Political news

• Q of the Week: What Books Inform Your Daily Life?

  20-01-2017 23:59
  President Obama told The New York Times that reading books like The Three-Body Problem and The Underground Railroad helped him “slow down and get perspective” during his eight years in the White House.
  
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• Trump gets Obama's house, title _ even his Twitter handle

  20-01-2017 23:58
  
  Donald Trump built his campaign on early morning tweet storms and hashtag-worthy slogans. Now president, he's in control of the White House's powerful social media arsenal, including the official @POTUS Twitter account that has nearly 14 million followers.
  
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• Report: 'Net neutrality' foe Ajit Pai is new FCC head

  20-01-2017 23:58
  
  President Donald Trump has reportedly picked a fierce critic of the Obama-era "net neutrality" rules to be chief regulator of the nation's airwaves and internet connections. Citing unidentified ...
  
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• PHOTOS: Pomp, fanfare and protest for Trump inauguration

  20-01-2017 23:52
  
  Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States Friday, vowing that "through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other." Hundreds of thousands gathered ...
  
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• Stoke end striker Berahino's West Brom misery

  20-01-2017 23:51
  Wantaway striker Saido Berahino finally ended his unhappy stay at West Bromwich Albion by joining fellow Premier League club Stoke City on a 5-1/2 year deal for 12 million pounds on Friday. Stoke beat off competition from top-flight rivals Watford and West Ham United to sign Berahino, whose relationship with West Brom soured after a bid from Tottenham Hotspur was rejected on transfer deadline day in 2015. Stoke, ninth in the league one place and two points below West Brom , said the 23-year-old
  
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• Mexico seeks stronger U.S. ties despite Trump campaign barbs

  20-01-2017 23:48
  By Adriana Barrera MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's president said on Friday he wanted to strengthen relations with his new U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, whose threats and barbs against the country raised fears of a major economic crisis, and battered its currency. President Enrique Pena Nieto, pilloried at home for meeting Trump in August after the New York businessman called Mexican migrants rapists and murderers, said on Twitter he would defend the interests of Mexico and its people in a "re
  
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• U.S. asks South Korea to arrest former U.N. chief Ban's brother

  20-01-2017 23:45
  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government has asked South Korea to arrest a brother of former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on charges that he engaged in a bribery scheme to carry out the sale of a Vietnamese building complex, a U.S. prosecutor said on Friday. During a court hearing in federal court in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Noble said that a request had been made for the arrest of Ban Ki-sang, who was an executive at South Korean construction firm Keangnam
  
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• Lewandowski's last-gasp goal earns Bayern 2-1 win at Freiburg

  20-01-2017 23:34
  Robert Lewandowski scored twice, including a stoppage-time winner as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from a goal down to beat Freiburg 2-1 on Friday and open up a six point lead as the league resumed after the winter break. With his back to the goal, Lewandowski controlled a cross with his chest and fired past the Freiburg keeper in stoppage time to rescue the three points for lacklustre Bayern. "For us it was a very hard game from start to finish because Freiburg were good," Bayern coach
  
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• Tottenham's Pochettino backs Guardiola to be successful at City

  20-01-2017 23:33
  By Ken Ferris LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester City will be fighting for titles this season under Pep Guardiola despite their struggles, his Tottenham Hotspur counterpart Mauricio Pochettino said ahead of their Premier League clash at the Etihad on Saturday. After being thrashed 4-0 by Everton at Goodison Park last weekend in the biggest domestic league defeat of Guardiola's managerial career, the Spaniard effectively ruled City out of the title race. In contrast, Spurs have jumped into second spot
  
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• Taiwan dismisses 'petty' concerns of China over US inaugural

  20-01-2017 23:32
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The leader of Taiwan's delegation to the U.S. presidential inauguration dismissed as "small-minded" China's strong objections to his attendance Friday.
  
