WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will visit President Donald Trump in Washington during the week of March 19, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday. White House spokesman Sean Spicer made the announcement during a regular news briefing, without providing further details.

Summary: इराक के अल-अबादी मार्च में बाद में ट्रम्प से मिलेंगे


LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan s party said on Monday it had built momentum in a by-election for ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif s parliamentary seat, despite finishing second, but the biggest inroads were made by two new Islamist groupings. Sharif s wife Kulsoom won the by-election with 49.3 percent of the vote in the eastern city of Lahore - a handsome margin of victory but down from the 61 percent garnered by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party in the constituency in an election in 2013. The vote was seen as a barometer of support for Nawaz in the wake of his disqualification by the Supreme Court in July, and an indication of whether the corruption allegations leveled at the Sharif family have had an impact in their power base in the vast Punjab province. A general election is due next year. The election commission s preliminary results released on Monday showed that the candidate of Khan s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party took 37.6 percent of the vote, up from 35 percent in the last poll. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the PTI deputy chairman, said the shrinking of the PML-N s winning margin from 26 percentage points to about 12 in a constituency where it has been so dominant showed its vulnerability in closer-run races in Punjab in 2018.  If this happens in one of the strongest constituencies of PML-N, the prime minister s constituency which they ve had since 1985   That means there is a surge for PTI, there is a tilt for PTI,  said Qureshi. PTI candidate Yasmin Rashid, a gynaecologist from the area, on Monday disputed the count and filed a petition with the electoral commission to suspend the results.  We will continue our struggle for verification of the controversial votes which played an important role in the PML-N victory,  Rashid said. It was two candidates backed by religious parties that appeared to most chip away at PML-N s vote share, however, together winning about 11 percent. Neither party - one of which is linked to U.S.-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed - existed in 2013. Analysts say the by-election result will certainly concern Sharif s party.  The committed and hardline vote did not shift from PML-N, but others who are not hard core or are somewhat independent, they seem to have shifted,  said Hasan Askari, a political analyst. PTI officials are betting that corruption trials against Nawaz and his family due to start before the next poll, likely in mid-2018, will further erode support for the veteran leader who has served three stints as prime minister. Nawaz denies any wrongdoing and his family have alleged a conspiracy led to the Supreme Court disqualifying him for not declaring a small source of income, which he denies receiving. Nawaz s daughter Maryam, who spearheaded the campaign as her mother is receiving cancer treatment in London, had framed the by-election as a chance for voters to reject the Supreme Court s verdict against her father, and late on Sunday suggested some PML-N workers had been threatened and abducted. Maryam did not name anyone, but PML-N sources said she was accusing elements of the military establishment. The military has not commented on Maryam s remarks. PML-N officials tout Kulsoom s victory as proof that Nawaz remains popular with voters and say the closer margin is largely due to the strong showing by the two candidates backed by religious parties. One of the surprises of Monday s official results was the third-place finish of Shaikh Azhar Hussain Rizvi, an independent candidate backed by Tehreek-i-Labaik, a coalition of Islamist groups. The Labaik-backed candidate won 6 percent of the vote campaigning on a platform of support for Pakistan s strict blasphemy laws. His campaign posters praised executed killer Mumtaz Qadri, a bodyguard who assassinated Punjab s governor for suggesting the laws might be reviewed. After his execution, Qadri was hailed by some religious sects as a martyr for Islam. Yaqoob Sheikh, who was himself designated a terrorist by the United States in 2012, captured nearly 5 percent of the vote. Sheikh is backed by the new Milli Muslim League (MML) party that is loyal to Hafiz Saeed, who Washington accuses of being the mastermind behind the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people.  A retired general and analysts have said that the MML - which has yet to be legally recognized, forcing Sheikh to appear on the ballot as an independent - was likely part of a  mainstreaming  project envisioned by the military to draw some militant groups into politics. The MML on Monday said it planned to contest another by-election in the northwestern city of Peshawar next month.  Despite their relatively strong gains, neither the MML nor the Tehreek-i-Labaik is seen as having much chance of winning many seats in 2018. (Ths story has been refiled to add dropped word in paragraph 5)

Summary: उपचुनाव में हार के बावजूद, पाकिस्तान के विपक्ष ने 2018 के लिए गति का दावा किया


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump rang Mexican leader Enrique Pena Nieto to express condolences over last week’s earthquake, and said he was confident the U.S. Congress would find a solution for the Dreamers, Mexico’s president’s office said on Thursday. Earlier on Thursday, Trump said he was close to a deal with Democratic congressional leaders on protections for illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children, a group known as Dreamers. In a tweet, Trump said he had been tardy in calling Pena Nieto as he had been unable to reach him due to patchy cellphone coverage in the zone where the Mexican president was visiting those afflicted by the massive quake.

Summary: ट्रम्प को विश्वास है कि कांग्रेस ड्रीमर्स मुद्दे का समाधान करेगीः मेक्सिको


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has invited U.S. President Donald Trump for a state visit later this year and he has accepted, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday. May was speaking at a news conference in Washington during the first visit to the White House by a foreign leader since Trump’s inauguration a week ago.

Summary: ब्रिटेन की मे ने कहा कि महारानी एलिजाबेथ ने ट्रम्प को राजकीय यात्रा के लिए आमंत्रित किया था


ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish lender Ziraat Bank denied allegations made on Thursday by a Turkish-Iranian gold trader in a New York court who said Ziraat sought to take part in an Iranian money laundering scheme, a senior bank official told Reuters. The bank conformed to international regulations, the official added. Reza Zarrab, who has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, is expected to testify in Manhattan federal court against Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla, in a case that has strained diplomatic relations between the United States and Turkey.

Summary: तुर्की के ज़ीरात बैंक ने बैंक के संबंध में ज़र्रब के आरोपों का खंडन कियाः अधिकारी


KAMPALA (Reuters) - Grenades were thrown overnight at the homes of two Ugandan legislators opposed to scrapping the presidential age limit and thereby extending President Yoweri Museveni s more than 31 years in power. One of the legislators, Robert Kyagulanyi, was later arrested by police, his aide said. Kyagulanyi and fellow legislator Allan have been outspoken in efforts to resist an ongoing effort to change the constitution to allow Museveni to seek another term in elections set for 2021.  Museveni has been president since January 1986. Two grenades were thrown at Ssewanyana s residence and three others at Kyagulanyi s. Both legislators were among MPs forcefully ejected from the parliament chamber last week by Uganda s special forces.  The grenades were thrown,  police spokesman Asan Kasingye told Reuters early Tuesday. He said police were investigating, but dismissed as  absurd  the idea that the attacks were politically motivated. Talking to local NBS TV, Ssewanyana said he was scared but would not give up the fight against the constitutional change.  I can t give up and am calling upon all Ugandans not to give up because this is a serious fight. What shows the seriousness is the attacks that they have now started against us ... Attacks involving weapons,  he said.  Police later arrested Kyagulanyi as he left his home on the outskirts of the capital Kampala, his personal assistant, Hakim Katongole, told Reuters.  Kyagulanyi, a top Ugandan musician with a stage name Bobi Wine, joined politics after winning a parliamentary seat in a repeat election in June.  Another police spokesman told Reuters the legislator was arrested for a range of alleged offences including malicious damage, assault of officers on duty, causing bodily harm and others committed during the House brawl. During the fighting, microphone stands were plucked and used as crude weapons, chairs were thrown and bench seats were damaged. The fighting in the chamber pitted legislators opposed to extending Museveni s rule against special forces and legislators favoring the extension. At least five MPs were hospitalized for injuries sustained as they were dragged out of the chamber by plain-clothes security guards that opposition MPs said were special forces soldiers.

Summary: राष्ट्रपति शासन बढ़ाने के विरोध में युगांडा के सांसदों के घरों पर ग्रेनेड फेंके गए


BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq s Supreme Federal Court ruled on Monday that no region or province can secede, strengthening the government s hand as it seeks to prevent a repeat of September s Kurdish independence vote. The ruling was a response to a request from the central government in Baghdad to put an end to any  wrong misinterpretation  of the constitution and assert the unity of Iraq, a court spokesman said. Soon after, Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi urged the northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region to abide by the court s decision.   We call on the region to clearly state its commitment to non-separation or independence from Iraq,  he said in a statement. There was no immediate reaction from Kurdish authorities. Iraq s Kurds voted overwhelmingly to break away from Iraq in a referendum held on Sept. 25, defying the central government in Baghdad as well as neighboring Turkey and Iran who have their own Kurdish minorities. Iraqi government forces and the Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces launched a surprise offensive on Oct. 16 in retaliation. Government forces managed to wrest back control of the oil city of Kirkuk and other disputed territories. Abadi said the government was now  taking the necessary measures to impose federal authorities  without going into further details. Baghdad was committed to  preserving Iraq s unity and preventing any attempt for separation,  he added. The ruling would strengthen Abadi s hand in future dealings with the Kurds, said Ahmed Younis, a Baghdad-based constitutional expert.    The court ruling has put an end to the Kurdish attempt to breakaway from Iraq,  he added. The court is responsible for settling disputes between Iraq s central government and the country s regions and provinces, including Kurdistan. Its decisions are final and mandatory for all parties according to the constitution, however it has no mechanism to enforce its ruling in the Kurdish region. Earlier on Monday, the Kurdish region s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani reiterated his call to resolve its issues with the central government through dialogue and not through force.

