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‘Joker’ leads Oscar noms; ‘1917,’ ‘Irishman’ close behind

By JAKE COYLE

Female filmmakers were shut out, “Parasite” made history and “Joker” edged out “The Irishman,” “1917” and “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” in Monday’s Oscar nominations.

Todd Phillips’ R-rated superhero smash “Joker” topped all films with 11 nominations to the 92nd Academy Awards, while Martin Scorsese’s elegiac crime epic “The Irishman,” Quentin Tarantino’s 1960s Los Angeles fairy tale “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” and Sam Mendes’ continuous World War I tale “1917” all trailed close behind with 10 nods apiece.

Those four were among the nine films nominated for best picture by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The others were: Greta Gerwig’s Louisa May Alcott adaptation “Little Women,” Noah Baumbach’s divorce drama “Marriage Story,” Taika Waititi’s Nazi Germany romp “Jojo Rabbit,” James Mangold’s racing drama “Ford v Ferrari” and Bong Joon Ho’s class satire “Parasite” — the first Korean film to be nominated and only the 11th non-English best-picture nominee.

“Joker,” which gives the DC Comics villain an antihero spin cribbed from Scorsese, was expected to do well Monday. But the academy’s overwhelming support for a divisive movie that was far from a critical favorite was unexpected. The film’s nominations included best actor for Joaquin Phoenix and best director for Phillips.

Though a record 62 women (or about a third of nominees) were nominated Monday, the academy put the most weight behind a handful of swaggering male-driven and man-made movies predicated on virtuosity, spectacle and star power. For the 87th time, the academy selected all-male directing nominees.

Hollywood, in the midst of a streaming upheaval, also gave Netflix more nominations than ever before: 24. The 10 nominations for “The Irishman” tied the most for a Netflix film, following “Roma” last year. Scorsese, a one-time winner for “The Departed,” was nominated for best director for the ninth time. The film also won nods for Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and its de-aging special effects. “We put all of ourselves into this picture,” said Scorsese in a statement.

“1917” followed up its Golden Globes win and strong opening weekend at the box office with nominations not just for its technical achievement (including Mendes’ directing and Roger Deakins’ cinematography) but for best screenplay, too.

“Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” was nominated in just about every category it was expected to, including Tarantino for directing and screenplay, best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio and best supporting actor for Brad Pitt. And Hollywood loves little more than a good story about itself.

“It’s a real love story to this industry,” DiCaprio said by phone. “In this movie, Quentin got to do a movie that was a homage to Los Angeles and a place that I grew up in.”

Despite a year in which women made historic gains behind the camera, female directors were again shut out of best director. The most likely candidate was Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”), who was the last woman nominated, two years ago for “Lady Bird.”

“Congratulations to those men,” said Issa Rae, who presented the nominees alongside John Cho.

Rebecca Goldman, chief operating officer for Time’s Up said of the lack of women nominated for directing: “This is why Time’s Up exists — to ensure women in entertainment and across industries get the opportunities and recognition they deserve.”

There were many surprises. Awkwafina, who was poised to become just the second Asian American nominated for best actress (the first, 1936 nominee Merle Oberon, hid her South Asian heritage), wasn’t nominated for her acclaimed leading performance in “The Farewell.” Also overlooked for best animated film was “Frozen 2,” the highest grossing animated film ever; Beyoncé, for her “Lion King” song; and the hit documentary “Apollo 11.”

Most glaringly, Jennifer Lopez, long considered a supporting actress front-runner for her performance in “Hustlers,” was also denied her first Oscar nomination.

Those oversights left the Oscars with their least diverse field since the fallout of #OscarsSoWhite pushed the film academy to diversify its membership. The only actor of color nominated was Cynthia Erivo, the British actress, for her Harriet Tubman in “Harriet.” (Erivo was also nominated for best song.) Last week, the British film academy nominated only white performers, leading Erivo to decline an invitation to perform.

Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” however, made history for South Korea. Along with the country’s first nomination for best international film, the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or-winner also scored nods for Bong’s direction, best editing and best production design.

No filmmaking couple has had an Oscar nominations morning quite like Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, director of the divorce drama “Marriage Story.” Their movies were each nominated for best picture, best screenplay (adapted for Gerwig; original for Baumbach) and six nominations in total.

“Little Women” producer Amy Pascal, the former Sony Pictures chief, said she would celebrate with Gerwig and Baumbach at dinner Monday evening. On Gerwig’s lack of directing nod, Pascal said: “I wish it were otherwise. But we’re so proud this morning.”

