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Libyan court sentences 23 suspected Islamic State militants to death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A Libyan court Monday sentenced 23 suspected Islamic State group militants to death for launching deadly attacks that killed dozens of people, including Egyptian Coptic Christians.The appeals court in the western city of Misrata also sentenced 14 other militants to life in prison who were convicted on the same charges, which include destruction of police facilities and public property.The court sentenced nine defendants to between three and 12 years in prison. It acquitted five suspects.The court did not elaborate further details.The Islamic State and other extremist groups exploited the chaos that engulfed Libya after the 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. They seized the coastal city of Sirte, Gadhafi’s birthplace, and other cities including Derna in eastern Libya. The militants were eventually expelled from Sirte in December 2016 by forces fighting for the former U.N.-backed Government of National Accord. Forces of east-...

Biden marks Memorial Day nearly 2 years after ending America’s longest war, lauds troops’ sacrifice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden lauded the sacrifice of generations of U.S. troops who died fighting for their country as he marked Memorial Day with the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.Biden was joined by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff, for the 155th National Memorial Day Observance. He had a moment of contemplation in front of the wreath and later bowed his head in prayer.Monday’s federal holiday honoring America’s fallen service members came a day after Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached final agreement on a deal that would raise America’s debt limit and that now awaits approval by Congress.As it stands, the agreement would keep nondefense spending roughly flat in the 2024 fiscal year and increase it by 1% the following year. The measure would allow for 3% defense growth in fiscal 2024, to $886 billion, and then another 1% in fiscal 2025, to $8...

4 dead after tourist boat capsizes in storm on Italian lake

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

MILAN (AP) — A body was retrieved early Monday in a northern Italian lake by police divers, raising to four the final death toll in the capsizing of a tourist boat a day earlier during a sudden, violent storm that included a whirlwind.Two bodies had been recovered by firefighter divers on Sunday evening, while the fourth victim had died shortly after being rescued following the capsizing of the houseboat, which the owners used as a tour vessel to take visitors around Lake Maggiore, police said.When the boat set out on Sunday, there were 21 tourists aboard plus a crew of two — a couple who lived on the boat.Police didn’t immediately release the names of the dead, but said they included an Italian man and an Italian woman, an Israeli man and a Russian woman, who was part of the live-aboard crew. Some reportedly managed to swim to shore, or were picked up by other boats. The houseboat sank, police said.Firefighter video released Sunday showed pieces of wood floating in the lake a...

Quebec actor Michel Côté, known for film and theatre roles, dead at 72

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

Quebec actor Michel Côté, who captivated audiences with his roles in the theatre piece “Broue” and films such as “Cruising Bar” and C.R.A.Z.Y.,” has died at 72.His family says in a statement that funeral details will follow.Côté retired from public life just over a year ago to undergo treatment for a bone marrow disease.The actor was a favourite in Quebec, and received a lifetime achievement award in 2013 at the Jutra awards.His career began in 1983 with a role in André Forcier’s film “Au clair de la lune,” starring Guy L’Écuyer.Côté appeared in at least 25 films and some 20 television series, as well as the theatre production “Broue,” which he performed for 38 years until 2017.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023The Canadian Press

Energy and financial stocks help boost S&P/TSX composite higher

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was up in late-morning trading as gains the heavyweight energy and financial sectors helped lift the Toronto market higher.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 40.46 points at 19,960.77.The gains came with U.S. stock markets closed for the Memorial Day holiday.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.59 cents US compared with 73.41 cents US on Friday.The July crude contract was down 13 cents at US$72.54 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down six cents at US$2.35 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was up US$2.00 at US$1,965.10 an ounce and the July copper contract was down less than a penny at US$3.68 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Exclusive secrets of the National Spelling Bee: Picking the words to identify a champion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — As the final pre-competition meeting of the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s word selection panel stretches into its seventh hour, the pronouncers no longer seem to care.Before panelists can debate the words picked for the bee, they need to hear each word and its language of origin, part of speech, definition and exemplary sentence read aloud. Late in the meeting, lead pronouncer Jacques Bailly and his colleagues — so measured in their pacing and meticulous in their enunciation during the bee — rip through that chore as quickly as possible. No pauses. No apologies for flubs.By the time of this gathering, two days before the bee, the word list is all but complete. Each word has been vetted by the panel and slotted into the appropriate round of the nearly century-old annual competition to identify the English language’s best speller. For decades, the word panel’s work has been a closely guarded secret. This year, Scripps — a Cincinnati-based medi...

