BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Michel Temer was charged with obstruction of justice and racketeering on Thursday, according to a statement posted on the prosecutor general s office website, threatening to delay the government s economic reform agenda in Congress.    It is the second set of criminal charges filed against the president based on the plea-bargain testimony of the owners of the world s largest meatpacker, JBS SA. They accused Temer of taking bribes in return for political favors and of conspiring to buy the silence of a witness who could implicate the leader.  In a statement on Thursday, Temer strongly rejected all allegations of wrongdoing.  Temer s earlier corruption charge, that he took bribes from JBS officials, was blocked in August by Temer s allies in the lower house of Congress, which has the power to decide whether a president should stand trial by the Supreme Court. Despite the lower house s move to block the charges, they remain valid and can be pursued by prosecutors once Temer leaves office. His term ends on Jan. 1, 2019. Brazil s top public prosecutor Rodrigo Janot has also filed charges against Joesley Batista, the billionaire former chairman of JBS who implicated Temer. Batista was arrested on Sunday for concealing other crimes in his plea bargain deal. Batista s lawyer Antonio Carlos Kakay rejected the charges brought by Janot, arguing in a statement that the prosecutor had violated the rules of plea bargains by using his client s testimony to incriminate him. On Wednesday, Batista s brother Wesley, the chief executive officer of JBS SA, was also arrested for alleged insider trading to avoid hefty losses related to the May plea deal. Late on Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin converted Joesley and executive Ricardo Saud s temporary detentions into preventative detention and gave them 10 days to respond before ruling on Janot s request to withdraw their plea deal.   The arrests of the Batista brothers have improved Temer s prospects of surviving the new charges and serving out his term through 2018. Temer and his allies expect the new charges to be voted in the lower house next month with wider support than he obtained in the 263-227 vote last month blocking a trial. Fachin heeded a request from Temer s defense not to deliver the accusation to the lower house until after a supreme court plenary vote on the matter. The vote should be held before Wednesday. The allegations are part of Brazil s sprawling corruption probes that have resulted in ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva s conviction and four pending trials; investigations and charges implicating three former presidents and dozens of members of Congress; and guilty verdicts against well over 100 powerful business and political figures.      Most of the schemes involve political kickbacks in return for contracts at government-run enterprises or cheap loans from Brazil s state development bank.     The racketeering charge against Temer was based on the plea bargain testimony of L cio Funaro, a businessman who accused the president and his closest aides in the ruling PMDB party of operating a criminal organization to collect bribes in exchange for political influence.     The obstruction of justice charge was based on testimony by Joesley Batista that Temer endorsed payments of hush money to try to keep Funaro from talking.     A short legislative agenda ahead of an election year, the absence of public pressure to oust Temer and the lack of any convincing replacement for him are also likely to weigh in the president s favor.      Given the short timetable, the general public apathy and lack of a viable alternative, it is quite possible that Brasilia will continue to punt this down the road,  said Matthew Taylor, a professor at the American University in Washington.

Summary: जे. बी. एस. की गवाही पर ब्राजील के टेमर को नए भ्रष्टाचार के आरोपों का सामना करना पड़ रहा है


BERLIN (Reuters) - German parties in exploratory talks on forming a coalition government agreed on Thursday to stick to climate goals that envisage cutting CO2 emissions to 40 percent of 1990 levels by 2020, sources said. But negotiators from Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) did not debate concrete measures such as a possible exit from coal-based energy production, the sources added. One source added that the initial agreement still needs to be approved by party leaders at later meetings. Germany needs to implement additional measures to reach the 40 percent emissions reduction goal otherwise it will only achieve a 32 percent cut in CO2 emissions.

Summary: जर्मन गठबंधन के उम्मीदवार 2020 तक कार्बन डाइऑक्साइड उत्सर्जन में 40 प्रतिशत की कटौती चाहते हैंः सूत्र


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate’s number two Democrat, Dick Durbin, said on Monday that President Donald Trump’s conduct revealing classified information to the Russians, as reported by the Washington Post, was “dangerous” and “reckless.” “This conduct by the president is not only dangerous, it’s reckless. It is reckless for him to disclose to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador, sensitive, top secret information,” Durbin told reporters outside the Senate. Durbin said he had not been briefed separately on the matter and that he was commenting on the Post story. Classified information cannot be kept from a U.S. president, Durbin added, but he hoped Republicans will make it clear to Trump that his conduct “jeopardizes our national security.”

Summary: अमेरिकी सीनेट नंबर दो डेमोक्रेट ने ट्रम्प के आचरण को 'खतरनाक' कहा


(Reuters) - YRC Worldwide Inc said on Thursday it has closed terminals in the Florida localities of Fort Pierce, Miami, Tampa, and West Palm Beach due to Hurricane Irma.

Summary: वाई. आर. सी. वर्ल्डवाइड ने तूफान के कारण फ्लोरिडा टर्मिनलों को बंद कर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio said his staff was safe after his Washington campaign headquarters was evacuated over a suspicious white powder. “Glad campaign staff in DC is all safe! Thanks to DC emergency personnel,” Rubio said in a tweet. Campaign spokesman Alex Conant told the Washington Post that the substance, which was found by a worker in an envelope at around 4 p.m., turned out to be laundry detergent. Rubio was campaigning on Tuesday in his home state of Florida, one of five states holding primaries for the Republican party. A suspicious substance found at the Houston campaign headquarters of U.S. Republican presidential contender Senator Ted Cruz last week was determined to be non-toxic, a local media report said, citing a Cruz campaign official.

Summary: सफेद पाउडर की धमकी के बाद रूबियो अभियान कार्यालय में सब कुछ साफ हो गया


KARANGASEM, Indonesia (Reuters) - Nearly 135,000 people on the Indonesian island of Bali have left their homes and taken shelter in makeshift evacuation centers after warnings the Mount Agung volcano could erupt at any time, officials said late on Thursday. Spewing white smoke and sending tremors through the area, Mount Agung s alert status was raised to the highest level last week. Since then, tens of thousands of villagers have abandoned their homes beneath the menacing volcano. The national disaster management agency said many people have fled because they are unsure of their proximity to a 12 km (seven miles) exclusion zone imposed around the crater.     Evacuees are being housed in tents, school gyms, and government buildings in neighboring villages.  While there are plentiful stocks of food, water, medicines, and other supplies, evacuees fear they are in for a long wait that could disrupt their livelihoods. One farmer said he was worried that lava flows could destroy his house and farm.  If my house is destroyed I don t know how to restart my life. I don t know where my kids will sleep and all I can do now is pray,  said Gusti Gege Astana, 40.    Officials also noted there are around 30,000 cattle within the danger zone around the volcano, and efforts are being made to move the livestock as it is an important source of income for many residents.     More than 1,000 people were killed the last time Mount Agung erupted, in 1963. An elderly woman who survived that eruption said evacuation instructions had come much earlier this time.  Back then we weren t evacuated until it got really dangerous. Life went on as normal when ash and gravel was falling on us, until the big lava came out and destroyed everything,  said 82-year-old Gusti Ayu Wati. Indonesia has nearly 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country. Many of these show high levels of activity but it can be weeks or even months before an actual eruption. Bali is famous for its beaches and temples and saw nearly 5 million visitors last year, mainly from China, Australia, and Japan. Some tourists, however, were having second thoughts about their holiday plans after several countries, including Singapore and Australia, issued travel advisories warning of the risk from the volcano.  Bali s tourism department on Thursday issued a letter   reassuring travelers, and noting that flights were operating normally.  The island is safe except for areas around Mount Agung. We urge tourists to continue visiting,  the letter said. The transportation minister said on Wednesday that Bali-bound flights could be diverted to 10 airports across the country in case of an eruption.      Ash clouds from volcanic eruptions have disrupted tourism in Bali and other parts of Indonesia in recent years. Hundreds of domestic and international flights were disrupted in 2016 when a volcano erupted on Bali s neighboring Lombok island, sending columns of ash and debris into the air.

Summary: बाली में ज्वालामुखी विस्फोट की आशंका ने लगभग 1,35,000 लोगों को शरणस्थलों में भागने के लिए मजबूर किया


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel said she had reassured her European Union counterparts during a summit on Friday that Germany continued to have a government committed to the EU despite delays in forming a new coalition. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, she said it was important to her that the EU continued to develop. Merkel s first attempt to form a new coalition after September s election failed last weekend, disappointing EU partners who were hoping for a fully functioning German government by December to help make deals.   As the acting government, we are fulfilling all our European obligations,  Merkel said.  We are conducting the consultations we need with our parliament in order to be capable of taking the necessary decisions.

Summary: मर्केल ने बर्लिन गठबंधन समझौते की कमी पर यूरोपीय संघ को आश्वस्त किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the leaders of the moderate Republican “Tuesday Group” in the U.S. House of Representatives resigned as co-chairman on Tuesday, citing divisions over efforts to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system. Representative Tom MacArthur of New Jersey told group members during a weekly meeting he was stepping down in the wake of efforts to repeal and replace Democratic former President Barack Obama’s healthcare law. “During efforts to reform our healthcare system, I worked with many in the Tuesday Group towards a real solution that would protect the most vulnerable among us, while driving down healthcare costs,” MacArthur said in prepared remarks reviewed by Reuters. “That being said, it’s clear that some in the Tuesday Group have different objectives and a different sense of governing than I do,” he added. MacArthur could not be reached immediately for comment. MacArthur said more than half of the Republican “no” votes for the House’s Obamacare replacement legislation came from Tuesday Group members. He called the group’s inability to come together on healthcare a “non-starter” and said it had become clear that some members of the group had different objectives and would prefer a different leader.  MacArthur authored an amendment that helped Republican leaders in the House earlier this month pass the American Health Care Act, which would repeal and replace much of Obamacare. His amendment would allow states to apply for waivers so they could opt out of some Obamacare requirements, including one of the law’s most popular provisions that prohibit insurers from charging more to individuals with pre-existing conditions.   MacArthur’s amendment brought members of the conservative Freedom Caucus on board to support the bill. Tuesday Group members, however, complained they had not been consulted ahead of time. Some criticized it as a departure from what they wanted to see in the healthcare package. MacArthur will remain a member of the Tuesday Group after resigning from its leadership, website Politico reported.  “Clearly, our group is divided. Many in the Tuesday Group are eager to live up to our ideal of being problem-solvers, while others seem unwilling to compromise. The recent healthcare debate was illustrative,” MacArthur said in his prepared remarks.

