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Protesters encircle Serbian state TV building to press government to ease its grip on media

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:34:44 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Huge crowds of anti-government protesters on Saturday encircled the Serbian state television building in downtown Belgrade to press their demand for autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic to ease his tight grip on the mainstream media and allow alternative voices.Tens of thousands of opposition supporters, some chanting slogans urging Vucic’s resignation, streamed into the rain-drenched streets a day after the president’s followers staged an equally big rally in the capital. Most of his supporters were bused into the capital from all over Serbia and some neighboring states. Outside the RTS TV headquarters, the crowds blew whistles and booed loudly. They say that according to the laws, state TV should be unbiased as a public broadcaster, but that it has been openly pro-government. Held for the fourth time since the early May shootings, the opposition-led protests appear to be shaping up into the biggest revolt against Vucic’s autocratic rule d...

Systems error affecting electronic gates leaves travelers to UK waiting for hours

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:34:44 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Travelers arriving in the U.K. faced long delays Saturday after a technical problem shut electronic border gates at airports across the country for most of the day, forcing everyone to have their passports checked manually on what was expected to be one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.The Home Office, the government agency responsible for immigration and borders, said at 6 p.m. London time that all the electronic gates were working again. It provided no details about what caused the problem. “Following a technical border system fault which affected e-Gate arrivals into the UK, we can confirm all e-Gates are now operating as normal,” the Home Office said. “We thank those travelers who were impacted for their patience and staff for their work in resolving the issue.”Earlier, airport operators had asked for patience and apologized for the delays as frustrated travelers took to social media to post photos of long lines at airports including Manchester in t...

Mass protests against Israeli government’s plans to change legal system enter 21st week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:34:44 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered on Saturday for the relentless weekly protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government’s plans to overhaul the legal system in the country.The mass protests entered their 21st week. This week’s rallies come days after Netanyahu’s coalition of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist parties passed a new two-year budget.The main rally took place in Tel Aviv, drawing thousands of flag-waving protesters.The passing of the new budget could grant some stability to Israel’s most hard-line government ever. However, it also appeared to fuel the protestors’ views that Netanyahu appeals to his religious allies rather than address the wider economic woes of the broader society.Organizers of grassroot protests bill them as a movement to save democracy. They say the government’s plans to weaken the Supreme Court would destroy the country’s system of checks and balances and compromise Israeli democracy.Proponents of the ...

Cannes readies presentation of the Palme d’Or, Wenders and Triet in the mix

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:34:44 GMT

After 21 world premieres, nearly two weeks of red-carpet parades and hundreds of thousands of camera flashes, the 76th Cannes Film Festival is concluding Saturday with the presentation of its top prize, the Palme d’Or. One of cinema’s most sought-after awards will be decided by this year’s jury, presided over by two-time Palme winner Ruben Östlund, the Swedish director. The brief ceremony will precede the festival’s closing night film, the Pixar animation “Elemental.” Any of the 21 films that played in Cannes’ main competition lineup can win the Palme. Among the critical favorites of this year’s festival are Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest,” a chilling Martin Amis adaptation about a German family living next door to Auschwitz; “Fallen Leaves,” Finish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki’s deadpan romance; and “Anatomy of a Fall,” Justine Triet’s twisty French Alps courtroom drama. Two of those — “Anatomy of a Fall” and “The Zone of I...

Firefighters stamp out Montreal heritage building blaze 42 hours after it ignited

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:34:44 GMT

MONTREAL — A fire that swept through a heritage building in downtown Montreal was brought under control Saturday about 42 hours after it first began, the city’s fire department said.The blaze broke out late Thursday afternoon at the Monastère du Bon Pasteur, a 19th century former monastery, and quickly became a five-alarm fire requiring the intervention of 150 firefighters.It proved difficult to tame because of the construction and materials used in the building. Authorities believe the fire began in the attic but had difficulty reaching the source.Émilie Barbeau-Charlebois, section chief at the Montreal fire department, said Saturday both the cause of the fire and an estimate of damages remained unknown.“It was about 42 hours total of intervention by firefighters who worked non-stop,” Barbeau-Charlebois said.An investigation into the cause of the fire is set to begin on Monday.As of Saturday, 59 people were being taken care of by the Red Cross, Barbeau-Charlebois ...

