Political news

• Turkey's Erdogan says some killed in Istanbul attack - statement

  10-12-2016 23:52
  Some people were killed and others wounded in explosions outside an Istanbul soccer stadium on Saturday, an attack which targeted police and civilians and aimed to cause as many casualties as possible, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement. "A terrorist attack has been carried out against our security forces and our citizens.
  
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• Ramos stages another late show to snatch dramatic win for Real

  10-12-2016 23:32
  By Richard Martin BARCELONA (Reuters) - Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos again came to his side's rescue as they snatched a dramatic 3-2 victory over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday to keep Zinedine Zidane's side six points clear at the top of La Liga and set a club record 35 games unbeaten. Ramos, the scorer of Real's 90th-minute equaliser last week against Barcelona, headed in Toni Kroos' corner in the 93rd minute to complete a stunning turnaround after former Real forward Joselu threatened to
  
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• Trump cheered by fans at annual Army-Navy game

  10-12-2016 23:21
  
  BALTIMORE (AP) — Donald Trump was greeted with cheers on his arrival at the annual Army-Navy game on Saturday, basking in the one of the nation's most storied football rivalries as he prepares to enter the White House.
  
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• Guardiola facing searching questions as City slump

  10-12-2016 23:21
  (Reuters) - Pep Guardiola was hailed as the best thing to happen to English football when he swanned into Manchester City at the start of this season and immediately swept all before him with 10 cultured victories in a row. In the subsequent 15 matches in all competitions, Guardiola's team have won just four times. If that was all worrying enough, Saturday's 4-2 defeat at Leicester City was positively alarming, a shambolic performance with a striking absence of the pass-and-move crispness of the
  
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• Trump on track to name Exxon CEO Tillerson secretary of state - source

  10-12-2016 23:07
  By Steve Holland BALTIMORE (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name the chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp as the country's top diplomat, a source familiar with the situation said on Saturday, an appointment that would put in place an official with close ties to the Russian government. Exxon chief Rex Tillerson emerged on Friday as Trump's leading candidate for U.S. secretary of state over 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and three other people. Tillerso
  
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• Tories rally around ‘free-thinking’ Johnson after May rebuke

  10-12-2016 22:54
  
  Theresa May and foreign secretary ‘an ideal double act’ to secure successful Brexit and redefine UK’s world position – senior ToriesSenior Tory MPs have rallied behind Boris Johnson, saying that he and Theresa May were an ideal double act who should use their “chalk and cheese” personalities to deliver a successful Brexit and redefine the UK’s position on the world stage.Amid fears in Whitehall that the relationship between the prime minister and foreign
  
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• One of Istanbul blasts was suspected suicide bomb - Turkish interior minister

  10-12-2016 22:50
  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - One of two explosions that struck outside an Istanbul football stadium on Saturday night was thought to have been caused by a suicide bomber, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters in comments broadcast live on television. The suspected suicide bomber struck in Macka park, next to the Vodafone Arena, home to Istanbul's Besiktas football team, while the second explosion hit directly outside the stadium, Soylu said, describing the attack as a "cruel plot". (Re
  
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• The Latest: Trump edges toward Tillerson for State

  10-12-2016 22:39
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest developments on Donald Trump's transition to the presidency (all times local):
  
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• Trump expected to tap Exxon's Tillerson for State Dept. post

  10-12-2016 22:36
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump moved closer to nominating Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of State Saturday, meeting privately with the business leader for the second time in a week. Trump's transition team cautioned that no announcement was expected over the weekend.
  
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• Blast outside Istanbul football stadium killed 13 - police sources

  10-12-2016 22:29
  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A suspected car bomb outside an Istanbul football stadium on Saturday killed at least 13 people, police sources said. Broadcaster NTV said 38 people had been wounded but gave no details of any death toll. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu earlier said around 20 people had been wounded and that there was no immediate information on any deaths. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by David Dolan)
  
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• Headteachers denounce Theresa May’s plan for more grammar schools

  10-12-2016 22:10
  
  National body calls instead for investment in early years education to increase social mobilityThe headteachers’ professional body has condemned Theresa May’s plans for more grammar schools in a formal submission calling for more investment in early-years education instead, the Observer has learned.An unpublished document submitted to the Department for Education is understood to be scathing about the prime minister’s belief that selective education will improve social mobility
  
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• Welcome back to Vardy and 'the true Leicester'

