a radical Islamist,  he has said.  Strache insists that anti-Semites have no place in today s FPO, which routinely has to expel members who step over the line. He has visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem and has called anti-Semitism a crime. The FPO portrays itself as the only alternative to Austria s entrenched duopoly of the Social Democrats and conservatives, denouncing them as elitists unwilling to impose reforms. The FPO, savvy with social media, nearly got its candidate elected as Austria s president last year, but has lost some of its appeal since 31-year-old Kurz took control of the OVP. FPO supporters, until 1986 largely rural, have changed significantly, polls suggest. Like other populist parties in Europe, it has managed to mobilize less well-educated younger voters who feel left behind by globalization.  The FPO s position towards the European Union has changed often. Its lawmakers voted against joining the EU in a 1994 referendum and suggested holding a referendum on Austria s continued membership after Britain s vote to leave last year.  But it has since curbed its anti-EU rhetoric and now professes to be pro-Europe but wants Brussels to hand back more power to member states.  It (the FPO) has no interest in an anti-EU policy in the medium term,  said political analyst Peter Filzmaier.  They know they wouldn t get any support for it in Austria, and they have no interest in being demonised internationally.

Summary: हैदर से स्ट्रेच तक-ऑस्ट्रिया में सम्मान की ओर एफ. पी. ओ. का मार्च


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Friday the United States should keep its sanctions against Russia, amid speculation that President Donald Trump may lift the punitive measures imposed under former President Barack Obama. “I think Obama was late in putting them in place, so I think they should stay,” Ryan said in an interview with Politico. Ryan, the top Republican in the U.S. Congress, was responding to a question about comments by Republican Senator John McCain that if Trump lifted the restrictions, he would work to “codify sanctions against Russia into law.”

Summary: हाउस स्पीकर रयान का कहना है कि रूस के खिलाफ अमेरिकी प्रतिबंध बने रहने चाहिए


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is open to authorizing additional strikes on Syria if its government uses chemical weapons again or deploys barrel bombs in the country, the White House said on Monday. “The sight of people being gassed and blown away by barrel bombs ensures that if we see this kind of action again, we hold open the possibility of future action,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters. “If you gas a baby, if you put a barrel bomb in to innocent people ... you will see a response from this president.” Barrel bombs are oil drums or cylinders packed with explosives and shrapnel. Trump ordered a cruise missile strike on Syria’s Shayrat air base last week in response to what his administration and U.S. allies say was a poison gas attack by Syria’s military in which scores of civilians, including many children, died. Spicer said later his mention of barrel bombs as a potential trigger for further action by the United States did not reflect a change in position. “Nothing has changed in our posture,” he said by email. “The president retains the option to act in Syria against the Assad regime whenever it is in the national interest, as was determined following that government’s use of chemical weapons against its own citizens. And as the president has repeatedly made clear, he will not be telegraphing his military responses.”

Summary: ट्रम्प प्रशासन सीरिया पर अतिरिक्त हमलों के लिए तैयारः व्हाइट हाउस


(Reuters) - Attorneys for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will try at a court hearing on Friday to delay a civil trial involving allegations from students that they were defrauded by the now-defunct Trump University.  The former students say they were lured by false promises to pay up to $35,000 to learn the New York businessman’s real estate investing “secrets” from his “hand-picked” instructors. Trump owned 92 percent of Trump University and had control over all major decisions, the students’ court papers said.  Trump denies the allegations and has argued he relied on others to manage the business. U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel in San Diego has urged both sides to settle in advance of a trial scheduled to begin on Nov. 28. Trump’s lawyers filed a motion last week asking to delay the case until after Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, saying the presidential transition was “all-consuming.” They also proposed that Trump’s trial testimony be recorded before trial.  The students opposed the request, saying Trump had already provided several hours of deposition testimony that could be presented to a jury.  “Any delay would be a slippery slope because President-Elect Trump’s life is only going to get more complicated and unpredictable as time goes by,” they wrote. Curiel is presiding over two cases against Trump and the university. A separate lawsuit is pending, filed by New York’s attorney general who has said over 5,000 students across the country were defrauded out of about $40 million. Trump aroused controversy earlier this year when he said during his campaign that Curiel, who was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrant parents, could not be impartial because of Trump’s pledge to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Summary: ट्रम्प के वकीलों का उद्देश्य सुनवाई में धोखाधड़ी के मुकदमे में देरी करना है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that the outgoing administration in coordination with the incoming one had requested “all politically appointed officers submit letters of resignation” as is standard practice. “Of the officers whose resignations were accepted, some will continue in the Foreign Service in other positions and others will retire by choice or because they have exceeded the time limits of their grade in service,” a statement by acting State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, said.

Summary: अमेरिकी राज्य विभाग इस्तीफों में मानक अभ्यास का हवाला देता है


BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany s Angela Merkel began the tough task of trying to build a government on Monday after securing a fourth term as chancellor, urging the center-left Social Democrats not the shut the door on a re-run of their  grand coalition . Damaged by her decision two years ago to allow more than one million migrants into Germany, Merkel s conservative bloc secured 33 percent of the vote, losing 8.5 points   its lowest level since 1949. Her coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats, also slumped and said they would go into opposition.   Voters flocked to the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), the first far-right party to enter the German parliament in more than half a century. However, the AfD hardly had time to savor its third-place showing before it fell into internal bickering.   Many Germans see the rise of the AfD as a similar rejection of the status quo as votes for Brexit and Donald Trump last year. But Germany s political center held up better than in Britain and the United States as more voters have benefited from globalization and most shun the country s extremist past. Merkel s party remained the biggest parliamentary bloc and Europe s most powerful leader sought to keep her coalition options open on Monday, saying she would start talks with the  Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens as well as the SPD. SPD leader Martin Schulz said earlier his party had no choice but to go into opposition  to defend democracy against those who question it and attack it,  after dropping to a post-war low of 20.5 percent.  I heard the SPD s words, nevertheless we should remain in contact,  Merkel told a news conference.  I think all parties  have a responsibility to ensure that there will be a stable government.  Merkel made clear she still intended to serve a full four years as chancellor. But her next coalition could be her toughest yet with her only remaining potential partners, the business-friendly FDP and the pro-regulation Greens, at odds on issues from migrants to tax, the environment and Europe. The FDP s leader Christian Lindner set the stage for tricky talks, saying his party would not agree to a coalition with the conservatives and the Greens, dubbed  Jamaica  because the parties  colors mirror the country s flag, at any price. He said changes were needed in Germany s energy policy and its stance on euro zone fiscal policy. But he struck a more conciliatory tone on Europe, saying Germany had an interest in a strong France. [B4N1JX00B]  The Greens set out climate change, Europe and social justice as their priorities in any coalition talks. The emergence of the Greens as powerbrokers in any coalition weighed on markets. Shares in carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE) were down 0.2 percent, while those in automotive supplier Continental (CONG.DE) dropped 0.4 percent. RWE (RWEG.DE)   which operates 15.25 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired plants in Germany, 38 percent of its total European capacity   fell 4.6 percent to a six-week low. The party campaigned to ban the sale of new combustion-engine cars from 2030 and are calling for a quick phase-out of coal power plants. Many Germans were alarmed by the rise of AfD who the foreign minister likened to Nazis. Protesters threw stones and bottles at police outside its campaign party in Berlin on Sunday. But just a day after the election, the AfD showed signs of fracturing as co-leader Frauke Petry, one of its most prominent faces, said she would not sit in parliament with AfD members. It was not immediately clear why she was making such a move. The election also exposed rifts in Merkel s conservatives, with her allies the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), who face a regional election next year, demanding a shift to the right to win back voters lost to the AfD.  They will try their best to recover lost ground on the right side of the political spectrum. Going into a coalition in Berlin with the Greens and the FDP will make this more difficult,  said Janis Emmanouilidis from the European Policy Centre. Investors were unsettled by the prospect of a weaker Merkel at the head of a potentially unstable  Jamaica  coalition and also worried that months of coalition talks could distract from talks with Britain over its divorce from the European Union. The euro EUR=D4 and European stocks slipped, while concerns about the emergence of a more hardline stance toward the euro zone in the bloc's largest economy weighed on Southern European government bonds.   The weak result could make Angela Merkel a lame duck much faster than international observers and financial markets think,  ING economist Carsten Brzeski said. Klaus Wohlrabe, economist at the Munich-based Ifo economic institute, said new elections could not be excluded and the result could stoke uncertainty as German business confidence deteriorated unexpectedly in the weeks before the election. German business also expressed concern. Matthias Mueller, chief executive of Volkswagen, said he was  shocked  by the AfD s double-digit showing and said the success of Europe s largest economy hinged on its tolerance and openness to the world.  For Germany s biggest industrial company I say: In the globalized economy, national egoism and protectionism lead to a dead - and in the end a loss of jobs.

