PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Tom Westerman voted for Donald Trump in last year’s election but says he might not do so again after the president cut off billions of dollars in Obamacare subsidies to health insurance companies.  “It really upset me,” said Westerman, 63, a self-described “middle-class guy” with an annual household income of about $60,000 in the western Pennsylvania city of Arnold.  Westerman’s change of heart reflects mounting fears among middle-class Democrats and Republicans that their health insurance costs will soar as Trump weakens former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, which extended insurance to more than 20 million Americans.  Trump said last week he would stop paying the monthly subsidies, which he has derided as a bailout of insurers. The money reimburses insurers for discounts on deductibles, copays and other out-of-pocket costs the firms still must provide under Obamacare to low-income households.  Some insurers, anticipating that Trump would end the funding, had already raised 2018 premiums on insurance plans under Obama’s Affordable Care Act to recoup those funds. Others withdrew from Obamacare markets in many states because of the uncertainty.  “It seems like he is trying to hurt the middle class,” said Westerman, who is retired from a manufacturing company in Pennsylvania, a state that Trump won by little more than 44,000 votes over Democrat Hillary Clinton. It was the first time a Republican candidate had won Pennsylvania since 1988.  Westerman already pays $520 a month in healthcare premiums and about $700 a month for his 21-year-old daughter’s college tuition. “He says he’s going to make it better for everyone. How does a (premium) increase make it better?”  A White House spokesman declined to comment and referred inquiries to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  Trump has called subsidy payments a “gift” for insurance companies. His administration has argued that it cannot lawfully make the payments unless Congress passes new legislation.  Some people said they were encouraged to see Trump deliver on a campaign promise to dismantle Obamacare, after repeated failures by congressional Republicans to repeal the 2010 law.  “I support the president because I think Obamacare is imploding and it not only impacts those on Obamacare, but everybody,” said Roger Heuring, 58, who lives in New Jersey. Heuring is on an employer plan but said his sister in Ohio buys insurance on the Obamacare market.  “Forget the president – it’s the Congress’s responsibility. They’re the ones that passed this mess to begin with,” Heuring said.  In addition to cutting subsidies, Trump signed an executive order last week that could eventually make it easier for Americans to buy cheaper, bare-bones health insurance plans than required by Obamacare.  On Tuesday, two senators struck a bipartisan deal to stabilize the Obamacare market, including reinstating the subsidies for two years. Trump initially said he might back the deal, but reversed course on Wednesday, as senior Republican lawmakers spoke out against a plan that might allow Obamacare to survive.  Meanwhile, Democratic attorneys-general have asked a California judge to intervene and direct the administration to continue the payments until their legal challenge to Trump’s cutoff is settled in court.  The moves created new uncertainty over the subsidies, just two weeks before Americans begin to enroll in Obamacare plans for 2018.  MIDDLE-CLASS SQUEEZE  If the subsidies are not restored, some middle-income families and small business owners who buy insurance on the Obamacare markets could see their premiums rise the most, said Larry Levitt, health economist at the Kaiser Family Foundation.  These include cash-strapped self-employed workers who rely on Obamacare to buy insurance but make too much money to qualify for government assistance. The very poor receive other forms of government subsidies to buy coverage that shields them from premium increases.  Karyn Feit, a self-employed mental health therapist in Philadelphia, said a hike in premiums will strain her already-stretched finances and force her to cut back on trips to Florida to care for sick parents.  Feit, 47, and her husband together earn $100,000 annually, placing her among America’s vast tier of middle-income families. They bought Obamacare individual coverage four years ago, when Feit left her job at a hospital to start her own business, leaving her without employer coverage. She has no children.  Her current monthly premiums are $391. She expects this to rise by $80 a month after Trump’s decision.  “The first thing I would have to cut is travel, and caring for other people,” said Feit, a Democrat.  Trump voter Stephen Lewis, 62, lost his job as a veterinarian in Wisconsin and bought a health insurance plan under Obamacare. Lewis still supports Trump although he said he fears that his premiums, now $309 a month, could rise further with the subsidy cut, making it harder for him to meet other expenses, including $611 in monthly mortgage payments.  “It is a concern obviously,” Lewis said.  GRAPHIC-The Trump Effect: Repeal and Replace

Summary: कुछ मध्यम वर्ग के अमेरिकियों को चिंता है कि ट्रम्प की स्वास्थ्य सब्सिडी में कटौती से नुकसान होगा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and top members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team on Monday discussed a controversial plan to tax imports during an evening meeting on Capitol Hill, a Trump adviser said. Trump’s incoming chief strategist Stephen Bannon said the meeting examined two provisions of Ryan’s “Better Way” tax reform blueprint, including a border-adjustability measure intended to boost U.S. manufacturing by taxing imports while exempting U.S. business export revenues from corporate taxation. The discussion also focused on a House “territorial” tax proposal that would end U.S. taxation on the foreign profits of U.S.-based multinationals, Bannon told reporters as more than a half-dozen Trump transition team members left the 2-1/2 hour meeting. Bannon said the discussion involved “working through” border adjustability and added that the territorial measure was “also what this meeting’s about. Start working through it, make sure everybody understands it and is on the same page.” Some tax experts believe Trump has signalled his support for the border adjustability provision in recent tweets warning that companies including automakers could face a border tax if they expand manufacturing abroad and ship products back to the U.S. market.  Trump and Ryan agree that tax reform should reduce tax rates for individuals and businesses, do away with longstanding tax loopholes and broaden the tax base in order to drive U.S. economic growth. Advocates say the House Republican border-adjustability measure could help Trump meet his pledge of boosting manufacturing jobs in the United States. It would also pay for lower tax rates by raising more than $1 trillion in revenues over 10 years, analysts say.  But some industries including retailers, automakers and oil refiners claim it would raise consumer prices by making exports more expensive. Other critics say it could be vulnerable to a  challenge before the World Trade Organization. House Republicans say their territorial provision would bring the United States into line with other countries that do not tax their business’s foreign profits.  Up to now, Trump has favored maintaining the current U.S. tax system, which taxes U.S. earnings abroad but allows companies to defer taxes until profits are returned. U.S. corporations have sought to avoid the tax by stashing about $2.6 trillion in earnings overseas.   Also attending Monday’s meeting with Ryan and his staff were Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary-nominee Steven Mnuchin, incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn.

Summary: रेयान और ट्रम्प की टीम ने कैपिटल हिल बैठक में सीमा कर पर चर्चा की


BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States government upholds and sticks to the “one China” policy, U.S. President Donald Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday during talks in Beijing, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported. As president-elect, Trump broke with protocol and accepted a congratulatory phone call from the Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in December, angering China, which claims the self-ruled island as integral Chinese territory.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने कहा कि अमेरिका 'एक चीन' नीति को बनाए रखता है और उस पर कायम हैः सिन्हुआ


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday hailed a first meeting between President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “historic and productive,” and said Trump recognizes U.S. ties with India as “one of the most important strategic relationships in the 21st century.” Addressing the U.S.-India Business Council a day after Trump’s first meeting with Modi in Washington, Pence stressed that India must continue to enact economic reforms to ensure the bilateral trade relationship was reciprocal. Pence echoed Trump’s remarks in the White House Rose Garden on Monday, when the president called on India to relax trade barriers while taking pains to stress the importance of a strong U.S.-India relationship. Pence praised Modi’s move to simplify his country’s goods and services tax, strengthen protection of intellectual property rights and break down barriers to investment and market access, but said India needed to do more to create the “fair and reciprocal” trade relationship Trump sought. “We truly believe, with great respect, that the time to act is now,” Pence added.  The vice president emphasized the growing security relationship with India, both in the fight against terrorism and to ensure unimpeded movement of commerce - an allusion to shared concerns about China’s territorial claims in Asia. “President Trump recognizes that the United States’ relationship with India is one of the most important strategic relationships in the 21st century,” he said. Pence pointed to fast-expanding U.S. defense sales to India and added: “The United States will continue to enable the Indian armed forces to obtain the resources and technology it needs to protect the Indian people and support security in the region.” He said the United States would sell India Sea Guardian drones, Apache attack helicopters and C-17 transport aircraft and said that the process to approve the sales was “underway as we speak.” The White House said after Trump’s meeting with Modi that it had offered India the naval variant of the Predator drone made by U.S. defense contractor General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, a deal that would be worth more than $2 billion.  Such a sale of sensitive hardware must be authorized by the State Department before being sent to Congress for review.  As Modi and Trump met on Monday, a Pentagon agency said the State Department had approved the possible sale of a Boeing C-17 transport aircraft with an estimated cost of $366 million. The Apache deal dates back to 2010 when Congress was notified of a $1.4 billion potential sale of 22 Apaches to the Indian Air Force. In 2015, Boeing Co announced the order had been finalized, but did not disclose a price. The first  deliveries are scheduled for 2019.    A source familiar with the deal said the Indian Air Force has some options for additional Apaches and the Indian Army has also expressed interest in the aircraft. The White House said that if completed, the new sales would  increase bilateral defense trade to nearly $19 billion.

