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Europe rights watchdog says Turkey's emergency laws go too far | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A leading European rights watchdog called on Turkey on Friday to ease post-coup state of emergency laws that have seen thousands arrested and restore power to regional authorities. President Tayyip Erdogan has overseen a mass purge in the armed forces and the judiciary, as well as a crackdown on critics including academics and journalists since a failed military coup in July last year. An advisory body to the Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a member, acknowledged in a report the need for certain extraordinary steps taken by Turkish authorities to face a dangerous armed conspiracy . However...Turkish authorities have interpreted these extraordinary powers too extensively, said the experts, known as the Venice Commission, in an opinion that has no legal force. It urged Ankara to lift laws allowing it to pick mayors, deputy mayors and members of local councils outside of local elections, a reference to rules the Turkish government has used to replace local pro-Kurdish politicians across the largely Kurdish southeast of the country. The experts at the Council of Europe, Europe s leading human rights organization with 47 member states, recommended Turkey set a time limit on the emergency rules and ensure proper judicial oversight of any counter-terrorism measures. Erdogan has accused U.S.-based, Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the coup, in which 250 people were killed. Gulen has denied involvement. Since then, more than 50,000 people have been jailed pending trial over links to Gulen, while 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from jobs in the public and private sectors. Rights groups and Turkey s Western allies - including the European Union - have been taken aback by the scale of the purge, sounding alarm that Erdogan was using the coup as a pretext to quash dissent. The government in Turkey, a NATO member, says it must neutralize the threat represented by Gulen s network deeply rooted in the army, schools and courts. | worldnews | October 6, 2017 | true | believable |
Exclusive: Trump targets illegal immigrants who were given reprieves from deportation by Obama | (Reuters) - In September 2014, Gilberto Velasquez, a 38-year-old house painter from El Salvador, received life-changing news: The U.S. government had decided to shelve its deportation action against him. The move was part of a policy change initiated by then-President Barack Obama in 2011 to pull back from deporting immigrants who had formed deep ties in the United States and whom the government considered no threat to public safety. Instead, the administration would prioritize illegal immigrants who had committed serious crimes. Last month, things changed again for the painter, who has lived in the United States illegally since 2005 and has a U.S.-born child. He received news that the government wanted to put his deportation case back on the court calendar, citing another shift in priorities, this time by President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has moved to reopen the cases of hundreds of illegal immigrants who, like Velasquez, had been given a reprieve from deportation, according to government data and court documents reviewed by Reuters and interviews with immigration lawyers. Trump signaled in January that he planned to dramatically widen the net of illegal immigrants targeted for deportation, but his administration has not publicized its efforts to reopen immigration cases. It represents one of the first concrete examples of the crackdown promised by Trump and is likely to stir fears among tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who thought they were safe from deportation. While cases were reopened during the Obama administration as well, it was generally only if an immigrant had committed a serious crime, immigration attorneys say. The Trump administration has sharply increased the number of cases it is asking the courts to reopen, and its targets appear to include at least some people who have not committed any crimes since their cases were closed. Between March 1 and May 31, prosecutors moved to reopen 1,329 cases, according to a Reuters' analysis of data from the Executive Office of Immigration Review, or EOIR. The Obama administration filed 430 similar motions during the same period in 2016. Jennifer Elzea, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed the agency was now filing motions with immigration courts to reopen cases where illegal immigrants had “since been arrested for or convicted of a crime.” It is not possible to tell from the EOIR data how many of the cases the Trump administration is seeking to reopen involve immigrants who committed crimes after their cases were closed. Attorneys interviewed by Reuters say indeed some of the cases being reopened are because immigrants were arrested for serious crimes, but they are also seeing cases involving people who haven’t committed crimes or who were cited for minor violations, like traffic tickets. “This is a sea change, said attorney David Leopold, former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “Before, if someone did something after the case was closed out that showed that person was a threat, then it would be reopened. Now they are opening cases just because they want to deport people.” Elzea said the agency reviews cases, “to see if the basis for prosecutorial discretion is still appropriate.” After Obama announced his shift toward targeting illegal immigrants who had committed serious crimes, prosecutors embraced their new discretion to close cases. Between January 2012 and Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the government shelved some 81,000 cases, according to Reuters’ data analysis. These so-called “administrative closures” did not extend full legal status to those whose cases were closed, but they did remove the threat of imminent deportation. Trump signed an executive order overturning the Obama-era policy on Jan. 25. Under the new guidelines, while criminals remain the highest priority for deportation, anyone in the country illegally is a potential target. In cases reviewed by Reuters, the administration explicitly cited Trump's executive order in 30 separate motions as a reason to put the immigrant back on the court docket. (For a link to an excerpted document: tmsnrt.rs/2sI6aby) Since immigration cases aren’t generally public, Reuters was able to review only cases made available by attorneys. In the 32 reopened cases examined by Reuters: —22 involved immigrants who, according to their attorneys, had not been in trouble with the law since their cases were closed. —Two of the cases involved serious crimes committed after their cases were closed: domestic violence and driving under the influence. —At least six of the cases involved minor infractions, including speeding after having unpaid traffic tickets, or driving without a valid license, according to the attorneys. In Velasquez’s case, for example, he was cited for driving without a license in Tennessee, where illegal immigrants cannot get licenses, he said. “I respect the law and just dedicate myself to my work,” he said. “I don’t understand why this is happening.” Motions to reopen closed cases have been filed in 32 states, with the highest numbers in California, Florida and Virginia, according to Reuters’ review of EOIR data. The bulk of the examples reviewed by Reuters were two dozen motions sent over the span of a couple days by the New Orleans ICE office. Sally Joyner, an immigration attorney in Memphis, Tennessee said one of her Central American clients, who crossed the border with her children in 2013, was allowed to stay in the United States after the government filed a motion to close her case in December 2015. Since crossing the border, the woman has not been arrested or had trouble with law enforcement, said Joyner, who asked that her client’s name not be used because of the pending legal action. Nevertheless, on March 29, ICE filed a two-page motion to reopen the case against the woman and her children. When Joyner queried ICE, an official said the agency had been notified that her client had a criminal history in El Salvador, according to documents seen by Reuters. The woman had been arrested for selling pumpkin seeds as an unauthorized street vendor. Government documents show U.S. authorities knew about the arrest before her case was closed. Dana Marks, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said that revisiting previously closed matters will add to a record backlog of 580,000 pending immigration cases. “If we have to go back and review all of those decisions that were already made, it clearly generates more work,” she said. “It’s a judicial do-over.” | politicsNews | June 9, 2017 | true | believable |
At G20 summit, Trump pledges $639 million in aid to four countries | HAMBURG (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday promised $639 million in aid to feed people left starving because of drought and conflict in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen. Trump’s pledge came during a working session of the G20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg, providing a “godsend” to the United Nations’ World Food Programme, the group’s executive director, David Beasley, told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting. “We’re facing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two,” said Beasley, a Republican and former South Carolina governor who was nominated by Trump to head the U.N. agency fighting hunger worldwide. The new funding brings to over $1.8 billion aid promised by the United States for fiscal year 2017 for the crises in the four countries, where the United Nations has estimated more than 30 million people need urgent food assistance. “With this new assistance, the United States is providing additional emergency food and nutrition assistance, life-saving medical care, improved sanitation, emergency shelter and protection for those who have been affected by conflict,” USAID said in a statement. Rob Jenkins, acting head of the USAID’s bureau of democracy, conflict and humanitarian assistance, said of the funding, over $191 million would go to Yemen, $199 million to South Sudan, $121 million to Nigeria and almost $126 million for Somalia. Conflict in all four countries had made it difficult to reach some communities in need of food, he noted. “We’re in a dire situation right now,” said Jenkins, adding that USAID was also concerned with the situation in southern Ethiopia. “The situation in southern Ethiopia fortunately does not rise to the dire situation of the other four, but the situation is deteriorating and might very well be catastrophic without additional interventions,” he said, adding that Washington had already provided some $252 million this year to Ethiopia, “but the needs continue to grow.” Beasley said the U.S. funding was about a third of what the WFP estimated was required this year to deal with urgent food needs in the four countries in crisis as well as in other areas. The WFP estimates that 109 million people around the world will need food assistance this year, up from 80 million last year, with 10 of the 13 worst-affected zones stemming from wars and “man-made” crises, Beasley said. “We estimated that if we didn’t receive the funding we needed immediately that 400,000 to 600,000 children would be dying in the next four months,” he said. Trump’s announcement came after his administration proposed sharp cuts in funding for the U.S. State Department and other humanitarian missions as part of his “America First” policy. Beasley said the agency had worked hard with the White House and the U.S. government to secure the funding, but Trump would insist that other countries contributed more as well. A WFP spokesman said Germany recently pledged an additional 200 million euros for food relief. | politicsNews | July 8, 2017 | true | believable |
Ex-Christie associates lose bid for new trial in 'Bridgegate' case | NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge rejected a request for a new trial by two former associates of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who were convicted for their roles in the “Bridgegate” lane closure scandal. The decision late Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton clears the way for the two defendants to be sentenced on March 15. Bridget Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff under the Republican governor, and Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were convicted in November of orchestrating the shutdown of access lanes at the George Washington Bridge in September 2013. U.S. prosecutors said the resulting gridlock in Fort Lee, New Jersey, was intended to punish the town’s Democratic mayor for declining to back Christie’s re-election campaign. Christie has not been charged in the case and has denied any knowledge of the plan. But Kelly and another conspirator, former Port Authority official David Wildstein, both testified that Christie was aware of the lane closures before they occurred. Wildstein pleaded guilty and appeared at trial as the government’s star witness. In asking for an acquittal or a new trial, Kelly’s lawyers had argued that Wigenton erred when she instructed jurors that they could convict the defendants even if prosecutors failed to prove they had intentionally targeted the mayor for retribution. The motivation for the scheme, Kelly’s lawyers said, was at the core of the government’s case. But Wigenton said motive, while central to the prosecution, is not a required element of the crimes for which Baroni and Kelly were convicted. “The government was under no obligation to introduce evidence of motive, although motive helps present a coherent narrative of events to a jury,” she wrote. Lawyers for Baroni and Kelly did not immediately respond to requests for comment. They can still ask a U.S. appeals court to overturn the verdict after sentencing has taken place. A spokesman for New Jersey’s chief federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, declined to comment on the ruling. The scandal’s fallout helped sink Christie’s once-promising political career. He was passed over for a position in President Donald Trump’s administration after his own presidential bid sputtered, and he has seen record-low approval ratings in New Jersey. | politicsNews | March 2, 2017 | true | believable |
Young blacks more open to Bernie Sanders' White House bid | ORANGEBURG, S.C. (Reuters) - If Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders has a chance of drawing African-American voters away from rival Hillary Clinton in South Carolina’s presidential nominating contest on Feb. 27, his best opportunity will be among the young. African Americans support former Secretary of State Clinton by more than a 3-to-1 margin nationwide, but among young blacks 18 to 29 years old, that margin shrinks to 46 percent for Clinton versus 33 percent for Sanders, according to recent Reuters/Ipsos polling. African Americans overwhelmingly back Democrats, but opinion polls in the run-up to the Nov. 8 presidential election show younger blacks more apt to reject an establishment candidate. They seem less inclined than their parents to reward Clinton for the outreach of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and more drawn to Sanders’ outspoken views on reducing income inequality, cracking down on Wall Street, and cutting the cost of college. Reuters/Ipsos polling last year showed that 36 percent of blacks between 18 and 29 years old thought the country was on the “wrong track,” compared with 23 percent of blacks who were at least 60 years old. For Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont who describes himself as a democratic socialist, this trend could help him chip away at Clinton’s firewall of minority voters in the southern states, after his strong showings against her - especially among the young - in the early Democratic Party contests of Iowa and New Hampshire, both more than 90 percent white. The voting-age population in South Carolina, one of the next stops on the primary trail, is about 67 percent white and 27 percent black, the U.S. Census Bureau says. In Orangeburg, South Carolina, students at the historically black schools of South Carolina State University and Claflin University appeared split this week over which of the two candidates to support. Students praised Clinton’s work on behalf of women and minorities and her years of Washington experience. But many said they also were intrigued by Sanders’ plans to raise taxes on wealthier people and Wall Street firms, provide universal healthcare and offer free public college tuition. “The history is important. But at the same time ... you still need a plan,” said Travis Pascoe, 25, a second-year graduate student at Claflin. He said Sanders’ plans for reducing inequality by taxing the wealthy and expanding Medicare to cover all Americans should resonate with the black community. “I think that would help the black community because we’re the least privileged,” he said. Eight of 16 students interviewed were undecided voters. Of the eight students whose minds were made up, four students said they planned to vote for Clinton. Ethel Hillman, 25, a freshman who served in the military before going to college for social work, said she and many of her fellow students were voting for Clinton. She described Sanders as too aloof. “He’s not socially connected, I would say, to the black community,” she said. “He cares from a distance.” South Carolina State’s student center, which houses a bowling center and dining area, has quotes on walls from prominent black leaders, including President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, singer Michael Jackson and educator Booker T. Washington. On one wall is a memorial to students killed in the 1968 “Orangeburg massacre,” when protesters were shot by state highway patrol officers on campus amid tensions over racial discrimination. For Sanders, minority voters have been a lingering weakness. He struggled early in his campaign to appeal to black voters. Protesters from the Black Lives Matter movement interrupted his speeches, viewing him as out of touch with black issues. To counter that perception, Sanders touted his college civil rights activism, did publicity events with rapper Killer Mike, and on Wednesday met black civil rights leader Al Sharpton in Harlem. Like Clinton, Sanders has sent surrogates to historically black colleges. The writer and activist Cornel West spoke at South Carolina State on Sanders’ behalf, and actress Angela Bassett spoke there in support of Clinton. Where Sanders is fighting for inroads into the black electorate, Clinton finds a comfort zone. Her campaign has said it believes its road to the nomination would become smoother once it moves south, to places where she and her husband, the former president, have ties to minority leaders. Clinton picked up the endorsement of the Congressional Black Caucus political action committee on Thursday. As the stakes mount in South Carolina, Representative Jim Clyburn, one of the state’s most influential Democrats, said he was considering endorsing a candidate. He did not endorse in Hillary Clinton’s 2008 primary race against Obama, and previously said he would not weigh in this year. His wavering was echoed in the views of several students on the campus of South Carolina State. “I’m kind of caught between Bernie Sanders and Hillary,” said Kelsie Bryant, 19, a sophomore education major at South Carolina State. She said it was important to have a woman president, and she was worried Sanders was too old. But she said his meeting with Sharpton sent a positive signal about his outreach to blacks. Cetris Brooks, 21, a senior biology major at South Carolina State, said that ultimately she was “a little bit more trusting” of Clinton because of what the former first lady meant to her family. She said her parents had long supported Clinton, and her uncle knew the former president. (This version of the story corrects paragraph 11 number of students backing Clinton to four instead of three, adds “political action committee” to paragraph 21) (Additional reporting by Chris Kahn; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Howard Goller) SAP is the sponsor of this content. It was independently created by Reuters’ editorial staff and funded in part by SAP, which otherwise has no role in this coverage. | politicsNews | February 12, 2016 | true | believable |
New York attorney general says will sue over Obamacare repeal | (Reuters) - New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman intends to sue the federal government if Republican lawmakers pass proposed legislation to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, his office said on Monday. Schneiderman’s office said it has identified “multiple constitutional defects” with the Republican healthcare bills. The U.S. Senate is considering legislation to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement, commonly known as Obamacare. However, eight to 10 Republican U.S. senators have serious concerns about the proposals, moderate Republican Senator Susan Collins, who opposes the bill, said on Sunday. Democratic state attorneys general have become a major source of opposition to Republican President Donald Trump’s policies, having successfully forced him to significantly scale back a ban on travel from six Muslim-majority countries. A group of Democrats led by Schneiderman and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra earlier this year sought to intervene in a pending lawsuit in order to defend subsidies paid to health insurers under Obamacare. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has not yet ruled on that request. Among the Republican proposals that raise constitutional issues are one that would defund the Planned Parenthood health group for a year, and another that would shift some Medicaid costs in New York from counties to the state, known as the Collins-Faso amendment, said Amy Spitalnick, a Schneiderman spokeswoman. Critics of the latter provision say it would drastically increase costs in the state budget for the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor and disabled. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit threat. A representative for Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell could not immediately be reached for comment. | politicsNews | July 17, 2017 | true | believable |
Indonesian parliament speaker quits amid graft investigation | JAKARTA (Reuters) - The speaker of Indonesia s parliament, who is being investigated for his suspected involvement in a $170 million graft scandal, has tendered his resignation, two members of the assembly said on Monday. Setya Novanto was arrested last month over his suspected role in the scandal linked to a national electronic identity card scheme. Anti-corruption investigators then took him into custody from where he sent a letter to assembly leaders pleading to be allowed to keep his job while he fought the charges. Mr Novanto has resigned, member of parliament Yandri Susanto told Reuters, referring to a letter in which Novanto announced his decision. He didn t say why. A replacement for him as speaker was expected to be decided by his party, Golkar, at an extraordinary meeting on Dec. 19, said Dito Ganinduto, a member of parliament from Novanto s Golkar party. Novanto had not resigned as chairman of Golkar, Ganinduto said. A lawyer for Novanto, Maqdir Ismail, deferred questions on the matter to acting Golkar chairman Idrus Marham. Marham could not be reached for comment. Novanto had clung to power through several previous corruption cases. His latest battle with the graft agency has gripped Indonesia, where newspapers have splashed the story on front pages and social media posts mocking him have been widely shared. Before his detention last month he had for months declined to answer summonses for questioning by the Corruption Eradication Commission, known by its Indonesian initials KPK. The allegations against Novanto have reinforced the perception among Indonesians that their parliament, long regarded as riddled with entrenched corruption, is a failing institution. Indonesia was ranked last year at 90 out of 176 countries on Transparency International s corruption perception index. The watchdog has singled out parliament as Indonesia s most corrupt institution, and in July called on President Joko Widodo to protect the KPK against attempts by the legislature to weaken the commission s powers. Critics inside and outside the parliament say the root problem is money politics. | worldnews | December 11, 2017 | true | believable |
Spanish lender Sabadell to transfer legal base to Alicante - spokeswoman | MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish lender Sabadell decided on Thursday to transfer its legal base from Catalonia to Alicante, a bank spokeswoman said. The decision by Banco Sabadell, Spain s fifth biggest lender, comes as businesses in the wealthy northeastern region are growing increasingly worried about political upheaval there as the Catalan parliament considers whether to press ahead with a plan to unilaterally declare independence from Spain. | worldnews | October 5, 2017 | true | believable |
House speaker tells Trump healthcare bill lacks votes: CNN | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan told President Donald Trump on Friday that there are not enough votes to pass Republicans’ healthcare bill, CNN reported, citing a Republican source. Ryan, at a meeting with Trump at the White House, is seeking guidance from Trump about possible next steps, according to CNN. Republican leaders had been planning a vote later on Friday on the measure, which seeks to dismantle Obamacare. | politicsNews | March 24, 2017 | true | believable |
Britain says expects most EU citizens can stay after Brexit | LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said on Tuesday that most European Union citizens currently living in Britain will be allowed to remain in the country after Brexit in 2019. Outlining plans for a mass registration program, the Department for Exiting the European Union and the interior ministry said EU nationals will be given a two-year grace period to apply for settled status after Britain leaves the EU. The legal status and rights of EU nationals is one of the thornier issues in Britain s complicated exit from the bloc. There are about 3 million EU citizens living in Britain. Caseworkers will be able to use discretion when processing applications, meaning they should not be refused for minor technicalities, and the majority would be granted, the departments said in a statement. The cost of an application should be no more than the cost of a British passport and EU citizens will also be given a statutory right of appeal if denied. We have been clear that safeguarding the rights of EU citizens is our top priority in negotiations, Brexit minister David Davis said. We will support everyone wishing to stay to gain settled status through a new straightforward, streamlined system. | worldnews | November 7, 2017 | true | believable |
Trump pressures Lockheed, says told Boeing to price out fighter aircraft | HONOLULU/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump heaped pressure on Lockheed Martin Corp on Thursday, saying he viewed costs for the aerospace company’s F-35 fighter as too high and had asked Boeing Co to offer a price for an older aircraft that lacks the same stealth capabilities. Trump posted his Twitter message a day after the president-elect met with the chief executives of both aerospace companies, using the bully pulpit to press them on projects he says are too expensive. In after-hours trading following Trump’s tweet, Lockheed shares fell 2 percent and Boeing’s rose 0.7 percent. “Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet!” Trump said. Lockheed declined to comment. The F-35 program is a critical sales generator for the company, accounting for 20 percent of last year’s revenue of $46.1 billion. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher said in an email that the company was committed to providing the capability and affordability to meet national security needs. While the F-35 program has been dogged by problems and costs have escalated to an estimated $379 billion, it is significantly newer than the F-18, which does not have the same stealth capabilities. “They’re two completely different aircraft from different generations,” said Phillip Carter, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank. “It’s like comparing an old jeep to a Humvee.” Dan Grazier of the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit that investigates government contractors, said the F-35’s stealth capabilities drove the cost up, but its usefulness had not yet been demonstrated. He said canceling the program, however, would be “disruptive.” On the campaign trail, Trump touted his negotiating skills as a businessman, and he appears to be using similar tactics as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20. It was not clear how his blunt style would translate to Pentagon procurement or international diplomacy. On Wednesday, Trump met the CEOs of Lockheed and Boeing at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg told reporters there that he had guaranteed costs would not get out of control for a replacement to Air Force One, the presidential plane, another project Trump calls too expensive. Lockheed Chief Executive Marillyn Hewson did not speak to reporters but said in a statement that the meeting was “productive.” Trump told reporters he wanted to cut the F-35 program’s costs. If he scrapped the F-35, such a move by a new administration would have some precedent. Then-President Jimmy Carter canceled the B-1 bomber program in June 1977, although it was resurrected by his White House successor, Ronald Reagan. Trump’s jockeying for leverage via his Twitter account is likely to be a hurdle for all U.S. defense contractors in the next administration, Roman Schweizer, aerospace and defense analyst at financial services firm Cowen & Co, wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. “We have no idea how this plays out but believe ‘Twitter risk’ for defense companies could be a significant issue over the next four years,” Schweizer wrote. “This is Lockheed Martin’s time in the barrel.” | politicsNews | December 22, 2016 | true | believable |
