Jobless Indian lives on terrace for 8 months in UAE

Dubai, Nov 22, 2016, (PTI)

A jobless one-eyed Indian man has been living on the terrace of a building in the UAE for more than eight months without proper food after his employer, also an Indian, withheld his passport, a media report said today.

Sajeev Rajan, an electrician in his early forties, belongs to Kollam in Kerala where his wife, two children and ageing parents live.

He was left with no other option but to live on the terrace of a building in Ajman city because his employer had refused to return his passport after settling his dues, Khaleej Times reported.

An exhausted Ranjan, worked for a Sharjah-based construction company and spent 236 days on the terrace because he does not have a job or money to get a bed space, said he stayed on the terrace even during the harsh summer, the report said.

He has been surviving with the generosity of some construction workers and shop owners, it said.

"Please send me home or I will die here... there is no money for food or room. I was living in the company accommodation for two years. My contract ended on March 11 and I wanted to go home. Working for 900 Dirham (Rs 16,761) per month did not meet my expectations," he said.

Ranjan alleged that his employer was not ready to relieve him from work and send him back home after clearing his gratuity and leave salary.

"When my boss refused to settle my dues and release my passport, I went to the Sharjah immigration department with a complaint. Afterwards, my boss has been trying to delay the process. He is not abiding by the court order. He also filed an absconding case against me even though I had not absconded," he said.

On March 21, Ranjan was forced to vacate the company accommodation in Ajman.

He has approached the labour court "several times", the Indian Consulate, community associations and others "but nobody could help me", the report said.

"The employer from Punjab, India, promises to return my passport in front of officials who mediate for my release, but once he leaves their office, he refuses to hand it over to me," he said.

After his plight was highlighted by the paper, several people came forward with offers to buy air tickets, give him a job among others, the report added.  

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Pakistan warns against use of water as an instrument of coercion

United Nations, Nov 23, 2016, PTI:

In an apparent reference to row over Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan has warned against use of water as an instrument of coercion or war and asserted that international community must remain vigilant to any sign of unwillingness to maintain cooperation on resolving water issues.

"The international community must assume a responsibility to develop, nurture and protect normative frameworks, at multilateral and bilateral levels, to ensure that states remain willing to resolve water issues cooperatively," Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi said in her address to the UN Security Council during an open debate on water, peace and security.

"It must promote bilateral and regional agreements on waterways; and once they are evolved, ensure that they are not undermined through unilateral or coercive measures," Lodhi said as she described the India-Pak Indus Water Treaty of 1960, with the World Bank as guarantor, a model of what can be achieved through bilateral agreements.

"But this Treaty is equally a good case study of what could go wrong if such agreements are not honoured or threatened by one of the state parties to be abrogated altogether.

The international community must remain vigilant to any sign of unwillingness to maintain cooperation and be willing act to avert any conflict," Lodhi said.

In his address, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also mentioned Indus Water Treaty, saying it withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including wars.

"In the second half of the 20th century, more than 200 water treaties were successfully negotiated. International river agreements have enhanced security and stability in river basins," he said.

"The 1960 Indus Waters agreement between India and Pakistan has famously survived at least two wars and numerous clashes and diplomatic crises," Ban said.

The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries.

It also sets out a process for resolving so-called "questions", "differences" and "disputes" that may arise between the parties. He said management of more than 200 international rivers and at least that many transboundary aquifers was especially important.

Cautioning that the issue of access to water could exacerbate communal tensions, as in Afghanistan and Peru, he said, that armed conflict resulted in destruction of water supply, as seen in Syria and Gaza.

The United Nations actively promotes mediation and dialogue as effective tools for preventing and resolving disputes over water and natural resources, he added.

The World Bank, a signatory to the Indus Waters Treaty, on November 10 asked India and Pakistan to "agree to mediation" in order to settle on a mechanism for how the Treaty should be used to resolve issues regarding two dams under construction along the Indus river system.

India took a strong exception to the World Bank's "inexplicable" decision to set up a Court of Arbitration and appoint a Neutral Expert to go into Pakistan's complaint against it over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan had sought the establishment of a Court of Arbitration, which is normally the logical next step in the process of resolution in the Treaty. The Neutral Expert can also determine that there are issues beyond mere technical differences, he noted.

Pakistan has raised objections over the design of the hydel project in J&K, saying it is not in line with the criteria laid down under the Indus Water Treaty between the two countries.

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Trump indicates u-turn on climate change, jailing Clinton

Washington, Nov 23, 2016, PTI:

Two weeks after his shocking election victory, US President-elect Donald Trump has indicated a u-turn on several of his key poll promises and rhetoric, including his hardline on climate change, torture of detainees and his vow to jail Hillary Clinton.

During an interview with reporters and editors of The New York Times, Trump threw enough hints that he would be an unconventional president in terms of distancing himself from his business, receiving inputs from family members in his governance and relationship with the press.

