NEW YORK (Reuters) - The latest lawyer hired to represent U.S. President Donald Trump in the federal investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election is an ex-Marine who likens some cases to war. “I fight hard,” John Dowd said in an interview. “I believe that’s what I’m supposed to do. I am not a snowflake, I can tell you that.” “Snowflake” is a disparaging term for people considered overly sensitive and fragile that has been adopted by some Trump supporters to mock liberals. Dowd, who spoke with Reuters on Wednesday, is a mirror of his client in many ways. He has a no-holds-barred, hyperbolic style and a history of attacking prosecutors, congressional Democrats and the media. The 76-year-old Washington lawyer, who retired from the firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in 2014, brings criminal defense and government investigation experience to Trump’s legal team.  The team, led by New York lawyer Marc Kasowitz, is tasked with responding to Robert Mueller, the special counsel named by the Justice Department to probe whether anyone associated with Trump or his campaign had any illegal dealings with Russian officials or others with ties to the Kremlin. Russian officials have denied meddling in the U.S. election, and Trump denies any collusion by his campaign. In what Dowd said would be his last major trial, he defended  billionaire hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam in one of the biggest insider trading cases of all time.  Rajaratnam was convicted of all 14 insider trading counts and sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2011. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed Brodsky, who prosecuted the case, said Dowd put on a strong defense in the face of overwhelming evidence. “This is war, and I will defeat you,” Brodsky recalled Dowd declaring in one phone conversation. Dowd confirmed the sentiment on Wednesday. “It is a war,” he said of such cases. His tactics in the Rajaratnam case reflected that belief. Dowd aggressively challenged the prosecution’s stance on what constituted insider trading. He also fought the government’s wiretaps of his client’s cell phone, claiming investigators “gamed the system.”   Brodsky said he believed the physically commanding 6-foot-4-inch-tall Dowd would be a “ferocious defender of the president.”  In a manner similar to Trump, Dowd lashed out at what he perceived to be improper leaks by prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation during the Rajaratnam case, singling out then-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in particular.  “He sat in the back of the courtroom with his press dogs,” Dowd said. “It was the most atrocious thing I’ve ever seen.” Dowd also went after reporters. Bharara, who declined to comment on Wednesday, last weekend retweeted an intemperate 2011 email the defense lawyer sent to a Wall Street Journal reporter he accused of “whoring” for the prosecution. In another encounter with the press caught on camera, Dowd swore at and gave the middle finger to a CNBC reporter.    Like Trump, Dowd has a tendency to put his own spin on adverse news. After the Rajaratnam verdict, Dowd argued “the defense is winning” because the prosecution chose not to pursue 23 other allegations of insider trading. “The score is 23-14,” he told reporters. In a 2007 congressional probe of politically motivated firings of U.S. Attorneys, Dowd complained of McCarthyism when his client, former Justice Department official Monica Goodling, was criticized by Democrats for invoking the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination. Dowd represented U.S. Senator John McCain on congressional ethics charges in the 1980s “Keating Five” banking scandal and conducted the Major League Baseball investigation that led to former Hall of Famer Pete Rose being banned from the sport for betting on games while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Dowd would not discuss legal strategy for Trump but said the team the president had assembled was great. “We’re all fighters,” he said.  Though his hiring was first reported Friday, a person familiar with the matter said Dowd has been working with the team for weeks. Dowd said he knew Kasowitz partner Michael Bowe, who is also representing Trump, and met with Kasowitz at the end of May. Jay Sekulow, another member of the team, has been appearing on television on Trump’s behalf. Dowd also said he talked with the president but declined to describe their conversation. He called Trump “a fighter for the people” and said the president had done nothing wrong. A onetime military lawyer with the U.S. Marine Corps, Dowd noted his shared service in declining to criticize Mueller, a Marine platoon leader during the Vietnam War. “Bobby is doing what he has to do and he’ll do a good job,” said Dowd. “He’s a fellow Marine and he’s a good man.”

Summary: ट्रम्प के बचाव पक्ष के वकील का कहना है कि वह 'स्नोफ्लेक' नहीं हैं


SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday said he was “very much inclined” to maintain a court order that blocks President Donald Trump’s administration from carrying out a policy designed to threaten federal funds to so-called sanctuary cities. At a hearing in San Francisco federal court, U.S. District Judge William Orrick III said a recent memo from the Justice Department that appeared to narrow the scope of Trump’s executive order on sanctuary cities did not remove the need for an injunction. Trump issued the order in January directing that funding be slashed to all jurisdictions that refuse to comply with a statute that requires local governments to share information with immigration authorities. Sanctuary cities generally offer safe harbor to illegal immigrants and often do not use municipal funds or resources to enforce of federal immigration laws. Dozens of local governments and cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, have joined the growing “sanctuary” movement. The Trump administration contends that local authorities endanger public safety when they decline to hand over for deportation illegal immigrants arrested for crimes. The Republican president’s moves to crack down on immigration have galvanized legal advocacy groups, along with Democratic city and state governments, to oppose them in court.  After Trump issued the sanctuary cities executive order earlier this year, Santa Clara County - which includes the city of San Jose and several smaller Silicon Valley communities - sued, saying it was unconstitutional. San Francisco filed a similar lawsuit. In a ruling in April, Orrick said Trump’s order targeted broad categories of federal funding for sanctuary governments and that plaintiffs challenging the order were likely to succeed in proving it unconstitutional. Attorney General Jeff Sessions then issued a memo which formally endorsed a narrower interpretation of Trump’s order, saying that the only funds the government intended to withhold were certain grants tied to law enforcement programs. In court on Wednesday, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said the Sessions memo meant less than a million dollars were now at risk for Santa Clara County and San Francisco, so the injunction was no longer needed. But Orrick said an injunction was still necessary because Trump could always order Sessions to issue new, broader guidance. “The attorney general still has the ability to change that memo,” Orrick said. The judge said he would also likely reject a Justice Department request to dismiss other claims by Santa Clara and San Francisco.

Summary: अमेरिकी न्यायाधीश के ट्रम्प अभयारण्य शहर के आदेश पर प्रतिबंध हटाने की संभावना नहीं है


WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, had a blunt message for Donald Trump during a meeting in September: court-ordered reforms aimed at curbing police abuses in the midwestern city are not working. Loomis and two other attendees said Trump seemed receptive to Loomis’s concerns that federally monitored police reforms introduced during the Obama administration in some cities in response to complaints of police bias and abuse are ineffective and impose an onerous burden on police forces.  Trump, Loomis said, was “taken aback by the waste of money” when the union chief told him that federal monitors overseeing his city’s police department earned $250 an hour - a standard salary for the position.  “I think he’s going to have a more sensible approach to rising crime rates,” Loomis said of now President Trump. “What I got from the meeting was that Donald Trump is going be a very strong supporter of law and order.” Emboldened by Trump’s election, some of the country’s biggest police groups want to renegotiate “consent decrees” agreed to under President Barack Obama, the police labor groups said in interviews. Consent decrees are agreements between a police force and the Justice Department that can prescribe changes to use of force, recruiting, training and discipline. They are enforced by a federal court with the oversight of court-appointed monitors. Currently 14 police departments, including Seattle and Miami, are operating under the decrees. The police groups want to discuss the decrees with Jeff Sessions, Trump’s designee for attorney general who has voiced criticism of them, although any renegotiation would be legally complicated because all parties as well as a federal judge must approve any changes. “There are certainly decrees that are inartfully applied that we’d like to see revisited,” said Jim Pasco, the head of the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police union with 330,000 members. It endorsed Trump in September and has worked with Sessions, a Republican senator from Alabama, for years while lobbying Congress for pro-police policies. “We’ve always found him a man who’s willing to listen to alternatives to a previously charted course,” Pasco said of Sessions. Civil rights groups are alarmed at the possibility that the decrees could be unraveled, saying they have been an important tool for the government to try to address issues like excessive use of force by police in Baltimore and an officer shooting in Ferguson, Missouri that led to nationwide protests.   Trump officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the meeting with Loomis. While Trump has not publicly commented on consent decrees, he has expressed strong support for police departments and unions, and on Jan. 20 the White House said he wants to end the “dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America.” There have been questions by police and conservative politicians over the effectiveness of the consent decrees, which give the Justice Department power to obtain court orders imposing reforms on police forces that routinely violate civil rights through practices such as unlawful stops and seizures, racial discrimination, and illegal uses of force. The federal program was authorized by Congress in 1994 in the aftermath of riots in Los Angeles sparked by the police beating of Rodney King. Some police unions complain the decrees stigmatize police and impose overly restrictive limits on use of force. They also chafe at what they see as misguided federal prescriptions to local problems and have fought the reforms in court.  A reform agreement that the Justice Department negotiated with the New Orleans police department in 2013, for instance, has been “extraordinarily expensive” to implement, said Donovan Livaccari, the lawyer for the Louisiana Fraternal Order of Police. The city of New Orleans is footing the bill. The Obama administration negotiated 24 reform agreements with law enforcement agencies during Obama’s eight years in office after finding patterns of excessive force, racial bias, poor supervision and other issues, more than double the 11 agreements reached under the previous Bush administration.  Vanita Gupta, the last Obama-appointed head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, which investigates and recommends reforms for police departments, defended the use of consent decrees in an interview, saying they are apolitical ways of improving public safety and making policing more effective.  Bill Johnson, head of the National Association of Police Organizations, which represents about 241,000 officers, said he expects local police associations to examine existing consent decrees to see whether the Justice Department under Obama overstepped in imposing any measures.     Some police union officials say they have been encouraged by comments by Sessions, who has said that federal inquiries “smear” police departments and “undermine respect for officers.”  “Under Attorney General Sessions, it’ll be more, ‘Okay, there’s a problem, let’s craft an agreement as best we can and cure it, and then move onto the next thing’,” Johnson said.      Union officials said they expect the Trump administration to initiate and reach fewer binding reform agreements with police departments, and they hope Sessions will work with them to try to re-negotiate some of those existing agreements. Sessions said in his confirmation hearing on Jan. 10 that he “wouldn’t commit that there wouldn’t be any changes” to existing consent decrees when he becomes attorney general if police departments show improvement before they have fully complied with the terms of the decree.   A Trump transition official said Sessions would not comment on his testimony until after the Senate votes on his appointment. That vote is not expected until February. Not all union leaders agree that the decrees’ costs outweigh the benefits.     Sean Smoot, who directs the Police Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois and serves as a monitor for the Cleveland police reform agreement, said the federal inquiries prompt cities to hire more cops and invest in better equipment.     The decrees have had mixed results. Reforms in some cities, such as Los Angeles, have resulted in higher public satisfaction with police and declines in reports of police use of force. In other places, such as Ferguson, the city has missed multiple deadlines for implementing reforms required by its decree.     Civil rights advocates in Chicago say that given Trump’s law and order platform they fear his administration will neglect the Justice Department’s findings from a 13-month-long investigation into the police force.  Issued in the last days of the Obama administration, the Justice Department’s Jan. 13 report found that Chicago police routinely used excessive force and violated the constitutional rights of residents, particularly minorities. City officials signed an agreement to negotiate a consent decree. But with Trump in the White House, “it’s not clear where the leverage is going to come from for the reforms,” said Jamie Kalven, founder of the Invisible Institute, a nonprofit group which advocates for police transparency.  The White House did not respond to a request for comment about Kalven’s concerns. Jonathan Smith, the Obama-appointed former chief of special litigation in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said he is confident that most agreements reached during the Obama era will remain intact because they are overseen by judges who are “committed to their implementation.”      In Cleveland, for instance, the judge who oversees the reform agreement that Loomis’s union is objecting to recently rejected any efforts to renegotiate it.