Summary: पेंस ने कहा कि ट्रंप-मोदी की बैठक 'ऐतिहासिक और सार्थक' रही


BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian military has cleared Islamic State from its last pocket of territory in central Syria after months of fighting, a Syrian military source said on Friday. The enclave east of the Syrian city of Homs had lain close to the main road running between the cities of Homs and Aleppo near the town of al-Salamiya.  The armed forces completed military operations in the eastern Homs countryside, eliminating the last groups of the terrorist Islamic State in the area and liberating an area of 1,800 square kilometers,  the military source said. Islamic State has lost swathes of Syrian territory to separate campaigns being waged by Syria s army, supported by Russian forces and Iran-backed militias, and by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia. Government forces and their allies are trying to oust Islamic State from its remaining Syrian positions in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor. Last month the Syrian army s advance to Deir al-Zor city lifted a three-year-long siege imposed by Islamic State on a government-held enclave there. On Friday Syrian forces reached the edge of Islamic State s current main base in Syria, al-Mayadin, which lies around 45 km (28 miles) to the south of Deir al-Zor city.

Summary: सीरियाई सेना ने मध्य सीरिया के अंतिम क्षेत्र से आईएसआईएस को खदेड़ दियाः सैन्य सूत्र


PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron will go to the Athens hill considered the birthplace of democracy to urge fellow Europeans to tackle the democratic crisis he believes the continent faces, his aides said on Tuesday. Macron, who swept to power on a pro-EU platform last May, has made reforming the euro zone and EU institutions battered by a series of crises - from the economy, to immigration and Brexit - a priority of his mandate.  It s a symbol of a new chapter (for Europe),  a French presidency official said of the speech Macron plans to give on Thursday evening on the hill of Pnyx, where ancient Greeks gathered to host popular assemblies.  We have gone through a financial crisis and a sort of confidence crisis, Greece knows that, it suffered from them. The president wants to show that Europe must be rebuilt democratically,  the official said. Macron will promote his campaign proposal to launch  democratic conventions  - or public debates - in European countries to discuss the future of the EU. The president, whose popularity ratings have slumped at home following a series of unpopular measures including proposals to cut public spending and welfare benefits, also wants to make institutions governing Europe s single currency more democratic. He wants a euro zone finance minister to manage a common budget that would be accountable to a euro zone parliament, but that proposal has met with robust resistance abroad, notably in Berlin. During a two-day trip ending on Friday, Macron will be accompanied by around 40 French business leaders, including from blue-chip firms Total, L Oreal, Sanofi, Engie and Vinci. After a German-French consortium won a majority stake in Thessaloniki Port last June, France is keen to push its companies to invest in Greek infrastructure, energy and the agri-food business. French officials also want to avoid more strategic sectors of the Greek economy from falling into non-European hands after China s COSCO Shipping bought a 51 percent stake in Piraeus Port, Greece s biggest, for 280.5 million euros.  It poses a sovereignty problem, it s kind of a European failure,  the French official said.  In June, Macron urged the European Commission to come up with a system for screening investments in strategic sectors from third countries, something some other western European nations have supported. But smaller eastern and southern European economies that have benefited from Chinese investments have rejected any steps against Beijing.

Summary: एथेंस में मैक्रों यूरोपीय संघ के लोकतंत्र के नवीनीकरण का आग्रह करेंगे


MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond defended capitalism as the only route to prosperity on Monday, in an attempt to counter the opposition Labour Party s increasingly popular vision for a more centrally-controlled economy. In a speech to the ruling Conservative Party that contained only two new policy announcements, Hammond also said that the government s immediate task was to deal with the uncertainty for citizens and businesses resulting from Brexit. Prime Minister Theresa May is grappling with deep divisions within her party over how to handle the Brexit talks and serious doubts about her leadership after her botched bet on a June snap election lost the Conservatives their majority in parliament and boosted Labour s hopes of eventually regaining power. Hammond, who was sidelined by May during the election campaign, said last week s Labour Party conference showed it wanted to impose on Britain, the world s fifth largest economy, the  socialist fantasy  seen in Cuba, Venezuela or Zimbabwe.  We saw Labour in the raw, exposed for what it has sadly become: a party taken hostage by a clique of hard-left extremist infiltrators, people who despise Britain s values and talk down our country,  Hammond told Conservative Party activists. Seeking to put the economy center-stage in the Conservatives  pitch to voters, Hammond said Britain could only hope to experience rising living standards  by harnessing the power of the market economy . Last week Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn set out plans for a much more active role for the state in the economy, including renationalization of key infrastructure, higher government spending, and more taxation and control of the banking sector. With opinion polls showing Labour gaining support, Hammond aims to convince voters that Corbyn would make them poorer. Labour s leaders, he said,  openly proclaim their ambition to demolish our successful modern market economy and replace it with a back-to-the-future socialist fantasy with hundreds of billions of extra debt for the next generation to pay.  His words echo those of May, who last week issued her own defense of capitalism - a sign of growing concern about the threat Labour poses to the pro-business orthodoxy that has underpinned British economic policy since Margaret Thatcher s reforms in the 1980s.  Our economy is not broken: It is fundamentally strong,  Hammond said, while also accepting that a lack of progress in talks on Britain s divorce settlement with the European Union and uncertainty over future ties were weighing on businesses.  The process of negotiating our exit from the EU has created uncertainty so investment has slowed as businesses wait for clarity,  Hammond said. Business groups welcomed Hammond s defense of free markets, but said the government needed to do much more.  The speech shows a government strong on diagnosis, but weak on action. Businesses looking for clear vision and urgent delivery have been left with slim pickings,  said Carolyn Fairbairn, head of the Confederation of British Industry. Hammond pledged 400 million pounds ($535 million) of additional road and rail spending and 10 billion pounds of funding to help young Britons get on the property ladder. The government has also announced plans to tackle high levels of student debt and limits on pay for public sector workers.  We must never deny or dismiss the underlying concerns that the election articulated: we must listen to them and we must respond,  Hammond said, adding that the government should offer  pragmatic solutions  to improve ordinary people s lives. But with Brexit on the horizon, a slowing economy and the Bank of England hinting that interest rates could rise, May and Hammond have limited room for fiscal maneuver. The British Chambers of Commerce has warned that public rifts within the cabinet are undermining business confidence. Divisions over Europe helped sink the Conservative premierships of Thatcher, John Major and David Cameron.  Public disagreements between cabinet ministers in recent weeks have only served to undermine business confidence, not just on Brexit negotiations, but also on the many issues where firms need to see clear action from government closer to home,   said the Chambers  director general, Adam Marshall. Last month rating agency Moody s downgraded Britain s credit rating, saying government plans to reduce its debt load had been knocked off course and that Brexit would harm the economy. Labour said Hammond s speech on Monday was disappointing.  After 40 wasted minutes speaking and seven wasted years of Tory economic failure, the country expected to see the Chancellor change course,  Labour s finance policy chief John McDonnell said.  But instead, after a year in the job, he is continuing down the path of his predecessor and clinging to an old economic model that fails the many.  ($1 = 0.7477 pounds)

Summary: ब्रिटेन के वित्त मंत्री ने श्रम को चुनौती देते हुए कहा, पूँजीवाद ही एकमात्र रास्ता है


MADRID (Reuters) - Spain s state prosecutor has asked for Catalonia s police chief - under formal investigation for sedition - to be held in custody without bail, a legal source said on Monday.  A judge is due to decide on this later on Monday, the source said.

Summary: स्पेन के अभियोजक ने कैटलन पुलिस प्रमुख को हिरासत में रखने की मांग की


UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States was further isolated on Monday over President Donald Trump s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital when it blocked a United Nations Security Council call for the declaration to be withdrawn. The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-drafted resolution, which did not specifically mention the United States or Trump but which expressed  deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem.   What we witnessed here in the Security Council is an insult. It won t be forgotten,  U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said after the vote, adding that it was the first veto cast by the United States in more than six years.  The fact that this veto is being done in defense of American sovereignty and in defense of America s role in the Middle East peace process is not a source of embarrassment for us; it should be an embarrassment to the remainder of the Security Council,  Haley said. The U.N. draft resolution affirmed  that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council.  Trump abruptly reversed decades of U.S. policy this month when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel s capital, generating outrage from Palestinians and the Arab world and concern among Washington s western allies.  In the wake of the decision of the United States ... the situation has become more tense with an increase in incidents, notably rockets fired from Gaza and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces,  U.N. Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council ahead of the vote. Trump also plans to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. The draft U.N. resolution had called upon all countries to refrain from establishing diplomatic missions in Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Haley and Trump for the veto in a video clip posted on his Facebook page.   Israel considers Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital and wants all embassies based there. Palestinians want the capital of an independent Palestinian state to be in the city s eastern sector, which Israel captured in a 1967 war and annexed in a move never recognized internationally. Following the U.S. veto, Egypt s Foreign Ministry said Arab states, which had agreed earlier this month to seek a Security Council resolution, would meet to evaluate the situation to determine what their next steps might be. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said the Palestinians would seek a rare emergency special session of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly on Trump s decision. Under a 1950 resolution, an emergency special session can be called for the General Assembly to consider a matter  with a view to making appropriate recommendations to members for collective measures  if the Security Council fails to act. Only 10 such sessions have been convened, and the last time the General Assembly met in such a session was in 2009 on Israeli actions in occupied Palestinian territories. Any outcome of such a session is non-binding, but carries political weight.

