BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ride-hailing app Uber [UBER.UL] said on Monday it was joining a global public transport association to improve mobility in the cities it operates in, although North America s largest public transit union said there was no place for the U.S. company. Uber s move to join the International Association of Public Transportation (UITP) is part of a drive by Uber to improve its relationships with local authorities after a series of regulatory and legal setbacks. UITP represents public transport providers around the world, including Transport for London (TfL) - which in September stripped Uber of its operating license. Scandal-hit Uber has just had to reassure authorities it is changing the way it does business after the disclosure of a massive data breach cover-up that has prompted investigations from regulators around the world. Andrew Salzberg, Uber s head of transportation policy and research, said aligning the company with public transport authorities was a good way to make Uber a better partner for cities. Uber, currently valued at $69 billion, has been testing a more collaborative approach to regulators under its new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in a shift away from a more aggressive culture under former CEO Travis Kalanick.  One of the big emphases that Dara has made ... is that we want to be better partners for the cities we operate in,  Salzberg said. Uber said it would work on a series of training sessions with UITP aimed at connecting people better with public transport. Salzberg said the company also wanted to help reduce congestion on roads by encouraging people to move to shared modes of transport. Alain Flausch, secretary general of UITP, said Uber s decision to join the association was a sign that the company wanted a better relationship with regulators. Flausch said he had told members of UITP that he would check the company stuck to its promises.  It s a work in progress and having Uber join is a good sign. Of course they keep their business model but ... they need to be a bit more flexible and open to talking,  he told Reuters. However, Larry Hanley, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), which represents public transit employees in the United States and Canada, said Uber should start being a better partner to the cities it operates in by  paying a living wage to their drivers who call those cities home.   Public transportation should serve the public good, and until Uber demonstrates that they meet that standard they have no business being a part of the International Association of Public Transport,  Hanley said.

Summary: उबर ने वैश्विक सार्वजनिक परिवहन संघ के साथ हाथ मिलाया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has underscored Washington’s intent to strengthen ties with Australia, Japan and South Korea, the State Department said on Tuesday, a move aimed at reassuring allies unnerved by the campaign rhetoric of new  President Donald Trump. In separate calls with counterparts from the three long-time allies, they agreed to work closely to tackle threats from North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and increased tensions in the East and South China seas, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, “Secretary Tillerson reiterated the Administration’s intent to strengthen our military alliances, our economic partnerships, and our diplomatic cooperation,” he said in a statement. Tillerson expressed interest in early meetings with his counterparts “and expressed his deep respect for their nations’ contributions to regional security, global prosperity, democratic institutions, and the rule of law,” it said. The calls come at a time of raised concerns in the Asia-Pacific about Trump’s attitude to the region. During his election campaign, Trump appeared to question  U.S. alliances with Tokyo and Seoul and complained that they were not sharing enough of the cost of the U.S. security umbrella. Trump has also criticized Japan’s trade policies as damaging to U.S. jobs. More recently ties with Australia were strained after details of an acrimonious phone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull emerged and the former described a deal between the two nations on refugee resettlement as “dumb.” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is due to visit Washington for a two-day summit with Trump from Friday that is expected to focus on security ties in the face of a rising China and trade. Earlier on Tuesday, Japan’s Kyodo news agency quoted Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida as saying that Tillerson had confirmed that a long-standing commitment by Washington to defend Japanese territory applies to the Senkakus, a group of small islands that China claims and calls the Diaoyus. The State Department declined to comment on the Kyodo report but U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reaffirmed America’s commitment to its mutual defense treaty with Japan on Friday when he met Abe in Tokyo and in a call with Abe in late January. Trump said the U.S. security commitment was “ironclad. Turnbull’s leadership was questioned after he was berated by  Trump and an opinion poll published on Monday showed support for his coalition had slipped to its lowest level since he took power 17 months ago and that his Liberal-National coalition would easily fall if an election were held now.

Summary: टिलरसन ने ऑस्ट्रेलिया, जापान, दक्षिण कोरिया के साथ बातचीत में सहयोग पर जोर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives could not agree to the latest Republican bill on Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, but the two sides should be able to produce a deal within a few days, the top House Democrat said on Wednesday. “We were disappointed that the bill we saw yesterday wasn’t something we could support, and so another few days of back and forth I think will produce something that we can take to the floor,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters. “I’m hoping maybe by Friday, so that we can have something for next week,” she added.

Summary: शीर्ष सदन डेमोक्रेट को कुछ दिनों में प्यूर्टो रिको विधेयक पर आंदोलन की उम्मीद है


SARAJEVO (Reuters) - In the 1990s he was the burly, brash general leading nationalist Bosnian Serbs towards a seemingly sweeping victory in Bosnia s war. Two decades later, he was reduced to an ailing old man trying in vain to delay judgment for genocide in a U.N. court. On Wednesday, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted Ratko Mladic, 74, in one of the highest profile war crimes cases since the post-World War Two Nuremberg trials of Germany s Nazi leadership.  Radovan Karadzic, political leader of Bosnia s Serbs in the 1992-95 war, and Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who armed and funded Bosnian Serb forces, were tried on the same charges. The ICTY convicted Karadzic in 2016 and jailed him for 40 years. Milosevic died in his cell in 2006 before his trial ended.  Defiant until the close of his five-year trial, Mladic  desperately tried to postpone the verdict. His lawyers persistently accused the ICTY of denying him proper medical care. They asked for him to be treated in Serbia or Russia, but were rebuffed. Prosecutors demanded a life sentence for the man who critics called the  Butcher of Bosnia . His lawyers called for his acquittal and release, arguing he never approved mass killings of Muslim or Croat civilians in Bosnia s vicious, often neighbourhood war and was a victim of Western anti-Serb bias.  Mladic said he wanted to be remembered as a defender of Serbs in a struggle for survival against Muslims dating back centuries, and made urgent by a Muslim-Croat vote for Bosnia s independence from Serbian-led Yugoslavia in 1992.  I am General Ratko Mladic. The whole world knows who I am,  he told a pre-trial hearing in 2011.  I am here defending my country and people, not Ratko Mladic.     Mladic was charged with genocide for the slaughter of 8,000 unarmed Bosnian Muslim men and boys rounded up in the town of Srebrenica, and his forces  43-month-long siege of Sarajevo in which thousands of civilians were killed by artillery, mortar, tank and sniper fire from the rugged hills ringing the capital. From the time of his ICTY indictment in mid-1995, before the war ended, it took 17 years to bring him to trial in The Hague - a testament to the loyalty he inspired among Serbs who helped conceal him and to the resilience of their nationalist cause. But as Serbia evolved after Bosnia s war from authoritarian rule to democracy seeking integration with the European Union, Mladic lost his sanctuary. When Serbian police acting on an ICTY arrest warrant finally traced Mladic to a cousin s farmhouse in May 2011, they found a penniless, shambling and ill old man. The son of a World War Two Yugoslav partisan killed in 1945, Mladic was a general in the old communist Yugoslav People s Army (JNA) when the multinational Balkan republic began to disintegrate in 1991 with the secession of Slovenia and Croatia. When Bosnia s Serbs rose up in response to a referendum for independence by Muslims and Croats, Mladic took over Belgrade s forces in Bosnia which swiftly overran 70 percent of the country with a combination of daring, ruthlessness and brutality. Serb paramilitaries entered the conflict with a campaign of murder, rape, mutilation and expulsion mainly against Bosnian Muslims. Dozens of towns were besieged with heavy weapons and villages were burned down as 22,000 U.N. peacekeeping troops stood by more or less helplessly, with orders not to take sides. Mladic had a cameraman film the blitz of the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica, showing him bronzed and fit at 53, extolling his  lads  and haranguing hapless Dutch U.N. peacekeepers who took his soldier s word that the inhabitants would be safe. Instead, 8,000 of them were systematically executed in a massacre that took several days in July 1995. TV footage showed Mladic asserting that he had  liberated  Srebrenica and gifted it to Serbs as revenge against  Turks  who ruled the region when it was part of the Ottoman Empire.   Muslim men and boys were separated from women, stripped of identification then shot. The dead were bulldozed into mass graves. The remains were later dug up and hauled away in trucks to be better hidden from the world in more remote mass graves. Over 6,900 victims have since been identified by DNA tests. The massacre was the grim culmination of a 3-1/2-year conflict in which the beefy general had pounded Sarajevo daily with the entire Bosnian Serb arsenal, killing over 11,000 people, until local sports fields were overflowing with graves. His goal, ICTY prosecutors said, was ethnic cleansing - the forcible extermination or expulsion of Muslims, Croats and other non-Serbs to clear Bosnian lands for a  Greater Serbia . Prosecutors said it was a conspiracy in which Mladic and Karadzic were aided, armed and abetted by Milosevic. Only a combination of Western pressure and covert American arms and training for Croats and Muslims turned the tide in 1995 against Mladic s army, ultimately depriving it of equipment and fuel supplies from Serbia. NATO air strikes did the rest. He spent only half his time at large as a hunted fugitive. Even after Milosevic fell to a pro-democracy uprising in 2000, Mladic remained well protected in various Belgrade apartments until 2005. He received treatment at a top military hospital. Sporadic sightings put him at a Belgrade horse race or soccer match.  When finally arrested in the shabby rural farmhouse, he put up no resistance. His right arm was lame, the apparent result of an untreated stroke.  His trial had to be delayed over and over because of his shaky health. Yet in court, Mladic grinned as a judge read out the charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Srebrenica massacre survivors attending one hearing were shocked when he made a throat-slitting gesture towards a Muslim woman who had lost her husband, son and several brothers. In 2014, he refused to give evidence in support of old ally Karadzic, calling the tribunal a  satanic court .  When the time finally came on Wednesday to face judgment, Mladic delayed proceedings, first by taking a bathroom break and undergoing a blood pressure test at his request, then screaming  This is all lies, you are all liars  on returning to the court. He was hustled out of the chamber, and the tribunal announced he had been convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity. Mladic will appeal against the verdict, his lawyer said. Even with his conviction on Wednesday, Mladic s trial is unlikely to further post-war reconciliation in Bosnia. The U.S.-brokered Dayton Accords of 1995 halted the bloodshed by dividing Bosnia into a semi-autonomous Serb Republic entity and a Bosniak-Croat Federation. This did not heal ethnic splits or prevent a resurgence of Serb separatism. Most Bosnian Serbs remain convinced that Mladic is innocent, and that the tribunal is utterly biased against them. Of the 83 defendants the ICTY has convicted, over 60 of them are Serbs.  I am a very old man ... and I am not important,  Mladic  told the tribunal.  It matters what kind of legacy I will leave behind, among my people.

