Politics news

• Thousands demonstrate in Greece over new budget cuts

  08-12-2016 23:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Thousands of Greek trade unionists demonstrated on Thursday against planned new cuts demanded by international creditors in a general strike that shut down several key sectors. The country's international creditors -- fellow EU states and the International Monetary Fund -- want Greece to overhaul its labour legislation to make crippling strikes less likely while also facilitating layoffs.
  
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• The Latest: Trump calls OSU survivors 'amazing people'

  08-12-2016 23:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• Impeachment day for S. Korea's president

  08-12-2016 23:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  South Korean President Park Geun-Hye woke Friday to what could effectively be her final day in office, with parliament set to vote on an impeachment motion triggered by a devastating political scandal. Whichever way the vote goes, it has been a startling fall from grace for a politician who had run for the presidential Blue House as an incorruptible candidate, declaring herself beholden to nobody and "married to the nation". Now she faces the ignominy of going down in history as the first democr
  
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• Trump’s pick as labor secretary: Legalizing immigrants is ‘the right thing to do’

  08-12-2016 23:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Labor strongly defended immigration reform in remarks several years ago and also criticized border security as a waste of money and overly intrusive — positions that put him at odds with the president-elect’s campaign promises to crack down on immigration. Andrew Puzder, CEO of the fast-food chain conglomerate CKE Restaurants, said that passing immigration reform that offered a path to legalization for many of the millions of undocu
  
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• Gambia's new leader claims military's support

  08-12-2016 23:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Gambia's President-elect Adama Barrow vowed Thursday to set up a South Africa-style truth commission as he claimed the army's support after his surprise election in the west African nation. Barrow, whose shock victory this month ended the 22-year rule of Yahya Jammeh, said the country's chief of the defence staff had called to pledge the army's backing. "He said he was loyal to President Yahya (Jammeh) because he was the elected president.
  
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• Pentagon works to ease Kurdish-Turkish tensions in Syria

  08-12-2016 23:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The US military is working to ease simmering tensions between Syrian Kurdish rebels and Turkey, both fighting the Islamic State group in northern Syria, US defense officials said Thursday. A US-led coalition has trained and armed the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces -- most of whom are Kurdish -- to attack the IS group. Turkey, a key NATO ally, has also entered Syria, where it, too, is fighting the jihadist group.
  
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• Trump gets one presidential intelligence briefing a week: sources

  08-12-2016 23:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump is receiving an average of one presidential intelligence briefing a week, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter, far fewer than most of his recent predecessors. Although they are not required to, presidents-elect have in the past generally welcomed the opportunity to receive the President's Daily Brief (PDB), the most highly classified and closely held document in the government, on a regular basis. ...
  
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• House approves bill on Calif. drought, Flint water

  08-12-2016 22:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Thursday passed a wide-ranging bill to authorize water projects across the country, including $170 million to address lead in Flint, Michigan's drinking water and $558 million to provide relief to drought-stricken California.
  
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• US approves $7 bn in aircraft sales to Arab allies

  08-12-2016 22:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Washington (AFP) - The United States on Thursday approved a series of deals worth more than $7 billion to supply military helicopters, planes and missiles to four of its Arab allies.
  
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• US official: 50,000 Islamic State militants killed to date

  08-12-2016 22:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S.-led coalition has killed 50,000 Islamic State militants in the last two years in Iraq and Syria, a senior U.S. military official said Thursday, describing a conservative total that is a bit larger than what others have stated before.
  
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• At least 50,000 IS fighters killed in Iraq, Syria since 2014: US official

  08-12-2016 22:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  At least 50,000 Islamic State jihadists have been killed by the US-led coalition since it began operations in Iraq and Syria in late 2014, a senior US military official said Thursday. A relentless operation using planes and drones from a dozen or so members of the anti-IS coalition since August 2014 has conducted some 16,000 air strikes against the jihadists in Iraq and Syria -- two-thirds of them in Iraq.
  
