Political news

• Canada's PM to shuffle Cabinet, set to drop foreign minister

  09-01-2017 23:38
  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will shuffle his Cabinet this week and is set to move Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, who ran into political trouble last year, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Monday. "Dion is out," said the person, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. The Canadian Press, which initially broke the story, said the move was scheduled for Tuesday and would involve at least six people.
  
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• Top U.S. Senate Democrat says Trump's nominees need 'thorough' vetting

  09-01-2017 23:36
  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer, decried what he called undue haste to confirm President-elect Donald Trump's nominations for various top posts, saying on Monday they needed more thorough vetting. Hearings start on Tuesday for the Republican president-elect's choices for senior administration posts, beginning with U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions, nominated to be attorney general, and retired General John Kelly, Trump's pick for secretary of h
  
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• Auto executives, with eye on Trump, highlight U.S. investments

  09-01-2017 23:31
  By Bernie Woodall and David Shepardson DETROIT (Reuters) - Global auto executives at the Detroit auto show are highlighting their investments in the United States, mindful of President-elect Donald Trump's attacks on automakers for building vehicles in Mexico. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Monday that uncertainty over Trump's trade and tax policies could lead automakers to delay investments in Mexico, and he confirmed plans to create 2,000 jobs at Fiat Chrys
  
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• Corbyn bows to pressure with immigration about-turn

  09-01-2017 23:29 via ft.com
  Labour leader to say party is not wedded to ‘freedom of movement’
  
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• Corbyn to say Labour 'is not wedded to free movement'

  09-01-2017 23:26
  
  Jeremy Corbyn is to attempt to end confusion over Labour policy on immigration after his deputy Tom Watson struggled to explain it in a Sky News interview. In a speech on Tuesday on Brexit billed as part of his New Year relaunch, the Labour leader will say his party is not wedded to free movement for EU citizens as a point of principle. The move marks a shift by Mr Corbyn, who up to now has strongly defended free movement and put himself at odds with Labour MPs who are demanding curbs on immigra
  
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• U.S. Democrats want 9/11-style special commission to probe Russia

  09-01-2017 23:24
  Democratic members of the U.S. Congress called on Monday for the creation of an independent commission to investigate Russia's attempts to intervene in the 2016 election, similar to the Sept. 11 panel that probed the 2001 attacks on the United States. The panel members would not be members of Congress. The legislation is one of many calls by lawmakers to look into Russian involvement in the contest, in which Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the White House race, confo
  
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• U.S. sanctions Russia's top investigator, four others for rights abuses

  09-01-2017 23:20
  The United States on Monday blacklisted Alexander Bastrykin, Russia's top investigator and a close aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and four other Russian officials for human rights abuses. The sanctions, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department, are not tied to U.S. hacking allegations against Russia but to the 2012 U.S. Magnitsky Act for human rights abuses, U.S. officials said.
  
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• AP FACT CHECK: Despite woes Obamacare not in 'death spiral'

  09-01-2017 23:20
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says that President Barack Obama's health care law "will fall of its own weight."
  
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• Taiwan courts Central America after U.S. visit angers China

  09-01-2017 23:19
  By Gustavo Palencia TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen praised Honduras for its loyalty on Monday at the start of a trip to four Central American nations aimed at strengthening ties, days after she met U.S. lawmakers in Texas on a visit that angered China. Tsai emphasized Taiwan's economic cooperation with Honduras, one of the world's poorest countries, and said President Juan Orlando Hernandez, whom she met in Tegucigalpa, had been the first to congratulate her on her 2016
  
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• US move to secure election systems meets criticism

  09-01-2017 23:14
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A last-minute decision by the Obama administration to designate election systems as critical infrastructure drew intense criticism from state and federal elections organizations on Monday.
  
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• Ethics officials clear Trump EPA nominee

  09-01-2017 23:14
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal ethics officials on Monday cleared President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for the Environmental Protection Agency for confirmation.
  
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• AP FACT CHECK: Red gowns a-plenty in Washington dress shops

  09-01-2017 23:13
  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ladies in Washington planning to celebrate Donald Trump's inauguration as the next president won't, it turns out, need a fairy godmother to find something to wear.
  
