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NATO member Romania finds more drone fragments on its soil after Russian again hits southern Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:10:44 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian authorities said Thursday they found a crater from a suspected drone that may have exploded on impact on its territory near the border with Ukraine, reviving concerns about possible spillover of Russia’s war in Ukraine onto a NATO member country.The pre-dawn discovery of the crater three kilometers (1.8 miles) west of the village of Plauru, which sits across the Danube River from the Ukrainian port of Izmail, was made after the Romanian Defense Ministry said it detected a series of drones heading towards Ukrainian river ports.The ministry said the drone had possibly exploded on impact but it was not immediately clear when or from where the drone was launched. An investigation was under way.“Heinous Russian attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure had again serious consequences on Romania’s territory,” Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu wrote on X, the social medial platform formerly known as Twitter, adding that “new evidence of impact was foun...

Months on, there are few signs that Turkey plans to honor its pledge to help Sweden join NATO

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:10:44 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Three months after NATO announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to let Sweden become a member of the military organization, little sign has emerged that the Nordic country will be allowed to join its ranks anytime soon.The issue was expected to be raised Thursday at NATO headquarters where the 31 member countries were holding their second day of talks.Sweden and its neighbor Finland turned their backs on decades of military non-alignment after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Their aim was to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella, and Finland joined in April.All 31 NATO allies must endorse Sweden’s membership. Turkey and Hungary are dragging their feet. Publicly, Erdogan has said he was blocking because he believes that Sweden has been too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups that he considers to be security threats. Many allies doubt that.At a NATO summit in Lithuania’s c...

Stretch of Hwy. 401 express lanes blocked in Toronto for vehicle fire

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:10:44 GMT

A stretch of Highway 401 in Toronto is blocked during the Thursday morning rush due to a tractor-trailer fire.The eastbound 401 express lanes were shut down approaching Avenue Road just before 6:30 a.m. with crews on scene now working to douse the flames.There are heavy delays building eastbound in both the express and collector lanes from approaching Highway 400. The eastbound collector lanes remain open approaching Avenue.Listen to CityNews 680 for the latest traffic updates.This is a developing story. More to come.TRAFFIC ALERT: EB 401 approaching Avenue express, all lanes are blocked with a truck fire. Use collector lanes. Major delays from the 400 express and collectors. pic.twitter.com/8pjEuY2eU6— CityNews Toronto Traffic & Weather (@citynews680) October 12, 2023

The late Mahsa Amini is named a finalist for the EU’s top human rights prize

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:10:44 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody in Iran last year, sparking worldwide protests against the country’s conservative Islamic theocracy, has been named a finalist for the European Union’s top human rights prize.The European Parliament on Thursday announced the three finalists for this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, including Amini and “the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran.”The selection was “in recognition of their brave effort to stand up for women’s rights,” said David McAllister, the chair of the foreign affairs committee at the EU Parliament.Amini died on Sept. 16, 2022, after she was arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s mandatory headscarf law.The other nominees are Vilma Nunez de Escorcia and Roman Catholic Bishop Rolando Álvarez — two emblematic figures in the fight for the defense of human rights in Nicaragua — and a trio of women from Poland, El Salvador and the United States leadin...

EU orders biotech giant Illumina to unwind $7.1 billion purchase of cancer-screening company Grail

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:10:44 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Thursday ordered U.S. biotech giant Illumina to undo its $7.1 billion purchase of cancer-screening company Grail because it closed the deal without approval of regulators in the 27-nation bloc.The EU already slapped a $475 million fine on Illumina over the summer for jumping the gun on the acquisition without its consent. Now, the order to unwind the deal “restores competition in the development of early cancer detection tests,” EU antitrust Commissioner Didier Reynders said. “By ordering Illumina to restore Grail’s independence, we ensure a level playing field in this crucial market to the ultimate benefit of European consumers,” he said. Illumina said it is reviewing the order to sell Grail. The company also has previously asked the EU’s highest court to rule on its challenge to the bloc’s ability to review the merger.Allowing the deal to stand would have undermined the credibility of EU regulators. Companies almost invariably play by th...

