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Truce deal raises hopes of freeing hostages in Gaza and halting worst Mideast violence in decades

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:27 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement for a four-day halt to the devastating war in Gaza, accompanied by the release of dozens of hostages held by the militant group in return for Palestinian prisoners jailed by Israel, mediators said Wednesday.The truce marks the biggest diplomatic breakthrough since Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel ignited a war that has devastated vast swaths of Gaza and raised fears of a wider conflict across the Middle East.The Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, which has played a key role in mediating with Hamas, announced the deal without saying when it would go into effect. Fifty hostages will be released in stages, in exchange for what Hamas said would be 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Both sides will release women and children first, and the supply of humanitarian aid flowing into the besieged territory will be ramped up, officials said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would resume the war after the ...

EU organises Air Bridge flight for those in need in Sudan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:27 GMT

A latest EU Humanitarian Air Bridge (HAB) flight transporting supplies for humanitarian partners UNICEF, Emergency and Relief International, has delivered aid in Sudan this weekend. In May 2023 the EU launched a series of Humanitarian Air Bridge operations delivering essential supplies to Port Sudan as the conflict that broke out in April this year has created a difficult humanitarian situation with hundreds of thousands of internally displaced. To-date, five HAB operations to Port Sudan have taken place, transporting a total of around 161 tonnes of supplies, including medications to help address the recent cholera outbreak in Sudan.Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič (pictured) said: “The situation in Sudan is extremely alarming. Yet again innocent civilians are bearing the brunt of a conflict. Since its beginning, the EU has worked to help alleviate the suffering and provide relief to the most vulnerable. I reiterate my call on all sides to respect International Humanita...

Formerly unhoused Angelenos thankful for new permanent home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:27 GMT

After living in a rat-infested RV encampment, several formerly homeless Angelenos are counting their blessings this Thanksgiving holiday, grateful for a clean and warm place to call home. William Escrivano can now say he kept a promise he made in August after he and his dog, who he says is his best friend, are about to move into permanent housing.  “I’m blessed. I’m so happy for him,” Escrivano said. “Bringing my dog off the streets, it’s the one thing I promised I would do and little by little, I’m doing it with the help of other people.”  Disabled former truck driver Robin Hapchuck said this will be the first night in a long time that her bed isn’t also her dinner table.  “That table and chairs, that’s what I like because I don’t like sitting in my bed all day,” she said.  Both Hapchuck and Escrivano used to live in an RV encampment of about 50 people on the streets of East Gardena.  “It gets too cold in those things, and the rats, the rats are terrib...

Ighodaro leads No. 4 Marquette to 73-59 rout of top-ranked Kansas in testy Maui semifinal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:27 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — Oso Ighodaro had 21 points and nine rebounds as No. 4 Marquette routed No. 1 Kansas 73-59 on Tuesday night in the Maui Invitational semifinals.The early-season clash of top-5 teams with national title hopes ended up being one-sided. The Golden Eagles (5-0) led for all but 22 seconds and were up by 17 with about seven minutes to play.Marquette will take on No. 2 Purdue for the tournament championship Wednesday.Tempers flared in the first half after Kansas swingman Kevin McCullar Jr. drained a jumper in front of Marquette’s bench. McCullar appeared to be jawing in the direction of Golden Eagles coach Shaka Smart and his players as he headed back downcourt, and members of both teams had to be pulled away in the heated dustup that followed.An angry Smart and Jayhawks coach Bill Self appeared to exchange unpleasantries along the sideline at the end of the ensuing discussion with officials.Ighodaro shot 9 of 15 from the field and scored 14 points in the second half. ...

OpenAI says ousted CEO Sam Altman to return to company behind ChatGPT

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:27 GMT

The ousted leader of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is returning to the company that fired him late last week, the latest in a saga that has shocked the artificial intelligence industry.San Francisco-based OpenAI said in a statement late Tuesday: “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board” made of former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo.OpenAI’s previous board of directors, which included D’Angelo, had refused to give specific reasons for why it fired Altman on Friday, leading to a weekend of internal conflict at the company and growing outside pressure from the startup’s investors.Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and has rights to its technology, quickly moved to hire Altman on Monday, as well as another co-founder and former president, Greg Brockman, who had quit in protest after Altman’s removal. That em...