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• Jeremy Hunt ditches four-hour target as A&E crisis deepens

  09-01-2017 23:11
  
  Royal College of Emergency Medicine says significant level of overcrowding at substantial number of hospitals jeopardises patient safetyFrontline doctors have issued an unprecedented warning that patient safety is at risk at many A&E units across the NHS because hospitals are overwhelmed, as the health secretary ­provoked controversy by suggesting the four-hour treatment target should exclude people who waste time by presenting with minor ailments. Related: Share your experiences of the
  
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• Amid hacking feud, US hits Russia with new sanctions

  09-01-2017 23:05
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The outgoing Obama administration on Monday blacklisted five Russians, including a senior law enforcement official close to President Vladimir Putin, as the two nations' feud over U.S. election hacking escalated. The founder of WikiLeaks, publisher of the election-related emails, denounced last week's U.S. intelligence report about the hacking as a "press release."
  
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• Trump son-in-law Kushner to take on senior White House advisory role

  09-01-2017 23:04
  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will become a senior White House adviser and work on trade deals and the Middle East, transition officials said on Monday, in a rare case of a close presidential family member taking on a major job. Kushner, 35, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, is taking the job after receiving legal counsel he would not be violating a U.S. anti-nepotism law based on court rulings that the statute does not
  
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• The Latest: Lawmaker to rehang art removed by colleague

  09-01-2017 23:03
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Congress (all times EST):
  
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• It's the Nigel Farage Show: former Ukip leader hosts first radio phone-in

  09-01-2017 23:03
  
  Farage pledges ‘it’s all about you’ as he delivers monologues on air – but it’s the promise of a call from ‘Donald in Washington’ that keeps attention on LBCWhile Donald Trump turned a broadcasting career into electoral success, Nigel Farage has had to settle for the moment for going in the opposite direction. And, while the president-elect sends his views to millions on Twitter, the former (and possibly future) Ukip leader has opted for the more old-fas
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Says Labour Not 'Wedded To Freedom Of Movement' In Relaunch Speech

  09-01-2017 23:00
  
  Jeremy Corbyn will claim on Tuesday that “Britain can be better off after Brexit”, in his first major intervention of the year which will include a toughening of his line on immigration.
  In a speech that has been billed as a relaunch of his leadership, Corbyn will say the country voted for Brexit to “regain control over our economy, our democracy and people’s lives”.
  Significantly the Labour leader will go further than he has previously in accepting the argument th
  
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• Wigan boss returns to Manchester United in FA Cup

  09-01-2017 22:51
  FA Cup holders Manchester United will face Championship side Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford in the FA Cup fourth round after the draw was made on Monday. The match-up will mean a quick return to Old Trafford for Warren Joyce, the club's former reserve team manager who left United after 10 years to join Wigan last November. Second tier side Wigan have struggled since producing one of the competition's biggest ever upsets when they beat Manchester City 1-0 in the final to win the FA Cup in 2013 an
  
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• Mowatt inspires Leeds FA Cup comeback win

  09-01-2017 22:50
  LONDON (Reuters) - Leeds United came from behind to beat Cambridge United 2-1 and claim a place in the FA Cup fourth round. A third-round shock looked possible when powerful striker Uche Ikpeazu put the League Two side ahead on 25 minutes but the visitors, who are fifth in the Championship, rallied with a strong second-half performance. Northern Ireland international Stuart Dallas headed the equaliser from an Alex Mowatt cross on 56 minutes and Mowatt grabbed the winner, flicking on Pontus Janss
  
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• EU's Liberals rebuff Italy's 5-Star bid to join parliamentary group

  09-01-2017 22:44
  By Gavin Jones and Julia Fioretti ROME/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Liberals in the European Parliament have turned down a request from the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to join their group, putting Italy's second-largest party in an awkward position as it had already left its former partners. 5-Star's members had voted earlier on Monday to break their alliance with the anti-EU UK Independence Party in favour of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), but ALDE declined, citing
  
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• AP-NORC Poll: Obama won nation's approval, didn't unite it

  09-01-2017 22:42
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans feel Barack Obama's presidency divided the country than feel it brought people together, a new poll shows. Yet he leaves office held in high esteem by a solid majority.
  
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• Oil sinks on supply worries; sterling drops on May comments

  09-01-2017 22:34
  By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday on fears that record Iraqi crude exports and growing U.S. output could undermine OPEC's efforts to reduce supply, while sterling slumped on comments by British Prime Minister Theresa May suggesting what could be an aggressive exit from the European Union. The drop in oil prices weighed on energy stocks on Wall Street and the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved further from hitting the historic and widely awaited 20,000 mar
  
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• Fiat Chrysler to add U.S. jobs as Trump puts spotlight on industry

  09-01-2017 22:28
  By Bernie Woodall and David Shepardson DETROIT (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said it will invest $1 billion to modernize two plants in the U.S. Midwest and create 2,000 jobs, and possibly move production of a Ram heavy-duty pickup truck to Michigan from Mexico. FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Monday the decision to retool factories in Ohio and Michigan to build new Jeep sport utility vehicles, including a pickup truck, "was in the works and has been in the works for a long
  
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• Christie emerges empty-handed, his ratings at home dismal

  09-01-2017 22:24
  
  TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — As the last of the top jobs in the Trump administration are handed out in Washington, Gov. Chris Christie is looking increasingly like the guy in "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" who is told: "You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!"
  
