WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump began laying the groundwork on Friday to take office on Jan. 20, 2017, gathering the most loyal advisers from his insurgent campaign and three of his children to plot his transition strategy. Trump put Vice President-elect Mike Pence in charge of his White House transition team, while demoting his former transition chief, tarnished New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, to one of the six vice-chair posts.  Daughter Ivanka and sons Eric and Donald Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner accounted for a fourth of the 16-member executive committee, which was filled with politicians and advisers who stuck with Trump during his rollercoaster first run for public office.  Aides huddled in the real-estate mogul’s Trump Tower in New York City to begin prioritizing policy changes and considering Cabinet picks and other candidates for the 4,000 positions he will need to fill shortly after he takes the reins of the White House. A member of the Trump transition team told Reuters there were more than 100 people now involved in developing “white papers” on what regulations to roll back after Jan. 20. Some environmental measures and a rule requiring retirement advisers to act in their clients’ interests could be among the first on the chopping block, an industry lobbying source said. Trump promised during his campaign to cut taxes, clamp down on immigration and repeal President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare.  But in interviews with the Wall Street Journal and CBS “60 Minutes” on Friday, he said he was open to keeping some provisions of Obamacare. James Woolsey, a former CIA director who has advised Trump on foreign policy, said several of Trump’s campaign promises were “advocacy of a general direction” that may require compromise - including his signature pledge to build a wall on the border with Mexico. Woolsey told CNN that border security could be achieved with a combination of fence and wall. “I don’t think we ought to fall on our sword about the difference between a wall and fence. Maybe this will be cheaper because it’s mainly fence, but it’s a good fence. I wouldn’t have any problem with that myself,” he said. Trump, a billionaire real estate magnate, also moved on Friday to extricate himself from his sprawling business empire, which will be overseen by his three grown children on the transition team.  His company said it was vetting new business structures for the transfer of control to the three and the arrangement would not violate conflict-of-interest laws. But government ethics experts said the move would fall short of blind trust standards and was unlikely to prevent potential conflicts of interest. Trump said that Pence - who has strong ties to Republican leaders in Congress - will build on work done by Christie and has the mission of assembling “the most highly qualified group of successful leaders who will be able to implement our change agenda in Washington.”  Christie, once viewed as a top candidate for attorney general, is dealing with political fallout from the ‘Bridgegate’ lane closure scandal. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is now the leading contender for the top law enforcement job, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.   Trump’s campaign spent relatively little time on transition planning during the campaign, and even his Republican supporters had been bracing for a loss to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s election. “I was on Romney’s transition team, and it was a well-oiled machine months before the election. Now there’s a scramble,” said one Republican source, referring to the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. Since Tuesday, dozens of possible cabinet appointees have been floated, from grassroots conservative heroes like Sarah Palin to seasoned Washington hands like David Malpass. During his campaign, many establishment Republicans condemned Trump’s racially inflammatory rhetoric as well as his attacks on trade deals and the NATO alliance, which could take many traditional names out of the running. But outgoing Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte - who had distanced herself from Trump at points in her unsuccessful reelection campaign in New Hampshire - was being floated as a potential defense secretary on Friday, the Washington Post reported. Trump’s relatively small cadre of steadfast supporters is expected to play a prominent role in his administration. Campaign sources say Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions could serve as Defense Secretary, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich might be named as Secretary of State and retired General Michael Flynn could serve as national security adviser.  Those three, along with Giuliani and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, were named as vice chairs of the transition team. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus is a strong candidate for White House chief of staff, according to sources close to the campaign. Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon, a conservative provocateur, is also being considered for the job. As Trump mulled his team, demonstrators hit the streets in major cities for the third straight night to denounce his election and the inflammatory campaign rhetoric on immigrants, Muslims and women. Thousands marched through Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York and San Francisco as night fell. Trump appears to be leaning toward seasoned Republicans for many economic positions. David Malpass, a former Treasury and State Department official, and Paul Atkins, a former Securities and Exchange Commission official, are guiding the transition team on economic issues. “This is one area where the most Republican orthodoxy will come out,” said Brandon Barford, a former Republican congressional staffer. The Trump transition website, www.greatagain.gov, picked up on the tone of legislation aimed at weakening Dodd-Frank financial regulations that was released this summer by Republican chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Jeb Hensarling. Trump’s victory is forcing President Barack Obama to scale back his ambitions for his final months in office. Obama, who is set to meet with key allies from Europe and Asia next week during his final foreign trip, is giving up on a last-ditch attempt to seek congressional approval for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal before leaving office. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a TPP partner, is slated to meet with Trump next week in New York, and the president-elect also fielded calls from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on Friday. But EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had a blunter reaction to the Trump transition. “I think we will waste two years before Mr. Trump tours the world he does not know,” Juncker said on Friday.

Summary: ट्रम्प ने वफादारों और परिवार के साथ संक्रमण दल को पैक किया


BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government is not considering sanctions against the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump sparked outrage around the world by deciding to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, a spokesman said. Asked what the German government thought about the idea of economic sanctions, spokesman Steffen Seibert said: “I think we can say that’s not part of the German government’s policy.”

Summary: जलवायु समझौता वापस लेने के बाद जर्मनी अमेरिका के खिलाफ प्रतिबंधों पर विचार नहीं कर रहा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday “all options” were being considered over the possible discipline of House Democrats for protests they held on the House floor to call for action on gun-control measures. With Democrats already rejecting a Republican gun bill and warning of further protests, the Republican-controlled House appeared to be heading for renewed discord over gun restrictions following the June 12 mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Ryan, who was speaking at a news conference, had previously said the House would vote this week on a measure intended to keep guns out of the hands of people the government suspects of involvement in violent extremism. But it is no longer clear when a vote might be held. Democrats say the Republican-backed legislation is inadequate because authorities would have only three days to convince a judge that a gun sale should be blocked.

Summary: हाउस स्पीकर रयानः डेमोक्रेट्स के बंदूक धरना पर सभी विकल्प मेज पर हैं


CHICAGO (Reuters) - A vanquished challenger to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against the longtime Democratic leader, accusing him of using dirty tactics to beat him in a March primary election. Chicago Democrat Jason Gonzales accused Madigan of defaming him and crowding the primary with “phony” candidates to dilute his opposition. Gonzalez named the 45-year incumbent, the speaker’s political funds, a top aide and his two other opponents, among others, in a 39-count lawsuit over an alleged scheme to swing the four-way race in the speaker’s favor.  “Madigan won because he engaged in dirty, illegal, fraudulent tactics,” Gonzales, who finished second in his bid to topple Madigan with 27 percent of the vote, said in a telephone interview. Madigan received slightly more than 65 percent. Madigan said in a statement that the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, was “without merit.”  “Voters of my district soundly re-nominated me based on my strong record of service, giving me more than 65 percent of the vote, and they emphatically rejected Jason Gonzales because they knew he couldn’t be trusted,” said Madigan, who is Illinois’ longest-serving officeholder, representing Chicago’s southwest side since 1971. Neither Grasiela Rodriguez nor Joe Barboza, the two other candidates named in Gonzales’ lawsuit, could be reached for comment. Gonzales accused Madigan of falsely calling him a felon on television commercials and in political mailers based on several arrests and criminal convictions between 1991 and 1994, including the use of stolen credit cards as an 18-year-old. Gonzales alleged that Madigan improperly publicized those criminal records, which should not have been made public after former Democratic Governor Pat Quinn granted a pardon and expunged Gonzales’ criminal record in January 2015. “Madigan’s defamatory statement was one that harmed Gonzales’ reputation to the extent it lowered Gonzales in the eyes of the community and deterred the community from associating with him,” his lawsuit alleged. “As a direct and proximate result of the foregoing acts and/or omissions by Madigan, Gonzales suffered injuries of a personal and pecuniary nature, including emotional distress, damage to reputation and further punishment despite being granted full pardons,” the lawsuit said. Gonzales also accused Madigan and his aides of diluting the Hispanic vote in a legislative district that is about 70 percent Latino by planting two opponents with Hispanic surnames on the ballot. Neither of the candidates, who collectively received nearly 8 percent of the vote, actively campaigned. Gonzales’ case is being handled by Tony Peraica, a former Republican member of the Cook County board. “I couldn’t find a Democratic lawyer who was wiling to take the case,” Gonzalez told Reuters. “Everybody was scared of Madigan.”

