General news

• Greece legalises same-sex marriage

  15-02-2024 23:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Parliament's vote for equality in marriage and adoption was opposed by the Greek Orthodox Church.
  
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• Millions of donkeys killed each year to make medicine

  15-02-2024 23:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The quest to stop the slaughter of working donkeys, as demand grows for a traditional remedy made from their skin.
  
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• Xbox, Nintendo or PlayStation: does it still matter?

  15-02-2024 23:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Why the war between the big games console makers may be coming to an end.
  
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• US secretary of state supports Western Balkans on path toward European Union integration

  15-02-2024 22:51 via foxnews.com
  
  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Albania on Thursday to reaffirm relations with a key partner in the region and assure Western Balkan countries of Washington’s support for their integration into the European Union.Blinken met with top officials and focused on the future of the Western Balkans as Albania and several neighbors seek to join the European Union, according to top U.S. officials. Washington has strongly supported Albania's integration into the EU."We can’t hav
  
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• Paul McCartney reunited with guitar stolen 51 years ago

  15-02-2024 21:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Beatle said he was "incredibly grateful" to be reunited with his bass guitar stolen in 1972.
  
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• Venezuela closes UN human rights office citing ‘colonialist attitude’

  15-02-2024 21:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Foreign minister claims local office of UN high commissioner for human rights supported impunity for coup plottersVenezuela’s government has ordered the local UN office on human rights to suspend operations, giving its staff 72 hours to leave, after accusing the office of promoting opposition to the South American country.The foreign affairs minister, Yván Gil, announced the decision at a news conference in Caracas on Thursday. Gil’s announcement came on the heels of the deten
  
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• At least 4 migrants dead after boat capsizes off Panamanian coast

  15-02-2024 21:28 via foxnews.com
  
  At least four people died and the search continued for two more who were missing Thursday after a boat carrying more than two dozen migrants capsized off Panama’s Caribbean coast in an apparent attempt to avoid the treacherous Darien Gap land route.Panama’s Public Safety Ministry said in a statement Thursday the boat carrying 27 people – mostly Afghans — capsized off the Guna Yala Indigenous area Wednesday. The dead included two women and a child.NICARAGUA GRANTS ASYLUM T
  
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• US will build up to 5 Somali army bases in bid to combat al Qaeda-linked extremists

  15-02-2024 21:26 via foxnews.com
  
  The U.S. will build up to five military bases for the Somali army in a project that seeks to bolster the Somalian national army's capabilities amid ongoing threats from an extremist group.Somalia’s defense minister and the U.S. charge d’affaires signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.ANTI-GANG TASK FORCE AGREEMENT WITH KENYA IN THE WORKS, HAITIAN GOVERNMENT SAYSThe agreement comes at a time when the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia
  
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• Catholic bishops in Mexico hosted peace talks with drug cartel leaders

  15-02-2024 21:25 via foxnews.com
  
  Four Roman Catholic bishops met with Mexican drug cartel bosses in a bid to negotiate a possible peace accord, one of the bishops said, and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday he approves of such talks.The revelation by Bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, José de Jesús González Hernández, in remarks at a public appearance, illustrated the extent to which the government's policy of not confronting the cartels has left average citizens to work
  
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• Gaza City: Drone video shows extensive destruction in seaside city

  15-02-2024 21:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Footage released by UNRWA this week shows a trail of devastation in the seaside city.
  
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• Christian Horner: Red Bull team boss says allegations are 'distraction'

  15-02-2024 21:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Christian Horner says allegations against him are a "distraction" and it is "business as normal" as his Red Bull team prepare for the season ahead.
  
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• Greece, Orthodox Christian country, considering legalizing same-sex marriage

  15-02-2024 20:41 via foxnews.com
  
  Greece’s parliament is to vote late Thursday to legalize same-sex civil marriage in a first for an Orthodox Christian country and despite opposition from the influential Greek Church.As lawmakers debated the bill for a second day, opinion polls suggest that most Greeks support the proposed reform by a narrow margin. The issue has failed to trigger deep divisions in a country more worried about the high cost of living.The landmark bill drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ′ c
  
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• DATELINE FRIDAY SNEAK PEEK: The Perfect Life

  15-02-2024 20:36 via nbcnews.com
  More than a decade after a New York mother of three is murdered, the story takes an unexpected turn as a twist emerges that leads to an unforeseen conclusion. Andrea Canning reports Friday, February 16 at 9/8c on NBC.
  
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• Strikes between Israel and Hezbollah are escalating. Here is a comparison of each sides' militaries.

