Political news

• Top tech executives to attend Trump summit on Wednesday: Recode

  11-12-2016 23:26
  Top executives from Alphabet Inc, Apple Inc and Facebook Inc are among a small group of tech leaders invited to a summit to be held on Wednesday by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Recode reported, citing sources. Executives from Microsoft Corp, Intel Corp and Oracle Corp will also be among "a very heady group of less than a dozen, comprising most of the key players in the sector" to attend the summit, Recode said.
  
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• Trump says reports Russia helped him in U.S. election are 'ridiculous'

  11-12-2016 23:24
  By Doina Chiacu and Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump rejected as "ridiculous" U.S. intelligence reports that Russia intervened in the presidential election on his behalf through targeted hacking, putting him at odds with top lawmakers who vowed to investigate the findings. "I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it," Trump said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday." Trump's reluctance to blame Russia for interfering
  
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• Monte dei Paschi to press ahead with last-ditch private capital increase

  11-12-2016 23:20
  By Elisa Anzolin and Silvia Aloisi MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's third biggest lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena said on Sunday it would press ahead with a last-ditch plan to raise 5 billion euros on the market by year-end after the European Central Bank refused to give it more time to recapitalise. The decision by the ECB's supervisory board piles pressure on the Italian government to inject money into the bank but the Tuscan lender on Friday said it would carry on with its own private sector scheme
  
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• Syrian rebels get proposal to quit Aleppo, jihadists retake Palmyra

  11-12-2016 23:04
  By Laila Bassam and Tom Perry ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have received a U.S.-backed proposal to leave Aleppo along with civilians under safe passage guaranteed by Russia, rebel officials said as government forces closed in on Sunday, but Moscow denied a deal had been reached. Three officials with insurgent groups in Aleppo told Reuters that a letter outlining the proposal had been received, offering an "honourable" departure for the rebels to a place of their choice.
  
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• Democrat to try solving Chicago gun violence with sentencing

  11-12-2016 23:02
  
  The refrain is heard almost as often as the fatal gunshots: The way to reduce Chicago's gun violence is tougher prison sentences for repeat gun offenders, keeping them off the streets and decreasing the ...
  
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• Boris Johnson: 'UK and Saudi Arabia have candour'

  11-12-2016 23:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Speaking at a news conference in Riyadh, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said there is "candour" in the UK's relationship with Saudi Arabia.
  
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• Inflation-hit Venezuela to pull largest bill from circulation

  11-12-2016 22:13
  By Girish Gupta CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela, mired in an economic crisis and facing the world's highest inflation, will pull its largest bill, worth two U.S. cents on the black market, from circulation this week ahead of introducing new higher-value notes, President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday. The surprise move, announced by Maduro during an hours-long speech, is likely to worsen a cash crunch in Venezuela. Maduro said the 100-bolivar bill will be taken out of circulation on Wednesday and V
  
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• Moderate leftist enters French Socialist primaries

  11-12-2016 22:06
  Former French education minister Vincent Peillon on Sunday joined a crowded field of candidates in the ruling Socialist party's primaries to select a candidate to run in next year's presidential election. Peillon, a member of the European Parliament who has stayed away from French politics since resigning as education minister, said he wants to bring unity to the divided socialist party. "The primaries are a machine to produce unity ... I want to be the candidate who brings everyone together," P
  
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• Italy's Monte dei Paschi to press ahead with private rescue plan-source

  11-12-2016 22:01
  MILAN (Reuters) - Ailing Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena will press ahead with a last-ditch 5-billion euro privately-funded rescue plan after the European Central Bank refused to give it more time to raise the money, a source close to the matter said. The source said the 11th-hour plan involved reopening a debt to equity swap offer to retail investors and a private placement of shares in the lender on the market. (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi)
  
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• German left-leaning parties meet to explore coalition option

  11-12-2016 21:56
  By Paul Carrel BERLIN (Reuters) - German lawmakers from the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and two smaller parties met on Sunday to explore the possibility of forming a coalition government to replace Chancellor Angela Merkel next year. The SPD, environmentalist Greens and leftist Linke party already have more seats in parliament than Merkel's conservative bloc but divisions at federal level - especially on foreign policy - have prevented them from forming a national government. Merkel curre
  
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• Romania's leftist PSD says to start government talk with ALDE

