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Taiwan says Chinese warships pass through Taiwan Strait as Beijing keeps up pressure on island

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:34 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that it detected three Chinese warships, including the Shandong aircraft carrier, passing through the Taiwan Strait, as Beijing keeps up pressure on the self-ruled island it claims as its own. The ministry said it was monitoring the movements of the ships and will respond accordingly. In a tweet, the ministry said that the three vessels were headed north along the Taiwan Strait at noon and were steering along the west of the median line — an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides. China has stepped up its military activities around Taiwan in recent months amid deteriorating U.S.-China ties.China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary and regularly sends ships and warplanes into airspace and waters near the island.The ministry also said that in the 24 hours from 6 a.m. Friday to Saturday, it detected 33 of China’s People’s Liberation Army aircraft and ...

Egypt unveils recently discovered ancient workshops, tombs in Saqqara necropolis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:34 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian antiquities authorities Saturday unveiled ancient workshops and tombs they say were discovered recently at a Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital Cairo.The spaces were found in the sprawling necropolis of Saqqara, which is a part of Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site.Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the workshops had been used to mummify humans and sacred animals. They date back to the 30th Pharaonic Dynasty (380 BC to 343 BC) and Ptolemaic period (305 BC to 30 BC), he said.Inside the workshops, archaeologists found clay pots and other items apparently used in mummification, as well as ritual vessels, Waziri said.The tombs, meanwhile, were for a top official from the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt, and a priest from the New Kingdom, according to Sabri Farag, head of the Saqqara archaeological site.In recent years, Egypt’s government has heavily promoted new archaeological finds to...

Pearson airport to stage simulated plane crash as part of emergency exercise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:34 GMT

Pearson Airport is warning of possible traffic disruptions in and around the airport as it stages a full-scale emergency exercise on Saturday morning.The airport says approximately 400 members of the airport community, partners and volunteers will be involved in a simulated plane crash starting at 9 a.m. around the area of Derry Road just west of Airport Road. The event is scheduled to conclude by 2 p.m.Peel police along with Mississauga Fire and both Peel Region and Toronto paramedic services will also be taking part in the simulated emergency response which is required by Transport Canada.Last year at this time, emergency responders took part in an exercise involving 300 volunteers playing the part of protesters, blocking an access road and testing the response to a security breach. It was the first in-person security event since the pandemic began.The Greater Toronto Airports Authority typically runs one full scale and one tabletop exercise per year to test protocols, procedures,...

StatCan report casts clouds on claims of a widespread labour shortage in Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:34 GMT

OTTAWA — A new report is casting doubt on the idea that Canada is facing a widespread labour shortage and bolsters the arguments by some labour economists that high job vacancies aren’t due to a shortage of workers.The Statistics Canada analysis finds there are no labour shortages for jobs that require high levels of education, suggesting other factors, such as a mismatch in skills and pay, might be to blame for a high number of empty positions.In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, labour shortages have grasped headlines from coast to coast as businesses have advertised more job openings than ever. Job vacancies skyrocketed to more than one million at one point last year. The perceived countrywide labour shortage has put pressure on governments to help businesses find workers, including by increasing Canada’s immigration targets.  But the report published this week compares unemployment and job vacancies by education level and paints a more nuanced picture of the la...

Dry start to the holiday weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The overnight hours were quiet under a fair to partly cloudy sky. Temperatures fell to the 60s areawide.Another area of showers and thunderstorms is moving southeast out of the South Plains. If it holds together through the day then parts of Llano and Mason Counties could see a few showers/isolated thunderstorms after 3 p.m. Otherwise, expect clouds to increase during the morning and afternoon. Saturday's highs will be back in the middle to upper 80s.Today's normal high is 90°A few showers and isolated thunderstorms (10% chance) are forecast for Sunday afternoon with many highs between 83° and 87°.Upper-level low pressure has moved from Nevada into Utah. A disturbance from this low will move across Central Texas Sunday night/Monday. Showers will be increasing Sunday night to a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorm Monday. Memorial Day's forecast will feature rain and a few non-severe thunderstormsStorm Prediction Center forecast for MondayThe precipitation continue...

