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Morocco stalls on French earthquake aid amid strained relations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:13 GMT

PARIS — Two days after a devastating earthquake killed roughly 2,500 people, Morocco is still considering France’s emergency aid offer, in a fresh sign of tense relations between the two countries.Rabat has accepted aid from several countries, including the U.K and Spain, but has so far not responded to an offer from Paris. Relations between France and Morocco have been strained for several months over issues of visas for Moroccan nationals, the recognition of Western Sahara and relations with Algeria.On Monday, French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna said accepting aid was a sovereign decision and dismissed the questions over France’s offer as “an inappropriate controversy.”“Morocco hasn’t refused any aid, or any proposal. That’s not the way things should be presented,” she said on French channel BFMTV. Paris will also pledge €5 million for NGOs working in Morocco.Rescue workers are racing against the clock to find survivors still trapped under the rubble and get me...

We won’t cut China out of AI summit over spying scandal, UK says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:13 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak’s government suggested it would not rescind a possible Chinese invite to the U.K.’s AI Safety Summit despite pressure to do so after police arrested a parliamentary aide on suspicion of spying for Beijing.Influential backbench MP Iain Duncan Smith had called on the government to ban China from its AI Safety Summit after the Sunday Times revealed that a parliamentary researcher with links to senior Conservatives had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China.The U.K. government has not confirmed China’s invite to the November summit, but talking to reporters on Monday, a No. 10 Downing Street spokesperson batted away calls to cut Beijing out. “AI knows no borders,” the spokesperson said.POLITICO previously reported that a Chinese presence is likely at the summit, despite pushback from key allies.The No. 10 spokesperson on Monday declined to say which countries would attend the summit, but emphasized the need for the U.K. to engage with China on issues includi...

Smucker is buying Twinkies maker Hostess for $5.6 billion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:13 GMT

New York (CNN) — Hostess, the maker of Twinkies and Ho Hos, is being purchased by J.M. Smucker in a $5.6 billion deal.The two companies announced the transaction Monday, with the jelly maker saying that the purchase expands Smucker’s offerings of “beloved brands in growing categories and accelerates its focus on convenient consumer occasions.”Shares of Hostess (TWNK) soared 19% in early trading. The stock is already up 20% for the month after reports surfaced that the 94-year-old company was for sale. Hostess stockholders will get $30 in cash along with .03002 shares of Smucker’s stock for each Hostess share they own, with the deal expected to close in 2024.“We believe this is the right partnership to accelerate growth and create meaningful value for consumers, customers and shareholders,” Hostess CEO Andy Callahan said in a statement. “Our companies share highly complementary go-to market strategies, and we are very similar in our core business principles and operations.”In ad...

Escaped Pennsylvania killer stole a van over the weekend and tried to contact acquaintances, police say. Here’s where the search stands

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:13 GMT

(CNN) — Police working to track down a fugitive in Pennsylvania, now on the run for 12 days, are facing the reality of a much wider search, as the convicted killer moves farther from the prison, finds new ways to prolong his escape and evades capture.Despite the efforts of hundreds of law enforcement officers, Danelo Cavalcante, 34, slipped through a tightly-guarded perimeter over the weekend, stole a van, changed his appearance, and turned up on a doorbell camera more than 20 miles away, trying to make contact with acquaintances to aid his escape.Cavalcante on Saturday evening stole a 2020 Ford Transit van about three-quarters of a mile from the search perimeter in and around Longwood Gardens, about 35 miles west of Philadelphia, and traveled to the East Pikeland Township home of an acquaintance he’d known several years ago, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said in a Sunday news conference.He spoke with the acquaintance on a Ring doorbell camera, ...

Hurricane Lee forecast to get larger and slow down ahead of decisive turn to the north

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:13 GMT

(CNN) — Major Hurricane Lee will continue to grow in size and slow down ahead of a crucial northward turn midweek, which will determine the extent and severity of its impact on the Northeast, New England, Bermuda and Canada.Lee was a 120-mph, Category 3 hurricane on Monday morning, located well north of the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico in the Atlantic Ocean. Its intensity could oscillate over the next couple of days as it stalls out before its turn to the north, but is expected to weaken as it does so.The final track of the storm after it passes by Bermuda on Thursday or Friday remains highly uncertain because the slowdown is also delaying key forecast details. Exactly when, where and how fast Lee makes its northward turn will determine how close it tracks to the East Coast on its nearest approach over the weekend – details that could come more into focus as soon as Wednesday.If Lee tracks farther to the west before its northward turn, areas north of the Carolinas ...