Nominations for “Marriage Story” included nods for its leads, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, and Laura Dern for best supporting actress. Johansson, also nominated for her supporting turn in “Jo Jo Rabbit,” became the first two-time acting nominee since Cate Blanchett managed the feat in 2007.

Also nominated for best actress was Renée Zellweger, considered the front-runner for her Judy Garland in “Judy”; Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”); and Soairse Ronan (“Little Women”). Just 25 years old, Ronan now has four Oscar nominations.

Joining Driver, DiCaprio and Phoenix for best actor were Jonathan Pryce, who stars as Pope Francis in “The Two Popes”; and Antonio Banderas, who plays a semi-fictionalized version of director Pedro Almodóvar in “Pain and Glory.” “What are the odds that you are being directed by your own character?” Banderas said by phone. “Very rare, right?”

No category was more competitive than best actor this year. Those left out were themselves a formidable group: Eddie Murphy (“Dolemite Is My Name”), Robert De Niro (“The Irishman”), Christian Bale (“Ford v Ferrari”) and Adam Sandler (“Uncut Gems”).

Sandler on Twitter responded: “Bad news: Sandman gets no love from the academy. Good news: Sandman can stop wearing suits.”

Tom Hanks received his first Oscar nomination since “Cast Away” 19 years ago for his Mister Rogers in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” But Pitt, who is heading toward his first acting Academy Award, is the overwhelming favorite among the supporting actor nominees. Joining Pitt, Hanks, Pacino and Pesci was Pryce’s papal co-star, Anthony Hopkins.

Along with Dern and Johansson, the nominees for best supporting actress were Kathy Bates (“Richard Jewell”), Florence Pugh (“Little Women”) and Margot Robbie (“Bombshell”).

“American Factory,” the first film from Barack and Michelle Obama’s recently launched production company, Higher Ground, was nominated for best documentary. Said Obama: “It’s the kind of story we don’t see often enough and it’s exactly what Michelle and I hope to achieve with Higher Ground.”

“Honeyland,” about a wild bee keeper in rural Macedonia, became the first film ever nominated for both best documentary and best international film. The film, directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubo Stefanov, began as a short video commission from Macedonia’s Nature Conservation Project and grew into one of the year’s most acclaimed releases.

Also up for best documentary are: “For Sama,” “The Edge of Democracy” and the Syrian Civil War film “The Cave.” Feras Fayyad, director of “The Cave,” was nominated in 2018 for his “Last Men in Aleppo” but was unable to attend the Oscars when his visa was rejected because of President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

“I wish my film, which provides clear evidence of crimes against humanity committed by Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime and his Russian conspirators, did not need to exist,” Fayyad said in a statement. “I wish I was still in Damascus drinking coffee with my artist friends.”

The other nominees for best international film were “Pain and Glory” from Spain, “Les Miserables” from France and “Corpus Christi” from Poland.

The nominees for best animated feature film were: “How to Train a Dragon: The Hidden World”; “Toy Story 4”; “I Lost My Body”; “Klaus”; “Missing Link.”

After the most dominant box-office year in Hollywood history, the Walt Disney Co.’s top films — including the record-setting Marvel blockbuster “Avengers: Endgame” — were largely relegated to categories like best visual effects. The studio, which has never won a best picture Academy Award, does have a few contenders via its acquisition in April of 20th Century Fox: best-picture nominees “Ford v Ferrari” and “Jojo Rabbit.”

The 92nd Academy Awards will take place Feb. 9 in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre. ABC will again broadcast the show, viewership for which last year rose 12% to 29.6 million. Like last year, this year’s ceremony will go without a host.

Another thing that will be the same: John Williams is again a nominee for best score, for “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.” His 52 nominations are second only to Walt Disney’s 59.

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AP Entertainment Writers Jonathan Landrum Jr. and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

Iowa Legislature opens Monday

The Iowa Legislature begins its 2020 session Monday (1/13) in Des Moines.  Representative Dustin Hite from New Sharon talks about the Legislature’s priorities for this year.

“Usually, the first order of business is always getting the budget set and getting the aid for local schools set.  So I suspect that’s going to be first and foremost on our minds.  One of the major projects that I’ve been working on over the interim is putting together a package with three other legislators to try to make inroads into getting broadband internet, high speed internet access, to the many rural Iowans that don’t have it.”

The Republican majority Legislature will tackle some of the problems that they argue hinder business growth….such as taxes, a lack of available workers and a shortage of affordable child care. One of the first tasks will be to install a new House speaker. That position is expected to go to Pat Grassley, grandson of Iowa U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley.

