ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan s interior ministry has called for the electoral commission to bar from politics a new party backed by an Islamist with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, a government document seen by Reuters showed on Thursday. In a letter dated Sept. 22, the ministry recommended that the Election Commission of Pakistan reject the newly formed Milli Muslim League s (MML) application to become an official party as it is  affiliated  with Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), a militant group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.  The registration of MML is not supported,  the ministry said in the two-page document.  Spokesmen for the election commission and the interior ministry acknowledged the correspondence and confirmed that the letter was authentic. The United States has designated LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, who currently heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa Islamic charity, a terrorist. It views him as the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his imprisonment.  Saeed is currently under house arrest. Pakistan s reluctance to press charges against him has been a sore point in relations with Washington and India over the past decade.  The ministry said MML is  ideologically of the same hue  as LeT and its affiliated charities Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the Falah-e-Insanyat Foundation (FIF). Tabish Qayyum, a spokesman for the MML, said in a statement that the ministry s letter was unlawful.   MML isn t a bus or truck which needs registration,  he said, denying that MML had links with any banned militant group. The ministry s stance appears at odds with what political sources and a retired army general have said is a plan proposed by the military s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to  mainstream  some Pakistan-based anti-Indian militant groups as part of deradicalization efforts by bringing them into politics. The interior ministry s letter was written a week after MML caused a stir by winning 5 percent of votes in a parliamentary by-election in Lahore on Sept. 17. The document said foreign countries have raised diplomatic objections to MML s existence and the interior ministry has sought the opinions of intelligence agencies on the group. One of the agencies, the ministry said, has warned against letting proscribed and monitored organizations enter politics with a  view to gaining legitimacy. The interior ministry said the security agency has informed it that  given the clamor, philosophy, outreach and modus operandi to operate, it is difficult to believe that MML will tread its own path completely at variance with its mother organization.    Therefore, they have recommended that since the registration of such groups would breed violence and extremism in politics, as such registration of such groups be avoided.  In the Lahore by-election, Yaqoob Sheikh, who swears loyalty to Saeed, stood as an independent candidate but was backed by MML and had Saeed s colleagues running his campaign.  Saeed s portraits adorned posters promoting Sheikh, who the United States has also designated a terrorist and a senior LeT commander.

Summary: पाकिस्तान के मंत्रालय ने प्रमुख इस्लामवादी समर्थित नई पार्टी पर प्रतिबंध लगाने की मांग की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tom Price was sworn in as U.S. secretary of health on Friday, putting in place a determined opponent of Obamacare to help President Donald Trump fulfill his pledge to dismantle his predecessor’s law and reshape the country’s healthcare system. As head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Price has the authority to rewrite rules implementing the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He could move quickly to rework the regulations while waiting for Republicans in Congress to keep their pledge to scrap the law entirely. The Republican president signed an order on Jan. 20, his first day in office, to freeze regulations and take other steps to weaken the law enacted by former Democratic President Barack Obama, a directive that will fall largely on Price. But Trump  said in a recent Fox News interview that a replacement for the law may not come until next year.    Trump said on Friday the effort was a “difficult process” but could now get going with Price in place. “Now we get down to the final strokes,” he told reporters at a separate news conference at the White House alongside visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He did not offer more details but said the country would end up with “tremendous healthcare at a lower price.”         Republicans, who have long viewed Obamacare as federal overreach and who have the majority in Congress, are trying to craft a replacement but have not agreed on one. Twenty million Americans gained health insurance under the law. “Having Dr. Tom Price at the helm of HHS gives us a committed ally in our work to repeal and replace Obamacare,” said U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who has vowed to pass a new plan this year.  Price, a member of the House since 2005 who chaired the budget committee, offered legislation in 2015 to repeal Obamacare and replace it with age-adjusted tax credits for the purchase of health insurance. While Price’s fellow Republicans have controlled the House since 2011, they did not advance his bill and it was not considered by the full chamber. The Senate voted 52-47 earlier on Friday to approve Price, a former orthopedic surgeon, to oversee the HHS, which has an annual budget of more than $1 trillion.     Price’s nomination was dogged by questions about his trading in hundreds of thousands of dollars in health company stocks while working on healthcare legislation. Democrats accused him of making misleading statements. Price defended his actions. Democrats also criticized Price for his opposition to Obamacare, his ideas about restructuring the Medicare program for the elderly and disabled, and his opposition to Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides abortions and other affordable healthcare and education services. With Price confirmed, the Senate is expected to vote on Monday on Trump’s U.S. Treasury secretary designate, Steven Mnuchin.

Summary: ओबामाकेयर पर नजर रखते हुए, प्राइस ने अमेरिकी स्वास्थ्य सचिव के रूप में पदभार संभाला


BERLIN (Reuters) - A housing crisis is spreading in Germany, the Federal Homelessness Association said on Tuesday, forecasting that 1.2 million people could be living in shelters by 2018. The report came amid heightened concern about Germany s rising poverty rate and ability to integrate 1.1 million migrants that have arrived over the past two years, drawn by the country s reputation for affluence, efficiency and stability. The homelessness association said that more than 850,000 people lacked their own accommodation in 2016, up 150 percent from 2014, and half of those affected were migrants.  A total of 52,000 people were living on the streets in 2016, up a third from 2014, the group said in its report. It added that the number of those living in shelters would likely rise by another 40 percent by 2018, driven higher by rising rents, decreasing availability of subsidized housing, and the growing numbers of refugees granted asylum status and therefore entitled to housing. The homelessness association said immigration was a factor behind the rising rate of housing shortage, but also blamed what it called  failed  housing policies.  The main cause of housing shortages and homelessness is a housing policy that has failed in Germany for decades, as well as insufficient efforts to fight poverty,  Thomas Specht, director of the association, said in a statement. Almost 20 percent of Germany s population, or 16 million people, were at risk of poverty in 2016, the Federal Statistics Office reported last week. Germany s Labour and Social Affairs Ministry defended its handling of refugee housing needs, noting that finding individual housing around the country remained a challenge.   It should not be forgotten that the swift accommodation of hundreds of thousands of refugees in adequate collective housing in 2015 and 2016 was an extraordinary achievement,  the ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. Would-be partners in a new German government coalition remain at odds over a limit on migration.

Summary: जर्मनी में आवास की कमी से 850,000 से अधिक लोग प्रभावितः रिपोर्ट


GOTHENBURG, Sweden (Reuters) - Neutral Sweden has launched its biggest war games in two decades with support from NATO countries, drilling 19,000 troops after years of spending cuts that have left the country fearful of Russia s growing military strength. On the eve of Russia s biggest maneuvers since 2013, which NATO says will be greater than the 13,000 troops Moscow says are involved, Sweden will simulate an attack from the east on the Baltic island of Gotland, near the Swedish mainland.  The security situation has taken a turn for the worse,  Micael Byden, the commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, said during a presentation of the three-week-long exercise.  Sweden, like the Baltics, Poland and much of the West, has been deeply troubled by Russia s 2014 annexation of Ukraine s Black Sea peninsula Crimea and its support for rebels in eastern Ukraine.   Russia is the country that affects security in Europe right now with its actions - the annexation of the Crimea and continued battles in eastern Ukraine - so it is clear that we are watching very closely what Russia is doing,  Byden said.  Around 1,500 troops from the United States, France, Norway and other NATO allies are taking part in the exercise dubbed Aurora. Non-NATO member Sweden has decided to beef up its military after having let spending drop from over 2 percent of economic output in the early 1990s to around 1 percent, and is re-introducing conscription. The armed forces, which at one point could mobilise more than 600,000, stand at just 20,000, with 22,000 more Home Guard volunteers.   NATO generals say the Aurora exercise is not a response to Russian exercises that start on Thursday. But Byden, speaking as U.S. and French forces displayed mobile surface-to-air missile systems to be deployed during the exercise, stressed the importance of NATO for Sweden.   We are a sovereign country that takes care of and is responsible for our safety. We do this together with others, ready to both support and receive help,  he said. The United States shipped vehicles by sea from Germany, while France brought others by train. They are to be moved via a classified route to Sweden s east coast for the exercise where U.S. attack helicopters will play the enemy during Aurora.  The government is determined to stick to the country s formal neutrality. Sweden has not fought a war since it clashed with Norway in 1814. But like its non-NATO neighbor Finland, Sweden has been drawing closer to NATO, allowing closer cooperation with alliance troops, with a view to working together in the event of an armed conflict.

Summary: रूस के डर से स्वीडन ने 20 वर्षों में सबसे बड़े युद्ध खेलों का आयोजन किया


TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan has appointed as premier William Lai, the mayor of its southern city of Tainan, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday, as she moved to shore up declining public support. A reshuffle to replace the premier had been anticipated for months as Tsai s approval ratings dropped below 30 percent by August, a private foundation survey showed, from nearly 70 percent soon after her 2016 inauguration.  We have a clear direction for our reforms,  Tsai told a news briefing.  Premier Lai will lead the administrative team, iron out any problems, and take us forward.   Lai s appointment comes a day after the resignation of Lin Chuan, the premier since Tsai took office in May 2016. Frozen ties with China, a massive power outage in the tech hub for Apple Inc and other global firms, a backlash over pension reforms and a revised labor rule, are among the controversies that put pressure on Tsai to replace Lin, as she prepares for her 2020 re-election campaign. Lai, a Harvard graduate, was a lawmaker for four consecutive terms and a whip of Tsai s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus before becoming in 2010 the mayor of Tainan, home to the plants of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and other technology firms.  I ll redouble our efforts to reform and transform, for the benefit of the people of Taiwan,  Lai said. However, Lai s premiership would not necessarily help the president improve her ratings, some analysts have said.