Bells toll as the US marks 22 years since 9/11, from ground zero to Alaska

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:13 GMT

By JENNIFER PELTZ and KAREN MATTHEWS (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — With tolling bells, personal tributes and tears, Americans looked back Monday on 9/11 at anniversary observances that stretched from ground zero to small towns. People gathered at memorials, firehouses, city halls, campuses and elsewhere to observe the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil. “For those of us who lost people on that day, that day is still happening. Everybody else moves on. And you find a way to go forward, but that day is always happening for you,” Edward Edelman said as he arrived at ground zero to honor his slain brother-in-law, Daniel McGinley. President Joe Biden was due at a ceremony on a military base in Anchorage, Alaska. His visit, en route to Washington from a trip to India and Vietnam, is a reminder that the impact of 9/11 was felt in every corner of the nation, however remote. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when hijacked planes crashed into New ...

Bill Belichick empathizes with Mac Jones after Patriots Week 1 loss

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:13 GMT

Quarterback Mac Jones shouldered the blame after the Patriots’ season opener after he and the offense came up short on two go-ahead opportunities late in the 25-20 loss to the Eagles.Patriots players backed Jones after the game, in which he completed 35-of-54 passes for 316 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Head coach Bill Belichick was asked about the QB’s comments and performance in a video conference call Monday morning.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick provides update on Patriots ‘exempt’ QB Matt Corral New England Patriots | Bill Belichick ‘might’ have fourth-down regret from Patriots’ loss to Eagles New England Patriots | Patriots back Mac Jones while QB blames himself for loss New England Patriots | Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez leaves a mark in memorable NFL debut New England Patriots | Kendrick Bourne feels Patriots can ‘play with any...

Bill Belichick provides update on Patriots ‘exempt’ QB Matt Corral

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:13 GMT

Head coach Bill Belichick said Monday that the Patriots have been in contact with quarterback Matt Corral since he was placed on the exempt/left squad list Saturday afternoon.A source told the Herald that Corral left the team without notice. He didn’t practice Friday, and his absence was listed on the injury report as “not injury related.”Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick empathizes with Mac Jones after Patriots Week 1 loss New England Patriots | Bill Belichick ‘might’ have fourth-down regret from Patriots’ loss to Eagles New England Patriots | Patriots back Mac Jones while QB blames himself for loss New England Patriots | Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez leaves a mark in memorable NFL debut New England Patriots | Kendrick Bourne feels Patriots can ‘play with any team’ after eventful performance “He’s in exempt status,” Belichick wen...

A Tanzanian opposition leader was arrested briefly amid human rights concerns

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:13 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tanzania’s opposition leader Tundu Lissu was on Sunday arrested and later released on bail by the police who accused him of unlawful assembly and obstructing police officers.Lissu was earlier barred from attending a human rights rally in Ngorongoro, in the north of the country. In speeches at other political rallies, he had been critical of the government’s new port deal with a Dubai-based company.The opposition leader returned from exile in January after fleeing for the second time in 2020, three years after he survived an assassination attempt.The opposition party chairman Freeman Mbowe accused President Samia Suluhu of “bringing back authoritarian rule.”Mbowe also accused the president’s administration of blocking the opposition’s political rallies in the north.President Hassan’s predecessor John Magufuli, who died in office in 2021, had cracked down on opposition leaders and banned political rallies.In January, Hassan, who is serving out Magufuli’s te...

Moroccans with shovels and bulldozers dig through rubble but hope for survivors dwindles after quake

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:13 GMT

TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco (AP) — Survivors with shovels worked alongside bulldozers Monday to dig through remote Moroccan villages flattened by a monstrous earthquake, as hope dwindled of finding people alive under wood-and-dirt homes that pancaked into rubble and rescuers overseas waited for Morocco to let them help. More than 2,400 were killed when the quake struck late Friday — the strongest in the North African country in more than a century.A French aid group that specializes in locating people trapped under debris said it is withdrawing an offer to send a nine-person search-and-rescue team after waiting without success for a green light from Morocco to deploy. Rescuers Without Borders’ founder, Arnaud Fraisse, told The Associated Press that “our role is not to find bodies.”Because homes in quake-hit areas were often made of mud bricks with roofs of wood, stone and clay, he said, the hope of finding survivors at this point is slim.“When all of that collapses, you don’t h...