Summary: उदारवादी रिपब्लिकन हाउस समूह के नेता ने स्वास्थ्य देखभाल को लेकर दिया इस्तीफा


(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opened the door on Tuesday to a change in its blood donor deferral recommendations, which currently prohibit donations from gay men for a year following their last sexual encounter in order to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In December the FDA overturned a 30-year ban on all blood donations from men who have sex with men, saying the change was based on science showing an indefinite ban was not necessary to prevent transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus. The FDA is now signaling it may go further. Gay rights advocates say the latest update did not go far enough and that the agency’s recommendations should move closer to individual risk assessments, which could, for example, look at whether an individual has been in a monogamous relationship. Their criticism intensified in the wake of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in June, which saw many gay men unable to donate blood even as blood banks put out calls for donors. In a notice posted to the Federal Register, the FDA said it was establishing a public docket for comment about its current recommendations and that interested people should submit comments, backed by scientific evidence, supporting alternative potential policies to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.  Such suggestions “could include the feasibility of moving from the existing time-based deferrals related to risk behaviors to alternate deferral options, such as the use of individual risk assessments.” The agency said it would take the comments into account “as it continues to reevaluate and update blood donor deferral policies as new scientific information becomes available.” The FDA’s action comes after 115 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Democrat Mike Quigley, vice chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, wrote to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf calling on him to end the current policy, saying it discriminated against men who have sex with men. A similar letter was signed by 22 senators. In a statement on Tuesday, Quigley said he was “encouraged” by the FDA’s announcement. “The tragedy at Pulse nightclub in Orlando highlighted the discrimination gay and bisexual men face when attempting to donate blood to those in need,” he said. “Moving towards an individual risk assessment would provide for a fair, equitable, nondiscriminatory blood donation policy, one based in science that allows all healthy Americans to safely donate blood.”

Summary: अमेरिका ने समलैंगिक पुरुषों के लिए रक्तदान नीति में बदलाव के लिए दरवाजे खोले


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate is aiming to finish its work and vote later on Wednesday on final passage of a relief plan to help Puerto Rico address its $70 billion debt, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. The bill cleared a critical procedural hurdle in the Senate on Wednesday morning, and has already passed the House of Representatives. Supporters want to send it to President Barack Obama to sign into law by Friday, when Puerto Rico faces a potential default on a chunk of its debt if it cannot make a $1.9 billion payment.

Summary: अमेरिकी सीनेट का उद्देश्य प्यूर्टो रिको विधेयक पर बुधवार को बाद में मतदान करना है


PARIS (Reuters) - Riot police clashed with hooded youths on the fringe of a protest in central Paris against French President Emmanuel Macron s reforms to loosen labor regulations. Police fired water canons and could be seen dragging several demonstrators behind their lines, Reuters TV images showed.

Summary: पेरिस में श्रम सुधार आंदोलन के दौरान दंगा पुलिस और नकाबपोश युवाओं के बीच झड़प


MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that North Korea s latest missile test was part of a series of unacceptable provocations and that the United Nations Security Council was united in believing such launches should not be taking place.  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments to reporters on a conference call after Pyongyang fired a missile that flew over Japan s northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean on Friday, deepening tension after its recent test of its most powerful nuclear bomb.  In Russia we are deeply concerned about these provocative launches which are further stoking tensions. Clearly demonstrating that our position is that such launches are unacceptable is the most tangible thing we can do right now,  said Peskov.  Judging by the United Nations  Security Council, that is a unanimous point of view which unites Security Council members.  Peskov also said that President Vladimir Putin was expected to attend the Zapad-2017 military exercises on Monday and would observe the war games from a command center near St Petersburg. The war games have stirred unease in some countries because Russian troops and military hardware will be training inside Belarus, a Russian ally which borders Ukraine as well as NATO member states Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Peskov said that Putin had held a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron earlier on Friday. He did not provide further details.

Summary: क्रेमलिन ने उत्तर कोरिया के नवीनतम मिसाइल प्रक्षेपण को एक और 'उकसावा' बताया


(Reuters) - New York’s attorney general is looking into a report that the Eric Trump Foundation funneled more than $1 million from charity golf tournaments into President Donald Trump’s business, a spokesman for the attorney general said on Friday. Forbes magazine reported this week that the charity run by Eric Trump, the president’s second-oldest son, paid the Trump Organization to use its properties for charity events in recent years even though Eric Trump had told donors that the golf course and other assets were being used for free, so that just about all the money donated would help sick children. Forbes reported that based on filings from the Eric Trump Foundation and other charities, more than $1.2 million “has no documented recipients past the Trump Organization.” Eric Soufer, a spokesman for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, said in an email that his office was looking into issues raised by the Forbes story. Soufer did not immediately respond to a later request for details about the examination. The Democratic attorney general’s office already is investigating allegations of self-dealing at the Donald J. Trump Foundation, the Republican president’s charity. Trump, a New York real estate developer, said in December that he would dissolve the Donald J. Trump Foundation, but Schneiderman’s office has said it could not be wound down while the investigation was ongoing. Forbes also reported that although donors to the Eric Trump Foundation were told all its money was going to help St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, fight pediatric cancer, more than $500,000 was re-donated to other charities. Many of those charities “were connected to Trump family members or interests, including at least four groups that subsequently paid to hold golf tournaments at Trump courses,” Forbes said. Amanda Miller, who works for the Trump Organization and who identified herself in an emailed response to a Reuters query as a “spokesperson for Eric Trump,” said the Eric Trump Foundation would cooperate fully with Schneiderman’s office. Eric Trump is executive vice president of development and acquisition for the Trump Organization. “During the past decade, the Eric Trump Foundation has raised over $16.3 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, including more than $3.6 million to St. Jude and other worthwhile causes just in 2016 alone,” Miller said in the email. Eric Trump said in a tweet on Thursday that he had raised the money for St. Jude with an expense ratio of less than 12.3 percent. “Let’s not politicize pediatric cancer,” he said. On his foundation’s website, Eric Trump said he had ceased  direct fundraising efforts at the end of 2016 “in order to avoid the appearance or assertion of any impropriety and/or a conflict of interest.”

Summary: न्यूयॉर्क के अटॉर्नी जनरल एरिक ट्रम्प चैरिटी के भुगतान को देख रहे हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump took his first official actions as U.S. president on Friday, sending his Cabinet nominations to the Senate and calling for a national day of patriotism, his spokesman said. Trump, who was sworn into office earlier on Friday, also signed into a law a waiver to allow Defense Secretary-designate James Mattis, a retired U.S. Marine Corps general, to serve, Sean Spicer said.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने कैबिनेट पर पहली कार्रवाई की, देशभक्ति दिवस की घोषणा कीः प्रवक्ता


DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran s Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence against a Sweden-based Iranian academic convicted of spying for Israel, the Tehran prosecutor was quoted as saying on Monday, confirming reports by Amnesty International and his family. Ahmadreza Djalali, a medical doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute, a Stockholm medical university, was accused of providing information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior nuclear scientists. Djalali was arrested in Iran in April 2016 and later convicted of espionage. He has denied the charges, Amnesty said.  At least four scientists were killed between 2010 and 2012 in what Tehran said were assassinations meant to sabotage its efforts to develop nuclear energy. Western powers and Israel said Iran aimed to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran denied this. The Islamic Republic hanged a man in 2012 over the killings, saying he was an agent for Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. On Monday, Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the Supreme Court recently upheld the death sentence against Djalali, the news site of Iran s judiciary, Mizan, reported. Dolatabadi said Djalali had confessed to meeting Mossad agents repeatedly to deliver information on Iran s nuclear and defense plans and personnel, and helping to infect Defense Ministry  computer systems with viruses, Mizan reported. London-based Amnesty International and Djalali s wife said earlier this month that his lawyers were told that the Supreme Court had considered his case and upheld his death sentence. Iranian state television broadcast last week what it described as Djalali s confessions. His wife said he had been forced by his interrogators to read the confession. Djalali was on a business trip to Iran when he was arrested and sent to Evin prison. He was held in solitary confinement for three months of his detention and tortured, Amnesty said.  It said Djalali wrote a letter inside prison in August stating he was being held for refusing to spy for Iran. Sweden condemned the sentence in October and said it had raised the matter with Iranian envoys. Seventy-five Nobel prize laureates petitioned Iranian authorities last month to release Djalali so he could  continue his scholarly work for the benefit of mankind .

Summary: ईरान ने जासूसी पर शिक्षाविद के लिए मौत की सजा बरकरार रखने की पुष्टि की


BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The European Union should seek a new deal with the United States as the free trade agreement has failed, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday. Orban also told an economic conference that Europe should let go of the “illusion of federalism.”  He said seeking new agreements would be a milestone on Europe’s path to improved competitiveness.