Summary: मर्केल ने मतदान के बाद गठबंधन बनाने की कोशिश की जो संसद में अति दक्षिणपंथी है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that he wanted to work with the White House to explore ways to keep embattled Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore from taking office if he wins a special election in Alabama. Speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, McConnell said he had been in contact with President Donald Trump and others about sexual misconduct allegations against Moore. “He’s obviously not fit to be in the United States Senate,” McConnell said, “and we’ve looked at all the options to try and prevent that from happening.” Five women have accused Moore of sexual misconduct stemming from when he was in his 30s and they were teenagers. Moore, now 70, has denied the allegations.  Trump returns to Washington on Tuesday evening from a 12-day trip to Asia, and McConnell said he planned to discuss Moore’s situation with the president. Both are Republicans.  McConnell said he had also spoken with Vice President Mike Pence and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly about Moore. Trump supported Moore’s opponent, Luther Strange, in the Republican primary but threw his support to Moore after Strange was defeated. McConnell said Republicans were still considering having a candidate launch a write-in campaign against Moore for the Dec. 12 special election. Speculation has centered on Strange and the current U.S. attorney general, Jeff Sessions, as possibilities. McConnell said later in the day that Sessions, who left the Senate seat to become attorney general, would be a plausible write-in candidate. “He fits the mold of somebody who might be able to pull off a write-in,” the majority leader said during a forum on the economy.  Before the allegations surfaced, Moore, a Christian conservative and former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice,  had been heavily favored to defeat Democrat Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney. A Democratic win in Alabama would be a blow to Trump’s agenda and shift the political outlook for next year’s congressional elections, giving Democrats a stronger shot at recapturing control of the Senate. Under state law, Moore cannot be removed from the ballot. “Obviously this close to the election, it’s a very complicated matter,” McConnell said earlier. Moore has suggested that McConnell and other establishment Republicans were working in tandem with news media to discredit him.  After McConnell’s remarks, Moore responded by tweeting: “The good people of Alabama, not the Washington elite who wallow in the swamp, will decide this election!” McConnell urged Moore on Monday to leave the race, while Senator Cory Gardner, who chairs the Republican Party’s Senate campaign arm, suggested the Senate should expel Moore should he continue campaigning and win.  The Republican National Committee has withdrawn its support for Moore, according to a Federal Election Commission filing on Tuesday, after the party’s Senate campaign wing, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, ended a fundraising deal with him on Friday.  In Birmingham, Alabama, Jones told reporters his campaign had no plans to directly attack Moore over the allegations in a bid to capitalize on the furor. “We’re going to stay in our lane. We’re going to talk about the issues that we continue to talk about,” he said. “We will bring up his record, his previous record, other people will bring up the issues of the day. And people will have a choice.” Jones’ campaign released a new ad on Tuesday featuring Republican voters who say they are backing the Democrat. “I’m a Republican, but Roy Moore - no way,” one voter says in the ad. The national Democratic Party, however, has yet to invest directly in the race beyond funds to build the state party, and has not changed that stance since the Moore allegations surfaced. Earlier in the day, Sessions said in testimony before Congress that he had no reason to doubt the five women who have accused Moore of misconduct when they were in their teens. The House of Representatives’ top Republican, Speaker Paul Ryan, said he believed Moore’s accusers and that Moore should leave the race.  “If he cares about the values and people he claims to care about, then he should step aside,” Ryan told a news conference. On Monday, Beverly Young Nelson became the fifth woman to accuse Moore of misconduct, saying he sexually assaulted her when she was 16 and he was a prosecuting attorney in his 30s. Moore said on Monday that Nelson’s accusations were “absolutely false.” Moore has denied the allegations first raised in a Washington Post story about his relationships with four women when they were teenagers, including a charge he initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl when he was in his 30s. Reuters was unable to independently confirm any of the allegations and accusations.

Summary: सीनेट के नेता मूर को रोकने के लिए व्हाइट हाउस के साथ काम करना चाहते हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Trump spoke by phone on Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders  discussed working together to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea,  the White House said in a statement. Trump also thanked Putin  for acknowledging America s strong economic performance in his annual press conference,  the statement said. The Kremlin said in a statement that Trump and Putin discussed bilateral relations and the situation in the Korean Peninsula.

Summary: ट्रंप ने पुतिन के साथ उत्तर कोरिया की स्थिति पर चर्चा कीः व्हाइट हाउस


WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory on Monday conceded the state’s contested gubernatorial race to Democrat Roy Cooper, almost four weeks after the Nov. 8 election that many viewed as a referendum on a law limiting transgender bathroom rights. The Republican incumbent had trailed his challenger since election night, when Cooper declared victory with a margin of fewer than 5,000 votes. McCrory refused to bow out, vowing to seek a recount and challenging the validity of votes his campaign said may have included ones cast by felons or dead people. As of Monday, the state’s unofficial election results showed Cooper’s lead had grown to 10,263 votes as counties continued to tally ballots. McCrory was entitled to a recount only if he trailed by 10,000 votes or less. In a video message issued by the governor’s office, McCrory said Cooper had won “the closest North Carolina governor’s race in modern history.” “Despite continued questions that should be answered regarding the voting process, I personally believe that the majority of our citizens have spoken,” said McCrory, who sat on a couch with a Christmas tree in the background in the video. Cooper’s win over the one-term incumbent marks the only governorship picked up by Democrats nationally, while Republicans added governor seats last month in New Hampshire, Missouri and Vermont. Cooper, the state’s attorney general, said serving as governor “will be the honor of my life.” “While this was a divisive election season, I know still that there is more that unites us than divides us,” he said in a statement after his opponent’s concession. The Democratic candidate’s bid benefited from a backlash against McCrory after he signed a state law in March that bans transgender people from using government-run restrooms that match their gender identity and limits protections for gays and lesbians.  The law, the only of its kind in the United States, drew national attention. It has been blamed for hundreds of millions of dollars in economic losses and the relocation of major sporting events from the country’s ninth most populous state.  Opponents of the measure, known as House Bill 2, said a McCrory defeat would have national implications. “McCrory’s stubborn and reckless support of HB 2 cost him this election, and his defeat sends a powerful warning to lawmakers across the country that targeting LGBTQ people will not be tolerated,” Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (and/or questioning) individuals/identities.

