Political news

• Colorado internet-tax case could change online shopping

  12-12-2016 23:58
  
  DENVER (AP) — Buying things online could get pricier after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a case Monday that could ultimately lead to states collecting billions of dollars in sales taxes lost to increasingly popular internet retailers.
  
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• Trump's tough trade talk makes U.S. firms fear China retribution

  12-12-2016 23:55
  By Nick Carey and Ginger Gibson CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's challenges to China on trade and Taiwan are rattling American companies who have long benefited from stable relations between the two countries but now fear retaliation by Beijing if Trump were to act. Trump jarred Chinese officials on Sunday by saying the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of "one China." Beijing expressed "serious con
  
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• Factbox - U.S. companies bet on stable China relations

  12-12-2016 23:55
  (Reuters) - In the more than four decades since President Richard Nixon’s historic trip to China, the United States has become China’s largest export and China is one of the largest markets for U.S. exporters and a source of supply for everything from smartphones to spark plugs. The following are some examples of the deep economic ties between China and U.S. corporations: * General Motors Co - More than one-third of the 9.96 million vehicles GM sold globally in 2015 were delivered to
  
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• U.N. chief alarmed by possible atrocities in Syria's Aleppo

  12-12-2016 23:52
  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed by unverified reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians, including women and children, in Syria's Aleppo, his spokesman said on Monday. "The Secretary-General is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties. He has instructed his Special Envoy for Syria to follow up urgently with the parties concerned," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Edi
  
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• EU to outline benefits reforms, delayed by Brexit vote

  12-12-2016 23:46
  By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will unveil proposed changes on Tuesday in how governments treat unemployment and other benefits for citizens working in other EU states. Officials said the package of measures, delayed by nearly a year as Brussels sought to avoid complicating a deal struck with Britain in a vain attempt to avoid a vote for Brexit, was an attempt to make systems fairer for workers and for states. With Britain about to negotiate its withdrawal aft
  
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• Italy's new government looks much like just-ended one

  12-12-2016 23:38
  
  ROME (AP) — Italy's latest government was formed and rapidly sworn in Monday, a center-left coalition headed by new Premier Paolo Gentiloni and strikingly similar in makeup to the just-ended one that Matteo Renzi quit after a humiliating loss.
  
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• First day-night Ashes test confirmed for 2017

  12-12-2016 23:34
  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia and England will meet in the first day-night Ashes test at Adelaide Oval in December next year, Cricket Australia said on Tuesday. The pink ball test from Dec. 2-6 will be the second match of the series with Brisbane's Gabba hosting the opener from Nov. 23-27. The venue for the third test in Perth from Dec. 14-18 has not been confirmed with the traditional venue, the WACA, set to give way to the new 60,000-seater Perth Stadium if it is completed in time. Melbourne an
  
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• The Latest: Melania Trump attends hearing in defamation suit

  12-12-2016 23:30
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• U.S. senators struggle with Exxon CEO as Trump secretary of state

  12-12-2016 23:24
  By Doina Chiacu and Gina Cherelus WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The front-runner for secretary of state in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, Exxon Mobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, faces a struggle getting confirmed by U.S. senators concerned about his close ties to Russia. Lawmakers from both major parties also raised questions on Monday about former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, who has been mentioned as a possible No. 2 State Department official and has voiced hawki
  
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• Accreditor of for-profit colleges loses appeal to stay alive

  12-12-2016 23:24
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal education officials are standing by their decision to cut ties with the nation's largest accreditor of for-profit colleges — a ruling that will bar hundreds of schools from providing federal financial aid and likely force some to close.
  
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• Fossil fuel divestment is worth $7tn globally yet Australia still clings to coal | Blair Palese

  12-12-2016 23:21
  
  While the Australian government lags behind on climate change action, consumers, local councils and energy companies lead the way to clean energyThe Turnbull government has been an utter disappointment on so many things but nowhere as much as on the biggest issue of our time: climate change. Unable to shrug off the legacy of the climate-denying Abbott government, it has been bullied out of any climate change ambition by science-denying fringe elements on the right. Continue reading...
  