Summary: पूर्व प्रतिद्वंद्वी ने इलिनोइस हाउस स्पीकर पर 'गंदी' चुनावी रणनीति के लिए मुकदमा दायर किया


(Reuters) - A group holding more than $10 billion of Puerto Rican debt wants the island’s federally appointed financial oversight board to postpone a Wednesday deadline to approve a fiscal turnaround plan for Puerto Rico, saying the U.S. territory’s creditors should have input on the plan.  A bondholder group led by OppenheimerFunds and Franklin Advisers, which hold debt across a wide swath of Puerto Rican credits, made the request to the board in a letter made public on Monday morning, ahead of the board’s scheduled public meeting in New York. “An extension would ... allow Puerto Rico and the oversight board to work with Puerto Rico’s key stakeholders to develop a fiscal plan that makes sense to all the parties,” the group said.  The turnaround plan, a requirement of the Puerto Rico rescue law known as PROMESA, must be submitted by Governor Ricardo Rossello and approved by the seven-member board in charge of managing the island’s finances. The plan is meant to serve as the basis for looming restructuring talks with holders of Puerto Rico’s $70 billion in debt.  So far, Rossello and the board have disagreed about what the blueprint should look like, with the board saying an initial draft by Rossello relied on overly optimistic revenue and growth projections. The draft increased 10-year cash flows by $33.8 billion, through spending cuts and new revenues, and contemplated $1.2 billion a year in debt service - only 30 percent of what it owes next fiscal year. The board on Monday is expected to take up a revised version of the plan from Rossello, and has said it wants to approve a final version by Wednesday. But the lingering disagreements between the board and Rossello call for an extension, the Oppenheimer group said in Monday’s letter, adding that more time might give the island’s creditors a seat at the table. Oppenheimer said Rossello’s draft plan was unfeasible, saying it ignored payment priorities, offered too weak an analysis on debt sustainability, and did not go far enough on tax reform measures.  Puerto Rico is trying to stem rampant out-migration, reduce a 45 percent poverty rate, and fix near-insolvent public healthcare and pension systems. Oppenheimer said it supported extending through Dec. 31 a stay on litigation arising from debt defaults, so sides can negotiate a debt restructuring without worrying about lawsuits.

Summary: प्यूर्टो रिको के लेनदारों ने राजकोषीय योजना की समय सीमा बढ़ाने का आग्रह किया


CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian premier Ahmed Shafik said on Sunday he was still considering his presidential bid and exploring the idea further now that he is in Egypt, according to a televised interview on Sunday in which he denied authorities had kidnapped him.  Today I am here in the country, so I think I am free to deliberate further on the issue, to explore and go down and talk to people in the street ... so there s a chance now to investigate more and see exactly what is needed ... to feel out if this is the logical choice,  Shafik said. The interview on private Dream TV channel was Shafik s first public appearance since leaving the United Arab Emirates on Saturday for Cairo. His family said he was  kidnapped  and sources said he had been picked up by Egyptian officials at Cairo airport.

Summary: मिस्र के पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री का कहना है कि अभी भी राष्ट्रपति पद की दावेदारी पर विचार किया जा रहा है


(Reuters) - Democratic Representative John Conyers, facing sexual misconduct allegations, has not thought about resigning, his lawyer said on Thursday after the top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives called on the congressman to step down. “It is not up to Nancy Pelosi,” attorney Arnold Reed told reporters in Detroit, Michigan, referring to the House Democratic leader. “Nancy Pelosi did not elect the congressman, and she sure as hell won’t be the one that tells the congressman to leave. That decision will be completely up to the congressman. He’s not thought of that,” Reed said.

Summary: कांग्रेसी कोनयर्स ने इस्तीफा देने के बारे में नहीं सोचा हैः वकील


WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Donald Trump has dismissed his vulgar sexual comments about women that surfaced on a video as “locker room talk,” but his explanation did little to soothe the queasiness of Esther Rosser, a 71-year-old grandmother from Virginia. “I know he apologized, and all you can do is apologize, but he could have said more,” said Rosser, who has voted Republican her whole life but decided this weekend that she would support Trump’s rival for president, Democrat Hillary Clinton. “He disrespected us,” she said of Trump, referring to women in general. Rosser’s misgivings echoed many of the sentiments expressed by more than two dozen women voters interviewed by Reuters who, as recently as September, had not decided whether they would support Trump or Clinton in the Nov. 8 U.S. election. In the informal survey conducted by phone the day after Sunday’s presidential debate, many women said they were appalled by the 2005 video in which Trump bragged of kissing and groping women without consent. The video surfaced on the Washington Post’s website on Friday afternoon.  Several of the voters also said they disliked the Republican presidential candidate’s strategy of highlighting the infidelities of Hillary Clinton’s husband, Bill Clinton, in an effort to defend his own conduct, or shift attention away from it. “I didn’t like the fact that he was attacking Hillary on things her husband did,” said Connie Sasso, a 66-year-old retiree from Missouri. “It’s wrong - it’s just wrong.” In the second presidential debate with Clinton on Sunday in St. Louis, Missouri, Trump said he was embarrassed by the video but dismissed his comments as “locker room talk.” He also accused Hillary Clinton of attacking women who had alleged sexual misconduct by her husband, who was president from 1993 to 2001. Trump’s criticism of Bill Clinton’s infidelities drew applause from supporters at a Monday rally he held in Pennsylvania. But Trump, whose core voters are overwhelmingly male, has struggled to appeal to women, who made up 53 percent of the U.S. electorate in the 2012 election. If Trump is unable to narrow the gender gap, he will be unable to overcome Clinton’s lead in the polls. “I can’t with good conscience vote for someone with that kind of mindset to the presidency,” said LeighAnn Chase, a 27-year-old nursing student from Lakeland, Florida.  As a woman, she was “floored” by Trump’s comments, and disgusted that others would seek to justify them, said Chase, a registered Republican who said she is now backing Clinton. Patsy Bennewise, 58, of North Little Rock, Arkansas, never voted for Clinton’s husband during the nearly 10 years he was her state’s governor. But her streak of never voting for a Clinton is set to end in November when she said she will cast her ballot for the Democratic candidate. She said of Trump: “He’s turned the presidential election into a mockery.” Not all undecided women voters contacted by Reuters came out against Trump. Amy Fryzelka, a 37-year-old tutor from Kansas City, Missouri, said she thought Trump’s comments were “horrible” but she believed his personal life would not influence how he would govern. She said she is leaning toward the Republican candidate because she believes Clinton is too deceptive. “I’d prefer not to vote for either of them, really,” Fryzelka said. Jane Simmons, 78, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, also said she would rather not vote for either Clinton or Trump. Simmons, whose mail-in ballot arrived on Friday, hours before she and other Americans learned of Trump’s lewd comments, said the video led her to consider backing Clinton.  “This is an indication of what the man is, although it was a decade ago, I don’t think he changed very much,” she said. “I don’t believe he’s got a conscience.” For Rosser, the Virginia grandmother, the decision to cast her vote for Clinton came when her 14-year-old granddaughter asked her to explain why Trump would say the things he said in the video. “He’s not a good role model for kids,” she said.

Summary: लॉकर रूम टॉक? प्रमुख महिला मतदाताओं ने ट्रम्प के बचाव को गलत बताया


BELGRADE (Reuters) - In a joint sting, Serbian and Croatian police have detained 17 people suspected of smuggling dozens of migrants into the European Union, Serbia s Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. Serbia was at the center of the migrant crisis in 2015 and 2016 when hundreds of thousands of people fleeing wars and poverty in the Middle East and Asia journeyed up through the Balkans to reach the European Union. That route was effectively closed last year, but a steady trickle of migrants, arriving mainly from Turkey via neighboring Bulgaria, has continued. Many migrants use smugglers to reach the EU. In a statement, the Interior Ministry said the group detained in Belgrade and four northern towns comprised 12 Serbians and one Afghan man. The police in neighboring Croatia have detained four more suspects, it said.  It is suspected that this criminal group facilitated the illegal crossing of the border and transit ... to a total of 82 migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, from whom they took 1,500 euros ($1,800) per person,  it said.  Official data show there are up to 4,500 migrants stranded in government-operated camps in Serbia. Rights activists say hundreds more are scattered in the capital Belgrade and towns along the Croatian border.  ($1 = 0.8442 euros)

Summary: यूरोपीय संघ में प्रवासियों की तस्करी के आरोप में सर्बियाई, क्रोएशियाई पुलिस ने 17 लोगों को हिरासत में लिया


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. House of Representatives panel said on Tuesday that it has scheduled an Oct. 24 hearing to examine Puerto Rico’s hurricane recovery efforts and the role of a financial oversight board in those efforts. The House Committee on Natural Resources, which last year worked on legislation creating the board to help Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, manage its $72 billion debt load, will hold the hearing. Since Hurricane Maria pounded Puerto Rico in September causing widespread destruction, there have been calls for possibly revising some of the financial board’s work related to the island’s debt. Committee officials were not immediately available to comment on who might testify at the hearing.