He held out assurances that he did not intend to embrace extremist positions in some areas, the daily said after the interview with Trump, who "vigorously denounced" a white nationalist conference last weekend in Washington.

Trump made a u-turn from his campaign promise on appointing a special prosecutor to investigate into the alleged email scandal of his presidential rival Hillary Clinton.

"I don't want to hurt the Clintons, I really don't," he said, adding "she went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways."

During the election campaign Trump had said Clinton would be in jail if he won the elections. He now faces the consternation of supporters who took that pledge literally.

On climate change, he said "I'm looking at it very closely" as he refused to repeat his promise to abandon the international climate accord. "I have an open mind to it" and that clean air and "crystal clear water" were vitally important, Trump said.

Earlier, Trump had called climate change a "hoax" perpetrated by China and vowed to "cancel" the hard-fought Paris Agreement concluded last year to limit dangerous global warming.

Similarly, on the issue of torture, the president-elect said that he has changed his mind after his meeting with Gen (rtd) James Mattis, whom he is considering to appoint as the Defence Secretary.

"He (Mattis) said, 'I've never found it to be useful,'" Trump said, adding that Mattis found more value in building trust and rewarding cooperation with terrorism suspects: "'Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers, and I'll do better.'"

"I was very impressed by that answer," Trump said, adding that torture is "not going to make the kind of a difference that a lot of people are thinking." During the election campaign, he had advocated for restoring water boarding and other sever torture methods.

Responding to questions on his real flourishing estate business, Trump said it would be extremely difficult to sell off his business, as they are real estate holdings.

At the same time, he said he would like to do something and create "some kind of arrangement" to separate his business from his work in the government. Responding to a question on his kids, he said "If it were up to some people, I would never, ever see my daughter Ivanka again."

The real-estate mogul from New York also indicated that he could appoint his son-in-law Jared Kushner a special envoy charged with brokering peace in the Middle East.

"The president of the US is allowed to have whatever conflicts he or she wants, but I don't want to do that," he said, adding that Kushner, an observant Jew, "could be very helpful" in reconciling the longstanding dispute between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

"I would love to be able to be the one that made peace with Israel and the Palestinians," he said, adding that Kushner "would be very good at it" and that "he knows the region."

Trump, who would become the 45th president of the US, said that he hopes to develop a "long-term relationship" with the outgoing US President, Barack Obama.

A fierce critic of Obama during the presidential election when he described him as the worst ever president, Trump said "I really liked him a lot, and I am a little bit surprised that I am telling you that I really liked him a lot." 

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Civilians flee as Syrian regime advances in rebel held Aleppo

Aleppo, Nov 23, 2016, AFP:

Syrian pro-government forces pushed deeper into rebel-held eastern Aleppo, forcing civilians to flee as the regime pressed an assault to recapture the entire city.

Recapturing east Aleppo would be the government's biggest victory yet in Syria's five-year conflict and deal a potentially decisive blow to the opposition.

The city was once the country's economic powerhouse, but it has been ravaged by the war that has killed 300,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

Military aircraft dropped leaflets over east Aleppo, urging rebels to distribute food to civilians, leave the area and allow residents to do so too.

Government forces pounded the area with air strikes and barrel bombs as ground troops advanced in the key eastern district of Masaken Hanano, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

A week into the latest round of fighting for the city, the regime controls around a third of the district, the Observatory said.

The area has been shelled heavily during the war, and many residents had already fled, but the latest fighting prompted even the last holdouts to leave. Milad Shahabi, a member of the local council, told AFP that residents were fleeing to southern parts of the opposition-controlled east.

Masaken Hanano was the first Aleppo district to fall to rebels in 2012, and it is strategically vital.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said that if regime forces manage to take the district they will be able to "cut off the northern parts of rebel-held Aleppo from the rest of the opposition-held districts".

At least 143 civilians, including 19 children, have been killed in the city's east since the latest assault began on November 15, according to the Britain-based monitor.

Another 16 civilians, including 10 children, have been killed in rebel fire on government-controlled western Aleppo, it said.

It added that residents of eastern districts had suffered from "suffocation" after four barrel bomb attacks and that medical officials suspected a chlorine gas attack.

The Organisation for the Prohibition for Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that the regime's key backer Russia had offered it "samples" relating to an alleged chemical attack in Aleppo.

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'Hail Trump' chant divisive and contrary to American values:WH

Washington, Nov 23, 2016 (PTI)

 The chant of "Hail Donald Trump! Hail our people! Hail victory" by supporters of an alt-right group here is "divisive" and "contrary to the American values," the White House has said.

"For more than a year, you have heard me express some profound concern about the extreme rhetoric that has succeeded in infiltrating its way into our political process. That rhetoric is divisive," the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference.

"That rhetoric has been contrary to our values as Americans and deeply concerning, not just to people in the administration but to Democrats and Republicans all across the country," he said.

