Political news

• Brazil sees opportunities if Trump pursues protectionism - minister

  26-01-2017 23:52
  By Anthony Boadle and Alonso Soto BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil has an opportunity to strengthen ties with Pacific and European nations that could be targeted if U.S. President Donald Trump pursues protectionist policies, the Brazilian trade minister said on Thursday. In an interview with Reuters, Trade Minister Marcos Pereira pointed to Mexico, a longtime competitor for trade and investment in Latin America, as one of the countries that could develop stronger commercial relations with Brazil.
  
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• Labor secretary nominee's company outsourced jobs

  26-01-2017 23:46
  
  The fast-food empire run by President Donald Trump's pick for Labor secretary outsourced its technology department to the Philippines, a move that runs counter to Trump's mantra to keep jobs in the United ...
  
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• Not only people are being liberated from Islamic State

  26-01-2017 23:43
  When Iraqi security forces retook eastern Mosul from Islamic State (IS) in early January, they made sure to raise the national flag at a strategic point. No, it was not a military position. Rather, the flag went up at Mosul University, which was once one of the premier educational institutions in the Middle East.
  
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• AP FACT CHECK: No murder surge in Philly despite Trump claim

  26-01-2017 23:36
  
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — President Donald Trump made a misleading claim when he told Republican lawmakers Thursday that Philadelphia's murder rate has been "terribly increasing."
  
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• Trump advisers, daughter registered to vote in 2 states

  26-01-2017 23:32
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's sweeping preview of his plans to investigate voter fraud in the United States includes those registered in more than one state.
  
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• Prominent Greens lend support to legal bid over option of reversing Brexit

  26-01-2017 23:26
  
  Party’s co-leader Jonathan Bartley backs case asking whether article 50 can be revoked after it has been triggered by Theresa MayThree prominent Green politicians – including the party’s co-leader Jonathan Bartley – are joining a legal challenge in Dublin to establish whether Brexit can be reversed. The ambitious, crowd-funded case is formally being taken against the Irish government but the aim is to ask Irish judges to refer the issue to the European court of justice in
  
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• As regulators waver, Apple takes on Qualcomm in courts

  26-01-2017 23:24
  By Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's new legal assault on Qualcomm in the United States and China reflects its conclusion that regulators are unlikely to put an end to what it considers the chip maker's unfair business practices, analysts said. Apple has long objected to Qualcomm's practice of charging for the "modem" chips that help phones use wireless networks data plans and its demands for a license fee based on the total price of the phones. Qualcomm was the original inven
  
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• 'Opposites attract,' PM May calls on Trump to renew special relationship

  26-01-2017 23:22
  By Elizabeth Piper PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Joking that "opposites attract," Prime Minister Theresa May called on President Donald Trump on Thursday to renew the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States and lead in a new, changed world. In the United States for what will be Trump's first meeting with a foreign leader since he took office last week, May signalled a shift in foreign policy, bringing her position more in line with that of Trump. Because when others step up as we
  
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• France's Fillon rejects 'abject' allegations of wife's fake job, stick to election bid

  26-01-2017 23:21
  By Ingrid Melander and Sophie Louet PARIS (Reuters) - France's Francois Fillon on Thursday said allegations his wife was paid for a fake job were attempts to harm his presidential bid, adding that they only strengthened his resolve to run in the election. Satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported on Wednesday that Penelope Fillon had been paid some 600,000 euros (£511,828) for many years of employment as a parliamentary assistant to Fillon, then to his replacement as a lawmaker and also
  
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• Ex-Rabobank traders seek reversal in U.S. of Libor convictions

  26-01-2017 23:15
  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Thursday questioned whether two former Rabobank [RABO.UL] traders' rights were violated in what became the first case by U.S. Justice Department to go to trial spilling out of global probes into the manipulation of Libor. Over 1-1/2 hours, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York weighed whether to overturn the 2015 convictions of Anthony Allen and Anthony Conti, two former British traders at the Dutch bank. The traders argued
  
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• AP source: Border Patrol chief says he's been forced out

  26-01-2017 23:13
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The man charged with protecting America's borders was ousted Thursday, one day after President Donald Trump announced ambitious plans to build a massive wall at the Mexican border and bolster the ranks of the Border Patrol.
  