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• Obama exits the presidency voicing optimism for the future

  20-01-2017 23:32
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Closing out a barrier-breaking chapter in history, former President Barack Obama left the White House on Friday much the way he entered it eight years ago: insisting Americans have reason for optimism despite the national sense of unease.
  
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• Brexiteers in warning to German business

  20-01-2017 23:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  German firms are told they will pay a "high price" if the EU makes life hard for the UK over Brexit.
  
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• Jones needs more England leaders, but not Itoje

  20-01-2017 23:11
  By Mitch Phillips LONDON (Reuters) - England coach Eddie Jones has made developing more leaders in the team one of his top priorities but said forward Maro Itoje is not about to be fast-tracked towards captaincy. Jones raised a few eyebrows when he installed Dylan Hartley as captain at the start of his reign but was rewarded with a largely trouble-free, and hugely successful, year from the bad-boy hooker with a poor disciplinary record. Hartley is set to start in England’s first Six Nation
  
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• Dollar falls, U.S. stocks end higher after Trump inauguration

  20-01-2017 22:59
  By Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar ended down while U.S. stock indexes rose in the last day of a choppy trading week, as investors reacted to President Donald Trump's inaugural speech. U.S. stocks started the day higher but gave up some gains after Trump started speaking. U.S. Treasury yields fell from 2-1/2-week highs after the speech on concerns fiscal stimulus efforts may be delayed.
  
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• Michelle Obama's Reactions Were The Highlight Of Trump's Inauguration

  20-01-2017 22:51
  
  It was always going to be an iconic moment when Barack and Michelle Obama welcomed Donald and Melania Trump to the White House.
  But the greeting at the front steps ahead of the Inauguration of the 45th President of the US was made more awkward when the new First Lady handed the exiting FLOTUS a gift.
  No-one knows what was inside the blue Tiffany box, which was given to an unknown aide inside the White House.
  But Twitter was having a guess - as well as generating one final Michelle Obama FLOTUS m
  
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• Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo' pleads not guilty in U.S. court

  20-01-2017 22:51
  By Nate Raymond and Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman appeared in a U.S. court on Friday after his surprise extradition from Mexico and pleaded not guilty to charges that he ran the world's largest drug-trafficking organization during a decades-long criminal career. Guzman, 59, once one of the world's most wanted drug lords, was accompanied by two court-appointed lawyers during the appearance in federal court in Brooklyn. Best known by the nickname El Cha
  
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• FACT CHECK: Trump starts on familiar note: with exaggeration

  20-01-2017 22:50
  
  Donald Trump's inaugural address held familiar echoes of the campaign speeches that led to his presidential win: downbeat about the state of the nation, to the point of hyperbole. A look at some of his ...
  
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• Morocco recover to beat Togo 3-1 and revive hopes

  20-01-2017 22:49
  Morocco stormed back from conceding a fifth minute goal to beat Togo 3-1 on Friday and keep alive their chances of progressing to the last eight at the African Nations Cup. Beaten by Democratic Republic of Congo in their Group C opener, the former champions could ill afford another slip. Aziz Bouhaddouz justified his late call-up to the squad by bringing Morocco level nine minutes later.
  
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• Apple files $1 billion suit against chip supplier Qualcomm

  20-01-2017 22:48
  Apple Inc filed a $1 billion lawsuit against supplier Qualcomm Inc on Friday, following a U.S. government lawsuit which accused the chip maker of using anti-competitive tactics to maintain its monopoly of a key semiconductor in mobile phones. Qualcomm is a major supplier to both Apple and Samsung for "modem" chips that help phones connect to wireless networks. Together the two accounted for 40 percent of Qualcomm's $23.5 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year.
  
