Category: News

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The parents of a U.S. college student who vanished almost two weeks ago in the resort town of Punta Cana have asked authorities to declare her legally dead.

In a letter to Dominican police dated Monday, Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki state that after an extensive search, local authorities believe that Sudiksha, a 20-year-old student at the University of Pittsburgh, drowned.

“Initiating this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence,” they wrote. “While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.”

A police official not authorized to speak about the case confirmed Tuesday that authorities received the letter.

Michael Chapman, sheriff of Loudoun County in Virginia, where the Konankis live, said in a statement Tuesday that officials have been working with Dominican authorities and continue to review evidence in the case.

“The disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki is tragic, and we cannot imagine the grief her family has been feeling,” he said. “Sudiksha’s family has expressed their belief that she drowned. While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic, we will support the Konanki family in every way possible.”

Sudiksha Konanki and five female friends had traveled to the Caribbean nation on March 3 for spring break. Police said she disappeared at a beach by her hotel before dawn on March 6.

Authorities have interviewed people who were with Konanki before she vanished, including Joshua Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota.

Riibe has been detained by Dominican police and is believed to be the last person to see Konanki. He has not been named as a suspect.

On Tuesday, a judge ordered Riibe’s release, saying he can cooperate with authorities without being detained.

“All parties say that he has cooperated in everything that has been asked of him,” Judge Edwin Rijo said, adding that Riibe is a witness and as such, cannot be detained.

Riibe had appeared in court Tuesday afternoon following a request from his attorney that he be released. So many journalists showed up to cover the hours-long hearing that it was moved to a bigger courtroom.

Before the ruling, prosecutors told the judge that Riibe was not under arrest and that he was free to move around the hotel where he is staying. They said Riibe told them he lost his passport, although Riibe said in court that officials seized his passport and cell phone.

“I really want to be able to go home and talk to my family, give them hugs,” Riibe told the judge via a translator. “I understand that I’m here to help. I’ve done that. It’s been 10 days.”

According to the transcript of an interview with prosecutors, reported by Dominican media as well as NBC and Telemundo, Riibe told police he was drinking with Konanki on the beach and they were kissing in the ocean when they got caught in a current. Riibe said he was a former lifeguard and helped bring her ashore.

He told investigators he vomited upon reaching the beach and that Konanki said she was going to fetch her things. When he looked up, she was gone. He said he was later surprised to hear of her disappearance.

In their letter, the Konankis wrote that “the individual” last seen with their daughter is cooperating and that no evidence of foul play has been found.

Sudiksha Konanki was born in India and later became a U.S. permanent resident.

___

Associated Press writer Dánica Coto in San Juan contributed.

By JOHN KELLY

Published: 21:38 GMT, 18 March 2025 | Updated: 21:52 GMT, 18 March 2025

On March 17, 2025, renowned French singer Marc Lavoine made a heartfelt appearance on the popular game show 12 Coups de midi aired on TF1. During the show, which often features celebrity guests, Lavoine was prompted to discuss his music and family, focusing particularly on his daughter, Yasmine.

During a segment aptly titled “Coup par Coup,” host Jean-Luc Reichmann posed an intriguing question to Lavoine regarding his musical duet with Yasmine in the song “Lentement.” The single, recorded in 2009 when Yasmine was just 11 years old, has remained a special piece for the artist. “Tu n’as pas eu peur d’interpréter avec ta fille ?” Reichmann asked, leading Lavoine to reflect on this touching moment of collaboration.

The mother of a child attacked by Lucy Letby has described attempts by the nurse’s defence team to overturn her convictions as “laughable”.

The Thirlwall inquiry investigating the circumstances surrounding the nurse’s crimes is due to conclude this week, with its chairwoman, Lady Justice Thirlwall, set to publish her recommendations in the autumn.

As part of their concluding statements, lawyers representing former executives at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where Letby worked as a neonatal nurse, said on Tuesday for the first time that there was a “real possibility” that she was innocent and called for the inquiry to be suspended.

Similar calls were made on Monday by Letby’s defence team, which last month presented a report compiled by 14 neonatologists claiming that there was

A therapist has shared a list of things that parents should stop doing to their children to prevent leaving emotional wounds. Morgan Pommells, a childhood trauma therapist from Ontario, Canada, shared on her Instagram account helpful tips that parents should be using whilst raising their children.

“Parenting is stressful and no one expects parents to do it perfectly,” Pommells pointed out. “Children don’t even need perfect parenting — they just need ‘safe parenting.” 

