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Russia snubs UN proposal to rejoin Black Sea grain deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

Russia on Saturday stressed again that it was not willing to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal unless its demands are met.“All our conditions are perfectly well known. They do not need interpretation; they are absolutely concrete and all this is absolutely achievable,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday, according to Reuters. Russia left the United Nations-backed deal in July, accusing Western countries of receiving the bulk of grain deliveries from the agreement and refusing to lift sanctions on Russia. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ready to rejoin the deal only if restrictions on Russian agricultural exports were dropped.In August, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres reportedly sent Moscow some proposals in a bid to convince Russia to rejoin the deal. The U.N. proposals included giving a Luxembourgish subsidiary of the Russian Agricultural Bank access to the SWIFT international payments system.But, on Saturd...

Death toll rises above 1,000 in Morocco earthquake

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

A powerful earthquake struck central Morocco Friday night, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring hundreds more.The death toll for the tremor near Marrakech reached 1,037, with more than 1,200 injured, the Associated Press reported, citing the Moroccan government. The quake was the biggest to hit Morocco in 120 years, according to the AP. The quake seriously damaged buildings, according to local media, including Marrakech, where people spent the night outside for safety reasons. A mosque minaret toppled in Jemaa al-Fna Square, the heart of Marrakech’s old city, Reuters reported. Heads of governments from all over the world were quick to express solidarity and offer help to Morocco. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is in India for a G20 summit, said her “heart” was with the Moroccan people. In a sign of the huge scale of the disaster, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered the armed forces to mobilize to help deal with the catastrophe, the A...

Authorities assign more officers to find convicted killer who escaped Pennsylvania prison as search enters 10th day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

(CNN) — As the manhunt for a convicted killer who slipped out of a Pennsylvania prison continues for the 10th day Saturday, authorities conducting an intense 24-hour operation now have nearly 400 officers on search efforts.Officials assigned additional law enforcement personnel to search for Danelo Cavalcante as the number of his reported sightings in Chester County has grown since his escape from the county correctional facility on August 31.“We pulled more people in through the night last night,” Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens told reporters Friday, adding the reinforcements are from state police and other agencies. “We have got numerous tactical teams that are out doing searches.”Bivens, who is leading the massive search, provided a tour of the command center on Friday to a CNN crew and other reporters to show how authorities are operating.Police showed a live map of the general perimeter where tactical teams, K-9 dogs and a helicopter a...

Source: Patriots signing QB Bailey Zappe to 53-man roster from practice squad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

The Patriots are signing quarterback Bailey Zappe to their 53-man roster from the practice squad, according to a source.This is an indication that Zappe will be used as the Patriots’ backup quarterback Sunday in their season opener against the Eagles. Head coach Bill Belichick said Friday morning that the team was still deciding between Zappe and Matt Corral.The Patriots will need to make a corresponding roster move to put Zappe on their 53-man roster. They currently do not have an open spot.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots vs. Eagles preview: How Mac Jones, Bill Belichick can pull off an upset Sunday New England Patriots | How Patriots will try to neutralize Eagles’ biggest strength Week 1 New England Patriots | Patriots-Eagles injury report: Jack Jones out, Rhamondre Stevenson among 5 questionable New England Patriots | Source: Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson expected to play Week 1 despite practice ab...

Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 1,000 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

By SAM METZ and MOSA’AB ElSHAMY (Associated Press)MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, killing more than 1,000 people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech. The full toll was not known as rescuers struggled to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages hit hardest.People woken by the magnitude-6.8 quake ran into the streets in terror and disbelief. A man visiting a nearby apartment said dishes and wall hangings began raining down, and people were knocked off their feet and chairs. A woman described fleeing her house after an “intense vibration.’ A man holding a child said he was jarred awake in bed by the shaking. State television showed people clustered in the streets of Marrakech, afraid to go back inside buildings that might still be unstable. Many wrapped themselves in blankets as they tried to sleep outside.The quake was the bi...

