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The leaders of Ukraine and Russia assess their resources as their war heads into winter

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:53 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke by phone with U.S. President Joe Biden about Washington’s future support for Kyiv, and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a military base near the Ukrainian border, as the warring countries laid plans for the winter and next year’s combat operations.Almost 20 months of war have sapped both sides’ military resources. The fighting is likely to settle into positional and attritional warfare during the approaching wintry weather, analysts say, with little change along the more than 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.Zelenskyy said late Thursday he spoke to Biden about “a significant support package” for Ukraine. Western help has been crucial for Ukraine’s war effort.Putin visited late Thursday the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District, less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Ukraine’s southeastern border, where he was briefed on the war by the chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, th...

A Palestinian engineer who returned to Gaza City after fleeing south is killed in an airstrike

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:53 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — When Omar Khodari and his family heeded the Israeli military’s warning last week advising them to head from the northern Gaza Strip to the south, they thought they were fleeing to a safer place.They figured they would wait out the airstrikes in the southern town of Khan Younis and go back home when calm returned to Gaza City, Khodari’s relatives said.But the explosions followed them like a slow-moving thunderstorm. Khodari watched as dozens of Palestinians like him who followed Israel’s warning and abandoned their homes in search of safety were killed by Israeli airstrikes raining down on residential buildings and United Nations shelters outside the evacuation zone. On Wednesday, Khodari, his wife, four teenage daughters and two sons decided they’d had enough. Khodari, a 47-year-old civil engineer who spent the last 15 years in Dubai, couldn’t stand that he was suffering under bombardment at his friend’s crowded Khan Younis apartment ...

AI chatbots are supposed to improve health care. But research says some are perpetuating racism

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:53 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As hospitals and health care systems turn to artificial intelligence to help summarize doctors’ notes and analyze health records, a new study led by Stanford School of Medicine researchers cautions that popular chatbots are perpetuating racist, debunked medical ideas, prompting concerns that the tools could worsen health disparities for Black patients.Powered by AI models trained on troves of text pulled from the internet, chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard responded to the researchers’ questions with a range of misconceptions and falsehoods about Black patients, sometimes including fabricated, race-based equations, according to the study published Friday in the academic journal Digital Medicine and obtained exclusively by The Associated Press. Experts worry these systems could cause real-world harms and amplify forms of medical racism that have persisted for generations as more physicians use chatbots for help with daily tasks such as emailing patients ...

Stock market today: World shares slip as higher US 10-year Treasury yield pressures Wall Street

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:53 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — World shares retreated as the prospect of a 5% yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury for the first time since 2007 added to pressure on Wall Street, though the yield held steady below that level early Friday. Germany’s DAX fell 1% to 14,868.33 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 1.3% to $6,833.21. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.6% at 7,458.28. The futures for the S&P 500 and for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were virtually unchanged. Investors were keeping an eye on the Middle East, where Israel bombarded Gaza early Friday, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety. Oil prices surged anew with escalating conflict fueling supply concerns. The price of oil depends on how much of it is consumed and how much is available. The latter is under threat because of the Hamas-Israel war, even though the Gaza Strip is not home to major crude production.A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.36 to $89.73 per barrel in electronic trading on the New ...

CBA blanks Albany to advance to Class AAA semifinals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:53 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Christian Brothers Academy took down No. 5 Albany with two second-half goals to advance to the Class AAA semifinals. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! They went into halftime with a 1-0 lead. Then, the offense was ignited by goals from Martin Ulaj and Hunter Bulich, extending their lead to 3-0. The Brothers will play against top-seeded Saratoga, on Tuesday, October 24, at 7:30 p.m.