Summary: हाउस पैनल ने 24 अक्टूबर के लिए प्यूर्टो रिको वसूली सुनवाई निर्धारित की


GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump risks driving Iran towards nuclear proliferation and worsening a standoff with North Korea if Washington ends a nuclear deal with Tehran, former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said late on Thursday. Kerry, who negotiated the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers, was speaking a week after Trump refused to certify that Tehran was in compliance with it, amid growing tensions with Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. “If you want to negotiate with (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un, and your goal is to avoid war and try to be able to have a diplomatic resolution, the worst thing you can do is first threaten to destroy his country in the United Nations,” Kerry said. He was speaking in a private lecture delivered at Geneva’s Graduate Institute. “And secondly, screw around with the deal that has already been made because the message is, don’t make a deal with the United States, they won’t keep their word,” he said. The nuclear deal places Iran under tough restraints, including inspections, round-the-clock surveillance and tracking every ounce of uranium produced, Kerry said. “We would notice an uptick in their enrichment, like that,” he said, snapping his fingers. “And nobody that I know of with common sense can understand what the virtue is in accelerating a confrontation with the possibility that they might decide they want to break out and make it (a nuclear bomb) now instead of 10 or 15 or 25 years from now.” Kerry, a former Senator who headed the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Swiss media that Trump’s leaving the Iranian deal’s fate to Congress was “very dangerous” and opened the door to “party politics”. Congress cannot unilaterally renegotiate a multilateral accord, the Geneva daily Le Temps quoted him as saying. “It is possible that Congress would make an unreasonable decision that would put Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a very complicated political situation that could force him to retaliate. It’s a slippery slope.”  Khamenei said on Wednesday that Tehran would stick to its accord as long as the other signatories respected it, but would “shred” the deal if Washington pulled out, state TV reported. If Iran violated the accord, U.N. sanctions would snap back into place, Kerry told the audience. “Moreover, at that point in time folks, we have a year of break-up. We have all the time that we need in the world to be able to bomb their facilities into submission.” Ending the deal could lead to Iran hiding fissile production facilities “deep in a mountain where we have no insight”. “So the scenario that Trump opens up by saying ‘let’s get rid of the deal’ is actually proliferation, far more damaging and dangerous,” Kerry said.

Summary: ईरान परमाणु समझौते को समाप्त करने से उत्तर कोरिया की स्थिति खराब होगीः केरी


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are set to discuss new ideas for curbing climate change and expanding trade during an Oval Office meeting this week, White House officials said during a preview on Tuesday. Trudeau, who pledged to repair frayed ties with the United States when he took office in November, will meet with Obama on Thursday ahead of a star-studded state dinner. The White House, which sees a natural partner in Trudeau, hopes the two countries can commit to cut methane emissions from the energy sector by 40 percent to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025, and endorse an initiative to stop routine flaring from oil and gas fields, said Todd Stern, the U.S. climate envoy. “The commitment of both leaders to addressing this global challenge is clear and I expect under their leadership North America will make significant progress this year,” Stern told reporters. Stern said the two countries also are looking at ways to make carbon emissions from the aviation sector “neutral,” starting in 2020 through the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization.  The United States also hopes to accelerate the timetable to phase out HFCs, industrial gases that have far more potential to trap the earth’s heat than carbon dioxide, through an amendment to the Montreal Protocol, Stern said. On trade, a hot-button issue for both Democrats and Republicans in the race to succeed Obama in the Nov. 8 presidential election, the leaders are likely to discuss two longstanding irritants, softwood lumber and meat labeling. A deal governing Canadian softwood lumber exports expired last year, and the two nations are talking about a new arrangement, said Mark Feierstein, the White House National Security Council’s senior director for the Western hemisphere. “We’re open to exploring all options with Canada at this point,” Feierstein said, declining to put timelines on when a deal may be reached. The White House also hopes Canada will formally end its World Trade Organization case against a U.S. labeling law that the WTO ruled hurt Canadian beef and pork exports, he said. The United States repealed the law in December.

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस ने ट्रूडो की यात्रा में नए जलवायु उपायों, व्यापार प्रगति की मांग की


CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday authorized a new plan allowing protesters at next month’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland to demonstrate in an area that will be readily visible to convention goers. The new plan, approved by U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster, also cuts in half the size of an “event zone” where demonstrations and mobility will be limited and gives protesters more time to demonstrate. The agreement between the city of Cleveland and the American Civil Liberties Union resolves weeks of wrangling over the rules for what are expected to be lively protests when Donald Trump is due to become the Republican Party’s official nominee for president at the July 18-21 convention. Trump campaign events have drawn raucous demonstrations,  with some resulting in clashes between his supporters and opponents. “This settlement is a significant improvement from what the city had previously offered,” Christine Link, executive director for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement. The ACLU sued on behalf of three groups planning to organize thousands of demonstrators, calling the rules too restrictive. Dan Williams, spokesman for Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, described the changes as “minor” and said he did not believe there would be an increased security risk as a result. Cleveland originally planned to cordon off 3.3 square miles (8.5 square km) around the convention site as an event zone where free speech mobility would be limited.  After another federal judge struck down the city’s original plan, the two sides settled the lawsuit on Friday and took several days to work out details before revealing the new plan. The event zone is now 1.7 square miles (4.4 square km). The new zone frees up parkland where demonstrators will be able to organize before their protests. It also removes the Port of Cleveland and a small public airport for corporate jets and air taxi services from the restricted area. The main parade route for demonstrators now extends deeper into central Cleveland and will be more visible from the sports arena where the main event will take place, and more within the view of delegates and the media. The previous route took demonstrators further away from the center of town and over a bridge where they would be seen primarily by themselves. In addition, groups were granted extra staging time between protests. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of Citizens for Trump, a Texas-based group that supports the businessman’s campaign; Organize Ohio, a liberal activist group; and Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, a charitable organization.

Summary: नए नियम रिपब्लिकन सम्मेलन में प्रदर्शनकारियों को अधिक छूट देते हैं


HAVANA (Reuters) - Cubans said they were crestfallen to be returning to an era of frostier relations with the United States as the news spread that U.S. President Donald Trump was set to revert parts of the historic detente with Cuba. Trump will on Friday announce a plan to tighten rules on Americans traveling to Communist-run Cuba and significantly restrict U.S. firms from doing business with Cuban enterprises controlled by the military, White House officials said. “It hurts to be going backwards. To roll back the engagement will only manage to isolate us from the world,” said Havana resident Marta Deus, who will try to tune into Trump’s speech in Miami, the heartland of Cuban exiles. Deus recently set up an accountancy firm and courier service, to cater to a private sector that has flourished since a landmark agreement two and a half years ago between former U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro to normalize relations between the former Cold War foes. “We need clients, business, we need the economy to move and by isolating Cuba, they will only manage to hurt many Cuban families and force companies to close,” she said. The 2014 deal sparked widespread euphoria in Cuba and raised hopes for an improvement in its ailing economy.  An increased arrival of U.S. tourists thanks to eased restrictions fueled a boom in tourism, especially in Havana, creating demand for more BnBs, restaurants, taxis and tour guides in the fledgling private sector. But critics say the opening failed to improve rights on the island. Trump will justify his partial reversal of Obama’s measures to a large extent on those grounds, the White House officials said, and some Cuban dissidents back his tougher stance, saying repression has worsened since the detente. Cuban authorities have stepped up their detentions of activists, often confiscating their telephones and laptops, but they have also been coming down with a heavy hand on self- employed Cubans who appear to be empowering themselves. “When the Obama administration stopped condemning human rights violations in Cuba, the regime here said ‘look we can do this and nothing happens, so we can continue repressing more forcefully’,” said Jose Daniel Ferrer, who leads the Patriotic Union of Cuba, the country’s largest dissident group. Ferrer said his group had 53 activists currently imprisoned due to their political views. Other dissidents agree repression has worsened but say rolling back the detente, which will hurt ordinary Cubans, is not the solution. “It will probably not have any benefit in terms of human rights,” said Eliecer Avila, the leader of the opposition youth group Somos Mas. The Cuban government has withstood the U.S. trade embargo for more than a half century and will not make any political concessions to the United States due to economic pressure, said Carlos Alzugaray, a retired Cuban diplomat.  “I am concerned it will affect the private sector quite a bit and much more than the Cuban government,” he said. Without doubt it will impact those in the tourism industry that have benefited from a threefold increase in U.S. visits in the last two years, although it is unclear just how much. “It’s going to really hurt me because the majority of my clients are from the United States,” said Enrique Montoto, 61, who rents rooms on U.S. online home-rental marketplace Airbnb, which expanded into Cuba in 2015. “With things going to pot, I’ll have to tighten my belt.”  This new setback to the Cuban economy will come at a time when it is already wrestling with falling oil shipments from crisis-stricken ally Venezuela and a decline in exports. “This is another blow for Cubans and it will hurt our pockets obviously,” said Martha Garcia, 51. “With the United States, there is no tranquility.”