Summary: एक बार विजयी बोस्नियाई सर्ब कमांडर म्लादिक कमजोर नरसंहार प्रतिवादी बन गया


UNITED NATIONS/HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba urged the United States on Friday to cooperate with its investigation into incidents that the U.S. says have harmed its diplomats in Havana and not to politicize the matter, days after Washington said it was considering closing its Cuban embassy. In an address to the United Nations General Assembly, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the top level of the government in Havana had ordered an investigation into the mysterious matter, which threatens the fragile detente between the old Cold War foes. However, a Cuban government source told Reuters that the United States had provided no evidence of the harm, including hearing loss, dizziness and nausea, that it says U.S. diplomats and their relatives based in Havana have suffered. Cuban doctors had also not been allowed to examine anyone, the source said. A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Havana declined to comment.  The investigation to clarify this issue continues, and in order to be able to arrive to a conclusion, it will be crucial to count on the cooperation of the U.S. authorities,  Rodriguez told the U.N.  It would be unfortunate if a matter of this nature is politicized,  said Rodriguez. Cuba has denied any involvement in the affair. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was among five Republican senators that a week ago called for U.S. President Donald Trump to retaliate against Cuba by expelling its diplomats and possibly shuttering the U.S. embassy in Havana. Rubio helped forge Trump s new Cuba policy, rolling back parts of the detente achieved under Democratic former President Barack Obama and taking a harder line on the Communist-run island. Cuba s state-run media this week said the only party interested in a deterioration in relations were a small group of Republicans led by Rubio. The U.S. government in August first officially confirmed they were investigating the incidents it said began in late 2016. Several Canadians were also affected, a Canadian official said, further deepening the mystery. The last incident to affect a U.S. citizen occurred late in August, bringing the number of those with symptoms to 21, a U.S. State Department official said last week. Some of those had returned home for testing and treatment, the U.S. official said, while others had been tested in Cuba, where the embassy has a fulltime medical officer. Investigations by Cuba, the United States and Canada have yet to come up with any answers. Experts agree it is hard to see how any attacks could have been carried out or what the motivation could be. Theories abound, from surveillance technology gone awry to a sophisticated acoustic weapon in the hands of Cuban-American exiles or third-party state actors such as Russia, Iran or North Korea, but most flounder. Audiologists for example have raised doubt over the possibility of whether any sonic weapon exists that can be used covertly to bring about the range of symptoms mentioned by diplomats.

Summary: क्यूबा ने अमेरिका से राजनयिकों को नुकसान पहुँचाने के आरोपों का राजनीतिकरण नहीं करने का आग्रह किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump s U.S. Middle East peace negotiator Jason Greenblatt will return to Israel next week for talks related to the peace efforts, a senior administration official said on Friday. The trip is Greenblatt s first to the region since Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel s capital, which created an international uproar. Greenblatt, whose title is special representative for international negotiations, will meet with Fernando Gentilini, the European Union s special representative to the Middle East and stay for U.S. Vice President Mike Pence s trip to Israel later in the week, the official said.

Summary: जेरूसलम की घोषणा के बाद ट्रंप के सहयोगी ग्रीनब्लैट इजरायल के लिए रवाना


LONDON (Reuters) - Nigeria s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who has served as acting president for much of this year, said on Monday he had not given any thought to contesting the country s next presidential election in 2019. Nigeria has faced heightened uncertainty over whether President Muhammadu Buhari plans to contest the next election. Buhari, 74, took power in 2015 but has been absent for much of this year due to illness.  Osinbajo, a 60-year-old law professor, served as acting president during Buhari s absences, succeeding in calming tensions in the oil-producing Delta region and pushing small steps to improve the business climate, including foreign currency reforms. Some business leaders say he could provide stability by running for president himself in Feb 2019. Asked at the FT Africa Summit in London if he had considered running, Osinbajo said he hadn t thought about it, adding:  None of that is on the cards . Osinbajo also said that militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta region no longer posed a significant threat to oil production.  He said Nigeria had lost as much as 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production last year amid militant attacks on oil and gas infrastructure, which is concentrated in the southern Delta region. It was now pumping roughly 1.85 million bpd and climbing toward 2 million bpd. That is closer to its top production of around 2.2 million bpd.   Still, he added that Nigeria needed to diversify its oil-dependent economy and take advantage of the resource while it was still in high demand.   We don t have all the time in the world with oil,  he said.  We have to use oil while it makes sense to do so.

Summary: नाइजीरिया के उपराष्ट्रपति ओसिनबाजो का कहना है कि राष्ट्रपति पद के लिए चुनाव लड़ना 'कार्ड पर' नहीं है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two prominent Republican lawmakers from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday proposed short-term measures to stabilize Obamacare health insurance markets that would compete with bipartisan legislation under discussion in the Senate. The proposal outlined by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Republican Representative Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, includes provisions to suspend requirements for individuals and employers to buy health coverage under former President Barack Obama’s healthcare law. The recommendations appear to address many of the Trump administration’s objections to a short-term fix drafted by senators Lamar Alexander, a Republican, and Patty Murray, a Democrat. Democrats are likely to oppose such changes as undermining the viability of Obamacare’s subsidized insurance market for individuals. Like the bipartisan proposal, the Hatch-Brady fix would reinstate billions of dollars in subsidy payments to insurers that Trump jettisoned earlier this month. Insurers say they had to raise monthly premium rates by 20 percent on average for 2018 to account for the lost subsidies, but could reduce consumers costs if they are restored. “It is encouraging to see a growing consensus that Congress should fund the cost-sharing reduction payments for two more years,” Alexander said in response. But the Hatch-Brady legislation would also repeal the individual mandate, or requirement that everyone purchase health insurance or else pay a fine, from 2017 to 2021. It would retroactively repeal the employer mandate from 2015 to 2017 and introduce restrictions on abortion that have yet to be detailed.  Health industry experts and Democrats say the individual and employer mandates are critical to making Obamacare work.  Murray called on the Senate to move forward with the deal she has worked on with Alexander “and move away from partisan dysfunction on healthcare,” which she said could take health coverage away from millions of people.  The Alexander-Murray bill is expected to have the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate, but it is not clear whether it could find enough support in the House. President Donald Trump initially expressed support for the deal, but has since insisted it include more far-reaching provisions toward repealing Obamacare.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन सांसदों ने अधिक रूढ़िवादी ओबामाकेयर सुधार का प्रस्ताव रखा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The conservative House Freedom Caucus threatened on Wednesday to block a fiscal 2018 budget resolution vital to tax reform, unless Republican leaders release a plan that slashes U.S. corporate taxes and doubles the standard deduction for individuals.    The demand from the hardline group could escalate infighting that has prevented Republicans in the House of Representatives from agreeing on a spending blueprint for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. With about three dozen members, the Freedom Caucus can stymie any legislation in the Republican-controlled House.  Passing a budget resolution is vital to the success of a  Republican tax overhaul effort because it would allow a bill to pass the 100-seat Senate with only a simple majority. Otherwise, the legislation would require 60 votes in a chamber where Republicans have only 52 seats. The Freedom Caucus also repeated a call for the House to remain in session during August, saying lawmakers should also address healthcare and an increase in the federal debt ceiling rather than head home to their districts. Budget negotiations have bogged down over the group’s efforts to include more than $200 billion of cuts to mandatory spending programs over a decade in any budget resolution, a move opposed by Republican moderates.  President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have promised to deliver a tax reform package this year. But the House budget squabble and hurdles facing healthcare legislation in the Senate have begun to worry business lobbyists about the prospects for success. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter on Wednesday to Senate Republicans calling for tax cuts and other policy changes it said would make businesses more competitive at home and abroad.   “If a budget is put forth today, at $200 billion in mandatory spending and without decisions on tax reform, there would not be enough votes to pass it in the House,” the Freedom Caucus chairman, Representative Mark Meadows, told a news conference. In comments that paralleled a White House plan released in April, Meadows said tax reform should set a 16 percent corporate tax rate and double the standard deduction for individuals who do not itemize. Trump has called for a 15 percent corporate tax rate, versus the current 35 percent rate.  Freedom Caucus members also want House Republican leaders to abandon an unpopular border adjustment proposal that would tax imports.   Top Trump administration officials and Republican leaders in Congress are trying to agree on a framework for tax reform, and the White House has said a plan could be set by the end of July. But there have been no tangible signs of progress in the closed-door discussions, while lobbyists and some congressional aides say the end-of-July deadline could be too ambitious.

