Daily News Digest: Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Yahoo! Alerts

Yahoo! News | My Alerts | Edit Alert

Sunday, May 6, 2012 8:30 PM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: U.S. prosecutors say ready for long haul in 9/11 case Greeks punish main parties, risk euro exit With 96% of vote in, main Greek parties fail to win majority Mexico presidential debate puts Pena Nieto in rivals' sights Short honeymoon for Hollande after French election win Serb Socialists hold key to power after tied election Factbox: Highlights of French Hollande's programme Angry Greeks reject bailout, risk euro exit Greece's young leftist Tsipras delivers political earthquake Greek far-right leader savors electoral success Merkel invites Hollande for early talks Victorious French left reclaims the Bastille Netanyahu seeks September Israel election Obama congratulates Hollande on France election win Serbian right tied for power with liberals Sarkozy indicates stepping back from politics Putin to be sworn in as president of divided Russia Biden 'absolutely comfortable' with gay marriage For "Mr. Normal" Hollande, it's bye-bye to bling Socialist Hollande ousts Sarkozy as French leader Poll shows left winning French parliament vote in June Suspected U.S. drone kills two Yemeni al Qaeda men U.S. prosecutors say ready for long haul in 9/11 case Armenian president's party set to keep power - exit poll Russian police battle anti-Putin protesters Greek Socialist leader calls for pro-bailout unity government Merkel's party may lose power in northern German state Job disability a headache for recovery Heavy fighting rocks eastern Syria ahead of poll For "Mr. Normal" Hollande it's bye-bye bling bling Sarkozy's sparkle fades in re-election bid Factbox: French presidential run-offs usually tight Socialists celebrate as French vote nears close Turkey's Erdogan says victory near for Syrian rebels Mexico presidential debate puts Pena Nieto in rivals' sights Egypt extends curfew in Cairo district for 3rd night Swiss bank Pictet gave data to U.S. in tax probe Taliban stronger than before U.S. troop surge: lawmakers Bashir says wants warm relations with South Sudanese Greece's pro-bailout parties take a beating: exit poll U.S. prosecutors say ready for long haul in 9/11 case Sun,6 May 2012 07:22 PM PDT Reuters - GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Prosecutors and defense attorneys for five defendants in the September 11 attacks dug in on Sunday for a long legal battle that one lawyer said may never be resolved. The military tribunal is not expected to start for almost another year and if Saturday's 13-hour arraignment was an accurate preview, the trial will be chaotic and drawn out with continuing disputes about torture and whether a military trial is appropriate. The defendants on Saturday refused to enter pleas and demanded a full reading of the charges against them. ... Full Story Top Greeks punish main parties, risk euro exit Sun,6 May 2012 07:15 PM PDT Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greeks angry at years of austerity shrugged off the risk of a euro zone exit and punished their ruling parties, which failed to win enough votes to form a ruling coalition in Sunday's election. With about 95 percent of the vote counted, conservative New Democracy and Socialist PASOK, who have dominated Greece for decades and are the only two major parties supporting an EU/IMF bailout program that keeps Greece afloat, won less than 33 percent of ballots and only 150 out of 300 parliament seats. ... Full Story Top With 96% of vote in, main Greek parties fail to win majority Sun,6 May 2012 07:13 PM PDT Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's conservative New Democracy party and Socialist rival PASOK failed to win a majority in parliament, results of 96 percent of the vote in Sunday's election showed. The results showed the two pro-bailout parties, mauled by angry voters, won only 150 out of 300 seats in parliament. New Democracy party was leading with about 19 percent of the vote. The socialist PASOK party was in third place, trailing the anti-bailout Left Coalition party. PartyNDLEFT C.PASOKI.GreeksKKEGolden Dawn Dem. Left % 19.0516.67 13.30 10.55 8.44 6.95 6. ... Full Story Top Mexico presidential debate puts Pena Nieto in rivals' sights Sun,6 May 2012 07:05 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential hopefuls square off in a televised debate on Sunday with the trailing candidates seeking to land heavy blows against hot favorite Enrique Pena Nieto to spoil his chances of victory in the July 1 election. Polls show Pena Nieto, of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), is heading for a comfortable victory, and could capture as many votes as his two main rivals combined. ... Full Story Top Short honeymoon for Hollande after French election win Sun,6 May 2012 06:54 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - A victorious Francois Hollande faces a short honeymoon after his election as France's first left-wing president in 17 years, with financial markets eager for clear signals on his policies and how hard he plans to push back against German-led austerity. The moderate Socialist beat conservative Nicolas Sarkozy with 51.7 percent of Sunday's runoff vote after a bruising campaign dominated by the same anger over economic crisis that has felled 10 other European leaders since late 2009. ... Full Story Top Serb Socialists hold key to power after tied election Sun,6 May 2012 05:43 PM PDT Reuters - BELGRADE (Reuters) - The Socialist Party of late