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• The Latest: All 36 Oakland fire victims identified

  08-12-2016 22:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on an Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 people(all times local):
  
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• Glenn Beck on Trump's Boeing fight: ‘If America wants to go over the cliff, that's fine. They can ... I'm not’

  08-12-2016 22:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  When Glenn Beck thinks about some of the moves President-elect Donald Trump has made since the election — like picking a fight with Boeing, a Carrier Corp. union leader and, well, China — he shakes his head in disbelief. “I’m sorry, but if America wants to go over the cliff, that’s fine. Earlier this week, Trump attacked Boeing, calling on the U.S. government to cancel a deal with the aircraft manufacturer to develop of the next generation of Air Force One.
  
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• Glenn Beck on Trump’s Boeing fight: ‘If America wants to go over the cliff, that’s fine. They can ... I’m not’

  08-12-2016 22:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Earlier this week, Trump attacked Boeing, calling on the U.S. government to cancel a deal with the aircraft manufacturer to develop the next generation of Air Force One.
  
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• DiCaprio, Trump discuss green job creation

  08-12-2016 22:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio met President-elect Donald Trump to discuss climate change and how renewable, clean energy could boost the economy by creating millions of new jobs, the actor's foundation said Thursday. Terry Tamminen, chief executive of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, said in a statement he and the Hollywood star presented the Republican property tycoon, his daughter Ivanka and other aides with a plan to unleash "a major economic revival" through investments in sustainable infrastructure. "
  
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• US Marine pilot dead after Japan fighter crash

  08-12-2016 22:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A US Marine Corps pilot whose F/A-18 crashed into the Pacific Ocean has been confirmed dead, a US official said Thursday. Japanese rescuers earlier said they had found the missing pilot, whose plane crashed off the coast of Japan on Wednesday, but they would not say if he was alive. Marine Corps spokeswoman Captain Sarah Burns said the pilot had been "pronounced deceased," and she identified him as Captain Jake Frederick.
  
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• Georgia accuses US of trying to hack its election systems

  08-12-2016 22:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The state of Georgia on Thursday accused the U.S. Homeland Security Department of apparently trying to hack its election systems
  
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• US Democrats demand intel on Russian vote interference

  08-12-2016 22:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Top US Democratic lawmakers have demanded that President Barack Obama release details on alleged Russian interference in last month's election, fearing the issue will be swept under a rug when Donald Trump assumes office in January. The Republican president-elect has repeatedly rejected the idea that Moscow had a hand in the private email releases that damaged rival Hillary Clinton and arguably helped his victory. "By eroding Americans' and foreigners' trust in US institutions, Russia both weake
  
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• Donald Trump Meets With OSU Attack Victims, First Responders

  08-12-2016 22:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ahead of the third stop on his "thank you" victory your, President-elect Donald Trump met with victims of the attack on the campus of Ohio State University last week, as well as 150 first responders to thank them for their service. On Nov. 28, an 18-year-old OSU student, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, allegedly drove into pedestrians and began stabbing people, injuring 11 before he was fatally shot by a university police officer. Trump reached out to the school and requested the meeting with the officer
  
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• Russia says Syria army halts Aleppo attacks as rebels cornered

  08-12-2016 22:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Syria's army on Thursday halted its attacks in Aleppo to allow for trapped civilians to be evacuated, Russia's foreign minister announced, after advancing regime forces cornered rebels in the city. "I can tell you that today combat operations by the Syrian army have been halted in eastern Aleppo because there is a large operation underway to evacuate civilians," said Sergei Lavrov. "There is going to be to a column of 8,000 evacuees" travelling five kilometres (three miles), Lavrov said after ta
  
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• Missing Marine Pilot Who Ejected off Japan Coast Confirmed Dead

  08-12-2016 22:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A U.S. Marine pilot who ejected from an F/A-18 fighter jet off the eastern coast of Japan has been confirmed dead after being recovered earlier on Thursday by a Japanese naval vessel, military officials said. The Marine Corps identified Captain Jake Frederick as the pilot who ejected from his F/A-18C+ fighter aircraft after it went down 120 miles off the coast of Iwakuni, Japan. The Japanese Defense Ministry had announced earlier in the day that a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force ship had re
  
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• Trump heads west to meet with Ohio State victims, families

  08-12-2016 21:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is taking on a somber task Thursday that became all too familiar to his predecessor — supporting survivors after an outbreak of violence, this time families and victims from last week's attack at Ohio State University.
  
