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The African Union is joining the G20, a powerful acknowledgement of a continent of 1 billion people

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:41:58 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The group of the world’s 20 leading economies is welcoming the African Union as a permanent member, a powerful acknowledgement of Africa as its more than 50 countries seek a more important role on the global stage.U.S. President Joe Biden called last year for the AU’s permanent membership in the G20, saying it’s been “a long time in coming.” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the bloc was invited to join during the G20 summit his country is hosting this week. The African Union has advocated for full membership for seven years, spokesperson Ebba Kalondo said. Until now, South Africa was the bloc’s only G20 member.Here’s a look at the AU and what its membership represents in a world where Africa is central to discussions about climate change, food security, migration and other issues.WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR AFRICA?Permanent G20 membership signals the rise of a continent whose young population of 1.3 billion is set to double by 2050 and make ...

Ban or embrace? Colleges wrestle with AI-generated admissions essays.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:41:58 GMT

Rick Clark, executive director of undergraduate admission at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and his staff spent weeks this summer pretending to be high school students using artificial intelligence chatbots to fill out college applications.The admissions officers each took on a different high school persona: swim team captain, Eagle Scout, musical theater performer. Then they fed personal details about the fictional students into ChatGPT, prompting the AI chatbot to produce the kind of extracurricular activity lists and personal essays commonly required on college applications.Clark said he wanted to get a handle on how AI chatbots might reshape the admissions process this fall — the start of the first full academic year that the tools will be widely available to high school seniors — and come up with guidance for students applying to Georgia Tech.“Students on some level are going to have access to and use AI,” Clark said. “The big question is: How do we want to direct them, k...

De La Salle beats St. Francis to dodge first 0-3 start in nearly a half century

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:41:58 GMT

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Has an early-season victory ever felt so good?In its first trip to St. Francis since its historic loss there two years ago, De La Salle had to dig deep Friday night to avoid what would have been the program’s first 0-3 start in 48 years.Clinging to a four-point lead with less than nine minutes to go, the Concord powerhouse finally dialed up the plays that pushed the team to victory.When it ended, De La Salle prevailed 35-17 as quarterback Toa Faavae ran for three touchdowns and Dominic Kelley carried 25 times for 135 yards and one TD.“I am happy for these kids,” coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “It’s a young group. We’re trying to learn how to win. It’s very gratifying. It was awesome to see our offensive line look like a De La Salle offensive line. We were getting off the ball, and our runners looked like De La Salle runners. They were breaking tackles.“This was a De La Salle win against a very good team. Those guys ...

Perfectly timed call helps Monte Vista hold off Bellarmine, remain perfect

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:41:58 GMT

DANVILLE – The Monte Vista High School football team hit Bellarmine with one big play after another Friday night – only to see the Bells bounce back seemingly every time.Finally, the Mustangs put the visitors from San Jose away, using a play they kept in their back pocket — only to use it at the perfect time — to deliver the knockout blow.Quarterback Brayden Turner evaded a blitz on fourth down and found running back Julian McMahan open in the flat for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter to help the Mustangs post a 40-30 nonleague win over Bellarmine and improve to 3-0 for the second time in three years.The touchdown capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive in which the ball went to McMahan 10 times. On the late score, Turner, on his fifth touchdown pass of the game, threw over a blitzing defensive back to an open McMahan, who scrambled into the zone untouched.“We had been talking about that play call literally the entire week,” said McMahan, who scored...

High school football: McClymonds runs over Bishop O’Dowd in long-awaited Oakland showdown

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:41:58 GMT

OAKLAND – When Tajir Golden needed a breather after juking and cutting en-route to 140 yards and two touchdowns, his McClymonds teammate John “Sharky” Tamale took the baton, rushing for 137 yards and two TDs on an even 10 carries. As is so often the case on Friday nights, the duo spearheaded a crushing Warriors running game that wore down a spirited but ultimately overmatched Oakland opponent in a 45-0 victory. So what made this game any different from the dozens of other similar routs that have taken place at “the Mackhouse” over the past decade and a half?Well, this time, it wasn’t an Oakland Athletic League rival being run over on Myrtle Street. It was Bishop O’Dowd, the once-powerful private school program from the MVAL-WACC, that took its lumps against the reigning 2-AA NorCal champion. OAKLAND – McClymonds coach Michael Peters (white shirt on right) and Bishop O’Dowd coach Hardy Nickerson Sr. (black shirt on left) talk before the game. McClymonds and Bishop O...