Earnest was responding to questions on the president of the alt-right National Policy Institute Richard Spencer who addressed more than 200 attendees yesterday as they celebrated President-elect Donald Trump's victory at the annual conference of the National Policy Institute in Washington.

He was seen apparently giving the Nazi salute and declaring, "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!".

"I saw some of the reporting about this meeting that took place while we were out of the country. I think what I would say is that the President's view is that it's not just the responsibility of people in elected office to speak out against that kind of divisive, hateful rhetoric.

"It's the responsibility of everybody who's blessed with American citizenship. We all have a responsibility to speak out and to stand up for our values, and to stand up for our fellow Americans. And that has been at the core of President Obama's career in public life," Earnest said.

Obama has said many times on the campaign trail, the slogan of his campaigns was not "Yes, I can" -- it was "Yes, we can".

"That was a nod to the collective responsibility that all Americans have to advance the interests of our country together; that change doesn't start from the top down -- it comes from the bottom up, and that all Americans have a responsibility to remain engaged in democracy and to be vigilant in defending the kinds of values that have served the country so well for 240 years," Earnest said.

"The President is optimistic that people of good faith and good will all across the country, even if they're in different parties, standing up against this kind of extremism and hate. And it is, after all, critical to the success of our country that we remember just how much we have in common," he said.

"At our core, we share a commitment to a set of values that were endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that were all equal before the law, and that we're not going to be judged by the colour of our skin or the way we worship God. We're going to be judged by our character," he added.

"We're going to be judged by our patriotism. We're going to be judged by our contributions to this country. And those are principles that are worth defending. And the responsibility to defend those principles isn't just vested with people who are positions of authority. It's vested with every single person who lives in the United States of America," Earnest said.

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Trump nominates Indian-American Nikki Haley as US envoy to UN

Washington, Nov 23, 2016 (PTI)

Nikki Haley was today named as US envoy to the United Nations by President-elect Donald Trump, as she scripted history by becoming the first-ever Indian-American to be appointed to a cabinet-level post in any US administration.
"Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country," Trump said, referring to his former critic with whom he had sparred bitterly during the campaign.

44-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants from Punjab, Haley is the first woman tapped by Trump for a top-level administration post during his transition to the White House.

"She is also a proven dealmaker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage," Trump said, announcing the South Carolina governor Haley's name as next US envoy to the United Nations.

The presidential transition team said this would a cabinet-level position in the Trump-Pence Administration.

The cabinet position would require confirmation by the Senate. If confirmed by the Senate, Haley would be the first Indian-American to be appointed to a cabinet-level position in any presidential administration.

Commenting on her nomination to the key post, Haley said she would be happy to represent America at the UN.

"I was moved to accept this new assignment for two reasons. The first is a sense of duty," Haley said.

"When the President believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation's standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed," she said.

"The second is a satisfaction with all that we have achieved in our state in the last six years and the knowledge that we are on a very strong footing," Haley said, adding that she will remain South Carolina Governor until the US Senate acts affirmatively on her nomination.

Haley, a Republican, said this month's elections have brought exciting changes to America.

"Our country faces enormous challenges here at home and internationally. Last week, President-elect Trump asked if I would meet with him to discuss those challenges, which I was happy to do. He has asked that I serve our country as our next Ambassador to the United Nations. Pending confirmation by the US Senate, I have agreed," she explained.
Haley's nomination is a turning point for the Indian-American community which is increasingly playing greater role in American politics.

Noting that Haley is one of the most universally respected governors in the country, the official announcement said after working at her family's business, she turned her focus to economic development and has travelled abroad to negotiate with international companies on behalf of South Carolina.

As governor, she has led seven overseas trade missions and successfully attracted jobs and investment through negotiations with foreign companies, it said.

One of her trade missions was to India. 

Trump's plan to offer the job to Haley, a rising Republican star, was first reported by the Post and Courier.

Haley, currently the youngest governor in the country, has already carved out a legacy for herself, serving as her home state's first female and first minority governor.

Haley, who is serving her second term, has worked on trade and labour issues as governor but brings little foreign policy experience. Her views on various US military and national security matters usually fall within the Republican Party's hawkish mainstream.

Trump met with Haley on Thursday at Trump Tower in New York as part of the round of meetings the president-elect has held.

With her appointment to the top diplomatic post in UN, Haley has become the first woman and minority to join Trump's administration. She would replace Samantha Power.

Haley was critical of Trump during the primary campaign and had backed Senator Marco Rubio in the Republican primary. However, before the general elections, she switched her position, saying she would vote for Trump.

Born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa, Haley is the first minority and female governor of South Carolina, a deeply conservative state with a long history of racial strife.

She is the first Indian-American woman Governor and the second Indian-American governor of any State. Prior to becoming governor, she represented Lexington County in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011.

