Political news

• Cuadrado's rocket sees leaders Juve end Inter streak

  05-02-2017 23:42
  A spectacular piledriver from Juan Cuadrado gave Serie A leaders Juventus a 1-0 win over Inter Milan, ending a run of seven successive Serie A wins for their opponents in a pulsating end-to-end match on Sunday. Marco Parolo scored four goals in Lazio's emphatic 6-2 win at basement side Pescara while AC Milan's season continued to nosedive as they were booed off the San Siro pitch after a 1-0 home defeat against Sampdoria. Juve's 28th successive home league win left them on 54 points, six clear o
  
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• Trump steps up attack on judge, court system over travel ban

  05-02-2017 23:35
  By Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Sunday ramped up his criticism of a federal judge who blocked a travel ban on seven mainly Muslim nations and said courts were making U.S. border security harder, intensifying the first major legal battle of his presidency. In a series of tweets that broadened his attack on the country's judiciary, Trump said Americans should blame U.S. District Judge James Robart and the court system if anything happened. Trump did not elaborate on
  
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• Scottish independence vote may be decided 'within weeks' - Sturgeon ally

  05-02-2017 23:33
  A decision on calling a new Scottish independence referendum could be made within weeks, said a Scottish Greens lawmaker whose party is a key ally of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. The timing of a potential new Scottish referendum - which polls say most Scots do not want - would be determined by the process of Britain's exit from the European Union, said Ross Greer, a lawmaker and a key campaigner in the 2014 vote in which Scots rejected independence by a 10-percentage-point margin. "W
  
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• Trump says Pence will lead voter fraud panel

  05-02-2017 23:02
  By Steve Holland WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said in remarks broadcast on Sunday that he would put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of a commission to probe what he believes was voter fraud in last November's election. There is an overwhelming consensus among state officials, election experts, and politicians that voter fraud is rare in the United States, but Trump has repeatedly said he thinks perhaps millions of votes cast in the Nov. 8 election were fraudulent.
  
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• Is It Patronizing to Say Football Players Are Exploited?

  05-02-2017 23:00
  Daniel, a reader who describes himself as “a current football fan and an ex football player,” offers a nuanced defense of the sport:
  
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• Wales inspired by bonus-point mentality to top Six Nations

  05-02-2017 22:59
  By Mark Bendeich ROME (Reuters) - Wales just missed out on scoring a bonus point in the first round of the Six Nations championship but their thirst for one helped put them on top of the table on Sunday. At the end of the opening weekend, Wales topped the table on points difference after a 33-7 victory against lowly Italy, while the other weekend's winners, England and Scotland, scraped narrow wins. Captain Alun Wyn Jones opted for an attacking lineout three times in a row before Italy's stout d
  
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• NHS week

  05-02-2017 22:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The NHS is in the middle of its toughest winter for many years. So how are the four UK nations performing?
  
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• England's Kruis to miss rest of Six Nations, needs knee surgery

  05-02-2017 22:23
  (Reuters) - England suffered a blow in their bid to retain the Six Nations championship as lock forward George Kruis was ruled out of the rest of the tournament on Sunday with a knee ligament injury. The 26-year-old Saracens forward will have surgery on Tuesday and will be sidelined for up to three months, a statement from the England team said. Prop forward Mako Vunipola, though, will join up with Eddie Jones' squad this week before they face Wales on Saturday as he continues his own rehabilita
  
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• White House predicts courts will reinstate travel ban

  05-02-2017 22:03
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Rebuffed in its bid for a quick reversal, the White House said Sunday it expected the courts to reaffirm President Donald Trump's executive power and reinstate a ban on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.
  
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• Affordable rent measures promised in housing White Paper

  05-02-2017 21:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Minimum tenancies and a drive to build more rental homes will be part of ministers' housing strategy.
  
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• Romanian protesters get key concession, seek more changes

  05-02-2017 21:37
  
  The largest anti-government crowds since the violent 1989 revolution that toppled dictator Nicolae Ceausescu succeeded Sunday in pressuring Romania's new government to repeal a hastily adopted decree that ...
  