Summary: उत्तरी कैरोलिना के गवर्नर ने डेमोक्रेटिक प्रतिद्वंद्वी को चुनाव में हार स्वीकार की


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan s navy is supplying fuel to U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) ships in the Sea of Japan, in a sign of deepening co-operation between the allies amid the growing threat from North Korea, a source said. By providing fuel to the U.S. Aegis destroyers as well as its own BMD ships, Japan hopes to ensure patrols can be maintained without unnecessary gaps, said the source, who has knowledge of the operation. The refueling began in April, the Nikkei financial daily reported earlier. North Korea threatened on Thursday to sink Japan with nuclear weapons for  dancing to the tune  of the United States for backing a U.N. Security Council resolution that imposed fresh sanctions on Pyongyang. The U.S. Navy s Seventh Fleet usually has around six Aegis ships assigned to BMD operations around Japan. Japan operates four ships of its own. They are armed with interceptors designed to shoot down warheads in space before they plunge to their targets. Around half of the ships would normally be at sea at any one time. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe s administration in 2015 won lawmaker approval to expand the role of the nation s Self Defence Forces (SDF) under the pacifist constitution to allow them to take on a bigger role in the alliance with Washington, including resupplying and defending U.S. ships. Japan has delivered fuel to U.S. ships in the past under ad hoc legislation, including vessels deployed to support military operations in Afghanistan a decade ago. But this is the first time it has been undertaken under the new security law. Japan s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga at his regular morning press briefing on Thursday said that this kind of co-operation would be undertaken by the allies. He declined to comment on the Aegis ship fuel shipments saying  it could reveal details of SDF and U.S. Navy operations.

Summary: जापान उत्तर कोरियाई खतरे पर नजर रखते हुए अमेरिकी मिसाइल रक्षा जहाजों को ईंधन भर रहा हैः स्रोत


(Reuters) - Shares of hospitals and health insurers fell on Tuesday after the U.S. Congressional Budget Office forecast that 14 million Americans would lose medical insurance by next year under a Republican plan to dismantle Obamacare. Among the hospitals, HCA Holdings slipped 1.6 percent, Tenet Healthcare fell 4.2 percent, Community Health Systems shed 1.5 percent and LifePoint Health was down 1.3 percent.  The S&P 500 healthcare sector was off 0.4 percent, while the benchmark S&P 500 index slipped 0.5 percent. “The Street is reacting to the uncertainty around (the bill), and the possibility of” more challenges ahead, said Ana Gupte, an analyst with Leerink Partners in New York. “There’s uncertainty about the potential downside,” and whether the plan will become tougher for hospitals before it gets passed, she said. The Affordable Care Act of 2010, often dubbed Obamacare, expanded medical coverage, aiding hospitals by reducing the number of uninsured patients who could not pay bills.  Hospital stocks fell after the Nov. 8 presidential election of Donald Trump, who vowed to repeal the ACA, former President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy legislation. The CBO forecast that 24 million people would be uninsured in 2026 if the plan being considered by the House of Representatives were adopted.  Some health policy experts and Wall Street analysts said the report was more draconian than expected, with the uninsured rate declining more quickly than foreseen. “While the CBO’s estimate... is a negative headline for hospitals, we believe that in its current form, the bill’s chances of passing are slim,” Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut said in a research note.  Tanquilut said he believed legislators “will eventually draft a more palatable, diluted version of ‘repeal and replace’ that would have a smaller impact on the number of uninsured.”  Health insurer stocks also fell. UnitedHealth Group Inc was down 0.8 percent, Aetna Inc also shed 0.8 percent and Humana Inc fell 0.7 percent.  “What that means basically is lower volume for the health insurers. It looks like it’s going to be the dismantling of the individual insurance market, which again means lower revenues and the loss of the individual market for the most part for the insurers,” said Vishnu Lekraj, an equity analyst at Morningstar. The Republican proposal would end Obamacare expansion of the Medicaid insurance program for the poor and would replace Obamacare’s income-based subsidies with fixed tax credits for the purchase of private insurance. Medicaid-focused insurers were particularly hard hit. Centene fell 2.2 percent, Molina Healthcare was down 2.5 percent and WellCare Health Plans was 2 percent lower.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन स्वास्थ्य बिल के बाद अस्पताल के शेयरों में गिरावट आई, 2 करोड़ 40 लाख लोगों का बीमा नहीं हुआ


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saturday night’s Republican debate on CBS was the most-watched of any in 2016, drawing 13.5 million viewers, the network said on Sunday. The CBS News debate was the most watched of the year so far and the highest rated debate among adults aged 25-54 since January, the network said. In August, the Republican candidates’ prime-time debate on Fox News Channel drew 24 million viewers, more than double the prior record for a presidential primary debate and the highest non-sports telecast in cable TV history, according to Nielsen.  (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) SAP is the sponsor of this content. It was independently created by Reuters’ editorial staff and funded in part by SAP, which otherwise has no role in this coverage.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन बहस ने सी. बी. एस. के लिए 13.5 लाख दर्शकों को आकर्षित कियाः नेटवर्क


ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland could become the latest country to ban facial coverings worn by some Muslim women after activists collected more than the 100,000 signatures required to put the proposal to a national vote. The group, called  Yes to a Mask Ban  delivered the petition on Friday, setting up a vote by 2020. Some of its leaders also spearheaded the 2009 Swiss ban on new minarets being built in the country. A delegation of leaders from the group delivered three boxes containing 106,600 signatures to the federal chancellery, part of the Swiss parliament building in Bern. Full-face coverings such as niqabs and burqas are a polarizing issue across Europe, with some arguing that they symbolize discrimination against women and should be outlawed. The clothing has already been banned in France.  Facial coverings are a symbol of radical Islam that have nothing to do with religious freedom but are rather an expression of the oppression of women,  said Anian Liebrand, a Swiss campaign leader.  In Switzerland, we show our faces when we talk to each other.  Others contend that bans unnecessarily intrude on religious freedom.  How many people wear these burqas in Switzerland?  said Oender Guene , a spokesman for the Federation Of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland, which represents more than 200 mosques.   You can probably count those living in Switzerland on maybe one or two hands. The rest are usually rich tourists from the Gulf.  Two thirds of Switzerland s 8.4 million residents identify as Christians. But its Muslim population has risen to 5 percent, largely because of immigrants from former Yugoslavia. One Swiss canton, Italian-speaking Ticino, already has a similar ban. At least two demonstrators who wore veils in defiance after the ban came into effect last July paid fines of 250 Swiss francs ($260), Swiss media have reported. The Switzerland-wide initiative foresees parliament deciding on penalties. Though the measure would also forbid protesters from concealing their faces during demonstrations, the main focus has been on burqas. France s ban was upheld in 2014 by the European Court of Human Rights. This year Germany s parliament backed a ban on  full-face veils for civil servants, judges and soldiers, while Austria and the Netherlands have debated the issue. With signatures in hand, leaders of the Swiss initiative expect three years of wrangling in Switzerland s system of direct democracy before voters get the chance to register their view.  Liebrand is optimistic his initiative s path will mirror the progress of the 2009 minaret ban.  The minaret campaign started as underdogs and was something the big parties didn t want,  he said.  But I reckon the facial coverings ban will also resonate with the people.

Summary: स्विट्जरलैंड के मतदाता चेहरे को ढकने पर प्रतिबंध पर विचार कर सकते हैं


KIEV (Reuters) - The Ukrainian embassy in Washington denied on Tuesday accusations from U.S. President Donald Trump that Ukraine had attempted to sabotage his campaign during the 2016 U.S. presidential race. “We stand by our words that the government of Ukraine didn’t help any candidate in (the) election. Ukraine is proud of bipartisan support in the U.S.,” the embassy posted on Twitter.