Summary: अमेरिकी हाउस फ्रीडम कॉकस बजट सौदे से पहले कर सुधार योजना चाहता है


BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Friday warned its nationals in Pakistan of plans for a series of imminent  terrorist attacks  on Chinese targets there, an unusual alert as it pours funds into infrastructure projects into a country plagued by militancy. Thousands of Chinese workers have gone to Pakistan following Beijing s pledge to spend $57 billion there on projects in President Xi Jinping s signature  Belt and Road  development plan, which aims to link China with the Middle East and Europe. Protecting employees of Chinese companies, as well as individual entrepreneurs who have followed the investment wave along what is known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, has been a concern for Chinese officials.  It is understood that terrorists plan in the near term to launch a series of attacks against Chinese organizations and personnel in Pakistan,  the Chinese embassy in Pakistan said in a statement on its website. The embassy warned all  Chinese-invested organizations and Chinese citizens to increase security awareness, strengthen internal precautions, reduce trips outside as much as possible, and avoid crowded public spaces . It also asked Chinese nationals to cooperate with Pakistan s police and the military, and to alert the embassy in the event of an emergency.  It did not give any further details.  Pakistan s foreign ministry could not be reached immediately for comment. China has long worried about disaffected members of its Uighur Muslim minority in its far western region of Xinjiang linking up with militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan. At the same time, violence in Pakistan s southwestern Baluchistan province has fueled concern about security for planned transport and energy links from western China to Pakistan s deepwater port of Gwadar. The Taliban, sectarian groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State all operate in Baluchistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and is at the center of the  Belt and Road  initiative.  In addition, separatists there have long battled the government for a greater share of gas and mineral resources, and have a long record of attacking energy and other infrastructure projects. Islamic State claimed responsibility for killing two kidnapped Chinese teachers in Baluchistan in June, prompting the government in Islamabad to pledge to beef up security for Chinese nationals.  It had already promised a 15,000-strong army division to safeguard projects along the economic corridor. China s security concerns abroad have grown along with its global commercial footprint. In 2016, a suspected suicide car bomber rammed the gates of the Chinese embassy in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, killing the attacker and wounding at least three people.

Summary: चीन ने पाकिस्तान में "आतंकवादियों" के आसन्न हमलों की चेतावनी दी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the hurricane moving toward Florida and Puerto Rico looks to be record-breaking and said a meeting with congressional leaders would show whether they could work out challenges the country faced. “We have many many things that are on the plate. Hopefully we can solve them,” he said during a meeting with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders. “Maybe we won’t be able to,” he said. Asked if he would accept a three-month debt ceiling increase tied to disaster relief funding, Trump said: “We’ll see.”

Summary: ट्रम्प ने कहा कि तूफान अच्छा नहीं लग रहा है, ऋण सीमा पर बहस पर नजर


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said that he had informed Turkey s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a call that Washington is adjusting military support to partners on the ground in Syria, the White House said Friday. Turkey s presidency had previously reported that the United States would not supply weapons to the Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria. [nA4N1L2020]

Summary: अमेरिका ने सीरिया में भागीदारों को सैन्य समर्थन समायोजित कियाः व्हाइट हाउस


JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia s constitutional court on Thursday narrowly rejected a petition by a conservative group to make extramarital sex illegal, but rights activists braced for a renewal of the battle in parliament and other state institutions.  Five of nine judges voted for the case to be thrown out, in a slim victory for rights activists who had feared the petition would spur moral policing and further discrimination against the gay community in the world s largest Muslim-majority country.       Most Indonesians adhere to a moderate form of Islam under an officially secular system, but there has been rise of a hardline, politicized Islam in recent years, which until recently had stayed on the fringe of the nation s politics. Constitutional court chief justice Arief Hidayat said existing laws on adultery did not conflict with the constitution and it was not the court s authority to create new policies. The judge said the question could be put to parliament, which is currently deliberating revisions to the national criminal code.  The plaintiff should submit their petition to lawmakers, and there it should be an important input in the ongoing revision of the national criminal code,  Hidayat said, as he read a summary of the 600-page ruling.  Based on that view, the constitutional court is of the opinion that the petition is not legally sound.    Rights activists were comforted by the court s decision, while expecting more challenges to come.  The decision is a relief because it shows it s possible to challenge the creeping conservatism in society,  said Dede Oetomo, a prominent gay rights activist.  But it s not over. There s parliament, there are other state institutions, they can turn to education, social organisations,  he added. The Family Love Alliance (AILA), a group of conservative academics and activists which put forward the petition, said it would not give up its fight.  Aside from legal avenues, we can also go through government policy and programs so that sexual deviance is minimised and is an agenda for all of us,  Euis Sunarti, a member of AILA, told reporters after the ruling. AILA s petition had called for the definition of adultery to apply not just to married couples but to anyone in a marriage or outside it - effectively making all sex outside of marriage a crime. In their complaint, AILA said certain articles in the national criminal code  threaten the resilience of families and therefore of Indonesia itself.         Some rights activists said the petition was partly aimed at criminalizing gay sex, which is currently not regulated by the law except in the ultra-conservative province of Aceh and in cases of child abuse. Activists say such changes to the law would make it vulnerable to abuse, like the country s draconian anti-pornography laws, to target the LGBT community. Islamic parties pushed the anti-pornography laws in parliament soon after Indonesia ushered in its democratic era in 1998 and actively push an anti-LGBT agenda today.

Summary: इंडोनेशिया की अदालत ने शादी के बाहर सहमति से यौन संबंध बनाने पर रोक लगाने की याचिका खारिज की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to erase a new rule that lets bank and credit-card customers band together in lawsuits, as the agency that drafted the measure, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, moves closer to the center stage of congressional politics. The Republican-led House voted 231 to 190 along strict party lines to kill the rule barring financial institutions from forcing customers to agree to take future disputes to arbitration, instead of the courts, as a condition of opening accounts. It now goes to the Senate. Under the Congressional Review Act, both chambers can vote to repeal a new rule with simple majorities.  The Republican majority in the Senate is slimmer. If the party loses just three lawmakers the CFPB rule, finalized 15 days ago, will survive. Also, the Senate calendar is currently full with healthcare and tax reform, and lawmakers may not get around to voting on the rule. Republicans say “mandatory arbitration” works quickly to garner individuals substantial awards, while group lawsuits benefit only the attorneys who file them. Democrats contend the contract clauses rob customers of constitutional rights. Because companies hire the arbitrators and proceedings are secret, they also say the process is rigged against consumers. The Senate is being pressured on both sides by major interest groups, including the pro-business Chamber of Commerce and the workers’ rights group the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Much of the fight, though, is about the CFPB itself, which is appealing a legal decision that its structure is unconstitutional. Now that Republicans control Congress and the White House the six-year-old agency’s future is in doubt. President Donald Trump’s administration has argued against the CFPB in court, the House has approved legislation radically overhauling it, and the acting comptroller of the currency has attacked the arbitration rule. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo helped author the resolution to kill the new rule. Meanwhile, Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, held a news conference on Tuesday rallying supporters to protect it.  Warren originally came up with the idea of an agency to shield individuals from predatory lending and help prevent the type of devastation average people experienced during the 2007-09 financial crisis.  During Tuesday’s fiery floor debate, Republicans lambasted the CFPB for having a single director who both writes and enforces rules and for dictating how businesses and customers interact. Democrats cited how the agency has returned billions of dollars to wronged consumers.

Summary: उपभोक्ता मुकदमे के नियम को खत्म करने के लिए सदन ने मतदान किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Republican U.S. president George W. Bush diverged sharply from Donald Trump’s new administration on Monday, saying he supported a welcoming immigration policy and praising the media as “indispensable to democracy.” In a wide-ranging interview with NBC’s “Today” show, Bush also said he did not know if a special prosecutors was needed to investigate contacts between Trump associates and Russia but added, “We all need answers.” Bush, in some of his first televised comments since Trump took office, was asked if he had seen signs that Trump was trying to close the rift in the U.S. electorate after his divisive campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton. He acknowledged that his own presidency from 2001 to 2009 began after a contentious election but that it was “hard to compare times.” He said that Trump is still in the early stage of his presidency and that Americans have “got to take the man at his word.” Asked whether he supported Trump’s travel ban on people from seven majority Muslim countries, Bush said, “I am for an immigration policy that is welcoming and that upholds the law.” Bush, whose presidency was shaped by the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on America, also called for religious tolerance. “One of our great strengths is for people to be able to worship the way they want to or not worship at all,” he said. After the attacks, Bush had made a point of supporting Muslims and praising Islam’s teachings as peaceful.  Trump has branded some news outlets as “the enemy of the people” but Bush said: “I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy, that we need an independent media to hold people like me to account,” he said. “It’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power.” He said that during his presidency he tried to persuade  Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept the concept of an independent news media. “It’s kind of hard to tell others to have an independent, free press and we’re not willing to have one ourselves,” Bush told NBC. Trump, the first Republican president since Bush left office, won the November presidential election after besting 16 other Republican candidates for the party’s nomination, including Bush’s brother Jeb. His victory came amid lukewarm backing from establishment wing of the party as prominent Republicans, including Bush and his father, former president George H.W. Bush, shunned him or offered lukewarm support.

