अफगानिस्तान के कुंदुज शहर पर तालिबान का समन्वित हमला

काबुल, तीन अक्तूबर :एपी: तालिबान ने अफगानिस्तान के उत्तरपूर्व में कुंदुज शहर में आज एक समन्वित हमला किया और अफगानी सुरक्षा बलों के साथ उनकी मुठभेड़ कई घंटों से चल रही है।

अफगानिस्तान के गृह मंत्री ने बताया कि इस मुठभेड़ में एक पुलिसकर्मी की मौत हो गयी है और चार अन्य घायल हो गये। उन्होंने एक बयान में बताया गया है कि कुमुक की जरूरत पड़ सकती है जिसके चलते स्थिति पर नजर रखी जा रही है।

रणनीतिक रूप से महत्वपूर्ण कुंदुज प्रांत की कुंदुज राजधानी है। इस क्षेत्र की उत्तरी सीमा पर ताजिकिस्तान हैं तालिबान ने सितंबर 2015 में इस शहर पर कब्जा कर लिया था जिससे पूरे देश में चिंता की लहर दौड़ गई थी क्योंकि 15 साल पहले उग्रवाद शुरू होने के बाद से आतंकी समूह ने पहली बार एक बड़े शहरी केंद्र पर कब्जा किया था।

अप्रैल में कुंदुज पर एक बार फिर खतरा बढ़ा था लेकिन अमेरिकी सैनिकों की मदद से अफगान बलों और हवाई हमलों से तालिबान को प्रांतीय राजधानी के इर्द-गिर्द जिलों में पीछे धकेल दिया था।

कुंदुज में प्रांतीय सरकार के प्रवक्ता महमूद दानिश ने बताया कि उग्रवादियों ने आज अलग अलग दिशाओं से हमला किया लेकिन सुरक्षा बल उन्हें दूर रखने में कामयाब रहे।

उन्होंने कहा कि तालिबान हमलों में रिहायशी इलाकों का उपयोग कर रहा है और ‘‘हमारे सुरक्षा बल पूरी तरह सावधानी बरत रहे हैं ताकि शत्रु को पीछे करते समय नागरिकों को कोई नुकसान न हो।’’ उन्होंने बताया कि अफगान हवाई बल भी लड़ाई में जमीनी बलों की मदद कर रहे हैं।

• ।

Pakistan, India NSAs agree to reduce tension along LoC: Aziz

Islamabad, Oct 3 (PTI) The National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan have spoken over phone and agreed to reduce tensions on the LoC, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said today as tensions soared high between the two nations after India's surgical strikes.

Aziz confirmed that a contact was established between India's NSA Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Janjua after recent tension between the two countries on the Line of Control (LoC).

Aziz said they agreed to reduce tensions on LoC.

"Pakistan wants to reduce tensions on LoC and focus on Kashmir," Geo News quoted Aziz as saying.

He said that India wants to divert world s attention from Occupied Kashmir by escalating tensions.

Last week the Indian Army said it had carried out surgical strikes on multiple terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control or LoC in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, inflicting heavy casualties on terrorists waiting to sneak into India.

The surgical strikes came days after Pakistani terrorists had attacked an Army camp in Kashmir's Uri, killing 19 soldiers.

Pakistan has denied that the surgical strikes took place on Thursday, calling it "cross-border" firing.

Talking about Sharif's recent US visit, Aziz said that the Prime Minister had explained to the world leaders that incidents of border tensions would continue between both countries without the resolution of Kashmir dispute.

BSF jawan killed in militant attack on army camp in Baramulla Toufiq Rashid and Ashiq Hussain, Hindustan Times, New Delhi |

The 46 Rashtriya Rifles army camp in Kashmir’s Baramulla district was attacked by heavily armed militants on Sunday.

The camp is located in Janbazpora on the outskirts of Baramulla city, 54 km from capital Srinagar.

The attack began at 10.30pm, when the assailants tried to enter through a public park near the camp, but were stopped. They then took positions on the banks of the Jhelum river, the Baramulla police control room said.

