Political news

• Yahoo security problems a story of too little, too late

  18-12-2016 23:39
  By Joseph Menn, Jim Finkle and Dustin Volz SAN FRANCISCO/BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the summer of 2013, Yahoo Inc launched a project to better secure the passwords of its customers, abandoning the use of a discredited technology for encrypting data known as MD5. In August of that year, hackers got hold of more than a billion Yahoo accounts, stealing the poorly encrypted passwords and other information in the biggest data breach on record. Yahoo only recently uncovered the hack and disclose
  
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• Syrian Observatory: five evacuation buses allowed to pass from Aleppo

  18-12-2016 23:37
  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army and its allies on Sunday allowed a convoy of five buses and two ambulances from the rebel-held district of Aleppo to reach rebel-held al-Rashideen outside the city, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. The convoy had been held for hours after leaving the Ramousah highway junction next to the rebel-held part of the city. (Reporting by Angus McDowall; Editing by Peter Cooney)
  
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• Murray wins record third BBC sports award

  18-12-2016 23:30
  Britain's world number one men's tennis player Andy Murray won a record third BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on Sunday after claiming his second Wimbledon title and first ATP World Tour crown in a stellar 2016 season. Murray, who also retained his Olympic men's singles title in Rio de Janeiro, picked up the BBC trophy again after claiming it in 2013, when he won Wimbledon for the first time, and in 2015. "It's been a great year for British sport and I am so proud to have been a part of
  
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• Vatican trial finds three El Salvadoran priests guilty of sex abuse

  18-12-2016 23:25
  Three El Salvadoran priests have been found guilty of sexual abuse against minors at a Vatican ecclesiastical trial and suspended from their priestly duties, San Salvador's Catholic Church announced Sunday. Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar of San Salvador said Francisco Galvez, Antonio Molina and Jesus Delgado, the biographer and former secretary of murdered Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, were expelled after a criminal trial held at the Vatican found them responsible for sex crimes committed betwe
  
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• Jordan's security forces declare end of castle siege, four 'terrorists' killed

  18-12-2016 23:22
  AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordanian security forces said they killed four "terrorist outlaws" after flushing them out of a castle in the southern city of Karak where they had holed up after a shoot-out that killed nine people. An official statement said the four assailants, who shot at police targets in the town before heading to the Crusader-era castle, carried automatic weapons. Large quantities of explosives, weapons and suicide belts were seized in a hideout, it added. The statement made no mention
  
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• Insight - Yahoo security problems a story of too little, too late

  18-12-2016 23:21
  By Joseph Menn, Jim Finkle and Dustin Volz SAN FRANCISCO/BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the summer of 2013, Yahoo Inc launched a project to better secure the passwords of its customers, abandoning the use of a discredited technology for encrypting data known as MD5. In August of that year, hackers got hold of more than a billion Yahoo accounts, stealing the poorly encrypted passwords and other information in the biggest data breach on record. Yahoo only recently uncovered the hack and disclose
  
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• East Aleppo evacuation under way - U.N. official

  18-12-2016 23:14
  GENEVA (Reuters) - The evacuation of the rebel-held enclave of east Aleppo resumed late on Sunday night after three days of delays, a U.N. official in Syria told Reuters. "Evacuations are on. Buses and ambulances are leaving east Aleppo now," the U.N. official said in an email message, adding that the first people left east Aleppo at around 11 p.m. (2100 GMT). The official had no immediate information about a planned simultaneous operation to evacuate people from two Shi'ite villages near Idlib
  
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• Lord O'Donnell: creating Brexit departments was tactical error

  18-12-2016 23:08
  
  Former civil service head says ‘redesigning government machine’ will bring about avoidable teething problemsLord O’Donnell, the former cabinet secretary, would have advised the government against forming two new Brexit departments had he still been in Downing Street, it emerged on Sunday. Related: Leavers are angry, for their lies will return to haunt them | Nick CohenContinue reading...
  
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• Suicide bomber kills seven in Libyan city of Benghazi - officials

  18-12-2016 22:26
  At least seven people were killed and eight wounded when a suicide bomber targeted forces loyal to Libya's eastern government in Benghazi on Sunday, medical and security officials said. Islamic State said it carried out the bombing, in the besieged district of Ganfouda. The area is one of the last pockets of resistance holding out against the Libyan National Army (LNA), a self-styled force loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.
  