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ को अमेरिका के साथ नया सौदा करना चाहिएः प्रधानमंत्री ओरबान


HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe s former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa arrived back in the country on Wednesday, two days before he is due to be sworn in as president to replace Robert Mugabe, ruling party ZANU-PF official Larry Mavhima said. Mugabe resigned as Zimbabwe s president on Tuesday, a week after the army and his former political allies moved to end four decades of rule by a man once feted as an independence hero who became feared as a despot.

Summary: जिम्बाब्वे के मनांगाग्वा घर पहुंचे, शुक्रवार को राष्ट्रपति के रूप में शपथ लेंगे


ADEN (Reuters) - Suspected al Qaeda militants attacked a military checkpoint in the southern Yemen province of Abyan on Monday, killing four soldiers and wounding 10, a military official said. Four men wearing explosive vests emerged from their truck at the checkpoint in the town of Mudia while the driver detonated the vehicle, the official told Reuters. All five attackers were killed in the explosions, which could be felt throughout the town, he said. Al Qaeda s local affiliate in Yemen, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP),  later claimed responsibility for the attack in a message on its Telegram channel, according to the SITE monitoring centre The group has taken advantage of a civil war between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi s Saudi-backed government to strengthen its position in the impoverished country. AQAP operates in several provinces in south and eastern Yemen, including in Abyan, Shabwa and al-Bayda.

Summary: अल कायदा के संदिग्ध ट्रक बम विस्फोट में चार यमनी सैनिकों की मौत


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon s Hezbollah group dismissed multi-million-dollar rewards offered by the United States for the arrest of two of its senior members, saying on Wednesday they would have no impact. Washington has offered up to $7 million for information leading to the detention of Talal Hamiyah, head of Hezbollah s foreign operations, and up to $5 million for Fuad Shukr, a top Hezbollah military operative. The move on Tuesday came as the Trump administration prepared to unveil a strategy to step up pressure on Hezbollah s main backer Iran. Nicholas Rasmussen, the head of the U.S. National CounterTerrorism Center, blamed the group for a series of attacks around the world.  These accusations from the American administration against Hezbollah and its mujahideen are rejected and void ... They will not affect the work of the resistance at all,  a senior Hezbollah official told Reuters.  The official, who declined to be named, said the U.S. threat came as a reaction to Hezbollah s recent gains in the region.  Shi ite Hezbollah has played a major role in backing President Bashar al-Assad in the six-year Syrian war. It has sent thousands of its fighters into Syria, helping the Damascus government recover territory from rebels and militants. Hamiyah has been on the U.S. State Department s foreign terrorist list since 2015 and Shukr was added in 2013. Washington named Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

Summary: हिज़्बुल्लाह ने अपने कार्यकर्ताओं की गिरफ्तारी के लिए अमेरिकी पुरस्कारों को खारिज किया


LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Christian man has been sentenced to death on blasphemy charges by a court in eastern Pakistan after a close friend accused him of sharing anti-Islamic material, the defendant s lawyer said on Friday. Blasphemy is a criminal offence in Muslim-majority Pakistan, and insults against the Prophet Mohammad are punishable by death. Most cases are filed against members of minority communities. Nadeem James, 35, was arrested in July 2016, accused by a friend of sharing material ridiculing the Prophet Mohammad on the Whatsapp messaging service. Lawyer Riaz Anjum said his client intended to appeal against the verdict, passed on Thursday by a sessions court in the town of Gujrat. There was widespread outrage across Pakistan last April when student Mashal Khan was beaten to death at his university in Mardan following a dorm debate about religion. Police arrested over 20 students and some faculty members in connection with the killing. Since then, parliament has considered adding safeguards to the blasphemy laws, a groundbreaking move given the emotive nature of the issue. There have been at least 67 murders over unproven allegations of blasphemy since 1990, according to figures from a research center and independent records kept by Reuters. And in 2011, a bodyguard assassinated Punjab provincial governor Salman Taseer after he called for the blasphemy laws to be reformed.  Taseer s killer, executed last year, has been hailed as a martyr by religious hardliners.

Summary: पाकिस्तान की अदालत ने ईशनिंदा के लिए ईसाई व्यक्ति को मौत की सजा सुनाई


NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday endorsed a niece of former critic Mitt Romney to be the next chair of the Republican National Committee as he moved to put his stamp on the party leadership. The RNC named Michigan Republican Party chair Ronna Romney McDaniel as its deputy chair, and Trump said he looked forward to her taking over the party leadership. Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, will leave the RNC chairmanship when Trump takes office on Jan. 20. “I’m excited to have a highly effective leader in Ronna McDaniel as RNC deputy chair and I look forward to her serving as the party’s chairman in 2017,” Trump said in a statement. “Ronna has been extremely loyal to our movement and her efforts were critical to our tremendous victory in Michigan, and I know she will bring the same passion to the Republican National Committee,” he added. The RNC’s 168 elected members will convene in January to elect their next chairman and Trump’s endorsement of McDaniel will likely carry enough weight to get her elected. McDaniel’s profile rose in Trump’s view when she helped him win Michigan in the Nov. 8 election. The state had not voted Republican in a presidential election since 1988 and was critical to Trump’s victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Her selection came two days after Trump passed over Mitt Romney to be his secretary of state, instead choosing Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Rex Tillerson. Trump and Romney have gotten past their frictions during the Republican presidential nominating battle when the 2012 Republican nominee was critical of Trump’s candidacy. Bob Paduchik, a veteran Republican operative in Ohio who was Trump’s campaign manager in that state, was named deputy co-chair of the RNC. Trump’s victory in Ohio was also crucial to his victory.

Summary: ट्रंप ने आरएनसी अध्यक्ष पद के लिए रोमनी की भतीजी रोन्ना रोमनी मैकडैनियल का समर्थन किया


TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Wednesday edged ahead of his TV star rival in a contentious vote count that has dragged on for three days. With 81.77 percent of the ballot boxes counted, the election tribunal said both Hernandez and opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla had won 42.17 percent of the vote, though the incumbent had an advantage of 40 votes.

Summary: होंडुरास में वोटों की गिनती से पता चलता है कि राष्ट्रपति हर्नांडेज़ आगे बढ़ रहे हैं


LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should leave open the option remaining in the single market and customs union after a Brexit transition period, the Brexit spokesman for the opposition Labour Party said on Wednesday.  Our position is in the customs unions and single market in the transition period and leave the options on the table for after the transition period,  Keir Starmer told BBC radio.

Summary: ब्रिटेन की लेबर पार्टी एकल बाजार छोड़ना चाहती है, सीमा शुल्क संघ का विकल्प संक्रमण के बाद खुला है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At first glance, U.S. President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen may have little in common.  Yellen is an academic economist and veteran of Democratic administrations who is committed to an open global economy, while Trump is a real estate mogul with an electoral base suspicious of the economic order Yellen helped to create. Yet the two may have interests in common now that Trump is president and both want to get as many Americans working as possible.  Since her appointment as Fed chair in February 2014, Yellen has kept interest rates low and she currently pledges to raise them only slowly even though unemployment, at 4.5 percent, is at its lowest in nearly ten years.  Meanwhile, Trump’s election campaign promises to cut taxes, spend money on infrastructure and deregulate banking, have  helped propel a surge in the U.S. Conference Board’s consumer confidence index to its highest level since the internet stocks crash 16 years ago. Former Fed staff and colleagues who know Yellen said Trump’s surprising remarks this week in a Wall Street Journal interview, in which he did not rule out Yellen’s reappointment to a new four year term next year, are not as outlandish as they may appear now that the president has a vested interest in keeping markets and the economy on an even keel.  And the same staff and colleagues say Yellen may well accept reappointment, despite Trump’s criticism of her during last year’s election campaign.  Many in Trump’s Republican party have called for tighter monetary policy and a less activist Fed, but “the president would not really find that useful,” said former Fed vice chair Donald Kohn.  If Trump fills three existing Federal Reserve board vacancies with people Yellen thinks she could work with, “it would be really difficult to turn down” a reappointment when her term as chair expires in February 2018. “If she continues to do well, he’d be nuts to ditch her for an unknown quantity,” said University of California, Berkeley, economics professor Andrew Rose, a long-time colleague and co-author with Yellen of an oft-cited study of labor markets. Yellen took over from Ben Bernanke as Fed chair in February 2014 with the U.S. economic recovery from the 2008 financial crisis still on shaky ground, and she has made no secret she puts a priority on growth in jobs and wages and a broad recovery in U.S. household wealth.  In a slow return to more normal monetary policy, Yellen has stopped the purchase of additional financial securities by the Fed and in December 2015 began raising short term interest rates for the first time in 10 years. So far those policy shifts have been engineered with little apparent impact on job growth, and so mesh with Trump’s core election campaign promises to restore employment and earnings. The slow rise in interest rates in the past year has also happened while U.S. stock prices have risen to record highs, though Trump has claimed the credit for himself.   There is precedent for Trump to stick with a former president’s Fed chair appointment. Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke, the three previous Fed chairs, served at least two four year terms and were nominated by both Democratic and Republican presidents.  However it may be a more difficult step for Trump.   During last year’s election campaign, Trump accused Yellen of accepting orders from then President Obama to keep interest rates low for political reasons, and he said he would replace her as Fed chair because she is not a Republican party member.  In a particularly biting moment last year, in a campaign video advertisement, he labeled her as among the “global special interests” who had ruined life for middle America.  The Fed on Thursday said it had no response to Trump’s comments published on Wednesday on Yellen and or on whether Yellen would consider a second term.  Some of Trump’s advisers and some Republican lawmakers want a more conservative Fed in which the chair has less power and would see a Yellen reappointment as yet another step away from his promise to “drain the swamp” of the Washington establishment. There are also three current vacancies on the Fed’s seven member Board of Governors, and unorthodox new members could make it difficult for Yellen to manage policy or accept another four year term. But if the choice is her consensus style or someone unproven in their ability to manage public and market expectations, “he’d be wise to reappoint her,” said Joseph Gagnon, a former Fed staffer and Berkeley colleague of Yellen’s currently at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “I don’t see what is in his interests to appoint someone who is going to jack up interest rates.”

