Political news

• Consultancy firm accused of 'sharp practices' in provision of trade experts

  28-11-2016 23:53
  
  PA Consulting accused of overcharging the taxpayer and lack of clarity about invoices relating to £19m of government contractsA management consultancy firm that provided experts to a government agency has been accused by MPs of “potential sharp practices” that resulted in the cancellation of a £19m government contract.PA Consulting was also blamed by a parliamentary committee on Monday of breaches of corporate governance after appearing to mislead the government agency UK
  
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• Wisconsin presidential recount could begin Thursday

  28-11-2016 23:52
  
  MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin election officials are preparing to begin a recount of the state's presidential vote this week. Here are answers to the most significant questions about the pending recount:
  
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• Trump - 'Very impressed' with Petraeus as he weighs top diplomat job

  28-11-2016 23:52
  "Just met with General Petraeus--was very impressed!" Trump said on Twitter shortly after Petraeus, a retired general, left an hour-long meeting with the Republican winner of the Nov. 8 election at Trump Tower in Manhattan. Trump's consideration of Petraeus, who has also been mentioned as a contender for the top job at the Pentagon - adds a new layer of drama to his unusually public deliberations over the top diplomatic job for his administration. Petraeus, who led international forces in both I
  
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• Former Tesco boss Clarke will not face charges over accounting scandal

  28-11-2016 23:37
  Philip Clarke, the former chief executive of Tesco , will not face charges from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over the accounting scandal that rocked Britain's biggest retailer in 2014, his lawyer said on Monday. David Corker, partner at CorkerBinning, told Reuters he had received a letter from the SFO informing him that Clarke would not be prosecuted. The SFO declined to comment beyond stating its investigation into Tesco was continuing.
  
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• Massachusetts adopts strict background check rules for Uber, Lyft drivers

  28-11-2016 23:32
  Massachusetts next year will require ride service companies including Uber and Lyft to perform the strictest background checks in the United States on all of their drivers, according to a deal reached with the companies on Monday. The new rules would require the companies ensure that the independent drivers who provide taxi-like services pass state background checks, including their criminal records, and require that they not be registered sex offenders, state officials said. "The safety and sec
  
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• Trump drama rolls on: Disputes, falsehoods hit transition

  28-11-2016 23:27
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The drama, disputes and falsehoods that permeated Donald Trump's presidential campaign are now roiling his transition to the White House, forcing aides to defend his baseless assertions of illegal voting and sending internal fights spilling into public.
  
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• Brazil's leftist opposition seek Temer probe, impeachment

  28-11-2016 23:25
  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Leftist opponents of Brazil's President Michel Temer sought on Monday to have him investigated and impeached for his alleged role in pressuring a former culture minister to approve a property development. While the impeachment bid is not expected to gain sufficient backing, Brazil's public prosecutor is already studying whether to investigate the charge by the former minister, Marcelo Calero, that Temer had sided with another Cabinet member who lobbied him
  
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• U.S. letter reveals details of GM self-driving vehicle system

  28-11-2016 23:18
  By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Motors Co's semi-autonomous "Super Cruise" system will allow drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel for extended periods, but will stop the vehicle automatically if drivers are not attentive, according to a government letter made public on Monday. The largest U.S. automaker in September 2014 unveiled planned technology to allow drivers on highways to let the vehicle take over driving itself. If the human driver does not take over, th
  
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• Iranian vessel points weapon at U.S. helicopter - officials

  28-11-2016 23:15
  By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A small Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard vessel pointed its weapon at a U.S. military helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, two U.S. defence officials told Reuters on Monday, an action they described as "unsafe and unprofessional." The incident is the latest in a series of similar actions by Iranian vessels this year, but the first reported since Republican Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8. During his campaign, Trump vowe
  
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• U.S. shifts money away from Philippines police drug efforts

  28-11-2016 23:08
  The United States has shifted millions of dollars in funding for Philippines law enforcement away from police drug control programs, State Department officials said on Monday, since the start of the country's bloody crackdown on drugs this summer. The Obama administration and human rights groups have criticized Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, and U.S. officials have said they are "deeply concerned" by reports of extrajudicial killings in the drug campaign. Duterte has in tu
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon will not rule out 'associate citizenship' of EU for Scotland

