SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Even as the Department of Justice battles Apple in court over access to encrypted data, the Obama administration remains split over backing requirements that tech manufacturers provide law enforcement with a “back door” into their products, according to a dozen people familiar with the internal debate. FBI Director James Comey and the DOJ - who are fighting to access an iPhone tied to the San Bernardino attacks – have long tried and failed to convince other departments to join the broader battle against unbreakable encryption, the current and former government officials said. Federal justice officials argue that strong encryption makes it harder to track criminals, a central contention in the iPhone case. But officials in other departments - including Commerce, State and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy - counter that encryption is integral to protecting U.S. secrets and the technology industry. The issue has been discussed in meetings of the interagency National Security Council and elsewhere. Some government officials also worry that confronting the tech sector on the issue could heighten distrust of American products overseas and drive terrorists and top criminals to seek foreign-made encryption.  Several key officials in the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security opposed the fight with Apple based on those concerns, the sources said. Luke Dembosky - until recently the deputy assistant attorney general for national security and the senior cybersecurity prosecutor on some of the biggest hacking cases in recent years - cast the broader disagreements over encryption as “very healthy.”  “It’s a very big government, and everyone is trying to do the right thing,” said Dembosky, who last week joined the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. “There are countries where they don’t have these debates.”  NSA Director Michael Rogers has taken a middle ground, saying that strong encryption is important but compromise is desirable.  Years of interagency debates over encryption have left the Obama administration lacking a cohesive policy stance on the issue, many tech industry leaders have said.  The Justice Department last month persuaded a federal judge to order Apple Inc (AAPL.O) to write software to help unlock an iPhone used by shooter Rizwan Farook in the December attack in San Bernardino. Apple is fighting the order, calling the case an overreach by prosecutors that threatens the security of all iPhones. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for later this month. As is customary in such cases, the decision to take action against Apple was made without consulting the White House, said two sources familiar with the matter. “The DOJ and FBI pursue all such matters independent of the White House,” a senior administration official said.  The official added that the White House does not intend to seek legislation mandating back doors. In an interview, John Carlin, assistant attorney general for national security, dismissed suggestions that some administration officials did not support the Justice Department’s action in the Apple case. The effort was never intended to settle the encryption debate, he said, but rather to assist San Bernardino County, which asked for help in unlocking Farook’s county-owned iPhone 5c.  The tech industry has united behind Apple, with more than 40 companies this week submitting legal briefs arguing that compliance with the judge’s order would undermine encryption and public trust in Internet security.  By contrast, the division among government agencies has left some administration officials in an awkward position of publicly supporting the Justice Department’s case against Apple while also acknowledging the need for strong encryption. They have been more vocal about their concerns behind closed doors, according to four people who have spoken with them or their subordinates.  “Just to cut to the chase, I’m not a believer in back doors or a single technical approach,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a largely pro-Apple crowd at the RSA security conference on Wednesday. “I don’t think we ought to let one case drive a single solution.”  Congress is also divided on the issue, with liberal Democrats joining libertarian Republicans in opposing government back doors. The lack of consensus prompted the White House last year to abandon a push for legislation that would require U.S. technology firms to provide law enforcement a way around encryption.  Privately, however, President Obama sought a compromise, asking large telecommunications and technology firms, including Apple and Microsoft, to work toward an “exceptional access” agreement that would provide investigators access to content that is typically encrypted, said two sources with knowledge of the discussion.  An Apple spokesman said that the company never seriously considered installing a back door and tried to shift the discussion to a broader conversation about law enforcement cooperation.  Either way, Apple CEO Tim Cook lambasted the White House for not publicly affirming support for strong encryption at a January summit in San Jose, Calif. between technology executives and senior national security officials convened largely to discuss online extremism, sources familiar with the meeting said.  Cook’s comments aggravated White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, who thought the iPhone maker was backtracking on its earlier commitment to work collaboratively on resolving law enforcement’s encryption concerns, according to one person with knowledge of the situation.  That confrontation helps explain why, after months of apparent respectful disagreement in public and private pursuit of compromise, both sides suddenly came to battle heavily armed.  Amid the hostilities between Apple and the FBI, some have called for President Obama to weigh in to help resolve the standoff. “I’m waiting to hear what the president has to say about it,” Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who supports Apple, said in an interview. “I know [White House Press Secretary] Josh Earnest has said he is for the Justice Department, [but] I want to hear from the president.”

Summary: एप्पल मामले ने एन्क्रिप्शन नीति पर चल रही सरकारी दरार को उजागर किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump named a national finance chairman for his presidential campaign on Thursday, picking an investor with little experience in campaigns but a long history of political donations, including to Trump’s likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Steven Mnuchin, a former partner at Goldman Sachs who now works in entertainment financing, is chairman and CEO of private investment firm Dune Capital Management LP. He is taking one of the first high-profile jobs in the campaign that Trump has filled. Trump, a real estate developer who this week became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for the November election, worked with Mnuchin in a business capacity before, the campaign said. Since 1998, Mnuchin has given about $71,000 to Democrats and their associated committees, compared to about $37,000 to Republicans.  Since Hillary Clinton’s campaign to be elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, Mnuchin donated $7,400 to Clinton, according to the Federal Election Commission. He also gave $10,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2004. More recently, Mnuchin donated to Republicans, including $22,500 in 2012 to Mitt Romney’s joint fundraising committee and another $4,800 to the former Republican nominee’s campaign. His history of donations to Democrats may well add to distaste for Trump among some establishment Republicans who have opposed the billionaire’s rise to likely presidential nominee on the grounds his proposals are not truly Republican. Trump said on Wednesday he will begin to raise money for his general election bid after self-funding a majority of his primary campaign. Fundraising will require a balance, especially since much of Trump’s campaign message has rested on his refusal to raise money and his decision to self-fund his campaign during the party nominating contests. Historically, political parties have depended on the ability of their nominee to raise money in order to fund their other operations, including working to elect members of the House and Senate.  Trump said he will work closely with the Republican National Committee - which already has a fundraising operation - to help both his own campaign and those of other members of the party for the Nov. 8 election.     U.S. Representative Chris Collins of New York, who was the first lawmaker to endorse Trump, said the move to start raising money will help bring the party together. “You’ll see that pivot to the general election, which is uniting the party, and fundraising is a very big part of uniting the party, with the influence money has in elections these days,” Collins told Reuters in an interview.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन ट्रम्प के नए वित्त अध्यक्ष ने पहले डेमोक्रेट को दान दिया था


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said  only one thing will work  in dealing with North Korea after previous administrations had talked to Pyongyang without results.  Presidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid,  Trump said in a tweet.  ...Hasn t worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, making fools of U.S. negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work!  Trump did not make clear to what he was referring, but his comments seemed to be a further suggestion that military action was on his mind. The president has previously said the United States would  totally destroy  North Korea if necessary to protect itself and its allies from Pyongyang s nuclear threats. Earlier this week, during a meeting with top U.S. military leaders and their spouses, Trump told reporters it was the  calm before the storm.  Asked for clarification then on what he meant, Trump said:  You ll find out.  Speaking to reporters on Saturday ahead of a trip to North Carolina, Trump said he had nothing more to clarify. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders referred to Iran and North Korea the following day when asked about Trump s  calm before the storm  comments. Asked on Saturday about Trump s tweet, Sanders said she had nothing to add to the president s comments. The Pentagon referred a question for clarification to the White House and said the Defense Department s job was to  present the president military options and carry out orders.  Trump repeatedly has made clear his distaste for dialogue with North Korea. On Sunday he dismissed the idea of talks as a waste of time, a day after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington was maintaining open lines of communication with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un s government. Trump said on Saturday that he had a good relationship with his secretary of state despite some disagreements.  We have a very good relationship. We disagree on a couple of things. Sometimes I d like him to be a little bit tougher, but other than that we have a very good relationship,  he said. A Russian lawmaker on Friday was quoted saying North Korea was preparing to test a long-range missile that it believes can reach the west coast of the United States. Anton Morozov, a member of the Russian lower house of parliament s international affairs committee, was part of a Russian delegation that visited Pyongyang from Oct. 2-6, according to Russian RIA news agency. North Korea s nuclear weapons and missile programs have driven up tensions in the region and around the world in recent months, particularly after it conducted a test explosion of what it said was a hydrogen bomb.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया के साथ 'केवल एक चीज काम करेगी': ट्रंप


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than half of the registered lobbyists in Washington have worked on tax issues in 2017, a report showed on Friday, as lawmakers in the U.S. capital scramble to conclude a year-long effort to pass a tax reform bill before Christmas. About 6,200 lobbyists, or 57 percent of those who reported activity in 2017, have been listed on disclosure forms as working on issues involving “tax” this year, the advocacy group Public Citizen said in the report. Twenty companies and trade groups each hired 50 lobbyists to work on tax issues, the report said, with U.S. Chamber of Commerce hiring 100 and the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executives at big U.S. companies, employing 51 lobbyists. The Republican bill would be the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax system since the 1980s and its ultimate shape and success are crucial to U.S. corporate profits over the next 10 years. As drafted, the Senate bill would cut the U.S. corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent after a one-year delay and reduce taxes for some businesses and individuals, while ending many tax breaks. Democrats have been united in their opposition to the bill, calling it a giveaway to the wealthy and corporations. U.S. companies have a vested interest in nearly every aspect of the Republican tax plan, saying they would use a tax reform windfall to buy back shares, retire debt or invest back into their business.[nL1N1NQ15C} Five large U.S. companies have hired at least 15 lobbying firms for tax issues in 2017, the report said. Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) hired 23 firms, Anheuser-Busch brought on 19 companies, Verizon Communications (VZ.N) hired 17, Microsoft (MSFT.O) hired 16 and Altria Group (MO.N) has engaged 15 lobbying firms.

