BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany s Greens on Saturday all but ruled out a three-way coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) after the Sept. 24 election and a conservative said such an alliance would not be ideal. Polls show Merkel s conservatives are likely to win the election with around 38 percent of the vote but will be left in need of a coalition partner. Their rival Social Democrats (SPD) are lagging on around 22 percent. Possible coalition options include a repeat of the current  grand coalition  between the conservatives and SPD or a  Jamaica coalition  of the conservatives, FDP and Greens - the name referring to the black, yellow and green colors of the Jamaican flag. Katrin Goering-Eckhardt, one of the Greens  two top candidates, told regional newspaper Passauer Neue Presse:  I can t imagine Jamaica.  Coalitions tend to be tested at the state level before they are formed at the national level. A Jamaica alliance was formed in the coastal state of Schleswig-Holstein after Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU) won an election there in May. But Goering-Eckhardt said the Greens and FDP had  diametrically opposed positions  on issues including climate protection, emission thresholds for clean cars and refugees.  I can t see how it could work at the national level,  she said. FDP leader Christian Lindner told Focus magazine he was also unable to envisage a Jamaica coalition given the hurdles to reaching agreement with the Greens on immigration and energy. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, a senior conservative, told regional newspaper Rheinische Post neither the conservatives nor the SPD wanted to continue the current  grand coalition  because it  is not good for democracy , referring to the small parliamentary opposition that such a tie-up leaves. But he added that it would be harder to reach agreements with the Greens and FDP on domestic security than it has been with the SPD.  From a security perspective it would be good if the conservative bloc could choose a two-way alliance,  he said. Cem Ozdemir, the Greens  other top candidate, said in an interview with Tagesspiegel am Sonntag newspaper that his party wanted to be in the next federal government, which he suggested would be formed by Merkel:  The race for first place seems to be over - Angela Merkel is out in front.   But the latest polls show Merkel s conservatives and the Greens would not be able to muster enough support between them to form a two-way alliance. While support for the Greens has dropped to single digits this year - it is on 8 percent in the latest polls - a Forsa survey published this week showed half of Germans would welcome the Greens being part of the post-election government. Merkel on Saturday reiterated her warning to voters about a coalition between the SPD, radical Left party and Greens, telling voters in the southwestern city of Reutlingen that a red-red-green tie-up would be  bad for our country  and Germany should not embark on any experiments at a time of uncertainty. A red-red-green alliance, which had seemed a possible option early this year, has not been able to get a majority in polls for weeks.

Summary: जर्मनी के ग्रीन्स ने त्रिकोणीय 'जमैका' गठबंधन से इंकार किया


SEOUL (Reuters) - Soon after North Korea tested its sixth and largest nuclear bomb earlier this month, You Jae-youn, a 32-year-old South Korean office worker, swiftly put the news behind her to focus on more immediate worries.  We have more than enough to concern ourselves with in our everyday lives. Personally, I worry more about how much it s going to cost me to put food on the table (than North Korea),  said You, from Sejong city in central South Korea.  Talk of North Korea honestly feels distant to me.      For most ordinary South Koreans, living for decades under the threat of war with their hostile and now nuclear-armed neighbor, more mundane concerns are what keep them up at night - jobs, the economy and the pressures that have accompanied South Korea s rapid development since the end of fighting with the North in 1953. Indeed, evidence suggests South Koreans have become increasingly indifferent to the threat of war, with civil defense drills largely ignored and surveys showing fewer people expect a conflict now than a quarter of a century ago.   According to a Gallup Korea poll earlier this month, 58 percent of South Koreans said they don t think another war will break out on the Korean peninsula, the second-highest percentage  since the survey first began in 1992.  (For graphic on nuclear North Korea, click tmsnrt.rs/2n0gd92) Since then, the percentage of South Korean who expect another war has been gradually decreasing, down to 37 percent in the latest survey, despite a surge in missile tests under third generation leader Kim Jong Un.  The two Koreas are still technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty.   People say the war hasn t technically ended but those in my generation have never seen war. It seems like a vague reality to me,  said Kim Hye-ji, a 27-year-old graphic designer.  That s why even when people say it s dangerous, I can t really feel it. All my friends are more worried about their jobs.  South Korea s high-tech, export-driven economy is currently struggling to shake off slow growth that threatens to become a long-term trend.  Job security is another concern, with twice the number of workers temporarily employed in South Korean than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average, while youth unemployment grew for four straight years through 2013 to 2016. The downturn has only intensified South Korea s hyper-competitive school and work environment which has been blamed for contributing to the country s high incidence of stress and suicide. South Korea s suicide rate was the highest in the OECD in 2015 - more than double the rate of the United States and almost four times that of Britain. Financial problems, illnesses, loneliness and relationship issues are leading causes for depression that later lead to suicide in South Korea, according to a recent presentation at the Korea Association for Suicide Prevention. North Korea didn t rate a mention.  The majority of those who come to us for stress management do so for real things in their lives, like job hunting. Even those employed come to us because of trouble they have adjusting to the workplace,  Sim Min-young, a psychiatrist specializing in anxiety and stress disorders at South Korea s National Centre for Mental Health.  They don t come to talk about North Korea.  Sim says if South Koreans were faced with a threat such as Hurricane Irma in the United States, they would be proactively doing something - creating evacuation plans, looking into shelters. But nuclear attacks render people helpless and they stop thinking about what they can actually do.  But when we think of a nuclear bomb detonating just a few kilometers away from us, we don t know what we can realistically do to protect ourselves,  Sim said. For the minority worried about war, options are limited. Some have made contingency plans to evacuate beyond the reach of North Korea s artillery. Sales have ticked up of emergency supplies including  war bags , containing items such as fire starters, whistles and food packages.  Others have sought spiritual solace. Churches have been addressing North Korea more in sermons and prayer sessions, says Choi Ei-woo, the head pastor at Chongkyo Methodist Church in downtown Seoul.  I don t think there will be a war, but there could be unexpected actions that could lead to one. I am praying for God to lead us through this time,  said Choi.     Lee Chul-hyee, 63, has been praying more since he retired from the South Korean army six years ago and has also been giving lectures at town halls and churches to share his knowledge based on his military background.   At a Buddhist temple in central Seoul, 59-year-old Mun Myung-ha said she too has been coming to pray more in hopes that a war will not break out.  North Korea is conducting more nuclear tests and every time I turn on the news my heart starts beating like crazy,  said Mun. Some itching for a peek into the future have been visiting fortune-tellers.  Six out of 10 customers are now including a question about whether there will be a war, in addition to their usual queries on love and marriage, a traditional shaman using the name Byeorakdaegam told Reuters.  Back in January or February no one asked me about war but now that s changed,  said Byeorakdaegam, whose real name is Jang Yong-jun.   I ask them back whether they ve been hoarding food or water and all of them say no. Then I assure them my gods tell me there will be no war,  he said, passing a string of large wooden beads through one hand.

Summary: दक्षिण कोरिया में दैनिक तनाव उत्तर कोरिया की मिसाइल चिंताओं से कहीं अधिक है


LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage is a “person of interest” in the U.S. investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the Guardian reported on Thursday citing unidentified sources. The London-based newspaper said Farage had not been accused of wrongdoing and was not a suspect or target of the U.S. investigation. But it said he was “right in the middle” of the relationships being looked at.  The newspaper said the former leader of the UK Independence Party had “raised the interest” of FBI investigators due to his connections with Trump and Julian Assange’s Wikileaks, which published leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee during the campaign. An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment on the Guardian story, and other U.S. officials said they were unaware of any serious FBI interest in Farage.  Farage said on Twitter it had taken him a long time to read the Guardian article because he was “laughing so much at this fake news”. “This hysterical attempt to associate me with the (Vladimir) Putin regime is a result of the liberal elite being unable to accept Brexit and Trump,” he said. “I consider it extremely doubtful that I could be a person of interest to the FBI as I have no connections to Russia.” Accusations that Russia interfered in the U.S. 2016 presidential election have dogged Trump since he entered office and a former FBI chief, Robert Mueller, has been named as special counsel to investigate any collusion. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia used computer hacking, propaganda and misleading news reports designed to sway political opinion in an attempt to boost Trump’s chances of winning the White House. Trump has dismissed the notion that Russia played any role in his November election victory. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, a former KGB spy, has denied meddling in the U.S. election.  CIA Director Mike Pompeo called Assange’s Wikileaks a “hostile intelligence service” in April after it distributed material hacked from Democratic National Committee computers during the 2016 campaign.  Pompeo said Russia’s GRU military intelligence service had used Wikileaks to distribute the material and concluded that Russia stole the emails and took other actions to tilt the election in favor of Trump, a Republican, over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. “One of the things the intelligence investigators have been looking at is points of contact and persons involved,” the Guardian quoted one source as saying. “If you triangulate Russia, WikiLeaks, Assange and Trump associates the person who comes up with the most hits is Nigel Farage.” “He’s right in the middle of these relationships. He turns up over and over again. There’s a lot of attention being paid to him.” Farage, who campaigned for decades for Britain to leave the European Union, was a vocal backer of Trump, appearing on the campaign trail and meeting him in New York just days after the election victory.  Farage, who also attended Trump’s inauguration in Washington, met Assange in March this year at the Ecuadorean embassy in London where the Wikileaks founder has been holed up for five years.

