Politics news

• Koch Industries takes aim at U.S. House Republican tax reform plan

  07-12-2016 23:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Koch Industries, the private conglomerate owned by billionaire conservatives Charles and David Koch, warned on Wednesday that a Republican tax reform proposal meant to encourage U.S. exports could have devastating effects on the economy and consumers. The proposal, known as border adjustability, is part of a larger tax reform plan backed by Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Speaker Paul Ryan. It has attracted the attention of advisers t
  
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• US and European stocks on a roll ahead of ECB meeting

  07-12-2016 23:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  New York (AFP) - European equities surged and US stocks hit fresh records Wednesday in anticipation the European Central Bank will extend its stimulus, and amid optimism about the American economy after the presidential election.
  
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• Trump picks fossil fuel ally to head environment agency

  07-12-2016 23:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency, transition officials told US media Wednesday, drawing loud criticism from Democrats who warn the fossil fuel ally is a climate change denier. Republicans have long argued that President Barack Obama's administration, through the EPA, has imposed burdensome environmental regulations such as anti-pollution measures on US corporations, many in the name of fighting climate chan
  
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• Trump praises relationship with Obama, who stays silent

  07-12-2016 23:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Since his meeting with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, Donald Trump several times has raved about good "chemistry" with the person he will succeed on January 20. Bombarded with questions at the daily White House news briefing about Trump's assessment of the relationship between the two men, Obama's spokesman remained circumspect.
  
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• John Kelly, the Marine General to head Homeland Security

  07-12-2016 23:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  John Kelly, the Marine Corps general reportedly picked by Donald Trump to be Homeland Security secretary, will be the new administration's lead figure as it pursues the president-elect's goal of boosting the fight against Islamic extremists and illegal immigration. The third general chosen for Trump's cabinet, Kelly spent 45 years in the Marines, holding a range of positions from field commands in Iraq to political liaison in Congress before finishing his career as commander of the US armed forc
  
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• Deadly strike in western Iraq, fierce battles in Mosul

  07-12-2016 23:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  An air strike in a western Iraqi town near the Syrian border still controlled by the Islamic State group killed and wounded dozens of civilians on Wednesday, officials said. The deadly strike came as Iraqi forces battled jihadists deep inside Mosul, edging closer to the River Tigris that divides the city and looking for a breakthrough in the seven-week-old offensive. The speaker of Iraq's parliament, Salim al-Juburi condemned the air strike "that targeted a market area for civilians and resulted
  
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• Trump’s DHS pick Gen. Kelly was not first choice of immigration hardliners

  07-12-2016 23:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Donald Trump has selected retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security the Washington Post reported Wednesday. The pick disappointed some immigration hawks, who hoped the president-elect would tap Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to lead the agency. One of those Kobach supporters is Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations at NumbersUSA, an organization that seeks to reduce both legal and illegal immigration.
  
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• Trump’s DHS pick Gen. Kelly was not first choice of immigration hard-liners

  07-12-2016 23:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Donald Trump has selected retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security the Washington Post reported Wednesday. The pick disappointed some immigration hawks, who hoped the president-elect would tap Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to lead the agency. One of those Kobach supporters is Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations at NumbersUSA, an organization that seeks to reduce both legal and illegal immigration.
  
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• Dissidents urge Trump to press China on human rights

  07-12-2016 22:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Exiled Chinese dissidents on Wednesday urged President-elect Donald Trump to champion human rights in China and recognize self-governing Taiwan as "a full democratic country."
  
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• Trump chooses pro wrestling magnate Linda McMahon to head SBA

  07-12-2016 22:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will nominate professional wrestling magnate and former Senate candidate Linda McMahon as his choice to head the Small Business Administration. Trump's announcement said McMahon would be a key player in his effort to generate stronger job growth and roll back federal regulations. McMahon, 68, is a co-founder and former CEO of the professional wrestling franchise WWE, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut.
  
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• Dow, S&P 500 hit new records ahead of ECB meeting

  07-12-2016 22:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  US stocks surged to close at fresh records Wednesday in anticipation the European Central Bank will extend its stimulus, and amid optimism about the American economy after the presidential election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.6 percent to 19,549.62, its third straight record close, and the biggest increase since the November 8 presidential election. The S&P 500 also notched a fresh record, rising 1.3 percent to 2,241.35, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.1 percent to 5
  
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• New York City tries handing Washington the bill for guarding Trump

  07-12-2016 22:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  New York City Police officers guard the front of Trump Tower, in New York on Nov. 11, 2016. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is still petitioning the federal government to compensate the Big Apple for protecting president-elect Donald Trump. Since Trump’s election victory, the New York Police Department has had to vastly increase its already intense security for the area.
  
