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US navy secretary says Australian multination military exercise demonstrates unity to China

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:25:49 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said Friday that the major multination military training exercise launched in Australia sends a message to China that America’s allies are cooperating to defend their security and democratic values.Talisman Sabre began in 2005 as a biennial joint exercise between the United States and Australia but has expanded this year to 13 nations and more than 30,000 military personnel.Del Toro and his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, welcomed ever-closer closer bilateral military ties as they launched the exercise at a Sydney naval base.Del Toro said land, sea and air military platforms are becoming increasingly complicated and allies need to exercise together to be able to operate as a single task force.“The most important message that China can take from this exercise and anything that our allies and partners do together is that we are extremely tied by the core values that exist among our many nations together,” Del Toro ...

Canada gets 0-0 draw with Nigeria in Women’s World Cup opener

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:25:49 GMT

Canada was left looking for positives Friday in the wake of a scoreless draw with Nigeria in its opening match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.Coach Bev Priestman and her players found some. But it had a feel of trying to make lemonade out of lemons, especially given captain Christine Sinclair’s saved penalty in the 50th minute.The seventh-ranked Canadians outshot No. 40 Nigeria 15-10 (3-1 in shots on target) and dominated possession in the early going, creating chances that they could not convert.Canada’s scoring prowess was a cause for concern coming into this Women's World Cup. And Friday’s limp effort vs. Nigeria isn’t going to silence pundits who asked where the goals would come from. @JohnMolinaro has his takeaways from Canada's opener https://t.co/Bj2ZkvIJex— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 21, 2023After a scoreless first half in Canada’s opening game of the Women’s World Cup, the most decorated Canadian soccer player of all time had a glorious chance to ...

A US military drone crashes in Polish woodland during training

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:25:49 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A U.S. military drone has crashed in the woods in southwestern Poland after contact was lost during training, Poland’s Defense Ministry said Friday. The ministry said that no one was hurt and there was no damage from the incident on Thursday afternoon. Polish media reported that an eyewitness saw an object crashing in the woods near the village of Trzebien and notified the fire brigade. The military were already there when the firefighters arrived, Piotr Pilarczyk, spokesman for the national fire command told Polish state news agency PAP. Pilarczyk said there were no explosions when the object, which had a wing span of about 8 meters (26 feet), crashed. In an email, the ministry told The Associated Press that the drone had collected by the U.S. side. Poland’s defense is on alert as neighboring Ukraine is fighting an all-out war against Russia’s military aggression. Trainers from several NATO member countries, including the UK, Canada, and Norway have been...

American freestyler Katie Ledecky faces youth as the world championships open in Japan

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:25:49 GMT

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — Katie Ledecky has never gone home with anything other than a gold or silver medal in the Olympics or world championships dating from the 2012 London Games.But it might happen Sunday in the women’s 400-meter freestyle on the opening night in the pool of the World Aquatics Championships. This is perhaps the most anticipated race of the entire eight-day program.One of the greatest freestylers the sport has ever seen, Ledecky is up against two younger stars: 16-year-old Summer McIntosh of Canada, and 22-year-old Ariarne Titmus of Australia.“Of course Summer and, of course Ariarne, have some incredibly fast times over the last two years,” the 26-year-old Ledecky said. “I know they’ll be right there and I know there are a lot of other contenders as well.” United States head coach Bob Bowman summed up the meet, particularly the first day.“There are definitely people out there with star quality in swimming,” he said. “There’ll be three of them in the ...

House aims to ease air travel delays with more money for air traffic controllers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:25:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration would get more money to hire air traffic controllers and the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots would be raised under a bill approved Thursday by the House.The measure seeks to improve air travel, which has been plagued by delays and cancellations during its busiest times, and would reauthorize FAA programs for the next five years. It passed on a mostly bipartisan vote of 351-69.The Senate is working on its version of the bill ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline for action. The two chambers will have to reconcile differences or else approve a short-term extension of existing FAA programs by then.The House approval came after a string of votes on contentious issues. Lawmakers voted 243-139 to remove a provision that would have allowed more flight simulator hours to be credited toward the 1,500-hour in-flight requirement to become an airline pilot. Smaller airlines lobbied for the change, saying it would ease a pilot shortage tha...