strongman Slobodan Milosevic held the key to power in Serbia on Monday after tied elections in which voters angry about the country's economic woes roundly punished the ruling Democratic Party. The Democrats, part of a reformist bloc that turned Serbia westwards with Milosevic's ouster in 2000, saw their support crumble to 23 percent from 38 percent in 2008, hurt by an economic downturn that has left a quarter of the Serbian workforce jobless. ... Full Story Top Factbox: Highlights of French Hollande's programme Sun,6 May 2012 05:03 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Following are selected highlights from French President-elect Francois Hollande's policy program. * Hollande opposes an economic policy based only on austerity and has promised to renegotiate the European fiscal compact to include provisions on jobs and growth; * Although he has pledged to balance public finances by the end of 2017, Hollande has also said he will adapt that target if growth is weak and will not sacrifice France's interests to meet it. ... Full Story Top Angry Greeks reject bailout, risk euro exit Sun,6 May 2012 04:42 PM PDT Reuters - Greek voters enraged by economic hardship caused by the terms of an international bailout turned on ruling parties in an election on Sunday, putting the country's future in the euro zone at risk and threatening to revive Europe's debt crisis. The latest official results, with over 61 percent of the vote counted, showed the only two major parties supporting an EU/IMF program that keeps Greece from bankruptcy would be hard pressed to form a lasting coalition. ... Full Story Top Greece's young leftist Tsipras delivers political earthquake Sun,6 May 2012 04:42 PM PDT Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's youngest political leader Alexis Tsipras was the big beneficiary of Sunday's national election as austerity-fatigued voters catapulted his Left Coalition party towards second place. Tsipras, 37, benefited from a stinging electoral rejection of conservative New Democracy and socialist PASOK, the two parties that dominated Greek politics since the fall of the junta in 1974. Opinion polls indicated that his party had a good chance of coming third in the race but overtaking PASOK delivered the political earthquake Tsipras was hoping for. ... Full Story Top Greek far-right leader savors electoral success Sun,6 May 2012 04:42 PM PDT Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's extreme-right Golden Dawn party savored unprecedented success in Sunday's general election by promising to rid Greece of illegal immigrants, branding journalists "liars" and warning all "traitors" to run scared. Little more than an obscure fringe group barely a year ago, the party is set to blow past estimates and enter parliament for the first time with as much as 8 percent of the vote. ... Full Story Top Merkel invites Hollande for early talks Sun,6 May 2012 04:30 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel invited French President-elect Francois Hollande to visit Berlin as soon he can for a first meeting that will set the groundwork for a consensus on growth policies vital to the euro zone's future health. The centre-right chancellor, who joined other European leaders in congratulating the Socialist Hollande for his election victory over conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, said she was sure the two would work closely together. ... Full Story Top Victorious French left reclaims the Bastille Sun,6 May 2012 04:28 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Giddy revellers thronged Paris's Bastille square on Sunday as Socialist Francois Hollande swept to a presidential election victory, erupting into cheers and rejoicing not seen since the party's only other elected president won power 31 years ago. Tens of thousands of Hollande supporters gave a huge cry of joy as a giant screen showed him as victor, echoing the spontaneous street party in the same historic venue that followed Francois Mitterrand's 1981 election. ... Full Story Top Netanyahu seeks September Israel election Sun,6 May 2012 04:28 PM PDT Reuters - TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said he supported holding an early general election in four months' time, a ballot polls say could strengthen his hand as Israel confronts Iran's nuclear ambitions. The next national vote was not due until October 2013, but new legislation that might force ultra-Orthodox Jews to serve in the military and an upcoming budget debate have threatened to unravel a governing coalition of religious and nationalist parties once seen as one of the most stable in Israel's history. ... Full Story Top Obama congratulates Hollande on France election win Sun,6 May 2012 04:09 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama congratulated Francois Hollande on his victory on Sunday in the French presidential election and invited him to the White House this month. Obama phoned Hollande and "indicated that he looks forward to working closely" with him and his government on a "range of shared economic and security challenges," the White House said in a statement. Obama noted that he will welcome Hollande to the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland for the G-8 Summit and to Chicago for the NATO Summit. Both events are this month. ... Full Story Top Serbian right tied for power with liberals Sun,6 May 2012 04:05 PM PDT Reuters - BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia's ruling liberals and right-wing opposition were tied for control of the Balkan country on Sunday