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The key players in last weekend’s armed rebellion in Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:10 GMT

The key players in last weekend’s armed rebellion by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin:YEVGENY PRIGOZHINPrigozhin, 62, owed his position and his fortune to links with President Vladimir Putin. The former convict who became a St. Petersburg restaurateur was dubbed “Putin’s chef” for lucrative Kremlin catering contracts. He expanded into other areas and founded the Wagner Group — a private military contractor that was active in Syria and several African countries. The Kremlin relied on Wagner to help shore up its forces in Ukraine after the regular military suffered humiliating setbacks there. Wagner spearheaded attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and captured it after a long and bloody battle, during which Prigozhin complained of not enough Defense Ministry support.Prigozhin launched his rebellion after the Defense Ministry demanded that all private contractors come under its authority by July 1, a move that would make him lose control over Wagner. He...

TV series put on pause by the Hollywood writers strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:10 GMT

As a strike by Hollywood writers approaches the two-month mark, late-night talk shows have been put on long-term hiatus and more and more scripted shows are pausing production, with films not far behind. The looming possibility of unionized actors striking alongside them could mean a far larger shutdown.Here’s a selected look at shows in suspension.___SHOWS THAT HAVE CANCELED EPISODES DUE TO WRITERS STRIKE“Jimmy Kimmel Live” — ABC“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” — CBS“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” — NBC“Late Night With Seth Myers” — NBC“Saturday Night Live” — NBC“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” — HBO ___SHOWS THAT HAVE PAUSED WORK DUE TO WRITERS STRIKE“Stranger Things” — Netflix“Cobra Kai” — Netflix “Big Mouth” — Netflix“American Horror Story” — FX “Yellowjackets” — Showtime“Billions” — Showtime “The Chi” — Showtime “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” — HBO“Hacks” — Max“Penguin” — Max “Duster” — Max “1923” — Paramount+“Severance” — Apple TV+“Me...

Hollywood’s actors may join its writers on strike. Here’s why

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:10 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood actors may be on the verge of joining screenwriters in what would be the first two-union strike in the industry in more than six decades, with huge consequences for film and television production. Here is a look at how it could play out, and why it’s happening. WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH ACTORS’ NEGOTIATIONS? The contract between the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists and the studios, streaming services and production companies that employ them expires Friday night at midnight Pacific time. Unionized actors have voted overwhelmingly to authorize their leaders to call a strike when it does. But that’s hardly a hard deadline. Both sides have indicated a willingness to talk for what may be several days past the expiration, as happened before resolutions were reached in the same negotiations in 2014 and 2017. Reports have said the talks have been productive. But some actors have expressed worry that the...

Vatican reports income boost in charitable fund, even as donations dip following financial scandals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:10 GMT

The Vatican on Friday reported that a key charitable fund, Peter’s Pence, doubled its income in 2022 to 107 million euros, or more than $166 million, even as donations from the faithful dipped slightly following years of scandal over financial mismanagement at the Holy See.Overall, the Peter’s Pence fund, which finances the Vatican bureaucracy and the pope’s charitable projects around the world, ended 2022 with 11.5 million euros in surplus compared to an 18.4 million-euro deficit in 2021. That year, it only brought in 46.9 million euros in income, according to the financial statement.It’s the second year that the Holy See has published a dedicated financial statement for the Peter’s Pence fund, part of Pope Francis’ push for greater financial transparency in a bid to assure the faithful that their contributions are being put to good use.The disclosures follow years of scandal, in particular the Vatican secretariat of state’s 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate...

Czech film festival in the spa town of Karlovy Vary kicks off with an award for actor Russell Crowe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:10 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — An international film festival in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary has kicked off its 57th edition with an award planned for Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe.Crowe, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2001 for his role in “Gladiator,” is to be honored for his outstanding contribution to world cinema on the opening night Friday.Crowe, a New Zealand native, will also perform with his band Indoor Garden Party on Friday and will present his movie “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” the following day.Organizers will also honor Swedish actress Alicia Vikander and Scottish actor Ewan McGregor.The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival runs through July 8. The grand jury will consider 11 movies for the top prize, the Crystal Globe.The Associated Press

Canadian economy steady in April as real GDP remains unchanged

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:10 GMT

Statistics Canada says the Canadian economy remained essentially unchanged in April, following a slight uptick in March.The federal agency’s advance estimate suggests real gross domestic product grew 0.4 per cent in May, led by the manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors.The April figure came in lower than expected by Statistics Canada as services-producing industries were unchanged while goods-producing industries edged up 0.1 per cent.The Canadian economy is largely expected to stall in the latter half of this year and even potentially enter a downturn as high interest rates weigh on consumers and businesses.Still, some sectors have continued to post growth, with Statistics Canada reporting mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction grew 1.2 per cent in April as all subsectors were up — the fourth consecutive month of growth in the sector.Yet wholesale trade contracted for the third consecutive month in April, falling 1.4 per cent as activity declined in six of nine sub...