Live updates:

• A senior police officer says one BSF jawan killed in the attack. Militants haven’t been able to breach the camp.
• Northern Command says the situation is contained and under control.
• A source says there are reports from the site of the attack that two militants have been killed. However, there is no official confirmation.
• Inspector general of police (Kashmir range) Javeed Mujtaba Gilani confirms two BSF soldiers have been injured. Says firing has stopped. Combing and search operations are on.
• Two BSF jawans injured in exchange of fire with terrorists, says ANI.
• Police officer Syed Javeid Mujataba Gillani says it was not immediately known whether the militants tried to enter the camp
• “Heavy exchange of fire and grenades is going on,” an officer says.
• Reports said two soldiers were injured in the ongoing assault, and that about four-five militants were holed up.

Russia was behind recent hacking attempts targeting state election systems- senior Democrat

A senior Democratic lawmaker said Sunday he had "no doubt" that Russia was behind recent hacking attempts targeting state election systems, and urged the Obama administration to publicly blame Moscow for trying to undermine confidence in the Nov. 8 presidential contest.

The remarks from Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, come amid heightened concerns among U.S. and state officials about the security of voting machines and databases, and unsubstantiated allegations from Republican candidate Donald Trump that the election could be "rigged."

"I have no doubt [this is Russia]. And I don’t think the administration has any doubt," Schiff said during an appearance on ABC's "This Week."

Schiff's call to name and shame the Kremlin came a week after Trump questioned widely held conclusions made privately by the U.S. intelligence community that Russia is responsible for the hacking activity.

"It could be Russia, but it could also be China," Trump said during a televised debate with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. "It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds."

On Saturday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said hackers have probed the voting systems of many U.S. states but there is no sign that they have manipulated any voting data.

Schiff said he doubted hackers could falsify vote tallies in a way to affect the election outcome. Officials and experts have said the decentralized and outdated nature of U.S. voting technology makes such hacks more unlikely.

But cyber attacks on voter registration systems could "sow discord" on election day, Schiff said. He further added that leaks of doctored emails would be difficult to disprove and could "be election altering."

The National Security Agency, FBI and DHS all concluded weeks ago that Russian intelligence agencies conducted, directed or coordinated all the major cyberattacks on U.S. political organizations, including the Democratic National Committee, and individuals, a U.S. official who is participating in the investigations said on Sunday.

ALSO IN POLITICS

• Trump's tax writeoff shows his 'genius' at business, advisers say
• Trump's 1995 tax records suggest no federal taxes for years: New York Times

    However, the official said, White House officials have resisted naming the Russians publicly because doing so could result in escalating cyberattacks, and because it is considered impossible to offer public, unclassified proof of the allegation.

Schiff and Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate intelligence committee, said last month they had concluded Russian intelligence agencies were "making a serious and concerted effort to influence the U.S. election."

(Reporting by Dustin Volz and John Walcott; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

US offers Turkey support to set up safe-zone in exchange for halting clashes with YPG: Report

Washington has made an offer to Ankara in which the United States will permit the establishment of a safe zone – something Turkey has been demanding for years – in exchange for Turkey not fighting Syrian Kurdish forces.

 “Turkey can form a security zone as it wishes in Syria. We will also lend all kinds of support. But do not fight with Kurds [in Syria],” daily Cumhuriyet columnist Asli Aydintasbas quoted U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration as telling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week in Washington, where Erdogan attended the U.N. General Assembly.

 “We will guarantee that the YPG [Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Unit] will not take any more land and will not join its two cantons. And you will recognize the YPG,” said the report, which was published on Oct. 1.

Turkey and the U.S. are at odds over the designation of the YPG, which is the military wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Turkey sees the YPG and PYD as the offshoots of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and designates them as terror organizations, while the U.S. regards them as a reliable partners in its fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.

Turkey has long argued for the need for a “no-fly” or “safe zone” zone along its Syrian border, with the aim of clearing Islamic State (Daesh) militants from the border and stemming a wave of migration that has fuelled tensions in Europe.

