Political news

• Donald Trump And Barack Obama's New Year Tweets Strike A Hugely Different Tone

  01-01-2017 22:17
  
  Donald Trump yesterday fired off a New Year’s message that many thought lacked much by way of festive cheer.
  The President-elect chose not to use the end of the year to pause for reflection and let bygones be bygones, and instead spat out a last online ounce of venom for 2016. 
  “Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don’t know what to do. Love!”Happy New Year to all, including to my many enem
  
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• Seeking a trade, Israel to withhold bodies of Palestinian militants

  01-01-2017 22:03
  Israel said on Sunday it will withhold the bodies of Palestinian militants killed in attacks against its citizens as it seeks to pressure the Islamist movement Hamas to return the remains of soldiers and hand back missing Israeli civilians. Hamas says it is holding two Israeli soldiers whom the army declared dead after they were lost in action in the 2014 Gaza war. The group also says it is holding two Israeli civilians who strayed into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
  
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• State Department: 35 Russian diplomats leave US

  01-01-2017 21:52
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department is confirming that the 35 Russian diplomats President Barack Obama ordered out of the country have departed the United States.
  
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• ‘Here's to the People Who Are Not Known’

  01-01-2017 21:25
  In writing about the inevitable but sad passing of my last surviving uncle, Robert L. Fallows of the Philadelphia area, I mentioned the phenomenon of people who—like him, and like my own parents—are respected and influential in their own communities and essentially unknown beyond it. (Want to do a modern test of this hypothesis? Try an online search to learn about my uncle.) These local-scale civic virtues are what entire civilizations depend upon, but their nurturance is at obvious
  
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• Improved Tottenham face massive game at home to Chelsea

  01-01-2017 20:47
  By Martyn Herman LONDON (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur have improved on last season's Premier League title push but the searing pace being set at the top by Chelsea means defeat in Wednesday's home clash with their London rivals could consign them to also-rans with half the season remaining. Mauricio Pochettino's side bagged a fourth consecutive victory on Sunday, launching the New Year with a 4-1 victory at Watford with Harry Kane and Dele Alli scoring two apiece. It left Tottenham on 39 points
  
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• Islamic State claims bomb attack in Syria's Tartous

  01-01-2017 20:27
  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State said it carried out a bomb attack on the Syrian coastal city of Tartous that Syrian state media said killed two security officers. Islamic State said in an online statement claiming the attack that two of its members detonated car bombs. It did not say whether they were suicide attackers or provide any further details. Syrian state media said the attack, first reported early on Sunday, was carried out by two suicide bombers wearing explosives. (Reporting by John
  
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• Trump aide says U.S. sanctions on Russia may be disproportionate

  01-01-2017 20:25
  By David Shepardson and Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top aide to President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Sunday that the White House may have disproportionately punished Russia by ordering the expulsion of 35 suspected Russian spies. Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on ABC's "This Week" that Trump will be asking questions of U.S. intelligence agencies after President Barack Obama imposed sanctions last week on two Russian intelligence agencies ove
  
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• Obama boosted White House technology; Trump sees risks

  01-01-2017 20:08
  
  As Barack Obama began preparing to leave office, the first smartphone-toting U.S. president ordered his team to upgrade the White House's aging technology for his successor. New computers were purchased ...
  
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• European blue chip stocks offer great income opportunities - Barron's

  01-01-2017 20:01
  By Jarrett Renshaw NEW YORK (Reuters) - European blue-chip stocks Nestle , Royal Dutch Shell , Novartis and Unilever are expected to be among the best income-producing stocks of 2017, Barron's said in a report. Many European companies offering dividends finished in the red, hurt by the rise in the U.S. dollar, Barron's said, noting that valuations have gotten more reasonable and dividend yields have grown. The European companies were listed as part of Barron's annual list of best income ideas, w
  
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• Tim Farron dismisses PM's new year Brexit pledge as 'empty words'

  01-01-2017 19:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Theresa May promised to fight case for both leavers and remainers, but Lib Dem leader said she is ‘driving headlong towards a hard Brexit’Theresa May’s new year message urging unity and pledging to also represent the interests of remainers during negotiations with Brussels are empty words given her previous hardline approach, the Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, has said.In her video message May acknowledged how divisive June’s referendum had been and said both sides
  
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• Shooter kills 11, himself in Brazil New Year's party rampage

