Atletico Madrid's Spanish midfielder Rodrigo Riquelme celebrates scoring is team's fourth goal during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King's Cup) football match against Real Madrid. PHOTO: AFP
MADRID (AFP) – Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo Riquelme’s extra-time strikes earned Atletico Madrid a 4-2 win over rivals Real Madrid and passage to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals Friday.
Earlier Barcelona secured an unconvincing 3-1 win at third-tier Unionistas de Salamanca to scrape through their last 16 tie.
Atletico edged an entertaining battle at the Rojiblancos’ Metropolitano stadium, the second of three Madrid derbies in under a month, to inflict Los Blancos’ second defeat of the season in all competitions.
Atletico Madrid’s Spanish midfielder Rodrigo Riquelme celebrates scoring is team’s fourth goal during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) football match against Real Madrid. PHOTO: AFP
Madrid twice pegged back Atletico to take the game to extra-time, with Jan Oblak’s own goal cancelling out Samuel Lino’s opener, and Joselu netting late on after Morata had put the hosts in front again.
In extra-time Griezmann broke down the right and finished with aplomb and Riquelme struck at the death to settle the game and avenge Atletico’s 5-3 defeat by Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final last week. Defeat snapped Madrid’s 21-match unbeaten run.
“I don’t think (Atletico have the measure of us), because we beat them a few days ago,” Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told reporters.
“We played a complete game, even, hard-fought, against a strong rival.”
Victory meant a lot to Atletico, off the pace in La Liga and hurt by the prior Madrid defeat, and they celebrated wildly with their supporters. “The games lately have been really nice for fans, at high speed, decided in extra-time and today it was our turn to win it,” Atletico skipper Koke told TVE.
Meanwhile, in another match Alvaro Gomez brilliantly volleyed Unionistas in front, Spanish champions Barcelona clawed their way back to triumph with goals from Ferran Torres, Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde.
After their thrashing by Madrid in the Super Cup final, the bare minimum they needed was to progress as doubts swirl around the club and coach Xavi Hernandez.
“We played well in parts, but in others we have to play better, sometimes I despair because we don’t know what we need to,” Xavi told reporters.
“When I say we’re in construction, it’s that, that we have to do what we need every single time.”
The hosts, at their packed 6,000 capacity Reina Sofia stadium, were fired up and dreaming of an upset after already knocking out Villarreal.
In the Friday sermon, Imams have called upon the Ummah to exercise prudence in financial management, emphasising a series of initiatives aimed at transforming attitudes towards financial practices.
Among the key recommendations is a thorough review and reorganisation of personal finances, urging individuals to engage in self-reflection on their expenditures and lifestyle choices.
The sermon highlighted the significance of aligning one’s financial decisions with their means.
If expenditures exceed one’s financial capacity, Imams stressed the importance of reducing unnecessary costs and redirecting efforts towards saving for future plans.
For illustration only. PHOTO: FREEPIK
Additionally, the Ummah was encouraged to cultivate a culture of saving as a precautionary measure for emergencies and to steer clear of accumulating debts, especially for non-essential items.
Religious authorities underscored the role of parents in instilling a saving culture, urging them to set examples for their children.
This includes promoting the habit of saving by introducing safety deposit boxes at home or savings accounts in banks. Parents were advised to explain to their children the importance of saving, instill thriftiness, and advocate wise spending rather than extravagance.
Furthermore, Imams called on the Ummah to develop essential skills for making sound life decisions, particularly in financial matters. This involves aligning expenditures with Islamic principles, gaining awareness of financial management importance and risks, fostering the right attitude towards finances, and motivating oneself to confidently manage finances effectively.
Participants of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting walk past a booth of Meta, the company that owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, in Davos on January 18, 2024. PHOTO: AFP
Participants of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting walk past a booth of Meta, the company that owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, in Davos on January 18, 2024. PHOTO: AFP
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday said his company is joining the pursuit of creating super artificial intelligence, putting it in a race with Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google.