Summary: अमेरिकी कर बहस वाशिंगटन के आधे से अधिक लॉबिस्टों को नियुक्त करती हैः रिपोर्ट


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Advocates and opponents of capital punishment sparred on Friday over California’s proposed new lethal injection protocol, highlighting deep divisions in a state that houses a quarter of U.S. death row inmates but has not executed anyone in a decade. The plan to use barbiturates to execute inmates sentenced to die in the most populous U.S. state drew fire from religious activists, who called capital punishment grisly and anti-democratic at a hearing in Sacramento. Law-and-order advocates urged its adoption. “As of next month, the state will have been remiss in its duties for a decade,” said Michele Hanisee, vice president of the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys. “The family members of the victims are dying before the murderers.” The informational hearing was part of the state’s process for adopting a new protocol for lethal injection that would use one drug, a barbiturate, to put condemned inmates to death. It would replace a three-drug cocktail that a California court declared unconstitutional 10 years ago because it could possibly cause pain. Under a court settlement, the state must develop a new procedure for executions. At the same time, Californians have grown more divided over capital punishment, with nearly half the electorate and many top officials now opposing the death penalty. Death penalty opponents hope to place an initiative on the November ballot that would outlaw capital punishment. On the same ballot, supporters back a different initiative to speed up executions. “The people on death row, most of them have perpetrated grave crimes,” said Linda Fox, a board member of the group Death Penalty Focus, who spoke against the protocol. “But they are still human beings.” There was no proof, she argued, that using a barbiturate to carry out a death sentence would not result in a botched or painful execution. California juries have sentenced nearly 900 people to death since 1978, but only 13 have been executed. Sixty-eight have died of natural causes, 36 for other reasons. Of more than 750 inmates currently on death row, seven have been there since the 1970s. If the new protocol is adopted by corrections officials and voters do not outlaw the death penalty next November, the state could theoretically begin executing 18 prisoners who have exhausted their appeals. Legal challenges to the lethal injection drug, however, could drag on for years.

Summary: कैलिफोर्निया की घातक इंजेक्शन योजना ने मृत्युदंड की लड़ाई को बढ़ावा दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress have agreed to work together on legislation to protect “Dreamers,” the illegal immigrants who were children when they entered the United States, the lawmakers said on Wednesday, although a dispute erupted over exactly what had been agreed. Following a dinner with Trump at the White House, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said the “productive meeting” focused on “DACA,” a program established by former President Barack Obama. “We agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that’s acceptable to both sides,” Schumer and Pelosi said in a statement. All year, Democrats have insisted that they will block any legislation that contains funding for a wall along the length of the U.S. border with Mexico, a top Trump campaign goal that many Republicans in Congress also do not support. While White House officials have suggested legislation on DACA could move forward without wall funding, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders disputed the characterization that a deal had been reached to leave it out of any legislation focused on the Dreamers. “While DACA and border security were both discussed, excluding the wall was certainly not agreed to,” she said on Twitter. Throughout his 2016 campaign for president and since taking office in January, Trump has demanded the construction of a wall to keep out illegal immigrants and drugs. He initially said Mexico would pay for the wall but has requested money from the U.S. Congress after the government of Mexico refused to pay. The dinner was the latest effort in a new initiative by Trump to work with opposition party Democrats on major legislation. Following the dinner, a White House official said the president, Schumer and Pelosi discussed tax reform, immigration, border security, infrastructure investments and trade as part of Trump’s bid to reach out to Democrats. “The administration looks forward to continuing these conversations with leadership on both sides of the aisle,” the official said. Over a dinner of Chinese food, Trump and the Democratic leaders also discussed issues related to U.S.-China trade, according to a congressional aide briefed on the meeting. Schumer and Pelosi also said that they urged Trump to make permanent government subsidy payments under the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.” “Those discussions will continue,” the lawmakers said. Trump and most Republicans in Congress have demanded the repeal of Obamacare but have been unable to agree on a replacement for the healthcare program that became law in 2010. Using his executive powers, Trump canceled Obama’s DACA program in which about 800,000 undocumented young people have escaped the threat of deportation and been able to apply for work permits in the United States. Trump argued that Obama over-stepped his authority in creating the program. But Trump gave Congress six months to come up with a replacement program in the form of legislation to be enacted into law. Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar, who attended a White House meeting with Trump earlier on Wednesday, told reporters the president said he would not insist on wall funding as part of a Dreamers bill, but would pursue it on other, future legislation. Cuellar said Trump urged lawmakers to link a Republican bill to cut legal immigration to the United States with protections for Dreamers. But many Democrats oppose lowering the cap on annual legal immigration.

Summary: डेमोक्रेट्स का कहना है कि ट्रम्प आव्रजन विधेयक पर काम करने के लिए सहमत हैं, विवाद में दीवार


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Myanmar s vice president told the United Nations on Wednesday that security forces in his country s Rakhine State, from which hundreds of thousands of people have recently fled, have been instructed to take  full measures  to avoid collateral damage and harming innocent civilians. Violence in Rakhine State erupted on Aug. 25, when Rohingya militants launched deadly attacks on government outposts, provoking a fierce crackdown by the Myanmar military that has been greeted with widespread international condemnation, including at the annual U.N. General Assembly this week. Addressing the assembly, Vice President Henry Van Thio said it was not only Rohingya Muslims who had fled, but members of other minority groups too. He said human rights violations would be dealt with  in accordance with strict norms of justice.  At least 420,000 Rohingya Muslims have since fled into neighboring Bangladesh to escape what a senior United Nations official has called a  textbook example of ethnic cleansing . On Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence accused the Myanmar military of responding to militant attacks  with terrible savagery, burning villages, driving the Rohingya from their homes.  Pence called the crisis a threat to the world and said U.S. President Donald Trump wanted the U.N. Security Council to take  strong and swift action  to the violence.  Van Thio said his government was  deeply concerned about the present situation in Rakhine  and said:  The security forces have been instructed to adhere strictly to the Code of Conduct in carrying out security operations, to exercise all due restraint, and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage and the harming of innocent civilians.  He said the government s  deepest sympathy goes to the families of all innocent civilians and members of the police and security forces who have lost their lives.  Van Thio said the government was concerned by reports that  Muslims were continuing to cross into Bangladesh even though there had been no armed clashes since Sept. 5 and added:  We would need to find out the reason for this exodus.  Van Thio said the government recognized the need to ensure humanitarian assistance was provided  to all those in need without discrimination.  He said a committee had been established under the social welfare minister to implement recommendations of an advisory commission chaired by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the government would establish an advisory board comprised of  eminent persons  from Myanmar and abroad. Myanmar was also working hard to enhance relations with Bangladesh and would welcome a visit by its home minister to discuss cooperation on border security, Van Thio said.

Summary: म्यांमार का कहना है कि सुरक्षा बलों को राखीन में संपार्श्विक क्षति से बचने के लिए कहा गया है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said she expects legislation to help tackle Puerto Rico’s ongoing financial crisis to come soon and that lawmakers will hopefully act on it quickly. “We should have a bill pretty soon. And I think the Republicans are acting in good faith on this,” Pelosi, the chamber’s minority leader, told reporters. The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to leave for a recess on Wednesday. “It would be my hope that we would see something before we leave here, that would be marked up as soon as we come back and then taken to the floor and ... sent to the Senate,” she added.

Summary: प्यूर्टो रिको विधेयक जल्द ही आने की उम्मीद, सदन के डेमोक्रैटिक नेता ने कहा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s forthcoming tax reform plan will be comprehensive and aims to give companies incentives to keep jobs in the United States and help spur American economic growth, the White House said on Thursday. Speaking to reporters at a daily press briefing, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump’s plan will aim to provide tax relief to middle-class Americans. He said more details will come when the plan is released in coming weeks.