G20 leaders reach consensus statement, softening stance on Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi says global economic leaders have reached a consensus on a final communique, but the language surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — which is leading to geopolitical tensions — has softened since the leaders last met. The consensus statement from this year’s G20 summit in India was posted by India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saturday, a day before the summit ends.It calls for the cessation of military destruction or other attacks on relevant infrastructure.Senior government officials in Canada said it took months to get the wording where it is, but they wouldn’t say what other countries had also pushed for stronger language.During last year’s G20 summit in Bali, the leaders were more direct by calling out Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, while demanding they withdraw from the territory. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is attending the two-day summit, has promised to keep Ukraine’s ...

Biden, Modi and G20 allies unveil rail and shipping project linking India to Middle East and Europe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — President Joe Biden and his allies on Saturday announced plans to build a rail and shipping corridor linking India with the Middle East and Europe, an ambitious project aimed at fostering economic growth and political cooperation.“This is a big deal,” said Biden. “This is a really big deal.” The corridor, outlined at the annual Group of 20 summit of the world’s top economies, would help boost trade, deliver energy resources and improve digital connectivity. It would include India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Israel and the European Union, said Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser.Sullivan said the network reflected Biden’s vision for “far reaching investments” that come from “effective American leadership” and a willingness to embrace other nations as partners. He said the enhanced infrastructure would boost economic growth, help bring countries in the Middle East together and establish that region as a hub for economic ac...

Separatist parliament in Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region elects new president

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Lawmakers in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan, voted to elect a new separatist president on Saturday in a move that was strongly condemned by the Azerbaijani authorities.Samvel Shakhramanyan’s election as the new president of Nagorno-Karabakh follows the resignation of Arayik Harutyunyan, who stepped down on Sept. 1 as president of the region — which the Armenians call Artsakh. It comes amid soaring tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry denounced the vote as a “gross violation” of the country’s constitution and a “serious blow to the efforts of normalization in the region.”Since December, Azerbaijan has blockaded the only road leading from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, severely restricting the delivery of food, medical supplies and other essentials to the region of about 120,000 people.Nagorno-Karabakh is a region within Azerbaijan that came under the control of ethnic Arme...

Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa — with a lot of water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The cost of building an artificial intelligence product like ChatGPT can be hard to measure. But one thing Microsoft-backed OpenAI needed for its technology was plenty of water, pulled from the watershed of the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers in central Iowa to cool a powerful supercomputer as it helped teach its AI systems how to mimic human writing.As they race to capitalize on a craze for generative AI, leading tech developers including Microsoft, OpenAI and Google have acknowledged that growing demand for their AI tools carries hefty costs, from expensive semiconductors to an increase in water consumption.But they’re often secretive about the specifics. Few people in Iowa knew about its status as a birthplace of OpenAI’s most advanced large language model, GPT-4, before a top Microsoft executive said in a speech it “was literally made next to cornfields west of Des Moines.”Building a large language model requires analyzing patterns across a huge trove...

Saturday Forecast: Partly cloudy skies, breezy and cool

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:21 GMT

Saturday Forecast:  Starting out with partly to mostly cloudy skies -- and everyone sees the sun by the afternoon. Breezy & cool for the season. NNE 5-15 mph. Air quality ranges from Good to Moderate for Chicagoland. Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Saturday Night: Scattered clouds & cool-- especially away from the lake. NE 0-5 mphSunday: Partly sunny, a bit warmer-- except lakeside. Chance of late day showers. WNW/NE 5-15 mphExtended outlook calls for a soggy Monday with rain at times and slight chance of an isolated thunderstorms. High temps in the lower 70s. Some lingering showers for Tuesday-- and temps get cooler for Tue/Wed/Thu with high temps in the mid to upper 60s for highs and some overnight lows drop into the upper 40s away from the lake. Temps pop back into the mid 70s by the end of the week.