Political news

• Venezuela's Maduro hikes minimum wage for fifth time in a year

  08-01-2017 23:38
  Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro announced on Sunday a 50 percent hike in the minimum wage and pensions, the fifth increase over the last year, to help shield workers from the world's highest inflation rate. "In times of economic war and mafia attacks ... we must protect employment and workers' income," added Maduro, who has now increased the minimum wage by a cumulative 322 percent since February 2016.
  
  Read more

• Former PM Valls loses lead over Montebourg in Socialist primaries - polls

  08-01-2017 23:17
  Former French prime minister Manuel Valls has lost his lead over leftist opponent Arnaud Montebourg ahead of the Socialist primaries, according to two polls published on Sunday. An Ifop poll, published by the weekly Journal du Dimanche, showed that in case of a second-round vote on Jan. 29 between Valls and Montebourg, former economy minister Montebourg was predicted to win 52 percent of the vote, the first time he has placed ahead of Valls in a major poll. In last month's Ifop poll, Valls was s
  
  Read more

• Syrian air strikes resume on rebel-held Damascus water - source valley

  08-01-2017 23:13
  By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT (Reuters) - Air strikes escalated on Sunday in a rebel-held valley near Damascus containing the Syrian capital's main water supply, a day after insurgents and the government failed to agree a plan to repair the springs knocked out of service two weeks ago. Several rebel groups warned that the escalation effectively meant the collapse of shaky ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey to pave the way for peace talks they hope to convene in Kazakhstan. The government and al
  
  Read more

• Questions about hacking swirl as Trump enters critical week

  08-01-2017 23:13
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump and his aides are entering a crucial week in his presidential transition as he and his Cabinet nominees undergo public questioning about their approach to Russia and potential conflicts of interests.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Ted Cruz, Texas governor meet with Taiwan president

  08-01-2017 23:09
  
  HOUSTON (AP) — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott said they met Sunday with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen while she was passing through Houston on her way to Central America.
  
  Read more

• FCA to invest $1 billion in U.S. plants, make Jeep pickup truck

  08-01-2017 22:20
  By Nick Carey and Bernie Woodall DETROIT (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Sunday that it would invest $1 billion to retool and modernize two plants in the U.S. Midwest, including one that would be able to make the Ram heavy-duty pickup truck currently produced in Mexico. The company also said it planned to add three new Jeep models, including a pickup truck, to its product lineup. The announcement comes as U.S. Republican President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to slap large tar
  
  Read more

• Boris Johnson in New York to meet Trump team

  08-01-2017 22:13
  Concerted British effort to build ties with the new US administration
  
  Read more

• Boris Johnson To Meet Donald Trump's Team In New York In First UK Government Face-To-Face

  08-01-2017 22:11
  
  British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has flown to New York to meet with Donald Trump’s top advisers having previously branding the President-elect “unfit” to lead America.
  The Foreign Office tonight confirmed the first face-to-face meeting between a UK minister and Trump team would take place tonight.
  Nigel Farage was the first British politician to meet the incoming President following the election, but the ex-Ukip leader is not even a Member of Parliament much less a repr
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Former Iran president Rafsanjani dies in blow to moderates

  08-01-2017 21:38
  By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin DUBAI (Reuters) - Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died on Sunday at the age of 82, a big blow to moderates and reformists deprived now of their most influential supporter in the Islamic establishment. Few have wielded such influence in modern Iran but since 2009 Rafsanjani and his family faced political isolation over their support for the opposition movement which lost a disputed election that year to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Rafsanjani head
  
  Read more

• Video shows Florida airport shooter open fire, passengers scatter

  08-01-2017 21:36
  By Zachary Fagenson FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) - The gunman who killed five people at a Florida airport walked calmly through the baggage claim area before wordlessly pulling a handgun from his waistband and shooting at victims who fled or dived to the floor in panic, video showed. The 20 seconds of footage published on Saturday by website TMZ, apparently from a security camera, shows the suspect carrying a bag and clothing in his left hand as he strolled with other passengers past luggage
  
