(Reuters) - A war of words between Donald Trump and the parents of a Muslim U.S. soldier killed in Iraq in 2004 is dominating the election campaign.  Khizr and Ghazala Khan were criticized by the Republican presidential candidate after they appeared at the Democratic National Convention last Thursday and shared the story of their son, U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan. The Khans are what is known in the United States as a “Gold Star Family,” meaning they have lost an immediate relative in a military action. The gold star refers to the centerpiece of flags given to these families. On Monday, more than 20 Gold Star Families wrote to Trump condemning his treatment of the couple, saying he was “cheapening the sacrifice” of soldiers who have died and demanding that he apologize to the Khans.   The following are some facts about Gold Star Families: * What are Gold Star Families?  Gold Star Families have lost a member of their immediate family in a war or other conflict while serving with the U.S. military. The military awards each family an official flag bearing a gold star or a lapel pin with a gold star on a purple background.  Called a service flag, families with relatives on active duty display a flag with a blue star.   * History of Gold Star Families Grace Seibold, whose son was killed in Europe in 1918 during World War One, founded a group that came to be known as American Gold Star Mothers for women who lost sons in the war. In the same year, President Woodrow Wilson approved a suggestion to let U.S. women wear a gold gilt star on a traditional black mourning arm band signifying their loss. In 1936, the United States began observing Gold Star Mothers Day on the last Sunday of September. An organization called The Gold Star Wives was formed before the end of World War Two, and the Gold Star Lapel Button was created in 1947. The term Gold Star Families was widely used after World War Two. * Different Service Flags A blue star signifies a relative serving in the military while a gold star means a family member has died in service. During World War One, relatives of active duty service members flew service flags bearing a blue star. As the gold star tradition took hold, families covered the blue star with a gold one to symbolize their loss. These flags were often hung in windows.  * How many Gold Star Families are there? The National Gold Star Family Registry notes on its website that 472,045 fallen service members have been registered by relatives. here * Which families wrote to Trump?  Monday’s letter to Trump was signed by relatives of U.S. service members killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Korea.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः गोल्ड स्टार्स ने अमेरिकी सैन्य परिवारों के बलिदान को चिह्नित किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are working to build support to temporarily extend the National Security Agency’s expiring internet surveillance program by tucking it into a stop-gap funding measure, lawmakers said. The month-long extension of the surveillance law, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, would punt a contentious national security issue into the new year in an attempt to buy lawmakers more time to hash out differences over various proposed privacy reforms.  Lawmakers leaving a Republican conference meeting on Wednesday evening said it was not clear whether the stop-gap bill had enough support to avert a partial government shutdown on Saturday, or whether the possible addition of the Section 702 extension would impact its chances for passage. It remained possible lawmakers would vote on the short-term extension separate from the spending bill. Absent congressional action the law, which allows the NSA to collect vast amounts of digital communications from foreign suspects living outside the United States, will expire on Dec. 31.  Earlier in the day, House Republicans retreated from a plan to vote on a stand-alone measure to renew Section 702 until 2021 amid sizable opposition from both parties that stemmed from concerns the bill would violate U.S. privacy rights. Some U.S. officials have recently said that deadline may not ultimately matter and that the program can lawfully continue through April due to the way it is annually certified. But lawmakers and the White House still view the law’s end-year expiration as significant.  “I think clearly we need the reauthorization for FISA, and that is expected we’ll get that done” before the end of the year, Marc Short, the White House’s legislative director, said Wednesday on MSNBC. U.S. intelligence officials consider Section 702 among the most vital of tools at their disposal to thwart threats to national security and American allies. The law allows the NSA to collect vast amounts of digital communications from foreign suspects living outside the United States. But the program incidentally gathers communications of Americans for a variety of technical reasons, including if they communicate with a foreign target living overseas.  Those communications can then be subject to searches without a warrant, including by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The House Judiciary Committee advanced a bill in November that would partially restrict the U.S. government’s ability to review American data by requiring a warrant in some cases. (This story has been refiled to correct typographical error in headline)

Summary: अमेरिकी सांसदों ने इंटरनेट जासूसी कार्यक्रम के लिए अस्थायी विस्तार की मांग की


LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May pledged on Tuesday to  hold a mirror up to society  with a study showing sharp racial disparities in Britain, as she looks for a way to demonstrate her leadership is about more than just delivering Brexit.  Among the findings of the audit, the data showed Asian, black and other minority ethnic households were most likely to be in persistent poverty, that ethnic minorities have a lower employment rate than white people, and that they were under-represented in senior public sector jobs. Bogged down by Brexit and losing her parliamentary majority in a snap election in June, May has struggled to deliver on social reforms to tackle what she has called  burning injustices  since taking control of the ruling Conservative party in July 2016. Attempting to relaunch that agenda, she published the findings of a  Race Disparity Audit  which pulled together existing data from across sectors such as health, education, employment and the criminal justice system and analyzed it to discover how ethnicity affects people s lives.  This audit means that for society as a whole   for government, for our public services   there is nowhere to hide. These issues are now out in the open,  she told a private meeting to launch the report, according to her office.   The message is very simple: if these disparities cannot be explained then they must be changed.  May s center-right Conservatives were blindsided in June s election by a surge in support for the left-wing policies of opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has presented higher state spending as part of the cure for voters he says have been let down years of cuts to public services.  The prime minister has done nothing but exacerbate the problems. Far from tackling the burning injustices she has added fuel to the fire,  Labour s equalities spokeswoman Dawn Butler said. She called for the government to start offering solutions to the problems the audit highlighted. At last week s Conservative conference, May was keen to show party members that she had a plan to counter Corbyn s rise and allay fears that Brexit was squeezing out action on Britain s social problems.  It will hold a mirror up to society and allow us and wider society to see where action is needed,  May told a meeting of her senior ministers, according to a spokesman.  May s deputy Damian Green said the audit s findings were not  relentlessly negative , but added in a forward to the document:  There is still a way to go before we have a country that works for everyone regardless of their ethnicity.   (This refiled version of the story fixes date, no change to text; updates after publication).

Summary: असमानता से निपटने का संकल्प लेते हुए, ब्रिटेन के प्रधानमंत्री ब्रेक्सिट से परे पहचान चाहते हैं


TAIPEI (Reuters) - President Tsai Ing-wen vowed on Tuesday to defend Taiwan s freedom and democracy amid growing pressure from giant neighbor China, using a National Day speech to warn that the self-ruled island would not bow to pressure. China considers proudly democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Relations with Beijing have deteriorated sharply since Tsai, who leads the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, took office last year, with China suspecting she wants to push for the island s formal independence, a red line for Beijing. China has cut off a regular dialogue mechanism with Taiwan, ramped up military drills around the island and stepped up international pressure to limit Taiwan s diplomatic footprint. Tsai, who has pledged to maintain peace with China, said her government was still seeking breakthroughs in ties with Beijing and promised consistent and stable policies.  We need to remember democracy and freedom were rights obtained through all of Taiwan people s countless efforts,  Tsai said.  Therefore, we need to use all our power to defend Taiwan s democratic and freedom values and lifestyle,  she said. Tsai s speech came a week before China holds its twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress, where President Xi Jinping, who has taken a robust approach to territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, will cement his grip on power. Her government has continued to rattle Beijing, with her newly appointed premier, William Lai, telling parliament last month he was a  political worker who advocates Taiwan independence . However, Tsai has also sought to give Beijing a roadmap where its  goodwill  can be extended, which in turn could give her a chance to reciprocate and rein in the more independence-leaning hardliners on the island.  We have offered our greatest goodwill,  she said in her 20-minute address.  I have repeatedly said, our goodwill doesn t change, our promises don t change; we won t walk on the old path of confrontation, but we won t bow to pressure,  Tsai said. Responding to Tsai s speech, China s Taiwan Affairs Office said Taiwan had to clearly state that Taiwan and mainland China belonged to  one China .  Only if the one China principle is upheld and Taiwan independence opposed can there be peaceful and stable development of relations across the Taiwan Strait,  it said in a statement carried by the official Xinhua news agency. Tsai reiterated the importance of implementing the island s new  southbound  policy of forging closer ties with countries in the region, saying Taiwan was seeking to find a new position in the international community.  In the face of rapid change in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan is already prepared to play an even more important role in the region s prosperity and stability,  she said.

Summary: ताइवान के राष्ट्रपति ने चीन के दबाव के बावजूद स्वतंत्रता की रक्षा करने का संकल्प लिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a series of meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting next week in New York, the White House said on Friday. Trump will meet with the leaders of France and Israel on Monday before holding a dinner with Latin American leaders that evening, Trump s national security adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters. On Tuesday, he will meet Qatar s emir, and on Wednesday, he will meet with leaders from Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, the United Kingdom and Egypt, McMaster said. Trump will meet on Thursday with leaders from Turkey, Afghanistan and Ukraine before holding a lunch with the leaders of South Korea and Japan, he said.