Summary: इराक की अदालत ने फैसला सुनाया कि कुर्द स्वतंत्रता की बोली के बाद कोई भी क्षेत्र अलग नहीं हो सकता है


MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Monday Catalonia s independence referendum that turned violent was a matter for the Spanish government, but urged restraint.  These are internal events for Spain and for the Spanish government and the Spanish people. Obviously we deplore violence wherever it occurs, we want to see any constitutional questions wherever they arise settled by constitutional means,  Hammond told Britain s LBC radio.  It s very important to maintain the rule of law everywhere, we would always urge restraint in the way that is done but it s for the Spanish people and Spanish government to resolve these issues.

Summary: स्पेन के लिए कैटेलोनियाई वोट मायने रखता है, ब्रिटेन ने संयम बरतने का आग्रह किया


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Facing a hostile Congress in an election year, President Barack Obama will be hard-pressed to push through many of the proposals in his final budget as U.S. leader.  But that could be a silver lining for investors: If the long-shot plans gain traction, companies that stand to win new business or funding from proposed spending, such as auto suppliers, hospital chains and construction firms, could get an unexpected boost to their shares. Some details of the budget plan, set to be unveiled on Tuesday, already are known. It will include $4 billion over 10 years for development of safe-driving vehicles, an area already of interest to many companies.  Added funding could benefit suppliers such as Delphi Automotive, Autoliv and Mobileye, which are developing safety features for autonomously driven cars, and Lear, which makes electrical power systems, according to Brian Sponheimer, analyst at Gabelli & Co. “The market discounts that any proposals by this administration will be if not ignored, then outright put down,” Sponheimer said. “There clearly is upside if it passes, but there is a very healthy skepticism that that is likely to take place.” Obama’s plan to fund an overhaul of the nation’s infrastructure through a $10-a-barrel tax on crude oil could also boost engineering and construction firms such as Granite Construction said Morris Ajzenman, an analyst at Griffin Securities. “But I give very very little probability that it comes to pass.” Similarly, Ipsita Smolinski, managing director at healthcare research consulting firm Capitol Street, said it was doubtful the Republican Congress would approve Obama’s plan to aid the 19 state governments that passed up an earlier offer to expand the Medicaid program for low-income Americans. Such a plan, she said, would benefit hospital companies including Tenet Healthcare and HCA Holdings and Medicaid insurers such as Centene and Molina Healthcare. More palatable to Congress could be Obama’s push for $755 million to jumpstart cancer research. But that level of investment without being more targeted may not benefit any specific firms, given that so many drug and biotech companies are invested in developing cancer therapies. Major defense contractors - including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics - stand to benefit from the budget, said Sterne Agee CRT analyst Peter Arment. “It’s an election year, national security is at the top of the priority list and a lot of elected officials – they don’t want to be tied to cutting defense,” Arment said.

Summary: ओबामा बजट के कॉर्पोरेट विजेताओं को अभी भी लंबी बाधाओं का सामना करना पड़ रहा है


CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Mohammed Idrees, a 10-year-old Rohingya boy, does not remember how he landed at the hospital in Bangladesh with a part of his right ear blown off.  But he says he won t return to his home country, neighboring Myanmar, until there is peace. Idrees is one of around 60 badly injured Rohingya Muslims admitted to the hospital in Chittagong since violence flared in Rakhine state in the northwest of Myanmar in late August.  Rohingya insurgents attacked several police posts and an army base on Aug 25, leading to a military crackdown that has resulted in the deaths of at least 400 people and sent 146,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh. Apart from creating a humanitarian crisis, the unrest has also brought waves of international criticism of Myanmar s leader, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, for not speaking out for a minority that has long complained of persecution. The Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar, a mainly Buddhist country. Almost all the Rohingya being treated at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital, the largest in southeast Bangladesh, have been injured by gunshots or bomb blasts, according to a hospital document given to Reuters. Around a third of the total injured are teenagers or younger, including a six-year-old boy. The Myanmar military has repeatedly said that it has been targeting only insurgents in the crackdown.  Ajoy Kumar Dey, who is in charge of the hospital, said he had not seen similar wounds during previous influxes of Rohingya from Myanmar. He said the large number of young men and children, like Idrees, underlined the gravity of the situation in Rakhine.   I don t remember what happened to me, but I want to go see my mother,  Idrees said, lying on his bed in a soiled white shirt and a checked longyi, a Myanmar-style sarong. His head was bandaged and he was clutching the hand of his father, sitting by his side.  It hurts a lot.  He cried as his father, Mohammed Rasheed, described how Myanmar security forces sprayed bullets into their village, Kyauk Chaung, on the morning of Aug. 25. One bullet took off a chunk of Idrees  ear as his family crouched behind a canal near their house. Six fellow villagers from Kyauk Chaung died in the hour-long shooting, said Rasheed.  A bleeding Idrees was carried on a bamboo stretcher over some hills near the border to reach Bangladesh the same night. His mother, three sisters and a brother arrived on Sunday.  We are lucky all of us are alive,  said Rasheed. Across the ward, a Rohingya man with bullet wounds in one shoulder, the back of a thigh and a shin, writhed in agony. A plastic nasal pipe was helping him breath. The government hospital in Chittagong is usually crowded at the best of times; now it is receiving twice as many people as it has beds - many of them Rohingya with shattered faces, shredded legs and damaged eyes who are fighting for their lives. Around two dozen young Rohingya men, some groaning in pain, were laying on blue hospital mattresses on the floor of a corridor on Wednesday, their legs or hands heavily plastered. Zaw Htay, Aung San Suu Kyi s spokesman, said Thursday that Myanmar was in discussions with Dhaka on what to do about what he said were  terrorists  in the hospital, a charge the Myanmar military made earlier in the week.  The Bangladeshi foreign secretary, Shahidul Haque, denied being contacted by Myanmar about militants being treated at the hospital.  However, he said that Bangladesh had previously handed over two  terrorists  after being given their names by Myanmar. He did not provide further details, but said Bangladesh would hand any terrorists to Myanmar if it provided more names and the individuals could be found. A United Nations source said that on Sept. 3 alone, 31 Rohingya with bullet injuries and six with burn injuries were admitted to the Chittagong hospital.  There have been many people who have come with bullet wounds on the backs of their bodies,  said H.T. Imam, a political adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh.  That is most reprehensible. This is a killing mission, plain and simple.  Myanmar officials have said the country has the right to defend itself from attack, adding that security personnel were told to keep innocent civilians from harm. Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh are in urgent need of medical and humanitarian assistance given the massive scale of the influx, Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday.  Many of the arrivals have serious medical needs, such as violence-related injuries, severely infected wounds, and advanced obstetric complications,  Pavlo Kolovos, the humanitarian group s head in Bangladesh, said in a statement.  Without a scale-up of humanitarian support, the potential health risks are extremely concerning.  One such person with severe injuries is Mohammed Jubair, 21, who, according to doctors treating him in the burns and plastic surgery department, is on his deathbed. The right side of Jubair s face has been smashed up completely; the left has severe burns, as does his lower body. He was fleeing his village in Rakhine with his five-year-old sister when Myanmar forces in a helicopter hurled a bomb at them on Aug. 26, killing the girl on the spot, according to his older brother, Nur Mohammed.  Unlike me, my brother was carrying our young sister as we fled to the hills when the army came and started setting our houses on fire,  he said.  I could move ahead faster, now Allah save my brother.  Like the attack on the village reported by Rasheed, it was not possible to independently verify Mohammed s account.

