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Antigua and Barbuda’s passport slips by one spot in global rankings
As we enter the new year, the latest results from the Henley Passport Index provide fascinating insights into a world characterized by extraordinary upheaval and offer a revealing look at what lies ahead. For the fifth year running, Japan crowns the Henley Passport Index, which is based on exclusive and official data from the International…
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Strong earthquake hits Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook the Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, triggering a tsunami warning that was withdrawn hours later. The quake was centered 23 kilometers (15 miles) from Port Olry and hit at a depth of 27 kilometers (17 miles), the agency said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center…
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Kevin McCarthy elected US House Speaker after 15 rounds of voting
Kevin McCarthy has been elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives after heated exchanges which almost saw fellow Republicans come to blows. It took 15 rounds of voting for McCarthy to win the job, despite his party having a majority in the chamber. It came after a dramatic pressure campaign played out live on…
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Taliban official criticises Prince Harry over Afghan killings
A senior Taliban official on Friday slammed Prince Harry after the royal disclosed he killed 25 people on military duty in Afghanistan and said it was like removing “chess pieces” from a board. In his memoir to be released next week, Harry reveals the exact number of people he killed during two tours of duty,…
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The fallacy of ‘President’ Juan Guaidó is over
By Sir Ronald Sanders (The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States of America and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto) The pretender, Juan Guaidó, is now finally gone.…
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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to fraud
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court Tuesday to charges that he cheated investors and looted customer deposits on his cryptocurrency trading platform as a judge set a tentative trial date for October. Bankman-Fried, 30, is accused of illegally diverting massive sums of customer money from FTX to make lavish real…
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Transgender woman’s scheduled execution would be US first
Unless Missouri Governor Mike Parson grants clemency, Amber McLaughlin, 49, will become the first openly transgender woman executed in the US. She is scheduled to die by injection Tuesday for killing a former girlfriend in 2003. McLaughlin’s attorney, Larry Komp, said there are no court appeals pending. The clemency request focuses on several issues, including McLaughlin’s traumatic…
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Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI body lying in state at Vatican
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI ‘s body, his head resting on a pair of crimson pillows, lay in state in St Peter’s Basilica on Monday as thousands of people filed by to pay tribute to the pontiff who shocked the world by retiring a decade ago. As daylight broke, 10 white-gloved Papal Gentlemen — lay assistants to pontiffs and…
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Pele’s funeral: Brazil legend lying in state in Santos’ stadium
Thousands of mourners have gathered to pay their respects to Brazil legend Pele who is lying in state at the ground of his former club Santos. Pele’s coffin was placed in the centre of the pitch at the Urbano Caldeira stadium in Sao Paulo, with fans filling the stands and lining the streets. The three-time…
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Grammy-winning singer Anita Pointer dies aged 74
Anita Pointer, from the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters, has died aged 74, her publicist has announced. She died surrounded by her family at her Beverley Hills home in California. Her family said they were deeply saddened by her passing. “Heaven is a more loving beautiful place with Anita there,” they said in a statement. The second…
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Barbara Walters, trailblazing U.S. journalist and creator of The View, dead at 93
Barbara Walters, the intrepid U.S. interviewer, anchor and program host who led the way as the first woman to become a TV news superstar during a network career remarkable for its duration and variety, has died. She was 93. ABC broke into its broadcast to announce Walters’s death on air Friday night. “She lived her…