Summary: ब्रिटेन के फराज ट्रम्प-रूस जांच में 'रुचि रखने वाले व्यक्ति': गार्जियन


(Reuters) - A Tennessee state lawmaker was accused of inappropriate sexual conduct with 22 women over a four-year period in a state attorney general’s report released on Wednesday.  Republican Representative Jeremy Durham repeatedly made unwelcomed advances toward female legislative staff, interns and lobbyists since being elected in 2012, according to a report issued to a legislative committee investigating his conduct. Durham declined to be interviewed by investigators, the report said, and he was not immediately available for comment. “The investigation has been a politically motivated, unfair and unconstitutional process,” said Durham’s attorney Bill Harbison in a statement to the Nashville CBS affiliate News Channel 5. The report details interviews with 22 unnamed women who described numerous occasions when the married legislator flirted and made suggestive sexual comments or physical advances toward them.  In one case, Durham had sex with an 20-year-old campaign worker in his legislative office and again in his home. On several occasions, he sent text messages or used social media to make “inappropriate” comments to several women.  One of the women described the messages as “terribly inappropriate” while another said his behavior “creeped her out.” A lobbyist told investigators that Durham suggested he would vote for a bill she was promoting if she entertained his advances. “I’m for your bill but I’m going to expect something in return,” he told her according to the report.  In a memo attached to the report, the committee said it will leave Durham’s fate to the voters as he is up for re-election in November.

Summary: रिपोर्ट में टेनेसी के विधायक पर अनुचित यौन आचरण का आरोप लगाया गया है


DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia s crown prince said Iran s supply of rockets to militias in Yemen is an act of  direct military aggression  that could be an act of war, state media reported on Tuesday. Prince Mohammed bin Salman s comments were published after Saudi air defense forces intercepted a ballistic missile that Saudi Arabia said was fired toward Riyadh on Saturday by the Iran-allied Houthi militia, which controls large parts of neighboring Yemen.  Saudi-led forces, which back the internationally-recognized government, have been targeting the Houthis in a war which has killed more than 10,000 people and triggered a humanitarian disaster in one of the region s poorest countries. The supply of rockets to the Houthi movement could  constitute an act of war against the kingdom,  state news agency SPA on Tuesday quoted Prince Salman as saying in a call with British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson. Iran has denied it was behind the missile launch, rejecting the Saudi and U.S. statements condemning Tehran as  destructive and provocative  and  slanders . In reaction to the missile, the Saudi-led military coalition said on Monday it would close all air, land and sea ports to the Arabian Peninsula country. The United Nations on Tuesday called on the coalition to re-open an aid lifeline into Yemen, saying food and medicine imports were vital for 7 million people facing famine.  The situation is catastrophic in Yemen, it is the worst food crisis we are looking at today,  Jens Laerke of the U.N. Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told a briefing in Geneva. The missile launch was  most likely a war crime  Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday but also urged Saudi Arabia against restricting aid access to Yemen, where the United Nations estimates nearly 900,000 people are infected with cholera.  This unlawful attack is no justification for Saudi Arabia to exacerbate Yemen s humanitarian catastrophe by further restricting aid and access to the country,  it said. The coalition said aid workers and humanitarian supplies would continue to be able to access and exit Yemen despite the temporary closure of ports but the United Nations said it was not given approval for two scheduled humanitarian flights on Monday. The United Nations and international aid organizations have repeatedly criticized the coalition for blocking aid access, especially to northern Yemen, which is held by the Houthis. The Saudi-led coalition has been targeting the Houthis since they seized parts of Yemen in 2015, including the capital Sanaa, forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee and seek help from neighboring Saudi Arabia.  In an interview with CNN television on Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir accused the armed Lebanese Hezbollah group of firing the missile at Riyadh from Houthi-held territory.  With regards to the missile...that was launched on Saudi territory, it was an Iranian missile launched by Hezbollah from territory occupied by the Houthis in Yemen.  He said the missile was similar to one launched in July at Yanbu in Saudi Arabia and was manufactured in Iran, disassembled and smuggled into Yemen, then reassembled by the operatives of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah,  then it was launched into Saudi Arabia.

Summary: सऊदी क्राउन प्रिंस ने ईरान को रॉकेटों की आपूर्ति को 'सैन्य आक्रामकता' बताया


MANILA (Reuters) - A group of civil society organizations has demanded that Apple Inc (AAPL.O) remove from its app store games it said violated the tech firm s guidelines and promoted violence and killings  commonplace in the Philippines  war on drugs. The group named several apps featuring characters based on Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and his national police chief, Ronaldo  Bato  dela Rosa, who engage criminals in gun battles and fistfights.  These games valorise and normalise the emerging tyranny of Duterte s presidency and his government s disregard for human rights principles,  the Asian Network of People who Use Drugs (ANPUD) said in an open letter to Apple s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Cook. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The group listed 131 organizations from numerous countries as supportive of the Oct. 10 complaint to Apple, among them groups working on human rights, youth and drug policy reform. They urged Apple to issue an apology for hosting such  insensitive content . Thousands of Filipinos have been killed in Duterte s 15-month-old war on drugs, a campaign that has caused international alarm. Human rights groups say state-sponsored executions are taking place, an assertion the authorities vehemently reject. The group said games such as  Fighting Crime 2 ,  Duterte knows Kung Fu ,  Duterte Running Man Challenge ,  Tsip Bato  and  Duterte Vs Zombies   might seem harmless and fun  but were offensive and distasteful because in reality, murder and impunity had prevailed.  Duterte Running Man Challenge  was not available for download on Friday, and three of the app developers could not be reached for comment. Ben Joseph Banta, a managing partner of Ranida Games, which developed  Tsip Bato , said the game sought to discourage drug use with the use of banner messages opposing drugs that were visible to players.  The aim of our game is not to promote violence,  Banta said in an emailed response, adding that it featured  supplemental digital content against the use of illegal drugs.    We understand the human rights groups and we re very much open to make changes in the game in order to remove the stigma that the game is promoting violence,  he said.

Summary: कार्यकर्ताओं ने ऐप्पल से उन ऐप्स को छोड़ने का आग्रह किया जो फिलीपींस के नशीली दवाओं के युद्ध को खेलते हैं


BEIJING (Reuters) - The official newspaper of China s ruling Communist Party has lavished unusually high levels of praise on President Xi Jinping s signature leadership, as China s strongest leader in decades consolidates his personal power. Xi s leadership was cast as having forged a new way of governance for China that the paper said had been applauded worldwide and had brought China to new heights of economic, political and diplomatic success. The paean, even more effusive than usual for the state mouthpiece, came in two parts written under the official nom de plume of the People s Daily for important commentaries and was carried on its front page on Tuesday and Wednesday. Billed as an exposition on the changes in leadership, thought, mission and  rejuvenation  for China revealed during a course-setting meeting of the top party leadership in October, it marked the latest assault in a propaganda onslaught vaunting Xi s contributions to China and the world. Xi has amassed positions and accolades at a level much higher than his immediate predecessors, being named the  core  of the party leadership last year and having his named theory written into the party charter in October. Such an honor has not been given to a sitting leader since Mao Zedong, communist China s founding leader. Chinese state media has taken praise for Xi to new levels since the twice-a-decade conclave. Xi was given Mao-like prominence with his portrait taking up nearly the entire front page of the People s Daily.  A unique path, a unique theory, a unique system, a unique culture; Xi Jinping s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era has developed a rich path for China that has transcended Western-centric theory, and hugely excited many developing countries to confidently choose their own path,  the paper said.  Without Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, we would not have a party center that is moving closer daily to the center of the world stage,  the People s Daily said. China has expanded the reach of its foreign policy and military under Xi, who has talked about the need for China to be confident in its own political system and to provide Chinese  solutions  and  wisdom  for global issues. However, concerns abroad about China using its influence to sway foreign business, academic, and political institutions have also grown. Xi told foreign political groups in Beijing on Friday that China would not export its political system and would provide more opportunities for the world through its development. He was speaking as he opened China s first ever  high-level  inter-party dialogue.

Summary: शी जिनपिंग की पकड़ मजबूत करते हुए चीनी राज्य मीडिया ने नेता की प्रशंसा को नई ऊंचाइयों पर पहुंचाया


LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Pakistani court on Wednesday ordered the release from house arrest of an Islamist leader accused by the United States and India of masterminding attacks on Mumbai in 2008 in which 166 people were killed, a prosecutor said. Hafiz Saeed was put under house arrest in January after years of living freely in Pakistan, one of the sore points in its fraying relationship with the United States. His freedom had also infuriated its arch-foe India. Saeed, who is expected to be freed on Thursday, thanked the court judges in a video message released by his Islamist charity.  Thanks to God, this is a victory of Pakistan s independence,  he said. The government of Pakistan s Punjab province had asked for a 60-day extension to Saeed s detention but the request was turned down by the court, prosecutor Sattar Sahil told Reuters.     His previous detention for 30 days is over, which means he would be released tomorrow,  said Sahil.  Saeed has repeatedly denied involvement in the Mumbai attacks in which 10 gunmen attacked targets in India s largest city, including two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a train station in a rampage that lasted several days. The violence brought nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India to the brink of war. The United States had offered a $10 million bounty for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Saeed, who heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). Members say the Jamaat-ud-Dawa is an charity but the United States says it is a front for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group.  The review board of the Lahore High Court asked the Punjab government to produce evidence against Hafiz Saeed for keeping him detained but the government failed,  Saeed s lawyer A.K. Dogar told Reuters.  The court today said that there is nothing against Saeed, therefore he should be released,  he added. A spokesman for India s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. India accused Pakistan of sponsoring the attacks through the LeT, which Saeed founded in the 1990s. Pakistan has denied any state involvement in the attack. It placed the LeT on a list of banned organizations in 2002.   The leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Hafiz Saeed s (may God protect him) internment is over,  Nadeem Awan, a media manager for JuD, wrote on Facebook after the court order.

