Political news

• Trump summit with Japan's Abe to include round of golf

  06-02-2017 23:57
  By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will play a round of golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida this week and said he will make sure the Japanese leader is his partner in the game, rather than a competitor. Trump, who is due to welcome Abe at the White House on Friday, told Westwood One Sports Radio on Sunday that golf was a better way to get to know someone than having lunch. A transcript of the interview was made available by the White House.
  
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• Scores of EPA workers object to Trump's pick to lead agency

  06-02-2017 23:49
  
  CHICAGO (AP) — Hundreds of current and former employees of the Environmental Protection Agency are speaking out against President Donald Trump's pick to head the department.
  
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• Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX oppose Trump immigration order

  06-02-2017 23:49
  (Reuters) - Elon Musk's Tesla Inc and SpaceX on Monday joined a legal brief filed by businesses opposed to President Donald Trump's order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, according to a court filing. Musk agreed to become part of Trump's business advisory council in December, and has advocated discussing issues directly with the president. Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick quit the council last week amid mounting pressure over Trump's immigration policies. (Correc
  
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• The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Senate Democrats Stay Up Late on a School Night

  06-02-2017 23:47
  
  Today in 5 Lines During an address at MacDill Air Force Base, President Trump accused the press of not reporting on terrorist attacks. Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that polls showing his executive order on immigration to be unpopular are “fake news.” A group of national security and intelligence officials, including former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, signed a letter saying Trump’s executive order would “endanger U.S. troops.” And 97
  
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• U.S. should expand missile defence due to North Korea, Iran - lawmaker

  06-02-2017 23:27
  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should invest more in missile defence given missile testing by North Korea and Iran, the chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said on Monday. The comments by Republican Representative Mac Thornberry followed new U.S. sanctions against Iran after Tehran's recent ballistic missile tests.
  
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• Brazil's Temer taps political ally for top court amid graft probe

  06-02-2017 23:22
  By Alonso Soto and Lisandra Paraguassu BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's President Michel Temer nominated Justice Minister Alexandre Moraes as his nominee to the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking to place a close political ally on the tribunal as it rules on a graft scandal threatening his government. Temer, whose centre-right government is seeking to push through spending cuts and pro-business reforms to pull Brazil out of a recession, had faced calls to appoint a politically independent jurist to t
  
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• Fed's Harker says increasingly concerned about some cyber threats

  06-02-2017 23:16
  SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker on Monday said he in increasingly concerned about cyber threats to small banks, citing hackers stealing money by exploiting third-party vendors that provide cyber-security to many small banks. While large banks often build internal security systems, small banks often outsource their cyber security to specialized firms. Harker said that when he surveys banks about their concerns each year, cyber security is the forem
  
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• Labour amendments to Brexit bill defeated in Commons debate

  06-02-2017 23:12
  
  Labour grapples with whether to back bill in second phase of debate as Theresa May warns against delay tacticsTheresa May has warned MPs not to obstruct the Brexit bill during its second phase of debate in the House of Commons, as Labour failed in its attempt to secure regular parliamentary scrutiny of the EU negotiations.The prime minister called on MPs not to use parliamentary procedures to delay the passage of the bill, which will be debated over the next three days.Continue reading...
  
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• Resurgent Nadal returns to Queen's Club

  06-02-2017 23:08
  A resurgent Rafael Nadal will warm up for Wimbledon by returning to The Queen's Club for the Aegon Championships in June. The 14-times grand slam champion missed the entire grasscourt season last year with a wrist injury but after finishing runner-up to Roger Federer at the Australian Open, he hopes a good run in west London will bode well in his pursuit of a third Wimbledon title. "I am very happy to be coming back to Queen's.... It is the best way for me to be ready for Wimbledon,” the S
  
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• The Latest: Trump says media underreporting attacks

  06-02-2017 22:52
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
  
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• Israel legalises settler homes on private Palestinian land

  06-02-2017 22:49
  By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel passed a law on Monday retroactively legalising about 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, a measure that has drawn international concern. The legislation has been condemned by Palestinians as a blow to their hopes of statehood. Israel's attorney-general has said it is unconstitutional and that he will not defend it at the Supreme Court.
  