In Pommells’ post, she shared a list of things that she is “begging” parents to please read and implement into their parenting styles to save their children from having to sift through their childhood trauma once they enter adulthood.

Here are 12 things a childhood trauma therapist is begging parents to stop doing:

1. Yelling at your children as soon as you get home from work

2. Giving the silent treatment to the family when you’re upset

imtmphoto / Shutterstock

Don’t use emotional warfare to punish children.

RELATED: People Share The 7 ‘Unspoken’ Signs That Reveal Someone Had A Rough Childhood

3. ‘Waking your children up with aggression or loud noises’

Pommells added that parents shouldn’t wake their children up using “loud or aggressive noises.” In the caption of her post, she expanded on these rules and pointed out that psychologically, yelling at children does nothing but cause harm to their nervous systems.

“All of these things can trigger the body’s stress response, which can have us to shoot up into fight or flight and *stay there* if we have to continue to live in fear,” she wrote. Pommells encouraged parents to avoid leaving emotional scars on their children.

For her third, fourth, and fifth list of things parents should avoid, Pommells explained that when parents cause deep emotional trauma to their children, those young people will grow up and oftentimes seek out therapy to try and work through the toxic way their parents treated or spoke to them.

4. Treating siblings so differently that there is a clear favorite

5. Saying, ‘I guess I’m just the worst mom then’ when your children share they’re hurt

6. Refusing to apologize because ‘you’re the parent’ 

According to data acquired by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, childhood trauma is fairly common. More than two-thirds of children reported at least one traumatic event by age 16. 

Pommells emphasized that if any child experiences this with their parents, they shouldn’t feel as if they’re alone or unworthy because of it. “I promise you are not alone. I promise you deserved so much better,” she insisted.

Pommells pointed out the unrealistic standard of being a ‘perfect parent,‘ but rather being a ‘safe parent.’ For Pommells’ last several points, she explained that children shouldn’t have to be responsible for their parents’ feelings. “If you’ve been around long enough, you know that I am forever telling parents to stop working their shit out on their kids,” she wrote.

RELATED: 4 Tragic Ways Your Childhood Trauma Makes You Afraid To Love

7. Expecting the whole household to walk on eggshells when you’re in a bad mood

8. Not protecting your children from the other parent when that parent did something legitimately wrong or harmful

fizkes / Shutterstock

RELATED: 8 Little Ways Your Childhood Trauma Still Tragically Affects You

9. Depending on your child for emotional support in the way you would with a partner

She remarked that parents need to prioritize their children’s safety in all situations, and failing to do so will only result in their children seeking out a childhood therapist once they grow older.

10. Treating your children unfairly because ‘the world isn’t fair’

This actually doesn’t ‘prepare’ them for anything.

11. Seeing your children as an extension of you

They are so much more than this. 

12. Believing your children should b e grateful because you feed and house them.

This is a parent’s basic job. By parents actively using any of these tactics in their parenting style, will only cause resentment from their child as well as drastically affect their self-esteem. 

“To be clear: I firmly believe that 99.9% of parents are doing the absolute best they can,” Pommells clarified. “Most of these mistakes are made at a subconscious level. But that doesn’t mean they are without consequences or that we shouldn’t strive for better.”

Being able to break the cycle of childhood trauma will only lead to a healthy transition into adulthood. Parents play a crucial role in ensuring that their children have a safe and nurturing environment to grow up in, which helps minimize the risk of childhood trauma.

By contrast, when parents create a loving and secure environment, children are more likely to develop positive self-esteem and a strong sense of identity. This foundation can help them navigate social relationships, handle peer pressure, and build a positive self-image.

As Pommells stated, being a parent doesn’t come with a guidebook or training classes. It’s an on-the-cuff job that lasts for a lifetime and doesn’t stop once your children are 18 and are officially seen as entering the beginning of adulthood.

It’s important to note that no parent can completely shield their child from all potential sources of trauma. However, by actively working to break the cycle of their childhood trauma, parents can significantly reduce the risk and mitigate the impact of childhood trauma on their own children’s lives.

RELATED: 4 Subtle Ways Childhood Trauma Affects You As An Adult (Even If You Think You’re Over It)

Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.

Coronation Street spoilers follow

Coronation Street‘s Dee-Dee is set to have second thoughts in her emotional baby plot.

Dee-Dee is pregnant with the baby of Joel Deering, her evil fiancé, who was murdered last year by Lauren Bolton.

She had originally wanted to have a termination but decided to keep the baby after learning that Lauren’s son Frankie (whose father is also Joel) has been diagnosed with aplastic anaemia and needs a bone marrow transplant.

