Yahoo! News: Politics News

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• Rivals stress differences and bipartisanship hopes
• Obama leads but Romney with shot in electoral race
• A look at the most competitive states in the race
• Bloomberg says voting to be big challenge in storm-struck NYC
• France could cut labour charges for some sectors: minister
• Some 143,000 New Yorkers get different post-storm voting sites: mayor
• Housing crisis looms as US storm victims battle cold
• Bomb shakes Damascus as opposition begins unity talks
• Israel announces plans to boost Iron Dome missile interceptor
• Foreign banks hope China's new leaders will loosen up regulators
• Fighting rages at Damascus Palestinian camp, 20 killed
• South Africa police block opposition from Zuma's home
• Analysis: Romney is likely to break "day-one" China currency pledge
• North Korea's economic dreams are, well ... dreams
• Government seeks apartments, hotels for Sandy evacuees
• In China, political ambition comes at a monumental cost
• Gunmen wound Egyptian UNICEF worker in Karachi
• Final days of Obama campaign steeped in nostalgia
• Netanyahu skeptical of Abbas hint of no return for refugees
• Romney: 'It's possible' Obama could win
• Massive housing relief needed after Sandy as cold sets in
• Somalia picks cabinet, balances old guard with newcomers
• Kuwaiti security forces teargas opposition-led protest
• New Jersey Governor pledges to vote Romney despite plug for Obama
• As 2012 campaign nears finish, 2016 lurks
• Syrian opposition begins talks to broaden, unify ranks
• Obama, Romney in tight races in four pivotal states
• Romney pledges bipartisanship in final push
• Politics call the tune in U.S, China and Europe
• Obama, Romney in sprint to unpredictable campaign finish

Rivals stress differences and bipartisanship hopes Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:37 PM PST Two days from judgment by the voters, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney raced across competitive battleground states on Sunday, stressing differences on the economy, health care and more while professing a willingness to work across party lines to end gridlock in Washington.

Obama leads but Romney with shot in electoral race Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:04 AM PST President Barack Obama enters the final hours of the 2012 presidential campaign with an edge in the hunt for the 270 electoral votes needed to win and more ways to reach that magic number.

A look at the most competitive states in the race Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:51 AM PST A look at the race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. With two days left in the campaign, Obama appears closer to the goal, but Republican Mitt Romney has closed on the Democrat and pulled narrowly ahead in some battleground state polling.

Bloomberg says voting to be big challenge in storm-struck NYC Posted: 04 Nov 2012 02:08 PM PST (Reuters) - As many as 143,000 New York City voters will have to find new places to vote other than their regular polling locations on Tuesday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Sunday, declaring that local elections officials are having "real problems" coping with disruptions caused by superstorm Sandy. The New York Board of Elections has been scrambling to find alternate sites for balloting with only two days remaining before the presidential election. ...

France could cut labour charges for some sectors: minister Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:59 PM PST PARIS (Reuters) - The French government could propose cutting labour charges for selected sectors and companies as part of its plan to kickstart competitiveness, the junior minister for small and medium-sized business said on Sunday. In an interview with TV channel France 5, Fleur Pellerin said small-to-medium enterprises will play an important role in a government plan due to be outlined on Tuesday, the day after the publication of a government-commissioned report by industrialist Louis Gallois on how to improve competitiveness. ...

Some 143,000 New Yorkers get different post-storm voting sites: mayor Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:47 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some 143,000 New York City voters will be reassigned to different polling sites for Tuesday's U.S. presidential election in the wake of superstorm Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Sunday. The Board of Elections informed him of the plan, Bloomberg told a press conference on the recovery from Sandy. "Over the next day it's going to be critical that the Board of Elections communicate this to their poll workers," he said. ...

Housing crisis looms as US storm victims battle cold Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:35 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A housing crisis loomed in New York City as victims of superstorm Sandy struggled on Sunday without heat in near-freezing temperatures, and officials fretted displaced residents would not be able to vote in Tuesday's presidential election. Fuel shortages and power outages lingered nearly a week after one of the worst storms in U.S. history flooded homes in coastal neighborhoods, leaving many without heat and in need of shelter in New York and New Jersey. ...

Bomb shakes Damascus as opposition begins unity talks Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:31 PM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - A bomb exploded near army and security compounds in Damascus on Sunday, Syrian television said, and fractured opposition groups seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad began unity talks abroad to win international respect and arms supplies. The 50-kilogram (110-pound) bomb, near a large hotel in a heavily guarded district, was described by state media as an attack by "terrorists" - the government's term for insurgents in the 19-month-old uprising against Assad. ...