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• AP Explains: Can Trump deny federal funds to a city?

  06-02-2017 22:49
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is threatening to punish cities and other municipalities that shelter immigrants living in the country illegally by denying them federal dollars.
  
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• Trump remarks latest evidence of health law repeal slowdown

  06-02-2017 22:48
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans insisted Monday that they're moving ahead on their effort to void the health care law, even as President Donald Trump's latest remarks conceded that the effort could well stretch into next year.
  
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• Gas pump advertising campaign targets Indiana fuel tax hike

  06-02-2017 22:48
  INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A trade association will soon adorn gas pumps across Indiana with ads opposing a Republican plan to use higher fuel taxes to pay for infrastructure repairs, a tricky sell in a conservative state much more accustomed to cutting taxes than raising them.
  
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• French investigators refer Fiat Chrysler emissions case to prosecutor

  06-02-2017 22:47
  PARIS (Reuters) - French investigators have referred carmaker Fiat Chrysler (FCA) for possible prosecution over abnormal emissions of nitrogen oxide pollutants from some of its diesel engines, the government said on Monday. The referral makes FCA the third manufacturer to be referred to French prosecutors in the wake of a French investigation into emissions test cheating after Germany's Volkswagen and France's Renault . (Reporting by Gilles Guillaume and Laurence Frost; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
  
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• Athletics - Russia set to miss world championships as ban continues

  06-02-2017 22:44
  Russian track and field athletes look certain to miss out on this year's world championships after an IAAF task force recommended on Monday that the country's ban should run until November. Rune Anderson, head of the task force of the sport's world ruling body, told reporters he did not expect Russia to be re-admitted to the sport before November, meaning its athletes will not be able to take part in the global showpiece event in London in August. Russia's athletics federation (RUSAF) was banned
  
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• Trump's ban hits appeals court as travelers arrive to tears

  06-02-2017 22:43
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The fierce battle over President Donald Trump's travel and refugee ban edged up the judicial escalator Monday, headed for a possible final face-off at the Supreme Court. Travelers, temporarily unbound, tearfully reunited with loved ones at U.S. airports.
  
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• The Latest: White House confident about travel ban lawsuit

  06-02-2017 22:41
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the lawsuit involving President Donald Trump's executive order restraining immigration (all times local):
  
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• White House confident it will 'prevail' on travel ban

  06-02-2017 22:39
  The White House is confident that it will prevail in a legal back-and-forth over President Donald Trump's executive order to prevent travellers from seven countries entering the United States, spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday. "Clearly the law is on the president's side," Spicer told reporters on Air Force One.
  
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• Fed's Harker says more oversight of fintech good for the industry

  06-02-2017 22:38
  Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker on Monday called for more regulatory oversight of the growing fintech sector, which includes a broad range of companies from payment apps like Square to online lending platforms such as Lending Club. Harker, who votes on monetary policy this year on the Fed's policy-setting panel, did not comment on the economy or on the outlook for interest rates in his prepared remarks. Instead he focused on the state of regulation of technology-based
  
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• Legal deadline approaches for Trump's travel ban

  06-02-2017 22:37
  By Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - National security veterans and major U.S. technology companies expressed opposition to Donald Trump's temporary travel ban in a court case as his administration prepared on Monday to justify the measure, the most controversial policy of his two-week old presidency. Trump's executive order of Jan. 27, temporarily barring entry to the United States of people from seven Muslim-majority countries and halting the U.S. refugee programme, was suspended by a federal
  
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• Twenty-First Century Fox profit tops estimates, revenue misses

  06-02-2017 22:32
  (Reuters) - Twenty-First Century Fox Inc reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts' expectations, as its television unit benefited from hosting the baseball World Series and its cable news channel enjoyed strong ratings during the U.S. presidential campaign. Fox's shares were down about 1.7 percent in after-hours trading on Monday. Fox said revenue at its cable division, which houses the Fox channels among others, rose 7.1 percent to $3.97 billion (£3.2 billion) in the quarter ended D
  