Summary: बांग्लादेश के अस्पताल में घायल रोहिंग्याओं में बच्चे, किशोर शामिल


BEIJING (Reuters) - Panama s decision to ditch long-standing ties with self-ruled Taiwan and switch recognition to China had nothing to do with  checkbook diplomacy , its president has told Chinese state television. Panama established diplomatic relations with China in June in a major victory for Beijing, as it lures away the dwindling number of countries that have formal relations with the island China claims as its own. Taiwan s government said at the time it was sorry and angry over Panama s decision, and that it would not compete with China in what it described as a  diplomatic money game . China and Taiwan have tried to poach each other s allies over the years, often dangling generous aid packages in front of developing nations, although Taipei struggles to compete with an increasingly powerful China. Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said the decision was correct and was Panama s alone.  I didn t ask anything from China,  Varela told Chinese state television s English-language channel in an interview shown late Monday.  I just think it was the right thing to do for my country, for the people of Panama and for the future of a strong relationship between China and Panama,  he said in response to a question about whether it was  checkbook diplomacy . Varela said he told U.S. President Donald Trump about the decision a few hours before the official announcement and Trump supported it, the report said. Varela also said that visits to Shanghai and Beijing when he was vice president in 2010 inspired his decision.  In 2010, I went to Shanghai for the World Special Olympic Games and I was very impressed with the city and then I went to Beijing and saw how China was opening its economy, I saw all these developments,  he said. China is deeply suspicious of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who it thinks wants to push for the island s formal independence, although she says she wants to maintain peace with Beijing. China and Taiwan had engaged in a diplomatic truce between 2008 and early 2016 under the leadership of Taiwan s then-president Ma Ying-jeou from the China-friendly Nationalist Party. Since Tsai assumed office last year, China has poached one other former Taiwan ally, the tiny west African state of Sao Tome and Principe. Gambia also established ties with China last year, although it ditched Taiwan before Tsai came to office. Beijing says Taiwan has no right to diplomatic recognition because it is part of China. Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan at the end of China s civil war in 1949.

Summary: पनामा के राष्ट्रपति ने कहा कि चीन के साथ संबंध बदलना 'चेकबुक कूटनीति' नहीं है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday rejected a New Mexico lawyer’s long-shot bid to force a Senate confirmation vote on President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, after Republican senators refused to act on his nomination. Steven Michel, a Santa Fe environmental attorney, filed suit in U.S. federal court in August, arguing that the Republican-led Senate’s failure to act on Garland’s nomination deprived Michel of his rights as a voter under the U.S. Constitution’s 17th Amendment, which outlines how senators are elected. The U.S. Constitution calls on the president to nominate Supreme Court justices, with confirmation of the selection in the hands of the Senate. The Senate, in a move with little precedent in U.S. history, simply refused to consider Garland’s nomination, saying the winner of the Nov. 8 presidential election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton should make the pick. Michel lost in lower courts before Roberts denied the emergency application on Monday without comment. Obama nominated Garland, a moderate appeals court judge, on March 16 to fill the vacant seat on the high court created by the Feb. 13 death of long-serving conservative Antonin Scalia. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, will now make the appointment. On Jan. 18, Garland will resume hearing cases in his current position as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, according to the court’s calendar. Garland had stepped aside from hearing cases after Obama nominated him to the Supreme Court.  The court currently has four conservative justices and four liberals. Scalia’s replacement could tilt its ideological balance for years to come, restoring the long-standing conservative majority just at a time when it appeared liberals would get an upper hand on the bench. This could be pivotal in a wide range of issues including abortion, the death penalty, religious rights, presidential powers, transgender rights, federal regulations and others. Trump previously unveiled a list of 21 conservative jurists he would consider for the job and said this month he had whittled the list down to “probably three or four.” Last week, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said the announcement would be made close the new president’s Jan 20 inauguration.

Summary: अमेरिकी मुख्य न्यायाधीश ने ओबामा उच्च न्यायालय के चुनाव पर मतदान करने से इनकार कर दिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan Senate proposal to shore up Obamacare insurance marketplaces would cut the U.S. deficit by $3.8 billion over the next decade and would not substantially change the number of Americans with health insurance, a nonpartisan arm of Congress said on Wednesday. Legislation introduced last week by Republican Senator Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senator Patty Murray would restore for two years subsidies to private insurers to help lower-income people buy insurance. President Donald Trump this month cut off those subsidies. The bill also would provide states more flexibility to change some rules in the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the signature legislative achievement of the Republican Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office previously estimated that various Republican proposals to repeal and replace Obamacare would cause more than 20 million people to lose health insurance. In contrast, the CBO on Wednesday said reinstating the subsidies, as called for in the Alexander-Murray bill, would not substantially alter the number of insured. The CBO also estimated that the fix would not impact 2018 health insurance rates because they are already set. Health insurers said they raised premiums on average 20 percent to make up for the lost federal subsidies. The CBO said it expected 2019 health insurance premiums to be lower with the insurer payments than without them. While the Alexander-Murray legislation would reduce the federal deficit, the CBO previously found that eliminating the subsidies, called cost sharing reductions, would raise the federal deficit by $194 billion over a decade. Because premiums would rise in the absence of the subsidies, the government would be compelled to spend more on financial assistance to low-income Americans. About 20 million Americans obtained insurance through Obamacare and the law helped drive the U.S. uninsured rate to a record low, but Republicans have called it an unwarranted government intrusion in a healthcare system that represents a fifth of the U.S. economy. It is unclear whether the Alexander-Murray bill will ever come to a vote in Congress. Trump has sent mixed signals about it, initially supporting it last week and then opposing it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would not bring it up without Trump’s support. Trump has derided the insurer payments as a “bailout” and has vowed to let Obamacare “implode.”  “It does not bail out insurance companies, it does benefit consumers, it does benefit taxpayers to the tune of $3.8 billion,” Alexander said on Wednesday on the Senate floor. Insurers say they do not profit from the subsidies, but pass them on directly to consumers to reduce deductibles, co-payments and other out-of-pocket medical expenses for low-income people.     Trump, who as a candidate promised to get rid of Obamacare, has been frustrated by the inability of a Congress led by his own party to pass a bill to repeal and replace it, and has taken steps that bypass lawmakers to chip away at the law. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan has signaled his opposition and on Wednesday said his chamber would not take up the matter or try again to pass broader Republican legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare this year. With broad Democratic backing and the support of a dozen Republican senators, the Alexander-Murray bill has sufficient backing to exceed the 60 votes needed for passage in the 100-seat Senate, if McConnell allows it to come to a vote. Two prominent Republicans in the House and Senate on Tuesday announced a competing Obamacare fix that is more conservative and appears to address many of the Trump administration’s objections to the Alexander-Murray proposal.  The proposal by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Republican Representative Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, includes provisions to suspend requirements for individuals and employers to buy health coverage under Obamacare. Ryan told Reuters in an interview he favored the Hatch-Brady proposal.

Summary: द्विदलीय ओबामाकेयर सुधार से अमेरिकी घाटे में कटौती होगीः गैर-पक्षपातपूर्ण विश्लेषण


(Reuters) - Green Party nominee Jill Stein is filing requests in Pennsylvania to start a recount of votes in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election, Politico reported on Monday. Recount requests were filed on Monday in more than 100 precincts in the state, Politico said, citing her campaign.

Summary: ग्रीन पार्टी के स्टेन ने पेनसिल्वेनिया में राष्ट्रपति चुनाव में फिर से गिनती के लिए फाइल कीः पोलिटिको


ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - An Ethiopian opposition leader was due to be released on bail almost two years after he was detained during mass protests over land rights, a member of his party said on Monday. Bekele Gerba, secretary general of the Oromo Federalist Congress, was arrested in December 2015 as activists stepped up demonstrations accusing the government of seizing their land and passing it on to firms and developers. Violence went on to spread across the Oromiya province that surrounds the capital Addis Ababa and is home to many foreign-owned businesses, drawn in by the government s industrialisation push. Bekele would walk free late Monday or early Tuesday after the high court granted him 30,000 birr ($1,110) bail, the party s current deputy leader, Mulatu Teshome, told Reuters. Bekele, who denies all wrongdoing, was initially charged with involvement in terrorism and collusion with the secessionist Oromo Liberation Front, which the government has branded a terrorist group. A court reduced those charges to inciting violence in August, but denied him bail then, as prosecutors said he would flee. Nearly 700 people died in one bout of unrest during months protests in 2015 and 2016, according to a parliament-mandated investigation.  Rallies over land rights then broadened into demonstrations over political restrictions and perceived rights abuses, including the incarceration of Bekele and his colleagues. The party s chairman Merera Gudina remains behind bars since his arrest in December last year on charges of colluding with an outlawed group. The violence has fueled fears about security in Ethiopia, the region s biggest economy and a staunch Western ally. Last week, at least five people were killed in a town of Ambo after police opened fire during a protest over sugar shortages. A week before that, ethnic clashes killed at least 11 people in the same region, while another bout of violence along Oromiya s border with the country s Somali region last month displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Summary: हिरासत में लिए गए इथियोपियाई विपक्षी प्रमुख को विरोध प्रदर्शन के दो साल बाद जमानत मिलीः पार्टी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama’s legal defense of some key initiatives including his signature healthcare law is collapsing as courts put cases on hold until after President-elect Donald Trump, hostile to the policies, assumes office on Jan. 20. The pending conservative legal challenges could undo important elements of Obama’s presidential legacy if Trump, as expected, opts not to defend the Obama policies in court or simply ditches the initiatives that are under attack. Since Trump’s election on Nov. 8, various courts have delayed action in three groups of cases that will not be resolved before Obama leaves office and blocked an administration regulation from going into effect in another. They include a challenge by House of Representatives Republicans to an important provision in the Obamacare law, and cases concerning religious objections to that law’s mandate that employers provide health insurance coverage for birth control. They also include Obama’s executive action, put on hold by the Supreme Court in June, to spare from deportation millions of immigrants in the country illegally, and his administration’s bid to extend overtime protections for workers. Republican-governed states like Texas were behind some of the biggest challenges to Obama policies. “We have a host of cases pending against the federal government due to the Obama administration’s overreach,” said Marc Rylander, a spokesman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican who has sued the administration on various issues including immigration. Rylander said Texas officials “will continue to pursue all of these cases and look forward to working with a new administration.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Monday put on hold the House Republican Obamacare challenge until at least Feb. 21.  Trump and Republican congressional allies have said they plan to repeal and replace the law, meaning the case could become moot. The Obama administration opposed the delay in that case, but agreed to put on hold its effort to revive Obama’s 2014 immigration plan. The administration and the states that challenged the plan filed a joint motion on Nov. 18 saying the case should be put on hold “given the change in administration.” Trump has vowed to crack down on immigrants in the country illegally and is expected to abandon Obama’s blocked policy. The series of cases pending in lower courts concerning efforts by Christian groups to obtain an exemption to a provision of the Obamacare law requiring employers to provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives are also in a holding pattern. The Supreme Court sent the cases back to lower courts in May, throwing out several rulings in favor of the administration.  The lower courts are now awaiting the change in administrations. In one of the cases, before the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for some of the religious groups said in court papers that a delay “will afford the newly-inaugurated president and new administration an opportunity to take a fresh look at this litigation and consider potential resolutions acceptable to all sides.” In the labor case, a federal judge on Nov. 22 prevented Obama’s regulation to extend mandatory overtime pay to more than 4 million salaried workers from going into effect on Dec. 1 as scheduled. That will give Trump leeway to change course when he takes office. So far, courts have not delayed action on several other cases involving key Obama policies, including a state and industry challenge to rules to curb greenhouse gas emissions mainly from coal-fired power plants. An appeals court in Washington heard oral arguments in September but has not yet issued a ruling. Trump has said he plans to rescind the regulation. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to decide a major transgender rights case that hinges in part on the Obama administration’s policy position in support of a female-born transgender high school student named Gavin Grimm, who identifies as male and sued in 2015 to win the right to use the school’s boys’ bathroom. The court has not yet scheduled oral arguments in the case. It is due to rule by the end of June.

Summary: ओबामा के मामलों के विफल होने पर अमेरिकी अदालतें ट्रम्प की ओर देख रही हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Warships from eight NATO countries participated in live-fire self-defense exercises of ship and missile systems near Scotland on Sunday the U.S. Department of Defense said. Ships from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States defended against a medium-range missile as well as three anti-ship cruise missiles. The USS Donald Cook successfully intercepted a medium-range missile with a Standard Missile-3 Block IB guided missile during the exercise, the Pentagon said.  Three anti-ship cruise missiles were fired upon by Spanish and Dutch ships participating in the  Formidable Shield  exercises in the U.K. Ministry of Defense s Hebrides Range located on the Western Isles of Scotland.  The U.S. Department of Defense said this was the first time NATO s  smart defense  concept was demonstrated with some ships providing protection to other vessels targeting ballistic missiles. The Formidable Shield exercise began on Sept. 24 and is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday. The Pentagon said the exercise is planned to be a biennial event and is designed to assure allies, deter adversaries and demonstrate U.S. commitment to collective defense of the NATO alliance. Following the NATO exercises, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency successfully test-fired a Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) from the USS McFaul. The SM-6 test was not part of the Formidable Shield exercise, the Pentagon said.

Summary: नाटो के जहाजों ने स्कॉटलैंड के पास मिसाइल रक्षा अभ्यास किया, पेंटागन ने कहा


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - During his presidential campaign, Republican Donald Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “strong leader” with whom he would like to reset tense U.S.-Russian relations. But as Trump heads to his first face-to-face meeting as president with Putin on Friday at the G20 summit in Germany, he is under pressure at home to take a tough line with the Kremlin. Allegations of Russian meddling in last year’s U.S. election have alarmed both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who are pushing to extend tough sanctions placed on Russia following its 2014 annexation of Crimea, a peninsula belonging to Ukraine. Lawmakers including Republican Senator Cory Gardner are also concerned Russia has prolonged the civil war in Syria by backing its President Bashar al-Assad, a strongman whose forces have used chemical weapons against insurgents and civilians. The chaos has fueled instability in the region and a flood of migrants to Europe. “President (Trump) needs to make it clear that the continued aggression by Russia around the globe ... is unacceptable, and that they will be held accountable,” said Gardner, who was among six lawmakers invited by the White House last month to discuss foreign policy with Trump over dinner. Meanwhile, the appointment of a special counsel who is investigating potential links between the Russian government and members of the Trump campaign has weakened the president’s ability to maneuver with Russia, foreign policy experts say. The U.S. intelligence community has concluded Russia sponsored hacking of Democratic Party groups last year to benefit Trump over his Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton. Russia has denied those allegations while Trump has repeatedly dismissed the idea of any coordination between his campaign and Russia as a “witch hunt.” Still, just the optics of Trump meeting with Putin, a former KGB agent, are fraught with risk, foreign policy experts say. “If (Trump) smiles, if he wraps his arm around Putin, if he says, ‘I’m honored to meet you, we’re going to find a way forward,’ ... I think Congress is going to react extremely negatively to that,” said Julie Smith, a former national security aide in the Obama administration. Trump has signaled an interest in cooperating with Russia to defeat Islamic State in Syria and to reduce nuclear stockpiles. The White House has been mum on what Trump would be willing to give Russia in exchange for that help. But there has been speculation he could ratchet down sanctions, or even return two Russian diplomatic compounds in Maryland and Long Island. President Barack Obama seized those facilities and expelled 35 Russian diplomats just before he left office as punishment for the election hacks. While some administration officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, also support engagement, others, such as Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, have taken a hawkish line on Russia. The lack of a unified strategy has left U.S. allies anxious. And it has lowered expectations for American leadership to help resolve crises in Syria and Ukraine, where Russian cooperation would be critical. “Trump is like a horse with his front legs tied,” said a German diplomat, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. “He can’t make any big leaps forward on Russia. If he tried people would immediately suspect it was all part of some big conspiracy.” Trump’s administration is still reviewing its Russia policy, a process that may not be wrapped up for a couple of months, a U.S. official said. Speaking with reporters last week about Trump’s upcoming meeting with Putin, White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster said his boss would like “the United States and the entire West to develop a more constructive relationship with Russia. But he’s also made clear that we will do what is necessary to confront Russia’s destabilizing behavior.” Trump is just the latest president to grapple with the complicated U.S.-Russia dynamic. George W. Bush and Obama sought to improve the U.S. relationship with Russia early in their administrations only to see relations deteriorate later. Among the concerns for this president is Trump’s apparent lack of interest in policy details and his tendency to wing it with foreign leaders.  McMaster told reporters that Trump has “no specific agenda” for his meeting with Putin and that topics would consist of “whatever the president wants to talk about.” Michael McFaul, who was U.S. ambassador to Russia under Obama, said he feared Trump might be headed to the meeting without clear objectives. “I hope that he would think about first: what is our objective in Ukraine? What is our objective in Syria? And secondarily, how do I go about achieving that in my meeting with Putin?” McFaul said. Other Washington veterans say Trump won’t be able to make meaningful progress with Russia on anything until he confronts Putin about the suspected election meddling. “(Trump) really has to raise the Russian election hacking last year, and has to say something like, ‘Vladimir, don’t do this again. There will be consequences,’” said Steve Pifer, a long-time State Department official focused on U.S.-Russia relations. So far Trump has shown little inclination to do so, a situation that has heightened speculation about the potential impact from his coming encounter with the Russian leader.    “The shadow of all these investigations hangs over this,” said Angela Stent, a professor at Georgetown University and former National Intelligence Officer for Russia.