Summary: ट्रम्प अगले सप्ताह न्यूयॉर्क में नेताओं की लंबी सूची के साथ मुलाकात करेंगे-व्हाइट हाउस


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement officials have charged 301 suspects with trying to defraud Medicare and other federal insurance programs in 2016, marking the “largest takedown” involving health care fraud allegations, the Justice Department said on Wednesday. The national sweep resulted in charges against doctors, nurses, pharmacists and physical therapists accused of fraud that cost the government $900 million, the department said.      The cases involved an array of charges, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, money laundering and violations of an anti-kickback law.  This year’s sweep exceeded last year’s record in which 243 defendants faced charges in a combined $712 million in government losses. Officials said it was the largest takedown in the nine-year history of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a joint initiative between federal, state and local law enforcement. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said some of the cases reflect new, troublesome trends, including instances of identity theft in order to prepare fake prescriptions and a growing number of cases involving compounding, or the mixing of medications tailored to meet a patient’s needs. Compounded medications are typically very expensive. From 2012 to 2014, the quarterly Medicare spending on these prescriptions skyrocketed from $28 million to $171 million. “As this takedown should make clear, health care fraud is not an abstract violation or benign offense,” Lynch said. “It is a serious crime.”  In one case, two owners of a group of outpatient clinics and a patient recruiter stand accused of filing $36 million in fraudulent claims for physical therapy and other services that were not medically necessary.  The Justice Department said that to find patients, the clinic operators and the recruiter targeted poor drug addicts and offered them narcotics so they could bill them for services that were never provided. Another case was filed against the operator of a marketing business that received referral fees from pharmacies that filled and billed Tricare, the U.S. military’s government insurance program, for compounded medicines.  The prescriptions were submitted via “telemedicine” sites, and doctors were given blank prescription forms to fill out, regardless of medical necessity, according to the complaint. One doctor told the FBI her identity and medical credentials were used without her permission to fill thousands of dollars worth of prescriptions.

Summary: अमेरिका ने मेडिकेयर धोखाधड़ी का 'निष्कासन' पूरा कियाः अधिकारी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s top national security aides have completed a broad review of U.S. options aimed at countering North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday. The review, which was accelerated to have it done before Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, includes a range of economic and military measures but leans towards new sanctions and increased pressure on Beijing to rein in its neighbor, the official said. The list of recommendations was put together by Trump’s National Security Council on his orders and was ready for his consideration, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.  It was not immediately clear if the review had reached the Republican president’s desk or how quickly he would decide on a course of action, which could be delayed by the slow pace at which the administration is filling key national security jobs. The White House declined comment. Trump told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday that the United States was prepared to respond to North Korean nuclear threats on its own if China fails to pressure Pyongyang. Trump made clear he would he would urge China to use its influence with North Korea when he meets Xi at his Florida resort on Thursday and Friday for their first face-to-face meeting. The review, which was led by national security adviser H.R. McMaster, proposes a multi-pronged approach aimed at tightening the screws on North Korea economically and militarily, the official said. It will be up to Trump to decide how and when to proceed, and he could also send the review back for further work, the official said. While most details remained under wraps, senior U.S. officials told Reuters recently that options under consideration included tougher sanctions aimed at cutting North Korea off from the global financial system, which could entail “secondary sanctions” against Chinese banks and firms that do the most business with Pyongyang. The U.S. official said Trump may warn Xi of such moves, including efforts to beef up South Korean and Japanese anti-missile defenses – something Beijing strongly opposes. The Chinese have urged Washington to de-escalate tensions with Pyongyang and to find a way to restart negotiations, but U.S. officials say it would  be premature to resume talks now because it would be seen as a reward to North Korea for bad behavior. The chief U.S. concern is North Korea’s efforts to develop an intercontinental nuclear missile that could carry a nuclear warhead and be capable of hitting the United States. Although the long-standing option of pre-emptive military strikes against North Korea is not off the table, the review  gives priority to less-risky steps and “de-emphasizes direct military action,” the official said. Other steps that have been under consideration are escalating cyber attacks and other covert action aimed at undermining North Korea’s leadership, another U.S. source said recently.

Summary: ट्रंप के राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा सहायकों ने उत्तर कोरिया नीति की समीक्षा पूरी कीः अधिकारी


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU diplomats will start sketching out a Brexit transition offer on Wednesday that would probably let Britain stay in the single market for about two years after it leaves the bloc in March 2019, EU officials said. But some officials and diplomats involved in preparing for the first  orientation debate  among envoys from the other 27 EU states warned London should not assume it can clinch an initial deal next month to open talks on post-Brexit relations. Some governments see benefits in making Britain wait for it. A paper prepared for the discussion, seen by Reuters, showed the envoys would discuss the  scope  and  duration  of a transition, including how far Britain could remain in the single market - with all its obligations - and in other EU programs such as agriculture and fisheries schemes, the nuclear pact Euratom and security and defense arrangements. They would also debate how the transition would affect EU agreements with other states, such as trade, fisheries and aviation treaties. Several officials who spoke to Reuters said Britain would have to abide by all EU laws in the transition period, even if they are changed during that period, but would have no influence over them.   Anything else would be too complicated,  a second official said. Two others expressed the same view.      The EU view on the transition period and the future will in a way be a moment of truth, exposing all the lies of those who campaigned for Brexit saying that Britain will be able to have the cake and eat it,  a third official said. Wednesday s discussions will also seek to gather views on the trade relationship with London that is to follow a transition, which may finish in December 2020, at the end of the current seven-year EU budget period.  EU leaders told Prime Minister Theresa May last month they were not ready to negotiate post-Brexit arrangements until London offered more concessions on its  divorce  terms. But they held out the prospect of opening such talks at a summit in mid-December and ordered their officials to start preparing among the 27 for a move to this new phase of talks.  British Brexit Minister David Davis is expected in Brussels on Friday for the first negotiations since the mid-October summit with May. But the anticipated brief encounter with EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is not expected to produce a breakthrough on how much Britain will pay the EU on leaving. Diplomats and officials said the continued slow pace of the divorce talks was increasing the possibility that EU leaders would again refuse next month to open trade talks. They said some may already be considering that as a useful tactic against Britain, which is anxious to prevent businesses relocating investment.  Some believe that the worse it gets for the British, the better for us... that maybe we could delay it all until for instance March, increasing the uncertainty and triggering the contingency plans in the corporate sector,  the first EU official said.   That would be ruthless and risky, but people have different views on what is risky.  An EU diplomat involved in negotiations said he expected envoys also to discuss how to handle a possible failure next month to open the next phase of talks if May refuses to meet EU demands.  What do we do if they (the British) don t move?  he said. Some continental negotiators believe British anxiety about businesses starting to shift investments in the new year if there is no transition deal could be to Brussels  advantage. Officials said Britain s full membership in the single market, even during a transition, is not a given.  There is no up-front agreement on that. It is part of a bigger package. For instance it is not feasible to expect they would be in the single market ... but not pay into the EU budget,  one said.     There will be one or two more meetings of EU envoys before they expect to agree what they might offer Britain in terms of a transition period, officials said. The results of these discussions will not be presented to the British, however, until leaders have agreed to open a new phase of talks.

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ की नजर ब्रेक्सिट संक्रमण की सख्त शर्तों पर


RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that passengers traveling on its airlines to the United Kingdom would once again be allowed to carry on electronic devices, reversing a ban put in place earlier this year for security reasons. Passengers will be able to use laptops and tablets in aircraft cabins on flights from the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah starting from Dec.21, the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) said in a statement on its official Twitter account. The United States and Britain implemented curbs on electronic items in the cabin in March on direct flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia in response to unspecified security threats. The United States lifted its ban in July on passengers on Saudi Arabian airlines carrying large electronics on board flights bound for America.

Summary: सऊदी अरब एयरलाइंस के यात्रियों को ब्रिटेन की उड़ानों में इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स लाने की अनुमति


JAKARTA (Reuters) - The Indonesian unit of Freeport-McMoRan Inc has reopened the main supply route to its Papuan mine, a company spokesman said on Monday, after the road was closed on Sunday following a shooting incident in the area.  It was already open this morning,  Freeport Indonesia spokesman Riza Pratama told Reuters, when asked about the road. He said the closure had had no impact on production at the world s second biggest copper mine.