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• Court case on whether Brexit can be reversed to be filed Friday

  26-01-2017 23:06
  A legal challenge to determine whether Britain's exit from the European Union can be reversed once triggered is to be filed in Dublin on Friday with the aim of securing a referral to the EU's top court within months, a lawyer taking the case said. British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will invoke Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty by the end of March, triggering two years of formal divorce talks. Lawyers for the British government have said that, once started, the process is irrevocable,
  
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• United edge past spirited Hull to reach League Cup final

  26-01-2017 23:05
  (Reuters) - Manchester United reached the League Cup final but were made to sweat as Hull City won the second leg of their last-four encounter 2-1 on Thursday to come within one goal of forcing extra time. Hull's Oumar Niasse scored in the 85th minute to reduce the aggregate deficit to 3-2, but there was to be no fairytale comeback for the Premier League relegation strugglers who were spirited in their efforts to overturn their 2-0 first-leg defeat. Tom Huddlestone had put the hosts ahead after
  
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• Trump admin pursues rethinking of national security policy

  26-01-2017 23:05
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is embracing the idea of Guantanamo Bay as a jail for terror suspects, a repudiation of the Obama administration's longtime push to prosecute captured militants in the U.S. court system.
  
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• Spokesman says Trump seeks 20 percent tax on Mexican imports

  26-01-2017 23:05
  
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — President Donald Trump called on fellow Republicans to help him enact "great and lasting change" at a party retreat Thursday but offered few details. Later his spokesman said the president will seek a 20 percent tax on Mexican imports to pay for a proposed border wall.
  
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• Speculation builds on a Verizon-Charter tie-up, no offer made

  26-01-2017 23:05
  Verizon Communications Inc is interested in exploring a combination with U.S. cable company Charter Communication Inc as part of a long list of acquisition targets, but no proposal has been made for a tie-up between the two companies, sources told Reuters on Thursday. Speculation over a combination of the companies underscores the pressure the nation's largest wireless carrier faces to do a deal in the wake of AT&T Inc's planned $85.4 billion takeover of Time Warner Inc . Verizon and other c
  
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• Tesla sues ex-Autopilot head over recruiting Tesla engineers for new gig

  26-01-2017 23:00
  By Alexandria Sage SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla sued the former head of its Autopilot system on Thursday, alleging the executive tried to recruit Tesla engineers for his new venture with the ex-head of Google's self-driving programme while still working at the electric car company. Tesla Motors Inc claims that Sterling Anderson, who until early January was the non-technical programme manager of Tesla's Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system, made employment offers to at least a dozen of his
  
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• Global stocks near record high, dollar up on optimism, earnings

  26-01-2017 22:59
  Oil prices and the U.S. dollar were boosted by the ongoing rally in stocks. Crude prices rose 2 percent and the greenback rebounded from a seven-week low. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite edged higher at the open to hit record levels but finished the day little changed.
  
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• Survey: DC women's march drew many first-time protesters

  26-01-2017 22:58
  WASHINGTON (AP) — About a third of the people who turned out for the Women's March on Washington were first-time protesters, an unusually high share of newcomers for a demonstration, according to a survey of march participants.
  
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• The Latest: Spicer says 20 percent tax just an option

  26-01-2017 22:55
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• UK's May praises Trump's 'renewal' but differs on torture

  26-01-2017 22:48
  
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday embraced U.S. President Donald Trump as a friend and ally, but cautioned him not to turn his back on global institutions and long-established political values.
  
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• Crisis deepens as Trump floats 20 percent tax on Mexico goods to pay for wall

  26-01-2017 22:47
  By Steve Holland and Miguel Gutierrez PHILADELPHIA/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump could pay for a wall on the southern border with a new 20 percent tax on goods from Mexico, the White House said on Thursday, deepening a crisis after plans for a summit with the Mexican president fell apart. Trump wants the measure to be part of a broader tax overhaul package that the U.S. Congress is contemplating, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Thursday. Just through tha
  
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• Missouri House approves regulations for Uber, Lyft

  26-01-2017 22:39
  Rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft are one step closer to being able to operate statewide in Missouri. In a 140-16 vote Thursday, the House passed a bill that would outline statewide regulations, ...
  
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• Tam Dalyell dies: Labour MP was scourge of prime ministers

  26-01-2017 22:28
  Tam Dalyell, a Labour MP for more than 40 years and one of the great House of Commons eccentrics, has died aged 84. Former prime minister Gordon Brown said: "For four decades Tam Dalyell was one of the truly great characters of Scottish political life.
  
