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Japan auteur Yamada sticks to exploring the human condition after 90 films

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:14 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Yoji Yamada has directed 90 films, including “Tora-san,” which tops the Guinness World Records for the longest-running movie series starring the same actor. In each of the 48 installments, beginning in 1969, the hero peddler with a heart of gold falls in love but doesn’t get the girl.He has just finished directing a Kabuki play, a Japanese musical theater form dating back four centuries, except re-scripted and directed Yamada-style. It’s stamped with his characteristic voice of compassion for the underdog that has never wavered throughout his seven-decade career.“You must explore what it means to be human. You must be interested in people, their existence, how they live,” said Yamada, 92, looking frail but sprightly with a shock of white hair.“Every human being has something shining inside, like a pearl, that bit of goodness,” he told The Associated Press at an office near Tokyo’s Kabukiza theater, where his “Bunshichi Mottoi Monogatari” plays through the end of t...

'Missing mom' billboards pop up in L.A. seeking woman who vanished

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:14 GMT

Residents may have noticed these new “Missing Mom” and “Find Heidi Planck” billboards popping up on the west side of Los Angeles.Heidi Planck, 39, vanished without a trace in 2021. Loved ones are still distraught as no answers have been given since her disappearance. They’re hoping the billboards will renew the search for answers and closure.On Oct. 17, 2021, Planck had left her son’s football game that day. She was later seen on surveillance video leaving her Mid-City home with her dog and walking near the Hope + Flower building in downtown L.A. That would be the last time she was spotted alive.Her dog was later found wandering on the 29th floor of that high-rise building, but Planck was nowhere to be found. Her disappearance set off a massive search across the city and local landfills for the possibility of a body, but nothing turned up.Family members and her son, who was 11 at the time, have placed large billboards up on the anniversary of her disappearance, hoping to find s...

New self-driving car company offering free rides in L.A.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:14 GMT

Residents and visitors in six neighborhoods across Los Angeles can experience free, fully autonomous Waymo One rides for a limited time. The company, which was spun out of Google and operates in San Francisco and Phoenix, says the service is now coming to Los Angeles.Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people to get to their destinations, is arriving in L.A. to give people a chance to experience a free and fully autonomous Waymo One ride for a limited time, ahead of a wider service launch.  L.A. residents have a chance to take free, fully autonomous Waymo One rides in L.A. neighborhoods for a limited timeThe company is hosting its first pop-up event where people can score a ticket to ride on Oct. 11, from 8 a.m to 3 p.m. at Arizona Avenue and 3rd Street in Santa Monica. There will also be opportunities to win official Waymo merchandise.To call a car, users can download the app and request a ride, similar to Uber or Ly...

Israel declara estado de guerra tras ataque múltiple desde la Franja de Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:14 GMT

JERUSALÉN – El ejército israelí declaró la madrugada de este sábado el estado de guerra tras un fuerte ataque combinado desde la Franja de Gaza, con el lanzamiento de cohetes y la infiltración de milicianos palestinos a territorio israelí, en una agresión de la que considera responsable el grupo islamista Hamas.“El ejército israelí declara el estado de alerta de guerra”, declaró un portavoz militar en un comunicado, mientras las alarmas siguen sonando a norte y sur del país, incluido Tel Aviv y Jerusalén, y al menos una persona murió y 15 resultaron heridas.“En la última hora, la organización terrorista Hamas inició un lanzamiento masivo de cohetes” y “los terroristas se infiltraron en territorio israelí en varios lugares distintos”, indicó el ejército, que ordenó a “los civiles de la zona central y sur de permanecer junto a los refugios”, mientras que los ciudadanos de comunidades cercanas a Gaza deben permanecer en su interior....