Summary: ट्रम्प की कर योजना व्यवसायों, कामकाजी अमेरिकियों की मदद करेगीः व्हाइट हाउस


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission unveiled plans on Tuesday to repeal landmark 2015 rules that prohibited internet service providers from impeding consumer access to web content in a move that promises to recast the digital landscape. FCC chief Ajit Pai, a Republican appointed by President Donald Trump in January, said the commission will vote at a Dec. 14 meeting on his plan to rescind the so-called net neutrality rules championed by Democratic former President Barack Obama that treated internet service providers like public utilities. The rules barred broadband providers from blocking or slowing down access to content or charging consumers more for certain content. They were intended to ensure a free and open internet, give consumers equal access to web content and prevent broadband service providers from favoring their own content. The action marks a victory for big internet service providers such as AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc that opposed the rules and gives them sweeping powers to decide what web content consumers can get and at what price. It represents a setback for Google parent Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc, which had urged Pai not to rescind the rules. Netflix said Tuesday it opposed the measure to “roll back these core protections.” With three Republican and two Democratic commissioners, the move is all but certain to be approved. Trump, a Republican, expressed his opposition to net neutrality in 2014 before the regulations were even implemented, calling it a “power grab” by Obama. The White House did not immediately comment Tuesday. Pai said his proposal would prevent state and local governments from creating their own net neutrality rules because internet service is “inherently an interstate service.” The preemption is most likely to handcuff Democratic-governed states and localities that could have considered their own plans to protect consumers’ equal access to internet content. “The FCC will no longer be in the business of micromanaging business models and preemptively prohibiting services and applications and products that could be pro-competitive,” Pai said in an interview, adding that the Obama administration had sought to pick winners and losers and exercised “heavy-handed” regulation of the internet. “We should simply set rules of the road that let companies of all kinds in every sector compete and let consumers decide who wins and loses,” Pai added. Tom Wheeler, who headed the FCC under Obama and advocated for the net neutrality rules, called the planned repeal “a shameful sham and sellout. Even for this FCC and its leadership, this proposal raises hypocrisy to new heights.” AT&T, Comcast and Verizon have said that repealing the rules could lead to billions of dollars in additional broadband investment and eliminate the possibility that a future presidential administration could regulate internet pricing. Comcast said no matter what the FCC decided it would “not block, throttle, or discriminate against lawful content.”  Verizon said it believed the FCC “will reinstate a framework that protects consumers’ access to the open internet, without forcing them to bear the heavy costs from unnecessary regulation.” The Internet Association, representing major technology firms including Alphabet and Facebook, said Pai’s proposal “represents the end of net neutrality as we know it and defies the will of millions of Americans.” “This proposal undoes nearly two decades of bipartisan agreement on baseline net neutrality principles that protect Americans’ ability to access the entire internet,” it said. Pai’s proposal would require internet service providers to disclose whether they allow blocking or slowing down of consumer web access or permit so-called internet fast lanes to facilitate a practice called paid prioritization of charging for certain content. Such disclosure will make it easier for another agency, the Federal Trade Commission, to act against internet service providers that fail to disclose such conduct to consumers, Pai said. The FTC could seek to bar practices that it deemed “anticompetitive” or violated antitrust rules. The FCC received more than 22 million comments. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman disclosed Tuesday he has been investigating for more than six months in a bid to learn who was behind the filing of false comments. A U.S. appeals court last year upheld the legality of the net neutrality regulations, which were challenged in a lawsuit led by telecommunications industry trade association US Telecom. The group praised Pai’s decision to remove “antiquated, restrictive regulations” to “pave the way for broadband network investment, expansion and upgrades.” The FCC’s repeal is certain to draw a legal challenge from advocates of net neutrality. Nancy Pelosi, the top U.S. House of Representatives Democrat, said the FCC move would hurt consumers and chill competition, saying the agency “has launched an all-out assault on the entrepreneurship, innovation and competition at the heart of the internet.” The planned repeal represents the latest example of a legacy achievement of Obama being erased since Trump took office in January. Trump has abandoned international trade deals, the landmark Paris climate accord and environmental protections, taken aim at the Iran nuclear accord and closer relations with Cuba, and sought repeal Obama’s signature healthcare law. Pai, who has moved quickly to undo numerous regulatory actions since becoming FCC chairman, is pushing a broad deregulatory agenda. Pai said he had not shared his plans on the rollback with the White House in advance or been directed to undo net neutrality by White House officials. The FCC under Obama regulated internet service providers like public utilities under a section of federal law that gave the agency sweeping oversight over the conduct of these companies. Language in the new proposal would give the FCC significantly less authority to oversee the web. The FCC granted initial approval to Pai’s plan in May, but had left open many key questions including whether to retain any legal requirements limiting internet providers conduct. His plan would eliminate the “internet conduct standard,” which gave the FCC far-reaching discretion to prohibit improper internet service provider practices.

Summary: एफ. सी. सी. प्रमुख ने यू. एस. 'नेट न्यूट्रैलिटी' नियमों को हटाने की योजना बनाई


STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A man arrested on suspicion of trying to carry explosives onto a plane in western Sweden will be released from custody and is no longer a suspect, the prosecutor said on Friday  The suspicious objects have been analysed during the day and the man is no longer suspected of any crimes,  the prosecutors office said in a statement. The man was stopped as he tried to get onto a flight at Gothenburg s Landvetter airport on Thursday morning when a regular security check flagged up signs of explosive materials.

Summary: स्वीडिश हवाई अड्डे पर विस्फोटक रखने वाले संदिग्ध को बिना किसी आरोप के रिहा कर दिया गयाः अभियोजक


MOSCOW (Reuters) - For all their mutual praise, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump are likely to disagree on many things. But Trump’s election win could hand Moscow an elusive prize - the lifting or easing of Western sanctions. Rolling back those sanctions, imposed by the United States and the European Union to punish Moscow for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, could spur investment in Russia’s flat-lining economy. That might make it even easier for Putin, who is trying to plug holes in the state budget inflicted by low oil prices and sanctions, to win a fourth presidential term in 2018 by allowing him to show he has returned the economy to growth.  “Clearly the chances of sanctions being lifted on Russia have risen substantially,” Charles Robertson, Renaissance Capital’s global chief economist, said. “That would improve the investment climate for Russia.” Russia’s rouble currency and stocks gained on the Trump election victory. Ukraine’s dollar-denominated bonds tumbled to multi-month lows, reflecting pessimism about what a Trump presidency means for the divided and indebted country. The Kremlin had been bracing for fraught relations if the White House had been won by Hillary Clinton - a politician Putin once accused of stirring up protests against him and who state media portrayed as an anti-Russian warmonger. Trump was portrayed in a more positive light. Putin described him as “very talented” and in Kremlin-backed media he was cast as a plucky political maverick. Still, few in Moscow had believed the Republican candidate would win, apart from a group of Trump-supporting nationalists who gathered in a Moscow bar decorated with a triptych of Putin, Trump and French Front National leader Marine Le Pen. Once it became clear he had won, Russia’s parliament erupted in applause and Putin told foreign ambassadors he was ready to fully restore ties with Washington. State TV ran a clip of a Russian doppelganger of Trump taunting a cowed Clinton lookalike and Margarita Simonyan, the boss of RT, the Kremlin’s English-language TV news channel, said she would drive around Moscow with a U.S. flag to celebrate. But Russian glee was tempered by a recognition that Trump’s pre-election promises might be diluted and that deep contradictions between Moscow and Washington would remain, even if Trump and Putin adopt a friendly tone in public. Trump’s attempts to ease restrictions on doing business with Russia could also be constrained by Congress, which has shown it has little patience for the Kremlin’s military adventures. Executives with Western firms say the biggest obstacle to deals with Russia is not the sanctions themselves but the prospect that more could be imposed and the zeal with which existing sanctions are enforced. If a Trump White House were to send a signal to businesses that it was taking a more lax approach, investments could start flowing again with sanctions still in place. A softer U.S. stance could also weaken European sanctions resolve. The bloc’s measures have already started to look wobbly, with some member states finding ways to circumvent them, others saying it is time to discuss moving on, and some business groups in countries such as Germany lobbying against them. Until now, Washington has helped stiffen European resolve. When Russia placed a Eurobond in May this year, many European banks decided not to take part because they did not want to fall foul of U.S. financial regulators. “America was the leader there and amazingly has been able to hold Europe together (on sanctions),” political analyst Masha Lipman told Reuters. “With Donald Trump in the White House I think there may be changes, something that might be beneficial for Russia.” Putin needs sanctions lifted as they risk hurting his re-election prospects. Russia’s central bank is forecasting economic growth of up to 1 percent next year, well below the level Russian households have come to expect. After previous slumps, recoveries have been driven by foreign lending and investment. There are already some signs that the economy is hurting support for Putin, a trend that is only likely to grow in the 18 months until the Russian presidential election. Kremlin-watchers said that, even if U.S.-relations were less antagonistic with Trump in the White House, any deal would involve hard bargaining on both sides. Russia is seeking formal recognition from the world that Crimea, part of Ukraine, is now Russian territory, something it has only got so far apart from a handful of nations. It also wants Kiev to do more to implement a peace deal covering eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists hold sway. In Syria, where Russia is helping President Bashar al-Assad fight a war with air strikes and military assistance, Moscow wants the West to drop ideas about changing the government, abandon help for what it says are hardline Islamists, and drop talk of possible no-fly zones. One possibility is a quid pro quo, with Russia making concessions on Syria in exchange for the United States ceding ground on Ukraine and sanctions. “For Russia the key point is Ukraine. If Trump says that America does not care about Ukraine, then that is all that Russia wants to hear right now,” Georgy Bovt, editor of the Russkiy Mir magazine, told Reuters. “On Syria it will be easier to reach a deal. I think that on Assad, Russia will be willing to compromise because Ukraine is more important for Russia.” Much has been made in Russian and Western media of the perceived similarities and differences between Putin and Trump, who have never met. Both are fond of tough talking and some Russian politicians have suggested the pair might be able to forge a close working relationship similar to the one the Russian leader enjoyed with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.  Trump has said he might even meet Putin before his inauguration. Putin’s spokesman said there were currently no plans for such a meeting.   People familiar with both men’s leadership styles advised caution however, saying both were relatively thin-skinned when it came to criticism. Andrey Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, a think-tank close to the Foreign Ministry, told Reuters the fact that Trump was an untested politician would also be a worry for the Kremlin. “He’s a loose cannon and you never know what to expect from him,” he said. There were also concerns the two men might be too alike.  “The problem is that both of them, Putin and Trump, are macho,” Sergei Markov, a Kremlin-connected analyst and former pro-Putin lawmaker, told Reuters. “They could try to take the measure of each other. We can’t let that happen.”

