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French investigators search the offices of Paris Olympic organizers in corruption probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:59 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French investigators searched the headquarters of Paris Olympic organizers on Tuesday in a probe into suspected corruption, according to the national financial prosecutor’s office.The Paris organizing committee said in a statement that a search was under way at their headquarters in the suburb of Saint-Denis, and that “Paris 2024 is cooperating with the investigators to facilitate their investigations.” It would not comment further.Paris becomes the third straight Summer Games organizer implicated in investigations led by anti-corruption authorities in the French capital.Vote-buying allegations linked to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the Tokyo Games in 2021 previously removed several members of the International Olympic Committee from that organization.An official with the financial prosecutor’s office said Tuesday the searches are linked to two preliminary investigations related to the Paris Olympics that had not previously been made public. The official w...

Auto tycoon Ghosn files $1 billion lawsuit in Lebanon against Nissan over his imprisonment in Japan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:59 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Nissan and about a dozen individuals in Beirut over his imprisonment in Japan and what he says is misinformation spread against him, Lebanese officials said Tuesday.According to the officials, Ghosn’s lawsuit accuses Nissan and the individuals of defamation and of “fabricating charges” against him, which eventually put him behind bars in Japan.The lawsuit was filed last month, the judicial officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the case. The officials did not identify the individuals that Ghosn is accusing. Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on charges of breach of trust, misusing company assets for personal gains and violating securities laws by not fully disclosing his compensation. According to Judge Sabbouh Suleiman, who is at the Beirut’s prosecutor’s office, a hearing date in the case was set for September. The judicial officials who spoke to The Associated Press sad ...

Norwegian citizen arrested in Hungary for alleged extremist plot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:59 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Police have arrested a Norwegian citizen in Hungary on suspicion that he was planning an extremist attack modeled after a 2011 massacre in Norway that killed 77 people, authorities said Tuesday.The National Investigation Office of the Hungarian police said the 45-year-old man had posted numerous videos to the internet in which he described his plans to commit the attacks. After analyzing the videos and identifying the suspect, Hungary’s Counter Terrorism Center arrested the man in a Budapest apartment on June 14 and confiscated his electronic devices. In the videos, the suspect speaks Norwegian and English, police said, and threatens to carry out attacks in airports, railway stations and on airplanes. “I will destroy the innocent,” he said in one video, according to police. The suspect also described his desire to surpass the crimes committed by Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in bomb-and-gun massacres in Norway in ...

Europe, US urged to investigate the type of AI that powers systems like ChatGPT

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — European Union consumer protection groups urged regulators on Tuesday to investigate the type of artificial intelligence underpinning systems like ChatGPT, citing risks that leave people vulnerable and the delay before the bloc’s groundbreaking AI regulations take effect.In a coordinated effort, 13 watchdog groups wrote to their national consumer, data protection, competition and product safety authorities warning them about a range of concerns around generative artificial intelligence. A transatlantic coalition of consumer groups also wrote to U.S. President Joe Biden asking him to take action to protect consumers from possible harms caused by generative AI. Europe has led the world in efforts to regulate artificial intelligence, which gained urgency with the rise of a new breed of artificial intelligence that gives AI chatbots like ChatGPT the power to generate text, images, video and audio that resemble human work. The EU is putting the finishing touches on the worl...

Billie Jean King recalls the meeting that launched the WTA women’s tennis tour 50 years ago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:59 GMT

A half-century later, Billie Jean King thinks back on the landmark gathering of female tennis players at a London hotel shortly before they competed at Wimbledon and acknowledges she wasn’t sure how things would go that day.“I had no idea. Absolute toss-up. Because you never really know. What I did know was that certain players didn’t like what we were trying to do,” King said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And I did know it had to happen that day. Had to.”Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of the meeting on June 21, 1973, at the Gloucester Hotel — about a mile south of Hyde Park in the heart of the British capital — where King and nearly 60 other players agreed to form what today is known as the Women’s Tennis Association or WTA. They paved the way for their sport, and women’s sports in general, to grow.A reunion at that same hotel on June 30 is planned, with King, a twice-inducted member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and an equal rights advocate, al...

CP NewsAlert: Amber Alert cancelled, P.E.I girl found safe, suspect arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:59 GMT

EGLINGTON, P.E.I. — Prince Edward Island RCMP officials say the Amber Alert for a missing nine-year-old girl has been cancelled.A statement on Twitter says the young girl has been found safe and the man suspected of abducting her, Andrew Blaisdell, has been arrested.The Mounties also say they would like to thank the public for their assistance.The Canadian Press

Rescuers race against time to find missing sub bound for Titanic site

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:59 GMT

Rescuers in a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean raced against time early Tuesday to find a missing submersible carrying five people on a mission to document the wreckage of the Titanic, the iconic ocean liner that sank more than a century ago.The carbon-fiber submersible named the Titan, part of a mission by OceanGate Expeditions, carried a pilot, a renowned British adventurer, two members of an iconic Pakistani business family and another passenger. Authorities reported the vessel overdue Sunday night about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center.Every passing minute, however, puts the Titan’s crew at greater risk. The submersible had a 96-hour oxygen supply when it put to sea at roughly 6 a.m. Sunday, according to David Concannon, an adviser to OceanGate.“It is a remote area — and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area,” said Rear Adm. John Mauger, a commander for the U.S. C...

P.E.I. Amber Alert cancelled, 9-year-old girl found safe and suspect arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:59 GMT

EGLINGTON, P.E.I. — Prince Edward Island RCMP officials say the Amber Alert for a missing nine-year-old girl has been cancelled.A statement on Twitter says Jazlyn Blaisdell has been found safe and the man suspected of abducting her, Andrew Blaisdell, has been arrested.The Mounties also say they would like to thank the public for their assistance.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2023.The Canadian Press

Man seriously hurt, suspect sought after downtown Toronto stabbing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:59 GMT

Police are searching for a suspect after a man was stabbed in downtown Toronto on Monday night.It happened in the area of Yonge and Dundas streets around 8:30 p.m.The victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries.The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived. He is described as six-feet tall and was last seen wearing a grey t-shirt and dark track pants.The investigation is ongoing.STABBING:Dundas St E & Gould St8:27 pm– reports of man stabbed– police o/s located victim– @TorontoMedics transporting victim to hospital with serious injuries– suspect: male, black, 6', grey t-shirt, dark track pants– ongoing investigation#GO1412440^sc— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) June 20, 2023

Tourism businesses in a ‘dire’ state, with debt mounting and demand meager: industry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:59 GMT

The head of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada says businesses are struggling to stay afloat under a pile of debt and a dearth of overseas visitors.In a poll of tourism operators, some 45 per cent said they were likely or somewhat likely to shut down within three years unless the government steps in to adjust their loan conditions.“Unless there’s some change to the payback system and the payback requirements, they’re in danger of closing in the next three years,” said Beth Potter, CEO of the trade organization.“Everything from campgrounds to hotels to amusement parks to outdoor adventure,” Potter said.“Festival events oftentimes are run by non-profit organizations, and they’re really challenged right now in paying back these loans,” she said.“It’s dire.”Many businesses surveyed said they will not be able to make debt payments that are slated to come due in the next two years. The loans include those taken out through federal pandemic relie...