Israel announces plans to boost Iron Dome missile interceptor Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:29 PM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel announced plans on Sunday to boost its Iron Dome missile interceptor system, citing successful tests of the largely U.S.-funded system conducted in light of what it called "a variety of unprecedented threats". A Defence Ministry statement said a fifth battery of the rockets used so far to fend off salvoes fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, would be added to the system "within a short time" following successful tests of an upgrade. ...

Foreign banks hope China's new leaders will loosen up regulators Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:19 PM PST SHANGHAI (Reuters) - For all the hopes that China's forthcoming leadership change will herald a new wave of market reforms, foreign bankers don't expect to get the level playing field they crave any time soon. Trends are positive, but progress can be frustratingly slow. "My outlook is basically optimistic, particularly in the medium term. The near term is always always uncertain," Christian Murck, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China and independent director of J.P. Morgan Chase (China) Ltd, told Reuters. ...

Fighting rages at Damascus Palestinian camp, 20 killed Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:18 PM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - The Syrian army shelled rebel positions inside a Palestinian refugee camp on the edge of Damascus on Sunday killing at least 20 people, opposition campaigners said. The Yarmouk camp, adjacent to the capital's southern entrance, has become the latest battle ground between forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad and rebels fighting to end the president's rule. "Yarmouk is a dense area and shelling it always results in a human catastrophe. ...

South Africa police block opposition from Zuma's home Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:17 PM PST JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African police prevented the country's main opposition leader from using a public road leading to President Jacob Zuma's house in his home village on Sunday, citing safety concerns. South African media have reported the government plans to spend some 250 million rand ($28.61 million) on President Jacob Zuma's home village, angering the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) which had wanted to deliver letters from school children who lack textbooks, to illustrate where money should be spent. ...

Analysis: Romney is likely to break "day-one" China currency pledge Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:07 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney would lack the legal power to label China a currency manipulator on his first day in office should he win Tuesday's election, offering him a way out of what experts say is the weakest claim on the issue for years. The authority to make the formal accusation lies with the U.S. Treasury Secretary, which could be a face-saving remedy former U.S. officials say Romney might need after he repeatedly said he would declare China a currency manipulator, as part of his campaign to suggest President Barack Obama had been soft on the country. ...

North Korea's economic dreams are, well ... dreams Posted: 04 Nov 2012 01:04 PM PST DANDONG, China (Reuters) - A lonely farmer and his ox-cart are the only sign of activity on a dusty island meant to be an industrial hub that will raise North Korea's wrecked economy. Despite talk of reform by the secretive state after the third generation of the Kim family dynasty took over nearly a year ago, about all that seems to be growing is the gap between the tiny population of rich and the already malnourished poor. And while the government is hoping to lure in foreign investment, more often the money, and tens of thousands of workers, are heading out of the impoverished North. ...

Government seeks apartments, hotels for Sandy evacuees Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:57 PM PST (Reuters) - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Sunday federal agencies are looking for apartments and hotel rooms for people displaced by superstorm Sandy. "Our goal is to try to get people out of the shelters," Napolitano said at a news conference in New Jersey with Governor Chris Christie. Earlier in the day, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg estimated the city needs temporary housing for as many as 40,000 city residents. ...

In China, political ambition comes at a monumental cost Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:51 PM PST TIANJIN, China (Reuters) - Dong Zizhou casts his fishing net from the shore and fixes his gaze on a stand of 15 unfinished skyscrapers rising like concrete skeletons beside the Hai River, heralding China's ambition to develop the world's largest financial centre. The towers in Tianjin's Yujiapu Financial District, and two dozen others on the opposite side of the river, are monuments to the transformation of this once-rundown northern city of 13 million into the country's fastest growing region last year. ...

Gunmen wound Egyptian UNICEF worker in Karachi Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:42 PM PST KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Gunmen wounded an Egyptian working for the United Nations Children's Fund when they fired on his vehicle in Pakistan's largest city on Sunday, police said. The motive for the attack was not entirely clear, but police said it may have been a robbery gone wrong. The shooting followed an attack in July when two men working on the World Health Organization's polio campaign were wounded. Taliban fighters oppose the campaign and many religious leaders say it is a Western conspiracy to spy on or sterilize Muslims. On Sunday three international U.N. ...

Final days of Obama campaign steeped in nostalgia Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:35 PM PST Tuesday's election results may be uncertain, but President Barack Obama and the tight circle of advisers who have surrounded him for years know one thing for sure.

