Political news

• Lawyers: Police wrongly arrested some on Inauguration Day

  22-01-2017 23:56
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Some innocent observers, including two journalists, were improperly swept up in a group of 230 people arrested after self-described anti-capitalists began breaking windows in Washington on Inauguration Day, lawyers said.
  
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• May to unveil 10 ‘pillars’ of industrial strategy

  22-01-2017 23:43 via ft.com
  ‘New, active role’ for government proposed with champions appointed to growth sectors
  
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• Trump, amid combative start, pledges to rise to moment

  22-01-2017 23:42
  
  After a combative start to his presidency, Donald Trump delivered a more unifying message Sunday and sought to reassure Americans he was up to the daunting task ahead, as he turned to the business of government. ...
  
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• Factbox: The 10 pillars of Britain's Modern Industrial Strategy

  22-01-2017 23:40
  British Prime Minister Theresa May has set out the first details of a 'Modern Industrial Strategy' designed to adapt the economy for a post-Brexit era and revitalize areas of the country left behind by a decades long decline in manufacturing. Investing in science, research and innovation – we must become a more innovative economy and do more to commercialize our world-leading science base to drive growth across the UK. 3. Upgrading infrastructure – we must upgrade our stand
  
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• UK seeks interventionist approach to drive post-Brexit industrial revival

  22-01-2017 23:38
  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will on Monday outline a new, interventionist approach to balancing its heavily services-based economy for the post-Brexit era, seeking to reinvigorate industrial production and stimulate investment in technology and R&D. Unveiling her long-awaited 'Modern Industrial Strategy', Prime Minister Theresa May will demand closer collaboration within key industries in exchange for government support on regulation, trade and research. May will ask business
  
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• White House vows to fight media 'tooth and nail' over Trump coverage

  22-01-2017 23:23
  By Doina Chiacu and Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House vowed on Sunday to fight the news media "tooth and nail" over what it sees as unfair attacks, with a top adviser saying the Trump administration had presented "alternative facts" to counter low inauguration crowd estimates. On his first full day as president, Trump said he had a "running war" with the media and accused journalists of underestimating the number of people who turned out Friday for his swearing-in. White House o
  
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• Israel lifts restrictions on building more homes in East Jerusalem

  22-01-2017 23:20
  By Ori Lewis JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told senior ministers he is lifting restrictions on settlement building in East Jerusalem, a statement said on Sunday, immediately after the city's municipal government approved permits for the building of hundreds of new homes in the area. "There is no longer a need to coordinate construction in the Jewish neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem. "My vision is to enact sovereignty over all the settlements," the statement
  
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• After mass turnout, can protests turn into political impact?

  22-01-2017 23:10
  
  DENVER (AP) — Deb Szeman, a self-described "homebody," had never participated in a demonstration before hopping on an overnight bus from her home in Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend the women's march on Washington.
  
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• The Latest: Trump, Netanyahu speak about peace, other issues

  22-01-2017 23:02
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• Analysis - First days of Trump era signal America's deepening political divide

  22-01-2017 22:53
  By Scott Malone WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the blocks surrounding the White House, signs reading "Love Trumps Hate" and "Build Bridges Not Walls" littered the sidewalks on Sunday, the detritus of the Women's March protesting the policies of President Donald Trump. Both Trump's supporters and women and men who took part in the massive march against him in Washington on Saturday contemplated the vestiges of protest and ruminated about the convulsive first 48 hours under the Republican president. Fo
  
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• Netanyahu says Trump invites him to Washington in February

  22-01-2017 22:39
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump had invited him to a meeting in Washington in February. In Washington, Trump, who took office on Friday, said his phone call with Netanyahu had been "very nice." He was asked about the call by reporters after delivering remarks at a ceremony swearing in his top advisers at the White House. The statement from Netanyahu's office said "the Prime Minister expressed his desire to work closely with
  
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• Trump nomination to lead State picks up support in Senate

  22-01-2017 22:19
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil executive with close business ties to Russia, saw his prospects of becoming secretary of state brighten Sunday after gaining the support of two influential Republican senators who had wavered on the nomination.
  