  15-02-2024 20:22 via foxnews.com
  
  The slow-simmering cross-border conflict between Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and Israeli forces escalated Wednesday, reviving fears that the daily clashes could expand into an all-out war.A rocket fired from Lebanon struck the northern Israeli town of Safed, killing a 20-year-old female soldier and wounding at least eight people.Israel responded with airstrikes that killed at least 10 people in southern Lebanon, including a Syrian woman, her two children, four members of another fam
  
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• Marines injured in Japan rollover accident, hospital sparks confusion with mass casualty notification

  15-02-2024 20:20 via foxnews.com
  
  A "mass casualty exercise" in Okinawa, Japan, became more real than expected on Thursday after a vehicular accident threatened the lives of more than eight U.S. Marines. A Light Tactical Vehicle in the Okinawan Jungle Warfare Training Center rolled onto its side Thursday with multiple military personnel aboard. "There will be an investigation on this afterwards," 3rd Marine Division spokesman Maj. Clay Groover said to outlet Stars and Stripes in a Thursday statement. "Everyone seems to
  
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• Heavy metals and E coli: raw sewage at US-Mexico border a ‘public health crisis’

  15-02-2024 20:17 via theguardian.com
  
  The Tijuana River flows through Mexico and empties off California, carrying pathogens and chemicals and threatening public healthRaw sewage and runoff in the Tijuana River is exposing communities at the US-Mexico border to an unusual and noxious brew of pathogens and toxic chemicals, according to a report released this week.Billions of gallons of sewage flow through the river, which winds north from Mexico through California and empties into the Pacific Ocean, containing a mix of carcinogenic ch
  
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• Donald Trump's first criminal trial begins in March. What will it look like?

  15-02-2024 20:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Republican frontrunner for president will juggle an untelevised six-week trial with campaigning.
  
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• Norwegian judge rejects mass killer's second attempt to sue state for alleged human rights breach

  15-02-2024 19:58 via foxnews.com
  
  Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting rampage in 2011, on Thursday lost his second attempt to sue the state for what he claimed was a breach of his human rights.Breivik, who changed his name to Fjotolf Hansen, has been held in isolation since he began serving his prison sentence in 2012. He argued that this amounted to inhumane punishment under the European Convention on Human Rights.Oslo City Court rejected his claim against the Nor
  
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• Venezuela closes local UN human rights office, gives staff 72 hours to leave

  15-02-2024 19:54 via foxnews.com
  
  Venezuela’s government on Thursday ordered the local U.N. office on human rights to suspend operations and gave its staff 72 hours to leave, accusing the office of promoting opposition to the South American country.Foreign Affairs Minister Yván Gil announced the decision at a news conference in Caracas, the capital. Gil’s announcement came on the heels of the detention of human rights attorney Rocio San Miguel, which set off a wave of criticism inside and outside the South Ame
  
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• Seychelles drops witchcraft charges against opposition's Patrick Herminie

  15-02-2024 19:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Patrick Herminie, who wants to run for the presidency, says the case was politically motivated.
  
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• Kuwaiti leader dissolves country's parliament as political deadlock continues

  15-02-2024 19:50 via foxnews.com
  
  Kuwait's emir on Thursday dissolved parliament after a lawmaker reportedly insulted the ruler, the latest dissolution to strike the oil-rich nation's legislature amid years of political gridlock.The state-run KUNA news agency announced the decree from the country's ruling emir, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber. It blamed "offensive and uncontrolled" utterances by lawmakers for the decision, without elaborating.US ARMY DIETITIAN DIES IN KUWAITOn Wednesday, the Cabinet reportedly refused to attend
  
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• Israel-Gaza war: Rafah images show huge blast craters close to camps

  15-02-2024 19:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Verify has analysed the latest satellite image from the city in southern Gaza.
  
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• Missile strike on Belgorod, Russia, kills 6, injures 18

  15-02-2024 19:18 via foxnews.com
  
  A missile strike on the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border on Thursday killed six people, including a child, and injured 18 others, a Russian official said. It was the latest in exchanges of long-range missile and rocket fire in Russia's war on Ukraine.Hours earlier, Russia fired two dozen cruise and ballistic missiles at a broad area of Ukraine, hitting multiple regions after a midnight strike in Ukraine's northeast killed five people in an apartment building, authorities said.Fiv
  
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• Surge in cocaine across Europe leads to escalated gang wars in Belgium's capital

  15-02-2024 19:17 via foxnews.com
  
  Cocaine and crack keep flowing. Shootings among rival gangs rage close to the very heart of Brussels. Police seize drugs and arrest traffickers almost daily. But dealers keep coming back, and the population is fed up.As record amounts of cocaine are being seized in Europe, drug-related violent crime is becoming increasingly visible in the European Union's capital city."We’re up against mafia-like organizations," said Jean Spinette, mayor of the Saint-Gilles district, where one man was kill
  
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• Beijing bristles as Chinese companies could face sanctions for Russia assistance: report