  11-12-2016 21:55
  Romania's leftist Social Democrat Party (PSD) will start talks to form a parliamentary majority with its long-time ally, ALDE, its leader Liviu Dragnea said on Sunday. "In the coming days, PSD and ALDE will begin discussions in order to form a new majority in parliament ... Today's vote clearly indicates Romanians' choice for a future government," Dragnea said in a statement in English. Exit polls showed the PSD winning some 46 percent of votes in a parliamentary election on Sunday, and ALDE gar
  
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• Costa fires Chelsea back to the top, United beat Spurs

  11-12-2016 21:47
  By Alan Baldwin LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea striker Diego Costa's class shone through as he fired them back to the top of the Premier League on Sunday with a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion as the previous day's goal glut turned into a trickle. The Spain international's fine second-half strike at Stamford Bridge toppled a defensive West Bromwich Albion side and restored the Blues' three-point advantage over Arsenal as they chalked up their ninth league victory in a row. The Gunners had taken pr
  
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• Bilic hopes Liverpool draw can be a Hammer boost

  11-12-2016 21:45
  (Reuters) - West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic hoped his side's 2-2 Premier League draw at Liverpool on Sunday would serve as a springboard for success in the hard games ahead. The precious point lifted the Hammers out of the relegation zone, one point clear of Swansea City and Hull City, but the Croat knows there is a long way to go to secure safety. "When you lose 5-1 at home and go to Anfield and concede early your confidence drops," Bilic told Sky Sports.
  
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• Southampton striker Austin out for up to four months

  11-12-2016 21:44
  Southampton striker Charlie Austin is set to have an operation on a dislocated shoulder and will be sidelined for up to four months, manager Claude Puel said on Sunday. Austin, Southampton's top scorer this season with nine goals in all competitions, missed Sunday's 1-0 Premier League win over Middlesbrough after being injured in Thursday's 1-1 Europa League draw with Hapoel Beer-Sheva. "He needs surgery and will be perhaps between three months and four months [out]," Puel told reporters.
  
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• How to let Christmas be Christmas

  11-12-2016 21:43
  In his latest book about Christmas, Canadian historian Gerry Bowler claims the holiday is “the biggest single event on the planet.” Even in many non-Christian nations, such as Japan, the secular aspects of Christmas – gifts, family time, lights, not to mention Santa Claus – are popular. Amid all the debates over how Christmas is celebrated – e.g. Christmas is primarily an event to offer quiet praise for a spiritual dawn.
  
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• Netanyahu says he hopes to work with Trump to undo Iran deal

  11-12-2016 21:41
  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he believes U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will be a good friend to Israel and hopes the two countries can work together to dismantle the international nuclear agreement with Iran.
  
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• Kosovo, Montenegro premiers meet in neighboring Albania

  11-12-2016 21:06
  Officials say the prime ministers of Kosovo and Montenegro have met for talks on bilateral and regional issues. A statement said Kosovo Premier Isa Mustafa and recently-elected Montenegrin counterpart ...
  
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• Boris Johnson urged to promote human rights after Saudi Arabia gaffe

  11-12-2016 21:02
  
  Foreign secretary, who accused UK ally of regional ‘puppeteering’ before highlighting ‘friendship’, told not to go easy for fear of causing offence
  Boris Johnson is facing calls from fellow Conservatives not to brush aside human rights concerns after he used a visit to Saudi Arabia to stress the country’s links with the UK, with both countries playing down his criticism of Riyadh’s regional “puppeteering”.The British foreign secretary used a joint
  
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• Klopp refuses to blame Liverpool keeper Karius

  11-12-2016 21:01
  Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp refused to criticise Loris Karius for failing to keep out West Ham United's opening goal by Dimitri Payet as the home team were held to a 2-2 draw at Anfield on Sunday. One week after Karius gifted Bournemouth their winner in a 4-3 victory on the south coast, the German keeper palmed the ball weakly into the net despite getting across goal to meet Payet's 27th-minute free kick. "The second goal (by Michail Antonio) was unlucky.
  