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• George H.W. Bush improving, wife staying night in hospital

  22-01-2017 22:11
  
  HOUSTON (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush's health continues to improve and his wife, who is also recovering from illness, has chosen to remain hospitalized one more night to be "closer to her husband," a family spokesman said Sunday.
  
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• The Latest: Trump singles out FBI's Comey at reception

  22-01-2017 22:01
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• Socialist rebel and ex-PM Valls head for runoff in presidential primary

  22-01-2017 21:50
  By Leigh Thomas PARIS (Reuters) - Benoit Hamon, a former Socialist education minister on the left of the party, won the first round of a vote to pick a Socialist presidential candidate on Sunday and was set to meet ex-prime minister Manuel Valls in a runoff, partial results showed. Hamon, 48, who was sacked from the government of President Francois Hollande for criticising his economic policies, had won 35.2 percent of the vote and Valls, a pro-business Hollande loyalist in government, about 31
  
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• MPs accuse Theresa May of covering up Trident malfunction

  22-01-2017 21:43
  
  Labour and SNP call on prime minister to explain whether she knew of failed test before renewal vote last JulyTheresa May is under pressure to come clean in the House of Commons about the failure of a Trident missile test after MPs accused her of covering up the truth before a crucial parliamentary vote on renewing the nuclear deterrent.
  Labour and the Scottish National party said the prime minister must explain herself after it emerged that an unarmed missile malfunctioned during a rare test la
  
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• Policeman wounded in Northern Ireland shooting

  22-01-2017 21:41
  A policeman was wounded in a shooting at a petrol station in north Belfast on Sunday evening, the police service of Northern Ireland said in a Twitter post. A police spokesman did not immediately return a call requesting details. Shootings of police officers in Northern Ireland have been relatively rare since a 1998 peace deal ended three decades of violence between Catholic Irish nationalists, opposed to British rule, and Protestant pro-British unionists.
  
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• Death toll at Italian hotel hit by avalanche rises to six, 23 still missing

  22-01-2017 21:39
  Italian rescue workers have found the dead body of a man in the wreckage of the hotel in central Italy that was buried in an avalanche last week, the Italian fire service said on Sunday, with 23 people were still missing as the search operation continues. "At Hotel Rigopiano, at 1645 CET, the fire brigade located the dead body of one of the missing people," the fire service said in a Tweet. The death toll stands at six, with 23 people still missing, Paolo Molinari from the Civil Protection agenc
  
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• Costa lets hands do the talking on superb Chelsea return

  22-01-2017 21:31
  By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) - Returning Chelsea striker Diego Costa did not just let his predatory right foot do his talking for him on Sunday. The striker who is never far away from controversy shot the Premier League leaders towards a 2-0 win over Hull City on his return to the first team and celebrated his first-half goal with gestures that mimicked gossiping mouths. At least, that seemed to be his considered response to a wave of reports that he had been involved in a row with Chel
  
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• Egypt's Museum of Islamic Art welcomes first visitors since 2014 bombing

  22-01-2017 21:24
  Egypt's Museum of Islamic Art, home to one of the world's most important collections of Islamic artefacts, is welcoming visitors for the first time since it was damaged in a car bombing three years ago. It reopened last week after a two-year restoration programme funded by the United Arab Emirates and UNESCO, the cultural arm of the United Nation, as well Switzerland, the United States and Italy. Restoration experts were able to salvage all but 19 of the 179 damaged pieces and more than 4,400 ex
  
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• Trump says call with Israel's Netanyahu was 'very nice'

  22-01-2017 21:14
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said his phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday was "very nice." Trump, who took office on Friday, spoke with Netanyahu on Sunday afternoon. Trump was asked about the call by reporters after delivering remarks at a ceremony swearing in his top advisors at the White House. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe and Steve Holland; Editing by Paul Simao)
  
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• West African troops enter Gambia capital to cheers after Jammeh flees

  22-01-2017 21:06
  By Tim Cocks and Diadie Ba BANJUL/DAKAR (Reuters) - West African troops entered Gambia's capital, Banjul, on Sunday, to cheers from the city's residents a Reuters witness said, part of efforts to allow new President Adama Barrow to take office after the country's former ruler fled overnight. Yahya Jammeh, who led Gambia for 22 years but refused to accept defeat in a December election, flew out of Banjul late on Saturday en route to Equatorial Guinea as the regional force was poised to remove him
  