Summary: संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका ने ट्रम्प के येरुशलम निर्णय को वापस लेने के लिए संयुक्त राष्ट्र के आह्वान को वीटो किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Having Republicans control both the White House and Congress could deliver more federal funds to charter schools and also create competition for dollars from alternative approaches to education, the head of a charter school lobbying group told its members on Monday. President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, both Republicans, suggested in their proposed budget last month to increase federal funding for charter schools, which are public schools that are run independently from local districts, typically by a corporation. “We have a huge opportunity to score major funding increases for our movement,” said National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President Nina Rees at an annual meeting. “But if you don’t speak up now, we may never have as good a chance to make a difference for our students.” More than three million children across the country attend charter schools, Rees said. The budget also proposed increasing money for other “school choice” programs, primarily giving families vouchers to pay private school tuition. The overall education budget would be cut by $9 billion under the Trump administration’s plan, which Congress must still approve. The two major teacher unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, have said the budget would slash public school funding to free up money for private initiatives. Democrats have supported charter schools in the past, but now are nervous about associating themselves with Trump policies, Rees said. Republicans have long wanted to pursue ideas different from the traditional state schools. Rees told the meeting that some Republicans could give charter schools a lower priority than other issues on their legislative agenda.  “All of us need to understand that accepting the president’s support for charter schools doesn’t tie us to his whole agenda,” Rees said. Last week, DeVos faced hostile questions from a U.S. Senate committee about her voucher ideas, with her mostly responding that she was only exploring the possibility of a program. Past Republican proposals would provide “vouchers” via tax credits for parents. Supporters say vouchers could give children in neighborhoods with weak public schools the chance to receive a better education at local private institutions. Critics say vouchers are intended to boost private-sector profits with public money, and that the suggested subsidy amounts are too low to make tuition affordable for the poorest parents.

Summary: चार्टर स्कूल सत्ता में रिपब्लिकन के साथ अवसर देखते हैंः लॉबिंग समूह


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eight to 10 Republican U.S. senators have serious concerns about Republican healthcare legislation to roll back Obamacare, moderate Republican Senator Susan Collins, who opposes the bill, said on Sunday. The Senate, which is delaying its consideration of the bill while Arizona Republican Senator John McCain recuperates from surgery to remove a blood clot, will take it up as soon as all senators are available, Senator John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican senator, said. McCain’s absence casts doubt on whether the Senate would be able to pass legislation to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement, commonly known as Obamacare. Collins is one of two Republican senators who have already said that they would not even vote to open debate on the latest version of the bill released on Thursday, meaning one more defection from the Republican ranks could kill it.. Republicans control the Senate by a 52-48 margin. With the Democrats solidly opposed to the legislation, the Republicans can only pass the bill if all their other members back it and if Republican Vice President Mike Pence casts his tie-breaking vote in favor. A Washington Post-ABC News poll published on Sunday showed Americans preferred Obamacare by a 2-1 margin. Approaching six months in office, Trump’s overall approval rating has dropped to 36 percent from 42 percent in April.  While Collins said that she did not know if the legislation would ultimately pass, she said as many as 10 Republicans have doubts about it. “There are about eight to 10 Republican senators who have serious concerns about this bill,” Collins told CNN’s “State of the Union” program, faulting the bill for its major cuts to the Medicaid government health insurance program for the poor, which she said would harm rural hospitals and nursing homes. “I don’t know whether it will pass, but I do know this, we should not be making fundamental changes in a vital safety net program that’s been on the books for 50 years - the Medicaid program - without having a single hearing to evaluate what the consequences are going to be,” she added. Republican Senator Rand Paul also reiterated his opposition to the bill, which he described as “terrible” because it retained many of the Obamacare taxes and subsidies. “The current system is terrible,” Paul said on Fox News Sunday. “I don’t think Republicans should put their name on this. It is a bad political strategy and it will not fix the problem.” The bill unwinds Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion over three years, from 2021 to 2024. But it goes beyond repealing Obamacare by imposing drastic cuts to Medicaid that deepen in 2025. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cut Medicaid by nearly $800 billion by 2026, and would cut Medicaid 35 percent come 2036. McCain, who plans to stay in Arizona this week after a procedure to remove a 2-inch (5-cm) blood clot from above his left eye, has expressed concern about the healthcare bill but has not said how he would vote. “We need Senator McCain in more ways than one. As soon as we have a full contingent of senators we will have that vote,” Cornyn, of Texas, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program.

Summary: आठ से 10 रिपब्लिकन को स्वास्थ्य सेवा विधेयक पर चिंताः कॉलिन्स


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Actor and director George Clooney, a supporter of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, broke ranks over campaign financing on Saturday to condemn the “obscene” sums of money in U.S. politics and praised Clinton’s chief political rival in the process.    Clooney made the remarks in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet The Press” the day after he and his wife, Amal, hosted a fundraiser on Democratic Party hopeful Clinton’s behalf Friday night with a price tag of up to $353,400 per couple.  “We had some protesters last night when we pulled up in San Francisco and they’re right to protest. They’re absolutely right. It is an obscene amount of money,” Clooney said in excerpts released on Saturday. The interview will air on Sunday. Bernie Sanders, a U.S. Senator from Vermont and Clinton’s rival in the race for the Democratic nomination to run for the White House in the Nov. 8 election, has pounced on former secretary of state Clinton over the big-ticket event and for accepting large sums of money for her campaign. “The Sanders campaign when they talk about it is absolutely right. It’s ridiculous that we should have this kind of money in politics. I agree completely,” Clooney said.  In response to the dinner, the Sanders campaign on Friday evening sent out an email to supporters asking them to help reach their fundraising goals by chipping in $3.53 apiece, instead.

Summary: क्लिंटन के समर्थक जॉर्ज क्लूनी ने व्हाइट हाउस की दौड़ में 'अश्लील' राशि की निंदा की


(Reuters) - On Friday, a cruise ship carrying around 3,000 passengers will dock at St. John s harbor in the Caribbean island of Antigua. It will not be where the passengers expected to land when they booked, however. The Carnival Plc ship was meant to dock in Saint Martin, 100 miles (160 km) to the northwest. However, Hurricane Irma devastated the island, wrecking its port and infrastructure, and leaving it out of bounds for tourists. Antiguan officials now expect the Carnival Fascination to visit every Friday, and have gotten about 25 calls from major cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Norwegian Cruise Lines looking to make stops through the end of the year. For Asot Michael, Antigua and Barbuda s minister for tourism, the unexpected arrival of thousands of tourists is a bittersweet bonus.  We are going to be benefiting. I don t want to benefit from others  misfortune after such a disaster,  Michael said.  But because the port is so damaged in Saint Martin, so damaged in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, we re getting some of those cancellations. Those cruise lines now are making ports of call into Antigua.      Hurricane Irma left behind a stark divide in the Caribbean ahead of the winter tourism season that is the region s economic lifeblood. As travel to the region picks up again, cruise lines, hotels, airlines and other companies are directing customers to places that are able to host them, and away from the worst-hit areas.  Popular winter vacation spots such as Saint Martin, the British Virgin Islands and Saint Barthelemy that were devastated by the storm could be sidelined for weeks or months.  In 2016, 29.3 million tourists visited the Caribbean and spent $35.5 billion, both new records, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization.   For Saint Martin and Saint Bart, the holiday season looks very compromised,  said Jean-Pierre Mas, chairman of French travel agency federation SNAV.  My sentiment is that the winter season is lost. Decisions to book for the winter season are taken right now.   Busy tourist destinations in the western Caribbean, such as Barbados and Trinidad, were well away from the path of the storm. Cozumel, on Mexico s Gulf Coast, got four additional visits this week as ships were rerouted to avoid the storm s impact, although Cozumel tourism officials said three cruises were canceled.  Florida, which was anticipating another record year for its $100 billion a year tourism industry, is expected to rebound in time for the peak winter travel months, Moody s Analytics said earlier this week. Walt Disney Co reopened its Orlando Disney World theme park on Sept. 12. The Florida Keys, however, wrestled with more severe storm damage. [nL2N1LR0N1] [nF9N1L0029] [nL2N1LS1HW] Some travel companies said they are still assessing the situation and had not made firm decisions about rerouting ships. Tour operator Virgin Holidays said that it was beginning to return to regular operations in Antigua, despite damage to some properties on the island.  Antigua wasn t as badly damaged as we feared, and we have reopened tourism there, although three resorts are currently not on sale because of the damage,  a spokesman for Virgin Atlantic said.  Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia are three big tourist examples that were not impacted.  However, the small island of Saint Martin, which France shares with the Netherlands, could miss out on much of its tourism season. French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday vowed to swiftly rebuild the islands of the French Caribbean, including Saint Martin, and a French public reinsurance body estimated a cost of at least 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) from the damage there and in Saint Barthelemy. [nL2N1LT1SF] [nL5N1LQ09G] Hurricane Irma badly damaged many hotels on the island, such as AccorHotels Mercure hotel. A spokeswoman for Accor said that while nobody had been hurt, the hotel would be closed until Jan. 8 at least.  While 70 hotel rooms remain operational, they are being used to house military forces and other staff that are supporting the relief effort. AccorHotels is offering cancellation and reimbursement for those who had booked stays at the hotel.

