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Kim Jong Un’s train travel has a storied history. His father and grandfather did the same thing

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:03:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — In a vast and elaborate complex on the edge of the North Korean capital, they sit frozen in time; two luxurious train carriages designed specifically for two supreme leaders — father and son, the predecessors of the man who is now in the middle of his own unusual railway diplomacy in Russia. When it comes to North Korea’s dynastic dictators, the tradition of train travel — and, some have said, the insistence upon it — extends across the generations. That’s in evidence at the massive Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where reconstructions of Kim Jong Un’s father’s and grandfather’s train cars — and, not incidentally, the leaders’ preserved and displayed remains — are enshrined.The prominent place that the elder two Kims’ highly secure train cars occupy in the shrine to their leadership hints at the central role of train travel among North Korean leaders, who have used trains for travel domestically and sometimes abroad since the early day...

Von der Leyen invokes ‘call of history’ as she backs EU membership for Ukraine

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:03:56 GMT

STRASBOURG — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen invoked the “call of history” as she urged Europeans to bring Ukraine into an EU of more than 30 countries, casting enlargement as an epoch-defining decision for the 27-nation bloc. “The future of Ukraine is in our Union,” the Commission chief declared in her annual state of the union address in Strasbourg, in which she also opened the door to EU treaty change, if needed. “I will always support this House — and all of those who want to reform the EU and make it work better for citizens. And yes, that means including through a European Convention and Treaty change if and where it is needed,” she said from the podium at the European Parliament.In fact, the former German defense minister also said the European Union could proceed with enlargement even without a change to the EU treaties — the governing documents underpinning the legal basis of the EU. “We cannot — and we should not — wait for Treaty change t...

Ukrainian missiles strike Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Crimea, Moscow says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:03:56 GMT

KYIV — Ukraine launched a series of missile strikes on a Russian ship repair base in occupied Crimea early Wednesday morning, the Russian defense ministry said.Locals in Sevastopol reported hearing a series of massive blasts near Southern Bay in the Russian-occupied region, with some posting videos on social media of the explosions that followed.A huge fire erupted at the Sergo Ordzhonikidze shipyard, which Russia uses as a repair base for its Black Sea fleet.  The Russian defense ministry said Ukraine launched 10 cruise missiles at the shipyard, while three uncrewed vessels attacked Russian ships in the nearby bay.  “Air defense systems shot down seven cruise missiles, and the patrol ship Vasily Bykov destroyed all unmanned boats,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that, “As a result of being hit by enemy cruise missiles, two ships undergoing repairs were damaged.” Sevastopol’s Russian-backed Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev claimed 24 people were inj...

Von der Leyen wants Bulgaria, Romania in Schengen ASAP

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:03:56 GMT

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that Bulgaria and Romania should be admitted to the EU’s free-movement zone “without any further delay.”“They have proved it: Bulgaria and Romania are part of our Schengen area,” von der Leyen said in her State of the Union address, adding: “So let us finally bring them in — without any further delay.”Last year, the Council blocked the countries’ entry following opposition from Austria and the Netherlands, as the debate about their accession became entangled in a discussion about migration along the Western Balkan route.Transport operators complained that the delay dealt a blow to their industry. Romania’s National Union of Road Hauliers (UNTRR) has warned that its country’s stalled Schengen membership resulted in “unacceptable” border queues, causing supply chain disruption and delivery delays.In her speech, von der Leyen praised Romania and Bulgaria for ...

Girls soccer preview: Hingham again a powerful unit

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:03:56 GMT

Coming off a Div. 1 state title and their second straight appearance in the D1 final, Hingham girls’ soccer is retooling with seven starters graduating and 15 new players competing for multiple spots. Senior captain Claire Murray is committed to play at the University of Illinois and is believed to be one of the best players in the country. Other players to keep an eye out for are senior captains Reese Pompeo and Ava Varholak (LaFayette commit) as well as junior defender Grace Maroney and freshmen Taylor Bello and Hannah Lasch.The deepest league has to be the Bay State Conference as Natick, Wellesley, and Brookline all have a shot at the D1 crown. Wellesley has senior captain Gaia Jacobs, senior McKay Pratt and junior midfielder Peyton Keyes leading the charge with their ability to setup the offense. Brookline has a huge junior group as junior captains Anna Leschly, Vilena Tchernychev and Sydney Freese pack the midfield with senior captain Amara Ukomadu and forward Makena Hammond.In...