Sometimes called artificial general intelligence or AGI, the goal, given in an interview with The Verge, is to create AI that can problem solve and rationalise on the same level as humans.
AGI is the oft-stated goal of OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, and is the central pursuit by the AI departments at Google.
Zuckerberg said general intelligence was now his company’s goal, largely to help attract the best engineers in the fast expanding AI field.
“We’ve come to this view that, in order to build the products that we want to build, we need to build for general intelligence,” Zuckerberg told The Verge.
“I think that’s important to convey because a lot of the best researchers want to work on more ambitious problems.”
Tech companies, including Elon Musk’s startup xAI, are battling to attract programmers and thinkers to develop generative AI models like the one that drives ChatGPT, the OpenAI-made chatbot that sparked an artificial intelligence frenzy.
Google, according to tech media The Information, is keeping its researchers from being poached with stock compensation while OpenAI lures top staff with multimillion-dollar pay packages.
Beyond the pay slips, many of these specialists want to work at companies that are committed towards the ideal of creating human-level AI.
In the interview, Zuckerberg said that the definition of AGI “couldn’t be put in a one-sentence, pithy definition.”
“You can quibble about if general intelligence is akin to human level intelligence, or is it like human-plus, or is it some far-future super intelligence,” he said.
Speaking on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Meta’s Nick Clegg said: “Ask data scientists for a definition for AGI and you get a different definition from each single one. There isn’t even consensus on what AGI precisely means.”
For now, Meta has released its own AI model, Llama 2, and Zuckerberg said his teams were working on a next version.
Amid the ambition to achieve AGI is fear that the technology’s abilities will become too powerful and beyond human control.
These fears helped cause a corporate blow up at OpenAI last November when the company’s board fired and then reinstated its CEO Sam Altman over fears he was recklessly fast-tracking AI development.
A file photo of the Hyundai company logo hanging over a long row of cars at a car dealership in Centennial, Colorado, Sunday, December 20, 2020. PHOTO: AP
A file photo of the Hyundai company logo hanging over a long row of cars at a car dealership in Centennial, Colorado, Sunday, December 20, 2020. PHOTO: AP
SEOUL (ANN/THE KOREA HERALD) – Hyundai Motor Group announced the establishment of a new research and development division on Wednesday, consolidating multiple teams from its affiliates to advance the development of software-defined vehicles.
The newly formed Advanced Vehicle Platform Division brings together three software development units, including the in-house SDV division and two distinct teams from the carmaker’s research centres.
Additionally, teams previously overseen by the carmaker’s chief technology officer, focusing on the next-generation automotive platform and software, will now be part of this integrated division.
The new division will be headed by Song Chang-hyeon, who has doubled as the head of the former SDV division and 42dot, Hyundai’s latest subsidiary specialising in mobility software.
Hyundai acquired 42dot, a startup founded by Song, for KRW427.6 billion (USD317.7 million) in 2022.
42dot was not part of the recent reshuffle, but it plans to work closely with the software branch as one team, according to a company official.
As for hardware, the existing division has been revamped to focus on commercial production and new car launches. Yang Hee-won will head the research and development division
Industry insiders say the recent shake-up centering on drastic changes to software development signals the carmaker’s commitment to accelerate the shift to SDVs.
“Hyundai needed to speed up the decision-making process and elevate operational efficiency overall when it comes to software development,” said an industry source close to the matter.
The source added there have been subtle pushbacks within the company on the latest reshuffle, given that it has largely been driven by hardware and machinery people.
“But given changing tides among carmakers, employees would have to accept the irreversible paradigm shift from hardware to software in future mobility.”
The group’s Executive Chair Chung Euisun is also keen on the software mobility business. In recent occasions, including last week’s CES in Las Vegas, he expressed concerns that the carmaker could fall behind rivals if it is not firmly ready for the heated software race.