Summary: पूर्व राष्ट्रपति बुश ने अमेरिकी आप्रवासन नीति, मुक्त मीडिया का 'स्वागत' किया


(Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was willing to shut down the government to get funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, complicating two must-pass measures Congress will take up in September: a spending package and raising the debt ceiling. Here is what you need to know about both, and the potential for a shutdown of the U.S. government: Congress must pass annual spending bills around the end of the federal fiscal year on Sept. 30 to fund much of the U.S. government. When disagreements prevent that, which is frequent, lawmakers often pass a temporary bill extending existing spending levels with no changes for days, weeks or months, while they work on a longer-lasting deal. When they cannot agree on either a new spending plan or a short-term extension, the government shuts down. That has happened many times since the 1970s, usually for a few days, and can rattle markets. Congress will return from its long summer recess on Sept. 5. At the time, it will have only about 12 working days to approve spending measures to keep the government open. If spending measures are not passed before Oct. 1, portions of the government will begin to shut down and non-essential employees will go without pay until an agreement is reached. The government most recently shut down for about two weeks in October 2013 over funding for former President Barack Obama’s healthcare law. There were three shutdowns in the 1990s, the longest lasting 21 days. In the 1970s and 1980s, there were 14 shutdowns, some partial and most lasting only a few days. The “debt ceiling” is a legislative limit on how much money the federal government can borrow through debt issued by the U.S. Treasury. Once the limit is reached, Congress must raise it or the government cannot continue borrowing money and would default, or be unable to pay its bills. The Treasury has said it wants Congress to increase the debt ceiling by Sept. 29, although default likely could be staved off until mid-October, thanks to “extraordinary measures” the Treasury put in place in March to delay a debt reckoning.   Legislation to raise the debt limit will need to be adopted, at the very latest, by early to mid-October. If the debt ceiling is not raised, the government would not be able to borrow more money or pay its bills, including payments on its debts, which could hurt the U.S. credit rating. Political gridlock has never led to the United States reaching its debt ceiling and its bills going unpaid, but there have been close calls. An August 2011 standoff cost the country its top-notch bond rating from the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s and caused the most jarring two weeks in financial markets since the 2007-2009 global financial crisis. The two move on separate tracks, but are likely to get tangled together, with Republican opponents of a debt ceiling increase likely demanding federal spending cuts. Some analysts say Congress may try to tackle both issues at the same time. Both the spending and debt ceiling bills can pass the Republican-led House of Representatives by a simple majority vote, but will need 60 votes to pass the Senate, where Republicans hold 52 of 100 seats, meaning they will need some Democratic support.  Trump made his U.S.-Mexico border wall a central promise of his 2016 presidential campaign. He also promised that Mexico would pay for the wall, but Mexico has steadfastly refused and Trump has largely stopped talking about that pledge. Conservative House Republicans agree with the Republican president on the need for a wall and say border-wall funding should be a priority in any spending legislation. Some of them have already indicated they are willing to shut down the government to get it. Moderate Republicans have called a shutdown unwise and Republican leaders are determined to prevent one, fearing it would worsen doubts about the party’s ability to govern. Democrats are uniformly opposed to Trump’s wall and say the responsibility for a shutdown would rest solely with Republicans. The Trump administration reversed course earlier this month and said it would back a “clean” raising of the debt ceiling, meaning it would not be tied to other policy measures. Democrats and moderate Republicans also support a clean debt-ceiling increase. But conservative Republicans, especially in the House, often use debt-ceiling legislation to insist on changes to spending, making them opposed to a clean bill.

Summary: फैक्टबॉक्सः ट्रम्प की सरकार के बंद होने की धमकी, कर्ज की सीमा बढ़ती जा रही है


BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai criminal court has issued a second arrest warrant for former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who fled the country weeks ago before she was sentenced to jail in absentia, police said on Thursday. The warrant, issued on Wednesday, was for violating the immigration law, deputy police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul told reporters.  Yingluck fled abroad in August fearing that the military government, set up after a coup in 2014, would seek a harsh sentence. It remains unclear how she left the country.  Last week, the Supreme Court convicted and sentenced Yingluck in absentia to five years in jail for mismanaging a rice subsidy scheme that cost the country billions of dollars. Throughout her trial, Yingluck said she was innocent and not responsible for the day-to-day running of the scheme, arguing that she was a victim of political persecution.  Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the army chief who led the 2014 coup against Yingluck s government, recently said Thailand would pursue her through diplomatic channels and police cooperation, using Interpol.  Foreign ministry spokeswoman Busadee Santipitaks told reporters on Thursday the ministry was working on revoking  Yingluck s Thai passport.  She added that the ministry had no information on whether Yingluck was seeking political asylum.  Last week, Thai police raided Yingluck s home in eastern Bangkok, armed with a search warrant. The military government said last week she was in Dubai. But a source in the United Arab Emirates said Yingluck left Dubai for London on Sept. 11, without giving details.

Summary: थाई अदालत ने भगोड़े पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री यिंगलुक के लिए दूसरा गिरफ्तारी वारंट जारी किया


BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was a “petty” move by Taiwan that does not change its status as part of China, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Saturday. China will “unswervingly” stick to its position of opposing Taiwan independence, it said, in a statement released on the official Xinhua news agency.

Summary: चीन का कहना है कि ताइवान के राष्ट्रपति के साथ ट्रम्प की बातचीत से द्वीप की स्थिति नहीं बदलेगी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate investigation into Russia’s meddling during the U.S. election should include a thorough review of any financial ties between Russia and President Donald Trump and his associates, Democratic senator Ron Wyden said Wednesday. In a formal written request made to the leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, Wyden said financial relationships between Trump, a real estate developer with properties around the world, and Russia are deserving of scrutiny because of resistance by Trump and some in his orbit have not been forthcoming about their finances. “Efforts to understand these relationships and to separate fact from speculation have been hampered by the opacity of the finances of President Trump and his associates,” Wyden, who also sits on the intelligence panel, wrote to Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Mark Warner.  The letter, though devoid of new details, is the latest piece of evidence suggesting Trump’s business dealings are attracting expanded interest from investigators amid a raft of new reports scrutinizing potential financial entanglements between the president and Russia.  Trump has declined to release his tax returns, bucking decades of precedent for presidents and presidential candidates. The letter followed new disclosures in recent weeks of previously unknown meetings and financial arrangements between Trump’s associates and wealthy Russians, and came as Democrats attempt to focus public attention on questions about Trump’s connections to Russia. On Monday, the state development bank Vnesheconombank disclosed that its executives had met Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a top White House adviser, in December. And last week Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, admitted he had done business work for Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. Trump has repeatedly insisted allegations that he or members of his administration have an untoward relationship with Russia as “fake news.” He has also said that he has no business deals in Russia.     A Reuters investigation published earlier this month found that dozens of members of the Russian elite have bought at least $98.4 million worth of property in seven Trump-branded luxury towers in southern Florida, according to public documents, interviews and corporate records. Wyden has repeatedly tried to push into public light more information about U.S. investigations into Russia’s role in the 2016 election. He organized a two-sentence letter from seven senators to the White House last November asking the outgoing Obama administration to declassify additional information about Russia’s interference in the election. Then-president Barack Obama announced a review of Russia’s activities soon after. U.S. intelligence agencies later released a review of its assessment of Russia’s multi-pronged influence campaign, concluding Moscow’s actions were intended to help Trump win and discredit his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. Russia has denied the allegations. Wyden in January also asked Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey if his agency was investigating links between Russia and associates of Trump. Comey declined to answer, but last week confirmed the FBI was probing possible ties. Examining finances has long been within the purview of the oversight role of the intelligence panel, Wyden wrote, citing a recent committee report said that “financial intelligence has emerged as a significant area of (intelligence community) activity, aiming to ‘follow the money’ of adversaries.”

Summary: रूस की जांच ट्रंप के वित्तीय संबंधों पर केंद्रित होनी चाहिएः सीनेटर


LONDON (Reuters) - An activist in Britain s opposition Labour Party has said she was raped at a party event when she was 19, and that a party official discouraged her from reporting the attack to avoid damaging her career. The disclosure by Bex Bailey, 25, is the most serious to emerge from a wave of allegations of sexual misconduct by powerful men that have swept through British politics in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has ordered an investigation into the allegation, said Bailey was not given support from the party when she reported what had happened.  Bex Bailey has shown incredible bravery by talking publicly about what has happened to her and has my full support and solidarity,  he said in a statement on his Facebook page.  There will be no tolerance in the Labour Party for sexism, harassment or abuse. Whatever it takes, we are absolutely committed to rooting it out.  A party spokesman said:  We would strongly recommend that the police investigate the allegations of criminal actions that Bex Bailey has made.  Bailey told BBC radio on Tuesday that she was raped in 2011 by someone in the party who was senior to her. She said she had tried to pretend it hadn t happened and had not reported it to police at the time.  I was scared. I felt ashamed. I know that the Labour Party, like any family, loves a good gossip, and I didn t want people to know and I also was worried that I wouldn t be believed if I did,  she said. Two years later, she told a senior party staff member, and it was suggested to her that she should not report it as it might damage her if she did. She was given no advice on what she should do next.  That might be their genuine view, it might be that that was the case, in which case that shows that we have a serious problem in politics with this issue anyway,  said Bailey, a former member of Labour s National Executive Committee. She called for an independent agency such as a charity to deal with allegations rather than someone within the party  who is inclined to be loyal to the Labour Party . Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered investigations into two of her ministers after allegations were made against them. Her deputy Damian Green denies making an advance on a woman three decades his junior, while junior trade minister Mark Garnier has said he was being humorous when he asked his assistant to buy sex toys for him.