Mexico says president Pena Nieto to meet Trump on Wednesday | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will meet U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for a private meeting on Wednesday, Pena Nieto’s office said via Twitter on Tuesday. The Mexican presidency said the government had sent an invitation to both Trump and Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton for talks and that Trump’s team had accepted. A spokesman for the Mexican presidency said the meeting would be in Mexico and that details of the encounter were still being worked out. | politicsNews | August 31, 2016 | true | believable |
Trump handling of security information at Mar-a-Lago queried by House panel | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s handling of U.S. security information at his Florida resort came under congressional scrutiny on Tuesday as a watchdog panel asked the White House to explain reports that Trump dealt with a sensitive foreign policy issue in view of club guests. Representative Jason Chaffetz, head of the House of Representatives oversight committee, sent a letter asking the White House for details on how Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe responded to a North Korean ballistic missile test while visiting the Mar-a-Lago golf resort over the weekend. Photos taken by private guests in the club’s public dining area showed Trump and Abe conferring and looking at documents while surrounded by their aides following Pyongyang’s missile launch. “Reports and social media accounts have suggested White House staff used their own cell phones to provide illumination for reviewing documents,” Chaffetz said in a letter to White House chief of staff Reince Priebus. “Separately, one Mar-a-Lago guest posted to his Facebook page a photograph with a man described to be the holder of the ‘nuclear football,’” he added. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Tuesday that Trump had been briefed on the North Korea situation with his national security team at a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, in Mar-a-Lago before and after the dinner. Spicer said a photo was taken later at the dinner Trump attended, and “everyone jumped to nefarious conclusions” about what may or may not have been discussed. “There is a SCIF there. It was utilized on two occasions that evening to convey to the president by his national security team the situation in North Korea,” Spicer said. While recognizing Spicer had denied any classified material was present in the dining room, Chaffetz said: “Discussions with foreign leaders regarding international missile tests, and documents used to support those discussions, are presumptively sensitive.” Chaffetz asked Priebus to explain to the committee whether security protocols were followed during the discussions, to identify which documents were reviewed at the dinner table in view of the guests and to explain whether any classified material was discussed in the resort’s common areas. He also asked for details on how the guests at Mar-a-Lago are vetted to ensure they are not foreign agents and to describe what security protocols are in place at the resort besides the SCIF. | politicsNews | February 14, 2017 | true | believable |
Transport minister doesn't think Britain will leave EU without a deal | LONDON (Reuters) - British transport minister Chris Grayling said on Sunday he didn t think Britain would leave the European Union without a negotiated deal with the bloc. Negotiations are deadlocked between Prime Minister Theresa May s government and the EU on securing a divorce settlement and agreement on future relations, raising the prospect that Britain could walk away from talks without a deal. I don t think we ll get to that position, Grayling, a leading campaigner for Leave at least year s referendum, told the BBC when asked what the consequences of leaving without a deal would be. Grayling also said he thought there was no danger of Brexit stopping airlines being able to fly into and out of the country. He said he believed Britain would end up remaining a member of the European Aviation Safety Agency, which oversees safety legislation. I m of the view that at the end of the negotiations I would expect that to be the case, he said when asked whether Britain would remain a member of the organization. | worldnews | October 15, 2017 | true | believable |
Factbox: Short list of potential picks for Trump administration | (Reuters) - New candidates to serve in U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet emerged on Wednesday, including U.S. Senator Ted Cruz as a potential attorney general and North Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as secretary of state, as he works to fill administration positions ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20. Trump said on Sunday he would hire Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff and named Stephen Bannon, former head of the conservative website Breitbart News, as his chief strategist and senior counselor. Below are people mentioned as contenders for senior roles. * Steven Mnuchin, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive and Trump’s campaign finance chairman * Jeb Hensarling, U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee * Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co chief executive officer * Tom Barrack, founder and chairman of Colony Capital Inc * Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City * Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina * John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush * Bob Corker, U.S. senator from Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee * Newt Gingrich, former U.S. House of Representatives speaker * Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq * Jeff Sessions, U.S. senator from Alabama and early Trump supporter, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee * Tom Cotton, U.S. senator from Arkansas * Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency * Jon Kyl, former U.S. senator from Arizona * Duncan Hunter, U.S. representative from California and early Trump supporter, member of the House Armed Services Committee * Jim Talent, former U.S. senator from Missouri who was on the Senate Armed Services Committee * Kelly Ayotte, outgoing U.S. senator from New Hampshire and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee * Rudy Giuliani * Ted Cruz, U.S. senator from Texas * Jeff Sessions, senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who takes a hard line on immigration * Kris Kobach, Kansas secretary of state, architect of anti-immigration efforts who says he is advising Trump on immigration issues * Pam Bondi, Florida attorney general * Trey Gowdy, U.S. representative from South Carolina who headed the House committee that investigated the 2012 attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya * Chris Christie, New Jersey governor * Henry McMaster, lieutenant governor of South Carolina * Newt Gingrich * Tom Price, U.S. representative from Georgia who is an orthopedic surgeon * Rick Scott, Florida governor * Rich Bagger, former pharmaceutical executive and former top aide to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie * Bobby Jindal, former Louisiana governor * Michael McCaul, U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee * David Clarke, Milwaukee county sheriff and vocal Trump supporter * Joe Arpaio, outgoing Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff who campaigned for Trump * Jeff Holmstead, energy lawyer, former EPA official during George W. Bush administration * Mike Catanzaro, energy lobbyist, former EPA official during George W. Bush administration * Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors * Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas attorney general * Carol Comer, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management * Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oil and gas mogul, chief executive of Continental Resources Inc * Kevin Cramer, U.S. Representative from North Dakota * Robert Grady * Larry Nichols, co-founder of Devon Energy Corp * James Connaughton, chief executive of Nautilus Data Technologies and a former environmental adviser to President George W. Bush * Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor, 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee * Jan Brewer, former Arizona governor * Forrest Lucas, founder of oil products company Lucas Oil * Harold Hamm * Robert Grady * Wilbur Ross, billionaire investor, chairman of Invesco Ltd subsidiary WL Ross & Co * Linda McMahon, former world Wrestling Entertainment executive and two-time Senate candidate * Retired Lieutenant General Ronald Burgess, former Defense Intelligence Agency chief * Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * Pete Hoekstra, former U.S. representative from Michigan * Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn * Pete Hoekstra * Michael Flynn * Stephen Hadley * Kelly Ayotte * Richard Grenell, former spokesman for the United States at the United Nations * Peter King, U.S. representative from New York * Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of steel producer Nucor Corp * Jeff Miller, retiring U.S. representative from Florida and chairman of the Veterans Affairs committee The Trump transition team confirmed he would choose from the list of 21 names he drew up during his campaign, including U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah, and William Pryor, a federal judge with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. | politicsNews | November 17, 2016 | true | believable |
EU's Tusk appealed to Rajoy to avoid escalation in Catalonia | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk appealed to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday to seek ways to avoid escalation in Catalonia and the use of force following Sunday s independence referendum in the region. After speaking to Rajoy, Tusk tweeted: Sharing his constitutional arguments, I appealed for finding ways to avoid further escalation and use of force. | worldnews | October 2, 2017 | true | believable |
Britain to limit acid sales after steep rise in assaults | MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Britain will limit sales of sulphuric acid and outlaw the sale of such corrosive substances to children after a spate of assaults and its possible use to make bombs, interior minister Amber Rudd said on Tuesday. Much to public alarm, the number of incidents where assailants have used acid has risen sharply, with police figures suggesting there had been more than 400 corrosive substance attacks in the six months to April this year. Many victims were left with serious, life-changing injuries as a result. The proposed new laws will make it illegal to sell the most harmful corrosive substances to under-18s while the carrying of acid in public without good reason will be banned. Acid attacks are absolutely revolting, Home Secretary Rudd told party activists at the Conservative Party Conference in the northern English city of Manchester. You have all seen the pictures of victims that never fully recover; endless surgeries, lives ruined. Rudd said she also intended to drastically limit the public sale of sulphuric acid because of its use in making the highly volatile triacetone triperoxide (TATP), known as mother of Satan , which is often used as a detonator in home-made explosives. Police say TATP was used in an attempted bombing on a packed London underground train last month which injured 30 people. The bomb engulfed a carriage in flames but failed to explode fully. At the moment, businesses that sell sulphuric acid have to tell the police of any theft or loss, but the new law would mean anyone wanting to buy it above a certain concentration would have to have a Home Office license. Rudd also announced plans to further restrict the online sale of knives to under-18s following a significant increase in the number of stabbings. | worldnews | October 3, 2017 | true | believable |
Hawaii issues first challenge to Trump's new travel ban | (Reuters) - The state of Hawaii requested emergency court intervention on Wednesday to halt a revised executive order from President Donald Trump placing U.S. entry restrictions on refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. Arguing that the new travel ban violates the U.S. Constitution, the state asked a Hawaii federal court to grant a temporary restraining order that should apply nationally. U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson ruled earlier in the day that the state could sue over Trump’s new order, which was signed by the president on Monday. It is the first legal challenge to the revised order. Watson said the state could revise its initial lawsuit, which had challenged Trump’s original ban signed in January. A hearing is set for March 15, a day before the new ban is to go into effect. The government has said the president has wide authority to implement immigration policy and that the travel rules are necessary to protect against terrorist attacks. Some legal experts have said court challenges will be more difficult now because changes to the order give exemptions to more people. The revised travel order changed and replaced the original, more sweeping ban issued on Jan. 27 that caused chaos and protests at airports and was challenged in more than two dozen lawsuits around the country. A federal judge in Seattle put the first order on hold, in a decision upheld by an appeals court in San Francisco. The new order is much more narrowly tailored. It keeps a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, but excludes Iraq and applies the restriction only to new visa applicants. It also removed an indefinite ban on all refugees from Syria. The order no longer covers legal residents or existing visa holders, and makes waivers possible for some business, diplomatic and other travelers. Immigration advocates have said the new ban, like the original one, discriminates against Muslims. But the first hurdle in a lawsuit is proving “standing” to sue, which means finding someone who has been harmed by the policy. With so many exemptions, legal experts have said it might be hard to find individuals that a court would rule have a right to sue. Hawaii claims its state universities would be harmed by the order because they would have trouble recruiting students and faculty. It also says the island state’s economy would be hit by a decline in tourism. The court papers cite reports that travel to the United States “took a nosedive” after Trump’s actions. The state was joined by a new plaintiff named Ismail Elshikh, an American citizen from Egypt who is an Imam at the Muslim Association of Hawaii whose mother-in-law lives in Syria, according to the lawsuit. “This second Executive Order is infected with the same legal problems as the first Order,” the state said in court papers filed on Tuesday. The President’s order “is subjecting a portion of Hawaii’s population, including Dr. Elshikh, his family, and members of his Mosque, to discrimination and second-class treatment,” Hawaii said. The lawsuit says that Elshikh fears his mother-in-law will not be able to enter the country under the new order. “The family is devastated,” the filing said. One of the groups eligible for waivers under the new ban are those seeking to visit or live with a close relative and who would face hardship if denied entry. Adam Lauridsen, a San Francisco attorney representing students challenging Trump’s first order, said the waiver provisions in the new ban are similar to case-by-case exemptions allowed in the first ban. Earlier legal challenges were allowed to move forward despite those waivers, he said. In support of its actions, the Trump administration has cited a section of law that says the president can suspend entry to the United States by “any class” of foreigners if he finds it would be “detrimental to the interests” of the country. | politicsNews | March 8, 2017 | true | believable |
Graft probe into Mexico president's ally poses tricky challenge ahead of elections | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - With a tight general election looming next year, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto faces a tough choice on whether to pursue a graft probe involving a prominent ally and Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. Mexico s top prosecutor, acting Attorney General, Alberto Elias Beltran, on Friday fired the federal attorney general responsible for electoral crimes, adding fuel to a case that may complicate the president s efforts to shake off allegations of corruption in the run-up to the July 2018 presidential vote. The dismissal of top electoral prosecutor, Santiago Nieto, came two days after he accused Emilio Lozoya, the former boss of state oil firm Pemex, and a longtime ally of President Pena Nieto, in a newspaper interview of writing to him to ask to be declared innocent of funneling Odebrecht cash to political campaigns. In Brazil, Odebrecht has admitted to paying bribes in several countries in Latin America, including Mexico. President Pena Nieto s party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), has been the dominant force of Mexican politics for the best part of a century, but has long been a byword for corruption. Mindful that the issue of corruption has become central to the 2018 election, the unpopular PRI has overseen the arrest of various former state governors, but Lozoya poses a more difficult challenge, given his proximity to the president. If they investigate (Lozoya) deeply, I think it would be the end of the party in power. If they don t, they stir up more public anger, said Paulo Diez, an anti-corruption lawyer who has taken on the government in high-profile graft scandals. Four days after becoming acting Attorney General, Alberto Elias Beltran dismissed Santiago Nieto on the grounds he had broken the office s code of conduct for public officials, his office said on Friday. The dismissal was attacked by the conservative National Action Party (PAN) and the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), opposition parties which questioned the impartiality of Pena Nieto s government. Santiago Nieto told newspaper Reforma on Wednesday that Lozoya s letter was a bid to secure impunity and that Odebrecht money had entered political campaigns. Nieto s office confirmed the letter s existence, as well as the investigation into the former Pemex chief executive, when contacted by Reuters. Lozoya said in a press conference that he is innocent of all accusations and that he did not funnel cash to President Pena Nieto s campaign. President Pena Nieto has also previously denied Odebrecht bribes made their way into his party s coffers. Lozoya s lawyer, Javier Coello, denied his client had written seeking leniency interviews. Coello also shared with Reuters a letter sent to Santiago Nieto, in which Lozoya asked to be informed of any criminal investigation into him, and to be called to testify if needed. That letter did not mention any appeals for clemency. Odebrecht has admitted to U.S. and Brazilian prosecutors that it paid $10.5 million in bribes in Mexico. Details of the payments have not been made public, though in August, Brazilian and Mexican media reported that Lozoya had asked Odebrecht executives for bribes in 2012 in return for contracts, citing testimony from Odebrecht employees. On Monday this week, Attorney General Raul Cervantes stood down, telling Senators his office had concluded investigations into Odebrecht. However, the details have yet to be published. | worldnews | October 21, 2017 | true | believable |
Co-leader of Germany's far-right AfD to quit in major blow | BERLIN (Reuters) - Frauke Petry, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, said on Tuesday she was leaving the party in a major blow to its credibility just two days after it surged to third place in a national election. The anti-immigrant AfD won 12.6 percent of the vote in Germany s election on Sunday, becoming the third-largest group in parliament and the first from the far-right to win seats in the Bundestag since the 1950s. Petry, the highest-profile figure in the AfD s more moderate wing, had shocked other senior members by saying on Monday she would not sit with the AfD in the Bundestag (lower house) but rather as an independent member of parliament. Her husband, another senior AfD figure, is also leaving the party. We tried to change course but you have to realize when you reach a point when that is no longer possible, Petry, a 42-year-old chemist, told reporters in the eastern city of Dresden. I have five children for whom I am responsible and ultimately you have to be able to look yourself in the mirror. Petry has clashed with other senior members, arguing for the party to take a more moderate course to make it possible for it to join a coalition government. Her husband, Marcus Pretzell - head of the AfD in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and also an MP in the European Parliament - is quitting the party and will become an independent MP, a spokesman for the AfD in NRW said. The spokesman said Pretzell and another AfD lawmaker in NRW s regional assembly who is also leaving the party had made the decision for reasons of personal integrity . On Monday, four of the 17 AfD lawmakers in the assembly of the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern announced they were bolting because the party had become more radical. Europe s far-right parties have a history of infighting among their various factions. Marine Le Pen, leader of France s National Front, last week lost her deputy over policy differences. Alexander Gauland and Alice Weidel, the AfD s top candidates during the election campaign, were elected as chairs of the party s parliamentary group on Tuesday. Gauland is a supporter of Bjoern Hoecke, a senior AfD member who has courted controversy by denying that Adolf Hitler was absolutely evil and calling Berlin s Holocaust Memorial a monument of shame . Weidel was originally an opponent of Hoecke but has not been so critical of him lately. Weidel said she did not expect other lawmakers to quit the party but added: We ll have to see. The step surprised us all, but there are not yet any trends recognizable in the future parliamentary group. Senior AfD member Dirk Driesang, who in July founded a moderate group within the AfD called the Alternative Centre , with which Petry was said to sympathize, told news magazine Der Spiegel that the group could not understand Petry s decision and would not be following in her footsteps. He said the group would continue to fight for the AfD to take a moderate course and added that a spin-off from the AfD is a stillbirth . Driesang pointed to the example of Bernd Lucke, who founded the AfD then left in 2015 due to what he saw as rising xenophobia and then formed a new, unsuccessful party. Petry was the most recognizable face in the AfD during its swift rise over the past two years. But she said on Monday she could not stand with an anarchistic party that lacked a credible plan to govern. For months, Petry has urged the AfD to soften its stance and prepare to join coalition governments, while others wanted the party to stick to opposition. Mainstream parties refuse to work with the AfD. She had also distanced herself from some of the AfD s more radical senior members, saying their comments were putting voters off. Gauland caused a scandal during the election campaign by saying Germans should be proud of their World War Two soldiers. He also said the integration minister should be disposed of in Turkey, where her parents come from. As the AfD convened in Berlin on Tuesday for its first parliamentary group meeting, Gauland said discussions in the Bundestag would not echo those of the party s campaign. It s clear that the talks during the campaign are different to those held in parliament, he said. | worldnews | September 26, 2017 | true | believable |
German admits selling gun to Munich attack shooter | BERLIN (Reuters) - A 32-year-old German man admitted in court on Monday that he sold the weapon used by a teenage gunman who killed nine people in Munich last year, a court spokesman said, adding that the defendant told relatives he felt sorry for his actions. David Ali Sonboly, 18, killed nine people before shooting himself dead. Another 27 people were injured. Police concluded the German-born Sonboly was a deranged lone gunman obsessed with mass killings who drew no inspiration from Islamist militancy. The Munich public prosecutor s office has charged the accused, identified only as Philipp K., as is customary in German law, with selling weapons illegally and nine counts of negligent homicide as well as five counts of negligently causing grievous bodily harm. A written statement was read, acknowledging that the accused had traded with weapons. The defendant expressed his regret that one of these firearms was used in the rampage here in Munich, court spokesman Florian Gliwitzky said. He offered his apologies to the relatives and with this, he also expressed that he was regretting his actions. A spokeswoman for the public prosecutor said the suspect so far only had admitted to the charge of selling weapons illegally. She added that evidence revealed during the hearing showed that the suspect had far-right attitudes. A defense lawyer said his client would not give any more statements in the course of the trial. Authorities arrested the man in Marburg, about 100 km (65 miles) north of Frankfurt a year ago, after contacting him on the so-called dark net and posing as buyers for an automatic weapon and a Glock 17 pistol for 8,000 euros ($9,550). During a sting operation, the suspected arms dealer said he had sold the 18-year-old Iranian-German another Glock 17 pistol during a meeting in Marburg, followed by 350 rounds of ammunition during a second meeting. Authorities around Europe are concerned that secretive marketplaces make it too easy for criminals and militants to obtain weaponry that has traditionally been highly regulated across Europe. | worldnews | August 28, 2017 | true | believable |
In schools and hospitals, Turkey carves north Syria role | AL-BAB, Syria/BEIRUT/ANKARA (Reuters) - Children returning to school in the northern Syrian city of al-Bab were handed a new textbook this term: T rk e reniyorum - I am learning Turkish . Turkish lessons, Turkish signposts, Turkish-trained police and most recently a Turkish post office all point to Turkey s deepening role in an area of northern Syria it captured from Islamic State (IS) with the help of Syrian rebels. Turkish administrators are even helping to run hospitals in the area. Ankara has taken on a widening role in the 100-km (60-mile) stretch of territory seized in its eight-month long Euphrates Shield operation, laying the foundations for long-term ties with an area that is of crucial strategic importance to Turkey. Launched to drive IS away from the border, the operation also aimed to block further expansion by Syrian Kurdish groups that Ankara deems a threat to its national security. With the Euphrates Shield region calm for months, Ankara says it wants to help recovery and to encourage a return of Syrian refugees, millions of whom fled the six-year-long war into Turkey. But Turkish support is also consolidating the region s status as a Syrian opposition-held territory where Turkey-backed Syrian opposition groups are building their own government even as the forces of President Bashar al-Assad win back swathes of the country elsewhere. After Daesh (Islamic State) was expelled ... we returned and the cities were suffering from large-scale destruction and general ruin, said Mohammad Karaz, director of education in al-Bab. Some schools were wiped out entirely, he said. The restoration was done by our Turkish brothers who restored 10 schools, one of which we are sitting in today, he said during an interview at the Major Bulent al-Bayrak elementary school, named after a Turkish officer killed while fighting Islamic State for control of al-Bab. Arabs and Turks are siblings reads a mural in the schoolyard. Turkish aid includes stationery, books and clothes. Karaz said the schools were teaching a Syrian curriculum modified to remove the state s Baathist ideology. The decision to add Turkish was taken unanimously by Syrian education officials in the area, he said. Turkish classes, taught by Syrians trained in Turkey, have started for pupils aged between six and nine. Explaining the decision, Karaz noted that two-thirds of al-Bab citizens had sought refuge in Turkey. Turkish authorities had given assurances that qualifications from schools in the area would be recognized in Turkey and students can apply to Turkish universities , he said. A senior Turkish official said Ankara aimed to recreate the conditions to bring life back to normal in the area which is located northeast of the city of Aleppo and stretches to the western bank of the Euphrates River. Turkish support included health care, security, food and police training. Turkey wants the Syrians living (in Turkey) to return to their country ... However, it will continue to host the Syrians here and provide humane living conditions for the Syrians in the regions under its control for as long as necessary, the official told Reuters. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in a speech last weekend, said: We don t have a wish to occupy these lands but we want the rightful owners to go back there. Damascus has, however, long accused Turkey, a major backer of the Syrian opposition to Assad, of colonial ambitions in northern Syria. The front page of the pro-Damascus Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar on Thursday declared that Ankara was undertaking the Turkification of the area. Turkey s intervention was driven chiefly by concern over the growing sway of Syrian Kurdish groups seen by Ankara as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade long insurgency against the Turkish state. The Euphrates Shield operation shattered the Syrian Kurds hopes of joining up two Kurdish-dominated regions of northern Syria, where the war has allowed Kurdish militia to carve out their own autonomous regions. The Syrian opposition s efforts to establish their own interim government in the Euphrates Shield area received a big boost this week when a Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group handed it control of a border crossing to Turkey. The interim government s aims include drawing investment to move the people from a state of war to work and building the region , said Khaled Aaba, a senior official with the Jabha Shamiya FSA group that handed over Bab al-Salama crossing. Crediting Turkey for standing by Syrians in their travails , he said Ankara was actively participating in supporting administrative and service institutions in the area . The existence of (the interim) government better organizes this relationship. Turkey s support to the health sector has included repairing and expanding hospitals previously operated by the Syrian state. Turkish administrators are working alongside Syrians at the Hikmeh Hospital in al-Bab, said Ahmad Aabo, a Syrian medical official in the city. Turkey s main project is a 200-bed hospital that will replace one destroyed during the war with IS. The companies taking control of the construction are Turkish, we don t have companies capable of doing such a project, said Aabo, speaking to Reuters in a telephone interview from the city. He said work on the hospital, which began a month ago, should be completed by New Year, comparing the rapid pace of the Turkish project with the 25 years it had taken to build its predecessor. Turkish support for Syrian security forces has included training police officers who began deploying in the region in January. Abdel Razzak al-Laz, the head of the National Police and General Security Forces , said 7,000 have now been deployed. Everyone wants the return of security and stability, wants to see a police patrol at night and during the day, said Laz, a police director when he defected to the opposition in 2012. The numbers are increasing, and there are continuous courses. | worldnews | October 12, 2017 | true | believable |