Summary: फ्रीपोर्ट इंडोनेशिया माइन एक्सेस रोड गोलीबारी के बाद फिर से खोल दी गईः प्रवक्ता


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he may be in Cuba in the next week or two to hold a dialogue on human rights. “I may be down there in the next week or two to have a human rights dialogue, specifically,” Kerry said in response to a question during annual budget testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Summary: मानवाधिकार वार्ता के लिए केरी जल्द ही क्यूबा जा सकते हैं


HARARE (Reuters) - A white Zimbabwean farmer kicked off his property at gunpoint in June has been told he will be going home within days, the first signs of the post-Robert Mugabe government making good on promises to respect agricultural property rights. Rob Smart, a 71-year-old farmer from the eastern district of Rusape, said he understood his case had been taken up by new President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who heard of Smart s violent eviction while at an investment conference in Johannesburg.  Apparently Mnangagwa saw that and flipped his lid,  Smart told Reuters by telephone, saying new provincial minister of state Monica Mutsvangwa had assured him the eviction would be reversed.  Our new governor is getting us back on the farm,  he said. According to media reports at the time, Smart and his family, including two small grandchildren, were kicked off their Lesbury farm along with scores of workers in early June by riot police armed with tear gas and AK-47 assault rifles.  They came with guns and riot gear and tear gas - it wasn t just us, it was all our workers as well, the whole compound,  Smart said. In all, the eviction would have hit the livelihood of as many as 5,000 people, he said. Reuters reported in September that Mnangagwa was plotting with the military, liberation war veterans and businessmen including current and former white farmers to take over from 93-year-old Mugabe. In the latter half of his 37 years in power, Zimbabwe s economy collapsed, especially after the violent and chaotic seizure of thousands of white-owned commercial farms under the banner of post-colonial land reform. Mugabe resigned last month in the wake of a de facto military coup, paving the way for Mnangagwa, who had been purged as his deputy only a week before, to take over as leader of the southern African nation. War veterans leader Chris Mutsvangwa, husband of Monica Mutsvangwa and now a special adviser to Mnangagwa, said Smart s treatment made clear the new administration was serious about restoring the rule of law and sanctity of property rights.  Land reform is over. Now we want inclusiveness. All citizens who had a claim to land by birthright, we want them to feel they belong and we want them to build a new country because this economy is shattered,  he told Reuters. Smart said he was working with the local authorities in Rusare who were under orders to track down looted and stolen property to allow him and his staff to bring the farm back to production.  We will have a Christmas with no decorations in a house that s a bit empty,  Smart said. But mentally it s going to be a bloody nice one.

Summary: जिम्बाब्वे के बेदखल गोरे किसान ने बताया कि वह घर जा रहा है


((This Dec. 9 story corrects year in 2nd paragraph to 2011 from 2012)) By Jane Chung and Michelle Nichols SEOUL/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations political affairs chief told senior North Korean officials during a visit to Pyongyang this week that there was an  urgent need to prevent miscalculations and open channels to reduce the risks of conflict,  the world body said. Jeffrey Feltman, the highest-level U.N. official to visit North Korea since 2011, met with Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and Vice Minister Pak Myong Guk, the United Nations said in a statement on Saturday after Feltman arrived back in Beijing. Feltman emphasized the need for the full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and that the international community was committed to achieving a peaceful solution.   He also said there can only be a diplomatic solution to the situation, achieved through a process of sincere dialogue. Time is of the essence,  the United Nations said.  They ... agreed that the current situation was the most tense and dangerous peace and security issue in the world today.  North Korea is pursuing nuclear and missile weapons programs in defiance of U.N. sanctions and international condemnation. On Nov. 29, it test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile which it said was its most advanced yet, capable of reaching the mainland United States. North Korea said in a statement carried by its official KCNA news agency that expressed willingness to ease tension on the Korean peninsula and acknowledged the negative impact of sanctions on humanitarian aid to North Korea.  The United Nations expressed concerns over the heightened situation on the Korean peninsula and expressed willingness to work on easing tensions on the Korean peninsula in accordance with the U.N. Charter which is based on international peace and security,  KCNA said. KCNA said North Korean officials and Feltman agreed that his visit helped deepen understanding and that they agreed to communicate regularly.  Feltman did not speak to reporters upon arriving back from Pyongyang at Beijing airport on Saturday morning after spending four days in North Korea.  Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the situation on the Korean peninsula had entered a vicious circle of shows of strength and confrontation, and the outlook was not optimistic, China s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.  But at the same time it can be seen that hopes for peace have yet to extinguished. The prospects for negotiations still exist, and the option of resorting to force cannot be accepted,  Wang was quoted as saying.  The United States and South Korea conducted large-scale military drills this week, which the North said have made the outbreak of war  an established fact . Last month s missile test prompted a U.S. warning that North Korea s leadership would be  utterly destroyed  if war were to break out. The Pentagon has mounted repeated shows of force after North Korean tests.  North Korea regularly threatens to destroy South Korea and the United States and says its weapons programs are necessary to counter U.S. aggression. The United States stations 28,500 troops in the South, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र के दूत ने उत्तर कोरिया से संघर्ष के जोखिम को कम करने के लिए चैनल खोलने की तत्काल आवश्यकता बताई


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will depart from the campaign trail on Friday to attend the funeral services of former First Lady Nancy Reagan.  The campaign on Tuesday reported that Clinton, former first lady under President Bill Clinton and secretary of state under President Barack Obama, would attend the planned services in California for Reagan, who died on Sunday of congestive heart failure.  (This version of the story corrects the day of Reagan’s death from Monday to Sunday in the paragraph two.)

Summary: हिलेरी क्लिंटन नैन्सी रीगन के अंतिम संस्कार में शामिल होंगी


PARIS (Reuters) - In tight-knit groups with their backpacks hanging in front where they can keep an eye on them, Chinese tourists walked around Paris on their guard on Monday, alarmed by a recent mugging and other attacks targeting Asian visitors.  We like Paris but we are a bit scared,  Chinese tour guide Jenny Xu said as she lead a group around the department store district hours after China s foreign ministry said France needed to step up security after a high-profile robbery.  Chinese tourists, they are afraid for their safety in Paris,  said Xu, speaking in English as she recounted some of her own clients experiences of being mugged in shops or museums.   We tell them again and again to have their bags in front of them. And I tell them not to take so much cash.   France has in the past promised to do more to protect the safety of Chinese tourists, who come to Paris in ever larger numbers and have become more of a target for the cash they often carry and the luxury goods they buy. Last week, a group of 40 Chinese tourists was tear-gassed and robbed by four men in the parking lot of their hotel near Orly airport, south of Paris. While the muggings are not good for the city s reputation, and tourism was hit hard by the Islamist attacks of 2015, Paris still attracted 16 million visitors in the first half of 2017, making it one of the most popular cities in the world.          Chang Hui Ying, a tour operator from Taiwan who leads Chinese and Taiwanese groups across Europe, said Paris was the city where she was most worried about client safety.  One hour ago, when I was leaving the Louvre museum, two girls opened my bag and I was almost robbed,  she said, adding that once a whole week s worth of wages was stolen from her bag in the French capital.   There really are a lot of thieves,  she said.  But they still want to come. We like to shop here,  she said as she led a group to a store especially dedicated to Chinese visitors which the Galeries Lafayette chain opened earlier this year.  Tourists said they were taking extra precautions.   We put a small wallet somewhere and more money deeper inside (our bag), and the bag always in front,  said Chang Hui-Neng, speaking English with the help of her guide.  A group of hoteliers deplored last week s mugging and called for more protection.  More needs to be done to avoid such tragic events that have a lot of impact on Paris  image and that of France as a tourism destination,  UMIH said in a statement. With no backpack or shopping bags that would mark her as a tourist, 23-year-old Chinese student Wang Xi Qing, who has been living in France for 18 months, said she knew here way around and felt comfortable. But she said she tells friends who visit to be careful, especially since one of them got mugged in Notre Dame cathedral.  It s important to be aware,  she said.

Summary: चीनी पर्यटकों ने तस्करी के बाद कहा, 'हम पेरिस पसंद करते हैं लेकिन थोड़ा डरते हैं'


