Political News from Yahoo

Ex-Israeli security chiefs speak out in Oscar documentary nominee

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Oscar-nominated documentary "The Gatekeepers" focuses on Israel, but its director says that all countries can gain insight about the risks that arise if secretive security agencies operate without adequate restraints. In "The Gatekeepers," six former heads of Israeli internal security and intelligence agency Shin Bet reflect on their failures and successes in gathering information on state enemies, orchestrating secret operations and tracking militants. They also offer some unexpected perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ...

Italy group wants central bank's head over MPS scandal

ROME (Reuters) - A consumer group suing the Bank of Italy over its handling of the Monte Paschi crisis on Saturday called for the central bank's governor to resign and for an administrator to be appointed to run the troubled Tuscan lender. The demands came as a Rome court adjourned until Feb 20 a hearing regarding the Bank of Italy's (BoI) approval of 3.9 billion euros (3.4 billion pounds) in state support for Monte Paschi , the world's oldest bank. ...

Video of protester stripped and beaten fires Egypt fury

CAIRO (Reuters) - After eight days of protests that killed nearly 60 people, a video of one demonstrator stripped naked, dragged across the ground and beaten with truncheons by helmeted riot police has fired Egyptians to a new level of outrage. Hamada Saber, a middle-aged man, lay in a police hospital on Saturday, the morning after he was shown on television naked, covered in soot and thrashed by half a dozen policemen who had pulled him to an armored vehicle near the presidential palace. ...

Serbian coalition rocked by leaks against prime minister

BELGRADE (Reuters) - A close aide to Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic accused Dacic's SNS coalition partners on Saturday of staging a smear campaign after media reports linked Dacic to an alleged drug trafficker. The row rocked the coalition just as speculation grows that SNS, the biggest party in parliament and riding high in the polls, will quit the government and try to force an early election. ...

Merkel says EU budget talks will be tough, outcome unclear

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged her EU partners on Saturday to work together to get a deal on the 27-member bloc's budget at a summit this week, warning that agreement was far from certain. EU leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to try to clinch a deal on its 1 trillion euro budget for 2014-2020 after they failed to do so in November. In her weekly podcast, Merkel said she expected very difficult negotiations. "Germany will try to contribute to a result. We will only be able to see at the end of next week whether it succeeds," she said. ...


Yemen army raid kills 10 suspected militants: militia source

ADEN (Reuters) - Yemen's military killed 10 suspected militants in air and artillery strikes on Saturday, a pro-government militia source said, as authorities battle insurgents linked to al Qaeda who seized several southern towns last year. The assault took place near the town of Shuqra in Abyan province, an impoverished, mountainous region of southern Yemen where tribal law holds sway and Islamist militants have a strong presence. Tackling lawlessness in Yemen, which lies near important oil shipment routes and flanks the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, is an international priority. ...

Nine arrested in right-wing Austria ball protest

VIENNA (Reuters) - Nine protesters have been arrested for civil disorder in demonstrations against a right-wing ball in Vienna's imperial Hofburg Palace, Austrian police said on Saturday. More than 2,500 joined protests against the Academics' Ball on Friday night which was hosted by Austria's far-right Freedom Party and has in the past attracted right-wing icons such as France's Marine le Pen. ...


Syrian opposition chief to meet U.S., Russia and U.N

MUNICH (Reuters) - The leader of the Syrian opposition was expected to meet U.S., Russian and U.N. officials on Saturday at a Munich conference which may provide a rare chance to overcome differences on how to end Syria's civil war. U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, head of the Syrian National Coalition Moaz Alkhatib, U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were all expected to meet - but not necessarily all at the same table, as the opposition hoped. ...


Five accused plead not guilty to Delhi gang rape, murder

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Five men pleaded not guilty on Saturday to charges they gang raped and murdered an Indian trainee physiotherapist, in a case that led to a shake-up of laws against sexual crimes after protests about a rising number of attacks on women. A Reuters witness saw the men file into the court room with their faces covered, where lawyers in the case said they were read thirteen charges including murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death. They left after 15 minutes. "After the judge read out the charges, the five pleaded not guilty and walked out" said A.P. ...

French president visits Mali to support French troops

TIMBUKTU, Mali (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande arrived in Mali on Saturday on a one-day visit to support French troops fighting a campaign against Islamist rebels in the Sahel nation. Hollande, accompanied by his ministers for defense, foreign affairs and development, flew into Sevare in central Mali, French TV channels said. He was due to go on to Timbuktu, the famed Saharan trading town which was recaptured from the rebels on Sunday. ...


Iran says unveils new homemade fighter jet

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran unveiled what it said was a new, domestically built fighter jet on Saturday, local media reported. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at a ceremony in Tehran that the Qaher 313 demonstrated Iran's growing self-reliance in the field of military technology. Iran's functional air force has been limited to perhaps as few as a few dozen strike aircraft, either Russian or ageing U.S. models acquired before the 1979 Iranian revolution. ...

Amid Iraqi protests, hackers hit Maliki's website

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is facing protests from Sunni Muslims, an oil dispute with the Kurdistan region and turmoil in his own government. Now hackers have attacked his website to brand him a tyrant. A group called "TeaM KuWaiT HaCkErS" posted on Maliki's website a picture of two women in black weeping and expressing support for Iraqis who it said were fighting oppression. ...


Health Care: Great for the Economy Today, Terrible Later

PITTSBURGH—Gerardo Sciulli was a welder from a small town in the Abruzzi region of Italy. So when he emigrated to America in 1970, he chose this place; its vibrant steel mills assured him plenty of work. He settled with his family in Oakland, a half-square-mile neighborhood east of downtown.

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