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We killed Ukrainian children, ex-Wagner soldiers say in apparent confession

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:43:36 GMT

KYIV — Two former commanders of the Russian paramilitary organization known as the Wagner group claim they killed more than 20 Ukrainian children and teens in Bakhmut and the Donetsk region, in video interviews posted by a Russian human rights organization.During the hourlong video, ex-Wagner commanders Azmat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev recount details of various killings, including using explosives to blow up pits with more than 50 wounded prisoners and killing their own compatriots who refused to continue with the invasion. These incidents, which apparently took place in Soledar in the Donetsk region and Bakhmut in February this year, have not yet been independently verified. In the video, the former Wagner pair also told Vladimir Osechkin — head of Gulagu.net, the Russian human rights group that published the video, currently operating in exile in France — how the group killed dozens of civilians during the clearing of residential buildings in Bakhmut and...

Ukraine hits out at Brazil’s Lula: Come here to grasp ‘real causes’ of war

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:43:36 GMT

A Ukrainian official on Tuesday invited Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to visit the country himself to “understand the real causes and essence of Russian aggression.”Lula sparked controversy among Ukrainian allies at the weekend, by urging the United States to “stop encouraging” the war in Ukraine.“The approach that puts the victim and the aggressor on the same scale and accuses countries that help Ukraine defend itself against deadly aggression of encouraging war is not in line with the real state of affairs,” said Oleg Nikolenko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian foreign ministry.“The war of aggression is being waged on Ukrainian soil and is causing untold suffering and destruction,” he added.During a visit to China last week, Lula added that the U.S. and the EU should “start talking about peace.”This, the Brazilian president said, would help “convince Putin and Zelenskyy that peace is in the interest of...

Russian court dismisses Wall Street Journal reporter’s appeal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:43:36 GMT

MOSCOW — A Moscow city court on Tuesday dismissed American journalist Evan Gershkovich’s appeal to be released from a high-security jail where he is being held on espionage charges.  Gershkovich’s defense team had requested that the Wall Street Journal correspondent be transferred to house arrest, another jail or released on bail. Although the outcome of the appeal hearing was never really in doubt, it was significant as the first time Gershkovich has been seen in public since he was arrested last month in the Ural mountains’ city of Yekaterinburg. Confined to a glass cage, as is customary for defendants facing criminal charges in Russia, Gershkovich seemed tense but composed. Ahead of the hearing he even flashed a couple of smiles at some of those colleagues and attendants he recognized, before the courtroom was emptied and the hearing began. Espionage cases in Russia are veiled in secrecy and held behind closed doors.A handful of journalists were al...

Armenia vows to recognize disputed Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan amid rising tensions

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:43:36 GMT

Armenia’s prime minister has given the strongest signal yet that he is prepared to acknowledge Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, while urging the EU and Russia to help prevent a catastrophic new conflict in the South Caucasus.Speaking in parliament Tuesday, Nikol Pashinyan said his government “reaffirmed that the Republic of Armenia fully recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan” and called for a peace treaty to be signed with the neighboring nation “without ambiguities and pitfalls.” In return, he said, Baku should recognize Armenia’s territory within its Soviet-era borders.The move effectively accepts Baku’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh, two and a half years on from a brutal war over the breakaway region that is home to tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians who have for decades refused to be governed by Azerbaijan. In September, Pashinyan was forced to deny he was poised to recognize A...

EU excess deaths back to pre-pandemic levels  

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:43:36 GMT

For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no excess deaths in the EU, according to data from February. While the figure is an average across all EU countries and there is no guarantee that it won’t rise again, the return to pre-pandemic level marks a significant moment as countries debate whether COVID-19 should still be considered an ongoing pandemic. Excess mortality figures have been an essential tool to understand how many additional people were dying above the levels that would have been seen under ‘normal’ situations. The statistic takes the number of people who died from any cause during a particular period and compares it with figures from previous years when there wasn’t a COVID-19 pandemic.In February, two-thirds of EU countries recorded no excess deaths, according to data from Eurostat, compared with the average over the same period in 2016-2019. However, several countries did see excess mortality, including Greece, Cyprus, Portugal...