Summary: ट्रम्प से उत्साहित, कुछ पुलिस संघ ओबामा के सुधारों में सुधार करना चाहते हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump ratcheted up tensions in his party on Tuesday by denying two leading figures, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain, support in their re-election bids. Trump told The Washington Post in an interview that he could endorse neither Ryan, the top U.S. elected Republican, nor McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona and a former Republican presidential nominee, as they face challenges in their states’ primary contests ahead of the Nov. 8 general election. Both Ryan and McCain had criticized Trump’s feud with the family of Army Captain Humayun Khan, who died in the line of duty in Iraq in 2004 and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for bravery after his death. The discord comes just two weeks after the Republican National Convention in Cleveland that formally nominated Trump for president. It is the latest rift in a party already frayed by internal dissent over its standard bearer, seen in stark relief at the convention where McCain was among high-level party members who essentially snubbed Trump by choosing not to attend. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, and former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush also did not attend the convention. Trump has had a running dispute with Khizr and Ghazala Khan since they took the stage at last week’s Democratic convention to cite their son’s sacrifice and criticize Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States. The uproar has led many Republicans to distance themselves from Trump and voice support for the Khan family.    Trump, mirroring the language Ryan used about supporting the nominee before his eventual endorsement, told the newspaper he was “not quite there yet” on endorsing Ryan in next Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary, and that he had “never been there” with McCain, who will be on the ballot in primary elections in Arizona later this month. McCain had a “very friendly” meeting with Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, on Tuesday in Arizona, where Pence was visiting, a McCain spokeswoman said.  Trump said Ryan had sought his endorsement, but that as of now he is only “giving it very serious consideration.” Ryan’s campaign office quickly responded that “neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump’s endorsement.”  “And we are confident in a victory next week regardless,” campaign spokesman Zack Roday said in a statement.   Ryan is favored to win against primary challenger Paul Nehlen, who Trump praised as running “a very good campaign.” In a mid-July survey by Harper Polling, Ryan was ahead of Nehlen by nearly 50 points. Trump, a former reality TV star, has troubled many in the Republican establishment with his off-the-cuff, often insulting style, and controversial policies, including the proposed ban on Muslims and his plan to build a wall along the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants. President Barack Obama on Tuesday blasted Trump as unfit to be president and questioned why any Republican would support the New York businessman, who is seeking his first public office. “The question I think that they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable: Why are you still endorsing him?” Obama, a Democrat, said at a White House news conference with Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong. The chorus of complaints against Trump grew on Tuesday. Representative Richard Hanna of New York became the first Republican in Congress to endorse Democratic nominee Hillary, although several other Republicans in Congress have said they will not support Trump. Hanna, who is retiring from the House of Representatives rather than seek re-election, said his decision was prompted by Trump’s attacks on the Khan family. He called Trump “deeply flawed in endless ways,” “unrepentant” and “self-involved.” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Trump ally once viewed by Trump as a potential running mate, called criticisms of the Khan family “inappropriate.” Trump’s son Eric told CBS News on Tuesday that his father’s comments about the Khans have been “blown hugely out of proportion.”     Trump has fallen behind Clinton in opinion polls made public since the parties held their nominating conventions last month. Clinton extended her lead over Trump to 8 percentage points, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, from 6 points on Friday. About 43 percent of likely voters favor Clinton, 35 percent favor Trump, and 9 percent picked “other.” Trump also has trailed Clinton in fundraising. Clinton reported raising nearly $90 million in July for her campaign and the Democratic Party, with more than half the donations coming from new donors. Interviewed on the Fox Business television network, Trump brushed off billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s blistering critique of his business acumen. Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, scorned Trump’s 1995 move to list Trump hotels and casino resorts on the New York Stock Exchange, saying the business lost money for the next decade and that a monkey would have outperformed Trump’s company. Trump, who has said his business success qualifies him to lead the country, defended his record running his hotel and casino business in Atlantic City, New Jersey. “I had great timing. I got out,” after seven years, he told the network  on Tuesday. “I took a lot of money out of Atlantic City, which is what I’m supposed to do. I’m a businessperson.”

Summary: रिपब्लिकन खेमे में दरार बढ़ी, ट्रंप ने रेयान, मैक्केन का समर्थन करने से किया इनकार


ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that the death of hundreds of Rohingya in Myanmar over the past week constituted a genocide aimed at Muslim communities in the region. Nearly 400 people have died in fighting that has rocked Myanmar s northwest for a week, new official data showed, making it probably the deadliest bout of violence to engulf the country s Rohingya Muslim minority in decades.  There is a genocide there. They remain silent towards this... All those looking away from this genocide carried out under the veil of democracy are also part of this massacre,  Erdogan said at his ruling AK Party s Eid al-adha celebrations in Istanbul. The army says it is conducting clearance operations against  extremist terrorists  to protect civilians. Erdogan, with his roots in political Islam, has long strived to take a position of leadership among the world s Muslim community. He said it was Turkey s moral responsibility to take a stand against the events in Myanmar. Around 38,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar, United Nations sources said, a week after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts and an army base in Rakhine state, prompting clashes and a military counteroffensive. Erdogan said the issue would be discussed in detail when world leaders convene for the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 12 in New York.

Summary: तुर्की के एर्दोगन ने म्यांमार में रोहिंग्याओं की हत्या को नरसंहार बताया


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - North Korea s ambassador to Mexico on Friday said its tensions with the United States were not Mexico City s business after President Enrique Pena Nieto ordered that he leave the country in protest over Pyongyang s nuclear tests.  Mexico on Thursday said it had given the ambassador, Kim Hyong Gil, 72 hours to leave Mexico in order to express its  absolute rejection  of North Korea s recent nuclear activity, describing it as a grave threat to the region and the world. The North Korean ambassador branded the move as  ignorant  and said disagreement over the country s nuclear program was an issue for the United States and  has nothing to do with Mexico.   That is why I express great displeasure at the bilateral diplomatic measures taken by the Mexican government that claims to have a sovereign foreign policy. That (claim) is without basis,  he told reporters outside the North Korean embassy in Mexico City. Mexico has traditionally sought to steer clear of diplomatic spats, but in the past few months it has adopted robust language to condemn the governments of Venezuela and North Korea as they descended into increasing international isolation. Mexico s foreign minister, Luis Videgaray, has led the diplomatic push as he also seeks to convince the United States to keep the North American Free Trade Agreement in place. Mexico s move follows a tide of international condemnation of North Korea for repeated missile launches and the test of a powerful nuclear weapon in recent weeks. Videgaray on Friday stressed that Mexico was not breaking diplomatic ties with North Korea, but that the country  wanted to send a clear message of absolute rejection  of the recent tests.