Summary: पाकिस्तान की अदालत ने मुंबई हमलों के लिए जिम्मेदार इस्लामवादी को रिहा करने का आदेश दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Wednesday it would soon carry out the first exercise in a decade involving three aircraft carrier strike groups in the Western Pacific, confirming a Reuters report published on Monday.  It is a rare opportunity to train with two aircraft carriers together, and even rarer to be able to train with three,  Admiral Scott Swift, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, said in a statement, adding the drills would take place from Saturday to Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump will be traveling in Asia during the initial days of the drills.  Multiple carrier strike force operations are very complex, and this exercise in the Western Pacific is a strong testament to the U.S. Pacific Fleet s unique ability and ironclad commitment to the continued security and stability of the region,  Swift said.

Summary: पेंटागन ने दुर्लभ, तीन विमान वाहक ड्रिल नवंबर 11-14 की पुष्टि की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump reluctantly signed into law a sweeping sanctions bill against Russia, Iran and North Korea this week.  As U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meet this weekend at a regional forum in Manila, here is a look at new Russia sanctions : * The law establishes a review process that allows Congress to block any effort by Trump to ease or lift sanctions on Russia. Lawmakers passed the bill to punish Russia over its alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and its involvement in Syria’s civil war.  * Trump, or any U.S. president, must submit a report to the appropriate congressional committee describing the rationale behind any easing of sanctions on Russia and how it would affect U.S. national security interests. Congress would have at least 30 days to hold hearings and then vote on any proposed change. If lawmakers back a “joint resolution of disapproval,” the president would be barred from changing the sanctions. * New sanctions are introduced on entities doing business with Russian military or intelligence agencies, companies involved in Russian off-shore oil projects, and those participating in Russian oil or gas pipeline construction within Russia. The bill targets a wide range of Russian industries, which might further hurt Russia’s economy, already weakened by 2014 sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea. * The law also ramps up sanctions against any entity involved in any cyber attacks on behalf of the Russian government, or that is owned by or acting on behalf of any such entity. The president is allowed to waive these sanctions if he determines it is in the national security interest to do so, subject to congressional review. * Six executive orders signed by President Barack Obama are codified, which would prevent Trump from using an executive order to revoke them. The measures, from 2014-2016, targeted Russia’s financial services, energy, defense and other industries in retaliation for its annexation of Crimea and incursion into Ukraine, as well as cyber-attacks and election interference in the United States. * The law also requires an interagency report on senior foreign political figures and oligarchs in Russia, their estimated net worth and sources of income, any indications of corruption, and their connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः रूस पर नए अमेरिकी प्रतिबंधों का लक्ष्य क्या है?


ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday that it does not interfere in Lebanon and that comments on Sunday by Saad al-Hariri, who resigned as Lebanese prime minister nine days ago, gave hope he would soon return to his country, state TV reported. The resignation of the Saudi-allied Hariri s and its aftermath have put Lebanon back to the forefront of the conflict between Shi ite-led Iran and its regional Sunni rival Saudi Arabia.  Riyadh blames Lebanon s Iran-backed Hezbollah for the resignation, accusing it of hijacking Lebanese politics. Tehran has accused Riyadh and its allies of trying to stoke tension in the Middle East. In a television interview on Sunday, Hariri said he would return to Lebanon within days and held out the possibility he could rescind his resignation if Hezbollah agreed to stay out of regional conflicts such as Yemen. The comments were his first in public since he quit from Riyadh on Nov. 4.   Hariri s remarks on Sunday gave small hope of the possibility of his return to Lebanon...Iran does not interfere in Lebanon s affairs,  Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by state TV.  Lebanese President Michel Aoun refused to accept Hariri s resignation unless he tendered it in person in Lebanon.

Summary: ईरान का कहना है कि वह लेबनान के राज्य मामलों में हस्तक्षेप नहीं करता हैः टीवी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday held firm on his refusal to act on President Barack Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court even as some conservative activists called on senators to confirm Merrick Garland now that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. “The leader’s position has not changed on Garland,” McConnell spokesman David Popp told Reuters. Since Obama nominated Garland in March, McConnell has refused to allow a confirmation vote, saying it should be up to the next president to fill the court’s vacancy left by the February death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. Some conservatives on Wednesday urged the Senate to confirm Garland, a centrist federal appeals court judge, now that Trump appears in line to win the Republican nomination for the Nov. 8 election. They are concerned Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton will defeat Trump in the election and pick a far more liberal nominee than Garland for a lifetime court appointment. Other conservative voices urged McConnell to hold firm, saying that doing otherwise would alienate core Republican voters, hurting the party’s election chances in the fall. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, who backs McConnell’s hard-line stance, has refused to hold hearings on Garland’s nomination. With his victory in Tuesday’s Indiana Republican primary, Trump solidified his position to land the party’s presidential nomination at its July convention in Cleveland. His closest challenger, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, quit the race after being drubbed in Indiana. McConnell has repeatedly refused to say which Republican he supports for president. In an interview with Newsmax on Monday, before the Indiana vote, McConnell would say only that he intends to support the party’s nominee, “whomever that may be.” Trump has said he would consult with the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank on possible Supreme Court nominees if he is elected president. Leon Wolf of the conservative RedState website predicted that Republicans will lose the White House race in November with Trump as their nominee, and likely lose control of the Senate as well. Wolf wrote in a blog post, “The choices, essentially, are to confirm Garland ... or watch as President Clinton nominates someone who is radically more leftist and 10-15 years younger” than the 63-year-old Garland. But Erick Erickson, writing for the conservative website The Resurgent, said Republicans should “resist the temptation” because rushing to confirm Garland might “further depress Republican (voter) turnout” that is important to keeping the Senate under Republican control.

Summary: ट्रम्प की जीत के बाद, सीनेट के नेता ने गारलैंड के विरोध की पुष्टि की


SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - The leaders of Iran and Turkey on Wednesday supported the convocation of a Syrian peoples  congress as one of the first steps to establish inclusive dialogue in the war-ravaged country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. Speaking after meeting his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and Turkey s Tayyip Erdogan, Putin said the three leaders had instructed their diplomats, security and defense bodies to work on the composition and date of the congress. Syria s leadership is committed to the peace process, constitutional reform and free elections, Putin said after the trilateral meeting held in the southern Russian city of Sochi. The three presidents agreed to step up efforts to finish off  terrorist  groups in Syria, he said.

Summary: रूस के पुतिन ने कहा कि ईरान, तुर्की ने प्रस्तावित सीरियाई पीपुल्स कांग्रेस का समर्थन किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a blow to President Donald Trump as he tries to assemble his administration, his nominee for labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name from consideration on Wednesday amid concerns that he could not garner enough Senate votes to be confirmed. Puzder’s decision to withdraw is yet another setback this week for a White House still grappling with fallout from Monday night’s abrupt resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn, after less than a month in the job. Puzder, the chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants Inc, which franchises fast-food chains including Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr, has been at the center of a swirl of controversies, complaints and potential conflicts. He admitted earlier this month that he and his wife had employed an undocumented person as a housekeeper. He faced a flurry of complaints and legal cases brought in recent weeks and months by workers against his business and its franchises.  Most recently, a decades-old Oprah Winfrey tape raising allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-wife resurfaced, though those allegations had been withdrawn. “After careful consideration and discussions with my family, I am withdrawing my nomination for Secretary of Labor,” Puzder said in a statement.  Puzder’s withdrawal came one day before his scheduled confirmation hearing. At least seven Republican senators, including Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, declined to publicly back Puzder in advance of the confirmation hearing. For weeks now, Republican senators have been telling Senator John Cornyn, the second-highest ranking Republican, that they believed some of their colleagues would join Collins and Murkowski in opposing Puzder, according to a senior Senate Republican aide. The Labor Department oversees compliance with federal laws that mandate safe working conditions, a minimum hourly wage, overtime wages and prohibit employment discrimination.  As labor secretary, Puzder would have shaped the department’s approach to these issues, including whether to defend an Obama administration rule expanding overtime pay to millions of workers that has been challenged in the courts.  Earlier this month, Puzder admitted he and his wife had employed an undocumented person as a housekeeper and had to pay back taxes as a result. Workers at some of CKE’s restaurants have filed claims in recent weeks alleging they were victims of wage theft or victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. Another possible problem were allegations dating back to 1986 that Puzder had physically abused his now ex-wife, Lisa Henning, now known as Lisa Fierstein. Fierstein filed for divorce in 1987 and later retracted her allegations, but not before appearing anonymously as a victim of domestic abuse on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Last week, the OWN Network released a copy of that tape to the Senate committee so both Democratic and Republican members could view it, according to an aide. Democrats on Wednesday cheered over the news of Puzder’s withdrawal.  “From the start, it’s been clear that Puzder is uniquely unqualified to serve as secretary of labor,” said Patty Murray, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Summary: अमेरिकी श्रम विभाग के उम्मीदवार पुजडर ने वापस लिया, ट्रम्प को झटका


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch did not order FBI Director James Comey to withhold from Congress the discovery of emails potentially related to the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server, but she made it known that she thought his decision violated department policy, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. As Comey and Lynch aides debated last Thursday whether alerting Congress about the emails would comply with longstanding Justice Department policy against announcing overt investigative steps that would influence an upcoming election, Comey asked whether he was being explicitly directed not to do so. Lynch never gave Comey the order not to send the emails, a senior government official said. Comey’s letter on Friday notifying members of Congress that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had discovered new emails apparently pertinent to the Clinton server probe has upended the presidential race and given new hope to Republican candidate Donald Trump that he can make a comeback and win on Nov. 8. Lynch’s office informed the FBI on Thursday that sending the letter conflicted with a memo containing official guidance that is sent to all Justice Department employees during presidential election years, according to the official.  The memo instructs employees to “never select the timing of investigative steps... for the purpose of affecting any election.”  But the Justice Department made no effort to block the FBI from obtaining a search warrant to review the emails, which the agency received on Sunday. The department is working closely with the FBI on the case. Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik told several members of Congress in letters on Monday that the Justice Department was dedicating “all necessary resources” to work with the FBI on its examination of the newly discovered emails “as expeditiously as possible.” However, an official familiar with the FBI review said investigators could not predict how long the examination would take. Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate, sent Comey a letter on Monday accusing the FBI of keeping “explosive information” under wraps about ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. Reid wrote to the FBI in August, requesting information about those ties, including alleged meetings between a Trump adviser and several high-ranking sanctioned individuals in Russia in July, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters. The FBI acknowledged that it received the letter and said it had replied to Reid’s office. An aide to Reid said he was not aware of any response from Comey to the letter.

