General news

• Smart meters to cut energy bills by just £11, say MPs

  20-07-2018 22:53 via bbc.co.uk
  MPs say smart meters will not deliver expected savings, while the roll-out programme will fail to meet its deadline
  
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• Mortgage misery: The homeowners facing repossession

  20-07-2018 22:52 via bbc.co.uk
  Excessive lending before the Financial Crisis has left many homeowners at risk of having their homes repossessed
  
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• 'We are not afraid' Why are Nicaraguans protesting? – video explainer

  20-07-2018 22:37 via theguardian.com
  Hundreds of people have died and thousands more injured in Nicaragua since April as government forces clash with demonstrators are calling for democracy and the resignation of Daniel Ortega. Protests were initially led by students but now a larger coalition of business owners, farmers and others are resisting the government of the deprived Central American countryNicaragua: what's driving the uprising and what comes next?Continue reading...
  
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• Stranded bride gets police car lift to wedding in Bibury

  20-07-2018 20:13 via bbc.co.uk
  The kind-hearted coppers were asked by the bridesmaids if they were strippers.
  
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• Novichok victim Charlie Rowley leaves hospital

  20-07-2018 19:49 via bbc.co.uk
  Novichok victim Charlie Rowley has been discharged from hospital after being poisoned on 30 June.
  
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• Belfast barber offers haircuts to Liverpool dementia patients

  20-07-2018 19:32 via bbc.co.uk
  A barber from Belfast has travelled to a care home in Liverpool to offer haircuts to people with dementia.
  
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• Reality Check: What would a 'no deal' Brexit look like?

  20-07-2018 19:19 via bbc.co.uk
  Both the UK and EU are becoming increasingly vocal about the need to prepare for no Brexit deal.
  
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• UK weather: Driest start to summer on modern record

  20-07-2018 19:10 via bbc.co.uk
  A build-up of high pressure has led to drier conditions than in previous UK scorchers in 1976 and 2013.
  
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• Custody for 'Columbine' plot boys

  20-07-2018 19:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Thomas Wyllie and Alex Bolland "hero-worshipped" the Columbine shooters and had a hit-list of targets.
  
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• Nottingham beach rice and peas dish 'insulting'

  20-07-2018 19:02 via bbc.co.uk
  A variation of the Caribbean food served at a beach attraction is condemned as an "embarrassment".
  
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• Three Lions sets another chart record

  20-07-2018 18:44 via bbc.co.uk
  The football anthem sets a new record for the fastest fall from number one - by an astonishing degree.
  
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• The Open 2018: second round – live!

  20-07-2018 18:39 via theguardian.com
  Live updates from the second day at CarnoustieOfficial live leaderboardFeel free to email Scott Murray with your thoughts 5.39pm BST Kisner drops and bumps his fourth shot to the right-hand edge of the green. The shoulder of the bunker sends the ball to the left, so he’s on the dancefloor but facing a 20-footer for his bogey. Meanwhile back on 10, Fowler dunks his approach into a bunker and can’t get up and down: it’s back-to-back bogeys, and whatever his partner Rahm’s b
  
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• The Guardian view on cybersecurity: trust – but verify | Editorial

  20-07-2018 18:29 via theguardian.com
  The use of Chinese-made equipment in Britain’s broadband infrastructure demands, and gets, careful scrutinyHow far can we trust Chinese companies to supply our critical national infrastructure? The question was raised by the Hinkley Point power station, but is even more pressing in the telecoms business. Broadband internet is now as critical a part of the infrastructure as the road or rail network. So the question seems to answer itself. Many countries are extremely reluctant to allow two
  
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• House of Fraser landlords take action over store closures

  20-07-2018 18:26 via theguardian.com
  Property owners file legal complaint, claiming insolvency process treats them unfairlyHouse of Fraser is facing a legal challenge from a group of landlords over a plan to close more than half its stores by next spring.The landlords, who filed a complaint via the court of session in Edinburgh on Friday, say that they were “unfairly prejudiced” during an insolvency process known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that was approved by a majority of creditors, including landlords,
  
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• Manchester City investigate if newly jailed sex abuser had links to club

