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Amid Ukraine war, pope to give vision for Europe in Hungary

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:27 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis plans to outline his vision for the future of Europe during a three-day visit to Hungary starting Friday, with Russia’s war in Ukraine, migration flows and Hungary’s tense relations with Brussels looming large over the pontiff’s weekend journey.Hungarian officials say Francis’ pilgrimage was designed primarily to let the pope minister to the country’s Catholic community and to encourage its members in their faith. But with the war unfolding next door and Hungary butting heads with other European Union nations over rule of law issues and LGBTQ+ rights, Francis’ words and deeds in the heart of Europe will carry strong political undertones.After his arrival, Francis is scheduled to meet with President Katalin Novak and Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and then to deliver his main political speech to Hungarian authorities and diplomats. He has a chance to speak to Hungarian society and Europe at large in his final event Sunday, when he’ll address academic an...

Death sentence upheld for ex-school principal who killed 3

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:27 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Supreme Court upheld a death sentence for an ex-elementary school principal convicted of killing three people, including a toddler, during an armed gold shop robbery in 2020.The court ruled Wednesday that Prasitthichai Khaewkao did not deserve a reduction in his original sentence, calling the shooting in a shopping mall in Lopburi province “outrageously, ruthlessly inhuman” in a statement released Friday. Four people were injured in the attack and a salesclerk, a security guard and a 2-year-old boy were killed.Prasitthichai was found guilty in August 2020 and given a death sentence on charges including first-degree murder, killing in commission of another crime and illegally carrying a gun. The Appeal Court also upheld the death penalty in 2021.The Supreme Court said the defendant, as a teacher and a headmaster, should have behaved as a good role model for students, but instead committed a serious crime. Therefore, it said there was not enough grounds...

Knights top Winnipeg 4-1 in Game 5, advance to second round

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:27 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights saved their best performance of the opening round for last and dominated the Winnipeg Jets with their first chance in an elimination game.Chandler Stephenson scored twice and Vegas ousted the Jets from their Western Conference opening-round series with a 4-1 victory on Thursday night in Game 5.“I think it was our best, or closest to complete, but like I said, we still have work to do and we know that,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Nobody plays their best game in the first round. You keep building, and we’ll do the same.”The Golden Knights, who lost Game 1 before winning four straight, became the first team to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.Vegas, which went to the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season in 2018, is now 42-29 in the postseason. Vegas improved to 8-5 in 13 playoff series since entering the league.Mark Stone added a goal and two assists and William Karlsson also scored for the Golden Knights. Goal...

Levis, Hooker among top prospects for Day 2 of NFL draft

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:27 GMT

Kentucky quarterback Will Levis was projected as high as the second overall pick in the NFL draft. Instead, he’s heading to Round 2 still waiting for a team to buzz his phone. “Not shocked — surprised,” said ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., who had projected Levis as a top-four pick. “Once it got into that no-man’s land because there was nobody needing a quarterback mid-round, I thought maybe somebody would jump back in. Maybe the Rams would.“But the Rams pick early in the second round. Maybe they look at Will Levis,” Kiper said. “You know, he had the banged up year. Head to toe he was beat up, didn’t play nearly as well as he did in 2021, for obvious reasons — he was hurt, he couldn’t move. So, I guess teams held that against him more than I thought they would.”Other mock drafters figured Levis could go as high as No. 2 overall. “We all thought he’d be a first-round pick,” Kiper said, figuring at worst that Levis would drop to Tampa Bay at No. 1...

Mueren tres soldados al estrellarse un helicóptero militar en Alaska

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:27 GMT

(CNN) — Tres soldados murieron y uno resultó herido cuando dos helicópteros AH-64 Apache del 1er Batallón de Ataque, pertenecientes al 25º Regimiento de Aviación de Fort Wainwright, se estrellaron este jueves cerca de Healy, Alaska. Los helicópteros regresaban de una misión de entrenamiento cuando colisionaron en vuelo.Dos soldados fueron declarados muertos en el lugar del accidente y un tercero falleció de camino al Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. El cuarto soldado está siendo tratado en el Fairbanks Memorial de las heridas sufridas en el accidente.Los nombres de los fallecidos se mantendrán en secreto hasta que pasen 24 horas desde que se notifique a sus familiares.El Centro de Asistencia de Emergencia de Fort Wainwright (907-353-4452) fue activado para proporcionar apoyo a las familias, amigos y compañeros soldados de los implicados en el accidente.Mueren 9 soldados tras estrellarse dos helicópteros Blackhawk en Kentucky durante misión de entrenamientoCualquier miembro de la c...

