World News: 17 May 2023

Titanic: First ever full-sized scans reveal wreck as never seen before
The new scan captures the wreck in its entirety, revealing a complete view of the Titanic. It lies in two parts, with the bow and the stern separated by about 800m (2,600ft). A huge debris field surrounds the broken vessel. The scan was carried out in summer 2022 by Magellan Ltd, a deep-sea mapping company, and Atlantic Productions, who are making a documentary about the project.

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Singapore ranked first in world literacy survey
Singapore gained the top spot - with an average score of 587 - out of 43 countries, as the reading levels of nine and 10-year-olds were tested at the end of the school year.
In second place was Hong Kong, with an average score of 573, followed by Russia (567) and England (558).
The rankings revealed that Finland had an average score of 549, the same as Poland, while both Taiwan and Sweden had an average score of 544.

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Asante King asks British Museum to return gold to Ghana
The British Museum possesses a significant collection of artifacts, including several works taken from the Asante palace in Kumasi during the 1874 war with the British.
Recognizing the historical and cultural importance of these items to the Asante people, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II expressed his desire to secure such items belonging to his ancestors.

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North Carolina blocks veto on 12-week abortion ban
Abortion-rights activists and voters watched on a plaza in the capital of Raleigh as Gov. Roy Cooper affixed his veto stamp to the bill in an unconventionally public display. The veto launches a major test for leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly to attempt an override vote after they recently gained veto-proof majorities in both chambers. The bill was the Republican response to last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

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Ecuadorean president Guillermo Lasso's impeachment trial starts
The opposition has accused Lasso of knowing about and allowing embezzlement through a contract between the state-owned energy firm Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana (Flopec) and the private Amazonas Tanker, although the process has also highlighted a series of problems that affect the country such as insecurity, unemployment, the cost of living and the increase in illegal migration.

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French Resistance man breaks silence over German prisoners executed in 1944
In June 1944, Edmond Réveil claims to have witnessed the execution of 47 German soldiers and a woman linked to the Gestapo in Meymac. Soldiers captured after the attack on the girls' normal school in Tulle on June 7, 1944. Until now, no one knew what had happened to them.

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