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It’s time for Sweden’s navy to grow

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:10:47 GMT

Elisabeth Braw is a senior associate fellow at the European Leadership Network, an adviser at Gallos Technologies and a regular columnist for POLITICO.The Baltic Sea may soon become what devotees of the North Atlantic Alliance label a “NATO lake.” But this small ocean is far from peaceful.Indeed, as the harm recently caused to its undersea infrastructure demonstrates, Baltic waters are growing more dangerous by the week, yet no NATO member country has a major navy there. That means Sweden’s famed navy, which has a proud five-century history, needs to expand in order to better protect Swedish interests and those of the alliance.The Swedish Navy has a long tradition of skillfully defending its country in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia. But while it still has skilled sailors and submariners, today the Swedish Navy is hopelessly undersized in waters where it’s likely to encounter infrastructure saboteurs and hostile operators harassing merchant shipping. Indeed, t...

Israeli TV sketch show brandishes satire as weapon in Hamas war

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:10:47 GMT

TEL AVIV — The show must go on. Even when you are an Israeli TV comedy skit team grappling with the horror of Hamas’ October 7 assault, which killed some 1,200 people in the worst pogrom since the Holocaust. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the team behind Eretz Nehederet, Israel’s irreverent prime-time television satirical show, often likened to America’s Saturday Night Live, was as distraught and disoriented as all other Israelis. Would there be space for satire ever again? October 7 “changed everything,” said Itai Reicher, who’s been writing for the weekly variety show for 17 out of its 21 years on air. “One of the producers texted me saying, ‘Nothing will ever be funny again,’” he added. The comedians, writers and producers had Zoom sessions to try to figure out whether they still had a role and what that might be. Another staffer on the show described the get-togethers as like group therapy and support sessions.Ultimately, their role has proved, if anything, wide...

Behind the scenes: A billionaire at COP28

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:10:47 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — It’s the first Sunday of the COP28 climate conference. The temperature is 30C. Under the Dubai sun, a billionaire is in a hurry. “Let’s run you guys,” Andrew Forrest tells his entourage. A little out of breath, he climbs into a six-seater golf buggy, a common sight around Expo City, which is hosting the U.N. summit. Built for the 2021 world’s fair, it is vast, covering nearly two square miles. The buggies ferry global leaders, CEOs, and the otherwise rich or powerful across the site. “Can you squeeze in?” Forrest asks, as it becomes clear not everyone is going to fit in the buggy. “No? OK. Let’s go. Zach loves walking.” Zachary August, one of Forrest’s aides, accepts his fate gracefully. Then the boss is gone in an electric whirr of wheels. The climate DavosThere aren’t many things that could make Forrest run. The bombastic mining tycoon is Australia’s second-richest person. He is used to having the ear of the world’s most powerful p...

Explosions heard in Kyiv in possible air attack; no word on damage or casualties

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:10:47 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A series of loud explosions rang out in Ukraine’s capital early Monday followed by air raid sirens.There was no immediate word on the origin of the explosions, but they sounded like air defense units firing into the sky.Kyiv is routinely targeted by Russian drone and missile attacks.Just over two weeks ago, Kyiv came under what Ukrainian officials said was the most intense drone attack since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones against the capital, of which 74 were destroyed by air defenses.The explosions Monday occurred just after 4 a.m. as the city was under its nightly curfew. There was no immediate information on any damage or casualties.The Associated Press

Woman, 2 toddlers found without vital signs at Scarborough apartment building

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:10:47 GMT

A woman and two toddlers are in life-threatening condition in hospital after being found without vital signs at a Scarborough apartment building on Sunday night.Investigators say they were called to Glamorgan Drive near Kennedy and Ellesmere Roads just after 7:30 p.m. following reports a woman had fallen from a balcony at the building.When police arrived they found a woman in her late 20s, early 30s on the ground outside the building in critical condition. The children, both believed to be under the age of eight, were located inside an apartment unit with no vital signs as well.Insp. Jeff Bangild said all three are believed to be related to each other but did not specify the nature of the relationship.All three were taken to nearby trauma centers in critical condition.Police were still trying to determine the nature of the incident, previously saying it was not a shooting or stabbing.“There’s no obvious signs of trauma at this point but they were not breathing, they were...