Summary: उत्तर Korea-U.S. तनाव मेक्सिको का काम नहीं हैः राजनयिक


COLUMBIA, S.C. (Reuters) - Riding high after a landslide victory in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has set sights on a possible face-off in the Nov. 8 presidential election with Donald Trump, the favorite for the Republican nomination.  “Despite what you hear, we don’t need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great,” she told supporters in her victory speech in South Carolina, declining to mention Trump by name, but taking a jab at his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.” Clinton said she was not taking anything for granted after crushing Democratic rival Bernie Sanders on Saturday by 48 percentage  points, likely setting herself up for a good “Super Tuesday” night on March 1, a key date in the nomination battle. But if Clinton and Trump win big on Tuesday as opinion polls suggest, the chance of a general election matchup between them increases, adding another twist to a presidential campaign that has defied convention as U.S. voters vent frustration over economic uncertainty, illegal immigration and national security threats. Some Clinton backers, emboldened by the heightened chance of a Trump nomination, have reaffirmed their support for the former secretary of state, saying that it is she, not Sanders, who is best equipped to take down Trump in a head-to-head showdown in November. Rosilyne Scott, 58, of Texas, cast her vote early for Clinton ahead of Texas’s upcoming Tuesday nominating contest, calling the prospect of a Trump presidency “frightening.” “I just think she has more support, and she’s been doing it a lot longer,” she said.  “If you get someone like Donald Trump in, I don’t know. ... I think he’s a joke, a bigot, a racist.” Amid Clinton’s renewed momentum against Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, donors have also found resolve. One Clinton fundraiser in California said her recent victories in Nevada and South Carolina have prompted more people to donate to her campaign and to attend Clinton events. He said he had raised $10,000 for the Clinton campaign in the past week alone.  A Trump-Clinton election would embody the outsider-versus-establishment battle in American politics. Trump has never been elected to public office, while the former first lady has been a player in Washington for decades.   South Carolina was Clinton’s third victory in the first four Democratic contests, raising more questions about whether Sanders, a democratic socialist, will be able to expand his support beyond his base of predominantly white liberals. Exit polls showed Clinton winning big in the state with almost every constituency. She won nine of every 10 black voters, as well as women, men, urban, suburban, rural, very liberal and conservative voters. Sanders was ahead among voters between ages 18 and 29, and among white men. When asked which candidate they thought “can win in November,” an overwhelming 79 percent said Clinton, with only 21 percent putting their faith in Sanders to defeat the eventual Republican nominee. Sanders, who has energized the party’s liberal wing and successfully courted many of the party’s youth, on Sunday acknowledged he had been “decimated” by Clinton in South Carolina. He set his sights on March 1, where a win in a key state is crucial to keeping his hopes alive. “I think we’re going to do well on Super Tuesday, we’re going to do well in many states after that and we look forward to those state-by-state struggles,” he said in an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” But Sanders needs to have his breakout moment sooner rather than later, warned longtime Democratic activist Phil Noble, who said that Sanders’ momentum in South Carolina “fell off the table” after Clinton’s solid victory in Nevada on Feb. 20.      “He’s got to pull off a surprise against Clinton soon or he won’t have time to recover,” he said.   (Additional reporting by: Alana Wise in Washington, Luciana Lopez in New York, Emily Stephenson in Texas; Editing by Alistair Bell, Mary Milliken and Jonathan Oatis) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

Summary: दक्षिण कैरोलिना में भारी जीत के बाद क्लिंटन की नजर ट्रम्प, आम चुनाव पर


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump neared the end of his vice presidential search on Thursday and appeared to be leaning toward Indiana Governor Mike Pence, a conservative with the potential to unify divided Republicans. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee tweeted on Wednesday night that he would announce his choice on Friday at 11 a.m. (1500 GMT) in Manhattan. The New York businessman is to be formally nominated as the party’s candidate for the Nov. 8 election at the Republican National Convention next week in Cleveland. Traditionally, the vice presidential choice is used to build enthusiasm among party loyalists. Trump’s choice of running mate is seen as critical because his defeat of 16 rivals in the Republican primary race left the party divided and some party leaders are still uneasy about some of his campaign positions, and his style. Sources familiar with campaign operations cautioned that while Pence and former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich were finalists, Trump could always have a last-minute change of heart and choose someone else from his short list. A source close to the campaign said Trump appeared to be  leaning toward Pence but could easily change his mind. Gingrich told an ABC News correspondent he expected to hear Trump’s decision after 1 p.m. EDT and would not be surprised if Trump chooses Pence.  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, 53, a former rival to Trump in the presidential race, is also high on the list of potential running mates and provides the kind of counterpunch to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton that Republicans like. Pence, 57, a former congressman, is seen as a safe choice, not too flashy but popular among conservatives, with Midwestern appeal and the ability to rally more party faithful behind Trump. Gingrich, 73, is a close adviser to Trump with a wealth of ideas and deep experience in the legislative process from his time as speaker of the House of Representatives in the 1990s. In what has been an unusually public process, Trump, 70, sat down with both Pence and Gingrich separately in Indianapolis on Wednesday. He also met with a fourth potential No. 2, U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions, 69, of Alabama, who has been one of Trump’s closest advisers. The New York businessman had dinner with Pence on Tuesday night after they appeared together at a rally. Trump, joined by daughter Ivanka and sons Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, had breakfast with Pence and his wife, Karen, on Wednesday at the governor’s residence in Indianapolis. Trump adviser Ed Brookover told CNN that Trump “first and foremost” wants a running mate who he has good chemistry with and someone who can help him govern best.

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस में उप-राष्ट्रपति पद के लिए उम्मीदवारी की दौड़ खत्म होने के करीबः ट्रम्प


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Frustration is mounting among leading foreign policy officials in President Donald Trump’s administration as they chafe at some policy and bureaucratic defeats and complain they lack independence to do their jobs, officials say. The clash between internationalists urging the traditional U.S. leadership role in the world and advocates of an “America First” approach has worn down foreign policy and intelligence professionals inside the government, according to the officials. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told friends he will be lucky to last a year in his job, according to a friend, while two officials said national security adviser H.R. McMaster was frustrated by what he sees as disorganization and indiscipline on key policy issues inside the White House. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that Tillerson was “very upset at not having autonomy, independence and control over his own department and the ability to do the job the way the job ... is traditionally done.” The source said he had heard nothing about any possible departure, but added: “The situation doesn’t seem to be getting any better, and in some respects appears to be getting worse.” R.C. Hammond, Tillerson’s spokesman, denied Tillerson was considering leaving or that his frustrations were boiling over, saying he had “plenty of reasons to stay on the job, and all of them are important to America.” “There’s a desperate need for American leadership in the world and that’s where the secretary’s focusing his attention,” he said. Tillerson scored a policy win last week when the administration certified, albeit reluctantly, that Iran was complying with the 2015 nuclear deal under which Tehran agreed to restrain its atomic program in exchange for sanctions relief. He was upset, however, by fierce internal criticism from Trump, as well as his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and White House aide Sebastian Gorka, over the decision, said another  U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.  “The secretary does not feel that White House staff members should be in a position to conduct hostile cross-(examinations) of Cabinet officials,” the official said.    Hammond disputed the account of harsh discord between Trump and Tillerson regarding recertifying the Iran nuclear deal, saying: “I don’t buy this whole thing that there are tensions. Developing public policy is about vetting out ideas,” he said. Following last month’s move by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to boycott Qatar, which they accuse of financing extremist groups and supporting terrorism, Tillerson publicly asked the nations to ease their blockade, and put the onus on both sides to end the crisis. Less than 90 minutes later, Trump accused Qatar of being a “high level” sponsor of terrorism and suggested he had helped plan the Qatar action with Arab leaders. “As a government we offered some confusing signals, but we’ve since been able to clear up and clarify that,” Hammond said. Politico reported last month that Tillerson was furious with Johnny DeStefano, the head of the presidential personnel office, for torpedoing proposed nominees to key State Department posts. Senior national security officials said McMaster was dismayed that his recommendations, backed by his senior director for Russia, Fiona Hill, about taking a tough stance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, had been ignored. Trump has questioned the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to try to help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. McMaster, a three-star Army general who once praised Trump as a “disruptive” figure, is also troubled by a protracted debate about sending more U.S. forces to help Afghanistan reverse gains by the Taliban, officials familiar with the matter told Reuters. Asked to respond to the characterizations of the views of McMaster and other officials, a White House official said: “Assertions not of fact but of state of mind in internal thought have no place in a story like this.”     While circumspect, Tillerson talked about the challenges of his new job earlier this month, telling reporters that it differed from his former role as chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp, where “I was the ultimate decision-maker. That always makes life easier.” “I knew what to expect and we had very long-standing disciplined processes and decision-making,” he said. “Those are not the characteristics of the United States government.”

Summary: ट्रम्प के प्रमुख विदेश नीति सहयोगियों के बीच अशांति के बुलबुलेः सूत्र


VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on Wednesday after which he condemned North Korea s missile testing and called for talks to try to resolve the crisis. Putin, speaking in the Russian Pacific port city of Vladivostok, said it was not possible to resolve the North Korean crisis with just sanctions and pressure alone. Pyongyang s nuclear and missile program was a flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions, said Putin.   Without political and diplomatic tools, it is impossible to make headway in the current situation; to be more precise, it is impossible at all,  Putin said at a joint news conference with his South Korean counterpart.