Sismo de 5.9 sacude el sur de México; no se reportan daños

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:14 GMT

CIUDAD DE MÉXICO – Un sismo de magnitud 5.9 sacudió el sur del México este viernes en la noche y activó las alarmas en lugares tan lejanos como la Ciudad de México, pero no se reportaron daños personales ni materiales de inmediato.El Servicio Geológico de Estados Unidos (USGS, por sus siglas en inglés) indicó que el temblor se registró poco después de las 11 p.m. hora local cerca de la localidad de Matías Romero, en el estado sureño de Oaxaca, a una profundidad de 67 millas.Protección Civil del estado de Oaxaca dijo que estaba pendiente de los informes de daños.En la capital de Oaxaca se sintieron fuertes sacudidas.El temblor activó las alarmas sísmicas en la Ciudad de México, lo que llevó a los residentes a salir a la calle, pero en la mayoría de las zonas no se sintió.Este artículo será actualizado cuando haya más información disponible. Cinco terremotos consecutivos de hasta 6.2 de magnitud sacuden India, Nepal y Afganistán Terremot...

Militantes se infiltran en Israel desde Gaza al tiempo que Hamas reivindica un importante ataque con cohetes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:14 GMT

Disparos de cohetes desde Gaza hacia Israel el 7 de octubre de 2023. (Crédito: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)Haz clic aquí para ver las actualizaciones más recientes.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.Source

Israel under fire amid massive air and ground attack by Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:14 GMT

Israel was struck by a surprise rocket barrage as dozens of heavily armed gunmen reportedly attacked the country’s south from the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning, as the Islamist militant group Hamas announced the launch of a military operation.Israel’s national emergency service said that one person has been killed and another 15 wounded in the onslaught that hit towns and cities across the south and center of the country in the early hours of Saturday. The death toll is likely to rise as pictures and videos on social media suggest that several civilians may have been injured or killed during an attack on the southern Israeli town of Sderot, at the border with the Gaza strip. Those images appear to show uniformed Palestinian gunmen opening fire on civilians and civilian vehicles on the streets.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold urgent talks with security chiefs this morning to assess the situation, ahead of convening a high level security cabinet. In a s...

Hamas militant group has started a war that 'Israel will win,' defense minister says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:14 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's defense minister announced that the Hamas militant group has started a war against Israel and pledged that "Israel will win.” Following a security cabinet meeting at the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Hamas “made a grave mistake” in launching barrages of rockets into southern and central Israel in its surprise morning attack.In one of the most serious escalations in years between Israel and the militant group that rules Gaza, Hamas gunmen crossed the border fence at several places and infiltrated Israeli communities.“The state of Israel will win this war,” Gallant said.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.___JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented infiltration Saturday into southern Israel, sending fighters across the border and firing thousands of rockets into the country as the ruling Hamas militant group announced the beginning ...

UN warns Pakistan that forcibly deporting Afghans could lead to severe human rights violations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:14 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Forcibly deporting Afghans from Pakistan could lead to severe human rights violations including the separation of families and deportation of minors, the United Nations warned Saturday. Pakistan recently announced a crackdown on migrants living in the country illegally, including 1.7 million Afghans, telling them to return to their home countries by Oct. 31 to avoid mass arrest and expulsion. The government denies targeting Afghans and says the focus is on people who are in the country illegally, regardless of their nationality. It said it is setting up a hotline and offering rewards to people who tip off authorities about such migrants. The U.N. agencies said Afghanistan is going through a severe humanitarian crisis with several rights challenges, particularly for women and girls, who are banned by the Taliban from education beyond sixth grade, most public spaces and many jobs.“Such plans would have serious implications for all who have been forced to leave the cou...

Hamas militant group has started a war that ‘Israel will win,’ defense minister says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:04:14 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister announced that the Hamas militant group has started a war against Israel and pledged that “Israel will win.” Following a security cabinet meeting at the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Hamas “made a grave mistake” in launching barrages of rockets into southern and central Israel in its surprise morning attack.In one of the most serious escalations in years between Israel and the militant group that rules Gaza, Hamas gunmen crossed the border fence at several places and infiltrated Israeli communities.“The state of Israel will win this war,” Gallant said.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.___JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented infiltration Saturday into southern Israel, sending fighters across the border and firing thousands of rockets into the country as the ruling Hamas militant group announced th...