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• IAAF stops changes of allegiance, will set up new system

  06-02-2017 22:25
  The governing body of world athletics (IAAF) has put an immediate stop to changes of nationality by athletes, saying the system has become open to abuse and rules are being manipulated. IAAF President Sebastian Coe said a working group would be set up to agree new rules by the end of the year. "It has become abundantly clear that with regular multiple transfers of allegiance, especially from Africa, the present rules are no longer fit for purpose," Coe told reporters on Monday.
  
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• Donald Trump Thinks Terror Attacks Are 'Not Being Reported' In Media, Offers No Evidence

  06-02-2017 22:15
  
  Donald Trump has claimed the media is deliberately downplaying terror attacks to the point where incidents are “not even being reported”, despite widespread coverage of atrocities across the world.
  In a speech to US service men and women in Tampa, Florida, the US President went off script to launch yet another attack on the media - and with no evidence to support his claim.
  Trump has been forced on to the back foot over his travel ban targetted at predominantly Muslim countries, and
  
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• U.S. 'deeply troubled' by U.N. report of Myanmar atrocities against Muslims

  06-02-2017 22:12
  The United States is "deeply troubled" by the findings of a United Nations report that said soldiers in Myanmar's Rakhine State had committed atrocities against minority Muslims, the State Department said on Monday. Washington was still studying the report, but urged the Myanmar government "to take its findings seriously and redouble efforts to protect the local population," a spokeswoman for the department, Katina Adams, said. "We are deeply troubled by the findings," Adams said, referring to t
  
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• Germany may keep more of its A400 military transporters - report

  06-02-2017 22:10
  Germany is in talks with several countries, including the Czech Republic and Switzerland, about jointly operating a large number of the 13 Airbus A400M military transport planes it had planned to sell, a German newspaper reported. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported in Tuesday editions that the plan would allow the German air force to maintain access to a large number of the transport planes. A ministry spokeswoman declined comment.
  
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• Woman in Vatileaks trial got messages via confession box - book

  06-02-2017 22:07
  By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - The woman convicted of helping leak Vatican documents says in a new book that an official in a key office of the Holy See left her secret messages in the confession box of a Rome church during the trial. The episode is one new element in the book "In Peter's Name", by Francesca Chaouqui, who got a 10-month suspended sentence at the end of a sensational eight-month trial dubbed "Vatileaks 2" last July. Asked for a comment on the book, Vatican spokesman Greg Bur
  
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• Trump's moment to push hard work over 'luck'

  06-02-2017 22:02
  During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump was never asked what he thought of online gambling, which is currently banned in most states. Both the Supreme Court and his nominee for US attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, could soon decide to keep such bans in place. In the past, Senator Sessions has expressed negative views about government support of online gambling.
  
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• Senate in round-the-clock session to confirm Trump Cabinet

  06-02-2017 22:02
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats announced plans Monday to hold the Senate floor around the clock to protest Republicans' push to confirm President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks.
  
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• Metro shareholders back plans to split off food business

  06-02-2017 22:00
  Shareholders in Metro voted on Monday in favour of a plan to split the German retailer into two companies, one a wholesale and hypermarket food business, and the other Europe's biggest consumer electronics group. Metro, a sprawling conglomerate with 2,000 stores in 29 countries, has been restructuring in recent years to focus on cash-and-carry and consumer electronics, selling its Kaufhof department stores and Real supermarkets in eastern Europe. Metro last week reported slightly lower than expe
  
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• Kanye West appears to dump Trump with disappearing tweets

  06-02-2017 21:59
  Kanye West, one of Donald Trump's biggest celebrity supporters, appeared to have deleted his tweets about his meeting last year with the then U.S. president-elect in which the two discussed multicultural issues. After the meeting, West had also tweeted that he felt it "important to have a direct line of communication with our future president if we truly want change." West, 39, emerged as one of Trump's most high-profile supporters during the 2016 election campaign. It was not clear why the Trum
  