  10-12-2016 22:03
  (Reuters) - Former England striker Gary Lineker, Leicester City's most famous and perhaps favourite son, wondered aloud last week whether last season's Premier League triumph had all been a crazy dream, so dismal had their defence of the title been. The collective will seemed to have long evaporated, along with Jamie Vardy's goals and Riyad Mahrez's magic. Mahrez looked like the player of the year again with his exquisite assists, Vardy scored his first-ever hat-trick for the Foxes and Claudio R
  
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• Greek parliament approves 2017 budget projecting return to strong growth

  10-12-2016 21:56
  Greek lawmakers approved the country's 2017 budget on Saturday, projecting a return to strong economic growth next year but also imposing a wave of tax hikes and austerity cuts prescribed by its international lenders. Athens estimates its economy will expand by 2.7 percent in 2017, supported by the trickle-down impact of bailout cash inflows and resurgent private demand. The budget was approved by 152 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament.
  
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• Turkish minister says Istanbul stadium blast was terror attack

  10-12-2016 21:42
  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - An explosion outside an Istanbul football stadium that wounded around 20 people on Saturday was a terrorist attack, Turkish Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan said on Twitter. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Nick Tattersall)
  
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• Islamic State militants enter Palmyra after heavy fighting - monitor

  10-12-2016 21:40
  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Islamic State militants on Saturday captured most of Palmyra after breaking through Syrian army defences and securing the heights around the ancient city in eastern Syria following a surprise assault, a monitoring group and rebels said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights expressed concern over the safety of civilians inside the city because many of them are pro-government supporters. The war monitor and rebels familiar with military operatio
  
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• Trump at Army-Navy game to salute armed forces

  10-12-2016 21:39
  
  BALTIMORE (AP) — Donald Trump is partaking in one of the nation's most storied football rivalries, saluting U.S. troops at the annual Army-Navy game on Saturday as he prepares to enter the White House.
  
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• Hat-trick for new No.9 hero Gayle puts Newcastle back on top

  10-12-2016 21:34
  (Reuters) - Dwight Gayle scored a hat-trick as Newcastle United roared back to the top of the Championship on Saturday with a 4-0 thrashing of Birmingham City. The number nine shirt has always had particular reverence at St James' Park, with the likes of Jackie Milburn, Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Shearer having worn it with such distinction for Newcastle down the years. Now Gayle, who has quickly become the new Tyneside hero since his summer transfer from Crystal Palace, is following in the rich
  
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• Arsenal go top, Vardy hat-trick lights up Leicester

  10-12-2016 21:34
  By Alan Baldwin LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal shoved Chelsea off the top of the table but Leicester City's Jamie Vardy, with a dazzling hat-trick, was the man of the moment on Saturday as the struggling Premier League champions blew aside Manchester City 4-2. With Chelsea chasing a ninth win in a row when they host West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, when third-placed Liverpool also host West Ham United, Arsenal seized their chance to take the overall lead by beating Stoke City 3-1 at the Emirates.
  
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• Turkish football team Bursaspor says none of its fans injured in blast

  10-12-2016 21:30
  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish football team Bursaspor said none of its fans appeared to have been injured in an explosion outside one of Istanbul's main stadiums hours after the end of a match on Saturday. "We have contacted our fan groups. There appear to be no injuries among our fans. We wish injured citizens a quick recovery," Bursaspor said in a statement on its Twitter account. (Reporting by Gulsen Solaker and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by David Dolan)
  
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• Suspected car bomb wounds around 20 outside Istanbul football stadium

  10-12-2016 21:27
  A suspected car bomb outside a football stadium in central Istanbul wounded around 20 people on Saturday hours after the end of a match between two of Turkey's top teams, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said. Soylu, speaking in parliament during a budget hearing, said around 20 people had been wounded following the match between Besiktas and Bursaspor and that initial indications were that the blast was caused by a car bomb targeting a riot police bus. A Reuters photographer said many riot poli
  
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• Greek parliament approves 2017 budget projecting strong return to growth

  10-12-2016 21:24
  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek lawmakers approved on Saturday the country's 2017 budget which projects a strong return to economic growth next year but also imposes a wave of tax hikes and austerity cuts prescribed by its international lenders. Athens estimates its economy will expand by 2.7 percent in 2017, supported by the trickle-down impact of bailout cash inflows and resurgent private demand. It also sees a primary surplus - excluding debt servicing costs - of 2 percent of GDP. If attained, it wo
  