A true fiscal conservative and savvy businesswoman, Haley’s leadership drove down South Carolina’s unemployment to a 15 year low by adding more than 82,000 jobs in each of South Carolina’s 46 counties, the transition team said.

Prior to dedicating her life to public service, Haley worked at her family business.

In 1998, Haley was named to the board of directors of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce and named to the board of directors of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce in 2003. She also became treasurer of the National Association of Women Business Owners in 2003 and president in 2004.

Haley is a proud graduate of Clemson University where she earned a degree in accounting.

Haley and her husband, Michael, a Captain in the Army National Guard and combat veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, have two children, Rena, 18, and Nalin, 15.  

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Pak says four of its citizens killed in shelling by India

Islamabad, Nov 23, 2016 (PTI)

Pakistan today claimed that four of its citizens were killed and seven others injured when Indian troops targeted a passenger bus near the Line of Control, taking the death toll in such incidents to 11 since last week.

Four civilians were killed while seven others injured in the shelling near Dhudnial in Neelam valley, Pakistan army said in a statement.

The Indian side, however, said that two BSF jawans injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in Bhimber Gali in Rajouri.

Meanwhile, Pakistan yesterday rejected as "false" and "baseless" the charges that the body of an Indian soldier was mutilated by Pakistani soldiers in a cross LoC-attack.

Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Nafees Zakaria in a series of tweets said the reports about the mutilation were aimed at maligning Pakistan.

"Pakistan strongly rejects the false & baseless Indian media reports regarding the alleged mutilation of an Indian solider on the LoC. These reports are a fabrication and a blatant attempt to malign Pakistan," he had said.

Zakaria said as a professional force, Pakistan Army isn't involved in any such "unethical & non-professional" activity.

He had said the Pakistan Army never supported any such action.
However, he said, Pakistan is fully prepared and ready to respond to any misadventure across the LoC, Working Boundary or the International Border. 

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Pak wooing Indians opposed to Modi's extremist policies: Aziz

Islamabad, Nov 23, 2016 (PTI)

 Pakistan has set up a high-level committee to formulate "a doable and sustainable" policy to highlight the Kashmir issue globally and is reaching out to Indians who are opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "extremist policies", according to a media report today.
The move was announced by Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in Senate yesterday, according to Dawn newspaper.

The committee will consist of senior officials from the ministries of defence, interior and information, Military Operations Directorate, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB).

Speaking about the status of the implementation of policy guidelines, Aziz said the committee was headed by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and could co-opt other members if required.

Aziz said that another committee, chaired by the information secretary, had been formed to prepare fact sheets "to counter India's propaganda campaign and design a media strategy to continuously highlight the Kashmiri freedom struggle".

This committee also includes representatives from the ministries of defence, foreign affairs and information technology, as well as members of the Military Operations Directorate, ISI and IB.

Aziz said that the Ministry of Information Technology had been asked to prepare a comprehensive strategy to highlight the Kashmir issue via social media.

He said that "steps were being taken to highlight Indian interference in Pakistan's internal affairs, as well as its support for subversive activities and human rights violations in held Kashmir", the report said.

Aziz said that steps were already being taken to reach out to segments of the Indian public that were opposed to Modi's extremist policies.

"Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies," he remarked.

Talking about measures to counter India's efforts to isolate Pakistan in the region, Aziz said Pakistan was doing its utmost to engage the international community, including regional partners.

He said Pakistan was supportive of all initiatives for peace and stability in the region, adding that this commitment to regional peace and stability was evident from the decision to participate in the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, despite the postponement of SAARC summit in Islamabad because of India.

Pakistan's nuclear doctrine, he said, was clearly spelt out and due restraint was being exercised.

"Pakistan continues to exhibit maturity and statesmanship despite provocative statements by Indian leadership and the continued ceasefire violations across the LoC and working boundary having resulted in civilian casualties," he said.

He said there was a need for a positive response from India to move forward. He said that while Pakistan always conveyed a desire to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, India had chosen to attach conditions to the talks.

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Indian-American Nikki Haley's steep political rise continues

Washington, Nov 23, 2016, (PTI)

 Nikki Haley's elevation as top US diplomat at the UN shows her steep political rise that began six years ago when the daughter of Indian immigrants was elected as South Carolina's first woman and minority governor.
44-year-old Haley, considered a rising star in the Republican Party, is the first female appointment to a cabinet-level post by President-elect Donald Trump.

Born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa, Haley brings both racial and gender diversity to Trump's appointments, which so far have uniformly consisted of white males.

She has already carved out a legacy for herself, serving as the first minority and female governor of South Carolina, a deeply conservative state with a long history of racial strife.

Haley, who is in her second and final term as governor, was elected in 2010, riding the wave of the Republican Tea Party with the support of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Her re-election win in 2014 also marked the largest margin of victory for a South Carolina gubernatorial candidate in 24 years.