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• United's flexibility serving them well in top-four race

  05-02-2017 21:28
  (Reuters) - Manchester United's tactical flexibility continued to serve them well as they extended their unbeaten Premier League run to 15 games with a 3-0 win at Leicester City on Sunday to ramp up the pressure on their rivals for a top-four finish. Arsenal and Liverpool have faltered in recent weeks to slip out of title contention behind runaway leaders Chelsea but United have found some momentum and now trail the fourth-placed Gunners by two points and the Reds, who are fifth, by one. After a
  
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• A look at how a president can exercise his authority

  05-02-2017 21:00
  President Donald Trump has taken 19 executive actions since being sworn into office on Jan. 20. Some of the papers he signed were executive orders that dealt with building the wall he promised along the U.S.-Mexico border; temporarily banning entry to the U.S. by refugees and people from seven majority-Muslim nations; and beginning to chip away at the Affordable Care Act.
  
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• U.S. coalition jets bomb Islamic State-held town near Euphrates Dam

  05-02-2017 20:57
  U.S-led coalition planes bombed an Islamic State-controlled town near the Euphrates Dam in northern Syria a day after the launch of a new phase of a campaign to capture the militants' defacto capital of Raqqa, activists and the militants said on Sunday. Activists confirmed reports released by the militants' news agency Amaq which said four raids in the last twenty four hours hit the town of Tabqa west of Raqqa, located near Syria's largest dam, at the southern end of Lake Assad on the Euphrates.
  
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• Pence defends Trump's criticism of judge who blocked travel ban

  05-02-2017 20:55
  By Ayesha Rascoe and Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's attack on a federal judge who blocked a travel ban on citizens of seven mainly Muslim nations, as the first major legal battle of the Trump administration intensified. Trump blasted Judge James Robart as a "so-called judge" on Saturday, a day after the Seattle jurist issued a temporary restraining order on the ban. A U.S. appeals court later on Saturday denied th
  
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• Iraqi traveller battling U.S. ban learns to 'never surrender'

  05-02-2017 20:55
  By Ahmed Rasheed and David Shepardson BAGHDAD/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fuad Sharef took one of the first planes out of Iraq with a connection to the United States this past weekend, just hours after a judge in Seattle blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on immigrants from seven mainly Muslim countries. Sharef, who worked for a USAID subcontractor in Iraq, was prevented with his wife and three kids from boarding a U.S.-bound flight last week via Cairo after Trump signed a 90-day travel ban on c
  
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• Leicester will go down if we don't improve quickly - Schmeichel

  05-02-2017 20:50
  (Reuters) - Champions Leicester will be relegated from the Premier League if they don't improve quickly, goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said after their 3-0 home defeat by Manchester United on Sunday. This term, however, the defence looks vulnerable under the slightest pressure, they have yet to score a league goal in 2017 and anxiety is rising as relegation looks increasingly possible. "We have to improve right now," a dejected-looking Schmeichel told Sky Sports.
  
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• Romania scraps decree decriminalising graft as mass protests persist

  05-02-2017 20:46
  By Radu-Sorin Marinas BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's Social Democrat government on Sunday anulled a decree that would decriminalise some graft offences, an embarrassing u-turn for the country's new prime minister in the face of week-long mass protests and international rebuke. The government also declassified the transcript of debates during Tuesday's cabinet meeting when the decree that would have shielded dozens of politicians from prosecution was approved. It said the decree was a bid to rel
  
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• Bulgaria’s Socialists, preparing for general election, promise to boost economy

  05-02-2017 20:34
  The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) pledged to speed up economic growth and fight corruption when it presented its programme on Sunday for the early parliamentary election in March. Socialist ally Rumen Radev, a Russia-friendly newcomer to politics, won the presidential election by a wide margin in November, prompting centre-right Prime Minister Boiko Borisov to step down. The resignation triggered a snap parliamentary poll set for March 26 - the third in three years - that analysts say may agai
  
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• Denmark’s envoy to the global ‘other’

  05-02-2017 20:24
  In the hit movie “Arrival,” a linguist played by Amy Adams is tasked by the US government to communicate with aliens who have landed from outer space. The film’s plot is similar to a decision last month by Denmark to appoint a special kind of envoy – a “digital ambassador” to the world’s tech giants such as Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple. In appointing this special envoy, Denmark hopes not only to invite more tech investment but to work with their f
  
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• Is this the end of Conservative home ownership dream?