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• Violence flares in Washington during Trump inauguration

  20-01-2017 22:47
  By Jonathan Landay and Scott Malone WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America's political divisions turned violent on Washington's streets during U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday, as black clad anti-establishment activists set fires and clashed with police while Trump supporters cheered the new chief executive. Earlier, activists wearing masks used chunks of pavement and baseball bats to shatter the windows of a Bank of America branch and a McDonald's outlet, all symbols of American cap
  
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• The Latest: Vehicle burning as DC protests escalate

  20-01-2017 22:43
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Donald Trump's inauguration as the 45th president of the United States (all times EST):
  
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• Confrontation near parade route escalates, pepper spray used

  20-01-2017 22:43
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Protesters registered their rage against the new president Friday in a chaotic confrontation with police who used pepper spray and stun grenades in a melee just blocks from Donald Trump's inaugural parade route. Scores were arrested for trashing property and attacking officers.
  
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• Greece says it may extend fiscal contingency mechanism to 2019

  20-01-2017 22:42
  Greece may extend a contingency mechanism by a year until 2019 to ensure it meets fiscal targets and end a stalemate in talks with its euro zone lenders and the IMF over a bailout review, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Friday. Talks between Athens and the foreign lenders on its bailout progress have dragged on for months due to differences on labour and energy reforms as well as on fiscal targets and debt relief measures beyond 2018. Greece's EU lenders want the country to achieve and mai
  
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• Analysis: Trump speech shows America getting what it ordered

  20-01-2017 22:33
  
  America is getting what it ordered on Election Day. If anyone was expecting an evolution from Donald Trump the candidate to Donald Trump the president, never mind. The new president delivered an inaugural ...
  
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• US airstrike said to kill 100-plus al-Qaida in Syria

  20-01-2017 22:32
  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. warplanes bombed an al-Qaida training camp in Syria, killing more than 100 militants, marking the second major U.S. counterterrorism strike in the final hours of Barack Obama's presidency, the Pentagon said Friday.
  
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• U.S. air strike in Syria kills more than 100 al Qaeda members - Pentagon

  20-01-2017 22:30
  A U.S. air strike on Thursday targeting an al Qaeda training camp in Syria's Idlib province killed more than 100 militants, the Pentagon said in a statement on Friday. The strike took place just a day before the end of Barack Obama's presidency and the beginning of Donald Trump's, and a day after more than 80 Islamic State militants were killed in U.S. air strikes in Libya. "The removal of this training camp disrupts training operations and discourages hardline Islamist and Syrian opposition gro
  
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• It's now President Trump, vowing 'America First' in nationalist speech

  20-01-2017 22:25
  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump took power as the 45th president of the United States on Friday and pledged to end what he called an "American carnage" of rusted factories and crime in an inaugural address that was a populist and nationalist rallying cry. Striking a defiant tone, Trump said the American middle class has been devastated by the outsourcing of jobs abroad. "From this moment on, it's going to be America First," the Republican told thousands of people gathered on
  
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• DeVos finalizes disclosures ahead of vote, but Dems unhappy

  20-01-2017 22:24
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary pick Betsy DeVos has finalized her financial and ethics disclosures ahead of her confirmation vote, but Democratic senators still say they need more information.
  
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• Austrian police arrest man suspected of planning imminent attack

  20-01-2017 22:21
  An Austrian man suspected of having jihadi contacts was arrested on Friday in Vienna in a move the interior minister said prevented an imminent attack and police urged citizens to report any abandoned bags. Special forces arrested the 18-year-old with a migrant background in a Vienna apartment at around 1700 GMT, police said. "The decisive leads came from foreign intelligence services," Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka told reporters.
  
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• Taking his exit, Obama says presidency proved hope wins out

  20-01-2017 22:20
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Barack Obama exited the presidency on Friday with a message of gratitude to Americans and a plea to his supporters not to be bowed by the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
  
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• Trump draws far smaller inaugural crowd than Obama

  20-01-2017 22:16
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Far fewer people attended President Donald Trump's inauguration Friday than his predecessor's swearing-in eight years ago.
  
