Political news

• New California laws bump up minimum wage, tighten gun rules

  25-12-2016 23:56
  
  A higher minimum wage, a ban on using "Redskins" as the name of a school team or mascot, and new restrictions on assault weapons are among the latest California laws taking effect with the new ...
  
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• Militia kill 34 in Congo; church leader makes appeal to Kabila

  25-12-2016 21:34
  By Aaron Ross KINSHASA (Reuters) - Militias in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least 34 civilians over the weekend, the army and local activists said, and the violence stoked concerns over political instability. Attacks have surged across the country in the past week alongside violent protests over President Joseph Kabila's failure to step down at the end of his constitutional mandate on Tuesday. While it is not clear that all the violence is related, analysts fear political insta
  
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• Aleppo Christians celebrate holiday in hope peace has returned

  25-12-2016 20:07
  By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Christians in Aleppo celebrated under a giant Christmas tree lit up for the first time in five years, hailing what many described as the return of peace to a city that came back under full government control last week. The fall of rebel-held east Aleppo was the biggest victory of Syria's nearly six-year-old civil war for supporters of President Bashar al-Assad, and many in pro-government parts of the city have been jubilant. In the war ravaged St. Elias C
  
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• Deja vu for U.S. troops celebrating Christmas in Iraq again

  25-12-2016 19:27
  By Stephen Kalin EAST OF MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - This is the third Christmas that Staff Sergeant Magdiel Asencio is spending in Iraq. For Sergeant First Class Noel Alvarado, it is number four. Few thought they would be back nearly 14 years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, sparking an al Qaeda-backed insurgency and throwing the country into a sectarian civil war.
  
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• Israeli PM, angered by anti-settlement U.N. vote, summons U.S. ambassador

  25-12-2016 18:51
  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday summoned the U.S. ambassador to Israel to discuss the U.S. abstention in a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an end to settlement-building. Separately, the envoys of 10 other nations were called in to the Israeli Foreign Ministry to be reprimanded on Sunday, and Netanyahu had more harsh words for Washington over Friday's U.N. vote. An Israeli spokesman gave no details of when Netanyahu would meet
  
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• Fearful Christmas in Baghdad after attacks on Christians

  25-12-2016 18:37
  Christians in Baghdad celebrated Christmas on Sunday in a heightened state of fear after deadly attacks on Christian-owned shops that sell alcohol. Two shops next door to each other were riddled with bullet holes and spattered with blood after gunmen opened fire late on Friday in Baghdad's Ghadeer neighbourhood. Rayan al-Kildani, commander of Babiliyon Brigades, a group of Christian volunteers formed to fight Islamic State militants, said eight Christians and one member of the Yazidi sect had be
  
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• Kremlin says Putin and Erdogan discuss Syria by phone

  25-12-2016 17:36
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the Syria crisis in a phone conversation on Sunday, the Kremlin said in a statement. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is visiting Russia now, also took part in the call, it added. Erdogan called Putin to express his condolences over the crash of Russian TU-154 plane near the Black Sea city of Sochi, the Kremlin said. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Andrew Roche; editing by)
  
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• Pipeline uncertainty illustrates broader concerns for tribes

  25-12-2016 17:08
  
  For hundreds of protesters, it was cause to cheer when the Obama administration this month declined to issue an easement for the Dakota Access pipeline's final segment. But that elation was dampened by ...
  
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• Trump adopting same behavior he criticized Clinton for

  25-12-2016 16:23
  
  Donald Trump spent the past two years attacking rival Hillary Clinton as crooked, corrupt, and weak. But some of those attacks seem to have already slipped into the history books. From installing Wall ...
  