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• Oil falls as U.S. supplies, speculative length counter OPEC cuts

  06-02-2017 21:45
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday as ample U.S. supplies and excess speculative length outweighed OPEC output curbs and rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Brent futures fell $1.09, or 1.9 percent, to settle at $55.72 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 82 cents, or 1.5 percent, to close at $53.01. "We feel that the bulk of the price decline related to the larger-than-expected increase in net WTI speculative length as well as another he
  
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• German coalition parties agree to tighten security after truck attack

  06-02-2017 21:44
  The leaders of Germany's "grand coalition" have agreed to tighten security measures after the deadly truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market, including tougher steps to deport migrants seen as security risks, officials said on Monday. Leaders of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its CSU Bavarian sister party and the Social Democrats (SPD), agreed at a meeting in Munich to move ahead with the proposals made last month by Justice Minister Heiko Maas and In
  
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• Romanian government urges calm after graft U-turn, protests persist

  06-02-2017 21:41
  By Luiza Ilie and Radu-Sorin Marinas BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's ruling Social Democrats appealed for calm on Monday after withdrawing a decree widely condemned as reversing the country's anti-corruption drive, but protesters again took to the streets to demand the government's resignation. On Sunday the government rescinded the decree, which would have shielded dozens of politicians from prosecution, following the largest demonstrations in Romania since the fall of communism in 1989. Politi
  
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• Trump: Allow those into US who 'want to love our country'

  06-02-2017 21:38
  
  President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to allow into the United States people who "want to love our country," defending his immigration and refugee restrictions as he made his first visit to ...
  
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• Being a White House kid comes with pluses and minuses

  06-02-2017 21:30
  
  If it's tough being a kid, try being a "first kid" — the child of an American president. Just ask President Bill Clinton's daughter, Chelsea. Or President George W. Bush's twins, Jenna and Barbara. ...
  
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• Scandal-hit Fillon sorry, but staying in French presidency race

  06-02-2017 21:29
  By Brian Love and Emmanuel Jarry PARIS (Reuters) - French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon on Monday vowed to fight on for the presidency despite a damaging scandal involving taxpayer-funded payments to his wife for work that a newspaper alleges she did not do. At a news conference in Paris, Fillon, 62, apologised for what he said was his error of judgment regarding the employment of family members - though he said his wife's work as parliamentary assistant over 15 years had b
  
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• Brazil's Temer picks justice minister as Supreme Court nominee - source

  06-02-2017 21:23
  Brazil's President Michel Temer has picked Justice Minister Alexandre Moraes as his nominee to the Supreme Court, a government source said on Monday, in a move that would place a close ally on the tribunal as it rules on a major graft scandal. A photo taken by Reuters had earlier shown Moraes confirming his nomination in a cellphone text conversation. Moraes, whose appointment needs to be ratified by the Senate, would replace justice Teori Zavascki, who was killed in a plane cash on Jan. 20.
  
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• U.S. should expand missile defence due to North Korea, Iran - Congress head

  06-02-2017 21:20
  The United States should expand its missile defence systems given missile testing by North Korea and Iran, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said on Monday. The comments by Republican Representative Mac Thornberry followed new U.S. sanctions against Iran after the Persian country's recent ballistic missile test. The United States is also concerned North Korea may be preparing to test a new ballistic missile.
  
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• U.S. embassy in Iraq reports threat against Baghdad hotels

  06-02-2017 21:10
  The U.S. embassy in Baghdad said on Monday it has limited the movement of its personnel after receiving "credible threats of possible attacks on hotels frequented by Westerners". "As a reminder, U.S. citizens should maintain a heightened sense of security awareness and take appropriate measures to enhance their personal security at all times when living and working in Iraq," an emergency security message for U.S. citizens on the embassy's website said. U.S. authorities advise citizens to avoid t
  
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• Moroccan police clash with protesters