  Read more

• Trump acknowledges Russia role in U.S. election hacking - aide

  08-01-2017 21:30
  By Toni Clarke and Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump accepts the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia engaged in cyber attacks during the U.S. presidential election and may take action in response, his incoming chief of staff said on Sunday. Reince Priebus said Trump believed Russia was behind the intrusions into the Democratic Party organizations, although Priebus did not clarify whether the president-elect agreed that the hacks were directed by Rus
  
  Read more

• Iraqi forces reach Tigris in Mosul as suicide bombs hit Baghdad

  08-01-2017 21:09
  By Stephen Kalin and Ahmed Rasheed MOSUL, Iraq/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi special forces battling Islamic State reached the eastern bank of the Tigris river in Mosul on Sunday for the first time in a three-month, U.S-backed offensive to capture the city from the militants, who still control its entire western half. The group also claimed attacks at two Baghdad markets in which 20 people were killed, the latest in a spate of bombings, tactics to which Islamic State is resorting as it comes under p
  
  Read more

• Mexican agents arrest suspect in shooting of U.S. consular official

  08-01-2017 21:07
  A suspect in the shooting of a U.S. consular official in the Mexican city of Guadalajara was arrested on Sunday, the state prosecutor's office said. The Jalisco state prosecutor said on Twitter that special agents made the arrest, but did not provide further details including the name of the suspect or any motive. The consular official, later identified by a Mexican security official speaking on condition of anonymity as Christopher Ashcraft, was shot by a gunman on Friday as he was leaving a ci
  
  Read more

• Hillary Clinton for NYC mayor? Probably not, but rumours persist

  08-01-2017 21:00
  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - In the weeks since Hillary Clinton's shock election defeat to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, a rumour has taken hold among New York City's political chattering class: could she challenge Mayor Bill de Blasio's reelection bid this year? Discussion of a possible Clinton campaign intensified last week when conservative news website Newsmax reported that Democrats unhappy with de Blasio were pressing her to run. Stories soon appeared in various outlets, includin
  
  Read more

• UK faces £24bn bill for shutting North Sea fields

  08-01-2017 20:56
  Decommissioning costs threaten to wipe out remaining oil and gas tax revenues
  
  Read more

• David Cameron 'Cuts The Crust Off His Toast' - And 5 More Of The Ex-Prime Minister's Odd Habits

  08-01-2017 20:49
  
  Despite six years as Prime Minister and more than a decade as Conservative Party leader, today we learned something new about David Cameron: he likes the crust cut off his toast.
  Conservative MP Jake Berry revealed to Radio 5Live’s Pienaar’s Politics that he was once scolded by the former premier for eating a few rounds of his boss’s bespoke toast during a Tory away-day.“He said: ‘You’ve eaten my toast.’ And I said: ‘There is more toast available.
  
  Read more

• British foreign minister arrives in U.S. to meet Trump advisers

  08-01-2017 20:47
  Britain's foreign minister Boris Johnson has arrived in the United States to meet close advisers to President-elect Donald Trump and senior Congressional leaders to discuss ties between the countries. Last June's vote to leave the European Union has left Britain facing some of the most complicated negotiations since World War Two, with the country keen to deepen ties with the United States and other nations to show that Brexit will not diminish its standing in the world.
  
  Read more

• GOP lawmakers vow quick action to enact new health care law

  08-01-2017 20:42
  
  Top Republicans said Sunday they'll move quickly to enact a new health care law, but they won't say how long that might take or what might replace President Barack Obama's version. Questions surrounding ...
  
  Read more

• Former congressman seeks to delay prison term amid appeal

  08-01-2017 20:38
  
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A longtime congressman set to start a 10-year prison term this month has petitioned a U.S. appeals court to let him remain free while he appeals his racketeering conviction.
  
  Read more

• McConnell: Dems should 'grow up' and consider Trump nominees

  08-01-2017 20:35
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on Sunday defended their party against Democratic complaints that Congress is being forced to consider nominees for Donald Trump's administration without completed ethics reviews.
  