Summary: अमेरिकी अटॉर्नी जनरल ने एफ़. बी. आई. को क्लिंटन से संबंधित ईमेल रोकने का आदेश नहीं दियाः स्रोत


(Reuters) - Florida Power & Light (FPL) expects to restore power knocked out by Hurricane Irma on the eastern side of Florida by this weekend and the harder hit western part of the state by Sept. 22, FPL spokesman Rob Gould said Tuesday in a news conference. He noted, however, that some customers in the hardest hit areas of both the east and west coasts where there was extensive flooding or tornadoes would have to wait longer to have their power restored. FPL is a unit of Florida energy company NextEra Energy Inc.

Summary: एफ. पी. एल. पूर्वी फ्लोरिडा में सप्ताहांत तक और पश्चिम में 22 सितंबर तक बिजली बहाल करेगी


GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations reaffirmed on Friday that torture is illegal and that refugees deserve protection, while ducking any direct criticism of remarks made by new U.S. President Donald Trump. Major human rights groups have denounced Trump’s stance on torture and warned against restoring a CIA secret detention program for interrogating terror suspects. Trump is also reviewing spending, including at the U.N., where the United States is the largest donor. “International human rights law is clear on the absolute prohibition on torture,” U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing. Pressed repeatedly to comment on Trump’s remarks this week that torture “works”, Colville noted that prominent U.S. Senators including Republican John McCain, himself a torture victim, and Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who chaired an inquiry on the CIA program under former President George W. Bush, had spoken out. It was still very early days in terms of how the U.N. human rights office interacts with the new administration, he said.  “We have to work out strategically what is going to be effective.” The UNHCR was also tepid in its comments on Trump’s moves to restrict refugees. He is expected to sign an executive order that would include a temporary ban on all refugees, and a suspension of visas for citizens of Syria and six other Middle Eastern and African countries. “Of course UNHCR believes that refugees should be offered assistance, protection, opportunities for resettlement, regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity,” UNHCR spokeswoman Vannina Maestracci said. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has temporarily halted trips by staff to interview refugees abroad ahead of a likely shakeup of refugee policy by Trump, two sources said on Thursday. During the election campaign, Trump decried former President Barack Obama’s decision to increase the number of Syrian refugees admitted to the United States over fears that some fleeing the country’s civil war might carry out attacks. Some 25,000 refugees were resettled in the United States between October and year-end under UNHCR’s program for the most vulnerable, Maestracci said. A host of U.S. federal government agencies are involved and extensive background checks are carried out, she said. “I think it’s fair to say that refugees coming into the United States to be resettled are some of the most vetted individuals entering the United States,” Maestracci said.

Summary: यातना, शरणार्थियों पर ट्रम्प के रुख के आसपास संयुक्त राष्ट्र


JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israel s military said on Friday it was ready to protect a frontier village in Syria held by the Syrian government, where Damascus said jihadist rebels exploded a car killing at least nine people.  The statement was an unusually explicit Israeli pledge to intervene in the war in Syria, where Israeli officials are voicing deeper alarm at the role of Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, which are fighting alongside the Syrian government.  The Israeli air force says it has struck arms convoys of the Syrian military and Hezbollah nearly 100 times in recent years. Its most recent strike was on Wednesday according to the Syrian government. Quneitra province in Syria, where Hader village is located, is particularly sensitive for Israel because it lies next to the Golan Heights area that Israel captured from Syria in 1967.  Syrian rebel factions launched an attack on Syrian government territory in Quneitra on Friday, with the aim of connecting two insurgent-held areas. The attack included the car bomb in Hader, which Syrian state media attributed to the jihadist group formerly known as the Nusra Front.  A military media unit run by Hezbollah said the insurgents attacked from three directions and made no gains after heavy fighting during the day. It accused Israel of firing a surface-to-surface missile at a Syrian army position in the area.  Syrian state media accused Israel of giving various kinds of support to the Nusra Front. In its statement, the Israeli military denied any involvement with jihadist groups in the fighting.   The village of Hader is populated by members of the Druze, a minority religious sect present in Syria, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon.  Israel s Druze, some of whom have reached the senior echelons of the Israeli military and government, have been calling for help on behalf of their brethren in Syria, both at home and abroad. The flashpoint village of Hader has been of particular concern. After Friday s car bomb there, Syrian state television broadcast footage it said was of residents of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights trying to cross the border to help people in Hader.  Druze residents tried to cross into Syria, but were held back by Israeli soldiers, Israel s military said on Twitter.  The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is prepared and ready to assist the residents of the village and prevent damage to or the capture of the village Hader out of commitment to the Druze population,  the military said in a statement. Israeli officials have previously said they were looking at the possibility of assisting Hader, whose residents have Druze kinsman lobbying on their behalf in Israel.

Summary: इजरायली सेना ने कहा कि वह सीरिया के ड्रूज़ गांव की रक्षा के लिए तैयार है


BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday congratulated U.S. Republican Donald Trump on his election victory and offered to work closely with him on the basis of the values of democracy, freedom, respect for the law and for the dignity of people. “Germany and America are bound together by values - democracy, freedom, respecting the rule of law, people’s dignity regardless of their origin, the color of their skin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views,” Merkel said. “On the basis of these values, I am offering to work closely with the future President of the United States Donald Trump,” she added. Merkel said working with the United States remained a key pillar of Germany’s foreign policy.

Summary: मर्केल ने लोकतांत्रिक मूल्यों के आधार पर ट्रम्प के साथ काम करने की पेशकश की


COX S BAZAR/YANGON (Reuters) - Blessed by calmer seas, several hundred more Rohingya Muslims on Thursday joined a multitude of refugees in Bangladesh, as calls grew for upcoming regional summits to exert more pressure on Myanmar s Aung San Suu Kyi to stem the crisis. A Myanmar military operation has driven out more than 600,000 Rohingya since late August and the latest refugees to find sanctuary in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh say many thousands more are still trying to leave. Ariful Islam, of Bangladesh s Border Guard, said about 200 people arrived on Thursday morning on the stretch of coast he commands at Teknaf, at the southern tip of Cox s Bazar district. More than 200 Rohingya have drowned in the strong currents and high surf trying to reach Bangladesh from Buddhist-majority Myanmar over the past two months. But the sea was fairly flat on Thursday morning as Abdus Sabir came ashore at Shamlapur along with a large group of Rohingya after a six-hour boat journey to complete an escape begun weeks ago.  We fled because the military is still burning our houses,   Abdus, who had abandoned his home in the Rathedaung region of Myanmar s Rakhine State, told Reuters. Nearby, Husain Shorif, from the Buthidaung region, said he had rowed for four hours to help bring across 56 people on a raft cobbled together from bamboo and plastic jerrycans.  Some boatmen were asking for huge money we didn t have. So we made our own boat and came,  Shorif said, adding that thousands more Rohingya were still stranded at Pa Nyaung Pin Gyi at the mouth of the Naf river. Reuters was unable to verify that claim as Myanmar s military has restricted access to northern parts of Rakhine, where it launched a clearance operation it says was aimed at Rohingya militants behind attacks on 30 security posts on Aug. 25. UN officials described the operation as  ethnic cleansing , an accusation Myanmar has denied.  The storm of opprobrium over the humanitarian crisis will expose Myanmar to more diplomatic pressure, at least from leaders of Muslim-majority countries and the United States, during three summits hosted by Vietnam and the Philippines. Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar s less than two-year-old civilian administration, left on Thursday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam s central seaside resort of Danang. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for standing up to the generals who had ruled the country for nearly half a century, Suu Kyi now has to share power with them, under a constitution drawn up in 2008 when junta was still in control, and has little control over what they do. After Friday s APEC gathering, Suu Kyi will meet leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping in Manila on Sunday, followed by an East Asia Summit in Angeles, just north of the Philippine capital. Mass exodus: tmsnrt.rs/2xTAOon A desperate escape: tmsnrt.rs/2A1ATUP Setting up a regional trade block, and concerns over North Korea s ambitions to become a nuclear-armed state are  priorities, but New York-based Human Rights Watch beseeched the Asian leaders to ensure stronger action by Myanmar to end the crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet Suu Kyi on Nov. 15 for talks on the Rohingya crisis, and they are expected to hold a joint news conference.  World leaders shouldn t return home from these summits without agreeing to targeted sanctions to pressure Burma to end its abuses and allow in independent observers and aid groups,  Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that referred to Myanmar by its old name. Desperate for help to cope with the massive influx of people, Bangladesh is lobbying furiously for pressure to be put on Myanmar.  We want international communities to continue building  pressure on Myanmar. Otherwise, they won t resolve the crisis,  a foreign ministry official in Dhaka told Reuters, adding that ministers from Germany, China, Japan and Sweden were expected to visit both countries later this month. HRW s Adams said leaders meeting Asia should discuss how to investigate alleged rights abuses and atrocities in Rakhine, and refer them to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The rights group also urged the Security Council to impose an arms embargo, economic sanctions and travel bans targeting Myanmar military officials. Some U.S. senators are pressing for the United States to impose its own sanctions, also targeting the military. The Security Council this week opted for a strongly worded statement scolding Myanmar, as diplomats said China and Russia would have vetoed any resolution. China has publicly supported the Myanmar government s efforts to  maintain stability  in Rakhine. The stance taken by China and other Southeast Asian governments fighting insurgencies by Muslim militants should spare Myanmar from any harsh spotlight in the summits  final communiques.  On the Rohingya, the leaders will agree that there is no quick fix to the long-standing inter-communal problem with deep historical roots that needs to be carefully managed,  an ASEAN diplomat told Reuters, adding that the group aimed to deliver $500,000 of relief supplies to Myanmar. A trail of destruction: tmsnrt.rs/2fDBxTc