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• Queen Elizabeth emphasizes 'small acts of goodness' in Christmas day message

  25-12-2016 16:14
  Queen Elizabeth focused on what she called the value of doing small things with great love in her annual Christmas message on Sunday, reflecting on inspirational examples of "ordinary people doing extraordinary things." Elizabeth celebrated her 90th birthday in 2016 and marked the year with a series of special events across Britain and the Commonwealth. "On our own, we cannot end wars or wipe out injustice, but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we im
  
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• Queen Elizabeth misses Christmas church service due to 'heavy cold'

  25-12-2016 16:10
  By Philip Noble SANDRINGHAM, England (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth, 90, missed a traditional Christmas church service on Sunday for the first time in decades due to a heavy cold, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said. The queen has attended the Christmas service at the parish church of St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham every year since the family started celebrating Christmas there in 1988. Before then, the family spent Christmas at Windsor where Elizabeth attended a service since the mid-19
  
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• Queen’s Christmas message 2016 reflects on inspirational people and acts – video

  25-12-2016 16:00
  
  The Queen uses her annual televised festive message on Christmas Day from Buckingham Palace to reveal who and what has inspired her. She reflects on the Olympics and Paralympics and numerous large charities, but also on the stories of ‘ordinary people doing extraordinary things’. Inspiration is a recurring theme throughout her speech, saying that though we cannot end injustice on our own, the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness is bigger than we can imagine Conti
  
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• Israel, angered by anti-settlement U.N. vote, summons foreign ambassadors

  25-12-2016 15:54
  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel summoned the ambassadors of 10 nations to Jerusalem to reprimand them on Sunday and had more harsh words for the Obama administration over a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an end to settlement-building. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put his personal imprint on the show of anger by repeating at the weekly cabinet meeting what an unidentified Israeli government official contended on Friday - that Washington had conspired with the Pales
  
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• Anger in Afghanistan at female pilot's U.S. asylum bid

  25-12-2016 15:14
  There was an angry reaction in Afghanistan to news that the first female fixed-wing pilot in the country's air force was requesting asylum in the United States after completing an 18-month training course. The Afghan defence ministry confirmed on Sunday that Captain Niloofar Rahmani, 25, had sought asylum after the Wall Street Journal quoted her as saying that she feared her life would be in danger if she returned home. A recipient of the U.S. State Department's "Women of Courage" award in 2015,
  
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• China needs to regulate 'money gates' but guard against financial stress - state media

  25-12-2016 15:03
  China needs to keep financial market liquidity stable and regulate its "money gates" to prevent asset bubbles, but it also needs to ensure a lack of liquidity doesn't cause financial stress, according to a commentary in a newspaper owned by the People's Bank of China. The country's leaders have called for a "prudent and neutral" monetary policy in 2017 and for prevention of financial risk, while keeping the economy on a path of stable and healthy growth, according to statements following a key e
  
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• Syria's Assad tells Putin he is saddened over Russian plane crash

  25-12-2016 14:46
  Syrian President Bashar al Assad told Russia on Sunday he was saddened by the crash of a Russian military plane on its way to Syria but the countries' fight against Islamist militants would not be affected. In a condolence message sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Assad said the two countries were partners in the "fight to lay the foundations of stability, security and peace" in Syria. "Our prayers are with you ... our sorrows and joys are one," Assad told Putin.
  
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• Two die as police building collapses in Nigeria's megacity Lagos

  25-12-2016 14:19
  Two people were killed when part of a two-storey building in a police training college collapsed in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos on Sunday, the police and the emergency agency said. The collapse happened at about 04:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) in the densely populated Ikeja district of the city, an official from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said. Nobody is inside the rubble," said Dolapo Badmus, a spokesman for Lagos state police.
  
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• Christian leaders urge calm and faith in time of 'fear'

  25-12-2016 14:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Archbishops of Canterbury and Westminster make Christmas appeals for faith in "fearful" times.
  