Summary: मास्को के साथ घनिष्ठ संबंधों की प्रतिबद्धता को लेकर घर में ट्रम्प पर दबाव बढ़ता है


BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - European capitals expect British Prime Minister Theresa May to try to break a deadlock in Brexit talks over the coming days by signaling a readiness to pay the EU to stay in the single market for a time after it leaves the bloc. Senior officials dealing with Brexit in Brussels, Berlin and other capitals said they had not received any concrete overtures from May ahead of a speech in Florence, Italy, on Friday, at which she is expected to flesh out her vision of Britain s future relationship with the European Union. And they played down a report in the Financial Times that her EU adviser, Oliver Robbins, had informed German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders that May could make an offer of 20 billion euros to cover a post-Brexit transition period.  We have not been informed in advance about any concrete negotiation offers from the British government,  a German government spokesman said. But the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had received signals from London that May would try to break a months-long impasse that has raised fears on either side of the Channel that Britain could exit the bloc in 2019 without a deal on its future EU ties. These officials said they expected May to signal soon that she would like to keep Britain in the single market for two to three years and was prepared to pay for the access. However, they were unsure whether it would come in the Florence speech or later   possibly during new Brexit negotiations next Monday, in early October when she addresses her Conservative Party conference or at upcoming EU summits in the Estonian capital Tallinn or in Brussels.  Staying for three years in the customs union and single market would mean paying for it and Britain realizes that. The acceptance of payments during that period would be a very big thing,  said one EU official close to the negotiations. He was among more than half a dozen people involved with the issue in continental Europe who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday. Other officials were cautious, however, expressing concern that Britain was conflating two separate issues: the cost of continued market access after Brexit and the bill London first needs to pay to settle its existing financial commitments.  If everything in the financial settlement is not covered then it will be difficult to move forward,  said one official in Berlin, referring to a  delicate moment  in the talks. Three months into negotiations on the terms of Britain s departure from the EU, the two sides are struggling to resolve the issues Brussels says must be addressed before talks on a future trading relationship can begin. These include expatriate citizens  rights, the Irish border and the financial bill tied to Britain s departure. The EU executive has estimated that London may owe it around 60 billion euros due to commitments made during British membership. With the clock ticking down to the March 2019 exit date, Britain is keen to start talks on its future trade relationship with the bloc to remove the cloud of uncertainty for companies that do business between Britain and the rest of the EU. Without such certainty, companies in Britain may choose to move their operations to an EU state to enjoy access to its single market of 440 million people. Some have already announced such plans. Talks on the future relationship were initially expected to start in October. But the EU s chief negotiator, Frenchman Michel Barnier, has said that looks unrealistic   so far. He will meet his British counterpart again on Monday in Brussels. European officials sent conflicting signals on Wednesday about whether an acknowledgement of Britain s financial obligations during a post-Brexit transition period might be enough to break the logjam and open the door to deeper talks. One senior official in a government broadly sympathetic to Britain said any offer of payment from May could be  positive  and that other EU leaders understood that she might seek to mix comments on exit and transition payments as a way to distract pro-Brexit voters at home away from concessions she might make.  The sense of reality has not yet arrived,  a third senior EU official said.  If I were Mrs May I would make now a very, very clear offer, I would show my readiness.   I m sure May will give a nice speech in Florence,  a second German official added.  But what really counts is what the British put on the table in Brussels on Monday.

Summary: जैसे-जैसे ब्रेक्सिट घड़ी कम हो रही है, यूरोपीय संघ की नजर मई से नए प्रस्ताव पर है


ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police arrested a suspect on Saturday in the killing of a Syrian opposition activist and her journalist daughter in Istanbul, a police source said. Ahmet Barakat, a distant relative of the two women, was arrested in the city of Bursa, 90 km (55 miles) south of Istanbul, the source said, adding the motive for the killings was not known. The bodies of 60-year-old Orouba Barakat and her 22-year-old daughter Halla were found just over a week ago in their apartment in Istanbul s Uskudar neighborhood in the Asian side of Istanbul. Turkish media said Orouba Barakat was investigating reports of torture in prisons run by the Syrian government. It said she had initially lived in Britain, then the United Arab Emirates before coming to Istanbul. Hurriyet newspaper said Ahmet Barakat was arrested after a three-day operation. He was identified by CCTV footage and police were searching his house, the paper said.

Summary: तुर्की पुलिस ने सीरियाई कार्यकर्ता की हत्या के मामले में संदिग्ध को गिरफ्तार किया


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday stepped up legal action against Hungary over restrictions on foreign funding likely to affect civil society groups funded by the billionaire investor George Soros. The EU executive believes the law, passed in June, violates the right to freedom of association and to protection of private life and personal data enshrined in the EU s Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as breaching the principle of free movement of capital. Hungary s right-wing prime minister, Viktor Orban, has long criticized organizations funded by the Hungarian-born Soros, accusing them of working as paid activists advocating Soros s political goals, notably by opposing Orban s tough immigration policy. When Soros in June praised the  courageous way Hungarians have resisted the deception and corruption of the mafia state Orban has established , Orban called it a  declaration of war , and accused Soros of running a mafia-like network. The Commission expressed its concerns over the law on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to Budapest in July, the latest in a long line of grievances about what Brussels and many member states see as a track record of flouting fundamental EU values.  Having carefully analyzed the explanations put forward by Hungary, the European Commission concludes that its serious concerns have not been addressed,  it said in Wednesday s statement. The Commission s next step in the  infringement procedure  is to issue a so-called reasoned opinion, giving Hungary one month to take the requested measures.  If Hungary fails to reply satisfactorily to the reasoned opinion, then the Commission may refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU,  the statement said. The Commission has already issued a similar ultimatum to Hungary over an education law that Brussels says infringes academic freedom and could result in the closure of a Budapest university founded by Soros. Since coming to power in 2010, Orban has eliminated checks on his power by taking control of much of Hungary s media, curbing the powers of the constitutional court and placing loyalists in top positions at public institutions. While Brussels can open cases against EU states violating common rules, they are lengthy and often have little impact. That means the EU executive has little leverage over Orban, who has been in office since 2010 and faces an election next year.

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ के कार्यकारी ने एनजीओ कानून को लेकर हंगरी के खिलाफ कार्रवाई तेज की


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Wednesday it aimed to push North Korea into dismantling its nuclear and missile programs through tougher international sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and remained open to negotiations to bring that about. The U.S. stance, which appeared to signal a willingness to exhaust non-military avenues despite repeated warnings that “all options are on the table,” came in a statement following an unusual White House-hosted briefing for the entire U.S. Senate followed by a briefing to the House of Representatives. Graphic - Carl Vinson strike group: tmsnrt.rs/2pqOMWA Graphic - North Korea's nuclear program: tmsnrt.rs/2n0gd92 The statement from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats described North Korea as “an urgent national security threat and top foreign policy priority.” North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threat is perhaps the most serious security challenge confronting President Donald Trump, who has vowed to prevent North Korea from being able to hit the United States with a nuclear missile - a capability experts say Pyongyang could have some time after 2020. “The President’s approach aims to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs by tightening economic sanctions and pursuing diplomatic measures with our allies and regional partners,” the statement said. “The United States seeks stability and the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. We remain open to negotiations towards that goal. However, we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies.” U.S. lawmakers have been seeking a clear White House strategy following repeated North Korean missile tests and fears it could conduct a sixth nuclear bomb test. But some lawmakers on both sides went away dissatisfied.  While the administration has said military strikes remain an option, officials have stressed tougher sanctions as the key strategy given the risks of massive North Korean retaliation - essentially representing a continuation of the policy of former President Barack Obama’s administration, which failed to slow Pyongyang’s weapons programs. Democratic Senator Christopher Coons told reporters after the White House briefing that military options were discussed. “It was a sobering briefing in which it was clear just how much thought and planning was going into preparing military options, if called for, and a diplomatic strategy that strikes me as clear-eyed and well proportioned,” Coons said. Tillerson will chair a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday that is expected to discuss tougher sanctions, which U.S. officials say could include an oil embargo, banning North Korea’s airline, intercepting cargo ships and punishing Chinese and other foreign banks doing business with Pyongyang. U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said another means of diplomatic pressure would be for nations to close North Korean missions and to ostracize North Korea in international organizations. China objects to North Korea’s weapons development and has called for a return to international negotiations, but U.S. officials have said Washington sees no value in talks until Pyongyang shows it is serious about denuclearization. Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called U.S. attempts to make Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons through military threats and sanctions “a wild dream” and like “sweeping the sea with a broom.” The administration is hoping for greater Chinese cooperation after a summit between President Xi Jinping and Trump last month, and a senior White House official said Beijing now appeared to acknowledge North Korea as a threat to China too. “You have seen some early indications of China doing a better job enforcing existing U.N. sanctions on North Korea,” the official said, adding there had also been a clear effort to communicate to North Korea in the Chinese press “that its nuclear tests, missile tests, the existence of these programs can’t be tolerated.” China has been angered, however, by U.S. deployment of  the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile defense system in South Korea, complaining that its radar can see deep into China and undermines its security. The top U.S. commander in the Pacific, Admiral Harry Harris, told Congress on Wednesday the system would be operational “in coming days” and suggested Beijing should focus on influencing North Korea rather than worrying about a purely defensive system. The front-runner in South Korea’s May 9 presidential election has called for a delay in THAAD deployment, saying the new Seoul administration should make a decision after gathering public opinion and more talks with Washington. Harris said he believed Pyongyang’s threats needed to be taken seriously and that the United States may also need to strengthen missile defenses in Hawaii. He said these were sufficient for now but could one day be overwhelmed, and suggested studying stationing new radar there as well as interceptors to knock out any incoming North Korean missiles. “I don’t share your confidence that North Korea is not going to attack either South Korea, or Japan, or the United States ... once they have the capability,” Harris told one lawmaker. U.S. officials have warned that a conflict with North Korea could have a devastating effect on ally South Korea and U.S. troops based there, a point Pyongyang underscored by a big live-fire exercise on Tuesday to mark the foundation of its military.Harris conceded that North Korean retaliation to any U.S. strikes could cause many casualties, but added that there was the risk “of a lot more Koreans and Japanese and Americans dying if North Korea achieves its nuclear aims and does what (North Korean leader Kim Jong Un) has said it’s going to do.” North Korea has vowed to strike the United States and its Asian allies at the first sign of any attack on its territory. In a show of force, the United States is sending the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group to waters off the Korean peninsula, where it will join the USS Michigan, a nuclear submarine that docked in South Korea on Tuesday. South Korea’s navy has said it will hold drills with the U.S. strike group. Harris said the carrier was in the Philippine Sea, within two hours’ striking distance of North Korea if need be.