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• Muslim leaders call on Trump to reject anti-Muslim administration appointments

  08-12-2016 21:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  More than 300 American Muslim leaders are imploring Donald Trump to reject the anti-Muslim policies he touted during his presidential campaign, as well as administration appointments that will bring Islamophobic attitudes into the White House.
  
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• UN Syria envoy to meet Trump team

  08-12-2016 21:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The UN's peace envoy for Syria said Thursday he was planning to have meetings with US President-elect Donald Trump's transition team. Staffan de Mistura, who has been leading diplomatic efforts to end the five-year war in Syria, told reporters that talks would be held in New York and in Washington this week. "The plan is to meet some people around the team of president Trump," De Mistura said as he headed into a closed session of the Security Council.
  
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• Same-sex partners to get Israeli citizenship

  08-12-2016 21:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Israel's interior ministry has been ordered to grant citizenship to foreign-born same-sex spouses of Israelis under the same terms as traditional couples, the ministry's lawyer said Thursday. Attorney general Avichai Mandelblit issued the instructions to the ministry on November 21 in response to a lawsuit the Israeli Gay Fathers' Association filed before the supreme court. According to a court transcript sent to AFP, he ordered that the waiting period for naturalisation be reduced to four and a
  
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• Remembering John Glenn

  08-12-2016 21:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  John Glenn, the lifelong pilot, decorated war veteran, and former senator who became the first American to orbit the Earth during the height of the space race, has died. He was 95.
  
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• Trump under fire over environment pick

  08-12-2016 21:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President-elect Donald Trump came under fire Thursday for picking a global warming skeptic as his new environment chief, ahead of a visit to the American Midwest that helped him win the White House. The 70-year-old property tycoon, who has never previously held elective office, has spent the majority of his time since his November 8 defeat of Hillary Clinton sequestered in his New York headquarters building his cabinet. The transition team says his pace of appointments outstrips that of any mode
  
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• Two dead in clashes in Cameroon's anglophone region: TV

  08-12-2016 21:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  At least two people were killed in clashes between police and protesters from Cameroon's English-speaking minority in the country's northwest on Thursday, state television reported. A group of youths were trying to block a meeting for the ruling People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) of President Paul Biya in the city of Bamenda before police shot at them, opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) spokesman Denis Nkemlemo said.
  
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• Trump pick Linda McMahon's WWE past: Everything you need to know

  08-12-2016 21:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President-elect Donald Trump’s selection Wednesday of former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon to run the Small Business Administration elevated a longtime business associate and ardent supporter who had been briefly critical of the New York reality TV star during his presidential primary campaign. Trump went on to become a regular on WWE television, appearing so often that he became a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. McMahon was briefly at odds with Trump’s campai
  
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• Trump pick Linda McMahon's WWE era: Everything you need to know

  08-12-2016 21:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President-elect Donald Trump’s selection Wednesday of former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon to run the Small Business Administration elevated a longtime business associate and ardent supporter who had been briefly critical of the New York reality TV star during his presidential primary campaign. Trump went on to become a regular on WWE television, appearing so often that he became a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. McMahon was briefly at odds with Trump’s campai
  
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• Liberia asks UN to extend mission for another year

  08-12-2016 21:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Liberia's government has asked the United Nations to extend its peacekeeping mission in the west African country for another year, until the next president takes office. "Liberia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lewis Brown, on behalf of his Government, is proposing one year for the extension of the United Nation's Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)," the president's office said in a press release sent to AFP on Thursday. Liberians will be going to the polls next year to elect a new pre
  