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• AP source: Trump to tap Oklahoma AG Pruitt to head EPA

  07-12-2016 22:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a source close to Pruitt said Wednesday.
  
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• EU official hopeful for trade deal under Trump presidency

  07-12-2016 22:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior European Union official is expressing hope that the new U.S. presidential administration will continue talks on a comprehensive free trade agreement with Europe.
  
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• Obama thanks France's Hollande for "close partnership"

  07-12-2016 22:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama has spoken with President Francois Hollande of France to offer his appreciation for their close partnership.
  
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• President-Elect Trump Expected to Pick Gen. John Kelly as Nominee for DHS Secretary

  07-12-2016 22:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Gen. John Kelly for secretary of Homeland Security, according to two top transition officials familiar with the decision.Kelly is a retired four-star general and the former commander of U.S. Southern Command. In addition to his experience leading troops overseas, he is known for his strong knowledge of border issues and the drug trade in South and Central America.Kelly lost his son Marine 1st Lt. Robert Kelly in an IED explosion in Afghanistan
  
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• Final rules for K-12 standardized testing released

  07-12-2016 22:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Aiming to reduce test-taking in America's classrooms, the Obama administration released final rules Wednesday to help states and school districts take a new approach to the standardized tests students must take each year.
  
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• No breakthrough in Kerry-Lavrov talks on Aleppo

  07-12-2016 22:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  US Secretary of State John Kerry held fresh talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Germany Wednesday but no breakthrough emerged on efforts to halt the fighting in the devastated Syrian city of Aleppo. After a meeting lasting about one hour, Kerry said the two talked "about the extraordinarily dire situation in Aleppo and we exchanged some ideas about it and we intend to connect in the morning to see where we are". Kerry, who is on a farewell tour in Europe, and Lavrov were in the n
  
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• Environmentalists mobilize for battle with Trump

  07-12-2016 22:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Environmentalists are gearing up to battle President-elect Donald Trump, who promised on the campaign trail to roll back laws and regulations that protect the environment and fight global warming. Trump also said he would withdraw the United States, the world's second-largest greenhouse-gas polluter after China, from the Paris global climate accord signed in 2015 by 192 countries. As a candidate Trump had called the concept of global warming a hoax, but he acknowledged to the Times there was "so
  
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• John Kelly, Trump’s Homeland Security pick, gave a remarkable speech 4 days after his son died serving in Afghanistan

  07-12-2016 22:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  John Kelly, President-elect Donald Trump’s reported pick for homeland security chief, never spoke of his fallen son by name during the speech to the Semper Fi Society, which he had committed to give long before his death. “We are in a life-and-death struggle, but not our whole country,” Kelly said in his speech. Kelly, 66, is the highest ranking military officer to lose a child in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan — a burden of war that thousands of so-called Gold Star milita
  
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• Trump taps China ambassador, consults Obama

  07-12-2016 22:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday selected a political ally with close ties to China as ambassador to Beijing, stressed his determination to create American jobs and revealed he consulted with Barack Obama on his cabinet picks. Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, on Wednesday urged Washington to block President Tsai Ing-wen from passing through the United States after reports said she may stop in New York to meet the Trump team.
  
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• New Zealander to head UN mission in South Sudan

  07-12-2016 22:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A New Zealand lawmaker who has led UN aid efforts worldwide is to be named UN mission chief in South Sudan, one of the world's toughest peacekeeping jobs, diplomats said Wednesday. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent a letter informing the Security Council of his intention to appoint David Shearer as the UN envoy to South Sudan and head of UNMISS, succeeding Ellen Margrethe Loj of Denmark.
  
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• Pope likens scandal-seeking media to excrement lovers

  07-12-2016 21:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Pope Francis on Wednesday compared scandal-obsessed media outlets who smear politicians and spread gossip to people sexually excited by excrement -- and described their readers as faeces eaters. "Disinformation is probably the biggest evil a (communications) medium can inflict, because it steers opinions in one direction, omitting part of the truth," he said in an interview with the Belgium Catholic weekly Tertio. The Argentine, 79, did not mince his words, saying some in the journalism world su
  
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• Israel votes to advance settler homes bill

  07-12-2016 21:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Israeli lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance a bill legalising some 4,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank despite international criticism and warnings over its implications. Supporters of the bill submitted by the party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called it a step towards eventual annexation of most of the West Bank. Some 400,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank, excluding annexed east Jerusalem, along with 2.6 million Palestinians.
  
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• Israel parliament advances bill on legalising settler homes

  07-12-2016 21:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Jerusalem (AFP) - The Israeli parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of a disputed bill on legalising some 4,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, in the first of three readings.
  