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• Rockets fired at Istanbul police and AKP offices, no casualties

  20-01-2017 22:16
  Unidentified assailants attacked Istanbul's police headquarters and an office of the ruling AK Party with improvised rocket launchers on Friday, officials said, the latest acts of violence in a city which has seen a string of bombings and shootings. Islamic State, Kurdish militants and far-leftist groups have all claimed or been blamed for attacks in the city in the recent past. The first attack on the police headquarters in Fatih, a district on the European side of the city, damaged a wall, acc
  
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• Factbox - Trump's presidency prompts some notes of caution from foreign leaders

  20-01-2017 22:11
  (Reuters) - Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president on Friday was greeted with notes of caution by some foreign leaders. Here is some of the reaction: Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto congratulated Trump on his inauguration, saying he would like to strengthen ties, but that sovereignty, national interest and protection of Mexicans would be paramount. Pena Nieto, criticized for meeting Trump last year even after the New York businessman had insulted Mexicans in his election campaign, sa
  
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• Trump administration targets violent Islamist groups as foreign policy priority

  20-01-2017 22:07
  By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration will make defeating "radical Islamic terror groups" its top foreign policy goal, according to a statement posted on the White House website moments after Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president. Trump, a Republican, used his inaugural address on Friday to promise to "unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth." In the statement, titled "America
  
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• Germany must prepare for 'rough ride' under Trump - Vice Chancellor

  20-01-2017 21:44
  By Joseph Nasr BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will need a new economic strategy geared towards Asia should the new U.S. administration start a trade war with China, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Friday, warning against protectionism hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in. "I think we have to prepare for a rough ride," Gabriel said in an interview with the public broadcaster ZDF, in the first official German reaction to Trump's inauguration.
  
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• Promises, pomp and protests as Trump sworn in

  20-01-2017 21:39
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Pledging to empower America's "forgotten men and women," Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States Friday, taking command of a deeply divided nation and ushering in an unpredictable era in Washington. His victory gives Republicans control of the White House for the first time in eight years.
  
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• Factbox - Quick action Trump could take on energy, environment, climate

  20-01-2017 21:37
  (Reuters) - Donald Trump, a big supporter of the U.S. oil, gas and coal industries, has promised to get to work quickly after being sworn in as president of the United States, raising expectations that he will sign a slew of executive orders. Here are some of the executive actions and other manoeuvres that could come quickly, related to energy, the environment and climate change: CLEAN POWER PLAN Trump, a Republican, has promised to kill Democratic predecessor Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, wh
  
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• Gambia's Jammeh agrees to go into exile as regional troops mass

  20-01-2017 21:34
  By Tim Cocks BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambia's Yahya Jammeh, who led his country for 22 years but refused to accept his election defeat last month, has agreed to step down and go into exile, a senior advisor to new President Adama Barrow on Friday. The news came as regional armies, who entered Gambian territory late on Thursday, were poised to remove Jammeh by force just hours after the army chief recognised Barrow as commander-in-chief. West African leaders Alpha Conde of Guinea and Mauritania's Pres
  
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• Trump picks FCC member Pai to lead agency - Bloomberg

  20-01-2017 21:33
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will name Ajit Pai, a Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission, to lead the agency, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the transition. Pai has dissented from the decisions of Democrats on the FCC that supported net neutrality provisions that forbid internet service providers from blocking or slowing web traffic to some users. (Reporting by Eric Walsh)
  
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• Trump signs first bill and actions as president

  20-01-2017 21:32
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday quickly claimed the mantle of the White House, signing legislation allowing retired Gen. James Mattis to serve as his defense secretary, as well as the nomination papers for his Cabinet choices.
  
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• In opening act, Trump's light side on display with lawmakers

  20-01-2017 21:26
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump turned on the charm with congressional leaders as they witnessed him nominating his Cabinet.
  