Summary: क्यूबा के लोगों का कहना है कि ट्रम्प के हिरासत से पीछे हटने से निराशा हुई


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama toasted Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland at a star-studded state dinner on Friday, lauding the nations for their global influence on civil rights, humanitarian issues and curbing climate change. The red carpet glamor followed a White House summit where Obama and the leaders of the five nations presented a united front against Moscow’s recent military aggression in Ukraine and the Baltic region. But the meeting was more about soft diplomacy than launching ambitious foreign policy endeavors, given that Obama’s second and final term ends in January. Americans will vote in presidential elections on Nov. 8. “I thought this was a very useful and important conversation, although there was probably too much agreement to make for as exciting a multilateral meeting as I sometimes participate in,” Obama said. More than 300 guests including rapper Common, comedian Will Farrell and actress Tracee Ellis Ross mingled with diplomats, tech and Fortune 500 CEOs, White House officials, and political donors in a glass-ceiling tent built around a tree on the South Lawn. Hand-rolled beeswax candles and strings of lights reflected off ten-foot pillars of ice, an homage to the northern lights. Pop star Demi Lovato, known for her support of liberal causes, was set to perform after a Nordic-inspired meal of ahi tuna, tomato tartare and red wine-braised beef short ribs. “It’s a great opportunity to drink wine and make progress on the most serious issues of our time,” Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters on her way into the dinner. The summit was aimed in part at sending a message to a nation not on the guest list: Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 and has stepped up its military posture. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is planning its biggest build-up in eastern Europe since the Cold War to try to deter further Russian aggression, and Denmark and Norway said on Friday they would contribute to the “enhanced allied forward presence” with NATO. “We will be maintaining ongoing dialogue and seek cooperation with Russia, but we also want to make sure that we are prepared and strong, and we want to encourage Russia to keep its military activities in full compliance with international obligations,” Obama said after the summit. Obama has long expressed admiration for the pragmatic and liberal-leaning politics of the Nordic nations. “There have been times where I’ve said, why don’t we just put all these small countries in charge for a while? And they could clean things up,” Obama said. (This version of the story corrects the title of Samantha Power in the eighth paragraph)

Summary: रूस केंद्रित शिखर सम्मेलन के बाद ओबामा ने नॉर्डिक देशों का अभिवादन किया


NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India s main opposition Congress party on Monday elevated Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the country s most fabled political dynasty, as its president, preparing to challenge the dominance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of national polls in 2019. In a long-awaited move, Gandhi, the great-grandson of India s founding prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected unopposed to head the party. He will take the reins from his mother Sonia, the party s longest-serving president, since 1998. Calling it a  historic occasion , the Congress party said Gandhi would take charge as president on Dec. 16. Television broadcast images of party supporters celebrating and distributing sweets outside Congress offices in the capital, New Delhi, and the financial hub of Mumbai. Gandhi s ascent coincides with state polls in Modi s western home state of Gujarat that are shaping as a test for the prime minister, who has been facing criticism for softening economic growth and poor implementation of a nationwide sales tax. The Congress hopes a round of state elections offers the party, and Gandhi, a shot at revival ahead of the next national elections, due in 2019.     Modi s depiction of Gandhi as an undeserving  prince  has helped sideline Gandhi since the last national election, during which time Congress has suffered some of its worst results in local elections. The Nehru-Gandhi family has ruled the country for most of its 70 years since independence from Britain. Gandhi s father and grandmother were both prime ministers, and both assassinated. Following Congress  defeat in the 2014 polls, Gandhi struggled to convince voters, as well as many within his party, of his leadership skills. But senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said Gandhi was now ready for the next challenge.  The entire country has lots of expectations from Rahul Gandhi,  Azad said.  Much before he was elected he has shown his mettle. He knows his responsibility.      Modi s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swiftly dismissed Gandhi s election, saying he had become president only on the basis of  dynastic principle .   The new India is loath to (accept) dynastic principle and the family character of the Congress further diminishes its appeal,  BJP spokesman G.V.L. Narasimha Rao told Reuters. Gandhi, until now a vice-president of Congress, is widely seen as a prime ministerial candidate if the party returns to power one day.  The 47-year-old has increasingly gone public in slamming Modi s governance since the last national polls, as he looks to shed the reticent image that has for years been synonymous with his political dynasty. But he has also faced political backlash. In 2015, for example, he took nearly two months of leave, prompting Modi s party to accuse him of  holidaying  while parliament was in session.   Modi still trumps Gandhi in popularity rankings, however. Nearly nine of 10 Indians have a favourable opinion of him and more than two-thirds are satisfied with the direction in which he is taking the country, a Pew survey found in November.  Modi s favourable rating was 30 points more than Gandhi s, it showed.

Summary: भारत के राहुल गांधी ने मोदी को चुनौती देने के लिए कांग्रेस पार्टी की कमान संभाली


BEIJING (Reuters) - China s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that the Chinese military will make all necessary preparations to protect national sovereignty and regional peace and stability, when asked about the risk of conflict on the Korean peninsula. Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian made the comments at a monthly briefing in Beijing when asked what preparations China was making in case a war breaks out. Wu also reiterated China s view that the issue should be resolved via talks, not military means, which he said were not an option to resolve tensions.

Summary: कोरियाई प्रायद्वीप पर किसी भी संघर्ष से संप्रभुता की रक्षा करेगा चीन


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he plans to bring a compromise gun control measure to a vote, a day after competing proposals to tighten gun ownership rules failed to clear the chamber.”I am going to be working to make sure” the Senate votes on a compromise measure being worked on by Republican Senator Susan Collins, McConnell told reporters. Separately, Collins said at a news conference that a vote on her measure could come this week or next.

Summary: सीनेट रिपब्लिकन नेता का कहना है कि समझौता बंदूक विधेयक पर मतदान की योजना है


MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday which said Russia s armed forces numbered just over 1.9 million people, including over 1 million military servicemen. The TASS news agency said the new decree replaced an older one from 2016 which had put the total number of personnel in the armed forces at around 1.8 million.

Summary: आदेश में पुतिन का कहना है कि रूस के सशस्त्र बलों की संख्या 19 लाख है।


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed former Utah governor Jon Huntsman on Thursday to be President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Russia, sending an experienced diplomat to fill the crucial post in Moscow. The Senate confirmed Huntsman, who also served as ambassador to China under former Democratic President Barack Obama, by voice vote. Huntsman served as ambassador to Singapore under former Republican President George H.W. Bush. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee had approved Huntsman unanimously earlier this week, as members from both parties praised his qualifications and experience. The Senate also confirmed three other diplomatic positions by voice vote: John Bass, currently the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, to be envoy to Afghanistan; career diplomat Justin Siberell to be ambassador to Bahrain and Wess Mitchell, a think-tank founder, to be Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. Huntsman takes on the post in Moscow as congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller investigate allegations that Russia sought to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Trump’s behalf, as well as potential collusion with Moscow by Trump associates. Moscow denies such activity and Trump dismisses any talk of collusion. Huntsman said at his confirmation hearing that there was no question Russia interfered during the 2016 campaign.

Summary: सीनेट ने हंट्समैन को रूस में राजदूत के रूप में नियुक्त करने की पुष्टि की


BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont said he stood ready to cooperate with Belgian justice authorities, adding he believed Spanish authorities had become politicized.  I will not run from justice. I will go to the justice authorities, but the real justice authorities,  Puigdemont told Belgian state broadcaster RTBF in an interview aired on Friday.  I have told my lawyer to tell Belgian justice authorities that I am completely ready to cooperate,  he said. Puigdemont added that it was  very clear that the Spanish justice authorities had become politicized .

Summary: कैटेलोनिया के अपदस्थ राष्ट्रपति ने कहा कि वे बेल्जियम के अधिकारियों के साथ सहयोग करने के लिए तैयार हैं


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump pushed back early on Saturday on assertions that the wall he wants built on the U.S. border with Mexico would cost more than anticipated and said he would reduce the price. Trump made his comments in two Twitter posts but did not say how he would bring down the cost of the wall. Reuters on Thursday published details of an internal report by the Department of Homeland Security that estimated the price of a wall along the entire border at $21.6 billion. During his presidential campaign Trump had cited a $12 billion figure. “I am reading that the great border WALL will cost more than the government originally thought, but I have not gotten involved in the ... design or negotiations yet,” Trump tweeted from his Florida resort, where he is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “When I do, just like with the F-35 FighterJet or the Air Force One Program, price will come WAY DOWN!” Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, said in late January that his administration had been able to cut some $600 million from a deal to buy about 90 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from Lockheed Martin. Defense analysts and sources downplayed news of those cuts, saying the discount hailed by Trump was in line with what had been flagged by Lockheed for months and would apply to other countries committed to the program. A border wall to stem illegal immigration was one of Trump’s main campaign promises. He has vowed to make Mexico reimburse the United States for its cost but Mexico has repeatedly said it will not do so. Trump also tweeted on Saturday about another aspect of his immigration policy - the legal battle over the presidential order banning entry to the United States by refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. “Our legal system is broken! ‘77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries.’ (WT) SO DANGEROUS!” he said. The tweet was in apparent reaction to a Washington Times story saying 77 percent of the 1,100 refugees who have entered the United States since Feb. 3 are from the countries covered by Trump’s ban. A federal judge in Seattle blocked Trump’s executive order on Feb. 3, lifting the ban while litigation proceeds. Trump has been steadily critical of the ruling from Seattle and a subsequent appeals court ruling upholding it.