Pennsylvania $2 bln budget gap is 'time bomb': governor | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pennsylvania’s $2 billion budget deficit is a “time bomb” that could cause “fiscal catastrophe the likes of which we have never seen” if it is not resolved, Governor Tom Wolf said in his budget address on Tuesday. Wolf proposed a $32.7 billion fiscal 2017 budget that would add $200 million of funding for K-12 public schools and another $110 million to early and special education programs. Including pension contributions, the budget would be nearly $33.3 billion. To pay for the increases, Wolf would increase personal income taxes by nearly 11 percent to 3.4 percent, expand sales taxes, raise taxes on tobacco products and implement a 6.5 percent severance tax on natural gas producers, according to documents released during his speech. But dominating Wolf’s message was the budgetary crisis escalated by political gridlock. Wolf, a Democrat, and the Republican-led legislature have disagreed since this time last year, when Wolf proposed his first budget. Now seven months after the start of fiscal 2016 on July 1, the state still has only a partial $23.4 billion emergency spending plan. Wolf had been ready to sign a negotiated $30.8 billion agreement but it was scuttled in December. Wolf reminded lawmakers of that turn of events on Tuesday. In web-streamed remarks, he urged them to send the agreement back to him. “House Republican leaders just walked away,” he said during his speech at the state capitol in Harrisburg. Some booed in response. “Yelling will not make it go away,” Wolf said. “We need to do what’s right,” he continued, to applause. He later told lawmakers to “find another job” if they could not reach a solution. His 2017 proposal is built upon the eventual approval of that compromise budget for the current fiscal year. Senate Republicans, who had passed the budget compromise, said Wolf was “doubling down” on last year’s proposal. “This retread budget proposal offers superficial changes to his sizable tax-and-spend plan that has already been soundly opposed by taxpayers,” Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman said in a statement on Tuesday. Unless next year’s deficit is closed, property taxes for homeowners will skyrocket, Wolf said. More than 23,000 teachers and school employees would be cut, as would special education and pre-kindergarten programs. Services for senior citizens, the mentally ill, child care and domestic violence shelters also would be slashed, he said. Wolf’s address was no olive branch, said Muhlenberg College political scientist Christopher Borick. “He turned up the heat,” Borick said. | politicsNews | February 9, 2016 | true | believable |
Highlights: The Trump presidency on April 21 at 6:12 p.m. EDT/2212 GMT | (Reuters) - Highlights for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday: Trump promises a big announcement about tax reform next week and orders an administration review of Obama-era tax rules written to discourage U.S. companies from relocating overseas to cut their tax bills. Trump tells the Treasury Department to examine two powers given to regulators to police large financial companies following the 2008 financial crisis. South Korea says it is on heightened alert ahead of another important anniversary in North Korea, with a large concentration of military hardware amassed on both sides of the border amid concerns about a new nuclear test by Pyongyang. Trump, striving to make good on a top campaign promise, is pushing fellow Republicans who control Congress to pass revamped healthcare legislation but the same intraparty squabbling that torpedoed it last month could do it again. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says Syria has dispersed its warplanes in recent days and that it retains chemical weapons, an issue he says will have to be taken up diplomatically. The Department of Justice threatens to cut off funding to California as well as eight cities and counties across the United States, escalating a Trump administration crackdown on so-called “sanctuary cities” that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The United States will not make an exception for American companies, including oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, seeking to drill in areas prohibited by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says. Trump and his fellow Republicans who control Congress face their first major budget test next week, with the threat of a government shutdown potentially hinging on his proposed Mexican border wall as well as Obamacare funding. The House of Representatives Intelligence Committee says it has invited FBI, National Security Agency and Obama administration officials to testify as it restarts its investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres meets with Trump at the White House for the first time since both took office earlier this year and amid a U.S. push to cut funding to the world body and its agencies. The United States has offered to help fund Mexico’s efforts to eradicate opium poppies, a U.S. official says, as Mexican heroin output increased again last year. | politicsNews | April 21, 2017 | true | believable |
Michigan governor expects no charges over Flint crisis: newspaper | (Reuters) - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said he had “no reason to be concerned” he would be charged in connection with the Flint drinking water crisis that exposed city residents to high levels of lead, the Detroit Free Press reported on Thursday. Snyder made the comments to the newspaper on Wednesday, the day after two Flint emergency managers appointed by the governor were indicted on felony charges of conspiring to violate safety rules. “I have no reason to be concerned,” Snyder was quoted as saying, while acknowledging he could not speak on behalf of state Attorney General Bill Schuette. Both Snyder and Schuette are Republicans. Snyder told the paper much of the $3.5 million in taxes he is using for his criminal defense was being spent to find and prepare records requested by Schuette and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is also investigating the water scandal. Schuette has filed 43 criminal charges against 13 current and former state and local officials, including the emergency managers this week. Snyder’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the interview. Flint has been at the center of a public health crisis since last year, when tests found high amounts of lead in blood samples taken from children in the poor, predominantly black city of about 100,000 residents. Critics have called for charges to be brought against the governor, who has been in office since 2011, as well as other high-ranking state officials. Snyder has said he believes he did nothing criminally wrong. Asked at a news conference on Tuesday whether the investigation would lead to charges against senior state officials, Schuette said no one was excluded from the probe. Flint’s water contamination was linked to a switch of its source to the Flint River from Lake Huron in April 2014, a change made in an attempt to cut costs, while the city was under state-run emergency management. | politicsNews | December 22, 2016 | true | believable |
France sees U.S. strike on Syria as tool to push for peace talks: Hollande | PARIS (Reuters) - France and the rest of Europe must use last week’s U.S. missile strike on Syria as a tool to revive peace negotiations between warring parties, French President Francois Hollande said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday. In the interview with Le Monde, Hollande said intelligence suggested that the nerve gas attack which prompted the U.S. missile strike was tactical in nature and launched from an aircraft. Major western powers and their Middle Eastern allies blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the attack and have been pushing this week to try to isolate him over the attack on a rebel-held town last week that killed 87 people including 31 children. Pressure is also building on Russian President Vladimir Putin to break ties with Assad. | politicsNews | April 12, 2017 | true | believable |
Clinton expands lead over Trump to 13 points: Reuters/Ipsos poll | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton widened her lead over likely Republican nominee Donald Trump to 13 percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday. The July 1-5 poll included responses gathered mostly over the holiday weekend, before the Federal Bureau of Investigation recommended on Tuesday that no criminal charges be filed against Clinton over her use of private email servers and what it called her “extremely careless” handling of classified information while she was U.S. secretary of state. The presumptive Democratic nominee led Trump, a New York businessman, by 9 percentage points in a previous Reuters/Ipsos poll that ran from June 27 to July 1. Tuesday’s poll showed that 46 percent of likely voters supported Clinton, while 33 percent backed Trump. Twenty-two percent said they would not support either candidate for the Nov. 8 election. Throughout the campaign, Clinton has been dogged by her use of a personal email server during her years as the nation’s top diplomat. Over the past several months, she has handed over thousands of pages of emails to investigators and responded to a number of government inquiries. Clinton has repeatedly said she never sent or received classified documents on her private servers, yet the public appears distrustful of her, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. In early May, 63 percent of Americans, including 36 percent of Democrats, said they did not believe Clinton was “honest and truthful.” But Clinton has led Trump most of the year among likely voters. Since mid-May, she has maintained a relatively consistent level of support among likely voters, while Trump’s popularity has eroded as his campaign wrestled with a variety of issues. Republican leaders distanced themselves from Trump after he suggested a federal judge was biased because of his Hispanic heritage and after he doubled down on a pledge to block Muslims from entering the country. On Tuesday, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan criticized a tweet posted by Trump over the weekend that many deemed to be anti-Semitic. Trump’s level of support among likely voters was about 10 points below what 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney received in early July 2012. Among Clinton’s supporters, nearly half said they were backing her because “I don’t want Donald Trump to win.” A further 39 percent said they “agree with her positions,” and about 13 percent said they “like her personally.” The online national poll of 1,441 American adults had a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3 percentage points. | politicsNews | July 5, 2016 | true | believable |
Ryan opposes Trump working with Democrats on healthcare | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, said he does not want President Donald Trump to work with Democrats on new legislation for revamping the country’s health insurance system, commonly called Obamacare. In an interview with “CBS This Morning” that will air on Thursday, Ryan said he fears the Republican Party, which failed last week to come together and agree on a healthcare overhaul, is pushing the president to the other side of the aisle so he can make good on campaign promises to redo Obamacare. “I don’t want that to happen,” Ryan said, referring to Trump’s offer to work with Democrats. Carrying out those reforms with Democrats is “hardly a conservative thing,” Ryan said, according to interview excerpts released on Wednesday. “I don’t want government running health care. The government shouldn’t tell you what you must do with your life, with your healthcare,” he said. On Tuesday, Trump told senators attending a White House reception that he expected lawmakers to reach a deal “very quickly” on healthcare, but he did not offer specifics. “I think it’s going to happen because we’ve all been promising - Democrat, Republican - we’ve all been promising that to the American people,” he said. Trump said after the failure of the Republican plan last week that Democrats, none of whom supported the bill, would be willing to negotiate new healthcare legislation because Obamacare is destined to “explode.” | politicsNews | March 30, 2017 | true | believable |
South Africa's Ramaphosa steps up criticism ahead of ANC leadership vote | JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, a leading contender to become head of the ruling ANC in December, stepped up his criticism of the government on Sunday, saying state-owned companies had been captured and funds looted from them. Ramaphosa s remarks during a speech to an African National Congress meeting in the old diamond-mining town of Kimberley were tougher than others he has made on government graft, signaling the issue will be a main theme of his campaign. He also took aim without naming them - at the wealthy Gupta family, friends of President Jacob Zuma who have been accused of using undue influence to win lucrative state contracts. Zuma and the Guptas have denied any wrongdoing. Many of these state-owned enterprises have been captured by certain people, by a certain family, Ramaphosa said. All of our state-owned enterprises have been captured and we are saying we want to see an end to state capture and the money that has been stolen, we want it back, he said, to roars of approval from the audience. South Africa s top prosecutor said on Wednesday police were examining a trove of leaked documents detailing relations between the Guptas and Zuma, but it was too early to say if a prosecution should be launched. Ramaphosa said in May that South Africa was in danger of becoming a mafia state and he took a swipe in July at the Guptas over media reports that state funds were diverted in 2013 to pay for a lavish Gupta family wedding. But Sunday s remarks about a certain family were more pointed and come as the race heats up for the ANC s top spot. The next head of the party, who will be selected in December, will be its presidential candidate in 2019 national elections. Ramaphosa s main challenger, veteran politician and Zuma s ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, will next week be sworn in as a member of parliament, a move which could see the former minister brought back into the cabinet, raising her profile. Analysts say she has the backing of Zuma s well-established patronage network as well as organizations such as the party s Women s League. Ramaphosa is a trade unionist-turned-business tycoon who has the backing of a diverse group of unions, communists and investors who do not always see eye to eye but want to rid the ANC of Zuma s influence and legacy. The opposition has long accused Zuma of sleaze and influence-peddling while in office. He survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Aug. 8 but 30 ANC lawmakers voted with the opposition, indicating deep divisions in the party that has dominated South African politics since the end of apartheid in 1994. | worldnews | September 10, 2017 | true | believable |
Border without doctors? South Koreans urge more funding for trauma care after defector drama | SEOUL (Reuters) - A defector s treatment for critical injuries suffered during a dramatic dash from North Korea has highlighted a shortage of South Korean trauma doctors and again underscored Seoul s lack of preparedness in the event of hostilities with Pyongyang. The defector, identified only by his family name of Oh, was shot at least four times by his former comrades during his daring escape into South Korea last week. American military helicopters flew the wounded soldier not to one of the many hospitals in Seoul, closer to the border, but to the Ajou University trauma center an hour south of the capital. The center, and its lead surgeon John Cook-Jong Lee, have been thrust into the spotlight amid a push for more trauma facilities and specialist doctors in a country still technically at war and where preventable trauma death rates are already amongst the highest in the OECD. An official at South Korea s Ministry of Health said more than 30 percent of people who suffered fatal trauma injuries last year could have survived if they had access to proper, timely treatment. That s far higher than the 10 to 15 percent in places such as the United States and Japan. Although 133 surgeons are currently entitled to perform trauma surgery, I highly doubt that all of them can actually perform, said Park Chan-yong, general affairs manager of the Korean Society of Traumatology. Many of them just gained the rights, but never had practiced this kind of surgery. By Friday, attention sparked by the defector s case had prompted nearly 200,000 South Koreans to join a petition asking the presidential Blue House to boost funding for Lee s trauma center, one of just nine in the country. During increased tensions this year with heavily armed North Korea, Seoul has faced criticism over a lack of preparation for major emergencies, with many bomb shelters, for example, laying forgotten and unstocked with food or water. The government has launched programs to raise awareness, but public emergency drills often fail to attract much response. Despite the apparent need for specialists, Lee said he has faced ignorance, including from some doctors who complained he was showing off with new techniques, since returning from training in the United States in 2003. I had to explain whenever I met new doctors here, what a trauma surgeon was. Every day, he said. Often, trauma medicine is not seen as attractive or lucrative as other fields, said Park. Residents and medical students avoid coming to traumatology, because there is no hope and no dream. The South Korean government says it recognizes the problem, and in 2014 set a goal of lowering its rate of preventable trauma fatalities to levels closer to those of other OECD countries by 2020. But with a shortage of funding, only half of a planned 17 regional trauma centers have been built so far, a health ministry official said. Germany, for example, has less than twice the population of South Korea, but 10 times as many operational trauma centers. South Korea s strict gun control laws also mean there are far fewer gunshot wounds like those suffered by the defector. Between January 2012 and August 2017, 31 people were killed and 51 wounded by guns, according to the police. In comparison, in the United States, where Lee trained, more than 33,000 people die from gunshot wounds every year, according to annual averages of government data. However, the kinds of industrial accidents and car crashes commonly seen in South Korea can cause equally bad injuries, Lee said. In South Korea, roughly speaking, more than 90 percent of trauma victims are brought to the hospital in less than an hour, Lee said. However, frequently, they are put in emergency rooms for a while, sometime for hours, to get proper care. Lee has made a name for himself and the Ajou trauma center, in part by cultivating a close relationship with the American and South Korean militaries, making it an obvious choice for the defector s treatment. Lee said his fascination with the American medical evacuation crews and the techniques he learned in the United States have led him to push for a series of new additions at the trauma center, including a recently completed roof-top helipad with flashing neon messages in English for American pilots. U.S. military air crews, however, have yet to obtain Pentagon permission to use the new helipad, Lee said. The arrival of the North Korean defector has brought Lee a new round of criticism for appearing to seek attention, including from one lawmaker, a charge he says is unfounded. But it has also highlighted the need for more funding for his center and more trauma facilities in South Korea. To those who get only 10, 20 minutes of sleep while working to save emergency room patients, to those who only get to go home once a week or not even that we should not be criticizing them but rather, discuss how to resolve problems within the system, the petition submitted to the Blue House said. | worldnews | November 24, 2017 | true | believable |
Bus drives into pedestrian underpass in Moscow, kills four: agencies | MOSCOW (Reuters) - A passenger bus swerved off course and drove into a busy pedestrian underpass in Moscow on Monday, killing at least four people, Russian news agencies reported. Video from the scene posted on social media showed a bus veering off the road and plunging down the steps of a pedestrian underpass, crushing several people beneath its wheels. The driver of the bus had been detained by police, agencies said, after he lost control of the vehicle. The incident occurred on one of the Russian capital s busiest roads near the Slavyansky Boulevard metro station. Monday was an ordinary working day in Russia where Orthodox Christmas will be celebrated on Jan. 7. An unnamed emergency services source told the TASS news agency that the number of fatalities had risen to five people. There were also unconfirmed reports that some 15 people had been injured. The Interfax news agency said investigators were looking into whether the incident had occurred as a result of a technical fault with the bus. Ten ambulances, fire service personnel, and three medivac helicopters were on the scene, agencies reported. | worldnews | December 25, 2017 | true | believable |
Trump and Putin see eye to eye on many foreign policy aims: Foreign Minister | MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin see eye to eye when it comes to many foreign policy goals, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. Lavrov was speaking at a news conference with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto. | politicsNews | January 23, 2017 | true | believable |
Trump wants ex-Goldman partner Mnuchin to run U.S. Treasury: Fox Business | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump wants his campaign finance chairman, Steven Mnuchin, to be his Treasury secretary if he wins next week’s U.S. presidential election, Fox Business Network reported on Thursday, citing sources. Mnuchin, a former partner at Goldman Sachs Group Inc who also founded and runs the hedge fund company Dune Capital Management LP, joined Trump’s campaign in May as his chief fundraiser. Fox Business Network, citing unnamed sources from inside the Trump campaign, said the New York businessman has told his team he wants Mnuchin to lead the U.S. Treasury Department if he wins the Nov. 8 election. Representatives for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump largely funded his own campaign during the primary contest for Republican presidential nomination but moved to join with the Republican National Committee to jointly fundraise his general election campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton. He has still contributed millions of his own funds. Trump has faced a significant fundraising deficit compared with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Trump raised a total of $255 million, including about $56 million of his own money, compared to Clinton’s $513 million for the entire election cycle through Oct. 19. Last week, Trump pledge to donate an additional $10 million of his own personal funds. Mnuchin previously spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs and has helped finance numerous Hollywood movies, according to Bloomberg. He also previously worked for Soros Fund Management LLC, a hedge fund firm led by George Soros, a Clinton backer. Over the years, Mnuchin has donated thousands to Republicans as well as Democrats, according to federal campaign finance records, including to Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and her earlier Senate races. Mnuchin, a graduate of Yale University who serves on several boards, resigned last year from the board of CIT Group Inc. | politicsNews | November 3, 2016 | true | believable |
Obama defends record on terrorism in national security speech | TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned that the United States would not be able to wipe out terrorism with military might as he offered a sweeping defense of his administration’s national security record. In his final major speech on counterterrorism as president, Obama argued that his administration had been able to make al Qaeda “a shadow of its former self” and had put Islamic State on its heels, but said terrorism would remain a threat to the United States. “Rather than offer false promises that we can eliminate terrorism by dropping more bombs or deploying more and more troops or fencing ourselves off from the rest of the world, we have to take a long view of the terrorist threat and we have to pursue a smart strategy that can be sustained,” Obama said during a speech at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Obama will turn over the White House on Jan. 20 to Republican President-elect Donald Trump who has been sharply critical of his administration’s approach to fighting terrorism. Trump referred to Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as the “co-founders” of Islamic State during the presidential campaign, blaming them for the initial spread of the militant group. The White House said Obama’s national security speech had been planned long before the Nov. 8 election and was not aimed specifically at the incoming Trump administration. But during his speech, Obama spoke of the importance of adhering to American laws and values and against reinstating the use of waterboarding or imposing a religious test on immigrants, two positions that Trump has supported in the past. “The whole objective of these terrorists is to scare us into changing who we are and our democracy,” Obama said. Obama signed an executive order after taking office in January 2009 that banned waterboarding and other “enhanced interrogation techniques” or EITs. Such executive orders can be rescinded by a president’s successors. Many lawmakers and human rights groups have denounced waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning, as torture. While Trump is now calling for “extreme vetting” of certain refugees admitted to the United States, during the campaign he proposed banning foreign-born Muslims from entering the country. Obama came into office planning to unwind U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and promising to focus on fighting militant groups that threatened the United States wherever they were. Instead, he has been forced to return some U.S. troops to Iraq and keep thousands in place in Afghanistan after more than 14-1/2 years of war. Obama said his administration’s approach of providing support to local partners and not undertaking massive ground invasions has been effective and is making progress in the fight to take Mosul in Iraq from Islamic State. Some counterterrorism experts have pointed to the rise of Islamic State as an example of Obama being too slow to respond to an emerging threat. While the United States has been successful in killing some key militant leaders, Obama’s “legacy has been tarnished by the way terrorist groups have regenerated and strengthened in the latter parts of his presidency,” said Robin Simcox, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation. | politicsNews | December 6, 2016 | true | believable |