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• Egypt confirms Al Jazeera producer's arrest for 'provoking sedition'

  25-12-2016 14:12
  Egypt confirmed on Sunday that it had arrested an Al Jazeera news producer, accusing him of "provoking sedition" on behalf of the Qatar-based broadcaster that it considers a mouthpiece of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Judicial sources said Mahmoud Hussain, who was detained on Friday, was being held on charges of disturbing public security and spreading false news. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that Al Jazeera officials "had ordered some individuals collaborating with the channel ins
  
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• Al Shabaab militants shoot prosecutor dead in Somalia's Puntland

  25-12-2016 13:59
  By Abdiqani Hassan and Feisal Omar BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) - Al Shabaab Islamist militants shot dead a military prosecutor in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region on Sunday, witnesses and officials said, the type of targeted killing that Al Qaeda-allied gunmen frequently commit throughout Somalia. Al Shabaab's insurgency aims to drive out African Union peacekeepers, topple Somalia's Western-backed government and impose its strict version of Islam on the Horn of Africa state. On Sunday, A
  
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• Iran says it sealed Boeing plane deal at half price

  25-12-2016 13:23
  Iran said on Sunday it had negotiated to pay only about half the announced price for 80 new Boeing airliners in an order that the American planemaker had said was worth $16.6 billion. Boeing and its European rival Airbus have both signed huge contracts this month to supply airliners to Iran, the first such deals since international sanctions were lifted under a deal to curb Tehran's nuclear programme. Replacing Iran's antiquated civil aviation fleet is one of the biggest economic opportunities o
  
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• Pakistan releases Indian fishermen in bid to ease tensions with Delhi

  25-12-2016 13:12
  By Syed Raza Hassan KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan released 220 Indian fishermen on Sunday as a goodwill gesture aimed at easing tensions with its neighbour, officials said. India is also holding Pakistani fishermen for the same reason and Pakistan hopes its gesture - on the birthday of the nation's father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, which coincides with Christmas Day - will be reciprocated. “We have total of 518 Indian fishermen out of which 220 are being released today as a goodwill ge
  
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• Britain's Queen Elizabeth misses Christmas church service due to 'heavy cold'

  25-12-2016 13:03
  By Philip Noble SANDRINGHAM, England (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth, 90, missed a traditional Christmas church service on Sunday for the first time in decades due to a heavy cold, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said. The queen has attended the Christmas service at the parish church of St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham every year since the family started celebrating Christmas there in 1988.
  
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• Why Walt Whitman Called America the “Greatest Poem”

  25-12-2016 13:00
  Shocked at the election of their next president, many Americans at the end of 2016 turned to social media, petitions, polls, and the streets in protest. A century and a half ago, shocked at the assassination of the sitting president who oversaw the reunification of a divided nation, Walt Whitman turned to poetry. In “O Captain! My Captain!”, Whitman famously eulogized Abraham Lincoln as the fallen leader of the great ship of America, which he called a “vessel grim and daring.&r
  
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• Indonesian police kill two militants during raid on house in Java

  25-12-2016 12:39
  Indonesian police killed two suspected Islamist militants in a house in West Java on Sunday, a police spokesman said, in the latest in a series of raids aimed at preventing planned attacks in the Muslim-majority nation. Two men had been arrested in Cibinong, in West Java, and led police to a house nearby, at the Jatiluhur dam, where two other men were found, national police spokesman Awi Setiyono said. Police seized some weapons and a letter which said the group had planned an attack at an undis
  
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• Pope's Christmas message offers hope in world hit by terrorism, war

  25-12-2016 12:37
  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday offered a Christmas hope for peace in a world lacerated by war and terrorism, urging people to remember migrants, refugees and those hit by economic instability caused by "idolatry of money". Francis, marking the fourth Christmas season since his election in 2013, also urged Palestinians and Israelis, facing renewed tension after a U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlements on occupied land, to have the courage to put aside h
  
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• Political lives (Part 1)

  25-12-2016 12:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A look back at the lives of the MPs and former MPs who passed away in 2016.
  