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Dee-Dee intends to put the baby up for adoption, after helping Lauren and Frankie.

However, a donor for Frankie ends up being found, meaning they won’t need to wait for Dee-Dee to give birth for the operation to go ahead.

On Tuesday’s episode (March 18), with Dee-Dee already having doubts, her brother James suggested that he and his boyfriend Danny could adopt her baby.

However Dee-Dee is firmly against the idea as she doesn’t want the constant reminder of Joel in her life.

In scenes to air next week, Dee-Dee confides in Sarah that she’s having trouble sleeping worrying about making the right decision for her baby.

When she stresses that the prospective parents don’t feel suitable, Sarah suggests that James and Danny would be the right fit. How will Dee-Dee react?

Later in the week, Dee-Dee begrudgingly joins James for lunch but suddenly she’s wracked with pain. When Dee-Dee suffers another contraction, James helps her out.

Related: Corrie‘s Bertie sparks fears after major accident

At the maternity unit, the midwife explains that what she experienced were false labour pains and the baby isn’t quite ready to come yet.

When James reveals how he and Danny got very close to adopting a little boy but it didn’t happen and they were left heartbroken, Dee-Dee’s given food for thought.

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.

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Sylhet resident Ataur Rahman has made a “request” to remove his father’s name from Tower Hill Memorial, a World War II memorial in London.

He applied for a UK visa in December last year to visit the monument and pay respect to his fallen father. But the British government rejected the application.

Ataur, who is 86 years old now, says: “Since we have no right to respect, there is no basis for keeping my father’s name there.

“I urge the UK government to remove my father’s name from the memorial permanently and also request that my father’s name be removed from all documents, including the Commonwealth records of the war.”

Ataur’s father Ershad Ali was killed while serving in the Merchant Navy for the allied forces during World War II.

According to a Daily Mail report, Ershad died on Jun 19, 1944, when the Dutch cargo ship SS Garoet was hit by a torpedo.

He has since received five medals in recognition of his efforts – the Burma Star, Atlantic Star, 1939-45 Star, 1939-45 War Medal, and the Dutch Mobilisation War cross.

His name is etched with many others into the Tower Hill Memorial.

Ataur said, ‘When I was only six months old, my father went off to World War II and never returned home.

“The biggest regret in my life is not seeing my father.”

He continued, “My son ‘Suhel’ found all the information about his grandfather 75 years after his death. After fighting against the UK for three long years, he was able to get his grandfather’s recognition in 2019.

“I think the visa officer deliberately rejected ‘our’ application, which I consider a crime against humanity. I think they insulted not only my father but all the seamen who died in World War II.”

An 81-year-old French hunter went on trial on Tuesday, accused of killing an endangered female bear that had attacked him in the Pyrenees.

The brown bear is a protected species in the mountain range, which separates France and Spain.

Andre Rives was boar-hunting when a female bear nicknamed Caramelles attacked him.

On November 20, 2021, two bear cubs emerged from the woods in front of Rives. Then their mother appeared, charging at him and dragging him for several metres. He shot and killed the animal.

Rives sustained leg injuries and was in a state of shock. A fellow hunter managed to stem the bleeding before he was evacuated by helicopter.

According to the investigation, the bear was killed 400 metres (1,300ft) outside an authorised hunting area.

Furious parents are urging North Ayrshire Council to back-track on plans to axe crossing patrollers at schools across the community.

It was one of the cuts voted through by councillors in the budget, at a cost of a mere £92,000, with selected crossings targeted, but parents are battling to force a u-turn.

And a petition has been drawn up by West Kilbride Primary Parent Council members, attracting 912 signatures since its launch last Tuesday.

The group learned only on Friday that their crossing was one of the ones which is being cut.

Emma Clark chair of West Kilbride Primary Council said: “I have three children at West Kilbride Primary and one at Ardrossan Academy.

“This decision by councillors will have a huge effect on the community as there is so much irresponsible and illegal parking and over the past three years we have been fighting for that.

“I don’t think that parking attendants are ticketing anyone for offences as if they did they would recoup the cost of the crossing.

“We have two crossings to make to the school and neither have pedestrian crossings, so it is not a safe route.

“I just don’t know what will happen. Some parents let their kids go themselves to school as with crossing patrollers, they trust it is going to be safe.

“Archie patrols West Kilbride Main street, part of the bus route and Joe stands on Hunterston Road across from the school.

“These patrollers are invaluable and have stopped a good number of accidents happening over the years.