Summary: ताइवान ने सुधार प्रयासों को आगे बढ़ाने के लिए नए प्रधानमंत्री की नियुक्ति की


TOKYO (Reuters) - Young Japanese will back the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a lower house vote on Sunday at a higher rate than their elders, survey data shows, apparently reflecting approval of low unemployment, not an ideological drift to the right. Among voters aged 18 to 29, 41 percent intend to vote for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe s LDP in proportional representation districts, according to a survey by the Asahi Shimbun daily published on Thursday.  That compared with 27 percent of voters in their 60s.  For young people, the most important thing is employment. Japan is doing really well in that field, when compared with other countries,  said one analyst, Naohiro Yashiro, dean of Showa Women s University s global business department.      This is not young people turning more conservative, but wanting to keep the status quo,  said Yashiro, an economist who has worked on several government panels.  After five years of the prime minister s  Abenomics  recipe of hyper-easy monetary policy and fiscal spending, Japan s jobless rate stood at a 23-year low of 2.8 percent in August.  Among university students who graduated in March, 97.6 percent of those who had sought employment got jobs, a record high. Mikitaka Masuyama, professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, also said young voters  preferences had little to do with ideology.  My impression is they don t care much about being left or right. They just don t have real alternatives, or other attractive parties,  Masuyama said. The poor showing of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which ruled from 2009 to 2012, haunts the opposition and helps the LDP among younger voters, said Takeshi Kohno, professor at Keio University.  Young people are worried about Japan s future given the aging of the population,  Kohno said.   As the DPJ did so badly before, the LDP or an LDP-led coalition can be viewed as a good choice.  The Democratic Party, faced with rock-bottom ratings, has imploded and is running no candidates of its own this time, encouraging its members to run on the slate of Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike s new conservative Party of Hope.

Summary: नौकरी के बाजार से खुश युवा जापानी मतदाता सत्तारूढ़ दल की ओर झुकते हैं


WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered to begin direct talks with North Korea without pre-conditions, backing away from a key U.S. demand that Pyongyang must first accept that giving up its nuclear arsenal would be part of any negotiations. Tillerson s new diplomatic overture comes nearly two weeks after North Korea said it had successfully tested a breakthrough intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that put the entire United States mainland within range of its nuclear weapons.  Let s just meet,  Tillerson said in a speech to Washington s Atlantic Council think tank on Tuesday.   The White House later issued an ambiguous statement that left unclear whether President Donald Trump - who has said Tillerson was wasting his time pursuing dialogue with North Korea - had given his approval for the speech.  The president s views on North Korea have not changed,  the White House said.  North Korea is acting in an unsafe way ... North Korea s actions are not good for anyone and certainly not good for North Korea.  In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China welcomed all efforts to ease tension and promote dialogue to resolve the problem.  China hopes the United States and North Korea can meet each other halfway and take meaningful steps on dialogue and contact, he told reporters. Ahead of Tillerson s speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to develop more nuclear weapons while personally decorating scientists and officials who contributed to the development of Pyongyang s most advanced ICBM, state media said on Wednesday. Kim said on Tuesday the scientists and workers would continue manufacturing  more latest weapons and equipment  to  bolster up the nuclear force in quality and quantity , the KCNA news agency said. While reiterating Washington s long-standing position that it cannot tolerate a nuclear-armed North Korea, Tillerson said the United States was  ready to talk any time they re ready to talk , but there would first have to be a  period of quiet  without nuclear and missile tests. United Nations political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman, who visited Pyongyang last week, said senior North Korean officials did not offer any type of commitment to talks, but he believed he left  the door ajar .  Time will tell what was the impact of our discussions, but I think we have left the door ajar and I fervently hope that the door to a negotiated solution will now be opened wide,  Feltman told reporters after briefing the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. Not everyone is ready for talks.  Japan has advocated a strategy of pressuring North Korea through sanctions to give up its nuclear weapons. Tokyo and Washington are in  100 percent  agreement on that stance, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday, when asked about Tillerson s comments. A former Japanese diplomat said that, while a diplomatic solution was the  only acceptable solution , now was not the time for talks.  We have to see the effects of sanctions on life in North Korea,  the former diplomat, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.  I heard that they are having a serious impact on everyday life. Let s wait and see. If we were to hint anything for dialogue, we d be losing clout.  South Korea continued military exercises with the United States to check military readiness, exercises the North describes as preparation for war. The South s army said separately on Wednesday it conducted a successful air-to-air missile firing drill from Apache helicopters. Tillerson also disclosed the United States had been talking to China about how to secure North Korea s nuclear weapons in the event of a collapse of the government in Pyongyang. He said Beijing had been given assurances that if U.S. forces had to cross into North Korea they would pull back across the border into the South. Chinese spokesman Lu would not directly answer a question about those comments, but said China had always clearly told all its interlocutors on the issue that  There can be neither war nor chaos  on the Korean peninsula. Tillerson made clear that the United States wants to resolve the North Korea standoff through peaceful diplomacy and, in terms far more tempered than Trump s recent threats against Pyongyang, offered to hold exploratory talks.  We can talk about the weather if you want,  he said.  We can talk about whether it s going to be a square table or a round table. Then we can begin to lay out a map, a road map, of what we might be willing to work towards.      Tillerson - whose influence has appeared to wane within the administration - said Trump  has encouraged our diplomatic efforts . Trump said on Twitter in October that Tillerson was  wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man , using his derisive nickname for Kim. North Korea, for its part, has made clear it has little interest in negotiations with the United States until it has developed the ability to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear-tipped missile, something most experts say it has still not proved. Tillerson also said the United States was working to tighten enforcement of international sanctions against North Korea, especially further measures that China can apply, and that Washington had a full menu of military options if such a response was needed. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the non-partisan Arms Control Association, said Tillerson s proposal was overdue but added,  In order to get to such talks going, the U.S. side as well as North Korea must demonstrate more restraint . For multimedia cover on North Korea: www.reuters.com/north-korea/

Summary: टिलरसन ने कहा, अमेरिका उत्तर कोरिया के साथ बातचीत के लिए तैयार, जापान चाहता है दबाव


NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India could take up the issue of visas for skilled workers when Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets U.S. President Donald Trump next week, top trade ministry official said on Tuesday. “H-1B visa issue will be one of the issues on the table during PM’s visit,” Trade Secretary Rita Teaotia said, referring to Trump’s order for a review of high-skilled visa programme that affects India’s $150-billion information technology sector. Modi is due to meet Trump in Washington on June 26, a meeting that is expected to lay the ground for a further expansion in ties, allaying some of the anxiety that had crept in about a drift in relations.

Summary: भारत के मोदी वीजा मुद्दे पर ट्रंप के साथ चर्चा कर सकते हैंः व्यापार अधिकारी


JAKARTA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Muslims marched from the main mosque in Indonesia s capital to a square in Jakarta on Sunday to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It was the biggest protest in Indonesia since Trump s controversial move earlier this month to reverse decades of U.S. policy. Police estimated the number attending the rally, organized by various Muslim groups, at about 80,000. The protest was peaceful but rows of police behind coils of barbed wire held back the crowd outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta. A police spokesman said 20,000 police and members of the military were deployed to ensure security.   We urge all countries to reject the unilateral and illegal decision of President Donald Trump to make Jerusalem Israel s capital,  Anwar Abbas, the secretary general of the Indonesian Ulema Council, told the crowd.    We call on all Indonesian people to boycott U.S. and Israel products in this country  if Trump does not revoked his action, Abbas said, reading from a petition due to be handed to the U.S. ambassador in Indonesia. Many of the protesters were clad in white and waved Palestinian flags and held up placards, some reading:  Peace, love and free Palestine . There have been a series of protests in Indonesia over the issue, including some where hardliners burned U.S. and Israeli flags. The status of Jerusalem, a city holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians, is one of the biggest barriers to a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. Jerusalem s eastern sector was captured by Israel in a 1967war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of an independent state that they seek, while Israel maintains that all of Jerusalem is its capital.