Summary: हो सकता है कि ट्रम्प और येलेन एक अजीब जोड़ी न हों।


(This Oct. 9 story has been refiled to add a dropped word in the headline) By Sonya Dowsett BILBAO, Spain (Reuters) - As Spain and Catalonia head toward a constitutional collision over the region s claim to independence, lawmakers on both sides of the crisis are pointing to a way out: north, to Basque Country. Among the verdant mountains of Basque Country, which borders France, a once-violent campaign for independence has petered out, with generous fiscal autonomy from Madrid helping to keep popular agitation for independence in check.  We don t have that economic resentment,  Aitor Esteban, organizer for the Basque National Party in Spain s parliament, told Reuters in an interview at party headquarters in Bilbao.  People don t feel that need to act upon a grievance about money; that makes a big difference.  The Catalan government is not calling for a Basque-style deal, insisting instead on independence after declaring overwhelming support for secession in an Oct. 1 referendum banned by Madrid. But the most moderate lawmakers in the region s ruling coalition privately say they could drop independence claims if they were given the tax autonomy that Basque Country enjoys. In Madrid, some socialists have suggested it could serve as a model for a compromise that would defuse Spain s biggest political crisis since a failed coup in 1981, although the cost to the central government would be significant. Basque staged modest protests over Madrid s violent crackdown on Catalonia s referendum, but the crisis has failed to rekindle secessionist fervor on the streets of Bilbao, the Basque capital nestled on the banks of the Nervion. Catalan flags hang from balconies alongside the Basque flag in a sign of solidarity, but Bilbao is prosperous and peaceful. Where once unionist politicians needed bodyguards and car bombings were a constant fear, tourists now crowd the taverns of the old town and the world-famous Guggenheim museum. Just 17 percent of Basques want independence and less than half would like to hold a referendum on the issue, according to a poll carried out by the university of Deusto. Basque militant group ETA, which killed more than 850 people in a decades-long campaign to carve out a separate state, effectively ended its armed resistance this year when it surrendered its weapons. The region now has one of the highest economic outputs per capita and one of the lowest unemployment rates in Spain.  The independence debate is on standby in Basque Country because of great fatigue after years of violence and uncertainty after the economic crisis,  said Xabier Barandiaran, professor of sociology at Deusto University. Basque s fiscal autonomy is among the most generous of any region in Europe, dating back to the 19th century and enshrined in Spain s 1978 constitution. If it were to be extended to Catalonia, an economically more powerful region accounting for a fifth of national production, the Spanish state would lose about 16 billion euros, according to a 2014 study by research house CSIC. That would equal about 13 percent of next year s budget and affect Spain s deficit and borrowing costs. For that reason, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has ruled out such generous treatment for Catalonia. Under Basque s accord with Madrid, the region collects nearly all its own taxes, which are forecast to total 13 billion euros ($15 billion) this year. It is due to return 800 million euros to Madrid in what is known as an annual quota to cover the costs of national expenses such as defense or infrastructure. Rajoy has sweetened that arrangement since he regained power at the head of a minority government last year, as the price of securing Basque National Party support for his 2017 budget. It has proved unpopular with other regions who would almost certainly oppose any similar deal for Catalonia, as it would mean cutting their share of state revenue. Typically, regions pass taxes to Madrid which redistributes money back to them according to a formula that favors the poorer regions. Former Catalan leader Artur Mas tried to hold talks with Rajoy in 2012 about granting Catalonia powers to raise and spend its own taxes, but the prospect of negotiations in the current climate look bleak. Catalonia has long said it pays a disproportionate level of taxes to Madrid in relation to the central funding it receives. A study backed by the Budget Ministry says Catalonia pays to the state 9.9 billion euros more than it receives. The Catalan economy ministry says this is even higher. Economists say an overhaul of the fiscal relationship between Madrid and the regions is overdue because the current system has led to intense tax competition between regions. Some autonomous communities have become under-financed, resulting in cuts in public services.  Now the situation is so critical, there might just be the political momentum needed to tackle it,  said Antonio Garcia Pascual of Barclays Capital.

Summary: बास्क देशः अलगाव के लिए स्पेन का प्रभावी लेकिन महंगा प्रतिकार


TOKYO (Reuters) - A fledgling party led by popular Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike gained momentum on Thursday ahead of an Oct. 22 election as the biggest opposition Democratic Party said it would step aside to let its candidates run under her conservative, reformist banner. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a conservative who returned to power in 2012, hopes a recent boost in voter support will help his Liberal Democratic Party-led (LDP) coalition maintain a simple majority. It now holds a two-thirds  super  majority.  But Koike s new Party of Hope, only formally launched on Wednesday, has upended the outlook for the election after the former LDP member announced she would lead it herself.  I m someone who is always ready to take action,  Koike told a news conference where she spoke about her achievements since taking office as governor a year ago. A media-savvy former defense minister whose name has often been floated to be Japan s first female prime minister, Koike said she would not run for a seat herself, although speculation persists that she will.  Democratic Party executives said they would not run candidates of their own and would let members run under the Party of Hope banner. The party has struggled to overcome rock-bottom ratings, defections and an image tainted by its rocky stint in power from 2009 to 2012. After the cabinet formally set the date of the election, Abe told reporters,  I decided to call this election because we must overcome the national crisis of the threat from North Korea and an aging population by obtaining a mandate from the people.   Some opposition lawmakers boycotted the dissolution session, in protest against Abe s election decision, which could bring about a political vacuum at a time of high tension with North Korea over its missile and nuclear arms programs. A survey by the Mainichi newspaper showed 18 percent of voters plan to vote for Koike s party, compared to 29 percent for Abe s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). An Asahi newspaper poll showed 13 percent planned to vote for her party, versus 32 percent for the LDP. Both surveys asked voters their preference for proportional representation districts where ballots are cast for parties, rather than  candidates.  Voters in many countries have shown they are willing to take a risk, even a severe risk, in terms of what will actually happen because they are disappointed with the status quo,  said Martin Schulz, a researcher at Fujitsu Research Institute. But Schulz, who drew a comparison to French President Emmanuel Macron s meteoric rise, added that Koike s platform might not be so appealing, given its similarities to LDP policies. Abe s personal ratings have risen to about 50 percent from about 30 percent in July, partly on the back of his leadership during the current North Korea crisis. But opposition parties say he called the election to escape questioning in parliament about suspected cronyism scandals that had cut into his support. Koike, 65, defied the LDP to run successfully for Tokyo governor last year and her novice local party then crushed the LDP in a metropolitan assembly election in July. Her Party of Hope shares policy space with the business-friendly LDP, but she has staked out different stances on two issues likely to appeal to voters. Koike, who wants Japan to abandon nuclear power, said she would study ways to eliminate dependence on it by 2030. Abe s government aims to retain its role in the energy mix, despite worries over safety after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. Koike also wants to freeze a planned rise in the national sales tax to 10 percent from 8 percent in 2019. Abe says he will raise the tax but spend more on child care and education instead of paying down public debt. Recent reforms will cut to 465 from 475 the number of lower house seats in the coming election.

Summary: जापान ने नई पार्टी के दृष्टिकोण के रूप में मध्यावधि चुनाव का आह्वान किया


BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany urged North Korea on Wednesday to halt its program of missile tests and accept the United States  offer of talks on its nuclear plans, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the Pyongyang  rogue regime  was in  grave danger . A spokeswoman for Germany s foreign ministry told a regular news conference that U.S. foreign policy under Trump had become  unpredictable , including in areas like trade policy. U.S. rhetoric toward Pyongyang has undergone sharp shifts in recent days.

