SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Joshua Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota who is believed to be the last person to see missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki in the Dominican Republic, left the Caribbean country on Wednesday, his lawyers said.
Following a trial exceeding five hours, Judge Edwin Rijo ruled Wednesday that Riibe, classified as a witness in a disappearance case, should have full rights under Dominican law and unrestricted freedom of movement.
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Military personnel search for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)
Military personnel and civil defense members search for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)
Civil defense boats search for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)
A member of civil defense canine unit searches for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)
It was not immediately clear where Riibe traveled after leaving the Dominican Republic.
According to a statement from Guzmán Ariza, Abogados Consultores, the law firm representing the Riibe family, the La Altagracia prosecutor’s office offered to return Joshua’s passport. “While appreciating the offer, Joshua opted to obtain a new passport from the U.S. consulate for privacy reasons, which was expedited,” the law firm said.
Riibe had been detained by Dominican police, but on Tuesday judge Rijo ordered his release, saying he could cooperate with authorities without being detained. He was not named as a suspect.
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.
On Monday, Konanki's parents asked Dominican authorities to declare their daughter legally dead.
Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki said in a letter that after an extensive search, local authorities believe that Sudiksha, 20, 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.”
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.
Konanki was born in India and later became a U.S. permanent resident.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Military personnel search for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)
Military personnel and civil defense members search for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)
Civil defense boats search for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)
A member of civil defense canine unit searches for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)
New films by Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski, Japanese writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Spain’s Pedro Almodovar will premiere at the 79th Cannes Film Festival next month.
Organizers for the South of France festival, which runs May 12-23, laid out a lineup heavy on big-name international auteurs at a news conference Thursday in Paris.
Cannes’ most sought-after slots are in its competition lineup. This year, 21 films will vie for the Palme d’Or. That includes “Fatherland,” a Cold War drama starring Sandra Hüller by Pawlikowski (“Ida,” “Cold War” ); “Sudden,” the French language debut for Hamaguchi ( “Drive My Car” ); and Almodovar’s “Bitter Christmas.”
Cannes is so far light on Hollywood releases and American filmmakers. One exception in competition is Ira Sachs' “The Man I Love,” a New York tale starring Rami Malek set during the 1980s AIDS crisis. In the Un Certain Regard sidebar, Jane Schoenbrun will unveil their follow-up to 2014’s “I Saw the TV Glow”: “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” about the making of a slasher movie. It stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.
A number of former Palme winners are in the mix. That includes Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set “Fjord,” starring the recently Oscar-nominated Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan. Mungiu’s “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” won the Palme in 2007.
Also returning is Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose 2018 drama “Shoplifters” won the Palme. He’ll debut the sci-fi “Sheep in the Box,” about a grieving couple in the near future who bring home a humanoid boy as their son.
The specialty distributor Neon has already boarded “Fjord,” “Sheep in the Box” and “Sudden,” giving it a chance to extend its historic record of six Palme winners in a row. Last year, the Neon release “It Was Just an Accident,” by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, won the Palme.
Neon is also behind an out of competition selection in “Her Private Hell” by Nicolas Winding Refn, the “Drive” filmmaker. A thriller starring Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton, it's Refn's first feature film since 2016's “The Neon Demon.”
The Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev is also back in the Cannes competition lineup with “Minotaur.” Zvyagintsev's last two films, “Loveless” and “Leviathan,” both debuted at Cannes and went on to land Oscar nominations.
Other competition entries include films by Asghar Farhadi (“Parallel Stories”), Lukas Dhont (“Coward”) and Lazlo Nemes (“Moulin”).
Thierry Fremaux, Cannes’ artistic director, announced the selections in a news conference alongside festival president Iris Knobloch. Fremaux said that 2,541 feature films were submitted for inclusion.
Cannes is coming off a 2025 festival that produced a number of Oscar contenders, including two best-picture nominees in Joachim Tier’s “Sentimental Value” and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent.” This year’s Cannes appears well positioned to continue the festival’s stature as the global launching pad of many of the year’s best international films, some of which are bound to show up at next year’s Oscars.
But Hollywood studios appear to be a no-show. Fremaux has said not to expect red carpet premieres like “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” — both of which made splashy premieres in recent years. This year, Cannes announced ahead of the Paris news conference that John Travolta's directorial debut “Propeller One-Way Night Coach” will debut in the Cannes Premiere section.
Two prominent American directors will debut documentaries in special screenings: Steven Soderbergh with “John Lennon: The Last Interview” and Ron Howard with “Avedon,” about the photographer Richard Avedon.
Opening the festival, out of competition, is the 1920s French film “The Electric Kiss.” Cannes requires its opening movie to release the same week in French cinemas. And entry to its prestigious competition lineup requires theatrical distribution, a stipulation that — given France’s laws guarding theatrical windows — has excluded Netflix movies and other streaming titles since 2017.
This year, the Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will preside over the nine-member jury that will decide the Palme. And a pair of honorary Palmes will be handed out, to Barbra Streisand and to Peter Jackson.
Cannes film festival president Iris Knobloch, right, and Cannes film festival delegate general Thierry Fremaux attend a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 79th edition, Thursday, April 9, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Cannes film festival president Iris Knobloch, right, and Cannes film festival delegate general Thierry Fremaux attend a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 79th edition, Thursday, April 9, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Cannes film festival president Iris Knobloch, right, and Cannes film festival delegate general Thierry Fremaux pose after a press conference to announce the International Cannes film festival line up for the upcoming 79th edition, Thursday, April 9, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