Summary: ब्रिटेन की श्रम कार्यकर्ता का कहना है कि उसके साथ बलात्कार किया गया था, उसे इसकी सूचना नहीं देने की सलाह दी गई


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony that U.S. President Donald Trump expected loyalty and hoped Comey would drop an investigation of a former top aide could bolster obstruction of justice allegations against Trump, several legal experts said.  Such allegations might be used as the basis for impeachment proceedings, some of the analysts said. Any such step would face a steep hurdle, however, as it would require approval by the U.S. House of Representatives, which is controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans. According to written testimony posted on the Senate Intelligence Committee’s website on Wednesday, Comey said Trump told him during a one-on-one Feb. 14 conversation that former national security adviser Michael Flynn was a “good guy” and hoped that Comey could see his “way clear” to letting go a probe into ties between Flynn and Russia. Trump had fired Flynn the previous day in a controversy over contacts between the retired general and the Russian ambassador to the United States.  Comey’s account, released ahead of his appearance before the committee on Thursday, could show that Trump intended to impede the Flynn investigation, said Michael Gerhardt, a professor of constitutional law at the University of North Carolina School of Law.  “The express discussion of loyalty is disconcerting,” and could heighten speculation that the “president was trying to exert some pressure or at least exert some influence over the Russia investigation,” Gerhardt said. Comey, who was fired by Trump on May 9, was leading an FBI investigation of Flynn as it looks into allegations of links between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Moscow and Trump have both denied any collusion. Trump’s lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, did not immediately respond to a Reuters query about whether Comey’s testimony would support an obstruction case. But he said in a statement that Trump felt “vindicated” by Comey’s confirmation he was not under investigation in any Russia probe.     To build a criminal obstruction of justice case, federal law requires prosecutors to show that a person acted with “corrupt” intent. It does not matter whether the person succeeds in impeding an investigation.  While a sitting president is unlikely to face criminal prosecution, obstruction of justice could form the basis for impeachment.  Bruce Green, a professor at Fordham University School of Law, said it would be difficult to show Trump intended to impede the Flynn investigation. He said Trump could say he was merely vouching for Flynn’s character and voicing concerns about how the probe was interfering with his ability to function as president. Alan Dershowitz, a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School and well-known defense lawyer, added that Trump’s comments to Comey were “ambiguous statements” and “not even close to obstruction of justice.”  Other legal experts said, however, that details surrounding the Feb. 14 conversation could indicate that Trump intended to interfere with the Flynn probe.   According to Comey, Trump told his close advisers, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Jared Kushner, to leave the room so he could speak to Comey privately. “Asking others to leave the room could suggest the president was aware that there was something wrong with what he was doing,” said Andrew Wright, a professor of constitutional law at Savannah Law School. Wright said there were other damaging details in Comey’s testimony, including that Comey did not document his conversations with former President Barack Obama but “felt compelled” to do so after his first conversation with Trump. Comey’s testimony does “maximum damage” to Trump, Wright said. Gerhardt agreed the testimony was a blow to Trump, saying: “Some people who weren’t concerned before should be concerned now.”

Summary: कोमी का अकाउंट ट्रंप के खिलाफ बाधा डालने के आरोपों को हवा दे सकता हैः कानूनी विशेषज्ञ


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday tried to tamp down the furor over President Donald Trump’s reorganization of the National Security Council, saying “nothing has changed.” A comparison of Trump’s order with documents from the Bush and Obama administrations, however, shows that is not entirely accurate. Unlike President Barack Obama, but like President George W. Bush, Trump did not make the U.S. Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff regular members of the cabinet-level Principals Committee. But Trump’s directive gives an unprecedented NSC role to a political advisor, Steve Bannon, who headed Breitbart News, a website and voice for the alt-right movement, a loose confederation that includes hardcore nationalists, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and anti-Semites. Critics of the move say it could allow domestic politics to influence national security and puts a political adviser on par with other Cabinet level officials. In his briefing on Monday, Spicer argued that identifying Bannon by his title was a move to show that the administration was transparent about who is attending top-level meetings. He said that David Axelrod, a top political adviser to Obama, attended national security meetings “quite frequently.” Axelrod disputed that, saying he attended early meetings under Obama only on Afghanistan-Pakistan policy. “I was not a member of the committee. I did not speak or participate. I sat on the sidelines as a silent observer,” he wrote on CNN’s website on Monday.  A former top Obama administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, called the addition of Bannon “an unprecedented politicization of foreign policy that exceeds even what hubris is the new normal.” “In many ways that is unprecedented, often time these discussions are analytical, very technical, and it is not a lot of politics in the room,” said Shannon Green, who served on the National Security Council staff and is now a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Green said that there are few areas where the U.S. military and intelligence agencies do not have expertise and relationships with foreign governments that could be beneficial for non-military issues.      The Pentagon said it did not see Trump’s reorganization as  downgrading the role of the Joint Chiefs chairman, who is the top U.S. military officer. The chairman and the U.S. intelligence czar are advisers to the National Security Council by law. Trump’s directive says they will attend meetings of the Principals Committee “where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed.” That is the same language used by Bush in a February 2001 order.  Defense Secretary James Mattis, “when he engages with the National Security Council, whether it is with the full NSC or at a PC (Principals Committee), he intends to always have the chairman at his side when he is discussing anything that has anything to do with national security and our military,” Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said. In a statement the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford said he would continue to provide his best military advice to the President and members of National Security Council.

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस का कहना है कि एनएससी में कोई बदलाव नहीं किया गया है, लेकिन ट्रम्प का अलग है


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Parliament will insist on quickly making the deal reached between the European Union and Britain on divorce terms legally binding, worried London may not honor a gentleman s agreement, the parliament s chief Brexit coordinator said. The EU and Britain, which is will leave the EU in March 2019, agreed last Friday on the divorce terms in three key areas   a financial settlement, citizens  rights and how to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. The European Commission said on Monday the deal was not legally binding yet, but it regarded it  as a deal between gentlemen  with  the clear understanding that it is fully backed and endorsed by the UK government . But Britain s Brexit minister David Davis said on Sunday that the deal, which allows both sides to start talks on a future trade agreement crucial for Britain, was more of a  statement of intent  than a legally binding measure. This caused concern among EU officials that London may want to go back on the agreement.   Remarks by David Davis that Phase One deal last week not binding were unhelpful and undermines trust. European Parliament text will now reflect this and insist agreement translated into legal text as soon as possible,  Guy Verhofstadt, who leads the European Parliament Brexit coordination team, tweeted. He said that after Davis s  unacceptable remarks , the European Parliament will ask EU leaders meeting on Brexit on Friday to formally make negotiations on a future trade agreement with London conditional on including the agreement so far in full in the treaty on Britain leaving the EU. A draft text which leaders are set to adopt on Friday already states that  negotiations in the second phase can only progress as long as all commitments undertaken during the first phase are respected in full and translated faithfully in legal terms as quickly as possible .

Summary: ब्रिटेन के साथ यूरोपीय संघ के सज्जनों के समझौते को बाध्यकारी बनाएँः यूरोपीय संघ के सांसद


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump announced in a statement on Saturday that veteran Washington lawyer Ty Cobb will serve as special counsel, and sources familiar with the hiring said Cobb would handle the White House’s response to Russia-related investigations.  Cobb, a partner at the law firm Hogan Lovells in Washington, is expected to be an intermediary between the White House and Congress, as well as outside attorneys as probes into the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia continue. A federal special counsel and several congressional panels are investigating allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential connections between Russian officials and the Trump campaign. Moscow has denied any interference and the president has denied any collusion. The last person to hold a similar position to Cobb’s was lawyer Emmet Flood, who worked in the George W. Bush administration to respond to Congressional inquiries.

Summary: ट्रंप ने रूस की जांच संभालने के लिए वकील टाइ कॉब को चुना


BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is considering calling the third snap parliamentary elections since 2014 to further cement his Progressive Party s (SNS) grip on power, he said late on Monday. Vucic, a ultranationalist firebrand during the Yugoslav wars of 1990s who a decade later has become committed to joining the European Union, said  people in the SNS are overwhelmingly for elections.   The party is considering holding the parliamentary vote alongside local elections due to take place in the capital Belgrade early next year.   There are serious arguments (in favor),  Vucic said in a live interview with Belgrade-based Pink TV.  To avoid splitting elections and to prepare the country for European Union entry ... as new elections would offer us an uninterrupted time until 2022.  He did not say when the vote would take place.      An alliance led by Vucic s SNS won a comfortable majority of 131 deputies in the 250-seat parliament in 2016 and further consolidated power through a coalition with the Socialists that were led by late strongman Slobodan Milosevic during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Vucic won in a landslide in a presidential election in April, handing his post of prime minister to hand-picked technocrat Ana Brnabic.  But his rule is facing discontent from public sector employees and pensioners over austerity measures imposed under a three-year 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) IMF loan deal that has stifled spending and growth.  Although it enjoys backing in rural Serbia, Vucic s party is less popular in Belgrade which accounts for almost a quarter of total electorate in the 7.2 million-strong Serbia.  Serbia which wants to join the EU by 2025, must first seek to reconcile its pro-Western integration bid with keeping close ties with Russia, its traditional Slavic and Orthodox Christian ally.   It must also normalize ties with Kosovo, the predominantly ethnic Albanian former southern province, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Summary: सर्बिया के राष्ट्रपति की नज़र जल्दी संसदीय मतदान पर