IRS throws a chill into collectives paying college athletes while claiming nonprofit status

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:10 GMT

The rapidly expanding landscape of nonprofit, donor-backed collectives paying college athletes to promote charities has been hit with a potentially seismic disruption.A recent 12-page memo from the Internal Revenue Service determined that, in many cases, such collectives may not qualify as tax-exempt if their main purpose is paying players instead of supporting charitable works.If the collectives aren’t tax-exempt, the donations they collect that are used to pay quarterbacks, point guards and pitchers may not be, either.“There’s a high likelihood we will cease operations, within the next period of months,” said Gary Marcinick, founder of the Cohension Foundation, a collective formed to connect Ohio State athletes with charities for name, image and likeness (NIL) promotional deals. “In our space, we are donor driven …. It’s not only a game changer, it’s a game ender, I think, in the vast majority of cases.” The collectives were born out of the massive change that hit coll...

Another center is reportedly returning to the Bulls for the 2023-2024 season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:10 GMT

CHICAGO — It looks like the Bulls will have two of their centers back for the 2023-2024 season.Just a few days after Nikola Vucevic got a contract extension for the team, Andre Drummond is set to opt-in to his player option with the team for the 2023-2024 season, per a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.That will pay the center $3.36 million as he returns to the Bulls for a second season and comes just after Vucevic signed a three-year, $60 million contract extension on Wednesday. Full NBA free agency will begin on Friday at 5 p.m. central time. Drummond, a two-time All-Star with the Pistons, is getting ready to begin his 12th NBA season and will return to the Bulls in a reserve role, which he was in the 2022-2023 season. He came off the bench for 67 games, averaging six points and 6.6 rebounds per game in an average of 12.7 minutes per contest. As the Bulls approach free agency, it appears they will return a team that will closely resemble the one from last season when they wen...

UN warns that 90% of Syrians are below the poverty line, while millions face cuts in food aid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:10 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. humanitarian chief warned Thursday that the 12-year conflict in Syria has pushed 90% of its population below the poverty line, and that millions face cuts in food aid next month because of a funding shortfall.Martin Griffiths said that the $5.4 billion U.N. humanitarian appeal for Syria – the world’s largest – is only 12% funded, meaning that emergency food aid for millions of Syrians could be cut by 40% in July.Griffiths delivered the grim news to the U.N. Security Council along with an appeal to members to renew the authorization for the delivery of aid to the country’s rebel-held northwest from Turkey, which expires July 10.But Russia’s U.N. ambassador, whose country is Syria’s most important ally, called the cross-border aid deliveries “a zero-sum game” that is undermining Syria’s sovereignty, discriminating against government-controlled territory, and fueling illegal armed groups including “terrorists in Idlib.”Syria’s uprising-turned conflic...

Should ketchup be kept in the refrigerator or pantry? Heinz weighs in

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:10 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Do you keep your ketchup in the refrigerator or the kitchen pantry? Heinz is trying to settle a heated online debate."FYI: Ketchup. goes. in. the. Fridge!!!" the official Heinz UK Twitter posted Tuesday.The company also posted a poll asking people to weigh in on where they store their ketchup. On Thursday night, the poll had nearly 12,000 votes, with 62.4% of people voting to keep ketchup in the fridge. 5-foot gator enters home through doggie door Several Twitter users said they keep their ketchup out of the fridge if the bottle is unopened. Once they open it, the bottle goes into the fridge.One commenter said putting ketchup in the fridge was "madness.""I live in Britain where it doesn't get hot enough to put it in the fridge. I don't want to dip my hot chips into fridge cold ketchup. Madness," Alex McKay tweeted.Heinz said its ketchup -- which is made with tomatoes, vinegar, corn syrup, salt, onion powder and spice -- is shelf-stable because of its natural a...