Summary: ट्रम्प के जेरूसलम रुख के खिलाफ हजारों इंडोनेशियाई लोगों ने रैली की


The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS.  The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy.  @realDonaldTrump : - “The first 90 days of my presidency has exposed the total failure of the last eight years of foreign policy!” So true. @foxandfriends [0807 EST] - A great book for your reading enjoyment: “REASONS TO VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS” by Michael J. Knowles. [0813 EST] - The Fake Media (not Real Media) has gotten even worse since the election. Every story is badly slanted. We have to hold them to the truth! [0817 EST] - The super Liberal Democrat in the Georgia Congressioal race tomorrow wants to protect criminals, allow illegal immigration and raise taxes! [0931 EST] - TRUMP APPROVAL HITS 50% here [1838 EST] - See you tomorrow Wisconsin! bit.ly/2psD3KM [1841 EST] - With eleven Republican candidates running in Georgia (on Tuesday) for Congress, a runoff will be a win. Vote “R” for lower taxes & safety! [2218 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR)

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्विटर पर ट्रम्प (17 अप्रैल)-फेक न्यूज, विदेश नीति


BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States said on Saturday it was directly communicating with North Korea on its nuclear and missile programs but Pyongyang had shown no interest in dialogue. The disclosure by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during a trip to China represented the first time he has spoken to such an extent about U.S. outreach to North Korea over its pursuit of a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile.  We are probing so stay tuned,  Tillerson told a group of reporters in Beijing.   We ask:  Would you like to talk?  We have lines of communications to Pyongyang. We re not in a dark situation, a blackout.   He said that communication was happening directly and cited two or three U.S. channels open to Pyongyang.  We can talk to them. We do talk to them,  he said, without elaborating about which Americans were involved in those contacts or how frequent or substantive they were. The goal of any initial dialogue would be simple: finding out directly from North Korea what it wants to discuss.  We haven t even gotten that far yet,  he said. Trying to tamp down expectations, the State Department said later there were no signs Pyongyang was interested in talks.  North Korean officials have shown no indication that they are interested in or are ready for talks regarding denuclearization,  department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.  Tillerson previously had offered little detail about U.S. outreach. On Sept. 20, he acknowledged only  very, very limited  contact with Pyongyang s U.N. envoy. When asked about Tillerson s assertion and what communication there might be between Pyongyang and Washington, a spokesman for the North Korean mission to the United Nations said he  can t go further into detail.  Tillerson s remarks followed a day of meetings in Beijing, which has been alarmed by recent exchanges of war-like threats and personal insults between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.  I think the whole situation s a bit overheated right now,  Tillerson said.  I think everyone would like for it to calm down.  Obviously it would help if North Korea would stop firing off missiles. That d calm things down a lot.  South Korean officials have voiced concerns that North Korea could conduct more provocative acts near the anniversary of the founding of its communist party on Oct. 10, or possibly when China holds its Communist Party Congress on Oct. 18. North Korea is fast advancing toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. It conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3 and has threatened to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific.   U.S. officials including Tillerson say Beijing, after long accounting for some 90 percent of North Korea s foreign trade, appears increasingly willing to cut ties to its neighbor s economy by adopting U.N. sanctions. Tillerson said China s more assertive posture was due to its realization that North Korea s nuclear and missile capabilities had advanced too far.  I think they also have a sense that we re beginning to run out of time and that we really have to change the dynamic,  Tillerson said. The goal of the sanctions would be getting North Korea s Kim to view nuclear weapons as a liability, not a strength.  Still, the U.S. intelligence community does not believe Kim is likely to give up his weapons program willingly, regardless of sanctions.   (Tillerson s) working against the unified view of our intelligence agencies, which say there s no amount of pressure that can be put on them to stop,  Senator Bob Corker told a hearing at the chamber on Thursday. Kim sees nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles as  his ticket to survival,  Corker said. Tillerson agreed that Kim s nuclear and missile programs were aimed at ensuring his own security, and renewed assurances that the United States did not seek to topple Kim s government.  Look, our objective is denuclearization (of North Korea),  he said.  Our objective is not to get rid of you. Our objective is not to collapse your regime.  It is unclear how and when any actual negotiations with Pyongyang might be possible.   White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster said on Monday there were no set preconditions for talks. He added, however, that Pyongyang s capabilities were too far advanced to simply freeze its program in return for concessions. He also dismissed the idea of negotiating with Pyongyang even as it continued to develop its nuclear weapons program. Tillerson in March suggested the United States would only engage North Korea in negotiations once it gave up nuclear weapons.  But he acknowledged on Saturday that denuclearization would be an  incremental process.   You d be foolish to think you re going to sit down and say: OK, done. Nuclear weapons, gone. This is going to be a process of engagement with North Korea,  he said. Trump, who is due to visit China in November, has called for it to do more regarding North Korea and has promised to take steps to rebalance a trade relationship that his administration says puts U.S. businesses at a disadvantage. Chinese President Xi Jinping did not mention North Korea in his opening remarks while meeting Tillerson on Saturday. He instead offered warm words about Trump, saying he expected the U.S. president s visit to be  wonderful.    The two of us have also maintained a good working relationship and personal friendship,  Xi said in comments in front of reporters.

Summary: अमेरिका उत्तर कोरिया के साथ सीधे संवाद कर रहा है, बातचीत चाहता है


GENEVA (Reuters) - The mediator of U.N.-led Syrian peace talks in Geneva will assess next week whether either side is trying to sabotage the process, he said on Thursday, after President Bashar al-Assad s negotiators said they would turn up five days late.  We shall assess the behavior of both sides, government and opposition, in Geneva,  U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said.  And based on that we will then decide how this... can be a building up or not, or a sabotage of Geneva.  If either side were seen to be sabotaging the process it could have  a very bad impact on any other political attempt to have processes elsewhere,  he said. He said the Geneva rounds of talks were the only peace process backed by the U.N. Security Council, although there were many other initiatives being planned. He did not elaborate, but Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is seeking re-election next year, has suggested holding a  Syrian Congress  in the Russian city of Sochi early in 2018. Diplomats see Putin s plan as a bid to draw a line under the war after seven years of fighting and to celebrate Russia s role as the power that tipped the balance of the war and became the key player in the peace process. Opposition negotiator Basma Kodmani told reporters the government side had wasted the chance for a week of direct negotiations, while the opposition was doing all it could.    I think we are showing, through our presence, our behavior, the number of documents we have submitted, the issues we are raising with the U.N., that we are here for a very constructive engagement with the United Nations, and that we have no partner so far to talk to,  she said.   They are physically not here.  The absence of the government delegation, led by chief negotiator Bashar al-Ja afari, has effectively halted a peace process which has made little progress in eight rounds. The latest round began last week with de Mistura hoping to discuss an agenda including constitutional and electoral reform. But Ja afari arrived a day late and left after two days, saying the opposition had  mined the road  to the talks by insisting that Assad could not play any interim role in Syria s political transition. The delegation returned to Damascus to  consult and refresh , but Ja afari initially threatened not to come back, which the opposition said would be  an embarrassment to Russia . De Mistura said on Thursday that Ja afari s delegation had confirmed it would return on Sunday, five days later than expected, for another stretch of talks lasting until Dec. 15.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र इस बात का आकलन करेगा कि क्या कोई भी पक्ष सीरिया वार्ता को 'बाधित' करने की कोशिश कर रहा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday again raised the possibility of a U.S. government shutdown - blaming Democrats for that possible outcome - one day before he is due to host Republican and Democratic congressional leaders for talks on spending bills. Trump and Congress are facing a deadline of Friday at midnight to pass fresh spending legislation. If they cannot agree on the terms, parts of the federal government could shut down. Late on Wednesday, a bill advanced in the House of Representatives to extend current federal funding through Dec. 22, with the chamber expected to take up the bill on Thursday. If that measure clears the House and Senate, as expected, major fights are in the offing over the next funding bill, which could fund the government until sometime in January. Trump’s warning about a shutdown came as conservative House members pushed for increases in military spending along with either a freeze or reduction in domestic programs. Their bid is likely to be rejected by Democrats, who make up a minority in Congress, and could further complicate months of behind-the-scenes negotiations by congressional leaders aimed at figuring out government spending through the end of this fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2018. While the House potentially could pass upcoming spending bills without any Democratic support, that tactic would not work in the Senate where procedural rules give Democrats bargaining power. As a condition of backing new spending, many Democrats have demanded legislative protections for the nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought into the United States as children. Trump pushed back, saying it could set the stage for impasse. “The Democrats are really looking at something that is very dangerous for our country,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “They are looking at shutting down.” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi countered in a tweet: “President Trump is the only person talking about a government shutdown. Democrats are hopeful the president will be open to an agreement to address the urgent needs of the American people and keep government open.” The infighting came as Republican congressional leaders labored to demonstrate that they can govern and spare the country the chaos of a government shutdown at Christmas time that likely would not sit well with voters. A partial government shutdown would leave “essential” services operating, but could disrupt programs ranging from the operation of national parks to educational programs and scientific research. A Politico/Morning Consult opinion poll found that 63 percent of voters want Congress to avoid any shutdown, with 18 percent in favor if it helps lawmakers achieve policy goals. In October 2013, conservative Republicans used the need to pass a funding bill to try to force repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. They failed but in the process forced a 17-day disruption of many federal agency activities. The end-of-year fight over appropriations, which should have been settled nine weeks ago, is attracting a series of controversial add-ons from both Republicans and Democrats. Republicans want to add as much as tens of billions of dollars to military spending this year and impose new work requirements for some recipients of Medicaid benefits, the healthcare program for the poor and disabled. Democrats want to attach the immigration measure and a restoration of Obamacare subsidy payments for low-income people that Trump terminated. Both parties seek additional disaster aid for Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida and other states. Republican Representatives Mark Meadows, who heads the House Freedom Caucus, and Representative Mark Walker, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, are touting the effort to pump up Pentagon spending without any increases to non-defense programs. But Democrats have argued that inaction on the non-defense side of the ledger would usher in a new round of automatic spending cuts for those programs next month, short-changing programs that fight opioid addiction, fund medical research, veterans programs and an array of other activities.

