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India enthuses over Oscars for ‘Naatu Naatu,’ elephant doc

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:38 GMT

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — India celebrated its two historic Academy Awards with enthusiasm befitting the high-energy best original song “Naatu Naatu.”The dance anthem from the blockbuster Telugu-language action epic “RRR” is the first from an Indian film to earn a nomination and win and has dazzled audiences everywhere with its energetic tempo and choreography.“The Elephant Whisperers” was named best short documentary at Sunday’s night’s ceremony in a first for an Indian production. The documentary, which is streaming on Netflix, follows the story of a couple in southern India who devote themselves to caring for an orphaned elephant and explores the bond between humans and animals. “Congratulations India” trended on Twitter after “Naatu Naatu” by M.M. Keeravani and Chandrabose trumped the likes of Rihanna and Lady Gaga to win best original song.In the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, where the predominant language is Telugu, fans were elated over the Telugu song’s global...

Governments take extraordinary steps to prevent bank panic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Governments in the UK and U.S. took extraordinary steps to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, even as another major bank was shut down.The UK Treasury and the Bank of England “facilitated the sale″ of Silicon Valley Bank UK to HSBC, ensuring the security of 6.7 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) of deposits.British officials worked throughout the weekend to find a buyer for the UK subsidiary of the California-based bank, whose collapse was the second-largest bank failure in history.“This morning, the government and the Bank of England facilitated a private sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK to HSBC,″ Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt said in a tweet. “Deposits will be protected, with no taxpayer support. I said yesterday that we would look after our tech sector, and we have worked urgently to deliver that promise.”HSBC said it will acquire Silicon Valley Bank UK Ltd for one pound.U.S. regulators also worked all weekend to try to find a...

Oscar Moments: Moms get special praise on feel-good night

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:38 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It was chaotic, messy, wild, creative, big-hearted and utterly unique. If it were a bagel, it would most certainly have been the “everything” kind.But “Everything Everywhere All At Once” was a movie, not a bagel, and it ruled Sunday’s Oscar ceremony, making for one feel-good moment after another — and making history, too, on a huge night for Asians and Asian Americans in Hollywood.And as for The Slap? Well, this Oscar night felt more like a big hug, its heartwarming speeches a potent antidote to the uneasy memory of last year’s Will Smith saga. They kept coming: There was Ke Huy Quan, bounding up the stairs to accept the supporting actor troph y, his teary joy infectious as he referred to his remarkable life story. From the same film there was Jamie Lee Curtis, speaking eloquently about acting as a collaborative endeavor, and the directing duo the Daniels, thanking public school teachers and the family members who nurtured their creativity.Then there was lea...

Girl, 3, kills sister in accidental shooting at Texas home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:38 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A 3-year-old girl found a loaded gun in a Texas home and accidentally shot her sister, killing the 4-year-old on Sunday, police said.Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the girls were in the bedroom of an apartment on Bammel North Houston Road in Houston, where they lived with their parents, around 8 p.m.Five adults, who were all family members or family friends, were in other parts of the apartment and the girls unintentionally were left unsupervised, Gonzalez said.“The 3-year-old gained access to a loaded, semi-automatic pistol. Family members heard a single gunshot. They ran into the room and found the small toddler, 4-years-old, unresponsive,” Gonzalez said.The girl was pronounced dead at the scene after police responded to a 911 call by the family, Gonzalez told journalists outside the home.“It just seems like another tragic story of, again, a child gaining access to a firearm and hurting someone else and this time there was a fatal shot,” Gonzalez said.The Ha...

In The News for March 13 : Canadians take home Academy Award glory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:38 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of March 13 …What we are watching in Canada …The 95th Academy Awards saw a number of Canadians recognized for their work in Hollywood.“Women Talking” won for best adapted screenplay, giving Toronto filmmaker Sarah Polley her first Oscar win, having been previously nominated in the same category for the 2007 relationship drama “Away from Her.”The film adapted from Manitoba author Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel of the same name was also up for best picture, but lost to the interdimensional drama “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”In the performance categories, Canadian-American Brendan Fraser nabbed the award for best actor for his role in “The Whale,” portraying an obese shut-in professor looking to connect with his estranged daughter.Montreal-born makeup artist Adrien ...

Flights at several German airports disrupted by 1-day strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:38 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Flights at several German airports were severely disrupted on Monday by the latest in a string of one-day strikes related to various pay disputes.The ver.di union called workers out on “warning strikes” at Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover and Bremen airports. Some 200 departures were canceled in Berlin, and about a third of the planned 200 arrivals were expected to be canceled, German news agency dpa reported. Hamburg airport said that all 123 planned departures during the strike were canceled and at least 50 of the 121 planned arrivals.The walkouts by airport staff come amid difficult pay talks for employees of Germany’s federal and municipal governments. Unions are seeking a 10.5% pay raise, while employers so far have offered an increase totaling 5% in two stages and one-time payments of 2,500 euros ($2,630) per employee — which unions have rejected as insufficient. The next round of talks is due to start March 27.There are also negotiations ongoing nationwide over air saf...

Simu Liu hosts Juno Awards as Nickelback set to join Canadian Music Hall of Fame

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:38 GMT

EDMONTON — Marvel superhero star Simu Liu returns tonight for an encore performance as host of the Juno Awards.The “Shang-Chi” actor oversees the celebration of Canadian music for the second consecutive year, this time from Edmonton, where five key Junos will be handed out including album of the year, breakthrough artist and the viewer-voted fan choice award.The Junos broadcast airs live from Rogers Place on CBC-TV and CBC Gem.Among the leading contenders are Avril Lavigne, Tate McRae and newcomers Preston Pablo and Rêve, who all hold two nominations going into the show.The Weeknd is also vying for two more Junos after coming out the big winner at a pre-broadcast ceremony for the music industry on Saturday where he picked up four awards, including artist and single of the year for “Sacrifice.”Nickelback will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame on the Juno broadcast before taking the stage for a roaring rock performance.Other artists set to play t...

Quebec byelection today in former Liberal leader’s Montreal riding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:38 GMT

MONTREAL — A byelection is being held today in a Montreal riding to choose a new member of the provincial legislature to replace the former Quebec Liberal leader.Voters are heading to the polls in Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne after Dominique Anglade resigned as leader when her Liberals won less than 15 per cent of the vote in the October general election.The riding has historically been a Liberal stronghold but is now being hotly contested by left-leaning Québec solidaire, which won a pair of Montreal ridings from the Liberals in October.Guillaume Cliche-Rivard of Québec solidaire lost to Anglade by 2,700 votes in October and is running again, this time against Christopher Baenninger of the Liberals, who heads a marketing agency and also lost in October in a neighbouring riding.The Coalition Avenir Québec is running Victor Pelletier, president of the party’s youth wing, while the Parti Québécois candidate is Andréanne Fiola, who also ran for the party in October.The Coalition Aveni...

Monday's Weather Report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:38 GMT

More flooding troubles ahead for California as "Atmospheric River Pattern" continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:38 GMT

Atmospheric rivers are the largest “rivers” of fresh water on EarthWhile atmospheric rivers are pretty different from rivers of liquid water down on the ground, they transport water vapor at a rate equal to 7–15 times the average daily discharge of the Mississippi River. They can be hundreds or thousands of miles long, and up to 300 miles wide.Atmospheric rivers are always flowing somewhere on Earth. At any given time, 90% of the water vapor moving toward the poles is concentrated in about 4 to 5 atmospheric rivers across the globe. Atmospheric River plumes over the Pacific in January 2012:Forecast rainfall by Friday morning, March 17, 2023