Addressing the head of states at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 20, Erdogan renewed his request for a no-fly zone along the border area between Turkey and Syria.

News From Pakistan-

Chief of Naval Staff witnesses PAF Exercise High Mark 2016

Chief of Naval Staff witnesses PAF Exercise High Mark 2016

KARACHI, Oct 02 (APP): Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah visited an operational base of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and witnessed the ongoing PAF Exercise High Mark 2016 on Sunday.

On his arrival at the base, he was received by Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, Chief of the Air Staff Pakistan Air Force. Air Officer Commanding Southern Air Command and Base Commander were also present at the occasion, according to a PAF press release issued here.

During the visit Chief of Naval Staff was given a detailed briefing about the conduct of Exercise High Mark 2016. He also visited various areas of the base and witnessed the ongoing flying operations carried out by the PAF personnel.

Later, he met with the air and ground crew participating in the exercise and highly appreciated their high standard of professionalism and motivation.

While talking to the airmen, he said that the entire nation is proud of PAF achievements and specially the success achieved during Operation Zarb e Azb.

He also appreciated the key role played by PAF in synergy with other services during Zarb e Azb. He said that under the command of present Air Chief there is unprecedented coordination between PAF and Pak Navy.

While talking at the occasion, the Air Chief thanked the dignitary for visiting the PAF operational Air Base and assured him that PAF would continue to provide support to sister services in all possible manner.

He further said that the three services in synergy with each other are playing a major role in the defence of beloved motherland. PAF exercise High Mark 2016 is the true manifestation of this close coordination between the three services.

Queen Rania patronizes "Innovate for Refugees" award ceremony Tuesday

Image

Amman, Oct. 2 (Petra) -- Under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab will host a ceremony to distribute awards on winners of "Innovate for Refugees" competition, which will be held next Tuesday at King Hussein Business Park, here in Amman. The forum aims to honour the most innovative IT-based solutions that would ease the suffering of refugees around the world. "Innovate for Refugees" competition was launched in June 2016 in cooperation with Zain and MBC Hope, with the support of UNHCR, Josoor non-profit organization, Uber, and 300 other partners. More than 1,600 applications were received from various countries and industries, with most coming from Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. Twenty-one candidates were shortlisted, based on certain criteria, including the innovation, impact, scalability, team-member and financial sustainability of the solution, among others.

"Wisdom of the Earth"

"I think the reaction of the Foreign Ministry speaks for itself in this regard and I think that was also understood quite well, if you notice a reaction to the reaction from folks our ... from the Russian embassy. I said it and I say and now. I think it is commendable gesture to join efforts which means an appreciation of the cultural values ​​of the country and to support their promotion, so it is a gesture commendable. less can be understood association of this gesture commendable moments of history of bilateral relations that are at least likely contradictory discussions. and therefore I said it -văd Russian embassy in reaction that this was appropriated -That where there are areas within the jurisdiction of other courts is better to let ones to decide. I mean joint commission to study the history, "he said Sunday Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu at Digi 24, asked to comment on the attitude of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest.

In this context, questioned whether concerns recuperated treasure Romania submitted in Moscow in World War I, the minister replied: "That's why there that commission was talking about, it exists (a first meeting took place in March in Sinaia, after a 10-year break-no) and next year it will almost certainly meet. are you willing to find a common understanding of what happened from there, we hope, and deriving appropriate action. "

At the insistence moderators if personally believe that Romania will recover treasury chief diplomat said that we must let the committee to reach some conclusions and based on that we can be more accurate. "I would not want to go into details, but the fact itself that a commission was agreed ... that resume work should be viewed with some optimism," said Comanescu.

The minister said that it is not "ironic" when he says that the gesture embassy to donate to the purchase of the Romanian State of the work of Brancusi's "commendable" and said he is convinced that the government will find a solution, if that will not be raised six million of public subscription.

Russian Embassy in Bucharest announced last week that it made a "donation modest", worth 100 euros, the campaign for the purchase of the sculpture "Wisdom of the Earth" by Brancusi. However, the announcement was accompanied by a video clip released replica of an advertising agency in support of this campaign, the Russian Embassy shows that Romania was rebuilt with the help of the Soviet Union and industrialized."Children should learn the true history," it says in the clip in question, published by the Russian embassy in Bucharest.