Song Chang-hyeon, head of the new Advanced Vehicle Platform division at Hyundai Motor Group. PHOTO: ANN/THE KOREA HERALD SOURCE
Experts say the recent reshuffle also reaffirms Chung’s bold leadership to name a top executive outside the company like Song, who started his career in Naver.
“Chung has always recognized the limitations of in-house personnel, especially when it comes to ushering in a profound business change,” said Kim Pil-su, a car engineering professor at Daelim University. “For carmakers, right now, the pinnacle of research and development is software. Those who fail to build algorithms powered by artificial intelligence will run out of business.”
Kim added Chung has given more power to Song, a software expert, to lead the way toward a mobility revolution – far more drastic change than innovation.
KUALA LUMPUR, 19 Jan -- Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Narkotik Bukit Aman Datuk Seri Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din ketika sidang media di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Cheras hari ini.
Polis menahan lima individu termasuk seorang wanita dalam lima serbuan sekitar Cheras dan Kajang pada 16 hingga 17 Januari lepas serta merampas pelbagai jenis dadah bernilai RM448,850.
--fotoBERNAMA (2024) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) — Malaysian police have crippled a syndicate employing the latest trend of lacing bottles of juice with drugs, after several raids across the Klang Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday netted six suspects, including the mastermind.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crimes Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din pointing to the seized items during the press conference. PHOTO: BERNAMA
revealed that the syndicate was adulterating a type of juice with various drugs and distributing the beverage at entertainment outlets in the Klang Valley.
According to him, investigations revealed that the syndicate, operational since mid-2023, utilised luxury condominiums in Kajang and Cheras as their headquarters, and marketed the laced juice to entertainment outlets and private parties.
“We found that they mixed various types of drugs in juices and sold them between MYR180 and MYR300 per bottle depending on the size and drug content catering to the customers’ demands.
“Each member of the syndicate also received about MYR30,000 per month as wages for processing and distributing the drugs and made a lucrative profit from the sales,” he said during a press conference at the Cheras District Police Headquarters here today.
Mohd Kamaruddin said 54.55 litres of drug-laced juice, 1.68 kgs of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) powder, 144 gms of ketamine, 16 gms of marijuana, five kg of ecstasy powder, 550 eramin 5 pills, and 2,900 ecstasy pills estimated at MYR448,850 were confiscated.
He said three luxury vehicles, cash, and jewelry estimated at MYR489,408 were also seized in the raids.
Four of the individuals arrested tested positive for ketamine, and one of them had a previous drug-related criminal record, he added.
“The individuals aged 19 to 40 are being remanded for seven days until Jan 23 to facilitate the investigation under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952,” he said.
PARIS (AFP) – The director of Zac Efron’s heartbreaking new wrestling film, “The Iron Claw”, said it was a battle to keep the emotional star from turning on the waterworks during filming.
Efron, who made his name in wholesome Disney films like “High School Musical”, is almost unrecognisable thanks to the extreme bodybuilding preparation he did for the role as real-life wrestler Kevin Von Erich.
But director Sean Durkin said the biggest challenge was keeping him from crying.
“Zac is such a committed, generous guy. He’s so full of emotion,” Durkin told AFP.
“So much of the direction was telling him, ‘Don’t cry — not yet, not yet!’ Until we shot the final scene on the final day and I could say: ‘OK, now you can let it all out.’
“And he did, for take after take after take.”
Fans of Hollywood hunks Efron and Jeremy Allen White may be excited to see them parade around a ring half-naked for much of the new movie.
A scene from The Iron Claw. PHOTO: A24
But they should be prepared for one of the grimmest portrayals of American sports ever put on screen, in the true-life tale of the Von Erich wrestling family from the 1970s and 1980s, who were pushed into tragedy by a success-obsessed father.
“Iron Claw”, which features White’s first major role since his award-winning turn in hit series “The Bear” and a much-discussed Calvin Klein ad, is being released around Europe in the coming weeks.