Summary: सांसदों के साथ बैठक से पहले ट्रम्प ने सरकार को बंद करने की चेतावनी दी


TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, buoyed by a huge election win for lawmakers who favor revising Japan s post-war, pacifist constitution, signaled a push towards his long-held goal on Monday but will need to convince a divided public to succeed. Parties in favor of amending the U.S.-drafted charter won nearly 80 percent of the seats in Sunday s lower house election, media counts showed. That left the small, new Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) as the biggest group opposed to Abe s proposed changes. Formed by liberal members of the Democratic Party, which imploded before the election and no longer exists in the lower house, the CDPJ won 55 seats, a final count by public broadcaster NHK shows. That is a fraction of the ruling bloc s two-thirds majority of 313 seats in the 465-member chamber. Abe said he wanted to get other parties on board, including Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike s new conservative Party of Hope, and was not insisting on a target of changing the constitution by 2020 that he floated this year.  We won a two-thirds majority as the ruling bloc, but it is necessary to strive to form a wide-ranging agreement among the ruling bloc and opposition (to revise the constitution),  Abe told a news conference on Monday.  And then we aim to win the understanding of the people, so that we can gain a majority in a referendum,  Abe said. He stopped short of claiming to have won a mandate for amending the constitution in Sunday s election. Amending the charter s pacifist Article 9 would be hugely symbolic for Japan. Supporters see it as the foundation of post-war democracy but many conservatives view it as a humiliating imposition after Japan s defeat in 1945. It would also be a victory for Abe, whose conservative agenda of restoring traditional values, stressing obligations to the state over individual rights and loosening constraints on the military, centers on revising the constitution.  Mr. Abe is trying to create a legacy. His first legacy project was to get the economy out of deflation,  said Jesper Koll, head of equities fund WisdomTree Japan.  The second legacy is to change the constitution,  he said.  You can debate whether he has a mandate but what will make or break him ... is the constitutional issue.  Any revision of the constitution requires support from two-thirds of the members of both chambers of parliament and a majority in a public referendum, with no minimum quorum.  I think that debate in parliament will begin,  said Zentaro Kamei, a senior researcher at think tank PHP Institute and a former lawmaker of Abe s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).   But the reason given for this snap election was Abe s proposal to change what sales tax hike revenues would be used for. If he starts talking about the constitution, people will say,  You didn t ask me that ,  Kamei said. Abe proposed last May adding a clause to Article 9 to legitimize Japan s Self-Defence Force. Read literally, Article 9 bans a standing military but has been interpreted to allow armed forces exclusively for self defense. Parliament enacted laws in 2015 allowing Japan to exercise collective self-defense, or aid allies under attack, based on a reinterpretation of the constitution rather than a formal revision. Critics, including CDPJ leader Yukio Edano, say those laws violate the constitution. The LDP s junior partner, the Komeito, is cautious about revising Article 9, perhaps even more so after signs that some of its dovish supporters had voted for the CDPJ. It also believes the biggest opposition party should agree with the proposed changes. Opinion polls show the public is divided on Abe s proposal. An NHK survey before the election showed 32 percent in favor, 21 percent opposed, and 39 percent unsure. Media exit polls showed that, despite the LDP s big win, 51 percent of voters do not trust the prime minister, a hangover from suspected cronyism scandals that eroded his support this year and a potential risk in case of a referendum.

Summary: चुनाव में मजबूत जीत के बाद शांतिवादी संविधान सुधार पर जोर देंगे जापान के आबे


(Reuters) - A petition to the White House to halt the U.S. Navy’s abolition of sailors’ traditional ratings that are more than two centuries old has topped 100,000 signatures, above the number needed for an official response, according to the online petition site. The petition was launched within hours after Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said on Sept. 29 that the Navy would do away with such ratings as gunner’s mate and boatswain’s mate. The plan to abolish the 241-year-old job titles system and replace it with one similar to other armed services’ occupational specialty codes has sparked outrage among some current and former Navy personnel. “One by one current leadership continues to erode the very things that set the Navy apart from the other services. Mr. President, I and the others signing this petition request you use your authority to restore to our Sailors what they have earned,” the petition said. The request topped 100,000 signatures within 30 days, the requirement needed for official action by President Barack Obama’s administration. The online site showed a total of 102,597 signatures on Monday. Officials say the switching of titles would allow the Navy to identify sailors’ skills more accurately and give them better job opportunities when they leave the Navy. The changes followed a review this year. The modernization plan will be implemented in multi-year phases, the Navy has said. Opponents have voiced their anger on Richardson’s Facebook page. Carrie Herr wrote on Saturday, “Help our Navy enlisted (personnel) restore the honor and tradition that was taken away from them. Save Navy ratings!” Richardson’s office and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the petition.

Summary: नौसेना की रेटिंग में बदलाव को उलटने के लिए व्हाइट हाउस की याचिका शीर्ष पर


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia s upper house of parliament on Wednesday approved a bill which will allow the authorities to list foreign media operating in Russia as  foreign agents , responding to U.S. restrictions on two Russian media outlets, RIA news agency reported. Last week the  foreign agents law  was swiftly approved by the lower chamber of the legislature. It now needs President Vladimir Putin s signature to become law. The move by the compliant parliament heavily dominated by Putin s loyalists comes after his threat this month that Russia would respond in kind to what he said were Washington s measures to restrict the freedom of speech of Russian media organizations operating on U.S. soil.

Summary: रूसी सीनेटरों ने 'विदेशी एजेंटों' के मीडिया विधेयक को मंजूरी दीः आर. आई. ए.


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said on Friday the Clinton Foundation was seeking other organizations to  partner with as it looks to wind down some of its charitable work, but defended her work as secretary of state as independent from her family’s foundation. Clinton has come under fire in recent days amid questions over the charity and its donors given her role heading the State Department from 2009 to early 2013. Critics have accused her of running a “pay-for-play” operation, a charge she and the foundation have denied. Even some supporters have said Clinton faces a perception problem over the issue.  “I know the foundation is looking for partners, but that’s going to take some time to carry out,” Clinton said in an interview on MSNBC. “Winding down some of these programs takes time. You don’t just turn on and off ... a switch. Even trying to negotiate with partner groups takes a lot of serious effort.”  “My work as secretary of state was not influenced by any outside forces. I made policy decisions based on what I thought was right to keep Americans safe and to protect our interests abroad. I believe my aides also acted appropriately,” she said.  Several media editorial boards this week noted the foundation’s philanthropic efforts in areas such as global health and HIV/AIDS, but urged the foundation - formally called the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation - to transfer the work to other large U.S. charities. Former President Bill Clinton, who helped establish the global charity after serving two terms in the White House, would resign from the board if his wife wins the Nov. 8  election, the foundation announced last week. It also said it would stop accepting some foreign and corporate donations. Hillary Clinton’s Republican rival for the White House, Donald Trump, and other Republicans have called for a special prosecutor to probe the charity for possible corruption, an accusation her campaign has called a groundless political smear.

Summary: हिलेरी क्लिंटन का कहना है कि उनके परिवार की संस्था साझेदारों की तलाश कर रही है


BLANTYRE (Reuters) - A wave of attacks in Malawi against people accused of vampirism has spread to its second-biggest city of Blantyre, where vigilante mobs killed two people, police said on Thursday. The lynch mob attacks began in mid-September in a country that is one of the world s poorest and where belief in witchcraft is widespread. Six people had already died in the attacks.  In Blantyre on Thursday, mobs  torched a 22-year-old epileptic man in Chileka, and another man was stoned to death  ...after being suspected of being a blood sucker,  said Ramsy Mushani, a national police spokesman. A Reuters reporter witnessed the first incident at a police checkpoint on a road leading to the city s airport. A family member confirmed the man was epileptic and that he was killed while walking home from a nearby hospital. Malawian President Peter Mutharika has been visiting parts of the country affected by the vampire scare, trying to prevent the deaths of innocent people. The United Nations and U.S. embassy have blacklisted several districts in Malawi as dangerous zones for staffers and nationals. Earlier this month the UN pulled staff out of two districts in southern Malawi.

Summary: भीड़ की हिंसा में दो लोगों की मौत के बाद मलावी में 'पिशाचवाद' उन्माद फैल गया