Prior to becoming the state's chief executive, she served six years as a member of the state's House of Representatives.

Haley was critical of Trump during the primary campaign and had backed Senator Marco Rubio in the Republican primary. However, before the general elections, she switched her position, saying she would vote for Trump.

She has worked on trade and labor issues as governor but brings little foreign policy experience, although she has travelled abroad eight times since taking office.
Her views on various US military and national security matters usually fall within the Republican Party's hawkish mainstream, US media says.

She would be the first ever Indian-American Cabinet rank official in any administration. The Cabinet position would require confirmation by the Senate.

Last week, Haley was elected Vice Chair of the powerful Republican Governors Association for the year 2017.

After the November 8 general elections, Republican Governors are now in charge of 33 States, something that has not happened in 94 years.

Haley, who was raised as a Sikh and later converted to Christianity, is married to Army National Guard Captain Michael Haley and has two children. Her husband was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013 as a member of the S C National Guard.

In an op-ed on CNN, South Carolina's popular columnist Issac Bailey recently wrote Haley is perfectly positioned to do what many believed Hillary Clinton would have.

"Haley could be a future political titan in a political party that finds itself with unprecedented levels of national power and internal chaos," Bailey wrote.

Haley could give Trump something to brag about and his supporters, desperate to deny the bigotry upon which their hero rose to national political prominence, something to point to, his willingness to appoint a woman from a minority group who did not cow to him during the election cycle, Bailey said.

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US computer scientists urge Clinton to challenge poll result

Washington, Nov 23, 2016 (PTI)

 A number of top US computer scientists have urged Hillary Clinton's campaign to seek a recount of vote in Battleground States of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, saying they have found evidence of 'manipulation', according to a media report today.
The computer scientists believe they have found evidence that vote totals in the three swing states could have been manipulated or hacked, CNN reported, quoting a source as saying.

Democrat Clinton's Republican rival Donald Trump had won the swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania in the November 8 election.

The scientists presented their findings to top Clinton aides on a call last Thursday, it said.
The scientists, among them J Alex Halderman, the director of the University of Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society, told the Clinton campaign they believe there is a questionable trend of Clinton performing worse in counties that relied on electronic voting machines compared to paper ballots and optical scanners, according to the source.

The group informed John Podesta, Clinton's campaign chairman, and Marc Elias, the campaign's general counsel, that Clinton received 7 per cent fewer votes in counties that relied on electronic voting machines, which the group said could have been hacked.

Based on statistical analysis, Clinton may have been denied as many as 30,000 votes; she lost Wisconsin by 27,000, the scientists said.

Their group told Podesta and Elias that while they had not found any evidence of hacking, the pattern needs to be looked at by an independent review.

Neither Halderman nor John Bonifaz, an attorney also pressing the case, responded to requests for comment on Tuesday evening, CNN said.

Their urging was first reported by New York magazine. A message left with President-elect Donald Trump's transition team also was not immediately returned, the report said.

There were widespread concerns about hacking ahead of this month's election, including the Obama administration accusing Russia of attempting to breach voter registration data.

But election officials and cybersecurity experts said earlier this month that it is virtually impossible for Russia to influence the election outcome.

A former Clinton aide declined to respond to questions about whether they will request an audit based on the findings, the report said. 

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Trump calls for national healing, unity on Thanksgiving

Washington, Nov 24, 2016, PTI:

US President-elect Donald Trump today asked Americans to heal their divisions and move forward as one country after a "long and bruising" political campaign, a marked shift in his rhetoric following election.

"This historic political campaign is now over. Now begins a great national campaign to rebuild our country and to restore the full promise of America for all of our people," 70-year-old Trump said in his Thanksgiving video message yesterday.

In the message, he asked everyone to set aside their differences and join together under the shared resolve to Make America Great Again for all people.

"It's my prayer that on this Thanksgiving, we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country, strengthened by shared purpose and very, very common resolve," Trump says.

"We have just finished a long and bruising political campaign. Emotions are raw and tensions just don't heal overnight," Trump said.

"It doesn't go quickly, unfortunately, but we have before us the chance now to make history together to bring real change to Washington, real safety to our cities, and real prosperity to our communities, including our inner cities. So important to me, and so important to our country. But to succeed, we must enlist the effort of our entire nation," he said.

"I am asking you to join me in this effort. It is time to restore the bonds of trust between citizens. Because when America is unified, there is nothing beyond our reach, and I mean absolutely nothing," he said.

"Let us give thanks for all that we have, and let us boldly face the exciting new frontiers that lie ahead," Trump said.

The call for unity is more evidence of Trump's marked shift in rhetoric since the campaign ended. The Thanksgiving video is the second recording Trump has released since winning the election.