Summary: ट्रंप की जीत से खुश है रूस, प्रतिबंधों से राहत की उम्मीद कर रहा है


BEDMINSTER, N.J. (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump will meet on Sunday with billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, a possible candidate for commerce secretary in the new administration, a spokesman for Trump’s transition team said on Saturday. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, will also meet with others on Sunday, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state and architect of anti-immigration efforts who says he is advising Trump on immigration issues. A Trump transition team official said a senior appointment could be announced soon.

Summary: विल्बर रॉस से मिलेंगे ट्रंप, वाणिज्य मंत्री के लिए संभावित विकल्प


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Congressman Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, underwent another surgical procedure on Thursday, a source familiar with the lawmaker’s condition told Reuters one day after the Louisiana Republican was shot.  Additional procedures may also be necessary, the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Summary: स्कैलिस की और सर्जरी हुईः सूत्र


SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) - Curbing North Korea s nuclear ambitions will top South Korean President Moon Jae-in s agenda in Beijing during a visit this week aimed at breaking the ice after a furious row over Seoul s deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system. While both South Korea and China share the goal of getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and stop testing increasingly sophisticated long-range missiles, the two have not seen eye-to-eye on how to achieve this. China has been particularly angered at the deployment of U.S.-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea, saying its powerful radar can see far into China and will do nothing to ease tension with North Korea. At his third meeting this year with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in Beijing, Moon is expected to reaffirm South Korea s agreement with China in late October that they would normalise exchanges and move past the dispute over THAAD, which froze trade and business exchanges between the two. The THAAD disagreement had dented South Korea s economic growth, especially its tourism industry, as group tours from China came to a halt while charter flights from South Korea were cancelled. While China still objects to THAAD, it has said it understands South Korea s decision to deploy it. In an interview with Chinese state television shown late on Monday, Moon said THAAD s presence was inevitable due to the looming North Korean threat but assured it would not be used against China.  South Korea will be extremely careful from here on out that the THAAD system is not invasive of China s security. South Korea has received promises from the United States multiple times regarding this,  Moon said. Joint efforts by China and South Korea could have  good results  if they work together to bring North Korea to the negotiating table, he added. North Korea has shown little sign it wants to engage in formal talks, with its state media citing leader Kim Jong Un as saying on Tuesday North Korea should develop and manufacture more diverse weapons to  completely overpower the enemy . Kim was addressing a rare munitions conference on Monday to laud the North s latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). North Korea last month test-launched what it called its most advanced ICBM in defiance of international sanctions and condemnation as it presses on with its mission to create a nuclear-tipped missile that can hit the United States.  Speaking over the weekend, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Moon had chosen to have  friendly cooperation  with China, and China was willing to work with South Korea to bring peace and stability to the Korean peninsula. During his first visit to China since taking office in May this year, Moon is expected to get bilateral economic exchanges back on track. According to South Korean media, Moon will be accompanied by the biggest business entourage ever with more than 220 businesses taking part in the four-day visit.

Summary: दक्षिण कोरिया के मून, चीन के शी उत्तर कोरिया से बातचीत करेंगे, बीजिंग शिखर सम्मेलन में व्यापार करेंगे


SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - State governors and city mayors were quick to claim the mantle of U.S. leadership in fighting climate change after President Donald Trump said on Thursday the country will pull out of the Paris climate agreement. The officials said they collectively could show the international community that the United States remained committed to cutting the emissions that scientists blame for global warming. Governors and analysts cited moves including California’s effort to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, northeast states potentially tightening maximum allowances for carbon and Oregon working on measures to put a price on carbon. “There is a pathway here where the rest of America in reaction to, really, what is an insane decision by president Trump, takes the kind of steps needed,” California Governor Jerry Brown told Reuters.  More states could follow California and neighboring Oregon’s lead on low-carbon fuel standards, expand zero emission vehicle requirements and potentially merge carbon measures such as taxes, caps and trading, the governors and analysts said. “There is a possibility over time that states could increase their cap-and-trade markets and merge them, including across national boundaries, as has happened with Quebec and California,” Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said in an interview with Reuters, referring to regional carbon trading systems already in place in the Northeast and West. Inslee, Brown and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced the creation of a “climate alliance” for states committed to the Paris goals.     Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris accord, saying the its requirement to cut U.S. emission of carbon dioxide threatened millions of jobs and productivity. He said he would start a process that could last four years to withdraw from the deal, which has been signed by almost every other nation on Earth. [L1N1IY0MV] The president used declining coal industry jobs as an example of his concern that the climate pledge was hurting U.S. workers. But critics of his move pointed out that renewable energy industries, particularly solar, are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs - far more than currently exist in coal. “This decision won’t bring back coal jobs in the United States. That train has left the station,” California state senate leader Kevin de Leon, a Democrat, said of Trump’s withdrawal. “Clean energy is the future.” De Leon introduced a bill that would require California get 100 percent of its retail electricity from renewables by 2045, and it passed the state senate on Wednesday. California Governor Brown is heading to China on Friday to lead a conference of states and other “subnational” actors making voluntary commitments to cut greenhouse grasses.  The group, the “Under2” coalition, which takes its name from the Paris accord’s effort to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, has grown to 170 jurisdictions representing more than a third of the global economy over the past two years - including 10 states in the United States. Brown said he was exploring the possibility of integrating California and Chinese provincial carbon trading systems. That would be a “heavy lift” he said, but “I am going to discuss that with the highest officials in China this week.” Smaller states also aim to lead by example. Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection chief Rob Klee said he was working on a program to build electric vehicle infrastructure. “What we believe we can do in Connecticut is show the policies that can work,” he said. The U.S. commitment under Paris of cutting emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 is ambitious, though. John Larsen of Rhodium Group estimated the United States under Trump policies was on track for a 15 percent to 19 percent reduction. “At this stage in the game, new experimentation at the state level with new policy options could be really, really important to not just meeting Paris but driving emissions down in the long run,” he said. Several cities said that they would work toward reaching the goal. “We are increasing investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. We will buy and create more demand for electric cars and trucks,” a group of more than 50 mayors from cities ranging from Houston, Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana said in a statement on Thursday. The various coalitions of states and cities said that they had the heft to command international attention. “Clearly California is sort of the big dog in this pack, but our ability to work with California and Washington and British Columbia has a huge impact,” Oregon Governor Kate Brown told Reuters.

Summary: ट्रम्प के पेरिस जलवायु समझौते से बाहर निकलने के बाद कैलिफोर्निया, अन्य राज्यों ने नेतृत्व करने का संकल्प लिया


MOSCOW/BEIJING (Reuters) - Prospects for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at this week s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit were unclear after the Kremlin said a meeting was definite before saying it was just a possibility.     Putin and Trump, who had their first face-to-face meeting in July to discuss allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, are both planning to attend this week s summit in the Vietnamese city of Danang.  The Kremlin, which wants to try to improve battered U.S.-Russia ties, says it has been trying to set up a meeting and Trump told Fox News before his Asia tour that he might meet Putin in Vietnam to talk about Syria, Ukraine and North Korea.  Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told Russian news agencies on Thursday that such a meeting would happen on Friday, but Dmitry Peskov, a Putin spokesman, rowed back on that later on Thursday after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said no decision on formal talks had yet been taken. Tillerson, on a visit to Beijing with Trump, also questioned whether the two leaders would have enough to talk about to justify such a meeting.  There s never been an agreement, certainly not to a full bilat(eral),  said Tillerson, who said it would not be unusual however if the two men had a spontaneous  pull-aside meeting  chat if they bumped into each other.      The question is whether we ve got sufficient substance (for a more formal meeting) and we re working with the Russians as you know on a number of difficult areas,  said Tillerson.  We re in contact with them and the view s that the two leaders are going to meet if there s something sufficiently substantive to talk about that would warrant a formal meeting.  Asked about Tillerson s comments, Peskov, Putin s spokesman, told reporters on a conference call that a possible meeting was still being discussed before predicting that the two men would cross paths  one way or another.      Putin and Trump first got together at a G20 summit in Hamburg in July when they discussed accusations of Russian interference in the U.S. election but agreed to focus on better relations rather than litigating the past.  But ties have soured further since then. Trump in August grudgingly signed off on new sanctions against Russia, a move Moscow said ended hopes for better relations. Putin ordered Washington to cut its embassy and consular staff in Russia by more than half. Tensions have also flared over the conflict in Syria.