Summary: इरमा ने भाग्यशाली कैरेबियाई द्वीपों के लिए कड़वा यात्रा बोनस बनाया


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - France and Germany edged toward achieving a 70-year-old ambition to integrate European defenses on Monday, signing a pact with 21 other EU governments to fund, develop and deploy armed forces after Britain s decision to quit the bloc. First proposed in the 1950s and long resisted by Britain, European defense planning, operations and weapons development now stands its best chance in years as London steps aside and the United States pushes Europe to pay more for its security. Foreign and defense ministers gathered at a signing ceremony in Brussels to represent 23 EU governments joining the pact, paving the way for EU leaders to sign it in December.  Those governments will for the first time legally bind themselves into joint projects as well as pledging to increase defense spending and contribute to rapid deployments.  Today we are taking a historic step,  Germany s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters.  We are agreeing on the future cooperation on security and defense issues ... it s really a milestone in European development,  he said. The pact includes all EU governments except Britain, which is leaving the bloc, Denmark, which has opted out of defense matters, Ireland, Portugal and Malta. Traditionally neutral Austria was a late addition to the pact.   Paris originally wanted a vanguard of EU countries to bring money and assets to French-led military missions and projects, while Berlin has sought to be more inclusive, which could reduce effectiveness. Its backers say that if successful, the formal club of 23 members will give the European Union a more coherent role in tackling international crises and end the kind of shortcomings seen in Libya in 2011, when European allies relied on the United States for air power and munitions. Unlike past attempts, the U.S.-led NATO alliance backs the project, aiming to benefit from stronger militaries. The club will be backed by a 5-billion-euro defense fund for buying weapons, a special fund to finance operations and money from the EU s common budget for defense research. Members will also be required to submit national plans and be subject to a review system identifying weak spots in European armies with the goal of plugging those gaps together. Many governments say Russia s seizure of Ukraine s Crimea in 2014 was a turning point, after years of defense spending cuts that left Europe without vital capabilities.   This is a commitment for countries to do better together,  French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.  It comes at a time of significant tension,  he said, referring indirectly to Russia s rising military reach and Islamic militants who have attacked European cities. Despite an Anglo-French-led EU defense integration effort in 1998, Britain blocked formal collaboration on military matters, wary of the creation of an EU army. Defense integration was revived by France and Germany, with support from Italy and Spain, in a show of unity after Britons voted to leave the EU in June 2016. The EU had struggled in military and humanitarian missions in the Balkans, Libya and in Africa over the past 20 years and were caught off guard by Russia s Crimea annexation. As the EU initiative, known as Permanent Structured Cooperation, has gained momentum, British officials have been pressing for involvement. Britain s aerospace industry and its biggest defense firm BAE Systems (BAES.L) fear losing out, diplomats said.  British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson likened London s support to Gothic architecture, saying:  We are there, like a flying buttress to support the cathedral,  he told reporters.  In a possible compromise, Britain may be able to join in, but only on an exceptional basis if it provides substantial funds and expertise.

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ ने दशकों की लंबी खोज में रक्षा समझौते पर हस्ताक्षर किए


ISLAMABAD/LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani police have arrested dozens of members of a hard-line  Islamist party that has blocked a main entrance to the capital since last week, a provincial spokesman said, in the latest confrontation between religious activists and authorities. Hundreds of supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan party have blocked a main road to Islamabad since Friday, threatening violence if their demand that the minister of law be sacked is not met. The group blames the minister, Zahid Hamid, for changes to an electoral oath that it says amounts to blasphemy. The government puts the issue down to a clerical error. Pakistan s blasphemy law has become a lightning rod for Islamists, especially since 2011 when the liberal governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, was murdered by a bodyguard for questioning the law that mandates the death penalty for insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammad. A spokesman for the Punjab provincial government, Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, told Reuters the protests were a  serious inconvenience for people and disturbing public life  in the province that surrounds Islamabad.  The Punjab government has detained dozens of Tehreek-e-Labaik s activists from various districts,  he said. Labaik spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi said in a statement police arrested hundreds of its workers in a countrywide swoop, mainly in the party s base in Punjab.  Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal late on Monday urged the protesters to call off the sit-in, saying he hoped the government  wouldn t be forced to take extreme steps .  One security source said the protesters detained several policemen, seized their weapons and mistreated them.   The abduction of the police is a heinous crime,  Iqbal said  in a statement. Police have accused the protesters, who are occupying the main artery between the capital and the nearby city of Rawalpindi, of throwing stones at them. Fearing violence, the government has blocked several roads with shipping containers to corral the protesters, but that has caused hours-long traffic jams. Minister of state for interior affairs Talal Chaudhry said the government had refused to accept the demand to sack the minister, and instead had ordered police to block any more Labaik supporters or leaders from joining the protest. In 2007, a confrontation between authorities and supporters of radical preachers at an Islamabad mosque led to the death of more than 100 people when commandos stormed the complex.  We re still trying to resolve this issue through dialogue but the situation is becoming intolerable,  Chaudhry, told reporters.  If this cannot be resolved, the roads will have to be cleared.

Summary: पाकिस्तान पुलिस ने राजधानी के प्रवेश द्वार को अवरुद्ध करने वाली इस्लामी पार्टी के दर्जनों लोगों को गिरफ्तार किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday defended President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees, but said he regretted the confusion caused by its implementation. “The president has a responsibility to the security of this country,” Ryan told reporters. “It’s regrettable that there was confusion on the rollout of this. No one wanted to see people with green cards or special immigrant visas, like translators, get caught up in all of this.” The Wisconsin Republican said he spoke at length with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and was “confident that he is, on a going forward basis, going to make sure that things are done correctly.”

Summary: रयान ने ट्रम्प के आव्रजन आदेश का बचाव किया लेकिन भ्रम के लिए खेद व्यक्त किया


MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish police on Friday detained a man they said had a close relationship with a number of those involved in last month s attacks in Barcelona when militant Islamists used a van to hit pedestrians and carried out a follow-up attack, killing 16. The Moroccan man, 24, is a resident in Spain and had connections to the Islamist cell which took part in the attack, especially the imam Abdelbaki Es Satty, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Police are looking at the man s part in the acquisition of materials, specifically hydrogen peroxide, which was used in the manufacture of some 100 kilos of TATP explosives, the ministry said. The cell had accumulated around 120 canisters of butane gas at a house in a town south of Barcelona with which, police said following the attacks, it had planned to carry out a larger bomb attack. A blast that destroyed the house in the town of Alcanar on Aug. 16, the eve of the Barcelona attack, was accidentally triggered by the cell, police say. Satty, said to be the leader of the militant group, died in the explosion. Six of the suspects were killed by police during the attacks and four have been arrested, with two held in prison.  Spanish police have arrested 201 people they claim are associated with militant Islamists since raising the alert level to 4, the second highest, in June 2015.

Summary: स्पेन पुलिस ने बार्सिलोना हमलों से जुड़े व्यक्ति को हिरासत में लिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is expected to nominate New York lawyer George T. Conway III to lead the U.S. Justice Department’s civil division, a source briefed on the matter said on Friday. Conway, the husband of Trump’s senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, is a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He has represented Philip Morris International Inc,  Cardinal Health Inc and the National Football League among many corporate clients.  He did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The White House and Justice Department also declined comment. As head of the civil division, Conway would be in charge of defending government actions, including Trump’s revised executive order banning citizens from six Muslim-majority nations from traveling to the United States. This week, judges in Hawaii and Maryland blocked implementation of Trump’s order that retains a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen that was part of an earlier order  blocked by the courts. Conway was one of a team of lawyers who drafted a legal brief on behalf of Paula Jones who sued President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment, according to numerous media reports. Conway wrote in a 1994 Los Angeles Times op-ed that Clinton should not have immunity from Jones’ lawsuit “because it would place presidents above the law. It would enable a president to take out a mortgage on a summer home, refuse to make payments and yet be immune from foreclosure for four or eight years.”  The civil division defends U.S. agencies against thousands of lawsuits filed annually over government policies, laws, domestic and foreign operations, entitlement programs, law enforcement and military actions, and counter-terrorism efforts. The division also sues on behalf of the government to recoup money lost through fraud, loan defaults and the abuse of federal funds, especially involving Medicare.

Summary: जस्टिस डिपार्टमेंट सिविल यूनिट का नेतृत्व करने के लिए न्यूयॉर्क के वकील को नियुक्त करेंगे ट्रंपः सूत्र


LONDON (Reuters) - While 2017 saw the tide of the military conflict in Syria seemingly turn against Islamic State forces, the humanitarian crisis prompted by the conflict intensified in severity and in the breadth of the areas of the country it affects. For a graphic on Syria's population needs, click  tmsnrt.rs/2AGP18C As a result of the conflict, more than 13 million Syrian civilians are classified as being in need - over 5.5 million of them in acute need - and are facing threats to their physical security, basic rights and living conditions. For a graphic on Syrian IPD camps, click  tmsnrt.rs/2jqdybT These Reuters graphics chart a range of measures of the effects of Syria s crisis between 2016 and 2017, from internally displaced people to the severity of humanitarian needs. For a graphic on population exposed to hostilities, click  tmsnrt.rs/2ApEsHA In addition, other graphics look at the 2017 data revealing the amount that the country s population that has exposed to hostilities and communities where vital services have become overburdened. For a graphic on overburdened communities in Syria, click tmsnrt.rs/2A21vHU The data reveals growth in both the areas of the country that have been affected by the conflict, and the intensity of the humanitarian situation in those areas, using data provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Summary: सीरिया के मानवीय संकट में वृद्धि


TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Friday the decision by the United States to withdraw from the Paris climate accord was “regrettable” and that climate change required a concerted effort by the whole of the international community. “Japan believes the leadership of the developed countries to be of great importance (on climate issues), and the steady implementation of the Paris Agreement is critical in this regard,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that Japan would continue to call on the United States to engage on the issue of climate change.