Summary: यूक्रेन ने 2016 के चुनाव में तोड़फोड़ करने के ट्रम्प के आरोप का खंडन किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic opposition to President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee grew on Monday while the White House demanded a “fair, up-or-down vote” in the Senate on confirming Neil Gorsuch to the lifetime post. Four more Democratic senators added their support to a growing effort to block a confirmation vote through the use of a filibuster. That procedural hurdle requires 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate to allow a confirmation vote by a simple majority. Republicans control the Senate 52-48. There are now 20 senators who have backed Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s filibuster call - up from 16 on Friday.  Senator Joe Manchin, however, announced on Monday that he opposes a filibuster, according to an aide, and Senator Heidi Heitkamp also indicated she would oppose it. “It’s my duty to fully consider any Supreme Court nominee, regardless of which party is in the White House,” she said in a statement. Democratic opposition to Gorsuch could prompt a Senate showdown over the confirmation of the conservative appeals court judge from Colorado, but Republicans could change the Senate’s rules to disallow filibusters against Supreme Court nominees. Trump is seeking to avoid another setback in Congress after major healthcare legislation he supported was pulled from the House of Representatives floor amid Republican opposition on Friday.  The confirmation of Gorsuch, 49, to replace Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016, would restore the nine-seat court’s conservative majority, a major campaign promise for Trump. The latest Senate Democrats to join the fight include Bill Nelson, who said there are “real concerns” that Gorsuch would be hostile to voting rights and support businesses over workers and consumers. The other three Democratic senators to have newly announced their opposition were Judiciary Committee members Mazie Hirono, Al Franken and Jack Reed. Manchin and Nelson are among 10 Democrats who conservative activists had hoped would join Republicans in preventing any attempt to block a Gorsuch vote. They are all up for re-election in 2018 in states Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont, also a Judiciary Committee member, said he generally opposes filibusters but added that Gorsuch would face one if he does not adequately answer written questions. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said any attempted filibuster would be “nothing short of obstructionism.” The committee is due to vote next Monday on sending the nomination to the full Senate.

Summary: अधिक डेमोक्रेट ने ट्रम्प के अमेरिकी सर्वोच्च न्यायालय के चयन का विरोध किया


NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government said on Wednesday that 12.2 million Americans across 50 states had selected an individual insurance plan as of Jan. 31, 2017, one-third of whom were new to this market created under Obamacare. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said that of those, 10.1 million people had received premium tax credits based on income that help reduce their monthly health costs and that are one of the lynchpins of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare.

Summary: अमेरिकी सरकार का कहना है कि ओबामाकेयर व्यक्तिगत योजनाओं में 1.2 करोड़ उपभोक्ता


VIENNA (Reuters) - Coalition talks between Austria s far-right Freedom Party and conservatives led by Sebastian Kurz are drawing to a close and have laid down guarantees that the next government will be pro-European, Kurz said on Thursday. Kurz, who is just 31, led the People s Party (OVP) to victory in a parliamentary election on Oct. 15, taking a hard line on immigration that often overlapped with that of the anti-Islam Freedom Party (FPO), which came third . People familiar with their coalition talks, which began on Oct. 25, said a deal might be reached as early as Friday evening and is likely to be struck over the weekend. That would end more than a decade in opposition for the FPO, which was led by the late Joerg Haider when it last entered government in 2000. The FPO has backed away from calling for Austria to follow Britain by holding an  Oexit  referendum on leaving the European Union. It now says it is pro-European but critical of the bloc and wants to prevent further political integration.  It was important to the president, and to me, that the new government have a pro-European orientation. From my point of view, that has been secured,  Kurz told reporters after meeting President Alexander Van der Bellen, adding that he was confident of a deal before Christmas. Kurz did not say what those points were, but the talks are well advanced, with the parties having produced joint lists of planned policies, from lowering taxes while staying within EU budget rules to providing refugees with a  light  version of regular benefit payments for five years.  While those plans have often been expressed vaguely, Kurz and his party have obtained some specific concessions that would limit the FPO s options if it were to turn against the EU. Points already agreed include moving some Foreign Ministry departments in charge of European affairs to the chancellor s office, which Kurz will head, a person close to the coalition talks said.  Those include the task force in charge of preparing for Austria s EU presidency in the second half of next year and the section in charge of coordinating policy for various EU forums, including that of envoys to Brussels, the person said.  Items still being discussed include making it possible to call referendums by petition. Both sides agree on the principle, but the OVP wants a higher threshold   around 10 percent of voters, while the FPO is pushing for 4 percent.  Under the draft terms of their coalition deal, however,  direct democracy is restricted so that an `Oexit  referendum is not possible , one person familiar with the talks said, which a second confirmed.  The deal will also ensure support for EU sanctions against Russia, one added, to guard against the FPO s pro-Russian stance.  Ministerial appointments have yet to be decided but the Foreign, Defence and Interior Ministries are set to come under the FPO s control, that source said.

Summary: ऑस्ट्रिया के कुर्ज़ का कहना है कि यूरोपीय संघ समर्थक रुख दूर-दराज़ के साथ सौदे में सुरक्षित है