  15-02-2024 19:02 via foxnews.com
  
  The European Union (EU) will look to impose sanctions on Chinese companies guilty of assisting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, which Beijing has blasted as "illegal sanctions." "We are aware of the relevant reports," China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in a statement. "China firmly opposes illegal sanctions or ‘long-arm jurisdiction’ against China on the grounds of cooperation between China and Russia.""Chinese and Russian enterprises carry out normal exchanges an
  
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• Authorities accidentally discover submarine containing 4 tons of cocaine while searching for missing fisherman

  15-02-2024 18:59 via foxnews.com
  
  A submarine filled with 4,000 kilograms — approximately 4.5 tons — of cocaine and piloted by four criminals was discovered off the Pacific coast of Colombia. Officials conducting a search mission for two missing fishermen stumbled upon the illicit submarine craft on Wednesday, dubbed the "narco sub." US EMBASSY WARNS AMERICANS NOT TO USE DATING APPS IN COLOMBIA AFTER EIGHT 'SUSPICIOUS DEATHS'The underwater vehicle was intercepted by the Colombian navy and air force, as well
  
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• Premier League predictions: Chris Sutton v rapper & Chelsea fan Songer

  15-02-2024 18:13 via bbc.co.uk
  BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton takes on rapper & Chelsea fan Songer for this weekend's Premier League predictions.
  
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• WATCH: Meet Japan's newest species, the skeleton panda sea squirt

  15-02-2024 18:04 via abcnews.go.com
  
  The skeleton panda sea squirt is one of Japan's newest species, with a distinctive skeleton-like body structure and black spots that mimic those of a panda.
  
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• Radio station plays Beyoncé after country music outcry

  15-02-2024 17:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Oklahoma station later called the star, who has 32 Grammy awards, an "icon".
  
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• After months fighting Houthis on the USS Eisenhower, sailors face a new kind of sea threat

  15-02-2024 17:50 via foxnews.com
  
  Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying warships have spent four months straight at sea defending against ballistic missiles and flying attack drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthis, and are now more regularly also defending against a new threat — fast unmanned vessels that are fired at them through the water.While the Houthis have launched unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, in the past against Saudi coalition forces that have intervened in Yemen&r
  
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• Voting underway in UK special elections could signal challenges for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

  15-02-2024 17:45 via foxnews.com
  
  Voters in two districts of England are casting ballots Thursday to replace lawmakers who left suddenly – one in protest, the other under a cloud.The outcome could deepen gloom among the governing Conservatives, and add momentum to rivals plotting against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.The Conservatives won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood in southwest England and Wellingborough in the country's center by large margins at the last national election in 2019.UK PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK M
  
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• Tobago oil spill spreads to Grenada waters and could affect Venezuela

  15-02-2024 17:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Fuel continues to leak from overturned and abandoned barge as stain spreads into the Caribbean SeaAn oil spill that has stained Tobago’s coastline in the Caribbean is entering Grenada’s waters and could affect neighboring Venezuela, authorities have warned.Eight days after Trinidad and Tobago’s coastguard first spotted the oil from an overturned and abandoned barge, the vessel continues to leak fuel, and portions of the stain have moved about 144km (89 miles) into the Caribbean
  
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• Israel eliminates Hezbollah senior commander as terror group warns it will pay 'the price'

  15-02-2024 17:25 via foxnews.com
  
  The Israeli military said it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike carried out in Lebanon as the terror group vows retaliation.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Thursday that an overnight airstrike targeting a "Hezbollah military structure" in Nabatieh killed Ali Muhammad Aldbas, a senior commander of the Radwan forces. His deputy commander, Ibrahim Issa, and an additional terrorist were killed in the attack, according to IDF."Aldbas was amongst those who directed the terrorist
  
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• BBC Verify: What we can see in video from Nasser hospital raid

  15-02-2024 17:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Verify analyses footage from the Nasser hospital in southern Gaza as Israeli forces raid the complex.
  
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• Thailand's capital issues work-from-home mandate as air pollution hits hazardous levels

  15-02-2024 16:57 via foxnews.com
  
  City employees in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, were ordered Thursday to work from home for two days, and those in the private sector were encouraged to do so as well, as air pollution soared to unhealthy levels.Air pollution has been a problem for many years in Thailand's north, where the burning of forests and agricultural waste are major contributing factors. But in recent years Bangkok has also begun to suffer greatly with extended periods of high pollution that have led to school closi
  
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• Bollywood actress Poonam Pandey sued for faking cervical cancer death in HPV vaccine promotion stunt

  15-02-2024 16:17 via foxnews.com
  
  A Bollywood film actress and model who faked her own death to highlight the dangers of cervical cancer and to promote the HPV vaccine is now being sued for the stunt.A post on Poonam Pandey's Instagram page on Feb. 2 stated that she had died from cervical cancer, with her team confirming the news to the media. Her manager, Nikita Sharma, stated the star had "bravely fought the disease" but had "tragically passed away," according to NDTV India.However, the following day, Pandey, 32, posted a vide
  