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• Poland appeals to European Court over Opal pipeline decision - PAP

  18-12-2016 21:58
  Poland has appealed to the European Court of Justice over a European Commission decision to give Gazprom more capacity on the Opal gas pipeline through Germany, PAP news agency said on Sunday, citing a foreign ministry spokeswoman. In October, the European Commission lifted a cap on Gazprom's use of the Opal pipeline, which carries gas from the Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea to customers in Germany and the Czech Republic.
  
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• U.N. council to vote Monday on monitoring Aleppo evacuation

  18-12-2016 21:52
  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council agreed on a draft resolution aimed at ensuring that U.N. officials can monitor evacuations from the Syrian city of Aleppo and will vote on the text on Monday, diplomats said after several hours of negotiations. The council had been scheduled to vote on Sunday on a French draft, but Russia, an ally of the Syrian government in the civil war, circulated a rival text. Russia raised concerns about sending in U.N. officials unpre
  
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• The Latest: Obama, first lady hike through botanical garden

  18-12-2016 21:42
  
  KANEOHE, Hawaii (AP) — The latest on President Barack Obama's annual two-week vacation in Hawaii (all times local):
  
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• Trump aides ask of Russian meddling: Does it matter?

  18-12-2016 21:29
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's top aides on Sunday said the president-elect isn't ready to accept the finding by intelligence officials that Moscow hacked Democratic emails in a bid to elevate Trump. Even if it's true, they said, Trump still won the White House fair and square.
  
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• Fears EU Brexit delays will spur bank exodus to eurozone

  18-12-2016 21:26 via ft.com
  Brussels negotiators insisting on divorce deal before any transition
  
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• Manchester City happy to keep the faith with Guardiola

  18-12-2016 21:22
  (Reuters) - Manchester City fans were probably still discussing the wisdom of Pep Guardiola leaving out John Stones when their central defence was sliced open by Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez's precise pass for Theo Walcott's fifth-minute opener. A minute later they may also have been questioning the manager's surprising decision to play England winger Raheem Sterling through the middle when he headed a cross wide of the post instead of into the net from close range. Anything less than a win in
  
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• British Air, union to hold talks over planned cabin crew strike

  18-12-2016 21:12
  Talks aimed at averting a planned Christmas strike by British Airways cabin crews will be held on Monday, conciliation service Acas said. Last week, British Airways said the Unite trade union had called a strike involving one of its five cabin crew fleets on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, Dec. 26. The union said last week that cabin crews had voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in a dispute over pay.
  
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• Gunmen burn buses, stalling Aleppo evacuation deal

  18-12-2016 21:09
  By Lisa Barrington and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Armed men burned five buses that were supposed to be used for an evacuation near Idlib in Syria on Sunday, stalling a deal to allow thousands to depart the last rebel pocket in Aleppo, where evacuees crammed into buses for hours, waiting to move. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the evacuation of the villages had been postponed as a result, and that meant the evacuation of east Aleppo wa
  
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• Jordanian police storm castle where gunmen were holding tourists

  18-12-2016 21:07
  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - A security operation to flush out around six "terrorists" holed up in a Crusader-era castle in the southern city of Karak was approaching its end, the Jordanian government said on Sunday, after a shoot-out that killed at least nine people. A Canadian woman, three other civilians and five police officers were among the nine killed during the exchange of gunfire between the assailants and security forces. Government minister and spokesman Mohammad al-Momani
  
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• Wenger anger as City stun Arsenal on day of comebacks

  18-12-2016 20:59
  By Neil Robinson LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester City produced a thrilling second-half comeback to beat Arsenal 2-1 on Sunday and move above Arsene Wenger's side into second place in the Premier League, seven points behind leaders Chelsea. Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton also fought back from a goal down, to beat Burnley 2-1 and Bournemouth 3-1 respectively, to reinforce the league's reputation for thrills and spills.
  
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• Lebanon forms new government - televised statement

  18-12-2016 20:53
  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri formed a new government, the cabinet office announced on Sunday, keeping Gebran Bassil as foreign minister, Ali Hassan Khalil as finance minister and Nouhad Machnouk as interior minister. The new government will also include Yacoub al-Sarraf as the new defence minister and Cesar Abou Khalil as the new energy and water minister, two of the other most important jobs. (Reporting By Leila Bassam, Lisa Barrington and
  
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• Trump aides on Russian meddling wonder: Does it matter?