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• Costa back to fire Chelsea, Wenger sent off as Arsenal chase

  22-01-2017 21:04
  Diego Costa returned for Chelsea with deadly effect on Sunday, scoring in the 2-0 win over Hull City which increased their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points after Arsenal had earlier taken up the mantle as their nearest pursuers. The Gunners beat Burnley 2-1 at the Emirates where the real drama came in injury time when each side scored a penalty and Arsene Wenger clashed with the fourth official after being sent off for disputing the first spot-kick. By contrast, the day's ot
  
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• White House vows to fight media 'tooth and nail' over Trump attacks

  22-01-2017 20:58
  By Doina Chiacu and Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House vowed on Sunday to fight the news media "tooth and nail" over what it sees as unfair attacks, with a top adviser saying the Trump administration had presented "alternative facts" to counter low inauguration crowd estimates. On his first full day as president, Trump said he had a "running war" with the media and accused journalists of underestimating the number of people who turned out Friday for his swearing-in. White House o
  
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• Investor Schroders plots Bovis merger with Berkeley - Sunday Times

  22-01-2017 20:54
  
  (Reuters) - Bovis Homes Group Plc investor Schroder Investment Management has written to Berkeley Group Holdings Plc, urging the London builder to consider an all-share merger with its smaller rival, the Sunday Times reported. Housebuilder Redrow Plc is monitoring the situation after Schroders, Bovis's second-biggest shareholder with a stake of about 6.4 percent, moved to push for a sale of Bovis, the Times said. Bovis, Berkeley, Redrow, and Schroders could not immediately be reached for comment
  
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• Martin Rowson on Donald Trump’s meeting with Theresa May – cartoon

  22-01-2017 20:50
  
  Continue reading...
  
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• Alpine skiing - Ryding puts Britain on the podium in Kitzbuehel

  22-01-2017 20:49
  (Reuters) - Dave Ryding was the talk of Kitzbuehel on Sunday after he finished second in one of the biggest slaloms of the Alpine ski season to match Britain's best ever World Cup result. With his first career podium, the 30-year-old who learnt to ski on a dry slope in north-west England matched compatriot Konrad Bartelski's astonishing second place in a Val Gardena downhill in 1981. Although it was a British sporting pioneer Arnold Lunn who is today credited with having invented the modern slal
  
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• Ireland could yet benefit from Brexit

  22-01-2017 20:33 via ft.com
  Continued EU membership is a crucial factor for many multinationals based there
  
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• Theresa May reluctant to challenge Trump's 'unacceptable' sexism

  22-01-2017 20:31
  
  PM indicates she will use Washington talks to discuss ‘pressing global issues’ including Syria, Russia and NatoTheresa May will this week travel to meet Donald Trump for talks about Nato, post-Brexit trade and fighting terrorism, but indicated she would not raise his comments about women despite branding them as unacceptable. Related: Women's March on Washington overshadows Trump's first full day in officeContinue reading...
  
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• Some question push for tougher penalties for attacking cops

  22-01-2017 20:25
  
  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Eric Greitens is pushing to toughen Missouri's already stiff penalties for attacking a police officer, reflecting similar efforts underway in other states and pleasing many in Missouri's law enforcement community, which has been on the defensive since the police killing of an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson more than two years ago.
  
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• The Guardian View on the anti-Trump marches: Nasty Women of the world unite | Editorial

  22-01-2017 20:24
  
  The estimated 2 million protesters who took to the streets across more than 60 countries this weekend are right to battle the threats to historic advances in equalityIt is not by chance that women have led the opposition to Donald Trump’s ascendancy. An estimated 2 million demonstrated across the United States and around the world this weekend, in events across 60-plus countries, including Malawi, Peru, India and Lebanon. Attendance in Washington DC was estimated to be three times that of
  
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• Thousands join anti-government protests in Romania over proposed law reforms