BERLIN/MUNICH (Reuters) - The leader of Germany s Social Democrats (SPD) said on Monday he would launch talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives on forming a government next week if members of his center-left party gave him the green light at a congress this weekend. The remarks by Martin Schulz raised hopes that the two parties that suffered losses to the far right in an election in September could renew an alliance that has ruled Germany since 2013 and end the political deadlock in Europe s largest economy. Merkel turned to the SPD after failing to form a three-way alliance with the left-leaning Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats, plunging Germany into a political impasse and raising doubt about her future after 12 years in power.  We ll explore whether and how the formation of a government is possible in Germany,  Schulz told journalists. The SPD party board leadership had earlier set down its key demands for coalition talks with the conservatives. On the divisive issue of immigration, one of the main reasons for the collapse of Merkel s first effort, the SPD said it opposed a conservative plan to extend a ban on the right to family reunions for some asylum seekers.  Family reunions and family cohabitation lead to good integration,  the SPD document said.  That s why we are against extending the suspension of family reunions.  In a sign of the tensions likely to bubble up between the parties, Horst Seehofer, leader of the arch-conservative Bavarian sister party to Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU), warned the SPD not to try to prevent attempts to extend the ban on family reunifications.  That would lead to such a huge migrant influx again that Germany s ability to integrate them all would be completely overstretched,  Seehofer, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), told Bild newspaper. Merkel could also face complications from her own camp. Her arch-conservative CSU allies in Bavaria on Monday named right-winger Markus Soeder to be their candidate for the state premiership in a regional election next autumn, potentially weakening her hand as she negotiates with the SPD. Merkel s CDU and the CSU bled support to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) in September s federal election because of anger at the chancellor s decision in 2015 to open Germany s door to more than a million asylum seekers. The CSU now fears losing more votes at regional level. The future of Seehofer had been in question since the election. After the losses, Merkel reluctantly accepted a CSU demand to put a limit on the number of asylum seekers Germany will accept each year. Asked why he was clearing the stage for Soeder to lead the CSU in next year s vote in Bavaria, Seehofer said:  The past doesn t win you any elections.  Soeder, who has accused Merkel of pulling the conservatives to the left and took a hard line on Greece during the euro zone crisis, is likely to be a bigger thorn in Merkel s side than Seehofer, who is expected to remain party leader.  For its part, the SPD, which has governed in coalition under Merkel since 2013, suffered its worst election result in postwar history in September, and had been reluctant to join another  grand coalition . It dropped its pledge to go into opposition only after Merkel failed to form a government, bowing to pressure from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to ease the deadlock. The SPD will hold a party congress in Berlin this weekend, where it is expected to debate its position on coalition talks. Kevin Kuehnert, the head of the SPD s youth wing - which opposes another grand coalition - told Die Welt newspaper that the outgoing CDU-CSU-SPD government had been characterized by  cheap and often quite bad compromises, such as on urgently needed investment in education and infrastructure . The SPD did not stake out a position on the conservatives  upper limit on refugees in its policy document. But it did say Germany should work with French President Emmanuel Macron on strengthening the European project through policies geared to fight high youth unemployment. It did not mention key proposals by Macron that the euro zone should have its own budget and finance minister, but it did refer to his plan for closer defense cooperation. On the economy, the SPD s proposals for more rights for workers and employee-friendly regulation of the large temporary work sector could draw fire from the CSU. The long political impasse is starting to worry investors. An investor sentiment survey tracking Germany fell in December. The research group Sentix said investors wanted to know how expensive a tie-up with the SPD would be.

Summary: यदि सदस्य सहमत होते हैं तो जर्मन एसपीडी अगले सप्ताह मर्केल के साथ बातचीत शुरू करेगी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday warned other countries and groups against using Lebanon as vehicle for a larger proxy fight in the Middle East, saying the United States strongly backed Lebanon s independence. Tillerson said he recognized Saad al-Hariri as Lebanon s prime minister and called him a  strong partner of the United States.  Hariri unexpectedly resigned his post at the weekend from the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh and accused Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of sowing strife in the Arab world. His resignation thrust Lebanon into the front line of a regional competition between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shi ite Iran that has also buffeted Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Bahrain. Tillerson s backing of Hariri and the Lebanese government contrasted sharply with the approach taken by U.S. ally Saudi Arabia which has lumped Lebanon with Hezbollah as parties hostile to it.  There is no legitimate place or role in Lebanon for any foreign forces, militias or armed elements other than the legitimate security forces of the Lebanese state,  Tillerson said in a statement. Lebanese authorities have said Hariri is being held against his will in Saudi Arabia, a charge that Riyadh has denied. Tillerson earlier said there was no indication Hariri was being held in Saudi Arabia against his will but that Washington was monitoring the situation.  Tillerson s statement said there was no legitimate role in Lebanon for any  foreign forces, militias or armed elements  - an apparent reference to Hezbollah and its regional backer, Iran. But Tillerson also cautioned against  any party, within or outside Lebanon, using Lebanon as a venue for proxy conflicts or in any manner contributing to instability in that country.

Summary: टिलरसन ने क्षेत्र को संघर्ष के लिए लेबनान का उपयोग करने के खिलाफ चेतावनी दी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt has recused himself from several court cases that he pursued against the agency when he was Oklahoma attorney general, according to a recusal statement. Pruitt, who had sued the environmental agency more than a dozen times when he was the oil- and gas-producing state’s top legal officer, had pledged during his Senate confirmation that he would step aside from ongoing cases if the agency’s ethics panel required it. Environmental groups have contended that his litigation as Oklahoma attorney general may have been influenced by energy companies and industry groups that contributed to his election campaigns. “This recusal statement addresses all of my ethics obligations,” Pruitt said in the four-page statement, which was dated May 4. It was first reported by the E&E News website, which obtained the statement under the Freedom of Information Act. Pruitt said he would not participate for one year after his Senate confirmation in matters involving four parties. They include Oklahoma and the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a public policy group involving Republican attorneys general that targeted environmental rules. Pruitt also recused himself from a dozen pending cases involving the EPA. They include lawsuits over the Clean Power Plan and cases in both federal appeals and district courts over the Clean Water Act, which expanded the number of federally protected waterways. Republican President Donald Trump signed an order in March undoing the Clean Power Plan and other climate change rules that had been imposed by his predecessor, Democratic President Barack Obama.

Summary: अमेरिकी पर्यावरण प्रमुख अदालती मामलों से खुद को अलग करेंगे


KAMPALA (Reuters) - South Sudanese opposition groups tried to forge a united front on Monday ahead of an expected resumption of peace talks, in the first such meeting since the start of their country s civil war nearly four years ago, attendees told Reuters. South Sudan s civil war, triggered by a feud between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, has plunged parts of the world s youngest nation into famine and forced a third of the population - some four million people - to flee their homes.  Representatives of South Sudan s many armed and unarmed opposition groups met in the Kenyan town of Nyahururu, said Kosti Manibe, a former government minister who was briefly jailed and represents a group of ex-political prisoners.  I call it like-minded groups who are opposed to the policy that the regime of Salva in (South Sudan s capital) Juba is pursuing,  Manibe said.  The gathering, expected to last three days, comes after diplomats from the regional bloc IGAD held talks with Kiir in Juba at the weekend to press the government to participate in the planned peace talks in December.  The opposition is speaking in a cacophony of voices. There is a need to harmonize these voices,  said Majak D Agoot, another member of the former prisoner group. Manibe said Kenya s government had   graciously allowed  the opposition groups to meet in their country, without elaborating. Kenyan foreign affairs ministry spokesman Edwin Limo said he was not aware of the meeting. The United Nations says South Sudan s civil war has resulted in ethnic cleansing and other war crimes. A Western-backed peace deal between Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar collapsed last year, spawning the creation of new armed and political groups opposing the government. Machar s SPLA-IO rebel group, the country s largest which still controls swathes of territory in the south and northeast of South Sudan, declined to attend the Nyahururu meeting, according to Nathaniel Oyet, a senior member of the group, saying it may distract from the December talks.  Oyet also cited security concerns in Kenya where SPLA-IO officials have disappeared in the last year, including Machar s spokesman who was arrested and deported to Juba in 2016. Among those attending Monday s meeting in Kenya were representatives of former army general Thomas Cirillo, who is waging an insurgency in the southern region of South Sudan, and other former government officials Lam Akol, Gabriel Changson, and Joseph Bakosoro, all of whom live in exile. South Sudanese government officials were unavailable for comment on the Kenya meeting.

Summary: दक्षिण सूडान के विपक्षी समूह केन्या में 'आवाजों को सुसंगत बनाने' के लिए मिलते हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Representative Lee Zeldin said he would not support the tax reform legislation introduced by Republican congressional leaders on Thursday. “I am a ‘no’ to this bill in its current form. We need to fix this state and local tax deduction issue. Adding back in the property tax deduction up to $10,000 is progress, but not enough progress,” Zeldin said in a statement. A number of lawmakers from New York opposed eliminating the deduction for state and local taxes.

Summary: न्यूयॉर्क रिपब्लिकन ज़ेल्डिन ने कर विधेयक का विरोध किया


GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. independent expert on the independence of judges and lawyers criticized Poland on Friday for legal reforms that have already attracted unprecedented censure from the European Union, dubbing them a serious breach of the rule of law. Diego Garc a-Say n, a special rapporteur mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council to investigate the independence of judges and lawyers, said Poland s newly adopted laws threatened the independence of the judiciary.  These new laws are part of a larger plan aimed at placing the judiciary under the political control of the ruling party,  Garc a-Say n said in a statement.  He said Poland had been comprehensively reforming its judicial system since parliamentary elections in 2015, aiming to increase its effectiveness and restore public trust. Such reforms were a legitimate objective, he added.  What is happening in Poland today, however, is a vicious attempt to place the whole judicial system under the control of the executive and legislative branches.   The EU executive launched an unprecedented action against Poland on Wednesday, calling on other member states to prepare to sanction Warsaw if it fails to reverse judicial reforms that Brussels says pose a threat to democracy. [nL8N1OK2YJ] Poland s government rejects accusations of undemocratic behavior and says reforms are needed because the courts are slow, inefficient and steeped in a communist era-mentality.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र न्यायिक अधिकार विशेषज्ञ ने पोलैंड के 'राजनीतिक' कानूनी सुधारों की निंदा की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday formally announced Exxon-Mobil Corp (XOM.N) chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson as his nomination to serve as U.S. secretary of state. “His tenacity, broad experience and deep understanding of geopolitics make him an excellent choice for Secretary of State. He will promote regional stability and focus on the core national security interests of the United States,” Trump said in a statement released by his transition team.