Loebsack endorses Buttigieg for President

Iowa Congressman Dave Loebsack is endorsing South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg for President.  The Democrat who represents Iowa’s second Congressional district said in a statement Sunday (1/12) that “Pete offers a new kind of leadership that we desperately need. He’s a Midwestern mayor, a veteran and is from a new generation. Iowans and our country face great challenges like climate change, increasing health care costs and an economy that isn’t working for the majority of Americans. They can’t be solved with the same political warfare that is on display in Washington.”

Loebsack is not running for re-election after serving in the US House since 2007.

Snow emergencies

Several communities have issued snow emergencies.  In Oskaloosa, a snow emergency takes effect at midnight Friday (1/10).  That means all vehicles must be removed from city streets to allow crews to remove snow.  If you don’t get your car off the street, you’ll get a ticket and your car could also be towed. In New Sharon, the city’s snow ordinance takes effect at 5pm and will stay in effect until all the streets are cleared on Sunday.  In Pella, a snow emergency takes effect at 6 this evening until further notice.  Sigourney has a snow emergency starting at 5pm until 24 hours after the snow stops.  And in Knoxville, a snow emergency takes effect at 7:00 tonight until the storm ends and the streets are plowed from curb to curb.  The City of Ottumwa’s Snow Emergency Ordinance will be placed into effect beginning on Friday, January 10th at 6 P.M

Friday’s high school basketball schedule

These are the boys and girls basketball doubleheaders scheduled for Friday, Jan. 10 (weather permitting):

Oskaloosa @ Pella (KBOE-FM, 6pm pregame, girls 6:15pm, boys 7:45)
Sigourney @ Colfax-Mingo (KMZN AM & FM, 5:45pm pregame, girls 6p, boys 7:30)
Albia @ Knoxville POSTPONED
English Valleys @ Montezuma
Ottumwa @ Des Moines East
Iowa Valley @ North Mahaska
EBF @ Centerville
Grinnell @ Indianola
Newton @ Norwalk
Dallas Center-Grimes @ Pella Christian
Pekin @ Wapello
South Hamiltlon @ PCM
Keota @ BGM
Belle Plaine @ Lynnville-Sully
Tri-County @ HLV

Iran denies downing plane, says West should share evidence

By NASSER KARIMI and JOSEPH KRAUSS

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Friday denied Western allegations that one of its own missiles downed a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed outside Tehran, and called on the U.S. and Canada to share any information they have on the crash, which killed all 176 people on board.

Western leaders said the plane appeared to have been unintentionally hit by a surface-to-air missile just hours after Iran launched around a dozen ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general in an American airstrike last week.

“What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane,” Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran’s national aviation department, told a press conference.

“If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world” in accordance with international standards, he added.

Hassan Rezaeifar, the head of the Iranian investigation team, said recovering data from the black box flight recorders could take more than a month and that the entire investigation could stretch into next year. He also said Iran may request help from international experts if it is not able to extract the flight recordings.

The ballistic missile attack on the bases in Iraq caused no casualties, raising hopes that the standoff over the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani would end relatively peacefully, though Iran has sent mixed signals over whether its retaliation is complete.

If the U.S. or Canada were to present incontrovertible evidence that the plane was shot down by Iran, even if unintentionally, it could have a dramatic impact on public opinion in Iran.

The Iranian public had rallied around the leadership after the killing of Soleimani last Friday, with hundreds of thousands joining the general’s funeral processions in several cities, in an unprecedented display of grief and unity.

But sentiments in Iran are still raw over the government’s crackdown on large-scale protests late last year sparked by an economic crisis exacerbated by U.S. sanctions. Several hundred protesters were reported to have been killed in the clampdown.

Those fissures could quickly break open again if Iranian authorities are seen to be responsible for the deaths of 176 people, mainly Iranians or dual Iranian-Canadian citizens. Iran still points to the accidental downing of an Iranian passenger jet by U.S. forces in 1988 — which killed all 290 people aboard — as proof of American hostility.

U.S., Canadian and British officials said Thursday it is “highly likely” that Iran shot down the Boeing 737, which crashed near Tehran early Wednesday. U.S. officials said the jetliner might have been mistakenly identified as a threat.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose country lost at least 63 citizens in the downing, said “we have intelligence from multiple sources including our allies and our own intelligence.”

“The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,” he said.