Summary: एपेक शिखर सम्मेलन में पुतिन-ट्रम्प की बैठक की संभावनाएँ स्पष्ट नहीं हैं


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire hedge fund manager Seth Klarman said on Wednesday he would work to get Hillary Clinton elected president of the United States because he finds recent comments by Donald Trump “shockingly unacceptable.”  “His words and actions over the last several days are so shockingly unacceptable in our diverse and democratic society that it is simply unthinkable that Donald Trump could become our president,” Klarman said of the Republican presidential nominee. The president and chief executive of The Baupost Group told Reuters in an emailed statement that Trump’s suggestion “that the election will be rigged is particularly dangerous.”  “I will continue to find ways to support Hillary Clinton and defeat Donald Trump,” he said.   On Monday, Trump told a town hall event in Columbus, Ohio, that he thought the November election might be “rigged.” Trump’s attacks on the Muslim parents of a decorated American soldier, Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq, have drawn sharp rebukes since Khizr Khan and Ghazala Khan appeared at last week’s Democratic convention. Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Klarman, whose Boston-based investment firm manages $29 billion, is registered as an independent voter. But a review of filings showed that his political giving has largely benefited Republicans over the years, including donations this election cycle to political action committees that supported primary candidates Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Marco Rubio. He has also given to the campaigns of Democrats, including now-U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Mark Warner, according to the filings. He contributed $4,600 to Hillary Clinton’s 2007 presidential race, while also giving to the campaigns of Republicans John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. In June, Klarman gave $5,400 to Clinton’s campaign. “He is completely unqualified for the highest office in the land,” Klarman said in his statement, without specifying how he would further support Clinton.

Summary: बिलियनेयर क्लारमैन ने ट्रम्प की आलोचना की, क्लिंटन के लिए काम करने का संकल्प लिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump on Friday named U.S. Senator Mike Lee as a potential Supreme Court nominee, turning to an ally of former rival Ted Cruz in an apparent gesture to conservative Republicans who have been wary of the Republican presidential candidate.  Lee was included on a new list of 21 potential Supreme Court justices that Trump would consider for the high court if he is elected over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election. “This list is definitive and I will choose only from it in picking future justices of the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said in a statement. The announcement came out on a day in which neither candidate had a public event and were preparing for Monday’s first presidential debate. The list Trump announced included 10 new names and 11 conservative jurists from a list the New York businessman had announced in May. Lee’s brother, Thomas Lee, an associate justice of the Utah Supreme Court, was on the initial list and remains on Trump’s expanded list. Trump’s listing of Mike Lee amounted to a gesture to U.S. Senator Cruz of Texas, a conservative who fought Trump fiercely as a rival for the Republican presidential nomination and who has refused to endorse Trump. Trump’s bombastic style and proposals breaking with some conservative orthodoxies such as support for free trade agreements have sparked unease among traditional conservative Republicans.  Mike Lee, in a statement, said he appreciated being considered. “Right now I’m focused on my job in the Senate, where I’m in a good position to defend the Constitution by fighting against government overreach. Both lists that I’ve seen from the Trump campaign are fantastic.  “While my brother and I might disagree as to which list is better, they’re both great,” he quipped. The death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia on Feb. 13 left the court with a four-to-four tie between right-leaning and left-leaning justices. Democratic President Barack Obama has nominated Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, but the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate has refused to consider confirming him. Trump said his list was based on who would follow constitutional principles on the high court. The possibility of Republicans ceding control of the court to the Democrats has been one of his main rallying cries at campaign events. Others on Trump’s list include Keith Blackwell, a justice on the Supreme Court of Georgia; Charles Canady, a Florida Supreme Court justice; Neil Gorsuch, a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, and Edward Mansfield, an Iowa Supreme Court justice. Other names included Federico Moreno, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida; Margaret Ryan, a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; Amul Thapar, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Timothy Tymkovich, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit; and Robert Young, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan.

Summary: ट्रंप ने क्रूज के सहयोगी माइक ली को सुप्रीम कोर्ट का संभावित न्यायाधीश नामित किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana, a former Navy SEAL commander who questions whether humans are largely the cause of climate change, as his choice for secretary of the interior. If the Senate confirms Zinke, a Republican, to lead the Interior Department, he will head an agency that employs more than 70,000 people across the country and oversees more than 20 percent of federal land, including national parks such as Yellowstone and Yosemite. As a one-term U.S. congressman, Zinke took several stances favoring coal, which is high in carbon emissions when burned. Coal output suffered during the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama as the development of competing fuels natural gas and solar and wind power soared. Zinke, 55, pushed to end a moratorium on federal coal leases on public lands by 2019, saying it had resulted in closed mines and job cuts. He also helped introduce a bill expanding tax credits for coal-burning power plants that bury carbon dioxide emissions underground to fight climate change, a measure supported by coal interests and some moderate environmental groups. In introducing the bill, Zinke said he wanted to keep “coal, oil and gas communities viable for generations to come.”  The Interior Department includes the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which has oversight over offshore oil drilling and wind power; and the Fish and Wildlife Service.  Trump’s potential Cabinet is filling with nominees from top fossil fuel-producing states. He tapped Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, an ardent opponent of Obama’s measures to curb climate change, to run the Environmental Protection Agency and Rick Perry, a climate skeptic and former governor of Texas, to head the Department of Energy.  Zinke would replace Sally Jewell, who in January put a temporary ban on coal mining on public lands, canceled leases for drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic coasts, expanded wildlife protections and cracked down on methane emissions from the energy industry on tribal and public lands. The choice of Zinke surprised some observers because Republican officials had wanted him to challenge Democratic Senator Jon Tester in Montana’s 2018 Senate race. Many environmental groups oppose Zinke for his commitment to fossil fuels and his view that the science on climate change is “unsettled.” Bradley Campbell, the president of the Conservation Law Foundation feared that Zinke would be given the task of unraveling Obama’s protections of the environment and federal lands. Considering Zinke’s history on climate and his defending fossil fuel interests, “it is likely that we will be facing an uphill battle,” Campbell said. Zinke, a regular hunter and fisherman, impressed Trump’s son, Donald Jr., who shares those interests. Land Tawney, the president and chief executive officer of the outdoors group Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, said Zinke would bring a conservationist voice to Trump’s leadership team. Zinke is a proponent of keeping public lands under federal ownership, which puts him at odds with some in his party who would like to privatize the lands or put them under control of the states.  “He’s been great at keeping public lands in public hands and goes against the Republican establishment,” Tawney said.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने मोंटाना के सांसद ज़िंके को आंतरिक विभाग का नेतृत्व करने के लिए चुना


REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - The leader of Iceland s main Left-Green opposition party, Katrin Jakobsdottir, said on Sunday she would not rule out working with the new Centre Party whose leader last year was ousted as Prime Minister due to links to the Panama Paper Scandal.  Nothing is out of the picture, but our first choice is to work with the parties on the left,  she told Reuters in a telephone interview. She said that it might not be possible for the center-left to form a government.  We d hoped that the opposition would get a majority, but that is unclear now,  she said. The Centre Party, which was formed this September by former Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, got 11 percent of the votes in the early counting.

Summary: आइसलैंड के विपक्षी नेता का कहना है कि वे सेंटर पार्टी के साथ सहयोग से इंकार नहीं करेंगे


BALTIMORE (Reuters) - The U.S.-led battle against Islamic State militants controlling parts of Iraq and Syria is gaining steam and will show more progress by year’s end, Vice President Joe Biden said on Thursday. Biden touted the recent success of U.S. efforts backing Iraqi troops against the Islamic State in Iraq as part of a broad defense of Obama administration foreign policy. “I promise you, after Ramadi, watch what happens now in Raqqa in Syria and what happens in Mosul (Iraq), by end of this year,” he told U.S. House of Representatives Democrats, in Baltimore for a three-day retreat. Iraqi forces, boosted by U.S. training, have evicted insurgents from large parts of Ramadi, leading to speculation that they could have success elsewhere against the Islamic State. “We’ve taken back collectively 40 percent of the territory  they occupy,” Biden said. White House spokesman Josh Earnest, asked about Biden’s remarks, said he had not yet heard them. But he added, “Obviously, we’re going to need to get ISIL  leaders out of Mosul and out of Raqqa and that’s a significant task. We know that they’ve been dug into those cities for a while now, and that means it’s going to be hard to dig them out.” ISIL is one of the acronyms referring to Islamic State. The Democratic vice president attributed recent successes to more engagement by European countries and Turkey. “The president has finally got the attention of Europeans to pony up because they haven’t been doing much of anything,” Biden said, adding, “I spend too much time probably with President Erdogan, but Erdogan has seen the Lord. Things are changing because of self-interest.” Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed ways to deepen cooperation in the fight against Islamic State in a meeting in Istanbul on Saturday, according to a White House statement on Sunday.