  01-01-2017 19:35
  A gunman stormed a house party and killed 11 people, including his former wife and 8-year-old son, before shooting himself in the head during a New Year's party in the southeastern Brazilian city of Campinas late on Saturday. Police in the state of São Paulo said the shooter, identified as 46-year-old Sidnei Ramis de Araújo, is believed to have been angry over a split with his wife, Isamara Filier, 41, and their son João Victor. Survivors, according to a police spokesman, sa
  
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• German Ifo think tank chief says Italy risks quitting euro zone

  01-01-2017 19:34
  The head of Germany's Ifo economic institute believes Italians will eventually want to quit the euro currency area if their standard of living does not improve, he told German daily Tagesspiegel. "The standard of living in Italy is at the same level as in 2000. If that does not change, the Italians will at some stage say: 'We don't want this euro zone any more'," Ifo chief Clemens Fuest told the newspaper.
  
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• Syrian warplanes strike near Damascus during fragile truce

  01-01-2017 19:24
  By John Davison BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government warplanes resumed their bombardment of a rebel-held valley near Damascus on Sunday after nearly 24 hours with no air raids, a rebel official and monitors said, during the third day of a fragile ceasefire. The truce deal, brokered by Russia and Turkey which back opposing sides in the conflict and welcomed unanimously by the United Nations Security Council, has been repeatedly violated since it began, with warring sides trading the blame. Rebels
  
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• Obama has few options to protect young immigrants

  01-01-2017 19:24
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama is under pressure during his final weeks as president to do something — anything — to secure the future of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children who could face deportation under the Trump administration. His options appear few.
  
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• Giroud's scorpion special helps Arsenal ease past Palace

  01-01-2017 18:59
  LONDON (Reuters) - ARSENAL 2 CRYSTAL PALACE 0 Olivier Giroud scored with a superb, improvised backheeled volley as Arsenal eased past struggling Crystal Palace with a 2-0 win that moved them into third spot in the Premier League on Sunday. The France international produced a flying scorpion-like flick with his left heel to convert Alexis Sanchez's cross while tumbling forward following an Arsenal counter-attack, which helped build with another neat flick, in the 17th minute. It was uncannily sim
  
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• Senator McCain says U.S. 'must stand up to Vladimir Putin'

  01-01-2017 18:51
  By Margarita Antidze and Sergei Karazy TBILISI/KIEV (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain said on Sunday the United States could only improve its relations with Russia by taking a tough stance with President Putin, calling for stronger sanctions against Moscow. On a tour of the Baltic states, Ukraine and Georgia, McCain and other senators assured the former Soviet-dominated countries that the United States would support them, despite President-elect Donald Trump's praise of Putin and expres
  
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• Turkmenistan halts gas exports to Iran over payment row, Tehran says

  01-01-2017 18:45
  Turkmenistan stopped gas exports to Iran on Sunday in a long-running dispute over arrears, Iran's state gas company said, days after Tehran said the issue had been temporarily resolved. "Türkmengaz suddenly and ... in an illogical manner, contradictory to the agreement, halted gas deliveries to Iran this morning, demanding quick payment of the disputed amount," the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) aid in a statement carried by the oil ministry news website SHANA. Tehran said in December
  
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• Syrian warplanes resume strikes near Damascus - rebel official, monitors

  01-01-2017 18:38
  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian warplanes resumed their bombardment of the rebel-held Wadi Barada valley northwest of Damascus on Sunday after nearly 24 hours with no air raids, a rebel official and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. Rebels threatened on Saturday to abandon a Russian- and Turkish-backed ceasefire deal, which took effect on Friday, if the Syrian government and its allies continued to violate it. ...
  
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• Three Lebanese killed in Istanbul attack - foreign ministry

  01-01-2017 18:30
  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Three Lebanese citizens were among those killed in a New Year attack on a nightclub in Istanbul that left at least 39 people dead, Lebanon's foreign ministry said. Four other Lebanese were wounded in the attack, it said, when a gunman opened fire on revellers at a packed nightclub on the shores of Istanbul's Bosphorus waterway. The ministry named those killed as Elias Wardini, Haykal Mousallem and Rita Shami. Nationals of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Libya, Israel, a Turkish
  
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• U.S.-led coalition hit Islamic State mortar position in Mosul - Pentagon

