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  • UK's Johnson steers clear of royal racism row after Meghan interview

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  • U.S. Supreme Court dumps last of Trump's election appeals

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday disposed of the last of three cases brought to the justices by former President Donald Trump challenging his election loss, bringing a muted end to his futile quest in the courts to hold onto power. The court without comment rejected Trump's appeal challenging thousands of absentee ballots filed in Wisconsin, an election battleground that the Republican businessman-turned-politician lost to Democrat Joe Biden by more than 20,000 votes. Biden became president on Jan. 20.

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  • Employers are administering COVID vaccines at work

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  • The Queen emerges unscathed as Meghan and Harry lavish praise on his grandmother

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex unloaded on Prince Charles, The Duchess of Cambridge, and the tabloid press in their extraordinary tell-all with Oprah Winfrey. But despite the numerous allegations levelled at named and unnamed members of the Royal family, The Queen emerged unscathed, and instead received glowing praise from the couple. Meghan described how "everyone" welcomed her to the royal set-up initially, but singled out the Queen as making her particularly comfortable. In another sign of their positive relationship, the Duchess said: “I just pick up the phone and I call the Queen - just to check-in. Meghan said the Queen has "always been wonderful" to her and that she reminded the Duchess of her own grandmother. "She’s always been warm and inviting," the Duchess added. The Duchess shared a touching anecdote on how her future husband’s grandmother gave her "some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace" for the couple's first joint engagement together, and that the monarch also shared her blanket while travelling together between visits. The pair attended a ceremony for the opening of the new Mersey Gateway Bridge, in Widnes, Cheshire in June 2018 and travelled north on the Royal train.

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  • Philippine police kill 9 in raids on suspected rebels

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  • Calls to #AbolishTheMonarchy went viral after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Oprah interview

    Calls for the abolition of the British monarchy were made on social media following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah.

  • Spring breakers spreading COVID-19 variants could 'spell disaster' for the country, expert warns

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  • Biden eyes trashing Trump-era rules that advocates feared would silence sexual assault survivors on college campuses

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  • Biden nominates female generals who were passed over by the Pentagon because they feared Trump's reaction

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  • Meet Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization CFO prosecutors are reportedly trying to flip

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  • China says hopes U.S. will remove 'unreasonable' curbs on cooperation

    China urged the United States on Sunday to remove "unreasonable" curbs on cooperation as soon as possible and work together on issues like climate change, while accusing Washington of bringing chaos in the name of spreading democracy. Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden singled out a "growing rivalry with China" as a key challenge facing the United States, with his top diplomat describing the country as "the biggest geopolitical test" of this century. Speaking at his annual news conference, the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, struck a tough line even as he outlined where the world's two biggest economies could work together.

  • Queen will ramp up engagements to 'show where the focus is' following Sussexes' Oprah interview

    The Queen will increase her official engagements this week as the Royal family responds to the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ Oprah Winfrey interview with a clear message about where the “focus” lies. Her Majesty, 94, is expected to be seen at least once this week as she carries out official duties via Zoom from Windsor Castle. All other senior members of the Royal family will also be highly visible as they conduct a raft of engagements, including marking International Women’s Day. A senior Buckingham Palace aide said: “We will see them getting on with the day job. “There are several engagements in the diary – they’ve been there for a while.” The volley of royal engagements will leave the public in no doubt about “where the focus is,” one source said. No members of the Royal family were expected to stay up into the early hours of this morning to watch the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ explosive Oprah Winfrey interview. But they were each expected to receive a detailed breakfast briefing from aides, highlighting the main allegations and topics of discussion. A palace aide said they would not “rush to respond” to the issues raised by the Sussexes and reserved the right not to comment at all. One source told a newspaper that the couple were “playing with fire”, adding: “It's very high stakes because there's a lot that could come out in the wash that hasn't been told." While they were braced for damaging revelations about racism and the perceived failure to protect and guide the Sussexes, they were also hoping not to be drawn into the fray. Aides said the mood at Buckingham Palace ahead of the interview was calm, as courtiers maintained the view that “this, too, will pass.” One signalled the belief that the Sussexes were unlikely to win the PR battle as they said: “History teaches us that only the interviewer wins from these programmes.” The Palace has repeatedly insisted that the focus should be on children’s return to school and the vaccination programme, rather than the “media circus” surrounding the Sussexes. The family also remains concerned about the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, who has spent almost three weeks in hospital and remains at the King Edward VII hospital in central London, where he is recovering from a heart procedure. The Cambridges are understood to have been focused on Prince George and Princess Charlotte's return to school this week and have relocated from Anmer Hall, in Norfolk, where they spent lockdown, to Kensington Palace. Prince Louis, who turns three in April, is also expected to start nursery soon. The contrast between the Sussexes’ litany of complaints and the Queen’s own attitude to self-sacrifice was highlighted on Sunday as the monarch released her annual Commonwealth Day message just hours ahead of the Oprah interview. In it, she has stressed the importance of keeping in touch with family to “transcend boundaries or division,” focusing on a message of unity.

  • French billionaire politician killed in helicopter crash

    Olivier Dassault was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash, a police source said, with President Emmanuel Macron paying tribute to the 69-year old conservative politician.

  • Princess Diana's chief of staff says Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal rift echoes the past - and responsibility for reconciliation lies with 'senior palace management'

    Ahead of bombshell Oprah interview, Patrick Jephson told CNN that previous tell-all interviews with the royal family "in all cases" has "backfired."