  22-01-2017 20:18
  Thousands of Romanians rallied in Bucharest and cities across the country on Sunday to protest against government plans to decriminalise some offences and pardon some convicted prisoners through emergency decrees that critics say threaten to undermine a crackdown on high-level graft. The new cabinet of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu last week unveiled the draft decrees that have been criticised by the president, the prosecutor general, the supreme court, the chief anti-corruption prosecutor and
  
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• Memo to Piers Morgan: Why do we march? It’s not just protest, it’s about love | Zoe Williams

  22-01-2017 20:15
  
  From Greenham Common to Trump, what brings so many strangers together is the joy of demonstrating they aren’t alonePiers Morgan rarely clarifies anything for me, but he did something helpful, vital even, for the Women’s Marches yesterday. I would have gone anyway. I would have gone on a march of Muslims against Trump – or refugees against Trump, or greens against Trump. Nobody who hates the thoughts and deeds of the bigot hates them only on their own account.However, I was open
  
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• British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe Loses Appeal Against Iran Jail Sentence

  22-01-2017 20:08
  
  A British-Iranian woman imprisoned in Tehran has had an appeal against her sentence rejected - as two new accusations come to light.
  Charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 38, has been jailed for five years for allegedly plotting to topple the Iranian government.
  The exact details of the charges have not been made public, but her husband Richard Ratcliffe said he does not expect these to ever be clarified because “they know it is not true”.
  Speaking after he became aware of the a
  
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• Chelsea stretch lead at top of table with win over Hull

  22-01-2017 19:51
  Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the English Premier League to eight points on Sunday when recalled striker Diego Costa set them on their way to a 2-0 home win over struggling Hull City. Costa scored shortly before halftime after wing back Victor Moses ran at the Hull defence and found the Spain striker in a crowded penalty area with his cross. Costa missed last weekend's win at Leicester City with what Chelsea officials said was a back strain.
  
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• U.S. in 'beginning stages' of talks on Jerusalem embassy move - spokesman

  22-01-2017 19:42
  By Warren Strobel and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Sunday that it is only in the early stages of talks to fulfil President Donald Trump's pledge to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, an action that would likely spark anger in the Arab world. "We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in a statement. Washington's embassy is in Tel Aviv, as are most foreign diplomatic posts
  
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• The Latest: 'Very beginning' for embassy move discussions

  22-01-2017 19:32
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• Article 50: Labour to push for closer scrutiny of Brexit process

  22-01-2017 19:24
  
  If government loses supreme court case, party plans to table amendment ensuring MPs have a say during two years of talksLabour plans to force Theresa May to submit to better scrutiny of the Brexit process and the protection of workers’ rights if the government loses the article 50 case in the supreme court and has to bring a bill to parliament.Jeremy Corbyn has emphasised that his party will not block the triggering of article 50 but plans to table amendments “to make demands on righ
  
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• West African military force enters Gambia capital to cheers

  22-01-2017 19:15
  BANJUL (Reuters) - Troops from a West African regional military force entered Gambia's capital, Banjul, on Sunday, a Reuters witness said, as part of an operation aimed at securing the country to allow new President Adama Barrow to take up office. Longtime authoritarian leader Yahya Jammeh fled late on Saturday. Residents were seen cheering as the convoy, which included armoured personnel carriers and trucks transporting troops, passed through a Banjul neighbourhood. (Reporting by Tim Cocks; Wri
  
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• France's Fillon seeks European defense boost with 'foreign operations' fund

  22-01-2017 19:12
  Conservative French presidential front-runner Francois Fillon urged Europe in an interview published on Sunday to boost its defense capacities with a pooled fund to finance foreign operations. While the NATO alliance was in his view not "obsolete" as U.S. President Donald Trump has said, Europe nonetheless needed to build up its own capacities, Fillon said in a interview with French daily Le Monde and German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "I am not calling for an integrated European d
  
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• MoD cannot fall back on usual excuses to explain Trident misfire | Ewen MacAskill

  22-01-2017 19:02
  
  When opposition parties press for answers the government cannot dismiss this catastrophic test as trial and errorDefence departments and arms companies can usually explain away embarrassing failures in the development of new military hardware. There is a ready answer: mistakes are an inevitable part of the process of trial and error at the cutting edge of technology.But the Ministry of Defence cannot fall back on such an excuse in the catastrophic test-firing of the UK’s Trident II D5 ball
  