  06-02-2017 21:09
  Protesters marking the anniversary of the death of an anti-colonial hero have clashed with police in northern Morocco, in violence which authorities said left 27 officers injured. Thousands protested in Al-Hoceima in October against corruption and official abuses after a fishmonger was crushed to death inside a garbage truck as he tried to retrieve fish confiscated by police.    The region was home to Mohammed Ben Abdelkerim E
  
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• Fognini ends Argentine resistance to send Italy through

  06-02-2017 21:06
  By Luis Ampuero BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Fabio Fognini made his experience tell to beat Guido Pella in five sets and send Italy into the Davis Cup quarter-finals at the expense of depleted holders Argentina on Monday. Fognini battled back to win 2-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 in the final and deciding rubber which had been postponed on Sunday due to rain delays and failing light. Italy, who lost at home in last year's quarter-finals to an Argentine team that went on to win the trophy for the first time, wi
  
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• EU could freeze Polish voting rights over rule of law - Katainen

  06-02-2017 20:55
  By Andrea Shalal BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union could freeze member country Poland's voting rights unless it changes course and agrees to stick to the rule of law, European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said on Monday. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, maintained his eurosceptic tone, however, telling a German newspaper he agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump's view that the EU was primarily serving the interests of Germany.
  
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• Facebook, Google join drive against fake news in France

  06-02-2017 20:30
  Giant Internet firms Facebook and Google joined forces with news organisations on Monday to launch new fact-checking tools designed to root out "fake news" stories in France ahead of the country's presidential election. Social networks and news aggregators came under fire during the U.S. presidential vote when it became clear they had inadvertently fanned false news reports. Facebook , said it would work with eight French news organisations, including news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), news
  
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• Diane Abbott Under Pressure As Jeremy Corbyn Set To Order Labour MPs To Back Brexit Bill

  06-02-2017 20:28
  
  Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott’s political future hangs in the balance after Labour MPs were warned they will be expected to back the Government’s Brexit bill.
  The party’s chief whip, Nick Brown, told a meeting of the weekly Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) that he favoured ordering MPs to support the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.
  Brown said that he as “a firm advocate of consistency” on whipping matters, a strong signal that he will advise Jeremy Corby
  
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• Completing Brexit in two years will take a 'little miracle' - Katainen

  06-02-2017 20:27
  It will require "a little miracle" for Britain and the European Union to complete negotiations on Britain's exit from the bloc in the two-year time frame allotted, EU Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said on Monday. Katainen told Reuters that European Commission officials were bracing for "extremely difficult" negotiations with Britain, but were trying to be pragmatic about the process. "From the commission’s point of view, we want to put all the emotions and negative attitudes asi
  
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• EU's Katainen sees hope of reviving TTIP U.S.-European trade deal

  06-02-2017 20:26
  The European Union still sees some chance of reviving the stalled U.S.-European trade deal known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said on Monday. Katainen said it was noteworthy that U.S. President Donald Trump had attacked a U.S. trade agreement with Asia and the North American Free Trade Agreement during his election campaign, but had not taken aim at TTIP specifically.
  
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• The Latest: Trump presses for tougher immigration checks

  06-02-2017 20:21
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
  
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• Despite risks, public pensions put faith in long-term returns

  06-02-2017 20:19
  U.S. public pension funds are cutting their expectations for investment returns over the next 30 years or more, but some do not expect to meet even the new targets over the coming decade. After a long period of low interest rates, forecasts by investment analysts show the next 10 years will probably bring slower market growth, leading to reduced expectations for the $3.7 trillion of public pension assets. “Pension funds are in an extraordinarily difficult political situation,” said D
  
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• John Bercow's Speech Attacking Donald Trump In Full

  06-02-2017 19:53
  
  John Bercow has stunned Westminster with a speech attacking “racist, sexist” Donald Trump, pledging to bar the president from speaking in parliament’s Westminster Hall.
  The House of Commons speaker said addressing both houses of parliament in the 11th-century building was “an earned honour” and not an “automatic right”.
  Controversy has raged over Trump making a state visit since Theresa May announced the invitation when she went to meet him in Washington
  
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