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• Venezuela Congress says Maduro 'abandoned post'; Congress called 'disobedient'

  09-01-2017 22:23
  Venezuela's opposition-led Congress on Monday approved a resolution declaring that President Nicolas Maduro had "abandoned his post," a symbolic move unlikely to break a year-long stalemate between the executive and the legislature. The opposition won a sweeping majority in 2015 elections as a result of anger over the country's deep economic crisis, but has been hamstrung by a hostile Supreme Court that has shot down nearly every measure it has approved. The court last year ordered Congress to h
  
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• Nigel Farage On TV More Often Would Have Sunk 'Brexit', Says Vote Leave's Dominic Cummings

  09-01-2017 22:18
  
  Brexit would have failed without Boris Johnson keeping Nigel Farage off television screens in the final days of the referendum campaign, the mastermind of Vote Leave has said.
  Dominic Cummings, the former adviser to Michael Gove who ran the official ‘Out’ campaign, has warned the 600,000 votes that swung the referendum would have been at risk if the ex-Ukip leader had been given more exposure.
  In a wide-ranging, 20,000 word piece, Cummings - the man credited with coining t
  
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• Five Star backtracks on quitting Eurosceptic parliamentary bloc

  09-01-2017 22:14 via ft.com
  Beppe Grillo’s populist Italian party rejected by liberal MEP grouping
  
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• Meryl Streep overrated? Donald Trump picks a decorated star

  09-01-2017 22:13
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter on Monday, calling Meryl Streep "one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood" following her speech Sunday night at the Golden Globe awards
  
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• Hacking as political warfare

  09-01-2017 22:10
  Russia almost certainly hacked into and stole information from the Democratic National Committee, as well as emails from the account of John Podesta, campaign chairman of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. With a military and economy much weaker than those of the United States, Russia apparently turned to an unconventional means of exerting its influence – hacking.
  
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• Feds: More than 800 career programs are failing their grads

  09-01-2017 22:01
  Hundreds of for-profit college programs are at risk of losing federal funding after failing to meet new "gainful employment" standards. The Education Department on Monday released its first data ...
  
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• Democrats to challenge Sessions on immigration, civil rights

  09-01-2017 22:00
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats will challenge President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, over his hard-line stand on immigration, past record on civil rights and his support for community policing when he appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  
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• Italy reopening embassy in Libya two years after closure

  09-01-2017 21:54
  Italy is sending its ambassador back to Libya, its foreign ministry said on Monday, making it the first Western diplomatic mission to reopen in the divided country. Italy closed its embassy in Libya in 2015 as rival factions descended into a conflict which has let people smugglers operate with impunity and Islamic State establish a firm foothold. The foreign ministry said in a statement the ambassador would present his credentials to the local government on Tuesday.
  
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• Dems plan talk-a-thon, GOP pushes effort to void health law

  09-01-2017 21:54
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats planned hours of Senate speeches Monday to condemn the Republican push to obliterate President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, as the chamber's GOP leader stood by his party's plans to void the law and replace it later.
  
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• Justices could revive suit against Indian casino limo driver

  09-01-2017 21:52
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is weighing whether Indian tribes' immunity from lawsuits also extends to their employees in incidents that take place far from Indian reservations.
  
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• Lords send signal on opposition to university bill

  09-01-2017 21:49 via ft.com
  Vote reflects cross-party hostility to moves on increasing competition in sector
  
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• Kardashian driver among 17 arrested in France over jewel heist

  09-01-2017 21:33
  French police investigating the theft of nearly $10 million in jewels from Kim Kardashian arrested 17 people on Monday, including a chauffeur who drove the American reality television star around Paris in the days before the robbery. Many of those arrested in coordinated police raids in several different parts of France were known underworld figures aged around 50 and at least three were women, police and judicial sources said. A police source said one of those detained was Kardashian's chauffeu
  
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• Oil down 4 percent on concerns over rising Iraqi exports, U.S. output

  09-01-2017 21:23
  By Catherine Ngai NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices tumbled by 4 percent on Monday on concern that record Iraqi crude exports and rising U.S. output would undermine OPEC's efforts to curb global oversupply. U.S. crude futures settled down $2.03 at $51.96 a barrel, while Brent futures settled down $2.16 at $54.94 a barrel. In Iraq, OPEC's second-biggest producer, oil exports from the southern Basra ports reached a record high of 3.51 million barrels per day (bpd) in December, the oil ministry said.
  
