- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
Rock's professionalism allowed Oscars to go on after slap: producer
Chris Rock's professionalism after being assaulted by Will Smith on live television was what allowed the Oscars to go on, the show's producer said in comments broadcast Friday.
Rock was able to continue to present an award just moments after Smith rushed on stage and slapped him across the face over a joke about the actor's wife.
"Because Chris handled the moment with such grace and aplomb -- it allowed the show to continue," producer Will Packer told ABC television.
"Because Chris continued the way that he did, he completed the category. He handed the trophy to [best documentary winner] Questlove... it gave us license in a way to continue the show, which is what we were trying to do."
Hollywood's glitziest night turned sour when Smith took offense at a joke Rock had cracked over wife Jada Pinkett Smith's closely cropped head.
Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, a condition that causes hair to fall out.
After hitting Rock, Smith returned to his seat and shouted obscenities.
There have been conflicting reports in recent days over whether Smith was asked to leave the ceremony, with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- the body that awards Oscars -- saying he refused to go.
But Packer said he had counselled against ejecting the actor after speaking to Rock as he walked off stage.
"I said: 'Did he really hit you?' And he looked at me and he goes: 'Yes. I just took a punch from Muhammad Ali,'" Packer said.
Smith played the legendary boxer in the 2001 film "Ali."
Packer said he had not been part of the conversation about removing Smith, but he had spoken against it.
"I immediately went to the Academy leadership that was on site and I said: 'Chris Rock doesn't want that,' I said: 'Rock has made it clear that he does not want to make a bad situation worse.'"
Half an hour after the astonishing attack, Smith was awarded the best actor Oscar for his role in sports biopic "King Richard."
The standing ovation he received for the award has been heavily criticized, with accusations that Hollywood did not take the assault seriously.
Packer said the applause was for the actor and his work, not for the incident.
"I think that the people in that room who stood up, stood up for somebody who they knew, who was a peer, who was a friend, who was a brother, who has a three-decades-plus-long career of being the opposite of what we saw in that moment," he said.
"I don't think that these were people that were applauding anything at all about that moment, and all these people saw their friend at his absolute worst moment and were hoping that they could encourage him and lift him up and that he would somehow try to make it better."
Smith issued an Instagram apology on Monday, in which he called his behavior "unacceptable and inexcusable."
"I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be."
Rock, whose US comedy tour began in Boston this week told audience members he was "still kind of processing" the incident.
He made no further comment.
The Academy is mulling punishment -- including possible expulsion -- for Smith, one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, and only the fifth Black man to win a leading actor Oscar.
F.Dubois--AMWN