Crane is brought in to remove a tree by Hadrian’s Wall in England that was cut in act of vandalism

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:10:44 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A 300-year-old tree near the Roman landmark of Hadrian’s Wall in northeastern England that was cut down two weeks ago in an act of vandalism was to be removed on Thursday.The National Trust, which for more than 125 years has sought to protect England’s heritage and natural landscapes, said a crane will lift the much-photographed and painted sycamore tree from where it lies near the delicate and now-damaged wall. “It’s currently in a precarious position resting on the wall, so it’s necessary we move it now, both to preserve the world-famous monument that is Hadrian’s Wall, and to make the site safe again for visitors,” said Andrew Poad, the site’s general manager for the National Trust, which for more than 125 years has sought to protect England’s heritage and natural landscapes,Though the 50-foot (15-meter) tree is too big to move in one piece, experts hope that the trunk can be kept in large sections in order to leave future options open on what could be done. The stu...

Toronto police increase patrols in Jewish communities, other places of worship

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:10:44 GMT

Toronto police plan to keep security stepped up around the city’s Jewish communities and places of worship but say there is no evidence of any credible threats to residents.In a statement released Wednesday night, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) says it has “heard directly from community leaders in our city that the war in the Middle East is generating fear and insecurity in Toronto.”Police say they were made aware of global threats circulating online about possible events on Friday, but add they are currently unaware of any “credible threats” to Jewish communities in Toronto.The increased police patrol will focus on cultural centres, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship around the city.“Residents are encouraged to report any allegations of hate motivated incidents to police for investigation,” reads the TPS statement. “The service is also working closely with federal and provincial partners and other law enforcement agenci...

Zeynep Tufekci: Why does the Nobel Committee overlook Saudi women activists?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:10:44 GMT

Iranian women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi well deserves her Nobel Peace Prize for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee called “her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.”Mohammadi represents a stunning mass movement by Iranian women that for months has sustained nationwide protests in the face of imprisonment and death largely against the way women’s rights are curtailed — from what they can wear to what jobs and schooling they can get to their rights within the family.But in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, brave women have also fought against gender oppression and been imprisoned, restrained and silenced. Despite a handful of recent reforms in the region, women still face legal, social and political restrictions and oppression.Political calculations can explain why Western nations stay quiet about this gender repression. Their dependence on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries for oil, investments and, argu...

Tyler Cowen: U.S. higher education needs a revolution. What’s holding it back?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:10:44 GMT

When the revolution in higher education finally arrives, how will we know? I have a simple metric: When universities change how they measure faculty work time. Using this yardstick, the U.S. system remains very far from a fundamental transformation. It is no accident that former Macalester College president Brian Rosenberg titled his new book, “‘Whatever It Is, I’m Against It’: Resistance to Change in Higher Education.”Some background: Faculty at Tier 1 research universities (which includes my own employer, George Mason University) typically bargain for what is called a “class load.” A class load of 2-2, for instance, means the professor teaches two classes each semester; 1-2 would mean teaching one class one semester and then two the next semester; and so on. Both smaller elite private schools and larger public universities operate on this system. And so long as the faculty member shows up and teaches his or her courses without major incide...

Sinking boat recovered on Great Sacandaga Lake

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:10:44 GMT

GREAT SACANDAGA LAKE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A sinking boat was recovered by crews after striking a rock pile on Great Sacandaga Lake Sunday. Responding crews included the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Forest Rangers and the Northville Fire Department. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! On Sunday, Forest Rangers received word of a disabled boat on Great Sacandaga Lake. The boat stopped after an angler struck a rock pile near the shoreline of Sinclair Point.Crews waded out to the stranded boat and guided it, along with a 62-year-old from Tivoli aboard, back to shore. Crews worked with staff from Reets Boat Works to recover it and bring it back to shore.