Adam Fantilli scores winner as Canada books place in gold medal game

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:34:44 GMT

The Canadian men’s international hockey team scored three times in the third period to beat Latvia 4-2 in the World Championship semifinal.The win sealed the Canadians’ place in the gold medal game, where they will face off against Germany, which beat the U.S. 4-3 in overtime.Adam Fantilli scored the game-winner roughly nine minutes in to the third period, deking by two players before firing past Latvian netminder Arturs Silovs.The assist came from Milan Lucic, and Fantilli said after the game that it was surreal to get an assist from a player he’s watched all his life.Montreal Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault kept Canada in the game by stopping 20 of 22 Latvian shots.Latvia’s goals came through Dans Locmelis and Rudolfs Balcers.

Chicago woman charged in death of 4-year-old girl

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:34:44 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago woman has been charged with the death of a 4-year-old girl on the city's South Side last year.According to police reports, 26-year-old Asha Green was charged with first degree murder. Police said that Green was identified as the woman who on June 24, 2022, in the 7900 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue injured a 4-year-old girl. 12 shot, 3 dead in overnight shootings in Chicago ahead of weekend Green was placed into custody and charged accordingly. There is no additional information provided.

School bus collides with tanker in South Carolina, video shows

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:34:44 GMT

GILBERT, South Carolina (WJW) – More than a dozen children are recovering after their school bus collided with a tanker in Gilbert, South Carolina, on Thursday.The accident sent 18 people, 17 of them children, to the hospital, according to local news outlet WIS-TV.Footage captured by a nearby surveillance camera shows the bus coming to a stop at an intersection while the tanker approaches from the left. The bus then pulls into the intersection and is struck by the tanker.Bystanders are soon seen running toward the site of the crash. Will Social Security checks be delayed if U.S. defaults? Emergency crews later responded to the scene and transported the injured children and the adult to the Lexington Medical Center for treatment. All have since been released, a spokesperson told the Associated Press.The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating the accident.Gilbert is about 30 miles (49 kilometers) southwest of South Carolina’s capital of Columbia.

WATCH LIVE: Texas House taking up resolution to impeach Ken Paxton at 1 p.m.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:34:44 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Following an investigation by the House General Investigating Committee, the conservative-leaning committee unanimously adopted a formal recommendation to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The committee laid out 20 articles of impeachment to the House members Thursday night. The 20 articles, or accusations, are the result of a two-month investigation that began after Paxton’s proposal emerged to use state funds to settle a $3.3 million whistleblower lawsuit filed by four former employees who accused him of wrongdoing.The House General Investigating Committee is calling up the articles enumerated in House Resolution 2377 on Saturday at 1 p.m. for the House’s consideration. The committee scheduled four hours for the impeachment debate – 40 minutes for opening arguments, 20 for closing and time evenly allocated for supporters and opponents to debate, per a memo from the House General Investigating Committee. Catch up on our coverage: Potential impeachment looms...

Literary Pick: Sicangu Lakota woman tells adoption story

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:34:44 GMT

Sandy White Hawk, a Sicangu Lakota from the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, discusses her book “A Child of the Indian Race: A Story of Return” at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 1, at Birchbark Bizhew, 1629 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., the new events space for Birchbark Books bookstore, presenters of the event with publisher Minnesota Historical Society Press.White Hawk’s book is timely because in June the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to make a landmark decision related to constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, which established federal standards, recognizing that Tribes have sovereignty and exclusive jurisdiction over their members who reside on Tribal land.The legalities are personal for White Hawk, who was a toddler when she was taken from her Lakota family. Her adoption papers call her “a child of the Indian race,” and her adoptive mother never let her forget it, telling her she was unwanted and shaming her for being “Indian.” So she m...