The U.S. officials did not say what intelligence they had that pointed to an Iranian missile, believed to be fired by Russian Tor system, known to NATO as the SA-15. But they acknowledged the existence of satellites and other sensors in the region, as well as the likelihood of communication interceptions and other similar intelligence.

Western countries may hesitate to share information on such a strike because it comes from highly classified sources.

Videos verified by The Associated Press appear to show the final seconds of the the ill-fated airliner, which had just taken off from Iran early Wednesday.

In one video, a fast-moving light can be seen through the trees as someone films from the ground. The light appears to be the burning plane, which plummets to the earth as a huge fireball illuminates the landscape.

Someone off-camera says in Farsi: “The plane has caught fire. … In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful. God, please help us. Call the fire department!”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said “the missile theory is not ruled out, but it has not been confirmed yet.”

In a Facebook post, he reiterated his call “on all international partners” — the U.S., Britain and Canada in particular — to share data and evidence relevant to the crash. He also announced plans to discuss the investigation with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later on Friday.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko tweeted that he and the president met with U.S. Embassy officials Friday and obtained “important data” about the crash. The minister didn’t specify what kind of data it was, but said it would be “processed by our specialists.”

In an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham aired late Thursday, Pompeo said the crash may have been caused by a “mechanical failure” but that commercial airliners need to know if it is safe to fly into and out of Tehran.

“If the international community needs to shut down that airport, so be it,” he said. “We need to get to the bottom of this very, very quickly.”

Germany’s Lufthansa airline said it and subsidiaries are canceling flights to and from Tehran for the next 10 days as a precautionary measure, citing the “unclear security situation for the airspace around Tehran airport.” Other airlines have been making changes to avoid Iranian airspace.

Britain’s Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Iran, and against all air travel to, from or within the country.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying Iran “has invited both Ukraine and the Boeing company to participate in the investigations.” He later said a 10-member Canadian delegation was heading to Iran to assist victims’ families.

Iran had initially said it would not allow Boeing to take part in the probe, going against prevailing international norms on crash investigations. It later invited the U.S. accident-investigating agency to take part in the investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board said late Thursday that it would “evaluate its level of participation,” but its role could be limited by U.S. sanctions on Iran. U.S. officials have also expressed concern about sending employees to Iran because of the heightened tensions.

Under rules set by a United Nations aviation organization, the NTSB is entitled to participate because the crash involved a Boeing 737-800 jet that was designed and built in the U.S.

The French air accident investigation agency, known by the French acronym BEA, is also taking part in the probe. The plane’s engine was designed by CFM International, a joint company between French group Safran and U.S. group GE Aviation.

A preliminary Iranian investigative report released Thursday said that the airliner pilots never made a radio call for help and that the burning plane was trying to turn back for the airport when it went down.

The Iranian report suggested that a sudden emergency struck the Boeing 737, operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, just minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport early Wednesday.

Those findings are not inconsistent with the effect of a surface-to-air missile. Such missiles are designed to explode near aircraft, shredding them with shrapnel. There is no need to score a direct hit, and a stricken plane may look like it is turning back when in fact it is disintegrating.

Abedzadeh, the senior aviation official, said authorities have recovered two black box flight recorders, saying they are “damaged” but readable. They may shed further light on what caused the crash.

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Krauss reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus, Nadia Ahmed in London and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.

Winter Storm Warning for region

The biggest storm of this winter is heading our way.  The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the No Coast Network listening area starting at 3pm Friday (1/10) until 6pm Saturday (1/11). We can expect a total of 5 to 8 inches of snow—plus a wintry mix of precipitation in the Oskaloosa area.  In Sigourney, forecasters say 4 to 8 inches of snow will fall.  And in Ottumwa, the forecast calls for 5 to 7 inches of snow, along with a tenth of an inch of ice.  The snow will come in two doses—one Friday afternoon into the evening and the other on Saturday.  Snow covered roads will make travel difficult, as will winds gusting up to 35 miles an hour.  Keep tuned to the No Coast Network for the latest weather updates.

Finalists named for State Supreme Court vacancy

The names of three finalists for Iowa’s vacant Supreme Court seat have been forwarded to Governor Kim Reynolds. The finalists selected by the Judicial Nominating Commission on Thursday (1/9) are Joel Barrows, a district court judge out of Bettendorf; Matt McDermott, a Des Moines attorney; and Dana Oxley, a Cedar Rapids attorney. The three were selected from a dozen applicants. Reynolds will have 30 days to fill the vacancy left by the death of Chief Justice Mark Cady in November.