Summary: अमेरिका का कहना है कि उत्तर कोरिया पर रणनीति प्रतिबंधों पर केंद्रित है, बातचीत के लिए खुला है


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Hundreds of medical students and faculty members gathered at Northwestern University’s school of medicine in Chicago on Monday to voice their opposition to the dismantling of Obamacare.  The demonstration was part of a larger White Coats for Coverage effort organized by medical students across the country and came a day before the annual deadline to enroll in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), former President Barack Obama’s healthcare law.   “The ACA is not perfect, but pulling the rug out from under the feet of our most vulnerable patients is not the answer,” Dr. Bruce Henshaw, a faculty member at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, told the group of around 600 people.  “We will not stand idly by as our patients lose their rights. We will not stop today. We will write and call our representatives to ensure this doesn’t happen.” Students organized the event. Northwestern University spokeswoman Marla Paul said the school had no official position on the issue.  Photos on social media showed students rallying at numerous universities and cities.  “Proud to join my Yale colleagues to collectively say #protectourpatients. Improve the ACA, DON’T repeal it,” Ryan Murphy, who shared photos of a rally at Yale University, said on Twitter.  Republican President Donald Trump’s first executive order, signed hours after taking office, directed the federal government to scale back regulations, taxes and penalties under the ACA. Republican Representative Tom Price, Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has said an overhaul of Obamacare will initially focus on individual health plans sold through online exchanges and the Medicaid health insurance program for low-income Americans.  Trump has said he wants to keep some elements of the program, such as allowing young adults to be covered under their parents’ insurance. He favors plans that use health savings accounts and sale of insurance across state lines. More than 8.8 million Americans were signed up for 2017 coverage under the ACA through HealthCare.gov as of Jan. 14, according to the site, up from around 8.7 million sign-ups as of Jan. 14 last year.    Arturo Salow, a second year student at Northwestern from Miami, Florida, urged people to sign up for ACA coverage before Tuesday’s deadline, saying more enrollees would make a rollback more challenging for Republicans.  “I’d advise any patient to sign up immediately,” Salow said. “If they are going to take away coverage, let’s make it as difficult as possible.”

Summary: ओबामाकेयर को बचाने के लिए मेडिकल छात्रों और शिक्षकों की रैली


LONDON (Reuters) - British aid minister Priti Patel arrived at the Downing Street residence of Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday, entering the building via a back door to answer questions over undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials. Television footage showed Patel arriving and entering Downing Street.

Summary: अज्ञात बैठकों को लेकर प्रधानमंत्री से मिलने पहुंचे ब्रिटिश मंत्री


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Wednesday said it would oppose public sector unions in a major case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, reversing the view taken by the Obama administration in an identical dispute. The Justice Department filed a friend-of-the-court brief against the unions in a case brought by a non-union government employee in Illinois that targets fees his state and many others compel such workers to pay to unions in lieu of dues to fund collective bargaining and other organized labor activities. He is arguing that such fees violate the free speech rights of non-union members. The high court heard a similar challenge out of California in January 2016 and had appeared headed toward ruling the fees unconstitutional. But conservative justice Antonin Scalia died a month later and the short-handed court ended up with a 4-4 split in April 2016 that left the law intact but set no nationwide precedent. In that case, the Obama administration filed a brief backing the unions. Addressing the change of position, Solicitor General Noel Francisco said in the court filing that after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the new case “the government reconsidered the question and reached the opposite conclusion.” The Trump administration has already adopted opposing positions to those taken by the Obama administration in other major cases pending at the Supreme Court, including another labor case on whether employers should be able to require workers to sign contracts that prevent them from making class action claims. The administration also reversed an Obama administration stance by supporting Ohio in its bid to revive a state policy of purging people from voter-registration lists if they do not regularly cast ballots.

Summary: ट्रम्प प्रशासन ने उच्च न्यायालय शुल्क मामले में यूनियनों के खिलाफ पक्ष लिया


BERLIN (Reuters) - Two veteran allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to Germany s parties on Tuesday to strike a compromise and form a stable government that could drag Europe s biggest economy out of a political impasse. The collapse of talks between Merkel s conservative bloc, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and environmentalist Greens has thrown Germany into political uncertainty and raised the prospect of new elections. It has cast doubt over whether Merkel, Europe s most powerful leader after 12 years in office, will serve a fourth term after her conservatives bled support to the far-right in a Sept. 24 election, though still won the most seats. There are wider implications too for Europe since the collapse of talks means the euro zone s ambitious plans for deeper economic integration could now be put on hold, euro zone officials said in Brussels on Tuesday.  Merkel s former finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, now in the impartial role of parliamentary president, said compromise was the order of the day while chancellery chief Peter Altmaier gave parties three weeks to sort out the mess.  We must be in a situation in the next three weeks where there is clarity about whether there can be a stable government on the basis of this election result,  Altmaier, also acting finance minister, told ZDF television. Merkel has said she prefers new elections to an unstable minority government. Until a government is agreed, she continues as acting chancellor and previous ministers remain in post, while the newly-elected parliament also proceeds with business. Pressure is growing on the Social Democrats (SPD) whose leader Martin Schulz has refused to contemplate re-entering a Merkel-led government after voters punished them for sharing power with her for the last four years.  Many in the SPD fear that another four-year term with Merkel, who is herself still popular, would mean their political suicide.  Altmaier appealed to the SPD to reconsider:  Like  Made in Germany , we are known for having a stable and reliable government ... we must give the SPD a chance to think.  Andrea Nahles, head of the SPD s parliamentary group reiterated that it did not want to prop up Merkel again.   We are not an emergency stop-gap for Merkel,  she said.  However, she also said the SPD would use talks with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is meeting party leaders to explore possibilities to form a government, to find solutions, hinting at other possible options.  We should talk about how we form a process that leads our country into a new, stable government,  Nahles said, adding this might be a minority government or new elections. Steinmeier met FDP and Greens leaders on Tuesday, but they made no comment after the meetings. One option could be an alliance between the conservatives and Greens, who built up a certain level of trust during the exploratory talks, which could be  tolerated  by the SPD. That could guarantee some government policies get through parliament. Michael Kellner, a top Greens negotiator, said it was up to Merkel s party to propose such a minority government, but did not rule it out as an option. In a sign that compromise is still possible, Merkel s Christian Democrats, FDP and Greens voted together on a motion in parliament on Tuesday to create the conditions for Ireland to pay back debts early to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). One former SPD leader Bjoern Engholm said the SPD should rethink their  no  to a grand coalition, but he said any such alliance would only be possible without Merkel. Many commentators think the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) stand to gain most from new elections although polls show no big differences from the September results. Due to a protracted procedure designed to avoid repeated elections, a new vote would take months to organize, raising worries that European reform efforts will be held up.  Europe needs a Germany that is capable of acting,  said  Schaeuble.  The reactions from abroad show that Europe and many other countries in the world are waiting for us.  He said it was important for parties to compromise to avert a crisis, saying this did not mean parties had to ditch their principles.  The task is huge, but it s not unsolvable.

Summary: जर्मनी के राजनीतिक दिग्गजों ने पार्टियों पर स्थिरता के लिए समझौता करने का दबाव डाला


ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday he will discuss a solution to the five-month dispute between Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbors during a visit to Kuwait. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Doha on June 5, saying Qatar supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, a charge Qatar denies. Erdogan is scheduled on Tuesday to visit Kuwait, which has tried to mediate in the Gulf dispute. On Wednesday he will visit Qatar, which Ankara has supported and where Turkey has a military base.