  05-02-2017 19:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The government will unveil a new housing strategy on Tuesday, with an emphasis on helping people who rent their homes.
  
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• Soccer-United extend long unbeaten run with 3-0 Leicester win

  05-02-2017 19:35
  Manchester United continued their push for a top-four finish with a comfortable 3-0 victory at champions Leicester City on Sunday, extending their unbeaten Premier League run to 15 games. Henrikh Mkhitaryan open the scoring with a cool finish after he galloped onto Chris Smalling's header in the 42nd minute and, with Leicester's defence still recovering, Zlatan Ibrahimovic added a second two minutes later. Juan Mata stroked home their third goal after some delightful link up play with Mkhitaryan
  
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• Pence: Education pick DeVos will be confirmed with his vote

  05-02-2017 19:27
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence says he fully expects billionaire GOP donor Betsy DeVos will be confirmed as education secretary with his tie-breaking vote.
  
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• Germany's Gabriel - give Italy, France, Portugal time to cut deficits

  05-02-2017 19:15
  BERLIN (Reuters) - European Union countries such as Italy, France and Portugal that are pursuing economic reforms should be given time to reduce their budget deficits, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Sunday. "Europe must not, as has been the case so far, be divided further between north, south, east and west," Gabriel said. "It makes no sense not to give the French a millimetre more room even though they are taking on a great defence burden in Mali. ...
  
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• United maintain unbeaten run with comfortable 3-0 Leicester win

  05-02-2017 19:12
  Manchester United continued their push for a top-four finish with a comfortable 3-0 victory at champions Leicester City on Sunday, extending their unbeaten Premier League run to 15 games. Henrikh Mkhitaryan open the scoring with a cool finish after he galloped onto Chris Smalling's header in the 42nd minute and, with Leicester's defence still recovering, Zlatan Ibrahimovic added a second two minutes later. Juan Mata stroked home their third goal after some delightful link up play with Mkhitaryan
  
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• Netanyahu flies to UK to seek support against Iran

  05-02-2017 19:07 via ft.com
  Israel’s leader will hold first meeting with Theresa May
  
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• France's far-left Melenchon uses hologram to spread election message

  05-02-2017 19:05
  Far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon embraced technology during the launch of his presidential campaign at a rally in Lyon on Sunday, with a 3D hologram of him making his speech appearing at the same time at another rally in Paris. Melenchon, wearing a Nehru-style jacket, tried to use the hologram technology give a modern look to his launch, which coincided with that of the far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Melenchon is certainly not the first politician to employ such technology - in 2014, then-
  
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• 'Treat Banks Like Pay-Day Lenders' Rachel Reeves Calls For A Cap On Overdraft Fines

  05-02-2017 18:42
  
  Banks should be forced to cap unauthorised overdraft fines, a Labour MP will demand this week as she urges the Government to tighten up the law.
  Currently, there is no limit on what banks can charge customers for dipping into an unauthorised overdraft – with those who do breach the limit fined an average of £225 a year.
  This is in contrast to pay-day loan companies, which from 2015 could only charge 0.8 per cent interest a day on any money borrowed.
  In a debate in parliament on Wedn
  
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• At liberal Columbia U, Gorsuch raised a conservative voice

  05-02-2017 18:28
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — As a conservative student at Columbia University in the mid-1980s, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch was a political odd man out, and he was determined to speak up.
  
