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By MJ Lee, CNN It is just weeks before the end of President Joe Biden's administration. Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he is commuting the sentences of some 1,500 individuals and pardoning 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes - marking a broad use of the presidential clemency power just weeks from the end of Biden's administration. White House officials are billing Thursday's move as the biggest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The president, who has come under growing pressure to grant more clemencies before he leaves office and who controversially granted a pardon to his son Hunter earlier this month, also promised that additional action will be announced in the weeks to come. "America was built on the promise of possibility an...

By Alessandro Parodi, Reuters Dommaraju Gukesh, left, looks reacts while playing against Ding Liren during the world chess championship. Photo: AFP Teenager Gukesh Dommaraju of India became the youngest chess world champion by beating defending champion Ding Liren of China on Friday morning (NZ time) in a dramatic turn of events in the last game of a 14-game match in Singapore. The 18th world champion is at age 18 four years younger than Garry Kasparov, who had been the youngest world champion since 1985 when he beat Anatoly Karpov. Gukesh won the game with the black pieces after Ding wilted under pressure and blundered in what commentators considered to be a comfortable position, snatching the title with a final score of 7.5-6.5. Ding, whose form has plummeted since he beat Russian ...