  Read more

• Ghana president faces outcry over plagiarism in inaugural speech

  08-01-2017 20:08
  By Matthew Mpoke Bigg ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo came under fire on Sunday when it emerged that his inaugural address plaigiarised quotes from speeches by U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The outcry on social and national media over Saturday's speech took the shine off a moment of triumph for the former opposition leader, who won a convincing victory in December after twice losing battles for the presidency. The slip is embarrassing in part because Akufo-
  
  Read more

• Ex-Health Minister: It's 'Criminal' Child Mental Health Cash Is Being Used To Plug NHS Funding Hole

  08-01-2017 20:00
  
  A former Health Minister is demanding to know why hundreds of millions set aside for children’s health care is being used to plug holes in NHS budgets across the country.
  Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb, who served as Health Minister from 2012 to 2015, told Huff Post UK it is “a criminal enterprise” that millions of pounds handed to local NHS trusts for children’s mental health provision is being diverted into other budgets.
  In 2015, then Chancellor George Osborne pledged an extra
  
  Read more

• Ex-Health Minister Blasts 'Criminal Enterprise' Of Child Mental Health Cash Being Used To Plug NHS Funding Hole

  08-01-2017 20:00
  
  A former Health Minister is demanding to know why hundreds of millions set aside for children’s health care is being used to plug holes in NHS budgets across the country.
  Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb, who served as Health Minister from 2012 to 2015, told Huff Post UK it is “a criminal enterprise” that millions of pounds handed to local NHS trusts for children’s mental health provision is being diverted into other budgets.
  In 2015, then Chancellor George Osborne pledged an extra
  
  Read more

• Former Iran president Rafsanjani dies of heart attack

  08-01-2017 19:56
  By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin DUBAI (Reuters) - Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died on Sunday at the age of 82, state media reported, a big blow to moderates and reformists deprived now of their most influential supporter in the Islamic establishment. "Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani was taken to hospital after heart attack and more than an hour long efforts by doctors to revive him were not successful," the deputy minister of health was quoted by Fars news agency as saying. Residents
  
  Read more

• Chelsea may appeal against Terry's red card

  08-01-2017 19:56
  By Clare Lovell LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea are considering an appeal against the red card given to club captain John Terry in Sunday's 4-1 FA Cup third-round win at home to Peterborough United, said manager Antonio Conte. Terry, playing his first match for two months, was dismissed by referee Kevin Friend in the 67th minute for bringing down Lee Angol to deny a goalscoring opportunity. "First because John did not take him and second because behind John there was (Branislav) Ivanovic.
  
  Read more

• Plymouth hold Liverpool in FA Cup, Chelsea and Spurs win

  08-01-2017 19:25
  By Steve Tongue LONDON (Reuters) - Fourth-tier Plymouth Argyle shut up shop and kept the door firmly closed to earn a 0-0 draw away to Liverpool's youngest ever starting XI in Sunday's FA Cup third round tie at Anfield while Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur both won. Determined defending and unstinting effort kept League Two Plymouth in the game against a Liverpool side lying second in the Premier League, almost 70 places above them. Spurs, eight-times FA Cup winners, took a long time to break down
  
  Read more

• N. Korea says can test-launch ICBM at any time -official news agency

  08-01-2017 19:15
  North Korea declared on Sunday it can test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at any time from any location set by leader Kim Jong Un, saying a hostile U.S. policy is to blame for its arms development. Kim said on Jan. 1 that his nuclear-capable country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). "The ICBM will be launched anytime and anywhere determined by the supreme headquarters of the DPRK," an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by
  
  Read more

• Trump has taken few steps to disentangle from private empire

  08-01-2017 19:14
  
  President-elect Donald Trump pledged to step away from his family-owned international real estate development, property management and licensing business before taking office Jan. 20. With less than two ...
  
  Read more

• Trump accepts U.S. intelligence on Russia hacking, top aide says

  08-01-2017 19:12
  By Toni Clarke and Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump accepts the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia engaged in cyber attacks affecting the U.S. presidential election and may take actions in response, his incoming chief of staff said on Sunday. Reince Priebus said Trump believes Russia was behind the intrusions into the Democratic Party organizations, though he did not clarify whether the president-elect agreed that the hacks were directed by Russia
  
  Read more

• Aide says Trump 'accepts' US intel blaming Russia for hack

  08-01-2017 19:02
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump accepts the conclusion by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia tried to interfere in the election that will soon put him in the White House, a top aide said Sunday.
  