YANGON/BANGKOK (Reuters) - In many ways Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two Reuters journalists arrested in Myanmar, symbolize their country s emergence after decades of isolation. Both from modest, provincial backgrounds, they worked hard to pursue careers that would have been impossible in the junta era into which they were born.  Following are profiles of the two journalists, who were arrested on Dec. 12 and have been held since then without contact with their families or a lawyer, accused of breaching the country s Official Secrets Act: Wa Lone, 31, grew up in Kin Pyit, a village of some 100 households in the Shwe Bo district north of Mandalay, on Myanmar s dry central plain between the mighty Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers. One of five children, his parents were rice farmers and there was little money. His mother died from cancer when he was young. But he was a good student, according to friends and family, and took a keen interest in news from an early age. One of his brothers, Thura Aung, remembers Wa Lone, aged around 10, watching bulletins on a shared TV in their village.  Sometimes he would play at being an anchor,  said Thura Aung, 26.  He always said he wanted to be a reporter in the future.  After finishing school at 16 he enrolled as a student at a government technical university, but left after a couple of semesters because his family could not afford the tuition. Around 2004 he went to Mawlamyine, Myanmar s fourth biggest city, living in a Buddhist monastery where his uncle was a monk. In exchange for a place to stay, he would get up at 5 a.m. to clean and prepare food for the monks before going to work at a photo services business. Wa Lone showed a talent for design and photography, and soon set up a small photo services shop of his own, which he ran with Thura Aung. In December 2010, having saved a little money, the brothers moved back to Yangon, where Wa Lone could pursue his boyhood dream. Living in North Okklapa township, near the city s airport, they re-established their photo services business, while Wa Lone also enrolled in a media training school and later began taking English classes. Mindy Walker, an American teacher who met him in 2012, recalls a  skinny kid from the village who had little interaction with foreigners .  He was so nervous he fled her English class the first time he was called on to answer a question.  We still joke about that moment and he tells every new student in our class that story so that they feel more confident,  said Walker in an email.  His heart is huge and he is always encouraging others to succeed.  Within five or six months Wa Lone had landed his first job in journalism on the weekly People s Age in Yangon, where his editor was Pe Myint - now Myanmar s Minister of Information. In 2014, he joined the English-language daily, Myanmar Times, covering the historic 2015 general election that swept Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to power.  As soon as I met Wa Lone, I knew we had to hire him,  said the paper s former editor, Thomas Kean.  He was thoughtful, articulate and clearly cared deeply about journalism.  As well as providing a platform for him to excel as a journalist, the two years he spent at the Myanmar Times was a significant period in Wa Lone s life - it was there that he met his wife Pan Ei Mon who works in the paper s sales and marketing department. The couple married in April last year. Despite the long hours chasing stories and studying, Wa Lone has still found time to write a children s book, The Gardener, a story in Burmese and English with an environmental message that draws on his own rural roots. He co-founded the Third Story Project, a charitable foundation that produces and distributes stories that aim to promote tolerance between Myanmar s different ethnic groups, and is involved in projects working with orphans. Many of his weekends off have been spent visiting poor rural villages - much like the one where he grew up.  He brings story books from Third Story and gives them to children,  said Pan Ei Mon.  He reads to them and does painting competitions and sings with the children.  Wa Lone joined Reuters in July 2016 and quickly made his mark with in-depth stories on sensitive subjects including land grabs by the powerful military and the murder of prominent politician Ko Ni, as well as uncovering evidence of killings by soldiers in the northeast. His reporting on the crisis that erupted in northwestern Rakhine state in October 2016 won him a joint honorable mention from the Society of Publishers in Asia in its annual awards. He returned to Rakhine this year, after attacks by Rohingya Muslim militants on security forces in August triggered a crackdown by the army. Covering such subjects is not easy in a country where the transition from decades of junta rule is proving painful.  His bravery over the past year, and particularly since Aug. 25, has been incredible. It s hard to describe the tide of ill-feeling towards journalists who question the military-government narrative on Rakhine,  said Kean, his former editor.  As soon as one of my colleagues said,  Have you heard about Wa Lone? , I knew he d been arrested. His reporting has undoubtedly made him a target. It s heartbreaking, infuriating and completely unsurprising.    Family and friends of Kyaw Soe Oo say he has always had a love of writing, and composed poetry before becoming a journalist. Min Min, the founder of the Root Investigative Agency, where Kyaw Soe Oo worked after starting his reporting career with the online Rakhine Development News, described the 27-year-old as  a joyful person  who had many friends.  When I first met him in 2013, he was a poet not a journalist and not interested in journalism yet,  said Min Min.  An ethnic Rakhine Buddhist, Kyaw Soe Oe grew up in the state capital Sittwe, and was one of five siblings.  He is a good elder brother,  said his sister, Nyo Nyo Aye, adding that her brother always stood out from the crowd.  He was always with books. He went to the book store or second-hand booksellers. He spent all his money buying books. .  Childhood friend Zaw Myo Thu said he avoided becoming caught up in the communal tensions between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims that have seethed in the city since the upheavals in 2012.  He wrote poems. He loved to read,  he said.  He never fought with anyone.  But it was that conflict which drew him into journalism, covering Rakhine issues. He had been with Reuters since September, reporting on the army s crackdown in the aftermath of militant attacks on security forces on Aug. 25.  As a journalist, he will cover news, but I think he will do it fairly because he does not discriminate between races,  said his sister Nyo Nyo Aye.  He just realises all are human.  For Reuters, Kyaw Soe Oo worked on an investigative story about Myanmar s plan to harvest the crops of Rohingya farmers who fled to Bangladesh, and reported on how some Buddhists were enforcing local-level segregation in central Rakhine.  He didn t tell me about the work and I never asked,  said his wife, Chit Thu Win, with whom he has a three-year-old daughter.  I believed in him that he is doing the right thing and he s just following his passion. He wanted to be a writer.

Summary: म्यांमार के गिरफ्तार पत्रकारः दो पुस्तक प्रेमी अपनी कला के प्रति समर्पित


GOA, India (Reuters) - Russia does not seek confrontation with the United States and is not trying to influence the upcoming presidential election, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday. Putin said he would work with any U.S. leader willing to work with Russia.

Summary: पुतिन का कहना है कि रूस अमेरिका के साथ टकराव नहीं चाहता है।


SINGAPORE (Reuters) - One of the contenders to be Singapore s next leader, cabinet member Chan Chun Sing, on Monday said he and his colleagues had an obligation to be ready to take on the job. In rare comments about succession by a public official, Chan said whoever took over was unlikely to drastically change the government s policy direction.  All of us have to be prepared to do the job when called upon,  Chan, a former army chief, told journalists at a Foreign Correspondents Association of Singapore briefing, when asked if he would like the job of prime minister.  In Singapore, leadership is a responsibility to be borne, not a position to be sought,  he said, citing a comment previously made by Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan.  Chan, 47, who holds the title of minister in the prime minister s office, is one of a handful of men mentioned as potential successors to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who has said he is ready to step down in a couple of years. Singapore news media have cited Chan as one of a number of  contenders to succeed Lee.  Lee, who is the eldest son of Singapore s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, has said the new leader is probably already in the cabinet, but a clear choice has yet to emerge. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, also mentioned as a potential successor, has repeatedly said he does not want the job. The Singapore media and political analysts say Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and Education Minister Ong Ye Kung are also in contention.  Questions about succession in the wealthy Southeast Asian city state - which has been governed by the People s Action Party since independence in 1965 - came into focus when Lee, who has twice survived cancer, took ill during a televised speech last year and stumbled at a podium. Doctors subsequently said there were no serious concerns. Lee Kuan Yew s successor, Goh Chok Tong, was identified at least five years in advance while the current leader, who first entered politics in 1984, was also groomed for the position long before he took office in 2004.  Chan entered politics in 2011 after serving more than two decades in the Singapore Army, retiring as a major-general.  (This story has been corrected to make it clear that Chan was talking about his colleagues as well as himself)

Summary: सिंगापुर के मंत्री का कहना है कि अगर उन्हें और उनके सहयोगियों को बुलाया जाए तो वे अगले प्रधानमंत्री बनने के लिए तैयार हैं


(Reuters) - Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday: Trump is poised to impose new sanctions on multiple Iranian entities, seeking to ratchet up pressure on Tehran while crafting a broader strategy to counter what he sees as its destabilizing behavior, people familiar with the matter say. The White House says Trump is “extremely upset” with an agreement with Australia to accept refugees but will honor it. The White House says Israel’s building of new settlements or expansion of existing ones in occupied territories may not be helpful to achieving peace with Palestinians. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley blames Russia for the recent surge of violence in eastern Ukraine and warns Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia will not be lifted until Moscow returns Crimea to Kiev. Trump’s Treasury Department adjusts sanctions on the Russian intelligence agency FSB, making limited exceptions to measures put in place by the Obama administration over accusations Moscow meddled in the U.S. presidential election. Trump vows to free churches and other tax-exempt institutions of a 1954 U.S. law banning political activity, drawing fire from critics who accuse him of rewarding his evangelical Christian supporters and turning houses of worship into political machines. Trump defends his order to temporarily bar entry to people from seven majority-Muslim nations, saying it is crucial to ensure religious freedom and tolerance in America; he discusses establishing safe zones in Syria with Jordan’s King Abdullah. A Department of Homeland Security watchdog agency says it is planning to review how Trump’s executive order to temporarily suspend travel from seven majority-Muslim nations was implemented. Nobel Peace Prize winners meeting in Colombia criticize Trump’s immigration policies and accuse him of xenophobia and discrimination. Trump reiterates his concerns about the North American Free Trade Agreement and says he would like to speed up talks to either renegotiate or replace it. A Senate committee suspends rules to approve Scott Pruitt, Trump’s controversial choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, amid a boycott by Democratic panel members. Representative Mick Mulvaney is approved as budget director. Cerberus Capital Management LP’s chief executive, Stephen Feinberg, is in talks to join Trump’s administration in a senior role. Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] CEO Travis Kalanick quit Trump’s business advisory group after coming under criticism for taking part, the company says.