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• All 92 on Syria-bound Russian military jet killed in crash, including 60 from Red Army Choir

  25-12-2016 12:14
  By Polina Devitt and Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian military plane carrying 92 people, including dozens of Red Army Choir singers, dancers and orchestra members, crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria on Sunday, killing everyone on board, Russian authorities said. The Russian Defence Ministry said one of its TU-154 Tupolev planes had disappeared from radar screens at 0525 MSK (0225 GMT), two minutes after taking off from Sochi in southern Russia, where it had stopped to refue
  
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• Congo ethnic militia kills 13 civilians in apparent revenge attack

  25-12-2016 12:10
  An ethnic Nande militia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least 13 Hutu civilians on Sunday with guns and machetes in an apparent revenge attack for the deaths of Nande civilians last week, a local activist said. Tit-for-tat massacres by Hutu and Nande militia in eastern Congo's North Kivu province have killed dozens this year. Relations between the communities have worsened due to population movements and operations by the Congolese army against the largest Hutu militia in the a
  
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• French-Swiss aid worker kidnapped in Malian city of Gao

  25-12-2016 12:02
  By Adama Diarra BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - A French-Swiss aid worker has been kidnapped in the city of Gao in northern Mali, and French and Malian authorities are working together to rescue her, the French foreign ministry said on Sunday. Sophie Petronin, who runs a non-governmental organisation that helps children suffering from malnutrition, was kidnapped on Saturday afternoon, but, so far, no one has made a claim of responsibility, Malian Commandant Baba Cissé said. Mali has been beset b
  
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• Suicide bomber in Cameroon kills two in attack on Christmas market

  25-12-2016 11:47
  A suicide bomber in the northern Cameroon town of Mora killed a young student and a woman in an attack on a market full of Christmas shoppers, an aide to the governor of Far North region said on Sunday. Suicide bombers suspected of belonging to the Islamist militant group Boko Haram have launched attacks in Mora, about 30 km (20 miles) from the Nigerian border, several times before. "The suicide bomber was pretending to be a beggar and was walking towards the market which was full because of Chr
  
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• Britain's Queen Elizabeth to miss Christmas church service due to 'heavy cold'

  25-12-2016 11:17
  Britain's Queen Elizabeth, 90, will miss a traditional Christmas church service on Sunday for the first time in nearly 30 years due to a heavy cold, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said. Elizabeth, the world's longest-reigning living monarch, and her husband Prince Philip, 95, suffered what the Palace described as heavy colds this week that delayed by a day their journey to their Sandringham country residence in eastern England. Elizabeth has attended the Christmas service at the parish church of
  
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• Russian Defence Ministry says no survivors seen at plane crash site near Sochi

  25-12-2016 11:06
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - No survivors have been spotted in the Black Sea at the crash site of a Russian military TU-154 plane, Major-General Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Sunday. The plane, which he said had been carrying 93 people, including dozens of Red Army Choir singers, dancers and orchestra members, crashed into the sea on its way to Syria on Sunday morning. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
  
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• Russian military jet crashes on way to Syria, dozens from Red Army Choir among 92 believed dead

  25-12-2016 10:21
  The Russian Defence Ministry said one of its TU-154 planes had disappeared from radar screens at 5:25 a.m. (0225 GMT), two minutes after taking off from Adler in southern Russia, where it had stopped to refuel from Moscow, en route to Syria. Interfax cited another unnamed source as saying the plane had not sent an SOS signal. The jet, a Soviet-era design first introduced in the 1970s, had been carrying 84 passengers and eight crew members, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, a ministry spokesman tol
  
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• China to levy new taxes in bid to strengthen pollution fight

  25-12-2016 09:37
  China's largely rubber-stamp parliament passed a law on Sunday that will levy specific environmental protection taxes on industry for the first time from 2018, as part of a renewed focus on fighting the country's pollution woes. Anger has risen in the world's second-largest economy at the government's repeated failure to tackle land, water and air pollution, with large parts of northern China enveloped in dangerous smog in recent days. "Tax revenue is an important economic means to promote envir
  
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• Trump says he's closing foundation, but Democrats want more

  25-12-2016 08:58
  
  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he will dissolve his charitable foundation before taking office to avoid conflicts of interest. The Democratic Party says that's not enough and is calling for the billionaire businessman to put his assets in a blind trust.
  