Trump during his election campaign wooed the far-right with his anti-immigration and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

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67 killed in power plant collapse in China

Beijing, Nov 24, 2016, PTI:

At least 67 people were killed today when an under construction platform at a power plant collapsed in east China's Jiangxi province, the latest industrial disaster to hit the world's second largest economy.

The accident occurred at about 7:00 am (local time) when a cooling tower platform plunged to the ground, trapping people beneath it, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

70 people were working at the site when the platform collapsed at the Fengcheng Power Plant in the city of Yichun.

68 people were killed, one person was missing while two others were injured, whose conditions remain unknown.

More than 200 firefighters were deployed for rescue work along with search and rescue dogs. 32 fire engines and 212 military personnel had also been deployed, local officials said.

Images from state broadcaster CCTV showed a pile of twisted metal and dozens of rescue workers searching for victims under the rubble.

The construction of two 1,000-megawatt coal-fired power units at the power station began last July and was expected to be completed by early 2018, the local government said.

China has a long history of industrial accidents, from factory explosions to mine collapses and there have been growing demands for more stringent safety standards.

Last year, the Chinese port city of Tianjin was rocked by two massive blasts, killing at least 173 people and injuring hundreds others.

A metal dust explosion at a car parts factory in eastern China in August 2014 killed at least 75 people and injured more than 180. 

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Blast in southern Turkey kills two, injures 16: Official

Istanbul, Nov 24, 2016, AFP:

Two people were killed when a car exploded early today outside a government building in the southern Turkish city of Adana, officials said.

"Two people were killed and 16 were wounded," the governor of Adana, Mahmut Demirtas, was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency Anadolu.

The blast, which occurred outside the governor's office, is the latest in a wave of violence striking Turkey, whose government is fighting both Kurdish militants and jihadists.

"A vehicle blew up at 8.05am (0505 GMT) at a parking lot next to the entrance of the governor's office," Demirtas said.

The attack is believed to have been carried out by a woman, the governor said, without providing further details. The force of the blast smashed shop windows in the neighbourhood, private NTV broadcaster reported.

Ambulances and fire engine teams were dispatched to the scene, Anadolu reported.Turkey has been on high alert since 2015 after a series of attacks blamed on Kurdish militants and Islamic State jihadists.

The United States has advised its citizens to carefully consider the need to travel to Turkey at this time.

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Pak not worried about India at all: Air force chief

Islamabad, Nov 24, 2016 (PTI)

Pakistan is not worried at all about any threat from India and its "battle hardened" military is capable of responding to aggression, air force chief Marshal Sohail Aman said today.

"We are not worried about India at all," the Air Chief said, speaking at the ninth International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS).

He said it is better if India showed restraint and solved the Kashmir issue to prevent escalation of tension.

"India should show restraint and instead solve the issue of Kashmir as that would be better for them," he was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune.

Aman said that Pakistan does not want war but cannot ignore this kind of pressure. "We are well capable of responding in the face of any aggression," he asserted.
He said Pakistan had "readied all of its (battle) plans following threats from India" after the terror attack in Uri sector.
The Air chief asserted that Pakistan, engaged in Operation Zarb-e-Azab, has a "battle hardened military" to respond to threats.
The air chief's remarks came a day after Pakistan claimed that Indian forces targeted a passenger bus in PoK killing at least nine people and wounding another nine.

It also claimed that seven Indian troops were killed in retaliatory fire when India opened fire on the Line of Control (LoC) and killed three Pakistani soldiers.

Indian Army yesterday launched a counter offensive against Pakistan along the LoC after three Indian soldiers were killed, with body of one of them mutilated in a cross-LoC attack, even as Pakistani troops continued to shell Indian positions, injuring six jawans.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan will not tolerate "deliberate targeting" of innocent civilians particularly children and women, ambulances and civilian transport.

"Pakistan has exercised maximum restraint despite continuing ceasefire violations from Indian security forces along LoC," he added.

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Trump's grandfather was kicked out of Germany?

Berlin, Nov 24, 2016 (PTI)

 Donald Trump's grandfather was kicked out of Germany in early 1900s for failing to do his mandatory military service, a German historian has claimed amid the US President-elect's rhetoric on immigration.

A local council letter from 1905 informed Friedrich Trump -- who had become a US citizen -- that he would not be granted his German citizenship back and that he had eight weeks to leave the country or be deported, CNN quoted historian Roland Paul as saying.

It is understood the notice was issued after the German authorities discovered he had never carried out military service before emigrating to America.

He also claimed that Trump had illegally left Germany, failing to notify authorities of his plan to immigrate.

Friedrich Trump, who built up a fortune through restaurants and boarding houses after arriving in America as an immigrant, was born in the Bavarian town of Kallstadt.

The Trump camp did not immediately respond to questions on the research, the network said.

The findings have sparked interest as President-elect Trump vowed to crack down on illegal immigration during his election campaign.

"Trump talks against illegal immigration, so I think he should remember his own family story from time to time," Paul said.