Summary: हाइलाइट्सः ट्रम्प प्रेसीडेंसी 2 फरवरी को शाम 6.15 बजे ईएसटी/2315 जीएमटी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The heads of the U.S. agencies that regulate securities and commodities pressed a Senate committee on Tuesday to boost their budgets in the face of growing sophistication in financial markets and technology, but lawmakers gave no sign extra dollars were coming soon.  In his proposed budget, President Barack Obama requested an 11 percent increase for the Securities and Exchange Commission, bringing its spending to $1.781 billion. He also sought a 32 percent increase for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to give the agency overseeing the $400 trillion U.S. swaps market as well as commodities trading, a $331 million budget. The SEC offsets any taxpayer funds it receives with user fees and fines, which means its spending does not affect the federal deficit. But Senator John Boozman of Arkansas, the Republican chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on financial services, said that did not leave it free of oversight.  “Congress has a responsibility to ensure those funds are being spent in a manner that protects investors, helps markets operate efficiently and spurs economic growth for all Americans,” he said at Tuesday’s hearing. He added that “access to more funding does not necessarily ensure that an agency will successfully achieve its mission or spend that funding responsibly.” For the SEC, “additional funding is imperative if we are to continue the agency’s progress in fulfilling its responsibilities over our increasingly fast, complex and growing markets,” Chair Mary Jo White said. It would help the SEC hire “250 staff in critical, core areas and continue to improve our information technology.”  The new staff would allow the SEC to conduct more exams, increase data analytics and improve intelligence gathering for enforcement cases, she added. At the hearing, CFTC Chair Timothy Massad said the agency “does not have the resources necessary to adequately oversee” its markets, especially “with an industry that is changing and innovating at the speed of light and that is much larger and more complex than even just a few years ago.” More than a third of the extra dollars requested would go toward information technology, he said. Part of the increase, $15.5 million, would go toward enforcement because the CFTC faces “an increasing number of well-financed defendants with high-powered defense teams.” Massad added the CFTC was working to change the levels of its fines, saying levies for many violations were “far too low.”

Summary: प्रतिभूति, वस्तु नियामक अधिक धन के लिए अमेरिकी कांग्रेस पर दबाव डालते हैं


PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that in Brexit talks, rules on the settlement of European Union citizens, the financial terms of Britain s departure from the bloc, and the question of Ireland must be clarified before other issues can be tackled. Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo sounded a similar tune, reacting to a speech by British Prime Minister Theresa May in Florence, Italy, during which she laid out Britain s ambitions after leaving the bloc.    Before we move forward, we want to clarify matters concerning the settlement of European citizens, the financial terms of exit and the question of Ireland,  Macron said in a joint briefing after a visit by Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila to Paris.  If these three points are not clarified, we will not be able to advance on the rest,  Macron said. Szydlo said that for Poland the key issue was the rights of Polish citizens in Britain, and that Britain must also fulfill its finiancial obligations. The EU s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier. said in a statement that May s speech showed willingness to move forward.

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ के नेता नागरिकों, ब्रेक्सिट वित्तीय शर्तों और आयरलैंड पर स्पष्टता चाहते हैं


REDDING, Calif. (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday denounced protesters in California as “thugs” a day after another demonstration outside one of his political rallies turned violent ahead of the state’s presidential primary. Demonstrators traded blows on Thursday evening in the street outside the San Jose Convention Center, videos posted to Twitter and online by media showed. Hundreds of protesters waved Mexican flags, chanted anti-Trump slogans and burned Trump hats and at least one U.S. flag. Speaking before a packed crowd in the northern California city of Redding on Friday, Trump described the previous night’s rally as “a love fest inside. No problems whatsoever.” But then his supporters “walked out and they got accosted by a bunch of thugs,” he said. The protesters, many angry over Trump’s rhetoric against illegal immigration, have gathered at Trump rallies for months. Trump, now the Republican Party’s likely presidential nominee for the Nov. 8 election, canceled a rally in Chicago in March after clashes broke out between his supporters and protesters. The San Jose Police Department reported 300 to 400 protesters had gathered outside the Trump rally on Thursday, where police formed lines to protect attendants exiting the convention center. A number of the skirmishes occurred beyond police lines on nearby streets and at a parking garage, a Reuters photographer said. One sergeant suffered minor injuries after a protester struck him with a metal object. Police reported four arrests. Over 250 officers staffed the “all-hands on deck event,” said San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia. “In hindsight, we’d say that wasn’t enough,” said Garcia. For future events of that scope, “we would need more officers with an absolute, number one goal of keeping both parties separate as much as we can.” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, a Democrat, told the Associated Press that Trump needs to take responsibility for his supporters’ conduct at the rallies. But Trump, speaking in Redding on Friday, made light of the mayor’s concerns. “You know what I say when we have a protestor, which isn’t very often, I say, ‘Be very gentle, please don’t hurt him ... If he punches you in the face, smile,’” Trump said. Violence has peppered Trump’s recent rallies in New Mexico and California, the U.S. state with the largest immigrant population, in advance of primary elections there on Tuesday. The latest violence followed Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s scorching critique of Trump in a speech on Thursday in which she derided the real estate developer as a dangerous man with an angry, fearful world view. Clinton told CNN on Friday that Trump had set a “low bar” regarding violence at political events. “Now is it a surprise that people who don’t like him are stepping over that bar? I don’t think it is,” Clinton said. But Friday afternoon’s rally was peaceful as supporters from Redding and neighboring towns gathered as early as 8 a.m. local time (1500 GMT) to catch a glimpse of the candidate, many wearing hats emblazoned with Trump’s signature slogan: “Make America Great Again.” Despite the unrest in San Jose, attendees said they felt at ease at Friday’s event. “We’re both retired law enforcement,” Heather Jimenez, a 45-year-old Cottonwood resident, said of herself and her husband. “No worries.” Although no formal protests broke out in Redding, the event attracted some who disapprove of Trump, but wanted to witness his high-flying campaign style in person. “We’ve been hearing his nonsense,” said Rachel Ochoa, a 57-year-old Redding resident who teaches English as a second language. “All we hear is him attacking the opponents and others.” Trump has accused Mexico of sending drug dealers and rapists across the U.S. border and has promised to build a wall between the two neighboring countries and make Mexico pay for it. “We’re gonna build that wall, folks,” Trump said on Friday as the crowd chanted its support. Trump also lamented the loss of American jobs to other countries, a key theme in his campaign. The message resonated in Redding, which residents say has been hit hard by the economic downturn. “We’ve got a lot of people here out of work,” said Joyce Tausch, a 78-year-old retiree who lives in Redding. “Trump is gonna do things for us.”

Summary: ट्रम्प ने कैलिफोर्निया में प्रचार किया, रैली में प्रदर्शनकारियों को 'ठग' बताया


(Reuters) - Russian cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab said on Thursday that it has expanded its relationship with global law enforcement agency Interpol, agreeing to share threat data to help police fight cyber crime.  The company disclosed the agreement as the Kremlin dismissed claims by several U.S. newspapers that Israeli intelligence officials had determined that Russian government hackers were using Kaspersky s software for espionage. The reports were the latest in a series alleging the company and its founder, Eugene Kaspersky, have close ties to the Kremlin. Reuters has not been able to validate those claims.  Kaspersky has repeatedly said it has not helped Russia or any other government engage in espionage.  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday the Russian government believes the allegations against Kaspersky are without merit. He said that allegations, in articles in the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, were  absurd.    The government has not had and does not have any connection to such activity,  he said.  The accusations are ungrounded and unproven.