Iasi ALERT: Over 350 people evacuated from a shopping mall following a call to 112

Over 350 people were evacuated from ISU Iasi Sunday in a mall in Iasi, after a man called 112 saying it in an event that is held on the second floor of the building would have created panic and more people would have fainted.

ISU spokesman Iasi, SAS and said for Mediafax that intervention teams that went to the mall in question have not found people passed out.

Iasi ALERT: Over 350 people evacuated from a shopping mall following a call to 112 (Picture: Octav Ganea / Mediafax Foto Archive)

"On Sunday afternoon by 112 ISU Iasi was noticed by a man that at an event organized in a mall would have created a state of panic, many people were fainting and present malaise, so it requires presence of specialized crews. These teams have found that the second floor of the mall at an event attended by about 350 people, mostly children, "said Bolohan.

According to her, the approximately 350 people were evacuated safely, not identified persons requiring medical care.

"He denied that people were passed out," said Bolohan.

According to her, at the request went to an ambulance Intensive Care, one of several victims and vehicles for extinguishing fires, and two inspectors ISU Iasi verifying event organized had all the approvals from the point of view of fire safety .

Ilham Aliyev: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity

• -

Baku. Ramiz Mikayıloghlu-APA. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyevmade a speech during the meeting of Pope Francis with representatives of the Azerbaijani government, public and diplomatic corps at the Heydar Aliyev Centerin Baku Oct. 2.

He noted that representatives of all religions and nations live in Azerbaijan in dignity.

Literacy, according to President Aliyev, is the main obstacle to radicalism and ignorance.

The literacy rate of the Azerbaijani population is close to 100 percent, headed.

“We strongly adhere to our national and moral values. At the same time, we are a modern country,” said the head of state.

“Unfortunately, Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts have been occupied as a result of Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan in 1990,” said Ilham Aliyev. “A policy of ethnic cleansing was carried out against the Azerbaijani people. An act of genocide was committed in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.”

The president pointed out that ten countries have officially recognized theKhojaly genocide.

OSCE has sent fact-finding missions to the occupied lands twice and the report of these missions are horrifying, said the president. “All of our mosques and graves in the occupied territories have been destroyed by Armenia,” he added.

“We restored an Armenian church in Baku. Therefore, it is not accidental that Azerbaijan is known in the world as a center of multiculturalism,” said the president.

Ilham Aliyev stressed that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakhconflict must be resolved within the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. 

“Our people greatly suffer from this conflict. Our population was 8 million in early 1990s and one million of them are refugees and IDPs,” he said.

“Nevertheless, Azerbaijan has passed a glorious path over the last 25 years. Several years ago, Azerbaijan was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council,” the president added.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has congratulated the Ukrainian teachers on their professional holiday.

President’s congratulation has been posted on his Facebook page.

"I sincerely congratulate the Ukrainian teachers on their professional holiday. Thank you for putting your heart and soul into our future!" Poroshenko wrote.

As known, Teacher's Day is celebrated on the first weekend of October.

ish

Argentina will export nuclear reactors for US $ 3,000 million annually

The Argentina Central project Modular Elements (Carem) is a prototype developed by the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), located within the SMR (Small Modern Reactor) called and represents "an enormous potential for Argentina, as there is a world market of billions of dollars "available resources to acquire this type of nuclear technology, the official said. 

" the Carem has many years of work in the CNEA but-- for us - is a priority , "said Telam Gadano and justified this decision by stating that the project "can generate a market with high technological added value for our country."  

the secretary praised the ability and knowledge of researchers from the body, and boasted of "spectacular human resources we have, with the qualification needed to develop the Argentine nuclear system. " 

CAREM project aimed, from the outset, to develop and produce nuclear power plants, especially, are those located in the segment of power reactors medium and low power. 

such reactors has a projection for the electricity supply in remote areas of large urban centers or manufacturing poles with high energy consumption, while also offering other benefits such as desalination or supply of steam for various industrial uses. 