Russia kills at least 10, including toddler, in massive rocket attack on Ukraine

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:27 GMT

KYIV — Russia launched 23 missiles at Ukraine’s sleeping cities and towns in the early hours of Friday, killing multiple civilians, including a toddler.It was the first massive Russian barrage in weeks.Ukraine’s Air Defense Forces reported shooting down 21 cruise missiles launched by Russian jets from the Caspian Sea.But one Russian missile hit a nine-story residential building in Uman, a town in central Ukraine famous for its vibrant Jewish culture, destroying a large section of it. On Friday morning, 10 people were found dead and 17 others were taken to hospital, Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine’s interior minister, said in a statement. Rescuers are still working at the scene.In Dnipro, Russia’s forces destroyed a house, killing a 31-year-old woman and a 2-year-old toddler. Three others were wounded.“Missile strikes killing innocent Ukrainians in their sleep, including a 2-year-old child, is Russia’s response to all peace initiatives,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmyt...

Russian ship spotted near Nord Stream pipelines days before sabotage: Reports

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:27 GMT

A Danish patrol boat detected a Russian vessel near the Nord Stream gas pipelines four days before they were sabotaged in multiple blasts, according to media reports.Norway’s defense command confirmed it had 26 images of the SS-750 Russian navy ship, which carries a small submarine that is designed to carry out underwater operations, photographed from a Danish patrol boat in the vicinity of the pipelines on September 22, 2022, Danish newspaper Dagbladet Information reported Thursday.Four days later, on September 26, 2022, explosions ripped through three of the four Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, which link Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea and are part-owned by Russia’s Gazprom. Swedish and Danish authorities called the blasts an act of deliberate sabotage. Sweden’s Prosecution Authority, confirmed in November that residues of explosives and several “foreign objects” were found at the “crime scene” on the seabed, around 100 meters below the surface of...

Europe’s next crisis: Water

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:27 GMT

It’s barely spring, and Europe is running dry. A key reservoir serving millions of Catalans is dwindling away. A conflict over water triggered clashes in France, where several villages can no longer provide their residents with tap water. And Italy’s largest river is already running as low as last June. More than a quarter of the Continent is in drought as of April, and many countries are bracing for a repeat — or worse — of last year’s bone-dry summer. A study using satellite data confirmed earlier this year that Europe has been suffering from severe drought since 2018. Rising temperatures are making it difficult to recover from this deficit, leaving the Continent stuck in a dangerous cycle where water becomes ever more precarious. “A few years ago I would have said we have enough water in Europe,” said Torsten Mayer-Gürr, a lead author of the satellite study. “Now it looks like we could face problems.” While wet conditions in coming weeks could r...

Disney’s ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ doesn’t have liftoff

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:27 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Peter Pan & Wendy”Rated PG. On Disney+Grade: C+ We’ve seen so many Peter Pan movies that we’ve lost count of them and their Peters, Wendys, Tinker Bells and Captain Hooks. Some of us are still recovering from Joe Wright’s career-crashing 2015 flop “Pan.” Then there was Benh Zeitlin’s 2020 mystery-wrapped-in-an-enigma “Wendy.” I could go on.J.M. Barrie’s character Peter Pan first appeared in his 1902 novel “The Little White Bird” and then became the lead in Barrie’s 1904 hit stage play “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.” Hook is often the meatier part in the many adaptations because the actor playing him gets to wave his sword and his hook around and do his best pirate impression. This is why Dustin Hoffman was able to steal the abysmal “Hook” (1991) from Robin Williams (petty theft). I wish I had seen Boris Karloff’s singing Captain Hook in the 1950 Broadway musical. This new “Peter Pan & Wendy” feat...

Heavy clashes rock Sudan’s capital, despite truce extension

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:27 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Heavy explosions and gunfire rocked parts of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman early Friday, residents said, despite the extension of a fragile truce between the county’s two top generals whose power struggle has killed hundreds.The escalation came hours after both sides accepted a 72-hour extension of the truce, apparently to allow foreign governments complete the evacuation of their citizens from the chaos-stricken African nation.Multiple short truces have not stopped the fighting, but they created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate thousands of their citizens by land, air and sea.Residents reported fierce clashes in Khartoum’s upscale neighborhood of Kafouri, where the military earlier had used warplanes to bomb its rivals, the Rapid Support Forces, in the area.Clashes were also reported around the military’s headquarters, the Republican Palace and the area close to the K...