Summary: दक्षिण कोरिया के नेता से मुलाकात के बाद पुतिन ने उत्तर कोरिया संकट पर बातचीत का आह्वान किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump intends to sign a bill that imposes sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, the White House said in a statement late on Friday.

Summary: रूस पर प्रतिबंध लगाने वाले विधेयक पर हस्ताक्षर करेंगे ट्रंपः व्हाइट हाउस


PHOENIX (Reuters) - Embattled Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio, whose get-tough policies to fight illegal immigration and praise of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump brought him nationwide attention, trails his opponent in this year’s election by nearly 15 percentage points, according to a Thursday poll. The poll, conducted by The Arizona Republic/Morrison/Cronkite News, shows Democratic challenger Paul Penzone has the support of nearly 45.9 percent of those surveyed as he attempts to unseat the six-term Maricopa County sheriff. Arpaio garnered 31.1 percent. Roughly one-fifth of those surveyed said they were still undecided on the Nov. 8 race for the top law enforcement job in the state’s most populous county. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 5.6 percent. The poll was taken as federal prosecutors announced that the U.S. Justice Department would seek a criminal contempt charge against Arpaio for violating a court order in a 2007 racial profiling case. The charges center on unlawful traffic stops and detentions by deputies of Latino drivers for 18 months after the judge ordered them to cease. Arpaio, who has denied any intentional wrongdoing, has already been cited for civil contempt stemming from his actions in the case. Political observers have said prospects of a criminal prosecution for the 84-year-old hardline sheriff seem to have raised the ante in recent days in what already promised to be Arpaio’s sternest election test. Arpaio campaign manager Chad Willems disputed the poll results, saying that the campaign’s own survey has the sheriff leading Penzone by 7.5 points. “The recent ‘poll’ by the Arizona Republic is a complete joke,” said Willems in a statement to Reuters, adding that Democrats were disproportionately included in the survey’s sample size. “The numbers in NO way accurately depict the electorate of Maricopa County, Arizona,” he said. “Why they chose to conduct their survey this way is beyond any comprehension.” A Penzone campaign official could not immediately be reached for comment. Arpaio has continued to play on a national stage during his tenure as sheriff despite his legal battles. His calls for a crackdown on undocumented immigrants, opening a tent city to house inmates and making them wear pink underwear all have proved popular. He also has appeared for Trump, praising the Republican nominee’s border policies, including building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Summary: लंबे समय तक एरिजोना के शेरिफ रहे अर्पायो फिर से चुनाव लड़ने में पीछेः सर्वेक्षण


PRAGUE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police and spy chiefs from China to the Middle East, a Ukrainian oligarch and a former president of Panama are among the people a coalition of human rights groups wants targeted for sanctions under an expanded U.S. law aimed at curbing rights abuses and corruption worldwide. The coalition, in documents to be made public on Wednesday, submitted 15 cases to the U.S. State Department and U.S. Treasury, urging them to investigate using the law, called the  Global Magnitsky Act. The law, which then-President Barack Obama signed in December 2016, expands the scope of 2012 legislation that froze the assets of Russian officials and banned them from traveling to the United States because of their links to the 2009 death in prison of a whistleblower, Sergey Magnitsky.  The cases we have elected to highlight come from every region of the world, and involve horrific stories of torture, enforced disappearance, murder, sexual assault, extortion and bribery,  the coalition of 23 groups said in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The groups said their information came from first-hand accounts of victims and their attorneys, investigative journalism and reports by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). (here) Police chiefs, public prosecutors and heads of security services in Bahrain, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Central Asian countries where prisoners were tortured, executed or died in custody are on the list compiled by the groups, which are coordinated by Washington-based Human Rights First. Among them are Chinese Deputy Minister of Public Security Fu Zhenghua and Beijing s Municipal Public Security Bureau deputy head Tao Jing. The groups accuse the two officials of bearing  command responsibility  for actions of forces under their control in the torture and 2014 death of human rights activist Cao Shunli. Cao s lawyer has said she was denied medical treatment until she was seriously ill, which the Chinese government denies.  Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch indicted by a U.S. court in 2013 on bribery and other charges, is on the list. He denies wrongdoing and is fighting extradition from Austria.  Lanny Davis, an attorney for Firtash, in a statement said the allegations were false and that any sanctions  cannot be justified,  adding:  The constant repetition of false accusations on the Internet doesn t make them true.      Another target is former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli, who is jailed in Florida facing extradition to Panama on charges he conducted illegal surveillance and stole state funds while in office. Martinelli has repeatedly denied the charges. President Donald Trump, a Republican who did not stress global human rights as a foreign policy priority during his presidential campaign or early months in office, told Congress in April that he was committed to  robust and thorough implementation  of the Magnitsky law. His administration has yet to impose sanctions or travel bans under it, but an official said the process of identifying potential targets  is both internal and external. We have received nominations from multiple sources including the United States Congress and NGOs.   Evidence permitting, our objective is to leverage the global reach of this authority and pursue geographically diverse  tranches  of targets on an ongoing basis,  said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Acting on the recommendations could pose risks for Trump if targeted governments retaliated. Washington needs Beijing s help in pressuring North Korea to halt its missile and nuclear tests, for example. The original Magnitsky legislation strained relations between Moscow and Washington. Magnitsky, a tax accountant and lawyer, was arrested in 2008 shortly after accusing Russian officials of involvement in fraud, and died in prison nearly a year later while awaiting trial. William Browder, whose Russian hedge fund employed Magnitsky as a lawyer, spearheaded an international campaign to push through the original Magnitsky Act, which now covers 44 Russians. He said travel bans and asset freezes are effective.  It creates a very devastating consequence because people who thought they could act with absolute impunity no longer have that comfort,  Browder said. The human rights coalition also hopes that pressure from politicians such as Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, the authors of the original legislation and the update, will spur the Trump administration into action. McCain, in a statement to Reuters, said the role of NGOs is crucial, and envisioned under the new law.  I will continue working to ensure the administration enforces the law and utilizes this powerful tool to advance freedom and justice around the world,  he said. Rob Berschinski, a former Obama administration official who led the efforts at Human Rights First, said,  Our process is designed to assist the government, but also to remove any excuse around whether it has the ability to levy sanctions. Now the question is simply one of political will.  The Global Magnitsky Act requires the Trump administration to report to Congress by Dec. 10 on sanctions it has imposed under the law.

Summary: मानवाधिकार समूह नए अमेरिकी कानून के तहत वैश्विक स्तर पर पुलिस, जासूसी प्रमुखों को निशाना बनाते हैं


VINA DEL MAR, Chile (Reuters) - Chile expects to close an energy swap deal with Argentina in the days ahead, Chilean Energy Minister Andres Rebolledo said in an interview on Thursday, the latest example of increasing economic integration between the South American nations. The neighboring countries are also negotiating the locations for five additional transmission line interconnection points, with an agreement expected as early as January, the minister told Reuters.  We made a proposal to Argentina and we are very close to reaching an agreement,  Rebolledo said, referring to the energy swap.   I think we can have an agreement in the next couple of days or if not, over the next few weeks,  he added. Chile and Argentina share a 3,300-mile (5,300-kilometer) border running north to south along the rugged terrain of the Andes mountains. The deal would allow both countries to send natural gas or electricity at one point of the frontier and obtain needed supplies at another border point. In 2016, Chile exported 100 gigawatt-hours of electricity to Argentina and 361 million cubic meters of gas, worth nearly $100 million. The deal is the latest episode in a larger economic and diplomatic rapprochement between the neighboring South American countries that have often had frosty relations. Since conservative Argentine President Mauricio Macri came to power in 2015, the two nations have signed free trade deals and begun transporting gas between the nations, among several other measures. Rebolledo, who spoke with Reuters on the sidelines of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) meeting in the coastal city of Vina del Mar, said Chile and Argentina are planning to add five new electricity interconnection points in the coming years. For this, he said the countries commissioned studies with financial support from the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) to define the geographic points that would make the project most efficient.  In January we will probably have the result (of the study), with the map of the five main points where there is supply and demand on the other side, and where it is best to put the transmission lines,  he said. Chile is currently undergoing a broader transmission buildout. In August, Rebolledo told Reuters that the government hopes to have a formal proposal to pitch to investors for a line connecting northern Chile with southern Peru by the end of the current government in March.

Summary: एक्सक्लूसिवः चिली को जल्द ही अर्जेंटीना ऊर्जा अदला-बदली सौदा हासिल करने की उम्मीद है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday it opposes a bill from the U.S. House of Representatives that it said would undercut regulations aimed at requiring fast food and chain restaurants to disclose the calories in food they sell. But the White House stopped short of issuing a formal veto threat for the bill, which it said “would undercut the objective of providing clear, consistent calorie information to consumers.” Tackling the American obesity epidemic has been a signature issue for the White House and first lady Michelle Obama. The menu regulations, finalized by the Food and Drug Administration in 2014, require calories to be listed on menus and menu boards of certain chain restaurants with 20 or more locations, and on certain vending machines.