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• Donald Trump's White House Immediately Deletes Climate Change Page And Pledges 'America First' Drilling

  20-01-2017 21:20
  
  Donald Trump’s White House has announced it will drill for oil and gas almost immediately after he was inaugurated.
  Trump had only been president for minutes when the White House website deleted all references to “climate change”, removing the dedicated climate change page and publishing a plan to drill for oil in an “America First energy plan”. 
  “For too long, we’ve been held back by burdensome regulations on our energy industry,” the plan sa
  
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• Melania Trump channels Jackie Kennedy but Conway grabs fashion headlines

  20-01-2017 21:18
  New U.S. first lady Melania Trump channelled style icon Jacqueline Kennedy on Friday but the Inauguration Day fashion headlines were stolen by a military-style coat worn by one of her husband's aides. Trump, 46, the White House's first former model, chose American designer Ralph Lauren's baby blue cropped jacket with cowl neckline and matching dress for the swearing-in ceremony in Washington. Conway described it "Trump revolutionary wear" in an interview with NBC television.
  
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• Silverstone says no decision on British GP until July

  20-01-2017 21:15
  By Alan Baldwin LONDON (Reuters) - Silverstone's owners have dismissed as "speculative and wrong" recent media reports suggesting the British Formula One Grand Prix would be dropped after 2019. The British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) said in a statement on Friday that no decision on exercising a break clause would be made before mid-July, when the race is held. "Our objective is to preserve the British Grand Prix at Silverstone for many years to come but, of course, we can only do this if i
  
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• Chapo extradition seen boosting U.S.-Mexico security relations under Trump

  20-01-2017 21:11
  By Gabriel Stargardter MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Irrespective of whether Mexico's decision to extradite drug kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman aimed to honour outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama or appease his successor, Donald Trump, law enforcement from both countries say it bodes well for security cooperation. Guzman, the feared boss of the Sinaloa cartel who shot to international stardom after two jailbreaks, was extradited from a prison in northern Mexico to New York on Thursday, the eve of Tru
  
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• Taiwan's president tweets congratulations to Trump

  20-01-2017 21:04
  Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took to Twitter on Saturday to congratulate U.S. President Donald Trump on his inauguration in a move likely to draw objections from China, already angry with a protocol-breaking phone call a month ago between the two leaders. Democracy is what ties Taiwan and the US together. Look forward to advancing our friendship & partnership," Tsai tweeted just minutes after Trump took his oath of office.
  
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• Melania Trump's hometown hopes new-found fame will boost trade, tourism

  20-01-2017 21:03
  By Marja Novak SEVNICA, Slovenia (Reuters) - "First Lady" apple pies in the Kruhek bakery in Melania Trump's hometown of Sevnica in Slovenia are selling like hot cakes. "We sell more than a hundred a day so the pies are our main product these days," said Sergeja Gorenjec, a saleswoman at the bakery. "Our workday is longer but we are glad and proud of Melania." Tourist numbers have doubled over the past year, when interest in Melania rose during her husband Donald Trump's presidential election ca
  
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• Factbox - Facts about the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president

  20-01-2017 21:03
  (Reuters) - With his left hand on a Bible used by Abraham Lincoln, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th U.S. president around noon (1700 GMT) on Friday and give an address at the west front of the U.S. Capitol before leading a parade to the White House. Here are some facts about his inauguration: * Weather is forecast to be wet and unseasonably warm. The National Weather Service predicts temperatures nearing 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) and rain tapering off by midafternoon.
  
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• Nigel Farage hired by Fox News as a political analyst

  20-01-2017 20:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The former UKIP leader will contribute to Fox News' main channel and business network.
  
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• 27 Things Wrong With President Donald Trump's Inauguration Speech

  20-01-2017 20:36
  
  Donald Trump is President of the United States of America, an event he marked with a relatively brief inauguration speech.
  There were positives:I think the best that can be said about that Trump inauguration speech is that it was mercifully brief.— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) January 20, 2017
  And it certainly put to bed some debates of recent days:I think maybe Trump did write his own speech.— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) January 20, 2017
  It went down well with a certain demographi
  
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