It may focus on the world of US wrestling, with its unlikely mix of athleticism and pantomime, but it is really about the “lie of the American Dream”, Durkin said — the idea that pushing to be the best at any cost is the only way to survive.
“It’s pertinent now because we finally have language about mental health, but it’s only in the last couple years that you hear athletes talking about it,” the 42-year-old director said.
The early days of wrestling were particularly extreme, with performers on the road most of the year with little support.
“These guys were putting their bodies on the line day after day for entertainment’s sake and if they couldn’t wrestle, they were done,” said Durkin.
“The irony is they express all these emotions in the ring — the highest highs, the lowest lows — but they get backstage and they aren’t allowed to show any of it because of this old-school nonsense notion of what it means to be a man.”
(ANN/THE NATION) – Thailand appears powerless to prevent a recurring nightmare, exemplified by the recent fatal explosion at a fireworks factory in Suphanburi province.
The incident, which occurred on Wednesday at 3.30 pm, claimed the lives of 21 workers and left seven seriously injured in Ban Khoi Ngam, Muang district.
Conflicting reports on the casualty count persist, with rescue officials grappling to identify victims, citing extensive damage that scattered body parts up to 50 metres away and in nearby rice fields.
Deputy Prime Minister Somsak Thepsuthin revealed on Thursday that stored gunpowder ignited the explosion, exacerbated by potassium chlorate on-site.
This tragic déjà vu marks at least the 24th fireworks-related incident in Thailand over the past 16 years.
As many as six explosions occurred in 2008, followed by three in 2009, two in 2010, five in 2011 and 2012 as well as three in 2023, according to Thai Division of Injury Prevention (DIP).
PHOTO: ANN/THE NATION
These incidents took the lives of at least 24 people and injured 182, with several houses also destroyed.
The accidents mostly occur in factories despite the several regulations imposed to prevent explosions. These include the 1999 Safety Protection Measures in Factory Operation (No.3), and the 2009 Fire Protection and Settlement in Factory edicts.
The Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, Fireworks and Imitation Firearms Act (1947) stipulates that anyone who does not have permission from an authorised body is not permitted to manufacture, import, or sell pyrotechnics.
Authorities are allowed to order the relocation of a site that was used to manufacture, store, or sell explosives if they believe that they pose a risk to public safety, the law said.
Following the deadly Suphanburi explosion, DIP released recommendations to prevent future explosions. These included avoiding storing fireworks in heated areas and residential areas, being prepared to put out a fire, avoiding smoking within areas, and not modifying pyrotechnics.
The dean of King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang’s College of Materials Innovation and Technology, Wipoo Sriseubsa, told the media recently that another factor contributing to explosions is a plant owner’s ignorance of the need to regularly check their facilities.
Wipoo cited instances such as smoking within factory areas or not reviewing the wiring.
File photo shows ethnic minority armed group standing guard at a temple area in Myanmar. PHOTO: AFP
GUWAHATI, India (AFP) – Nearly 300 Myanmar soldiers crossed the border into India to flee an advance by armed insurgents fighting the country’s junta, an Indian paramilitary officer told AFP on Friday.
Clashes have rocked parts of Myanmar near the Indian border since the Arakan Army (AA) attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since a 2021 military coup.
This week, the group said it had taken over the major town of Paletwa and six military bases along the border of India’s Mizoram state, where the soldiers had crossed on Wednesday.
A total of 276 troops carrying their arms and ammunition arrived at Bondukbangsora village, an officer from the Assam Rifles paramilitary force, who declined to give a name, told AFP.
“We have given them shelter at our camp,” he said, adding that the arriving soldiers were “given all the support they require”.
The officer said that his unit was collecting biometric data from the soldiers and had sought approval from the defence ministry in New Delhi to return them to Myanmar.
Hundreds of other Myanmar troops have fled to India to escape fighting since the ceasefire ended in November, according to local media reports.
Two Myanmar military aircraft arrived in Aizawl, the Mizoram state capital, to collect and repatriate soldiers who retreated from the conflict.