  20-07-2018 18:25 via theguardian.com
  • William Toner jailed on Friday for indecent assault
  • Toner claimed he scouted for City’s junior systemManchester City’s independent inquiry into the Barry Bennell scandal is investigating claims that another sex offender, jailed on Friday for four counts of indecent assault against a teenage boy in the 1990s, had connections to the club.William Toner, 74, was jailed for three years and two months after a trial heard he preyed on a junior footballer after claiming to work
  
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• Greece in 10 audiobooks: a listener's literary guide

  20-07-2018 18:25 via theguardian.com
  Myths, magic and mandolins feature in these stories about one of Europe’s oldest and grandest culturesIf you’re planning a summer vacation to Greece, the good news is it’s hard to get it wrong. From the stunning coastlines of Crete, to the lively festivals of Thessaloniki and the sacred sites of Delphi, the country combines beautiful landscapes with rich mythology and literature.Continue reading...
  
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• Michel Barnier dismisses Theresa May's Brexit white paper demands

  20-07-2018 18:19 via theguardian.com
  EU’s Brexit negotiator raises concerns over smuggling, red tape and putting European companies at a competitive disadvantageThe EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has forensically picked apart Theresa May’s white paper after a meeting of the 27 member states, warning that the prime minister had failed to offer Brussels a firm basis for the negotiations.In reflection of widespread concern about the stability of May’s premiership, Barnier insisted he would be pol
  
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• Michel Barnier questions Theresa May's Brexit White Paper

  20-07-2018 18:14 via bbc.co.uk
  EU's negotiator says UK plan for a future trade relationship runs risk of weakening single market.
  
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• Michael Cohen recorded Trump discussing payment to Playboy model – report

  20-07-2018 18:13 via theguardian.com
  New York Times reports tape seized by FBI in raidTrump lawyer Rudy Giuliani confirms recording existsDonald Trump was secretly recorded two months before the 2016 election discussing a potential payoff to a former Playboy model who claimed she had an affair with him, it was reported on Friday. Related: Do Republicans disapprove of Trump's meeting with Putin? 'They couldn't care less'Continue reading...
  
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• Climate campaigners lose high court battle over carbon target

  20-07-2018 18:10 via theguardian.com
  Charity had argued the government was in breach of international obligations under the Paris agreementEnvironmental campaigners have lost their high court challenge against the government over its policy for tackling climate change.The charity Plan B Earth brought legal action against the government’s stance on the 2050 carbon target, set out under the Climate Change Act 2008. Continue reading...
  
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• Ex-teacher at London private school charged with sexual offences

  20-07-2018 18:07 via theguardian.com
  Ken Zetie taught at St Paul’s boys’ school in Barnes, which George Osborne attendedA former teacher at a private school attended by the former chancellor George Osborne has been charged with sexual offences.Ken Zetie, 51, who taught for 17 years at St Paul’s School for boys in Barnes, south-west London, will appear at East Berkshire magistrates court in Slough on Tuesday. Continue reading...
  
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• Home Office: 'Child spies used against crime when necessary'

  20-07-2018 18:00 via bbc.co.uk
  The government wants to increase the amount of time under-18s can be used undercover.
  
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• Dustin Johnson fights his own game until Carnoustie lands knockout blow | Kevin Mitchell

  20-07-2018 17:58 via theguardian.com
  World No 1 cut his power but still struggled for precision and a double bogey at 18 leaves him almost certain to miss Open cutIt is usually all or nothing for Dustin Johnson. After an opening day when Carnoustie intimidated a few, seduced others and encouraged the usual suspects, the nervous dance towards the cut on a Friday that brought rain, wind and more frustration to the 147th Open proved too much for the No 1 player in the world.It is odd to see such a magnificent athlete with all the
  
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• Westminster knife attacker Khalid Ali jailed for 40 years

  20-07-2018 17:57 via theguardian.com
  Al-Qaida bomb-maker who plotted attack on MPs and police gets three life sentencesAn al-Qaida bomb-maker who plotted a knife attack on MPs and police outside the Houses of Parliament has been handed three life sentences with a minimum term of 40 years.Khalid Ali, 28, had three knives when he was arrested by armed police in Parliament Square in April 2017 following surveillance by counter-terrorism police. Continue reading...
  