Summary: म्यांमार की सू की के शिखर सम्मेलन के दौरान बांग्लादेश में रोहिंग्या विवाद


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday it would welcome any progress made by the U.S. Congress toward striking a deal to provide funding to help fight the Zika virus. “I think at this point, given the delays and given the heightened stakes, we welcome any sort of forward momentum in Congress,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a daily briefing. Asked about a Senate proposal for $1.1 billion in emergency funds, Earnest said the administration would “have to take a close look at it to see if it is sufficient.”

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस का कहना है कि जीका फंडिंग पर कांग्रेस में कोई भी प्रगति 'स्वागत योग्य' है


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday he was confident of building a relationship based on trust with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Abe said the two talked about various issues but refrained from disclosing the contents of the meeting with Trump because the talks were unofficial.  He made the comments in New York after a meeting that was intended to smooth relations following Trump’s campaign rhetoric that cast doubt on long-standing U.S. alliances.

Summary: जापान के प्रधानमंत्री आबेः ट्रम्प के साथ विश्वास के संबंध बनाने का विश्वास


(Reuters) - An estimated 370,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in neighboring Myanmar since late August, a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency, Vivian Tan, said on Tuesday. At least 457,000 hungry and traumatized refugees have sought refuge in Bangladesh since October 2016. They have joined many thousands of refugees from previous violent episodes in Myanmar. Here are details gathered from U.N. sources working in the Cox s Bazar district of Bangladesh, on the Myanmar border, where many of the refugees end up. - The jump in the number of arrivals from Sunday to Monday was fueled by the movement of many refugees from so-called transit sites into new settlement areas, where they are counted. - Authorities have been broadcasting messages along crowded roads telling people to move to a proposed camp at a settlement called Kutupalong. - An area of about 1,500 acres (607 hectares) to 2,000 acres (809 hectares), north of Kutupalong, has been set aside for new arrivals.  - A survey to identify children aged 4 to 14 has been started, so as to enroll them in learning centers. - People, in particular, children, are becoming susceptible to waterborne diseases due to an acute shortage of clean water and sanitation facilities, as well as the common cold and fever. - Facilities are improving gradually, for example, two 5,000-litre (1,100-gallon) water tanks have been installed at a settlement called Unchiprang. - Some rice is now being distributed, in addition to high-energy biscuits. - The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided more than 68,800 people with high-energy biscuits since Aug. 27 as they arrive seeking shelter in Cox s Bazar.  - About 77,600 people have received warm meals through community kitchens run by aid agency Action Contre la Faim. These kitchens provide meals for about 5,300 people a day. - The WFP is especially concerned about women and children arriving hungry and malnourished. Nearly 3,000 pregnant women, new mothers and children under five have received a special, high-nutrient porridge made of wheat and soya flour. - Some families have taken children out of school, fearing they will get lost in the throng of people, but teachers are trying to reassure them.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः बांग्लादेश में मानवीय संकट, 370,000 रोहिंग्या म्यांमार से भागे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday sent a request to Congress for an additional $11.6 billion in supplemental war-related funding, which would include money to fight Islamic State militants and sustain high overseas troop levels. The request, detailed in a letter released by the White House, seeks an additional $5.8 billion for the Pentagon for military operations in Afghanistan and fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and an $5.8 billion for the State Department and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for fiscal 2017. Obama made the request just before Congress returns to Washington for its “lame duck” session before the new Congress starts in January. “For the Department of Defense, this plan reflects the evolving nature of our military campaign against ISIL and our efforts in Afghanistan,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State.  Carter added that the funding would also allow the State Department and USAID to counter extremism. “Swift passage of this plan will help the Department of Defense and our partners in the U.S. government and around the world protect this nation, and I urge Congress to support it,” the statement said.  U.S. Representative Mac Thornberry, the chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said he would review President Barack Obama’s request but that it was too low. “While we will review the request carefully, the amount still does not accommodate the increased pace of operations against ISIL and does nothing to begin addressing the readiness crisis,” Thornberry said in a statement.

Summary: ओबामा ने पूरक रक्षा बजट में 11.6 अरब डॉलर और बढ़ाने की मांग की


(Reuters) - Former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who earned a reputation for fighting crime on Wall Street and public corruption before President Donald Trump fired him in March, has signed a book deal with Alfred A. Knopf.  The book, as yet untitled, is about “the search for justice, not just in criminal cases but in life and society in general,” Knopf said in a statement on Thursday. Publication is expected in January 2019. Bharara said his book would be about the law, “integrity, leadership, decision making, and moral reasoning.” “It addresses what it means to do the right thing, how to avoid doing the wrong thing, and the role of thoughtfulness in making the best choice,” Bharara said in a statement. In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Bharara to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which includes Manhattan.  During seven and a half years as the chief federal prosecutor in that region, Bharara oversaw several notable corruption and white-collar criminal cases, as well as prosecutions of terrorism suspects. “Preet Bharara’s life experience, coupled with his standing as a U.S. Attorney and the cases he tried as prosecutor, makes him uniquely qualified to write this book,” said Sonny Mehta, editor-in-chief for Knopf, which is a division of Penguin Random House. Bharara, now a distinguished scholar in residence at New York University’s law school, was unexpectedly fired by Trump on March 11 after refusing to step down. He had been among 46 U.S. attorneys who were told a day earlier to submit their resignations. In November, Bharara met with Trump at Trump Tower in New York City, three weeks after the presidential election, and said at the time that they had a “good meeting” and he agreed to remain in his post as a federal prosecutor.” He was fired a few months later. This month, Bharara told ABC News in an interview that he received “unusual” phone calls from Trump after the election that made him uncomfortable. He said he was fired after declining to take the third call.  Bharara said he believed Trump’s calls to him violated the usual boundaries between the executive branch and independent criminal investigators. Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards said on Thursday that Bharara “addresses the circumstances of his firing in the book proposal.” Whether the book itself goes into the details of Bharara’s firing “remains an open question,” Bogaards said.

Summary: Ex-U.S. अटॉर्नी भरारा ने ट्रम्प द्वारा बर्खास्त किए जाने के बाद पुस्तक सौदे पर हस्ताक्षर किए


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the health committee, said on Tuesday he will hold hearings in the next few weeks on how to stabilize the individual health insurance market. Alexander’s comments come as a Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare collapsed on Tuesday over disagreements between conservatives and moderates. The individual insurance market has been hurt by insurers dropping out of the Obamacare exchanges.