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• U.S. Senate's CIA torture report will go into Obama archive

  12-12-2016 23:07
  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration has decided to include a massive report on the CIA's use of waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" in his presidential papers, meaning it may eventually be declassified. The White House wrote to Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Dec. 9 informing them of its decision. Feinstein, who released the let
  
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• Michigan to audit 'significant mismatches' in Detroit vote

  12-12-2016 23:03
  LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's elections bureau will investigate "significant" ballot discrepancies in a small portion of Detroit's voting precincts.
  
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• Brexit may take longer than two years to finalise, Hammond warns

  12-12-2016 23:03
  Philip Hammond says the UK's future relationship with the EU may not be fully determined by the deadline for Brexit. The Chancellor told MPs there is an "emerging view" among businesses, regulators and some politicians that the two-year timeframe after Article 50 is triggered may not be long enough to reach a "clear and firm end state". Giving evidence at the Treasury Select Committee, he suggested a transitional deal may be required to prevent a sudden "cliff edge" change in trade arrangements
  
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• European Commission hints at leeway on aid for Italy's banks

  12-12-2016 23:02
  By Francesco Guarascio STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Commission is ready to discuss with Italy several options to address problems in its banking sector, the vice president of the EU executive said on Monday, signalling state support would be viewed benignly under EU fiscal rules. The Italian government is considering different options to rescue Banca Monte Paschi di Siena if the bank fails to get the 5 billion euros (4.2 billion pounds) from private investors it needs to stay in business,
  
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• Out with old, in with new television shows at Golden Globes

  12-12-2016 22:58
  Television stalwarts were pushed aside for shiny new fare at the Golden Globes on Monday, with U.S. broadcast networks edging their way back into the contest after years of domination by premium cable and streaming upstarts. FX's limited series "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story," which won big at the Emmys earlier this year, led all contenders with five nominations for its dramatization of the 1995 double murder trial of football star Simpson. In the best drama series field, the
  
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• Qatar defends new labour law as accused of abusing migrant workers

  12-12-2016 22:52
  By Ed Upright LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Qatar defended its labour law reforms on Monday after coming under attack from a human rights group that said the changes won't end the abuse and exploitation faced by migrant workers in the country - and may even make it worse. Qatar is spending billions of dollars on infrastructure related to hosting the World Cup in 2022 and has imported hundreds of thousands of construction workers from countries such as India, Nepal and Bangladesh for buil
  
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• Macedonia's nationalists win election - official results

  12-12-2016 22:51
  By Ivana Sekularac and Kole Casule SKOPJE (Reuters) - Veteran leader Nikola Gruevski's nationalist VMRO-DPMNE won 51 out of 120 seats in Macedonia's parliament in a snap poll on Sunday that is expected to end a two-year long crisis that brought his government down. The nationalists are now in a good position to form a government with their old partner, the Albanian DUI despite their losses. Overall, Albanian ethnic minority parties lost out to the social democrats, suggesting an easing of ethnic
  
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• US still cutting ties with for-profit college accreditor

  12-12-2016 22:50
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary John B. King Jr. has upheld his department's decision to cut ties with the nation's largest accreditor of for-profit colleges.
  
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• Tweet less, talk more

  12-12-2016 22:48
  Like most of us with smartphones, President-elect Donald Trump is learning a big pitfall in relying on social media: It is no substitute for real conversation. For a president to use a one-way tweet – at 140 characters – is more like a dart than a dialogue. Case in point: Trump recently sent out tweets that challenge both China and a long-held agreement with the United States about the status of Taiwan.
  