Summary: जापान ने कहा कि वैश्विक जलवायु समझौते से अमेरिका की वापसी 'खेदजनक' है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would be submitting planned reforms to the Affordable Care Act in early March or mid-March. “We’re doing Obamacare, we’re in the final stages,” Trump told a news conference, adding: “So we will be submitting sometime in early March, mid-March.” Trump ran for the White House last year on a promise to repeal and replace the signature healthcare program of his predecessor President Barack Obama known as Obamacare.

Summary: ट्रम्प का कहना है कि वह मार्च की शुरुआत या मध्य में स्वास्थ्य सेवा सुधार प्रस्तुत करेंगे


BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina blocked two European activists from entering the country on the eve of the World Trade Organization s ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires, the two told a local radio program on Saturday. Sally Burch, a British activist and journalist for the Latin American Information Agency, said Argentina had already revoked credentials given to her by the WTO to attend the meeting but thought she would be able to enter the country as a tourist.  They found my name on a list and started asking questions ... supposedly I was a false tourist,  Burch said on Radio 10.  It s not very democratic of Argentina s government.  Petter Titland, the spokesman for the Norweigan NGO Attac Norge, said authorities denied him entry without explaining why. Late last month, Argentina rescinded the credentials of some 60 activists who had been accredited by the WTO to attend the meeting because it determined they would be  more disruptive than constructive.  WTO meetings often attract protests by anti-globalization groups, but they have remained largely peaceful since riots broke out at the 1999 meeting in Seattle. WTO s spokesman, Keith Rockwell, reiterated on Saturday that it disagreed with Argentina s decision to revoke activists  credentials.  We didn t have the same perspective but we re now moving on,  Rockwell told journalists. Argentina s President Mauricio Macri has promoted business-friendly policies since taking office in December 2015, and Argentina will host global events as chair of the G20 group of major economies next year.

Summary: अर्जेंटीना ने डब्ल्यूटीओ की बैठक की पूर्व संध्या पर दो कार्यकर्ताओं को प्रवेश से रोक दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz often tells supporters about his Supreme Court win against the federal government in 2008, defending Texas’ right to execute a Mexican man for murder, as evidence of his conservative and anti-establishment credentials. But there is one part of the story that goes untold. The Medellin v. Texas case, decided when Cruz was the state’s solicitor general, set the stage for years of diplomatic tension between the United States and its southern neighbor. Mexico has publicly protested U.S. executions of its citizens over the years, but interviews with diplomats and reviews of official Mexican government communiqués reveal that the turmoil caused by the Medellin case ran deeper, coming up at nearly every meeting between the United States and Mexico and leading to an official protest to the United Nations Security Council in 2014. Given the level of frustration, Cruz’s role in the court battle raises questions about U.S.-Mexico relations if he were to beat billionaire Donald Trump to the Republican nomination and win the U.S. presidential election in November.    “I think relations would be complicated with a President Cruz,” said Sergio Alcocer, who was Mexico’s deputy foreign minister responsible for North America between 2012-2015. Alcocer praised Cruz as intelligent and pragmatic but said the senator was too inflexible on issues like immigration and the death penalty. “Cruz takes certain positions that are very clearly defined. And he’s much more conservative, much more dogmatic than Trump,” Alcocer said. A Cruz campaign official did not respond to requests for comment. In Mexico City, a foreign ministry spokesman said Mexico had no preference among the U.S. presidential candidates and would not comment on the election. In the Medellin case, Cruz defended the death sentence a Texas court imposed on Mexican citizen Jose Ernesto Medellin after he was convicted in 1994 for his role in the gang rape and strangling of two teenage girls in a Houston park.  In 2004, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations ruled that Texas and other states had violated the Vienna Convention by failing to notify Medellin and 50 other Mexicans on death row of their right to contact the Mexican consulate after arrest. President George W. Bush ordered Texas and other states to review the sentences. Cruz argued that, while the United States had submitted to the international court’s decisions, the White House could not implement an international agreement that required states to change their court procedures without action by Congress. The Supreme Court agreed in a 6-3 decision. Winning the case raised Cruz’s profile in conservative circles. He has recently said he would appoint justices who would narrowly interpret the Constitution - as he did in the Medellin case - a crucial talking point in the election following the death of Supreme Court conservative icon Antonin Scalia.  “It was an unusual thing at the time for the state of Texas to be standing up against the president of the United States in front of the Supreme Court, particularly when that president was a Texan and a Republican and the former governor of this state,” Cruz told cheering supporters at a Houston rally in February, one of the many times he has brought up the case. The Supreme Court ruling removed a potential legal barrier to three more executions of Mexican nationals in Texas who had been part of the same international court case as Medellin, even as U.S. allies such as the European Union and Switzerland criticized what they saw as ongoing treaty violations.  Mexico pressed U.S. officials and Congress to follow the international court’s directive and require states to review death sentences where people had been denied consular access. “The issue came up as one of the top few issues (Mexico) raised in almost every bilateral meeting we had,” said Harold Hongju Koh, who was legal adviser to the U.S. State Department from 2009-2013. Alcocer, the former Mexican deputy foreign minister, confirmed the issue of consular access was raised during negotiations on other cross-border issues like the extradition of criminals.  “It’s not resolved, and it’s something that Mexico needs to keep insisting on,” he said in an interview. Mexican officials said both the Bush and Obama administrations had been open to working on the issue. U.S. State Department officials supported consular-access legislation introduced in the Senate, but that was not enough to spur Congress to resolve the issue. Texas executed Medellin in August 2008, five months after the Supreme Court decision, drawing swift criticism from the United Nations court.  Three years later, as Texas prepared to execute another Mexican national who had not received consular access, Mexico’s then-ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying the action would “seriously jeopardize” cooperation on a range of issues. “It serves neither the United States nor the Mexico-U.S. relationship if the U.S. cannot live up to its treaty obligations,” said the letter, which was reviewed by Reuters.  In 2013, Mexico warned Washington in another letter that the executions of Mexican nationals who had been denied consular access would mean “our whole forward-looking bilateral engagement could be questioned.” A year later the government wrote to the president of the United Nations’ Security Council expressing indignation over the executions of Mexican citizens in violation of the international court directive.  Sarukhan, the former Mexican ambassador, said Mexico had few options to put pressure on the United States without harming cooperation in other areas.  “March 31st marks now 12 years since the decision was rendered and the United States is yet to comply with its international obligations,” the government said in a statement, responding to Reuters questions about the Medellin case and Cruz’s involvement in it. Critics of the Medellin ruling, and Cruz’s boasts about it, say Texas could have simply reviewed the sentences as the international court had asked.     “Texas could have provided that remedy 20 times over in the time that it took to litigate that case up and down through the Texas courts and the Supreme Court,” said Sandra Babcock, a law professor at Cornell University who was one of Medellin’s attorneys. “The long-term damage, the reputational damage to the United States is still ongoing.” But Cruz’s supporters dismiss such criticism. His job as solicitor general was to defend Texas, not to worry about the international implications, they say.  Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a former attorney general who was Cruz’s boss at the time of the Medellin case, introduced the presidential hopeful at the February rally in Houston.  “He fought against the United Nations, the world court and the United States of America itself to defend Texas’ sovereignty,” Abbott said to cheers.

Summary: सुप्रीम कोर्ट में टेड क्रूज़ की जीत ने कैसे U.S.-Mexico संबंधों को चोट पहुंचाई


BEIJING (Reuters) - A buzz fills the sky above a flight base in northern Beijing, as pilots practise take-offs and landings ahead of tests to qualify for a license - to fly drones. Drone enthusiasts in China, the world s top maker of consumer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are scrambling for licenses after the government adopted strict rules this year to tackle incidents of drones straying into aircraft flight paths.   A drone is not a toy,  said Yang Nuo, the principal of the  drone training school in the Chinese capital, who expects more students to sign up in a drive to boost flying skills.  It involves complicated aerial theoretical knowledge.   Gao Huiqiang, 32, said his construction company told him to seek a license.  Since the laws on drones are tightening and a legal framework is being built, they told me to come and get the license first,  he added. In June, China set an end-August deadline for owners of civilian drones to register crafts up to a certain weight under their real names. Last week, a test-flight base opened in the commercial hub of Shanghai, which requires civilian drones to fly below 150 m (492 ft), the official news agency s Xinhuanet website said. Others have balked at the idea of spending around 10,000 yuan ($1,534) for an official qualification, particularly as uncertainty surrounds future regulations.  They don t know when the next regulation will be introduced,  said Hao Jiale, the manager at a DJI drone store.  Some people want to wait and see.  Privately-held SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, based in the southeastern city of Shenzen, had a roughly 70 percent share of the global commercial and consumer drone market, according to a 2016 estimate by Goldman Sachs and Oppenheimer analysts. Despite the curbs, prospects for growth look bright. China s camera drone market will see a compound annual growth rate of 68 percent in five years, with shipments reaching 3 million units by 2019, up from 40,000 in the third quarter of 2015, tech research firm IDC said last year.   More than 120,000 drones have been registered in China, Xinhuanet said, compared to just 77,000 registered users in the United States.