California poised to shut out Republicans from U.S. Senate race | SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California voters on Tuesday were poised to choose two Democrats to face off against each other in the race to succeed Barbara Boxer in the U.S. Senate, shutting out Republicans in a sign of diminished support in America’s most populous state. State Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez will meet in what would be the state’s first single-party Senate election under a 2010 California law advancing the top two primary vote-getters to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. With 16 percent of precincts reporting in early returns on Tuesday, Harris, 51, led the crowded field of 34 candidates with 40 percent of the vote. None of the Republican contenders came close to Sanchez, 56, who was firmly in second place with 16 percent of the vote. Boxer, 75, a Democrat, is retiring after 24 years in the Senate. Republicans hold no statewide offices in California and represent about 27 percent of registered voters. The state, home to former Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, last elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1988. On Tuesday, former California Republican Party chairman Duf Sundheim was in third place with 10 percent in early returns, followed by fellow Republican Phil Wyman with 6 percent. Harris is the daughter of two college professors. Of African-American and Indian descent, she was raised amid civil rights activism in Berkeley and Oakland, eventually becoming a prosecutor in San Francisco. She was elected attorney general in 2010 and 2014. For the primary, Harris ran a tightly controlled campaign, touting her role negotiating a settlement with big banks over the mortgage meltdown and using her position as the state’s top prosecutor to fight human trafficking, cyber crime and other issues. Sanchez, who represents Orange County near Los Angeles, has served in Congress since 1997. Her win in the once staunchly Republican county was an early sign of California’s demographic shift, as the state became more ethnically diverse and far more Democratic. Such a matchup could easily go negative, experts said, straining relationships within a party that are already bruised by the tense competition between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination for the Nov. 8 election. Clinton and Sanders also face off in California on Tuesday. “The fact that they’re both in the same party doesn’t mean they’re going to treat each other with kid gloves,” political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe said of Harris and Sanchez. “When ideological and policy differences aren’t as great, it’s only natural for the candidates to focus on personal issues,” said Dan Schnur, who heads the Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. Sanchez, seeking to become the state’s first Latina U.S. senator, has raised less money than Harris and trails her by about 8 percentage points in polls. But factors including a recent surge in voter registration among Latinos will make her a strong competitor in the general election, analysts said. She has positioned herself more to the political center than her opponent. With support from Latinos, independents and Republicans, Sanchez could win in November despite Harris’ advantages, Schnur said. “We’re prepared for any turn in the race,” said Harris spokesman Nathan Click. A Sanchez campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. | politicsNews | June 7, 2016 | true | believable |
Stung by reputation, Taiwan looks to turn corner on money laundering | TAIPEI (Reuters) - After Taiwan s state-run Mega Financial Holding Co was fined $180 million by U.S. authorities for lax enforcement of anti-money-laundering rules at its New York branch, the bank started a rigorous training program for its staff. Now, like Mega Financial, companies across Taiwan are working to get staff and systems up to speed after the island passed laws to meet international standards on combating money laundering and was taken off a watchlist by the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG). Unfortunately, Taiwan has earned a name for itself as a paradise for money laundering, Deputy Justice Minister Tsai Pi-chung told Reuters. Money laundering and cybercrime connections to Taiwan, which is also in the process of pushing through a cyber security bill, have grabbed global headlines. U.S. authorities fined Mega Financial $180 million last year for lax enforcement of anti-money-laundering rules at its New York branch. Some money from the $170 million cyber heist of India s Union Bank of India was transferred through Taiwan s Bank SinoPac. An international crime ring used malware to steal $2.6 million from the ATMs of Taiwan s First Bank. Taiwan was one of the six most targeted countries of the Wannacry ransomware attack earlier this year, according to security company Avast. Since 2011, 800 people from China and Taiwan have been deported from Cambodia on suspicion of telecoms fraud. Following its U.S. fine, Mega Financial said cleaning up its act is a top priority. U.S. authorities had said the Mega branch had been indifferent to the risks associated with transactions involving Panama, a high-risk area for money laundering. What happened at our New York branch was just terrible, said Robert Tsai, a senior executive vice president, referring to the fine and ensuing scandal. Half of our 6,000 clerks have been certified with anti-money laundering training. How each of our branches implements the rules and ensures proper training is the top priority for our business. To gain international confidence in its anti-money laundering measures, Taiwan will have to demonstrate it is putting the laws into practice. The APG will review Taiwan in 2018. The visit will focus on how effectively Taiwan will have actually implemented the anti-money laundering rules, said Liang Hung-lieh, partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Taiwan. The APG s on-site review will be new to most of the assessed, including banks, non-bank financial institutions and in particular non-financial institutions such as lawyers, public certified accountants and other professional service providers. Under the anti-money laundering laws, these financial professionals will be required to report suspicious transactions, including bank transfers exceeding T$500,000 (US$16,500). They will have to determine where the money came from, provide details about the client and report that to Taiwan s newly established Anti-Money Laundering Office. These are similar to regulations that countries that have signed up to global anti-money laundering rules overseen by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) have adopted. The cost to companies of implementing the new rules may be significant as they put processes, workers and data systems in place. There s a lot of extra work for them to do now, such as determining the identities of their clients beneficiaries, said an official with the Financial Supervisory Commission, the island s financial regulator. He declined to be identified in the absence of permission to speak to the media. They don t yet know exactly what they have to do, and to what extent, to be considered compliant with the new regulations. They re going to need some time to digest all of these new rules, he said. The potential costs and increased difficulty of getting transactions done under the new rules worry those in the property market, said Wong Jui-chi, the spokesman for Taiwan s Chinese Association of Real Estate brokers, while emphasizing that his industry intends to fully comply with the regulations. The property market is already in a bad shape and these new rules will make things worse by making the process of real estate transactions more complicated. More or less everyone in our industry is complaining about it, he said. | worldnews | August 30, 2017 | true | believable |
Al Qaeda warns Myanmar of 'punishment' over Rohingya | YANGON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda militants have called for support for Myanmar s Rohingya Muslims, who are facing a security crackdown that has sent about 400,000 of them fleeing to Bangladesh, warning that Myanmar would face punishment for its crimes . The exodus of Muslim refugees from Buddhist-majority Myanmar was sparked by a fierce security force response to a series of Rohingya militant attacks on police and army posts in the country s west on Aug. 25. The Islamist group behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Untied States issued a statement urging Muslims around the world to support their fellow Muslims in Myanmar with aid, weapons and military support . The savage treatment meted out to our Muslim brothers ... shall not pass without punishment, al Qaeda said in a statement, according to the SITE monitoring group. The government of Myanmar shall be made to taste what our Muslim brothers have tasted. Myanmar says its security forces are engaged in a legitimate campaign against terrorists , whom it blames for attacks on the police and army, and on civilians. The government has warned of bomb attacks in cities, and al Qaeda s call to arms is likely to compound those concerns. We call upon all mujahid brothers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines to set out for Burma to help their Muslim brothers, and to make the necessary preparations training and the like - to resist this oppression, the group said. | worldnews | September 13, 2017 | true | believable |
One dead after light aircraft collides on Caernarfon runway | (Reuters) - British Police said that one person died after a light aircraft collision at Caernarfon Airport in Wales on Thursday. The police said in a Facebook post that the pilot of the aircraft had died after it collided on the runway and caught fire. A cordon is in place around the site and we are urging the public to remain clear of the area to allow the emergency services to deal with the incident, Sharon McCairn , Chief Inspector for North Wales Police said. | worldnews | September 6, 2017 | true | believable |
Russian military: Syria government troops control 85 percent of Syria - agencies | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have to date cleared 85 percent of the country s area from militants, Russian news agencies cited Alexander Lapin, the head of the Russian troops headquarters in Syria, as saying on Tuesday. Islamic State fighters are still in control of around 27,000 square km of Syria s territory, he said. | worldnews | September 12, 2017 | true | believable |
Charlottesville schools, parents address children's fears after violence | CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (Reuters) - When white supremacists began rallying in downtown Charlottesville this weekend, Liz Licht kept the TV off, trying to shield her three kids from the hate spewed on the streets of this normally quiet college town. But after learning that a 32-year-old woman who joined a counter-protest was killed by a man described as having neo-Nazi sympathies, Licht could no longer keep news of the violence from her nine-year-old son and seven-year-old twins. “Our son went to bed scared that night,” Licht said. “He said he never really knew evil existed until that day.” Licht joined other parents to call on the local school district to help Charlottesville children exposed to the hate and violence, especially as they leave the safe haven of home to start the school year. “We want to work with them to develop buddy systems to pair them up with someone who is an immigrant or refugee,” Licht, 41, said on Tuesday as she stood near a pile of flowers marking the street where Heather Heyer was killed. “Make it hands-on, not just talking about it.” Charlottesville Public Schools officials said they are preparing specific plans on how to address the issue when students return to classes next week. School leaders are tweaking their plans for the new year and preparing teachers to handle students’ questions about the violence and hate speech, schools Superintendent Rosa Atkins said in an e-mail. “If we miss these steps, we will miss an opportunity for healing and growth,” Atkins said. Saturday’s rally was the latest in a series of demonstrations by white supremacists in Charlottesville in recent months. It deteriorated into street fighting that culminated in Heyer’s killing, allegedly by 20-year-old James Alex Field, who injured 19 other people by crashing his car into a counter-protest. Psychologists often warn that young children can be traumatized by images of violence and urge parents to limit their exposure to news accounts of events like Saturday’s rally. But given the white nationalist ideology that drove the “Unite the Right” event, experts said parents and schools should talk directly with their children about their beliefs. “This is a really important teaching moment,” said Gail Saltz, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the Cornell School of Medicine. Schools in particular could use the incident as a way to teach students to cope with bullying, by stepping up to object to bullies, rather than being passive bystanders. “Any way that one can be helpful always relieves anxiety,” said Saltz. “You might say to a child that in your microcosm of school, it’s really important to make everyone feel respected.” Corey Eicher, 42, stopped with his daughters, aged seven and four, to leave flowers at the memorial for Heyer. He said he had tried to soothe his children’s fears by talking about the police and race. “We showed them that a lot of the police working that day were black, of every color,” Eicher said. “My older daughter is seven, so she kind of understands what is happening.” Lila’s reaction to Saturday’s events was brief: “Scary.” | politicsNews | August 15, 2017 | true | believable |
Trump slams federal court ruling on funding for 'sanctuary cities' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday attacked a federal judge’s ruling that blocked his executive order seeking to withhold funds from “sanctuary cities” for illegal immigrants, vowing to appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court. Tuesday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge William Orrick in San Francisco was the latest blow to Trump’s efforts to toughen immigration enforcement. Federal courts have also blocked his two travel bans on citizens of mostly Muslim nations. “First the Ninth Circuit rules against the ban & now it hits again on sanctuary cities-both ridiculous rulings. See you in the Supreme Court!” Trump said in a tweet on Wednesday, referring to the San Francisco-based federal appeals court and its judicial district. The Trump administration has targeted sanctuary cities, which generally offer safe harbor to illegal immigrants and often do not use municipal funds or resources to advance the enforcement of federal immigration laws. Later on Wednesday, Trump, asked in an interview with the Washington Examiner if he had considered proposals to break up the 9th Circuit Court, said: “Absolutely, I have.” “There are many people that want to break up the 9th Circuit. It’s outrageous,” he told the newspaper. The latest ruling did not come from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to which Trump was referring. It came from the federal district court in San Francisco. Critics have said local authorities endanger public safety when they decline to hand over for deportation illegal immigrants arrested for crimes, while supporters argue that enlisting police cooperation to round up immigrants for removal undermines trust in local police, particularly among Latinos. Dozens of local governments and cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, have joined the “sanctuary” movement. In his ruling, Orrick said Trump’s Jan. 25 order targeted broad categories of federal funding for the sanctuary cities and that plaintiffs challenging it were likely to succeed in proving it unconstitutional. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions blasted Orrick’s ruling, saying Trump’s executive order was “squarely within the powers of the President.” “The Department of Justice cannot accept such a result, and as the President has made clear, we will continue to litigate this case to vindicate the rule of law,” Sessions said in a statement. An appeal is likely to be heard by the 9th Circuit before it goes to the Supreme Court. Republicans view the appeals court as biased toward liberals, and Trump was quick to attack its reputation in his tweets. It “has a terrible record of being overturned (close to 80%). They used to call this “judge shopping!” Messy system,” Trump said. The appeals court raised Trump’s ire earlier this year when it upheld a Seattle judge’s decision to block the Republican president’s first travel ban on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations. In May, the 9th Circuit will hear an appeal of a Hawaii judge’s order blocking Trump’s revised travel ban, which placed restrictions on citizens from six mostly Muslim countries. A Maryland judge also blocked portions of the second ban. Trump has issued sweeping condemnations of courts and judges when they have ruled against him or his administration. In February, he called the federal judge in Seattle who ruled against his first travel ban a “so-called judge.” During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump accused an Indiana-born judge overseeing lawsuits against the defunct Trump University of bias based on his Mexican ancestry. | politicsNews | April 26, 2017 | true | believable |
PM May's deputy to keep job after pornography claims, ITV says | LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May s senior minister will not have to resign over claims that police found pornography on a work computer and that he made an inappropriate sexual advance against a young woman, ITV political editor Robert Peston said on Monday. First Secretary of State Damian Green will be told on Wednesday that the Cabinet Office and the prime minister will inform him that he can keep his job, Peston said on his Facebook page. May s office declined to comment on the report. Peston said no other women came forward to present evidence against Green and that police testimony does not prove he watched the porn on the parliamentary computer. Two retired police officers alleged the pornography was discovered on Green s computer by officers during an inquiry into government leaks in 2008. Earlier on Monday, a spokesman for the prime minister said there are procedures to go through in the investigation and once they are complete the government will publish the findings. Green, who is a close ally of May, has denied the allegations. If Green is cleared it would be a boost to the prime minister after she lost two ministers last month: one was forced to quit in a sexual harassment scandal and another over undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials. | worldnews | December 11, 2017 | true | believable |
New Hampshire governor asks Trump to stop Indonesian deportation effort | BOSTON (Reuters) - New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu on Monday publicly called on U.S. President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, to halt an effort to deport 69 Indonesian Christians who fled violence in that country two decades ago and are living illegally in the state. The group had been living near the state’s coast under the terms of a 2010 deal worked out with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that allowed them to remain so long as they handed in their passports and turned up for regular check-ins with immigration officials. That changed starting in August when members of the group who arrived for scheduled meetings with ICE officials at the agency’s Manchester, New Hampshire, office were told to buy one-way plane tickets back to Indonesia, which they fled after 1998 riots that left about 1,000 people dead. “I am respectfully requesting that your administration reconsider its decision to deport these individuals, and I urge a resolution that will allow them to remain in the United States,” Sununu said in a letter to Trump dated Friday, which his office made public on Monday. Several members of the group, who are all ethnic Chinese, told Reuters they fear that they would face discrimination or violence if they returned to the world’s largest majority-Muslim country. “While I firmly believe that we must take steps to curb illegal immigration, it is also imperative that we make the process for legal immigration more streamlined and practical,” Sununu wrote. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Immigration advocates have filed lawsuits in Boston on behalf of 47 members of the group asking a federal court judge to intervene. Chief U.S. District Judge Patti Saris has ordered a stay to the deportations, but has indicated that she has little jurisdiction over immigration, which is handled by the Executive Office for Immigration review. She is currently weighing whether she can order a longer delay to give the affected people, many of whom have U.S.-born children, time to renew their efforts to gain legal status. Most of the group entered the United States legally on tourist visas following the riots, which erupted at the start of the Asian financial crisis. They overstayed their visas and failed to apply for asylum on time, but have been allowed to live openly under the accord with ICE, negotiated with the help of U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat. | politicsNews | October 23, 2017 | true | believable |
China complains to Australia over Turnbull comments on interference | BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Friday it had lodged a complaint with Australia after its prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, said he took reports very seriously that China s Communist Party had sought to interfere in his country. Turnbull said this week that foreign powers were making unprecedented and increasingly sophisticated attempts to influence the political process in Australia and the world. He cited disturbing reports about Chinese influence . Turnbull, speaking to parliament on Thursday during the introduction of legislation to stop external interference in domestic politics, reiterated those concerns. Media reports have suggested that the Chinese Communist Party has been working to covertly interfere with our media, our universities and even the decisions of elected representatives right here in this building. We take these reports very seriously, he said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in Beijing he was shocked at what Turnbull had said. Such comments pandered to certain irresponsible reports in Australian media, were full of prejudice against China, were baseless and poisoned the atmosphere of China-Australia relations, Geng told a daily news briefing. We express strong dissatisfaction at this, and have already lodged solemn representations with the Australian side, he said. Geng said China had always respected the principle of non-interference in internal affairs in dealing with Australia We strongly urge the relevant Australian person to spurn Cold War thinking and prejudice towards China, immediately stop making wrong comments that harm political mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation, and take effective steps to dispel negative effects, he added. Geng s remarks were China s latest and strongest broadside against Australia on the issue. The Chinese embassy in Australia on Wednesday accused Australia of hysteria and paranoia after Turnbull vowed to ban foreign political donations to curb external influence in domestic politics. China s soft power has come under renewed focus this week after a politician from Australia s opposition Labor party was demoted from government having been found to have warned a prominent Chinese business leader and Communist Party member that his phone was being tapped by intelligence authorities. In June, Fairfax Media and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on a concerted campaign by China to infiltrate Australian politics to promote Chinese interests. | worldnews | December 8, 2017 | true | believable |
U.S. says it will take steps after Cambodia's dissolves opposition party | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States expressed grave concern on Thursday about the Cambodian government s decision to dissolve the main opposition party and said Washington will take concrete steps in response, according to a White House statement. As a first step, the White House said, the United States will end its support for the Cambodian National Election Committee and its administration of the 2018 national election. | worldnews | November 17, 2017 | true | believable |
Campaign chief to oversee Trump U.S. vice presidential search | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, will oversee the presumptive Republican U.S. presidential nominee’s search for a running mate, a campaign aide said on Tuesday. Lewandowski last week took over the vice presidential selection process and is drawing up a list of potential candidates and speaking with Republican Party figures, two top Republicans told the Washington Post, which first reported the move. The two Republicans said they expected lawyers or a law firm to help vet Trump’s short list of candidates, the Post reported. The Trump campaign aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Lewandowski is leading the effort but would not elaborate. Trump has said he is considering some of his former rivals for the Republican nomination. But some already have ruled themselves out or declared they will not support the billionaire businessman. One of those was U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who on Monday sought to quash speculation he might emerge as the running mate, saying he still has deep reservations about Trump. Trump has bristled at Republicans who publicly have taken themselves out of the running. The day after Rubio’s announcement, Trump wrote in a Twitter post, “It is only the people that were never asked to be VP that tell the press that they will not take the position.” Trump has said he plans to select a Republican with political experience as his choice for vice president. Lewandowski has been part of Trump’s inner circle since the beginning of his candidacy. Other Trump senior advisers, including Paul Manafort and Rick Wiley, will concentrate on the campaign’s national field operation and planning for the Republican National Convention in July, the Post said. Lewandowski has generated controversy during Trump’s campaign for president. He was hit in March with a misdemeanor battery charge relating to an incident involving a female reporter, but prosecutors in Florida’s Palm Beach County last month decided not to prosecute Lewandowski. | politicsNews | May 10, 2016 | true | believable |
U.S. lawmakers propose making it easier to meet auto fuel rules | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan pair of Michigan lawmakers introduced a bill to make it easier for automakers to comply with federal fuel efficiency requirements, as the Trump administration considers softening standards that require nearly doubling the fuel economy of the U.S. new vehicle fleet by 2025. The proposal, introduced late on Wednesday, would extend the life of fuel economy credits that would currently expire after five years, lift a cap on transferring credits between car and truck fleets and award automakers credits for emissions reductions not measured by existing test procedures. The measure proposed by Representatives Fred Upton, a Republican, and Debbie Dingell, a Democrat, would also grant an industry wish by requiring that the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reconcile their respective fuel economy standards so the industry can comply with just one set of rules. The proposal comes on the heels of a bipartisan measure to create a single federal standard for self-driving cars, also backed by the industry, that is on track to passage. The Union of Concerned Scientists said the harmonization legislation and a similar bill introduced in the Senate would allow manufacturers to make vehicles that are on average 3 miles a gallon less efficient in 2021. The group estimated that would result in additional U.S. oil consumption of 350 million barrels of oil, costing drivers $34 billion and an additional 155 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing General Motors Co, Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and others, praised the bill for “recognizing the consumer benefits that can come from better alignment of government programs.” The group noted there were significant differences between how the EPA and NHTSA award and allow use of credits. Last week, automakers told U.S. regulators they should revise fuel efficiency mandates because the standards do not reflect how cheap gas prices are affecting consumer demand. Automakers want changes in the 2021-2025 requirements that would make it easier for them to comply with fuel economy standards. Former President Barack Obama’s administration finalized rules in 2012 to double the fleetwide average fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, but the EPA revised the target to 51.4 mpg based on rising truck sales. The Obama administration said the rules would save motorists $1.7 trillion in fuel costs but cost the auto industry about $200 billion over 13 years | politicsNews | October 12, 2017 | true | believable |
Most Americans want Obama to nominate Scalia's replacement: Reuters/Ipsos | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A majority of Americans believe it should be up to President Barack Obama to nominate the next U.S. Supreme Court justice, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found on Thursday, with opinion divided along ideological party lines. The death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia last week sparked an intense debate between Republicans and Democrats over whether Obama, a Democrat, should nominate Scalia’s replacement before he leaves office, or whether the seat should be left open until a new president takes office in January. Concerned that any appointee Obama selects would tip the nine-justice court in liberals’ favor, Republicans in the U.S. Congress and on the presidential campaign trail have said the replacement should be chosen by the next president. The White House has said Obama intends to do as the U.S. Constitution requires and “move promptly” to nominate a successor. The nominee must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The poll showed that 54 percent of Americans believed Obama should make the nomination. The support overwhelmingly came from Democrats, with 81 percent of them saying they supported Obama nominating Scalia’s successor. Among Republicans, only 27 percent said they either strongly or somewhat supported Obama making the pick. Democrats and Republican also had different priorities when it comes to picking a Supreme Court nominee, according to the poll. A majority, or 67 percent, of Democrats said they wanted someone pragmatic and willing to compromise, with 53 percent of Republicans saying they wanted someone ideologically pure. Despite its polarizing effect, the Supreme Court issue does not appear to be a priority issue for voters surveyed. More Americans think the executive and legislative branches of government wield greater influence than the judiciary, the poll showed, and fewer than 10 percent thought nominating justices to the high court was a presidential duty most relevant to them. A third of those surveyed said they were not aware of Scalia’s death, which first made headlines on Saturday. The poll of 1,108 adults, including 460 Democrats and 426 Republicans, was conducted Tuesday to Thursday. It had a credibility interval of about 5 percentage points. | politicsNews | February 19, 2016 | true | believable |
