- Sabalenka outlasts local hero Zheng to win third Wuhan Open title
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Former Pakistan captain Azam dropped for second England Test
- 'Opportunist' Dupont dazzles on Toulouse return
- Australia replace injured Vlaeminck with Graham at Women's T20 World Cup
- Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Djokovic 100th career title
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
- Bowlers' graveyards: Pakistan's placid pitches under fresh fire
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Vietnam, China to expand rail links, cross-border payments
- Americans get their belief back as Pochettino makes his mark
- Vietnam, China to boost economic, defence cooperation
- Winning start for Pochettino's American adventure
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- US firms brace for more tariffs as election approaches
- Winning start for Poch's American adventure
- Morocco's tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade
- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
- Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party
- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
Alec Baldwin 'Rust' trial to hear opening statements
Alec Baldwin's long-awaited trial for involuntary manslaughter over a fatal shooting on the set of Western movie "Rust" will hear opening statements at a New Mexico courthouse on Wednesday.
The Hollywood A-lister was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a fateful rehearsal in October 2021 when it fired a live round, killing her and wounding the movie's director.
Baldwin, 66, says he did not know the gun was loaded and did not pull the trigger.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey has already ensured that the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
She has now set her sights on Baldwin, who could face the same term if found guilty.
Under the scrutiny of global media, Morrissey will outline the state's case that Baldwin broke basic gun safety rules, and try to paint a picture of a powerful movie star acting recklessly on set.
Baldwin has already been in attendance in Santa Fe this week for the selection of a jury -- 11 women and five men, including alternates -- who will decide if he should go to prison over the incident.
His celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro spent much of the jury selection process Tuesday reminding potential jurors that their feelings about Baldwin's star status and acting career -- including his Donald Trump impersonations for "Saturday Night Live" -- cannot influence their verdicts.
Spiro and his team are expected to portray Baldwin as a victim who did not know the gun was loaded, did not pull the trigger, and was not responsible for checking the weapon in his role as an actor.
The judge has ruled that arguments or evidence concerning Baldwin's additional role as a producer on "Rust" are not admissible.
- Victim -
Hutchins -- a talented 42-year-old cinematographer originally from Ukraine, who grew up on a Soviet military base in the Arctic Circle -- was killed in October 2021.
The accident occurred during a rehearsal in a small chapel on the Bonanza Creek Ranch, on a sunny afternoon mid-way through the filming of "Rust."
Baldwin was practicing a scene in which his character, an aging outlaw who has been cornered in the church by two marshals, draws his Colt six-shooter.
The actor says he was told the gun was safe, and was instructed by Hutchins to aim the revolver in her direction, when it misfired.
Live bullets are in any case banned from movie sets.
- Witnesses -
Following Wednesday's opening arguments, the jury will hear testimony from witnesses expected to include Joel Souza, the "Rust" director who was wounded in the shooting.
Other possible witnesses include David Halls -- the film's first assistant director, who pled guilty to negligence in a deal that ensured he avoided prison time -- and prop firearms supplier Seth Kenney.
It is not yet known if Baldwin plans to take the stand in his defense.
The entire trial is scheduled to conclude Friday of next week, with jury deliberations to follow.
L.Harper--AMWN