Summary: जर्मनी ने उत्तर कोरिया से अमेरिका के वार्ता प्रस्ताव को स्वीकार करने का आग्रह किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump called for a determined response to North Korea after talks with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Friday where he stressed the importance of their alliance but took aim at Seoul over trade and sharing the cost of defense. Trump said the United States was renegotiating what he characterized as a “rough” trade deal with South Korea agreed to five years ago by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and reiterated that an era of “strategic patience” over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs had ended. “Together we are facing the threat of the reckless and brutal regime in North Korea,” Trump said as he stood alongside Moon in the White House Rose Garden. “The nuclear and ballistic missile programs of that regime require a determined response.” Despite the tough rhetoric, it remains unclear how Trump will find a way forward on North Korea, which is working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has warned the consequences of any military solution would be “tragic on an unbelievable scale.” Trump had pinned his hopes on persuading China, North Korea’s neighbor and main trading partner, to do more to rein in Pyongyang, although he has lately grown frustrated that Beijing has not taken stronger action.  Trump called on regional powers to implement sanctions and demand North Korea “choose a better path and do it quickly.” Moon, who warned of a “stern response” to any provocations, urged Pyongyang to return promptly to talks. “Our two leaders will employ both sanctions and dialogue in a phased and comprehensive approach,” Moon said of South Korea and the United States. Trump and Moon have said they are open to renewed dialogue with North Korea but only under circumstances that would lead to Pyongyang giving up its weapons programs. Moon told an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank that moves by North Korea that could create conditions for dialogue could include a freeze on its nuclear and missile tests, or the release of three Americans it is holding in the country. To be successful, talks would have to involve North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and have as their ultimate aim the complete dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear program, he added.    Trump sought to woo China since a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April but the honeymoon period appears to be over. On Thursday, the United States targeted a Chinese bank and sanctioned Chinese individuals and a firm for dealing with North Korea and approved a $1.42 billion arms deal with Taiwan - decisions that angered Beijing. South Korea is a long-standing American ally but Trump has spoken harshly about U.S. trade imbalances and threatened to tear up the bilateral trade pact. “We will do more to remove barriers to reciprocal trade and market access,” Trump said, adding that the two leaders had talked about the thorny trade areas of steel and autos. Trump said he was encouraged by Moon’s assurances that he would seek a level playing field for American workers and businesses, particularly automakers. A joint statement said the two sides had agreed to work together to reduce over supply of basic materials such as steel and non-tariff barriers. It also said Trump had accepted an invitation from Moon to visit South Korea this year.  Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said it was unwise for Trump to air the trade issue so publicly. “Public complaints by Trump about unfair trade and inadequate defense spending provide opportunities for China and North Korea to drive a wedge between the allies,” she said. Trump also emphasized the need to ensure equitable sharing of costs for defense, returning to a theme he raised during his campaign and brought up with other allies, including NATO countries and Japan. A senior U.S. official said in a briefing before the president’s meeting with Moon that South Korea was in many respects a “model ally,” given its spending of 2.7 percent of GDP on defense and Moon’s plan to grow capabilities. “We shouldn’t view South Korea as somehow laggard on that front,” the official said on condition of anonymity. The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea has more than doubled since the U.S.-Korea free trade pact known as KORUS took effect in 2012. The agreement was forecast to boost U.S. exports by $10 billion a year, but in 2016 they were $3 billion lower than in 2011. At the start of Friday’s talks, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the largest component of the deficit was automotive trade and many non-tariff barriers to U.S. auto exports to South Korea remained. “I think the way to address it is to deal product by product with what we can do to change the export side and what we can do to reduce the bad imports side,” he said. Ross said later on Friday that some progress had been made in the talks. The current pact was agreed to despite protests by supporters of Moon, who was then in opposition. But analysts have suggested that given the need to preserve a unified front in the face of a hostile North Korea, there could be compromise on both sides to resolve issues.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने उत्तर कोरिया को कड़ी प्रतिक्रिया देने का आह्वान किया, व्यापार पर सियोल पर निशाना साधा


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon has set a date of May 6 next year to hold its first legislative election in nearly a decade, potentially transforming the politics of a country caught in a confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk signed a decree setting the date on Friday, allowing the vote to go ahead at last. The election has been postponed three times since the last vote in 2009, with politicians citing security concerns, political crisis and a dispute over the election law. Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri s coalition government, which took office a year ago, agreed on the new election law in June, but setting the date was held up while officials debated technical details and registered Lebanese citizens abroad. Lebanon s political landscape has shifted dramatically since the last election. Hariri s pro-Western, Saudi-backed political alliance has split up. For the past year he has led a power-sharing government which includes the heavily armed, Iran-backed Shi ite movement Hezbollah, despised by his Saudi allies. Hariri sparked a political crisis last month by announcing his resignation while in Riyadh and denouncing Hezbollah and Iran. He stayed abroad for two weeks before returning, and finally withdrew his resignation last week. Lebanon has a complex electoral system designed to maintain civil peace in a country where Sunnis, Shi ites, Christians and Druze fought numerous civil wars since independence in 1943. The 128-seat parliament includes 64 Christians apportioned among seven denominations, and 64 Muslims, including equal numbers of Sunnis and Shi ites. The country is divided into districts that each vote for multiple lawmakers according to strict religious quotas. The president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shi ite Muslim, representing the three biggest groups in parliament. The international community has repeatedly stressed the importance of Lebanon holding timely elections to restore confidence in its institutions and maintain stability. Machnouk said Lebanese abroad would be able to vote on April 22 and 28.

Summary: लेबनान ने लगभग एक दशक में पहले संसदीय मतदान के लिए मई की तारीख निर्धारित की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump supporters who plan to stake out polling sites on Election Day may find their own activities tracked closely by thousands of civil-rights activists who are mounting a nationwide effort to prevent problems at the polls. The Republican presidential candidate, who has repeatedly said that the election is rigged, has urged his backers to monitor voting sites for evidence of fraud, raising concerns that overzealous supporters could intimidate voters in the Nov. 8 election. They will not be the only ones out in force on Election Day. Civil rights groups say they plan to deploy thousands of volunteers on the ground in 27 states to ensure that voters will not be turned away by harassment, long lines or confusing rules. Teams of lawyers will file legal challenges if necessary. While previous elections have been marred by irregularities, Trump’s rhetoric might lead to greater problems at the polls this year, activists say. “When Trump says, ‘Go and watch certain areas of Philadelphia,’ that’s either intentionally reckless or it’s a thinly veiled call to engage in racial profiling,” said Dale Ho, the head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s voting rights project. “Whether people will heed it, I don’t know.” Non-partisan groups have mounted “election protection” programs since the disputed Bush-Gore presidential election of 2000, but they faced a more daunting landscape this year even before Trump began warning of a “rigged election.”  The Supreme Court in 2013 weakened the U.S. government’s ability to monitor voting activity in states with a history of racial discrimination, and dozens of Republican-led states have also passed laws that require voters to present photo identification or that restrict voting in other ways. As early voting gets underway in many states, voting-rights groups are publicizing a national hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE, and establishing lines of communication with the election officials who are tasked with resolving problems. “We haven’t encountered a situation yet where we feel there’s a need to call the police,” said Marcia Johnson-Blanco, a co-director of the voting rights project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. This year, civil-rights groups are broadening their efforts beyond perpetual battlegrounds like Ohio and Florida to conservative states like Texas, where they plan to field 200 volunteers to monitor polling sites in Houston’s Harris County. “We’ve seen an uptick of folks saying they’re going to be out patrolling in a way that we think is trying to be intimidating,” said Zenen Jaimes Perez, communications director for the Texas Civil Rights Project.  In New York, volunteers with Common Cause are expanding their monitoring programs to Muslim neighborhoods in New York City and some areas of the rural Hudson Valley. “What Trump’s efforts have caused us here in New York to think about are places where there are concentrations of voters who, I hate to say, are easy targets - a magnet for people who are extreme,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York. Democratic officials have stepped up their efforts as well. In Arizona, a traditionally Republican state that is competitive this year, Democrats plans to deploy a record 200 lawyers to make sure that everybody who is in line when polls close at 7 p.m. will get a chance to cast a ballot, said Spencer Scharff, the state party’s voter protection director. But at the end of the day, poll monitors do not have the power to fix problems - they can only point them out to election officials. “States have the most important role. They’re the ones who write these laws and they have to enforce these laws,” said Danielle Davis, a staff attorney at the Advancement Project, a national civil-rights group.

Summary: अमेरिकी नागरिक अधिकार समूह मतदाताओं की धमकी से लड़ने के लिए 8 नवंबर को बाहर निकलेंगे


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The Taliban has shut down dozens of clinics in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan in the past few days, officials said, amid demands for special treatment for its fighters who control most of the embattled region. Dost Mohammad Nayab, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said authorities were talking to elders, asking them to intercede with the Taliban to allow the clinics to reopen.  Hospitals are not places for politics and we are asking the Taliban to let our doctors and healthcare workers return,  Nayab said. Only three clinics, including the provincial hospital, were operating after the Taliban shut down 46 of the 49 treatment centers in Uruzgan since Friday, Nayab said. The Taliban were asking for special treatment for their fighters, he said.  We have asked elders in the areas to talk to the Taliban to fix this problem,  he said. Uruzgan, which abuts the Taliban heartlands of Kandahar and Helmand, has been under intense pressure from the insurgents for years and the defences of the provincial capital Tarin Kot were briefly overrun last year. A Taliban spokesman confirmed that its fighters had closed down dozens of treatment centers but said it was done because of poor services, underlining its push to replace basic government services in many areas under its control.  In most of these centers there was no proper medication. There were no doctors or healthcare personnel,  the spokesman said.  We asked repeatedly for better services but no one cared. Now if the local administration do not provide basics, we will.  The incident underlines the difficulty the Western-backed government in Kabul has in exerting control in provincial regions where the insurgency is strongest. U.S. officials estimate that the Taliban, fighting to drive out foreign forces and impose strict Islamic law on Afghanistan, control or contest around 40 percent of the country, although they have not taken any major provincial city.  Uruzgan province was identified by U.S. commanders as a major priority for 2017 and there has been a big focus on bolstering Afghan forces with on-the-ground U.S. training teams.