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• Peter Sagan sprints to victory on stage 13 as Prudhomme calls for calm

  20-07-2018 17:47 via theguardian.com
  • Slovakian holds off Kristoff on the line in Valence
  • No change among the challengers for the yellow jerseyChristian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, appealed for calm after tensions increased following Thursday’s chaotic climb of Alpe d’Huez in which Chris Froome was jostled and spat at, and his rival and former Tour champion, Vincenzo Nibali, was forced out of the race after crashing because of a spectator.“We need to restore calm and respect all the
  
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• Caldey Island victim: 'It should be given over to the National Trust'

  20-07-2018 17:47 via theguardian.com
  A victim of Thaddeus Kotik returns to Caldey after 35 years and is haunted by memories of abuse In the bright sunshine, the monastic island of Caldey looked a picture. Visitors, young and old, hopped off the day trippers’ boats and milled around the abbey, the perfumery, the chocolate factory and lighthouse, occasionally catching faraway glimpses of the Cistercian monks who live, work and worship there. For Mark, a retired public servant in his 60s, however, this was no holiday visit. Mark
  
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• 'Putin for dinner, Weinstein for movie night': late-night hosts on Trump-Russia

  20-07-2018 17:33 via theguardian.com
  Comics, including Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah, discussed Russian attempts to infiltrate the US and another disastrous week for TrumpLate-night hosts discussed relations between the US and Russia following the fallout over Donald Trump’s much-criticized press conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Related: Samantha Bee: 'Republican leaders are every bit as compromised as Trump'Continue reading...
  
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• Revealed: Tory donors who paid £7m to socialise with Theresa May

  20-07-2018 17:31 via theguardian.com
  Jacob Rees-Mogg’s business partner, Brexit backers and wife of Putin minister among benefactorsJacob Rees-Mogg’s business partner, a string of Brexit backers and the wife of a former senior minister to President Putin are among the Conservative donors who have paid more than £7m to socialise with Theresa May since the general election.Eighty-one party benefactors have paid a total of £7.4m to the Conservative party for access to the prime minister at dinners, post-prime m
  
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• Toblerone to revert to original shape but with bigger size and price

  20-07-2018 17:05 via theguardian.com
  Poundland will be forced to drop the chocolate bar as it will weigh 200g and cost £3Toblerone is reverting to its traditional shape after an outcry over a move to widen the gaps between the triangles - and push though a huge price rise at the same time.The 150g bar was reduced from 170g in 2016 as a way to keep prices steady at about £1 a bar. The gappy new version was likened to a bicycle rack.Continue reading...
  
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• KSI v Logan Paul: YouTubers trash talk ahead of world wide web title fight

  20-07-2018 17:03 via theguardian.com
  The pair have been verbally sparring for months – soon they will face off at Manchester ArenaYork Hall, in London’s Bethnal Green, is one of Britain’s oldest boxing venues. Opened in the 1920s, it still hosts professional bouts in front of audiences of 1,200 people.But in its near-century, the venue has never seen anything like the event that took place on Wednesday, when more than 1,000 teenagers queued to watch two of YouTube’s biggest stars – and rivals – t
  
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• Newcastle transfer impasse goes on as Benítez and Ashley play waiting game | Louise Taylor

  20-07-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  The manager wants to sign players, the owner is holding back the cash – it’s a familiar tale at St James’ Park yet the stubbornness of both could see them last another seasonIt is never too early for a crisis at Newcastle United. Sure enough, tensions are already rising alarmingly as Rafael Benítez enters the final year of his contract against a backdrop of acute transfer market parsimony on the part of the owner, Mike Ashley. Meanwhile the club’s interne
  
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• Ibis that was extinct in wild taught to migrate by following aircraft

  20-07-2018 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Birds bred in captivity led on three-week migration south from Germany by human ‘foster parents’Leaning out of an ultralight aircraft, Corinna Esterer turns toward a flock of peculiar black birds soaring just a few metres away. “Come, come ibis,” she yells through her megaphone. Drawn by Esterer’s voice, the birds dart to the aircraft, and follow it to a field overlooking Lake Constance in southern Germany. Once on the ground, the ibis flock to Esterer. To the birds
  
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• Two boys given 10 and 12 years for Columbine-style plot in Yorkshire

  20-07-2018 16:50 via theguardian.com
  Custodial sentences given to Alex Bolland and Thomas Wyllie who planned school attackTwo 15-year-old boys have been given custodial sentences of more than a decade for planning a Columbine-style massacre at their Yorkshire school.After representations from the media the judge agreed to name the two defendants, Thomas Wyllie, sentenced to 12 years, and Alex Bolland, who got 10 years. Continue reading...
  