Oklahoma Supreme Court strikes down restrictive abortion law | (Reuters) - Oklahoma’s highest court on Tuesday struck down a law imposing restrictions on abortion providers, including a requirement that they take samples of fetal tissue from patients younger than 14 and preserve them for state investigators. The law also set new criminal penalties for providers who violate abortion-related statutes as well as individuals who help a minor evade the requirement to obtain parental consent. In addition, the bill created a new, stricter inspection system for abortion clinics. Legislators had said the fetal tissue section was aimed at capturing child rapists and that the law would protect women’s health. But the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which challenged the law in court, said it unfairly targeted facilities that perform abortions. In a unanimous opinion, the nine-member Oklahoma Supreme Court found the law violated the state constitution’s requirement that each legislative bill must address only “one subject.” The rule, the court said, is designed to prevent legislators from including provisions that would not normally pass in otherwise popular bills. The state unsuccessfully asserted that each part of the law addressed a single subject: women’s reproductive health. “We reject defendants’ arguments and find this legislation violates the single subject rule as each of these sections is so unrelated and misleading that a legislator voting on this matter could have been left with an unpalatable all-or-nothing choice,” Justice Joseph Watt wrote for the court. In a concurring opinion, four judges said they also would have struck down the law as an unconstitutional burden on a woman’s right to have an abortion. Lincoln Ferguson, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, called the decision “disappointing.” “This law would have given law enforcement the ability to more easily prosecute sexual assaults of children that are discovered when a child under 14 has an abortion,” he said. “The Attorney General’s Office remains committed to defending laws aimed at protecting the safety and well-being of Oklahoma women.” In a statement, Center for Reproductive Rights President Nancy Northup said the law was “nothing but a cynical attack on women’s health and rights by unjustly targeting their trusted health care providers.” Oklahoma’s Republican-dominated government has joined several socially conservative states in enacting abortion restrictions in recent years, drawing court challenges. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas law imposing strict regulations on facilities that perform abortions. A similar law is on hold in Oklahoma while the state Supreme Court considers its legality. | politicsNews | October 4, 2016 | true | believable |
Trump Interior nominee would consider more drilling on federal land | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Interior, on Tuesday said he would consider an expansion of energy drilling and mining on federal lands but would ensure sensitive areas remain protected. The former Navy SEAL sought to outline a measured approach to the job of managing America’s national parks, forests and tribal lands during a four-hour Senate confirmation hearing that was mostly cordial, lacking some of the hot-tempered grilling that has marked other sessions to vet Trump’s cabinet nominees. “Yes,” he said in response to a question from Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska about whether he would review drilling curbs imposed by President Barack Obama’s administration in her state, home to vast petroleum deposits both onshore and beneath Arctic waters. “I can guarantee you it is better to produce energy domestically under reasonable regulation than overseas with no regulation ... We need an economy.” But he added he was committed to protecting sensitive wildlife habitats and to keeping federal lands under federal control to ensure they are preserved for future generations, so “my granddaughter’s children can look back and say that we did it right.” The Interior Department oversees territories covering a fifth of the United States’ surface from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico, including rich deposits of oil, gas and coal and important pasturelands for ranchers. Zinke, an avid hunter and angler, emerged as a surprise pick to head the department in part because he has embraced federal stewardship of public land, diverging from the Republican Party’s official position to sell off acreage to states. But as a congressman he has also fought for increased energy development, a position that has worried conservationists and which fits neatly with Trump’s campaign vows to bolster the U.S. energy sector by scaling back regulation. Over the last eight years, the Interior Department has sought to limit industry access to federal lands and played a key role in Obama’s agenda to combat climate change by curbing greenhouse gas emitting industries. Under Obama, the department banned new coal mining leases on federal property early in 2016. More recently the agency placed parts of the offshore Arctic and Atlantic off-limits to drilling and declared national monuments that protect large parts of Utah and Nevada from development. Zinke said he believed Trump could “amend” Obama’s moves to declare millions of acres of federal property as national monuments. But he said that any move Trump made to rescind a designation would immediately be challenged. He did not comment directly on whether he would seek to reverse Obama’s federal coal-lease ban but said he believed coal plays an important part in the U.S. energy mix and has previously pushed to end the moratorium. Zinke was the first of three Cabinet heads Trump has chosen to oversee his environment and energy portfolio to face Senate scrutiny this week. All three have opposed Obama’s measures to combat global climate change by targeting carbon dioxide emissions. Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, was to testify on Wednesday, and Trump’s choice for Energy secretary, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, was to testify on Thursday. Zinke told committee members that he believes humans contribute to global climate change – a statement that appeared to clash with Trump’s views. Before running for the White House, Trump called climate change a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese to weaken U.S. businesses, a position he has since defended. “I do not think it is a hoax,” Zinke said. But he added that he believed there is still debate over the degree to which humans have an impact, and what should be done about it, adding that regulations could sometimes hurt jobs without helping the environment. He said, for example, he would support efforts by the U.S. Congress to cancel recent regulation imposed by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management aimed at preventing leaks of methane - another gas scientists blame for climate change - from oil and gas installations. In his opening remarks, Zinke struck a moderate tone, saying that he recognizes that some federal lands require strong protection. He also called himself an “unapologetic admirer of Teddy Roosevelt,” a former Republican president who pioneered public land conservation. Zinke also said he would tackle a multi-billion dollar backlog in maintenance at national parks and promised to ensure greater sovereignty for tribes. | politicsNews | January 17, 2017 | true | believable |
Washington braces for anti-Trump protests, New Yorkers march | WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Washington turned into a virtual fortress on Thursday ahead of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, while thousands of people took to the streets of New York and Washington to express their displeasure with his coming administration. Some 900,000 people, both Trump backers and opponents, are expected to flood Washington for Friday’s inauguration ceremony, according to organizers’ estimates. Events include the swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and a parade to the White House along streets thronged with spectators. The number of planned protests and rallies this year is far above what has been typical at recent presidential inaugurations, with some 30 permits granted in Washington for anti-Trump rallies and sympathy protests planned in cities from Boston to Los Angeles, and outside the U.S. in cities including London and Sydney. The night before the inauguration, thousands of people turned out in New York for a rally at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, and then marched a few blocks from the Trump Tower where the businessman lives. The rally featured a lineup of politicians, activists and celebrities including Mayor Bill de Blasio and actor Alec Baldwin, who trotted out the Trump parody he performs on “Saturday Night Live.” “Donald Trump may control Washington, but we control our destiny as Americans,” de Blasio said. “We don’t fear the future. We think the future is bright, if the people’s voices are heard.” In Washington, a group made up of hundreds of protesters clashed with police clad in riot gear who used pepper spray against some of the crowd on Thursday night, according to footage on social media. The confrontation occurred outside the National Press Club building, where inside a so-called “DeploraBall” event was being held in support of Trump, the footage showed. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said police aimed to keep groups separate, using tactics similar to those employed during last year’s political conventions. “The concern is some of these groups are pro-Trump, some of them are con-Trump, and they may not play well together in the same space,” Johnson said on MSNBC. Trump opponents have been angered by his comments during the campaign about women, illegal immigrants and Muslims and his pledges to scrap the Obamacare health reform and build a wall on the Mexican border. The Republican’s supporters admire his experience in business, including as a real estate developer and reality television star, and view him as an outsider who will take a fresh approach to politics. Bikers for Trump, a group that designated itself as security backup during last summer’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland, is ready to step in if protesters block access to the inauguration, said Dennis Egbert, one of the group’s organizers. “We’re going to be backing up law enforcement. We’re on the same page,” Egbert, 63, a retired electrician from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. About 28,000 security personnel, miles of fencing, roadblocks, street barricades and dump trucks laden with sand are part of the security cordon around 3 square miles (8 square km) of central Washington. A protest group known as Disrupt J20 has vowed to stage demonstrations at each of 12 security checkpoints and block access to the festivities on the grassy National Mall. Police and security officials have pledged repeatedly to guarantee protesters’ constitutional rights to free speech and peaceful assembly. Aaron Hyman, fellow at the National Gallery of Art, said he could feel tension in the streets ahead of Trump’s swearing-in and the heightened security was part of it. “People are watching each other like, ‘You must be a Trump supporter,’ and ‘You must be one of those liberals’,” said Hyman, 32, who supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November election. Friday’s crowds are expected to fall well short of the 2 million people who attended Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, and be in line with the 1 million who were at his second in 2013. Forecast rain may also dampen the turnout, though security officials lifted an earlier ban on umbrellas, saying small umbrellas would be permitted. | politicsNews | January 19, 2017 | true | believable |
Turkish foreign minister says Assad administration must be removed | ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey’s foreign minister called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s immediate removal on Friday, saying a transitional government must be established and voicing support for a U.S. missile strike overnight on one of his air bases. “It is necessary to oust this regime as soon as possible from the leadership of Syria,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in the southern town of Alanya in comments broadcast live. “If he doesn’t want to go, if there is no transition government, and if he continues committing humanitarian crimes, the necessary steps to oust him should be taken,” he said. Cavusoglu said safe zones for civilians in Syria were now more important than ever. He said the coalition had been informed of the U.S. missile strike and that he had spoken by phone with the French and German foreign ministers, although he did not say when. He also said contacts had been initiated with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. | politicsNews | April 7, 2017 | true | believable |
Highlights: The Trump presidency on March 20 at 9:20 P.M. EDT | (Reuters) - Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday: FBI Director James Comey confirms for the first time that the bureau is investigating possible ties between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia as Moscow sought to influence the 2016 U.S. election. Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, emphasizes the need for judicial independence even as the president castigates jurists who have ruled against him, while Democrats question whether Gorsuch would rule against abortion rights and gun control while favoring corporations. Congressional Republicans recraft their Obamacare replacement bill in hopes of satisfying critics as Trump prepares to promote his first major legislative initiative on Capitol Hill. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says he wins assurances of greater U.S. support in fighting Islamic State militants in talks with Trump and top advisers, but cautions that military might alone would not be sufficient. The Trump administration is considering sweeping sanctions aimed at cutting North Korea off from the global financial system as part of a broad review of measures to counter Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threat, a senior U.S. official says. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to skip an April 5-6 meeting of NATO foreign ministers for a U.S. visit by the Chinese president and will travel to Russia later in the month, U.S. officials say, a step allies may see as putting Moscow’s concerns ahead of theirs. European foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini expresses concern about the Trump administration’s proposed deep cut in U.S. foreign assistance, saying it will destabilize major parts of the world and hurt American national security. U.S. officials are taking fingerprints of asylum seekers in an Australian-run camp on the Pacific island of Nauru, signaling that vetting of applicants for resettlement in what Trump calls a “dumb deal” has restarted. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says a G7 leaders’ summit in May will be a good opportunity to address differences with Trump on how to secure free trade while making commerce fairer. The Chinese government is seeking advice from its think tanks and policy advisers on how to counter potential trade penalties from Trump, preparing for the worst even as it hopes for business-like negotiations. Trump’s daughter Ivanka is getting an office in the White House West Wing, stepping up her highly visible role in helping advise her father. | politicsNews | March 20, 2017 | true | believable |
Trump picks former U.N. spokesman Grenell for ambassador to Germany | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has picked former U.N. spokesman Richard Grenell as U.S. ambassador to Germany, a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity said on Thursday. Grenell served as U.S. spokesman at the United Nations from 2001 to 2008, during the administration of Republican President George W. Bush. Currently, Grenell is a contributor to Fox News. His nomination as envoy to NATO ally Germany must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Trump has scolded Germany for not reaching NATO’s target for defense spending and complained about its trade surplus with the United States. Grenell did not immediately respond to a request for comment. | politicsNews | July 21, 2017 | true | believable |
Libyan coast guard rescues more than 250 migrants trying to reach Italy | TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya s coastal guard has rescued more than 250 illegal migrants trying to leave the North African country in small boats bound for Italy, officials said on Saturday. Libya s western shores are the main departure point for migrants mainly from sub-Saharan countries fleeing poverty and conflict trying to reach Europe. Arrivals to Italy have fallen by two-thirds since July from the same period last year after officials working for the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, Italy s partner, managed to cut back human smuggling in the city of Sabratha west of the capital. That has pushed the trade further east, with the coast guard intercepting several boats off the coast near Qaraboulli and Zliten, two towns located east of Tripoli. The naval forces Ibn Ouf vessel rescued (on Friday) illegal migrants including women, children and men ... they are from different sub-Saharan and Arab countries, Coast Guard Captain Abdulhadi Fakhal told Reuters. They were rescued off Qaraboulli and Zliten towns ... and they are about 250 to 270 persons, Fakhal said. Libya has plunged into chaos since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising. A U.N.-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli has been trying to gain control of territory. | worldnews | December 16, 2017 | true | believable |
Democratic senator tussles with U.S. Treasury secretary over communication | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s top Democrat tussled with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during a hearing on Thursday over the flow of information from his agency, and later asked if President Donald Trump, a Republican, had ordered him to restrain communications with Democrats. “Are you aware of any White House guidance formal or informal urging administration officials not to respond to or to delay in responding to Democratic senators?” Senator Sherrod Brown, a liberal Democrat, asked Mnuchin toward the end of the hearing. “I am not,” Mnuchin answered. Brown said earlier in the hearing that he had written to Mnuchin on March 2 asking about “potential conflicts of interest and ownership in the administration,” but did not receive a response. He then pressed Mnuchin to send the committee “a complete list of Trump business associates and financial ties.” Mnuchin said that before the hearing he had checked that Treasury staff “had fully responded to all the inquiries from you and the committee” and asked Brown to send a note reminding him to deliver the list. While other senators began questioning Mnuchin, the two took the argument off-line, with Treasury emailing reporters a brief statement saying that it had responded to Brown’s letter on March 31. Brown’s office then circulated the response it had received, which generally discussed compliance with conflict of interest laws and lacked any details. Brown’s office said Treasury’s brief letter had not answered his questions. The senator also did not seem reassured that Treasury was not dragging its feet in communicating with Democrats. After he asked about possible guidance from the White House, Brown pressed: “Will you commit to responding to...members of both parties of this committee in a timely manner to all requests for information?” “I will,” Mnuchin responded. A Treasury spokesman did not replay to questions about any formal or informal White House orders on communication. | politicsNews | May 18, 2017 | true | believable |
Bulgarians use 'speed dating' to get know migrants | SOFIA (Reuters) - Couples lining up to face each other are given 30 seconds to chat before moving on - in a version of speed dating that, rather than sparking romance, aims to promote understanding and integration for new immigrants. At a social center in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, the locals stand on one side, the immigrants - many refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and other war-torn countries - face them. The quick-fire conversations - in which participants have just seconds to share their dreams and stories of love, pain and family - are aimed at starting a dialogue between two communities that in normal daily life rarely speak to each other on an equal footing. It s so good to have an event like this, especially for refugees, said Rodi Naamo, a 26-year-old Syrian Kurd who arrived in Bulgaria in 2015, when hundreds of thousands of migrants passed through the Balkans en route to Germany and northern Europe. Bulgarians also appreciated the speedy encounters, as well as the Middle Eastern food and traditional Afghan dances afterwards. I really enjoyed it, it helped me overcome prejudices, said Milka Bocheva, a Bulgarian who runs an online business. They (the refugees) are just people like us, we gave such similar answers. Bulgaria stands out in the region for its significant Muslim minority, some 12 percent among 7.1 million mainly Orthodox Christians - a legacy of its history as part of the Ottoman Empire. Despite that, large parts of the population are concerned about the influx of asylum-seekers and migrants. Naamo, who returned to Bulgaria after a short spell in Germany, to work in a call center, believes opinions are starting to change. I decided to stay here, this is my country. I ll bring my family here, he said. | worldnews | October 12, 2017 | true | believable |
Trump team wants more NAFTA access for U.S. goods, services: lawmakers | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Trump administration trade officials want a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement to improve access for U.S. farm products, manufactured goods and services in Canada and Mexico, said lawmakers who met with them on Tuesday. Members of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee met with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and acting U.S. Trade Representative Stephen Vaughn to discuss the administration’s plans for renegotiating the 23-year-old trade deal. Representative Bill Pascrell, a New Jersey Democrat, said Ross told lawmakers in the closed-door session that the administration was still aiming to complete NAFTA renegotiations by the end of 2017. That time frame is viewed by some members as “ambitious,” especially because it is not clear when the administration will formally notify Congress of its intention to launch NAFTA renegotiations, Pascrell said. The notification will trigger a 90-day consultation period before substantial talks can begin. Tuesday’s meeting was a legal requirement to prepare the notification and preserve the “fast track” authority for approving a renegotiated deal with only an up-or-down vote in Congress. President Donald Trump has long vilified NAFTA as draining millions of manufacturing jobs to Mexico, and he has vowed to quit the trade pact unless it can be renegotiated to shrink U.S. trade deficits. Lawmakers said Ross and Vaughn discussed broad negotiating objectives, but did not get into specific issues such as U.S. access to Canada’s dairy sector or rules of origin for parts used on North American-assembled vehicles. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady told reporters that market access, modernizing NAFTA and “holding trading partners accountable” were key objectives articulated by Ross and Vaughn “They were very clear, they want to open access in ag, manufacturing and services as well, so they want this to be a 21st century agreement,” Brady said. Spokesmen for the Commerce Department and USTR were not immediately available for comment on the meeting. Lawmakers said the administration has not settled on the form of the negotiations, whether NAFTA will remain a tri-lateral agreement or whether it would be split into two bilateral trade deals. “My sense is that they are not prejudging the form, they are focused on the substance of the agreement itself with Mexico and Canada,” Brady said. Some lawmakers expressed frustration that the Trump officials were short on specific answers. “I wouldn’t exactly call this meeting as moving the ball forward very much,” said Representative Ron Kind, a Wisconsin Democrat. | politicsNews | March 28, 2017 | true | believable |
Trump meets insurers, promises catastrophic year for Obamacare | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told several chief executives of large insurance companies on Monday that 2017 will be a “catastrophic” year for the Affordable Care Act as he seeks to make good on a campaign promise to repeal the measure. The Republican president told the insurers they must all work together to save Americans from the law known as Obamacare and try to bring down health care prices. He said he hoped to work with Democrats on a health care plan to repeal the law, which provided coverage for millions of uninsured Americans. | politicsNews | February 27, 2017 | true | believable |
White House says Trump tweet meets Comey tapes records request | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said in a letter on Friday that a tweet by President Donald Trump on Thursday was the formal answer to a request by the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee for information about records of conversations with fired FBI Director James Comey. The letter to Republican Representative Mike Conaway, who is leading the panel’s investigation into Russian interference to the 2016 election, and Representative Adam Schiff, the committee’s top Democrat, said: “In response to the committee’s inquiry, we refer you to President Trump’s June 22, 2017, statement regarding this matter.” The House panel said on June 9 it had written to Don McGahn, the White House counsel, asking about the existence of any recordings or memos covering Comey’s conversations with Trump and asked that copies of the materials be provided to the panel by June 23. Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday, a day before the deadline, that he did not know if there were recordings of his conversations with Comey, but he did not make or have any such recordings. Conaway told reporters Friday morning that Trump’s tweet was not a sufficient response. Schiff said in a statement on Thursday that Trump’s Twitter comment stopped short of denying the White House had tapes or recordings and said the White House must respond in writing. (This version of the story corrects Conaway’s role to leader of investigation from chairman in second paragraph) | politicsNews | June 23, 2017 | true | believable |
Iran vows to stand with Baghdad, Ankara against Iraqi Kurds' independence push | LONDON (Reuters) - Tehran vowed on Tuesday to stand alongside Baghdad and Ankara against the outcome of an independence referendum staged by Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq, a day after thousands of Iranian Kurds marched in support of the vote. State media also quoted an army commander as saying that new missile systems were installed on Tuesday, a day after the referendum, in western provinces that border Iraqi Kurdish areas to firmly respond to any invasion . Iran, Iraq and Turkey - countries with Kurdish minorities - have all denounced the referendum as a threat to the stability of a region already beset by conflict, while the United States has expressed similar disquiet. Ali Akbar Velayati, the top adviser to Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stepped up the pressure as the Iraqi government ruled out talks on possible secession for Kurdish-held northern Iraq and Turkey threatened sanctions. The Iraqi people won t stand silent. Iran and Turkey and other regional countries won t stand silent and will stand against this abhorrent deviation, Velayati was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency. The Muslim nations will not allow the creation of a second Israel. Velayati did not say what action Iran had in mind. However, the country s media have compared the Kurds desire for a homeland with the 1948 creation of Israel. The Islamic republic regards the Jewish state as its greatest enemy along with the United States. Initial referendum results indicated 72 percent of eligible voters had taken part and an overwhelming majority, possibly over 90 percent, had said yes , Kurdish TV channel Rudaw said. Final results are expected by Wednesday. Undaunted by years of official suppression of dissent, residents in a number of mainly Kurdish cities in northwestern Iran danced in circles as night fell on Monday, chanting slogans praising Kurdish nationalist movements. Videos posted on social media showed drivers beeping their car horns in celebration and people clapping in the cities of Marivan and Baneh. Many wore masks so as not to be identified by the security forces. About 30 million ethnic Kurds are scattered across the region but have no country of their own. With 8 to 10 million living in Iran, Tehran fears pressure for secession will grow among a minority which has a long history of struggle for its political rights. A strong police presence tried to control the celebrating crowd. There were reports of clashes between the demonstrators and security forces in the cities of Mahabad and Sanandaj. In Sanandaj the crowd waved the flag of Kurdistan, a banned symbol for the Kurds desire for independence. This referendum will encourage Iranian Kurds to be more determined to seek their rights, said Zaribar, a Marivan resident and member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, a secular armed group which launches periodic attacks in Iran. This referendum was not a threat to Iraq s neighbors, but it s a starting point to resolve the issues of Kurds, especially in Iran, added Zaribar, who declined to give his full name. Tehran announced a ban on direct flights to and from Iraqi Kurdistan on Sunday at the request of the central government in Baghdad and called for a land blockade of the autonomous region by all neighboring countries. Media gave no further details of the newly-installed missile systems. However, Iranian fighter jets flew in a show of force over western provinces of Iran as part of a military drill, including the Kurdish cities of Sardasht and Oshnavieh. Although many Iranian Kurds would like to copy the referendum model, the road to autonomy or independence would be more difficult under the Islamic Republic s theocratic rule and its military might. The Revolutionary Guards have put down unrest in Kurdish areas for decades, and the hardline judiciary has sentenced many activists to long jail terms or death. Iran sent Guards Commander Qassem Soleimani to northern Iraq last week in a failed final effort to persuade the Kurdistan regional government from holding the referendum. One Kurd from Baneh, who gave his name as Arbaba, said he was exhilarated from the bottom of my heart for victory in the referendum . However, he was worried it would increase pressure on Iranian Kurds to prevent them from going down the same path. The Iranian regime will militarize the Kurdish areas even more, Arbaba said. For the Iranian state the referendum of the Kurds demand for state of their own was a Zionist plot aimed at bringing instability to the region. This view that a wandering scattered nation would only find peace if they find a homeland, was the core philosophy for creation of Israel, wrote the Kayhan, a hardline newspaper closely associated with Supreme Leader. Israel has backed Kurdish independence. It has maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with Kurds since the 1960s, viewing the minority as a buffer against shared adversaries. | worldnews | September 26, 2017 | true | believable |