A 50-year-old Greek woman was mauled to death by a neighbor’s 3 dogs. The dogs’ owner was arrested

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:10:47 GMT

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Three shepherd dogs escaped from their yard and fatally mauled a 50-year-old Greek woman in her garden Sunday, police said.The attack took place at around 2 p.m. in the village of Neochorouda, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) northwest of the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest.The dogs escaped through a hole in their owners’ fence and ran about 80 meters (260 feet) to the woman’s garden, where she was working, police said.A man, who police said is deaf-mute, was helping the woman with the gardening but was far from her at the moment of attack and could not hear her screams. Neighbors ran to assist the woman and pried the dogs away from her, but she was severely mauled and bleeding profusely. First responders who came to the scene shortly after with an ambulance confirmed her death, police said.The 37-year-old dog owner was arrested and will face a prosecutor Monday morning. The dogs are being held in a kennel and will b...

Drivers hope for easier commutes after lane closures end on Kennedy Expressway

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:10:47 GMT

CHICAGO — Thousands of vehicles drive on the Kennedy Expressway every day, and with construction gone for the next few months, drivers are hoping that less stressful and improved commutes are on the horizon.After nine months of construction work, all inbound lanes, reversible lanes, and ramps on the Kennedy Expressway have re-opened. Driver dies after being hit head-on by alleged intoxicated driver in Wheeling While the changes are still fresh, some drivers say they have already noticed a shorter commute time."I was at O'Hare by the outlet fashion mall and I had to get to downtown in less than 30 minutes. it was great," one driver said. This excitement comes after the first phase of a three-year, multi-million dollar project wraps up.Since March, crews have worked on lane improvements, repairing bridge decks, installing new signs and upgrading LED lighting. But during this time, construction caused increased traffic, congestion and delays due to mult...

Dowd scores two goals, Capitals tops Blackhawks 4-2

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:10:47 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Nic Dowd scored twice and the Washington Capitals beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Sunday night for their second straight win.Anthony Mantha, Dylan Strome and Dowd scored in a 7:12 span in the second period to put Washington ahead. Dowd then sealed it with his second of the night and fourth of the season with 4:02 remaining in the third.Dowd scored his first goal while he was down on the ice after battling in a scrum. He connected again, with his fourth goal in 16 games this season, from the slot on a nice feed from Beck Malenstyn, who had two assists.“It's hard to score from not in-tight like that,” said Dowd, who missed nine games earlier this season. "Teams play really good defense and it's tough to get a shot off in today's game.“I felt like I haven't been around the net very often the last week." Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines Darcy Kuemper stopped 33 shots for the Capitals, rebounding from a start at Arizona last Monday when he allowed three goals ...

Freeze Warning in effect

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:10:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A Freeze Warning is in effect nearly areawide for what could be Central Texas' first widespread freeze of the season.Freeze Warning for most of Central Texas Monday morning.Areas under the warning including Austin should protect pets, pipes, plants and people. Some of the coldest temperatures are expected east of I-35 closer to the center of the cold high pressure system. Light south winds may return overnight west of I-35, actually leading to warmer temperatures in the Hill Country.Monday morning lowsSoutherly wind will warm temperatures into the 60s on a sunny Monday.Late-week rainA slow-moving storm system will bring increasing clouds on Tuesday and slowly increasing rain chances starting Wednesday. The wettest weather appears to focus Friday, when the heaviest rain since October is possible.A wet end to the work weekMany areas can look to expect 2-3 inches of beneficial rain later this week -- welcome news for low lake levels and the ongoing drought. Check with ...

DA Garza 'stands by' dropping police indictments, asking for federal review of APD protest actions

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:10:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — District Attorney Jose Garza told KXAN in a sit-down interview Tuesday that he believes the best way to get justice for protestors injured on May 31, 2020 is to prompt "systemic change" within the Austin Police Department. On Monday, his office announced the dismissal of 17 police officer indictments stemming from those protests. The DA's Office will still prosecute four officers related to the protests. In exchange, the City of Austin and DA's Office sent a request to the U.S. Department of Justice asking for a review of APD's actions during those protests. The DOJ has not yet said whether it will move forward with conducting that review."Four cases against four officers, those cases had aggravating factors from our perspective," Garza said. "The other set of cases, the 17 cases, it became clear to us that the conduct there was a byproduct of the systemic change that's really necessary."Several participants were injured by less-lethal shotgun ammunition, often refer...