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• Novichok poisonings: police search Salisbury park visited by couple

  20-07-2018 16:42 via theguardian.com
  Dawn Sturgess and partner visited Queen Elizabeth Gardens day before they fell illPolice investigating the Wiltshire nerve agent poisonings that left one woman dead and four seriously ill are searching a city centre park.A fingertip search in Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury, which Dawn Sturgess visited before she fell fatally ill, started on Wednesday.Continue reading...
  
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• Eight injured in attack on bus in Germany

  20-07-2018 16:39 via theguardian.com
  Police say suspect held after incident in northern city of LübeckEight people have been injured in an attack on a bus in the northern German city of Lübeck, police have said, adding that a suspect had been arrested.Police spokesman said the incident took place on Friday in the city’s Kuecknitz district. Authorities were still trying to determine the circumstances of the attack, he added. Continue reading...
  
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• There is no honour in ‘honour killings’, only male shame | Naz Shah

  20-07-2018 16:32 via theguardian.com
  The global scale of gendered violence, FGM or forced marriage is staggering. The Honour Her campaign deserves your supportSaturday 14 July marked the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Honour Based Violence, a day established to commemorate the birthday of Bradford-born Shafilea Ahmed, murdered by her parents in a so-called honour killing in 2003. It took nine years to bring her killers to justice. And today marks the second anniversary of the brutal rape and murder of my constituent
  
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• Breaking vote pairs has dire consequences, says Michael Heseltine

  20-07-2018 16:30 via theguardian.com
  Peer voices concern as PM insists breach of Commons convention was honest mistakeBreaking House of Commons voting conventions has “appalling consequences for the management of government”, Michael Heseltine has warned, as Theresa May continued to insist this week’s breach of pairing rules was an honest mistake.Lord Heseltine, who was a cabinet minister when John Major’s government was defeated over the Maastricht treaty, said he was deeply concerned at the idea of May pus
  
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• Record number of anti-Muslim attacks reported in UK last year

  20-07-2018 16:23 via theguardian.com
  Report by monitor group Tell Mama finds women are being disproportionately targetedA record number of anti-Muslim attacks and incidents of abuse were reported last year, with women disproportionately targeted by mostly male teenage perpetrators, the monitoring group Tell Mama has said.In its annual report, the group noted a surge in Islamophobic attacks, with 1,201 verified reports submitted in 2017, a rise of 26% on the year before and the highest number since it began recording incidents. Cont
  
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• Libya rejects EU plan for refugee and migrant centres

  20-07-2018 16:23 via theguardian.com
  Blow to Italy as Tripoli snubs proposal to set up processing centres in Africa Libya has rejected a EU plan to establish refugee and migrant processing centres in the country, adding that it would not be swayed by any financial inducements to change its decision.The formal rejection by the Libyan prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj, is a blow to Italy, which is regarded as being close to his Tripoli administration. Continue reading...
  
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• Community venues breathe life into the UK's left behind areas

  20-07-2018 16:13 via theguardian.com
  From Wanstead to Ramsgate, entrepreneurial locals are setting up shops, cafes and barsIn 2013, as the craft ale craze took off, TV producer Dan Clapton decided to try selling bottled beer on a stall at the Sunday market in the east London suburb of Wanstead. To his surprise he sold out and soon he was looking for premises.Rents on Wanstead high street were too high so Clapton opted for a railway arch in Forest Gate, Wanstead’s less well-heeled neighbour. Continue reading...
  