Home-field up for grabs between La Salle and Bethlehem in 1st & 10 "Game of the Week"

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:53 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- As the final week of the regular season in Class A rolls around, there's still a couple opportunities for movement within the eight-team playoff picture. And the result of our 1st & 10 "Game of the Week" will dictate home-field advantage for one team in the opening round of sectionals. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! (4-3) La Salle will make the trip to (6-1) Bethlehem Friday night. Both teams own 3-1 records in league play. The winner earns the two-seed in the Capital Division, and will host the three-seed in the Grasso Division to start playoffs. Loser hits the road to take on Burnt Hills - the 14th-ranked team in the state for Class A.The Cadets recognize the magnitude of Friday's game, and what it could mean for sectionals."We think this is the most important game of the year for us," said senior running back Matt Bott. "We love playing (at home). We get the fans here, and everything. The student ...

Over 12.5 million intra-country commuters in 2022

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:53 GMT

In 2022, among the 197 million employed people aged 15-64 years in the EU, more than 12.5 million people (6.4% of all employed) commuted to work from one region to another within their country of residence. This marked an increase of 4.4% compared with 2021 (12.0 million people).The highest share of regional commuting in total employment was recorded in the Belgian province of Brabant Wallon (45%), followed by another Belgian province, Vlaams-Brabant (42%), Pest in Hungary (41%), the province of Namur in Belgium (38%), and the Austrian regions of Burgenland (36%) and Niederösterreich (29%). Looking at absolute numbers, several German regions, including Brandenburg (297 000), Arnsberg (248 000) and Lüneburg (223 000), along with Pest in Hungary (272 000) and Niederösterreich (236 000) in Austria, recorded the most employed people commuting to a different region within their respective countries to work.People also commute for work to other countries. In 2022, 2.09 million employ...

Oppression of women in Iran and the necessity of an intersectional feminist approach

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:53 GMT

This September, we commemorated the anniversary of a tragic event – the untimely passing of Mahsa Amini, a young woman whose life was brutally taken by the Iranian regime. Her heart-wrenching death ignited a wave of protests that swept across Iran, highlighting the deep-seated issues of gender inequality and the oppressive policies of the autocratic government – writes Turkan Bozkurt. Mahsa's life was cut short while she was in police custody, a stark reminder of the injustices faced by women, particularly in cases related to the hijab. Her story transcended borders, resonating with people worldwide and triggering a resounding global call for justice and a renewed commitment to the fundamental principles of human rights.Indeed, the protests and activism in Iran may not have resulted in a complete overthrow of the government, but they have undeniably illuminated a profound yearning for change within the country. These demonstrations have exposed a significant divergence between ...

EU Enlargement - The Road Ahead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:53 GMT

On Friday October 6th, EU leaders declared their support for a new engagement towards an enlargement of the Union. In total, nine potential candidates are waiting for their accession procedure to start or completion. This constitutes a severe predicament for the EU and, more importantly, for its locus of power – writes Leander Papagianneas, MSc in Conflict and Development & MA in Southeast Europe StudiesIt seems that Europe faces a similar conundrum as in 1989. Russian aggression and the rise of the extreme right have instigated crucial responses from both the EU and NATO. The resemblance with the end of the Cold War is two-folded.In the first place, Brussels has to face a situation of expansion. Countries in the East face serious existential threat from Russia. Both the EU and NATO are enlarging. More countries want to join these organizations, mainly for external security reasons. The juxtaposition of East and West has become unsurmountable.Furthermore, enlargement shifts the ...

Bridge: Oct. 20, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:53 GMT

“A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.” — movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn, known for perplexing remarks.You will hear all sorts of wisdom at the bridge table, some sounder than others. A club player brought me today’s deal; he had been East.“My partner led a low spade against 3NT. Someone told me you should play the queen in this situation. If your partner has the king, you can play the queen or ace, but if declarer has the king, he must take it, and you keep communication with your partner.”South took his king and led the king of hearts.OVERTRICK“My partner won,” East told me, “and thought his only chance was to find me with the ace of diamonds. He shifted to a low diamond, and South made an overtrick.”East must play the ace on the first spade, then lead the queen. The bidding marks West with five spades, so East need not keep a link. East might do best to play the queen if he had the ace of heart...