Summary: एक्सॉन के सीईओ टिलरसन को अमेरिकी विदेश मंत्री के रूप में नामित करेंगे ट्रम्पः बयान


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Representative Mike Conaway’s new role leading the House Intelligence Committee investigation into the Trump team’s ties to Russia has plunged the low-profile legislator into one of the most contentious issues in Congress and the country. Republicans and Democrats both praised his selection. He has administrative experience as a committee chairman, and familiarity with delicate subjects after leading the House Ethics Committee from 2013 to 2015. “I like him. I hope he can get us back on track,” Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democratic committee member, said in a brief interview outside the U.S. House of Representatives. While Conaway, 68, has ties to mainstream Republicans and a long association with the Bush political family, the former accountant from Texas was a strong Trump supporter during the 2016 campaign. In 2016, Conaway backed Trump, citing the candidate’s choice of Mike Pence as his vice president, his promise to appoint conservative Supreme Court justices and the congressman’s own vehement opposition to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. But unlike Devin Nunes - who on Thursday stepped down as leader of the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election, including possible collusion with Trump associates - Conaway was not a member of the incoming president’s transition team. Russia denies the allegations. Conaway is considered less partisan than some other Republican committee members such as Trey Gowdy, the chairman of the House Select Committee that investigated the 2012 attacks on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. Democrats accused Gowdy of running a partisan inquiry that focused on former Secretary of State Clinton in an effort to damage her 2016 presidential campaign. In his statement announcing he would step aside, Nunes said Gowdy and another Republican committee member, Tom Rooney, would also be leaders of the Russia investigation. Fox News reported that Nunes called Conaway on Wednesday night. Nevertheless, some Conaway comments about the Russia investigation have raised eyebrows.  During a March 20 committee hearing, he asked FBI Director James Comey whether Washington Post reporters had helped intelligence agencies write their assessment that Moscow was seeking to help Trump win the election. And in a January interview with the Dallas Morning News, he seemed to make light of the alleged Russian meddling in the election, saying it and the Democrats’ use of Mexican singers to entertain their voters were both “foreign interference.” Although he also serves as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Conaway has kept a low profile, and is better known for his close ties to the Bush family than the media spotlight. First elected to the House in 2004, and easily re-elected six times, Conaway is the second-ranking Republican on the intelligence panel. House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters on Thursday that he had faith in Conaway. “I am confident that he will oversee a professional investigation into Russia’s actions and follow the facts wherever they may lead,” Ryan said.

Summary: हाउस रूस की जांच ने लो-प्रोफाइल सांसद पर प्रकाश डाला


RIYADH (Reuters) - Lebanon s Christian Maronite Patriarch began a historic visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday under heightened scrutiny amid political tensions that have thrust his country back to the forefront of the conflict between the Sunni kingdom and Shi ite rival Iran. Patriarch Beshara al-Rai heads the Maronite church, which has a presence in Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus and follows an Eastern rite of the Roman Catholic church. Maronites number about 900,000 in Lebanon, around a quarter of the population. An official visit to Saudi Arabia by such a senior non-Muslim cleric is a rare act of religious openness for the kingdom, which hosts the holiest sites in Islam and bans the practice of other religions but says it wants to open up more to the world. It is also the first trip to Riyadh by a senior Lebanese official since the start of a crisis sparked by Saad al-Hariri s resignation as Lebanese prime minister on Nov. 4 from the Saudi capital. Top Lebanese government officials and senior sources close to Hariri say Saudi Arabia coerced him into resigning and has put him under effective house arrest since he flew there more than a week ago. During his visit, Rai plans to meet Hariri as well as King Salman and his son and heir-apparent, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, both of whom he praised in an address to Lebanese living in Riyadh.    Certainly his resignation surprised the Lebanese and saddened them and created a type of deadlock,  he later told reporters between selfies with followers.  We hope that with this visit we can speak about this topic.   TOLERANCE AND CO-EXISTENCE But Rai said his visit, which was planned before the latest crisis, was not political but aimed at boosting religious tolerance and co-existence in a region torn by sectarian conflict. Hariri said in a television interview on Sunday that he was a free man and would return to Lebanon within days to affirm that he had resigned. He said Lebanon was at risk of Gulf Arab sanctions because of the Shi ite group Hezbollah s regional meddling. Asked when he expected Hariri to return to Lebanon, Rai said:  I wish tonight ... we hope as soon as possible.  Hariri s resignation and its aftermath have destabilized his country, where Sunni, Shi ite, Christian and Druze factions fought a civil war from 1975-1990, often backed by rival powers around the region. The only other visit to Saudi Arabia by a Christian patriarch took place in 1975, according to the Saudi information ministry. Rai thanked King Salman for the invitation and said he had never dreamed of visiting the kingdom, which bans all non-Muslim houses of prayer, forcing Christians there to risk arrest by praying in private homes.

Summary: हरीरी संकट के बीच लेबनान के कुलपति ने की ऐतिहासिक सऊदी यात्रा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history prompted calls on Sunday by some members of Congress for legislation to tighten control of weapons sales, although there were slim hopes for much change after 50 people were killed at a gay nightclub in Florida. Democratic Senator Robert Casey said he would announce a bill on Monday that would ban anyone convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime from owning a firearm. Under current law, those with felony convictions are prohibited from buying or possessing a gun, but those convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes are not.    Casey planned to make the announcement in his home state of Pennsylvania after a meeting with members of Pittsburgh’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Lawmakers, including some Republicans, have sought some gun restrictions after earlier mass shootings, but even minor changes failed to gain enough support to become law. Backed by the powerful gun lobby, many members of Congress see controls of weapons sales as a threat to Americans’ constitutional rights. Other Democrats also called for Congress to act after Sunday’s attack in Orlando, some in strong terms. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said the killings would prompt debate but not action. “The bottom line is that we allow dangerous people to buy guns in America and that has got to change,” he said. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said the “epidemic” of gun violence would continue if Congress does not act and also said lawmakers shared responsibility. “Congress has become complicit in these murders by its total, unconscionable deafening silence,” he said in a statement. “This doesn’t have to happen but this epidemic will continue without end if Congress continues to sit on its hands and do nothing – again.” A gunman killed 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in Murphy’s home state, Connecticut, in 2012. The suspected Orlando attacker, identified as Omar Mateen, 29, a U.S. citizen who was the son of immigrants from Afghanistan, was carrying an AR-15 style assault rifle and a handgun, authorities said. The shooter in Newtown also had an AR-15. Many Republicans, including the presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, focused on the threat from Islamist militants after the shooting, citing reports that Mateen was inspired by Islamic State. The FBI said Mateen had twice been interviewed after making comments to co-workers indicating he supported militant groups, but neither led to evidence of criminal activity.

Summary: फ्लोरिडा में गोलीबारी के बाद कुछ सांसदों ने बंदूक नियंत्रण की बात की, बदलाव की उम्मीद कम


LONDON (Reuters) - The probability that Britain exits the European Union without having agreed a divorce deal has risen to 25 percent, compared with 15 percent previously, JPMorgan said on Monday.  With the possibility of  no deal  having been an active part of the UK political discussion for a couple of weeks, our confidence... has been shaken a little,  JPMorgan economist Malcolm Barr said in a note to clients.  As a result, we have revised our set of probabilities on March 2019 outturns to show a somewhat higher probability of no-deal.

Summary: 'नो डील' ब्रेक्सिट की संभावना 1-इन-4 तक बढ़ी हैः जेपी मॉर्गन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican whip John Cornyn said on Wednesday that Republicans appear to have enough votes to pass a budget measure that is vital to President Donald Trump’s aim of enacting tax reform legislation before January. “I believe we do,” Cornyn told Reuters when asked if Republicans had mustered enough support to move the fiscal year 2018 budget resolution in a floor vote expected on Thursday.

Summary: सीनेट रिपब्लिकन व्हिप ने कहा कि कर सुधार बजट के पारित होने की उम्मीद है


LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama did in Latin America what he tried to do in Europe: tell worried citizens not to draw negative conclusions about the man he once called unfit to serve in the White House, President-elect Donald Trump. In the last stop of an international farewell tour that included visits to Greece and Germany, Obama continued his efforts to calm anxieties since Republican businessman Trump beat Democratic rival and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential race. “My main message to you ... and the message I delivered in Europe is don’t just assume the worst,” Obama told a group of young people during a question-and-answer session in Peru on Saturday. “Wait until the administration is in place, it’s actually putting its policies together, and then you can make your judgments as to whether or not it’s consistent with the international community’s interest in living in peace and prosperity together.” Trump won the election after promising to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, rip up trade deals and ban Muslims temporarily from entering the United States. Obama has sought to soothe fears by pledging to ensure a smooth transition of power and expressing optimism that the president-elect would shift away from inflammatory campaign rhetoric once he faced the realities of the job. “It will be important for everybody around the world to not make immediate judgments but give this new president-elect a chance to put their team together, to examine the issues, to determine what their policies will be, because as I’ve always said, how you campaign isn’t always the same as how you govern,” Obama said. But Obama has couched his assurances largely in hopeful language that Trump’s team would see the merits of policies that Democrats championed despite Trump’s pledged to dismantle them, from the Iran nuclear deal to an international pact to fight climate change. And the president, who campaigned vigorously for Clinton and showed visible disdain for Trump before his victory, has offset his words of reassurance with subtle digs at his successor by emphasizing themes of democratic values in Europe and Peru that Trump has been criticized for ignoring.  “You’re seeing some countries that are going backwards rather than forwards in terms of freedom of the press, in terms of freedom of the Internet, in terms of respecting political opposition and civil society,” Obama said on Saturday. Trump barred some news organizations from covering events during his campaign and threatened during a televised debate to jail Clinton for her use of a private email server while secretary of state. Though Obama came on his trip able to assure European countries that Trump would respect U.S. commitments to NATO, his other assurances, including for Latin American policy, seemed based more on optimism than knowledge of Trump’s plans. “With respect to Latin America, I don’t anticipate major changes in policy from the new administration,” he said, citing trade as a key exception. Trump announced hawkish picks for attorney general, national security adviser, and CIA director on Friday that suggest he is setting up his administration to take a hard line confronting Islamist militancy and curbing illegal immigration.