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• Many Turkish riot police wounded in Istanbul blast - witness

  10-12-2016 21:14
  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Many Turkish riot police officers were seriously wounded in a blast outside a football stadium in Istanbul on Saturday, a Reuters witness said. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the explosion appeared to have been caused by a car bomb targeting a riot police bus. The blast came two hours after the end of a match between Besiktas and Bursaspor, among two of Turkey's top teams. (Reporting by Murad Sezer; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by David Dolan)
  
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• Russia intervened to help Trump win election - intelligence officials

  10-12-2016 20:59
  By John Walcott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help President-elect Donald Trump win the White House, and not just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that as the 2016 presidential campaign progressed, Russian government officials devoted increasing attention to assisting Trump's effort to win the election, the U.S. off
  
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• French election's 'third man' bills himself workers' champion at big rally

  10-12-2016 20:44
  By Michel Rose PARIS (Reuters) - France's popular former economy minister, Emmanuel Macron, styling himself the workers' champion, drew 15,000 supporters to a rally in Paris on Saturday which reinforced his image as the dark horse in the race for the Elysee. The 38-year-old Macron, once a protege of President Francois Hollande, staged what his supporters called a "tour de force" at the rally, brushing off criticism by his erstwhile Socialist allies for running as an independent in the 2017 elect
  
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• Trump to name Exxon CEO Tillerson secretary of state - NBC News

  10-12-2016 20:41
  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name the chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp as the country's top diplomat, NBC News reported Saturday. Exxon chief Rex Tillerson emerged on Friday as Trump's leading candidate for U.S. secretary of state and met with him Saturday morning, a transition official told Reuters. The transition official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tillerson, 64, had moved ahead in Trump's deliberations over 2012 Re
  
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• Murdoch's new Sky bid should be probed say opposition politicians

  10-12-2016 20:38
  By James Davey and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's new takeover approach for British pay-TV firm Sky should be investigated by the UK's competition authorities, according to opposition politicians, though analysts said a deal should be easier to get through this time round. Lib Dem Vince Cable, who was the business secretary at the time of Murdoch's first bid in 2010-11 told BBC radio the media tycoon's new takeover attempt would not be in the public interest. Cable referred Murd
  
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• Russia signs Rosneft deal with Qatar, Glencore

  10-12-2016 20:35
  Russian state holding company Rosneftegaz has signed a deal with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and commodities trader Glencore to sell a 19.5 percent stake in state-owned oil major Rosneft , Rosneft said on Saturday. The deal was announced by Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Rosneft said the Russian state budget will receive 710.8 billion rubles (9 billion) from the sale, including 18.4 billion rubles in additional dividends from
  
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• Vardy back with hat-trick as Leicester shock Man City

  10-12-2016 20:33
  (Reuters) - - Jamie Vardy burst back to his predatory best with his first Leicester City hat-trick as the champions recaptured their title-winning mojo to earn a shock 4-2 win over Manchester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday. Vardy, hero of last season's fairytale triumph, finally ended his 16-match goalscoring drought for the club by scoring twice in the first 20 minutes as the Foxes, making a nonsense of their miserable recent form, raced into a three-goal lead. ...
  
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• Islamic State militants capture most of Palmyra - Syria monitor, rebels

  10-12-2016 20:31
  Islamic State militants on Saturday captured most of Palmyra after penetrating Syrian army defences and securing strategic heights around the ancient city in eastern Syria following a surprise assault, a monitoring group and rebels said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were fears for the lives and safety of civilians inside the city because many of them were pro-government supporters. Rebels and the war monitor said with the exception of the southern parts, most of th
  
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• Trump team challenges intel on Russian election influence

  10-12-2016 20:30
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's presidential transition team on Saturday challenged the veracity of U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia was trying to tip the November election to the Republican. A top Senate Democrat demanded a full congressional investigation.
  
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• Soccer-Arsenal's supporting cast fuelling title push

  10-12-2016 20:30
  By Martyn Herman LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal's bench is proving a potent weapon in the club's gathering Premier League title push with Saturday's 3-1 victory over Stoke City offering further evidence of the enviable options available to Arsene Wenger. Having an effective supporting cast is vital for managers with ambitions on the title and Arsenal's Plan B has so far proved more than capable when called into action. The win over Stoke was a case in point.
  