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - Officials with the conservative U.S. political network overseen by the Koch brothers say they are unhappy with the healthcare bill that may be voted on by the Senate this week and will lobby for changes to it. At a weekend event with conservative donors, top aides to Charles Koch, the billionaire energy magnate, said the Senate bill does not go far enough to dismantle former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, also known as Obamacare. “We have been disappointed that movement has not been more dramatic toward a full repeal,” said Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, a grassroots advocacy group backed by Charles Koch and his brother, David. The Senate’s 142-page proposal, worked out in secret by a group led by Senate Majority Leader McConnell, aims to deliver on a central campaign promise of President Donald Trump to repeal Obamacare, which has provided coverage to 20 million Americans since its passage in 2010. Republicans view the law, formally called the Affordable Care Act, as a costly government intrusion and say individual insurance markets created by it are collapsing. Phillips and other aides to the Koch network told Reuters they want to see the Senate bill do more to roll back Obamacare’s expansion of the Medicaid program for poor and disabled Americans. They also contend the bill does not do enough to reform the U.S. healthcare system and cut costs. The aides said lobbying efforts to reshape the bill are continuing ahead of a planned vote. Similar concerns helped steer the House’s version of the bill in a more conservative direction. A primary mover of that effort, Mark Meadows, a Republican congressman from North Carolina, attended the Koch donor event. Meadows, chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus in the House, said he is prepared to support the Senate bill if it clears that chamber, a sign that quick action to land the legislation on Trump’s desk is possible. However, Meadows said the Senate version of the bill would need to be amended to allow insurers who sell plans on Obamacare’s insurance exchanges to offer less-expensive plans that do not comply with that law’s coverage requirements. Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who currently opposes the Senate bill, has offered an amendment along those lines. Cruz attended the Koch event here, as did Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona and Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who remain undecided. Meadows also seeks an amendment that would allow some consumers who have private health savings accounts to deduct the cost of insurance premiums from their taxes. Senate leaders have set a goal of passing the healthcare measure by the end of this week, ahead of the July 4 congressional recess, which would then send it back to the House. If the Senate passes legislation this week that is palatable to the House, Meadows said it is conceivable the House could pass that version and choose to forgo a formal conference committee that would reconcile the Senate and House bills. That, he said, could result in sending the bill to Trump’s desk for his signature before the recess. Getting a vote by the end of the week could be difficult. Five Senate Republicans, including Cruz, have publicly voiced their opposition to the current Senate draft. No Senate Democrats are expected to back it, which means McConnell cannot afford to lose more than two Senate Republicans. As a sign of the Koch network’s influence, Phillips said his organization is prepared to spend as much as $400 million before next year’s congressional elections to advocate for the network’s conservative causes.

Summary: कंजर्वेटिव कोच नेटवर्क ने अमेरिकी सीनेट स्वास्थ्य सेवा विधेयक की आलोचना की


BOSSASO, SOMALIA S (Reuters) - A wheelbarrow exploded outside a police station in Bossaso, a port city in Somalia s semi-autonomous region of Puntland, on Tuesday, killing the lone man pushing it, a police officer told Reuters. Mohammed Abdi, a police officer, told Reuters security personnel had stopped a man outside a police station s checkpoint and then  suddenly his wheelbarrow exploded. Only the wheelbarrow man died.  A Reuters witness saw the debris of the wooden wheelbarrow and the dead porter. Abdi said police did not know what type of bomb had been used or who was behind the attack.

Summary: सोमालिया के पुंटलैंड में व्हीलबार बम को धकेलते हुए एक व्यक्ति की मौत, पुलिस का कहना है


SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea approved a plan on Thursday to send $8 million worth of humanitarian aid to North Korea, the South s Unification Ministry said, as part of an aid policy that the government says remains unaffected by geopolitical tensions with the North. The aid decision was made after a meeting of government officials chaired by Unification Minister Cho Myong-gyon. It comes after the United Nations approved new sanctions against North Korea for its sixth nuclear test earlier this month. The South said it aims to send $4.5 million worth of nutritional products for children and pregnant women through the World Food Programme and $3.5 million worth of vaccines and medicinal treatments through UNICEF. The exact timing of when the aid will be sent, as well as its size, will be confirmed later, the ministry said in a statement. The WFP and UNICEF had approached the South Korean government in May and July this year to contribute in aiding North Korea, the statement added.   We have consistently said we would pursue humanitarian aid for North Korea in consideration of the poor conditions children and pregnant women are in there, apart from political issues,  said Cho in opening remarks at the meeting. Ahead of the meeting, UNICEF s regional director for East Asia and the Pacific Karin Hulshof said in a statement the problems North Korean children face  are all too real .  Today, we estimate that around 200,000 children are affected by acute malnutrition, heightening their risk of death and increasing rates of stunting,  Hulshof said.  Food and essential medicines and equipment to treat young children are in short supply.  Cho s ministry had said earlier this month they were looking into giving North Korea aid, which launched a backlash of disapproval from both the public and opposition parties. It has dragged down South Korean President Moon Jae-in s  approval rating. Realmeter, a South Korean polling organization, said on Thursday Moon s approval rating stood at 65.7 percent, weakening for a fourth straight month.  Although the approval rate is still high, those surveyed said Moon had fallen out of favor due to North Korea s continued provocations and the government s decision to consider sending aid to North Korea, Realmeter said. South Korea s decision to mull over fresh aid to the North has also caused a rift of concern in neighboring Japan and the United States, according to government officials there, leading Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to bring up the issue during a phone call with Moon last week.  Moon had said aid was something to be considered separately from political issues, quoted by his office. South Korean humanitarian aid efforts to North Korea had been halted since North Korea s fourth nuclear test in January last year. The last time the South had sent aid to the North was in December 2015 through the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) under ex-president Park Geun-hye. North Korea has conducted two more nuclear tests since then, with its most recent and largest taking place early this month. Pyongyang has launched numerous missiles as well, including two intercontinental ballistic missiles and two other rockets that have flown over Japan. Such provocations have sparked strong disapproval from the international community, especially from the United States and Japan.

Summary: दक्षिण कोरिया ने उत्तर कोरिया को 8 मिलियन डॉलर की सहायता को मंजूरी दी, समय बाद में तय किया जाएगा


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three women who have accused U.S. President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct called on Monday for a congressional investigation into his behavior amid a wave of similar accusations against prominent men in Hollywood, the media and politics. Over the past two years, more than a dozen women have accused Trump of making unwanted sexual advances against them years before he entered politics. Three of his accusers, Jessica Leeds, Rachel Crooks, and Samantha Holvey said at a news conference on Monday that the accusations warranted new consideration given the broader discussion of sexual harassment in U.S. society. Brave New Films, a nonprofit filmmaker, produced a video featuring 16 of Trump’s accusers and organized the news conference in New York on Monday. In the film, women accused  Trump of kissing them without permission, grabbing their private parts, putting his hand up their skirts, or making other unwanted advances.  Congress should “put aside their party affiliations and investigate Mr. Trump’s history of sexual misconduct,” said Crooks, a former receptionist for a real estate firm, who was flanked by Leeds and Holvey.  The women said they do not think Trump will resign over the allegations but that he should be held accountable. Trump and White House officials have denied the allegations, some of which date back to the 1980s. “These false claims, totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year’s campaign, and the American people voiced their judgment by delivering a decisive victory,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement on Monday, questioning the women’s timing and political motives.  Trump, a Republican, faces legal action in one related case. Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand told CNN that Trump should resign over the accusations.  “These allegations are credible,” Gillibrand said in an interview on Monday with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “They are numerous. I’ve heard these women’s testimony, and many of them are heartbreaking.” Gillibrand recently said former President Bill Clinton, a fellow Democrat, should have stepped down during the 1990s scandal that led the House of Representatives to vote to impeach him. On Monday, she said that if Trump does not immediately resign, Congress “should have appropriate investigations of his behavior and hold him accountable.” A number of powerful and high-profile men have been accused in recent months of sexual misconduct, including three members of Congress, Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein and former NBC news anchor Matt Lauer. Reuters has not independently verified the accusations against Trump, Weinstein, Lauer or the three congressmen. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and  one of the most high-profile women in Trump’s administration, said on Sunday that any woman who has felt mistreated by a man has the right to speak up, even if she is accusing the president. Democrat Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary panel, said it was unlikely that the Republican-controlled Congress would act on the accusations, which were known before the November 2016 presidential election. “My hunch is it gets reviewed at the next election,” Coons told CNN. Sexual harassment accusations have also been made against Republican candidate Roy Moore who is running in a U.S. Senate race this week in Alabama. Trump has backed Moore, a former judge, even as congressional Republicans denounced the candidate and called on him to pull out of the race.  The accusations against Trump emerged during the 2016 presidential campaign when a videotape surfaced of a 2005 conversation caught on an open microphone in which Trump spoke in vulgar terms about trying to have sex with women.     Trump apologized for the remarks, but called them private “locker-room talk” and said he had not done the things he talked about.