Summary: कैस्परस्की इंटरपोल के साथ काम करता है; क्रेमलिन ने फर्म के खिलाफ दावों को खारिज किया


NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya s incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta won 98 percent of the vote in a repeated election in which an opposition boycott helped lower turnout to 39 percent, the electoral commission said on Monday. The announcement touched off small protests in a few opposition strongholds but also celebrations in pro-Kenyatta areas. Veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga said the Oct. 26 election was a farce. Civil society groups also cited problems with the vote. The violence has for the most part seen protesters clash with police but some Kenyans fear it is starting to take on ethnic overtones after two deaths in clashes between rival groups at the weekend. At least 66 people have died in overall election violence. On Monday, the U.S. ambassador said Washington was  profoundly concerned  by the outbreaks of violence since the re-run. Kenya is east Africa s richest economy and a key security ally of the West against militant Islam. It also a key regional trade, logistics and trade hub. In his victory speech, Kenyatta repeated his belief that his victory in the original Aug. 8 election was legitimate and said dialogue would have to wait if the opposition was going to lodge court cases again. The Supreme Court nullified the Aug. 8 vote on procedural grounds.  My victory today is just part of a process that is likely to once again be subjected to a constitutional test through our courts ... I will submit to this constitutional path regardless of the outcome,  Kenyatta said.   Those who are going to ask me:  Are you going to engage in dialogue?  ... Let them (the opposition) first and foremost exhaust all their constitutional options.   Kenyatta took 98 percent of the vote, results from 266 out of 291 constituencies showed. The electoral commission said 7,616,217 valid votes were cast, representing 39 percent of the 19.6 million registered voters.  Protests by Odinga s supporters prevented polling stations from opening in 25 constituencies.  The election commission said poor security prevented voting in those areas but the final announcement could go ahead as it would not  materially affect  the result.  In the pro-Kenyatta area of Dagoretti North in Nairobi, cars honked and crowds of supporters in red T-shirts ran through the streets.   I m so happy the president has got his seat back,  said Peterson Njau.  Now the economy is going to lift up again.   Another resident, Kennedy Okeyo, said he cared more about football than politics but that ethnic clashes in his home this weekend had unnerved him.   You can t get to work, and even if you get to work, you can get attacked because of who you are,  he said.  But just down the road in Nairobi s Kawangware slum, around 100 youths listening to the results on mobile phones chanted  No Raila No Peace . They lit a bonfire in the middle of the street and began taunting riot police with cries of  the people want teargas .  Earlier, police dispersed protesters there with teargas when they tried to block a visit by Interior Minister Fred Matiang i. Another Nairobi shanty town, Mathare, the scene of deadly clashes between police and protesters immediately after the August vote, was largely calm although a handful of protesters lit a small fire.  And in the western city of Kisumu, Odinga s political heartland, around 50 youths began to block the road at the Kondele roundabout, the epicenter of protests, while others banged metal poles together. But the protest was small.   What can I do? They ve already announced it. Even if I burn tires, nothing will change,  said 25-year-old laborer Kennedy Omondi as he watched young men set a barricade alight.  Odinga pulled out of last week s vote, saying the electoral commission had failed to institute reforms to forestall the kind of  illegalities and irregularities  that scuppered Kenyatta s victory in the August election.  Kura Yangu Sauti Yangu, a coalition of civil society organizations with 2,000 election observers, said there were  multiple  cases where results from polling stations differed from results on the forms posted on the election portal after last week s vote.  In a report, they supplied a photo taken by their observers of the tally sheet for Bashaal market center in Garissa. It showed 133 votes for Kenyatta while the form displayed online showed 433 votes. Another form posted on the election website, from Tumbeni primary school in Kakamega, showed four votes for Odinga and two for another minor candidate but recorded the total number of votes cast was 77 votes cast.

Summary: केन्या के राष्ट्रपति केन्याटा ने दोहराए गए चुनाव में 98 प्रतिशत वोट जीते


CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack in northeast Nigeria that killed eight soldiers and a civilian and injured five other people on Tuesday, a statement by the group said on Thursday.  The fighters took three four-wheel-drive vehicles and others mounted with rifles and heavy weaponry and various ammunition,  the statement said.  The group did not provide evidence for its claim.

Summary: इस्लामिक स्टेट ने नाइजीरिया में हमले की जिम्मेदारी ली


SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean public support for nuclear power on Friday sucker punched a government policy to steer the country away from nuclear-generated electricity as Seoul said it would bow to a demand to resume construction of two new reactors.  President Moon Jae-in came to power in May, after running  on a ticket that called for reducing South Korea s nuclear and coal-fired power generation in a push to use more natural gas and renewables.  Those plans were dealt an unlooked-for blow on Friday when a public opinion survey found a majority of almost 60 percent in favour of resuming the stalled construction of two reactors.  Building the two reactors could mean reversal of a strategy to slowly reduce nuclear energy s share of the power mix, and also significantly eat into the liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand of the world s second-largest consumer of the fuel.   Our recommendation to the government is restarting construction,  said Kim Ji-hyung, chairman of a government-organised committee to study the nuclear projects.   Our final public opinion survey showed 59.5 percent of (responding) South Koreans chose to resume the construction,  Kim told a news conference.  Stability of power supply was cited as a primary reason for the choice in survey responses, the committee said.  We respect the will of the committee,  said South Korea s presidential office spokesman Park Soo-hyun.  An expert at a government think tank said the size of the win in favour of the projects meant the government had no choice but to go with the committee s recommendation.   The outcome was very unexpected ... Many expected the difference would be a maximum 10 percentage points, but as it turned out, it stood nearly at 20,  said Roh Dong-seok, senior research fellow at the Korea Energy Economics Institute.  The two 1,400-megawatt (MW) reactors - Shin Kori No.5 and Shin Kori No.6 - were originally to be completed by March 2021 and March 2022, respectively, in the southeastern city of Ulsan. The government announced a suspension of the projects after coming to power, saying it would consult the public over their future.  The committee conducted four rounds of surveys, including phone interviews of 20,006 people and public discussions involving some 470 citizens, over the past three months. With the reactors now likely going ahead, completion dates are set for October 2021 and October 2022, according to state-run nuclear operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power [KRHYDR.UL]. (For a graphic on 'South Korea 2016 power generation mix' click reut.rs/2xTOZKB)      Shares of Korea Electric Power Corp rose 0.6 percent to 41,110 won ($36.32) on Friday, after jumping nearly 6 percent following the announcement of the survey results.      KEPCO Engineering & Construction, in charge of the reactors  design, lost 1.2 percent after surging as much as 20 percent. KEPCO Plant Service & Engineering gained 1.7 percent.  Building nuclear power plants takes years, so the decision in favour of the two new reactors will not change South Korea s immediate fuel demand patterns.  But the vote, which surprised many in the industry, does impact the long-term outlook for the country s fuel consumption, with the biggest impact likely falling on imports of LNG.   Full implementation of Moon s election promises could have resulted in around 10 million tonnes (a year) of extra LNG demand by 2030. This now seems unlikely,  said Kiah Wei Giam, principal analyst at energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie.  That compares to South Korea s LNG imports of 33.4 million tonnes last year, according to customs data. [LNG/KRTRD] Giam said, however, the survey did not totally derail the government s energy policies.   With the planned nuclear phase-out delayed, it will be interesting to see whether more aggressive anti-coal policies are enacted,  Giam said.  Park Won-joo, Deputy Minister for Energy & Resources, said later at a briefing the government will reach a final decision on the nuclear reactors next Tuesday and then tell the state-run nuclear operator when to resume project construction.