Summary: तुर्की के एर्दोगन ने कहा कि वह कुवैत में खाड़ी संकट पर चर्चा करेंगे


JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is  out of danger  in hospital in South Africa after being airlifted from Harare at the weekend following the sudden onset of severe vomiting, a party source said on Tuesday. Tsvangirai, who is due to challenge President Robert Mugabe in elections next year, was recovering well but had been told by doctors to avoid stress and strain until at least the weekend, the source said. The 65-year-old s symptoms came on suddenly at a meeting of his opposition coalition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), on Thursday evening in Kadoma, a city around 160 km (100 miles) southwest of the Zimbabwe capital. The MDC sought to play down Tsvangirai s hospitalization, describing it as  routine  and denying local media reports that he was on life support after being airlifted to Johannesburg in the early hours of Saturday morning. Tsvangirai has been receiving treatment for colon cancer since last year but says he is in good health. His sudden illness was not thought to be related to his cancer or cancer treatment, two party sources told Reuters. It comes a month after Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a favorite to succeed 93-year-old Mugabe, was rushed to South Africa for emergency medical care. Mnangagwa, who has since returned, denied local media reports he had been poisoned.

Summary: जिम्बाब्वे के त्सवांगिराई खतरे से बाहर, दक्षिण अफ्रीका के अस्पताल में भर्ती


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump issued a veiled threat against Iran on Tuesday, warning Tehran to adhere to the terms of a nuclear deal with world powers or else face “big, big problems.” A week after certifying Iran as complying with the 2015 agreement negotiated by Democratic President Barack Obama, Trump made clear to thousands of raucous supporters that he remains extremely wary of Tehran. Trump administration officials, briefing reporters last week, said new economic sanctions against Iran were being prepared over its ballistic missile program and for contributing to regional tensions.  Trump devoted part of his speech in Youngstown, Ohio, to Iran. “If that deal doesn’t conform to what it’s supposed to conform to, it’s going to be big, big problems for them. That I can tell you. Believe me,” Trump said. “You would have thought they would have said ‘thank you United States. We really love you very much.’ Instead, they’ve become emboldened. That won’t take place much longer,” he said. Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday he would be surprised if Iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal when recertification comes up again in three months.  “We’ll talk about the subject in 90 days but I would be surprised if they were in compliance,” he told the Journal in an interview. Fresh from a rare legislative victory in Washington when the Senate voted to start a debate on repealing Obamacare, Trump called on Democrats to end their opposition to his efforts but doubted they would. “It’s time for Democrats to stop resisting. That’s their term, resist, resist. They have to do finally what’s right for the American people, but probably we’ll do it ourselves,” he said. Trump used his speech to revisit some of the themes that helped him to his improbable victory in the presidential election in November. He railed against “radical Islamic terrorists” and vowed he wanted to keep them from entering the United States after the “total devastation” he said they had caused in Europe. “We only want to admit those into our country who share our values,” Trump said. Trump came to Ohio amid a simmering feud with his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, and facing a prolonged investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election. He cast himself as an anti-establishment figure fighting entrenched special interests in Washington, a point that his wife, Melania Trump, stressed when she introduced him on stage. “Washington has fought him every step of the way, but I know my husband and he will never give up,” she said. Throughout the crowd were reminders of the campaign from chants of “drain the swamp” to “CNN sucks.” Several protesters were ejected, including a youth waving a Soviet-style flag. “Boy, he’s a young one,” Trump said. “He’s going back home to mommy. And I bet mommy voted for us.” Trump rejected criticism that he has a style as president that is not politically correct. He routinely draws criticism for his tweets. “I’d say with the exception of the late great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that’s held this office,” he said. “But we have to move a little faster than that. We will never be beholden to the lobbyists or the special interests.”

Summary: ट्रंप ने ईरान को परमाणु समझौते का पालन करने के लिए चेताया


KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian opposition figure Mikheil Saakashvili was freed from detention on Monday, after a Ukrainian judge turned down the prosecutors  request to place him under house arrest - the latest twist in his dramatic standoff with the authorities.  President of his native Georgia for nine years until 2013, Saakashvili moved to Ukraine after a popular uprising there and served under Poroshenko as a regional governor from 2015-2016, before falling out with the Ukrainian leader. The 49-year-old accuses the Ukrainian authorities of widespread corruption. Prosecutors wanted him placed under house arrest while investigators look into accusations he assisted a criminal organization, charges he says were trumped up to undermine his campaign to unseat Poroshenko.  The prosecutors  petition ... is dismissed,  Judge Larysa Tsokol told the court. A crowd of several hundred supporters, who had remained outside the courthouse throughout the eight-hour hearing, cheered the judge s decision.  The judge is good. She did everything correctly and in accordance with the law,  Saakashvili  said.  It means not everything is lost in Ukraine.  The case against him remains open. Speaking after the ruling, which was attended by several prominent opposition lawmakers, including former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Saakashvili said he planned to continue his political work. Together with other opposition politicians he will  prepare for a peaceful but very important and necessary change in leadership in Ukraine , he said.  Saakashvili, who launched a hunger strike to protest against his detention, sang the Ukrainian national anthem at the beginning of the hearing. The courtroom was so packed with journalists and Saakashvili s supporters that his lawyer asked the judge to move the session to a larger room. The investigation provoked violent clashes between protesters and riot police last week, while on Sunday several thousand people attended a peaceful rally in central Kiev to support Saakashvili and call for Poroshenko s impeachment.  While the protest does not represent a significant risk to government stability at the moment, it will likely attract the attention of Ukraine s international supporters and donors,  London-based research firm Teneo Intelligence said in a note.  Saakashvili is also facing the threat of possible extradition to Georgia, where he is wanted on criminal charges. Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko told Reuters the extradition request was being considered but no final decision had yet been made. He denied the case was politically motivated.  Every person who lives in Ukraine must respect the basic laws,  he said.   Unfortunately so far we only see things that are unworthy behavior of such a person.

Summary: यूक्रेनी न्यायाधीश ने साकाश्विली को हिरासत से मुक्त किया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Republicans are unlikely to begin tackling tax reform legislation until the summer, after first moving to revamp the nation’s healthcare system, House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday. In an interview with Fox News, the Wisconsin Republican said lawmakers had to make good on their pledge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, before they can turn to rewriting the U.S. tax code. “It’s just the way the budget works that we won’t be able to get the ability to write our tax reform bill until our spring budget passes, and then we write that through the summer,” Ryan told Fox News. “We feel the need to rescue (healthcare),” he said. “That’s why we’re going with healthcare first, and that’s the first budget. And then in the spring, when we do our second budget, that’s where tax reform comes.” Ryan later told reporters at his weekly press conference that he hoped to move on healthcare legislation by the end of March. His comments came as Trump, who has called on Congress to act swiftly to enact his sweeping agenda, met with the Republican chairman and ranking Democrats on the Senate Finance and Ways and Means committees. The two panels oversee tax writing, among other issues, but the White House meeting appeared to mostly focused on trade. Any tax reform package would also have to pass the Senate, where it could face resistance over a border adjustment tax provision. Republicans, who control both houses of Congress as well as the White House, have pledged a range of overhauls after eight years of the Democratic Obama administration, even as tensions have arisen over timetables and priorities. “Enough ‘all talk, no action.’ We have to deliver,” Trump told Republican lawmakers at their retreat in Philadelphia last month, pushing them to move on tax reform as well as his planned U.S.-Mexico border wall and repealing Obamacare. Trump has also vowed major spending to overhaul the nation’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Democrats have said they could back such a plan but would not support privately funded efforts that could lead to people paying tolls and other costs. Ryan dismissed the idea of using taxpayer funds on infrastructure, however.  Instead, he told Fox News, House Republicans will weigh how to “leverage more private sector spending” for projects such as pipeline overhauls and reforming the Federal Aviation Administration to revamp the air traffic control system.

Summary: अमेरिकी हाउस रिपब्लिकन इस साल के अंत में कर योजना से निपटेंगे


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is happy with the job done by  Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, with whom he is meeting on Monday to discuss regulatory issues and world economy, the White House said. “The president has been pleased with the way she has fulfilled what is a critically important job,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing.