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• Death toll in Bulgarian cargo train explosion climbs to seven

  10-12-2016 20:27
  By Tsvetelia Tsolova and Angel Krasimirov SOFIA (Reuters) - Seven people were killed in a village in northeastern Bulgaria when a cargo train derailed and exploded, demolishing about 50 houses and public buildings, officials said on Saturday. Bulgaria's government said it is preparing to announce Monday a day of national mourning following the deadly incident. The powerful blast flattened dozens of houses and public buildings, leaving people under the ruins.
  
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• U.N. Security Council condemns Gambia's Jammeh, urges restraint

  10-12-2016 20:24
  The United Nations Security Council on Saturday condemned Gambia President Yahya Jammeh's rejection of election results announced last week that saw him lose power after 22 years, and it urged all parties to refrain from violence. "(Security Council members) called on him to respect the choice of the sovereign People of The Gambia, as he did on 2 December 2016, and to transfer, without condition and undue delay, power to the President-elect, Mr. Adama Barrow," it said in a statement.
  
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• Soccer-Hat-trick for new No.9 hero Gayle puts Newcastle back on top

  10-12-2016 19:54
  (Reuters) - Dwight Gayle scored a hat-trick as Newcastle United roared back to the top of the Championship on Saturday with a 4-0 thrashing of Birmingham City. The number nine shirt has always had particular reverence at St James' Park, with the likes of Jackie Milburn, Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Shearer having worn it with such distinction for Newcastle down the years. Now Gayle, who has quickly become the new Tyneside hero since his summer transfer from Crystal Palace, is following in the rich
  
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• Italy president pledges to solve government crisis fast

  10-12-2016 19:41
  By Antonella Cinelli and Isla Binnie ROME (Reuters) - Italian President Sergio Mattarella pledged on Saturday to act quickly to solve a government crisis prompted by Matteo Renzi's resignation as prime minister, with all major parties calling for elections as soon as possible. Before any vote can take place, however, Italy needs a new electoral law. Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni appears to be in pole position to be nominated by Mattarella sometime in the next 48 hours to head the next governm
  
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• The Latest: Trump sees secretary of state prospect Tillerson

  10-12-2016 19:36
  
  The Latest developments on Donald Trump's transition to the presidency (all times local): 1:20 p.m. Donald Trump has met with Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as the incoming president considers his options ...
  
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• Second suspect in Brazilian football team air crash put in jail

  10-12-2016 19:30
  Gustavo Vargas Villegas, a former official with Bolivia's aviation authority was arrested and will be held until trial on charges that he misused his influence in authorizing the license of the Bolivian plane that crashed in Colombia while taking the team to Medellin for the Copa Sudamericana. Vargas Gamboa said on Thursday: "The prosecutors are a bunch of liars The accident killed 71 people after the plane apparently ran out of fuel, shocking the global football community and sparking questions
  
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• ECB's Weidmann - can't exclude option of state joining Italy bank rescues

  10-12-2016 19:21
  European Central Bank policymaker Jens Weidmann has said state involvement in the rescue of Italian banks can't be ruled out, piling further pressure on the Rome government to bail out Monte dei Paschi di Siena . "The participation of the state alongside investors in a crisis solution can never be excluded," Weidmann told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's Sunday edition. Weidmann, the hawkish president of Germany's Bundesbank, did not mention Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy's third-largest b
  
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• Arsenal hit back to beat Stoke and move top

  10-12-2016 19:15
  By Martyn Herman (Reuters) - - Free-scoring Arsenal replaced Chelsea as Premier League leaders with goals either side of halftime by Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil helping them recover from a slow start to beat Stoke City 3-1 on Saturday. It took Charlie Adam's 29th-minute penalty for Stoke to spark Arsenal into life but once they shook off their early lethargy they were irresistible, taking their goal tally to 12 in eight days.
  