Summary: सीनेट पैनल के अध्यक्ष ने कहा कि स्वास्थ्य बीमा बाजार पर सुनवाई होगी


BANGKOK (Reuters) - For decades since the Vietnam war, the scantily clad dancers in the go-go bars of Bangkok s Patpong red-light district have been the face of Thailand s tourism industry.  But last year for the first time, the country drew more women tourists than men as a surge in Chinese female visitors outweighed a longstanding distortion spurred by men drawn to the world s  sex capital . The shift is welcome news for Thai authorities, who have tried to promote the country s shopping, beaches and temples and to minimize the importance of sex tourism, which thrived after Thailand became an R&R hotspot for U.S. troops in the 1960s and 1970s. Tourism ministry figures reviewed by Reuters showed 52 percent of more than 32 million visitors last year were women. That compared to 48 percent in 2015 and only 42 percent in 2012. No earlier official data were available, but research from as far back as the 1980s shows a ratio of about 60 percent male to 40 percent female visitors.  Not as many women visited Thailand because they thought we were a cheap destination with too much vice, but now more are coming, which means our image accommodates them,  Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul told Reuters. Tourism accounts for around 12 percent of Southeast Asia s second-biggest economy and is easily the fastest growing sector, particularly since a coup in 2014.  Hoping to attract more female tourists, the state s Tourism Authority of Thailand started a  Women s Journey  campaign last year, with a website and mobile application offering discounts for hotels, spas, malls, and restaurants. But the biggest factor has been tourism from China, which has reshaped the industry around the world. The number of Chinese visitors rose from nearly 12 percent of Thailand s visitors in 2012 to 27 percent last year. The number of Chinese women visiting Thailand nearly quadrupled over the same period to more than 5.3 million.   When Chinese men make a lot of money, they tend to take their wife, daughter, and mother to travel, making the ratio heavier on the female side,  said Virat Chatturaputpitak, vice president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents.  Major Chinese travel website Tuniu reported that 62 percent of its customers last year were women, Chinese media reported.  I chose to come to Thailand because it s close by, there are many flights, it s cheap to travel and easy to get a visa,  said Man Na Zhang, 24, at Bangkok s Erawan Shrine, a favorite  spot for Chinese tourists despite a deadly bombing in 2015.  Chinese female visitors, who get a tourist visa on arrival, also cited a simple tax rebate procedure on duty free goods as another drawcard as they snap up items such as cosmetics, bottled bird s nest soup, vitamins and supplements.  Many stores in Bangkok s shopping malls now accept Alipay, China s giant online payment service. A Big C supermarket near the Erawan shrine buzzes with Chinese tourists who fill their trolleys with bulk packets Tom Yum Goong flavored instant noodles, crispy seaweed and dried squid snacks.  Businesses in tourist towns have started printing menus in Chinese and getting workers to learn the language to cater to Chinese tourists, who last year made up more than those from Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa combined. China s recent  Golden Week  holiday brought 70 percent more Chinese visitors than last year, the tourism ministry said. For nationalities that traditionally patronized Thailand s sex industry, tourist numbers are still dominated by men - 68 percent of Japanese visitors, 58 percent of British and nearly 56 percent of American, Australian and German tourists. But even for those countries, the balance has shifted more towards female tourists. Although the sex industry is far from dead, local businesses complain fewer tourists were visiting areas such as Patpong and nearby Silom neighborhood.  There are evidently fewer tourists, especially in the low season, when sales can go from tens of thousands of baht a day to nothing,  said Somkid Sangwong, a manager of a restaurant in a Silom alley next to Patpong, surrounded by neon-lit signs for bars blasting loud music and offering raunchy live shows.  Phadet Mesild, a board member of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, another popular spot for sex tourism, told Reuters the decline in demand had forced many venues in the island to close down.  Since 2014, Thailand s military government has occasionally raided brothels, bars, and massage parlors in an effort to clean up the country s image, but they have usually bounced back quickly.

Summary: चीनी महिलाओं के थाई पर्यटन में तेजी लाने के लिए आगे बढ़ें


ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke by phone regarding a Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum and voiced concern that it will cause regional chaos, Erdogan s office said on Sunday.  The two leaders noted that not cancelling the referendum will bring with it chaos in the region and they stressed the great importance which they attach to Iraq s territorial integrity,  the statement said.

Summary: तुर्की, ईरानी राष्ट्रपतियों ने इराकी कुर्द जनमत संग्रह पर चर्चा कीः एर्दोगन का कार्यालय


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said Moscow s message to the United States during a likely meeting of the parties to the Iran nuclear deal next week on the sidelines to the United Nations General Assembly was to stay in the deal.   That is not only our message, but the rest of the participants and those that are outside are trying to send this message across,  Nebenzia told reporters on Friday.

Summary: रूस ने अमेरिका से कहाः ईरान परमाणु समझौते में बने रहें


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Republicans from Congress and the Trump administration vowed on Tuesday to complete tax reform by the end of 2017, despite party infighting and political distractions from investigations of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election. In a speech to U.S. manufacturers, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress hoped to complete the job in the autumn, with a new tax system in place by the beginning of 2018. The goal is to get tax legislation to the floor of Congress during the first two weeks of September, Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn told technology industry representatives at the White House.    Republicans are promising the biggest tax overhaul since the Reagan era, saying a simplified system with tax cuts for individuals and businesses, along with reforms to eliminate taxes on the foreign profits of U.S. corporations, can boost economic growth and create jobs. Independent analysts say there is no evidence that tax cuts drive long-term economic growth. Democrats contend that the Republican tax measures are designed to benefit wealthier Americans. “I am here to tell you we are going to get this done in 2017. Why are we going to get this done in 2017? Because we need to get this done in 2017,” Ryan told a conference hosted by the National Association of Manufacturers, a powerful Washington lobby group. “This will create jobs. That is what this is all about, jobs, jobs, jobs, good-paying jobs,” he said. The  effort has drawn warnings and criticism from Democrats. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Republican moves to grant new tax breaks to the wealthy could jeopardize Democratic support for an increase in the government’s borrowing authority later this year.   Shortly after Ryan’s speech, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi’s office called his remarks “a poor attempt to distract” from a lack of Republican initiatives on job creation. The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress face mounting pressure from U.S. businesses and their electoral base to deliver tax reform, a top 2016 campaign pledge that could determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress in the 2018 midterm elections. It was not clear whether Republicans can overcome infighting over healthcare legislation and government spending to move forward on tax reform.     Earlier in the day, Vice President Mike Pence assured the same audience that tax reform would be done this year, in remarks echoed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a CNBC television interview.  Ryan and Mnuchin are among six officials trying to craft a tax deal in closed-door discussions with Cohn, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican chairmen of two tax committees. “We’re comparing and contrasting various versions of reform to get the best possible one that gives us the lowest possible rates and most internationally competitive tax system, and the best one we can pass,” Ryan told CNBC after his speech.  The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC is up nearly 20 percent while the S&P 500 .SPX has added 14 percent since Trump's election in November, as investors bet he would spark economic growth by cutting taxes and boosting infrastructure spending.  The Trump administration and Republican leaders in Congress have agreed that tax reform should eliminate estate and alternative minimum taxes, both levies on the wealthy. They also want to allow U.S. corporations to repatriate trillions of dollars in profits held overseas at a reduced tax rate and  eliminate taxes on future foreign profits.

Summary: हाउस स्पीकर, ट्रम्प ने 2017 के अंत तक कर सुधार का संकल्प लिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed President Barack Obama’s nominee for ambassador to Mexico after a long delay and behind-the-scenes maneuvering that included renewing sanctions imposed on Venezuelans and a State Department authorization bill. Obama nominated career diplomat Roberta Jacobson for the Mexico City post in June, but she faced resistance from a few lawmakers for reasons including her role in helping negotiate Obama’s relations with Communist-ruled Cuba and concerns the administration had failed to make human rights a priority. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee backed her nomination in November, but Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida placed a “hold” that kept her confirmation vote from going ahead. Rubio, who is Cuban-American and a former 2016 Republican presidential candidate, opposes Obama’s moves toward normalizing relations with Havana and often pushes for the White House to take a stronger stand on human rights issues in Latin America. This month, Republican leaders and Obama administration officials came to Rubio to ask what would make him lift his hold on Jacobson. He asked for an extension of a bill he introduced last year imposing sanctions on Venezuelans for human rights violations in connection with the suppression of anti-government protests. The Senate approved a three-year extension of the sanctions measure on Thursday evening. The chamber also approved a State Department authorization bill that was being blocked by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who is still in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. A Senate aide said Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he would block Rubio’s Venezuela bill if Rubio did not lobby Cruz to drop his hold on the State Department measure. Cruz dropped his opposition, and the State Department bill also passed the Senate by unanimous voice vote on Thursday night.  Spokesmen for Rubio, Cruz and Corker declined to comment.  Secretary of State John Kerry said he was pleased the Senate “finally” confirmed Jackson. “No one is more qualified than Roberta to represent the United States in Mexico,” he said in a statement.

Summary: लंबे विलंब के बाद, अमेरिकी सीनेट ने मेक्सिको में राजदूत को मंजूरी दी


LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May promised on Sunday to challenge any “unacceptable” talk when she meets President Donald Trump later this week, as she tries to secure Britain’s “special relationship” with the new U.S. administration.       May, Britain’s second female premier, made the comments after thousands of women marched in London on Saturday to protest about Trump’s attitude to women, joining demonstrations held in major cities across the globe. She told the BBC she would use Friday’s meeting in Washington to discuss issues including future U.S.-UK trading relations, following Trump’s promise to put “America first” in his inauguration speech on Friday. Since Britons voted last year to leave the European Union, May’s government has been keen to deepen ties with the United States and other nations outside Europe to show that Brexit will not diminish its standing in the world.  May indicated she would not shy away from any difficult issues, when asked about the controversy over Trump’s comments on women. This erupted last year during the presidential election campaign over a 2005 video in which he boasted about grabbing women’s genitals. “I’ve already said that some of the comments that Donald Trump has made in relation to women are unacceptable, some of those he himself has apologized for,” May said. “When I sit down (with Trump) I think the biggest statement that will be made about the role of women is the fact that I will be there as a female prime minister,” she said. “Whenever there is something that I find unacceptable I won’t be afraid to say that to Donald Trump.” Trump’s election has raised questions over the future of the so-called “special relationship” that has underpinned close British-American ties for decades, but the new U.S. leader has said he believes Brexit will be “a great thing”. May, who initially struggled to build relations with Trump’s team, said she would also use the meeting to discuss the NATO defense alliance and challenges such as defeating terrorism and the conflict in Syria.  Becoming one of the first world leaders to meet with Trump following his inauguration will be viewed as a coup for May, who was perceived to have been snubbed by the billionaire following his election when he spoke first to nine other world leaders.  She will be trying to improve relations with Trump after he irritated the British government by meeting Nigel Farage, an outspoken anti-EU campaigner and critic of May, and saying he would be a good choice for Britain’s ambassador to Washington. Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn cast doubt on whether Trump, who has promised to protect American jobs and industry from foreign imports, would offer Britain much. “There were no signs of any special relationship in Donald Trump’s inauguration speech. Quite the opposite, it was ‘America first, America only’,” he told Sky News. “The idea that Donald Trump is suddenly going to roll over and offer some trade deal with Britain which doesn’t have strings attached ... I think she needs to be extremely careful.” British newspapers were divided on the visit, with the Sunday Telegraph reporting Trump calls May “My Maggie”, referring to her predecessor Margaret Thatcher, who enjoyed a close relationship with her U.S. counterpart Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.  The front page of the Mail on Sunday however, ran the headline: “Cut out your sexist insults, Mr President”. Brexit supporters have cheered comments by Trump that he wants to arrange a swift bilateral trade deal with Britain, but others have cautioned his protectionist policies make an agreement which is good for Britain unlikely. The Telegraph also reported plans were underway for a state visit to Britain later this year by Trump, who has played up his ancestral ties to Britain, saying in an interview this month that his Scottish mother was “so proud” of Queen Elizabeth.