Summary: मेक्सिको की सीमा पर दीवार की कीमत कम करेंगेः ट्रंप


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously on Wednesday to require law enforcement authorities to get a search warrant before asking technology companies to hand over old emails. The bill’s prospects in the Senate remain unclear, though the 419-0 vote in the House was likely to put pressure on the upper chamber to approve it. Under the Email Privacy Act, which updates a decades-old law, authorities would have to get a warrant to access emails or other digital communications more than 180 days old. At present, agencies such as the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission only need a subpoena to seek such data from a service provider. Supporters of the legislation say it is needed to update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Technology companies and privacy advocates say that statute was written before the rise of the Internet and so is outdated. The issue of law enforcement access to private electronic communications has been at the center of an international debate. This was reflected in the Justice Department’s high-profile pursuit of a court order earlier this year to force Apple Inc (AAPL.O) to help unlock an encrypted iPhone linked to one of the San Bernardino, California, shooters.     Separately, Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) earlier this month filed lawsuit in federal court against the Justice Department, alleging the government is using ECPA in a way that violates the U.S. Constitution.      The company argued ECPA is too often used to prevent the company from notifying its users, sometimes indefinitely, when investigators pry into emails and other data stored on remote servers. More than a quarter of senators have endorsed similar legislation in the upper chamber to the House bill, including No. 2 Republican John Cornyn.  But it was unclear if Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, who holds jurisdiction over the legislation, intends to move it forward during an election year.  The Iowa Republican will review the House bill, consult with stakeholders and his committee “and decide where to go from there,” a spokeswoman told Reuters in an email. Senators Patrick Leahy and Mike Lee, the Democratic and Republican authors of the Senate bill, praised the House vote in a statement as “an historic step toward updating our privacy laws for the digital age” and urged quick consideration.

Summary: ईमेल गोपनीयता विधेयक सर्वसम्मति से अमेरिकी सदन में पारित


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary James Mattis stressed the United States’ commitment to NATO in a telephone call with Germany’s defense minister on Thursday, the Pentagon said. Mattis assured German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen of “the United States’ enduring commitment to the NATO alliance,” the Pentagon said in a statement. It said Mattis discussed the importance of NATO in a separate call with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. In a call with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Mattis underscored his “unwavering commitment to Israel’s security,” the Pentagon said.

Summary: मैटिस ने जर्मन रक्षा प्रमुख के लिए नाटो के प्रति प्रतिबद्धता पर जोर दियाः पेंटागन


SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced high-level talks to ease tensions with Venezuela’s socialist government on Tuesday, just hours after he backed calls for a referendum that could force President Nicolas Maduro from office.   Kerry said the talks would start immediately in Caracas and be led by Thomas Shannon, a veteran of U.S. diplomacy in the region. Attempts last year at dialogue between the ideological foes were stalled by Venezuela’s deepening crisis. The two countries have been embroiled in diplomatic hostilities since the administrations of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and U.S. President George W. Bush. Kerry said the goal was to go beyond “the old rhetoric.” “I’ve committed to see if this can work so let’s see if we can improve the relationship,” he told reporters, after huddling with his Venezuelan counterpart on the sidelines of an Organization of American States (OAS) meeting in the Dominican Republic. The talks would also be aimed at fostering dialogue between Venezuela’s government and opposition, Kerry said. Maduro welcomed the proposed talks and repeated his suggestion that the two sides restore ambassadors in each other’s capitals after an eight-year hiatus that began when Chavez expelled the U.S. envoy to Venezuela. “I propose to John Kerry ‘let’s designate ambassadors’, I am ready. They have ambassadors in Beijing, Vietnam and Havana, and they don’t have one in Caracas,” he said in a speech to teachers. Maduro proposed an ambassador in 2014 but U.S. President Barack Obama has not yet accepted his credentials. Once one of Latin America’s most prosperous nations, Venezuela has plunged into unrest and a harsh economic slowdown. Long lines for food and medicines have led to protests and opposition calls for a recall referendum to remove Maduro.     That measure is allowed under the constitution, a point made by Kerry to reporters after he met Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez.  Earlier in the day, in a speech to OAS delegates, Kerry gave his backing to the referendum push and called on Chavez’s political heirs to release political prisoners and respect fundamental rights.      His comments to the 34 members of the main diplomatic body of the Americas marked the strongest show of support yet from the United States for the disputed referendum process. Venezuela’s opposition accuses the election council of stalling the recall at the behest of Maduro by arbitrarily changing criteria for requesting a recall vote. Maduro has said any recall against him would be in 2017 at the earliest, pushing back against opposition pressure. Several opposition politicians are in jail, notably hardline leader Leopoldo Lopez, who has a 14-year sentence for inciting 2014 anti-government protests that spiraled into violence killing more than 40 people. The government denies it holds political prisoners. Kerry’s comments drew a furious response from Rodriguez, who accused Washington and OAS chief Luis Almagro of “international bullying.”   “Every day we have evidence of the secretary general’s bias in favor of sectors of the opposition who are seeking a coup in Venezuela,” she said.  “I see now this is ordered by Washington. I know they are on Washington’s payroll to meddle in the domestic affairs of Venezuela,” she said, speaking through a translator.  Kerry was more conciliatory after his first ever bilateral meeting with Rodriguez, saying the United States did not support a push by Almagro to suspend Venezuela from the OAS for alleged violations of the regional group’s “democratic charter.” “The United States is not taking that position, we are not pushing for a suspension. I don’t think that would be constructive,” he said. At Almagro’s behest, the OAS will hold a meeting later this month to initiate the process that could end in Venezuela’s suspension. But the former Uruguayan foreign minister appears isolated in the group, with even right-wing governments opposed to Maduro in the region balking at throwing Venezuela out. Venezuela and the United States have repeatedly gone through periods of diplomatic fighting followed by generally short-lived eras of reconciliation.  Following Washington’s 2014 rapprochement with Cuba, Shannon met with a top Venezuelan Socialist Party official to improve ties with Caracas. The good mood soured within months when the United States criticized the sentence handed to opposition leader Lopez.

Summary: केरी ने वेनेजुएला के साथ बातचीत शुरू की लेकिन विवादित जनमत संग्रह का समर्थन किया


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Proposed Senate legislation to impose sanctions on Russia over allegations it tried to influence the U.S. presidential election are an attempt to prolong the harm already done to U.S.-Russian ties, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. “That’s the internal affair of the United States but we see continuing attempts to exclude any kind of dialogue between our two countries and attempts, blow-by-blow, to do further harm to the prospects for our bilateral relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters when asked about the legislation. Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senators Ben Cardin and Robert Menendez said on Monday they would introduce legislation to impose “comprehensive” sanctions on Russia over its attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. election. Peskov said separate U.S. sanctions announced on Monday, on several Russian officials linked to the so-called Magnitsky Affair, were fresh steps towards the “degradation of relations” between Moscow and Washington.

Summary: क्रेमलिन का कहना है कि सीनेट प्रतिबंध U.S.-Russia शत्रुता को बढ़ाने का प्रयास करते हैं


PARIS (Reuters) - A grenade thrown at French soldiers wounded three civilians in the Burkina Faso capital of Ouagadougou shortly before the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron, Radio France International reported on Tuesday. The grenade was thrown late on Monday, just hours before Macron was due to speak before a university audience at Ouagadougou, the radio station, citing security sources, said. Two hooded individuals threw the grenade from a motorbike before fleeing the scene, the radio said. There was no immediate comment of the incident at Macron s office. Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are due to address an EU-Africa summit in Abidjan this week, focusing on education, investment in youth and economic development to prevent refugees and economic migrants from attempting the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean.

Summary: बुर्किना फासो में फ्रांसीसी सैनिकों पर फेंका गया ग्रेनेड, मैक्रों के आने से पहले तीन घायलः रिपोर्ट