1 person killed, 3 others wounded in knife attack in South Korea’s capital

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:25:49 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A knife-wielding man stabbed at least four pedestrians on a street in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on Friday, killing one person, police said.They said a man in his 30s with a criminal record that wasn’t specified was arrested. The motivation behind the attack wasn’t immediately clear.Min Moon-ki, an official from Seoul’s Gwanak district police office, said the victim who died was male but didn’t share his personal details. Moon said at least one of the three who were being treated for injuries was in critical condition.The Associated Press

Biden is building his 2024 reelection bid around an organization Obama shunned

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:25:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is staking his reelection bid on the political and financial muscle of the Democratic National Committee.As it prepares for a bruising 2024 contest, his campaign plans to raise and spend around $2 billion. But it will do so in coordination with the national and state Democratic parties, in an effort to establish a coordinated campaign around the country. The idea is to bolster field, volunteer and data organizations, and ensure they work jointly to promote Biden and down-ballot Democratic candidates.“The president is really rewriting the playbook when it comes to what a reelection campaign looks like and how we are in deep partnership with the DNC,” said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, “and will continue to show, by all metrics, that we’re running a successful campaign.” The strategy is different from the way the last Democratic president treated the DNC. Barack Obama largely shunned the party’s traditional fundraising ap...

German court rejects collector’s complaint against listing in Nazi-era lost art database

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:25:49 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German federal court on Friday rejected a collector’s complaint against the inclusion of a painting he bought at auction in a database used to document works which may have been expropriated as a result of Nazi persecution.The plaintiff, who acquired the painting “Calabrian Coast” by German artist Andreas Achenbach at an auction in London in 1999, argued that the entry in the Lost Art Database and the triggering in Canada of an Interpol search for the work impaired his ownership of it.He called for the defendants — the trustees of a Canadian trust that manages the estate of Jewish art dealer Max Stern — to desist from asserting ownership of the painting, or to be ordered to have the entry in the database deleted. The collector, whose identity the Federal Court of Justice didn’t publish, was unsuccessful in lower courts.The federal court ruled that “the announcement of missing cultural property on the Lost Art Database’s web page, if based upon true facts,...

Stock market today: World shares are mixed as investors weigh weakness in the tech sector

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:25:49 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed Friday in Europe and Asia after the latest rally on Wall Street fizzled, with big declines for Tesla, Netflix and other big tech-oriented stocks.Benchmarks rose in London, Paris and Hong Kong but fell in Frankfurt, Tokyo and Shanghai. U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices also climbed. Big Tech stocks have rallied hard this year, helping drive the big gains for Wall Street’s S&P 500. But technology companies have been forecasting weakness ahead, undermining that key driver of upward momentum. Most tech companies were steady or higher in pre-market trading early Friday. Germany’s DAX lost 0.4% to 16,142.46 and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.2% to 7,401.14. In London, the FTSE 100 was up less than 0.1% at 7,650.74. The future for the S&P 500 was 0.2% higher and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%. On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.7%, while the Nasdaq lost 2.1%, its biggest drop in more than four months. The Dow...

Attention turns to Mega Millions after this week's huge Powerball win

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:25:49 GMT

Lottery dreamers are setting their sights on the growing Mega Millions jackpot drawing on Friday after a ticket worth more than $1 billion was sold for the Powerball lottery. Here’s a look at how this drawing compares to other jackpots and why these winnings have become so high.HOW DOES THIS LATEST MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT STACK UP?The new jackpot for the Mega Millions drawing has reached an estimated $720 million, making it the game's fifth highest. It hasn't yet broken into the top 10 highest lottery jackpots in U.S. history, though.If someone picks all five numbers, plus the gold Mega Ball, they will have the option of taking the prize in yearly increments paid over 29 years or a $369.6 million lump sum before taxes. The last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was April 18. The jackpot will continue growing until someone wins.POWERBALL WINNING TICKETMost of the attention had been on Powerball until a winning ticket was drawn this week. Sold at a tiny neighborhoo...