  28-11-2016 23:05
  
  First minister tells audience in Dublin it is important to remain ‘open-minded’ about options to help Scottish citizens keep relationship with EUNicola Sturgeon said on Monday she would not rule out “associate citizenship” of the EU as an alternative for Scotland in order to avoid Brexit.Scotland’s first minister told an audience in Dublin that “we should be open-minded about solutions that can help, whether it is Scotland or individuals, who want to retain th
  
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• The Latest: Trump to attend 1st post-election fundraiser

  28-11-2016 23:04
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• New Ukip leader Paul Nuttall plans 'to replace Labour'

  28-11-2016 23:00
  
  Former deputy moves to distance himself from Nigel Farage and reposition party as ‘party of common sense’
  The new leader of Ukip, Paul Nuttall, has said he plans to shift the party in a different direction from Nigel Farage and would not seek to copy his predecessor’s cosy chats with Donald Trump but instead focus on winning over former Labour voters.“I want to make it perfectly clear: this leader of Ukip is not going to involve himself in foreign elections, period,&rdquo
  
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• Why quality jobs are ahead, not behind

  28-11-2016 22:58
  What is remarkable about this tech-savvy woman is her lifelong lack of fear to adapt to new devices.  Many seniors have become accustomed to the frequent public debates over the effects of automation on jobs and other aspects of life. The first one was in 1955.) These elders know that new technologies, while possibly disruptive, also bring opportunities for new types of work and social interaction. Economists say that automation – which is driven by companies seeking efficiency from g
  
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• Ecuador prosecutor sees no quick embassy exit for Assange

  28-11-2016 22:56
  Ecuador's prosecutor said on Monday it does not see a quick way out for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in the country's embassy in Britain for four years. Swedish prosecutors earlier this month questioned Assange at the London embassy in an investigation into allegations that he committed rape in Sweden in 2010. Ecuador must deliver a written version of the testimony to Swedish prosecutors and will do so in December, said Ecuador's prosecutor, Galo Chiriboga.
  
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• AP FACT CHECK: Trump won presidency but lost popular vote

  28-11-2016 22:51
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's tweets can't erase the reality that he lost the popular vote in this month's election, according to The Associated Press' vote-counting operation.
  
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• Canadian fighter pilot killed in jet crash - military

  28-11-2016 22:46
  A Canadian CF-18 fighter pilot was killed on Monday when his single-seat jet crashed in a training area near Cold Lake, Alberta, the country's military said. "The name will not be released until next of kin are notified," the Department of National Defence said in a statement. "A flight safety investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the incident." In a tweet, the Royal Canadian Air Force called the crash an accident, but did not elaborate.
  
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• Oil up ahead of OPEC meet; dollar slips, stocks fall

  28-11-2016 22:44
  By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude futures rose in choppy trading on Monday ahead of an OPEC meeting later in the week that could reap production cuts, while the dollar pared losses and U.S. stocks fell. The dollar index dipped 0.24 percent after having fallen as much as 0.8 percent. The U.S. currency sank as much as 1.6 percent to 111.32 Japanese yen before recovering to 112.1.
  
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• 'Viva Fidel!': Tens of thousands pay last respects to Cuba´s Castro

  28-11-2016 22:42
  
  By Nelson Acosta and Sarah Marsh HAVANA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Cubans, some wrapped in red, white and blue Cuban flags, paid final respects in Havana on Monday to Fidel Castro, who led a leftist revolution, ruled for half a century and resisted the United States throughout the Cold War. Castro died on Friday at the age of 90, a decade after stepping down due to poor health and ceding power to his brother Raul Castro. While he had been retired as an active leader, his death removed any
  
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• Not out yet, Britain backs EU patent court

  28-11-2016 22:41
  Britain pleased and surprised some of its European Union partners on Monday by pledging to ratify a new, unified patent system for the bloc even though London is about to leave the EU. Slovak Economy Minister Peter Ziga, who chaired a meeting of EU counterparts in Brussels, told reporters he was "very pleased" that Britain had committed to be ready to ratify the international agreement in the first half of next year. Ratification by Britain, one of the EU's three biggest economies, was a conditi
  