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस ने रेस्तरां में कैलोरी पर हाउस बिल का विरोध किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hackers are targeting state Democratic Party officials and have successfully breached and impersonated some of them, Politico reported, citing a message the Association of State Democratic Chairs sent Wednesday to its members. The email, titled “Security Alert: Please Do Not Search Wikileaks!,” warned recipients to avoid the anti-secrecy site — which has posted leaked material from the Democratic National Committee - because of concerns about malware embedded in the leaks, Politico said.

Summary: हैकर्स राज्य डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टी के अधिकारियों को निशाना बना रहे हैंः पोलिटिको


WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans rebuked him on Wednesday after his threat to shut down the U.S. government over funding for a border wall rattled markets and cast a shadow over congressional efforts to raise the country’s debt ceiling and pass spending bills. “I don’t think anyone’s interested in having a shutdown,” the top Republican in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, told reporters on Wednesday in Hillsboro, Oregon, where he visited an Intel factory.  Ryan said building a wall along the country’s border with Mexico to deter illegal immigration was necessary, but added that the government did not have to choose between border security and shuttering operations. Trump in a speech on Tuesday evening threatened a shutdown if Congress does not agree to fund constructing the wall, a signature promise of his presidential campaign, which added a new complication to Republicans’ months-long struggle to reach a budget deal. After Mexico rejected a chief part of Trump’s promise - that it would pay for the wall - the president said the United States would fund it initially and be repaid by its southern neighbor. Lawmakers, including many Republicans, have not made that funding a top priority, as some question if a wall is necessary. Congress will have about 12 working days when it returns on Sept. 5 from its summer break to approve spending measures to keep the government open, while also facing a looming deadline to raise the cap on the amount the government may borrow. Both are must-approve measures.  U.S. stocks and the dollar weakened and investors pivoted to the safety of U.S. Treasury securities on Wednesday after Trump's threat. The S&P 500 Index .SPX closed about 0.3 percent lower, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down by 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC slid 0.3 percent.  Ryan suggested Congress would need to approve a short-term extension, or continuing resolution, of current funding levels so that the Senate could have more time to pass a full spending bill. That would push the budget battle to later in the year and could in turn delay attempts at tax reform, another signature Trump campaign issue. Friction between Republicans and Trump has grown in recent months, with the president publicly castigating some party leaders, notably Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and expressing infuriation that Congress has not passed any significant legislation since his January inauguration. McConnell did not take a stand on the border wall issue on Wednesday. He said in a statement he and Trump were in regular contact and working together on a list of goals that included preventing a government default and funding government priorities “in the short and long terms.” “We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we are committed to advancing our shared agenda together and anyone who suggests otherwise is clearly not part of the conversation,” he said. A White House statement said Trump would hold “previously scheduled meetings” with McConnell once Congress returns to Washington and that Trump and McConnell “remain united on many shared priorities, including middle class tax relief, strengthening the military, constructing a southern border wall, and other important issues.” Congress frequently has to pass funding extensions for a few weeks or months while it hammers out a full budget. Occasionally lawmakers have enter a standoff over a single issue, delaying agreement and forcing a shutdown. The most recent closure, which spanned 15 days in October 2013, was over funding for the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. In opinion polls during and after that shutdown, voters loudly disapproved of the Republican Party, which controlled the House of Representatives at the time. Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the Republican chairman of a House Appropriations subcommittee, said Trump’s threatened move could backfire on the party. “When you control the presidency, the Senate and the House, you’re shutting down the government that you’re running. I don’t think it’s smart politically and I don’t think it would succeed practically,” he told Reuters in an interview.    The White House stressed on Wednesday that Trump would work with Congress to get funding for the wall.  “The president ran on it, won on it and plans to build it,” said White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom. The party’s conservative wing backed the president’s call for wall funding, with Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, telling Reuters any government shutdown would be caused by Senate Democrats. Representative Adam Kinzinger, a Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, however, the threat was  “dangerous for our role in the world as we’re talking to nations like Afghanistan to say: ‘Here’s how you govern yourself.’” He added it could also hurt financial markets’ confidence in the United States. “Trump saying he would be willing to shut down the government over the wall obviously doesn’t really inspire much confidence in anyone,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut.  The House passed a spending bill late last month that included funding for the wall. Republicans’ slim majority in the Senate means Democrats are needed to pass most legislation and they have opposed including border wall funding in any fiscal 2018 spending bill. Congress also must periodically raise the debt limit to keep the U.S. government borrowing and operating. Politicians sometimes take advantage of that need to push through policy or spending changes. The Treasury Department, already using “extraordinary measures” to remain current on its obligations, has said the debt limit must be raised by Sept. 29. Trump has asked Congress to extend the limit with a “clean” bill that excludes any other provisions. Credit ratings agency Fitch said on Wednesday it would review the U.S. sovereign debt rating, “with potentially negative implications,” if the debt limit is not raised in a timely manner.

Summary: साथी रिपब्लिकन ने सरकार को बंद करने की धमकी पर ट्रम्प को फटकार लगाई


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia urged “hot heads” to calm down on Friday as the United States admitted it felt “challenged” by North Korea’s warning that it could test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific and President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un traded more insults.  Trump called the North Korean leader a “madman” on Friday, a day after Kim dubbed him a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard” who would face the “highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history” in retaliation for Trump saying the U.S. would  “totally destroy” North Korea if it threatened the U.S. or its allies.    “We have to calm down the hot heads,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters at the United Nations, where world leaders gathered this week for the annual U.N. General Assembly. “We continue to strive for the reasonable and not the emotional approach...of the kindergarten fight between children.” U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed hope in an interview with ABC that sanctions and “voices from every corner of the world” could lead North Korea back to talks, but admitted intensifying rhetoric had left Washington “quite challenged.”  North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, warned on Thursday that Kim  could consider a hydrogen bomb test of an unprecedented scale over the Pacific. Ri, who is due to speak to the United Nations on Saturday, added that he did not know Kim’s exact thoughts. In response, Tillerson said U.S. diplomatic efforts would continue but all military options were still on the table. North Korea’s six nuclear tests to date have all been underground, and experts say an atmospheric test, which would be the first since one by China in 1980, would be proof of the  success of its weapons program. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington was taking Kim’s threat seriously and added that any atmospheric test would be a “game-changer.” But he said there were questions about North Korea’s technical capabilities and Washington did not give “too much credence” to Pyongyang taking such action. “There’s a certain amount of bluster that’s taken for granted when you’re dealing with North Korea,” the official told Reuters. Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3 and has launched dozens of missiles this year as it accelerates a program aimed at enabling it to target the United States with a nuclear-tipped missile. Lavrov on Friday again pushed a proposal by Moscow and Beijing for a dual suspension of North Korean weapons tests and the U.S.-South Korean military drills to kick-start talks. Lavrov suggested that a neutral European country could mediate.  He described the exchange of insults between the U.S. and North Korean leaders was “quite bad, unacceptable.” U.S. Treasury and gold prices rose while the Japanese yen strengthened on Friday as the exchange of barbs fueled geopolitical jitters and drove investors into assets considered safer during times of turmoil. The latest round of rhetoric began on Tuesday when Trump, in his first address to the United Nations, made the threat to destroy North Korea, a country of 26 million people. He also called Kim a “rocket man” on a suicide mission. “His remarks ... have convinced me, rather than frightening or stopping me, that the path I chose is correct and that it is the one I have to follow to the last,” Kim said in the statement carried by the North’s official KCNA news agency on Friday, promising to make Trump “pay dearly for his speech.” South Korea said it was the first direct statement of its kind by a North Korean leader. Japan, the only country to suffer an atomic attack, called the North Korean threat to conduct an atmospheric test “totally unacceptable”. Trump on Friday tweeted: “Kim Jong Un of North Korea, who is obviously a madman who doesn’t mind starving or killing his people, will be tested like never before.” The White House said on Friday that Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in had agreed to Seoul’s “acquisition and development of highly advanced military assets” and to increased deployment of U.S. strategic assets in and around South Korea on a rotational basis.” It did not name specific weapons systems. On Thursday Trump announced new U.S. sanctions that he said allows the targeting of companies and institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea. Then when asked if diplomacy was still a possible, he said: “Why not?” The additional sanctions on Pyongyang, including on its shipping and trade networks, showed Trump was giving more time for economic pressure to weigh on North Korea. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said banks doing business in North Korea would not be allowed to operate in the United States. KCNA also published rare criticism of official Chinese media, saying comments on North Korea’s nuclear program had damaged ties and suggested Beijing, its neighbor and only major ally, had sided with Washington. KCNA said Chinese media was “openly resorting to interference in the internal affairs of another country” and driving a wedge between the two countries. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said: “All relevant sides should exercise restraint and dedicate themselves to easing the situation rather than irritating each other.” The rhetoric has started to rattle some in other countries. French Sports Minister Laura Flessel said France’s team would not travel to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea if its security could not be guaranteed. The 2018 Games are to be staged in Pyeongchang, just 80 km (50 miles) from the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, the world’s most heavily armed border. (Corrects typographical error to ‘dual’ in paragraph 12.)