Summary: परमाणु परियोजनाओं के लिए दक्षिण कोरियाई लोगों के समर्थन से सरकारी ऊर्जा योजना को झटका लगा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House Intelligence Committee on Monday held an unusual open hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and related issues. Here are key quotes from the hearing, where FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency director Admiral Michael Rogers testified: ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S CLAIM THAT FORMER PRESIDENT OBAMA WIRETAPPED HIM: “With respect to the president’s tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets, and we have looked carefully inside the FBI. The Department of Justice has asked me to share with you that the answer is the same for the Department of Justice and all its components.” - Comey “Let me be clear: we know there was not a wiretap on Trump Tower. However, it’s still possible that other surveillance activities were used against President Trump and his associates.” - Committee Chairman Representative Devin Nunes    “I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.” - Comey ON UNVERIFIED CLAIMS THAT OBAMA ASKED BRITAIN’S GCHQ TO EAVESDROP ON TRUMP: “That would be expressly against the construct of the Five Eyes (intelligence-sharing) agreement that’s been in place for decades. ... I have seen nothing on the NSA side that we engaged in any such activity.” The claim “clearly frustrates a key ally of ours.” - Rogers “Numerous current and former officials have leaked purportedly classified information in connection to these questions. We aim to determine who has leaked or facilitated leaks of classified information so that these individuals can be brought to justice.” - Nunes “Leaks have always been a problem. I read over the weekend something from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln complaining about them. But I do think in the last six weeks, couple of months, there’s been ... a lot of conversation about classified matters that’s ending up in the media.” - Comey. ON THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE JUDGMENT THAT RUSSIA FAVORED TRUMP OVER DEMOCRATIC OPPONENT HILLARY CLINTON: “I think that was a fairly easy judgment for the community. Putin hated Secretary Clinton so much that the flip side of that coin was he had a clear preference for the person running against the person he hated so much.” - Comey “They’ll be back in 2020. They may be back in 2018 and one of the lessons they may draw from this is that they were successful because they introduced chaos and division and discord.” - Comey ON WHETHER RUSSIAN INFLUENCE DETERMINED THE ELECTION OUTCOME: “We will never know whether the Russian intervention was determinative in such a close election. ... What does matter is this: The Russians successfully meddled in our democracy and our intelligence agencies have concluded they will do so again.” - Ranking committee Democrat Representative Adam Schiff

Summary: रूस और अमेरिकी चुनाव पर कांग्रेस की सुनवाई से प्रमुख उद्धरण


(In this Dec. 6 story, corrects newspaper location to Jilin province, from Jilin city, paragraph one) BEIJING (Reuters) - A state-run newspaper in China s Jilin province, which borders North Korea and Russia, on Wednesday published a page of  common sense  advice on how readers can protect themselves from a nuclear weapons attack or explosion. China has voiced grave concern over North Korea s nuclear and missiles program, as well as calling on the United States and South Korea to stop provoking Pyongyang. U.S. bombers will fly over the Korean peninsula on Wednesday as part of a large-scale joint military drills with South Korea. The North has warned the drills would push the Korean Peninsula to the  brink of war . The full page article in the Jilin Daily, which does not mention possible attacks by North Korea or any other country, explains how nuclear weapons differ from traditional arms and instructs people how to protect themselves in the event of an attack. Nuclear weapons have five means of causing destruction: light radiation, blast waves, early-stage nuclear radiation, nuclear electro-magnetic pulses and radioactive pollution, the article explained. It said the first four kill instantly. People who find themselves outside during a nuclear attack should try to lie in a ditch, cover exposed skin in light colored clothing or dive into a river or lake to try and minimize the possibility of instantaneous death, it said. Cartoon illustrations of ways to dispel radioactive contamination were also provided, such as using water to wash off shoes and using cotton buds to clean ears, as well as a picture of a vomiting child to show how medical help can be sought to speed the expulsion of radiation through stomach pumping and induced urination. The influential state-backed Global Times in a commentary on Wednesday described the article as a public service announcement  due to the situation on the Korean peninsula.  If war breaks out, it is not possible to rule out the Korean peninsula producing nuclear contaminants, and countermeasures must be seriously researched and spoken openly about to let the common folk know. But at the same time, there is absolutely no reason to be alarmed,  the Global Times said. North Korea last week tested what it called its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could reach all of the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned he would destroy the North Korean regime if it threatened the United States with nuclear weapons. China has rejected military intervention and called for an end to the war of words between Washington and Pyongyang.

Summary: चीनी राज्य मीडिया पाठकों को बताता है कि परमाणु हमले से कैसे बचा जाए


NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the youngest members of the millennial generation became old enough to vote in this year’s U.S. presidential election, states and social media platforms poured efforts into online registration, hoping to attract these tech savvy voters who now rival Baby Boomers as the country’s largest demographic. With Election Day just two days away, political experts are skeptical that a record number of millennials who signed up to vote will actually result in the 18-34 year-old age group turning out at the polls in proportion to their relative size of the U.S. population. Millennials make up approximately 31 percent of U.S. citizens eligible to vote, according to the Pew Research Center, on par for the first time with Baby Boomers, who are typically aged 52-70 years old. There are an estimated 225.8 million eligible U.S. voters.   Millennials have so far, however, turned out in much lower numbers in elections than Baby Boomers. In 2008, a record year for millennial turnout, just 50 per cent of those eligible to vote did so, the National Census Bureau said. That compared with turnout rates of 69 per cent for Baby Boomers and 61 percent for people aged 36 to 51, also known as Generation X. This year, a number of efforts on social media by states and non-profits aimed to change that, including Facebook reminders on users’ accounts, Twitter hashtag campaigns, celebrities creating Snapchat and an Instagram post urging people to vote. According to a survey of state electoral officials and voter non-profits around the United States, these social media campaigns have paid off, at least when it came to getting young voters registered.  A survey of 2,000 millennials conducted by social media platform Yik Yak, which is known for its popularity among college students and teens, showed that 62 percent registered to vote for the first time this year and, of those, 9 percent registered online following a social media prompt. In California, roughly 31 per cent of all registered voters are now aged 18-35. A Facebook reminder on May 16 coincided with 143,255 people registering or updating their registrations online that day in the state, compared to an average of 23,166 per day that month, said California Secretary of State spokesman Sam Mahood. Other states reported similar spikes. In Oregon, more than 420,000 people registered to vote online in 2016, up from 2012 when 163,545 used the online system. Digital voter enrollments in Washington jumped by roughly 135,000 in 2016, compared to 2012. From January through mid-October this year, 381,318 people used the online system in Indiana, nearly three times as many as in 2012.  “Let’s face it - that’s where [younger voters] are; they’re on social media,” said Denise Merrill, the secretary of state for Connecticut, which used social media campaigns, including a dedicated hashtag and Facebook’s banner ads, to drive registrations. “Whatever we’re doing, we’re having pretty dramatic results.” Like a lot of experts, Donald Green, a professor of political science at Columbia University, is skeptical that an increase in young voter registration will correspond with millennials unseating the Baby Boomers as the most active voting bloc. Green conceded that there was “change afoot,” but said he thought it would far more gradual. By his estimate, it would be  25 years before millennials overtake Baby Boomers, or what he dubbed “generational replacement.” “In presidential elections the translation of new registration to votes is more like one half or one third,” he said. Michael Cornfield, an associate professor of political management at George Washington University, agreed that registering someone to vote does not guarantee they’ll show up on Election Day. “It’s up to the campaigns to do the last bit, which is to say make sure the right millennials in the right battleground states are being targeted,” said Cornfield. Some political experts said that, in general, millennials tend to vote more for Democratic Party candidates than Republicans. Laura Wray-Lake, an assistant professor at the University of California-Los Angeles, said the increase in millennial registration could be a boon for Democrats if they could harness some of the social media techniques used to register voters to get them to the polls.  With many political experts expecting overall voter turnout to be lower this year, millennial voters in swing states are a bloc that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton could hope to turn out. Clinton leads Republican candidate Donald Trump by 27 percentage points among likely voters ages 18-34, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. “Young people have huge potential for political impact” Wray-Lake said. “I think eventually these millennials will be deciding the future of the country.” For a graphic on Online voter registration, click tmsnrt.rs/2fjdh4j

Summary: सोशल मीडिया ने अमेरिकी सहस्राब्दी मतदाताओं को पंजीकृत करने में मदद की, मतदान की चिंता बनी हुई है