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Ukraine says it still has toe-hold in Bakhmut despite Putin’s ‘liberation’ claim

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:19:19 GMT

KYIV — Ukraine said its forces still control a small part of Bakhmut despite Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday hailing the “liberation” of the embattled eastern Ukrainian city by Russian forces.Asked on Sunday if Russians had taken Bakhmut, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded “I think no,” at a press conference at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan. Russia’s Wagner mercenary force on Saturday claimed the capture of the industrial city in the Donbas region, which has been at the center of some of the fiercest fighting in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.Putin on Sunday congratulated the Wagner paramilitary group and the Russian army “on the completion of the operation to liberate” Bakhmut, according to a statement on the Kremlin’s website.But Ukrainian officials said several buildings in the southwestern part of the city remain under Kyiv’s control.“It is a small area tha...

After another ugly start, Jameson Taillon and the Chicago Cubs must find a way to get the veteran on track

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:19:19 GMT

Jameson Taillon is searching for answers.The right-hander’s Chicago Cubs career continues to get off to a rocky start. This time Citizens Bank Park served as the backdrop for Taillon’s struggles. One inning doomed Taillon, a common theme in his four starts since returning from the injured list.A six-run first inning by the Philadelphia Phillies put the Cubs in a hole they couldn’t recover from in a 12-3 loss Saturday. Kyle Schwarber’s grand slam on a hanging curveball represented the first blow. Taillon surrendered eight runs (six earned) in 2⅓ innings.Through seven starts, Taillon, who signed a four-year, $68 million contract in December, owns an 8.10 ERA. Taillon said he physically feels great with no lingering issues from his groin strain. Reoccurring struggles to put away hitters and inconsistent command keep putting Taillon in a bad spot.“I have to clean it up,” Taillon said. “I feel like the stuff’s there, just comes down t...

Hezbollah stages wargames for media, asserts readiness to confront Israel

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:19:19 GMT

AARAMTA, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanese militant group Hezbollah put on a show of force Sunday, extending a rare media invitation to one of its training sites in southern Lebanon, where its forces staged a simulated military exercise.Masked fighters jumped through flaming hoops, fired from the backs of motorcycles, and blew up Israeli flags posted in the hills above and a wall simulating the one at the border between Lebanon and Israel.The exercise came ahead of “Liberation Day,” the annual celebration of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon on May 25, 2000, and in the wake of a recent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza. Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers and Hezbollah have had long-standing ties.The recent heightened tensions also come months after Lebanon and Israel signed a landmark U.S.-brokered maritime border agreement, which many analysts predicted would lower the risk of a future military confrontation between the two countries.The Israeli militar...

Estonia, Latvia plan joint purchase of German medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:19:19 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Estonia and Latvia plan jointly to acquire German air defense systems for the protection of the two NATO nations’ airspace in what would be the biggest defense cooperation deal between the Baltic neighbors that border Russia, the Estonian and Latvian defense ministries said Sunday. According to the provisional deal, deliveries of the medium-range IRIS-T SLM air defense system — manufactured by weapons maker Diehl Defence of Germany — could begin in 2025.The value of the deal and detailed information about the numbers of the system weren’t disclosed as talks with the supplier are still ongoing, defense ministries of the two countries said.Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur described the deal as “a joint project of historical proportions for our defense cooperation, the largest one to date” between Tallinn and Riga.“Presuming that negotiations are successful, we (Estonia and Latvia) hope to reach contract and, subsequently, announce the official winning bidde...

Animal rights activists protest octopus farm plans in Spain

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:19:19 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Animal rights activists gathered Sunday in Madrid to protest plans for the construction of an octopus farm in Spain, saying there are no respective laws in the country and the European Union to guarantee the welfare of the animals in captivity.The proposed farm, which aims to breed octopuses on a large scale in captivity, is scheduled to be built next year in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean. A few dozen people showed up to express their concerns regarding a project that plans to confine 3 million octopuses in pools, despite these creatures being solitary predators in their natural habitat.“It is similar to imprisoning tigers together. They will prey on one another and will also attempt to escape due to their high intelligence and adeptness”, said Jaime Poasada, a spokesperson for the protest called by various animal welfare organizations.Octopuses grown in captivity will behave differently from those in the wild, said Nova Pescan...