Summary: ओबामा ने लैटिन अमेरिका और दुनिया से कहाः ट्रम्प को समय दें, बुरा न समझें


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Harris Corp was awarded a $1.7 billion firm-fixed-price, multi-year foreign military sales contract to supply Afghanistan with Harris radios, ancillaries, spare parts and services, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. It said the contract, inadvertently announced on June 16, is effective on Wednesday.

Summary: हैरिस कॉर्प ने जीता 1.70 करोड़ डॉलर का अमेरिकी रक्षा अनुबंधः पेंटागन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An influential U.S. House committee on Thursday approved a revised bipartisan bill on a 54-0 vote that would speed the deployment of self-driving cars without human controls and bar states from blocking autonomous vehicles. The bill would allow automakers to obtain exemptions to deploy up to 25,000 vehicles without meeting existing auto safety standards in the first year, a cap that would rise to 100,000 vehicles annually over three years.  Automakers and technology companies believe chances are good Congress will approve legislation before year end. They have been pushing for regulations making it easier to deploy self-driving technology, while consumer groups have sought more safeguards. Current federal rules bar self-driving cars without human controls on U.S. roads and automakers think proposed state rules in California are too restrictive.  The measure, the first significant federal legislation aimed at speeding self-driving cars to market, would require automakers to submit safety assessment reports to regulators, but would not require pre-market approval of advanced vehicle technologies. The House of Representatives will take up the bill when it reconvenes in September, while senators plan to introduce a separate similar measure. “Our aim was to develop a regulatory structure that allows for industry to safely innovate with significant government oversight,” said Representative Greg Walden, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Initially, authors proposed to allow automakers and others to sell up to 100,000 vehicles immediately. Representative Frank Pallone said the phase-in period was essential so “millions of exempted cars will not hit our roads all at once.” Manufacturers must demonstrate self-driving cars winning exemptions are at least as safe as existing vehicles. Under the House proposal, states could still set rules on registration, licensing, liability, insurance and safety inspections, but could not set self-driving car performance standards. Automakers praised committee passage, while Consumer Watchdog privacy director John Simpson said preempting state laws “leaves us at the mercy of manufacturers as they use our public highways as their private laboratories.” General Motors Co (GM.N), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and others have been lobbying for legislation to speed deployment of self-driving cars. Consumer advocates want more changes, including giving the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration quicker access to crash data and more funding to oversee self-driving cars. The issue has taken on new urgency since U.S. road deaths rose 7.7 percent in 2015, the highest annual jump since 1966. Automakers say that without changes in regulations, U.S. self-driving car testing could move to Europe and elsewhere.

Summary: हाउस पैनल ने सेल्फ-ड्राइविंग कारों की तैनाती में तेजी लाने के लिए कानून को मंजूरी दी


UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has called on the U.N. Security Council to  blacklist 10 ships for circumventing sanctions on North Korea, documents showed on Tuesday, while South Korea s President suggested delaying military exercises with Washington to ease tensions ahead of next year s Winter Olympics. Documents seen by Reuters said the 10 vessels had been conducting ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum products to North Korean vessels or transporting North Korean coal in violation of U.N. sanctions imposed over Pyongyang s nuclear and missile programs. The ships would be blacklisted - meaning countries would be required to ban them from entering their ports - if none of the 15 members of the Security Council s North Korea sanctions committee object by Thursday afternoon. North Korea is under a U.N. arms embargo and the Security Council has banned trade in exports such as coal, textiles, seafood, iron and other minerals to choke funding for Pyongyang s missile and nuclear programs.  In September, the council put a cap of 2 million barrels a year on refined petroleum products exports to North Korea. The ships targeted for blacklisting were Xin Sheng Hai (flag unknown); the Hong-Kong-flagged Lighthouse Winmore; the Togo-flagged Yu Yuan; Panama-flagged Glory Hope 1 (also known as Orient Shenyu), Kai Xiang, and Billions No. 18; and the North Korean-flagged Ul Ji Bong 6, Rung Ra 2, Rye Song Gang 1, and Sam Jong 2. Four ships were designated for carrying coal from North Korea by the council s North Korea sanctions committee in October. The United States has led a drive to step up sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyang s efforts to develop nuclear-tipped missiles capable of hitting the United States. In Ottawa on Tuesday, Canada and the United States said they would co-host a foreign ministers meeting in Vancouver on Jan. 16 to demonstrate international solidarity against North Korea s nuclear and missile tests. Representatives of the countries that sent troops or other military support to the U.N.-backed effort to repel North Korean forces after the 1950 invasion of South Korea will attend. Japan, India and Sweden will also attend, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.  We can t talk unless North Korea is ready to talk,  Tillerson told reporters after meeting with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.  What s important for North Korea to know is that this pressure campaign will not abate, we will not be rolling any of it back, it will only be intensified as time goes by, and it will remain in place until they agree to give up their nuclear weapons and allow us to verify the fact that is what they have done,  he said. Freeland said the world had to demonstrate to North Korea that it was united in condemning Pyongyang s actions.  The international pressure campaign - we believe it s going to be successful, and a successful outcome of the international pressure campaign is a diplomatic engagement,  Freeland said. Washington has warned that all options are on the table, including military ones, to prevent North Korea s missile development. On Friday, Tillerson had urged North Korea to carry out a  sustained cessation  of weapons testing to allow the two countries to hold talks. North Korea paused its missile testing for more than two months before firing a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile in late November. U.S. officials say it has given no indication it is willing to discuss giving up its nuclear program and Pyongyang has repeatedly denounced U.S. and South Korean military drills, which it says are a prelude to invasion. On Tuesday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he was willing to ease tensions ahead of next year s Winter Olympics in South Korea by delaying joint military exercises.  It is possible for South Korea and the U.S. to review the possibility of postponing the exercises,  he told NBC News.   I ve made such a suggestion to the U.S., and the U.S. is currently reviewing it. However, all this depends on how North Korea behaves.  A spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command, Commander Dave Benham, declined to discuss any plans for exercises. Earlier on Tuesday, Japan and South Korea, both U.S. allies, urged China to put more pressure on North Korea. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha that China - North Korea s neighbor and only big ally - was implementing Security Council resolutions but could do more. China routinely says it is meeting its U.N. obligations on North Korea and has urged  all sides  to pursue dialogue. The U.S. Navy s top officer, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson, said on Tuesday that vessels from the eastern Pacific could be moved to reinforce U.S. naval power in Asia as Washington contends with increased threats in the region and accidents that have weakened its maritime force. China has been irritated by stepped-up U.S. naval deployments in the Pacific and along with Russia has proposed that Washington and Seoul halt major military exercises in exchange for North Korea freezing its weapons programs. Washington has warned North Korea it would be  totally destroyed  in the event of war and on Monday U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a new national security strategy stressing the need to deal with the challenge posed by Pyongyang. This week Washington publicly blamed North Korea for a massive worldwide cyber attack in May that crippled hospitals, banks and other companies. A White House official said on Tuesday that Facebook Inc and Microsoft Corp disabled a number of North Korean cyber threats last week. Researchers say a series of cyber attacks has netted North Korean hackers millions of dollars in virtual currencies like bitcoin, with more attacks expected, as international sanctions drive the country to seek new sources of cash.

Summary: अमेरिका ने उत्तर कोरिया के उल्लंघन पर जहाज प्रतिबंध की मांग की, मून ने अभ्यास स्थगित किया


PARIS (Reuters) - The cost of Hurricane Irma, described as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, is seen costing at least 1.2 billion euros ($1.44 billion) in Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, a French public reinsurance body said on Saturday. Irma walloped Cuba s northern coast on Saturday as a Category 5 storm and was expected to hit Florida on Sunday morning, threatening massive damage from wind and flooding to the fourth-largest U.S. state by population. France s Caisse Centrale de Reassurance, a state-owned reinsurance group, said Irma would go down as one of the most damaging disasters in decades on French territory. Saint Barthelemy lies about 35 km southeast of Saint Martin, whose territory is divided between France and the Netherlands. The French interior ministry said on Saturday that 10 people had been reported dead on the two islands.

Summary: सेंट मार्टिन, सेंट बार्थ में इरमा की लागत 1 अरब यूरो से अधिक देखी गई


SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A decision by the United States to investigate China’s trade practices is a unilateralist “baring of fangs” that will hurt both sides, China’s state news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday authorized an inquiry into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property that administration officials said could have cost the United States as much as $600 billion. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will have a year to look into whether to launch a formal investigation of China’s trade policies on intellectual property, which the White House and U.S. industry lobby groups say are harming U.S. businesses and jobs. “While it is still too soon to say that the United States intends a showdown with China on trade, it is no exaggeration that the latest baring of fangs on Washington’s part against China, like all the other unilateral moves by Washington, will hurt not only China, but the United States itself in the long run,” Xinhua said. Xinhua said while Chinese exporters could be the first to suffer from trade sanctions, the pain would soon spread to U.S. industries and households, adding that China was willing to resolve any disputes between the two sides through dialogue. The investigation is likely to cast a shadow over U.S. relations with China, its largest trading partner, just as Trump is asking Beijing to put more pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear program. Ken Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, said in a statement on Tuesday that trade and North Korea should not be linked, and said the investigation was a sign of growing U.S. discontent with Chinese trade practices. “The President’s executive order reflects building frustration with Chinese trade and market entry policies, particularly those that pressure American companies to part with technologies and intellectual property in exchange for market access,” he said. “Chinese companies operating in the United States do not face this pressure.” “We support actions that recognize the importance of U.S.-China commercial ties but which also encourage progress toward a more equitable trading relationship,” he said.