"A reactor low power , 120 MW of capacity, serves to countries with smaller networks , "said Gadano.  

" We can market a module of four reactors, ie 480 MW, which is much more friendly and serves perfectly to feed that are not integrated as networks the if the island, some countries in Latin America and Asia , "said Assistant secretary of Nuclear Energy. 

Gadano referred to the " full support of the national government in research, development and technological advances "and argued that" the best test support is in the budget allocated to the area by 2017, exceeding $ 7,600 million, which represents "twice as manyresources compared to the previous year." 

"a CNEA, for different projects, the budget was increased by 43 % in nominal terms "plotted undersecretary, which" is given a real and concrete response "to the criticism from some sectors of the opposition posed that the administration of President Mauricio Macri propose reducing resources for scientific research. 

" the Carem reactor is important, but not to put little signs on the (Highway) Pan American to say '100% orgullosos' but to return to Argentina society the enormous effort being made with state resources , "said Gadano, while who emphasized that since the CNEA "we do not build huge projects so that after the treasury have to put silver for many years." 

after participating in the International General Conference of Atomic Energy, held in Vienna, Gadano said that next year we will create a public "dynamic, small and efficient to work on the basic engineering of the project and, at the same time, you can sell the final product" in the world market and allow create "real resources" to the country 's commercial enterprise. 
"Let's need a financial partner for that company, with international financial back , "he said. 

" it's a process that takes years and we will be able to market this project in 2022 , "the official said, but showed his enthusiasm by pointing out that" we to be one of the first countries in the world - along with South Korea, the United States, Russia and China that can offer low power reactors. " 

in that sense, Gadano not minimize competition with these foreign powers but put the shaft that " it is a market of tens of billions of dollars, and it is possible and easy to capture 20%" of global demand for the reactors. 

the official referred to other projects that are developing within the CNEA and especially pointed to called RA10, a research reactor multipurpose oriented production of radioisotopes for the diagnosis of disease. 

"we signed the contract and next year we will invest $ 1,682 million to integration between civil works and the first assemblies , " said Gadano and he anticipated that "multipurpose reactor most modern in the world" will be built. 

Finally confirmed that Argentina -through Invap- "will sell you a multipurpose reactor Brazil in u $ s 35 million , " operation that will represent "the first sale of technology "that the country will conduct our neighbors and partners in the region.

Tainted Water Grows at Fukushima N-Plant despite Ice Wall

   Tokyo, Oct. 2 (Jiji Pres)--Six months into operation, the much-hyped underground ice wall has not yet produced the intended effects of curbing the growth of radioactive water at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s <9501> stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
   TEPCO initially claimed that the ice wall would prove effective in about a month and half, but the amount of contaminated water at the plant has continued to increase at a pace faster than projected by the utility.
   The plant in northeastern Japan faces a chronic shortage of welded-type water storage tanks, while an increasing volume of tainted water has been transferred to the reactor and turbine buildings as a makeshift measure despite a high risk of leaks.
   TEPCO constructed the 1.5-kilometer-long ice wall encircling the plant's damaged No. 1 to No. 4 reactors in an attempt to block groundwater from flowing into reactor buildings and mixing with radioactive water accumulating inside.
   The government has to date spent a total of 34.5 billion yen in the construction of the structure by freezing underground soil, which is believed to be technically very difficult.

In Kiev again desecrated the monument to Prince Vladimir

©  the EPA / ROBERT GHEMENT

KIEV, October 2nd. / TASS /. Unidentified attackers desecrated the monument to Prince Volodymyr the Great in Kyiv. This was reported by the news agency"Ukrainian News" .

"The unknown painted monument swastika employees of municipal services work at the scene, as well as the police.", - The report says.

SEE ALSO

Against desecrated the monument to Prince Vladimir in Kiev prosecuted

September 26 monument vandals poured red paint.After that, the Metropolitan Police opened a criminal case under article "Hooliganism", which is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to five years. The perpetrators have not been found.