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• South Korea prosecutor says it might raid presidential office

  25-12-2016 08:56
  South Korea's special prosecutor investigating a corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye said on Sunday it was considering whether to raid the presidential offices and if it did so, it had no choice but to do so publicly. Special prosecutors are investigating allegations that Park colluded with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, and aides to pressure big companies to contribute to foundations set up to back her policy initiatives. "In case of raiding the Blue House ... to carry out that, ther
  
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• The twilight world of Britain’s hidden housing crisis

  25-12-2016 08:50 via ft.com
  Notebook: Strain on the rented sector puts 50,000 families in temporary accommodation
  
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• Russian military plane crashes en route to Syria with 92 on board

  25-12-2016 08:11
  By Polina Devitt MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian military plane with 92 people on board has crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, and it was unlikely there would be any survivors. Russian agencies, citing unnamed security sources, said the TU-154 aircraft had crashed in the sea near the southern Russian city of Sochi after disappearing from radar screens. The plane was carrying Russian servicemen and members of a renowned military choir and dance
  
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• South Korea prosecutor says to raid presidential office - Yonhap

  25-12-2016 07:10
  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's special prosecutor investigating a corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye said on Sunday it had no choice but to raid the presidential offices, Yonhap News reported. Special prosecutors are investigating allegations that Park colluded with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, and aides to pressure big companies to contribute to foundations set up to back her policy initiatives. Prosecutors say they need access to the presidential offices as part of their investi
  
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• The Latest: President Obama wishes crowd Merry Christmas

  25-12-2016 06:20
  
  The Latest on President Barack Obama's annual two-week vacation in Hawaii (all times local): 6:30 p.m. Before heading home for the night, President Barack Obama, his two daughters, and close friends unwound ...
  
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• Of drones, toys and hedgehogs: Michelle Obama tracks Santa

  25-12-2016 05:26
  
  For most people, a Christmas Eve phone call with the first lady of the United States is an unexpected surprise. But Austin was holding out for someone else. "I want to hear Santa talk," said ...
  
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• The Latest: Trumps attend church services on Christmas Eve

  25-12-2016 05:11
  
  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Latest news from President-elect Donald Trump (all times local):
  
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• China's aircraft carrier to drill in Western Pacific

  25-12-2016 04:04
  China's first aircraft carrier will carry out drills in the Western Pacific, in what the navy called part of routine exercises, but amid renewed tension over self-ruled Taiwan that Beijing claims as its own. The navy said in a statement late on Saturday the Liaoning, along with its accompanying fleet, would conduct "exercises far out at sea", without giving details of the location or route, in what is likely its first blue-water drill far from home waters. China's military has conducted its firs
  
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• Trump aide named to lead White House communications says he won't take job

  25-12-2016 03:56
  (Reuters) - Jason Miller, who President-elect Donald Trump announced this week would serve as his White House communications director, said on Saturday he would not take the job. Miller, the communications director for Trump's transition team, said in a statement that his family needed to take priority over career moves. Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
  
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• Brexit rising

  25-12-2016 02:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A brief history of Brexit's rise from obscurity to become the political word of 2016.
  
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• Adam Fleming looks back on a tumultuous year in British politics

  25-12-2016 02:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  There was the vote to leave the European Union, the resignation of one prime minister, and the arrival of another - Adam Fleming looks back on a tumultuous year.
  
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• The Latest: Trump spokesman takes a pass on White House job

  25-12-2016 01:57
  
  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Latest news from President-elect Donald Trump (all times local):
  
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• Asylum seekers riot at Papua New Guinea detention camp

  25-12-2016 01:14
  By Harry Pearl SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asylum seekers held at a Papua New Guinea detention centre briefly took control of two compounds and expelled guards following the death of a refugee who fell ill at the centre, Papua New Guinea police said on Sunday. Senior Sergeant Thomas Lelepo, from Lorengau Police Station on Manus Island, said guards at the Manus Island regional processing centre were expelled by residents last night. A 27-year-old Sudanese man, who was identified as Faysal Ishak Ahmed by r
  
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• Trump says he will dissolve foundation amid NY investigation

  25-12-2016 01:06
  
  President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday he will dissolve his charitable foundation amid efforts to eliminate any conflicts of interest before he takes office next month. The revelation comes as the ...
  
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