Political News from Yahoo

Greek ruling conservatives take lead over leftists: polls

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's ruling conservatives have grabbed a narrow lead over the leftist main opposition since securing bailout funds to avert bankruptcy, three opinion polls showed, as most Greeks believe the country will stay in the euro zone. A survey conducted by MRB pollsters for Sunday newspaper Real News showed that if elections were held now Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's New Democracy party would get 29.2 percent versus 27.8 percent for the anti-bailout SYRIZA party. The ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn ranked third with 11. ...


Portuguese teachers protest against education cuts

LISBON (Reuters) - Thousands of Portuguese teachers marched through Lisbon on Saturday to protest against cuts in education imposed as part of the government's austerity program. Teachers union Fenprof estimated 30,000 teachers marched through Lisbon city center, demanding the resignation of the education minister and protesting against pay cuts and what they called a deterioration in working conditions. "I am here to protect the public school, and, above all, I am here to defend the future of our country and the future of my children who are still growing," teacher Anabela Mendes told ...


Iraqi Sunnis mourn protesters shot dead by troops

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners rallied on Saturday at funerals for Sunni Muslims shot by troops in demonstrations against Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Troops on Friday shot dead five people in Falluja, in the Sunni-dominated western province of Anbar. Sunnis have taken to the streets since December to protest what they call mistreatment of their minority sect, heightening fears Iraq may return to the Shi'ite-Sunni bloodletting that killed tens of thousands in 2006-2007. ...


Ryan says GOP needs to pick its fights with Obama

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Paul Ryan said Saturday that Republicans need to stick together and pick their fights during President Barack Obama's second term, rejecting some White House proposals outright and trying to infuse others with conservative principles.


Time to open up to trade, EU tells Argentina, Brazil

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - EU leaders told Argentina and Brazil on Saturday to open up their markets and push ahead on a free-trade deal that would be a major prize for Europe as it tries to emerge from three years of economic crisis. Treading carefully in a region whose fortunes are markedly better than Europe's, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Buenos Aires and Brasilia not to revert to the kind of protectionism of the 1930s that deepened the Great Depression. ...


Ireland says horse DNA in its burgers came from Poland

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Beef containing horse DNA that was supplied by an Irish company to major food companies like Tesco and Burger King originated in Poland, Ireland's agriculture department said on Saturday. The British food industry has been rocked by the revelation retailers sold beef products that contained horse DNA, a scandal that has also left Ireland's 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion) beef industry reeling from the knock-on effects. Results of tests showed that Polish ingredients used by Irish burger manufacturer Silvercrest contained 4. ...


Medvedev says Magnitsky fallout not bad for Russian business

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev used a prime-time TV interview on Saturday to dismiss concerns growing fallout from the 2009 death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky would damage Russia's business interests. Medvedev said the whistleblower's death in jail, for which no one has been brought to justice, was being used by Kremlin critics to score points but was of no import to business leaders. ...


Turkish PM criticizes pre-trial detentions of military officers

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the lengthy pre-trial detention of hundreds of military officers, suggesting it was sapping army morale just as Ankara vows to keep up pressure on Kurdish militants. During his 10 years in power, Erdogan, whose party has moderate Islamist roots, has brought to heel the once all-powerful armed forces, which see themselves as guardians of secularism and regularly intervened in politics and carried out coups in previous decades. ...


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