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell led a chorus of establishment Republicans on Monday urging Roy Moore, the party’s Senate candidate in Alabama, to quit the race as a fifth woman came forward with allegations Moore had sexual contact with teenage girls decades ago. Beverly Young Nelson said Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 16 and he was a prosecuting attorney in his 30s. At a New York news conference, the tearful Nelson said Moore groped her, tried to pull her shirt off and shove her head in his lap, then warned that “no one will believe you” if she told anyone. “I was twisting and struggling and begging him to stop,” said Nelson, a waitress at an Alabama restaurant where Moore often ate when the incident occurred. “I had tears running down my face.” Moore, a Christian conservative and former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, has refused to withdraw from the race. His campaign released a statement denying “any sexual misconduct with anyone” and saying the new allegations were part of a “witch hunt.” At a news conference in Gallant, Alabama on Monday night, Moore told reporters that Nelson’s accusations are “absolutely false,” the Birmingham News reported. “I never did what she said I did,” the newspaper quoted Moore as saying. “I don’t even know the woman. I don’t know anything about her.” McConnell told reporters in his home state of Kentucky that party officials were considering whether a Republican write-in candidate could be found to challenge Moore in the Dec. 12 special election. “I think he should step aside,” said McConnell, who previously said Moore should leave the race if the allegations were true. “I believe the women.” Republican Senators Orrin Hatch, Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, Todd Young and Cory Gardner joined McConnell in calling for Moore to drop out - a move that could open the door for Democrats to cut into Republicans’ narrow two-seat Senate majority. Gardner, the head of the Senate Republican campaign arm, said Moore was unfit to serve in the Senate. “If he refuses to withdraw and wins, the Senate should vote to expel him, because he does not meet the ethical and moral requirements of the United States Senate,” Gardner said in a statement. Senator John Cornyn, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, withdrew his endorsement but said Alabama voters should make the final judgment on Moore. Another prominent conservative who had endorsed Moore, Senator Ted Cruz, said Moore should either clearly refute the allegations or if they are true, drop out. “I am not able to urge the people of Alabama to support his candidacy so long as these allegations remain unrefuted,” Cruz told reporters in the Capitol.  Moore, 70, had been a heavy favorite to win the election against Democrat Doug Jones. He has denied the allegations first raised in a Washington Post story about his relationships with four women when they were teenagers, including a charge he initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl when he was in his 30s. He said on Twitter that McConnell was the person who should step down. “He has failed conservatives and must be replaced,” Moore said. The state party and many other Alabama Republicans have not wavered in their support of Moore, who scored a decisive Republican primary victory in September over Luther Strange. Strange, who drew the support of President Donald Trump in the primary, had been appointed to fill the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he became U.S. attorney general earlier this year. The growing furor over Moore sets up a confrontation between establishment Republicans and Moore’s supporters in the party’s populist movement led by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. A Democratic win in Alabama would be a blow to Trump’s agenda and shift the political outlook for next year’s congressional elections, giving Democrats a stronger shot at recapturing control of the Senate. It is too late to remove Moore’s name from the ballot, but McConnell told reporters he was “looking at” potential write-in candidates who could mount a successful campaign. Asked if Strange might be a candidate again, he said: “We’ll see.” But Strange told reporters it was “highly unlikely” he would mount a write-in campaign. “Now it’s going to really be up to the people of our state to sort this out,” he said. A special-election victory had been a long shot for Democrats in Alabama, which has not elected a Democratic senator in a quarter century. Jones, a former federal prosecutor, was trailing by double digits in some opinion polls. Moore, who is prone to incendiary comments on social and cultural issues, has survived controversy before. He was twice forced out of his position as chief justice, once for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the courthouse and once for defying the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. He threatened over the weekend to sue the Post and said the allegations were a smear campaign by his political opponents. Reuters has been unable to independently confirm any of the allegations. While making the new allegations, Nelson showed reporters Moore’s signature in her high school yearbook. She said he had offered to give her a ride home one night, then pulled the car behind the restaurant and assaulted her. “I was terrified,” she said. “I thought he was going to rape me.” Nelson said she told her sister about the attack two years afterward, and eventually told her mother and husband. She said she backed Trump for president and was not coming forward because of politics but because she was inspired by the women who talked to the Post.

Summary: सीनेट रिपब्लिकन ने मूर से पीछे हटने के लिए कहा क्योंकि नया आरोप लगाने वाला आगे बढ़ रहा है


BEIJING (Reuters) - China urged France on Monday to take more effective measures to ensure the safety of its nationals visiting the country, after a group of 40 Chinese tourists was tear-gassed and robbed in Paris. Attacks on Chinese, Japanese and Korean tourists are relatively frequent in the French capital, as robbers believe they carry large sums in cash and their luggage is stuffed with expensive products. Four men targeted the Chinese travelers in the parking lot of their hotel in the Val-de-Marne suburb southeast of Paris on Thursday, on their return from a city tour, the state-run Xinhua news agency said, citing French media. The assailants stole nine bags thought to be filled with luxury goods, it said on Sunday. China s embassy in France had contacted police and told them to  crack the case , Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news briefing, adding that Chinese visitors should be alert to the security situation.  We will urge French police to crack this case as soon as they can and bring the criminals to justice, and take even more effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens in France,  Hua said. She said the tour group had already returned to China, and the case was still being investigated. In August 2016, 27 Chinese tourists were assaulted by six men who boarded a bus that was to take them to Paris  Charles de Gaulle airport. Paris is on track this year to welcome more tourists than ever before, the city s tourist board said in August, a recovery from a lull following Islamist attacks in November 2015 that killed 130 people. Chinese travelers spent $261 billion overseas last year, making them a key demographic for retailers and hotel chains around the world. But growth in Chinese outbound tourism is slowing, with attacks in Europe, instability on the Korean peninsula and political uncertainty in the United States prompting some Chinese to opt instead for domestic trips.

Summary: चीन ने 40 लोगों के समूह को लूटने के बाद फ्रांस से चीनी पर्यटकों की रक्षा करने का आग्रह किया


CAIRO (Reuters) - Jordan said on Friday a U.S. air strike on a Syrian air base was a “necessary and appropriate response” to a chemical weapons attack this week which the United States and its allies blamed on Syria’s government. The chemical incident was “an inhuman act ... which drew wide-ranging international reactions, the latest of which was the U.S. military strike. “Jordan considers this a necessary and appropriate response to the continued targeting of civilians”, government spokesman Mohammed al-Momeni said, quoted by state news agency Petra. Syria’s government denies using chemical weapons.

Summary: जॉर्डन का कहना है कि सीरिया पर अमेरिकी हमला 'आवश्यक प्रतिक्रिया' थीः पेट्रा


THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The organization that identified tens of thousands of victims from the Balkan wars of the 1990s opened a new global headquarters in the Netherlands on Tuesday from where it will take on new cases around the world. The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), established after the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, will use the latest DNA technology to identify bodies and give families of the missing closure.  There are millions of reported cases of missing persons worldwide, with as many as a million in Iraq, tens of thousands in Syria and Lebanon and many more from Colombia to the Philippines.   The numbers are staggering,  said ICMP head Kathyrne Bomberger.  Moving here increases the perception that we are a global organization and understand that the issue of missing persons itself is a huge global problem that isn t just in the western Balkans.   The ICMP, which has identified 20,000 remains and provided evidence in 30 criminal trials, will continue to work with war crimes courts in The Hague, including the genocide trial of former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, who will hear a verdict next month. The advanced application of DNA technology, which has now made it possible to use samples from distant family members to create comparable DNA profiles, could also be used to help identify undocumented migrants.   We are now on the brink of a new level of being able to roll out this possibility to missing migrants, including the 10,000 children missing in Europe,  she said.  Normally when people go missing from conflict or human rights abuses they are never found.  The ICMP has been asked by Italy to help identify around 8,000 bodies of migrants who drowned trying to get to Europe, but it does not yet have the funding. One family member the organization has helped find closure is Ingrid Gudmundsson. The 72-year-old grandmother lost her pregnant daughter Linda and 1-year-old granddaughter Mira when the 2005 Indian Ocean Tsunami hit the Khao Lak resort in Thailand.   Everything changed in my life,  she said in an interview ahead of the opening.  What does a mother do when her family is missing on the other side of the earth?  Her granddaughter Mira was too young to have dental records, so she provided the laboratory with a toy from which a DNA profile was compiled.  It was very important to get them identified, all of them,  she said, recalling the agony of weeks when they were missing.  Now I have them together in the same place.

Summary: लापता व्यक्तियों की एजेंसी ने नीदरलैंड में उच्च तकनीक वाला वैश्विक मुख्यालय खोला


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Thursday said reports in the U.S. media about his administration’s relationship with Russia may make it difficult for him to strike a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease tensions between Washington and Moscow. “Putin probably assumes that he can’t make a deal with me any more because politically it would be unpopular for a politician to make a deal,” Trump said at a press conference.

Summary: ट्रम्प का कहना है कि अमेरिकी मीडिया रिपोर्टों से रूस के साथ समझौता करना मुश्किल हो रहा है


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin supervised his intelligence agencies’ hacking of the U.S. presidential election and turned it from a general attempt to discredit American democracy to an effort to help Donald Trump, three U.S. officials said on Thursday. U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia tried to influence the election by hacking people and institutions, including Democratic Party bodies, has angered President-elect Trump, who says he won the Nov. 8 vote fairly. Russian officials have denied accusations of interference in the U.S. election. Separately, a senior White House official said on Thursday that Putin was likely to have been aware of the cyber attacks but he fell short of accusing the Russian president.       “I don’t think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it,” Ben Rhodes, the White House’s deputy national security adviser, told MSNBC. “When you’re talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, we’re talking about the highest levels of government.” The U.S. officials - who have knowledge of intelligence information on the matter - said on the condition of anonymity that the hacking of U.S. political groups and figures had a more general focus at first. “This began merely as an effort to show that American democracy is no more credible than Putin’s version is,” one of the officials said. “It gradually evolved from that to publicizing (Hillary) Clinton’s shortcomings and ignoring the products of hacking Republican institutions, which the Russians also did,” the official said. By the fall, the official said, it became an effort to help Trump’s campaign because “Putin believed he would be much friendlier to Russia, especially on the matter of economic sanctions” than Democratic rival Clinton. Democratic President Barack Obama said in an interview with National Public Radio that the United States will take action against Russia. “I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action and we will,” he said according to excerpts of the Thursday interview released by NPR. “At a time and a place of our own choosing. Some of it may be ... explicit and publicized; some of it may not be. ... Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it,” Obama said. NBC reported earlier that U.S. intelligence officials have “a high level of confidence” Putin was personally involved in the Russian cyber campaign against the United States. Hacked emails of Democratic operatives and Clinton aides were leaked during the presidential campaign, and at times dominated the news agenda. The U.S. officials said Russia also hacked Republicans but did little to nothing with the information they found.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state TV channel Rossiya-24 that he was “dumbstruck” by the NBC report of Putin’s alleged involvement. “I think this is just silly, and the futility of the attempt to convince somebody of this is absolutely obvious,” he said. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has brushed off reports of Russian hacking of U.S. political institutions.         “If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter on Thursday. In fact, the U.S. government did formally accuse Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against U.S. political organizations in October - one month ahead of the election. Obama last week ordered a review by the U.S. intelligence agencies about foreign interference in the 2016 election. Asked on Thursday about the hacks, Secretary of State John Kerry described how Obama had been considering the evidence ahead of the October announcement. “The president made the decision based on the input that was carefully, carefully vetted by the intelligence community ... that he did have an obligation to go out to the country and give a warning. And he did so,” Kerry said at a news briefing.              The three U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters said the fact that Putin oversaw a hacking operation was not surprising and is standard operating procedure in Russia. “If anything, given his background as a KGB officer, Putin has a much tighter grip on all Russian intelligence operations, civilian and military, foreign and domestic, than any democratic leader does,” one official said. The reports of Russian hacking have raised concerns among both political parties in Congress, with top Republicans breaking with Trump to call for closer scrutiny. Some Republican lawmakers have also questioned Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, who has close business ties to the Russian government.