Democrat Gillibrand opposes Trump's Supreme Court nominee | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said on Wednesday she opposed President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court and called for Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation to require a 60-vote threshold. Trump, a Republican, announced his nomination of U.S. Appeals Court Judge Gorsuch on Tuesday night to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year. “I plan to stand up for individuals over corporations and oppose his nomination, and I will insist that his nomination meet a traditional 60 vote threshold,” Gillibrand said in a statement. | politicsNews | February 1, 2017 | true | believable |
Juncker wants EU finance minister, no separate euro budget or parliament | STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Union should have a minister of economy and finance but no separate euro zone budget or parliament, the head of the European Commission said on Wednesday. Jean-Claude Juncker said such a minister should also be the chairman of all euro zone finance ministers and be accountable to the European Parliament. The minister would be in charge of economic and financial issues not only for the euro zone, but for all EU countries, Juncker said in a state of the union speech to the European Parliament. Creating a finance minister for the EU rather than for the euro zone is an attempt to prevent divisions among the 27 countries that will remain in the EU once Britain leaves in 2019, EU officials said. The idea of a euro zone finance minister has been promoted by French President Emmanuel Macron. He will offer more detailed proposals for reforms to the euro zone on Sept. 26, two days after Germany s federal election, a French diplomatic source said on Wednesday. Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel also said when she met Macron last month that she could imagine creating a combined European finance and economy minister. We need a European minister of economy and finance: a European minister that promotes and supports structural reforms in our member states, Juncker said. The new minister should coordinate all EU financial instruments that can be deployed when a member state is in a recession or hit by a fundamental crisis. He said that instead of creating a new post, the job should be given to a vice president of the European Commission a suggestion that is bound to meet with vehement resistance from euro zone governments, especially Berlin. His comments are part of the debate on the future shape of the 19-country euro zone, which Juncker said should expand to take in all the other EU members that are not yet part of it and do not have a formal option to opt out of using the euro. Member states that want to join the euro must be able to do so. This is why I am proposing to create a Euro-accession instrument, offering technical and even financial assistance, Juncker said, without giving details. He said that by the time Britain leaves the EU in March 2019, euro zone membership and participation in the EU s banking union - which entails a single EU supervisor, resolution authority and deposit guarantee scheme - should be the norm for all EU members. But even though all non-euro zone countries of the EU except Denmark are legally obliged to join the euro when they meet a set of criteria, some of the biggest, like Sweden and Poland, have no plans to do so in the foreseeable future, believing their own currency gives their economies more flexibility. Addressing French and German ideas of creating a separate budget for the euro zone, on top of the existing long-term EU budget, and a separate euro zone parliament, alongside the existing EU parliament, Juncker rejected both. We do not need a budget for the euro area but a strong euro area budget line within the EU budget. I am also not fond of the idea of having a separate euro area parliament. The parliament of the euro area is the European Parliament, he said. He said the euro zone bailout fund the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) should be transformed into a European Monetary Fund and become an EU institution, rather than an intergovernmental one as the ESM is now. The future European finance minister would be in change of the new European Monetary Fund (EMF) as well, he said. He did not give more details of the new tasks the EMF could take on, saying only the Commission would make a proposal on that, as well as the prerogatives of a European finance minister, in December. Euro zone finance ministers will open a debate on the future of the single currency area on Friday at an informal meeting in the Estonian capital of Tallinn. | worldnews | September 13, 2017 | true | believable |
Leading Democrat: Critics can't conclude Trump is impaired | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that it was premature to try to remove U.S. President Donald Trump by claiming he is physically or mentally impaired. Schiff told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union” program that it did not make sense for Trump’s opponents to focus on the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which two Democratic lawmakers invoked against the president after his controversial comments about a white nationalist rally in Virginia. Under the 25th Amendment, the vice president takes over as acting president if he and a majority of either Cabinet officials or “such other body as Congress may by law provide” declare in writing that the president “is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” “I think we’re still far from concluding that that’s the case,” Schiff said, “even though we find, many of us, his conduct anathema and there to be a serious problem here.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. California Representative Zoe Lofgren on Friday introduced a resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence and Trump’s Cabinet to have medical and psychiatric professionals examine the president to help determine whether he can do his job. “Many Americans, including many Republicans, have observed the President’s increasingly disturbing pattern of actions and public statements that suggest he may be mentally unfit to execute the duties required of him,” Lofgren said in a statement. Representative Jackie Speier, also of California, said in a Twitter post on Tuesday that Trump was “showing signs of erratic behavior and mental instability that place the country in grave danger. Time to invoke the 25th Amendment.” Speier wrote the post after Trump’s explosive news conference on Tuesday, when he blamed violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, not just on white nationalist rally organizers but also on counter-protesters. Trump said there were “very fine people” in both groups. Those comments also provoked criticism from Republican Senator Bob Corker, who told reporters on Thursday that Trump “has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful,” according to a Tennessee local news website. Corker did not refer to the 25th Amendment in his remarks. | politicsNews | August 20, 2017 | true | believable |
Michigan governor denies misleading U.S. House on Flint water | (Reuters) - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder denied Thursday that he had misled a U.S. House of Representatives committee last year over testimony on Flint’s water crisis after lawmakers asked if his testimony had been contradicted by a witness in a court hearing. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wrote Snyder earlier Thursday asking him about published reports that one of his aides, Harvey Hollins, testified in a court hearing last week in Michigan that he had notified Snyder of an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease linked to the Flint water crisis in December 2015, rather than 2016 as Snyder had testified. “My testimony was truthful and I stand by it,” Snyder told the committee in a letter, adding that his office has provided tens of thousands of pages of records to the committee and would continue to cooperate fully. Last week, prosecutors in Michigan said Dr. Eden Wells, the state’s chief medical executive who already faced lesser charges, would become the sixth current or former official to face involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the crisis. The charges stem from more than 80 cases of Legionnaires’ disease and at least 12 deaths that were believed to be linked to the water in Flint after the city switched its source from Lake Huron to the Flint River in April 2014. Wells was among six current and former Michigan and Flint officials charged in June. The other five, including Michigan Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, were charged at the time with involuntary manslaughter stemming from their roles in handling the crisis. The crisis in Flint erupted in 2015 when tests found high amounts of lead in blood samples taken from children in the predominantly black city of about 100,000. The more corrosive river water caused lead to leach from pipes and into the drinking water. Lead levels in Flint’s drinking water have since fallen below levels considered dangerous by federal regulators, state officials have said. | politicsNews | October 12, 2017 | true | believable |
Turkey, Iran, Iraq may meet to discuss Kurdish Iraqi referendum: Turkey PM | ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey, Iran and Iraq may hold a trilateral meeting to discuss the Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum, Turkey s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Thursday. Yildirim also said he agreed with his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi to coordinate economic and trade relations with the central government in Baghdad, after Abadi s government took control of border crossings with Turkey. | worldnews | September 28, 2017 | true | believable |
Obama unveils wage insurance plan to spur job seekers | WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday laid out a plan to help support the income of workers who lose their jobs and end up in lower paying positions, as part of a push to get unemployed Americans back to work. The proposal would offer experienced workers who now make less than $50,000 a form of wage insurance, allowing them to replace half of their lost pay. The benefit would cover up to $10,000 over two years. “It’s a way to give families some stability and encourage folks to rejoin the workforce - because we shouldn’t just be talking about unemployment; we should be talking about re-employment,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address, broadcast on Saturday. The wage insurance proposal will be included in a broader effort to overhaul the unemployment insurance system. Details about the program’s proposed funding will be further outlined in Obama’s budget for fiscal year 2017 expected to be released next month. Obama promised in his State of the Union earlier this week to advocate for legislative action on issues with bipartisan support during his last year in office. During the address, he pointed to wage insurance as one measure where lawmakers may be able to work together. The White House plan would require states to provide insurance for workers laid off from jobs they had held for at least three years. The plan would be federally-funded, but it would be administered through state unemployment insurance programs. Other measures proposed by the White House on Saturday included a requirement that all states provide at least 26 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits, and the creation of a permanent program that would automatically provide up to 52 additional weeks of federally-funded benefits for states experiencing rapid job-losses or high unemployment. | politicsNews | January 16, 2016 | true | believable |
Biden, Ukraine's Poroshenko to meet Thursday: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who is visiting Washington to take part in a nuclear summit, will meet on Thursday, the White House said. Biden and Poroshenko will hold a working lunch, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday. President Barack Obama will convene leaders from more than 50 countries in Washington this week for his fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit. | politicsNews | March 30, 2016 | true | believable |
Argentina judge says death of prosecutor Nisman was murder | BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Alberto Nisman, the Argentine prosecutor who was found dead days after accusing former President Cristina Fernandez of covering up Iran s role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center, was murdered, a federal judge said on Tuesday. In a 656-page ruling, judge Julian Ercolini said there was sufficient proof to conclude that the shot to the head that killed Nisman in January 2015 was not self-inflicted. That marked the first time any judge has said the case was a murder. Fernandez and others had suggested the death was a suicide, but a prosecutor investigating the case last year recommended it be pursued as a murder probe. Nisman s death could not have been a suicide, Ercolini wrote in Tuesday s ruling, which also charged Diego Lagomarsino, a former employee of Nisman s, with accessory to murder. Lagomarsino has acknowledged lending Nisman the gun that killed him the day before he was to appear before Congress to detail his allegation against Fernandez. But he has said Nisman asked him for the gun to protect himself and his family. Fernandez, now a senator, was indicted for treason earlier this month over Nisman s allegations that she worked behind the scenes to clear Iran of blame for the attack on the AMIA Jewish center, which killed 85 people, in an effort to normalize relations and clinch a 2013 grains-for-oil deal with Tehran. Human rights groups and the former head of Interpol have criticized that indictment. Tehran has denied links to the attack. | worldnews | December 26, 2017 | true | believable |
Chinese state tabloid warns Trump, end one China policy and China will take revenge | SHANGHAI/TAIPEI (Reuters) - State-run Chinese tabloid Global Times warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that China would “take revenge” if he reneged on the one-China policy, only hours after Taiwan’s president made a controversial stopover in Houston. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met senior U.S. Republican lawmakers during her stopover in Houston on Sunday en route to Central America, where she will visit Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. Tsai will stop in San Francisco on Jan. 13, her way back to Taiwan. China had asked the United States not to allow Tsai to enter or have formal government meetings under the one China policy. Beijing considers self-governing Taiwan a renegade province ineligible for state-to-state relations. The subject is a sensitive one for China. A photograph tweeted by Texas Governor Greg Abbott shows him meeting Tsai, with a small table between them adorned with the U.S., Texas and Taiwanese flags. Tsai’s office said on Monday she also spoke by telephone with U.S. senator John McCain, head of the powerful Senate Committee on Armed Services. Tsai also met Texas Senator Ted Cruz. “Sticking to (the one China) principle is not a capricious request by China upon U.S. presidents, but an obligation of U.S. presidents to maintain China-U.S. relations and respect the existing order of the Asia-Pacific,” said the Global Times editorial on Sunday. The influential tabloid is published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily. Trump triggered protests from Beijing last month by accepting a congratulatory telephone call from Tsai and questioning the U.S. commitment to China’s position that Taiwan is part of one China. “If Trump reneges on the one-China policy after taking office, the Chinese people will demand the government to take revenge. There is no room for bargaining,” said the Global Times. Cruz said some members of Congress had received a letter from the Chinese consulate asking them not to meet Tsai during her stopovers. “The People’s Republic of China needs to understand that in America we make decisions about meeting with visitors for ourselves,” Cruz said in a statement. “This is not about the PRC. This is about the U.S. relationship with Taiwan, an ally we are legally bound to defend.” Cruz said he and Tsai discussed upgrading bilateral relations and furthering economic cooperation between their countries, including increased access to Taiwan markets that would benefit Texas ranchers, farmers and small businesses. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Monday urged “relevant U.S. officials” to handle the Taiwan issue appropriately to avoid harming China-U.S. ties. “We firmly oppose leaders of the Taiwan region, on the so-called basis of a transit visit, having any form of contact with U.S. officials and engaging in activities that interfere with and damage China-U.S. relations,” Lu said. In a dinner speech Saturday to hundreds of overseas Taiwanese, Tsai said the United States holds a “special place in the hearts of the people of Taiwan” and that the island via bilateral exchanges has provided more than 320,000 jobs directly and indirectly to the American people, her office said on Monday. Tsai said Taiwan looked to create more U.S. jobs through deeper investment, trade and procurement. Tsai’s office said James Moriarty, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, which handles U.S.-Taiwan affairs in the absence of formal ties, told the Taiwan president in Houston that the United States was continuing efforts to persuade China to resume dialogue with Taiwan. China is deeply suspicious of Tsai, who it thinks wants to push for the formal independence of the island. The Global Times, whose stance does not equate with government policy, also targeted Tsai in the editorial, saying that the mainland would likely impose further diplomatic, economic and military pressure on Taiwan, warning that “Tsai needs to face the consequences for every provocative step she takes”. “It should also impose military pressure on Taiwan and push it to the edge of being reunified by force, so as to effectively affect the approval rating of the Tsai administration.” | politicsNews | January 9, 2017 | true | believable |
Pakistan debates how to fill education gaps | ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Two young boys kneel over small white tables, intently studying the Koran at a madrassa in Pakistan. The Al-Nadwa Madrassa in the hill station of Murree, 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the capital, Islamabad, is part of an established alternative system of education in the South Asian nation. Private schools, charitable institutions and religious seminaries are stepping in to supplement government-run schools to help meet the education needs of an estimated 50 million school-age children. Despite 220,000 schools nationwide, more than 20 million children are not in school, the government said in a 2016 report. The government has pumped money into schooling, with the education budget swelling by 15 percent every year since 2010, according to education consultancy Alif Ailaan. The United Nations estimates Pakistan s current education budget at 2.65 percent of GDP, roughly $8 billion, or around $150 per student. Private educators say the country s education problems are not only due to a lack of funds but also inadequate teaching. It s not the number of schools, it s the quality, the attitude, said Zeba Hussain, founder of the Mashal Schools which teaches children displaced by war in the country s north. Hussain started the charitable Mashal Schools after she met a group of refugee children while visiting the hill areas surrounding Islamabad. Federal education director Tariq Masood said blaming teachers was unfair. He said population growth and funding were the biggest challenges faced by government schools. Masood said government schools adhered to a nationwide curriculum that was being constantly reworked and improved. No one who is underqualified can enter the government system. There are fewer checks in the private system, he said. The country s poor often send their children to one of the thousands of religious madrassas (the Arabic word for school) where students live and receive Islamic instruction. Most operate without government oversight and some madrassas have been criticized for their hardline teachings of Islam. The madrassas say they provide shelter, three full meals, and a good education to young people whose families are unable to make ends meet. In certain cases people send their kids because they can t even afford to feed them, said Irfan Sher from the Al-Nadwa Madrassa. He said Pakistan s future hinged on education for its youth. The overall policy should be changed...they should understand that if they want to change the country the only way is to spread quality education, he said. | worldnews | November 7, 2017 | true | believable |
Unlikely allies eye vote to legalize cannabis in New Zealand | WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand could become the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize cannabis for personal use after an unlikely alliance of populist, centrist and leftist parties put drug policy immediately on the agenda of the incoming government. Recreational marijuana use is legal in several U.S. states and European nations including the Netherlands and Spain, but countries in the Asia-Pacific tend to have strict prohibitions. Australia recently introduced laws freeing up access to cannabis for medicinal use, but does not allow recreational use. Labour s prime minister-designate Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday she agreed with a Greens proposal for a referendum to legalize use of recreational cannabis. We agreed that what we are doing now simply isn t working, so we have said yes to having that referendum, Ardern told reporters in Wellington. There is no timeframe for possible legalization, which would represent the first major reform of drug laws since the 1970s, but would depend on the public first voting to back reforms. Anything that helps shift New Zealand drug laws out of the dinosaur age is going to be a good thing, Ross Bell, executive director of the charitable NZ Drug Foundation, told Reuters. Arguably it is better for the sustainability of the reform to have a broad church like we ve got with this government, so that it is not just seen as some sort of fringe liberal policy, Bell said in a telephone interview. Drug law reforms figured in talks to form New Zealand s new government after a Sept. 23 election failed to yield a majority for either the governing National Party or opposition Labour, although neither major party had such a campaign plank. The center-left Labour will govern with support from its new junior coalition member, the populist NZ First, which supports holding referendums on controversial issues. The Greens have offered confidence and supply and the diverse group of parties is already starting to deliver a melange of policies, from potential relaxation of drug laws to tighter immigration controls. New Zealand s drug use ranks among the world s highest, a study by the NZ Drug Foundation shows. Too much money is spent on enforcement and convictions, rather than on health policies, says the body, which gets government and private funding. | worldnews | October 24, 2017 | true | believable |
House Democratic leader Pelosi backs Clinton for president | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi endorsed Hillary Clinton for the presidency on Tuesday as voters in California, the nation’s most populous state, head to the polls. In a statement, the California Democrat praised the former U.S. secretary of state and called on supporters of rival Bernie Sanders “to advance our shared fight.” | politicsNews | June 7, 2016 | true | believable |
Trump says may tie infrastructure with healthcare or tax reform: NY Times | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was considering packaging a $1 trillion infrastructure plan with either healthcare or tax reform legislation as an incentive to get support from lawmakers, especially Democrats. Trump also said in an interview with the New York Times he may move up the unveiling of a plan to rebuild the country’s deteriorating roads, bridges and tunnels, which had been expected later this year. “I’m thinking about accelerating it. I’m thinking about putting it with another bill. Could be health care, could be something else. Could be tax reform,” Trump said. Trump was stung by his first legislative push, a failed attempt to roll back former President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, which ended in an embarrassing collapse in Congress two weeks ago. The White House has tried to revive healthcare talks while also seeking other legislative measures - such as tax reform - that could give Trump a win in the early part of his presidency. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said last week the Trump administration would later this year unveil a $1 trillion, 10-year plan to modernize U.S. roads, bridges, airports, electrical grid and water systems, offering incentives for public-private partnerships. Trump said he wanted to accelerate that roll-out, but provided no timeline. Trump said Democratic lawmakers “are desperate for infrastructure” and may be more likely to sign on to a Republican-backed tax reform or healthcare bill if spending on roads and bridges were included. “We’re talking about a trillion-dollar infrastructure,” Trump said. Some of the infrastructure projects may be built through public-private partnerships, Trump said, declining to say how the total spending would split between public and private sources. But he also said that with interest rates low, the government may be better off financing the projects itself. “When you can borrow so inexpensively, you don’t have to do the public-private thing. Because public-private can be very expensive,” Trump said. Trump said he would make an announcement in two weeks about whether he would seek changes to a wage law for federal projects blamed by conservative groups for inflating costs, though he declined to say what the announcement would be. Conservative groups have pressured the White House on the law, known as the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires contractors on federal projects to pay local prevailing wages - a measure backed by labor unions and Democrats. On tax reform, Trump said he wanted to wait and see what happens on healthcare legislation, which has stalled in the House of Representatives, before setting out details on taxes. The details of the healthcare bill could determine how much he could cut taxes, he said. Republicans have been working on a plan to cut the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, end taxing foreign profits for U.S.-based multinationals and cut other tax rates for businesses and investors - as well as simplify and cut personal income taxes. | politicsNews | April 6, 2017 | true | believable |