New England Aquarium releases dozens of rehabilitated sea turtles into ocean waters off North Carolina

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:43:36 GMT

The New England Aquarium released two dozen sea turtles into the ocean waters off North Carolina on Monday after the animals underwent months of rehabilitative care at the aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy. Biologists from the aquarium drove the 24 turtles down to Fort Fisher, N.C., and released them Monday as a crowd of bystanders looked on. Courtesy of New England AquariumThe release comes after the turtles were treated for conditions including pneumonia, dehydration, and bone fractures, a result of being unable to regulate their body temperature in the cold waters of Cape Cod Bay. After veterinarians cleared the group of turtles to return to the ocean, the aquarium organized a ground transport to North Carolina, where the waters are warm enough in the springtime for the turtles to reacclimate.“This is the best time of the year for us. Getting the turtles back to their ocean home is why we do this, in hopes that each one of these turtles helps their population bounce ...

A 20-year-old woman was shot and killed after accidentally turning into the wrong driveway in upstate New York, officials say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:43:36 GMT

(CNN) — A 20-year-old woman was shot and killed Saturday after she and three others accidentally turned into the wrong driveway while looking for a friend’s house in rural upstate New York, authorities said.The young woman, identified as Kaylin Gillis, was struck by gunfire as a man fired two shots from his front porch, one of which hit the vehicle she was in, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said in a news conference Monday.The man, 65-year-old Kevin Monahan, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with her death, Murphy said Monday. It is unclear whether Monahan has retained an attorney yet.“It’s a very rural area with dirt roads. It’s easy to get lost. They drove up this driveway for a very short time, realized their mistake and were leaving, when Mr. Monahan came out and fired two shots,” Murphy said, adding that the area has poor cell phone service.The shooting happened just days after a Black teenager in Kansas City ...

Police identify driver who crashed into tree, light pole in Franklin High School parking lot

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:43:36 GMT

Police have identified a driver who crashed into a tree and then a light pole in the Franklin High School parking lot. Officers say “internet sleuths” helped them identify the driver after they posted footage of incidents on social media. The driver is a student and their parents will be notified, police say.

Sixers adjustments stifle Nets in 96-84 Game 2 loss

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:43:36 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Royce O’Neale slapped the stanchion when reality set in. Jacque Vaughn replayed wide-open missed shots in his head at the podium while attempting to answer questions postgame. Dorian Finney-Smith sat at his locker, solemn.“F—k, man,” he said.The Nets had an opportunity to even their first-round playoff series at one apiece after building momentum in an impressive first half in front of a raucous, sold-out Wells Fargo Center crowd on Monday.The wheels fell off in the second, where the offense sputtered — once again. The Sixers went on to win, 96-84. NBA teams that take a 2-0 lead in the playoffs go on to win 93% of the time.And it was a zone defense the Nets were ill-equipped to handle that unraveled Brooklyn’s early offense. While star wing Mikal Bridges successfully handled the Sixers’ attempts to blitz him on the catch, it was Cam Johnson who took advantage of the opportunity — in the first half — scoring 2...

Nets Notebook: Cam Johnson’s poster dunk over Joel Embiid in vain, Spencer Dinwiddie must step up

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:43:36 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Cam Johnson’s poster dunk over Joel Embiid went viral within seconds, but the Nets’ Game 2 loss Monday erased any joy the forward had from the moment.Johnson scored 23 first-half points, none more punctuating than a one-handed, cock-back tomahawks over the league’s presumptive MVP before staring him down on his way back up the court on defense in the final minute of the first half.“I just thought Embiid was kind of a step behind, and I had a lane,” said a disgruntled Johnson postgame. “I thought there were times last game where I should’ve dunked, and I said that. So I just thought I’d take advantage of an opportunity at that point.”Johnson said the moment wasn’t the best dunk of his career.“It don’t really mean that much. It’s just two points,” he said. “Like I said, I just thought I saw an opportunity and took it. There’s not really much more to it. I’m more c...