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• A bleak outlook for UK living standards

  05-02-2017 18:28 via ft.com
  This is hardly the time to actively engineer a rise in inequality
  
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• Michigan leads effort to shift workers away from pensions

  05-02-2017 18:26
  LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Struggling under the weight of pension and health care obligations, Michigan lawmakers appear ready to take another whack at public employee benefits — a move that reflects renewed determination to shift workers to 401(k)-style retirement systems, even if it happens in baby steps.
  
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• Wales trample Italy in Six Nations opener

  05-02-2017 18:25
  By Mark Bendeich ROME (Reuters) - Wales overcame a poor start to eventually trample Italy 33-7 in their opening Six Nations encounter in Rome on Sunday, a game that will leave the visitors plenty to ponder ahead of a clash with champions England next weekend. The Welsh appeared to take Italy, the tournament’s perennial wooden-spooners, lightly at first, squandering chances at goal in search of an elusive five points and failing to find top gear until the final 20 minutes of the match when
  
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• Labour won't block Brexit bill, Emily Thornberry says

  05-02-2017 18:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The shadow foreign secretary suggests Labour will continue to support the bill when MPs vote again.
  
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• Nigeria's leader seeks extended medical leave, fanning ill health rumours

  05-02-2017 18:16
  President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday asked parliament to extend his medical leave, his office said in a statement, deepening suspicions amongst many Nigerians that his health worse than officials are publicly admitting. The statement did not say how much extra time off Buhari was seeking. "President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the National Assembly today, February 5, 2017, informing of his desire to extend his leave in order to complete and receive the results of a series of tests recommende
  
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• Parolo hits four in Lazio rout, Milan booed off

  05-02-2017 18:15
  Marco Parolo scored four goals in Lazio's emphatic 6-2 win at Pescara in Serie A on Sunday while AC Milan's season continued to nosedive as they were booed off the San Siro pitch after a 1-0 home defeat against Sampdoria. Lazio's win took them into fourth place with 43 points, four behind third-placed AS Roma and one ahead of Inter Milan who were away to leaders Juventus in the late game. Two Parolo headers in the first 15 minutes gave Lazio a flying start at basement side Pescara but the Dolphi
  
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• Spiralling defence costs signal hard choices

  05-02-2017 18:07 via ft.com
  Spending on new equipment rises 20% to £82bn over 10 years
  
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• Aguero role in doubt as Jesus saves Man City

  05-02-2017 18:06
  Gabriel Jesus underlined his impressive early form at Manchester City with two goals in a 2-1 win over Swansea City on Sunday but his sparkling emergence has cast doubt over the starting role of talismanic forward Sergio Aguero. Both Sunday's goals came after he was the quickest to react to loose balls and it is his instinctive ability to take up consistently impressive positions that has caused the opposition so many problems during his embryonic City career. "I am very happy to score two goals
  
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• Trump Cabinet pick paid by controversial Iranian exile group

  05-02-2017 18:00
  
  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An official in U.S. President Donald Trump's Cabinet and at least one of his advisers gave paid speeches to organizations linked to an Iranian exile group that killed Americans before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, ran donation scams and saw its members set themselves on fire over the arrest of their leader.
  
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• France's scandal-hit Fillon faces new calls to quit presidential race

  05-02-2017 18:00
  By Maya Nikolaeva PARIS (Reuters) - Heavyweight centrist Francois Bayrou joined calls on Sunday for French presidential candidate Francois Fillon to withdraw from the race, as his own conservative camp mounted pressure on the back of a deepening financial scandal around his family. Fillon, 62, has seen his approval ratings slide since satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reported on Jan. 25 he had paid his wife hundreds of thousands of euros of parliamentary money for work she may not have don
  
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• Bavarian CSU seeking better relations with ally Merkel as they plot election path

  05-02-2017 17:43
  By Joern Poeltz MUNICH (Reuters) - The leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies called for improved relations in their troubled conservative alliance on Sunday as the sister parties met to plan a strategy to defeat a resurgent Social Democratic Party (SPD) in September's federal election. Horst Seehofer, leader of Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party to Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has been a thorn in her side for much of the last two years, pressing for
  