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• ICRC, jurists join rebuke of Trump torture remarks, 'black site' reports

  26-01-2017 22:20
  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) have joined global human rights groups in their rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump for condoning torture. Trump told ABC television in an interview on Wednesday that he thought waterboarding "worked" as an intelligence-gathering tool but would defer to his cabinet on whether to use it in interrogations. Two U.S. officials said also on Wednesday that Tru
  
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• Actor Shia LaBeouf arrested in New York anti-Trump protest

  26-01-2017 22:20
  (Reuters) - Actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested early on Thursday after a scuffle outside a New York museum where he was chanting "He will not divide us" during a live-streamed protest against President Donald Trump, police said. The "Transformers" and "American Honey" star allegedly pulled a 25-year-old man's scarf, scratched his face and shoved him at about 12:30 a.m. EST outside the Museum of the Moving Image in the borough of Queens, a police spokesman said. LaBeouf and two other artists began t
  
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• Dutch court delays bankruptcy ruling on subsidiaries of Brazil's Oi

  26-01-2017 22:18
  A court in the Netherlands on Thursday postponed until Feb. 2 a decision on whether to enforce bankruptcy proceedings against two subsidiaries of phone carrier Oi SA , which is under creditor protection in Brazil, the company confirmed on Thursday in a securities filing.
  
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• Ecclestone selling shares in Formula One

  26-01-2017 22:17
  By Alan Baldwin LONDON (Reuters) - Bernie Ecclestone is set to make a quick $29 million (23 million pounds) from Liberty Media's takeover of Formula One after being deposed as the sport's commercial supremo this week. Liberty completed their $8 billion takeover on Monday and a subsequent filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed 86-year-old Ecclestone was offloading 950,599 shares. The Series C Liberty Formula One common stock shares were trading at around $30.73 on Thur
  
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• May urges UK and US to resist ‘eclipse of the west’

  26-01-2017 22:15
  PM echoes Trump stance on intervention but warns on assertive China and Russia
  
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• With eye on 2018, Illinois governor says 'Don't blame me'

  26-01-2017 22:11
  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — With crises mounting around him, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's strategy for fending off potential Democratic challengers and keeping his job in 2018 includes stressing the bright spots while blaming others for the things going horribly wrong.
  
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• Brazil police seek former billionaire Batista in graft probe

  26-01-2017 22:11
  By Pedro Fonseca and Rodrigo Viga Gaier RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian police are seeking the arrest of fallen commodities tycoon Eike Batista as part of a vast political bribery probe, investigators said on Thursday, adding that the former billionaire appeared to have already flown to New York. Batista, Brazil's richest man just five years ago, seems to have left the country on a German passport on Tuesday night and will be considered a fugitive if he does not surrender soon to authoritie
  
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• Slovenian parliament toughens law to prevent migrant influx

  26-01-2017 22:05
  By Marja Novak LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia's parliament amended its laws on Thursday to enable police to seal the country's borders to most illegal migrants for a limited period if this is deemed necessary for reasons of national security. The amendments were passed by 47 votes to 18 although several humanitarian organisations said they might amount to a violation of human rights. "Slovenia cannot wait until public order and internal security are in danger," Interior Minister Vesna Gyorkos Zn
  
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• Trump tells Republican lawmakers: Enough talk. Time to deliver

  26-01-2017 22:01
  By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - President Donald Trump pushed Republican lawmakers on Thursday for swift action on a sweeping agenda including his planned U.S.-Mexican border wall, tax cuts and repealing the Obamacare law, despite tensions over timetables and priorities. Congressional Republicans were in Philadelphia for a three-day retreat to hammer out a legislative agenda, with the party in control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives for the fi
  
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• Arkansas lawmakers OK ban of common abortion procedure

  26-01-2017 21:57
  
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas is poised to become the third state to ban a commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure under restrictions lawmakers approved Thursday that are expected to face a legal challenge.
  
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• Trump's plan to halt 'catch and release' of migrants could hit a wall

  26-01-2017 21:56
  By Frank Jack Daniel GUADALUPE, Mexico/TORNILLO, Texas (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's plan to end the policy of "catch and release" - where illegal immigrants are caught and then freed pending hearings - could hit a wall, immigrant advocates warn, and not the one he is planning to build on the Mexican border. "OK, Mr Trump, you don't want them released, show me where you are going to hold them - show me the building," said Ruben Garcia, the director of Annunciation House, a Roman Catholic
  
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• Tesla confirms it cancelled order with German supplier SHW

  26-01-2017 21:48
  Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc confirmed on Thursday it was the customer that cancelled a large order with German supplier SHW , but denied it had anything to do with the new U.S. administration. German media reports said the cancellation resulted from political pressure after U.S. President Trump met chief executives, including Tesla boss Elon Musk, on Monday. A spokeswoman for Tesla Europe said on Thursday the order was cancelled because the supplier's product did not meet its technical s
  
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• Dutch justice minister resigns, weakening govt ahead of elections