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• Macron security officer in custody and will be fired over violent video

  20-07-2018 16:09 via theguardian.com
  Alexandre Benalla, part of French president’s inner circle, faces charges of violence and impersonating police officerEmmanuel Macron faces the biggest crisis of his presidency over the growing scandal of one of his closest security officials who was filmed being allowed by police to violently assault a young man and woman at the edge of a Paris demonstration while illegally dressed as an officer.
  Alexandre Benalla, a member of Macron’s close circle, was taken into police custody on
  
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• Facebook's pledge to eliminate false information is itself fake news | Judd Legum

  20-07-2018 16:05 via theguardian.com
  Zuckerberg is trying to have it both ways: claiming credit for fighting fake news but insisting that false information be distributed on FacebookThe production values are high and the message is compelling. In an 11-minute mini-documentary, Facebook acknowledges its mistakes and pledges to “fight against misinformation”.“With connecting people, particularly at our scale, comes an immense amount of responsibility,” an unidentified Facebook executive in the film solemnly te
  
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• Ex-UKIP councillor jailed for £46k theft from pensioner

  20-07-2018 16:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Stephanie Todd siphoned off widower Philip Wall's money after befriending him in the street.
  
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• Sorry to Bother You: why Boots Riley’s surreal race allegory is this year’s Get Out

  20-07-2018 16:00 via theguardian.com
  A rip-roaring tale of code-switching and capitalism, it’s the most significant state-of-the-nation satire since Jordan Peele’s masterpiece Boots Riley: how the outspoken musician is taking on Hollywood Early on in Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, wet-behind-the-ears telemarketer Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) is smarting from yet another person hanging up on him. His co-worker Langston (Danny Glover) gives him a much-needed tip: success in this game requires him to ditch h
  
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• How can we help my violent young granddaughter?

  20-07-2018 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Give her time and space to try to begin to explain what’s wrong, says Annalisa BarbieriI am in an awful situation and at a loss as to what to do. My 59-year-old husband is in a nursing home with a terminal condition. I have a 19-year-old who has just left home (I gave her an ultimatum because of repeated bad behaviour), and my 27-year-old daughter and nine-year-old granddaughter live with me. Until a few months ago, my older daughter had only dated; she didn’t introduce my granddaugh
  
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• 'Forces of darkness have taken over': Soubry accuses May of capitulating to hardline Brexiters

  20-07-2018 15:56 via theguardian.com
  Former Conservative minister says Jacob Rees-Mogg’s faction is ‘now running Theresa’The Conservative rebel Anna Soubry has accused Theresa May of capitulating to “the forces of darkness” in her party and warned that, as a result, she and her fellow soft Brexiters may not back the final deal the prime minister obtains from Brussels.The former minister accused Jacob Rees-Mogg’s faction of pursuing a hard Brexit that would cost “hundreds of thousands of job
  
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• Child's Gareth Southgate drawing tattooed on fan

  20-07-2018 15:44 via bbc.co.uk
  Jeff Holt said he would have the tattoo done if a primary school could raise £2,000 for charity.
  
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• Woman says thieves who ran her over knew her baby was in car

  20-07-2018 15:35 via theguardian.com
  Birmingham police hunting carjackers as Clare O’Neill, 39, recovers from ordealA woman whose four-week-old baby was taken in a carjacking has said the car thieves were fully aware her child was in the vehicle and that they deliberately ran her over as she tried to stop them.In a statement released by West Midlands police on Friday, Clare O’Neill said she was thankful her daughter was returned to her safe and well, but added: “I am still extremely shaken about what has happened
  
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• Taylor Swift to star in Tom Hooper's Cats movie

  20-07-2018 15:34 via theguardian.com
  Singer-songwriter to take first major acting role, alongside Ian McKellen, James Corden and Jennifer Hudson, in Hooper’s adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musicalTaylor Swift is to take her first lead acting role in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, directed by Tom Hooper.Swift, 28, has one significant screen credit to her name: she voiced the environmentalist Audrey in the 2012 animation The Lorax. She is expected to actually appear on screen – albeit wear
  
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• Putin proposed eastern Ukraine vote to Trump in Helsinki – report

  20-07-2018 15:33 via theguardian.com
  Russian president reportedly tells diplomats Trump is considering referendum offerVladimir Putin proposed holding a referendum in war-torn eastern Ukraine when he met Donald Trump in Helsinki this week, it has been reported.The Russian president spoke about the proposal at a behind-closed-doors meeting with ambassadors and diplomats at the foreign ministry in Moscow on Thursday, Bloomberg reported, citing two people who attended the meeting. Putin reportedly said he had agreed not to discuss the
  
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