  Read more

• What to Expect at the 2017 Golden Globes

  08-01-2017 19:00
  The 74th Golden Globes are upon us. The event, which officially kicks off awards season, should help clarify the major contenders for the Oscars in a particularly crowded field for movies. With Jimmy Fallon behind the podium as this year’s host, the Globes also promises to be a more Hollywood-friendly affair (last year’s host Ricky Gervais was perhaps too focused on mocking the inflated egos in the room). Still, the awards can be hard to predict because of the nebulous nature of the
  
  Read more

• Live Updates on the 2017 Golden Globes

  08-01-2017 19:00
  The 74th Golden Globes are upon us. The event, which officially kicks off awards season, should help clarify the major contenders for the Oscars in a particularly crowded field for movies. With Jimmy Fallon behind the podium as this year’s host, the Globes also promises to be a more Hollywood-friendly affair (last year’s host Ricky Gervais was perhaps too focused on mocking the inflated egos in the room). Still, the awards can be hard to predict because of the nebulous nature of the
  
  Read more

• Theresa May: Trump's groping remarks were unacceptable

  08-01-2017 18:55
  
  Prime minister optimistic about US-UK relations and says she expects Washington to remain fully committed to NatoTheresa May has said Donald Trump’s comments about groping women were unacceptable, while insisting she is optimistic about Anglo-American relations when he becomes president.In an interview with Sky News, the prime minister said her conversations with the president-elect had led her to conclude that the US will remain fully committed to Nato under his leadership, contrary to th
  
  Read more

• Former Iranian president Rafsanjani dies of heart attack - state media

  08-01-2017 18:55
  Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died on Sunday at the age of 82, state media reported, a big blow to moderates and reformists deprived now of their most influential supporter in the Islamic establishment. "Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani was taken to hospital after heart attack and more than an hour long efforts by doctors to revive him were not successful," the deputy minister of health was quoted by Fars news agency as saying. Residents said a crowd gathered outside the hospital
  
  Read more

• May has the chance to anchor Trump to Britain

  08-01-2017 18:39
  If played well, the UK premier could steer the US on security and trade
  
  Read more

• North Korea's missile testing 'serious threat' to U.S. - defence secretary

  08-01-2017 18:32
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's nuclear weapons capabilities and ballistic missile defence programs constitute a "serious threat" to the United States, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Sunday. The United States is prepared to shoot down a North Korean missile launch or test "if it were coming towards our territory or the territory of our friends and allies," Carter said during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Dustin Volz in Washington; Editing by J
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Senate GOP leader says Dems need to 'grow up'

  08-01-2017 18:27
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
  Read more

• Founder of Italy's 5-Star proposes divorce from UKIP in EU parliament

  08-01-2017 18:16
  By Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's maverick 5-Star Movement should cut ties with the anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) and consider hooking up with the Liberals in the European Parliament, 5-Star founder Beppe Grillo said on Sunday. Writing on his blog, Grillo said his party was in talks with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and asked 5-Star members to back the initiative in an online ballot. ALDE is headed by former Belgian prime minister Guy Verh
  
  Read more

• At least four dead in Palestinian truck attack in Jerusalem

  08-01-2017 18:13
  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A Palestinian rammed his truck into a group of Israeli soldiers on a popular promenade in Jerusalem on Sunday, killing four of them in an attack which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had likely been inspired by Islamic State. It was the deadliest Palestinian attack in Jerusalem in months and targeted officer cadets as they disembarked from a bus that brought them to the Armon Hanatziv promenade which has a panoramic view of the walled Old City. The
  
  Read more

• Germany's left parties set conditions for tie-up to threaten Merkel

  08-01-2017 18:06
  By Paul Carrel BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's left-leaning parties have set terms for forming a potential coalition after September's election in a tie-up that could replace conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel. Together, lawmakers from the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the smaller leftist Linke party, along with the environmentalist Greens, have more seats in parliament than Merkel's conservative bloc.
  