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• Rescuers save 1,164 migrants in Mediterranean, find six bodies

  11-12-2016 20:59
  Rescuers plucked 1,164 people from rubber and wooden boats in the Mediterranean under heavy thunderstorms on Sunday and recovered six dead bodies during the operations, relief services said. Italian coastguard and naval ships, a vessel from the European Union's anti-smuggling mission and private aid groups rescued the people from seven boats in the central Mediterranean. Doctors Without Borders (MSF), one of the humanitarian groups that took part in Sunday's rescues, wrote about the stormy weath
  
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• IMF's Lagarde says confident ahead of hearing in Tapie case

  11-12-2016 20:47
  International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Sunday she was confident that she had done nothing wrong ahead of a court hearing about payments to a businessman when she was French finance minister. Lagarde is set to stand trial on Monday over her role in a 400 million euro ($428 million) payout to Bernard Tapie in 2008 when she was finance minister in President Nicolas Sarkozy's government. Lagarde said she was confident and determined, and denied that she have favoured
  
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• Exclusive - Syrian rebels get proposal to quit Aleppo, jihadists retake Palmyra

  11-12-2016 20:32
  By Laila Bassam and Tom Perry ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have received a U.S.-backed proposal to leave Aleppo along with civilians under safe passage guaranteed by Russia, rebel officials said as government forces closed in on Sunday, but Moscow denied a deal had been reached. Three officials with insurgent groups in Aleppo told Reuters that a letter outlining the proposal had been received, offering an "honourable" departure for the rebels to a place of their choice.
  
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• Donald Trump Rejects Daily Intelligence Briefing Because He's 'Smart'

  11-12-2016 20:31
  
  President-elect Donald Trump has rejected a daily intelligence briefing, saying he is “smart” enough not to be told “the same words every single day”.
  The Republican’s comments in an interview on ‘Fox News Sunday’ represent an unprecedented rejection of the US’s massive and sophisticated intelligence apparatus. He says he will only get the briefing when he needs it.
  Trump also called a recent CIA assessment of Russian hacking “ridiculou
  
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• Antonio hails West Ham's big 'show of character'

  11-12-2016 20:29
  Struggling West Ham United put on a "massive show of character" to come away from Anfield with a 2-2 draw against high-scoring Liverpool on Sunday, according to forward Michail Antonio. The point lifted the Hammers out of the relegation zone to fourth from bottom, a point ahead of Swansea City and Hull City. "We showed we have determination and grit and what happened in the past doesn't affect us," said Antonio who scored just before halftime to put the visitors 2-1 up.
  
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• Murdoch plays long game with bid for Sky

  11-12-2016 20:25
  21st Century Fox confident that £11bn approach will not be derailed this time
  
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• Klopp may have to act after Liverpool blow it again

  11-12-2016 20:20
  By Neil Robinson LONDON (Reuters) - For all Juergen Klopp's repeated insistence that Liverpool's defence is not a problem this season, the evidence suggests otherwise. For the second Sunday running Liverpool failed to take three points from a Premier League game they should have won after dominating possession and taking the lead. Although their combustion was not quite as spectacular as at Bournemouth last week, when they lost 4-3 after leading 2-0 and 3-1, the two goals they conceded in the fi
  
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• Exit polls show Romania's leftists winning parliamentary vote

  11-12-2016 20:12
  BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's leftist Social Democrat Party (PSD) won Sunday's parliamentary election with 45.5-45.8 percent of votes, two exit polls showed on Sunday. The centre-right National Liberal Party (PNL) was trailing the leftists with 20.7-21.0 percent, polls conducted by CURS-Avangarde and IRES showed. New Save Romania Union party garnered 8.0-9.2 percent of the vote, the polls showed. (Reporting by Radu Marinas and Luiza Ilie)
  
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• Russia says no agreement with U.S. on safe exit for Aleppo rebels - RIA

  11-12-2016 20:11
  Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Sunday that Moscow had not reached an agreement with the United States for rebel fighters in Syria's Aleppo to have safe passage out of the city, RIA news agency reported. "What western agencies are reporting does not necessarily correspond with reality," Ryabkov said, adding that Russia was working to create the necessary conditions for the safe extraction of people from Aleppo. This agreement has not yet been reached, largely because the U
  
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• The Latest: Israel vows to work with Trump to undo Iran deal

  11-12-2016 20:08
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• We are teaching children the wrong type of maths

  11-12-2016 20:05
  The magic is in optimising process, computer and human, writes Joanna Perkins
  
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• May excludes Morgan over ‘leather trousers’ remark