Summary: इस्लामिक स्टेट के खिलाफ लड़ाई में बढ़ती प्रगति देख रहे हैं बाइडन


LONDON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - In a 67-word statement composed 100 years ago, Britain endorsed the establishment of a Jewish homeland in the Middle East, triggering a process that would culminate in the creation of Israel - and with it one of the world s most intractable conflicts. On Thursday, British and Israeli leaders commemorated the centenary of that statement, known as the Balfour Declaration after the foreign minister who penned it, with a banquet in the gilded halls of London s Lancaster House mansion. But as Prime Minister Theresa May and Israel s Benjamin Netanyahu dine, protesters gathered to demand that Britain acknowledge the suffering they say the declaration has caused to Palestinian people, and recognize their claim to statehood.   The reason it is getting so much attention is because the conflict which it launched ... is still very much in existence and there is a sense, particularly on the Palestinian side, of continuing injustice,  said Ian Black, an academic at the London School of Economics.  It really is an issue which is alive and toxic and bitterly divisive.  While Israel reveres Arthur Balfour, naming streets and a Tel Aviv school after him, Palestinians decry his declaration as a promise by Britain to hand over land it did not own. The contested declaration is at the root of the Israeli-Palestinian territorial conflict which, after several wars and  decades of international diplomacy, remains unsettled. Marches, each drawing about 1,000 demonstrators, were held in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Nablus and in Gaza, a modest turnout for political protests in those areas. Protesters waved Palestinian flags and held banners demanding Britain rectify its  historical sin . In Gaza, Ahmed Helles, a senior official from President Mahmoud Abbas s Fatah movement, said:  Britain should feel ashamed and stigmatized because of this promise and not hold celebrations.  Netanyahu met May and foreign minister Boris Johnson separately before the dinner, which was also attended by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and other high profile guests.  Sadly, Balfour remains unfinished business   as his fundamental vision of peaceful co-existence has not yet been fulfilled,  May said at the dinner according to a copy of her speech distributed by her office.  I believe it demands of us today a renewed resolve to support a lasting peace that is in the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians   and in the interests of us all.  Britain held Palestine, which had been under Ottoman Turkish rule, from 1922 until after the end of World War Two. Israel declared independence in 1948, at the end of British Mandatory rule and after the U.N. General Assembly voted in 1947 in favor of a plan, rejected by Palestinian representatives, to partition Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state. The ensuing regional conflict, played out over a series of  wars fought along Arab-Israeli lines, has left the Palestinians seeking to establish an independent state in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Thursday s commemoration, culminating in the dinner hosted by descendants of Balfour and of the recipient of his declaration, Jewish community leader Walter Rothschild, required Britain to strike a delicate diplomatic balance. Britain regards Israel as a close and important ally and supports international efforts to find a peaceful solution that results in separate Israeli and Palestinian states. Attempting to strike the right balance, Johnson on Monday praised the declaration for helping to create a  great nation , but he also said the spirit of the declaration had not been fully realized. He was referring to a clause in the document which said nothing should prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities. Israel has traditionally focused less on that clause and more on the declaration s landmark endorsement of a Jewish homeland, and plans to celebrate the anniversary. The Israeli parliament will hold a special commemorative session next week.   While the state would not have arisen without settlement, sacrifice and a willingness to fight for it, the international impetus was undoubtedly the Balfour Declaration,  Netanyahu told a meeting of his cabinet ahead of his visit to London. Israel does not oppose international efforts to make peace, but says - as do international sponsors - that a solution cannot be imposed and should stem from talks between the two parties. Some Arab lawmakers in the Israeli parliament said they would boycott the celebrations, and protests were planned across several days in London by organizations pledging solidarity with the Palestinians. Earlier this week Abbas used an article in Britain s Guardian newspaper to reiterate calls for the British government to acknowledge the declaration as a mistake.  The creation of a homeland for one people resulted in the dispossession and continuing persecution of another   now a deep imbalance between occupier and occupied,  he wrote.   The balance must be redressed, and Britain bears a great deal of responsibility in leading the way.  Britain has refused Palestinian demands for an apology and does not recognize Palestine as a state. Johnson said on Monday Britain would be willing to offer recognition, but wanted to time it to give maximum impetus to peace efforts.

Summary: एक सदी बाद, ब्रिटेन की यहूदी मातृभूमि घोषणा ने मध्य पूर्व में उत्सव और शोक को जन्म दिया


MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson offered Theresa May unsolicited public advice about how to make Brexit a success on Tuesday, delicately testing the extent of the prime minister s weakened authority while pledging overt loyalty. Alongside public proclamations of backing for May, he used media articles and interviews ahead of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester to offer up his own vision of a bold Brexit. After praising May for winning a snap June election which lost her party its majority in parliament, Johnson used his main speech to say that her top ministers were united behind  every syllable  of her Brexit plans set out last month in Florence.  The whole country owes her a debt for her steadfastness in taking Britain forward, as she will, to a great Brexit deal, based on that Florence speech on whose every syllable, I can tell you, the whole cabinet is united,  Johnson said. Just hours later, though, the man who led the main  leave  campaign in the 2016 referendum on Britain s EU membership told activists at a separate event that there was far too much gloom surrounding Brexit. He then sketched out his own views on how Britain s exit would look and how Britain might need different regulations on everything from data to bioscience.  I campaigned on a slogan of...  Take Back Control .... I think that s what the prime minister also believes in very strongly,  Johnson told the gathering.   If you re going to do this, do it well. Do it in such a way as to get a great result for the UK,  he said.  We want an arrangement that means we are not just locked in strict rotational orbit around the EU.  Johnson, widely regarded in Britain as concealing a fierce political ambition behind a clownish exterior, has overshadowed the party conference which May had hoped to use to claw back some authority after her election gamble went so wrong. Arriving with his trademark blonde hair tousled and rummaging through a suit jacket pocket, Boris enthused Conservative members but was careful to make no explicit pitch to replace May. Ahead of Johnson s speech, May had repeatedly faced questions from reporters about whether she would sack Johnson after he appeared to undermine her Brexit strategy by setting out his own vision. She has sidestepped those questions. The European Parliament savaged the British government s handling of Brexit negotiations on Tuesday, voting against opening talks yet on future trade and condemning disarray in May s team. A German ally of conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, Manfred Weber, said British cabinet in-fighting was putting a deal at risk and called on May to sack Johnson. But Johnson also provided a rare spark in Manchester where Conservative ministers lined up to cast the opposition Labour Party as dangerous Marxists while failing to offer any striking new policies.  To me, that was real leadership: motivating, inspirational. What s a good leader? It s somebody who can do that,  said Vanessa Churchman a local government official from the Isle of Wight in the south of England.  Everybody who goes away from here will feel inspired.  At previous party conferences, Boris, as he is widely known in Britain, also repeatedly upstaged then-prime minister David Cameron, though after the referendum sank Cameron s career, Johnson dropped out of the race to be leader when a colleague broke a pact to back him. While Johnson is popular with party members, many Conservative lawmakers are angry that he has overshadowed May with what they say were unhelpful and disloyal interventions. May, the staid daughter of a vicar, has a presentational style that is in many ways the polar opposite of Johnson s swashbuckling on-stage persona. She is due to close the conference on Wednesday.

Summary: बोरिस जॉनसन ने वफादारी का प्रदर्शन करते हुए ब्रेक्सिट पर पीएम मे को दी सलाह


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea complained to the United Nations on Monday about joint military exercises by the United State and South Korea, describing it as  the worst ever situation  because U.S. nuclear war equipment had been deployed ready to strike. In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, seen by Reuters, North Korean U.N. Ambassador Ja Song Nam said the United States was  running amok for war exercises by introducing nuclear war equipment in and around the Korean Peninsula.  Three U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups have been involved in the joint exercise in the Western Pacific in a rare show of force as President Donald Trump visits Asia. The last time three U.S. carrier strike groups exercised together in the Western Pacific was in 2007. South Korea has said the joint drill, due to finish on Tuesday, was in response to North Korean nuclear and missile provocations and to show any such developments by Pyongyang can be repelled with  overwhelming force.  However, Ja said Washington was to blame for escalating tensions and accused the U.N. Security Council of ignoring  the nuclear war exercises of the United States who is hell bent on bringing catastrophic disaster to humanity.  Ja asked Guterres to bring to the attention of the 15-member council - under the rarely used Article 99 of the U.N. Charter -  the danger being posed by the U.S. nuclear war exercises, which are clearly threats to international peace and security.  Tensions have soared between the United States and North Korea following a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump said in a tweet on Sunday that Kim had insulted him by calling him  old  and said he would never call the North Korean leader  short and fat.  The United States has said that all options, including military, are on the table to deal with North Korea, although its preference is for a diplomatic solution. The U.N. Security Council has unanimously ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs since 2006.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र में, उत्तर कोरिया ने कहा कि 'अब तक की सबसे खराब स्थिति' के लिए अमेरिका जिम्मेदार है


SEOUL (Reuters) - The air forces of South Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold a regular joint drill next month, deploying six F-22 Raptor stealth fighters in the exercise, a South Korean defense ministry official said on Friday. The drill, called Vigilant Ace, will run from Dec. 4 to 8, the official told Reuters. The F-22 stealth fighters will be joined by F-35 aircraft, a U.S. Air Force official said. The Vigilant Ace drill is held regularly by the United States and South Korea to simulate wartime defenses. About 12,000 U.S. personnel will participate with South Korean troops while 230 aircraft will be flown at eight U.S. and South Korean military installations, the U.S. Seventh Air Force said in a news statement.   U.S. Marine Corps and Navy troops will also participate, it added.  This realistic combat exercise is designed to enhance interoperability between U.S. and Republic of Korea forces and increase the combat effectiveness of both nations,  it said.  The exercise comes as North Korea continues to press forward with developing its nuclear and missile program, in defiance of global condemnation and sanctions, though it has not held tests for two months.  Pyongyang strongly protests against joint drills of this nature, which it views as aggression against the isolated state.

