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US green-lights depleted uranium munitions for Ukraine: Report

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:50:47 GMT

Ukraine could soon receive armor-piercing ammunition from the U.S. capable of destroying heavy Russian tanks under the terms of a new multimillion-dollar aid package expected to be unveiled by Washington in the coming days.Depleted uranium munitions could be included in the next tranche of military assistance, according to a Reuters reports citing a draft document and two American officials. The ammunition rounds, which use the highly dense metal to help penetrate thick armor-plating, are designed to be fired from the U.S. Abrams tanks that Ukraine is expected to receive in the same package.While depleted uranium is a byproduct from the production of fuel used in atomic power stations, its radiation levels are significantly reduced and it is employed for its physical, rather than nuclear, properties. Ukraine in March received depleted uranium munitions from the U.K. to use in its British-made Challenger 2 tanks.However, the U.K. decision sparked a row after Russia — which without fo...

MLB notes: The Red Sox need starting pitching, and there will be plenty available this offseason

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:50:47 GMT

When all is said and done, the reason the Red Sox likely won’t make the playoffs is because they don’t have enough starting pitching.Brayan Bello has been terrific and James Paxton successfully put his injury woes behind him, but the rest of the rotation has failed to meet expectations.Chris Sale got hurt again. Corey Kluber was a complete bust. Garrett Whitlock keeps breaking down and failed to take the next step as a starter. Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford haven’t shown they can reliably pitch deeper than five innings. Nick Pivetta and Chris Murphy are better suited to pitch in relief.The rotation’s collective struggles put a heavy strain on the bullpen, and over the past two weeks the staff finally collapsed  as the workload proved too great. Now the Red Sox are facing a second straight September of meaningless baseball, and if the club hopes to turn things around in 2024, it’s obvious what they’ll have to do.Luckily, if there were ever an of...

K.C. Hwang, AP’s bureau chief in Seoul for 30 years, dies at age 99

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:50:47 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — K.C. Hwang, whose six-decade-long journalism career included 30 years chronicling South Korea’s tumultuous modern history as Seoul bureau chief for The Associated Press, has died at age 99.Hwang died Thursday of chronic ailments after undergoing kidney dialysis for two years, his son, Yoon Chul Hwang, said.From joining the AP in 1957, Hwang witnessed and reported on some of South Korea’s most dramatic and turbulent moments in its postwar history, from a public uprising that toppled the country’s first president, military coups and a presidential assassination to pro-democracy movements.“It was rare luck for a journalist to cover all these historical events in a single country,” Hwang wrote in a 2006 book titled “Korea Witness,” a collection of essays and articles by Korea correspondents.Hwang chose the 1960 uprising — where massive student protests over the government’s election fraud and corruption allegations triggered bloody police crackdowns befor...

More cargo ships from Ukraine use a civilian corridor despite Russian threats

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:50:47 GMT

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — A third cargo vessel to depart Ukraine despite Russian threats has been located at a short distance away from Bulgarian territorial waters, maritime officials said Saturday.The Anna-Theresa, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier carrying 56,000 tons of pig iron, left the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny on Friday, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said. He added that a second vessel – the Ocean Courtesy, traveling under a Marshall Islands flag — left the same port on Friday with 172,000 tons of iron ore concentrate. It was expected to reach Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta Saturday afternoon, according to the global ship tracking website MarineTraffic.The two vessels sailed through a temporary corridor for civilian ships from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports to the Bosporus, Kubrakov said on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. The corridor goes along the western shores of the Black Sea avoiding international waters and using instead those co...

‘Margaritaville’ singer Jimmy Buffett, who turned beach-bum life into an empire, dies at 76

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:50:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into an empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76. “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” a statement posted to Buffett’s official website and social media pages said late Friday. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.” The statement did not say where Buffett died or give a cause of death. Illness had forced him to reschedule concerts in May and Buffett acknowledged in social media posts that he had been hospitalized, but provided no specifics.“Margaritaville,” released on Feb. 14, 1977, quickly took on a life of its own, becoming a state of mind for those ”wastin’ away,” an excuse for a life of low-key fun and escapism for those ...