Arrest made in carjacking at Garin Regional Park in Hayward

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:41:58 GMT

HAYWARD – Authorities on Friday arrested a woman in connection with a carjacking at Garin Regional Park in Hayward.The carjacking happened around 4:15 p.m. Monday at the park, located at 1320 Garin Ave., the East Bay Regional Park District Police Department said in a statement.Around 11:40 a.m. Friday, San Leandro police officers and Alameda County sheriff’s deputies found the car parked in front of the ARCO gas station at 712 Lewelling Blvd. in San Leandro. A woman was seated in the driver’s seat of the car.Police said the woman refused to leave the car.Park district police officers and a helicopter crew provided assistance during the negotiations, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Federal officer shot in Oakland ambush testifies as alleged Boogaloo follower trial opens Crime and Public Safety | Woman fatally shot in Oakland Crime and Public Safety | One adult, three children arrested with vehicle stole out of Oakland ...

Kim Jong Un y su hija celebran el 75 aniversario de Corea del Norte. Xi y Putin envían sus saludos

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:41:58 GMT

(CNN) — Kim Jong Un asistió el sábado a un “desfile paramilitar” con su hija para conmemorar el 75 aniversario de la fundación de Corea del Norte, informaron los medios de comunicación estatales del país.Fuerzas paramilitares y trabajadores industriales desfilaron por la plaza Kim Il Sung de Pyongyang como parte del evento, informó la Agencia Central de Noticias de Corea.Kim Jong Un y su hija asisten a un desfile con motivo del 75 aniversario de la fundación de Corea del Norte el 9 de septiembre de 2023.(Crédito: KCNA/Reuters)Kim asistió al desfile con su hija, que se cree que se llama Kim Ju Ae, y recibió cartas de felicitación de Xi Jinping, de China, y Vladimir Putin, de Rusia, según la KCNA.Una delegación china, encabezada por el viceprimer ministro Liu Guozhong, y miembros visitantes del Conjunto Académico del Ejército ruso Alexandrov asistieron al desfile, dijo KCNA, añadiendo que los enviados diplomáticos destinados en Pyongyang también habían sido invitados...

Sentencian a casi 5 años a hombre involucrado en el asalto al Capitolio

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:41:58 GMT

WASHINGTON DC – Un hombre de Tennessee apodado “Zip-Tie-Guy” en las redes sociales fue sentenciado el viernes a casi cinco años de prisión por su participación en el asalto al Capitolio de Estados Unidos el 6 de enero de 2021.El juez de distrito estadounidense Royce C. Lamberth condenó a Eric Munchel, de Nashville, a 57 meses de prisión, seguidos de tres años de libertad supervisada, dijo el Departamento de Justicia en un comunicado. A Munchel, de 32 años, también se le ordenó pagar $2,000 como restitución.Munchel y su madre, Lisa Marie Eisenhart, de 59 años, fueron vistos en fotografías y videos vistiendo equipo táctico y esposas de plástico estilo bridas que supuestamente fueron robadas de un armario en el edificio del Capitolio el 6 de enero.La madre de Munchel también fue condenada el viernes a 30 meses de prisión.Los abogados de Munchel y Eisenhart no respondieron de inmediato a las solicitudes de comentarios el viernes por la noche.Según el comunicado, Lamberth dijo dura...

Draft G20 statement: Respect ‘territorial integrity’ in Russia-Ukraine war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:41:58 GMT

NEW DELHI — Members of the G20 have drafted a joint statement expressing support for “territorial integrity and sovereignty” in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to language reviewed by POLITICO.The final version of the G20 communique could still change as leaders of the world’s top economies — including Russia — have to approve of the text. But two officials at the weekend summit in India said the current language is likely to appear in the publicly released version.The Ukraine section of the communique says all countries should refrain from taking “action against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.” The wording, which Western countries wanted to signal a condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, could also appease Moscow’s complaints that attacks inside Russia have escalated since Kyiv’s counteroffensive.The final version of the communique is expected to be released before all leaders depart the Indian capital on Su...

Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 600 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:41:58 GMT

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, killing hundreds of people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech. Morocco’s Interior Ministry said Saturday morning that at least 632 people had died, mostly in Marrakech and five provinces near the quake’s epicenter. Another 329 people were injured. Casualty figures were expected to rise more as the search continues and as rescuers reach remote areas.Moroccan television showed scenes from the aftermath, as many stayed outside fearing aftershocks.Anxious families stood in streets or huddled on the pavement, some carrying children, blankets or other belongings. Emergency workers looked for survivors in the rubble of buildings, their reflective yellow vests illuminating the nighttime landscape. The quake ripped a gaping hole in a home, and a car was nearly buried by the chunks of a collapsed building.Baskets, buckets and clothing could be se...