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• Russia say Syria army ends Aleppo attacks as rebels cornered

  08-12-2016 21:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Syria's army on Thursday halted its attacks in Aleppo to allow for trapped civilians to be evacuated, Russia's foreign minister announced, after advancing regime forces cornered rebels in the city. "I can tell you that today combat operations by the Syrian army have been halted in eastern Aleppo because there is a large operation underway to evacuate civilians," said Sergei Lavrov, who held talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry in the German city of Hamburg. "There is going to be to a colu
  
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• Key provisions in the defense policy bill passed by Congress

  08-12-2016 20:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday decisively passed the annual defense policy bill, 92-7, a week after the House overwhelmingly approved the measure, 375-34. The votes give Congress solid veto-proof majorities in both chambers as the bill heads to President Barack Obama for his signature.
  
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• E-cigarettes a 'major public health concern': US surgeon general

  08-12-2016 20:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  E-cigarette use is exploding among young people and is now "a major public health concern," the US Surgeon General warned Thursday, sparking disagreement from experts in Britain where the devices are seen more favorably. The battery-powered devices heat a liquid containing nicotine into a vapor that is inhaled, and some experts worry that a new generation of smokers is becoming addicted. "E-cigarette use has increased considerably in recent years, growing an astounding 900 percent among high sch
  
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• Ghana's opposition candidate 'confident' he's won

  08-12-2016 20:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ghana's opposition candidate Nana Akufo-Addo told a cheering crowd on Thursday he was "confident" he's won the presidential election, despite the official results not yet being released. Speaking to a rowdy crowd of New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters gathered at his private residence, Akufo-Addo said he believed he had defeated long-time rival and incumbent John Mahama. "We the NPP are quietly confident that we have won a famous and historic victory," Akufo-Addo said, calling for his supporter
  
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• US election was most 'talked about' in 2016: Facebook

  08-12-2016 20:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The US presidential election was the most "talked about" topic on Facebook in 2016, in a year filled with discussion and debate on issues that were both serious and light-hearted. The bitterly contested election in which Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton was ranked as the leading issue, followed by Brazil's political developments which included the impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff, Facebook said in a blog post. Other subject matters shared among Facebook's 1.79 billion users were more
  
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• Trump's Labor Dept pick sends early warning sign to worker advocates

  08-12-2016 20:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Amanda Becker and Robert Iafolla WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump will name fast-food executive Andy Puzder to head the U.S. Department of Labor, according to a source familiar with the matter, in an appointment likely to antagonize organized labor. Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc [APOLOT.UL], which operates the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast-food chains, has been a vociferous critic of government regulation of the workplace. Puzder frequently publishes comment
  
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• House passes stopgap measure as senators raise objections

  08-12-2016 20:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A day ahead of a government shutdown deadline, the House easily passed a stopgap spending bill to keep federal agencies running through the end of April. The legislation's fate in the Senate remained uncertain due to strident opposition from coal-state Democrats.
  
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• Tensions mount as Ghana awaits election results

  08-12-2016 20:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Ghana's opposition candidate Nana Akufo-Addo confidently boasted of impending victory as tensions mount in the country over delays in releasing the results of a nail-biting presidential election tainted by violence. The high-stakes race between incumbent John Mahama and rival Akufo-Addo is seen as a litmus test of stability for one of Africa's most secure democracies. Speaking to a rowdy crowd of New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters gathered at his private residence, Akufo-Addo said he was "conf
  
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• US official warns of North Korean nuclear capabilities

  08-12-2016 20:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior U.S. military official says North Korea now has the capability to launch a nuclear weapon. But the official says that while the U.S. believes Pyongyang can mount a warhead on a missile, it's not clear that it can hit a target.
  