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• Secretary of state candidate Rep. Dana Rohrabacher defends Russia, denounces China

  07-12-2016 21:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Secretary of state candidate Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said in an interview Wednesday that the United States cooperating with Russia is a good thing and that China is not America’s friend. “If it’s right for us to join in and cooperate and have a better relationship with Russia in order to defeat radical Islam and to pull China back a bit,” said Rohrabacher, “well that’s a good thing, and that’s what this is all about. Russia is no longer the Sovi
  
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• Trump pick for Beijing envoy adept at 'cornfield diplomacy'

  07-12-2016 21:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  US President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly jabbed China on everything from trade to Taiwan. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad -- who Trump has tapped to be his ambassador to Beijing, a top aide said Wednesday -- has known current Chinese President Xi Jinping since 1985.
  
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• Assad says Aleppo win 'huge step' towards end of war

  07-12-2016 21:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said a victory for his army in the battered second city of Aleppo would be a "huge step" towards ending the country's five-year civil war. In an interview with Syrian daily Al-Watan to be published Thursday, an early copy of which was seen by AFP, Assad said defeating beleaguered rebels in Aleppo would not put an end to Syria's conflict. "It's true that Aleppo will be a win for us, but let's be realistic -- it won't mean the end of the war in Syria," Assad said.
  
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• UN chief concerned by arrest of Egyptian rights lawyer

  07-12-2016 20:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern on Wednesday over the arrest of a prominent Egyptian human rights lawyer, warning authorities in Cairo against progressively shutting down freedom of expression. Egyptian police arrested Azza Soliman, who founded the Center for Egyptian Women's Legal Assistance, at her home and briefly detained her for questioning on allegations of taking foreign funds to "harm national interests," according to her lawyer. The United Nations had raised concern a
  
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• U.S. judge hears arguments on Michigan presidential recount

  07-12-2016 20:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Gina Cherelus (Reuters) - A U.S. judge in Michigan heard arguments on Wednesday over whether he should reconsider an order he issued on Sunday to accelerate the presidential vote recount in that state requested by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, according to officials. The federal court hearing was held a day after contradictory court orders were issued relating to Stein's effort: a Michigan state appeals court on Tuesday ordered the recount be halted, while a federal appeals court said the
  
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• U.S. Senate joins House to pass sweeping new health bill

  07-12-2016 20:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Toni Clarke (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to support sweeping legislation that will reshape the way the Food and Drug Administration approves new medicines. It will also provide funding for cancer and Alzheimer's research, help fight the opioid epidemic, expand access to mental health treatment and advance research into precision medicine. Two years in the making, the 21st Century Cures Act was passed last week by the House of Representatives and will now go to
  
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• Political lifer Matteo Renzi is unwilling to let go

  07-12-2016 20:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Rome (AFP) - Start spreading the news: like Frank Sinatra during his extended swansong, Matteo Renzi is saying farewell with no intention of going anywhere.
  
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• Netanyahu rejects Abbas peace talks in Paris: office

  07-12-2016 20:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected the possibility of a meeting with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas at a France-led peace conference later this month, his office said.
  
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• Assad says Aleppo win will change course of war

  07-12-2016 20:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - Syria's Bashar al-Assad, whose forces have recaptured all but a fifth of east Aleppo from rebels, including its historic centre, said victory in the city will be a "huge step" towards ending the war.
  
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• Trump to pick foe of Obama climate agenda to run EPA: source

  07-12-2016 20:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Valerie Volcovici and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump will pick an ardent opponent of President Barack Obama's measures to stem climate change to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a Trump transition team source said on Wednesday. Trump's choice, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, has enraged environmental activists, but he fits with the Republican president-elect's promise to cut the agency back and eliminate regulation that he says is sti
  
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• Italy's Renzi resigns, hints at early election

  07-12-2016 20:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Matteo Renzi bowed out as Italian prime minister on Wednesday with a combination of jokes, regrets and a strong hint that he wants to lead his party into an early election battle. Forced to quit after a crushing referendum defeat, Renzi formally submitted his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday evening. "We are not afraid of anything or anybody, if other parties want to go to the polls .... the PD is not afraid of democracy or elections," Renzi said, in reference to oppositio
  
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• City officials: Congress shortchanging NYC on Trump security

  07-12-2016 20:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's mayor and other Democratic officials said Wednesday that Congress was proposing to pitch in far too little for protecting Trump Tower: $7 million, a fifth of what New York requested.
  
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• A look at three investigations of senior military officers

  07-12-2016 20:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Military leaders are launching a broad review of how the services investigate accusations of misconduct by senior officers, citing deep concerns about how long the process now takes and whether it treats people equally.
  
