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The White House on Tuesday signaled it was preparing to reverse a U.S. policy on transgender rights, raising concern among rights advocates that Republican President Donald Trump is about to revoke a signature initiative of his predecessor. Former Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration issued guidance to public schools last May to allow transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity, a move transgender people hailed as […]

The US Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday issued sweeping new rules for border security and deportations as part of President Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on illegal immigration.  In a pair of memorandums, homeland security secretary John Kelly detailed steps “designed to stem illegal immigration and facilitate the detection, apprehension, detention and removal of aliens who have no lawful basis to enter or remain in the United States”.  Mr […]

By Lawrence Hurley | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Conservative Supreme Court justices on Tuesday voiced scepticism about extending constitutional rights to non-citizens in a case involving a 15-year-old Mexican shot dead by a U.S. agent from across the border in Texas that could have broad implications. The court’s ruling in the case argued before the eight justices could affect legal claims filed by non-U.S. citizens arising from executive actions […]

By Robin Emmott | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS U.S. President Donald Trump sent top U.S. officials to Europe with a familiar warning from Washington that allies must spend more on defence, this time with the ultimatum “or else”. But Europeans have tried to deflect the threats with the argument that a commitment to security is not just about spending targets, which diplomats said that U.S. officials did not challenge, […]

Having come under pressure to address an uptick in incidents targeting Jewish institutions across the US, President Trump denounced anti-Semitism Tuesday when during a tour of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture he said that “Anti-Semitism is horrible and it’s going to stop and it has to stop.”. Trump: Anti-Semitic incidents are “horrible and painful” https://t.co/QmRTDXgq5E — Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela) February 21, 2017 Further, the […]

Ann Ravel on Sunday fulfilled her promise to quit the Federal Election Commission by May. In doing so, Ravel — who directed her resignation letter at President Donald Trump and including unsolicited advice for new president — leaves behind an agency the outspoken Democratic commissioner says she at once considers “essential” to American democracy and as useful, in its current state, as “men’s nipples.” But Ravel tells […]

Tuesday 08:45 GMT Overview European stocks are easing back after a mixed Asia session as Wall Street looks to re-enter the fray at record levels. The dollar is stronger and Treasury yields are moving up as expectations build of tighter US monetary policy, a scenario that is hurting gold. Hot topic European government bond markets remain a focal point for investors after an opinion poll showed Marine […]

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By Drazen Jorgic | MALAM JABBA, Pakistan MALAM JABBA, Pakistan Atop the piste of Malam Jabba in Pakistan’s once dangerous Swat Valley skiers schuss downhill, a new Chinese-built chairlift ferries tourists to the peak, and a luxury hotel is under construction to replace one torched by the Taliban. The Taliban declared skiing “un-Islamic” during their 2007-2009 reign of terror over Swat, but improved security in recent years […]

Presidents Day 2017 is this Monday, Feb. 20, and many businesses and institutions are closed for the day. Schools, banks, post offices and more are not working today, but there are still plenty of businesses and services operating normally. Pictured here are the sculptured heads of the American presidents, from left to right, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, carved into Mount Rushmore, South […]

The Brazilian government is taking the first steps towards the development of a national information security policy for the public sector. According to an official note published by the Institutional Security Cabinet of the federal government on Friday (17), a working group has been created to debate the topic and the creation of standard security guidelines for governmental bodies. special feature Cyberwar and the Future of Cybersecurity […]

By Erik Kirschbaum | BERLIN BERLIN The German government has drafted a law to allow authorities to tap into the phone and computer data of asylum-seekers if there are doubts about their nationalities – an unusual move in a country where data protection is sacred. According to a draft of the bill obtained by Reuters, officials at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) will receive […]

By Stephen Kalin and Maher Chmaytelli | SOUTH OF MOSUL/BAGHDAD, Iraq SOUTH OF MOSUL/BAGHDAD, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi forces fought Islamic State fighters on Monday to clear the way to Mosul’s airport, on the second day of a ground offensive on the jihadists’ remaining stronghold in the western side of the city. Federal police and elite interior ministry units known as Rapid Response are leading the charge toward […]

