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ESPN Inks 12-Year, US Open TV Rights Extension

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ESPN Inks 12-Year, US Open TV Rights Extension

U.S. Open tennis matches will stay on ESPN’s networks through 2037 under a deal announced Wednesday.

The tie-up represents ESPN’s longest-term tennis agreement. Beyond America, it also includes broadcast rights in Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada. ESPN has aired the New York-based event since 2015. Financial details were not announced.

IMG brokered the deal as the media rep for the United States Tennis Association. “The new agreement will super-charge this iconic, captivating Grand Slam’s exposure, production, promotion, content and economic investment, ensuring record year-on-year growth for the next decade and beyond,” IMG EVP and head of Americas, media Hillary Mandel said. 

Last year’s U.S. Open saw viewership jump 40% on championship weekend for its second highest mark on the channel. The women’s final, won by Coco Gauff, was ESPN’s most-viewed women’s final. The current tournament concludes September 8.

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“I talked earlier about our continued commitment to women’s sports,” ESPN EVP, programming and acquisitions Rosalyn Durant said Wednesday. “Tennis is one of those sports that lends itself to that.”

The new agreement comes with expanded streaming rights for ESPN, something the network has prioritized as it prepares to launch a digital service next year. Among the new elements will be an ESPN+ exclusive whip-around show set to debut in 2026.

ESPN2, meanwhile, will carry live coverage during “Fan Week” before the main draw starts. ABC will air matches on the middle and final Sundays of the competition. ESPN has also retained limited sublicensing rights. The previous, 11-year deal was reportedly worth more than $825 million.

“This agreement reinforces our long-term dedication to tennis,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. 

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COP29 Host Urges Collaboration as Deal Negotiations Enter Final Stage

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COP29 Host Urges Collaboration as Deal Negotiations Enter Final Stage
By Valerie Volcovici and Nailia Bagirova BAKU (Reuters) – COP29 climate summit host Azerbaijan urged participating countries to bridge their differences and come up with a finance deal on Friday, as negotiations at the two-week conference entered their final hours. World governments represented at …
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Man in India regains consciousness before his cremation on funeral pyre: reports

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Man in India regains consciousness before his cremation on funeral pyre: reports

A 25-year-old man who was declared dead and about to be cremated in India this week was found to be still alive by witnesses, according to reports. 

Rohitash Kumar, 25, who was deaf and mute, was declared dead at a hospital in the state of Rajasthan in the northwestern part of India without a post-mortem examination, according to The Times of India. 

Once it was clear Kumar was alive at his cremation on Thursday afternoon, his family reportedly took him back to a hospital where he died early Friday morning. 

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A crematorium in India.  (Rupak De Chowdhuri/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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Three doctors involved in declaring Kumar dead at the Bhagwan Das Khetan district hospital have since been suspended, the newspaper reported. 

Kumar had suffered an epileptic seizure and was declared dead after he flatlined while doctors were performing CPR on him, the Daily Mail reported, citing the AFP news service. 

Relatives carry the body of a person who died of COVID-19 as multiple pyres of other victims burn at a crematorium in New Delhi, India, in 2021.

Relatives carry the body of a person who died of COVID-19 as multiple pyres of other victims burn at a crematorium in New Delhi, India, in 2021. (AP Photo/Amit Sharma, File)

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“The situation was nothing short of a miracle,” a witness at the funeral pyre told local news outlet ETV Bharat. “We all were in shock. He was declared dead, but there he was, breathing and alive.” 

Ramavtar Meena, a government official in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district, called the incident “serious negligence.”

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Rajasthan, India

The state of Rajasthan in northwestern India.  (Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“Action will be taken against those responsible. The working style of the doctors will also be thoroughly investigated,” he said. 

Meena added that a committee had been formed to investigate the incident. 

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Thousands march across Europe protesting violence against women

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Thousands march across Europe protesting violence against women

Violence against women and girls remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it.

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Thousands marched across France and Italy protesting violence against women on Saturday – two days before the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. 

Those demonstrating protested all forms of violence against women – whether it be sexual, physical, psychological and economic. 

The United Nations designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The goal is to raise awareness of the violence women are subjected to and the reality that the scale and nature of the issue is often hidden. 

Activists demonstrated partially naked in Rome, hooded in balaclavas to replicate the gesture of Iranian student Ahoo Daryaei, who stripped in front of a university in Tehran to protest the country’s regime. 

In France, demonstrations were planned in dozens of cities like Paris, Marseille and Lille. 

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More than 400 organisations reportedly called for demonstrations across the country amidst widespread shock caused by the Pelicot mass rape trial. 

Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world, according to the United Nations. Globally, almost one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their life. 

For at least 51,100 women in 2023, the cycle of gender-based violence ended with their murder by partners or family members. That means a woman was killed every ten minutes. 

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