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Modi meets the press at the White House — and takes rare questions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Narendra Modi did something very unusual on Thursday at the White House — he took questions from journalists.It’s a rare occurrence for the Indian prime minister who avoids unscripted moments and has presided over a steady decline in press freedom in his country. The news conference was more limited than the kind that U.S. presidents usually hold with foreign leaders, but even that wasn’t easy to arrange with Modi. Indian officials agreed to the event only the day before, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations. Administration officials told Modi’s advisers that taking questions from the media was a standard part of how White House state visits are conducted, the person said.An Indian reporter asked about addressing climate change, and an American reporter pressed Modi on human rights concerns— a particularly delicate topic as the United States seeks closer ties with India as a b...

Los restos hallados pertenecen al submarino Titán, revela documento oficial revisado por CNN

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

(CNN) –– Se ha concluido que los escombros descubiertos dentro del área de búsqueda del submarino desaparecido Titán corresponden al cuerpo externo de la nave, según un memorándum revisado por CNN. La búsqueda de la cápsula de la tripulación del submarino continúa, dice el documento.Los escombros se ubicaron en el fondo del océano, aproximadamente a 500 metros de la proa del Titanic, y se ubicaron aproximadamente a las 8:55 a.m. ET.Noticia en desarrollo…The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.Source

Film academy welcomes new members to Board of Governors, now 53% female

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

Actor Lou Diamond Phillips, film executive Hannah Minghella, “The Woman King” screenwriter Dana Stevens and “Summer of Soul” producer David I. Dinerstein have been elected to serve on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors.The Academy, the organization behind the Oscars, announced newcomers and incumbent members, like director Ava DuVernay and “A Star is Born” producer Lynette Howell Taylor, on Thursday.They join returning governors like Marlee Matlin, Warner Bros. co-chair and CEO Pam Abdy, Jason Reitman, Jason Blum and Rita Wilson. As of this election, women make up a majority (53%) of the board. A quarter of the board also belongs to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group.The Board of Governors is comprised of members representing each branch of the academy, including directors, actors, executives and below the line craftspeople working in sound, production design, costuming and more, and work to set the organization’s strategy, finances and...

Bonaventure to face American teenager Montgomery in Veneto Open quarterfinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

GAIBA, Italy (AP) — Third-seeded Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium advanced to the quarterfinals of the Veneto Open with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Nuria Brancaccio on Thursday.Bonaventure, who was beaten by eventual winner Alison Van Uytvanck in the second round last year, took just 45 minutes to secure the win.“I’m very happy with my performance, I served well and my tennis worked,” Bonaventure said. “With the high temperatures it wasn’t easy at all.“I’m happy to be in the quarterfinals. My aim for this week is to play as many matches as possible in order to arrive ready at Wimbledon. I have already won a couple, guaranteeing myself a third, but I hope I can do even better.”Bonaventure will face American teenager Robin Montgomery in the last eight.The 18-year-old Montgomery, who won the girls’ singles and doubles titles at the 2021 U.S. Open, continued her impressive form this week with a 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-0 victory over Laura Pigossi of Brazil.Montgomery was one of two Americans through ...

Google backs creation of cybersecurity clinics with $20 million donation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

File - Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Pichai pledged $20 million in grants on Thursday to support and expand the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics to introduce thousands of students to potential careers in cybersecurity, while also helping defend small government offices, rural hospitals and nonprofits from low-level hacking. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)(AP/Jeff Chiu) File - Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Pichai pledged $20 million in grants on Thursday to support and expand the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics to introduce thousands of students to potential careers in cybersecurity, while also helping defend small ...

Debt-plagued Zambia reaches deal with China, other nations to rework $6.3B in loans, French say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Zambia and its government creditors, including China, have reached a deal to restructure $6.3 billion in loans, the French government announced Thursday on the sidelines of a global finance summit in Paris.The agreement covers loans from countries including France, the UK, South Africa, Israel and India as well as China — Zambia’s biggest creditor at $4.1 billion of the total. The deal, announced by officials who spoke anonymously in accordance with the French government’s customary practices, may provide a roadmap for how lenient China may be with other nations in debt distress.The International Monetary Fund approved the deal, meaning it’s going to allow Zambia to receive more financing from the institution, they said.A discussion between French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema to praise the conclusion of year-long negotiations is to take place during a dinner of heads of state and government ...

Officers sued by Tyre Nichols’ family want to pause lawsuit until criminal case is resolved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Lawyers for some of the Memphis officers named in a federal lawsuit over the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols are asking that the civil case be put on hold until the criminal case is resolved.Motions filed by four defendants, including two who were charged criminally in Nichols’ death, say that the civil case could be prejudicial to the criminal case, the Commercial Appeal reported.Memphis police officers held Nichols down and repeatedly struck him with their fists, boots and batons as the Black motorist screamed for his mother. The January beating, which was captured on body cameras, was one in a string of violent encounters between police and Black people that have spurred protests and renewed debate about police brutality.Five ex-officers were charged with second-degree murder in Nichols’ death. In April, his family sued those five former officers as well as the police director, the city of Memphis, another officer who was fired but not charged, and an ad...

Brazilian is sentenced to 27 years in prison for killing ex-girlfriend in Australia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A federal court sentenced Brazilian engineer Mário Marcelo Santoro to 27 years in prison on Thursday, after he confessed to the 2018 murder of former girlfriend Cecília Haddad in Australia.Santoro, today in his mid 40s, was convicted of aggravated homicide, asphyxiation, femicide and concealment of a corpse. The seven-person jury in the Rio de Janeiro – made of six women and one man – delivered its decision on Thursday morning. Santoro’s attorney said he will appeal.In April 2018, the body of Haddad, then 38, was found in the Lane Cover river in Sydney, Australia, a few miles from her apartment. By then, Santoro had already left the country and flown back to Brazil.Based on thousands of messages reviewed by Australian law enforcement and testimonies from friends and family members, Haddad had broken up with Santoro, but he refused to accept her decision.About 10 days before her death, Haddad had given Santoro an ultimatum, asking him to leave the apartment or e...

Pilot and crew of missing submersible believed to be dead, US Coast Guard says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

(AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard says a missing submersible imploded near the wreckage of the Titanic, killing all five people on board.Coast Guard officials said during a news conference Thursday that they've notified the families of the crew of the Titan, which has been missing for several days. Debris found during the search for the vessel “is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” said Rear Adm. John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District.“The outpouring of support in this highly complex search operation has been great appreciated. Our most heartfelt condolences go out to the friends and loved ones of the crew,” Mauger said.OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement that all five people on board, including company CEO Stockton Rush, are believed to be dead. Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet “have sadly been lost,” OceanGate said in a statement.This photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions shows a submersible v...

Woman found dead in car after being swept away in high water

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said a woman died in Watkins after being swept up in high waters during the severe thunderstorms Wednesday night. ACSO said it received reports of cars off the roadway due to flood waters around 11:30 p.m. in the area of North Watkins Road and East 6th Avenue. Three vehicles were involved -- two were stranded and one was floating away, the sheriff's office said. There was one person in each car.Rescue crews helped people in two vehicles, but the third vehicle got swept away under the bridge 400 yards away, the sheriff's office said. Rescue crews were unable to find the car due to the high water level and dangerous conditions. Tornado destroys home in Logan County The rescue crews returned Thursday morning and discovered the top of the vehicle several hundred yards northwest of the intersection using a drone in the area. Rescuers and West Metro Dive Team members located a deceased woman at 9:20 a.m. Due to flooding that occurre...