Pakistan official details car chase that freed kidnapped U.S.-Canadian family | (This version of the story corrects spelling of Caitlan Coleman throughout) By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani troops shot out the tyres of a vehicle carrying a kidnapped U.S.-Canadian couple and their children in a raid that led to the family s release after five years of being held hostage, a Pakistani security official said on Friday. U.S. drones were hovering near the northwestern Pakistani area where American Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and their three children, all born in captivity, were freed, another security official said. Coleman and Boyle were held by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network after being kidnapped while backpacking in Afghanistan, and their rescue marked a rare positive note in often-fraught U.S.-Pakistan relations. The family flew out of Pakistan on Friday, according to a Pakistani airport official who saw them. It was not clear whether they were bound for Canada or the United States. A senior Pakistani security source on Friday detailed how the family were freed following a car chase in the northwestern tribal region bordering Afghanistan. He said Pakistani troops and intelligence agents, acting on a U.S. intelligence tip, zeroed in on a vehicle holding the family as they were being moved into Kurram tribal agency near the town of Kohat, some 60 km (37 miles) inside Pakistan. Agents from Pakistan s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency and soldiers attempted to intercept the vehicle, but it sped away, according to the security source. Our troops fired at the vehicle and burst its tyres, he said, declining to be identified because he is not authorised to speak openly to the media. The kidnappers managed to escape, the security official added, saying the troops wouldn t fire at the fleeing captors for fear of harming the hostages. The army recovered the hostages safely from the car. Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told NBC News that the vehicle s driver and another militant had escaped to a nearby refugee camp. The family s rescue has been hailed by U.S. President Donald Trump as a positive moment for U.S.-Pakistan relations, which have frayed in recent years amid Washington s assertions that Islamabad has not been doing enough to tackle Haqqani militants who are believed to be on Pakistani soil. Trump, in a statement, said the release of the hostages showed Pakistan was acquiescing to America s wishes for it to do more to provide security in the region . A second Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said U.S. drones on Wednesday had been seen circling Kohat, suggesting U.S. co-operation included sophisticated surveillance inside Pakistan. Kohat is deep inside Pakistani territory, next to the eastern edge of Kurram agency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province - outside the Afghan frontier zone where U.S. drones have in the past been tolerated by Pakistan. The U.S. embassy and the Pakistani military did not comment on the drone report. However, a Taliban commander in Pakistan with knowledge of the hostage family said U.S. drones flying in the area prompted their captors to move them. We took care of this family like our own family members and special guests, but after frequent flying of U.S. drones on Kurram tribal region and its adjoining areas, it was decided to move them to a safer place, said the Taliban official on condition of anonymity. They were being shifted to a safer place when captured by the Pakistani forces. Pakistani officials bristle at U.S. claims Islamabad is not doing enough to tackle Islamist militants, particularly the Haqqanis. After the release of the family, they emphasised the importance of co-operation and intelligence sharing by Washington, which has threatened to cut military aid and other punitive measures against Pakistan. Pakistan s military indicated the family were rescued shortly after entering Pakistan from Afghanistan, and a government official repeated that assertion on Friday. We have been taking on the terrorists... So we have taken action based on the intelligence that was provided by the U.S. side, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria. He added that he had no other details on the operation maybe because they were abducted in Afghanistan, they were there in Afghanistan, and that could be the reason why you have not heard much about it . However, two Taliban sources with knowledge of the family s captivity said they had been kept in Pakistan in recent years. A U.S. government source in Washington also said there was no indication the family had been in Afghanistan. The Haqqani network operates on both sides of the porous Afghan-Pakistani border but senior militants have acknowledged they moved a major base of operations to Kurram agency in the tribal areas. The United States and Afghanistan say that safe havens inside Pakistan allow the Taliban, including the Haqqani network, to plan and launch attacks against the Western-backed Afghan government and U.S. and other foreign troops that support them. The Taliban have been fighting for 16 years to re-establish their ultra-Islamist regime that was toppled in a U.S.-backed military operation over sheltering the al Qaeda terrorist network that planned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. cities. | worldnews | October 13, 2017 | true | believable |
U.S. House panel to begin hearings on tax reform next week | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The tax-writing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives will begin holding hearings on a Republican tax reform proposal next week, the panel’s chairman said on Tuesday, even as the timeline for overhauling the tax code slips toward late 2017. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady told Fox News he would soon announce a hearing schedule to examine his House tax reform blueprint with its proposal to tax imports, a plan that appears to have lost ground as the White House works to unveil its own approach. The investment consulting firm Veda Partners advised clients on Tuesday to expect an April 27 hearing on the import tax proposal known as the border adjustment tax, or BAT. Brady’s committee could not confirm the date or topic, but he told Fox News the committee “will soon be announcing congressional hearings on our blueprint starting next week.” He also acknowledged that the tax reform timeline could slip as House Republicans try to reach agreement to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, following their failed attempt to pass healthcare legislation in March. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said this week that tax reform may not get done before an August deadline. “We probably ought not be focused on the month but the year that it happens, which is this year,” Brady said. “If it moves a little past August and still lands in this year, it’s going to be an incredible achievement.” Much of the debate has focused on the House Republican BAT proposal, which would impose a 20 percent tax on imports, while exempting exports from taxation. The proposal is opposed by import-dependent industries and Republicans who worry it could lead to higher consumer prices. Tax experts say the proposal’s future depends on whether the White House backs it. President Donald Trump, who dislikes the term “border adjustment,” said on Tuesday his tax reform plan would create “a level playing field” for U.S. industry - a phrase widely viewed as referring to some kind of border tax. Brady identified the critical elements of legislation as significant rate reduction, full and immediate expensing for capital investments and a simplified tax code. He cautioned against straightforward rate reductions of the kind that some in Congress have begun to consider. “A rate cut alone would have worked in the 1980s. It doesn’t in 2017 if we’re going to be competitive,” Brady said. | politicsNews | April 18, 2017 | true | believable |
China complains about Taiwan content in U.S. defense act | BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Thursday it had complained to the United States about the signing into law of an act which authorizes the possibility of mutual visits by navy vessels between self-ruled Taiwan and the United States. Chinese Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing that China was firmly opposed to the Taiwan content in the act. | worldnews | December 14, 2017 | true | believable |
U.N. chief says no communication with North Korea is dangerous | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that he is alarmed by the risk of military escalation on the Korean Peninsula. “The absence of communication channels with the DPRK (North Korea) is dangerous,” he told the 15-member council. “We need to avoid miscalculation and misunderstanding. We need to act now to prevent conflict and achieve sustainable peace.” | politicsNews | April 28, 2017 | true | believable |
Europe could soon be within range of North Korean missiles: France | TOULON, France (Reuters) - France s defense minister warned on Tuesday that North Korea could develop ballistic missiles that reach Europe sooner than expected. The scenario of an escalation towards a major conflict can not be discarded, Florence Parly said in a speech to the French military. Europe risks being within range of (North Korean President) Kim Jong Un s missiles sooner than expected, she said. | worldnews | September 5, 2017 | true | believable |
Clinton names Obama veterans to White House transition team | WEST HARRISON, N.Y. (Reuters) - Looking to lay the groundwork for her presidency if she wins the White House in November, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton named several veterans of President Barack Obama’s administration for her transition team on Tuesday. Ken Salazar, a former interior secretary and U.S. Senator from Colorado, will lead a team of four co-chairs including one-time national security adviser Tom Donilon and Neera Tanden, a former Obama aide who now leads the progressive Center for American Progress think-tank, the Clinton campaign said. The other co-chairs are former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Maggie Williams, director of Harvard’s Institute of Politics, the campaign said in a statement. The announcement came as Clinton has gained momentum in the opinion polls against Republican rival Donald Trump, whose campaign has struggled after he made a string of controversial remarks since formally winning his party’s nomination last month. Clinton leads Trump in the Nov. 8 presidential election by more than 5 percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll released on Friday. The current RealClearPolitics average of polls shows her 6.7 points ahead. Clinton has been a former secretary of state, U.S. senator and first lady and her transition team includes old names from her long tenure in Washington, some of whom have also served Obama. Tanden, who played a key role in shaping Obama’s health care overhaul, is a longtime friend and adviser to Clinton who worked on her Senate campaign. Williams was the 1992 transition director for Clinton when she became first lady, and then her chief of staff in the White House when Bill Clinton was president. Two policy advisers on the campaign, Ed Meier and Ann O’Leary, will also move full time to the transition team. Heather Boushey, the executive director of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, will be the chief economist, the campaign said in a statement. Boushey has advised the campaign on economic policy. Transition teams oversee personnel appointments and help develop an administrative framework during the period between the November election and the inauguration in January, to make it easier for a new president to begin implementing policy agendas. Trump, a New York businessman who has never held elected office, picked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to head his own transition team in May. More establishment Republicans, alarmed by Trump’s inability or unwillingness to rein in his provocative remarks, have distanced themselves from the candidate in recent weeks. The Wall Street Journal, a leading conservative voice, said in an editorial on Monday that he should fix his campaign in the next three weeks or hand over to his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Trump drew heavy criticism after engaging in a prolonged spat with the parents of a Muslim U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq. Last week, he suggested gun rights activists could take action against Clinton, a statement critics found alarming but which he later said was aimed at rallying votes against her. Trump also called Obama and Clinton the “co-founders” of Islamic State, a false claim he later said was sarcastic but did not wholly abandon. Despite Clinton’s lead in polls, Obama warned Democrats against over confidence, telling a fundraising gathering on Monday in Massachusetts, “If we are not running scared until the day after the election, we are going to be making a grave mistake.” | politicsNews | August 16, 2016 | true | believable |
White House: Congress would have most impact on fighting tax avoidance | ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that the best way for the government to fight tax avoidance would be for Congress to take action after the U.S. Treasury Department issued major new rules on tax inversions on Monday. “I know that if they are working on any future actions the most impactful thing we could do is if Congress took some action here,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters when asked if the Treasury Department would issue more regulations on tax avoidance. U.S. drug maker Pfizer Inc agreed on Tuesday to terminate its $160 billion agreement to acquire Allergan Plc in a victory for the Obama administration’s push to stop tax-dodging mergers. (Story corrects quote to reflect spokesman saying Congress would have most impact on countering tax avoidance, not that Treasury is working on more action.) | politicsNews | April 7, 2016 | true | believable |
Mexico foreign minister heads to U.S. to meet with Dreamers | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray will travel to the United States this week to meet with local leaders and beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the ministry said on Monday. Videgaray will travel to Sacramento and Los Angeles on Sept. 11-12 and then to Washington D.C. on Sept. 13, the ministry said in a statement. Videgaray will meet with California Gov. Jerry Brown as well as other officials, the statement said. | politicsNews | September 11, 2017 | true | believable |
U.S. military says conducted air strike against ISIS in Somalia | BOSASO, Somalia (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Monday it had carried out an air strike against Islamic State militants in northeast Somalia, killing one person. Islamic State has been gathering recruits in the region, although experts say the scale of its force is unclear and it remains a small player compared to the al Shabaab group. In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. forces conducted an airstrike against ISIS, in northeastern Somalia on Nov. 27, killing one terrorist, the U.S. Africa Command said in a statement. Colonel Ali Abdi, a military officer in an area near the town of Qandala in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, said the strike took place in hills near the town. We heard a huge crash of air strike in the hilly areas of Dasaan remote area behind Qandala town this afternoon Abdi told Reuters from Dasaan. After the strike the IS militants ran away from there. We went to the scene and saw pieces of a dead body. Last month, a group loyal to Islamic State seized a small port town in Somalia s semi-autonomous Puntland region, the first town it has taken since emerging a year ago. The group, which refers to itself simply as Islamic State, is a rival to the larger al Shabaab force, which is linked to Islamic State s rival al Qaeda and once controlled much of Somalia. Early this month, the U.S. military carried out its first air strike against Islamic State militants, killing several. Last week, Somalia s government said it had requested a U.S. air strike that killed scores of suspected militants to help pave the way for an upcoming ground offensive against al Shabaab. Earlier this year, the White House granted the U.S. military broader authority to carry out strikes in Somalia against al Shabaab. | worldnews | November 27, 2017 | true | believable |
Warren, Kaine, Castro on Clinton running-mate short list: AP | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Julian Castro, the U.S. housing secretary, are on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s short list of vice presidential picks, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday, citing Democratic sources. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who waged a populist challenge to Clinton during an unexpectedly long primary campaign, was not on the list, the AP reported, citing one of several unidentified Democrats. | politicsNews | June 21, 2016 | true | believable |
Illinois governor reports $188.1 million in 2015 personal income | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner reported personal income of more than $188.1 million in 2015, and 90 percent of the former private equity investor’s earnings came from capital gains, according to income tax returns he released on Friday. Rauner, a Republican, and his wife, Diana, paid federal taxes of $51.6 million and $6.9 million in state taxes in 2015. Of the total income, $169.5 million was from capital gains, though no details were released on the source of those profits. “I believe as the good book says to whom much has been given from whom much is expected in return,” Rauner said at a news conference when asked about his tax returns. Rauner, who has led a fight against Democrats controlling Illinois’ legislature in the country’s longest-running state fiscal impasse, and his wife contributed $21.7 million individually to various Illinois political campaigns this year to weaken Democratic control of the state legislature and dislodge the state’s long-running budget stalemate, campaign records show. Illinois has not had a full operating budget for 17 months. Republicans netted four seats in the Illinois House and two seats in the state Senate in Tuesday’s elections, but Democrats retained control of both legislative chambers and defeated Rauner’s choice for comptroller. A separate filing from Rauner’s family’s foundation showed $53.6 million in assets at the end of 2015 and $11.6 million in charitable giving for the year. In 2014, Rauner and his wife reported $58.3 million in earnings. Because the Rauners’ assets are in a blind trust, an aide said the couple is “screened from all financial decisions” and cannot explain the increase in their income. A spokesman for Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan declined comment on the governor’s earnings, but a top Madigan ally said Rauner’s wealth puts him out of touch with the electorate. “I don’t know how he can claim to ever understand the problems of regular, ordinary Illinoisans,” said Democratic Representative Lou Lang. Madigan and Democratic Senate President John Cullerton, Chicago attorneys who maintain property-tax appeal practices, do not release their tax returns. | politicsNews | November 11, 2016 | true | believable |
Factbox: Five facts about ex-Trump security aide Michael Flynn | (Reuters) - Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s first U.S. national security adviser, pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about his contacts with Russia’s U.S. ambassador. Here are five facts about Flynn: Flynn was national security adviser for just 24 days, from Jan. 20, when Trump took office, to Feb. 13. Flynn was fired following disclosures that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Sergey Kislyak, Moscow’s U.S. ambassador, and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations. On Feb. 14, Trump asked then-FBI Director James Comey in an Oval Office meeting to end the agency’s investigation into ties between Flynn and Russia, according to news media reports. Trump, who fired Comey on May 9, later denied making such a request. Trump had named the former Army lieutenant general to the national security post despite red flags about Flynn’s Russian contacts and advocacy for warmer U.S. relations with Moscow, which has been under U.S. economic sanctions for years. Outgoing President Barack Obama had warned Trump not to hire Flynn, who had been fired by the Democratic president in 2014. Flynn was an early and vociferous Trump supporter during the New York businessman’s 2016 White House run. He made vitriolic appearances on the campaign trail, notably leading the Republican National Convention in chants of “Lock her up,” referring to Trump’s Democratic rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In addition to Flynn’s contacts with Russia, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of possible ties between the Trump election campaign and Moscow has expanded its probe to include Flynn’s paid work as a lobbyist for a Turkish businessman in 2016, people with knowledge of the inquiry have told Reuters. | politicsNews | December 1, 2017 | true | believable |
House tax panel chair: corporate tax cut may take 'several steps' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the House of Representatives tax committee said on Wednesday that achieving a permanent cut in the U.S. corporate tax rate could take “several steps.” Republican Representative Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee which is working to write a tax reform bill, told reporters: “That’s our goal and I think it’s going to take several steps through the process to achieve that.” Brady did not elaborate on his comment but said Senate rules for reconciliation bills were a concern. Under Senate rules, tax cuts must expire if they add to the federal deficit outside a 10-year budget window. | politicsNews | November 1, 2017 | true | believable |
U.S. Democrat Bernie Sanders wins Alaska, Washington, Hawaii caucuses | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders easily won nominating contests in Alaska, Washington and Hawaii on Saturday, chipping away at front-runner Hillary Clinton’s commanding lead in the race to pick the party’s candidate for the White House. Sanders still faces a steep climb to overtake Clinton but the big victories in the West generated more momentum for his upstart campaign and could stave off calls from Democratic leaders that he should wrap up his bid in the name of party unity. Sanders appeared headed to victory margins of more than 50 percentage points in both Alaska and Washington, and led by about 40 points in Hawaii with some 90 percent of the results tallied there. “We are making significant inroads in Secretary Clinton’s lead and ... we have a path to victory,” Sanders told cheering, chanting supporters in Madison, Wisconsin. “It is hard for anybody to deny that our campaign has the momentum.” Clinton, the former secretary of state, has increasingly turned her attention toward a potential Nov. 8 general election showdown against Republican front-runner Donald Trump, claiming she is on the path to wrapping up the nomination. Heading into Saturday, she led Sanders by about 300 pledged delegates in the race for the 2,382 delegates needed to be nominated at the party’s July convention in Philadelphia. Adding in the support of superdelegates - party leaders who are free to back any candidate - she has 1,690 delegates to 946 for Sanders. Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, needs to win up to two-thirds of the remaining delegates to catch Clinton, who will keep piling up delegates even when she loses under a Democratic Party system that awards them proportionally in all states. “These wins will help him raise more funds for the next few weeks but I don’t think it changes the overall equation,” said Democratic strategist Jim Manley, a Clinton supporter. “Hillary Clinton has too big a lead.” But Sanders has repeatedly said he is staying in the race until the convention, pointing to big crowds at his rallies and high turnout among young and first-time voters as proof of his viability. After raising $140 million, he has the money to fight on as long as he wants. He has energized the party’s liberal base and young voters with his calls to rein in Wall Street and fight income inequality, a message that resonated in liberal Washington and other Western states. Sanders won in Utah and Idaho this week. “Don’t let anybody tell you we can’t win the nomination or the general election,” Sanders told supporters in Wisconsin, which holds the next contest on April 5. “We are going to do both.” All three contests on Saturday were caucuses, a format that has favored Sanders because it requires more commitment from voters. They also were in states with fewer of the black and Hispanic voters who have helped fuel Clinton’s lead. “He was just more aligned with my values. I am young and I never knew there could be someone like him in politics,” said Samantha Burton of Seattle, who said Sanders was the first candidate who had inspired her to make a donation. Jocelyn Alt, a birthing assistant at a Seattle hospital, said she backed Clinton because she believed the times called for someone who could get things done. “She knows how to make things happen,” she said. “I think Hillary is more likely to win against a Republican.” After Wisconsin, the Democratic race moves to contests in New York on April 19 and a bloc of five states in the Northeast, led by Pennsylvania, on April 26. There were no contests on Saturday in the Republican race featuring Trump and rivals U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Governor John Kasich. On Saturday, the New York Times published a lengthy foreign policy-focused interview with Trump. The New York billionaire told the newspaper he might stop oil purchases from Saudi Arabia unless they provide troops to fight the Islamic State. Trump also told the Times he was willing to rethink traditional U.S. alliances should he become president. | politicsNews | March 26, 2016 | true | believable |
Knifeman attacks soldier in Paris subway, terrorism probe opened | PARIS (Reuters) - France opened a counter-terrorism inquiry after a man wielding a knife attacked a soldier in a Paris subway station on Friday, the latest incident targeting troops protecting the capital s transport hubs and tourist sites. Paris and other European capitals are on high alert after a wave of attacks in past years by Islamist militants, many of them inspired by Islamic State. The Paris incident occurred hours before several people were hurt at a London underground station. Witnesses reported a blast which police were treating as a terrorism incident. The assailant in Paris was wrestled to the ground and arrested. The soldier, part of Operation Sentinel, a force deployed in the wake of lethal Islamist attacks on France, escaped unhurt. Police said the attack happened just before 6.30 a.m. (0430 GMT) as the morning rush hour got under way at the Chatelet subway station, where tens of thousands of commuters converge from Paris s sprawling suburbs every day. Government spokesman Christophe Castaner said the investigation was being handled by counter-terrorism specialists. A source close to the investigation said the assailant was Moroccan-born and about 40-years-old, with no known criminal background. Police raids at an address linked to the suspect were ongoing, the source added. There have been more than half a dozen attacks against troops belonging to Operation Sentinel. In early August, a man rammed his car into a group of soldiers on patrol in the wealthy Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret. France announced on Thursday that the 7,000-strong force was being adapted to make it more mobile and its movements less predictable. Days earlier, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said security agencies had thwarted several bigger plots this year, including one plan to strike a Paris night club in late August. Islamist militants have killed more than 230 people in a wave of attacks on French soil since early 2015 and dozens more have been killed in attacks in London, Manchester and Brussels. French war planes have carried out bombing raids against Islamic State strongholds in Syria and Iraq and the militant group has urged its followers to target France. French media said the Chatelet aggressor shouted references to Islamic State as he attacked the soldier. | worldnews | September 15, 2017 | true | believable |
Undocumented immigrants given roles at Democratic convention | NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Democratic Party has selected a handful of undocumented immigrants for official roles at next week’s Democratic National Convention, in a bid to highlight the gaping policy divide on immigration between White House hopeful Hillary Clinton and Republican rival Donald Trump. Clinton is hoping to drive Latino voters to the polls on Nov. 8 to shore up her chances against Trump, who has campaigned on a promise to crack down on illegal immigration by building a wall along the Mexican border and deporting millions of undocumented foreigners if elected. “Our nation is a nation of immigrants that believes in being inclusive, and that’s exactly what we will continue to work toward,” said Leah Daughtry, the chief executive officer of the committee organizing the July 25-28 convention in Philadelphia. “The voices of our nation’s brave undocumented youth will be heard loud and clear,” Daughtry added. The picks include two members of the convention credentials and platform committees, as well as several speakers. The positions are unpaid, officials said. Trump’s campaign, which has argued that unchecked immigration hurts American workers and undermines national security, criticized the move. “Apparently speaking at Hillary Clinton’s convention is just one more job Hillary Clinton thinks Americans won’t do,” a Trump campaign aide said in an emailed statement. “She should have instead invited unemployed Americans, or victims of crime, or law enforcement.” The selections are legal because of a “deferred action program” adopted by President Barack Obama’s administration, which postpones deportations and provides work authorization for some immigrants brought to the United States as children. The Supreme Court blocked efforts to expand those protections last month. The nominations mark the first time a major U.S. political party’s convention has featured so many undocumented workers among its ranks. While there was an undocumented speaker at the 2012 Democratic convention, the party has not previously tracked the immigration status of its committee members. “It changes the whole conversation when you have someone directly affected at the table,” said Cesar Vargas, a Mexican immigrant chosen for the party’s policy platform committee. Hareth Andrade, 23, an undocumented immigrant from Bolivia who was approved under a deferred action program, was picked for the credentials committee. The convention will also feature at least two undocumented immigrant speakers, Astrid Silva and Francisca Ortiz. Clinton already has overwhelming support from minorities. Some 70 percent back her, compared with 9 percent for Trump, according to recent Reuters/Ipsos polling, suggesting that she could have a strong chance in states like Florida, Nevada and Colorado that swing between voting Democratic and Republican in presidential elections. However, voter turnout among Latinos has traditionally been low, hitting only about 40 percent in 2012, meaning her challenge is to get more of them to cast ballots this year. Luis Fraga, co-director of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame, said showing a commitment to progressive reform of U.S. immigration policy could help Clinton do that. He called immigration a gateway issue for minority voters that can help engage them. That’s especially so because even Latinos born in the United States are often not far removed from family members who are immigrants themselves. “Although it’s not their individual experience, it is their family’s experience,” Fraga said. | politicsNews | July 22, 2016 | true | believable |