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the U.S. Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court’s conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights. The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama’s nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, indicated his party would mount a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate rather than a simple majority to approve Gorsuch, and expressed “very serious doubts” about the nominee. Liberal groups called for an all-out fight to reject Gorsuch while conservative groups and Republican senators heaped praise on him like “outstanding,” “impressive” and a “home run.” Gorsuch, the son of a former Reagan administration official, is the youngest nominee to the nation’s highest court in more than a quarter century, and he could influence the direction of the court for decades. He is a judge on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and was appointed to that post by Republican President George W. Bush in 2006. Announcing the selection to a nighttime crowd in the White House East Room flanked by the judge and his wife, Trump said Gorsuch’s resume is “as good as it gets.” Trump, who took office on Jan. 20 and has sparked numerous controversies, said he hopes Republicans and Democrats can come together on this nomination for the good of the country. “Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support,” Trump told an audience that included Scalia’s widow. “Depending on their age, a justice can be active for 50 years. And his or her decisions can last a century or more, and can often be permanent,” Trump added. Gorsuch is considered a conservative intellectual, known for backing religious rights and writing against euthanasia and assisted suicide, and is seen as very much in the mold of Scalia, a leading conservative voice on the court for decades. “I respect ... the fact that in our legal order it is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws,” Gorsuch said, as Trump looked on. “It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people’s representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands.” A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the choice of Gorsuch was seen by the White House as a significant departure from Supreme Court nominations from the recent past, given that many justices have come from the eastern United States. Gorsuch lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he raises horses and is a life-long outdoorsman. The official said a screening committee helped in the selection process that included Vice President Mike Pence, White House counsel Don McGahn, chief of staff Reince Priebus and top strategist Steve Bannon. Gorsuch became the youngest U.S. Supreme Court nominee since Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991 selected conservative Clarence Thomas, who was 43 at the time. Gorsuch was in the same 1991 graduating class from Harvard Law School as Obama. The selection of Gorsuch, who was on a list of about 20 judges suggested by conservative legal activists, unified Republicans in a way not seen since Trump’s Nov. 8 election victory, with even critics within the party such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham singing the nominee’s praises. Trump made his choice between two U.S. appeals court judges, Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to a source involved in the selection process. The Senate confirmed Gorsuch for his current judgeship in 2006 by voice vote with no one voting against him. Democrats signaled it may not be easy this time. “Judge Gorsuch has repeatedly sided with corporations over working people, demonstrated a hostility toward women’s rights, and most troubling, hewed to an ideological approach to jurisprudence that makes me skeptical that he can be a strong, independent justice on the court,” Schumer said. Trump got the opportunity to name Scalia’s replacement only because the Republican-led Senate, in an action with little precedent in U.S. history, refused to consider Obama’s nominee for the post, appeals court judge Merrick Garland. Obama nominated Garland on March 16 but Republican senators led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied Garland the customary confirmation hearings and vote. “This is the first time in American history that one party has blockaded a nominee for almost a year in order to deliver a seat to a president of their own party. If this tactic is rewarded rather than resisted, it will set a dangerous new precedent in American governance,” Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley said. McConnell said on Tuesday he hoped the Senate would show Gorsuch “fair consideration and respect the result of the recent election with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of (Democratic) Presidents (Bill) Clinton and Obama.” A rally outside the Supreme Court building staged by liberal groups drew hundreds of demonstrators against Gorsuch.  Michael Keegan, president of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way, described Gorsuch as an “ideological warrior who puts his own right-wing politics above the Constitution.” Gorsuch is the son of Anne Burford, the first woman to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She served in Republican President Ronald Reagan’s administration but resigned in 1983 amid a fight with Congress over documents on the EPA’s use of a fund created to clean up toxic waste dumps nationwide. Trump’s selection was one of the most consequential appointments of his young presidency as he moved to restore a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that had been in place for decades until Scalia died at age 79 on Feb. 13, 2016. Trump’s fellow Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority, meaning some Democratic votes would be needed to confirm his pick under current rules. Trump said last week he would favor Senate Republicans eliminating the procedural move that Democrats have promised, called a filibuster, for Supreme Court nominees if Democrats block his pick. Such a change has been dubbed the “nuclear option.”  Trump has said his promise to appoint a conservative justice was one of the reasons he won the Nov. 8 presidential election, with Christian conservatives and others emphasizing the importance of the pick during the campaign. If confirmed, Gorsuch would expand the court’s conservative wing, made up of John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy Samuel Alito and Thomas. Kennedy long has been considered the court’s pivotal vote, sometimes siding with the liberals in key cases such as the June 2016 ruling striking down abortion restrictions in Texas. The court’s restored conservative majority likely would be supportive toward the death penalty and gun rights and hostile toward campaign finance limits. Scalia’s replacement also could be pivotal in cases involving abortion, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, voting rights, federal regulations others. Gorsuch boasts Ivy League credentials: attending Columbia University and, like several of the other justices on the court, Harvard Law School. He also completed a doctorate in legal philosophy at Oxford University, spent several years in private practice and worked in George W. Bush’s Justice Department. Gorsuch joined an opinion in 2013 saying that owners of private companies could object on religious grounds to a provision of the Obamacare health insurance law requiring employers to provide coverage for birth control for women. As long as Kennedy and four liberals remain on the bench, the court is not expected to pare back abortion rights as many U.S. conservatives fervently hope. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In June, the justices ruled 5-3 to strike down a Texas law that restricted abortion access, with Kennedy and the liberals in the majority. The current vacancy is the court’s longest since a 391-day void from 1969 to 1970 during Republican Richard Nixon’s presidency. After Abe Fortas resigned from the court in May 1969, the Senate voted down two nominees put forward by Nixon before confirming Harry Blackmun, who became a justice in June 1970. Aside from that one, no other Supreme Court vacancy since the U.S. Civil War years of the 1860s has been as long as the current one. Trump may get to make additional appointments. Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Trump called upon to resign last July after she called him “a faker,” is 83 while Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer, another liberal, is 78. (Corrects disciple to discipline in paragraph 6)

Summary: ट्रम्प ने सुप्रीम कोर्ट के लिए रूढ़िवादी न्यायाधीश गोरसच को चुना


BARCELONA (Reuters) - Final results in last weekend s banned Catalan referendum on independence from Spain showed  yes  votes winning 90.18 percent of votes cast against 7.83 percent of  no  votes, the Catalan regional government said. The Catalan government put voter turnout at nearly 2.3 million people, or around 43 percent of registered voters. The referendum was declared illegal by the Spanish government and courts. Catalans who favor remaining part of Spain mainly boycotted the ballot and many polling stations were closed.

Summary: प्रतिबंधित कैटलन स्वतंत्रता मतदान में अंतिम परिणाम 90.18 प्रतिशत पर 'हाँ' डालते हैंः क्षेत्रीय सरकार


MOSCOW (Reuters) - The head of Russia s central election commission urged President Vladimir Putin on Monday to ensure all investigations into  election violations detected in Russia last month were completed, and the Kremlin leader promised to do so. Russia voted in local elections in many regions on Sept. 10 in what was widely seen as a dress rehearsal for next year s presidential vote, with Kremlin-backed candidates for regional parliaments and governorships performing strongly. Putin is the strong favorite to win re-election in March, although he has so far declined to say if he will run. On Sept. 10, Reuters reporters observed the vote at six polling stations. In all six, they found discrepancies, of varying sizes, between the official vote tally and the number of voters the reporters counted.  We have practically tied up many  loose ends  of that campaign, but small  ends  still remain,  Russian media quoted Ella Pamfilova, head of the central election commission, as telling Putin at a meeting in the Kremlin.  I really would like our prosecutor general s office and the investigative committee to bring the matter to completion in a number of cases,  she said, referring to inquiries into local election violations. She did not elaborate.  All orders will be given regarding this issue,  Putin replied.

Summary: रूस के पुतिन, अगले साल चुनाव पर नजर रखते हुए, मतदान के उल्लंघन पर मुकदमा चलाने का संकल्प लेते हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Congress, unable so far to resolve deep disagreements over spending for the fiscal year starting on Oct. 1, are mulling whether to seek a bipartisan budget deal with Democrats similar to one reached nearly four years ago. With only 20 working days to go before a lengthy August recess, some Republican lawmakers say a bipartisan agreement could help clear a legislative schedule crammed with other top priorities, including a separate budget resolution, tax reform, infrastructure and an increase in the federal debt limit. In December 2013, Republican Representative Paul Ryan, now speaker of the House of Representatives, and Democratic Senator Patty Murray worked out a two-year deal that canceled some spending cuts in fiscal 2014 and 2015 in return for some longer-term spending reductions. The Ryan-Murray agreement was promptly enacted into law. A bipartisan deal could avert a restrictive spending plan that would cap funding for U.S. agencies and a government shutdown threatened by President Donald Trump. “I think what we need is another Ryan-Murray sort of proposal,” said Republican Representative Mike Simpson, a senior member of the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee, which is in charge of writing annual spending bills. Speaking to reporters after a House Republican meeting, Simpson said the idea was in the early stages. Republicans, who control the House and Senate, have lashed out at deep spending cuts that Trump has proposed. But they are divided over how much top-line spending should be appropriated next year, including for a military buildup Trump wants. A bipartisan negotiation is just one of several options. Another would rush one massive spending bill for fiscal 2018 through the House in July, instead of the dozen separate appropriations bills that Congress tries to write every year. Doing so would allow Republicans to tout an accomplishment to their constituents in August during a year that has so far seen few legislative achievements. Given the limited time to write such a bill, Ryan might have to resort to just passing a “national security” spending bill that would fund the military and other security activities. Some Republicans want to boost military spending to $640 billion, which would require deep cuts to non-defense programs that are popular among Republican moderates.   Congress must also pass a budget resolution to facilitate tax reform legislation. The House Budget Committee hopes to mark up such a measure before June 30, panel members said.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन डेमोक्रेट को अमेरिकी बजट वार्ता में आमंत्रित करने पर विचार कर रहे हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will not rule out the possibility of requesting a recount in Tuesday’s narrow Missouri nominating contest, the campaign said on Wednesday. A winner of the state’s primary had not yet been officially called, but by early Wednesday evening, a tally by the Associated Press showed Clinton ahead of Sanders by just 0.2 percentage point, with each candidate being awarded 32 of the state’s 71 pledged delegates.  “We are assessing right now how the process works,” the campaign told reporters during a phone conference regarding the state of the Democratic race on Wednesday.

Summary: सैंडर्स ने मिसौरी डेमोक्रेटिक प्राइमरी में फिर से गिनती के अनुरोध से इनकार नहीं किया


LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is concerned by the implications of U.S. President Donald Trump s decision not to recertify an international agreement on Iran s nuclear program, junior foreign office minister Alistair Burt told parliament on Monday.  The government takes note of President Trump s decision not to recertify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and is concerned by the implications,  Burt said.

