Biden says he warned Trump not to ‘settle scores’ with political adversaries

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President is considering whether to grant pre-emptive presidential pardons to Liz Cheney and Anthony Fauci

Joe Biden said he told Donald Trump not to follow through on his campaign vows to pursue retribution against his political adversaries once he returns to the White House.

Talking to USA Today, Biden said he proffered the advice when he hosted Trump at the White House in November after his election victory over Kamala Harris. The president-elect did not respond directly but did not reject the suggestion, Biden said.

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Why is Donald Trump talking about annexing Greenland?

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The US president-elect has refused to rule out military force to take control. This is why it is important – and what Greenlanders think

Hours after his son Donald Trump Jr touched down in the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, on Tuesday in a Trump-branded plane, the US president-elect, Donald Trump, held a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he refused to rule out using military force to make Greenland part of the US, and threatened to impose “very high” tariffs on Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory, if it gets in his way.

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Ukraine strikes Russian air force oil depot – DW (English)

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  1. Ukraine strikes Russian air force oil depot  DW (English)
  2. Ukraine war latest: Ukraine strikes Russian oil depot, command post; Moscow bombs civilians in Zaporizhzhia  Kyiv Independent
  3. Ukraine Targets Strategic Bomber Fuel Supplies In Long-Range Strike On Russia  The War Zone
  4. State of emergency declared in Russian city after Ukraine 'drones hit oil depot for Putin's nuclear bombers'  Yahoo! Voices
  5. Ukrainian drones attack Russia’s Saratov and Engels, reportedly striking the Kristall oil depot  Meduza
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Hadi Nazari: hiker missing in Kosciuszko national park since Boxing Day found alive

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Hadi Nazari, 23, found after going missing two weeks ago, discovered two muesli bars at a hut while lost, police say

A 23-year-old hiker missing since Boxing Day in the remote Kosciuszko national park has been found alive.

Hadi Nazari stumbled into the path of a group of hikers at about 3.15pm on Wednesday, on the circuit walk near Blue Lake, police said.

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Wicked, A Complete Unknown and Shôgun lead Screen Actors Guild nominations

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This year’s SAG noms see a strong showing for music-led films while Nicole Kidman, Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie are snubbed

Music-led films Wicked and A Complete Unknown and TV shows Shôgun and The Bear lead this year’s Screen Actors Guild nominations, it was announced this morning.

Blockbuster musical Wicked heads up the film side with five nominations including for actors Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey, as well as the ensemble. It was also nominated for stunt ensemble. The film, based on the long-running Broadway hit, has made more than $680m at the global box office.

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Rapper convicted of posting ‘menacing’ video directed at Tommy Robinson

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Birmingham-based drill musician known as Twista Cheese made gun gesture in video and shouted ‘pow, pow, pow’

A rapper has been convicted of posting a “menacing” video on social media directed towards Tommy Robinson, in which he mentioned artillery and made a gun gesture while shouting “pow, pow, pow”.

Omar Abdirizak, a 31-year-old Birmingham-based rapper known as Twista Cheese, posted the minute-long TikTok video in August last year.

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Italian journalist Cecilia Sala returns home after release from prison in Iran

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Sala, who had been held since 19 December, greeted by family members and Italian PM at Rome airport

Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist who was held in solitary confinement for almost three weeks in Iran, has returned home after being freed from prison.

A plane carrying the 29-year-old landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport on Wednesday afternoon, where she was greeted by family members and politicians including the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

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UK Athletics charged with manslaughter over Paralympian’s death

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Abdullah Hayayei, 36, who represented UAE, was injured in London in July 2017 and pronounced dead at the scene

UK Athletics has been charged with corporate manslaughter over the death of a Paralympian who was hit on the head by a metal pole while preparing the London World Para Athletics Championships in 2017. Keith Davies, the head of sport for the championships, also faces charges of gross negligence manslaughter after the pole, which was attached to a throwing cage, fell on Abdullah Hayayei while he was training.

UKA and Davies have also been charged with a health and safety offence over the incident, which occurred at the Newham Leisure Centre in east London.

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City regulator vows to ease ‘burden’ on UK banks amid government pressure

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Bank of England says it is rowing back on ‘overcooked’ regulations introduced after financial crisis

The Bank of England plans to slash the “reporting burden” on UK banks and allow insurers to make riskier investments without initial approval, as it comes under government pressure to ease regulations introduced after the financial crisis.

Sam Woods, a deputy governor at the Bank who leads its regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), said the central bank had rowed back on rules that appeared to be “overcooked”, as he suggested it might have gone too far and harmed the financial sector.

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CENTCOM strikes key Houthi tunnel base under 24 hours after IDF meeting – The Jerusalem Post

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  1. CENTCOM strikes key Houthi tunnel base under 24 hours after IDF meeting  The Jerusalem Post
  2. US strikes underground Houthi weapons depots used to hit American ships  Fox News
  3. Is Trump poised to double down on Biden's Yemen failures?  Responsible Statecraft
  4. U.S. strikes Houthi targets in Yemen after American warships attacked, CENTCOM says  CBS News
  5. US says forces struck Houthi weapons stores in Yemen  VOA Asia
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Transnistria Says It Has Less Than a Month of Gas Left – The Moscow Times

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  1. Transnistria Says It Has Less Than a Month of Gas Left  The Moscow Times
  2. Zelenskiy, Moldova's Sandu discuss Ukrainian coal to ease Transdniestria energy crisis  Reuters
  3. Transdniester Gas Crisis Moldova Steps In as Russia Cuts Supply  OilPrice.com
  4. EU to pro-Russian Moldovan separatists: Just take the gas  POLITICO Europe
  5. EU blasts Russia for weaponising gas in Moldova  Al Jazeera English
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Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez denounces Elon Musk at Franco anniversary event – The Guardian

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  1. Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez denounces Elon Musk at Franco anniversary event  The Guardian
  2. France urges EU to get tough on Musk's political comments as bloc struggles for a response  Reuters
  3. Ros Atkins on...Elon Musk's political interventions  BBC.com
  4. 13 times Elon Musk meddled in politics  POLITICO Europe
  5. Trump’s de facto co-president Elon Musk raises questions across Europe  MSNBC
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New research shows a quarter of freshwater animals are threatened with extinction – The Associated Press

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  1. New research shows a quarter of freshwater animals are threatened with extinction  The Associated Press
  2. One-quarter of freshwater fauna threatened with extinction  Nature.com
  3. Nearly a quarter of the world's freshwater species are at risk of extinction: Report  ABC News
  4. Study documents extinction threats to world's freshwater species  Reuters
  5. One quarter of freshwater animals at risk of extinction - IUCN Red List  IUCN
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Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez denounces Elon Musk at Franco anniversary event

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Sánchez accuses X owner of inciting hatred as country marks 50 years since start of its return to democracy

Pedro Sánchez has hit out at Elon Musk and his allies for “openly attacking our institutions, inciting hatred and openly calling for people to support the heirs of nazism”, saying the politics of division, disinformation and hatred risk ushering in a new age of authoritarianism.

Speaking in Madrid on Wednesday as Spain prepares to mark the 50th anniversary in November of the death of General Franco and the country’s subsequent return to democracy, the Spanish prime minister said hard-won, basic freedoms could not, and should not, be taken for granted.

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