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Ukraine minister says he wants to turn his country into a weapons production hub for the West

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:53:27 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s newly appointed head of defense industry says he is working tirelessly to ramp up local arms production and wants to turn the country into a weapons production hub for the West.Oleksandr Kamysyhin, the minister for strategic industries of Ukraine, said that Russia’s invasion of his country and the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Middle East have highlighted the need for countries to spend on their defense systems.“We’re really focusing on making Ukraine the arsenal of the free world,” Kamyshin told The Associated Press in an interview late Friday.Kamyshyn said approximately 500 companies in Ukraine’s defense industry are contributing to the country’s efforts to increase weapons production in order to counter Russia’s attempts to seize more territory. Among those are 70 state-owned factories, over 200 primarily private factories producing unmanned systems, and more than 200 private sector companies involved in the production of various types of weaponry ...

Supporters celebrate opening of Gay Games in Hong Kong, first in Asia, despite lawmakers’ opposition

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:53:27 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Scores of athletes celebrated the opening of the Gay Games in Hong Kong on Saturday despite opposition from anti-LGBTQ lawmakers, marking the first time the international sporting event to be held in Asia. Nearly 2,400 participants from about 45 territories, including Britain, the United States, and Australia, will compete in a variety of games, from tennis and swimming to culturally rich activities like dragon boat racing and mahjong in the nine-day event. Following the procession of athletes, a series of performances followed, highlighting Hong Kong’s Chinese culture, but also incorporating modern dance, musical theater and lion dancers. LGBTQ+ activism is a rare spot that is still making considerable progress in Hong Kong under a government crackdown on its civil society following the 2019 pro-democracy protests. The games foster hopes for a wider inclusion of sexual minorities in the Asian financial hub after court wins last month over housing and inherita...

Former Guinea dictator Camara, 2 others escape from prison in a jailbreak, justice minister says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:53:27 GMT

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Gunmen stormed the main prison in Guinea’s capital early Saturday and freed former dictator Moussa “Dadis” Camara, the country’s justice minister said, announcing the closure of the West African nation’s borders.The announcement by Justice Minister Charles Alphonse Wright came several hours after heavy gunfire erupted in the Kaloum district of the capital, Conakry. Among the others who escaped were Claude Pivi and Blaise Goumou, Wright said. “We will find them. And those responsible will be held accountable,” Wright told local Radio Fim FM.Camara, who came to power in a 2008 coup d’etat, had been detained in connection with a stadium massacre during his brief time in power. He had lived for years in exile after surviving an assassination attempt by one of his bodyguards before returning home in late 2021.Camara is one of more than a dozen suspects who were charged in connection with the 2009 massacre, when Guinean security forces fired upon p...

At least 9 wounded in Russian attacks across Ukraine. European Commission head visits Kyiv

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:53:27 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian attacks in Ukraine wounded at least 14 civilians over the past day, officials said Saturday, as the president of the European Commission returned to the Ukrainian capital to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, Yurii Malashko, said nine people were injured in a Russian rocket strike on the village of Zarichne. Overall, 26 cities and settlements in the region came under attack over the past day, he said.In the Kherson region, five people were injured, said Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin. He said attacks in the region came from artillery, mortars, drones, warplanes and tanks. Nikopol, a city of the opposite bank of the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, came under fire but no injuries were immediately reported, according to Dnipropetrovsk regional Gov. Serhii Lysak.European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv on Saturday morning and was met by Zelenskyy at ...

Spy service director expressed ‘full confidence’ in employees after ‘troubling’ leak

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:53:27 GMT

OTTAWA — The head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service told employees he stood by the spy agency’s handling of sensitive information following a “troubling” leak of classified material, a newly released memo shows. In a Feb. 24 message to staff, CSIS director David Vigneault expressed continuing faith in employees’ dedication and adherence to the law after a newspaper story cited secret spy service documents on foreign interference.“The source of this leak is troubling for the Canadian government and, of course, for us here at CSIS,” Vigneault said in the memo, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act. “In order for us to gather and share classified information as necessitated by our mandate and by the CSIS Act, we must have full confidence in the measures taken to adhere to the legal obligations surrounding its security, to ensure the full protection of our techniques, sources and employees.”The me...