  18-12-2016 20:46
  
  Donald Trump's top aides on Sunday said the president-elect isn't ready to accept the finding by intelligence agencies that Moscow hacked Democratic emails in a bid to elevate Trump. And that even if it's ...
  
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• Pro-Brexit Newspapers 'In A Panic' Says Labour MEP Criticised For 'Sabotaging' Quitting EU

  18-12-2016 20:45
  
  A senior Labour politician in Brussels has accused pro-Brexit newspapers of “panicking” over the prospect of not quitting the European Union after producing “silly and contrived” reports claiming he was attempting to “sabotage” the move.Richard Corbett, deputy leader of Labour’s MEPs, today responded to “the simultaneous attacks” by the Sun, Telegraph and Express newspapers that argued he had “altered” “official re
  
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• U.N. council to vote Monday on U.N. monitoring of Aleppo evacuation

  18-12-2016 20:37
  The United Nations Security Council agreed a compromise draft resolution on U.N. monitoring of evacuations from the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo and will vote on Monday, diplomats said. "We expect to vote unanimously for this text tomorrow at 9 a.m. (1400 GMT)," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told reporters after more than three hours of negotiations.
  
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• U.S. senators call for probe of cyber attacks by Russia

  18-12-2016 20:32
  By David Morgan and Julia Harte WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican and Democratic senators on Sunday called for a special bipartisan panel to investigate cyber attacks against the United States by foreign countries with a focus on Russia's alleged efforts to influence the U.S. presidential election. Charles Schumer, who will be the Senate Democratic leader in the new U.S. Congress in January, and John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said separately on Sunday that
  
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• Turkey's Erdogan, Russia's Putin speak by phone over Syria's Aleppo

  18-12-2016 20:27
  Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone about Syria's Aleppo on Sunday and emphasised the need to swiftly overcome the disruptions to the city's evacuation, sources in Erdogan's office said. Armed men burned five buses that were supposed to be used for an evacuation near Idlib on Sunday, holding up a deal to allow thousands to depart the last rebel pocket in Aleppo. Erdogan and Putin talked about intensifying efforts to allow humanitarian ai
  
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• Syrian Observatory - Villages, Aleppo evacuations postponed until further notice

  18-12-2016 20:15
  The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday the evacuation of the besieged villages of al-Foua and Kefraya had been postponed for an unknown period of time, a move likely to also postpone the evacuation of east Aleppo. The war monitor said no evacuees left east Aleppo or the villages on Sunday.
  
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• Hundreds arrested in Venezuela cash chaos, vigilantes protect shops

  18-12-2016 20:12
  By Andrew Cawthorne and Corina Pons CARACAS (Reuters) - Security forces have arrested more than 300 people during protests and lootings over the elimination of Venezuela's largest currency bill, President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday. After two days of unrest over the measure - including one death and dozens of shops ransacked - Maduro on Saturday postponed the measure until Jan. 2. The detainees include leaders and members of the opposition Popular Will and Justice First parties, Maduro said o
  
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• Jordan says security operation against gunmen in castle in 'final stages'

  18-12-2016 20:09
  AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan said on Sunday a security operation to deal with around six "terrorists" holed up in a Crusader-era castle in the southern city of Karak in a shoot-out that has so far killed at least nine people was approaching its end. Government minister and spokesman Mohammad al-Momani told state television the manhunt to "eliminate" the gunmen had entered the last phase. He did not elaborate. Witnesses said occasional gunfire was heard in the vicinity of the castle where earlier pol
  
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• Ships off U.N. blacklist as China said to halt use of North Korean crews

  18-12-2016 20:01
  The United Nations Security Council lifted North Korean sanctions on five ships after China secured assurances that the vessels would no longer use North Korean crews, a council diplomat said on Sunday. The ships were among 31 vessels sanctioned by the 15-member council on March 2 because they were linked to Ocean Maritime Management (OMM), a North Korean shipping firm known to transport arms and other illicit goods for the secretive state. The Security Council sanctions committee for North Kore
  
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• Polish leaders try to defuse media row on third day of protests

  18-12-2016 19:58
  By Pawel Florkiewicz and Lidia Kelly WARSAW (Reuters) - Street protests and a sit-in by opposition lawmakers against Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party over its proposals to curb media access to parliament extended to a third day on Sunday as leading politicians scrambled to defuse the row. Since coming to power in late 2015, Poland's PiS-led government has repeatedly come under fire at home and from Brussels for what critics say are undemocratic moves designed to tighten its grip on po
  