  01-01-2017 17:54
  An artillery strike by the U.S.-led coalition in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul struck a mortar position next to two empty school buildings that Islamic State had been using to target Iraqi security forces, the U.S. military said on Sunday. No civilians were in the area and minimal damage was reported to the buildings, the Combined Joint Strike Force said in a statement. "While the Coalition takes extraordinary effort to protect civilians and strike appropriate military targets, we will contin
  
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• Varndell equals try-scoring record

  01-01-2017 17:37
  By Mitch Phillips LONDON (Reuters) - Former England winger Tom Varndell equalled Mark Cueto's English Premiership career try-scoring record when he dotted down his 90th score during Bristol's victory at Sale on Sunday. Despite Bristol struggling at the foot of the table Varndell has been in great form in recent weeks, scoring a hat-trick in their vital win over fellow-struggles Worcester. Varndell joined Bristol, then in the Championship, at the start of last season after six years at Wasps and
  
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• German police say they prevent repeat of New Year Cologne assaults

  01-01-2017 17:24
  German police said on Sunday they had prevented a repeat of the assaults and robberies suffered by hundreds of women in Cologne a year ago by screening 650 mostly North African men on New Year's Eve. Police detained and screened many of the men at the main railway station as they headed towards the centre of Cologne in western Germany, where the attacks a year earlier fuelled criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door migrant policy. Cologne police chief Juergen Mathies did not say how ma
  
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• Trump expected to embrace bold use of Twitter

  01-01-2017 17:22
  Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer says he expects President-elect Donald Trump will boldly use Twitter to make major policy announcements.
  
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• 'Bad Boys of Brexit' headed for screen, says Farage associate

  01-01-2017 17:11
  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - Three film production companies including Netflix are interested in making a warts-and-all screen dramatization of Nigel Farage's insurgent Brexit campaign, according to an associate of Farage. This would be another extraordinary twist for Farage, who from the fringes of British politics achieved his life's goal when Britons voted to leave the European Union last June, and has since befriended U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The project would be based on
  
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• Kane and Alli strike twice as Tottenham crush Watford

  01-01-2017 16:59
  Tottenham Hotspur steamed into the top four as Harry Kane marked his 100th Premier League appearance with a double in a 4-1 thrashing of a woeful Watford on Sunday. Kane pounced in the 27th and 33rd minutes, both from Kieran Trippier assists, and Dele Alli also struck twice for the visitors with goals either side of halftime as Watford were punished for slack defending. A fourth win in a row pushed Tottenham into third place with 39 points from 19 matches, above Manchester City and Arsenal, alth
  
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• Air strikes, clashes persist on day three of Syrian truce

  01-01-2017 16:53
  Syrian government warplanes carried out several air strikes and low-level clashes persisted in some areas on Sunday, but a Russian- and Turkish-backed ceasefire largely held in other areas on its third day, a monitoring group and rebels said. Jets bombed the villages of Kafr Kar, Mintar and around the town of Banan in the southern Aleppo countryside, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It said government forces also advanced overnight against rebels in the Eastern Ghouta
  
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• Kidnappers of Saudi judge already on list of wanted terrorists - ministry

  01-01-2017 16:45
  Three men sought in connection with the abduction of a judge last month are already on a wanted list for their suspected involvement in terrorist attacks in eastern Saudi Arabia, the interior ministry said on Sunday. An interior ministry spokesman said three of the men believed to have taken part in the abduction were also among nine people wanted in connection with past "terrorist acts" in Qatif province and the eastern city of Dammam, including attacks on citizens and security personnel.
  
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• Expelled Russian diplomats leave United States

  01-01-2017 16:36
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian diplomats who were expelled by order of U.S. President Barack Obama left Washington on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported, citing Russia's embassy. "The plane took off, everyone has left," RIA quoted the embassy's press service as saying. Obama ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian suspected spies and imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies over the hacking of U.S. political groups during the 2016 presidential election. ...
  