Summary: ट्रम्प पर यौन दुराचार का आरोप लगाने वाली महिलाओं ने कांग्रेस से जांच की मांग की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States drew a hard line for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement on Wednesday, demanding major concessions aimed at slashing trade deficits with Mexico and Canada and boosting U.S. content for autos. At the start of talks in Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump’s top trade adviser, Robert Lighthizer, said Trump was not interested in “a mere tweaking” of the 23-year-old pact, which Trump has threatened to scrap without major changes. “We feel that NAFTA has fundamentally failed many, many Americans and needs major improvement,” Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, said at the start of the talks, which reflected Trump’s relentless criticism that NAFTA has caused  massive U.S. manufacturing job losses.  Lighthizer put Mexico and Canada on notice that the United States would use its clout as their biggest export customer to wring concessions, saying the United States wanted substantially tougher rules of origin, including a requirement of “substantial U.S. content” for autos.  He also signaled a fight over NAFTA’s trade dispute settlement system for changes that would allow more anti-dumping duties against Canada and Mexico, saying this provision should “respect our national sovereignty.” Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland suggested earlier this week that her country could walk away if the United States insisted on scrapping the “Chapter 19” trade dispute settlement system that requires the use of binational panels. In her opening statement, Freeland took a swipe at the U.S. fixation on cutting its trade deficits, saying: “Canada does not view trade surpluses or deficits as a primary measure of whether a trading relationship works. U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade has quadrupled since NAFTA took effect in 1994, surpassing $1 trillion in 2015. Lighthizer blamed NAFTA for a direct loss of 700,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs since the pact took effect in 1994, a period that coincides with increasing automation across all industries that has allowed more output with fewer workers. Auto industry groups have warned against changing the pact’s rules of origin, which govern how much of a product’s components must originate from NAFTA countries. They said the pact has allowed them to build a competitive North American supply base that has helped boost exports of U.S.-assembled vehicles globally. The pact also has massively boosted U.S. farm income by increasing agricultural exports to both Mexico and Canada.  “We do not want them to use us as a trading tool and to do harm to the agricultural sector in all three countries,” the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Zippy Duvall, told a news conference on Wednesday. Corporate chief executives have been sounding “do no harm” warnings on NAFTA for months.  Trump’s relationship with business executives became a high-profile issue this week as he disbanded two business advisory councils after several CEOs quit in protest over his remarks blaming weekend violence at a rally in Virginia on the protesters who opposed white nationalists as well as the white nationalists themselves. Canadian and Mexican officials at the NAFTA talks on Wednesday declined to weigh in.  Asked if there was concern that the political upheaval around Trump could impact the NAFTA talks, Mexico’s finance ministry undersecretary, Vanessa Rubio, said: “These are internal issues of the United States.” Freeland refused to be drawn into the U.S. political furor during a news conference before she returned to Ottawa.  The first round of NAFTA talks, which will last until Sunday, are expected to focus on consolidating the proposals and demands from all three countries. The long list of U.S. demands could make it difficult for negotiators to reach agreement on modernization plans that also are expected to include new chapters on digital and energy trade, and environmental, labor and currency standards. Both Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo pushed back at the U.S. demands and defended NAFTA.   Guajardo said NAFTA should be modernized to produce more trade among its participants, not less, and needed more than one winner. “For a deal to be successful, it has to work for all parties involved. Otherwise, it is not a deal,” Guajardo said. Guajardo later told a news conference that it was “too soon” for the three countries to begin narrowing their differences. He said it was not a good idea to add country-specific content requirements to the agreement. Mexico is keen to maintain preferential access for its goods and services to the United States and Canada, where nearly 85 percent of its exports are shipped. Its NAFTA priorities also include greater integration of the continent’s labor markets and energy sectors. Weighing heavily over the talks is the 2018 Mexico presidential election. Mexico has urged all sides to complete the negotiations before the campaign ramps up in February to avoid having them become a political punching bag.

Summary: नाफ्टा वार्ता शुरू होते ही अमेरिका ने व्यापार घाटे पर कड़ी बातचीत की


LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit minister David Davis called on parliament on Thursday to back legislation to sever Britain s political, financial and legal ties with the European Union, saying that opposing the bill would lead to chaos. At a rowdy session of parliament, Davis accused the opposition Labour Party of pursuing a  cynical and unprincipled  path by challenging the repeal bill, or EU withdrawal bill, designed to disentangle Britain from more than 40 years of EU lawmaking. Labour, in turn, said the government was using the bill to give itself wide-ranging powers and a  blank cheque  to do away with laws if ministers did not like them, threatening the rights of ordinary Britons. The legislation is a vital stepping-stone towards Britain s departure from the EU in March 2019. It faces stormy debate and a likely barrage of attempted amendments as Prime Minister Theresa May, weakened by the loss of her majority in a June election and criticized by Brussels over her Brexit strategy, attempts to steer it through parliament.  Without this legislation a smooth and orderly exit is impossible ... To delay or oppose the bill will be reckless in the extreme,  Davis told lawmakers, describing support for a proposed amendment by Labour as a  vote for a chaotic exit . Labour s Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, said several clauses in the bill amounted to a  power grab  by government. He said it would prevent Britain from remaining in the EU s single market and customs union during a transition phase, as Labour now argues should happen.  That we are leaving (the EU) is settled, how we leave is not. This bill invites us to surrender all power and influence over that question to the government and to ministers. That would betray everything we have been sent here to do,  Starmer said.  Unless the government makes a very significant concession before we vote on Monday Labour will table, and has tabled, a reasoned amendment and will vote against the bill.      The legislation seeks largely to  copy and paste  EU law into British legislation to ensure the UK has functioning laws and the same regulatory framework as the bloc at the moment of leaving it, something that may offer some reassurance for companies. Davis said it would allow the British government and parliament to become  masters of our own laws , and promised concerned lawmakers that ministers would not use the wide-ranging powers to make  substantive changes  to law. To vote down the bill, Labour would need to convince EU supporters in May s Conservatives to side with them, but some more vocal pro-EU Conservative lawmakers have now said they will vote with the government after asking for reassurance that parliament will be able to scrutinize any changes to the law. May has also promised to listen to the concerns of lawmakers, but warned that delaying or hindering the bill with amendments would slow  vital  legislation.  The repeal bill helps deliver the outcome the British people voted for by ending the role of the EU in UK law, but it s also the single most important step we can take to prevent a cliff-edge for people and businesses, because it provides legal certainty,  she said in a statement.

Summary: मे की सरकार ने 'अराजक' प्रस्थान से बचने के लिए ब्रेक्सिट विधेयक को आगे बढ़ाया


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexico City school that collapsed in a powerful earthquake last week killing 19 children buckled under the heavy weight of floors added over the years with scant steel support, according to experts and witnesses.    The tragedy at the privately owned Enrique Rebsamen school in southern Mexico City, in which seven adults also died, has become a symbol of the devastation inflicted by the country s 7.1 magnitude quake, the worst in a generation. At least 355 people died in the capital and surrounding states.     The building was badly designed, poorly calculated and poorly constructed,  said Alfredo Perez, a 52-year old civil engineer who dashed to the school shortly after the Sept. 19 quake to help rescue efforts.  The reinforced concrete doesn t comply with specifications in construction regulations.    Alongside rescue workers, Perez said, he pulled bodies from the rubble. Then he sat in one of the undamaged classrooms and drew plans detailing potential design failures in the collapsed building.    Reuters showed those plans to six structural engineers along with Reuters  photos of the ruined structure. They independently concluded that the structure s columns lacked sufficient steel rebar to support all four floors and prevent them from snapping in such a powerful earthquake.   While the quantity of steel required under Mexico s stringent post-1985 building code varies depending on the size of structure, all six engineers said the building s columns were built with too little steel to withstand strong quakes.  Perez and another engineer specified that columns appeared to have less than half the required amount of steel reinforcement. They base their view on the number of vertical and horizontal steel rebar rods in the columns, which are visible in Reuters photos along with the measurements in Perez s plans.  It comes down to the lack of steel,  said Troy Morgan, a New York-based senior managing engineer at Exponent, an engineering consulting firm.    Since a 1985 quake toppled hundreds of buildings in Mexico City, planning officials developed a strict building code at the forefront of international standards for quake-proofing that raised the proportion of required steel reinforcement.   Reuters was unable to locate or contact the school s owner and principal, Monica Garcia. Teachers, current and former students and their families all said she had been at the premises during the quake and survived.   Reuters was unable to identify the builder. A spokesman for the Tlalpan district where the school was located said property owners are not required to notify authorities of the builders or architects they used for modifications. The spokesman said the district had no record of the builder that worked on the new floors at the school. People living by the school said they did not know who had done the work.   The Mexico City urban development department did not respond to requests for comment on whether the inspectors who certified the school had proper licenses or any history of complaints.    Although the school was founded in 1983, before the new code took effect, the administrative building that buckled was expanded from two to four floors over the last decade or so, neighbors and former students said.   Photos published by Google Maps show the building had four floors as of 2009 with an expansion of the top floor by 2014 and a further expansion in 2016.     It definitely did not comply with the post-1985 code,  said Eduardo Miranda, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Stanford who collected statistics on buildings that collapsed in Mexico s 1985 earthquake, citing the code, photos and plans.   Construction permits released by local authorities dated in 1983 and 1984 authorized a four story structure at the school site. The top two floors were added much later, meaning the existing structure should have been brought up to modern standards, according to Mexico City s construction code.  The engineers who studied the photos and plans said the existing building had not been visibly reinforced.   Mexican prosecutors said they had opened a probe into potential criminal responsibility of the owner and private inspectors for the collapse. Prosecutors also said they had opened an investigation in February into whether the school had the proper zoning permits to operate.     Luis Felipe Puente, coordinator of Mexico s Civil Protection department, told Reuters that local officials, the construction company and the owner of the property could all be held accountable if any violations were discovered.    One inspector, Juan Apolinar Torales Iniesta, gave the buildings its most recent safety certificate in June according to documents filed with the local government, which released them publicly.  Torales did not respond to requests for comment sent to telephone numbers and emails listed in a government database. At Torales  government-registered address, a man refused to identify himself and said the registered architectural engineer did not live there.  Claudia Sheinbaum, Tlalpan district mayor, filed a criminal complaint on Thursday accusing two prior attorneys for the district Alejandro Zepeda and Miguel Angel Guerrero of maliciously failing to enforce the law after discovering unpermitted construction between 2010 and 2014 on the upper floors.    What we ve found is truly outrageous,  she said, referring to a document dated Nov. 8, 2013 by the Tlalpan public works department that described demolition work on the upper floors causing structural damage to the building. Despite that document, which she made public and was reviewed by Reuters, the school was allowed to keep operating with a small fine, Sheinbaum said   Guerrero did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent to his email address. Zepeda did not respond to a message sent to his Facebook account.   All six engineers said the addition of two floors dangerously loaded down the building, given its lack of steel support.      If it was kept at two levels, it would have not collapsed...it would not have caused so many deaths,  said Casey Hemmatyar, managing director at Pacific Structural and Forensic Engineers Group, a consultancy firm in Los Angeles.    Based on the position of the ruins, the school lurched as much as 18 feet (5.5 m) towards the street before collapsing, a sign of weak columns, said Geoffrey Hichborn, chief engineer at Building Forensics International, a concrete consulting firm in Anaheim, California.   Mexico City s government has not completed its own analysis, and Sheinbaum said the rubble would be left in place for engineers to investigate.  Documents published by Sheinbaum on Tlalpan district s website, including building inspection reports and closure orders from the district s attorneys, show that officials ordered fourth-floor construction to be halted at several points between 2010 and 2014 because it lacked proper permits.   Sheinbaum s complaint filed Thursday refers to these documents and others filed with the district to say the irregularities were never resolved.     No evidence or documents exist that allow the conclusion that these irregularities were corrected,  the complaint said. Reuters was unable to independently confirm whether or not corrective measures were taken.