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• Southampton reassert superiority in 'Classicoast' derby

  18-12-2016 19:57
  The fixture known to locals as 'El Classicoast' may never have been the most passionate local derby in English football, but that did not lessen the disappointment of Bournemouth fans at Sunday's 3-1 Premier League home defeat by Southampton. For the visitors, however, it was merely the restoration of a traditional superiority that has been almost unbroken since the two clubs, barely 50 km apart on the south coast, joined the Football League in the 1920s. Southampton, who have always regarded Po
  
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• IranAir confirms cutting Airbus order, dropping A380s

  18-12-2016 19:41
  IranAir has trimmed its planned order from Europe's Airbus to 100 planes, partly by dropping superjumbo A380s, the flag carrier's head said on Sunday, confirming an adjustment first reported by Reuters. "Although the nominal value of the contract for 118 Airbus planes had been announced at $25 billion, the A380 planes have been dropped from this contract, so the value of our Airbus contract will not be more than $10 billion," said Farhad Parvaresh, quoted by the state news agency IRNA. In June,
  
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• Hedge fund lobby groups outline Brexit wishlist

  18-12-2016 19:41 via ft.com
  Access to EU investors and workers top their demands
  
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• Manchester City see off Arsenal with stirring comeback

  18-12-2016 19:28
  (Reuters) - Second-half goals from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling stunned Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday as Manchester City came from behind to win 2-1 and move seven points behind leaders Chelsea. The result capped a miserable week for Arsenal who lost the lead -- and all three points -- for the second time in five days, having also gone down at Everton on Tuesday. Coming away with nothing again had seemed inconceivable after an opening 45 minutes which Arsenal dominated, taking the le
  
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• Saudi Arabia, U.S. play down reports of curbs on military support

  18-12-2016 19:27
  By Katie Paul RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and the United States on Sunday played down media reports that Washington had decided to limit military support, including planned arms sales to the kingdom, over its war in Yemen. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that Riyadh had not been officially informed of such decisions, which he described as contradicting the reality, while visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested the issue related more to a long procurement process than
  
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• Spurs come from behind to beat Burnley

  18-12-2016 19:12
  LONDON (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to beat Burnley 2-1 in the Premier League on Sunday, with Danny Rose scoring the winner with just under 20 minutes left. Ashley Barnes put the visitors ahead in the 21st minute but the lead lasted only six minutes, Dele Alli equalising from a cross by Kyle Walker. Another England international, full back Rose, hit a fierce winning goal from a pass by Moussa Sissoko, who could have been sent off earlier for a challenge on Stephen Ward. ...
  
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• Jordanian police storm castle, free tourists, operation continuing - security source

  18-12-2016 19:04
  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordanian security forces freed tourists trapped inside a medieval castle on Sunday after storming the building where armed men had taken shelter following a shoot-out with police that killed at least nine people, security sources said. A Canadian woman, three other civilians and five police officers were among the nine killed during the exchange of gunfire between the assailants and security forces. Police in the mountainous city of Karak had earlier fre
  
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• Exclusive - Brazil's Cemig to fire CEO, CFO on Wednesday, sources say

  18-12-2016 19:01
  By Guillermo Parra-Bernal SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Cia Energética de Minas Gerais SA will announce the ouster of its chief executive officer and chief financial officer as early as Wednesday after the Brazilian utility's largest shareholder balked at the slow pace of a debt-reduction plan, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The board of the company, also known as Cemig, could officially announce their replacements on the same day, the sources said. The state of Minas Gerais
  
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• Manchester City crush Arsenal with stirring comeback

  18-12-2016 18:59
  Manchester City 2 Arsenal 1 Dec 18 (Reuters) - Second-half goals from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling stunned Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday as Manchester City came from behind to win 2-1 and move seven points behind leaders Chelsea. Although the visitors looked to have got over Monday's 2-1 defeat at Everton by scoring on four minutes when Theo Walcott rounded off a thrilling three-man move, they ended up losing the lead, and all three points, for the second time in five days. Sterling
  
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• Russia to veto French draft U.N. resolution on Aleppo evacuation