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• Canada, cool on the F-35, says Lockheed jet still an option

  12-12-2016 22:39
  By David Ljunggren and Leah Schnurr OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will consider Lockheed Martin Inc's F-35 in an open competition for fighter jets, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday, despite domestic and foreign criticism about the programme's cost. Earlier on Monday, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said the cost of Lockheed's F-35 programme was "out of control." Canada's ruling Liberals won an election last year on a promise not to buy F-35s because the planes were too expensive. Trude
  
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• Trump ups US ante on Taiwan, but China has leverage too

  12-12-2016 22:38
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump sounds ready to use U.S. policy toward Taiwan as a bargaining chip to extract concessions from China, but both of the world powers could play at that game.
  
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• First lady: Skiing does for her what golf does for president

  12-12-2016 22:37
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama says skiing does for her what golf does for President Barack Obama.
  
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• Philip Hammond Says 'Thoughtful Politicians' Back 'Soft Brexit'

  12-12-2016 22:34
  
  Chancellor Philip Hammond has said “thoughtful politicians” support a transition period as the UK heads towards Brexit in what is being interpreted as a dig at Leave hardliners.
  Hammond continued to be the most prominent voice for ‘soft Brexit’ in Prime Minister Theresa May’s Cabinet, and comes just days after Brexit secretary, David Davis, told the City that he was “not really interested” in a transitional deal when Britain leaves in 2019.
  The Cha
  
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• Which First Dog on the Moon creature are you? Take the test in our festive special!

  12-12-2016 22:29
  
  Are you Brenda the Civil Disobedience Penguin, Fiona the Unemployed Bettong, A Racist Carrot, the ABC Interpretive Dance Bandicoot, Ian the Climate Denialist Potato or Pancetta Mandibles? Take this quiz to find your First Dog on the Moon soulmate• Help fund our journalism (including cartooning) through a one-off or monthly contributionThis is Ian the Climate Denialist Potato and his mum, Irene. What are they doing in this picture?Taking the pledge at the weekly meeting of the Greg Hunt Enth
  
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• Syria and Russia accountable for Aleppo militia atrocities - Egeland

  12-12-2016 22:20
  GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations humanitarian adviser on Syria Jan Egeland said in a tweet on Monday that the Syrian and Russian governments must be held responsible for atrocities committed by militias loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo. "The Gov'ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing!," Egeland tweeted, as Assad's forces bombarded the last rebel-held pocket of besieged eastern Aleppo. (Reporti
  
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• U.S. calls Gambia crisis 'very dangerous' ahead of presidents' visit

  12-12-2016 22:16
  By Edward McAllister and Michelle Nichols BANJUL/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday Gambia had reached "a very dangerous moment" as West African leaders prepared to travel there to tell long-ruling leader Yahya Jammeh to accept his election defeat and step down. Jammeh had quickly conceded defeat to Adama Barrow, his challenger in the Dec. 1 presidential election.
  
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• Billboard success, Globes nod for 'Hamilton' star Lin-Manuel Miranda

  12-12-2016 22:03
  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lin-Manuel Miranda scored a double whammy on Monday as the remixed soundtrack to his Broadway hit "Hamilton" debuted at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart and his musical work on "Moana" nabbed a Golden Globe nomination. The Rolling Stones only managed No. 4 on the Billboard chart for the release of "Blue & Lonesome," their first studio album since 2005. ...
  
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• WhatsApp, Skype set to come under new EU security rules - draft

  12-12-2016 22:00
  By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Messaging services such as Microsoft's Skype and Facebook's WhatsApp face stricter rules on how they handle customer data under new security laws due to be proposed by the European Union, according to a draft document seen by Reuters. Telecoms firms have long complained that companies such as Alphabet Inc's Google, Microsoft and Facebook are more lightly regulated, despite offering similar services. The phone companies have called for European Union rules s
  
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• Attorney General: Hate crimes are stain on America's 'soul'

  12-12-2016 22:00
  
  STERLING, Virginia (AP) — Hate crimes tear at the fabric of American communities and represent a stain on the country's soul, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a mosque and Muslim community center on Monday.
  