Summary: चीन के सरकारी मीडिया का कहना है कि अमेरिकी व्यापार जांच से दोनों देशों को नुकसान होगा


NAIROBI (Reuters) - Opposition leader Raila Odinga urged Kenyans to boycott Thursday s repeat presidential election, saying he would lead a campaign of civil disobedience. Odinga spoke shortly after the Supreme Court said it was unable to consider a last-minute appeal to delay the vote after five out of seven judges failed to turn up. The repeat election was ordered by the Supreme Court on Sept. 1 after judges nullified the results of the Aug. 8 presidential contest on procedural grounds. The election commission had said Odinga lost to President Uhuru Kenyatta by 1.4 million votes. Odinga is refusing to participate in Thursday s contest because he says the election commission has failed to implement reforms to prevent it being, once again, marred by irregularities.  We advise Kenyans who value democracy and justice to hold vigil and prayers away from polling stations, or just stay at home,  he told a cheering crowd in Nairobi s Uhuru Park, backing away from previous promise to call large-scale protests.   Convince your friends, neighbors and everyone else not to participate,  he said in English. If they support the president, he cautioned:  do not insult or assault them. Instead, seek to open their eyes.  But several speakers who preceded him gave speeches in KiSwahili calling on opposition supporters not to allow people to vote.  With the Supreme Court unable to hear petitions to delay the vote, election officials said it would go ahead, regardless of Odinga s decision. The head of the national election board, Wafula Chebukati, said the vote would proceed even if some polling stations were unable to open.  In cases where there will be problems (delivering materials) ... the polling officer will have the right to inform us and polling can be suspended to another day.  Seeking to explain the Supreme Court s absences, Chief Justice David Maraga said one judge was unwell, another was abroad and another was unable to attend after her bodyguard was shot and wounded on Tuesday night. It was unclear why the others did not show up. Turmoil ahead of the election prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a statement saying it was  deeply concerned  by efforts by both parties to undermine the independence of the electoral commission. It condemned the attack on the deputy chief justice s bodyguard and urged Kenyans to reject violence. Minutes after Maraga s remarks on live television, hundreds of supporters took to the streets of Kisumu, Odinga s main stronghold. Riot police used teargas to disperse them. Two protesters received gunshot wounds, a Reuters witness said.  If the government subverts the sovereign will of the people ... then people are entitled to rebel against this government,  Kisumu governor Anyang Nyong o, a hardline Odinga supporter, told reporters. Such comments seem certain to fuel fears of a major confrontation with security forces, already blamed for killing nearly 50 people in Kisumu and Nairobi slums after the canceled August vote. Months of political uncertainty have blunted growth in Kenya, East Africa s biggest economy and a key Western ally valued for its relative freedom and stability in a tumultuous region.  Kenyatta is keen for the poll to proceed to cement his rule.   Many wonder when or if ever all this politicking will end,  he said in a televised speech on Wednesday evening.  I call to each and every one of us to turn out once again and vote.   For some citizens, the instability has rekindled memories of large-scale ethnic violence that killed 1,200 people following a disputed election in 2007. Meanwhile, in anticipation of possible violence ahead of the elections on Thursday, shoppers crammed into Nairobi s upmarket Carrefour supermarket to stock up on food, said Jason Straziuso, who had to wait nearly two hours to pay for his groceries.    There was about 40 carts per register, everyone was jockeying for position trying to find the shortest line,  he said.  Every single cart was as full as it could be.  Single mother Marian Elema said she had paid double the usual bus fare for to take her five children to her home town Isiolo, in central Kenya, because she feared violence would break out in the port city of Mombasa where they live.   I decided to travel home to escape possible clashes between opposition supporters and police,  she told Reuters.  I am not here to vote but for the safety of my children.  In Kisumu s tallying center, election officer John Ngutai sat huddled with a handful of other officials, waiting for missing election material and hundreds of absent colleagues. He said attacks by opposition supporters last week meant the election board had only managed to train 250 out of 1,300 staff needed to hold the election in his constituency.  Our trainings were disrupted and officials attacked, so some people withdrew,  he said.  Even if the election goes ahead, the opposition might still challenge the result in the Supreme Court. Judges said they were prepared to annul the re-run, and send the country of 45 million back to square one, if the election does not meet the required standards. In a ruling early on Wednesday, High Court Judge George Odunga said some local election officials had been appointed in an irregular manner, but to withdraw them at the last minute would only make an already dire situation worse.  For the elections to proceed in the absence of the said officers would in my view be a constitutional crisis of unimaginable magnitude. Simply put, it would be a recipe for chaos.  However, he admitted that not dismissing them could form the grounds for legal challenges afterwards.  Opposition lawyers seeking to challenge Thursday s vote might also cite the failure of the election board to hold elections in all parts of the country, if enough polling stations are unable to open.  The constitution does not stipulate a minimum turnout, but says the election should be held at the same time in all parts of the country.

Summary: केन्या के विपक्षी नेता ने मतदान के बहिष्कार और सविनय अवज्ञा का आग्रह किया


AMMAN (Reuters) - Russian and Syrian jets killed at least 150 civilians and injured dozens in over a week of heavy bombing that shattered a  six-month halt in intensive aerial raids in opposition-held northwestern parts of Syria, opposition rescue workers said on Wednesday. The renewed bombing campaign came after an array of jihadist rebels led by the former Qaeda offshoot in Syria last week waged a wide-scale offensive against government-controlled areas in northern Hama.  We have pulled 152 bodies and we have rescued 279 civilians since the Russian and regime bombing campaign,  said Salem Abu al Azem, a senior rescue worker from the opposition-run Civil Defence in Idlib, adding bodies were still being pulled out of the wreckage of buildings flattened by air raids. Russia s defense ministry says it is attacking hard-line Islamist militants. It denies accusations it has targeted infrastructure and medical centers to force rebels into local truces that effectively restore President Bashar al Assad s  grip on the country. Civil defense officials and other humanitarian aid workers have documented the destruction of six hospitals, five defense centers, and power stations in the first few days of the bombing campaign alongside hitting camps where displaced civilians have been sheltering. Rebels and witnesses differentiate easily Russian jets from Syrian planes with the former flying in sorties at high  altitudes making drops with devastating impact. The strikes began with intensive bombing of towns and cities in southern Idlib where the jihadists have a large presence but in recent days have spread to most towns across the province that borders Turkey. Thousands of families have fled from towns such as Jisr al Shqour and Jabal al Zawya to rural areas less exposed to daily bombing and shelling, aid workers said. The bombing campaign however comes shortly after a tripartite deal struck by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran to deploy an observer force in Idlib, a province where the former al Qaeda Syrian offshoot has cemented its control after it crushed opponents. The Kremlin said earlier this week Russia s president Vladimir Putin was expected to meet his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on a visit to Ankara on Thursday. Syrian rebel officials says Turkey wants to get the approval of Moscow, the power with the dominant role in Syria, to press ahead with its widely anticipated plan to deploy troops in Idlib.

Summary: विपक्ष का कहना है कि इदलिब पर रूसी, सीरियाई छापों में 150 नागरिक मारे गए


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Thursday welcomed President Barack Obama’s endorsement, telling Reuters in an interview that it “means the world” to her that her former rival has her back in the 2016 campaign. “It is absolutely a joy and an honor that President Obama and I, over the years, have gone from fierce competitors to true friends,” Clinton said.  Clinton and Obama will begin campaigning together next week in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Summary: क्लिंटन ने अमेरिकी चुनाव में ओबामा को 'मेरी पीठ' पाकर रोमांचित कियाः रॉयटर्स साक्षात्कार


HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama tried out his comedic chops with some Spanish in a video he made with Cuban humorist Pánfilo ahead of a historic visit to Havana. Obama, who has won praise from professional comedians for his comic timing, is due to arrive in Cuba on Sunday. He shot a segment from the Oval Office in which he pretends to have a conversation with Pánfilo in Cuba. The two sides of the call were edited together in a video playing on the Havana U.S. embassy’s social media feeds and the YouTube channel of an official Cuban media outlet on Saturday. (bit.ly/1WyRvHZ) Pánfilo calls Washington looking for a weather forecast for Tuesday’s exhibition game between Cuba’s national baseball team and the Tampa Bay Rays, a game Obama will intend. Instead of getting the weather service he ends up on the phone with Obama, asking if he is really speaking with the president. “Yes, the real Obama. Who’s this?” the president says. “I’m Pánfilo from Cuba.” “The real Pánfilo? From the TV show?” Obama asks. Pánfilo is shocked the president knows him, and Obama pretends to be equally star struck. “No me digas. ¿Qué bolá?” Obama says in Cuban slang. (“You don’t say. What’s up?”) Pánfilo then engages the U.S. president in his trademark gentle social satire of Cuban life, joking about old cars and cramped living quarters.

Summary: ओबामा वीडियो में क्यूबा के हास्यकार के साथ मजाक करते हैं