Monument to Prince Volodymyr the Great in Kyiv was built on the banks of the Dnieper in the park Vladimir Hill in 1853 and is the oldest sculptural construction of the Ukrainian capital. In 2015, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree "On the commemoration of Prince Vladimir of Kiev Great - the founder of the medieval European state," Russia - Ukraine ". Thus, legally in the country was legalized the concept of the existence of the state," Russia - Ukraine ", based supposedly 1000 years ago Kiev grand Duke Vladimir.

It was first proposed by Ukrainian historian Michael Hrushevsky, but found no support in the scientific world.

The date of the adoption of Christianity in ancient Russia as a state religion is considered to be 988 - then, according to the chronicles, held a mass baptism of the inhabitants of Kiev and other cities, and then Prince Vladimir.

• Ukraine: the chronicle of the Eurasian division

Подробнее на ТАСС:
http://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/3671996

Hungary PM banks on anti-migrant vote to defy EU 'elite'

Hungarians voted Sunday on the EU's troubled refugee quota plan, in a referendum aimed at boosting Prime Minister Viktor Orban's self-styled campaign to defend Europe against the "threat of mass migration".

While there is little doubt his 'No' camp will comfortably win, the poll could still end in embarrassment for Orban if it fails to reach the required 50-percent turnout and is deemed invalid.

Polling stations opened at 0400 GMT and close at 1700 GMT, with results expected later in the evening. By 3 pm (1300 GMT) turnout was just over 30 percent, according to the national election office.

"We are proud that we are the first to be able to vote on this question, unfortunately the only ones," Orban said after casting his ballot in the capital Budapest.

The firebrand leader has emerged as the populist standard-bearer of those opposed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's "open-door" policy, in the wake of the bloc's worst migration crisis since 1945.

AFP/File / Attila KisbenedekAn man protests outside the parliament building in Budapest, with a sign reading "I was refugee also" on September 30, 2016 ahead of Hungary's referendum on the EU's migrant resettlement plans

He has led a fierce media offensive urging the eight-million-strong electorate to spurn the EU deal, which wants to share migrants around the 28 member states via mandatory quotas without the consent of national parliaments.

Orban warned on Saturday that mass migration was a "threat... to Europe's safe way of life" and that Hungarians had "a duty" to fight the failed "liberal methods" of the "Brussels elite".

- 'Dangerous game' -

The proposal -- spearheaded by Germany and approved by most EU governments last year after antagonistic debates -- seeks to ease pressure on frontline countries Italy and Greece, where most migrants enter the EU.

But implementation has been slow. Eastern and central European nations are vehemently opposed to the plan aimed at relocating 160,000 people, many having fled war in Syria.

AFP/File / Andrej IsakovicA boy washes his hair at a makeshift refugee and migrants camp next to Hungarian border fence, near the Serbian town of Horgos

Even as Hungarians voted, neighbouring Austria's Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said the EU should stop clinging to its troubled plan.

"The target is totally unrealistic," he told the German daily Welt am Sonntag, warning that disagreements over the plan could threaten "the cohesion of the entire European Union".

Hungary has not accepted a single refugee of the 1,300 allocated under the scheme and instead joined Slovakia in filing a legal challenge against it.

The referendum threatens to further split the quarrelling bloc, already weakened by Britain's decision in June to leave the union -- a decision Orban has blamed on the EU's handling of the migrant crisis.

European Parliament president Martin Schulz warned Sunday that Hungary was playing "a dangerous game".

To cement his power at home, Orban "plays with the EU's founding principle: he questions Europe's legal basis -- which Hungary was involved in creating," Schulz told German media.

- 'Pawn in Orban's game' -

The referendum asks voters: "Do you want the EU to be able to mandate the obligatory resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens into Hungary even without the approval of the National Assembly?"

Many said they would abstain out of protest.

"I will not be a pawn in Orban's game... The question is phrased in such a way that it practically only invites one answer," said a 40-year-old farmer who accompanied his mother to a polling station in Budapest.