  18-12-2016 18:56
  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia said on Sunday it would veto a French-drafted Security Council resolution aimed at ensuring that U.N. officials can monitor evacuations from besieged parts of the Syrian city of Aleppo and instead proposed a rival text it believes could achieve the same goal. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin raised concerns that the French-drafted resolution does not account for the preparation needed for U.N. officials to be able to monitor evacuations
  
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• Assad allies say safe evacuation solution for Aleppo and towns still possible

  18-12-2016 18:56
  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The commander of forces allied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday there was still a chance for states with influence over rebel groups to find a solution to the delay in evacuating civilians safely from east Aleppo and four besieged towns. In a statement carried by a military news outlet run by Damascus's ally Hezbollah, the allied forces leadership said responsibility for the delay in the evacuation deal lay with "terrorists and their state sponsors". (Reporti
  
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• Trump aide plays down prospect of upending 'one China' policy

  18-12-2016 18:54
  President-elect Donald Trump's incoming White House chief of staff on Sunday played down the prospect that Trump would revisit Washington's decades-old "one China" policy, even though he suggested as much a week ago. Since 1979, the United States has acknowledged Taiwan as part of "one China" but Trump prompted a diplomatic protest from Beijing after he accepted a congratulatory phone call on his election win from President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan on Dec. 2. "We are not suggesting that we're revi
  
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• British Airways, union to hold talks over cabin crew strike plan

  18-12-2016 18:53
  Talks aimed at averting a planned Christmas strike by British Airways cabin crew will be held on Monday, conciliation service Acas said. Last week, British Airways said the Unite trade union had called a strike involving one of its five cabin crew fleets on Christmas Day and Boxing Day (Dec. 26). The union said last week that thousands of cabin crew had voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in a dispute over pay.
  
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• Suicide bomber kills seven in Libya's Benghazi - officials

  18-12-2016 18:51
  At least seven people were killed and eight wounded when a suicide bomber targeted forces loyal to Libya's eastern government in Benghazi on Sunday, medical and security officials said. Islamic State said it carried out the bombing, in the besieged district of Ganfouda. The area is one of the last pockets of resistance holding out against the Libyan National Army (LNA), a self-styled force loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.
  
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• Trump aides push back on suggestions of Russian meddling

  18-12-2016 18:40
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's incoming chief of staff says the president-elect isn't ready to accept the assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 election by hacking the Democratic Party's private communications.
  
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• Afghan migrants taken to hospital as Croatia arrests Bulgarians over trafficking

  18-12-2016 18:30
  Dozens of migrants, mainly from Afghanistan, have been taken to hospital in Croatia after police stopped a van carrying 67 people, and arrested two Bulgarian citizens suspected of human trafficking, the police said. Forty-two migrants were taken immediately to hospital and some were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, health minister Milan Kujundzic was quoted by the Hina news agency as saying. "They were in serious condition, dehydrated and apparently have not eaten for five days." Some 650,
  
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• U.S. Senators call for panel to investigate Russian hacking

  18-12-2016 18:27
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four Senators on Sunday called for the creation of a bipartisan investigative panel that would investigate U.S. government allegations that Russia and other foreign countries tried to hack the U.S. elections. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York, the incoming Senate Minority Leader, said that he and Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina would be issuing a joint letter about creating the committee. (R
  
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• Farrakhan sees a new opening for black separatist message

  18-12-2016 18:18
  
  Minister Louis Farrakhan, head of the Nation of Islam, spoke from a podium draped in the red, black and green of the Pan-African flag, a symbol of black pride. It was the week after Donald Trump won the ...
  
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• Puel delighted for two-goal 'Jay Rod'

  18-12-2016 18:17
  Southampton manager Claude Puel joined the chorus of praise for Jay Rodriguez after the stand-in striker scored two goals that helped them to win Sunday's south-coast derby at Bournemouth 3-1. "I am happy for the players and for Jay Rod," he told the BBC. "It was difficult for Jay with his long injury (last season) and he came back step by step.
  
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• Trump team collusion with Russia an 'open question,' says Clinton aide

  18-12-2016 18:13
  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top aide to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign said on Sunday it was an "open question" whether President-elect Donald Trump's advisers colluded with Russia to hack into Democratic Party emails to try to sway the Nov. 8 election. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said there was evidence that Trump associates had contact with a Russian intelligence official and the website Wikileaks before U.S. intelligence agencies accused Russia of being behind
  
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