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• Gunman kills 39 in Istanbul nightclub, manhunt under way

  01-01-2017 16:24
  By Humeyra Pamuk and Nick Tattersall ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire on New Year revellers at a packed nightclub on the shores of Istanbul's Bosphorus waterway on Sunday killing at least 39 people, including many foreigners, then fled the scene. The attack shook NATO member Turkey as it tries to recover from a failed July coup and a series of deadly bombings in cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, some blamed on Islamic State and others claimed by Kurdish militants. "We he
  
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• Two Lebanese killed in Istanbul attack, families say

  01-01-2017 16:19
  Two Lebanese citizens were killed in the attack in a nightclub in Istanbul on Sunday that left at least 39 people dead, relatives said. The family of Elias Wardini told Lebanon's New TV that they had been officially informed of his death. Haykal Mousallem, another Lebanese man, was confirmed dead a short while later, his family told Reuters.
  
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• Q&A: The GOP's path to repealing health care law

  01-01-2017 15:59
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The stakes confronting Republicans determined to dismantle President Barack Obama's health care law were evident in one recent encounter between an Ohio congressman and a constituent.
  
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• At least five Saudis killed in Istanbul nightclub attack - newspaper

  01-01-2017 15:49
  DUBAI (Reuters) - At least five Saudi citizens were among 39 people killed in an attack on New Year revellers at a packed nightclub in Istanbul, a Saudi newspaper reported. The state-affiliated al-Riyadh paper also quoted the acting consul general in Istanbul as saying about 10 Saudi citizens were injured, adding that the consulate was following up with Turkish authorities to find out the exact number of casualties. (Reporting by Sami Aboudi; editing by David Clarke)
  
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• Southgate targets world number one ranking for England

  01-01-2017 15:27
  New England manager Gareth Southgate wants to make the under-achieving nation the world's top football power, however long it takes, he said in a New Year message on Sunday. England have slumped to 13th in FIFA's rankings and have failed to make any impact at major tournaments for decades but Southgate is relishing the task ahead. "We're 13th in the world rankings and at the last two tournaments we haven't got through a knockout game," Southgate, who was named as full-time manager in November af
  
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• Today's News: Jan. 1, 2017

  01-01-2017 15:25
  —Turkish authorities are searching for the suspect in a shooting at a nightclub in Istanbul during New Year’s celebrations that left at least 39 dead and 70 wounded.
  
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• Deutsche Bank chairman rules out European merger - Frankfurter Allgemeine

  01-01-2017 15:22
  Deutsche Bank Chairman Paul Achleitner has ruled out a European merger or a state bailout after the lender's mortgage settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported. The bank, Germany's biggest, last week announced a $7.2 billion (5.83 billion pound) settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over its sale and pooling of mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. "At the moment, however, enthusiasm for a pan-European merge
  
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• China jails 67 people for involvement in mafia-style gang

  01-01-2017 15:13
  A court in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui has handed out sentences of up to 20 years in jail for 67 people involved in a mafia-style gang that engaged in gambling, extortion and violence, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. The leader of the gang, 37-year-old Xing Zhaogang, was released from jail in 2012 after serving time for violent assault, but then returned to a life of crime and became a "gambling lord" in Anhui, Xinhua said, citing the court. Gambling is illegal in mainland
  
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• Trump still not sold on Russian link to hacking

  01-01-2017 15:05
  
  PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says that "no computer is safe" when it comes to keeping information private, expressing new skepticism about the security of online communications his administration is likely to use for everything from day-to-day planning to international relations.
  
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• Gambia leader accuses West African bloc of declaring war

  01-01-2017 15:02
  By Lamin Jahateh BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh accused West African regional body ECOWAS of declaring war, after it said it was putting forces on alert in case he refused to step down at the end of his mandate this month. Jammeh, who has vowed to stay in power despite losing a Dec. 1 election to rival Adama Barrow, also promised to defend Gambia against any outside aggression, in a New Year's speech broadcast on state TV. Marcel de Souza, commission president for the Economic Co
  
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• No clarity yet on responsibility for Istanbul attack - Turkish PM

  01-01-2017 14:46
  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish authorities are starting to uncover evidence about a gun attack on an Istanbul nightclub which killed 39 people on Sunday but there is no clarity yet on who was responsible, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. "Some details have started emerging, but the authorities are working towards a concrete result," Yildirim told reporters, when asked about who might have been behind the attack. "Police and security officials will share information as it becomes availa
  
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• Nigerian ex-militants say lost confidence in Buhari over restive Delta

  01-01-2017 14:45
  A group of former Nigerian militants said on Sunday it had lost confidence in the president's efforts to end attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta, a major goal in efforts to reach a lasting peace settlement. In its first public criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said he was "jeopardizing the fragile peace in the region" with public comments about the unrest while reneging on past agreements. MEND had backed Buhari in his 2
  
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• IS 'would use chemical weapons' in UK

  01-01-2017 14:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The so-called Islamic State group would use chemical weapons in the UK, the security minister warns.
  