Summary: तालिबान ने दक्षिणी अफगान प्रांत में क्लीनिक बंद कर दिए, अधिकारी ने कहा


TALLINN/PARIS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel s call to stop Turkey s European Union accession talks drew a mixed response from the bloc s foreign ministers on Thursday, while French President Emmanuel Macron said Ankara remained a vital partner of the EU. NATO allies Germany and Turkey have traded increasingly bitter words over the last two years, contributing to an overall souring of Ankara s relations with the EU. President Tayyip Erdogan s crackdown on dissent following a failed 2016 coup attempt has drawn broad condemnation in the bloc. Merkel announced her toughened stance on Turkey s long-stalled EU bid in a TV debate last Sunday as she faced off with her main rival in national elections due on Sept. 24. Her Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, arriving for talks with his EU colleagues in the Estonian capital Tallinn, said it was Turkey itself that was moving away from the EU. Austria s Sebastian Kurz reiterated his line that the talks should end.  But Finland and Lithuania spoke out against breaking off the talks, which opened formally in 2005 but stalled over Erdogan s track record on human rights and the unresolved issue of Cyprus - a Mediterranean island that belongs to the EU but of which part falls under an unrecognized protectorate of Turkey.  No, we should continue the process and engagement. It s not easy but we have to value contacts,  Lithuania s Linas Linkevicius told reporters.  By stopping, by cutting, we will ...encourage them even more to go away. I think the effect would be the opposite than what we d wish.  EU entry talks, no matter how protracted, had long been seen in themselves as a stimulus to Turkish democratic reform; but EU officials see a slide back in recent years with judicial independence and freedom of speech in peril. Turkey s EU ties minister, Omer Celik, is due to join the bloc s 28 officials for talks in Tallinn later on Thursday. The EU is wary of upsetting Erdogan, eager to preserve a deal that stemmed the mass migration via Turkey of people from conflict zones in the tumultuous Middle East.   We have to tread very carefully and, while discussing Turkey s status as a candidate country, we should also discuss the future relationship in all its aspects,  Estonia s Sven Mikser said in Tallinn. He said he did not expect the EU to make any formal decision this year, adding that the bloc needed to cooperate with Ankara on migration and security in particular. The French president told Greece s Kathimerini newspaper that ties with Turkey should be maintained.  Turkey has indeed strayed away from the European Union in recent months and worryingly overstepped the mark in ways that cannot be ignored,  he said.  But I want to avoid a split because it s a vital partner in many crises we all face, notably the immigration challenge and the terrorist threat.  With other countries in the EU also advocating more  strategic patience , the unanimity of 28 member states required to kill off Turkey s bid seems absent. But suspending accession talks, which the European Parliament has already called for repeatedly, would only require the backing of majority of EU states. Merkel wants to discuss that with fellow EU leaders at their summit planned in October 19-20, more than three weeks after  Germany s election. A senior Turkish official said EU states must decide whether they wanted Turkey as a member, but there was a sense  they no longer want the marriage...(but) want cohabitation . Kati Piri, a European Parliament speaker on Turkey, advised suspending the membership track but pushing ahead with customs union talks as the  most realistic leverage the EU can now have to try negotiate some standards with Turkey .  Turkey under this government does not even uphold the minimum human rights standards now. But we should not take away the EU perspective from the Turkish people, and in suspending talks we would have to name conditions for reviving them.   But this German twist is triggered by German elections, not by some change on the side of Turkey. So what does Merkel really mean? I think it s likely she will return to her usual pragmatism after the elections,  Piri told Reuters.

Summary: तुर्की की यूरोपीय संघ की बोली को रोकने के लिए मर्केल के आह्वान को मिली-जुली प्रतिक्रिया मिली


JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would present “responsible policies” in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, signaling to the Israeli far-right to curb its territorial demands in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu leaves for Washington on Monday and will see Trump at the White House on Wednesday for their first meeting since the Republican’s inauguration last month, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and policy toward Iran on the agenda. During his 2016 election campaign, Trump indicated his presidency would be a boon for Israel and tough on Palestinians, after an acrimonious relationship between his predecessor Barack Obama and Netanyahu that included clashes over settlement building and Iran’s nuclear program. Trump talked of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, naming an ambassador who backs Israeli settlement on occupied land which Palestinians seek for a state and exerting no pressure on Israel for peace negotiations, which collapsed in 2014. But he has since toned down his pro-Israel bravado ahead of Netanyahu’s visit, a change that could help the prime minister keep in check ultra-nationalist coalition partners calling on him to push a more militant agenda. “To believe there are no restrictions now would be a mistake,” Israel Radio quoted Netanyahu as telling members of his Likud party with respect to settlement expansion now that Trump is in office. On the eve of Netanyahu’s departure for Washington, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party, publicly cautioned him not to mention the words “two-state solution” in talks with Trump. Bennett’s party is also promoting the annexation of parts of the West Bank. Netanyahu has stopped short of endorsing those positions - steps that would put Israel at odds with long-standing U.S. and European policies - while speaking of building in major settlement blocs Israel intends to keep in any future peace deal. In public remarks to his cabinet on Sunday, he seemed to urge the far-right to tone down its expectations. “I understand there’s great excitement about this meeting (with Trump),” he said. “But ... my primary concern is Israel’s security (and) strengthening our solid alliance with the United States.” That, Netanyahu said, “requires responsible policies, policies that are given careful consideration - and that’s how I intend to act.” He did not elaborate. His comments appeared to echo remarks Trump made in an interview published on Friday in the pro-Netanyahu Israeli daily Israel Hayom. Calling on Israel “to be reasonable with respect to peace”, he said settlements “don’t help the process”. In recent weeks, Netanyahu approved the construction of some 6,000 settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, drawing Palestinian and international condemnation which the Trump administration did not join. However, Trump’s remarks in the Israeli newspaper interview appeared to take a tougher line toward Israeli settlement policy.

Summary: नेतन्याहू ने ट्रम्प की बैठक में 'जिम्मेदार नीतियों' को बढ़ावा देने का संकल्प लिया


ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities issued a final warning on Friday to members of an Islamist party blocking a main road into the capital, raising fears of a violent clash. Hundreds of supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan party have been blocking the route into Islamabad for nearly 10 days, demanding the minister of law be sacked for what they say is blasphemy.  You all are being given a last warning,  the Islamabad deputy commissioner said in the order. A court had already ordered the party to end the protest, the order added.  After this final announcement, you all are being warned to end the illegal sit-in immediately.        Tehreek-e-Labaik blames the minister, Zahid Hamid, for changes to an electoral oath that it says amount to blasphemy. The government puts the issue down to a clerical error. Pakistan s blasphemy law is a lightning rod for Islamists, especially since 2011 when the liberal governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, was murdered by a bodyguard for questioning it. The law mandates the death penalty for insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammad. A spokesman for the Labaik party, Ejaz Ashrafi, said the group would not comply with the deputy commissioner s ultimatum.   We re not moving,  he told Reuters by phone from the sit-in.  Pakistan s Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal appealed to the protesters to end the sit-in before a delegation of Chinese investors arrived in Islamabad on Monday, making a last offer to negotiate on their demands. But he added:  If some group tries to hold the state hostage, that behavior will not be tolerated.   A government official, Khalid Abbasi, said protesters on the road were carrying rods and sticks. Since they were given the warning, he said, hundreds more party workers had joined the sit-in.     The government has blocked several roads with shipping containers in an effort to corral the protesters, causing hours-long traffic jams in and around the capital. In 2007, a confrontation between authorities and supporters of radical preachers at an Islamabad mosque led to more than 100 deaths.  All resources can be used to break this sit-in,  the deputy commissioner s warning said.

Summary: पाकिस्तान ने राजधानी में प्रवेश करने वाले इस्लामवादियों को 'अंतिम चेतावनी' जारी की


TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian designer Line the Label shot to prominence on Monday after U.S. actress Meghan Markle wore a coat from the brand in her first public appearance after her engagement to Britain s Prince Harry.  Markle appeared in the sunken garden at Kensington Palace on Monday in the late November chill, donning the C$799 ($627.11) white wrap coat with oversized collars and cinched at the waist with a knotted belt. The surge in interest in the coat caused the style to quickly sell out and crashed the Toronto-based knitwear label s website in some parts of the world, including in London.  The company is taking reorders on the coat, an external spokeswoman said by email.  Line has since named the coat  Meghan,  company President and co-founder John Muscat said in a statement, adding it was one of her favorite pieces from the fashion label.   We are incredibly honored that Meghan chose to wear a Line coat to mark this very special occasion,  Muscat said.  We are elated for Meghan and wish her a lifetime of happiness with Prince Harry.  Markle, who has a starring role in the Toronto-filmed U.S. TV show  Suits,  has lived in the Canadian city for several years. Markle also wore a Line coat to the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in Toronto in September, days after the pair made their first public appearance together.  Celebrities including Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Garner and Kate Hudson have also been photographed wearing the brand.  Line was founded in 2000 by Muscat and designer Jennifer Wells. It was acquired a few years later by Canadian fashion house and importer PYA, which is based in a north Toronto suburb.