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• Manufacturers urge go-ahead for Swansea tidal scheme

  09-01-2017 21:15 via ft.com
  Review of £1.3bn lagoon power project to be published on Thursday
  
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• The Latest: Hollywood turning out for women's march Jan. 21

  09-01-2017 21:12
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• The Latest: Schumer says Trump picks must comply with checks

  09-01-2017 21:08
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Congress (all times local):
  
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• Golden Globes ratings rise; host Fallon gets mixed reviews

  09-01-2017 21:08
  The Golden Globes were a strong night for “La La Land” and FX’s “Atlanta,” but first-time host Jimmy Fallon’s performance at the movie and TV awards show received mixed reviews. Sunday’s broadcast of the 74th Golden Globe Awards by Comcast Corp's NBC topped last year’s audience, following two years of declines, according to Nielsen data released by NBC. As host, Fallon won few friends, with many critics missing the sharp edge brought by British com
  
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• Jewish centres report bomb threats in several U.S. states

  09-01-2017 21:06
  Jewish community centres in several U.S. states were evacuated on Monday after they reported receiving bomb threats, according to the organizations' social media accounts and local media reports. Kaplen JCC in the New York City suburb of Tenafly, New Jersey, said on its Facebook page that it received a bomb threat in the afternoon and had reopened as of 2:00 p.m. (1900 GMT). "The police have completed a thorough sweep of the JCC and have deemed the threat not credible and the building safe," the
  
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• U.S. Treasury adds seven people to counter terrorism blacklist

  09-01-2017 21:04
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday it had added seven people to its list of those subject to its counter terrorism blacklist, including five from Russia and one each from Lebanon and Iran. In a statement, the department said its Office of Foreign Asset Control had added the seven men to its Specially Designated Nationals list. (http://bit.ly/2iwSBGy) (Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by David Alexander)
  
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• Celebrities to turn out for women's march on Washington

  09-01-2017 21:04
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Hollywood will be turning out in force for the women's march on Washington set to follow Donald Trump's inauguration.
  
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• Ivory Coast's president dismisses heads of army, police, gendarmes

  09-01-2017 21:02
  Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara dismissed the heads of the army, police and gendarmes on Monday after a two-day army mutiny that spread unrest across the West African nation, according to a statement from the presidency. Army chief General Soumaila Bakayoko, Gervais Kouakou Kouassi, the superior commander of the National Gendarmerie and Director General of the National Police Bredou M'Bia were relieved of command with immediate effect, the statement said. The weekend uprising was the s
  
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• U.S. Navy ship fired warning shots at Iranian vessels

  09-01-2017 20:56
  By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after they closed in at high speed and disregarded repeated requests to slow down, U.S. officials said on Monday. The incident, which occurred on Sunday and was first reported by Reuters, comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harassed the U.S. Navy in the
  
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• Northern Ireland faces elections as deputy leader McGuinness quits

  09-01-2017 20:54
  By Amanda Ferguson BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's deputy leader, Martin McGuinness, resigned on Monday in protest at First Minister Arlene Foster's handling of a controversial green-energy scheme, a move likely to trigger an election in the British province. The collapse of the relationship between Irish nationalist leader McGuinness and Foster, a pro-British unionist, risks paralysing the region's response to Britain's planned exit from the European Union as London prepares to trigger d
  
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• Sturgeon rules out 2017 Scottish independence vote

  09-01-2017 20:50 via ft.com
  SNP will not seek referendum before Brexit as long as UK stays in single market
  
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• Ex-premier Valls seen lagging in bid for French Socialist presidential ticket

  09-01-2017 20:44
  The campaign of French presidential hopeful Manuel Valls is losing steam as the Socialists enter a crucial week in picking their candidate, polls show, a scenario that could help Emmanuel Macron. The Socialists, who have held the presidency under Francois Hollande since 2012, are not expected to come close to retaining power in the spring election. Most polls see a runoff on May 7 between conservative Francois Fillon and far-right leader Marine Le Pen, with former prime minister Fillon winning b
  
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