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• N.Korea capable of launching nuke, does not master targeting: US official

  08-12-2016 20:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  North Korea has developed the capability to pair a nuclear warhead with a missile and launch it, but has not mastered bringing the weapon back from space and onto a target, a senior US defense official said Thursday. While experts say the North is thought to have succeeded in making nuclear warheads small enough to arm Scud missiles, it is unclear if they can put a weapon on a bigger rocket that travels further and deploys a warhead from space. "Truthfully, they have the capability right now to
  
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• EU offers Denmark police data access amid terror warnings

  08-12-2016 20:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The European Commission on Thursday offered Denmark continued partial access to Europol's database even though the country voted against full membership of the police organisation, which fears new terror attacks across Europe. Brussels' offer to the NATO member state comes after Europol on December 2 warned Islamic State group militants could be on European soil, evolving their tactics to attack soft targets and using deadly car bombs. "It's not as good as if we were a full member, but it's an a
  
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• The Latest: Union head defends local leader in Trump spat

  08-12-2016 20:26 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• 'Rhetoric of fascism' on rise in US, Europe, warns UN

  08-12-2016 20:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Human rights standards worldwide are under "unprecedented pressure", the UN said Thursday, warning that "the rhetoric of fascism" was becoming commonplace in parts of Europe and the United States. Speaking ahead of the international Human Rights Day on December 10, UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein urged people around the globe to push back against a dangerous erosion of rights protections.
  
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• Russian FM announces halt in Syrian strikes on Aleppo: news agencies

  08-12-2016 20:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Syrian army has halted its attacks on Syria's Aleppo to allow for the evacuation of civilians, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday. "I can tell you that today, combat operations by the Syrian army have been halted in eastern Aleppo because there is a large operation underway to evacuate civilians," he said in Hamburg, Germany, cited by Russian news agencies. "There is going to be to a column of 8,000 evacuees" travelling five kilometers (3 miles), added the Russian minister,
  
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• Landmark Brexit court ruling due in new year

  08-12-2016 19:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Britain's Supreme Court will reveal early next year the result of the government's appeal against a ruling that it cannot unilaterally trigger Brexit, the court said Thursday. The 11 Supreme Court judges wrapped up four days of hearings with court president David Neuberger resolving to reach a prompt decision. It is the first time all 11 Supreme Court judges have convened to hear an appeal.
  
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• Investigators eye fridge, electrical system in Oakland fire

  08-12-2016 19:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Federal officials investigating a fire that killed 36 people during a party at an Oakland warehouse plan to bring in engineers to examine the building's electrical system, as they try to pinpoint the cause of a blaze that has cast a spotlight on similar artists' colonies around the country that offer cheap housing but unsafe living conditions.
  
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• Italy president starts quest to form caretaker govmt

  08-12-2016 19:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday began consultations aimed at averting a political crisis in Italy triggered by the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Renzi formally resigned on Wednesday after losing a crucial referendum on constitutional changes on Sunday, bringing an end to the two years, 289 days reign of Italy's youngest premier. Mattarella will try to form a cross-party coalition caretaker government to avoid being forced to call early elections -- those are currently sched
  
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• ICC to probe S.Africa's refusal to arrest Bashir

  08-12-2016 19:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The International Criminal Court will hold a public hearing next April to probe whether South Africa failed its duty in refusing to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the court said Thursday. The announcement follows a dispute last year when Bashir attended an African Union summit in Johannesburg despite facing an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes and genocide. The Hague-based court's Pre-Trial Chamber is "convening a public hearing on April 7, 2017, for the purposes of a determi
  
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• Sudan arrests top human rights activist: Amnesty

  08-12-2016 19:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Sudanese security agents have arrested a prominent rights activist, Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, as part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent, Amnesty International said on Thursday. The 58-year-old was taken into custody on Wednesday at the University of Khartoum where he works as a professor of engineering, the rights watchdog said. "He was arrested by National Intelligence and Security Service agents... and taken to an undisclosed location where he is at a grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment,
  
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