Summary: फेड के येलेन से ओबामा 'खुश' हैंः व्हाइट हाउस


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States in July 2019 will end a special status given to about 59,000 Haitian immigrants that protects them from deportation after a devastating 2010 earthquake, senior Trump administration officials said on Monday. The decision by acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke gives Haitians 18 months to return to their impoverished Caribbean country or legalize their status in the United States. Former President Barack Obama’s administration granted Haitian nationals in the United States so-called Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for 18 months after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in January 2010, killing more than 300,000 people. The Obama administration extended the status several times after the initial designation. Duke decided to terminate the special status after a U.S. review of the conditions in Haiti found the country had made considerable progress, a senior official with President Donald Trump’s administration told a briefing.   “It was assessed overall that the extraordinary but temporary conditions that served as the basis of Haiti’s most recent designation has sufficiently improved such that they no longer prevent nationals of Haiti from returning safely,” the official said. In May, then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly extended the status for Haitians for six months through January 2018. At the time, Kelly told reporters that TPS “is not meant to be an open-ended law but a temporary law.” The decision to end TPS for Haitians is part of Trump’s broader efforts to tighten restrictions on immigration, and comes despite calls from even some fellow Republicans to continue the relief.     Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida published an opinion piece in the Miami Herald on Friday urging the administration to renew Haiti’s TPS designation for another 18 months, citing ongoing natural disasters, health epidemics and security issues since the 2010 quake. Duke in September ended protected status for citizens of Sudan as of 2018, but extended it for citizens of South Sudan through mid-2019. This month, Duke decided to end the status for Nicaraguan immigrants, but extended the program for Honduran immigrants until July 2018.. Thousands of Nicaraguans and Hondurans received the special status in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America. The Washington Post reported that Kelly pressured Duke to end the program for Hondurans, but Duke denied the reports.

Summary: अमेरिका जुलाई 2019 में हैतीवासियों के लिए संरक्षित स्थिति को समाप्त करेगा


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia s Justice Ministry has notified Voice of America and a Russian unit of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that they might be affected by a new  foreign agent  media law, Russian news agencies cited a ministry source as saying on Wednesday. Russia s lower house of parliament gave preliminary approval earlier on Wednesday to a law giving Moscow the power to designate foreign media operating in Russia as  foreign agents  required to disclose where they get their funding and how they spend it.  A Prague-based spokeswoman for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said she was not aware of any such notification. Voice of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while calls to their office in Moscow went unanswered. The Justice Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Summary: रूस ने दो अमेरिकी समाचार आउटलेट्स को बताया कि वे नए 'विदेशी एजेंट' कानून से प्रभावित हो सकते हैंः एजेंसियां


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Satellite images taken this month of a North Korean naval shipyard indicate Pyongyang is pursuing an  aggressive schedule  to build its first operational ballistic missile submarine, a U.S. institute reported on Thursday. Washington-based 38 North, a North Korea monitoring project,  cited images taken on Nov. 5 showing activity at North Korea s Sinpo South Shipyard.  The presence of what appear to be sections of a submarine s pressure hull in the yards suggests construction of a new submarine, possibly the SINPO-C ballistic missile submarine - the follow-on to the current SINPO-class experimental ballistic missile submarine,  38 North said in a report. The report said that throughout 2017 there had been continued movement of parts and components into and out of two parts yards adjacent to the constructions halls in the center of the shipyard. It said the Nov. 5 images showed two large circular objects that could be sections of a submarine s pressure hull. It said these appeared larger than those for North Korea s ROMEO-class attack submarine. Images of a test stand indicated continued testing of a  mechanism for ejection launch of missiles from a submarine. However, the report said no activity could be seen suggesting  preparations for a new test of a submarine-launched missile. North Korea has been working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the United States, sparking a major international crisis in which U.S. President Donald Trump has said that all options are under consideration, including military ones. North Korea is also thought to be working on a solid-fuel missile for submarine launches. Last month, The Diplomat magazine quoted a U.S. government source as saying U.S. military intelligence had detected a new diesel-electric submarine under construction at Sinpo and  dubbed it the Sinpo-C. It said the submarine was likely a larger successor to North Korea s single experimental ballistic missile submarine. North Korea has conducted dozens of missile tests this year and its largest and biggest nuclear test on Sept. 3. The past two months have seen a relative lull and it has not tested a missile since firing one over Japan on Sept. 15. Another article in The Diplomat last month quoted a U.S. government source as saying that North Korea had tested a new solid fuel engine sometime between Oct. 15 and Oct. 21. U.S. intelligence officials have declined to comment on this.

Summary: छवियाँ बताती हैं कि उत्तर कोरिया बैलिस्टिक मिसाइल पनडुब्बी पर 'आक्रामक' काम कर रहा हैः संस्थान


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An intense and sustained push by U.S. evangelicals helped drive President Donald Trump s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital and eventually relocate the U.S. embassy there, activists said on Wednesday.  While Trump had long pledged to move the embassy, the Republican president s conservative Christian advisers repeatedly pressed the case in regular meetings at the White House, the conservative activists said.  I have no doubt that evangelicals played a meaningful role in this decision,  said Johnnie Moore, a California pastor who serves as a spokesman for a council of leading evangelicals that advises the White House.  I don t believe it would have happened without them.  The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Many U.S. evangelicals have expressed strong solidarity with conservatives in Israel and feel a connection rooted in the Bible to the Jewish state.        Conservative Christians have long argued that formally recognizing Jerusalem, home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions, was long overdue following a 1995 congressional mandate to move the embassy from Tel Aviv. In Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, they found their most sympathetic audience. Activists  efforts included an email campaign launched by the group My Faith Votes. The group is chaired by Mike Huckabee, the former Republican presidential candidate and father of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary. The group posted a form on its website and urged people to contact the White House to press for recognition of Jerusalem as the capital. Another evangelical group, American Christian Leaders for Israel, which includes conservative activists Gary Bauer and Penny Nance, sent a letter to Trump warning that time was of the essence in moving the embassy. Trump s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital was  criticized by Palestinian leaders and others in the international community, who fear it will spark unrest in the region. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. No other country has its embassy in Jerusalem.  In June, Trump, like Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama before him, signed a waiver delaying the embassy move to Jerusalem in the hope of boosting his nascent efforts at brokering a peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians. With a deadline approaching for another such waiver, evangelical advocates saw a window to increase the pressure. American Christian Leaders for Israel, in the letter to Trump posted on its website, said they were  gravely concerned that with every passing day it will become more difficult to move the embassy and if you do not do it now, it may never happen.  Trump first convened a circle of evangelical advisers during his presidential campaign, and he was the overwhelming favorite of white evangelical voters in last year s election.     Moore, a member of the evangelical group advising the administration, said a prominent Christian conservative was in the White House just about every day. Much of the access comes through the Office of Public Liaison and its deputy director, Jennifer Korn, whose portfolio includes faith groups.  I ve sat in many meetings with evangelicals in the White House since the administration began, and I can tell you this issue came up again and again and again,  Moore said. He said evangelicals made it clear to the White House that it was a priority of theirs and they wanted action soon. Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University and a close Trump adviser, said he had never talked to the president about the issue but had received emails from other leading evangelicals in the past several days  asking me to support this or tweet that, and try to get the word out.   The faith community has talked to the administration for months and months about the need to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,  said Robert Jeffress, pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas and an evangelical adviser to Trump.  But the fact is, we didn t have to do any convincing of this administration. This was a campaign promise that President Trump was happy to keep because he feels that way,  Jeffress said in a telephone interview with Reuters on Wednesday.

Summary: इंजीलवादियों के दबाव ने जेरूसलम पर ट्रम्प के फैसले के लिए मंच तैयार करने में मदद की


BEIJING (Reuters) - Some top Chinese officials are guilty of practicing sorcery and would rather believe in gurus and Western concepts of democracy than the Communist Party, a senior minister wrote on Thursday, warning of the danger they presented to its survival. China guarantees freedom of religion for major belief systems such as Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, but party members are meant to be atheists and are barred from what it calls superstitious practices, such as visits to soothsayers. Recent years have seen several cases of officials jailed as part of President Xi Jinping s crackdown on corruption being accused of superstition, part of the party s efforts to blacken their names. Some senior officials in leadership positions had  fallen morally , their beliefs straying from the correct path, wrote Chen Xi, the recently appointed head of the party s powerful Organisation Department that oversees personnel decisions.  Some don t believe in Marx and Lenin but believe in ghosts and gods; they don t believe in ideals but believe in sorcery; they don t respect the people but do respect masters,  he wrote in the official People s Daily, referring to spiritual leaders or gurus. People in China, especially its leaders, have a long tradition of turning to soothsaying and geomancy to find answers to their problems in times of doubt, need and chaos. The practice has grown more risky amid Xi s war on graft, in which dozens of senior officials have been imprisoned. Attacking officials whose faith in communism is wavering, Chen said some consider it an  entirely unreal mirage , and have lost faith in socialism. Instead, they look to Western concepts of the separation of power and multi-party systems as their ideal, added Chen, who also runs the Central Party School that trains rising officials. He did not name any officials guilty of practicing superstition or fawning over the West. But elsewhere in the article he named some of those caught up in the most high-profile recent cases, such as the feared former domestic security chief, Zhou Yongkang and the former party boss of Chongqing, Sun Zhengcai, sacked for corruption in July. They were  political careerist plotters , whose cases showed that officials  political problems were no less a threat to the party than corruption, Chen wrote.  The higher the position, the greater their platform, the greater the harm they caused to the party,  he added.

Summary: चीन के वरिष्ठ मंत्री का कहना है कि कुछ अधिकारी जादू-टोना करते हैं