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• Toshiba faces funding pressure for UK nuclear plant

  22-01-2017 18:57 via ft.com
  Japanese group angles for UK state investment alongside capital from S Korea’s Kepco
  
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• Trump Aide Kellyanne Conway Invents 'Alternative Facts' Amid Inauguration Crowd Row

  22-01-2017 18:47
  
  "Alternative facts are not facts. They are falsehoods," Chuck Todd tells Pres. Trump's counselor Kellyanne Conway this morning. WATCH: pic.twitter.com/Ao005dQ13r— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 22, 2017
  Donald Trump’s White House administration has wasted little time in defining itself in the post-truth era, with a top aide arguing it used “alternative facts” when faced with claims over the size of the turn-out to Donald Trump’s inauguration.
  Kellyanne
  
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• Deloitte helped set up Brexit department at time of leaked memo

  22-01-2017 18:44
  
  Accountancy firm behind paper claiming government had no EU exit strategy was working in Whitehall despite No 10 claimsThe accountancy firm behind the leaked memo that claimed the government had no Brexit strategy had been working in Whitehall helping to set up David Davis’s Brexit department.Deloitte, along with seven other consultancy firms, worked on a short-term contract within the Department for Exiting the EU. In the wake of the critical memo being leaked, Theresa May dismissed it as
  
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• Stokes all-round display earns England thrilling win

  22-01-2017 18:32
  Ben Stokes hit a brisk half-century and then picked up three crucial wickets to help England to a tense five-run win against India in the third and final one-day international at the Eden Gardens on Sunday. It was a consolation victory for England and their first on their tour of India after they lost the five-test series 4-0 and both previous ODIs. Opener Jason Roy hit 65, his third consecutive fifty, before half-centuries from Jonny Bairstow (56) and Stokes took England to 321-8 after India wo
  
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• Trump's victory creates uncertainty for wind and solar power

  22-01-2017 18:28
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — President Donald Trump has disputed climate change, pledged a revival of coal and disparaged wind power, and his nominee to head the Energy Department was once highly skeptical of the agency's value. What this means for states' efforts to promote renewable energy is an open question.
  
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• Dismissed Wenger apologises for clash with official

  22-01-2017 18:23
  Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger could face an FA charge after he was sent off and then clashed with fourth official Anthony Taylor in an astonishing finale to the Gunners' 2-1 Premier League victory over Burnley at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Wenger, who became infuriated after the award of a 93rd minute penalty to Burnley, later apologised for his actions amid a frantic period of stoppage time. Arsenal, reduced to 10 men following the 65th-minute sending off of Granit Xhaka, saw Andre Gray eq
  
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• Turkish police capture suspects in Istanbul rocket attacks - police sources

  22-01-2017 18:15
  Turkish authorities captured two men believed to be among those responsible for rocket attacks on the Istanbul police headquarters and the offices of the ruling AK Party on Friday evening, police sources said on Sunday. Armed assailants attacked Istanbul's police headquarters and an office of the ruling AK Party with rocket launchers on Friday evening. Police sources said the suspects, identified as a members of the outlawed Revolutionary People's Liberation Army-Front (DHKP-C), were captured in
  
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• Face-to-face Syrian talks not yet agreed - Russian diplomat

  22-01-2017 18:13
  ASTANA (Reuters) - It remains unclear whether representatives of the Syrian government and rebels will meet face to face at talks in Astana, although this is their main objective, a Russian diplomat said on Sunday. Alexander Lavrentyev, head of the Russian delegation to the Astana talks, said the parties hoped to agree on the format of the meetings before their start on Monday. (Reporting by Denis Dyomkin; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
  
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• Germany must ready for turbulent times under Trump - foreign minister

  22-01-2017 18:08
  Germany must brace itself for turbulent times under U.S. President Donald Trump, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Sunday, adding that free trade and trans-Atlantic cooperation to fight extremism and terrorism were key for Berlin. Steinmeier, who in August said Trump was a "Hassprediger" or "hate preacher", wrote in the mass-circulation Bild newspaper that some members of the new U.S. administration understand the importance of allies like Germany. "I know, we must prepare ourselv
  
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