In October, an alliance of the AA and two other ethnic minority armed groups launched a joint offensive across Myanmar’s northern Shan state, capturing towns and seizing vital trade hubs on the China border.
Last week, the alliance announced a China-mediated ceasefire in Shan state after months of conflict that posed the biggest threat to the junta since it seized power.
The agreement does not apply to areas near the Indian border where fighting between the military and insurgents has raged on.
This June 22, 2022 photo provided by Thane Ostroth shows the Cozy Mark IV plane that crashed into the ocean off the California coast on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. PHOTO: THANE OSTROTH VIA AP
This June 22, 2022 photo provided by Thane Ostroth shows the Cozy Mark IV plane that crashed into the ocean off the California coast on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. PHOTO: THANE OSTROTH VIA AP
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A small aeroplane that crashed into the ocean off the California coast on Sunday was constructed piece by piece over nearly a decade, one of tens of thousands of home-built aircraft that are part of a high-flying hobby taking off across the country.
Federal investigators said they believe four people were aboard the single-engine Cozy Mark IV when it went down in the evening just south of San Francisco. No survivors were found and only one body had been recovered from the waters near Half Moon Bay and identified as of Thursday.
The names of the pilot and two other passengers were not released. The plane was registered to an Oakland-based company called Winged Wallabies, Inc, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
There have been no official indications of what went wrong, but a witness reported hearing an engine losing power and cutting out.
Thane Ostroth, a retired dentist who began building the aircraft in 1999 and flying it in 2008, said he sold the plane last year to a young, experienced and enthusiastic pilot from Australia for around USD100,000, which is about what he estimated went into the project over the decades.
Ostroth said the buyer, in his late 20s, knew a lot about planes. He landed the plane perfectly on his first test flight, which is not easy to do.
“I told him, ‘That was well done,'” Ostroth recalled. “He said, ‘Thank you. I’ll buy the plane.'”
Authorities have not said whether the plane’s owner was among those on board.
Ostroth said he heard about the crash in an online chat group for pilots and builders of Cozy aircraft, a class of planes constructed by individuals rather than mass-produced by companies.
He said it was “traumatic” to know the plane he had spent so much time on had crashed with people on board.
“It’s just a horrible feeling,” Ostroth said.
Like commercial aircraft, all home-built planes are required by the FAA to be inspected annually for airworthiness. Cosy aircraft have the same safety record as commercially built planes of similar size, said aeronautical engineer Marc Zeitlin, who consults with the National Transportation Safety Board on crash investigations involving Cozy aircraft, including this one.
More than 33,000 amateur-built aircraft are licensed by the FAA, a figure that has tripled since the 1980s.
The administration designates any non-commercial, recreational aircraft as “experimental.” Those can include planes built from kits with some prefabricated parts or from plans in which the builder buys or manufactures and assembles all the parts.
The four-seat Mark IV, at just over 16 feet (5.1 metres) long with a 28-foot (8.5-metres) wingspan, is a popular plane among the growing number of aviation hobbyists who build their own aircraft. Zeitlin owns one himself that he takes on day trips and cross-country voyages.
“The misconception is that these are put together by baling wire and glue,” said Zeitlin, CEO of California-based Burnside Aerospace. “But they are built using aircraft methodology.”
The Mark IV has a “canard” design, with a small forewing placed to the front of the main wing, making it reminiscent of a duck stretched out in flight. It is lightweight, only about 1,050 pounds (475 kilograms) empty, with the parts fitted together with epoxy.
With a top speed approaching 200 mph (322 kph), it is fast, stable and fuel-efficient, Zeitlen said.
“Like a sports car in the sky,” he said. “Very fun to fly.”
Ostroth said he bought the plans for his Cozy for about USD500 and started putting it together in a friend’s basement in Michigan. Eventually they moved construction to the home’s garage and then built a barn in the backyard for the final steps.