Summary: मेघन मार्कल के कोट पहने कनाडा की छोटी डिजाइनर सुर्खियों में


BRIGHTON, England (Reuters) - Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn told Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday to step aside and make way for the Labour party to lead Britain s Brexit talks, saying his leftist ideas were now the  political mainstream . After taking the stage at his party s annual conference to a standing ovation and chants of  Oh, Jeremy Corbyn , the leftist leader, once written off by some lawmakers for driving the party into unelectable territory, said Labour was ready for power. Corbyn is keen to press home his advantage over May, who is struggling to unite her party over Britain s negotiations to leave the European Union and to keep her own position. She faces a threat from some in the Conservatives who cannot forgive her for the loss of their parliamentary majority in a June election she called.  Against all predictions, in June we won the largest increase in the Labour vote since 1945 and achieved Labour s best vote for a generation. It s a result which has put the Tories (Conservatives) on notice and Labour on the threshold of power,  Corbyn said in his speech.  Yes, we didn t do quite well enough and we remain in opposition for now. But we have become a government-in-waiting. And our message to the country could not be clearer: Labour is ready.  Labour is closing the gap in opinion polls to stand roughly level with the Conservatives, putting it within sight of winning an election. The Conservatives have said they have no plans to call a vote anytime before 2022. The party is dependent on the support of the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for a majority in parliament, however. So far, there is little appetite in the Conservative Party to hold an early election, and no clear frontrunner to replace May. The party s deal with the DUP, however, could be hurt by a trade spat involving Canadian planemaker Bombardier, Northern Ireland s largest manufacturing employer. Most Conservatives do not want to open the way for Corbyn, whose promises to end austerity have won over many voters, particularly the young, and who has focused anger over a deadly fire in west London on what he called a government which sees itself  not as the servant of the people but of global corporations . Corbyn has tapped into discontent in Britain, a wider trend seen across Western Europe where the dominance of traditional parties and their beliefs have been increasingly challenged. With his aides working on the belief that May will be forced into an early election before Britain leaves the EU in March 2019, the party has started to develop their policies, ready to introduce them swiftly.  It feels like we ve won, it feels like we re there, it feels like we re in government. The only frustrating thing is we re not, yet,  said Chris Howes, an 18 year-old party activist from central England.  But we re ready whenever the election comes.  After being discounted for pursuing what his critics said were policies harking back to the 1980s when Labour lost power to the Conservatives, Corbyn said Britain was ready for change and his party was ready to move further along its leftist route. Adding to his policies on renationalization, ending university tuition fees and increased public spending, he said he would bring in a housing policy to make sure local councils would have to win a ballot of existing tenants and leaseholders before any redevelopment plans could go ahead.  We need to build a still broader consensus around the priorities we set in the election, making the case for both compassion and collective aspiration,  he said.  We are now the political mainstream.  Turning the tables on May who before the June election said Corbyn would lead a  coalition of chaos  if voted in, Corbyn now said her cabinet of top ministers were the ones who had failed so far to negotiate with the EU as one.  This rag-tag cabinet spends more time negotiating with each other than they do with the EU. A cliff-edge Brexit is at risk of becoming a reality,  he said.  That is why Labour has made clear that Britain should stay within the basic terms of the single market and a customs union  for a limited transition period.  Labour has also been divided on the issue of Brexit, however. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a prominent member of the party, said in a newspaper interview on Tuesday that he would back holding a second referendum on whether to leave the EU, a position the party itself has not suggested so far. Corbyn told members that if in power, Labour would pursue a  jobs first  Brexit, one that guaranteed unimpeded access to the single market.  So I have a simple message to the cabinet   for Britain s sake pull yourself together, or make way.

Summary: 'राजनीतिक मुख्यधारा', कॉर्बिन ने कहा कि ब्रिटेन की लेबर पार्टी सरकार के लिए तैयार है


PARIS (Reuters) - A French prosecutor said on Sunday that a man arrested last week after a police raid on a flat near Paris had a direct connection with Islamic State. Police discovered a stash of explosives in the raid last Wednesday in Villejuif, south of Paris, and found TATP, a product often used by suicide bombers.  A second cache of explosive materials was discovered in a nearby town the following day. Two men who were arrested were put into formal investigation on Sunday and placed in detention, the Paris prosecutor, Francois Molins, told a news conference. A third suspect was released with no charges.  Analysis from the material seized showed one of the suspects had been in direct contact in August 2016 with Rachid Kassim via Facebook,  Molins said. Kassim, believed to be a senior Islamic State militant,   was targeted by the U.S. military in a strike near the city of Mosul, Iraq, earlier this year. TATP has been used by militants in several attacks in Western Europe in recent years, including Manchester in May, Brussels in 2016 and Paris in 2015. More than 230 people have been killed by Islamist-inspired attackers in the past three years in France, which along with the United States and other countries are bombing Islamic State bases in Iraq and Syria.

Summary: अभियोजक ने पिछले सप्ताह पेरिस के पास गिरफ्तार किए गए संदिग्ध को आईएसआईएस से जोड़ा


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Allegations of Russian meddling in elections in the United States and Europe are “fantasies”, the Interfax news agency cited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Tuesday. “Without a single piece of proof, we are as you know being accused of meddling not only in the U.S. election, but also in those in European states,” the agency quoted Lavrov as telling a briefing at the Association of European Businesses in Russia. “Recently, there was an allegation that Moscow decided what minister to appoint in South Africa. In general, there is no limit to fantasy.”

Summary: अमेरिका, यूरोप के चुनावों में रूस के हस्तक्षेप के आरोप 'कल्पना': इफैक्स ने विदेश मंत्री का हवाला दिया


DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Liberal groups allied with the White House staged rallies around the country on Monday to pressure Republican senators including the Judiciary Committee’s chairman not to block President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. At the same time, a conservative group, the Judicial Crisis Network, said it launched a $2 million, three-week television, radio and digital advertising campaign in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Dakota and West Virginia opposing Garland’s confirmation. The group is backing the stance of Senate Republicans including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell not to hold confirmation hearings or a vote on Garland’s nomination. In Iowa’s capital, demonstrators targeted Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, whose panel handles confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominees. More than 50 protesters gathered on the sidewalk outside a federal building where Grassley has an office, chanting “do your job” as a plane pulling a banner carrying the same message flew overhead. Liberal groups including MoveOn.org organized rallies targeting Republicans in their home states during the Senate’s two-week spring recess in states including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. The rallies generally drew crowds in the dozens, organizers said. “I have called Grassley’s office every week for the last two or three weeks and it doesn’t seem like he’s getting the message, so I need to find another way to do this,” said Des Moines demonstrator Tracey Aubrecht, a 44-year-old homemaker from North Liberty, Iowa. State Senator Rob Hogg, one of the four Democrats running in a primary for a chance to challenge Grassley in the Nov. 8 election, attended the rally. The nomination requires confirmation by the Republican-led Senate. Republicans have said they want the next president to make the selection, hoping their party wins the presidential election. Garland, a centrist appellate judge and former prosecutor, was picked last week to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died Feb. 13. His appointment could tip the court leftward for the first time in decades. The White House said Vice President Joe Biden will deliver remarks on Garland’s nomination at Georgetown Law School on Thursday. It said Garland also will continue meeting senators individually, speaking with Democrats Charles Schumer of New York and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania on Tuesday and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota on Wednesday.  Both sides have promised intensive campaigns on the ground and over the airwaves that will eclipse other battles over Supreme Court nominees in recent decades. Garland remains relatively unknown among Americans. Roughly one out of every five people say they are “somewhat” or “very” familiar with him, a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from Thursday to Monday found. Among those who have heard of Garland, half expressed a favorable opinion, including 60 percent of Democrats and 43 percent of Republicans.

Summary: लिबरल समूहों ने ओबामा के सुप्रीम कोर्ट के चयन के समर्थन में रैलियां कीं


JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian police appealed on Thursday for tolerance and respect for other people s religious celebrations after an Islamist group threatened to raid businesses to check for Muslims being forced to wear Santa Claus hats or other Christmas garb. The hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) said this week it would conduct  sweeping operations  in the world s biggest Muslim-majority country, and that forcing Muslims to wear Christmas attire was a violation of their human rights. Indonesia is home to several religious minorities, including Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and people who follow traditional beliefs.  The constitution guarantees freedom of religion in an officially secular state though tension between followers of different faiths can flare.  There can be no sweeping operations ... members of the public should respect other religions that are carrying out celebrations,  national police chief Tito Karnavian told police  during a security exercise in the capital, Jakarta. The FPI said it aimed to enforce a fatwa, or decree, issued by Indonesia s Islamic Clerical Council in 2016 prohibiting business owners from forcing employees to wear Christmas clothing.      We will raid businesses in anticipation of them being stubborn about this and we will be accompanied by police,  said Novel Bakmukmin, head of the FPI s Jakarta chapter.  Employers forcing staff to wear Christmas clothes were violating their rights.  Businesses should be aware that there should be no forcing,  he said. The Islamic Clerical Council s decrees are not legally binding but serve as guidelines for Indonesian Muslims.         Christmas is widely celebrated across Indonesia and holiday decorations are ubiquitous, especially at shops, restaurants and malls where many enthusiastic workers - even Muslims - don Santa hats or elf costumes. The FPI built its reputation with raids on restaurants and bars serving alcohol during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. In recent years, it has turned its attention to Christian celebrations. The group has also said it wants the Jakarta city government to stop sponsoring New Year celebrations, which attract many thousands of people. About 90,000 police officers will be on duty cross the country during the end-of-year holidays, in an operation largely aimed at preventing militant attacks.  Attacks on churches in Jakarta and elsewhere on Christmas Eve in 2000, killed nearly 20 people. Ever since, authorities have stepped up security at churches and tourist spots for the holiday.

Summary: इंडोनेशियाई पुलिस ने इस्लामवादियों को सांता टोपी की तलाश में छापे के खिलाफ चेतावनी दी


MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine lawmakers on Wednesday rejected the nomination of the last leftist President Rodrigo Duterte included in his cabinet, removing the agrarian reform minister a year after he joined the government in a bid by Duterte to promote peace. Duterte, after becoming president in June last year, offered places in his cabinet to members of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines to demonstrate his commitment to talks to end their long-running insurgency. The minister, Rafael Mariano, was one of two people the party nominated to serve in the cabinet. Senator Vicente Sotto, chairman of a committee scrutinizing cabinet appointments, said it had conducted an  exhaustive deliberation  then held a vote.  The weight of the scales ultimately tipped the balance against the confirmation of the appointee,  Sotto told Senate. He did not elaborate on the reason for the rejection but it came a few months after the government canceled formal peace talks with the communist rebels.  Duterte wants to strike a peace deal with the communists but has been angered by continued violence. He says their demands are excessive and he has already made concessions.     Mariano, speaking to reporters after the hearing, denounced  big landlords, oligarchs, businessmen and big corporations , saying they may have prevailed with his rejection but the farmers would win in the end.  I may have failed to get the confirmation today but I will not stop serving our farmers,  he said. Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella expressed regret over Mariano s removal, saying he had promoted farmers  rights and welfare and ensured their security of land tenure.