  11-12-2016 19:56
  Prime minister to meet ‘awkward squad’ pro-EU Conservatives
  
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• French growth can't be boosted by budget spending - cenbank governor Villeroy

  11-12-2016 19:50
  By Geert De Clercq PARIS (Reuters) - French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Sunday the country's economic growth cannot be boosted by increasing state spending and the budget deficit. Large budget deficits in France and Italy have not made these countries European champions of economic growth, Villeroy said in an interview with French financial daily Les Echos. Candidates from the left and the right in presidential elections set for April-May 2017 have outlined major sp
  
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• Juventus snatch win in Turin derby with Higuain brace

  11-12-2016 19:49
  Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain again showed his killer instinct with two expertly-taken goals in a late 3-1 win at Torino after their less illustrious neighbours had scored first and dominated the Serie A game on Sunday. Substitute Miralem Pjanic scored the third goal as the Italian champions opened up a seven-point lead over AS Roma and AC Milan, who clash in the capital on Monday. Napoli's Dries Mertens scored a hat-trick to lead the revitalised team to a 5-0 rout at leaky Cagliari, while bo
  
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• Origi spares Liverpool blushes against West Ham

  11-12-2016 19:46
  Liverpool took the lead but then had to come from behind in a game of thrills and spills as Juergen Klopp's men drew 2-2 with West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday. Anfield's delight at the returning Adam Lallana's clever opener on five minutes turned to despair when they fell apart spectacularly before the break. Defender Joel Matip then stumbled to allow a looping pass over his head for the on-running Michail Antonio to slot the ball beyond the stranded Karius in the 39th minute.
  
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• Trump rejects intel, lawmakers vow probe of Russia hacking

  11-12-2016 19:43
  
  President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday called a recent CIA assessment of Russian hacking "ridiculous" and says he's not interested in getting daily intelligence briefings — an unprecedented rejection ...
  
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• Iran seals $17 billion Boeing deal, close to Airbus order

  11-12-2016 19:41
  By Tim Hepher and Sami Aboudi PARIS/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran signed a $16.6 billion deal for 80 Boeing passenger jets on Sunday and was said to be close to another for dozens of Airbus planes to complete what would be the biggest package of firm contracts with Western companies since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. The deal between IranAir and U.S. planemaker Boeing includes 50 narrow-body 737 MAX aircraft and 30 long-haul 777s, split equally between the 777-300ER, which is badly in need of an ord
  
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• Iran close to Airbus deal, to get first jets in 2017 - official

  11-12-2016 19:40
  Iran is close to finalising a deal to buy dozens of passenger jets from Europe's Airbus, having signed a $16.6 billion deal with Boeing earlier on Sunday, an Iranian official told Reuters. The two deals follow an intense final flurry of negotiations between Iran and Western planemakers in an effort to formalise provisional contracts announced earlier this year, which face mounting political criticism in both Washington and Tehran. Boeing said earlier it had reached an agreement to sell 80 aircra
  
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• Trump derides reports Russia helped him in U.S. election

  11-12-2016 19:20
  By Doina Chiacu and Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump rejected as "ridiculous" reported U.S. intelligence findings that Russia intervened in the presidential election on his behalf through targeted hacking, according to an interview broadcast on Sunday. "I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it," Trump said in the interview with "Fox News Sunday." The Republican president-elect's comments casting doubt on reported
  
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• More than 100 killed in church collapse in Nigeria - journalist, resident

  11-12-2016 19:10
  By Tife Owolabi UYO, Nigeria (Reuters) - At least 100 people were killed by the collapse of a church in southeastern Nigeria, a resident and photojournalist who visited a morgue said on Sunday, but officials put the death toll at just 27. "At Uyo teaching hospital where I am now I could see over a hundred corpses, many are heaped on top off each other on the floor," said photojournalist Ini Samuel. "Eye witnesses also said yesterday corpses were packed in four each bag." Gary Ubong, a resident,
  
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• US says 2,000 IS fighters killed, gravely wounded in Mosul

  11-12-2016 19:05
  
  QAYARA AIR BASE, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition forces have killed or gravely wounded more than 2,000 Islamic State fighters in the battle for Mosul since October, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said Sunday.
  