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• BT Group names McTighe as chairman of Openreach

  28-11-2016 22:39
  (Reuters) - BT Group Plc said Mike McTighe, former board member of Ofcom, has been appointed the first chairman of Openreach, BT's fixed network business. British regulator Ofcom had said in July that BT's network division should become a legally separate company within the telecoms group. McTighe will oversee the new Openreach board, which will operate from early 2017, the company said in a statement.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Urged By Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) To Discipline MPs Who Back Anti-Blair Motion

  28-11-2016 22:33
  
  Labour MPs have urged Jeremy Corbyn to oppose a Commons move to reprimand Tony Blair for his record on Iraq.
  The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) asked Corbyn to defeat an SNP motion, which calls for an investigation of the former Prime Minister for allegedly misleading Parliament over his case for the 2003 war.
  The motion, which has the backing of the Greens and Plaid Cymru, declares that the Chilcot Inquiry’s release of Blair’s “I’ll be with you whatever” note to
  
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• Michigan vote certified for Trump but recount requests loom

  28-11-2016 22:23
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly three weeks after Election Day, Michigan officials certified Monday that Donald Trump won the state by 10,704 votes out of nearly 4.8 million to claim all of its 16 electoral votes. There's more wrangling to come, though, on the final vote count for this oh-so-contentious campaign.
  
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• National Front gears up for risky campaign against 'French Thatcher'

  28-11-2016 22:19
  By Ingrid Melander PARIS (Reuters) - Depending on who you ask, centre-right presidential nominee Francois Fillon is either the perfect candidate to defeat the National Front, or the man whose economic radicalism will let France's far right pose as protector of working class rights. Pollsters predict Fillon, a former prime minister who clinched the nomination of his Les Republicains party on Sunday, will face the far National Front's Marine Le Pen in the run-off, casting him as the champion of th
  
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• Afghan boy thanks Merkel after call to resign over immigration

  28-11-2016 22:14
  German Chancellor Angela Merkel received two contrasting reactions to her immigration policy on Monday: a tearful thank-you from an Afghan boy, and a call from a party member for her to resign. More than a million migrants have come to Germany since the start of 2015, and an initial outpouring of helpfulness has largely given way to caution and concerns about integration and security. At a regional conference of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), party member Ulrich Sauer urged Merkel - who sai
  
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• Poland PM and Theresa May discuss teaching Polish in UK schools

  28-11-2016 21:56
  
  Beata Szydło says she spoke to British PM about support for Polish community and more cooperation between the countriesThe Polish prime minister has spoken to Theresa May about the possibility of teaching Polish as a language in British schools during a bilateral meeting between the two leading politicians.Beata Szydło said she also raised the possibility of cooperation between universities in the two countries with hopes for a Polish chair at Cambridge University and more student exch
  
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• Iran asks OPEC members to put political rivalries aside at Vienna meeting - state TV

  28-11-2016 21:55
  Iran's oil minister said members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could agree a plan to limit oil production at their meeting in Vienna this week if they put aside political rivalries and focus on economic factors. "If we look at the OPEC meeting from an economic point of view we can reach an agreement soon to freeze oil output to 32.5 to 33 million barrels per day as decided in Algeria," Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Monday in an interview with state television.
  
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• Green Party-backed group wants a recount in Pennsylvania

  28-11-2016 21:54
  HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Green Party-backed group wants a Pennsylvania court to order a recount of the state's Nov. 8 presidential election result. But it's unclear if the courts have that authority.
  
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• Report: Bill to protect miners' benefits would save money

  28-11-2016 21:53
  A bill to protect health care and pension benefits for about 120,000 retired coal miners would save money over the next decade, according to a new report. The report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget ...
  
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• UK-Polish ties to be 'stronger' after Brexit insists May

  28-11-2016 21:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May and Polish counterpart Beata Szydlo discuss bilateral relations after the UK leaves the EU.
  