Summary: अमेरिका, दक्षिण कोरिया दिसंबर की शुरुआत में संयुक्त वायु सेना अभ्यास करेंगे


WASHINGTON/HAVANA (Reuters) - The United States has recovered an inert Hellfire air-to-ground missile that had mistakenly ended up in Cuba, U.S. and Cuban officials said on Saturday. The laser-guided AGM 114 Hellfire mistakenly arrived in Cuba in June 2014 and was retrieved on Saturday by U.S. officials and representatives of Lockheed Martin Corp, the missile’s owner, the Cuban foreign ministry said in a statement. “We can say, without speaking to specifics, that the inert training missile has been returned with the cooperation of the Cuban government,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. Lockheed Martin spokesman Bill Phelps declined comment. The missile had been sent to Europe for a training exercise in 2014 but somehow ended up in Cuba in an embarrassing loss of military technology, the Wall Street Journal reported last month. “The department is restricted under federal law and regulations from commenting on specific defense trade licensing cases and compliance matters, so we cannot provide further details,” Toner said. But he said reestablished diplomatic relations between the two countries have helped the U.S. “engage with the Cuban government on issues of mutual interest.” Cuba said the missile arrived by mistake or mishandling on a commercial flight from Paris and was not listed on the cargo manifest, and that it was discovered by customs inspectors. “Once the U.S. government officially informed the Cuban government that a training missile belonging to the company Lockheed Martin was mistakenly sent to our country and expressed its interest in recovering it, Cuba communicated the decision to hand it over and started arrangements for its return,” the Cuban statement said, without revealing when the United States made the request. A team of U.S. government and Lockheed Martin experts took the missile back to the United States on Saturday, Cuba said.

Summary: अमेरिका ने क्यूबा से हेलफायर हवा से जमीन पर मार करने वाली मिसाइल बरामद की


MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are tussling in Wisconsin over who would best represent the Democratic Party against Republican front-runner Donald Trump. The competition was in full force on Saturday night at the Wisconsin Democratic Party’s “Founders Day Gala,” a chance for both Cliinton and Sanders to make their closing arguments before the state’s primary vote on Tuesday. Clinton, as the Democratic front-runner, is more and more taking aim at both Trump and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, the top Trump rival who is leading Wisconsin polls of Republican voters. Trump, in response to the threat of Islamic militants, has proposed a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and Cruz has called for police patrols of Muslim neighborhoods. Clinton said these ideas are offensive. “That does not make Trump and Cruz sound strong,” said Clinton to the crowd of 1,400. “It makes them sound in over their heads... You know loose cannons tend to misfire, and in a dangerous world that is a gamble we cannot afford.” Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont who has been a surprisingly strong challenger to Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, told the crowd he would be a better opponent against Trump than Clinton. Sanders noted national poll numbers showing he leads Trump by a larger margin than Clinton leads the New York billionaire. Sanders said this makes him “the strongest candidate” on the Democratic side to go up against Trump. “It’s not just polling,” Sanders said. “There is one campaign which has created an enormous amount of excitement and enthusiasm and that is our campaign.” For the Democratic Party to succeed in the Nov. 8 election, Sanders said, “we need a vibrancy” and energy that brings in young people who have flocked to his campaign.

Summary: क्लिंटन, सैंडर्स ने ट्रम्प विरोधी उम्मीदवार के रूप में भूमिका के लिए ऑडिशन दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The special counsel investigation of links between Russia and President Trump’s 2016 election campaign should continue without interference in 2018, despite calls from some Trump administration allies and Republican lawmakers to shut it down, a prominent Republican senator said on Sunday. Lindsey Graham, who serves on the Senate armed forces and judiciary committees, said Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Mueller needs to carry on with his Russia investigation without political interference. “This investigation will go forward. It will be an investigation conducted without political influence,” Graham said on CBS’s Face the Nation news program. “And we all need to let Mr. Mueller do his job. I think he’s the right guy at the right time.”  The question of how Russia may have interfered in the election, and how Trump’s campaign may have had links with or co-ordinated any such effort, has loomed over the White House since Trump took office in January. It shows no sign of receding as Trump prepares for his second year in power, despite intensified rhetoric from some Trump allies in recent weeks accusing Mueller’s team of bias against the Republican president. Trump himself seemed to undercut his supporters in an interview last week with the New York Times in which he said he expected Mueller was “going to be fair.”    Russia’s role in the election and the question of possible links to the Trump campaign are the focus of multiple inquiries in Washington. Three committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives are investigating, as well as Mueller, whose team in May took over an earlier probe launched by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Several members of the Trump campaign and administration have been convicted or indicted in the investigation.  Trump and his allies deny any collusion with Russia during the campaign, and the Kremlin has denied meddling in the election. Graham said he still wants an examination of the FBI’s use of a dossier on links between Trump and Russia that was compiled by a former British spy, Christopher Steele, which prompted Trump allies and some Republicans to question Mueller’s inquiry.   On Saturday, the New York Times reported that it was not that dossier that triggered an early FBI probe, but a tip from former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos to an Australian diplomat that Russia had damaging information about former Trump rival Hillary Clinton.  “I want somebody to look at the way the Department of Justice used this dossier. It bothers me greatly the way they used it, and I want somebody to look at it,” Graham said. But he said the Russia investigation must continue. “As a matter of fact, it would hurt us if we ignored it,” he said.

Summary: वरिष्ठ अमेरिकी रिपब्लिकन सीनेटरः 'श्री मुलर को अपना काम करने दें'


CHICAGO (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday urged federal antitrust officials to conduct a “careful analysis” of Dow Chemical Co’s proposed $130 billion merger with DuPont, adding pressure on officials to scrutinize how rapid consolidation in agriculture will affect farmers and consumers. U.S. Senator Charles Grassley called for the review in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division. The Iowa Republican said he was concerned the planned tie-up will decrease competition in the farming sector following a flood of mergers and acquisitions in recent years. He also said he was worried the deal could raise barriers to entry for smaller companies, hurt innovation and raise prices for products. Grassley’s request for a federal review increases attention on risks of consolidation as more large agribusiness deals are in the offing. Bayer AG is pursuing a $62 billion acquisition of Monsanto Co, the world’s top seed maker, while Chinese state-owned China National Chemical Corp [CNNCC.UL], or ChemChina, plans to buy Swiss crop chemicals company Syngenta AG for $43 billion. A global downturn in grain prices and a strong dollar have reduced U.S. farm income and prompted farmers to cut spending. That has eaten into sales of the big six agrochemical and seed companies that are now looking to bolster profits through mergers and partnerships. Dow expects the regulatory review of its proposed merger with DuPont “will be a thorough process,” a company spokeswoman said. The deal is “pro-competitive and good for farmers and consumers,” she said. Dow has previously said it expects the deal to close in the second half of 2016. DuPont had no immediate comment. The Justice Department declined to comment. In March, Grassley, who also serves on the agriculture committee, joined other senators asking for the U.S. government panel that reviews foreign acquisitions to assess the impact of ChemChina’s planned acquisition of Syngenta on domestic food security . The U.S. Department of Agriculture has agreed to join the review panel, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters, a move that subjects the deal to additional government scrutiny. Last month, Monsanto turned down Bayer’s acquisition attempt as “incomplete and financially inadequate” but said it was open to further negotiations. Monsanto said the initial offer did not adequately address potential “regulatory execution risks related to the acquisition.”