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• Exclusive: U.S. and Russia propose safe exit for Aleppo rebels - opposition officials

  11-12-2016 18:58
  The United States and Russia on Sunday tabled a proposal to rebels in Aleppo that would offer safe passage from the city for fighters, their families and other civilians, three opposition officials with Aleppo rebel groups told Reuters. The rebel groups in Aleppo have yet to respond to the proposal, the officials said. The proposal promised rebel fighters a "secure" and "honourable" withdrawal from the city, they said.
  
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• Kyrgyzstan amends constitution in referendum, boosting government powers

  11-12-2016 18:55
  Kyrgyzstan has voted in favour of constitutional changes boosting the power of its government, the Central Election Commission said on Sunday, citing preliminary results of a national referendum. The commission said that with most ballots counted in the Central Asian nation of six million, about 80 percent of voters had supported the package of constitutional amendments proposed by allies of President Almazbek Atambayev. The amendments include provisions granting more powers to the prime ministe
  
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• Monte dei Paschi scrambles to thrash out last-ditch private capital increase

  11-12-2016 18:35
  By Elisa Anzolin MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's third biggest lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena was scrambling on Sunday to thrash out a last-ditch plan to raise 5 billion euros on the market by year-end after the European Central Bank refused to give it more time to recapitalise. The decision by the ECB's supervisory board piles pressure on the Italian government to inject money into the bank but the Tuscan lender on Friday said it would carry on with its own private sector scheme, despite signs of s
  
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• Italy hurries to form new government as banking crisis looms

  11-12-2016 18:34
  By Isla Binnie and Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - Italian President Sergio Mattarella asked Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Sunday to try to form a new government, giving him a mandate to lead Italy out of a political crisis caused by the resignation of Matteo Renzi. Gentiloni, a former journalist and Renzi loyalist, is set to be Italy's fifth prime minister in as many years and the fourth in a row to take office without winning a national election. The soft-spoken 62-year-old immediately
  
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• French growth can't be boosted by budget spending - central bank governor in Les Echos

  11-12-2016 18:32
  French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Sunday that the country's economic growth cannot be boosted by increasing state spending and the budget deficit. Large budget deficits in France and Italy have not made these countries European champions of economic growth, Villeroy said in an interview with French financial daily Les Echos. Several candidates from the left and the right in presidential elections set for April-May 2017 have outlined major spending programmes to kic
  
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• The Latest: Trump hints he's still undecided about Tillerson

  11-12-2016 18:30
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):
  
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• IMF chief Lagarde faces negligence trial in France

  11-12-2016 18:24
  
  PARIS (AP) — Christine Lagarde is taking time off her day job solving the world's financial crises to face trial Monday, accused of negligence after the French state handed $425 million to a tycoon close to the president in 2008.
  
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• Mkhitaryan on target as Man United sink Spurs

  11-12-2016 18:19
  (Reuters) - MANCHESTER UNITED 1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0 Henrikh Mkhitaryan's first Premier League goal earned Jose Mourinho's Manchester United a much-needed 1-0 victory over high-flying Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Sunday. The Armenian, who was carried off on a stretcher with 10 minutes remaining after a heavy tackle by Danny Rose left him clutching his ankle, blasted home on 29 minutes after Ander Herrera intercepted a sloppy Harry Kane pass in midfield.
  
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• Costa cracker fires Chelsea back on top on low-scoring day

  11-12-2016 18:17
  By Alan Baldwin LONDON (Reuters) - Saturday's Premier League goal glut turned into a trickle on Sunday but Diego Costa's class still shone through as he fired Chelsea to a ninth win in a row and back to the top of the table. The Spain international's fine second-half strike at Stamford Bridge secured a 1-0 victory over a defensive West Bromwich Albion that restored the Blues' three-point advantage over Arsenal. The Gunners had taken the overnight lead on goals scored after coming from behind to
  
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• Exclusive - U.S. and Russia propose safe exit for Aleppo fighters: opposition officials

  11-12-2016 18:10
  The United States and Russia on Sunday tabled a proposal to rebels in Aleppo that would offer safe passage from the city for fighters, their families and other civilians, three opposition officials with Aleppo rebel groups told Reuters. The rebel groups in Aleppo have yet to respond to the proposal, the officials said. It would require fighters from the jihadist group formerly known as Nusra Front to head to the northwestern province of Idlib, but allow fighters from other groups to go to other
  
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