after knife-edge elections in which the party of late Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic emerged as kingmaker. The opposition Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), led by former ultranationalist allies of Milosevic, claimed the narrowest of victories in the parliamentary election over the ruling Democratic Party, playing to voter anger over economic stagnation. The SNS said it would open coalition talks without delay. ... Full Story Top Sarkozy indicates stepping back from politics Sun,6 May 2012 03:35 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy indicated on Sunday he would step down from political leadership after accepting responsibility for his defeat by Socialist Francois Hollande. During his campaign, he had promised to quit politics if he became only the second French president to lose a bid for re-election. Conceding defeat on Sunday, he said: "I am not a man to shirk responsibilities. When there is a defeat, it is the Number 1 who accepts the consequences. "I accept all the responsibility for this defeat," he added. "My role cannot be the same again. ... Full Story Top Putin to be sworn in as president of divided Russia Sun,6 May 2012 03:16 PM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin will be sworn in as Russia's president at a glittering ceremony on Monday, hours after clashes between police and protesters laid bare the deep divisions over his return to the Kremlin for six more years. The former KGB spy will take his oath before nearly 2,000 guests in the Kremlin's St Andrew Hall, the former throne room with sparkling chandeliers, gilded pillars and high Gothic vaults, before being blessed by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and taking charge of the nuclear suitcase. ... Full Story Top Biden 'absolutely comfortable' with gay marriage Sun,6 May 2012 03:10 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday he was "absolutely comfortable" with allowing same-sex couples to marry, staking out a position on a hot-button social issue that appeared to differ from that of his boss, President Barack Obama. In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Biden was pressed on whether the Obama administration would seek to legalize gay marriage in a second White House term. He said he personally was open to the change. "The president sets the policy. ... Full Story Top For "Mr. Normal" Hollande, it's bye-bye to bling Sun,6 May 2012 02:57 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Francois Hollande, the man who plans to be France's "Mr Normal" president, has stopped going to work by scooter but told voters he will still take the train and do the family shopping as head of state - at least, he jokes, "if the fridge is empty". As soon as he ended his 15-minute victory speech on Sunday, he was whisked away under police escort, underlining the limits to "normality" that security will impose. But the declaration of intent was part of the strategy that swept him to power. ... Full Story Top Socialist Hollande ousts Sarkozy as French leader Sun,6 May 2012 02:54 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Socialist Francois Hollande swept to victory in France's presidential election on Sunday in a swing to the left at the heart of Europe and promised to start a pushback against German-led austerity policies. Hollande led conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy by 51.3 percent to 48.7 percent with 83 percent of votes counted, the Interior Ministry said, bringing the centre-left back to government in Paris after a decade in opposition. "Europe is watching us," the president-elect said in a victory speech in his constituency of Tulle in central France. ... Full Story Top Poll shows left winning French parliament vote in June Sun,6 May 2012 02:14 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - The first opinion poll for France's parliamentary election in June, conducted as France elected Socialist Francois Hollande as president in Sunday's runoff vote, put the left far in the lead with 44 percent of the vote. The survey by Ifop gave the centre-right, grouping the UMP conservative party with centrist allies, 32 percent and the far-right National Front 18 percent, level with the score its leader Marine Le Pen won in April's first-round presidential vote. The left's tally grouped the Socialist Party with far-left parties and Greens. ... Full Story Top Suspected U.S. drone kills two Yemeni al Qaeda men Sun,6 May 2012 01:37 PM PDT Reuters - ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - Two Yemeni members of al Qaeda were killed by a missile strike on their car on Sunday, in what residents and the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia group described as a U.S. drone attack. The Yemeni government called the attack an air strike. Washington and Yemen do not acknowledge U.S. drone attacks on militants in the country, which have taken place regularly for years. Yemen's branch of al Qaeda has plotted abortive overseas attacks and is a major concern for Washington, which is waging an assassination campaign against suspected members using drone and missile strikes. ... Full Story Top U.S. prosecutors say ready for long haul in 9/11 case Sun,6 May 2012 01:09 PM PDT Reuters - GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors and defense attorneys for five defendants in the September 11 attacks dug in on Sunday for a long legal battle that one lawyer said may never be resolved. The military tribunal is not expected to start for almost another year and if Saturday's 