Scholz dismisses talk of keeping nuclear energy option open in Germany

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:50:47 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed a suggestion by a junior coalition partner that the country should keep open the option of using its closed nuclear power plants, declaring that atomic energy is a “dead horse” in Germany.Germany switched off its last three nuclear reactors in April, completing a process that received wide political support after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster in 2011. But some argued for a rethink after energy prices spiked because of the war in Ukraine.Among those who advocated a reprieve were members of the Free Democrats, a pro-business party that is part of Scholz’s governing coalition.This week, the Free Democrats’ parliamentary group approved a policy statement saying that it wants “to stop the dismantling of the nuclear power plants that are still fit to use” as part of efforts to be prepared for worst-case scenarios. “That is the only way we will remain capable of acting in every situation,” it said.Scholz b...

Russia says it thwarted attacks on Crimea bridge, which was briefly closed for a third time

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:50:47 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s Defense Ministry said early Saturday that its forces destroyed three Ukrainian naval drones being used in an attempt to attack a key bridge linking Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea, forcing its temporary closure for a third time in less than a year.One naval drone was destroyed late Friday and two others early Saturday morning, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials. A key supply route for Kremlin forces in the war with Ukraine, the Kerch bridge has come under repeated attack since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. An explosion in October, which Russian authorities said was caused by a truck bomb, left three people dead. A further attack on the bridge in July, killing a couple and seriously wounding their daughter, left a span of the roadway hanging perilously. The bridge connecting Crimea and Russia carries heavy significance for Moscow, both logistically and psychologically, as a key arter...

School boards grappling with AI use in classroom, but formal policies still elusive

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:50:47 GMT

Some of the largest school boards across Canada will begin the new school year without formal policies on the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom, despite concerns about how the technology will impact learning and academic integrity. But while there seems to be wide consensus on the need for more guidance and vigilance when it comes to AI in schooling, one education expert says blanket policies are not likely to help anyway. The Canadian Press asked 10 school boards in different parts of the country whether they would implement a formal policy for the 2023-24 school year that covers teacher and student use of AI, such as chatbots that can solve math problems or write essays. Among the boards that responded to the survey, none had an official AI-specific policy in place. Some said they would apply their existing codes of conduct to the use of AI in the classroom, while others said they’re in consultations on how to best tackle the fast-growing issue. Toronto District Scho...

Ecologists say life will return to B.C. wildfire zone, but trees may never grow back

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:50:47 GMT

The charred hills surrounding Lake Okanagan in the B.C. Interior will likely look very different in a year’s time and beyond as life returns to the wildfire-ravaged landscape, ecologists predict.An eruption of low plants, grasses, and shrubs will turn the hills green. Birds and small mammals, as well as deer and bears, will return to feast on berries and other plant life. Carnivores including cougars could move in.But the tall trees destroyed by the fires may never recover or return, said Robert Gray, a wildland fire ecologist.“When you look at West Kelowna, it’s really rocky, steep ground and trees aren’t going to come back very well there. There is not a lot of moisture in the soil and it’s only going to get drier with climate change,” said Gray. “A lot of that landscape may not see a lot of trees come back.”Gray said that by next June, people should expect to see “an explosion of shrubs, grasses, and herbs” sprouting from the ruined forest.“What will happen on that landscap...

N.W.T. officials set to share details about lifting of Yellowknife evacuation order

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:50:47 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — Residents of Yellowknife and a nearby First Nation have been told they’ll be allowed home as early as Sept. 6, barring any increase in wildfire risk.The city and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, which includes the nearby communities of Ndilo and Dettah, issued a joint statement on Friday announcing people will be able to return starting at noon that day.A press conference is scheduled for this afternoon to provide information about the return. Some of the details expected to be shared by government officials include the level of services expected to be initially available, how to plan to travel home safely, and supports that will remain in Alberta for Northwest Territories residents who can’t return immediately because of health concerns.Shane Thompson, the territory’s minister of municipal and community affairs, says people are asked to stay where they are until the evacuation order is lifted on Wednesday.Thompson says people from Hay River, Fort ...