Iran says Ukrainian plane was on fire, tried to turn back

By AMIR VAHDAT, JON GAMBRELL and DARIA LITVINOVA

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The crew of a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people on board, never made a radio call for help and was trying to turn back for the airport when the burning plane went down, an initial Iranian investigative report said Thursday. Ukraine, meanwhile, said it considered a missile strike as one of several possible theories for the crash, despite Iran’s denials.

The Iranian report suggests that a sudden emergency struck the Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines early on Wednesday morning, when it crashed, just minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran.

Investigators from Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization offered no immediate explanation for the disaster, however. Iranian officials initially blamed a technical malfunction for the crash, something initially backed by Ukrainian officials before they said they wouldn’t speculate amid an ongoing investigation.

The Ukrainian International Airlines took off at 6:12 a.m. Wednesday, after nearly an hour’s delay at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport, the main airport for travelers in Iran. It gained altitude heading west, reaching nearly 8,000 feet, according to both the report and flight-tracking data.

Then something went wrong, though “no radio messages were received from the pilot regarding unusual situations,” the report said. In emergencies, pilots reach out to air-traffic controllers to warn them and to clear the runway for their arrival, though their first priority is to keep the aircraft flying.

Eyewitnesses, including the crew of another flight passing above it, described seeing the plane engulfed in flames before crashing at 6:18 a.m., the report said. Flight-tracking data for the plane stopped before the crash, which occurred in the town of Shahedshahr to the northeast of the plane’s last reported position. That’s the wrong direction of the flight plan, bolstering the report’s claim that the pilots tried to turn the aircraft back to the airport.

The crash caused a massive explosion when the plane hit the ground, likely because the aircraft had been fully loaded with fuel for the flight to Kyiv, Ukraine.

The report also confirmed that both of the so-called “black boxes” that contain data and cockpit communications from the plane had been recovered, though they sustained damage and some parts of their memory was lost. It also said that investigators have initially ruled out laser or electromagnetic interference as causing the crash.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council, told Ukrainian media that officials had several working theories regarding the crash, including a missile strike.

“A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main (theories), as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash,” Danilov said. He did not elaborate on where he saw the information on the internet.

Ukrainian investigators that arrived in Iran earlier on Thursday currently await permission from Iranian authorities to examine the crash site and look for missile fragments, Danilov said.

The Tor is a Russian-made missile system. Russia delivered 29 Tor-M1s to Iran in 2007 as part of a $700 million contract signed in December 2005. Iran has displayed the missiles in military parades as well.

Iran did not immediately respond to the Ukrainian comments. However, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesman of the Iranian armed forces, denied a missile hit the airplane in a comments reported Wednesday by the semiofficial Fars news agency. He dismissed the allegation as “psychological warfare” by foreign-based Iranian opposition groups.

Ukraine has a grim history with missile attacks, including in July 2014 when one such strike downed a Malaysian Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people aboard.

Danilov also said other possible causes under consideration included a drone or another flying object crashing into the plane, a terrorist attack or an engine malfunction causing an explosion. However, no terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack and the plane was only 3½ years old.

Oleksandr Zaporozhchenko, a mechanic with the Ukraine International Airlines in 2016-2018, said he knew one of the crew members of the plane and had never heard any complaints about the aircraft.

“It is one the most reliable planes out there,” Zaporozhchenko told The Associated Press.

The manufacturer of the plane’s engines, U.S.-French firm CFM, declined to comment. French air accident investigators have not been asked to take part in the investigation so far.

The plane was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. Many of the passengers were believed to be international students attending universities in Canada; they were making their way back to Toronto by way of Kyiv after visiting with family during the winter break.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he planned to call Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about the crash and the investigation.

“Undoubtedly, the priority for Ukraine is to identify the causes of the plane crash,” Zelenskiy said. “We will surely find out the truth.”

The crash ranked among the worst losses of life for Canadians in an aviation disaster. The flag over Parliament in Ottawa was lowered to half-staff, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to get to the bottom of the disaster.

While the cause of the tragedy remained unknown, the disaster could further damage Boeing’s reputation, which has been battered by the furor over two deadly crashes involving a different model of the Boeing jet, the much-newer 737 Max, which has been grounded for nearly 10 months. The uproar led to the firing of the company’s CEO last month.

Boeing extended condolences to the victims’ families and said it stands ready to assist. However, it remains unclear if Iran will allow that amid tensions with Washington, given Boeing is a U.S.-based firm.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Litvinova from Moscow. Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.

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