Summary: ब्रिटेन की प्रधानमंत्री मे ने महिलाओं के विरोध के बाद ट्रंप के साथ खुलकर बात करने का वादा किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday said the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement still faces an uphill battle for support in Congress and that he was not inclined to bring it up for a vote, because it would not pass. U.S. President Barack Obama’s Pacific trade deal with partners in Asia would “go down” in any vote held now, Ryan told reporters at a regular press briefing. “If you bring it up, it’s going to go down, I don’t think we should bring up a bill that goes down,” Ryan said.

Summary: अमेरिकी सदन के अध्यक्ष रयानः प्रशांत व्यापार समझौते को कांग्रेस में हार का सामना करना पड़ रहा है


NEW YORK (Reuters) - A sluggish forecast for U.S. economic growth as well as an increase in U.S. states’ Medicaid and pension contribution costs is creating a budgetary squeeze in many state capitols, according to a research report issued by S&P Global Ratings on Monday.  While the risk of a recession within the next 12 months has fallen into a 15-20 percent range from 20-25 percent, the rate of economic expansion “is expected to remain fairly anemic at 1.8 percent over the longer term (roughly 10 years), well below the 3.0 percent average growth rate that prevailed from 1980 to 2000,” the report said. “And while the risk that federal policy could trigger a recession has eased, the potential for a dramatic scaling-back of federal aid for Medicaid has never been greater,” the report said. The slow-growth economy is producing sluggish revenue trends for the states, said Gabriel Petek, an analyst at S&P, in a telephone interview.  S&P does not expect Washington will enact a federally funded public infrastructure package in the next two years, which will put further stresses on state budget management. Addressing deferred maintenance and inadequate capacity in public infrastructure will depend heavily on state and local government solutions, the report said. Without a possible bump in growth from a federal infrastructure package, projected GDP growth for 2017 was lowered to 2.2 percent from 2.3 percent, the report said. “Anything that is done at the federal level would imply that more of the burden has to be picked up by the state and local government level in the area of infrastructure investment,” Petek said. The report added that the U.S. mid-Atlantic region (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania) will have the slowest growing economy compared to other regions. Real GDP growth for the region is projected at 1.25 percent for 2017, the report said. The best performing region forecast for the current year, with an economic growth forecast of 2.88 percent is the Mountain region (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming). Overall, regional economies growth rates are expected to peak in 2018 before some of those gains ebb, the report’s data showed. The best performing region forecast for 2018 are the states in the West South Central region (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas) with a combined growth rate of 3.36 percent, followed closely by the Mountain region at 3.29 percent and Pacific region at 2.93 percent.

Summary: मेडिकेड, पेंशन की लागत अमेरिकी राज्यों के लिए बजट जटिलताएं पैदा करती हैः रिपोर्ट


DETROIT/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” executive order on Tuesday left questions about how the government would enforce the order and whether it would make a real difference in output and employment, according to steel executives and analysts.     “Buy American” provisions already exist in U.S. law but policing them has been difficult because of waivers granted to foreign companies that undercut their U.S. counterparts on pricing. Earlier on Tuesday, Trump ordered a review of government procurement rules favoring American companies to see if they are actually benefiting, especially the U.S. steel industry. Trump’s executive order promises to properly police those provisions, but avoided detail about how that will happen.       Bill Hickey, president of Chicago-based Lapham-Hickey Steel, which has seven steel mills in the Midwest and Northeast, said he has heard talk of “Buy American” for decades, but American or foreign contractors frequently find loopholes to use imported steel.      “Politicians all talk the same, but at the end of the day it just doesn’t work,” Hickey said, citing waivers to existing provisions.      Charles Bradford of Bradford Research said focusing on “Buy American” for U.S. steel does not take into account that some steel products - including tin plate and semi-finished products - are not made in the United States. So if enforced improperly, it could cause supply problems in a U.S. market in which up to 25 percent of steel was imported in the first quarter of this year.      “The people who have pushed for this don’t have a clue and they don’t know math,” said Bradford. Cutting off the supply of goods not made in the United States would create fresh problems for U.S. companies, he said. In the construction industry, there also are concerns over “too strict a definition of what constitutes U.S.-made steel products,” said Kenneth Simonson, chief economist of the Associated General Contractors of America.  Simonson cited concerns with steel that might have been melted down from scrap metal that could have come from outside the United States, for example, and tracing its origins before that point. Trump’s White House track record so far also helps fuel skepticism inside the industry. Instead of bold action promised last year by then-candidate Trump on the North American Free Trade Agreement, on China, and free trade agreements, the new administration has “not shown much evidence of doing so,” said KeyBanc Capital Markets steel analyst Philip Gibbs.     “I’m a lot less optimistic than I was three-and-a-half months ago because so far what I’ve seen coming out of the Trump administration is the same as the prior administration,” he added. As a result, Gibbs said investors should dial back expectations that Trump will do anything meaningful on trade, or on infrastructure which is where such an order could make a difference.  Investors seemed to shrug off Tuesday’s executive order.   Nucor Corp shares closed up 0.2 percent at $57.33, AK Steel Holding Corp gained a penny to end at $6.32 and United States Steel Corp closed down 0.5 percent at $28.73.      AK Steel did not respond to requests for comment. Nucor and U.S. Steel both welcomed the president’s executive order.     The move was welcomed by labor unions. The United Steelworkers said that under current practice, “contractors often try to avoid the law through loopholes to buy cheap and often substandard foreign products like many from China.” Thomas Gibson, chief executive of lobby group the American Iron and Steel Institute, said in a statement that “Buy American” provisions “are vital to the health of the domestic steel industry, and have helped create manufacturing jobs and build American infrastructure.”      Veteran steel industry analyst Michelle Applebaum said while it remains to be seen how thoroughly the Trump administration will police the steel industry, the executive order sends a clear message to steel importers.    “Trump has just created more risk for anyone who wants to import steel,” she said. “If he puts money behind enforcement that will force people to play by the rules and that will be a good thing.”

Summary: ट्रम्प 'अमेरिकी खरीदें' आदेश का अमेरिकी इस्पात पर बहुत कम प्रभाव पड़ सकता है


SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. Homeland Security Department’s inspector general said on Friday he was investigating possible abuse of authority in a case that triggered a lawsuit against the department by Twitter Inc (TWTR.N). Inspector General John Roth described the probe in a letter to Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who had asked for an investigation due to concerns about free speech protections.  In a lawsuit on April 6, Twitter disclosed that it received a summons in March from the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, an agency within Homeland Security, demanding records about an account on the social media platform identified by the handle @ALT_uscis. The account has featured posts critical of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, leading Twitter to complain in  its lawsuit that the summons was an unlawful attempt to suppress dissent. The agency dropped its demand of Twitter the day after the suit was filed. Customs bureau spokesman Mike Friel said on Friday that the bureau requested the inspector general’s review and will fully support it. The people behind the Twitter account have not disclosed their identities, but the use of “ALT” with a government agency acronym has led many to assume government employees were behind the tweets critical of Trump.  The lawsuit said the account “claims to be” the work of at least one federal immigration employee. USCIS is the acronym of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, a component of Homeland Security. Roth’s office is charged with investigating waste, fraud and abuse within Homeland Security. He wrote in his letter that he was looking at whether the summons to Twitter “was improper in any way, including whether CBP abused its authority.” “DHS OIG is also reviewing potential broader misuse of summons authority at the department,” he added. Wyden’s office posted the letter online. A representative for Roth could not immediately be reached for comment. A Twitter spokeswoman declined to comment.