  26-01-2017 21:47
  A leading member of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's cabinet resigned on Thursday, weakening the government ahead of a national election in March in which it is trailing in the polls. Justice Minister Ard van der Steur unexpectedly told parliament he would step down amid a debate over the handling of information relating to a settlement prosecutors struck with a drug dealer in 2000. The affair centres around a settlement with drug baron Cees Helman, who received a tax free payment of around 2 m
  
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• Theresa May Invokes Memory Of Thatcher And Reagan As She Woos Trump

  26-01-2017 21:37
  
  Theresa May has stepped up her Donald Trump charm offensive with a call for the US and Britain to join forces to avoid “the eclipse of the West” by China and Russia.
  The first ever foreign leader to address the Republican Retreat conference in Philadelphia, the Prime Minister cited the example of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher’s transatlantic alliance in the 1980s.
  In a markedly hawkish speech, she praised the new US President and his party for their tougher line against
  
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• Official: Trump wants to slash EPA workforce, budget

  26-01-2017 21:37
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The former head of President Donald Trump's transition team at the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday he expects the new administration to seek significant budget and staff cuts.
  
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• Theresa May opens Trump visit by attacking past foreign policy failures

  26-01-2017 21:35
  
  UK prime minister’s speech to senior Republicans in Philadelphia marks clear break with Blair and Cameron’s attempts to ‘remake the world in our own image’ Britain and the US must never again intervene in other sovereign countries’ affairs in a bid to “remake the world in our own image”, Theresa May has told senior Republican policymakers in Philadelphia. Related: 'Opposites attract': Theresa May signals strong relationship with TrumpContinue reading...
  
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• Tam Dalyell, former Labour MP, dies aged 84

  26-01-2017 20:44
  
  Long-serving politician, who retired in 2005, has died after a short illness, his family confirmsThe former Labour MP Tam Dalyell has died after a short illness at the age of 84, his family has announced. The Eton-educated baronet spent more than 40 years as a Labour MP, representing West Lothian from 1962-1983 and Linlithgow from 1983-2005. A habit of being outspoken and, at times, critical of his own governments prevented him from reaching the frontbench. Continue reading...
  
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• UK set to leave European atomic energy community

  26-01-2017 20:20
  Decision to leave Euratom has serious implications for nuclear industry and research
  
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• Scrutiny of UK defence projects scaled back

  26-01-2017 19:11
  Spending watchdog will leave the MoD to assess its own annual performance
  
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• Theresa May Shrugs Off Criticism Of Her Donald Trump Trip, Declaring ‘Opposites Attract’

  26-01-2017 19:02
  
  A defiant Theresa May has shrugged off criticism of her trip to build close ties with Donald Trump, declaring “opposites attract”.
  As she flew into the US amid a growing row over the new US President’s backing for the torture of terror suspects, the Prime Minister insisted that it was in Britain’s interest to forge the strongest possible “special relationship” with the White House.
  Speaking to reporters on her official plane, May stressed on Thursday that the
  
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• Regulator seeks EU access for UK banks abiding by global rules

  26-01-2017 19:02
  Financial Conduct Authority’s chief eyes ‘equivalence’ as Brexit solution
  
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• Trump to address GOP House, Senate members at retreat

  26-01-2017 19:00
  
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — President Donald Trump is trying to cement support from Republican House and Senate members and line up shared goals as he addresses them during their annual policy retreat.
  
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• The prime minister’s transparent Brexit bluff

  26-01-2017 18:56
  Britain’s threat to create an offshore tax haven does not hold water
  
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• Italy's Renzi seeking comeback on heels of court ruling

  26-01-2017 18:55
  By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Matteo Renzi is attempting a comeback after an Italian court ruling that paves the way for a national vote this year, but his eventual success may depend on one of his rivals: four-time Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The 42-year-old Renzi resigned as prime minister in December after his flagship constitutional reform was roundly rejected in a referendum. "A national election by June is now very, very likely," Anna Ascani, a lower house lawmaker close to Renzi
  
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• Poland, Lithuania say won't host any new secret CIA jails

  26-01-2017 18:52
  By Andrius Sytas and Lidia Kelly VILNIUS/WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland and Lithuania said on Thursday they would not allow the United States to locate new secret prisons on their soil if President Donald Trump chooses to reinstate an old CIA programme that detained and interrogated terrorism suspects abroad. Both eastern European countries are close allies of the United States and hosted now-defunct "black site" jails that were used during President George W. Bush's "war on terrorism" after the atta
  
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• EU countries oppose duty extension on Chinese solar panels - sources

  26-01-2017 18:51
  By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A majority of EU countries on Thursday opposed a European Commission plan to extend anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels for two years, according to EU diplomats, putting pressure on the EU executive to review its proposal. The case will now go to an appeal committee, also including representatives from the EU's 28 member states.
  
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