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• Hundreds of migrants try to storm border into Spain's enclave of Ceuta

  01-01-2017 14:22
  Around 1,100 sub-Saharan African migrants tried to cross into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco on Sunday by storming a border fence, though most were eventually turned back, the Spanish government said. Dozens of migrants made it to the top of the 6 metre barbed wire fence in the early hours of Sunday before being lifted down by cranes, footage from local TV station Faro TV showed. Only two people were allowed into Ceuta to be taken to hospital while the rest were returned to
  
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• Shooter kills at least 11 and himself at Brazil New Year's party

  01-01-2017 14:20
  A gunman stormed a house party and killed at least 11 people and himself during New Year celebrations in the southeastern Brazilian city of Campinas late on Saturday. Local media reports said the couple's 8-year-old son also died.
  
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• Lebanese national killed in Istanbul attack, family says - New TV

  01-01-2017 14:18
  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The family of a Lebanese citizen who went missing after an attack in a nightclub in Istanbul said on Sunday they have received news he was among those killed, Lebanon's New TV reported. The channel said the family had been officially informed of Elias Wardini's death. (Reporting by John Davison; editing by David Clarke)
  
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• Theresa May's New Year Speech Calls For Unity, Prompts Anything But

  01-01-2017 14:04
  
  Theresa May has quoted murdered Labour MP Jo Cox in her New Year’s message as the Prime Minister called for the country to unite after the “divisive” Brexit referendum.
  May said she would use the next 12 months to ensure Britain negotiates the right EU withdrawal deal for people whether they voted Leave or Remain.
  Acknowledging the social and economic divisions laid bare by the Brexit campaign, May said Britain needed to come together, stating: “As the fantastic MP
  
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• Parcel bomb at far-right bookshop wounds Italian policeman

  01-01-2017 13:59
  A parcel bomb with a timer exploded early Sunday morning in front of a Florence bookstore run by a neo-fascist group, seriously wounding a policeman trying defuse the device, authorities said. Anti-terrorism police discovered the package while patrolling sensitive sites and called in the bomb squad, Florence police chief Alberto Intini told RAI state television. The package detonated as a police expert was approaching it at about 5:30 a.m. (04:30 GMT), Intini said.
  
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• May calls for unity in 2017 after divisive Brexit vote

  01-01-2017 13:57
  British Prime Minister Theresa May pledged in a New Year message on Sunday to seek a Brexit deal that would work for all Britons, not just those who voted to leave the European Union in a referendum she said had laid bare the nation's divisions.
  
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• Islamic State attacks Iraqi police near Najaf, kills seven

  01-01-2017 13:55
  By Isabel Coles and Ali al-Rubaie MOSUL/HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) - Islamic State attacked an Iraqi police checkpoint near the southern city of Najaf on Sunday, killing seven policemen as government forces in the north made more gains against the militants in Mosul, their last major stronghold in the country. The Najaf attack, which involved gunmen and a suicide car bomb, followed blasts a day earlier in Baghdad that left 29 people dead, a reminder of Islamic State's continued ability to operate awa
  
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• New broadcaster promises year-round buzz

  01-01-2017 13:41
  By Ossian Shine LONDON (Reuters) - Fans of the Olympics can expect the spirit of the Games to remain aflame all year round, not just during the sporting extravaganzas, the man now responsible for broadcasting both the Summer and Winter events to hundreds of millions of viewers across Europe told Reuters. "We can make this a year-round experience... because of all the broadcast rights we have to Olympic sports," Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton said in an interview. "We promised the International Olymp
  
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• Spring-heeled Wijnaldum not surprised by header

  01-01-2017 13:35
  By Mitch Phillips LONDON (Reuters) - In a match expected to showcase the best of slick, ball-on-the-ground possession football, Liverpool's clash with Manchester City on Sunday was decided by that most traditional of approaches - a simple cross and a thumping header. In a game of few chances, Georginio Wijnaldum's superb goal in the eighth minute stood out on every level. A typically incisive Liverpool counter-attack sent Adam Lallana clear on the left and when he curled in a tempting cross Wijn
  
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