“The council say they consulted road traffic agencies but I doubt they have been there at 8.45am to see the volume of traffic and if they know the actual impact it is going to have when they are removed.

“The majority of our councillors have voted to stop school crossing patrols as part of the NAC budget cuts from April.

“We spent ages campaigning and filled in a consultation form. We met with Education Director Andrew McClelland and no-one said it was a good idea, yet they have gone ahead and voted for it.

“It is a shocking decision by councillors – people would gladly pay for say a brown bin collection instead .

“Is it worth risking a child’s life to save a small amount of money in the grand scheme of things?”

The petition reads: “The crossing patrols not only provide a vital service, ensuring that children can get to and from school safely but the patrollers are part of our school community.

“If the crossing patrols are removed our school children and their families will not have a safe route to walk to and from school in addition to avoiding illegally and irresponsibly parked cars.

“It seems no alternative measures are being put in place to ensure pedestrian safety. We urge North Ayrshire Council and the councillors to reconsider this cut and to find a way to maintain crossing patrols for the well-being of our community. “

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “As part of the 2025-26 budget a budget proposal was put forward for a reduction to the school crossing patrol service – the proposal was accepted by Council on February 26

“The new provision for School Crossing Patrols will now be based on an assessed need for a supported crossing.

“An external assessment was undertaken using national guidelines to assess the pedestrian and vehicle volumes as well as a review by our Roads team. A decision on sites which will continue to have crossing patrollers was made based on the outcomes of the assessment process.”

What did you miss?

Sort Your Life Out expressed concern for a baby’s safety after he was left asleep on a bed in the warehouse.

Stacey Solomon took a shine to seven-month-old Elias in the latest episode of her BBC home makeover and decluttering show, which aired on Tuesday, 18 March. The TV presenter rocked the baby boy to sleep and then he was laid on a bed in the warehouse while she helped his parents and four-year-old sister to sort through and cut down their possessions, including 49 make-up brushes, 213 CDs, 552 books and 116 babygrows.

Adorable baby Elias and his four-year-old sister Zora stole the show, but some viewers were worried about the safety of a baby left asleep unattended on a bed.

What, how, and why?

Solomon and her team of professional organiser Dilly Carter, cleaner Iwan Carrington, handyman Rob Bent were in east London to help Dee and Aaron Noel tidy and clean up their three-bedroom home. The couple met 17-years-ago at university and moved into their ‘forever home’ three years ago with their daughter Zora. Trainee clinical psychologist Dee gave birth to Elias on the bathroom floor and the speedy and difficult birth left her bedbound and unable to do all the organising of her home she had planned for her maternity leave.

Dee said: “I was planning a home birth with support of midwives, but it happened very quick. I was watching TV an hour-and-a-half later, he was here.” Aaron added: “Dee shouted, it’s here! And the baby arrived, I caught him and wow, like I just couldn’t believe I had this baby in my arms, and the home birth pool was still being filled up.”

Dee added: “I was in like a lot of pain, just everywhere after having him. I had to go on bed rest for a good few months. I think there’s this culture of like bouncing back very quickly from childbirth, but it’s really difficult when you have another child and they’ve got needs and you’re trying to look after them. Like, I thought that I was going to declutter the entire house. I was gonna put in all these storage solutions. I haven’t been able to do anything.”

Read more: Stacey Solomon

What did viewers say about Sort Your Life Out?

During the family’s first day in the warehouse, Solomon rocked baby Elias to sleep and then put him down on a bed. This left some viewers worried about his safety.

One wrote on social media platform X: “Omg get the baby off the bed he will roll off!! His cot is there somewhere #SortYourLifeOut”

Another said: “I hope someone is watching the baby on that bed, before he rolls off and bumps his head #SortYourLifeOut”

And someone else asked: “Why do they feel the need to take the baby into the warehouse ? #SortYourLifeOut”

But other viewers were just as enchanted by the cute kids as Solomon was.

One tweeted: “Small children just LOVE Stacey #SortYourLifeOut”

Someone else posted: “One of my favourite tv programmes is Sort Your Life Out. Are you watching tonight? Have you ever seen a cuter baby in your life!!!! #SortYourLifeOut Plus, I totally and utterly adore Stacey Solomon.

And another viewer shared: “Baby Elias is adorable #SortYourLifeOut”

Sort Your Life Out with Stacey Solomon airs on BBC One at 8pm on Tuesday and is available to stream in iPlayer.

Sort Your Life Out is already seeking applicants for its next series.