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• Martin Rowson on council tax bills – cartoon

  12-12-2016 21:59
  
  Continue reading...
  
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• Macedonia's nationalists win 51 seats in parliament

  12-12-2016 21:54
  SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia's nationalist VMRO-DPMNE, led by former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, won 51 out of 120 seats in parliament in Sunday's election, the State Election Commission said on Monday. The opposition Social Democrats won 49 seats, according to preliminary results. (Reporting by Kole Casule; Editing by Ivana Sekularac)
  
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• Russia wanted delay in Aleppo ceasefire, but unacceptable to U.S. - State Department

  12-12-2016 21:45
  The U.S. State Department said on Monday that Russia told the United States it wanted a ceasefire in east Aleppo, Syria, delayed for several days, a proposal the agency said was unacceptable in view of the continued attacks on civilians. The Syrian army, backed by Russia, made new advances on Monday after taking the Sheikh Saeed district, leaving rebels trapped in a tiny part of the city. "Rather than accepting the U.S. proposal for an immediate cessation, the Russians informed us that a cessati
  
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• Trump's lawyers intervene in lawsuit to free electors

  12-12-2016 21:44
  DENVER (AP) — Lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump on Monday filed documents to become involved in a lawsuit by two Democratic electors trying to be freed of Colorado's requirement that they vote for the winner of the state's popular vote.
  
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• Brazil's Temer, in battle for survival, plans economic stimulus

  12-12-2016 21:41
  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Michel Temer, fighting for survival over corruption allegations against him and his government, is planning new measures to jump start a stalled economy, improve his dismal approval ratings and stifle calls for his resignation. The stimulus measures, to be unveiled this week, include steps to relieve indebted consumers and also force credit card companies to pay businesses faster than the current 30 days, government sources said on Monday. Finance
  
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• Oil hits highest since mid-2015 on non-OPEC cut agreement

  12-12-2016 21:40
  By David Gaffen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil rose to an 18-month high on Monday after OPEC and some of its rivals reached their first deal since 2001 to jointly reduce output to tackle global oversupply, though prices slipped late in the day. Crude futures have rallied sharply, with U.S. oil futures gaining 23 percent since the middle of November as optimism that an agreement would be reached started to grow. "Right now the market is kind of feeding on itself," said Gene McGillian, manager of market
  
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• Philip Hammond says post-Brexit transitional deal will be needed

  12-12-2016 21:39
  
  Deal after negotiations end in March 2019 will be needed to avoid serious risks to businesses and financial stability, says chancellorPhilip Hammond has told MPs that the government would be likely to seek a transitional deal to help smooth the Brexit process in order to avoid disruption that could risk Britain’s “financial stability”. Related: Hammond calls for transitional deal for when UK leaves EU - Politics liveContinue reading...
  
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• Trump taps Goldman Sachs executive Cohn for key economic post

  12-12-2016 21:38
  By Tim Ahmann and Olivia Oran WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday said he would appoint Goldman Sachs Group Inc President and Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn to head the White House National Economic Council, a group that coordinates economic policy across agencies. "As my top economic adviser, Gary Cohn is going to put his talents as a highly successful businessman to work for the American people," Trump said in a statement. Cohn, 56, will follow former senior G
  
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• Obama to archive torture report, declassify after 12 years

  12-12-2016 21:37
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is turning down a request from some senators to declassify, before he leaves office, a Senate report documenting the CIA's harsh treatment of detainees after 9/11.
  
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• Serbian PM cuts short Brussels trip after row with Croatia over EU accession

  12-12-2016 21:33
  Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic cut short a visit to Brussels on Monday after a row with Croatia, which Serbia says is blocking its progress towards European Union membership, Serbian news agency Tanjug reported. Vucic had been due to attend a meeting of the EU Intergovernmental Conference on Tuesday, which was expected to approve the opening of three new accession chapters in Serbia's application for membership.
  