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया के बढ़ते तनाव से अमेरिका परेशान, रूस ने शांति बनाए रखने का किया आग्रह


TRENTON, N.D. (Reuters) - When Donald Trump laid out his plan this week to roll back U.S. environmental regulations to boost the ailing energy industry, it raised both the hopes and fears of the American Indians living near the heart of the country’s richest oil fields. The Republican presidential contender’s agenda, laid out at an oil industry conference on Thursday in North Dakota, could bring desperately needed jobs to depressed communities that have come to depend on the oil drilling industry, but could also trigger worse pollution of Indian lands.  “We would like to see more drilling,” said Gene McCowan, human resources director for the Trenton Indian Service Area, which governs the six counties in North Dakota and Montana where 2,600 Turtle Mountain Chippewa live.  “But we are caught in a bind because people are concerned about fracking and how that will affect the earth and water,” he said. The dilemma facing North Dakota’s American Indians represents the broader tensions at play in the U.S. presidential election between jobs and the environment, as Trump and his likely Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, clash over energy and climate change.  Trump on Thursday announced to a cheering crowd of roughly 7,700 people that he would sweep away initiatives by President Barack Obama to curb U.S. emissions and protect waterways from pollution, as ways to revive drilling and coal mining sectors that are in the middle of a steep downturn.  Clinton and her rival for the Democratic nomination, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, meanwhile, have advocated a sharp move away from fossil fuels toward cleaner energy sources to cut pollution and slow climate change. The split is felt sharply by the Chippewa, people who have been hard hit by both the global oil market crash since 2014, as well as the environmental impacts of the preceding drilling boom that spread drillpads and pipelines across the landscape. “Twenty percent of our people have been laid off or seen cuts in salaries and it’s going to get worse,” McCowan said, adding that he will likely support Trump as the best hope of reversing the crisis. Trenton is 14 miles southwest of oil boom town Williston. Until a year or so ago, locals were making $25-$30 an hour. Now, McCowan said, the number of people needing food stamps has risen 40 percent. Residents said Democratic candidate Sanders has the most to say about income inequality and Native Americans issues, but is also most likely to curb fossil fuel development, depriving people of what they see as their economic lifeline.  Trump could be a hard pill to swallow for other reasons, other Native Americans in North Dakota said. Ahead of his speech on Thursday, Nicole Robertson, a 41-year-old Cree Indian and communications strategist for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara nations - known as the Three Affiliated Tribes - tried to ask Trump if he would recognize tribal sovereignty when it comes to land where oil is produced. Trump said he would have to look into it.  She later interrupted Trump when he launched an attack on Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, repeatedly calling her “Pocahantas” - a reference to her claim she is part Native American. Robertson shouted out that his comments were “very offensive,” interrupting his news conference. She said afterward that she felt it was important that Native Americans be consulted on oil policy, both because of its economic importance and its environmental impacts. “A lot of opportunities have come with the boom in the Bakken region in North Dakota,” she said. “But we as indigenous people are original land stewards. It’s in our genes.” She did not say who she would vote for in the election.  American Indians make up around 5 percent of North Dakota’s population. Kenneth Hall, a tribal councilman for the Three Affiliated Tribes, said he was also rankled by Trump’s speech - even though it promised a much-needed economic revival. “We weren’t even mentioned by Mr. Trump ... and nearly a quarter of oil production in the state comes out of our reservation lands,” he said. He said the tribes requested a meeting with Trump ahead of his energy speech but that Trump’s team did not respond.

Summary: ट्रम्प का तेल समर्थक एजेंडा नॉर्थ डकोटा के भारतीयों के लिए दुविधा पैदा करता है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Thursday that Russia has a “long history” of interfering in elections, but that U.S. officials had never encountered activity like its efforts during the 2016 U.S. campaign. “The Russians have a long history of interfering in elections. Theirs and other people’s... This goes back to the 60s, from the heyday of the Cold War,” he testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee. However, he added, “I don’t think we’ve ever encountered a more aggressive or direct campaign to interfere in our election process than we’ve seen in this case.”

Summary: अमेरिकी खुफिया प्रमुख का कहना है कि 2016 के चुनाव में रूस की भागीदारी अभूतपूर्व है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department’s decision to name a special prosecutor to investigate Russia’s involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections could ease red-hot partisan tensions in Congress, Senator John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said on Wednesday. Cornyn, speaking to reporters immediately after ex-FBI Director Robert Mueller was named as the special prosecutor, also said the announcement could make it easier for the Senate to confirm President Donald Trump’s replacement of fired FBI Director James Comey and said former Senator Joe Lieberman would get widespread support among the 100 senators for confirmation, if he were to be nominated. (This version of the story corrects second paragraph to make clear that Lieberman has not been nominated)

Summary: विशेष अभियोजक के गठन से अमेरिकी कांग्रेस की पक्षपात को आसान बनाया गयाः सीनेटर कॉर्निन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A foreign policy adviser to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump confirmed his attendance at a meeting last month during which the Republican Party agreed to watered-down language in its support of Ukraine. J. D. Gordon, the adviser who previously served as a Pentagon spokesman, said that while he was present during the meeting at the Republican National Convention, he sat at a side table with staff and was not among the delegates charged with shaping the Ukraine platform. But one delegate in attendance, Diana Denman, said Gordon told her he was going to speak with Trump during the debate over the platform’s language on Ukraine, saying she believed Trump’s campaign played a direct role in softening the party’s support for Ukraine at a time of heightened tensions with Russia. The Trump campaign has denied it played any role in the weakening of the party’s position regarding Ukraine. Gordon called Denman’s version of events “inaccurate.”  Stephen Yates, co-chair of the national security subcommittee, confirmed that Trump campaign members were present at the meeting where Ukraine language for the RNC platform was discussed. But he said only delegates participated in the debate and denied the Trump campaign played any role in softening the Ukraine language. The details of the meeting in Cleveland have attracted scrutiny and raised questions about the Trump campaign’s stance toward Russia. Trump has said he would seek to build a closer relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, praising him as a stronger leader than U.S. President Barack Obama. In the last month, Trump has also suggested he might not defend NATO allies if they did not spend more on defense, appeared to invite Russia to hack the emails of Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and suggested he might accept Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Denman, a member of the platform committee’s national security subcommittee, said she proposed language that supported “providing lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine’s armed forces and greater coordination with NATO on defense planning.” That phrase was eventually changed to remove the reference to “lethal defensive weapons.” In the end, the platform, which serves as a largely symbolic statement of the party’s priorities, criticizes the Obama administration for encouraging a “resurgent Russia” and supports continued sanctions on Moscow and “appropriate assistance to the armed forces of the Ukraine” without specifying what that would involve. Yates said Denman could have reintroduced the amendment in the full committee meeting if she felt strong-armed in subcommittee. “I don’t have particular sympathy for delegates who chose not to avail themselves of the opportunity in full committee, and then start spinning yarn about how this came about,” he said. Denman said she stands by her account. Russia on Thursday announced it would conduct war games in the Black Sea, a day after Putin accused Ukraine of trying to provoke a conflict over Crimea.

Summary: यूक्रेन पर पार्टी की महत्वपूर्ण बैठक में शामिल हुए ट्रंप के सलाहकार


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia has tried to influence elections in at least “a couple dozen” countries, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Tuesday. Russia continues to be a bold actor in cyberspace across the globe, Clapper testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Summary: रूस ने 'कुछ दर्जन' देशों में चुनावों को प्रभावित करने की कोशिश की हैः अमेरिकी जासूसी प्रमुख


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for Army secretary, Mark Green, withdrew his name from consideration for the position, a White House official said on Friday. Green, who is the third Trump nominee for a service secretary position to withdraw, has faced criticism from rights groups and lawmakers over allegations about past comments regarding minorities as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, people.  In a statement, Green said “false and misleading attacks” had driven him to withdraw. “Tragically, my life of public service and my Christian beliefs have been mischaracterized and attacked by a few on the other side of the aisle for political gain,” he said. “While these false attacks have no bearing on the needs of the Army or my qualifications to serve, I believe it is critical to give the President the ability to move forward with his vision to restore our military to its rightful place in the world.” U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that Green’s decision to stand down was “good news for all Americans.” It was especially good for those “who were personally vilified by his disparaging comments directed toward the LGBTQ community, Muslim community, Latino community and more,” Schumer said. Green served in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment where he made three combat tours to the Middle East.

Summary: सैन्य सचिव पद के लिए ट्रम्प का चयन रद्दः अधिकारी


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the country’s security council on Friday and discussed keeping Russia’s air force presence in Syria following the U.S. missile strikes, the Kremlin said. “The meeting expressed deep concern about the unavoidable negative consequences stemming from the aggressive action for the fight against global terrorism,” it said in a statement. It added that the council had discussed keeping a Russian airforce presence in Syria to support the anti-terrorist operations of the Syrian army.