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• Congress approves biomedical bill as leaders eye adjournment

  07-12-2016 20:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress sent President Barack Obama bipartisan legislation Wednesday to beef up research on cancer and other diseases, battle drug abuse and speed government approvals of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
  
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• The Latest: Congress OKs biomedical bill, eyes adjournment

  07-12-2016 20:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Congress (all times local):
  
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• Trumps taps retired Marine general John Kelly for DHS

  07-12-2016 20:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, whose last command included oversight of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, to run the Department of Homeland Security, people close to the transition team said Wednesday.
  
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• Democrats call for 9/11-style commission to probe election hacks

  07-12-2016 19:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Two House Democrats called Wednesday for the creation of a bipartisan national commission — modeled after the one that investigated the Sept. 11 terror attacks– to investigate foreign interference in the 2016 election. Trump’s unyielding view would seem to make it less likely there will be any sort of public probe.
  
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• New York's undocumented brace for Trump deportations

  07-12-2016 19:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  If I get deported, can my 18-year-old son take care of my youngest child? The Republican, who launched his White House quest denouncing Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and drug traffickers and vowing to build a wall on the southern US border, has threatened to deport millions of undocumented migrants, starting with those with criminal records. "We still have two months to get organized," said Mexican-born Gonzalo Mercado, the director of the La Colmena community center who organized the event in
  
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• Tennis - France name Davis Cup skipper Noah as Fed Cup captain

  07-12-2016 19:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  - Yannick Noah was named captain of France's Fed Cup team for the second time on Wednesday, just five days after having his contract as Davis Cup skipper extended by a year.The 56-year-old former French Open champion takes over the national women's team from Amelie Mauresmo who held the job from 2013 to 2016.
  
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• Britain seeks deeper ties with S.Africa post-Brexit: Hammond

  07-12-2016 19:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Finance minister Philip Hammond on Wednesday said Britain was working on strengthening ties with non-EU partners before exiting the European Union. After a string of "constructive" talks with top political and business leaders, the chancellor of the exchequer, who is currently in South Africa, pledged millions in aid for developmental programmes. "As Britain leaves the EU, we will be deepening our work with our international partners to build ever stronger economic links around the world," he sa
  
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• Trump to name retired general Kelly as Homeland Security chief: reports

  07-12-2016 19:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President-elect Donald Trump has decided to name retired Marine Corps general John Kelly, a veteran of combat in Iraq, to lead the Department of Homeland Security, US media said Wednesday. Kelly would be the third retired general to be named to cabinet-level positions in Trump's administration. The impending appointment was widely reported in the US media but not confirmed by Trump's transition office, apparently because Kelly is out of the country.
  
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• Around 1,500 European jihadists return from Mideast: report

  07-12-2016 19:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Around a third of the estimated 5,000 European jihadists who went to Syria and Iraq have returned to Europe, and some may have orders to attack, an EU report warned Wednesday. Up to 2,500 fighters from Europe remained on the battlefield but their massive return in the short term seemed unlikely, according to the report seen by AFP. Belgium expressed concern last month that jihadists were increasingly returning to Europe as US-backed coalition forces drive the Islamic State (IS) group from territ
  
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• Lewandowski: Trump has already accomplished more than ‘Obama has done in the last 4 years’

  07-12-2016 18:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Donald Trump’s former campaign manager says the president-elect has already accomplished more in the month since his election than President Obama has in the last four years. “Donald Trump, in the first four weeks of his presidency, has done more to help this country than I think Barack Obama has done in the last four years,” Corey Lewandowski said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday. Lewandowski, an informal Trump adviser expected to join his administr
  
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• Renewed fighting hits Libya's key oil region

  07-12-2016 18:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Islamist militias attacked Libya's key oil-producing region on Wednesday and were repelled by forces commanded by controversial general Khalifa Haftar, military sources said. The Benghazi Defence Brigades attacked Ben Jawad town near the coastal "oil crescent", where Haftar had seized four export terminals from pro-government forces in September. The alliance of Islamist and tribal fighters was then repelled by Haftar's forces, Colonel Moftah el-Magarief, head of an oil facilities guard under Ha
  
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• Weakened Merkel embarks on tough election campaign

  07-12-2016 17:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Germany's ruling conservatives may have re-elected Angela Merkel as their leader once again, but they have also sent her into next year's election campaign with a stern warning ringing in her ears. The German leader was chosen as head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Tuesday with her lowest score since becoming chancellor, and a day later delegates defied her with a hardline push against dual nationality rules. With that mixed verdict from the party rank and file as she bids for a four
  
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