Boys soccer preview: Powerhouses to duke it out

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:03:56 GMT

It really is interesting to see just how the MIAA’s boys soccer landscape changes annually. Back in 2021, we witnessed a Div. 1 Final Four comprising four public schools.In 2022 however? The Catholic Conference reigned supreme, with St. John’s Prep facing off with Needham in the title bout. The Eagles (22-0-1) proceeded to capture their first soccer championship since 2006 with a 2-0 shutout. While St. John’s Prep lost key contributors such as defensive back Will Minor and goaltender Yianni Andrikopoulos, the Eagles welcome back senior captains Graham Kramer (11 goals, assist), Aithan Bezanson (six goals, three assists) and Jake Vana (four goals, four assists).“We’ve got a great nucleus back, those guys I mentioned,” said Eagles coach Dave Crowell. “We’ve got other guys with big game experience over the last two years. We were in the quarterfinals two years ago, won it all last year… We have a lot of speed, and I think we’re going to be able to score some goals.”The Eagles will like...

Stock market today: World shares slip ahead of update on US consumer inflation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:03:56 GMT

Stocks retreated Wednesday in Europe and Asia and oil prices rose ahead of a key report on U.S. inflation that could sway the Federal Reserve’s future decisions on interest rates. Germany’s DAX shed 0.5% to 15,636.61 and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.5% to 7,213.81. In London, the FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower, to 7,518.23. The futures for the S&P 500 and Dow industrials were virtually unchanged as investors awaited the latest monthly update on prices that U.S. consumers are paying across the country. Economists expect it to show that prices were broadly 3.6% higher last month than a year earlier. Thursday will bring reports about inflation at the wholesale level and sales at U.S. retailers. Strong spending by U.S. households has helped keep the U.S. economy humming, but it could also be encouraging companies to keep trying to raise their prices further.Stocks have been see-sawing in recent weeks amid the revived uncertainty about whether the Federal Reserve is done wit...

Land mines explode along Lebanon-Syria border wounding 3 Syrians trying to illegally enter Lebanon

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:03:56 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Two land mines exploded early Wednesday along the Lebanon-Syria border wounding three Syrians trying to illegally cross into Lebanon, the Lebanese army said in a statement Wednesday.The army said the mines exploded on the Syrian side of the border and that the wounded were rushed by the Lebanese Red Cross to a hospital in northern Lebanon for treatment.Over the past months, thousands of Syrian citizens fleeing worsening economic conditions in their war-torn country made it to Lebanon through illegal crossing points seeking a better life. But Lebanon is going through its own four-year meltdown, with a drowning economy — pinning its hopes on tourism — and crumbling infrastructure where electricity and water cuts are widespread.The local Al-Jadeed TV said one of the victims, an 18-year-old, lost a leg and an arm, and suffered shrapnel wounds in the neck leaving him in critical condition. Another young man also lost his leg while the third, a 27-year-old, suffered some shr...

EU announces an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:03:56 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is launching an investigation into subsidies that China provides to electric vehicle makers, the head of the bloc’s executive branch said Wednesday, as concern grows that the aid is harming European companies.“Global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars, and their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies. This is distorting our market,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France.“As we do not accept this distortion from the inside in our market, we do not accept this from the outside,” von der Leyen said. “So, I can announce today that the commission is launching an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles coming from China.”China’s leaders have helped make the country the biggest market for electric vehicles by investing billions of dollars in subsidies to get an early lead in what is seen as a promising industry. Global automakers face growing competition...

Special mosquitoes are being bred to fight dengue. How the old enemies are now becoming allies

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:03:56 GMT

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — For decades, preventing dengue fever in Honduras has meant teaching people to fear mosquitoes and avoid their bites. Now, Hondurans are being educated about a potentially more effective way to control the disease — and it goes against everything they’ve learned.Which explains why a dozen people cheered last month as Tegucigalpa resident Hector Enriquez held a glass jar filled with mosquitoes above his head, and then freed the buzzing insects into the air. Enriquez, a 52-year-old mason, had volunteered to help publicize a plan to suppress dengue by releasing millions of special mosquitoes in the Honduran capital.The mosquitoes Enriquez unleashed in his El Manchen neighborhood — an area rife with dengue — were bred by scientists to carry bacteria called Wolbachia that interrupt transmission of the disease. When these mosquitoes reproduce, they pass the bacteria to their offspring, reducing future outbreaks.This emerging strategy for battling dengue was pio...