Analysis: Japanese PM faces dilemma at G7 as he balances anti-nuke goals with reality of threats

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:19:19 GMT

HIROSHIMA (AP) — 8:15 on the morning of Aug. 6, 1945.It’s a big reason leaders from the world’s most powerful democracies descended on Hiroshima for this weekend’s Group of Seven summit: Part commemoration, part effort to confront the continuing consequences of the moment a U.S. B-29 Superfortress released what the Americans named “Little Boy” over the city in the first wartime use of a nuclear bomb.It also presents Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the driving force behind Hiroshima’s selection for the G7 venue, with a unique dilemma.On the one hand, he is keen to promote the vision of a world without nuclear weapons that has long been a cornerstone of his political rhetoric. On the other, he is mindful of the widespread domestic worry over aggression by nuclear-armed neighbors.Kishida’s difficult balancing act could be clearly seen in the G7’s overwhelming focus on building support for Ukraine’s defense against nuclear-armed Russia...

G7 ends with Ukraine in focus as Zelenskyy meets world leaders and Russia claims disputed gains

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:19:19 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy huddled with some of his biggest backers as the Group of Seven summit closed in Hiroshima on Sunday, building momentum for his country’s war effort even as Russia claimed a battlefield victory that was quickly disputed by Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader’s in-person appearance in his trademark olive drab underscored the centrality of the war for the G7 bloc of rich democracies. It also stole much of the limelight from other priorities, including security challenges in Asia and outreach to the developing world, that the leaders focused on at the three-day gathering. Hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the group was committed to “strong backing for Ukraine from every possible dimension.” Zelenskyy held two major rounds of meetings Sunday, one with G7 leaders and a second with them and a host of invited guests including India and South Korea. He also spoke one-on-one with several leaders.Hanging ove...

Tensions in heavily GOP Tenn. county after conservative takeover reflect wider battle over elections

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:19:19 GMT

GALLATIN, Tenn. (AP) — Shortly after being sworn in last fall, the new majority of the Sumner County Commission in Tennessee acted to update one of its official documents. The new version said county operations would not only be orderly and efficient, but “most importantly reflective of the Judeo-Christian values inherent in the nation’s founding.”It was an important moment for the 14 commissioners who had campaigned under the banner of the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans. The group had waged a political war on fellow Republicans in this fast-growing region north of Nashville during a bitter primary a few months before.Since taking control, that majority has halted plans for a new building, rejected federal grants and sought to give away a historical property, actions it said were in line with its commitment to fiscal responsibility. The group also has been involved in an escalating feud with the county’s election commission.The early moves have been cheered by their suppor...

Stepping into Spielberg’s shoes, James Mangold takes Indiana Jones on one last adventure

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:19:19 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — When the lights came up after a screening on the Walt Disney lot of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” Steven Spielberg was incredulous.“Damn!” he said. “I thought I was the only one who knew how to make one of these!” “Dial of Destiny,” which premiered Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival, is the first Indiana Jones film without Spielberg behind the camera. After years of development, Spielberg and Lucasfilm decided to pass the reigns to James Mangold, the “Ford vs. Ferrari” filmmaker, who was 18 years old when he saw “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in a Hudson Valley theater on opening day in 1981. “When I got over my initial hesitation of just: holy s—- this is a big challenge to step into these very big shoes that Steven Spielberg is leaving, the opportunity, on a very selfish level, to collaborate and learn and have the tools and the resources to play on this level was hard to resist,” Mangold said. Mangold was being tasked with not...

Chinese investigators blame building collapse that killed 54 on shoddy, illegal construction

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:19:19 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The collapse of a nine-story building in central China that killed 54 people last year was caused by shoddy, illegal construction and local officials’ failure to enforce standards, according to an official report released Sunday.At least nine people including the building owner were reported arrested following the April 2022 disaster in Changsha, which trapped survivors under rubble for up to five days. Nine people were injured.The report by investigators appointed by the ruling Communist Party said the collapse of the “self-built” structure was due by “illegal and irregular construction” and additions by residents, according to state TV. It said local authorities were “not serious” about enforcing building rules and “shirked responsibility.”The report gave no indication of possible punishment for the owner and local officials.News reports at the time said the building had six stories, but Sunday’s report said more were added up to a partial ninth level. It said that ...