Summary: चीन के सख्त ड्रोन नियम नए पायलटों को स्कूल भेजते हैं


CLEVELAND (Reuters) - People seeking a deeper understanding of Donald Trump’s economic policy came up empty-handed this week at the Republican National Convention. Best known to Americans previously as a reality TV host and having never held public office, the New York businessman on Thursday accepted the party’s nomination for the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. The party establishment has fretted over some of his plans to curb illegal immigration, renegotiate trade deals and levy tariffs on China. Trump’s skepticism about free trade puts him at odds with Republican orthodoxy. Wall Street investors are wary and confused. In speeches from the main stage and in panel discussions on the sidelines, the four-day convention was notable for a paucity of policy details, the result perhaps of a desire to play down differences among the party faithful. The lack of specifics was too much for one head of a multinational corporation, who complained at a business forum that he had no idea what to expect from Trump, a New York real estate developer.  “We feel anxious,” said Michael Thaman, chief executive officer of Owens Corning, which operates in 25 countries. “In business, obviously details matter.” Trump offered little insight himself in his convention-ending acceptance speech. He spoke in broad, thematic strokes without much detail, sticking closely to positions he had outlined during 13 months of campaigning. “Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo,” Trump said. Speakers in Cleveland placed a greater emphasis on defeating the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, than on what Trump has called the failed economic policies of President Barack Obama. On Tuesday night, when the theme was “Make America Work Again” and the economy was the designated topic, a rough search by Reuters of the prime-time speeches found some 80 mentions of the word “Clinton” compared to about 15 mentions of “economy.” According to transcripts of the speeches delivered at the convention, only Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. mentioned Dodd-Frank, the financial oversight law many Republicans rail against.  Asked on Thursday, before the older Trump’s speech, about the shortage of policy specifics, his campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said:  “The campaign is pleased with the convention program, the content of which has been diverse and dynamic and we look forward to an exciting conclusion tonight.” Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who was chief economic policy adviser to Republican presidential nominee John McCain in 2008, was not satisfied with his experience. He described taking part in a panel discussion on Wednesday with two Trump advisers, television commentator Larry Kudlow and Steve Moore of the conservative Heritage Foundation, that he said was light on details. “‘Isn’t Mr. Trump bad on trade?’” he said someone would ask.  “‘Yes, but we’re going to fix it. Don’t worry.’ “‘Isn’t his tax plan a problem that’s going to lose $12 trillion?’  “‘Yes, but we’ll fix it. Don’t worry.’” Kudlow and Moore also appeared on Tuesday at an event hosted by conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks, along with donor Andy Puzder, the chief executive of CKE Restaurants, which owns fast-food restaurants Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. The group discussed trade and immigration policy, with panelists at times shrugging off Trump’s lack of specifics. “All you really need to know is the alternative is Hillary Clinton,” Puzder said at one point, reinforcing the week’s theme.  Republicans typically use their nominating conventions to emphasize their candidates’ main policy points. Think tanks and lobby groups hold panel discussions. Experts circulate white papers.  With Trump, the events were built more around his personality and the need for the party to unite behind him.    There were some such gatherings in Cleveland, but fewer than usual, Holtz-Eakin said. Some advisers to past Republican candidates suspected Trump was not relying on a vast team of policy advisers.  Lanhee Chen, an adviser to 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, sorted through convention speeches in 2012 before speakers delivered them because, he said, he wanted to make sure they hewed closely to Romney’s positions. “I imagine the Trump campaign doesn’t have that process in place because they don’t have a lot of policy to talk about,” Chen said. “It just says that policy hasn’t been a priority for them. You end up with a situation where the candidate is making pronouncements that don’t seem particularly well informed.” Some delegates who spoke to Reuters seemed unconcerned by the policy-light approach to the convention, arguing that it was more important for the gathering to whip up enthusiasm among the delegates and forge unity. “This is more of a party,” said Ray Suttle, a 53-year-old lawyer and delegate from Virginia. “You don’t like people talking shop at a cocktail party, do you?”

Summary: नीतिगत विवरणों के लिए भूखे लोगों के लिए, ट्रम्प की टीम हल्का किराया देती है


(Reuters) - Donald Trump is “well aware” of what U.S. policy has been on Taiwan, Trump’s spokeswoman said, after the U.S. president-elect spoke by phone on Friday with Taiwan’s president, a move likely to infuriate China.  “President-elect Trump is fully briefed and fully knowledgeable about these issues on an ongoing basis, regardless on who is on the other end of the phone,” Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway told CNN.

Summary: ताइवान पर अमेरिकी नीति के बारे में ट्रम्प 'अच्छी तरह से जानते हैं': प्रवक्ता


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee will take up bipartisan legislation next week to foster generic drug development, the committee’s chairman, Representative Greg Walden, said on Thursday. “President (Donald) Trump made it clear ... he wants competition to lower drug prices, and that is precisely what this measure will help accomplish,” Walden, a Republican from Oregon, said at a health subcommittee hearing. “Specifically the bill will require FDA (the Food and Drug Administration) to prioritize, expedite and review generic applications of drug products that are currently in shortage, or where there are few manufacturers on the market,” Walden said. Trump this week met pharmaceutical executives and called on them to cut prices. He said the government was paying “astronomical” prices for medicines in its health programs for older, disabled and poor people. Walden said recently there had been cases of “bad actors” who “jacked up the price of drugs because there was no competition,” but he did not name names. “We want to make sure that does not happen again,” the congressman said. “For those in the industry who think it’s okay to corner a market, drive up prices and rip off consumers, know that your days are numbered,” Walden said. He said the bill would also increase transparency around the backlog of generic drug applications at the FDA, saying there was an “unacceptably high” number. The bill will be sponsored by Representative Gus Bilirakis, a Republican from Florida, and Representative Kurt Schrader, a Democrat from Oregon, Walden said. Republicans have the majority in both chambers of Congress.

Summary: अमेरिकी सदन का पैनल जेनेरिक दवा के विकास को बढ़ावा देने के लिए विधेयक पर विचार करेगा


DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh has accused Myanmar of repeatedly violating its air space and warned that any more  provocative acts  could have  unwarranted consequences , raising the risk of a deterioration in relations already strained by the Rohingya refugee crisis. Nearly 400,000 Rohingya Muslims from western Myanmar have crossed into Bangladesh since Aug. 25, fleeing a Myanmar government offensive against insurgents that the United Nations has branded a  textbook example of ethnic cleansing . Bangladesh said Myanmar drones and helicopters had violated its air space three times - on Sept. 10, 12 and 14 - and it had called in a top Myanmar embassy official in Dhaka to complain.  Bangladesh expressed deep concern at the repetition of such acts of provocation and demanded that Myanmar takes immediate measures to ensure that such violation of sovereignty does not occur again,  the ministry said in statement late on Friday.  These provocative acts may lead to unwarranted consequences.  A Myanmar government spokesman said he did not have information about the incidents Bangladesh had complained about but Myanmar had denied an earlier accusation. The spokesman, Zaw Htay, said Myanmar would check any information that Bangladesh provided.   Our two countries are facing the refugee crisis. We need to collaborate with good understanding,  he told Reuters. Bangladesh has for decades faced influxes of Rohingya fleeing persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where the Rohingya are regarded as illegal migrants. Bangladesh was already home to 400,000 Rohingya before the latest crisis erupted on Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked about 30 police posts and an army camp, killing a dozen people. The Myanmar security forces and Rakhine Buddhist vigilantes responded with what rights monitors and fleeing Rohingya say is a campaign of violence and arson aimed at driving out the Muslim population. Bangladesh has said all refugees must go home. Myanmar has said it will take back those who can verify their citizenship  but most Rohingya are stateless. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was leaving on Saturday for the U.N. General Assembly where she would call for pressure to ensure Myanmar takes everyone back after stopping its  ethnic cleansing , her press secretary, Ihsanul Karim, told Reuters. The conflict has led to a humanitarian crisis on both sides of the border and raised questions about Myanmar s path under the leadership of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi after nearly 50 years of strict military rule.      The generals still control national security policy but nevertheless, Suu Kyi has been widely criticized abroad for not stopping or condemning the violence.  There is little sympathy for the Rohingya in a country where the end of military rule has unleashed old animosities and the military campaign in Rakhine State is widely supported. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the U.N. Security Council have urged Myanmar to end the violence, which he said was best described as ethnic cleansing. Ethnic cleansing is not recognized as a separate crime under international law but allegations of it as part of wider, systematic human rights violations have been heard in international courts. Myanmar rejects the accusations, saying its security forces are carrying out clearance operations to defend against the insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claimed responsibility for the Aug. 25 attacks and similar, though smaller, attacks in October. The government has declared ARSA a terrorist organization and accused it of setting the fires and attacking civilians. The ARSA says it is fighting for the rights of Rohingya and has denied links to foreign Islamists. Myanmar s army chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, said the violence - 93 clashes since Aug. 25 - was a bid by the insurgents to  build a stronghold , according to speech to officer trainees, posted on a military Facebook page. More than 430 people have been killed, most of them insurgents, and about 30,000 non-Muslim villagers have been displaced, Myanmar has said. Human Rights Watch said satellite imagery showed 62 Rohingya villages had been torched. The United States has called for the protection of civilians and a deputy assistant secretary of state, Patrick Murphy, is due in Myanmar next week. China, which also vies for influence in Myanmar, joined a U.N. Security Council call for an end to the violence while its ambassador in Myanmar expressed his support for the government s action, Myanmar media reported. Separately, the Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Bangladesh to release two Myanmar journalists detained last week while covering the refugee crisis. A police official told Reuters the two were found to be working on tourist visas and police were investigating. (For a graphic on 'Rohingya refugee crisis' click tmsnrt.rs/2eS8B9B)