Summary: न्याय विभाग को डाउ-डुपॉन्ट सौदे का विश्लेषण करना चाहिएः सीनेटर


(Reuters) - An Alabama state court on Friday rejected Governor Robert Bentley’s request to block a legislative committee from releasing evidence about wrongdoing stemming from his relationship with a former aide to be used for impeachment proceedings. A Montgomery County State Court judge was still hearing arguments on Friday evening over the governor’s motion to halt impeachment proceedings in the Alabama House of Representatives. The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin the process on Monday. Bentley, who is accused of using state resources for personal use, has denied any wrongdoing and has refused to step down, as demanded by top political leaders. Bentley’s troubles began last year when recordings surfaced of him making suggestive remarks to a former senior adviser, Rebekah Mason, before his wife of 50 years filed for divorce in August 2015. Bentley has denied having a physical affair with Mason, who is married. She resigned as questions about the pair’s relationship began to dominate Alabama politics. On Wednesday, the Alabama Ethics Commission found that Bentley probably violated ethics and campaign finance laws.     The Judiciary Committee’s report on Friday accused Bentley of ordering state law enforcement officers to track down copies of an embarrassing recording that suggested an affair with the Mason. It also accused him of retaliating against an official who discovered the relationship. The committee plans to begin its impeachment process on Monday. The panel’s process would lead to a recommendation to the full House on whether to impeach.    Bentley remained defiant at news conference on Friday. “Once again, let me say, I do not plan to resign,” he told reporters without taking questions. “I have done nothing illegal. If the people want to know if I misused state resources, the answer is simply no, I have not.”  The Ethics Commission on Wednesday said it found that Bentley had accepted a contribution and made a loan to his campaign outside the legal time frame, and that he used campaign funds to pay the legal fees of Mason, local media reported.  The commission has declined to disclose the evidence of its finding because it was referring it to the Montgomery district attorney’s office, which could bring criminal charges against the governor.

Summary: अलबामा की अदालत ने राज्यपाल के खिलाफ सबूत जारी करने की अनुमति दी


BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court on Tuesday jailed a prominent rights lawyer for two years, saying he incited subversion of state power, the most recent such verdict in a sweeping crackdown on activism. Jiang Tianyong, 46, developed notions of overthrowing China s political system after being influenced by training workshops held by  anti-China foreign forces  overseas, the court in the central city of Changsha said. He used social media to  attack or defame  government departments and incited others to gather and demonstrate in public, the Changsha Intermediate People s Court said on its Twitter-like Weibo microblog.     However, Jiang s wife, Jin Bianling, called the verdict  unacceptable , adding that she believed he was being made an example of, in order to deter or repress other rights lawyers.       I do not acknowledge or accept this verdict,  she told Reuters in a telephone interview from the United States, where she lives.  Jiang Tianyong is innocent.    Jiang s family was unable to appoint their own lawyers, Jin said, and she had been unable to contact him in detention.  In Geneva, the U.N. human rights office, which has denounced China s crackdown on defense lawyers since 2015, called for his release.  We urge the Chinese authorities to release Jiang Tianyong as well as lawyer Wang Quanzhang and other lawyers and activists who have remained in detention since August 2015,  U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told Reuters. The verdict came exactly a year after Jiang disappeared last November while visiting the family of another detained rights lawyer. He was held incommunicado for six months before being formally charged. There were  serious concerns regarding the lawfulness of the legal proceedings , said Germany s ambassador to China, Michael Clauss, including the denial of access to lawyers of Jiang s choice.  The circumstances and the lack of regard for the rights of the defendant certainly call into question the fairness of the verdict,  Clauss said in a statement. Jiang, who was disbarred in 2009 after taking on sensitive cases such as defending practitioners of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, had been an outspoken critic of the government crackdown on dissent. Since mid-2015, hundreds of rights lawyers and activists have been sentenced or detained, drawing condemnation from foreign governments and international rights groups. Tuesday s ruling broadly followed the facts in Jiang s confession at his trial in August, when the court released video images of him reading parts of a written statement. China has videostreamed or liveblogged increasing numbers of court hearings in recent years, in a push for judicial transparency. But in sensitive cases, say rights activists, only selected portions are made available, when the defendant has agreed to go along with a pre-prepared outcome. Rights group Amnesty International called Jiang s conviction  baseless  and his trial a  total sham .  His so-called confession and apology, most likely extracted under duress, were nothing more than an act of political theater directed by the authorities,  said William Nee, a China researcher at Amnesty.

Summary: चीनी अदालत ने विद्रोह भड़काने के लिए अधिकार वकील को दो साल की जेल की सजा सुनाई


MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States provided intelligence to Russia that helped thwart a potentially deadly bomb attack in St. Petersburg, U.S. and Russian officials said on Sunday, in a rare public show of cooperation despite deep strains between the two countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday to thank him for the tip-off, which the Kremlin said helped prevent a militant bomb attack on a cathedral in the Russian city, as well as other sites. The White House did not disclose details about the plot itself, but said the attack  could have killed large numbers of people.  Neither the Kremlin nor the White House identified the would-be attackers. The U.S. warning allowed Russian law enforcement agencies to arrest the suspects before they could carry out their plans, the White House and Kremlin said. Relations between Washington and Moscow have been damaged by disagreements over the wars in Ukraine and Syria, although Trump pledged during his election campaign to pursue better ties with Moscow.  That has been complicated by U.S. allegations - denied by Russia - that the Kremlin meddled in last year s U.S. presidential election to help Trump win. Russian officials say Putin believes Trump is not to blame for the tensions.  The phone call on Sunday between Trump and Putin was at least the second such call in the past week. On Thursday, Putin and Trump discussed the crisis in North Korea. The foiled attack was to have been carried out on Kazansky Cathedral, in Russia s second city of St. Petersburg, and on other locations in the city where large numbers of people gather, the Kremlin statement said. The cathedral is a popular tourist site. The White House seized on the foiled plot in St. Petersburg as a sign of what Moscow and Washington could do if they cooperate.  Both leaders agreed that this serves as an example of the positive things that can occur when our countries work together,  the White House said, adding Trump appreciated the call from Putin.     Russian media reported last week that the Federal Security Service had detained followers of the Islamic State group who had been planning a suicide bomb attack on Kazansky Cathedral on Saturday.  The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to requests for additional details on the foiled plot. Putin said Russia would alert U.S. authorities if it received information about any attack being planned on the United States, the Kremlin said. Russia has repeatedly been the target of attacks by Islamist militant groups, including an attack in April that killed 14 people when an explosion tore through a train carriage in a metro tunnel in St. Petersburg. Russian police detained several suspects in that attack from mainly Muslim states in ex-Soviet central Asia.

Summary: अमेरिका ने सेंट पीटर्सबर्ग में बड़े हमले को विफल करने में मदद कीः अमेरिका, रूस का कहना है


LONDON (Reuters) - Britain s Electoral Commission is investigating whether a leading anti-EU campaigner breached referendum finance rules, after speculation mounted that Russia may have meddled in the Brexit vote. Arron Banks, a major donor to the anti-EU campaign who was pictured with Donald Trump and leading Brexiteer Nigel Farage outside a gilded elevator soon after Trump s 2016 U.S. presidential election victory, denied the allegations. The Electoral Commission, which is already looking at whether Banks  pro-Brexit Leave.EU group received any impermissible donations, said its new investigation would examine whether he was the true source of loans to a campaigner. The investigation cannot overturn the referendum, though Banks, a 51-year-old insurance tycoon, said it was an attempt by the  Remain establishment  to discredit the Brexit result.  Allegations of Brexit being funded by the Russians ... are complete bollocks [rubbish] from beginning to end,  Banks said in an emailed statement, signing off  nostrovia , a version of  na zdorovye , Russian for  cheers! . When asked about the investigation, Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament:  We take very seriously issues of Russian intervention, or Russian attempts to intervene, in electoral processes or in the democratic processes of any country.   The announcement of the investigation comes after Ben Bradshaw, a lawmaker from the opposition Labour Party, asked the government to look into reports by advocacy group Open Democracy that the origin of some campaign funds was unclear. Bradshaw said he was also concerned about what he said were significant British connections in the U.S. investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian efforts to meddle in the presidential election.  Russia denies meddling in Brexit or the U.S. election and Trump denies any collusion with Russia. In the June 23, 2016 referendum, 17.4 million votes, or 51.9 percent of votes cast, backed leaving the EU while 16.1 million votes, or 48.1 percent of votes cast, backed staying, a result that defied opinion polls. The Electoral Commission, which did not mention Russia, said it was looking at whether a company called Better for the Country Limited (BFTCL) - of which Banks was a director - was the true source of donations made to campaigners. BFTCL was not registered as a permitted participant in the referendum but five registered campaigning groups reported receiving donations from it totalling 2.4 million pounds, the Commission said. Banks, who was a registered permitted participant, gave three non-commercial loans to Leave.EU, totalling 6 million pounds. Participants in the referendum were only allowed to accept donations from donors that conformed to a strict set of rules, for example they could not be based outside the UK. The Commission said in April it was investigating Leave.EU s funding as well as looking at whether its spending return was complete.  Questions over the legitimacy of funding provided to campaigners at the referendum risks causing harm to voters  confidence,  said Bob Posner, director of political finance and regulation at the Commission.  It is therefore in the public interest that the Electoral Commission seeks to ascertain whether or not impermissible donations were given to referendum campaigners and if any other related offences have taken place,  he said. The Commission has the power to impose fines and other sanctions if it finds rules were broken.

Summary: रूस के हस्तक्षेप की अटकलों के बीच ब्रिटेन ने ब्रेक्सिट अभियान के वित्तपोषण की जांच की