Political News from Yahoo

U.S. skeptical about Argentina-Iran "truth commission"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday voiced doubt that Argentina and Iran's planned "truth commission" would bring to justice those responsible for the deadly 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center. Argentine courts have said Iran was behind the attack on the Jewish center, which killed 85 people. The commission agreement, announced over the weekend but subject to the approval of Argentina's Congress, outlines plans for Argentine officials to interview suspects in Iran rather than in a third country, as originally proposed by Argentina. ...

California's Hispanic population projected to outnumber white in 2014

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California's Hispanic population will equal that of whites this year before becoming the state's largest demographic group in 2014 for the first time since statehood in 1850, a government report showed on Thursday. That change in the most populous U.S. state will make it the third where whites do not comprise a plurality of the population, after New Mexico and Hawaii. The shift is occurring alongside nationwide growth in the Hispanic population, which grew to 16.7 percent of the total in 2011 from 12.5 percent in 2000, according to U.S. Census figures. ...

Explosion at Mexican oil giant Pemex offices kills 14

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A powerful explosion rocked the Mexico City headquarters of state-owned oil giant Pemex on Thursday, killing at least 14 people, injuring 100 and trapping others inside. The blast battered the lower floors of the downtown tower, throwing debris into the streets and sending frightened workers running outside. It was not yet clear what caused the explosion, the latest in a series of safety problems to hit Mexico's national oil monopoly. Media reports said the incident occurred when machinery apparently exploded. ...


Clinton warns Russia, Iran of Syria conflict spreading

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Iran and Russia on Thursday to rethink their support for Syria, saying the most dire scenarios of the conflict spilling beyond its borders could come to pass. Clinton told reporters there are signs Iran is sending more people and increasingly sophisticated weaponry to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his 22-month battle against rebels seeking to end his family's four-decades of authoritarian rule. ...

Taiwan names new premier in reshuffle which may see new central bank chief

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's vice premier Jiang Yih-Huah will replace premier Sean Chen, the presidential office said in statement issued late on Thursday, as part of a cabinet reshuffle that could see a new central bank chief. Central bank chief Perng Fai-nan wants to retire as part of the reshuffle, two lawmakers told a Taiwanese television station on Thursday. A central bank official refused to comment on Perng's possible retirement. Perng's third five-year term is due to end in February. ...

House lawmakers mull path to citizenship for illegal immigrants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group in the U.S. House of Representatives is attempting to craft a bill that would give millions of illegal immigrants a way to become citizens, House aides said on Thursday, mirroring an effort in the Senate. One of the aides said the House legislation would be tougher in some ways than the plan put forward on Monday by four Democrats and four Republicans in the U.S. Senate. ...

Arkansas Senate passes ''fetal heartbeat'' law to ban most abortions

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - The Arkansas state Senate approved a bill on Thursday to ban most abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected, a move that would prohibit the procedure as early as five weeks into pregnancy. The Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act would also require women to undergo a vaginal probe to detect the heartbeat. The Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill 26-8. Governor Mike Beebe, a conservative Democrat, is concerned the law could violate federal laws and court rulings, said spokesman Matt DeCample. ...

Clinton: window for Iran talks can't stay open "too much longer"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The window for negotiations with Iran about its nuclear program cannot stay open for "too much longer," outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday but she declined to provide a deadline. "I don't think the window can remain open for too much longer (but) I am not going to put days, weeks or months on it," Clinton told a small group of reporters on the eve of her departure from the State Department. The United States and its Western allies suspect that Iran is using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop a bomb. ...

Boy held hostage in Alabama bunker for third day: officials

MIDLAND CITY, Alabama (Reuters) - A hostage-taking by an Alabama man accused of fatally shooting a school bus driver and then forcing a young boy into an underground bunker entered its third night with no new developments to report, authorities said on Thursday. Law enforcement officials remained tight-lipped about the standoff near Midland City, a small town in the southeast corner of Alabama, after cancelling a planned news conference. ...


Two years on, Benghazi threatens "another revolution" in Libya

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - As night fell over Benghazi, a familiar sound echoed across the eastern Libyan city - an explosion, and then gunfire. A bomb had just been thrown at a police car on patrol, injuring an officer. It was the latest of many attacks on local security forces. Two months before, the man whose job it was to ensure Benghazi was safe, the police chief, was shot dead outside his home. ...


Stalingrad gets its name back - for a day

VOLGOGRAD, Russia (Reuters) - Josef Stalin and the city of Stalingrad are making a comeback - if only for a short time. The Russian city of Volgograd has approved the use of its wartime name at events on Saturday commemorating the 70th anniversary of the 200-day Battle of Stalingrad that turned the tide of World War Two. In a move not sanctioned by the city authorities, admirers also plan to display portraits of the late Soviet dictator in minibuses to honor his role in the defeat of Nazi Germany. ...


Chuck Hagel, Lindsey Graham Disagree Over Iran

Is Iran’s army a terrorist organization? Chuck Hagel, the president’s nominee for secretary of defense, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) don’t agree. As the Bush administration weighed whether to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, the Senate voted on the issue in...

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