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• Prudential investigating Wells Fargo partnership after scandal

  10-12-2016 19:14
  U.S. insurer Prudential Financial is investigating whether Wells Fargo employees signed up customers for its life insurance policies without their knowledge, a spokesman said on Saturday. Prudential has a partnership with Wells Fargo to sell a low-cost life insurance policy, known as MyTerm, to the bank's retail customers. According to a wrongful termination suit filed in New Jersey state court this week by three former managers in Prudential's corporate investigation division, Wells Fargo emplo
  
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• France arrests new suspect in foiled terror plot

  10-12-2016 19:12
  French judicial authorities have arrested and charged a sixth suspect in a foiled militant plot to attack sites in the Paris region, a judicial source said on Saturday. France has been under a state of emergency since a wave of Islamist attacks last year, giving police wider powers, and the arrests come at a sensitive time ahead of next spring's presidential elections in which security will be a major theme. Five other men suspected of being part of the plot are in custody after simultaneous pol
  
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• Free trade is key to prosperity after Brexit

  10-12-2016 19:02 via ft.com
  Britain can lead the free trade in goods and services at the centre of global growth 
  
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• Arsenal go top as West Ham drop into relegation zone

  10-12-2016 18:57
  By Alan Baldwin LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal shoved Chelsea off the top of the Premier League, if only for a day and by the slimmest of margins, after beating Stoke City 3-1 on Saturday while results elsewhere plunged troubled West Ham United into the drop zone. With Chelsea hosting West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, when third-placed Liverpool also host West Ham, the Gunners had a golden chance to take the lead on goal difference but they had some nervous moments on the way.
  
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• Burnley beat Bournemouth 3-2 after quick-fire double

  10-12-2016 18:50
  (Reuters) - - Burnley scored twice in the space of three first-half minutes to end a run of three straight defeats with a 3-2 home win against Bournemouth on Saturday in the first Premier League meeting between the sides. Promoted last season, Burnley had never lost to the Cherries at Turf Moor and they made a lively start to keep that record intact. Jeff Hendrick unleashed a stunning half-volley from 25 metres in the 13th minute to open the scoring and Stephen Ward made it 2-0 three minutes lat
  
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• Iran summons UK envoy over 'divisive' May remarks to Gulf Arabs

  10-12-2016 18:41
  Iran summoned the British ambassador on Saturday to protest against remarks by Prime Minister Theresa May who accused Tehran of "aggressive regional actions" in a speech to a Gulf Arab summit. Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said the move was prompted by May's "irresponsible, provocative and divisive remarks" at the summit in Bahrain on Wednesday, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported. May told the Gulf Arab leaders that "we must also work together to push back against Iran's a
  
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• Turkey's AK Party submits reform plans aimed at expanding president's powers

  10-12-2016 18:36
  By Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ercan Gurses ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling AK Party on Saturday submitted to parliament a package of constitutional reform proposals that would expand the president's powers, party officials said, in a move that could potentially see President Tayyip Erdogan rule until 2029. Erdogan and his supporters have long argued that the country needs the strong leadership of an executive presidency, akin to the system in the United States or France, to avoid the fragile coalitio
  
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• Lawyers seek to launch fresh Brexit challenge in Irish courts

  10-12-2016 18:07
  A group of British and Irish lawyers are seeking to challenge Britain's decision to leave the European Union in the Irish High Court to try to establish if Brexit can be reversed once divorce talks have been triggered. The lawyers hope the court in Dublin will ask the European Court of Justice, the EU's highest court, to determine whether Article 50 can be revoked and also if leaving the EU means that Britain automatically leaves the European Economic Area (EEA). European Council President Donal
  
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• Colombian president receives Nobel Prize for peace accord

  10-12-2016 18:05
  OSLO (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos collected the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday for reaching an accord with Marxist rebels to end a 52-year civil war in which more than 200,000 people have died. Santos received a gold medal, diploma and a check for 8.0 million Swedish crowns ($870,000) at a ceremony in Oslo's city hall. The Nobel Committee praised Santos as "a driving force" behind the peace agreement signed last month by the government and the rebel Revolutionary Armed
  
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• Trump's team pushes back against Russia hacking reports

  10-12-2016 18:03
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's presidential transition team pushed back Saturday against reports that Russia was caught trying to tip the November election to the Republican and challenged the veracity of U.S. intelligence agencies investigating the campaign-season cyberattacks.
  
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• Italy politicians thrash out plans for post-crisis leader

  10-12-2016 17:55
  By Antonella Cinelli and Isla Binnie ROME (Reuters) - Political parties made their cases to Italy's president on Saturday for ways out of a government crisis prompted by Matteo Renzi's resignation as prime minister following his defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform. Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) was planning to use a meeting with President Sergio Mattarella later in the day to argue that Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, 62, should lead the new government, four party sources told Reut
  
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