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• South Korea says relations with Cuba would send 'political and psychological blow' to North Korea

  15-02-2024 15:49 via foxnews.com
  
  South Korea’s presidential office claimed Thursday that the country’s move to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba would deal a "political and psychological blow" to the South’s war-divided rival North Korea, whose diplomatic footing is largely dependent on a small number of Cold War allies.The comments followed an announcement by South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday night that it has agreed to open ambassador-level relations with Cuba following a meeting betwe
  
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• South Korean doctors rally against government plan to increase medical student quota

  15-02-2024 15:43 via foxnews.com
  
  Hundreds of South Korean doctors rallied in the capital, Seoul, and other cities on Thursday against a government plan to boost the number of medical students.Doctors’ groups say increasing the number of medical students by 2,000 starting in 2025 is too steep. They want officials to instead use available resources to raise medical fees they say are set too low.Authorities say South Korea needs more doctors. It's among the lowest numbers of doctors relative to the size of the population amo
  
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• Britain and Poland urge US Congress to approve $60 billion aid package for Ukraine

  15-02-2024 15:39 via foxnews.com
  
  The foreign ministers of Britain and Poland appealed on Thursday to the U.S. Congress and personally to speaker to take the "epoch-making" decision and approve the $60 billion in aid for Ukraine.Britain's David Cameron and Poland's Radek Sikorski stressed that approving aid for Ukraine as it fights a war against Russia's aggression is a matter of U.S. credibility among its allies in NATO and the world."This is our joint appeal to the U.S. House of Representatives and personally to Speaker Mike J
  
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• Ukraine fights on in ruined Avdiivka despite severe weapons shortage

  15-02-2024 15:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  After months of heavy fighting, Russian forces appear close to surrounding the ruins of Avdiivka.
  
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• 2 killed, 3 injured by mortar explosion in eastern Congo

  15-02-2024 15:01 via foxnews.com
  
  Two South African soldiers were killed and three injured when a mortar landed in their base in eastern Congo amid increased unrest in the region, the South African armed forces said Thursday.The South African National Defence Force, which oversees all of the country's armed forces, said it believed the mortar explosion on Wednesday was a result of "indirect fire" and an investigation was underway to determine who was responsible.South Africa has sent soldiers to Congo as part of the Southern Afr
  
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• American forces strike Yemen's Houthis, seize Iranian weapons shipment heading to militants

  15-02-2024 14:55 via foxnews.com
  
  American forces have carried out four more self-defense strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels after a U.S. Coast Guard cutter seized an Iranian weapons shipment bound for the militant group. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement Thursday that its forces yesterday afternoon "successfully conducted four self-defense strikes against seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, three mobile unmanned aerial vehicles, and one explosive unmanned surface vessel in Houthi controlle
  
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• China holds citizen on spying charges after she did ‘admin’ work for US company

  15-02-2024 14:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Case of Emily Chen, who did a few months’ work for US logistics firm, highlights ‘deteriorating’ climate for foreign firmsChina has detained one of its citizens on spying charges after she did some work for a US company, in a case that experts say highlights the potential risks of working for foreign businesses in the country.Emily Chen, 50, disappeared after flying into Nanjing Lukou international airport in December on a visit from Doha, where she lives. Continue reading...
  
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• Why Russia's Putin backing Biden for the US presidency is not what it seems

  15-02-2024 14:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Had he backed a Trump presidency, it would have been a bigger gift for Joe Biden, says Steve Rosenberg.
  
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• The List

  15-02-2024 14:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Exploring 9 amazing space missions.
  
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• How much do Nato members spend on defence?

  15-02-2024 13:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Donald Trump says he would encourage Russia to attack Nato members who do not spend enough on defence.
  
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• Measles Outbreak: Why Now?

  15-02-2024 13:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Smitha Mundasad explores why there is a measles outbreak across the UK.
  
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• Rio Carnival: Tribute to black women crowned winner

  15-02-2024 12:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Samba school Viradouro is crowned champion of the highly contested event held at Rio's Sambadrome.
  
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• ‘Very afraid’: Colombian human rights lawyer loses security after winning prize

  15-02-2024 11:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Adil Meléndez Márquez received call from bodyguards 20 minutes after Sir Henry Brooke award from Alliance for Lawyers at Risk“I’m very afraid,” says Colombian lawyer Adil Meléndez Márquez, the day after being presented with an award in London honouring human rights defenders.Meléndez is no stranger to death threats, because of his work on cases related to Colombia’s decades-long civil war, environmental justice and corruption, but things
  
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• Queen Camilla joins a dozen acting dames to celebrate Shakespeare

  15-02-2024 11:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Queen Camilla gathers one of the most star-studded line-ups of illustrious British acting talent.
  
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