Summary: अमेरिकी गृह सुरक्षा ने ट्विटर समन मामले में संभावित दुरुपयोग की जांच की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called on pharmaceutical company Mylan NV to voluntarily drop the price of its severe allergy treatment drug EpiPen, which has increased in price by more than 400 percent in the past decade. “That’s outrageous - and it’s just the latest troubling example of a company taking advantage of its consumers,” Clinton said in a statement. “It’s wrong when drug companies put profits ahead of patients, raising prices without justifying the value behind them.” Clinton frequently said during the primary that she would fight pharmaceutical companies - part of an attempt to counter criticism that she was too closely tied to the insurance industry. She has released a proposal that she says will lower drug costs for consumers. Mylan spokeswoman Nina Devlin did not respond to inquiries about Clinton’s criticism of the company. Mylan acquired the product in 2007, and the price increased from $100 in 2008 to its current cost of $600. Shares of Mylan closed down more than 5 percent at $43.15 on the Nasdaq. “The price of EpiPen is outrageous,” said Robert Weissman, president of consumer watchdog group Public Citizen. “Mylan is endangering lives and ripping off the country.” Weissman said EpiPen’s U.S. price should be rolled back sharply, noting the product is available for as little as $112 in Canada. Many other drugmakers also routinely raise prices of their prescription drugs by 10 percent or more each year, and U.S. legislation is needed to prevent such “price spikes,” he added. The White House took a more cautious tone in criticizing rising drug costs, refusing to comment on the decisions of an individual company.  “I will observe, however, that pharmaceutical companies that often try to portray themselves as the inventors of life-saving medication often do real damage to their reputation by being greedy and jacking up prices in a way that victimizes,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing.     Clinton joins a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are calling for investigations into the price increase of EpiPens, which are preloaded injections of epinephrine (adrenaline) that people use if they are having a dangerous allergic reaction that untreated could result in death.  Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote Mylan earlier in the week to ask for an explanation of the price change. Senator Amy Klobuchar, the top Democrat on the committee’s antitrust subcommittee, called for an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. On Wednesday, Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill requested that Mylan provide a briefing for the Senate to explain the price change. Grassley and Klobuchar, along with Democratic Senators Patrick Leahy and Richard Blumenthal and Republican Senator Ron Johnson, on Wednesday said they had written to the Food and Drug Administration to ask about its approval process for alternatives to the EpiPen. “Given the importance of this topic, it is imperative to understand the FDA’s role with respect to EpiPens and its approval of generic equivalents that could help to increase competition and lower prices if introduced,” the senators said in a statement.   “We have reached out to every member of Congress who has sent us a letter, and we look forward to meeting with them and responding to their questions as soon as possible,” Devlin said.  In January, Clinton admonished Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, which raised the price of a heart drug. In the wake of a Clinton campaign blog post targeting Valeant, the company’s stock fell. In March, she released a campaign ad vowing to target the company specifically.  Clinton also criticized Turing Pharmaceuticals in the fall of 2015 when public ire rose after it decided to raise the price of an antiviral medication commonly used by AIDS patients and pregnant women from $13.50 a tablet to $750 each.  After a single post by Clinton on the social media website Twitter critical of Turing, the company’s stock price tumbled.  At that time, Clinton released a comprehensive drug price plan that she says would reduce costs. Her proposal includes capping monthly out-of-pocket costs, expanding generic drug access and allowing Americans to buy pharmaceuticals abroad.  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said little about lowering drug prices. He has proposed increasing the amount of negotiations permitted by Medicare in order to lower prices for those using the program.

Summary: क्लिंटन ने एलर्जी दवा एपिपेन की कीमत कम करने की मांग की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior Cabinet members have lobbied President Donald Trump to remove Iraq from a list of seven Muslim-majority nations included in an initial travel ban, and an administration official said the country likely would not appear on a new executive order expected soon. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security chief John Kelly all made the case to Trump to remove Iraq because of ongoing U.S. military and civilian operations in the country, according to three U.S. officials who said the Cabinet members made the case separately at recent meetings. An administration official said the new executive order would likely exclude Iraq. Another U.S. official said the State Department was confident Iraq would not appear, while a congressional aide said Iraq would be removed following conversations among White House advisers on Tuesday. When asked whether Iraq would be left out of the revised order, the White House said it did not have any announcements on the executive order right now. A White House official said the order was likely to come on Monday. Federal courts blocked Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order that  temporarily barred travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.  Trump has said the travel limitations were necessary to protect the United States from attacks by Islamist militants. Americans were deeply divided over the measure, which had some support but stirred national protests and were condemned by prominent U.S. companies and allies.  There are currently 5,200 American troops deployed in Iraq to assist Iraqi and Kurdish forces in retaking Mosul - the last city in Iraq under the control of Islamic State militants.  Iraqis have fought alongside U.S. troops for years and have worked as translators. Many Iraqis have resettled in the United States following threats over their affiliation with U.S. troops.   The United States also relies on Iraq to provide visas for a substantial contracting force that supports the U.S. military presence. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi asked Trump to lift the ban on people from his country during their first phone call on Feb. 10, resisting calls from influential pro-Iranian Shi’ite politicians to retaliate against the ban.

Summary: मंत्रिमंडल के सदस्यों ने इराक को नए यात्रा प्रतिबंध से हटाने के लिए ट्रम्प की पैरवी कीः अधिकारी


GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations called on Thursday for a humanitarian pause to allow an estimated 20,000 trapped civilians to escape from the Syrian city of Raqqa, and urged the U.S.-led coalition to rein in air strikes that have caused casualties. Amnesty International said on Thursday that a U.S.-led coalition campaign to oust Islamic State from Raqqa had killed hundreds of civilians, and those remaining face greater risk as the fight intensifies in its final stages.   On Raqqa, our urging today from the UN side to the members of the humanitarian task force ... is that they need to do whatever is possible to make it possible for people to escape Raqqa,  Jan Egeland, U.N. humanitarian adviser on Syria, told reporters in Geneva.  Boats on the Euphrates must not be attacked, people who come out cannot risk air raids when and where they come out,  he said.  Now is the time to think of possibilities, pauses or otherwise that might facilitate the escape of civilians, knowing that Islamic State fighters are doing their absolute best to use them as human shields,  he said. Humanitarian pauses were agreed between the warring sides last December to allow the evacuation of civilians from then rebel-held eastern Aleppo, Egeland said. But he added that the United Nations has no contact with Islamic State fighters who have controlled Raqqa since 2014. Egeland, referring to U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said:  There is heavy shelling from the surrounding and encircling SDF forces and there are constant air raids from the coalition. So the civilian casualties are large and there seems to be no real escape for these civilians.  Syrian government forces, backed by the Russian air force and Iran-backed militias, have also been advancing against IS south of the River Euphrates that forms Raqqa city s southern edge.  Inside Raqqa city, on both sides, conditions are very bleak and it is very hard to assist in all areas,  Egeland said. The United Nations is still assessing the outcome of talks held this week in Riyadh between the three Syrian opposition groups - who failed to unite - Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, the U.N. deputy special envoy for Syria, said.  Asked whether Syria peace talks would be held in Geneva in September, he said:  We are waiting to get a full picture as to what happened in Riyadh, and we will have further consultations with the interested parties.  And on that basis a decision will be taken as to when these talks will take place.

Summary: संयुक्त राष्ट्र ने सीरिया के रक्का में नागरिकों को बचाने के लिए हवाई हमलों को रोकने का आह्वान किया


(Reuters) - California lawmakers voted on Saturday to make the most populous U.S. state a so-called sanctuary by banning police from asking for the immigration status of people who have been arrested and limiting their cooperation with immigration officers. The measure was one of numerous bills passed on the last day of the legislature’s session this year, positioning California in opposition to conservative policies supported by the Trump Administration and the Republican controlled Congress. Illinois’ Republican Governor signed a bill last month protecting people from being detained simply because of their immigration status or because they are the subject of an immigration-related warrant.

Summary: ट्रम्प की अवहेलना करते हुए, कैलिफोर्निया के सांसदों ने 'अभयारण्य राज्य' बनने के लिए मतदान किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, in a tweet on Tuesday, reiterated his call for the U.S. Senate to loosen its rules to make it easier to pass legislation by simple majority, and urged lawmakers to pass healthcare and tax overhauls. “The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems (Democrats) would do it, no doubt!” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter. Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected the idea.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने फिर सीनेट से नियमों में ढील देने, स्वास्थ्य सेवा और कर सुधारों को आगे बढ़ाने का आग्रह किया


MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Tuesday signaled its opposition to Kurdish-held parts of northern Iraq breaking away, saying Moscow backed the territorial integrity of countries in the region. The comments were the Kremlin s first reaction after an independence referendum in Iraq s semi-autonomous Kurdish region showed strong support for a split.  We still believe that preserving the territorial and political integrity of the regional states is crucial for keeping stability and security in the region and for the settlement of the many critical problems this region has,  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. Peskov also confirmed that Russian President Vladimir had discussed the referendum in phone conversations with the leaders of Turkey and Iran on Monday.

Summary: कुर्द मतदान के बाद क्रेमलिन ने कहा कि वह क्षेत्रीय राज्यों की अखंडता का समर्थन करता है


(Reuters) - A panel convened by U.S. President Donald Trump to tackle the opioid crisis called on Wednesday for more treatment programs, tighter prescribing guidelines and additional drug courts to help reduce overdose deaths. The commission, led by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, said the recommendations would require funding by Congress but did not recommend an amount. Trump last week declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Public health experts broadly welcomed the proposed measures. “This sounds to me like a very progressive and very needed move,” said Professor Kosali Simon, a health economist at Indiana University, of the recommendations.     But Paul Hanly, a New York lawyer representing local governments in a legal battle against opioid makers, said recommendations, while laudable, would be “toothless” without substantial funding. Opioids include prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl. More than 100 Americans die daily from overdoses, according to federal data. The commission recommended a national media campaign to encourage opioid addicts to seek help. Only 10.6 percent of people who need treatment get it, the report noted. The media campaign would encourage addicts to “stop being afraid or ashamed of seeking help when facing their addiction.” It urged expansion of drug courts, in which addicts convicted of non-violent offenses are diverted into programs that combine treatment with mandatory drug testing and court appearances. The commission said drug courts, which are currently offered in just 44 percent of U.S. counties, should embrace medication-assisted treatment to improve outcomes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week announced plans to encourage wider use of substitute opioids such as methadone and buprenorphine, which do not induce a high and are used to help people through drug addiction recovery. Still, Dr. Stefan Kertesz of the University of Alabama at Birmingham said communities often lack treatment facilities where drug courts can send addicts. And many drug courts charge fees that make them unaffordable for many. “Drug courts often function as pay to play,” Kertesz said. “Only people who can come up with money can escape a prison sentence.” The report recommended expanding the ranks of emergency responders allowed to administer naloxone to treat overdoses. It also encouraged stricter prescribing guidelines for physicians.

Summary: ट्रम्प पैनल ने ओपिओइड संकट से लड़ने के लिए अधिक उपचार विकल्पों का आग्रह किया