Kosovo ex-president on trial for war crimes allowed to visit his sick mother

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci, who is on trial in The Hague on 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, was in Kosovo on Monday to visit his sick mother, the court said.An email message from the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said that “due to compelling humanitarian grounds, … the Trial Panel has instructed the Registry to manage a custodial visit to Kosovo for Hashim Thaci to meet family.”Thaci remained in detention and in the custody of the Specialist Chambers, with support from the EU’s rule-of-law mission EULEX and Kosovo Police, it added. Local media reported that Thaci, 55, who has been in custody at The Hague, The Netherlands, since November 2020, was in Buroje village, 70 kilometers (45 miles) west of the capital Pristina, at his mother’s house. Thaci is on trial alongside three other former senior leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, guerrilla force in Kosovo’s 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia.They ...

‘Tragic accident’ blamed for recent death of giraffe at Calgary Zoo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

CALGARY — The Calgary Zoo says a “tragic accident” led to the recent death of one of its adult Masai giraffes.A statement from the zoo says a female giraffe named Emara died May 19 after tangling one of her horns in a cable surrounding her enclosure.The statement says a necropsy revealed Emara fell against the enclosure fence and died almost instantly of a broken neck.Emara, who had just turned 12, came to Calgary from the San Diego Zoo in 2016.The statement says she was a treasured member at the zoo and was known for her cautious yet curious personality and gentle nature.The zoo says it is checking fencing within its African Savannah Yard enclosure to see if changes are needed to better protect the other giraffes and animals that share the space. Doug Whiteside, interim associate director of animal care and welfare at the zoo, said Emara was in her prime and was in excellent health when she died.“Major life changes such as this not only affect our people but can a...

MUST-WATCH: Arnold takes on streaming

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

The debut of the man who played the Terminator on a streaming service is here now! But will the former Governor of California’s streaming debut take the top spot, or could it go to a comedy from Sebastian Maniscalco? Perhaps a miniseries about the Sixties Scoop? You’ll have to keep reading to find out!About My FatherWhere to watch: CinemasFirst up, a family comedy about how hard family can be!Sebastian Maniscalco as Sebastian and Robert De Niro as Salvo in About My Father. Photo Credit: Dan AndersonAbout My Father is a new film based off of the stand-up comedy of Sebastian Maniscalco (from the Irishman and Green Book). He plays a man hoping to propose to his girlfriend (played by Leslie Bibb from Jupiter’s Legacy) at a Fourth of July long weekend with her family there. The only problem is his immigrant father (played by Robert De Niro from Goodfellas and Meet the Parents) wants to come along, and he’s quite the obnoxious type. This film also stars Kim Cattral...

La Scala announces 2023-24 season as new government decree creates uncertainty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:21 GMT

MILAN (AP) — The French general manager of Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala is facing the threat of a tenure cut short, even as he unveiled a star-studded 2023-24 season and announced record sponsor revenues on Monday. A government decree adopted earlier this month would require any general manager of a lyric opera theater in Italy, birthplace of the art form, to step down on their 70th birthday. The new limits imposed by the far-right-led government are widely seen as seeking to curtail foreign influence on Italian culture. For La Scala’s general manager, Dominique Meyer, that would be in August 2025, precluding a customary second mandate. His first runs out in the spring of that year.Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, who serves on the La Scala board, acknowledged the government’s moves created “an uncomfortable situation,” also given the long advance time necessary to sign talent for opera seasons. The decree becomes law once it is officially published.“I think that our government should ...