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• Britain too dependent on large housing developers - housing minister Barwell

  05-02-2017 17:40
  Britain's housing market is too dependent on large homebuilders, housing minister Gavin Barwell said on Sunday, speaking ahead of the launch of the government's latest attempt to fix a chronic shortage of new homes. "We desperately need more homes and we’re too dependent at the moment on a small number of large developers and we need to look at all the things that we can do to get more people involved in building new housing," Barwell told the BBC. Persimmon , the second largest, has said
  
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• May vows building plans will spare ‘green belt’

  05-02-2017 17:37 via ft.com
  PM backs away from confronting Tory heartlands despite housing shortage
  
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• Milwaukee sheriff's star rises, but he remains polarizing

  05-02-2017 17:34
  
  MILWAUKEE (AP) — With a brash, unapologetic personality reminiscent of President Donald Trump, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke is positioning himself as an in-your-face conservative firebrand who has some Republicans swooning over his prospects for higher office.
  
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• Trump Cabinet pick paid by 'cult-like' Iranian exile group

  05-02-2017 17:24
  
  An official in U.S. President Donald Trump's Cabinet and at least one of his advisers gave paid speeches for an Iranian exile group that killed Americans before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, ran donation ...
  
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• Garcia holds off Stenson to win in Dubai

  05-02-2017 17:16
  (Reuters) - Sergio Garcia won the Dubai Desert Classic, his 12th European Tour title, after a final round 69 on Sunday kept him three shots clear of Ryder Cup team mate Henrik Stenson. The Spaniard finished with a bogey-free round to move to 19-under for the tournament, ahead of Sweden's Open champion Stenson with Britain's Tyrell Hatton and Denmark's Lasse Jensen a further two shots adrift in third. "I'm very happy to play the way I played, " Garcia said on the European Tour website after domin
  
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• Nigeria's president requests extended medical leave

  05-02-2017 17:14
  Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday asked parliament to extend his medical leave, his office said in a statement, after he took two weeks off for medical checks in Britain. Buhari's extended leave could hurt already-shaky confidence in his administration amid criticism that the government is gripped by inertia. "President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the National Assembly today, February 5, 2017, informing of his desire to extend his leave in order to complete and receive the resul
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Hints He Will Be 'Lenient' To Labour MPs Who Defied His Brexit Vote Order

  05-02-2017 17:14
  
  Leading Labour MPs who defied party orders and voted against triggering Brexit last week could stay in their jobs, Jeremy Corbyn hinted today.
  The Labour leader said he is a “very lenient person” when asked what disciplinary measures could be handed out to frontbenchers who had ignored his instruction to vote with the Tories on Wednesday.
  Three Shadow Cabinet members quit their positions so they could vote against the Bill, yet 10 frontbenchers did not step down despite flouting the
  
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• Wales trample Italy 33-7 in Six Nations opener

  05-02-2017 17:12
  Wales overcame a poor start to eventually trample Italy 33-7 in their opening Six Nations encounter in Rome on Sunday, a game that will leave the visitors plenty to ponder ahead of a clash with champions England next weekend. The Welsh appeared to take Italy, the tournament’s perennial wooden-spooners, too lightly at first, passing up kicking opportunities in search of an elusive five points and then finding themselves down 7-0 after a try from Italian scrumhalf Edoardo Gori. Wales finally
  
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• For Trump foes, Democratic gains may remain elusive in 2018

  05-02-2017 17:09
  
  Passionate protests against Donald Trump's presidency have swelled the ranks of Democratic activists, but their new enthusiasm faces a hard reality: Republicans remain well-positioned to retain their grip ...
  
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• Iranian researcher, others head to US as travel ban eases

  05-02-2017 17:07
  
  Iranian bioengineer Nima Enayati saw for himself what a difference a few days can make. Enayati was prevented from boarding a Turkish Airlines flight to the United States on Monday after President Donald ...
  
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