WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Steve Bannon, a prominent figure on the American right who served as a senior strategist for former President Donald Trump, to be sentenced after being convicted in July on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from lawmakers investigating last year’s U.S. Capitol attack. The sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. (1300 GMT). Prosecutors on Monday asked the judge to sentence Bannon to six months in prison, while Bannon’s attorneys had sought probation. Each of the two counts is punishable by 30 days to one year in prison and a fine ranging between $100 to $100,000. Prosecutors also had recommended that Bannon be ordered to pay the maximum possible fine of $200,000 after they said he refused to cooperate with a routine pre-sentencing financial investigation.

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A huge blaze erupted in central Mexico on Thursday when a fuel tanker truck crashed into an overpass by a rail line, scorching homes, engulfing the area in thick smoke and leading to a mass evacuation, but there were no fatalities, authorities said. Video footage of the fire on social media showed a cargo train hurtling through the flames after the accident in the city of Aguascalientes, as stunned drivers at the scene retreated from their cars holding children close. Aguascalientes fire chief Miguel Murillo said between 800 and 1,000 people were evacuated after the tanker collided with the overpass and set fire to a nearby residential area. Twelve people had been rescued from houses and no one was injured, Murillo said, although one person had suffered minor effects from smoke inhalation.

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LONDON (The Guardian) - A UK MP has resigned, triggering a byelection in his Chester seat, after a report found he made “unwanted and unwelcome sexual advances” towards a junior member of staff. Parliament’s bullying and harassment watchdog, as well as the standards commissioner, found Chris Matheson had breached the sexual misconduct policy of the House of Commons. The independent expert panel (IEP) subsequently recommended his suspension from parliament for four weeks but Matheson said on Friday he had decided to stand down.

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s elections commission on Friday disqualified former prime minister Imran Khan from holding public office for five years, accusing him of unlawfully selling state gifts and concealing assets, his spokesman and officials said. The move is likely to deepen lingering political turmoil in the impoverished country. Fawad Chaudhry told reporters that the Election Commission of Pakistan announced the much-awaited verdict in the capital, Islamabad. Chaudhry condemned the move and urged Khan’s supporters to protest publicly.

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MANILA (Reuters) - Director of Health Security and Emergencies for WHO in the Western Pacific Babatunde Olowokure warned on Friday that ‘the pandemic is not yet over,’ saying the continued emergence of subvariants poses a risk of resurgence and overwhelming health systems. Olowokure said Singapore and New Zealand are experiencing surges of COVID-19 cases, while Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and Vietnam have shown a sustained decline of cases, hospitalization, and deaths since August. Olowokure told a press conference that the circulation of COVID-19 Omicron XBB subvariant is fueling the surge in Singapore, while the BA.5 is still the dominant variant in New Zealand.