Summary: ईरान समझौते पर अमेरिकी फैसले के प्रभाव से ब्रिटेन चिंतित हैः मंत्री


MADRID (Reuters) - Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on Sunday called for calm less than 24 hours ahead of a deadline from Spain s central government for him to clarify whether he has declared independence for Catalonia or not. Puigdemont made a symbolic declaration of independence on Tuesday night, only to suspend it seconds later and call for negotiations with Madrid on the region s future. Spain s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has given him until Monday to clarify his position - and then until Thursday to change his mind if he insists on a split - threatening to suspend Catalonia s autonomy if he chooses independence.  The (Catalan) Government and I want to reiterate our commitment to peace, civility and serenity, and also to (...) democracy as inspiring the decisions we have to make,  Puigdemont said during at a memorial event at Barcelona s Montjuic cemetery.  In these difficult hours of hope in Catalonia, let s take a clear attitude against violence (...) in favour of civility, hope, serenity and respect.  Though Puigdemont did not indicate how he would reply to Madrid, public Catalan TV broadcaster TV-3 said he would not give a  yes  or  no  answer, but a more elaborate response. The Spanish government has said it will take control of Catalonia if Puigdemont give an ambiguous reply.   The answer must be without any ambiguity. He must say  yes  or  no ,  Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido told Cope radio on Saturday. Puigdemont, who is consulting local parties to prepare his answer, faces a dilemma. If he says he did proclaim independence, the central government will step in. If he says he did not, the far-left Catalan party CUP would probably withdraw its support for his minority government. The Catalan government says 90 percent of Catalans voted for a breakaway in an Oct. 1 referendum that central authorities in Madrid declared illegal and most opponents of independence boycotted, reducing turnout to around 43 percent.  Under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, the central government can suspend the political autonomy of a region if it breaks the law.  This article, which enables Rajoy to sack the Catalan government and call a regional election, has not been activated since the constitution was adopted in 1978 after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported on Sunday that if article 155 was invoked, the government would replace the Catalan government with a new set-up to manage the region autonomously, which could be run by politicians or technocrats. Within three months, elections would be held.

Summary: कैटलन नेता ने मैड्रिड की समय सीमा से पहले शांति बनाए रखने का आह्वान किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Mark Warner on Monday announced opposition to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, meaning Democrats potentially have the votes needed to block a U.S. Senate confirmation vote to give Neil Gorsuch the lifetime job. Warner’s announcement put the number of Democrats opposing Gorsuch at 41, the tally needed to use a procedural hurdle called a filibuster that requires 60 votes to allow a confirmation vote in the 100-seat Senate. It remained unclear, however, if all 41 senators who have voiced opposition would back a filibuster. Republicans control the Senate 52-48. If Democrats amass the 41 votes to block a confirmation vote that Senate Republicans have planned for Friday, the Republicans would then be expected to try to change the chamber’s long-standing rules and allow confirmation by a simple majority, a move backed by Trump that is sometimes called the “nuclear option.”

Summary: ट्रम्प अदालत के उम्मीदवार के लिए वार्नर के विरोध ने डेमोक्रेट को 41 'नहीं' वोट दिए


AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A political activist who founded an Arab nationalist group seeking an independent state inside Iran was shot dead in the Netherlands, police said on Thursday.   Iranian Ahmad Mola Nissi, 52, established the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA), which seeks a separate state in the country s oil-rich southwestern Khuzestan province.   A Dutch police statement said a suspect was detained at the scene of the shooting on Wednesday night in The Hague after trying to flee.  His involvement in the incident is being investigated,  it said.  Emergency services were at the scene quickly and reanimated the victim, but he died shortly later.    Ahvazi Arabs are a minority in mainly ethnic Persian Iran, and some see themselves as under Persian occupation and want independence or autonomy.  They say they are deprived of decent living standards and civil rights. In an interview with Reuters in July, Mola Nissi said the movement wanted to  liberate Ahwaz lands and people from the Iranian occupation.     ASMLA s armed wing, the Mohiuddin al Nasser Martyrs Brigade, has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Iran, including the killing of two members of the elite Revolutionary Guards in January. Shi ite Muslim Iran accuses its main regional adversary, Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, of funding separatist groups active in Iran, a charge Riyadh denies.

Summary: नीदरलैंड में ईरानी राजनीतिक कार्यकर्ता की गोली मारकर हत्या


SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australians turned in 51,000 illegal firearms, ranging from 19th-century weapons to a rocket launcher, during a three-month amnesty that ended on Friday, and which Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said had helped avert Las Vegas-style mass shootings. The cache, representing about a fifth of illegal firearms, was collected during Australia s second amnesty since its worst ever massacre, when a lone gunman killed 35 people in the island state of Tasmania in 1996. There has not been a mass shooting since the then conservative government banned all semi-automatic rifles and semi-automatic shotguns that year, and introduced tougher background checks on gun purchases.  The firearms gathered in this year s amnesty will be destroyed. Those who still own such guns face jail time, and the government is pushing for harsher penalties for gun traffickers.  Every single one of those 51,000 guns could be used, could have been used in a crime where Australians could be killed - now they can t,  Turnbull told reporters in Sydney.  The killer there had a collection of semi-automatic weapons which a person in his position would simply not be able to acquire in Australia,  he added. Turnbull was referring to the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, when Stephen Paddock, 64, armed with numerous assault rifles, fired this week on an outdoor country music festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and himself. The attack has focused attention on gun ownership rules in the United States, and in Australia, where gun ownership restrictions are seen to have worked. In Tasmania in 1996, Martin Bryant killed 35 people at the former prison colony of Port Arthur, using military-style weapons bought without background checks. In response, conservative Prime Minister John Howard convinced Australia s eight provincial governments to toughen their laws, despite opposition from his own side of the political divide.  Rapid-fire guns were outlawed, and a national licensing system required gun sellers and buyers to register, and specify reasons - such as gun club membership - why they needed weapons. The measures provoked opposition from gun owners, in particular farmers, but has since mostly vanished, because Australia s rules are seen to have worked.  You can t just buy a gun,  said Phillip Alpers, a firearms injury researcher at the University of Sydney, adding that potential purchasers faced a full background check by police.  They will ask you for a genuine reason for owning a firearm,  he added.  If you can t (provide one), you won t get the gun.  Australia s few gun stores are heavily regulated, in contrast with the United States, where ammunition and weapons are sold at chain stores, such as Walmart.

Summary: ऑस्ट्रेलियाई लोगों ने 51,000 अवैध बंदूकें छोड़ दीं क्योंकि सरकार सख्त कानूनों का पालन करती है


DUBLIN (Reuters) - Support for Ireland s governing Fine Gael party fell in a poll on Saturday as a political crisis that has left the country three days away from the calling of a snap election showed no sign of being resolved. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar s minority government was on the brink on Friday after the party propping it up submitted a motion of no confidence in the deputy prime minister, weeks before a summit on Britain s plans to leave the European Union where Ireland will play a key role. Varadkar has said that if the motion put down by Fianna Fail, the main opposition party, is not withdrawn by Tuesday, he would be forced to hold an election before Christmas. Support for his party dropped two points to 27 percent in the Sunday Business Post/Red C poll, only marginally ahead of the 25.5 percent it achieved at last year s election and its worst performance in recent opinion polls. Fellow center-right party Fianna Fail rose to 26 percent from 25 percent a month ago and leftwing opposition Sinn Fein were up two points to 16 percent, both also marginally higher than the last election. The survey was taken between November 20 and 24, the day the crisis escalated rapidly and suggested the parties would struggle to form anything but another minority administration.  Again (the poll) suggests no one wins at a Christmas election if these numbers hold,  Richard Colwell, the chief executive of Red C, wrote on Twitter. Varadkar has said that there is still time to avoid the snap poll but neither side were stepping down on Saturday ahead of the motion of no-confidence, to be debated on Tuesday.  Although the leaders will do their best, it is unlikely that the positions are going to shift between now and Tuesday, and if that is the case the only way we can prevent an election is for the Tanaiste to resign,  senior Fianna Fail MP Jim O Callaghan told national broadcaster RTE. The Tanaiste is the name given to the position of deputy head of government in Ireland, currently held by Frances Fitzgerald. Health Minister Simon Harris said the price of any talks over the next three days  will not be the head  of the deputy prime minister and that the agreement with Fianna Fail that allows the minority government to function was  extremely badly damaged.  Varadkar is due to play a major role in the Dec. 14-15 EU summit on Brexit, telling fellow leaders whether Dublin believes sufficient progress has been made on the future border between EU-member Ireland and Britain s province of Northern Ireland. The government has said enough progress has not been made to date. The border is one of three issues Brussels wants broadly resolved before it decides whether to move the talks on to a second phase about trade and EU officials have said a snap election in Ireland would complicate that task.

Summary: मध्यावधि चुनाव नजदीक आते ही आयरलैंड के प्रधानमंत्री की पार्टी के लिए समर्थन गिरा


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner said on Monday the state has the power to block any debt offerings by financially distressed school districts, including the cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools (CPS), which has been dependent on borrowing to fund operations.  The Republican governor last week launched a financial probe of the nation’s third-largest public school system through the Illinois State Board of Education. Rauner, who has called for a state takeover of the school district, said the board has the legal authority to block borrowings by districts found to be in financial duress.   “The state board has never chosen to do that for the city of Chicago. I hope that never becomes necessary. But we’ve got to be ready to take action,” Rauner told reporters. Rauner’s office pointed to a provision of the school code that it says applies to CPS. The provision prohibits the sale of bonds, notes or other debt by a district certified to be in financial difficulty until a financial plan is approved by the state board of education. CPS Chief Executive Forrest Claypool contended that the authority Rauner seeks to exercise does not apply to CPS, according to a school district spokeswoman. CPS is struggling with a $1.1 billion structural budget deficit, caused largely by escalating annual pension payments that will reach $676 million this fiscal year. The district’s efforts to gain an additional $480 million in state dollars to pay its pension bill have become entangled in an ongoing impasse between Rauner and Democrats who control the legislature. To keep operating in anticipation of $1 billion in property tax revenue next month, CPS turned to short-term borrowing and a $725 million bond sale earlier this month for cash flow. The district said it plans to seek additional short-term borrowing authority from its governing board in the future. Rauner said accusations by Chicago officials that he attempted to derail the Feb. 3 bond sale by pushing for a state takeover or possible bankruptcy for CPS were “completely false.” Skittish investors demanded hefty yields for the “junk”-rated bonds, which will cost the district nearly $1.9 billion to pay off by 2044.

