Author: Gulf News Week

FRISCO, Texas (news agencies) — BYU coach Kalani Sitake declined to address the status of Jake Retzlaff on Tuesday amid reports that the quarterback is transferring after being accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit that was dismissed.Retzlaff reportedly plans to enter the transfer portal rather than face a suspension for violating the honor code at the university, which is run by the Mormon church. Retzlaff acknowledged a consensual sexual relationship in his defense against the lawsuit.“I think it’ll be inappropriate for me to make a statement on his situation first,” Sitake said at Big 12 football media days.…

LOS ANGELES (news agencies) — Results from a union member vote on a tentative contract between video game performers and their employers are expected Wednesday evening.If ratified, the contract would formally end a nearly three-year-long effort from Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists negotiators to obtain a new contract for video game performers. The process, which included an 11-month strike against several major game makers, hinged on how artificial intelligence would affect performers in the industry.If approved, the agreement will deliver pay raises, control over performers’ likenesses and artificial intelligence protections. The contract was first reached in…

LONDON (news agencies) — It was almost midnight when a truck driver resting in his cab heard the crackling of flames at a warehouse in east London storing equipment for Ukraine. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and leapt out — but realized the blaze was too big and retreated.When police arrived, they banged on the doors of a nearby apartment building, shouting at residents to evacuate. Parents grabbed children and ran into the street.About 30 minutes after the fire started, Dylan Earl, a British man who admitted to organizing the arson, received a message from a man U.K. authorities say…

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (news agencies) — João Pedro had just scored on a 20-yard curling shot in his first start for Chelsea, putting his team ahead in a Club World Cup semifinal less than a week after signing with the London power. He took two steps to start to celebrate and then he stopped.He clasped his hands.He muted his joy.He would not exhibit excessive exuberance against the team that developed him from a boy into a professional.“When I was young, I didn’t have nothing. They gave everything to me,” he said after his two goals lifted Chelsea over Fluminense 2-0…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (news agencies) — Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz, known more for delivering hard-hit homers than producing them in quantity, was added Tuesday to next week’s Home Run Derby in Atlanta.He is the fifth player named as a participant in Monday’s event at Truist Park, which hosts the All-Star Game a night later. Also competing are Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr., Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and Washington’s James Wood.“I’m really, really happy just because that’s what I do,” Cruz said ahead of Tuesday night’s game at Kansas City. “I like to hit balls far. I think…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — The government of El Salvador has acknowledged to United Nations investigators that the Trump administration maintains control of the Venezuelan men who were deported from the U.S. to a notorious Salvadoran prison, contradicting public statements by officials in both countries. The revelation was contained in court filings Monday by lawyers for more than 100 migrants who are seeking to challenge their deportations to El Salvador’s mega-prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.The case is among several challenging President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.“In this context, the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively…

MARSEILLE, France (news agencies) — A wildfire spurred by hot summer winds reached France’s second-largest city Tuesday, grounding all flights to and from Marseille, injuring at least nine people and forcing many residents to evacuate or barricade themselves indoors as smoke choked the Mediterranean air.A big city hospital switched to generator power, train traffic was halted in most of the surrounding area, and some roads were closed and others tangled with logjams.More than 1,000 firefighters were deployed to tackle the fire, which broke out near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau before racing toward Marseille. Some 720 hectares (acres) were hit…

LONDON (news agencies) — Aryna Sabalenka was having a hard time dealing with her Wimbledon quarterfinal opponent’s unusual game style. The mistakes were mounting Tuesday. The stress was rising. The deficit was troubling.As things went awry, Sabalenka would look at her box with a quizzical expression and raise her hands. After missing one forehand off a short ball, she knelt on the grass near the net, the very picture of exasperation. A month after her loss to Coco Gauff in the French Open final, Sabalenka knew she needed to keep her emotions in check and straighten out her strokes.Did just…

NEW YORK (news agencies) — Sean “Diddy” Combs will be sentenced in his federal criminal case on Oct. 3, a judge said Tuesday after probation officials rejected the defense and prosecution’s plan to move the date up by about two weeks.Combs, who remains jailed after a split verdict last week, spoke briefly to his lawyer Marc Agnifilo during a virtual hearing on the scheduling issue that lasted all of two minutes. At one point he asked the lawyer to turn on his camera so they could see each other’s faces.The hip-hop mogul’s lawyers had been urging Judge Arun Subramanian to…

The unscheduled talks come as Trump’s Middle East envoy said Israel and Hamas were closing their differences on a truce deal.United States President Donald Trump has met Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House for a second time in 24 hours to discuss a possible ceasefire deal in Gaza. The unscheduled talks on Tuesday evening lasted just over an hour, with no media access, and came as Israeli forces killed at least 95 Palestinians in Gaza. The two men had also met for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday, during Netanyahu’s third visit…