Trump proposed a wall be built between the US and Mexico as the centerpiece of his anti-immigration drive. He has also threatened to deport undocumented migrants who have committed crimes in the US.

Since his shock election victory, Trump has vowed to deport three million illegal immigrants from the US.

Paul came across the document on Friedrich Trump's threatened deportation in state archives and also found several letters from him pleading with authorities to allow him to stay.

Paul mused on how this one administrative decision seemed to have changed the course of history.

"I have to say this kind of letter wasn't unusual back then," Paul said.
"But if they had accepted him back at that time in 1905, Donald Trump wouldn't be in the US -- in fact, he wouldn't exist," he said.

He said the eight week deadline was extended as Friedrich Trump said that his daughter was ill. But he was finally forced to leave two months later.

Trump's father was born in the US, where he met Trump's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who hailed from Scotland.

Paul, now retired, carried out his research earlier this year when he was Director of the Institute for Palatine History and Folklore in Kaiserslautern, but his research caught public attention on Monday when the tabloid Bild published his findings.

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Indian Sikh couple shot dead in Philippines

Manila, Nov 24, 2016 (PTI)

 A Sikh couple from India were gunned down today by two bike-borne assailants in the Philippines' Camarines Sur province, a media report said.
Bahagwant Singh Buttar, 45 and his wife Jaswinder Kaur, 36, residents of Sipocot town in the province, were killed by two gunmen who were riding a bike, Tempo newspaper reported.

The couple were on their way to somewhere when the gunmen struck, killing them on the spot, police said.

Two suspects, Marvin Magdaong and Rodolfo t Gumatay, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the incident by the police after a chase in Sitio Nabuntog in Bangas Caves.

The motive behind the murder was not immediately known, police said. Two pistols and live ammunition have been recovered from their possession, police said, adding that a case has been registered.

There have been many attacks on Indians in the Philippines in the past. The last incident reported in August, when a 26-year-old Indian man, who belonged to Punjab's Phagwara and lived in Santiago city, was shot dead just a couple of months before he was scheduled to get married. 

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Pak won't tolerate 'deliberate' targeting of civilians: Sharif

Islamabad, Nov 24, 2016 (PTI)

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today warned that Pakistan will not tolerate "deliberate" targeting of civilian areas by Indian troops, a day after the Pakistani military claimed 12 people, including soldiers, were killed in alleged cross-border firing.

Sharif, presiding over a meeting with civil and military leaders, said Kashmir was an "unfinished agenda" for Pakistan and the country would not stop pursuing the issue, Geo News reported.

He claimed Pakistan has so far exercised restraint in the face of Indian actions at the Line of Control, but would not permit deadly attacks on innocent civilians.

"We will not tolerate the deliberate attack on innocent civilians," Sharif said.
His statement came a day after 12 people, including three soldiers, were killed in alleged Indian cross-border firing. India's response came after the Indian Army warned of "heavy retribution" following the killing of three of its soldiers, with the body of one of them mutilated in a cross-LoC attack.

Pakistan denied as "false" and "baseless" its troops were responsible for the mutilition and deaths of Indian soldiers.

Today's meeting with Sharif was attended by Advisor to the Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, National Security Advisor Nasser Janjua and ISI chief Gen Rizwan Akhtar.

Aziz, Janjua and Gen Akhtar briefed Sharif regarding the situation across the Line of Control.

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Sikh mistaken for Muslim, abused and harassed at US store

Boston, Nov 20, 2016 (PTI)

A 22-year-old Sikh, studying at the prestigious Harvard Law School, was allegedly abused and harassed at a store near the campus by a man who mistook him for a Muslim. Harmann Singh, a first year law student at the university, said he was shopping in a store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while speaking on the phone with his mother, when a man walked in and said to the clerk behind the counter, "Oh look, there's a (expletive) Muslim."
"Over the weekend, I was confronted by a man who called me a '(expletive) Muslim' and followed me around a store aggressively asking where I was from, and and no one in the store said a thing. I was on the phone with my mom the entire time, and we were both concerned for my safety as this man stood inches away from me," Singh wrote about his experience in The Boston Globe.

"While deeply painful, what happened to me pales in comparison to the hate and violence many of my brothers and sisters have faced across the country," he wrote. According to Singh, the man started following him around the store, harassing him and asking him where he was from. Singh, who is from Buffalo, New York, said he tried to ignore the man and continue his conversation with his mother, who was worried.

She could hear the man questioning Singh and told her son to leave the shop. Singh said the man followed him to the checkout counter. "I told him, 'Hey I'm actually from New York. I live here now down the street. Is there anything I can do to help you?'" Singh said.

The man did not respond and Singh left the store as quickly as possible. He said the most effective way to help people who feel marginalised is to "be there for each other in these moments". A bystander who checks in with the person being harassed in any situation can make all the difference, he said.