Summary: पुतिन ने ट्रम्प के पक्ष में रूस के चुनाव हैक को बदल दियाः अमेरिकी अधिकारी


BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday the North Korean nuclear issue should be resolved through dialogue, and that military means were not an option, after U.S. President Donald Trump warned North Korea that any U.S. military option would be  devastating . Bellicose statements by Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in recent weeks have created fears that a miscalculation could lead to action with untold ramifications, particularly since Pyongyang conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3. Speaking at a daily news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang reiterated that China has all along upheld the aim of the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and protecting the international nuclear non-proliferation system.   At the same we are resolute in working for the protection of the peninsula s peace and stability and uphold a peaceful resolution for the nuclear issue via dialogue and consultation,  Lu said.   We have always believed that military means should not be an option to resolve the nuclear issue on the peninsula. Because arms cannot resolve the differences and can only cause a bigger disaster. No side can accept this,  he added.  We hope all sides can avoid words and actions that intensify the problem and may cause the situation to continue to escalate.   North Korea will be high on the agenda when U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visits China later this week. While China has been angered by North Korea s repeated nuclear and missile tests and has signed up for increasingly tough United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang, it has also said efforts must be stepped up to resume talks. During a White House news conference on Tuesday, Trump also said the use of force was not Washington s preferred option for dealiong with the North Korea s ballistic and nuclear weapons program. Despite the increased tension, the United States has not detected any change in North Korea s military posture reflecting an increased threat, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Tuesday. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on Monday accused Trump of declaring war on the North and threatened that Pyongyang would shoot down U.S. warplanes flying near the Korean Peninsula after American bombers flew close to it last Saturday. Ri was reacting to Trump s Twitter comments that Kim and Ri  won t be around much longer  if they acted on their threats toward the United States.

Summary: चीन का कहना है कि कोरिया की स्थिति को हल करने के लिए सेना का कोई विकल्प नहीं है


KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - North Korea has granted a soccer loving Malaysian prince access to its airspace  anytime  he wants, his palace said on Tuesday, as Pyongyang prepares finally to host an Asian Cup tie that became a casualty of the assassination in Malaysia of the North Korean leader s estranged half brother in February. Having been delayed twice due to Malaysia s fears for the safety of its players, the match between North Korea and Malaysia is now set to be played on Oct. 5. The game had originally been scheduled for March 28, but the two formerly friendly governments suffered a diplomatic meltdown as North Korea reacted angrily to Malaysian police investigating the role North Korean officials allegedly played in the murder of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the crown prince of the southern state of Johor, met with North Korea s senior-most diplomat in Malaysia on Tuesday to discuss the match, according to a statement from the Johor palace.  Amongst issues discussed were foreign relations and current affairs as well as the upcoming Group B match of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 qualifying final round, in which both teams will ensure the safety of players and team officials,  the statement said. North Korea also granted the prince  full access  to its airspace  anytime  he wants to visit North Korea from Malaysia, the palace statement said.  It is the highest honor as any other world leader will need to stop by in Beijing beforehand,  it said. The trial of two women, an Indonesian and a Vietnamese, charged for the murder of Kim, is set to begin in Kuala Lumpur on Oct.2, but the North Koreans sought by police were believed to have fled Malaysia soon after the murder. The meeting took place on the same day as the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a stern warning to North Korea over its ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests.

Summary: उत्तर कोरिया ने मलेशियाई राजकुमार को हवाई क्षेत्र में प्रवेश की अनुमति दी क्योंकि फुटबॉल मैच फिर से शुरू हुआ


MUMBAI (Reuters) - Symantec Corp, a digital security company, says it has identified a sustained cyber spying campaign, likely state-sponsored, against Indian and Pakistani entities involved in regional security issues. In a threat intelligence report that was sent to clients in July, Symantec said the online espionage effort dated back to October 2016. The campaign appeared to be the work of several groups, but tactics and techniques used suggest that the groups were operating with  similar goals or under the same sponsor , probably a nation state, according to the threat report, which was reviewed by Reuters. It did not name a state. The detailed report on the cyber spying comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region.  India s military has raised operational readiness along its border with China following a face-off in Bhutan near their disputed frontier, while Indo-Pakistan tensions are also simmering over the disputed Kashmir region. A spokesman for Symantec said the company does not comment publicly on the malware analysis, investigations and incident response services it provides clients. Symantec did not identify the likely sponsor of the attack. But it said that governments and militaries with operations in South Asia and interests in regional security issues would likely be at risk from the malware. The malware utilizes the so-called  Ehdoor  backdoor to access files on computers.   There was a similar campaign that targeted Qatar using programs called Spynote and Revokery,  said a security expert, who requested anonymity.  They were backdoors just like Ehdoor, which is a targeted effort for South Asia.       To install the malware, Symantec found, the attackers used decoy documents related to security issues in South Asia. The documents included reports from Reuters, Zee News, and the Hindu, and were related to military issues, Kashmir, and an Indian secessionist movement. The malware allows spies to upload and download files, carry out processes, log keystrokes, identify the target s location, steal personal data, and take screenshots, Symantec said, adding that the malware was also being used to target Android devices. In response to frequent cyber-security incidents, India in February established a center to help companies and individuals detect and remove malware. The center is operated by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). Gulshan Rai, the director general of CERT-In, declined to comment specifically on the attack cited in the Symantec report, but added:  We took prompt action when we discovered a backdoor last October after a group in Singapore alerted us.  He did not elaborate. Symantec s report said an investigation into the backdoor showed that it was constantly being modified to provide  additional capabilities  for spying operations.     A senior official with Pakistan s Federal Investigation Agency said it had not received any reports of malware incidents from government information technology departments. He asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. A spokesman for FireEye, another cybersecurity company, said that based on an initial review of the malware, it had concluded that an internet protocol address in Pakistan had submitted the malware to a testing service. The spokesman requested anonymity, citing company policy. Another FireEye official said the attack reported by Symantec was not surprising.   South Asia is a hotbed of geopolitical tensions, and wherever we find heightened tensions we expect to see elevated levels of cyber espionage activity,  said Tim Wellsmore, FireEye s director of threat intelligence for the Asia Pacific region. The Symantec report said the  Ehdoor  backdoor was initially used in late 2016 to target government, military and military-affiliated targets in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Summary: एक्सक्लूसिवः भारत और पाकिस्तान जासूसी मैलवेयर से प्रभावित-साइबर सुरक्षा फर्म


NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said he will inquire further into whether former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey can represent a Turkish gold trader charged with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions against Iran. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said at a hearing on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court that he will hold another hearing, likely later this month, into whether conflicts of interest prevent the two men from effectively representing the trader, Reza Zarrab. Giuliani and Mukasey will not appear in court or help prepare for Zarrab’s trial, Benjamin Brafman, another of Zarrab’s lawyers, said at the hearing. Instead, he said, they are seeking a “diplomatic solution” to the case. The two men traveled to Turkey shortly after Feb. 24 to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Giuliani, an ally of President Donald Trump, discussed the trip in advance with then-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who brought the charges against Zarrab, Brafman said, while Mukasey conferred with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “No one was trying to hide their involvement,” Brafman said. Zarrab is accused of conspiring to conduct illegal transactions through U.S. banks on behalf of Iran’s government and other Iranian entities. Prosecutors said in a court filing last week that eight of those banks were clients of Giuliani or Mukasey’s firms, and that Giuliani’s firm is a registered agent of Turkey, raising potential conflicts. Brafman said in a response the issue “quite frankly is none of the Government’s business.” But Berman said at Tuesday’s hearing that it was “unquestionably the business of the court.” At the hearing, Brafman argued that Zarrab had an “absolute right” to meet with anyone he chose. If he had chosen to meet with another lawyer without telling anyone, there would be no issue, Brafman said. “He’s interviewed half the lawyers in America, so that’s not so much of a hypothetical,” Brafman joked, alluding to Zarrab’s hiring of more than a dozen lawyers at major firms. The dispute highlights the politically charged nature of the case, which expanded in scope last week with the arrest of an executive at a Turkish state-owned bank accused of conspiring with Zarrab. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu criticized that arrest as “political.” Zarrab, a dual national of Iran and Turkey, had previously been arrested in 2013 in a corruption probe of people tied to Erdogan, then prime minister of Turkey.