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• Labour MPs to vote against investigating Tony Blair over Iraq war

  28-11-2016 21:46
  
  ‘Overwhelming majority’ of parliamentary party opposes re-examining alleged discrepancies in former PM’s statements A private meeting of Labour MPs has voted overwhelmingly to oppose an SNP motion to investigate Tony Blair for allegedly misleading parliament, with MPs calling for the leadership to impose a three-line whip against the motion on Wednesday.SNP MPs led by Alex Salmond will put down a motion at their opposition day debate, backed by MPs from six other parties, calli
  
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• Iranian vessel made 'unsafe' action against U.S. helicopter - officials

  28-11-2016 21:45
  An Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard vessel pointed its weapons at a U.S. Navy helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, two U.S. defence officials told Reuters on Monday, an action they described as "unsafe and unprofessional." The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the incident took place when a Navy SH-60 helicopter flew within half a mile (0.8 km) of two Iranian vessels in international waters. One of the vessels pointed its weapons at the helicopter, the U.S. of
  
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• South Africa's Zuma expected to survive no-confidence vote

  28-11-2016 21:43
  By Mfuneko Toyana PRETORIA (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma was expected to survive a no confidence vote at a meeting of the ANC's National Executive Committee (ANC) extended into Monday night, despite media reports of at least three cabinet ministers turning against him. Zuma's presidency has been plagued by accusations of corruption and the nation's anti-graft watchdog this month asked for a judge to investigate alleged influence-peddling by a wealthy family Zuma has called his f
  
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• BlackRock's Rieder adds exposure to European banks ahead of Italy vote

  28-11-2016 21:42
  By Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top bond investor for BlackRock Inc , the world's largest asset manager, is bargain-hunting in Europe as investors fret over a coming vote that may shake Italy's government. Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income, said on Monday that he has been scaling up exposure to European banks and other financial stocks that have been beaten up by jittery markets. A Dec. 4 Italian constitutional referendum has rattled investors, w
  
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• Exclusive - Tata Steel, Thyssenkrupp looking at reducing Port Talbot's capacity

  28-11-2016 21:37
  By Maytaal Angel and Georgina Prodhan LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp are looking at reducing the size of Britain's largest steel plant in Port Talbot, Wales, industry sources said, as the two firms press ahead with plans to merge their European steel operations and deal with the overcapacity afflicting the industry. The move could see one of Port Talbot's two blast furnaces shut, halving the plant's capacity. An industry source close to Thyssenkrupp's board said the Ger
  
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• Oil up ahead of OPEC meeting; dollar, stocks dip

  28-11-2016 21:28
  By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude futures rallied in choppy trading on Monday ahead of an OPEC meeting later in the week that could reap production cuts, while the U.S. dollar recovered from earlier losses but was still slightly lower. The dollar index slipped 0.15 percent after having fallen as much as 0.8 percent. The U.S. currency sank as much as 1.6 percent against the yen, going as low as 111.32 yen before recovering to 112.24.
  
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• Theresa May should ignore objections to publishing pay ratios | Nils Pratley

  28-11-2016 21:16
  
  Disclosing the difference between the chief executive’s pay and a company’s median earner is a modest proposal whose time has comeExecutive pay reforms do not come much more modest than the idea of requiring public companies to say how much the chief executive is paid relative to the firm’s median earner. Nothing would have to happen as a consequence. Shareholders would not be asked formally if the ratio is too high or too low. The boss’s pay would not have to be capped a
  
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• Babies, skeletons and forex found as human trafficking probe widens in India

  28-11-2016 21:15
  By Subrata Nagchoudhury KOLKATA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Police in eastern India have rescued 13 babies and discovered the skeletons of two infants in raids on homes for the elderly and mentally disabled, as a probe into a suspected international human trafficking ring widened on Monday. Ten infants, all under one year old, were found on Friday in a home for the mentally disabled run by a charity in the impoverished district of South 24 Parganas in West Bengal. While in another raid in the
  
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• Sahel countries in race against time to regreen Africa's spreading desert