Surveys show the vote may not reach the required 50-percent threshold -- a scenario Orban has already downplayed, insisting the turnout had "no political significance".

"If there are more 'No' than 'Yes' votes, that means that Hungarians do not accept the rule that the EU bureaucrats want to impose on us," he said Friday.

- Shaky deal -

More than 400,000 refugees trekked through Hungary toward northern Europe in 2015 before Hungary sealed off its southern borders with razor wire in the autumn and brought in tough anti-migrant laws, reducing the flow to a trickle.

Other countries on the so-called Balkan migrant trail followed suit, leading to some 60,000 migrants now being stranded in Greece.

The EU said last week it hoped to relocate half of them by the end of 2017.

A deal struck in March with Ankara to halt the influx looks shaky in the wake of a coup attempt in July.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere meanwhile said Sunday that Berlin wants to reinstate EU rules, suspended in 2011, which oblige asylum seekers to be sent back to Greece as the first EU country they reached.

"I would like the (rules) to be applied again... we will take up discussions on this in a meeting with (EU) interior ministers" later in October, he told the Greek daily Kathimerini.

Report: Trump may have not paid personal income taxes for 18 years

Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Bedford, New Hampshire on September 29, 2016. A New York Times story revealed Saturday that, according to state tax records it obtained, Trump may have avoided paying personal income tax for nearly two decades. Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI 

| License Photo

NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A $916 million loss Donald Trump declared on his 1995 New York state income tax returns may have allowed him to legally avoid paying any personal income tax for nearly two decades, the New York Times reported.

Tax records obtained by the Times show the Republican presidential candidate declared the loss as part of a series of deals in the 1990s involving three Atlantic City casinos, his dabbling in the airline industry and his purchase of Manhattan's Plaza Hotel.

Tax experts hired by the newspaper to analyze Trump's 1995 returns said tax rules that gave advantage to the wealthy could have allowed him to use the $916 million loss to legally negate the amount of taxable income he would have owed over 18 years.

The campaign for Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton said the report showed Trump is a bad businessmen.

RELATEDPresidential debate: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump trade barbs over economy, birther movement

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani went on This Week with George Stephanopoulos and called Trump a business genius.

"He would have been a fool not to take advantage" of the laws, Giuliani said.

Trump's personal income taxes have been a campaign focus since former Republican rivals Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio challenged him to release his federal tax returns during a GOP debate in February.

In the first presidential debate last week, Clinton said Trump may be refusing to release his returns because he has not been paying income tax, the Wall Street Journal reported. "That makes me smart," Trump retorted.

Trump's campaign released a statement late Saturday, saying the returns were "illegally obtained" by the Times. The statement said Trump has paid plenty in real estate and state taxes but it did not mention federal taxes.

"Mr. Trump is a highly-skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required," the statement said. "That being said, Mr. Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes, along with very substantial charitable contributions. Mr. Trump knows the tax code far better than anyone who has ever run for president and he is the only one that knows how to fix it."

Trump, himself, tweeted a similar statement Saturday night, CNN reported. "I know our complex tax laws better than anyone who has ever run for president and am the only one who can fix them. #failing@nytimes."

He went on to say, "I have created tens of thousands of jobs and will bring back great American prosperity. Hillary has only created jobs at the FBI and DOJ!"

What Trump did was "perfectly legal," Giuliani said on This Week., ABC News reported. He said America "needs a turnaround artist."

As to the size of the business loss Trump claimed, the former mayor cited Trump's 1987 bestselling book "The Art of The Deal," which said "every great man has had failures."

"Oh, for gosh sakes," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Fox News Sunday. "No apologies for complying with the law," USA Today reported. Christie said the New York Times story is a good one for Trump.

"The only news here is that the more than 20-year-old alleged tax document was illegally obtained, a further demonstration that the New York Times, like establishment media in general, is an extension of the Clinton campaign, the Democratic Party and their global special interests," the Trump campaign said in a statement, according to NBC News.

The Times said in a statement that a lawyer for Trump threatened legal action against the paper if the records were published. They argued that publishing the records without Trump's authorization would be illegal.