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• Greece needs fair, growth-friendly budget, not more austerity - IMF

  12-12-2016 21:31
  By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund is against further austerity in Greece and instead is calling for the creation of a modern welfare system financed with cash from a rebalancing of the Greek tax system and far too generous pensions. The head of the European Department Poul Thomsen and chief economist Maury Obstfeld wrote in an article the Fund believed that euro zone insistence on a Greek primary surplus of 3.5 percent in 2018 was wrong and 1.5 percent woul
  
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• Ronaldo's golden year rewarded with fourth Ballon d'Or

  12-12-2016 21:26
  By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo capped a remarkable year by claiming a fourth Ballon d'Or award on Monday after leading Portugal to an emotional European Championship title and Real Madrid to a record-extending Champions League crown in 2016. Ronaldo is one short of the record tally of five awards won by Barcelona's Argentina forward Lionel Messi, who was second with the pair having taken the first two spots since 2011.
  
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• Talk to the hand: Philip Hammond fends off awkward questions | John Crace

  12-12-2016 21:23
  
  Chancellor puts on his best panto performance to date in front of a combative Treasury select committee audience“Can we just start with today’s story that the prime minister prevented you from including a council tax increase in the autumn statement?” Andrew Tyrie, the chair of the Treasury select committee, inquired casually.Philip “Lurch” Hammond did his best to look shocked. “As with so many stories in the papers there is no truth in it whatsoever ... &rdqu
  
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• EU ready to discuss with Italy several options over banks - Dombrovskis

  12-12-2016 21:23
  The European Commission is ready to discuss with Italy a variety of possible solutions to problems in the country's banking sector, the vice president of the EU executive said on Monday. "We are in close contact with the Italian authorities and we are ready to discuss different solutions within our legal framework," Valdis Dombrovskis told the economic committee of the European Parliament in a regular hearing in Strasbourg. The Italian government is ready to rescue Banca Monte Paschi di Siena if
  
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• Davis wants ‘specific numbers’ on Brexit from car chiefs

  12-12-2016 21:23
  Brexit minister meets largest auto manufacturers to quantify the risks
  
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• David Davis asks car chiefs to list Brexit costs

  12-12-2016 21:23
  Minister promises ‘calm’ withdrawal and requests risk data from industry
  
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• Dollar retreats, euro rallies on worries over next Fed statement

  12-12-2016 21:21
  By Sam Forgione NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar fell against most major currencies on Monday on concerns that the Federal Reserve could suggest in its next policy statement that the greenback's gains have gone too far, while a rally in oil prices boosted commodity-linked currencies. With a hike largely priced in, focus has turned to what signal the Fed will send on further policy tightening next year and the dollar's nearly four percent rally against a basket of major currencies through Fri
  
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• House intelligence chairman: no benefit in opening new Russia hack probe

  12-12-2016 21:20
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said on Monday his committee has been conducting "vigorous oversight" of the investigations into election-related cyber attacks and he did not see any benefit in opening more probes. "At this time I do not see any benefit in opening further investigations, which would duplicate current committee oversight efforts and Intelligence Community inquiries," Representative Devin Nunes said in a statement. (R
  
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• U.S. says 'one China' policy should not be used as bargaining chip

  12-12-2016 21:14
  By Ayesha Rascoe and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Monday insisted that Washington’s “one China” policy should not be used as a “bargaining chip” with Beijing after President-elect Donald Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to be bound by its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of China. Signalling further resistance Trump will face in Washington if he tries to overturn a principle that has underpinned more than f
  
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• Fire hits apartment block on Dubai's artificial Palm island

  12-12-2016 21:13
  Fire broke out at an upmarket apartment block on the artificial Palm island in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Monday but there were no immediate reports of any casualties, the emirate's media office said. The Dubai Media Office said on its Twitter account that civil defence teams were battling the blaze which broke out at the Oceana, a residential compound on the palm-shaped island. "The building was safely evacuated and no injuries were reported," the Dubai Media Office said on its Twitte
  
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