13-hour arraignment was an accurate preview, the trial will be chaotic and drawn out with continuing disputes about torture and whether a military trial is appropriate. The defendants on Saturday refused to enter pleas and demanded a full reading of the charges against them. ... Full Story Top Armenian president's party set to keep power - exit poll Sun,6 May 2012 12:49 PM PDT Reuters - YEREVAN (Reuters) - President Serzh Sarksyan's Republican Party will keep its grip on power after a parliamentary election in Armenia on Sunday, final results of an exit poll showed after voting ended in the South Caucasus country. The exit poll released by Gallup International Association put the party on course to win more than 43 percent of the votes in an election that passed off without any of the violence that marred the last national poll in 2008. ... Full Story Top Russian police battle anti-Putin protesters Sun,6 May 2012 12:09 PM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian riot police beat protesters about the head with batons and detained more than 400 on Sunday after clashes broke out at a Moscow rally by thousands of people against Vladimir Putin on the eve of his return to the presidency. Opposition leaders Alexei Navalny, Boris Nemtsov and Sergei Udaltsov were among those detained during violence that showed the depth of divisions and tensions in Russia as the former KGB spy starts his six-year third term on Monday. ... Full Story Top Greek Socialist leader calls for pro-bailout unity government Sun,6 May 2012 12:05 PM PDT Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos called for a national unity government of all pro-bailout parties, but warned that forming such a coalition would be difficult. In his first public comments since polls closed in Sunday's election, Venizelos said his PASOK party had paid the price for handling the country's sovereign debt crisis. "For us in PASOK this day is extremely painful," he said. "We knew the price would be big but we decided to pay it. We embittered people to protect the nation's future. "The possibility of a national unity government must be explored. ... Full Story Top Merkel's party may lose power in northern German state Sun,6 May 2012 11:59 AM PDT Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives were in danger of being ousted from power in another German state on Sunday after the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) said they wanted to form a three-way coalition with two smaller centre-left parties. The Christian Democrats' (CDU) vote fell to 31 percent, their worst result in the state since 1950, but they were still just the largest party in the rural region between the Baltic and North Seas, a projection by Germany's ARD TV network showed. The SPD, which won 29. ... Full Story Top Job disability a headache for recovery Sun,6 May 2012 11:51 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Monica Soltes was excited 10 years ago to leave Merrill Lynch and start her own business as an independent financial planner in San Diego. After she fell off a porch at her cousin's cottage and broke her elbow, her dreams unraveled. Following multiple surgeries that confined her to bed, Soltes was diagnosed with a hormonal disease that is weakening her bones. She also ran out of money, signed up for disability benefits and has been unable to work again. The 47-year-old from Michigan is among the 8.7 million American workers on the U.S. ... Full Story Top Heavy fighting rocks eastern Syria ahead of poll Sun,6 May 2012 11:35 AM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Fighting between rebels and President Bashar al-Assad's forces erupted in an oil producing province in eastern Syria, residents and activists said on Sunday, the eve of a parliamentary election the authorities say shows reforms are under way. Rebels armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked tank positions in the east of the provincial capital Deir al-Zor, in response to an army offensive against towns and villages in the tribal area bordering Iraq that has killed tens of people and stopped others reaching supplies and medical care, they said. ... Full Story Top For "Mr. Normal" Hollande it's bye-bye bling bling Sun,6 May 2012 10:56 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Francois Hollande, the man who wants to be France's "Mr Normal" president, has stopped going to work by scooter but tells voters he will still take the train and do the family shopping once elected - at least, he jokes, "if the fridge is empty". The 57-year-old Socialist has spent more than a year on the campaign trail, building his stature as a statesman, finetuning his tax-and-spend manifesto, and promising to do away with the brash style that earned Nicolas Sarkozy the nickname "president bling bling". ... Full Story Top Sarkozy's sparkle fades in re-election bid Sun,6 May 2012 10:55 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Nicolas Sarkozy's vigor at the podium, his man-of-the-people way of speaking and his impassioned promises of a break with a stagnant past in France swept him to the presidency in 2007. Yet his popularity ratings slid so fast and so far, as many found him brash and too chummy with the rich once in power, that his frenetic re-election campaign and his promise to govern differently have fallen flat. ... Full Story Top Factbox: French presidential run-offs usually tight Sun,6 May 2012 10:45 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Second-round votes in French presidential elections of the past half century have generally