20 February 2017 Dubai – The Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA) signed an agreement to adopt the e-Dirham system to enable FEWA to receive service fees electronically. The agreement aims to enhance FEWA’s efforts to facilitate the collection process for its clients which will increase customer satisfaction and strengthen its institutional work. The agreement was signed by HE Younis Haji Al […]

Newly appointed New South Wales Minister for Finance, Services and Property Victor Dominello has said he plans to bring his data-driven expertise to his new portfolio, rewarding government agencies with an “innovation bonus” if they move away from a silo-ridden approach to IT and service delivery. Speaking at the Gartner 2017 APAC Data & Analytics Summit in Sydney on Monday, Dominello said he had his eye on […]

SYDNEY Asian share markets were mixed on Monday as political uncertainty globally kept the mood cautious, while the U.S. dollar dithered in a tight range ahead of a busy week for Federal Reserve events. Turnover was light with U.S. markets closed for the Presidents Day holiday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged up 0.1 percent and back toward a 19-month peak reached last […]

New Zealand’s High Court has ruled that Kim Dotcom, the internet entrepreneur accused of masterminding one of the largest copyright infringements in history, and three accomplices can be extradited to face trial in the US.  The judgment is a victory for the US department of Justice, which has fought a near five-year legal battle to have the 43-year-old German stand trial on copyright infringement and money laundering charges […]

Monday 04:30 GMT Overview Stock markets across Asia were mostly higher though currencies struggled to make much headway in a subdued session. Hot topic The US market is closed on Monday for the President’s Day public holiday. On Friday the S&P 500 climbed 0.2 per cent to a record high, capping a week in which the FTSE All World index topped its previous record peak from May […]

Submitted by Greg Piper via The College Fix, “Affirmative consent” is a fuzzy concept even for adults, which is why one of them taught 10th graders in California that they must say “yes” every 10 minutes during sex or it becomes rape. The concept was enshrined in state law in October 2015, and since then California has remained the only state to legally require “yes means yes” […]

SINGAPORE The U.S. economy is on “sound footing,” a hawkish Federal Reserve official said on Monday in a speech that cautioned against asking the central bank to solve problems beyond its control such as low productivity growth. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, at a forum in Singapore, did not comment specifically on interest rates. However she has dissented in the past in favor of quicker rate hikes […]

By Maher Chmaytelli and Isabel Coles | BAGHDAD/SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq BAGHDAD/SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq U.S.-backed Iraqi forces on Sunday launched a ground offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from their remaining stronghold in Mosul, in the western part of the city, and put an end to their ambitions for territorial rule in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the offensive, asking Iraqi […]

Those bombings never happened, but the intent of the conspiracy, prosecutors said, was to destroy New York landmarks, kill hundreds of people and force the United States to abandon its support for Israel and Egypt. Continue reading the main story Prosecutors also asserted that Mr. Rahman was linked to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, which killed six people. In Mr. Abdel Rahman’s trial, prosecutors […]

Emerging market equity funds attracted the most money from investors in six months, as resilience in commodity prices and signs of improvement across the world’s major economies sharpened investors’ appetite. The EM funds secured $2.7bn this week, with exchange traded funds pulling in $1.8bn of the total, according to data from EPFR. Interest in EM equities was mirrored by bond investors, who handed EM debt funds $1.3bn. […]

KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of Malaysians have gathered at the heart of Kuala Lumpur to support a controversial bill that will strengthen the powers of the Shariah Court. The rally on Saturday (Feb 18), called Gathering 355 or RUU355, is organised by Islamic party PAS. Supporters dressed in purple turned up in force at Padang Merbok, a field located close to Parliament House.  They’re standing in solidarity with […]

Sign up to receive Authers’ Note daily by email here Donald Trump has been remarkably consistent in his first month in office. As he reminded everyone at his press conference on Thursday, he has done what he said he would do. But on the same day came one clear-cut instance where he has changed his mind — on the stock market. This is what he tweeted on Thursday. […]

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