Car crash into pole leaves 1 dead in north Austin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — One person died after a car crashed into a pole in north Austin overnight, according to Austin-Travis County EMS. It happened just before midnight Friday on Research Boulevard northbound near Metric Boulevard. A car crashed into a pole with wires down, ATCEMS said. MAP: Where have Austin’s fatal crashes occurred in 2023? One adult died at the scene, ATCEMS said. Extended closures were expected at the crash scene.

Free Lowertown Sounds concert series starts Thursday in Mears Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:34 GMT

Nur-D, the New Standards and Run Westy Run are among the acts booked to play the free Lowertown Sounds concert series, which starts Thursday at St. Paul’s Mears Park.The series, which runs from 6 to 9:30 p.m. most Thursdays through Aug. 24, features more than 20 bands.Guests are welcome to bring blankets and chairs and enjoy food and drink from a rotating mix of food trucks and local craft beverage-makers, including Utepils Brewing, Wabasha Brewing, Brick Oven Bus, Adam’s Gyros, Hometown Creamery and Sambusa Express. For the full food truck schedule, see lowertownsounds.com.The concert lineup includes:June 1: Good Morning Bedlam and Trevor McSpadden and Mary Cutrufello.June 8: Turn Turn Turn and Danger Pins.June 15: Kiss the Tiger and Creeping Charlie.June 22: Nur-D and Malamanya.July 13: The New Standards and New Primitives.July 20: Craig Clark Band and JoJo Green.July 27: Molly Maher and Her Disbelievers and Palms Psalm.Aug. 3: Jaedyn James and Twin Citizen.Aug. 10: Salsa del Soul...

Free Rides & Fun: Union Station salutes veterans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:34 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- This Memorial Day weekend, Union Station is celebrating the men and women who have served our country. As a way of saying thanks to those who serve, all veterans will be able to ride for free over the Memorial Day weekend. With so much to do, a day downtown is easy and fun for the whole family. Veterans and people who are still in the service can ride the wheel for free all weekend. There are also bars, games, the carousel, mini golf, and more.

No graduation: 8th graders turned away from ceremony; parents furious

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:34 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo - St. Louis County parents are fuming after their kids were turned away from their eighth-grade graduation ceremony. The event was at Westview Middle School in the Riverview Gardens School District.Parents said they brought their dressed-up kids to the promotion ceremony to commemorate them graduating eighth grade and going on to high school.However, they said when they got to the door they were told they couldn’t come in, while other students were allowed to pass.One of the parents, Minyatta Simmons said she didn’t like that at all. $400,000 in watches stolen in St. Louis jewelry heist "This is a moment that they have to remember. You have four graduations: kindergarten, eighth grade, high school, and college," she said. "Why rob them of that privilege.”Another mother Lateasha Grant was also as angry that her daughter was not being allowed into the event on Wednesday.”Honestly, my baby missing out on this experience and the tears coming out of her eyes, the e...

Grading the Week: Move over Skyhook. Nikola Jokic’s Sombor Shuffle is now the most indefensible shot in basketball history.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:34 GMT

A message to uninitiated: Yes, Nikola Jokic meant to do that. And, yes, he does it often.It’s called the Sombor Shuffle, and in the estimation of the Grading the Week staff, it’s now replaced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Skyhook as the most indefensible shot in the history of basketball.Nikola Jokic — A+There are many variations of the Shuffle, but the general shape remains the same.It starts with two steps to create space, done in the same deliberate fashion either backwards or to the side. Then Jokic swings the ball over his head, creating a launch angle from the top of his 6-foot-11 frame that no defender in the world has a chance of contesting.And it ends with the release: A soft, high-arcing parabola that might touch a support beam in some old-school barn in middle America but always seems to drop through the net like it was guided by a laser.There is, of course, one other element of the shot that is essential: There can only be a few seconds left on the shot c...