Political News from Yahoo

Third bomb attack in 24 hours kills eight Afghan police

KABUL (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed eight policemen in Afghanistan's volatile southern province of Kandahar, police said on Sunday, the third deadly attack by insurgents against police in 24 hours. Twenty police have been killed across Afghanistan since midday on Saturday, a level of violence that underlines concern over how the 350,000-strong Afghan security forces will manage once most NATO-led troops withdraw by the end of next year. ...

Hackers claim attack on Justice Department website

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hackers sympathetic to the late computer prodigy Aaron Swartz claimed on Saturday to have infiltrated the website of the U.S. Justice Department's Sentencing Commission, and said they planned to release government data. The Sentencing Commission site, www.ussc.gov , was shut down early Saturday. Identifying themselves as Anonymous, a loosely organized group of unknown provenance associated with a range of recent online actions, the hackers voiced outrage over Swartz' suicide on January 11. ...


Obama: Gun-control advocates have to listen more

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says gun-control advocates have to do a little more listening than they do sometimes in the debate over firearms in America.


Chinese anti-corruption drive nets Politburo member - paper

BEIJING (Reuters) - A senior Chinese official is under investigation, a Hong Kong newspaper reported at the weekend, in a case that could represent the first time a national political figure has been netted in China's anti-corruption drive. Li Jianguo, a member of the country's elite Politburo and the vice chairman of the national rubber-stamp legislature, has not been charged with any offence. The Hong Kong-based Ming Pao newspaper however reported that Li had checked into a Beijing military hospital due to "psychological stress" from the investigation. ...


Obama: Gun-control advocates should listen more

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says gun-control advocates have to do a little more listening than they do sometimes in the debate over firearms in America.


U.S. to provide aerial refueling for French offensive in Mali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has agreed to fly tankers to refuel French jet fighters and bombers attacking al Qaeda-affiliated militants who have established a foothold in northern Mali, U.S. defense officials said on Saturday. The decision, in response to an earlier French request, expands U.S. involvement, which so far has been limited to sharing intelligence and providing airlift support to carry a French mechanized infantry unit to Mali. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told his French counterpart, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, about the U.S. ...

N.Y. Mayor Bloomberg giving another $350 million to Johns Hopkins

(Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is giving $350 million of his multibillion-dollar fortune to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, in a gift that will bring his total lifetime donations to the institution to over $1 billion, the school said on Saturday. Bloomberg's giving to the university over the years makes him its largest-ever philanthropic benefactor, the school said in a statement. ...


Ontario Liberals pick province's first woman premier

TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario's Liberals on Saturday chose a former Cabinet minister to become the province's first female premier and first openly gay leader of a Canadian province. In her acceptance speech as the new provincial Liberal Party leader, Kathleen Wynne, 59, a former Ontario education minister, thanked her partner, Jane, for her support during a three-month campaign. Ontario was one of the first Canadian provinces to allow same-sex marriage. Wynne's victory means Canada's four most powerful provinces will all be led by women. ...


US to support French in Mali with aerial refueling

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has decided to provide additional support to the French military in its war against Islamic militants in Mali by conducting aerial refueling missions.

EU, U.S. on verge of "difficult" free-trade negotiations

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union are wrapping up final preparations for talks on a free-trade agreement that would encompass half the world's economic output, Europe's trade chief said on Saturday, while warning of "difficult negotiations." EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht will travel to Washington on February 5 to put the finishing touches on a joint EU-U.S. report. He gave his clearest signal yet that Brussels and Washington are ready to embark on the accord. "Essentially the report is ready. ...


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