Summary: प्रतिबंधों के मामले में गियुलियानी, मुकासे की भूमिका की जांच करेंगे अमेरिकी न्यायाधीश


CHICAGO (Reuters) - A fiscal 2018 budget unveiled on Friday by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) depends on nearly $570 million in new money from the state and city that may not materialize or has not been identified. The $5.7 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that began July 1 includes $300 million the state of Illinois would send the district under education funding legislation. But Republican Governor Bruce Rauner used an amendatory veto to substantially rewrite the bill to remove what he called a CPS bailout. It was unclear how much the district would receive under Rauner’s revisions.  The Democratic-controlled legislature, which passed the funding formula bill in May without a veto-proof majority, is scheduled to meet next week. A failure by the Illinois House and Senate to muster a required three-fifths majority vote to override or accept changes Rauner made to the bill would kill the measure.  “The budget we released today is more of an outline than a traditional budget as we wait for the resolution of the education funding stalemate in Springfield,” CPS CEO Forrest Claypool told reporters, referring to the state capital. Escalating pension payments have led to drained reserves, debt dependency and junk bond ratings for the nation’s third-largest public school system. The CPS budget also assumes a $269 million boost in local funding that the district said it is working with the city to identify. Matt McGrath, a spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who controls the school system, said there is no answer yet on a local source. “What I can tell you is that any local solution will not come at the expense of the city’s long-term financial stability,” he said, adding that the mayor promises CPS students will have a full school year. Moody’s Investors Service put Chicago’s Ba1 junk credit rating under review last month for a possible downgrade, citing the potential the city could extend financial help to its cash-strapped schools. The amount of CPS cash-flow borrowing in fiscal 2018 would be about the same as fiscal 2017’s $1.55 billion, according to budget documents. Claypool said the district has no immediate plans for selling bonds for capital needs. CPS, which projects an 8,000 enrollment drop this school year, has set an Aug. 28 budget vote by its board. The district said the spending plan can be revised once the state puts a school funding formula in place.

Summary: शिकागो के स्कूलों का बजट अनिश्चित वित्त पोषण पर निर्भर करता है


((This Sept. 19 story corrects paragraph 9 to say the estimated amounts to be raised are annual figures, not totals for the decade)) By Amanda Becker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration may abandon its promise to repeal the U.S. estate tax on inherited assets in an effort to make a still-evolving Republican tax cut framework more politically feasible, according to sources familiar with the deliberations. A so-called Big Six team of Republican tax package negotiators, including senior lawmakers and top Trump advisers, has been tight-lipped about the details that will be part of their plan, expected to be unveiled next week. Republicans have long criticized the estate tax, saying it taxes hard-earned income a second time and hurts family-owned businesses and farms. Democrats say repealing it would be a windfall for only the wealthiest of taxpayers. After months of debate about how to make good on a 2016 campaign promise to overhaul the tax code, Republican tax negotiators are in a bind. They have largely given up on a comprehensive revamp of the code and are now focused on a package of tax cuts for individuals and businesses. To offset the revenue losses that would result from such cuts, they need new revenues and need to hold onto existing revenues to avoid expanding the federal deficit too much. To that end, Trump administration officials have considered keeping the revenue-raising estate tax, which is levied on estate assets worth more than $5.49 million, or $10.98 million  for married couples, according to those familiar with the talks, but not authorized to speak about them. “There have been high-level discussions in the White House about giving up on repealing the estate tax,” said a congressional aide. The 40 percent estate tax currently affects just 0.2 percent of estates, or approximately 5,460 estates this year, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Institute, a think tank. But the tax will raise between $25 billion and $34 billion annually over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated. A White House spokeswoman declined to comment on “rumors about internal deliberations,” but said President Donald Trump “has made it clear that his priority is ensuring American workers get a pay raise” by making the tax code more competitive. In a recent meeting between Trump, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, the president sought to make the case that his tax plan would not favor the rich. The Democrats pointed to the estate tax repeal, which was then included in the president’s plan, as one benefit for the wealthy, those familiar with the meeting said. Though analysts had expected an estate tax repeal to take a back seat in the Republican tax push to other priorities, they cautioned that if the White House decides to abandon it, the plan would meet resistance from Trump’s own party in Congress. The Big Six team consists of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the National Economic Council’s Gary Cohn, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senator Orrin Hatch and Representative Kevin Brady, who head the tax committees in their respective chambers. Abandoning estate tax repeal would please many Democrats, but make it more difficult to push the tax package through the House of Representatives, where conservative Republicans are already wary of the hush-hush negotiations. “I do think reform will include, if not outright repeal, then a substantial relaxation and modification of the estate tax rules,” Deloitte’s Jonathan Traub told Reuters. Republicans could tweak the estate tax by creating a higher exemption amount, lowering the rate, or a combination thereof. Or they could pursue a temporary repeal to preserve revenue without endangering the package’s prospects,  said analysts and a former committee staffer now in the private sector. “There is this menu of items they want to pay for, the estate tax being one of them,” said Cowen & Co’s Chris Krueger, a Washington analyst. “It’s the candy, not the broccoli.”

Summary: व्हाइट हाउस ने रिपब्लिकन कर दबाव में संपत्ति कर निरसन को छोड़ने पर विचार किया


RIYADH (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Wednesday to seek joint action on security threats including Iran and Islamic State - and to talk through tensions between the two allies that have been laid bare in recent weeks. Obama’s fourth and likely last visit to the world’s top oil exporter has been overshadowed by Gulf Arab exasperation with his approach to the region, and doubts about Washington’s commitment to their security. Most of the Gulf Arab monarchies have in private been sorely disappointed by Obama’s presidency, regarding it as a period in which the United States has pulled back from the region, giving more space to their arch rival Iran to expand its influence.  Obama met for two hours with Salman and a group of top princes and officials at the opulent Erga palace, a meeting that had been forecast to be awkward. Obama was recently quoted in a U.S. magazine interview commenting on the “complicated” nature of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, and describing some some Gulf and European states as “free riders” who called for U.S. action without doing enough themselves. The White House said the leaders exchanged views on a series of regional conflicts where the allies disagree, and also explored U.S. concerns about Saudi human rights issues.     “The two leaders reaffirmed the historic friendship and deep strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” the White House said in a statement. Obama has spoken of his desire to persuade Gulf states to arrive at a “cold peace” with Iran that would douse sectarian tensions and allow all sides to focus on what he sees as a greater threat emanating from Islamic State. “More broadly, the president and King discussed the challenges posed by Iran’s provocative activities in the region, agreeing on the importance of an inclusive approach to de-escalating regional conflicts,” the White House said. Obama praised the king’s pledge of humanitarian aid to Yemen after a Saudi-led military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi group - and talked about the need to help parts of Iraq hit hard by Islamic State fighting. They also talked about the need to reinforce a cessation of hostilities between Syrian government and opposition forces, and their support for a political transition in the war-torn country, the White House said. The White House did not say whether the leaders had discussed a bill proposed in the U.S. Congress that, if passed, could hold the kingdom responsible for any role in al Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The attack was mounted by al Qaeda, then based in Afghanistan. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals, although no U.S. investigation to date has reported finding evidence of Saudi government support for the attacks. Obama has said he opposes the bill because it could expose the United States to lawsuits from citizens of other countries.  LOW-KEY ARRIVAL Obama arrived too late for the pomp of a televised official welcome for Gulf rulers at the airport, making a low-key entrance before being whisked off by helicopter to the palace. He later met privately at his hotel with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan and discussed the need to find a political settlement for the Yemen conflict, and to head off the “actions of potential spoilers” for Libya’s nascent government. Earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter had talks with his Gulf Arab counterparts on ways of countering Iranian influence and fighting the Islamic State group.  They agreed on joint cooperation towards improving Gulf missile defense, special forces and maritime security, but no new deals were announced.  The GCC secretary general said the bloc and the United States would stage joint maritime patrols to stop weapons smuggling to Iran. American officials said these were already taking place and did not represent a new step.          On Thursday, Obama will attend a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a group of monarchies comprising Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Apart from Oman, they are ruled by Sunni Muslim dynasties who see revolutionary, Shi’ite Iran as a threat to their security and say its involvement in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen has fueled conflict and deepened sectarian divisions. That tension surfaced again on Wednesday when Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei attacked Riyadh’s attempts to isolate its ally, Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, in a series of fiery Tweets.  “Hezbollah is shining in the Muslim world. It doesn’t matter if a corrupt, dependent and hollow government with the use of petrodollars condemns it in a statement. To hell with it,” he wrote. The White House shares the view of Gulf Arab states that Tehran plays a destabilizing role, but its push for the nuclear deal Iran agreed with world powers last year caused fears in Riyadh that Washington was not listening to their concerns.

Summary: ओबामा, सऊदी राजा ने तनावपूर्ण गठबंधन, मध्य पूर्व के संघर्षों पर चर्चा की