Summary: शरणार्थी संकट के बीच बांग्लादेश ने म्यांमार को सीमा पर चेतावनी दी


SHAMLAPUR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - For tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, an informal fleet of small wooden fishing boats has meant deliverance from what they say is an indiscriminate assault on their villages by the Myanmar army. Deliverance, however, comes at a price. Some refugees told Reuters they paid as much as 10,000 taka ($122) per adult to boatmen to make the five-hour crossing from Myanmar s coast to ports in southern Bangladesh. While the fishermen say they have a moral obligation to help desperate fellow Muslims escaping persecution, Bangladeshi officials accuse them of profiteering. Ordered to stamp out what they call human trafficking, they have made arrests and even set fire to fishing boats.  Of course we want to keep going back to rescue more people. Our Muslim brothers and sisters are in a bad situation, so I have to go and bring them,  said Mohammed Alom, 25, a fisherman in the Bangladeshi village of Shamlapur. Around 400,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh in less than three weeks and people are still coming, by land as well as by sea, after attacks by Rohingya militants sparked a fierce counteroffensive by Myanmar s army. Senior United Nations officials have described the violence as  ethnic cleansing . The influx is placing huge strain on authorities in southern Bangladesh, one of the poorest parts of a poor country.  Don t say rescuers. The rescuers should be going and they should rescue people, not in terms of money,  said Lieutenant Colonel Ariful Islam, Border Guards Bangladesh commander in Teknaf on the country s southern tip, referring to the fishermen bringing refugees ashore.  These people are very poor, it s just extorting from them whatever they have. We are helping those who arrived, but we re trying to insist that no human trafficking should take place.  Reuters interviewed three Rohingya fishermen and two Bangladeshi boat owner-operators, all of whom had made at least two visits to Myanmar in recent weeks. The men didn t believe the profits they made detracted from what they saw as a rescue mission. Shaif Ullah, 34, a Bangladeshi, who co-owns a fishing boat, said he made 100,000 taka ($1,220) rescuing the family of a Rohingya in Malaysia who paid him via BKash, a popular mobile money service, after he returned to Bangladeshi shores.  People from Malaysia and Saudi Arabia call me and tell me to go there to get their family,  he said.  They are crying for my help. I take money from them, yes, but it s also a humanitarian act.   Two refugees have told Reuters their family members were detained by fishermen or brokers in Bangladesh when they could not pay for the journey. Several also complained they had to hand over gold and other jewelry to boat operators.  We had no chance to negotiate with the boatmen,  said Ali Johar, 75, an elder from his village in southern Maungdaw, just across the Naf river that forms the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, now staying in Shamlapur. He handed over his wife s gold necklace and a gold ring, in addition to 7,000 taka for the rescue of him and about 30 members of his extended family, including young children, he said.  But we are grateful to the fishermen for bringing us here,  he said.  There were so many people trying to get here. If they didn t bring us, we would be stuck.  Pronay Chakma says it was a  stroke of fate  that thrust him into a key role in Bangladesh s response to the crisis. The 31-year-old administrator arrived in Teknaf to start a new job as sub-district assistant commissioner for land on Aug. 23, two days before northwestern Myanmar exploded into violence.  The thing is that, yes, the fishermen can go there, no problem, but if they demand money from the pain of stricken people, is it humanitarian? No,  he said. Chakma - a Buddhist member of the Chakma tribe who live scattered throughout South Asia - is an executive magistrate, which means he can hand down jail terms in simple criminal cases. He interrupted an interview with Reuters to sentence a man to three months for possession of five methamphetamine tablets. Chakma and another local official have sentenced at least 100 people to terms of up to six months for continuing to charge Rohingya refugees for ferrying them to safety.  Each and every time we are warning them,  he said.  Yes, you can do that, but not in exchange of money.  He pointed to the deaths of women and children who, unable to swim, have died after their boats capsized near Bangladeshi shores. Fishermen and local residents told Reuters that authorities have also broadcast messages in their villages by loudspeaker ordering them not to pick up Rohingyas. At least five boats caught bringing refugees in exchange for money have been set on fire on the beach by officials. The boatmen Reuters spoke to said they were cautious about operating in bad weather and rejected allegations of coercion or detaining refugees. Tens of thousands of people may still be waiting to cross the mouth of the Naf river, according to estimates by refugees, fishermen and rights groups.  I would like to go back to bring these people, because Muslims are suffering,  said Bangladeshi boat owner Moni Ullah, 38.  For me, it s hard to sit here and not go there, because I have seen so many people crying on the beach.  ($1 = 81.9300 taka)

Summary: उद्धारकर्ता या मुनाफाखोर? बांग्लादेश के मछुआरों ने रोहिंग्याओं को एक कीमत पर बचाया


WARSAW (Reuters) - When presidential aide Malgorzata Sadurska joined the board of Poland s biggest and oldest insurance company this summer, her lack of business experience was no obstacle. Her main qualification to help run state-owned Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen (PZU) was something else   loyalty to the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. What PZU needs is  a person who knows the PiS program and is a guarantee that it will be implemented,  parliamentary deputy Marek Suski told radio RMF FM as the conservative PiS took to the airwaves to explain her appointment in June. Her task, he said, was  to implement the program of the government, which is to repair Poland.  Sadurska, 41, is one of hundreds of loyalists brought in to state companies by PiS to tighten its grip on big business and help it implement its conservative, nationalist-minded policies since it returned to power in 2015 after an eight-year absence.  The aim is not only to ensure loyalty in major companies and give PiS a say in their personnel, investment and policy decisions.  It has also enabled PiS to use such firms as vehicles to buy out foreign interests in the banking and energy sectors, with a U.S.-owned news channel, TVN24, seen by some business leaders as a likely next target because it is critical of the government. Opponents fear public procurement and financing rules are being blurred, giving PiS access to large advertising budgets which can be used to fund publicity campaigns or events that promote the party s agenda. This, they fear, will deepen the concerns of Poland s European Union partners about what they see as an assault on the rule of law and democracy since PiS set its sights on asserting its power over the economy, the judiciary and the media. Aleksander Laszek, chief economist at the Civil Development Forum (FOR), a Warsaw-based economic policy think tank known for its liberal view on the economy, said the PiS moves to assert control of big business were  exceptionally strong and brazen.  Sadurska s responsibilities at PZU include real estate, strategic partnership programs and bancassurance, under which an insurance company can sell its products to a bank s client base, PZU said.  PZU officials gave no further details of what she has done since joining the board.   Before her appointment, she had no experience in insurance, finance or business beyond an MBA in business management from her native Lublin region in eastern Poland.  But she had won a reputation for dedication to the PiS cause since first being elected to the lower house of parliament in 2005. She has served as secretary of state responsible for labor and social policy and was chief of President Andrzej Duda s chancellery for almost two years from August 2015. Contacted by phone, Sadurska directed Reuters to the PZU press office, which declined to answer emailed questions about her appointment or PZU business policy. Suski also declined to give any details to Reuters. Asked whether Sadurska had been appointed to PZU to implement PiS policy, he said:  She is a very good professional . PZU has not said how much Sadurska is paid. Her predecessor, according to PZU financial records, received the equivalent of just over 22,000 euros ($25,850) a month.  After a series of personnel changes in the past two years that appear to reward political loyalty, the government now has greater control of the more than 200-year-old firm than at any time since four decades of communist rule ended in 1989.  PZU s chief executive officer, Pawel Surowka, is among the recent appointees. An experienced manager who also worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, he was named CEO in April and had been brought in to head PZU s life insurance arm in 2016. Surowka has said it is normal that a company such as his would  try to fit in  with government economic policy. Government influence has not had any discernible impact on the price of PZU insurance, but PZU s share price has risen by 39 percent this year.  The PiS  business policy has attracted less attention than its overhaul of the judiciary but the heads of most big state firms have been replaced in the last two years, sweeping away officials appointed under the previous, centrist government. Politics and business rarely act in isolation in any country, and it is not unusual for politicians to cross from parliament to boardroom. But the extent of political control over big state business in Poland alarms government critics. PZU, with 27,000 employees and a market value of about $10.9 billion, has a pivotal role to play in the PiS plans. Late last year, PZU teamed up with the state-run Polish Development Fund to buy back state control over Poland s second-biggest bank, Bank Pekao SA, from Italian UniCredit. Other state firms have also been used as buyout vehicles. In March, state-controlled utility Enea closed a deal to buy a power plant from French Engie and in May Poland s biggest power producer, PGE, announced it would buy French group EDF s local power and heating plants. Some business leaders expect PiS, in tandem with Poland s biggest bank, state-run PKO Bank Polski, to move soon to buy out TVN24   and silence its criticism. A PKO BP spokeswoman dismissed the speculation, saying:  There are no such plans ... We don t have this (buying media) in our statute.   But a manager at PKO BP, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such a move was likely.  Most probably it will be PZU along with PKO that will buy TVN, though no decision has been made,  the manager said. Discovery Communications Inc, which is acquiring TVN24-owner Scripps Networks Interactive Inc., said:  Our policy is to not comment on market speculation or rumors.  PZU has also become a big sponsor of events and campaigns that dovetail with PiS policy. When a publicity campaign began last month in support of the government s planned judicial reform, it was launched by a foundation funded by state-controlled companies including PZU. On Aug. 1, PZU s Warsaw headquarters were illuminated with a symbol of Poland s underground resistance to mark the anniversary of the failed 1944 Warsaw Uprising against  occupation by Nazi Germany. PiS has put promotion of Polish wartime victimhood at the center of its appeal to nationalism. Last month, PZU sponsored a picnic organized by an outspoken Catholic priest, Tadeusz Rydzyk, with whom PiS has built an increasingly close alliance.