Summary: पुतिन, सुरक्षा परिषद ने सीरिया में रूसी वायु सेना की उपस्थिति बनाए रखने पर चर्चा की


WARSAW (Reuters) - After Britain decided to leave the European Union, Emilia Kos, a 31-year-old mother of three from Scunthorpe in eastern England, faced a choice of her own. She could visit her family in Poland once a year, or she could take a holiday abroad. The plunge in the value of the pound after the June 2016 referendum on EU membership meant she could only afford one.  That, coupled with a fear they are no longer welcome in Scunthorpe, persuaded her to move back to Poland last month, after nine years in Britain.  A weaker pound meant we had to choose between a holiday and a visit home,  Kos said at her new home in Wroclaw.  We can afford to live in Britain, but it isn t comfortable to have to tell your family that you won t come for Christmas because you want to go to Greece.  She is not alone. Families like hers that headed to Britain after the ex-communist states of eastern Europe joined the EU in 2004 increasingly are heading back. Economics are one reason. The local economies are booming and unemployment has dropped to record lows. But it s not the only factor.  Brexit was an official statement from the Brits: we don t want you here,  said Szymon Kudzma, a 33-year-old IT specialist who lives in Rushden in Northamptonshire, England. He plans to return to Poland before the end of the year, after 14 years in Britain.  For immigrants like him, the economic benefits of living in the west no longer outweigh a sense of alienation abroad and the hostility toward migrants in Britain. The roughly 800,000 Poles living there fuelled an emotive debate over immigration that helped the  Leave  side win the Brexit vote.  We could feel Brexit in the air for a long time,  said Kos, who lived in Lincolnshire, a relatively euro-sceptic part of Britain.   We felt pressure from the English. A friend of mine wasn t able to speak Polish at work ... Clients sometimes walked out of my partner s store when they learned he was Polish.  UK statistical data showed last month that net migration fell to its lowest in three years in the 12 months to the end of March. The biggest drop came from eight eastern European countries, including Poland and Hungary, that joined the EU in 2004 [nL8N1LA2BH]. In Poland, official data show fewer than 3,000 people registered with the authorities as emigrating to Britain in 2016, down from more than 7,000 in 2014. More than 3,000 Poles registered as returning last year.  We see very clearly that more and more Poles are coming back to Poland. Our analyses show that this trend has accelerated after the Brexit vote,  said Michal Brzezinski, chief executive at a Polish moving company, Clicktrans. In the first quarter of 2017, moves to Poland from abroad recorded by Clicktrans were almost three times greater than the moves from Poland abroad. In 2014, more Poles wanted to emigrate than return.  More than 80 percent of moves organized by Clicktrans so far this year between Poland and Britain were returns. Two years ago, the same number emigrated to Britain as came back. Many of the returnees say the economic calculations don t add up anymore, even if average wages in Poland are still a fraction of pay in Britain.  The wage gap has narrowed since 2004, unemployment is down to 7 percent from more than 20 percent, and Warsaw  conservative government introduced child subsidies in 2016.  Britain s decision to leave the EU has also improved employment prospects at home. London-based banks and other financial services are looking for new bases for some operations in countries that will remain in the EU, such as Poland.  I don t think our living standards will change significantly after we return,  said Kudzma, the IT specialist in Northamptonshire.  The IT sector is well-paid in Poland. Our wages will be smaller than in Britain, but the cost of living is lower. The balance should remain the same.  For many of the returnees, the pound s decline means their savings are dwindling or the help they send to families in Poland costs more. Sterling has lost 20 percent of its value against the zloty since the Brexit vote and 35 percent since Poland joined the EU, according to Reuters data.  For us, the worst thing is that we had already been thinking about going back, and the decline of the pound means we lost a lot of money,  said Monika, 35, an accountant living outside of Warsaw while on maternity leave from her UK employer.

Summary: डंडे ब्रिटेन में रहने के घटते आर्थिक लाभ को देखते हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress is struggling through another contentious week as infighting over defense spending, healthcare and other matters complicates the drive to pass a temporary spending bill by midnight on Friday to avert a partial government shutdown. In a week when President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress are hoping to celebrate the passage of tax overhaul legislation, many in the party showed little appetite for a government shutdown at week’s end. But they sounded resigned to having to navigate through some drama over a package that includes so many disparate components, which could make for a messy process. “I’m going to vote for whatever I need to, to keep the government open,” Republican Representative Chris Collins told reporters. The last time government agencies had to shut down because Washington could not pay its bills was in October 2013. Leading Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives expressed optimism that a funding bill, coupled with a large new disaster aid package, would pass by Friday’s deadline. But some were predicting that lawmakers would bump right up against the cutoff. The House could vote as soon as Wednesday on legislation that extends most funding for domestic programs through Jan. 19. Democrats are likely to mainly oppose the bill, arguing that their priorities are being ignored. Conservative Republicans are insisting on higher military funding through the rest of the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30 as part of the House bill. Democrats in the Senate are expected to block that formula if, as expected, it does not also have more money for non-defense programs. The House measure would also include $81 billion in disaster funding to help Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and several U.S. states recover from hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters. That price tag has made some Republicans uneasy. Some Republicans are also worried about a Senate strategy to add a bipartisan healthcare proposal to the government funding bill, in keeping with a promise Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made in order to coax Republican Senator Susan Collins to vote for the tax legislation. Conservative House Republicans do not like the bipartisan healthcare proposal because it would fund subsidies for low-income participants in the Obamacare health insurance program, and does not include language that restricts federal funds for abortion. McConnell’s promise to Collins “means squat over here,” said Representative Mark Walker, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest group of conservatives in the House. Some conservatives may vote against the funding bill in protest, he told reporters outside the House. The House bill also would extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program for five years. If Democrats continue to withhold their support for the stopgap spending bill and some Republicans peel off, Congress could find itself struggling to pass a bill as the clock ticks toward midnight on Friday.

Summary: कांग्रेस को सरकारी बंद से बचने के लिए मुश्किल रास्ते का सामना करना पड़ रहा है


SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc has turned over information about U.S. election ads it believes were bought by Russians to Robert Mueller, the special counsel in charge of investigating alleged Russian interference in last year’s election, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The information produced by Facebook included copies of advertisements and data about the buyers of the ads, the source said.

Summary: फेसबुक ने अमेरिकी विशेष सलाहकार को चुनाव विज्ञापन डेटा दियाः सूत्र


MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that anti-Russian forces in the West were trying to destroy progress made in Syrian peace talks with Moscow’s help. Russia, along with Iran and Turkey, has promoted a separate track of Syrian peace talks in Kazakhstan.

Summary: मास्को का कहना है कि पश्चिम सीरिया वार्ता में रूस की मध्यस्थता से हुई प्रगति को पूर्ववत करने की कोशिश कर रहा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Marco Rubio denied a report on Sunday that a high-profile endorsement by former Republican White House nominee Mitt Romney is on the horizon. The Huffington Post reported that Romney was scheduled to throw his backing behind the U.S. senator from Florida in the 2016 White House race, Rubio called the reports untrue and said no endorsement was forthcoming. “That report is false,” Rubio said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I don’t know where those reports are coming from.” Romney has previously said he would not endorse a candidate until the party’s nominee had been selected.  A source familiar with the former Massachusetts governor’s thinking told Reuters that Romney’s stance on an endorsement  remains unchanged.   (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Alison Williams) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.

Summary: रूबियो ने व्हाइट हाउस में रोमनी के समर्थन की खबरों का खंडन कियाः सीएनएन


JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia s speaker of parliament, who was arrested last week over his alleged role in a $170 million graft case, has sent a letter from his cell to house leaders pleading to be allowed to keep his job while he fights the charges. Setya Novanto, who has denied wrongdoing, is being held for 20 days for questioning by Indonesia s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). He made the request in a letter handwritten in his holding cell that was released to the media late on Tuesday. The KPK is investigating state losses of about $170 million after allegations that sums ranging from $5,000 to $5.5 million, generated by marking up procurement costs for national electronic ID cards, were divided up among politicians in parliament.  I ask other parliament leaders to give me an opportunity to prove that I wasn t involved,  Novanto wrote.   And in the meantime do not organize an ethics council plenary session on the possibility of making me non-active either as parliament speaker or as a member of parliament.  Novanto, also chairman of Golkar, Indonesia s second-largest party and a partner in the ruling coalition, is one of the most senior politicians to be detained by the KPK, which is popular among Indonesians for targeting members of the establishment suspected of abuse of power.  His battle with the graft agency has gripped Indonesia, where newspapers have splashed the story on front pages and memes mocking him have circulated on social media. He has clung to power through several previous corruption cases and repeatedly missed summonses for questioning by the agency in recent months, saying he needed heart surgery. Novanto was named a suspect on Nov. 10 again after using a controversial legal maneuver to get earlier charges dropped last month. In another letter, addressed to Golkar, Novanto said  there has been no discussion of me temporarily or permanently stopping as chairman of Golkar . In that letter he nominated Idrus Marham to serve as acting chairman of the party. Novanto s lawyer, Fredrich Yunadi, told Reuters it was up to parliament and party officials to decide if he should keep his posts, but he was confident that his client would win his case.    We have strong proof (and) in every court we always win,  Yunadi said. Asked if he was concerned about the strength of evidence against Novanto, KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said:  From the beginning the KPK has had strong evidence, and the two people we have put on trial already (in this case) have been found guilty even up to an appeal stage.