Hamas leader’s home is hit in airstrike as Israel presses its attacks and U.S. envoy seeks aid route

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:53:27 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military hit the family home of the exiled leader of Hamas on the outskirts of Gaza City with an airstrike Saturday and pressed ahead with attacks across in the besieged enclave where a humanitarian crisis is rapidly worsening.With food, water and the fuel needed for generators that power hospitals and other facilities running out, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate cease-fire to allow aid in.“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is horrific,” Guterres said late Friday in an unusually blunt statement. “An entire population is traumatized, nowhere is safe.”U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been in the region since Friday trying to find ways to ease the plight of the civilians caught in the fighting and was meeting with Arab foreign ministers on Saturday. His mission is complicated by Israel’s insistence there can be no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released. Guterres said he had not for...

Australian premier will protest blogger’s detention conditions while meeting the Chinese president

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:53:27 GMT

SHANGHAI (AP) — Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Saturday he would protest a lack of transparency in China’s treatment of a detained Australian democracy blogger when meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing during a trade-focused state visit.The detention of Yang Hengjun without conviction for almost five years will be one of the topics raised with Xi when they meet in the Great Hall of the People on Monday.Yang is being held in a Beijing detention center awaiting the verdict of a 2021 closed-door trial on espionage charges. The 58-year-old’s family fears he is dying.“I’ll be saying that Dr. Yang’s case needs to be resolved and I’ll be speaking about his human rights, the nature of the detention and the failure to have transparent processes,” Albanese told reporters in the northern Australian city of Darwin hours before he was to fly to Shanghai.The Chinese Foreign Ministry this week defended Yang’s prosecution, saying his case had been handled in strict accordance with the...

St. Paul’s Pilgrim Baptist Church recognized for role in anti-slavery Underground Railroad

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:53:27 GMT

Born and raised in St. Paul, Elyse Pearson-Hill was always fascinated by the history of the sizable church just down the street. It was said that Pilgrim Baptist Church was founded by escaped slaves, whom the Rev. Robert Hickman dubbed his “pilgrims” as he led them by cover of night out of the plantations and farm fields of Missouri and up the Mississippi River to St. Paul.Pilgrim Baptist Church’s Cedar St. location. (Courtesy of Pilgrim Baptist Church)Little did she realize during her teen years at St. Paul Central High School in the 1970s that she would someday play a role in elevating that church to a historic status.With her help, Pilgrim Baptist Church has been newly listed as the first Minnesota location on the National Park Service’s “National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom,” a directory of more than 700 notable sites where slaves seeking their freedom hid or found refuge.The National Park Service listed the church, which was chart...

Ask Amy: Mother-in-law’s clothing choices rankle

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:53:27 GMT

Dear Amy: I’ll get straight to the point. My mother-in-law dresses in clothes that are too tight or too short.The clothes aren’t revealing, necessarily, but they don’t flatter her figure at all. They make her look like she has absolutely no sense of style. I feel bad for her.I know that she thinks she looks good in these clothes, but I also know that she would want to know if something looked bad on her.The problem is, I have absolutely no idea how to broach the subject.She’s an extremely sensitive person and I have trouble talking to her about anything even remotely serious.I have made her cry on occasion just for bringing something up that other people wouldn’t think twice about.Should I tell her how I feel, or do I keep it to myself?If so, what would I say?— Doubting DILDear Doubting: Your mother-in-law does not dress for you. She dresses for herself. She no doubt chooses her clothing with some care, and she likely believes she looks good in wh...

Bridge: Nov. 4, 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:53:27 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.South’s jump to 2NT was forcing and showed a balanced 12 to 15 points. (Some pairs use a 2NT response to a minor-suit opening bid as invitational, a treatment I dislike because subsequent development of the auction may be murky.)Against 3NT, West led a low spade: ten, king, ace. Declarer then led a diamond. East won and returned his last spade, and the defenders forced out South’s queen. South then took his heart and club tricks, but West won the last four tricks with the king of diamonds and good spades.NINTH TRICKSouth was at risk since he had to lose the lead twice to set up a ninth trick in diamonds. In case the missing spades are divided 6-2, South must execute a “hold-up” play — even with a double stopper.South ducks the first trick and wins East’s spade return. When he loses a diamond to East’s ace, East must shift, and South has time to force out West...