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South Sudan clinches berth in Paris Olympics as best African team at World Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:49 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — It was a chant that Luol Deng waited years to lead. He stood along the side of the South Sudan locker room after their run in the World Cup was over, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled the same thing, over and over.“Where we goin’?” he shouted.“Paris,” the players all responded.Deng’s vision when he founded the national team about a decade ago was to use basketball as a beacon of hope for his homeland. And his vision never seemed more real than on Saturday.A struggling country just 12 years removed from gaining its independence — making it the youngest nation in the world — is headed to the Paris Olympics as the automatic qualifier from Africa. Carlik Jones finished with 26 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds, and South Sudan rolled past Angola 101-78 on Saturday in the final game of the World Cup for both teams.The win, combined with Egypt’s 88-86 loss to New Zealand in a game that went final about a half hour later, clinched the O...

Gas cooktop recalled for faulty knobs and dangerous possibility of leak

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:49 GMT

Gas cooktops with faulty knobs have been recalled due to the dangerous possibility of a leak.The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the Electrolux group is voluntarily recalling about 77,000 gas cooktops.Consumers should stop using the gas cooktops and go to cpsc.gov/recalls for serial numbers and special information on getting replacement knobs.

Seven shot, at least one dead after shooting in Lynn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:49 GMT

Police are investigating after a shooting in Lynn left seven people injured and at least one person dead early Saturday morning, officials said.The shooting took place around 2:20 a.m. near 189 Essex Street, and Lynn police said at least three victims were seriously injured. At least one victim is confirmed to have died.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Biden heads to Florida to tour Idalia damage as presidential politics swirl

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:49 GMT

(CNN) — President Joe Biden is set to travel to storm-ravaged Florida on Saturday, where he will meet with Floridians impacted by Hurricane Idalia, tour damage and thank emergency responders.But in a stark departure from his previous visits to the Sunshine State in the wake of major disasters, Biden apparently won’t be joined by the state’s firebrand governor and GOP presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis. The moment represents one of the first times the two men have showed signs of their political rivalry while responding to a disaster. Biden and DeSantis have previously met under challenging circumstances – the two convened in response to the 2021 Surfside building collapse and again in 2022 following Hurricane Ian’s damage in southwestern Florida.On the visit, the president and first lady Dr. Jill Biden will receive an aerial tour of impacted areas, participate in a response and recovery briefing with federal personnel, local officials, and first responders, then tour an ...

Biden will get a firsthand look at hurricane’s toll in Florida. Gov. DeSantis has no plans to meet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is heading to Florida on Saturday for a firsthand look at Hurricane Idalia’s destruction, but he won’t be seeing the state’s Republican governor and 2024 presidential hopeful, Ron DeSantis, who suggested such a meeting could hinder disaster response efforts.“We don’t have any plans for the governor to meet with the president,” DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in a statement. “In these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts.” Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning along Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm, causing widespread flooding and damage before moving north to drench Georgia and the Carolinas. But Biden’s visit to see its effects threatened to be engulfed by political clashes since DeSantis’ statement came hours after the president himself earlie...

Nobel Foundation withdraws invitation to Russia, Belarus and Iran to attend ceremonies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:49 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Foundation on Saturday withdrew its invitation for representatives of Russia, Belarus and Iran to attend this year’s Nobel Prize award ceremonies after the decision announced a day earlier “provoked strong reactions.”Several Swedish lawmakers said Friday they would boycott this year’s Nobel Prize award ceremonies in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, after the private foundation that administers the prestigious awards changed its position from a year earlier and invited representatives of the three countries to attend, saying it “promotes opportunities to convey the important messages of the Nobel Prize to everyone.”Some of the lawmakers cited Russia’s war on Ukraine and the crackdown on human rights in Iran as reasons for their boycott. Belarusian opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Friday called on the Swedish Nobel Foundation and the Norwegian Nobel Committee not to invite representatives of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s “ille...

One taken to hospital following collision involving TTC bus in Danforth area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:49 GMT

One person was taken to hospital following a collision in the Danforth and Westlake Avenues area on Saturday morning.Police responded to reports of a collision at approximately 5:00 a.m. and arrived on scene to a truck and TTC bus involved.The truck driver, a man in his 30’s, was taken to the hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries and the TTC driver had minor injuries and was not transported. Danforth Avenue is closed in both directions.

Carlo Chatrian to step down as artistic director of the Berlin film festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:49 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The artistic director of the Berlin International Film Festival, Carlo Chatrian, said on Saturday that he will step down next year after Germany’s culture minister announced a new management structure for the event.Chatrian joined the “Berlinale,” which along with its peers in Cannes and Venice is one of Europe’s major annual film festivals, as one of two leaders in 2019 alongside executive director Mariette Rissenbeek. The duo replaced long-serving festival director Dieter Kosslick.Earlier this year, officials said that Rissenbeek had decided not to extend her contract and would leave when it expires in March 2024. On Thursday, Culture Minister Claudia Roth said that officials had decided that the festival “should in the future once again be led and represented by one person.” Her office said a commission was set up to look for a new leader, and Chatrian had declared himself ready to enter “constructive talks with the new directorship on a future role in t...

Former Italian premier claims French missile downed passenger jet in 1980, presses Paris for truth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:49 GMT

ROME (AP) — A former Italian premier, in an interview published on Saturday, contended that a French air force missile accidentally brought down a passenger jet over the Mediterranean Sea in 1980 in a failed bid to assassinate Libya’s then-leader Moammar Gadhafi. Former two-time Premier Giuliano Amato appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron to either refute or confirm his assertion about the cause of the crash on June 27, 1980, which killed all 81 persons aboard the Italian domestic flight. In an interview with Rome daily La Repubblica, Amato said he is convinced that France hit the plane while targeting a Libyan military jet. While acknowledging he has no hard proof, Amato also contended that Italy tipped off Gadhafi, and so the Libyan, who was heading back to Tripoli from a meeting in Yugoslavia, didn’t board the Libyan military jet.What caused the crash is one of modern Italy’s most enduring mysteries. Some say a bomb exploded aboard the Itavia jetliner on a flig...

US-backed fighters push ahead in their offensive in east Syria against tribespeople

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:49 GMT

QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — U.S.-backed fighters brought in reinforcements into eastern Syria and pushed ahead in their offensive Saturday against local tribespeople, saying that hundreds of pro-government gunmen have joined the worst battles in the region in years.The clashes that broke out Monday after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces detained a former ally who headed an Arab-led faction in the region have left more than 50 people dead and dozens wounded.The clashes are the most intense in areas where hundreds of U.S. troops have been deployed since 2015 to help in the fight against the Islamic State group. The extremists once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq until their defeat in March 2019.The U.S. military on Thursday called for an end to days of fighting warning it may help the resurgence of the Islamic State group. On Saturday, the SDF and local tribesman clashed in an area between the village of Dhiban and al-Omar oil field, Syria’s largest oil facility and home t...