Summary: इलिनोइस के गवर्नर की नजर शिकागो के स्कूल ऋण को रोकने पर


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania on Wednesday endorsed Florida Senator Marco Rubio for the party’s nominee in the November U.S. presidential election. “I think Marco Rubio is the strongest candidate to go up against Hillary Clinton ... but my real motivation is I think he’s going to be a really good president,” Toomey said in an interview on CNN, referring to the Democratic front-runner in the race for the Nov. 8 election.  (Reporting by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Eric Walsh) 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: पेंसिल्वेनिया के सीनेटर टॉमी ने राष्ट्रपति पद के लिए मार्को रूबियो का समर्थन किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One evening last June, some of the Republican Party’s wealthiest donors gathered for a cocktail party at an exclusive resort in Deer Valley, Utah, during a three-day retreat hosted by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.      They had just heard from six presidential hopefuls. Tom Duncan, the CEO of tool-maker Positec Tool Corp, chatted with a few attendees about a fantasy ticket to secure the White House in November 2016: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, with Senator Marco Rubio of Florida as his running mate. Duncan, for his part, liked Ohio Governor John Kasich, but also had his eye on former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. No one mentioned Donald Trump, even though he had been signaling for months that he planned to run. Four days later, the New York property magnate declared his candidacy and within weeks had shot to the top of the polls, eclipsing all of his Republican rivals. The story of Trump’s rise has played out day after day on television and on social media, but the conversations behind closed doors among members of the Republican elite during this period have been less well documented. Many of the conversations had one thing in common: a stubborn refusal to take Trump seriously, even as fans packed sports stadiums to see him in the summer months, as he dominated media coverage of the election, and as polls showed him winning wide support among young and old, men and women.   Scenes like the one at Deer Valley would be repeated in rarified enclaves of the party elite around the country again and again in the coming months. Many in the Republican establishment believed he would eventually self-destruct or that Americans would lose patience with his bombast, his free-wheeling insults and lack of firm policies to back up his promises to “Make America Great Again.” They were wrong. Trump won a majority of the states holding nominating contests on Super Tuesday, accelerating his march to the Republican nomination.  Republican donors, strategists and campaign operatives interviewed by Reuters admitted they had misjudged the mood of voters who have thrown their support behind Trump after he promised to build a wall on the Mexican border, temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States and block Syrian refugees because they might be militants.  Trump’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, declined to comment for this story. Trump’s rise seemed to take place entirely outside the structures of the normal nomination process within the Republican party. For example, many attending the Conservative Political Action Conference, a gathering of grassroots activists, in February 2015, were excited by presidential hopefuls Wisconsin governor Walker and Texas Senator Ted Cruz. The annual convention is a must-stop for any Republican White House contender. In his speech, Trump tried out a now familiar pledge: build a giant southern wall to stop illegal immigrants, a vow that would later ignite his insurgent campaign and propel him well ahead of the main pack of Republican presidential hopefuls.  “His speech was well-received, but he didn’t do that well in the straw poll,” said Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, which organizes CPAC each year. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul won the poll. CPAC’s attendees were mostly conservative political activists already engaged in the electoral process. The fans who would drive Trump’s success were not. The candidates favored at CPAC have languished. Walker left the race just two months after officially entering it. Paul dropped out after the first nominating contest in February. Cruz has won just three of more than a dozen contests so far. Early in his run, Trump was a source of puzzlement for rich Republicans, such as those who gathered one Sunday in early August in the Hamptons, New York’s gilded summer retreat destination, to discuss the 2016 race. They met for lunch at a billionaire hedge fund manager’s estate near a body of water nicknamed “Goldman pond” for the concentration of financiers’ houses around it. Among the guests were former defense department officials, the chief executive of a big real estate firm, a prominent private equity partner and conservative academics, according to one of the guests, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The source, like many other guests, backed former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.  “A variety of subjects were discussed, but chief among them, I would say, was the concern and consternation over the candidacy of Donald Trump,” the source said. At the time, Trump’s rating in national polls was twice his closet rival’s, according to Reuters/Ipsos data.  The attendees discussed Trump’s rise and observed he had struck a chord with many Americans, the source said. They fretted over whether his presence would force other candidates to go negative. They hoped he wouldn’t hijack the first Republican presidential debate, then less than a week away. But they decided, however it had begun, Trump’s reign atop the polls wouldn’t last. “I think it’s literally just a matter of time before his NASCAR careens into the wall – and hopefully not into the other drivers,” the source said in an interview on Aug. 6. Trump has not crashed. And on Monday, the CEO of NASCAR, Brian France, endorsed him. Right to Rise, the outside spending group backing Bush, built up a massive war chest of more than $100 million to attack opponents who could thwart his bid for the nomination. Trump was not identified as a potential threat, not in the summer, nor in the fall of 2015, even as he eclipsed Bush, according to multiple interviews during that period with a member of the group’s leadership team. “I don’t think he’s hurting us,” the official, who did not want to be identified, said in an interview last fall. Trump would be a footnote in the race by January or February 2016, he predicted.  Bush bowed out on Feb. 21 after months of struggles were capped by a poor showing in the South Carolina primary. Duncan, the Positec CEO, said conversations he had with representatives from three campaigns as recently as November and December barely touched on Trump.  “There was so much time left,” he said. “I honestly thought that he would implode.”  Now there is little time left, and the party’s establishment can only look back at early warning signs they missed. One came in January 2015 at the Iowa Freedom Summit, a Republican “cattle call” for White House hopefuls that marked the unofficial start of the 2016 presidential race. Attendance spiked after organizers added Trump to the agenda.  “When we announced Donald Trump, the event took on a life of its own,” said David Bossie, the president of the conservative advocacy group Citizens United and the conference’s organizer. “I don’t believe it’s possible, if you were not in a coma, for anyone in the establishment, or the media, or on planet Earth, to have missed Donald Trump’s ascendancy to be the leading Republican for the nomination.”  (Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Jim Oliphant, editing by Caren Bohan and Ross Colvin) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

Summary: कैसे रिपब्लिकन अभिजात वर्ग ने डोनाल्ड ट्रम्प के उदय और उदय पर आंखें मूंद लीं


GENEVA (Reuters) - Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic is the  epitome of evil  and his conviction on Wednesday for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes was a  momentous victory for justice , U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra ad al-Hussein said.   Mladic is the epitome of evil, and the prosecution of Mladic is the epitome of what international justice is all about,  Zeid said in a statement.  Today s verdict is a warning to the perpetrators of such crimes that they will not escape justice, no matter how powerful they may be nor how long it may take.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र के ज़ैद ने म्लादिक को 'बुराई का प्रतीक' कहा, न्याय से बचने का कोई रास्ता नहीं


(Reuters) - The continuing controversy over former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s communications with Russia was just the latest in a series of imbroglios that have roiled the Trump administration since it took office on Jan. 20.  Here are several of the tempests that have swirled around the new White House: Flynn quit on Monday after misleading the White House about his contacts with Russia before taking office and President Donald Trump lost trust in him, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. U.S. lawmakers, including some leading Republicans, called for an investigation. On Thursday, Trump dismissed the controversy about ties between his aides and Russia as a “ruse” and “scam” perpetrated by a hostile news media, and he denied any of his associates had contacts with Moscow before last year’s election. Trump’s nominee to head the Labor Department, fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, on Wednesday withdrew his name from consideration amid concerns he could not garner enough Senate votes to be confirmed. Puzder admitted on Feb. 7 he had once employed an illegal immigrant as a house cleaner. He had already faced strong opposition from Senate Democrats and progressive groups because of his views on labor issues. On Thursday, Trump nominated former National Labor Relations Board member R. Alexander Acosta as secretary of labor. NATIONAL SECURITY AT MAR-A-LAGO Private guests at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida snapped photos of the president and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe conferring and looking at documents while surrounded by aides following a weekend missile launch by North Korea. One guest posted to his Facebook page a picture with a man described to be the holder of the “nuclear football,” or weapons codes. The incidents prompted concerns about national security, and a Republican representative asked the White House for details. Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 27 temporarily banning U.S. entry by travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees, citing the need to protect Americans. The ban triggered protests across the United States, confusion at U.S. and overseas airports and multiple legal challenges. A federal judge in Seattle on Feb. 3 suspended the ban in an order upheld by a federal appeals court in San Francisco. On Thursday, Trump said he would issue a new version of the order next week. The Seattle judge’s order drew fire from Trump on Twitter, who criticized the jurist and the court system. The Republican president’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, said last week that the Twitter attacks were “demoralizing” and “disheartening,” according to a spokesman. Trump said Gorsuch’s comments had been misrepresented. Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway urged Americans last week to buy his daughter Ivanka Trump’s clothing and jewelry products during an appearance on a national television program after department store chain Nordstrom Inc said it was dropping them due to a decline in sales. Conway’s endorsement, which followed a Twitter attack by Trump on Nordstrom, prompted criticism from Democrats and Republicans. On Tuesday, the Office of Government Ethics said the White House should investigate whether Conway violated ethics rules. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto scrapped plans to meet his counterpart in Washington during the second week of Trump’s presidency after Trump tweeted that Mexico should cancel the meeting if it was not prepared to pay for his proposed border wall. Trump abruptly ended a phone call in late January with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, telling the leader of one of the United States’ closest allies that it was the “worst call by far” he had had with a foreign leader, according to the Washington Post. Trump said a deal between the United States and Australia on refugee resettlement was “dumb” and accused Turnbull’s country of trying to export the “next Boston bombers” under the agreement, the Post said.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्रम्प विवादः माइकल फ्लिन, यात्रा प्रतिबंध और अन्य


