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6 new countries to join BRICS, including Iran and Saudi Arabia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

Leaders of the BRICS group have decided to invite six more countries to join their alliance.Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have all been invited to become members of BRICS, said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who hosted a three-day summit of the emerging markets group in Johannesburg this week.Their membership will take effect January 1, 2024.“We value the interest of other countries in building a partnership with BRICS,” Ramaphosa said. “We have tasked our Foreign Ministers to further develop the BRICS partner country model and a list of prospective partner countries and report by the next Summit.”The decision to broaden the grouping reflects a lack of progress in deepening the existing BRICS alliance, which despite representing a third of global GDP has diverging interests — ranging from China’s rise as a global superpower, to India’s nonalignment, to Brazil’s status as a farm exporter. Some of the new m...

Police investigating shooting in Lowell that left juvenile hospitalized

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

Authorities are investigating a shooting in Lowell overnight that left a juvenile hospitalized. Officers responding to a reported shooting in the area of Jewett Street and Hampshire Place around 12:30 a.m. found a juvenile male suffering from a gunshot wound, according to Lowell police. He was taken to a nearby hospital then taken by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.A preliminary investigation suggests this was an isolated incident, police said.Anyone with information is asked to call Lowell police at 978-937-3200.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Gunfire at a California biker bar kills 4 people, including shooter, and wounds several others

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

TRABUCO CANYON, Calif. (AP) — Gunfire at a popular Southern California biker bar killed three people and wounded several others, and the gunman — believed to be a retired law enforcement officer — was fatally shot by deputies, authorities said.Hours after the shooting Wednesday evening at Cook’s Corner, in Orange County’s rural Trabuco Canyon, authorities said at a news conference that they were still gathering information and interviewing witnesses. Authorities arrived within two minutes of the first report of a shooting, and the gunman was also soon dead, Orange County Sheriff’s Sgt. Frank Gonzalez said. Dozens of patrol cars and ambulances swarmed the bar. Three other people and the gunman were pronounced dead at the scene. Six others were taken to the hospital, five of them with gunshot wounds, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department posted on social media. Two were in critical condition, according to a statement from Providence Mission H...

Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani has elbow tear, won’t pitch again this season

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

Shohei Ohtani, the two-way sensation poised for a historic MLB contract this offseason, has a tear in his right elbow and won’t pitch again this season, the Angels announced.Ohtani will get a second opinion on his injured ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), and the Angels have not determined whether he will require Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, general manager Perry Minasian said.“Obviously, disappointing news,” Minasian said. “I feel terrible for him, but it is what it is, and if anybody can bounce back, it’s him.”Ohtani left during the second inning of his start Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds, during which he struck out two batters and hit a home run. He underwent imaging on his elbow, then played in the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader as the Angels’ designated hitter, going 1-for-5.The 29-year-old leads MLB hitters with 44 home runs this season and pitched to a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA and 167 ...

King Charles and Camilla to make up postponed state visit to France in September

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III and Queen Camilla will visit France in September, Buckingham Palace said Thursday, after their planned state visit in March was postponed amid widespread demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s retirement age reforms. The couple had planned to tour Paris and Bordeaux in March as part of their debut on the world stage as monarch and queen consort. But the trip was shelved after violent nationwide protests rocked France, and Germany, which was originally intended to be the second leg of the journey, became the royals’ first destination instead. Palace officials say a state visit to France will now take place from Sept. 20 to 22. “The visit will celebrate the shared history, culture and values of the United Kingdom and France,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. Macron said he had asked for the March state visit to be delayed out of “common sense and friendship” because of the risks of violent protests. While Charles and C...

France’s Macron aims to push economic and immigration reforms despite political challenges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to make key economic, immigration and education reforms despite France’s divisions and political challenges that have included months of protests against pension changes and recent rioting over a teen killed by police.Macron said in a wide-ranging interview with Le Point magazine published Thursday that he will meet next week with the country’s “main political leaders” for talks about issues confronting France. The talks would be aimed at proposing new bills and possibly referendums, he said.Macron last year lost his majority in the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, forcing him to use political maneuvering to pass any new legislation. That was “no big deal,” he said in the interview, noting that his centrist government managed to pass some new laws since then with support from members of the center-left and the traditional right.Macron wants to avoid a repetition of the major political crisis prompted by the p...

Support grows for sustainable development, a ‘bioeconomy,’ in the Amazon

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — If all goes according to plan, in a few weeks people will be sipping a shake that Marcelo Salazar has been developing for three years, made from the Amazon jungle’s cornucopia. His company Mazo Mana Forest Food has partnered with communities that live from the forest and gather the Brazil nuts, cocoa beans, acai, mushrooms, fruits and other ingredients that go into the drinks. They have received some backing from a business incubator based in Manaus that focuses on sustainable forest businesses, to counter an economy based on logging and ranching.“To turn the game around, I think it takes a new generation of ventures that combine different business models,” Salazar said. Some hope sustainable ventures like this will be part of a new “bioeconomy,” a buzzword at the Amazon Summit in Belem in early August, where policymakers voiced eagerness to protect the rainforest and provide a livelihood for tens of millions of rainforest residents. But beyond general sup...

Vivek Ramaswamy takes center stage, plus other key moments from the first Republican debate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have dominated the Republican presidential nomination fight for much of the year. Neither dominated the debate stage Wednesday night.Trump, of course, decided to skip the GOP’s opening presidential primary debate given his overwhelming lead in the polls. DeSantis showed up, but he was overshadowed for much of the night by political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy. And there was no shortage of aggressive performances from the others on stage either. Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were aggressive when given the opportunity. It took more than an hour for moderators to ask about Trump’s legal battles, a discussion previewed with a video of the Atlanta jail where he will surrender on charges Thursday.The former president scheduled counterprogramming with an interview aired on X, formerly known as Twitter, while his team suggested that the debate w...

Uber raises minimum age for most California drivers to 25, saying insurance costs are too high

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Uber raised the minimum age requirement for most of its new drivers in California to 25 on Thursday under rules the company said are necessary because of the rising costs of commercial auto insurance in the state.The new rule applies only to drivers signing up to transport passengers with Uber’s ride-hailing platform, and not for those delivering food with Uber Eats. Previously drivers as young as 19 could sign up.Those under 25 who activated their accounts prior to Wednesday can continue to drive for Uber, the company said.Insurance rates for Uber’s California drivers are significantly higher than for personal vehicles or taxi drivers, according to a company statement announcing the change.“As a result of these lopsided requirements, personal injury attorneys have created a cottage industry specializing in suing rideshare platforms like ours, pushing Uber’s California state-mandated commercial insurance costs to rise by more than 65% in just two yea...

Stock market today: Tech stocks rally after blowout Nvidia profit, while rest of Wall Street drifts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks are jumping in early trading following a blowout profit report from Nvidia, but moves for the rest of Wall Street are more muted. The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher early Thursday, continuing a strong week that has trimmed its loss for August so far. The Dow was little changed and the Nasdaq composite was leading the market with a 0.5% gain. Nvidia was at the center of the run after it reported much stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. That raised hopes that this year’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology isn’t just hype. Nvidia rose 4.9%. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street was mixed in premarket trading early Thursday after chipmaker Nvidia reported blowout earnings, pushing Nasdaq futures higher.Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.6% before the bell, the Nasdaq jumped 1.3%, while Dow futures lagged, inching back 0.1%.That comes a day after Wall Street...