In Beijing, Trump presses China on North Korea and trade | BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump pressed China to do more to rein in North Korea on Thursday and said bilateral trade had been unfair to the United States, but praised President Xi Jinping s pledge that China would be more open to foreign firms. On North Korea s nuclear and missile programs, Trump said China can fix this problem quickly and easily , urging Beijing to cut financial links with North Korea and also calling on Russia to help. Trump was speaking alongside Xi in the Chinese capital to announce the signing of about $250 billion in commercial deals between U.S. and Chinese firms, a display that some in the U.S. business community worry detracts from tackling deep-seated complaints about market access in China. Xi said the Chinese economy would become increasingly open and transparent to foreign firms, including those from the United States, and welcomed U.S. companies to participate in his ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure-led initiative. Trump made clear that he blamed his predecessors, not China, for the trade imbalance, and repeatedly praised Xi, calling him a very special man . But we will make it fair and it will be tremendous for both of us, Trump said. Xi smiled widely when Trump said he does not blame China for the deficit and also when Trump said Xi gets things done. Of course there are some frictions, but on the basis of win-win cooperation and fair competition, we hope we can solve all these issues in a frank and consultative way, Xi said. Keeping opening up is our long-term strategy. We will never narrow or close our doors. We will further widen them, he said. China would also offer a more fair and transparent environment for foreign firms, including U.S. ones, Xi said. Trump is pressing China to tighten the screws further on North Korea and its development of nuclear weapons in defiance of U.N. sanctions. At least modest progress is hoped for, although there are no immediate signs of a major breakthrough, a U.S. official said earlier. Referring to Xi, Trump said: I do believe there s a solution to that, as do you. Xi reiterated that China would strive for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula but offered no hint that China would change tack on North Korea, with which it fought side-by-side in the 1950-53 Korean war against U.S.-led forces. We are devoted to reaching a resolution to the Korean peninsula issue through dialogue and consultations, Xi said. Briefing reporters after the talks, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump told Xi: You re a strong man, I m sure you can solve this for me. Tillerson said both leaders agreed they could not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea but he acknowledged they had some differences over tactics and timing. Tillerson pointed out that Trump, in a speech in Seoul, had invited the North Koreans to come to the table, in line with the Chinese desire for a negotiated solution. He added, however, that Trump was prepared for a military response if he deemed the threat serious enough, but that s not his first choice . We are going to work hard on diplomatic efforts as well, he said, but did not elaborate. In a show of the importance China puts on Trump s first official visit, Thursday s welcoming ceremony outside Beijing s Great Hall of the People overlooking Tiananmen Square was broadcast live on state television - unprecedented treatment for a visiting leader. Earlier on Thursday, Xi said he had a deep exchange of views with Trump and reached consensus on numerous issues of mutual concern. For China, cooperation is the only real choice, only win-win can lead to an even better future, he said. Xi said China and the United States strengthened high-level dialogue on all fronts over the past year and boosted coordination on major international issues, such as the Korean peninsula and Afghanistan. Relations between China and the United States are now on a new historical starting point, Xi said. Trump and Xi hit it off at their first meeting in April at Trump s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and continued their bromance on Wednesday with an afternoon of sightseeing together with their wives. However, divisions persist over trade and North Korea. And while Xi is riding high after consolidating power at a twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress last month, Trump comes to China saddled with low public approval ratings and dogged by investigations into Russian links to his election campaign. Trump has ratcheted up his criticism of China s massive trade surplus with the United States - calling it embarrassing and horrible last week - and has accused Beijing of unfair trade practices. For its part, China says U.S. restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States and on high-tech exports need to be addressed. Several corporate chief executives were in Beijing as part of a delegation led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, with General Electric and semiconductor maker Qualcomm Inc among those announcing billions of dollars in sales to China. [L3N1NF2IA] But Qualcomm s agreement to sell $12 billion worth of components to three Chinese mobile phone makers over three years is non-binding, and critics say such public announcements are sometimes more show than substance. This shows that we have a strong, vibrant bilateral economic relationship, and yet we still need to focus on leveling the playing field because U.S. companies continue to be disadvantaged doing business in China, said William Zarit, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. Trump railed against China s trade practices during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and threatened to take action once in office. But he has since held back on any major trade penalties, making clear he was doing so to give Beijing time to make progress reining in North Korea. A U.S. official said both sides were in sync about wanting to minimize friction during the visit and recreate the positive tone of the April summit. Trump was not expected to put much emphasis in his talks with Xi on thorny issues such as the disputed South China Sea and self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by China as its own, although the leaders aides may deal with those matters privately, the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. China has repeatedly pushed back at suggestions it should be doing more to rein in North Korea, which does about 90 percent of its trade with China, saying it is fully enforcing U.N. sanctions and that everyone has a responsibility to lower tension and get talks back on track. (This story was refiled to restore dropped word in paragraph 16.) | worldnews | November 9, 2017 | true | believable |
U.S. judge finds Texas voter ID law was intended to discriminate | (Reuters) - A Texas law that requires voters to show identification before casting ballots was enacted with the intent to discriminate against black and Hispanic voters, a U.S. federal judge ruled on Monday. The decision by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos came after an appeals court last year said the 2011 law had an outsized impact on minority voters. The court sent the case back to Ramos to determine if lawmakers intentionally wrote the legislation to be discriminatory. Ramos said in a 10-page decision that evidence “establishes that a discriminatory purpose was at least one of the substantial or motivating factors behind passage” of the measure. “The terms of the bill were unduly strict,” she added. Spokesmen for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Jr. and Governor Greg Abbott, both Republicans, could not be reached for comment. In January, after the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, Paxton said it was a common sense law to prevent voter fraud. The ruling on voter ID comes about a month after two federal judges ruled that Texas lawmakers drew up three U.S. congressional districts to undermine the influence of Hispanic voters. The measure requires voters to present photo identification such as a driver’s license, passport or military ID card. Plaintiffs have argued the law hits elderly and poorer voters, including minorities, hardest because they are less likely to have identification. They contend the measure is used by Republicans to suppress voters who typically align with Democrats. The legislation has been in effect since 2011 despite the legal challenges. Ramos said the law had met criteria set by the U.S. Supreme Court to show intent that included its discriminatory impact, a pattern not explainable on other than racial grounds, Texas’ history of discriminatory practices and the law’s unusually swift passage. Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the plaintiffs, said the ruling showed other states that discriminatory laws would not stand up to legal scrutiny. “This is a good ruling that confirms what we have long known, that Texas’ voter ID law stands as one of the most discriminatory voting restrictions of its kind,” she said. In a shift from its stance under former President Barack Obama, the U.S. Justice Department dropped a discrimination claim against the law in February. The department said that the state legislature was considering changing the law in ways that might correct shortcomings. | politicsNews | April 11, 2017 | true | believable |
While wealthy Mexicans swamped by quake aid, poor feel abandoned | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Relief supplies and volunteers are piling up at rescue sites in upscale districts of Mexico City following Tuesday s deadly earthquake in a show of solidarity that has contrasted with the government s struggle to get aid to people most in need. In the wealthy neighborhoods of Roma and Condesa in the center of Mexico City, volunteers by the hundreds stand ready to help dig for survivors who may be trapped beneath the rubble. In recent days, however, they have largely remained idle. Others have brought food and water, eager to tend to rescue workers or the thousands of people made homeless by the quake. Yet they have struggled to find takers because so much sustenance is on offer. In the poor, far-flung neighborhoods in the outskirts of the capital, meanwhile, aid and comfort were less abundant. And in villages in some states surrounding the Mexico City, victims said they had yet to see government aid arrive. In the hard-hit Mexico City neighborhood of Del Valle, 48-year-old Marcela Sanchez came in search of aid after she lost her home in the large, working-class area of Nezahualcoyotl, in the remote northeast suburbs. We haven t received any aid, Sanchez said. Those of us who work in Mexico City return home with aid. God willing, they can help us. The government s response to Tuesday s quake, which killed 319 people in Mexico City and surrounding states, is under scrutiny ahead of presidential elections next year. Earthquakes are politically sensitive after the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party s flawed response to the 1985 earthquake that killed thousands. The government s handling of this disaster is markedly better than it was 32 years ago, when days passed before rescues began at many buildings. That disaster led to more rigorous building codes and regular quake drills. The lasting memory of the 2017 quake may be the outpouring of voluntary action, but also the unevenness of the relief operations and the lack of government coordination of resources. There s plenty (of provisions and aid workers). All that s missing here is emergency management, said Roberto Hernandez, founder of Los Topos, or The Moles, a civilian rescue squad that rose to prominence after the 1985 earthquake. The government response is being coordinated by the Civil Protection unit of the Interior Ministry, which did not immediately make an official available for comment. President Enrique Pena Nieto s office did not respond to requests for comment. A combination of Mexican government employees, police, soldiers and sailors as well as foreign aid teams and hordes of civilian volunteers have cleared buildings of debris, rescued some 69 people and recovered bodies. But the enormous logistical task of marshalling those resources has appeared wanting. Even in the best of times, coordinating action among myriad government agencies in Mexico is complicated, and volunteers and victims have complained that the overlapping jurisdictions have thwarted relief efforts. While rescuers work around the clock at disaster sites, dozens of police and military forces are left without any apparent task, sometimes just standing by, inactive. Hernandez, of Los Topos, complained about the slow pace of removing debris at a collapsed office building in Roma. While rescuers in hard hats worked atop the ruins, scores of uniformed police and soldiers appeared to have little to do. We need to break up slabs and bring them down to look for bodies or survivors. We did this 32 years ago and saved 137 people, Hernandez said. Look at them (police officers). Every one of them would be willing to pick up a couple of rocks if you asked them. The mayor of Mexico City said in an interview with broadcaster TV Azteca that the official response was improving. We have stuck to the contingency plan without reticence. We are working hand-in-hand with the navy, with the army, with the federal police, Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said. That contention may be lost on people in the states of Morelos and Puebla, closer to the epicenter of the 7.1 magnitude quake, where in some villages victims said the government had not arrived. Instead, caravans of volunteers from the capital traveled backroads and waded through rivers to deliver aid to remote populations. Even in relatively close neighborhoods, such as San Geronimo on the capital s southern extreme where many of the modest adobe and brick homes crumbled or cracked and road damage has impeded access, residents complained aid was slow to arrive and not nearly as abundant as in the upscale neighborhoods close to the city center. We have not had any support from the authorities, said Antonio Ramirez, a retired teacher who was surveying damaged homes. The support has been from ordinary people. Even the soldiers, instead of bringing picks and shovels, brought their machine guns. | worldnews | September 24, 2017 | true | believable |
Republicans seek special counsel's removal from Russia probe | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three Republican U.S. lawmakers called on Friday for Robert Mueller to resign as special counsel investigating Russia and the 2016 U.S. election, the latest in a series of conservatives’ criticisms of the FBI and Justice Department during the probe of how Moscow may have influenced the campaign. Representatives Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs and Louis Gohmert accused Mueller of a conflict of interest because he was director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation when former President Barack Obama’s administration approved an agreement allowing a Russian company to buy a Canadian company that owned 20 percent of U.S. uranium supplies. President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans have been calling for an investigation into the Uranium One deal, amid news of Mueller’s first indictments of Trump associates as the special counsel investigates allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. Moscow denies any effort to influence the election, and Trump has dismissed the investigation as a “witch hunt.” On Monday, the day the indictments became public, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said a special counsel should be appointed to investigate Democrats over the uranium deal. Another group of Republican lawmakers, including House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte launched an investigation last week to examine issues including the role of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s 2016 opponent, in the uranium deal. Democrats have dismissed the Republicans’ activities as a partisan effort to distract from Mueller’s probe and from efforts to ensure that a foreign government, Moscow, does not influence future U.S. elections. Gaetz, Biggs and Gohmert are all members of the House Judiciary Committee, which has oversight over the FBI and Department of Justice. Gaetz has called for investigations of issues related to Clinton previously, including accusing former FBI Director James Comey of colluding with Mueller on the FBI’s investigation of Clinton’s emails. | politicsNews | November 3, 2017 | true | believable |
Ex-U.S. Attorney Yang being considered for SEC chair: source | NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang is being considered to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Trump administration, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. Yang is a partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles where she represents corporate defendants in white-collar crime investigations and compliance matters. Previously, Yang served as the first female Asian-American U.S. attorney. She was appointed to the Central District of California by Republican President George W. Bush in 2002 and left in 2006 to join Gibson Dunn. Yang is a longtime friend of Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and donated to his presidential campaign. If tapped, she would become the second consecutive former federal prosecutor to lead the SEC. Its current chair, Mary Jo White, previously served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Yang did not respond to a call or an email requesting comment, and it is not clear if she is the leading contender for the top SEC job. Other names that have been floating around include former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, who is helping oversee the transition for financial regulation, and Ralph Ferrara, a former SEC general counsel who is also on the transition team. Unlike Atkins or Ferrara, Yang is not considered to be as deeply steeped in securities regulatory policy matters. Yang has represented a variety of corporate clients and also previously served as a Justice Department-appointed monitor for a medical device company. Currently, she is representing Allergan Plc in a lawsuit filed last month against a company called Amazon Medica for trademark infringement, false advertising and unfair competition related to its selling Botox with foreign labels to U.S. doctors. She has also represented Uber Technologies Inc in a class action lawsuit to force the company to pay its drivers overtime and minimum wage. Yang was among the Gibson Dunn attorneys who were hired to conduct an outside investigation into the “Bridgegate” scandal. Their March 2014 report exonerated Christie, finding that he had no involvement in the decision to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey and New York City. Two of Christie’s former close associates, Bridget Kelly, his deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were convicted for their roles in the scandal last month. During their trial, former Port Authority official David Wildstein, who previously pleaded guilty for his involvement, testified that he and Baroni had in fact discussed the lane closures with Christie. Christie has not been charged with wrongdoing. Defense attorneys in the case and local media in New Jersey have raised questions about the independence of Gibson Dunn’s investigation, citing Yang’s personal friendship with Christie and efforts to raise money for his campaign. | politicsNews | December 6, 2016 | true | believable |
South Africa's Ramaphosa gets most nominations ahead of ANC leadership vote | JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has received the most nominations for leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) ahead of a party vote this month, voting data from the country s nine provinces show. Ramaphosa is one of two frontrunners in a closely watched contest to take over from President Jacob Zuma as ANC leader at a party conference starting on Dec. 16. Whoever becomes ANC leader will most likely be the next president of South Africa, owing to the ruling party s electoral dominance. Ramaphosa received 1,862 nominations by ANC branches, whereas his main rival for ANC leader, former cabinet minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, received 1,309 endorsements. Reuters compiled the number of nominations for each candidate based on voting data released by provincial ANC structures. ANC officials in the provinces of Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal were the last to release their nominations totals on Monday. Ramaphosa, a former trade union leader and millionaire businessman, is seen as more market-friendly than Dlamini-Zuma, who was previously married to Zuma. Signs that Ramaphosa has been doing well in the nominations by ANC branches have boosted the rand currency in recent weeks. However, Dlamini-Zuma could still win the race for ANC leader as analysts say the outcome in December could be swayed by inducements and pressure on conference delegates. Delegates are not bound to vote for the candidate that was nominated by their ANC branch. | worldnews | December 4, 2017 | true | believable |
Highlights: The Trump presidency on March 13 at 9:05 p.m. EDT | (Reuters) - Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday: Fourteen million Americans would lose medical insurance by next year under a Republican plan to dismantle Obamacare, the nonpartisan U.S. Congressional Budget Office says in a report that dealt a potential setback to Trump’s first major legislative initiative. A Republican plan to repeal taxes set under Obamacare would benefit the wealthiest U.S. households at more than five times the rate for middle-income families, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The U.S. Department of Justice asks for more time to respond to a request from lawmakers for evidence about Trump’s allegation that then-President Barack Obama wiretapped him during the 2016 election campaign. A group of states renew their effort to block Trump’s revised temporary ban on refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority countries, arguing that his executive order is the same as the first one that was halted by federal courts. Trump’s meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been pushed back from Tuesday until Friday because of the winter storm bearing down on the northeastern United States, the White House says. Ahead of her trip to Washington, Merkel tells business leaders in Munich that free trade is important for both the United States and Germany. Trump is planning to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at a two-day summit next month, according to media reports, as his administration seeks to smooth relations with the world’s second-largest economy. Trump’s Middle East envoy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Jerusalem as the new administration tries to restart peace talks with the Palestinians. Trump is set to formally announce a review of vehicle fuel efficiency rules locked in at the end of the Obama administration when he meets with automaker chiefs this week, according to two sources briefed on the matter. Trump on Thursday unveils his 2018 budget emphasizing a military buildup, and some Republicans are concerned they will be forced to choose between opposing the president or backing reductions in popular programs such as aid for disabled children and hot meals for the elderly. The U.S. Senate confirms Trump’s pick to run the government health programs for the elderly, poor and disabled, Medicare and Medicaid, filling a critical role as Republicans fight to repeal and replace Obamacare. | politicsNews | March 13, 2017 | true | believable |
Russian warships dock in Philippines as Manila cultivates new ties | MANILA (Reuters) - Three Russian warships, including two anti-submarine vessels, docked in Manila on Friday to unload what navy officials said was weaponry and military vehicles donated to the Philippines as part of a new defense relationship. It was the third port visit this year by Russian warships as part of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte s moves to engage closely with Moscow, an arch-rival of Manila s former colonial master and closest defense ally, the United States. The load included 5,000 assault rifles, a million rounds of ammunition and 20 army trucks, Russian and Filipino navy officials said. We would do our best to make this port call a significant contribution indicating friendly ties and relations between two nations in the interest of security and stability in this region, said Eduard Mikhailov, deputy commander of Russia s Pacific Fleet flotilla. The visit was timed to coincide with the arrival next week of Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who is attending a regional defense meeting, and U.S. counterpart Jim Mattis, a Philippine navy spokesman said. Russia and the Philippines are expected to sign a security deal on military logistics next week. | worldnews | October 20, 2017 | true | believable |
China hopes all sides' words and actions reduce tension on Korean peninsula | BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Monday that it hopes all sides’ words and actions can help reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula, after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would shoot down North Korean missiles if necessary. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comment at a regular news briefing. | politicsNews | November 6, 2017 | true | believable |
Trump could pull out of global climate accord in a year: lawyers | MARRAKESH, Morocco (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could use legal short-cuts to pull out of a global agreement for fighting climate change within a year, keeping a campaign promise and by-passing a theoretical four-year wait, lawyers say. Trump, who has called global warming a hoax and said it was invented by the Chinese to undermine U.S. manufacturing, has said he wants to cancel the 2015 Paris Agreement among almost 200 nations that entered into force on Nov. 4. The accord, which seeks to phase out greenhouse gas emissions this century with a shift from fossil fuels, says in its Article 28 that any country wanting to pull out after joining up has to wait four years. In theory, the earliest date for withdrawal is Nov. 4, 2020, around the time of the next U.S. presidential election. But Trump could pull out of the parent treaty of the Paris Agreement, the 1992 U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change with just a year’s notice, also voiding U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement, U.N. legal experts say. That would be controversial, partly because the Convention was signed by former Republican president George Bush in 1992 and approved by the U.S. Senate. It would also severely strain relations with many foreign nations. Meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, for two weeks of talks to work out ways to implement pledges for action in the Paris Agreement, many countries have reaffirmed support for the 195-nation accord since Trump’s election victory on Tuesday. “If Trump withdraws from the Paris Agreement there would be a political cost. If he pulls out of the Convention the cost would be greater,” said Daniel Bodansky, a professor of the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. “It would be going nuclear. It would signal that the United States has no interest in cooperating with other nations on climate change,” said Alden Meyer, of the Union of Concerned Scientists. The Convention sets a goal of avoiding “dangerous” man-made damage to the climate to avert more heat waves, downpours, floods, extinctions of animals and plants and rising sea levels. The Paris Agreement is much more explicit, seeking to phase out net greenhouse gas emissions by the second half of the century and limit global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. Trump wants to safeguard jobs in the U.S. coal and oil industries, saying the Paris Agreement would undermine the U.S. economy. He said in May: “We’re going to cancel the Paris climate agreement.” But the accord has since entered into force in international law. As of Thursday it had been ratified by 103 nations representing 73 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Trump could also pull out from Paris immediately if the Republican-controlled House and Senate passed a law asking him to do so, Bodansky said. The Supreme Court had a tradition of upholding U.S. laws when they conflict with international law. “If Trump acts with the approval of Congress there is no problem under U.S. law,” he said. There would be little recourse to challenge such a decision under international law - the Paris Agreement has no sanctions for non-compliance. Many delegates reckon Trump is likely to have other priorities, from the economy to immigration. Trump may find it easier simply to oppose President Barack Obama’s domestic plans to reduce U.S. emissions by between 26 and 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. The idea of the Paris Agreement’s four-year wait is that “it sets a legal trap,” said Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, head of the 48-nation group of least developed nations. “By the time Trump gets round to thinking about it we could have another president.” | politicsNews | November 10, 2016 | true | believable |