Summary: पोलैंड की सत्तारूढ़ पार्टी ने बड़ी सरकारी कंपनियों पर पकड़ मजबूत की


PARIS (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron suffered his first electoral setback on Sunday when his Republic on the Move (LREM) party won fewer seats than expected in elections for the French Senate.  What was at stake was whether Macron s LREM and allies would win enough seats to give him a three-fifths majority vote in both houses of parliament, which he needs for constitutional reforms, including plans to overhaul parliament.     The vote, in which about 171 of the Senate s 348 seats were up for grabs, consolidated the Senate s existing conservative majority. But the Socialist party, which was crushed in last June s legislative elections, did well in the vote, provisional results provided by the French Senate showed. The results could complicate Macron s plans for constitutional reforms and come as his popularity is declining, just four months after his election in May. His approval ratings have dropped considerably in opinion polls, dragged down by labor reforms and planned budget cuts, including a decrease in housing aid for students.     LREM, which hoped to win 40-50 Senators, ended up securing 23, and will be counting on alliances with lawmakers from other parties to back the government on a case by case basis.  The Senate s conservative majority is now composed of some 150 members of The Republicans party, confirming the Senate as a counterweight to Macron, even if the National Assembly, where Macron has a clear majority, has the final say on legislation.  Voters clearly showed they wanted a parliamentary counterweight, which is in my view vital to a balanced democracy,  Gerard Larcher, the President of the French Senate said in a public address. Macron s LREM was not expected to win a majority partly because of the electoral system. In elections for the Senate, only mayors and regional councilors and not the general public vote and Macron has plans that are unpopular with many local councilors. A number of local officials are unhappy with his plans to cut subsidies to local authorities. Jean Leonetti, a former The Republicans minister said on Twitter:  First setback for Emmanuel Macron . It was not immediately clear if Macron will be able to secure a three-fifths majority in both houses of parliament as it might require negotiations with other groups, including some members of The Republicans party. Macron s party would need 180 seats in the Senate to reach the three-fifths majority in both houses of parliament.

Summary: फ्रांसीसी सीनेट के मतदान से मैक्रों को झटका, कंजरवेटिव्स ने बहुमत बरकरार रखा


(Reuters) - Partial government shutdowns in Maine and New Jersey stretched to a second day on Sunday as lawmakers returned to their respective state capitals in a bid to break budget impasses that have led to the suspension of many nonessential services. In Maine, a bipartisan budget committee met in Augusta in hopes of breaking a stalemate between Republican Governor Paul LePage and Democratic lawmakers. The shutdown came after LePage threatened to veto a compromise reached by lawmakers in the state’s $7.055 billion, two-year budget. At New Jersey’s statehouse in Trenton, there was little evidence of progress in resolving a fight over a health insurance bill that Republican Governor Chris Christie said must be passed alongside the state’s budget.  Maine state police, parks and all offices responsible for collecting revenue planned to operate during the shutdown, the state’s first since 1991, but the majority of 12,000 state employees will be furloughed. New Jersey residents were not so lucky. With the July 4 holiday weekend in full swing, the shutdown there included the closure of Island State Beach Park, one of New Jersey’s few free public beaches, and all other state parks.  Although he beach park was closed to the public, Christie took a state helicopter on Saturday to a gubernatorial residence there to be with family and said he would go back on Sunday night.  “That’s just the way it goes. Run for governor, and you have can have a residence there,” he said when pressed on the issue.  At a news conference on Sunday afternoon, the governor said he had not spoken since Friday to Democratic holdouts.  The impasse could mean a furlough for 30,000 to 35,000 state employees on Monday. In Maine, the stalled budget proposal would have repealed a measure voters approved in November for a 3 percent income tax hike on residents earning more than $200,000 a year. It also contained a 1.5 percent increase in the lodging tax, while increasing funding for public education by $162 million. LePage has promised to veto any spending plan that raises taxes. A six-member bipartisan House-Senate budget panel huddled into the evening on Sunday seeking to reach a deal that would win the two-thirds vote needed for passage of an emergency budget bill in both legislative chambers. Mary-Erin Casale, a spokeswoman for Democratic House Speaker Sara Gideon, said a new compromise could be ready for a vote as early as Monday morning, about the time state employees planned to protest the shutdown at the capitol. A spokeswoman for the governor could not be reached for comment on Sunday. At the center of New Jersey’s stalemate was a plan by Christie to shake up the state’s largest health insurer, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, which he said lacked sufficient transparency and spent too much on salaries.  He threatened to cut $150 million in school funding and other items unless lawmakers adopt his proposal, which would redirect some of Horizon’s reserves to drug addiction treatment and other services. Christie offered to hear Democrats’ proposals for breaking the impasse, saying: “It should end today,” but acknowledged a settlement was unlikely so soon. Christie, a former presidential contender whose reputation was tarnished by the Bridgegate traffic scandal involving some of his closest aides, ranks as the least popular governor in state history. He is in his second and final term. Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and other Democrats have criticized the Horizon bill as “bad public policy,” insisting that it be considered after the budget is passed. Christie blamed Prieto for the shutdown and vowed on Sunday to stand by the Horizon bill, saying: “I got elected by a lot more people than Vinnie Prieto did.”

Summary: मेन, न्यू जर्सी के सांसदों ने आंशिक सरकारी बंद को समाप्त करने के लिए हाथापाई की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, one of the Senate’s most senior Republicans, said on Thursday that he was endorsing presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. “I totally endorse him,” Hatch told reporters after he and other Senate Republican leaders met with the billionaire businessman and reality television star.

Summary: रिपब्लिकन सीनेटर हैच ने मुलाकात के बाद ट्रम्प का समर्थन किया


MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has  lit the wick of war  with North Korea and his country will be made to pay with  a hail of fire , a Russian news agency quoted North Korea s foreign minister as saying on Wednesday. Tensions between North Korea and the United States have risen in recent weeks over Pyongyang s nuclear weapons and missile programs. North Korea has test-fired several missiles and conducted what it said was a test explosion of a hydrogen bomb as it advances toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. Speaking to Russia s state-run TASS news agency, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said his country s nuclear program guaranteed peace and safety in the region and would not be a matter of discussion.  With his bellicose and insane statement at the United Nations, Trump, you can say, has lit the wick of a war against us,  TASS quoted Ri as saying.  We need to settle the final score, only with a hail of fire, not words.  Ri has previously called Trump  President Evil  and his comments are likely to fuel an escalating war of words between the U.S. President and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.  We have almost reached the last point on the journey toward our final goal - to achieve a real balance of power with the United States,  he said.  Our principal position is that we will never agree to any talks in which our nuclear weapons will be the subject of negotiations.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया का कहना है कि ट्रम्प ने 'युद्ध की बाती जला दी हैः' रूस की टीएएसएस एजेंसी


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Senior Afghan and American officials welcomed the arrival of new U.S.-made military helicopters on Saturday, beginning a process that will radically transform the young Afghan air force. While the plan for new UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters has been in the works for some time, it forms a major part of the U.S.-led military coalition s training efforts, which were expanded under proposals approved by President Donald Trump in August.  It s a modernization of their program that will allow them to project power throughout Afghanistan,  said Lieutenant Colonel Trent Alexander, a U.S. military adviser to the Afghan air force.  While transitioning to the Black Hawk will not be a quick task, it will not be a difficult task.  At a ceremony at Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani formally accepted the first new helicopters, calling it a  historic day  that would allow the air force to better respond to the demands on the security forces. The Russian-designed Mi-17 helicopters that currently form the backbone of the Afghan air force worked well for crews used to Russian equipment, but deteriorating relations between Moscow and Washington meant that the Americans were unable to provide new parts and aircraft to replace the overworked aircraft.  The Mi-17 was a great aircraft and it brought the Afghans the ability to be capable, however, with the introduction of the UH-60 they are now sustainable,  Alexander said. By 2024 the U.S. plans to provide the Afghans with at least 159 Black Hawks, including 58 fitted with extra rocket pods and machine guns to provide close air support, a fleet that will dwarf the fewer than 40 Mi-17s currently operational. The Black Hawks will cost the American government almost $8 million a piece, officials said, after a process that completely refurbishes and upgrades U.S. Army surplus aircraft. So far only two training Black Hawks have arrived, with the delivery of several additional helicopters delayed by the U.S. military s humanitarian response to hurricanes in the Caribbean.  Retraining an Afghan pilot to fly the Black Hawk takes about five to six months, said Alexander. Members of the first class of six pilots said they were excited over what they view as more modern helicopters.  Black Hawks are manoeuverable because they are smaller than the Mi-17, so will be more capable during fighting, carrying soldiers, or cargo,  said one pilot, Zabihullah Dorandish. The Afghan pilots are expected to begin flying their own missions in the Black Hawks by early next year, officials said. A Twitter feed attributed to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned that the aircraft would do nothing to change the war. U.S. and Afghan leaders  should remember that our fight is not based on technology but is an ideologically motivated fight , he said in one Twitter post.

Summary: नए अमेरिकी हेलीकॉप्टरों ने अफगान वायु सेना के लिए बड़ा बदलाव किया