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday he will nominate bankruptcy attorney David Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel, and Friedman said he looked forward to taking up his post in Jerusalem, implying a move from Tel Aviv that would mark a break in longstanding U.S. foreign policy and anger the Muslim world. While campaigning for the presidency, Trump pledged to switch the embassy from Tel Aviv, where it has been located for 68 years, to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel’s capital regardless of international objections. “(Friedman) has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East,” Trump said in a statement issued by his team on Thursday. The Republican made clear during his campaign that he would support Israel in a number of critical areas, said he would not put pressure on Israel to engage in talks with the Palestinians. The United States and other powers do not regard Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Other nations embassies are located in Tel Aviv - and do not recognize Israel’s annexation of Arab East Jerusalem following its capture in the 1967 Middle East war.  One of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is resolving the rival demands for Jerusalem’s future. Palestinians regard the ancient city - which contains sites sacred to the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths - as the future capital of a separate state. Friedman, who specializes in litigation and bankruptcy law, said in the statement that he would work tirelessly to “strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has had a fractious relationship with Democratic President Barack Obama, has welcomed Trump’s election, chatting with him by phone and posting a video on Facebook promoting ties with the United States. In an interview with Israeli left-leaning newspaper Haaretz, in June, Friedman was asked whether Trump would support the creation of an independent Palestinian state - a bedrock of U.S. foreign policy which supports a two-state solution. “The answer is – not without the approval of the Israelis,” said Friedman. “If the Israelis don’t want to do it, so he doesn’t think they should do it. ... He does not think it is an American imperative for it to be an independent Palestinian state.” There was no immediate comment from the Israel embassy in Washington on the news.  Friedman is also considered far-right on issues, including settlement building and has advocated for the annexation of the West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war.  The Obama administration has been highly critical of Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Most countries view all Israeli settlements on occupied land that the Palestinians seek for their own state as illegal. The Palestinians, who want to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, say settlements are a fundamental obstacle to peace. The last U.S.-backed talks on statehood collapsed in 2014. J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group based in Washington, said it was “vehemently opposed” to Friedman’s nomination. “This nomination is reckless, putting America’s reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk,” the statement said. The Zionist Organization for America, a conservative Jewish-American pro-Israel group welcomed the nomination, saying he had “the potential to be the greatest U.S. ambassador to Israel ever.” Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser to Republican and Democratic administrations, said Friedman’s nomination “was designed to send a signal that there will be significant break in tone, style and perhaps substance from the Obama administration” in its handling of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. “The peace process is just dead right now,” Miller said, alluding to the Obama administration’s failed efforts. But he said it was too early to see Friedman’s nomination as Trump’s disavowal of a two-state solution. Miller noted that Trump’s aides have sent conflicting signals on whether they are serious about acting quickly on his promise to move the embassy, and that it was unclear whether that would happen. Presidential candidates have in the past promised to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and then reneged, deciding ultimately that the city’s status should first be resolved by parties to the conflict. In early December, Obama renewed the presidential waiver, signed by every U.S. president for the past two decades, against moving America’s embassy to Jerusalem for another six months. It effectively means any action by Trump would be delayed until at least June.

Summary: इज़राइल में राजदूत के लिए ट्रम्प के चयन को जेरूसलम में दूतावास की उम्मीद है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to sign a bill to provide financial incentives to companies developing treatments for the Zika virus, a White House spokeswoman said, but the bill passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday is insufficient to meet the challenge. “We hope that this legislation encourages private sector partners to address the challenge of Zika, but it contains no funding and is ultimately insufficient on its own, since it doesn’t provide the $1.9 billion in funding that our public health experts have said is needed right now to prepare Americans for the imminent local transmission of Zika in this country,” spokeswoman Katie Hill said.

Summary: ओबामा को जीका दवा के विकास पर विधेयक पर हस्ताक्षर करने की उम्मीदः व्हाइट हाउस


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois owes a handful of financial consortia more than $118 million under an obscure program intended to speed up overdue payments to the cash-strapped state’s vendors, an analysis of state records shows. Political feuding between Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the legislature has kept Illinois without a full operating budget since July 2015, contributing to a doubling of the unpaid bills backlog. The amount of overdue bills could reach $13.5 billion, or 40 percent of available operating revenue, when the current fiscal year ends June 30, the Rauner administration has projected.  Come fiscal 2022, the backlog is projected to balloon to $47 billion. No other U.S. state defers payments to the extent Illinois does to manage cash flow, credit-rating analysts said. The one-of-its-kind, bill-payment program seeks to avert the nightmare scenario for a state in the worst financial shape in the country: a shutdown of essential services such as employee health insurance, a disruption of prison food supplies or mothballing of state trooper cars in need of fuel and maintenance. “I don’t think there is any other alternative for us,” Illinois Central Management Services Director Michael Hoffman told a legislative panel in May. But it comes at a heavy cost with unlimited late-payment fees now approaching 20 percent in some cases for Illinois’ cash-strapped government, whose general obligation (GO) low-investment grade credit ratings are the lowest among U.S. states.  The state’s negative credit outlook means its $26 billion of outstanding GO bonds could lurch closer to the junk level if the growing unpaid bill pile impairs its ability to provide essential services, affects debt payments and inflates its already huge $130 billion unfunded pension liability.     “No other state or business would operate by incurring obligations to its vendors and setting up a third-party payment structure that dramatically inflates the costs of those services,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Chicago-based Civic Federation, a non-partisan government watchdog.  Under the Vendor Support Initiative (VSI) program launched last year to replace a similar plan introduced in 2011, state vendors can get paid without delay 90 percent of what they are owed by state-designated financial lenders.  When the state finally pays, the vendors get the final 10 percent, while the lenders keep the late-penalty fees. In Illinois, receivables more than 90 days past due accumulate interest at a rate of 1 percent per month. For the lenders, the risk is that the state will not pay up and they will need to fight for compensation in courts, but that has not happened yet. The firms include financial institutions such as Citibank N.A. (C.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), a distressed debt investor tied to a Rauner campaign donor, and political insiders, including Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign manager and a former two-term Republican Illinois governor. Lindsay Trittipoe, majority investor of the second-largest consortium, Illinois Financing Partners LLP, told Reuters his group was performing a vital function rather than exploiting the state’s financial miseries. “Our money is flowing into the market, helping the wheels of commerce to keep working,” he said. Citi and Bank of America declined to comment for this story and representatives from the largest state-qualified buyer of receivables, Chicago-based Vendor Assistance Program, and some of its investors did not respond to interview requests. Fees on unpaid bills in the program have been growing by more than $2.6 million per week and could exceed $194 million by June 30, according to a Reuters analysis of state data as of Sept. 28. By the end of Rauner's term in January 2019, total interest on unpaid receivables in the program could exceed $351 million if there is no progress in reducing the bill backlog, Reuters calculations show. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2fW1vxj) That total represents more than what Illinois allocated in operating funds last June to keep seven of its nine public universities open for six months.  As of late September, four participating VSI lenders had bought 15,369 unpaid receivables worth $1.12 billion under the program. Late-payment penalties on those billings surpassed $118 million and continue to grow, Reuters has found. Illinois law places no limit on how long the late fees can accrue and since 2010 the state has spent about $929 million in late-payment penalties, according to state comptroller data. Three of the four firms now involved also took part in a similar program launched under previous Democratic Governor Pat Quinn. Its current version has sparked questions over how firms were vetted, a lack of up-to-date disclosures about their owners and financing, and patchy accounting of vendor payments. Additionally, state business registration of one of the firms, Payplant LLC, expired two months before the program’s launch, according to the Illinois secretary of state’s office. A company representative blamed “a procedural lapse” and said it had begun the process in October to reinstate its LLC status. “The focus should be on transparency,” said Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs, a Democrat. “If we have a program like this, we don’t want to turn it over to loan sharks.” Using the state data, Reuters calculated the average rate on late payments at 8.14 percent through late September. During that same period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average only gained 3.65 percent. “It seems that (it) creates a real perverse incentive for them to wait as long as they can,” Democratic Representative Elaine Nekritz said about the buyers of vendor invoices.  State spokeswoman Meredith Krantz defended the program, saying it helped vendors “be paid more quickly than the state’s payment cycle would otherwise allow.”  One big non-profit participating state vendor, Chicago-based Safer Foundation, saw no other options. “Do you want to get nothing or 90 percent now and the other 10 percent later?” said Victor Dickson, the group’s president and CEO. “We chose, ‘Let’s get 90 percent and keep serving our clients.’”

