Expedition to ‘real home of the pirates of the Caribbean’ hopes to unearth ships and treasure

Exploration of Bahamas seabed will be first time notorious New Providence hideout has been searched

The Pirates of the Caribbean is a $4.5bn swashbuckling film franchise and Blackbeard and Calico Jack Rackham are among marauding buccaneers who have captured imaginations over the centuries.

But almost nothing is known about the life and times of actual pirates.

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New Rio de Janeiro law requires public hospitals to display anti-abortion signs

Opponents view the controversial act as part of a growing trend across Brazil to further restrict abortion access

A new law has just come into force in Rio de Janeiro requiring all public hospitals and clinics run by the municipal government to display anti-abortion signs bearing messages such as: “Did you know that the unborn child is discarded as hospital waste?”

Reproductive rights activists view the act as the latest example of a growing trend across Brazil to further restrict access to abortion in a country that already has some of the world’s most restrictive laws.

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No Rock Stars, No Mercedes: A Russian Expo Shows the Cost of Divorce With the West – The New York Times

  1. No Rock Stars, No Mercedes: A Russian Expo Shows the Cost of Divorce With the West  The New York Times
  2. Vladimir Putin’s investment forum fails to attract western companies  Financial Times
  3. Russia's flagship economic forum offers scant hope of foreign investment revival  Reuters
  4. In Saint Petersburg, 'Putin's Davos' features the Kremlin elite and their allies  Le Monde.fr
  5. St. Petersburg Economic Forum 2025 Opens With ‘Multipolar’ Focus  The Moscow Times
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Finnish parliament votes to exit landmines treaty due to Russia threat – Reuters

  1. Finnish parliament votes to exit landmines treaty due to Russia threat  Reuters
  2. Finland's lawmakers vote to leave land mine treaty as Nordic country boosts defenses against Russia  AP News
  3. Finland's parliament votes to withdraw from landmine treaty due to Russia threat  Euronews.com
  4. Finland votes to withdraw from landmine treaty, citing Russian threat  The Kyiv Independent
  5. MPs approve Finland's withdrawal from Ottawa landmine treaty  Yle
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Lithuanian hunters refuse to kill bear that ambled around capital for two days

Government issued permit to shoot young female who entered Vilnius, despite only small number left in Baltic country

A young female bear caused a stir after wandering out of the forest and into the leafy suburbs of the Lithuanian capital.

For two days, the brown bear ambled through the neighbourhoods of Vilnius, trotted across highways and explored backyards – all while being chased by onlookers with smartphones and, eventually, drones.

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How a leaked phone call between a former strongman and a young leader could topple a government – CNN

  1. How a leaked phone call between a former strongman and a young leader could topple a government  CNN
  2. Thailand’s Prime Minister Faces Calls to Resign After Leak  The New York Times
  3. Thai PM Paetongtarn faces calls to quit after leaked phone call  BBC
  4. Thai prime minister's leaked phone call with Cambodia's Hun Sen sparks outrage and political turmoil  AP News
  5. Is Thailand on the Cusp of Another Coup?  Time Magazine
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Trying to Satisfy Trump, NATO Is Running Into Difficulties – The New York Times

  1. Trying to Satisfy Trump, NATO Is Running Into Difficulties  The New York Times
  2. To keep Russia out and America in, NATO must spend more  The Economist
  3. Nato summit ‘will be short and sweet’ to suit Trump’s attention span  The Times
  4. Why Europe should hijack Nato for its own purposes | Paul Taylor  The Guardian
  5. How to Make NATO More European: The Supreme Allied Commander for Europe Should Also Be From Europe  Foreign Affairs
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