  Read more

• Klopp defends decision to rest 10 players

  08-01-2017 17:47
  Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp defended his decision to rest so many first-team players for Sunday's FA Cup tie at Anfield in which fourth-tier Plymouth Argyle forced a replay the Premier League club did not want. The failure of his shadow team -- showing 10 changes from their last Premier League outing -- to break through in a largely uneventful goalless draw meant that Liverpool could face nine matches during January. "It was a good experience for the boys." The German agreed that Plymouth, l
  
  Read more

• Pentagon chief: 'Virtually zero' Russian support against IS

  08-01-2017 17:46
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the Russians have given "virtually zero" support to the United States in fighting the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
  
  Read more

• Londoners face Tube misery as workers set to strike from Sunday

  08-01-2017 17:38
  Londoners face transport chaos at the start of the working week after two unions representing workers on the London Underground said they would go ahead with a 24-hour strike from Sunday evening. Metro operator Transport for London (TfL) said most stations in central London would be closed due to the action by the RMT and TSSA unions in a dispute over staffing levels after the closure of ticket offices in recent years. The walkout on the Tube is part of a wave of strikes hitting British rail and
  
  Read more

• Fourth-tier Plymouth hold Liverpool youngsters at Anfield

  08-01-2017 17:22
  By Steve Tongue LONDON (Reuters) - Fourth-tier Plymouth Argyle shut up shop and kept the door firmly closed to earn a superb 0-0 draw away to Liverpool's youngest ever starting XI in Sunday's FA Cup third round tie at Anfield. Determined defending and unstinting effort kept the League Two team in the game against opponents lying second in the Premier League, almost 70 places above them. With a League Cup semi-final first leg to come against Southampton on Wednesday, Liverpool manager Juergen Klo
  
  Read more

• Iran's Rafsanjani taken to hospital with heart condition

  08-01-2017 17:09
  DUBAI (Reuters) - Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was taken to hospital on Sunday with a heart condition, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported. "Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was hospitalised about an hour ago ... in Tehran because of a heart condition," IRNA reported, without giving further details. Rafsanjani, 82, is still an influential figure in Iran, and heads the Expediency Council, a body which is intended to resolve disputes between the parliament and the
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Trump team urges faster Cabinet ethics review

  08-01-2017 16:45
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
  Read more

• Signs suggest truck driver who killed four soldiers supported Islamic State - Israeli PM

  08-01-2017 16:44
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday a Palestinian truck driver who rammed a group of soldiers in Jerusalem, killing four and wounding 15 others, was likely a supporter of Islamic State. "We know the identity of the attacker, according to all the signs he is a supporter of Islamic State. The incident was the deadliest Palestinian attack in Jerusalem in months and targeted officer cadets who were disembarking from a bus that brought them to the Armon Hanatziv promenade.
  
  Read more

• Graham urges Trump to defend democracy with Russia sanctions

  08-01-2017 16:36
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Senate Republican is urging President-elect Donald Trump to defend democracy in the United States and around the world by punishing Russia for trying to interfere in the American presidential election as U.S. intelligence agencies allege.
  
  Read more

• Trump accepts U.S. intelligence on Russia hacking - chief of staff

  08-01-2017 16:10
  (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump accepts the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia engaged in cyberattacks aimed at disrupting the U.S. elections, his incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus said on Sunday, adding that "actions may be taken" in response. Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Priebus said Trump "accepts the fact that in this particular case it was entities in Russia" that were behind the intrusions into the Democratic Party organizations and operatives. Priebus said
  
  Read more

• FA chief wants to increase prize money on offer for Cup

  08-01-2017 16:05
  (Reuters) - The Football Association wants to increase the prize money on offer to clubs in the FA Cup and is considering scrapping television appearance fees, chief executive Martin Glenn said on Sunday. "The FA Cup is a great way of redistributing money to the lower leagues. It would seem to be something we could consider." Glenn defended Premier League Bournemouth, who came under fire for making a full 11 changes for Saturday's third-round 3-0 loss to third tier Millwall.
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!