Summary: विशेषज्ञों का कहना है कि कमजोर स्तंभों, अतिरिक्त मंजिलों के कारण मेक्सिको में स्कूल ढह गए


BERLIN (Reuters) - With just one day left to conclude exploratory talks on forming a new coalition government, German parties were still far apart on Wednesday on the hot issue of immigration and the future governance of the euro zone. Merkel, 63, wants the exploratory talks to end on Thursday, when German media expect her to press all sides to strike a compromise before moving to formal negotiations that could lead to her securing a fourth term as Chancellor. Merkel is hoping to put together an unlikely alliance of her conservatives, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the ecologist Greens - a combination untested at national level but a deal which could head off fresh elections. The parties are struggling to reach agreement on the touchy issue of immigration, with the Greens firmly opposed to a conservative plan to cap at 200,000 per year the number of migrants Germany will accept for humanitarian reasons. The parties are also at odds over the number of foreigners who qualify to join relatives granted asylum in Germany. Differences over whether Germany should back a French proposal to create a joint euro zone budget also highlight the difficulties Merkel faces in trying to forge the awkward alliance. A document seen by Reuters, describing a possible government s stance on European issues, contains bracketed sentences reflecting areas of disagreement that must be settled by party leaders on Wednesday.  [The following compromise proposal could not be reached: There is a need for a capacity to buffer extraordinary, unpredictable economic emergency situations which are beyond the control of individual member states...],  one passage reads. Another sentence, described as the FDP position read:  We do not support a fiscal capacity in order to buffer the effects of economic shocks.  The paper contains two alternate phrasings on the banking union, one supported by Merkel s conservatives and the left-leaning Greens, and another with more hardline language backed by the pro-business FDP. THWARTING THE FAR-RIGHT Merkel needs a deal to head off fresh elections that mainstream politicians fear could see the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) make further gains after it surged into parliament for the first time after a September election. Businesses are eager for the parties to reach a deal.  We believe that all parties involved have understood the urgency to reach an agreement by Christmas,  said Dieter Kempf, chief of Germany s largest industry association, the BDI, warning that prolonged uncertainty could hit investment. The mood music coming out of the talks has been mixed. Late on Tuesday, Merkel and other senior conservatives drank wine with Greens co-leader Katrin Goering-Eckardt, conservative party sources said. But the coalition negotiations are complicated by the dynamics within the conservative bloc, which comprises Merkel s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). The CSU, worried about losing support in a state election next year, is uncompromising on immigration - a risk for the three-way  Jamaica  coalition, so-called because the parties  colours match those of the Caribbean country s flag. CSU Secretary General Andreas Scheuer said his party was ready to compromise, but added:  It is becoming ever more clear that Jamaica is not a pleasure trip.

Summary: आप्रवासन, यूरो बजट को लेकर जर्मन दलों में चौबीसों घंटे सौदेबाजी होती रही


PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen encouraged the United States and European Union on Friday to freeze the assets of Cambodian leaders abroad in response to his government s crackdown on the opposition and civil society. Hun Sen, the strongman who has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades, has taken a strident anti-Western line ahead of a 2018 election and has dismissed donor criticism of the dissolution of the main opposition party. The United States and European Union have suspended funding for next year s election and Washington has put visa curbs on some Cambodian leaders. There is no current proposal for asset freezes by either the United States or European Union, but some lawmakers have floated the idea.  I encourage the European Union and United States to freeze the wealth of Cambodian leaders abroad,  Hun Sen told a group of athletes in Phnom Penh, the capital. Hun Sen said he has no money abroad and any actions by the EU and the U.S. would not hurt him. The U.S. embassy made no comment. EU Ambassador George Edgar said on Friday there had been no decision on further measures by the bloc. The Supreme Court dissolved the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) last month at the request of the government, on the grounds it was plotting to seize power. Hun Sen accused Kem Sokha, the leader of the CNRP of a U.S.-backed anti-government plot. The opposition leader and the United States denied that. China, Cambodia s largest aid donor, has leant its support to Hun Sen, saying it respects Cambodia s right to defend its national security.

Summary: कंबोडिया के हुन सेन ने यूरोपीय संघ और अमेरिका को संपत्ति जब्त करने की चुनौती दी


BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Kurdish Peshmerga forces pulled out from the area of Khanaqin, on the border with Iran as Iraqi forces prepared to take over their positions, security sources said. The region is home to a large Kurdish community and the site of a small oil field, Khana. Responding to a Kurdish referendum on independence held last month, Iraqi government forces on Monday captured the Kurdish-held oil city of Kirkuk, transforming the country s balance of power.

Summary: कुर्द बलों ने इराक-ईरान सीमा पर खानाकिन क्षेत्र से वापसी की, सुरक्षा सूत्रों का कहना है


BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany and France will ask the European Union to consult about the possibility of imposing heavier sanctions on North Korea after its latest nuclear test, Germany s government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Monday.  It is exclusively North Korea, its leadership, and President Kim who are responsible for this provocation,  Seibert told a news conference, adding Pyongyang s ambassador would again be summoned to the Foreign Ministry.  North Korea is treading all over international law.  Berlin was in favor of a  diplomatic, peaceful  solution to the crisis, he said, adding this required a coordinated response from the entire world -  Not just the western world, but Russia and China too.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया के परमाणु परीक्षण के बाद जर्मनी और फ्रांस ने नए प्रतिबंध लगाए


(Reuters) - A committee of Kansas lawmakers will be charged with reconciling differences in legislation passed to plug a $280 million hole in the state’s fiscal 2017 budget after the Senate passed a revised version of a House-approved bill late on Thursday. Both versions would allow the state to borrow money from a long-term investment fund and delay a payment to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. But the monetary amounts and plans to repay the cash differ, J.G. Scott, assistant director for fiscal affairs at the Kansas Legislative Research Department, said on Friday. Tax cuts enacted in 2012 have gouged a hole in the Kansas budget as revenue failed to meet monthly estimates, although February marked a fourth straight month that collections met or exceeded projections. Kansas also faces higher education spending in the wake of a recent state supreme court ruling. Scott said the bills to fix the budget will head to a legislative conference committee probably next week. The Senate on Thursday rejected three attempts to amend the bill with across-the-board spending cuts of 2 percent, 1 percent and 0.5 percent. Republican Senate President Susan Wagle contended spending cuts, which would have included primary and secondary public schools, would ease tax hikes the legislature is expected to take up to tackle a $755 million projected budget shortfall over the next two fiscal years. A move in the state legislature last month to boost revenue by raising tax rates and eliminating a business exemption failed when the Senate was unable to override Republican Governor Sam Brownback’s veto. Complicating Kansas’ finances is a March 2 state supreme court ruling that found the school funding system falls short of a constitutional requirement for adequacy. The ruling, which set a June 30 deadline for the enactment of a constitutional funding method, could require Kansas to increase school funding by more than $500 million each year. Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings have said the ruling will put increased pressure on the state’s already shaky finances.  Meanwhile, resolutions are pending in the House and Senate to put a constitutional amendment on the November 2018 ballot that would require a two-thirds vote by both legislative chambers to pass any state tax increase. The measure also seeks an annual cap on state spending and creates funds for debt payments and a budget reserve. Scott said previous attempts to put similar measures on the ballot were not successful.

Summary: कान्सास के सांसद वित्तीय वर्ष 2017 का बजट तय करेंगे