Summary: गिरफ्तार इंडोनेशियाई संसद के अध्यक्ष ने अपनी नौकरी बनाए रखने की गुहार लगाई


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican officials on Friday defended the process for selecting delegates who will choose the party’s presidential nominee, denying a barrage of accusations from front-runner Donald Trump that it is a rigged system aimed at subverting him.Front-runner Trump has skewered the party during the past week because of rules he has lambasted as “crooked” and said the Republican National Committee “should be ashamed of themselves.” The New York billionaire moved from his preferred platforms of Twitter and television interviews to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece on Friday to air his views on the delegate-selection rules, which vary from state to state. “What we are seeing now is not a proper use of the rules, but a flagrant abuse of the rules,” Trump wrote. The RNC has stood by its process and the friction between party officials and Trump has increased all week. Without mentioning Trump by name, the party released a statement on Friday outlining the delegate selection process in states with upcoming contests - plans it said have been in place since October. “The rules surrounding the delegate selection have been clearly laid out in every state and territory and while each state is different, each process is easy to understand for those willing to learn it,” the party statement said. “It ultimately falls on the campaigns to be up to speed on these delegate rules.” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus emphasized each state writes its own rules.  “The complaining that goes on is something that I think probably distracts from what we really need to do, which is come together as Republicans,” Priebus said on NBC’s “Today” program. Trump is leading among the three Republicans seeking the party’s nomination for the Nov. 8 election to oppose either former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side. The real estate mogul must win 1,237 delegates to clinch the nomination before the party’s July 18-21 convention in Cleveland. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz is trying to block Trump from reaching that number on the first round of ballot voting in hopes of triggering a contested convention. That could allow Cruz, Ohio Governor John Kasich or another last-minute entrant to win the Republican nominee. Trump has blasted such a scenario. “The political insiders have had their way for a long time,” he said in the Journal, posted online Thursday. “Let 2016 be remembered as the year the American people finally got theirs.”

Summary: रिपब्लिकन पार्टी ने कहा कि प्रतिनिधियों की शिकायतें 'विचलित करने वाली' हैं


BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi described the Kurdistan region s planned referendum on independence as  unconstitutional  on Tuesday, hours after parliament voted against the regional plebiscite.  I call upon the Kurdish leadership to come to Baghdad and conclude a dialogue,  Abadi said at a news conference.

Summary: इराक के प्रधानमंत्री अबादी ने कुर्द स्वतंत्रता जनमत संग्रह को 'असंवैधानिक' बताया


WACHAKAL, Nigeria (Reuters) - When millions of people in northeast Nigeria faced hunger and attacks by Islamist militant group Boko Haram in March 2016, the government acted: it decided to spend $1.4 million cutting down weeds around the village of Wachakal in order to stop flooding. Six months later, many of the weeds had grown back and 317 million naira (at the time $1.04 million) had been transferred from the company hired to destroy them to a firm founded by the government official in charge of dispensing aid, according to a Nigerian Senate report. The report, written by a committee of lawmakers from Nigeria s upper chamber of parliament, concluded that companies that received contracts for projects including the weeding from a government body overseen by the official, Babachir Lawal, transferred a total of 500 million naira (worth around $2.2 million) to the firm he set up. The report publicly called for a criminal investigation into the payments. Central to the probe was whether Lawal was involved in a suspected kickback scheme to divert aid money intended for the volatile northeast. The committee said the scheme involved inflating the value of contracts to enrich Lawal and his associates. The report did not provide evidence to show why it believed costs had been enlarged. Lawal, 62, is an ally of President Muhammadu Buhari and one of his first appointments. In a written statement responding to Reuters  questions, Lawal denied wrongdoing and said he had been the victim of a Senate witch-hunt. The United Nations has warned that northeast Nigeria is gripped by one of the world s worst humanitarian crises. Boko Haram has burned down homes, destroyed livelihoods and killed thousands of people. Refugees living in camps complain of starvation and disease, while soldiers and police have been accused of rape. A Reuters review of the Senate report s findings shows how two pillars of Buhari s presidency - restoring stability in the northeast and fighting corruption - may have been undermined by the alleged misappropriation of aid money and food. The review draws upon documents detailing bank transfers and corporate records, visits to aid projects and interviews with senior politicians, diplomats and humanitarian workers. The final Senate report, published in May, recommended that Lawal be prosecuted for allegedly flouting procurement rules and breaking his oaths of office. He was suspended in April pending a presidential investigation launched after the Senate s findings first surfaced in an earlier draft of the report. The investigation into Lawal, ordered by Buhari, was headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who delivered his findings to the president on Aug. 22.  The president has to look at the report, study it and then make his own decisions,  Osinbajo said, without saying what was in the presidential investigation report. Buhari s office referred Reuters to the vice president s comments. Despite Buhari s vows to fight corruption, no major figures have been convicted so far. Boko Haram, who have killed around 20,000 people since 2009, have been pushed back in some areas yet continue to launch attacks, while millions of people in the northeast rely on some form of aid. Shehu Sani, who chaired the Senate committee that produced the report, said overall losses to suspected corruption in various forms in the northeastern humanitarian crisis in recent years had not been determined due to the probe s specific remit and factors that restricted its scope. He said the Senate investigation was limited by the timeframe examined, as it focused on government aid spending since the current administration took office in May, 2015. Sani also said some government agencies had refused to cooperate, access to bank account details was limited and the use of international donor funds was not investigated.  We can say, conservatively, that over 10 billion naira ($33 million) of monies that were supposed to go to the IDPs (internally displaced persons) were misappropriated or unaccounted for, or misused from different segments of the Nigerian government,  Sani told Reuters. He said he was referring to all forms of corruption related to funds involving Nigerian humanitarian aid dating back around three years, and not just allegations involving Lawal. He declined to elaborate further. The humanitarian crisis began in 2014. Nigeria s then-president, Goodluck Jonathan, set up the Presidential Initiative on the Northeast (PINE) to provide emergency assistance to communities and foster economic growth in the region. PINE had problems from the outset. According to a 2014 internal PINE presentation prepared by the then-chairman for the group s committee, a pilot scheme sent 51 food trucks to Borno state and 10 to Gombe state; none arrived. After he became president in 2015, Buhari made Lawal Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) - Nigeria s top civil servant. Through PINE, Lawal oversaw millions of dollars of aid. The Senate report alleges that most aid contracts in 2016 did not help the needy. Instead, inflated contracts  were awarded to companies belonging to top government officials  cronies and close associates . It said a company called Rholavision Engineering Limited, which describes itself as  Information and Communication Technology Engineers & Consultants  and was founded by Lawal in 1990, was where money for companies that were awarded contracts by PINE came to first. In his statement, Lawal said he relinquished ties with Rholavision on Aug. 27, 2015, four days before being sworn in as SGF. But company registry records show he did not resign as a director until Sept. 8, 2016. In addition, a signed letter from Lawal to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) dated Sept. 16, 2016 - contained in the appendices of the Senate report - said he wished to relinquish his shares in Rholavision.  That can t be true,  said Lawal in a text message when asked about the apparent discrepancy.  This is forged,  he said, when sent a picture of the letter to CAC. He declined to elaborate. Rholavision declined to comment.  In March and August 2016, PINE awarded two contracts to cut weeds and improve irrigation in riverside communities in the northeastern state of Yobe. For some 30 years, the weeds had caused farmland to flood and prevented people from fishing. The contracts, worth a combined total of 531 million naira, were granted to Josmon Technologies Ltd. The first contract,  awarded in March 2016, was for 273 million naira - at the time worth $1.4 million. The second contract was awarded to Josmon in August 2016. Nigeria s naira currency lost around a third of its value two months earlier, so the 258 million naira contract was then worth some $845,000. Rholavision, the company founded by Lawal, received a contract for a consultancy role in the weed-cutting project. The 7.1 million naira contract was awarded in March 2016 when that sum was equivalent to $36,040. Some work was done. Ali Dodo, a farmer in Wachakal, told Reuters that he and others cut weeds around the Komadugu-Yobe river over a month-long period from August 2016. He said contractors paid them 2,500 naira a day. Reuters was unable to determine how much was spent on the work in total. Bank records, however, show that Josmon Technologies paid 317 million naira to Rholavision between March and September 2016. Monday John Apeh, a Josmon director, told Reuters that  Josmon has no relationship with Mr Babachir Lawal . In a text message, he said Josmon struggled to finance the PINE contract because the company had been experiencing financial difficulties and would only be paid when the work was complete. That  led us to borrow money from Rholavision s MD , he said. Josmon said 195 million naira ($637,359) of the 317 million naira it sent to Rholavision was to repay that loan. Apeh declined to comment on what happened to the remaining 122 million naira. Lawal said in his statement:  These purely business transactions between the companies cannot be classified as bribes.  Dodo, the local farmer, said weeds started growing back within six months. Despite numerous setbacks, Nigeria s government is trying to reboot aid efforts. Buhari replaced PINE with the Presidential Committee on the Northeast Initiative last October. In June, the government promised to distribute 30,000 tonnes of grain to people displaced by Boko Haram, after saying more than half of food aid previously dispatched had gone missing. Zainab Ahmed, who heads Nigeria s Inter-Ministerial Task Force on the Humanitarian Response in the Northeast, told Reuters the deliveries would now be guarded by soldiers. Coordination between agencies  is not perfect but it has improved a great deal and is getting better,  she said.

Summary: खरपतवारों मेंः कैसे शीर्ष अधिकारी नाइजीरियाई सहायता घोटाले में उलझ गए