been closely fought, except in a couple of atypical polls pitting two rightist candidates against one another. Opinion polls published last week showed Socialist challenger Francois Hollande winning an average of 53 percent of the votes against conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in Sunday's election. A narrower margin of victory could reduce Hollande's authority to pursue his program of balancing budget austerity with growth-boosting measures. ... Full Story Top Socialists celebrate as French vote nears close Sun,6 May 2012 10:39 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France looked set to crown Francois Hollande as its first Socialist president in nearly two decades in an election on Sunday, marking a swing to the left at the heart of Europe and heralding a fight-back against German-led austerity. Conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, swamped by anger at a surge in unemployment during his five-year term, would be the 11th euro zone leader to be swept away by economic crisis after final opinion polls put Hollande at least four points ahead. ... Full Story Top Turkey's Erdogan says victory near for Syrian rebels Sun,6 May 2012 09:55 AM PDT Reuters - KILIS, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told Syrian refugees on Sunday that victory for the rebels was not far off and that President Bashar al-Assad was "losing blood" by the day. Erdogan, who has tried to rally international support against the government in neighboring Syria for its 14-month crackdown against opponents, was met with enthusiastic applause and shouts of "Long live Erodgan" at the Kilis refugee camp. "Bashar is losing blood every day," Erdogan told the crowd of about 1,500 people less than a kilometer from the border. "Your victory is not far. ... Full Story Top Mexico presidential debate puts Pena Nieto in rivals' sights Sun,6 May 2012 09:52 AM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential hopefuls square off in a televised debate on Sunday with the trailing candidates seeking to land heavy blows against hot favorite Enrique Pena Nieto to spoil his chances of victory in the July 1 election. Polls show Pena Nieto, of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), is heading for a comfortable victory, and could capture as many votes as his two main rivals combined. ... Full Story Top Egypt extends curfew in Cairo district for 3rd night Sun,6 May 2012 09:22 AM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt extended an overnight curfew around the Defence Ministry on Sunday to deter a repeat of Friday's deadly violence, less than three weeks before a presidential vote. A soldier died and almost 400 people were wounded in Friday's clashes, the second time in a week that protests over the army's handling of Egypt's troubled transition from army rule to civilian government have turned violent. The military re-imposed the curfew in the Abbasiya district around the Defence Ministry for the third straight day, the state news agency quoted a military source as saying. ... Full Story Top Swiss bank Pictet gave data to U.S. in tax probe Sun,6 May 2012 09:18 AM PDT Reuters - ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss bank Pictet said on Sunday it handed over bank account details to U.S. authorities probing cases of tax evasion, as a newspaper reported it had accepted funds from two former UBS clients suspected of having cheated on taxes. Pictet said in a statement the data handover took place in November 2010 via the Swiss tax office, which had received a request for assistance from its U.S. counterparts. ... Full Story Top Taliban stronger than before U.S. troop surge: lawmakers Sun,6 May 2012 09:06 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Taliban is stronger now than before President Barack Obama ordered a surge of troops to Afghanistan, two senior U.S. lawmakers said on Sunday, contradicting the administration's assessment of the insurgency. "I think we both say that what we found is the Taliban is stronger," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein told "Fox News Sunday" in an interview that included House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who agreed with her statement. The two lawmakers returned last week from a trip to Afghanistan. ... Full Story Top Bashir says wants warm relations with South Sudanese Sun,6 May 2012 09:03 AM PDT Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Sunday he would not allow conflict with South Sudan to overshadow "strategic relations" with its people, striking a less confrontational tone over a crisis that has raised fears of war. After South Sudan seized the contested Heglig oilfield last month, Bashir vowed to free the South's citizens from the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement whom he called "insects". ... Full Story Top Greece's pro-bailout parties take a beating: exit poll Sun,6 May 2012 09:02 AM PDT Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's conservative New Democracy and Socialist PASOK parties risked falling short of the 151-seat majority needed to form a coalition government after Sunday's general election, an exit poll from Kapa Research showed. The poll for Reuters and To Vima newspaper showed New Democracy taking 16-19 percent of the vote, well below projections of up to 25 percent last month, while PASOK took 15-18 percent. The anti-bailout Left Coalition party was set to challenge PASOK for second place with 15-18 percent of the vote. ... Full Story Top

You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.