“The plans come with a list of authorised suppliers of parts,” said Ostroth, who now lives in Florida. “You buy foam, you buy fibreglass, you buy metal parts from all the manufacturers. And you slowly piece it together.”
Help can be found from other enthusiasts who post tips and advice in online forums.
Ostroth flew the aircraft regularly for 15 years. He called it “a wonderful little plane.”
Sunday’s crash was reported around 7 pm by a 911 caller who said the plane was in obvious distress and appeared to go down toward the water near Ross’ Cove, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
The US Coast Guard said a helicopter and boat crew looked in a 28-square mile (73-square-kilometre) area for nearly six hours before calling off the search around mid-morning Monday. A few hours later, a woman’s body was found by a commercial fishing boat crew. The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office identified her as Emma Willmer-Shiles, 27, of San Francisco.
The National Transportation Safety Board said its investigators arrived on scene Tuesday to document the wreckage and interview witnesses. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days.
FILE - Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on Jan. 11, 2024. Asia markets mostly advanced Friday, Jan. 19, after Wall Street recouped most of the week's earlier losses and Japan reported slowing inflation, which may keep its ultra-low interest rates steady. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
HONG KONG (AP) – Asia markets mostly advanced Friday after Wall Street recouped most of the week’s earlier losses and Japan reported slowing inflation, which may keep its ultra-low interest rates steady.
US futures were mixed and oil prices fell. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.4 per cent to 35,946.50.
Japan’s inflation slowed for a second straight month, increasing the chance that the Bank of Japan will keep its ultra-low interest rates unchanged at its meeting next week. The country’s annual headline inflation rate has remained above the BOJ’s two per cent target since April 2022, with a gradual decline observed from its peak of 4.3 per cent last year to the rate of 2.6 per cent in December that was reported Friday.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.1% to 15,373.00 and the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.5 per cent at 2,832.29.
In South Korea, the Kospi added one per cent to 2,464.76. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced one per cent to 7,421.10. In Bangkok, the SET was up 0.6 per cent.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.9 per cent to 4,780.94 following back-to-back drops that started the holiday-shortened week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 per cent to 37,468.61, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.3 per cent to 15,055.65.
Big Tech stocks led the way, including Apple, which rose 3.3 per cent to flip its loss for the week so far into a gain.
Chip companies were also strong after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co gave a forecast for revenue in 2024 that analysts said was higher than they were expecting. Broadcom gained 3.6 per cent, while TSMC’s stock that trades in the United States jumped 9.8 per cent.
The market was broadly steadier as Treasury yields in the bond market slowed their jump from earlier in the week. Yields had been climbing as traders pushed back their forecasts for how soon the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates. Higher yields in turn undercut prices for stocks and raise the pressure on the economy.
The Fed has indicated it will likely cut rates several times in 2024 because inflation has been cooling since its peak two summers ago, meaning it may not need as tight a leash on the economy and financial system.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose again Friday, to 4.16 per cent from 4.11 per cent late Wednesday.
Treasury yields swung up and down in the minutes after a report on Thursday morning showed the number of US workers applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to its lowest level since two Septembers ago. That’s good news for workers and for the economy overall, which has so far powered through predictions for a recession.
Other reports on the economy were mixed Thursday. One showed manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region is contracting by more than economists expected. Another said homebuilders broke ground on more projects last month than economists expected, even if it was weaker than November’s level.
On the losing end of Wall Street were several financial companies that reported weaker results for the end of 2023 than analysts expected. Discover Financial Services fell 10.8 per cent, and KeyCorp lost 4.6 per cent after both reported profits that fell well short of Wall Street’s forecasts, though their revenues topped expectations.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude lost USD0.09 to USD73.86 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up USD0.21 to USD78.89 a barrel.
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on Jan. 11, 2024. Asia markets mostly advanced Friday, January 19, after Wall Street recouped most of the week’s earlier losses and Japan reported slowing inflation, which may keep its ultra-low interest rates steady. PHOTO: AP
