Author: Fernando Santos

The festive season is well and truly upon us, and I have embraced every aspect of it. From decadent dining experiences to the small flurry of snow and captivating Christmas light turning on ceremonies; Leamington has even more to offer than normal at this time. The great Leamington ‘Big Lights switch on’ is rivalled only by the spectacular lights that can be found adorning the Piazza. Whilst it isn’t as grandiose as other ceremonies I’m sure you have attended, it is abundant in charm. The grand turning-on ceremony occurred this year at 5pm, November 27 2024, hosted by the Radio 2 DJ…

After Tajiks were charged with a deadly attack in Moscow, the country has cracked down on signs of Islam. But experts say it’s not addressing the causes of terrorism. People in Tajikistan were expecting a government crackdown after Tajik men were arrested and charged with a terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall in March. But it still seemed excessive to Nilufar, a 27-year-old education professional, when she saw local authorities with scissors outside a K.F.C. in Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital, trimming beards that were deemed too long. Excessive, but not so surprising. In the span of a month, Nilufar herself…

Moscow (28/2). Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that non-governmental organizations in Central Asia have stepped up their anti-Russian activities amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. Shoigu said this at the board of the Russian Ministry of Defense on February 27. According to him, there are more than 100 “large pro-Western non-governmental organisations” operating in Central Asia, which have more than 16,000 representative offices and branches. “Against the backdrop of the special military operation, these NGOs have significantly increased their anti-Russian activities in order to reduce military-technical, economic and cultural cooperation between the Central Asian states and Russia.…

The body of Otto Florschutz was found just before 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said. He is the fifth confirmed death. Authorities recovered the body of a 65-year-old man from the debris of a landslide that swept through part of southeast Alaska last month. The body of Otto Florschutz was found just before 4:30 p.m. Thursday, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a news release Friday. He is the fifth confirmed death of the Nov. 20 landslide. One person, 12-year-old Derek Heller, remains missing, authorities said. Wrangell Search and Rescue K9, Wrangell Search and Rescue…

A Multnomah County grand jury has decided the off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who in October tried to shut down an airplane’s engines mid-flight during what appears to have been a drug-induced mental health crisis, should not face 83 counts of attempted murder. Instead, jurors opted this week to charge Joseph David Emerson with 83 misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person — far lighter crimes if he’s convicted. He also faces a single count of endangering an aircraft, a felony. Since late October, Multnomah County prosecutors have asked grand jurors whether Emerson, 44, should be indicted for breaking Oregon law…

The United States will play Norway in one of four games Dec. 26, the first day of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden. The tournament will run Dec. 26-Jan. 5, 2024. Canada won the 2023 WJC, defeating Czechia 3-2 in overtime in the championship game at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Jan. 5. It marked the second straight championship for Canada. The last team to win at least three consecutive tournaments was Canada, which won five straight from 2005-09. Canada will play its first preliminary-round game against Finland on Dec. 26. Ten teams will play…

When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets US President Joe Biden in Washington this week, deterring an assertive China will be on the agenda. At home, Darwin – a city key to the US-led defence alliance in the Pacific – will be watching. War first came to Australia’s shores on a Thursday morning in 1942, when 188 Japanese aircraft appeared over the centre of Darwin. Bombs rained down on the coast, spraying red dirt and shrouding the turquoise harbour in smoke and fire. The two air raids nearly flattened the town, killing at least 230 people. That day – 19…

There was a time when bad news about U.S. debt would send markets into a tailspin, but not this month. Markets on Monday shrugged at a warning Friday from Moody’s Investor’s Service that it was lowering its ratings outlook on Treasurys. The big-three ratings agency said high levels of government debt and deficits coupled with political brinkmanship in Washington could jeopardize the global standing of government-issued fixed income. When Standard & Poor’s and Fitch issued similar warnings, they sent at least temporary shockwaves through Wall Street. But with the domestic fiscal and political mess seemingly old news, the ratings service saber-rattling just…

If the educated-yet-grand vision of the mariculture industry generating $200 million in business for Alaska within 20 years proves accurate, it will be the Pacific oyster that kicked it off. That’s the side of mariculture — aquatic plants, shellfish and other related species — that is already showing signs of profitability. And with a collective $110 million in investment dollars coming to Alaska in the next few years, the future is bright. Alaska is an appealing target for that largesse because it has all the elements needed for mariculture to thrive: fresh, clean water, aquatic acreage, and tourists by the…

They can’t roll up their sleeves for a shot, but now honeybees can be vaccinated, too. On Oct. 16, American biotechnology company Dalan Animal Health announced that its honeybee vaccine has been conditionally licensed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). “This is the first bee vaccine licensed for distribution within Canada,” a spokesperson for the CFIA told CBC Kids News in an email. The vaccine protects bees against American foulbrood disease, but a Canadian beekeeper said he hopes this vaccine will lead to solutions for other, more pressing, diseases. What is American foulbrood?American foulbrood is a bacterial disease that…