  28-11-2016 21:14
  By Alex Whiting ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The areas surrounding the Sahara desert which decades ago were covered with forests, crops and grasslands, can be restored - a significant chunk of them by 2030 - agriculture experts said after viewing the results of a detailed survey of the region. For the first time, the Sahel area straddling 27 countries has been mapped in painstaking detail showing where and how the work can be done - and just how big the job is to create what is called Afr
  
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• Brits are thin on the ground as May rolls out red carpet for Polish PM

  28-11-2016 21:13
  
  It was easy to get the impression that Britain wasn’t taking the UK-Polish summit quite as seriously as its counterpartsIt could have been that Boris Johnson had managed to insult his opposite number. It could have been that Michael Fallon had been too keen to find out a little more about the Polish defence minister’s conviction that the hoax Protocols of the Elders of Zion pamphlet alleging a Jewish conspiracy for world domination may be real.Either way, when the two delegations tro
  
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• Mining projects, big plantations mean Bolivia's drought hurts more - campaigners

  28-11-2016 21:12
  By Anastasia Moloney BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Water shortages caused by Bolivia's worst drought in 25 years have been exacerbated by booming population growth in cities, poor infrastructure and the impact of big agricultural plantations and mining projects, campaigners say. Bolivia declared a national state of emergency last week as a prolonged drought has decimated crop harvests and cattle, affecting more than 177,000 families across the country. Environmental and land rights campa
  
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• Half of population in Central African Republic need aid - U.N.

  28-11-2016 21:11
  By Kieran Guilbert DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly half of the population in war-torn Central African Republic - more than two million people - need humanitarian aid despite progress in stabilising the country since it plunged into chaos in 2013, a United Nations official said on Monday. Deadly outbreaks of violence have erupted across the country since September, killing hundreds of civilians and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, according to the U.N. Office f
  
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• Oil up, trade choppy as OPEC makes last-ditch bid to save deal

  28-11-2016 21:09
  By Jessica Resnick-Ault NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices gained more than 2 percent on Monday in volatile trading after falling as much as 2 percent, recouping losses as the market reacted to the shaky prospect of major producers being able to agree output cuts at a meeting on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled up $1.02, or 2.21 percent at $47.08 a barrel. Brent crude rose $1.00, or 2.12 percent, to $48.24 a barrel. In post-settlement trading, oil futures pared gains af
  
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• Lame-duck Congress works to set stage for President Trump

  28-11-2016 21:08
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The lame-duck Congress is gaveling in for its final work session of 2016, and its last under President Barack Obama, as lawmakers face a Dec. 9 deadline for spending legislation to keep the government running.
  
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• Steve Bell on Ukip – cartoon

  28-11-2016 21:01
  
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• OPEC experts end meeting, no agreement on detail

  28-11-2016 21:00
  VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC experts ended their meeting on Monday without agreeing on concrete details of a planned reduction in oil output by individual countries that will be presented to an OPEC ministerial gathering on Nov. 30, an OPEC source told Reuters. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler)
  
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• US investigating leak related to Petraeus case

  28-11-2016 20:58
  
  The Defense Department is conducting a leaks investigation related to the sex scandal that led to the resignation of former CIA Director David Petraeus, The Associated Press confirmed Monday, the same ...
  
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• Cuba detains dissident artist for celebrating Castro's death

  28-11-2016 20:56
  By Nicole Martinez MIAMI (Reuters) - Cuban police have detained dissident artist Danilo "El Sexto" Maldonado, once declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, after he made a video celebrating the death of Fidel Castro, a dissident human rights group and the artist's girlfriend said on Monday. Castro died on Friday at age 90, a decade after he had retired due to poor health and ceded power to his brother, current President Raul Castro. Maldonado posted a video on social media on
  
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• Trump's threat to end Cuba detente may rouse GOP opposition

  28-11-2016 20:55
  
  President-elect Donald Trump's threat Monday to "terminate" the U.S. detente with Cuba could trigger opposition from some Republican lawmakers and corporate leaders who favor continued engagement ...
  
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• Memo offers snapshot of behind-scenes Brexit thinking

  28-11-2016 20:54
  Aide’s ‘have cake and eat it’ notes photographed in Downing Street
  
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