The owner of the store told Boston.com that he was going back and forth between the back and front of the shop at the time of the incident that took place on November 11 and saw the man who spoke to Singh come in. He said he had planned to ask the man to leave, but went to the back of the store when the incident occurred. Both Singh and the other man were gone when he returned.

He said he was shocked and sorry when his clerk told him what happened. "I don't know where that guy came from and I hope I don't see him again," said the owner, who did not want to be named. Over 200 incidents of hateful harassment and intimidation across the US have been reported since Donald Trump won the presidential election. 

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Arch-rivals Trump and Romney meet, discusses world affairs

New York, Nov 20, 2016 (PTI)

Mitt Romney, a moderate Republican, who branded Donald Trump a "con man, phony and fraud" during the election campaign, today met the President-elect and had a "far-reaching conversation" on world affairs, amid reports that he is being tipped to be the next US Secretary of State.

The 2012 Republican presidential nominee and one of Trump's most vocal Republican Party critics during this year's election campaign, met privately with the President-elect for about an hour at Trump's private golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. After the meeting, Romney offered no hint as to whether he was offered or would accept a role in Trump's administration.

"We had a far-reaching conversation with regards to the various theaters in the world where there are interests of the United States of real significance," Romney told reporters. "We discussed those areas, and exchanged our views on those topics – a very thorough and in-depth discussion in the time we had," Romney, 69, said.

"I appreciate the chance to speak with the President- elect and I look forward to the coming administration and the things that it's going to be doing," said Romney, who during the Republican primary had described Trump as a "con man" and had asked his supporters not to vote for Trump.

He had also withheld an endorsement of the 70-year-old billionaire, and slammed him a "phony, a fraud" and accused him of "playing the American public for suckers." Trump walked Romney out at the end of the meeting and said "it went great." He did not take any questions. It is being speculated that Trump is considering Romney for the position of Secretary of State in his administration.

For Trump, Romney, a former Governor of Massachusetts would bring an immediate burst of knowledge, global credibility, sound temperament and competence to his nascent administration, CNN reported. His selection would also be seen as a genuine gesture to bind the wounds in the Republican Party and the foreign policy establishment left over from a bitter primary campaign.

It could also open the floodgates for the kind of credible, experienced Republican foreign policy insiders who Trump needs to staff crucial, lower-ranking national security jobs, to join the administration. And since Trump's core voters are more concerned with draining the swamp of well known Washington insiders than foreign policy, the State Department may be one place he could put an establishment figure and not sustain much political damage, it said.

"Mr Romney would be a great choice in a sense that would be a signal sent to moderates as well as conservatives," William Cohen, a former US defense secretary, said. A Romney appointment would come as a great relief to US allies who are deeply anxious about the direction of Trump's foreign policy, and who see alternative names floated as potentially in the frame as secretary of state like Rudy Giuliani and John Bolton with much greater apprehension.

That is because Romney is squarely within the parameters of accepted US foreign policy orthodoxy, is an internationalist, is well known abroad, and is committed to the notion of free trade, US alliances and a robust US posture in the world, CNN reported. 

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Xi says US-China ties at 'hinge moment'

Lima, Nov 20, 2016, AFP:

Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping have met for the final time, with the Chinese leader warning the period after Donald Trump's election is a "hinge moment" in relations between the two powers.

Without referring to Trump directly, Xi spoke of his hope for a "smooth transition" in a relationship that Obama described as "the most consequential in the world."

The two men were meeting in Lima yesterday, Peru on the margins of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

During a vitriol-filled election campaign Trump frequently took a combative stance against China, blaming Beijing for "inventing" climate change and rigging the rules of trade.

The White House, surprised by Trump's lack of details on the issues, has urged world leaders to give Trump time to get his feet under the desk.

For much of Obama's presidency, China and the United States have slowly improved cooperation and tried to limit the fallout from disputes, all while vying for influence in the Asia-Pacific.

China has been quick to seize on the failure of a US-backed Pacific trade deal to push its own version of the pact - excluding Washington at the APEC meeting.

Xi - who the White House sees as perhaps the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping or even Mao Zedong - said he wanted to see cooperation continue.

"I hope the two sides will work together to focus on cooperation, manage our differences, and make sure there is a smooth transition in the relationship and that it will continue to grow going forward."

The two men have met nine times since Obama took office in early 2009. Obama said he wanted to "take this opportunity to note our work together to build a more durable and productive set of bilateral ties."

"I continue to believe that a constructive US-China relationship benefits our two peoples and benefits the entire globe," he said at the start of the meeting.

"We've demonstrated what's possible when our two countries work together," he said, citing an agreement to tackle climate change.

Obama also acknowledged that his eight years guiding US- China relations have seen difficulties.

That period has seen tensions in particular over China's seizure of territory it claims in the South China Sea, as well as over the treatment of US firms in China.

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