Summary: इलिनोइस में भुगतान न किए गए बिलों को ठीक करना वित्तीय समय बम के रूप में समाप्त हो सकता है


(Reuters) - Republicans in Missouri, Vermont and New Hampshire won competitive governor’s races on Tuesday, though most of the 12 contests left power in the hands of the incumbent party. Here are the results. In one of the year’s closest gubernatorial races, Republican former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens edged Democrat Chris Koster, the state’s attorney general. Greitens will succeed Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat who has served the maximum two terms in office. Vermont elected a Republican, Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, over Democrat Sue Minter, a former state transportation secretary. Scott succeeds retiring Governor Peter Shumlin, a Democrat. Democratic Governor Kate Brown held off a challenge by Republican Bud Pierce, an oncologist. Brown was sworn in last year after her predecessor, John Kitzhaber, resigned in scandal. The election is for the final two years of Kitzhaber’s term. Republican Eric Holcomb, the state’s lieutenant governor, beat Democrat John Gregg, a former state lawmaker. Holcomb entered the race after current Governor Mike Pence opted not to seek re-election in July when Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump chose him as his vice presidential running mate. Democratic businessman Jim Justice defeated Republican state Senate President Bill Cole. Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was barred by term limits from running again.  Incumbent Governor Gary Herbert, a Republican, won his re-election race against Democrat Mike Weinholtz, a healthcare executive. Herbert, who took office in 2009 after his predecessor, Jon Huntsman, resigned, won a second full term.  Republican Doug Burgum, a former Microsoft Corp executive, defeated Democratic State Representative Marvin Nelson in the solidly Republican state. Governor Jack Dalrymple, a Republican who was eligible to run for re-election in 2016, declined to seek another term. Democrat John Carney, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, beat Republican Colin Bonini, a state senator. Democratic Governor Jack Markell was prohibited by term limits from running for re-election to the position he has held since 2009. Drawing national attention because of a debate over transgender rights, Republican Governor Pat McCrory is seeking a second term against Roy Cooper, a Democrat who has been the state’s attorney general since 2001. Cooper held a razor-thin lead as of Wednesday morning. McCrory told supporters tallying an unknown number of provisional ballots could take until Nov. 18. Democratic Governor Steve Bullock is battling Republican tech entrepreneur Greg Gianforte to keep his seat. The race remained too close to call on Wednesday morning. Republican Chris Sununu defeated Democrat Colin Van Ostern to become the state’s next governor. Both candidates had been seeking to succeed Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan, who is running for the U.S. Senate. Democratic Governor Jay Inslee defeated a challenge from Republican Bill Bryant, a businessman and former commissioner of the Port of Seattle.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन ने अमेरिकी राज्यपालों की दौड़ में लाभ कमाया


NEAR RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - I went to the road just outside Ramallah, as on previous days, because that is one of the places in the West Bank where Palestinians have been protesting against U.S. President Donald Trump s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital. The 100-metre stretch leads from the city limits of Ramallah to the Jewish settlement of Beit El, and has a filling station and a traffic circle.  Earlier on Friday, which Palestinians were calling a  Day of Rage , I had tried working at the Kalandia crossing point into the West Bank, but the Israelis had thrown tear gas and I knew this would make taking good photographs difficult.  Outside Beit El, a group of paramilitary Israeli police had driven back hundreds of Palestinians who were throwing rocks and burning tyres. I was photographing the protesters, and did not see another Palestinian who apparently emerged close to the Israeli squad from a hiding place near the traffic circle.  I heard the Israeli police shooting, and turned around. On instinct, I started taking pictures, all the time trying to keep well out of the line of fire.  When the Palestinian fell, I could see that he was holding a knife, and wearing what looked like a suicide bomb vest. Israeli police said he had managed to stab and wound one of their number before being shot. Palestinian medics later said the attacker was dead, and that his bomb belt had been fake.

Summary: 'क्रोध का दिन'-एक चाकू, एक नकली बम बेल्ट, एक मौत


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed a repeal of Obama-era broadband privacy rules, the White House said, a victory for internet service providers and a blow to privacy advocates. Republicans in Congress last week narrowly passed the repeal of the privacy rules with no Democratic support and over the strong objections of privacy advocates. The signing, disclosed in White House statement late on Monday, follows strong criticism of the bill, which is a win for AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc. The bill repeals regulations adopted in October by the Federal Communications Commission under the Obama administration requiring internet service providers to do more to protect customers’ privacy than websites like Alphabet Inc’s Google or Facebook Inc. The rules had not yet taken effect but would have required internet providers to obtain consumer consent before using precise geolocation, financial information, health information, children’s information and web browsing history for advertising and marketing. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai praised the repeal in a statement late on Monday for having “appropriately invalidated one part of the Obama-era plan for regulating the internet.” Those flawed privacy rules, which never went into effect, were designed to benefit one group of favored companies, not online consumers.” Pai said the FCC would work with the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees websites, to restore the “FTC’s authority to police internet service providers’ privacy practices.” Republican FCC commissioners have said the Obama rules would unfairly give websites the ability to harvest more data than internet service providers. The action is the latest in a string of reversals of Obama administration rules. On Monday, the FCC reversed a requirement that Charter Communications Inc extend broadband service to 1 million homes that already have a high-speed provider. On Friday, Comcast, Verizon AT&T Inc said they would voluntarily not sell customers’ individual internet browsing information. Verizon does not sell personal web browsing histories and has no plans to do so but the company said it has two advertising programs that use “de-identified” customer browsing data, including one that uses “aggregate insights that might be useful for advertisers and other businesses.” The American Civil Liberties Union said last month Congress should have opposed “industry pressure to put profits over privacy” and added “most Americans believe that their sensitive internet information should be closely guarded.” Trade group USTelecom Chief Executive Jonathan Spalter in a statement praised Trump for “stopping rules that would have created a confusing and conflicting consumer privacy framework.” Last week, 46 Senate Democrats urged Trump not to sign the bill, arguing most Americans “believe that their private information should be just that.”    Republicans later this year are expected to move to overturn net neutrality provisions that in 2015 reclassified broadband providers and treated them like a public utility - a move that is expected to spark an even bigger fight.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने अमेरिकी ब्रॉडबैंड गोपनीयता नियमों को निरस्त करने पर हस्ताक्षर किए


BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three suicide attacks claimed by Islamic State killed at least 60 people in southern Iraq on Thursday, a health official and police sources said, suggesting a shift in the ultra-hardline group s tactics since it lost control of its stronghold in Mosul. Iraqi and Kurdish security officials say the Sunni militants are likely to wage a guerrilla war in Iraq after their self-proclaimed caliphate in Mosul collapsed. Islamic State is also under siege in the Syrian city of Raqqa, its operational base for attacks in the Middle East and the West. Security officials described Thursday s attacks as an attempt to send a message to Islamic State followers that the group is still strong and can operate in other parts of Iraq following its territorial losses.  After losing the war in Iraq and the shrinking of its power, Daesh returned back to its old style of an insurgency, by carrying out suicide attacks, which is a clear sign that the terrorist group is retreating,  said police intelligence colonel Murtatha al-Yassiri. IS activity is usually concentrated in western and northern Iraq. Bomb attacks in the mostly Shi ite south, where the bulk of the country s oil is produced and security forces hold a tighter grip, have so far been relatively rare. Like its predecessor in Iraq, al Qaeda, Islamic State seeks to create sectarian tensions as a way to destabilize the OPEC oil producer.  We expect more alike terrorist operations in future. Daesh is trying to desperately pretend among followers that it s still strong,  al-Yassiri said. Daesh is an Arabic acronym for Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS. Wearing security force uniforms and driving stolen army vehicles, the attackers targeted a police checkpoint and two restaurants on a highway near the city of Nassiriya, using car bombs and suicide vests, the sources said. At least 100 people were injured, the police said in a statement. Islamic State claimed responsibility in a statement on its Amaq news agency. The group said it had killed  dozens of Shi ites . The head of Nassiriya s health directorate, Jassim al-Khalidi, said the city s hospital had received 50 bodies and the death toll could rise because some of the wounded were in critical condition. Hospital sources said at least 10 Iranian pilgrims, who were visiting holy Shi ite shrines, were among the dead. The deadliest attack was at a restaurant west of Nassiriya.  One attacker blew up his suicide vest inside the crowded restaurant while a group of other gunmen started to throw grenades and fire at diners,  said police colonel Ali Abdul Hussain. Police sources said some police officers had died in the checkpoint attack, but the toll from that incident remained unclear. Security sources said forces were placed on alert in most of the southern provinces, including the oil city of Basra, in case of similar attacks.

Summary: दक्षिणी इराक में रेस्तरां, चेकप्वाइंट पर आत्मघाती हमले, 60 की मौत