Netanyahu skeptical of Abbas hint of no return for refugees Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:27 PM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced skepticism on Sunday over an apparent concession from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on a major sticking point in any future peace negotiations. Comments by Abbas on Thursday that he had no permanent claim on the town of Safed, from which he was driven during a 1948 war, were widely seen as hinting he was dropping a demand for a right of return of Palestinian refugees to homes now in Israel. ...

Romney: 'It's possible' Obama could win Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:21 PM PST Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney says he may be defeated by President Barack Obama in Tuesday's presidential contest, but it's doubtful.

Massive housing relief needed after Sandy as cold sets in Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:18 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - With freezing temperatures forecast, tens of thousands of people hit by superstorm Sandy need temporary housing, New York officials said on Sunday, but it was not immediately clear where they could all be sheltered. The number of homes and businesses without power has fallen to 1.9 million from a peak of 8.5 million since Sandy slammed the U.S. East Coast on Monday, authorities said early Sunday. But nearly 1 million people in New Jersey and almost 730,000 in New York state are still without power, authorities said. ...

Somalia picks cabinet, balances old guard with newcomers Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:16 PM PST MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia unveiled a new cabinet on Sunday, keeping a delicate balance among rival clans as it tries to shake off years of conflict that still plagues the country despite a recent push against al-Qaeda-linked militants. The formation of the government is the culmination of a regionally brokered, U.N.-backed effort to restore central control and end close to two decades of fighting that has killed tens of thousands of people. ...

Kuwaiti security forces teargas opposition-led protest Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:07 PM PST KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaiti security forces fired tear gas to disperse an unauthorized demonstration on Sunday by thousands of opposition supporters against new voting rules for parliamentary elections on December 1. OPEC member and U.S. ally Kuwait has so far avoided the mass pro-democracy unrest that has toppled rulers in four other Arab countries since last year, but tension has mounted this year in a long-running power struggle between parliament and the government which is dominated by the ruling Al-Sabah family. ...

New Jersey Governor pledges to vote Romney despite plug for Obama Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:05 PM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie defended his praise for President Barack Obama's support after superstorm Sandy, but said he would stick with his Republican ticket and vote for Mitt Romney in this Tuesday's election. "The fact of the matter is what New Jerseyans expect from their governor is to work for them, not to work for any particular political party," Christie told Israel's Channel 2 television in an interview broadcast on Sunday. ...

As 2012 campaign nears finish, 2016 lurks Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:54 AM PST Relieved to see the long, costly 2012 presidential race end? The 2016 campaign is closer than you think.

Syrian opposition begins talks to broaden, unify ranks Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:51 AM PST DOHA (Reuters) - Syria's splintered opposition factions began talks in Qatar on Sunday on forging a common front for their war against the army of President Bashar al-Assad, but analysts were sceptical that the meeting would bring immediate results. It was the first concerted attempt to meld opposition groups based abroad and align them with rebels fighting in Syria, to help end a 19-month-old conflict that has killed more than 32,000 people and devastated swathes of the major Arab country. The war threatens to widen into a regional sectarian conflagration. ...

Obama, Romney in tight races in four pivotal states Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:44 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney remained essentially tied in four swing states seen as determining the winner of the White House race in Tuesday's election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday. The Democratic incumbent and former Massachusetts governor are both spending the weekend in final swings through the few states they hope will help them win on Tuesday. In possibly the single most crucial swing state of Ohio, Obama broadened his slim lead among likely voters to 48 percent compared to Romney's 44 percent. ...

Romney pledges bipartisanship in final push Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:16 AM PST Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney crisscrossed the nation on Sunday renewing his pledge to bring a fresh spirit of cooperation to Washington.

Politics call the tune in U.S, China and Europe Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:03 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - In the politically packed days ahead, an election, a coronation and a two-part parliamentary vote each has the potential to alter the course of the global economy for years to come. The election, of course, is on Tuesday for the White House and Congress. Two days later, China's ruling Communist party begins the 18th congress in its history. Barring one of the biggest political surprises in modern times, the carefully choreographed gathering will culminate a week later in the crowning of Xi Jinping as successor to Hu Jintao. He will hold the reins of power for the next ...

Obama, Romney in sprint to unpredictable campaign finish Posted: 04 Nov 2012 11:02 AM PST CONCORD, New Hampshire (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney sprinted to an unpredictable finish in the last 48 hours of a very close race for the White House on Sunday, trying to turn out supporters and woo undecided voters in a handful of toss-up states. Obama and Romney began cross-country trips on the next-to-last day of a race that polls show is deadlocked nationally, although the president appeared to have a slight edge in the swing states that will decide who captures the 270 electoral votes needed to win on Tuesday. ...

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