Summary: फिलीपींस के सांसदों ने अंतिम वामपंथी कैबिनेट मंत्री को अस्वीकार कर दिया


MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) - Sacked Catalonian president Carles Puigdemont on Saturday called for peaceful  democratic opposition  to the central government s takeover of the region following its unilateral declaration of independence from Spain. Puigdemont, whose regional government was dismissed by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday, accused Madrid of  premeditated aggression  against the will of the Catalans. Rajoy removed Puigdemont, took over the administration of the autonomous region and called a new election after Catalonia s parliament declared itself an independent nation on Friday. The bold if to all appearances futile action marked a potentially dangerous escalation of Spain s worst political crisis in the four decades since its return to democracy.  It s very clear that the best form of defending the gains made up until now is democratic opposition to Article 155,  Puigdemont said in a brief statement he read out in the Catalan city of Girona, referring to the legal trigger for the takeover. But he was vague on precisely what steps the secessionists would take as the national authorities are already moving into Barcelona and other parts of Catalonia to enforce control. Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said it  would welcome Puigdemont s participation in the regional elections it has called for Dec. 21.  I m quite sure that if Puigdemont takes part in these elections, he can exercise this democratic opposition,  Mendez de Vigo told Reuters TV in an interview. European countries, the United States and Mexico have rejected the Catalan declaration and expressed support for Spain s unity. Puigdemont signed the statement as President of Catalonia, demonstrating he did not accept his ousting.   We continue persevering in the only attitude that can make us winners. Without violence, without insults... and also respecting the protests of the Catalans who do not agree with what the parliamentary majority has decided,  he said. The secessionists say a referendum on Oct. 1 gave them a mandate for independence. However, less than half of eligible voters turned out for the ballot, which Madrid declared illegal and tried to stop. Opinion polls show that more than half of the 5.3 million people eligible to vote in the wealthy northeastern region, which is already autonomous, do not want to break from Spain.  But emotions are running high and the next few days will be tricky for Madrid as it embarks on enforcing direct rule.  Calling a new regional election is something of a gamble by  Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as it could increase the numbers of pro-independence supporters in a new parliament. But Mendez de Vigo said it would give Catalans the final say about how they felt. Asked what would happen if Puigdemont had to face prosecution, Mendez de Vigo said judicial and political powers were separate in Spain and that  no one is above the law.  He did not comment further.   Catalonia s police force told its officers to stay neutral, a step towards averting possible conflict following doubts over how the Mossos d Esquadra, as they are called, would respond if ordered to evict Puigdemont and his government.  The force is riven by distrust between those for and against independence and also estranged from Spain s national police forces, Mossos and national officers have told Reuters. Some Catalan officers stood between national police and those trying to vote during the referendum.   Given that there is it is likely to be an increase in gatherings and rallies of citizens... and that there are people of different thoughts, we must remember that it is our responsibility to guarantee the security of all and help these to take place without incident,  an internal memo said. Government buildings, the headquarters of national political parties, ports, airports, courts, and the Bank of Spain were being guarded, the Interior Ministry said. Units of the regional force could be replaced if events made that necessary, it said. The Madrid government also sacked the Mossos  chief, Josep Lluis Trapero, who became a hero to the secessionists after his force took a much softer stance than national police in enforcing the referendum ban. Spain s High Court barred Trapero from leaving the country and seized his passport as part of an investigation for alleged sedition, although it has not ordered his arrest.  In Barcelona, thousands of independence supporters packed the Sant Jaume Square in front of the regional headquarters on Friday night, waving Catalan flags and singing traditional songs in the Catalan language as bands played. But there was no trouble overnight and the streets were quiet on Saturday.  The main secessionist group, the Catalan National Assembly, has urged civil servants not to follow orders from the Spanish government and to mount  peaceful resistance  while a pro-independence trade union, the CSC, called a strike. The government said it would ensure a minimum service. About 1,000 people took part in a pro-unity rally in Madrid on Saturday and others turned out in the northern city of Valladolid   an indication of the resentment the independence drive has caused in the rest of Spain. Aitor Sanchez, a 30-year-old worker, said he was saddened  the government had taken control of Catalonia but it had no choice.  These are delicate moments in our country. But I believe we must respect the law.  The chaos has prompted an exodus of businesses from Catalonia, which contributes about a fifth of Spain s economy, the fourth-largest in the euro zone. Tourism in hugely popular Barcelona has been hit, and markets have shown signs of concern. European leaders have also denounced the push, fearing it could fan separatist sentiment around the continent.

Summary: कैटेलोनिया के बर्खास्त नेता ने मैड्रिड के शासन के विरोध का आह्वान किया


CHICAGO (Reuters) - A Democratic plan to end Illinois’ crippling two-year budget stalemate is poised to be enacted by the state House of Representatives on Thursday, but the nearly 2,000-page package leaves gaping financial holes unresolved. The fiscal 2018 budget plan, which has drawn both Democratic and Republican support in the legislature, does not guarantee funding for public schools to open on time next month. The plan identifies only enough funding to pay down roughly a third of the state’s record $15 billion unpaid bill backlog.  In addition, no substantial progress was made to reduce Illinois’ paralyzing $130 billion unfunded pension liability.  The state’s pension contribution is set to consume more than $7.8 billion of the state’s $36 billion budget in the fiscal year that began July 1. Illinois on Thursday could end its dubious status as the only state to ever go multiple years without a full operating budget if the Democratic-led legislative chamber overturns the vetoes from Republican Governor Bruce Rauner. One of the bills increases the state’s personal income tax from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent and corporate income tax from 5.25 percent to 7 percent.  Moody’s Investors Service issued a warning on Wednesday that even if the House follows identical Senate action Monday and  overrides Rauner’s vetoes, the nation’s fifth-largest state risks a credit rating downgrade to junk because of unaddressed fiscal woes. Moody’s said the budget plan falls short of adequately addressing pensions and the backlog of unpaid bills. “It’s not clear to me that they won’t quickly find themselves with a comparable backlog and more long-term bonded debt,” said Moody’s analyst Ted Hampton. Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a Chicago-based government finance watchdog, said the bill does not provide stability. “What rating agencies are pointing to, even with the tax increase if the General Assembly overrides the governor and with the spending plan as approved, the state still has severe financial challenges going forward,” he said.  Drafters of the budget package inserted language that ties release of billions of dollars for K-12 education to enactment of a school-funding overhaul that Rauner has called a “bailout” for Chicago’s cash-strapped school system. The House and Senate have passed the funding revamp, but Rauner has threatened to veto it. If Republicans and Democrats do not reconcile their differences before the first state payment goes to schools in August, about a dozen financially struggling public school systems might not open for classes next month, said Roger Eddy, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Boards. “We’re talking about children that are going to be affected by this stalemate at this point. That is absolutely not an exaggeration. This is real, and it’s going to happen,” Eddy told Reuters. The budget impasse also resulted in a halt of construction projects and Illinois suspended sales of Powerball and Mega Millions tickets. In another key area—the state’s $14.7 billion backlog of unpaid bills—the plan authorizes only $6 billion of general obligation bonds, as well as $1.5 billion in borrowings and transfers from other state funds for that purpose. Sufficient money exists only to support $3 billion of $6 billion in authorized bonding, which in turn would generate $2 billion in federal matching Medicaid dollars for unpaid bills. The budget also purports to save $500 million from pension changes, although there were slim details on how those savings would be realized. “The pension reform in (the legislation) doesn’t look like it’s really revolutionary or will move the needle in any big way,” Hampton said. (This story corrects fourth paragraph to indicate House will only undertake veto override votes)

Summary: संभावित इलिनोइस बजट सुधार ने बड़े वित्तीय सवाल खड़े किए हैं


HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday attempted to clear up confusion over whether he accepts Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials of meddling in the U.S. election last year. At a news conference in Vietnam, Trump distanced himself from remarks he made on Saturday in which he suggested he believed Putin when he said there had been no Russian meddling in the election that took him to the White House. The comments had drawn criticism at home because U.S. intelligence agencies have long since concluded there was Russian meddling. “As to whether I believe it or not, I’m with our agencies, especially as currently constituted,” Trump said at a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.  “As currently led, by fine people, I believe very much in our intelligence agencies.” He was careful to make clear he sided with the intelligence agencies under his own leadership. Former U.S. intelligence director James Clapper had told Reuters: “The fact the president of the United States would take Putin at his word over that of the intelligence community is quite simply unconscionable.”  The Russian issue has clouded Trump’s first year in office and his comments on Saturday were a distraction from his    five-nation Asia tour. Trump said he still believed Putin did not think there had been Russian meddling.     “I believe that President Putin really feels, and feels strongly, that he did not meddle in our election,” Trump said, while adding: “What he believes is what he believes.”  Trump said he was not interested in arguing with Putin over meddling and wanted to get on with Russia to work on world problems including North Korea, Syria and Ukraine. Trump has called allegations of campaign collusion with Moscow a hoax. A special counsel, Robert Mueller, is conducting an investigation that has led to charges against Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates. U.S. intelligence agencies have also concluded Russians interfered to tip the election in Trump’s favour through hacking and releasing emails to embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and spreading social media propaganda.

Summary: चुनाव में हस्तक्षेप को लेकर पुतिन पर की गई टिप्पणी से खुद को अलग करते हैं ट्रंप