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI says ousted CEO Sam Altman to return with new board just days after previous one fired him

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:27 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — ChatGPT-maker OpenAI says ousted CEO Sam Altman to return with new board just days after previous one fired him.Source

3 dead and 3 missing after landslide rips through remote Alaska fishing community

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:27 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Three people were killed and three were missing after a landslide barreled down a heavily forested, rain-soaked mountainside and smashed into homes in a remote fishing community in southeast Alaska. The slide — estimated to be 450 feet (137 meters) wide — occurred at about 9 p.m. Monday during a significant rain and windstorm near Wrangell, an island community of 2,000 people some 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of the state capital of Juneau.Rescue crews found the body of a girl in an initial search and late Tuesday the bodies of two adults were found by a drone operator. Searchers used a cadaver-sniffing dog and heat-sensing drones to search for two children and one adult unaccounted for after the disaster, while the Coast Guard and other vessels looked along a waterfront littered with rocks, trees and mud. Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said a woman who had been on the upper floor of a home was rescued. She was in good condition and rece...

Mexico and Jamaica come from behind late to qualify for 2024 Copa América

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:27 GMT

Edson Álvarez saved Mexico from elimination with a goal in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time and El Tri beat Honduras 4-2 on penalty kicks Tuesday night to qualify for next year’s Copa América along with Jamaica, which rallied past Canada.Mexico’s César Huerta was twice allowed to retake his penalty kick in the shootout after two saves by Edrick Menjívar when Salvadoran referee Iván Barton ruled the goalkeeper moved too early. Huerta scored on his third attempt for the 4-2 lead and Andy Najar, who spurned the U.S. national team to play for Honduras, put his shot wide as Mexican players celebrated.Honduras led 2-0 from Saturday’s win in Tegucigalpa but Mexico tied the aggregate score 2-2 in the home-and-home, total-goals series on goals by Luis Chávez in the 43rd minute and by Álvarez, who scored 1 1/2 minutes after the nine minutes of stoppage time that was signaled.Jamaica rebounded from a 2-1 home loss in the first leg and a one-goal halftime deficit f...

Cette pub boycottée n’a rien à vendre

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:27 GMT

Notre newsletter quotidienne sur les enjeux de lobbying et de transparence en France.Par PAUL DE VILLEPINAvec ALEXANDRE LÉCHENET, OCÉANE HERRERO et AURORE GORIUSInfos, tuyaux et mini-drames à partager ? Ecrivez à Océane Herrero, Aurore Gorius, Alexandre Léchenet et Paul de Villepin | Voir dans votre navigateurLE MENU DU JOUR— Les maires, des “entrepreneurs des énergies renouvelables” qui s’ignorent.— L’Ademe fait de la pub pour ne rien acheter ? Les commerçants s’étranglent…— pendant que l’Elysée s’emploie à rallumer la flamme des ETI.Bonjour à toutes et à tous, difficile de passer à côté, hier, de l’offensive de communication de Vivendi sur le bouclage du rachat du groupe Lagardère : entretien croisé d’Arnaud Lagardère, Yannick et Vincent Bolloré au Figaro, communiqués de l’un et de l’autre, et même communication interne à l’endroit des salariés de Lagardère via un joli courrier signé du boss que votre infolettre a récupéré.Dans sa grande joie, Vivendi a eu l’air d’oublie...

Broadcom planning to complete deal for $69 billion acquisition of VMWare after regulators give OK

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:27 GMT

SAN JOSE, California (AP) — Computer chip and software maker Broadcom has announced it has cleared all regulatory hurdles and plans to complete its $69 billion acquisition of cloud technology company VMware on Wednesday. The company, based in San Jose, California, announced the plan after China joined the list of countries that had given a go-ahead for the acquisition. Broadcom wants to establish a stronger foothold in the cloud computing market, and VMware’s technology allows large corporations to blend public cloud access with internal company networks. VMware has close relations with every major cloud company and provider, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Broadcom said it had legal greenlights in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, Israel, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and “foreign investment control clearance in all necessary jurisdictions.”“There is no legal impediment to closing under U.S. merger regulations,” it s...