Author: Frank Allison

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall plans to set up at least four factories in Ukraine to produce artillery shells, military vehicles, gunpowder, and anti-aircraft weapons, the AFP reported on March 14. This could present a boost for Ukrainian defense production amid ammunition shortages and dwindling supplies from the U.S. “Ukraine is now an important partner for us, where we see a potential of between 2 and 3 billion euros ($2.18-$3.27 billion) per year,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said during a presentation of the company’s 2023 results, the AFP wrote. Previously, the company signed a contract with the Ukrainian Defense Industry (Ukroboronprom) in October 2023 to…

In its 68th year, the Alaska National Guard’s annual community outreach program, Operation Santa Claus, continues to bring the magic of the season to the remote communities of Fort Yukon, Golovin, Koyuk, and Tuluksak. Teaming up with The Salvation Army, this year’s program is set to deliver gifts and tidings of good cheer to approximately 560 children. Jenny Ragland, a service extension and disaster services director with The Salvation Army, highlighted the organization’s long-standing partnership with the Alaska National Guard, particularly through Operation Santa Claus. “The Salvation Army’s role is really the gift collector. We receive gifts, we wrap gifts,…

Google has reached a deal with Canada to avert a news blockade over a law that forces tech giants to pay for news content. Google had vowed to remove links to news in Canada in response to the Online News Act, due to take effect on 19 December. Social media giant Meta is already blocking news on its platforms as a result of the law. The deal comes after months of talks between the search giant and Canada. The law – which is aimed at Google and Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram – requires tech firms to negotiate payment…

A lawyer for Prince Harry on Tuesday challenged the U.K. government’s decision to strip him of his security detail after he gave up his status as a working member of the royal family and moved to the United States. The Duke of Sussex has claimed that his safety is jeopardized in part because of hostility toward him and his family on social media and a relentless media that hound him. Attorney Shaheed Fatima said the group that evaluated Harry’s security needs — known by the acronym of its former name, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, or RAVEC — acted irrationally and…

The United States is working hard to try to get a strong consensus leaders’ statement at this week’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) summit this week, the senior U.S. official for APEC, Matt Murray, told reporters on Monday. Leaders from the 21-member APEC forum are due to gather in San Francisco from Wednesday until Friday. The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have divided opinion among APEC members, making drafting a summit declaration difficult. “We’re certainly working toward having a strong consensus statement in APEC for the leaders to be able to release at the end of the…

LONDON (AP) — Four men were charged Monday over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the sprawling English mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. The toilet, valued at 4.8 million pounds ($5.95 million), was the work of Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan. It was part of an art installation at Blenheim Palace, near the city of Oxford, a few days before it vanished overnight in September 2019. The Crown Prosecution Service said Monday it has authorized criminal charges against four men, ages 35-39, over the theft. They are accused of burglary and conspiracy…

Alaska fish-harvesting employment declined in 2022, a continuing yearslong slide caused by a variety of factors, according to an analysis by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Employment for people harvesting seafood dropped by about a quarter from 2015 to 2022, according to the analysis, published in the November issue of Alaska Economic Trends, the department’s monthly research magazine. The industry lost ground compared to other sectors of the Alaska economy, the analysis found. Seafood harvesting accounted for 7.3% of Alaska jobs in July of 2021, but only 5.7% of Alaska jobs were in seafood harvesting in the…

When Claudia Laos-Loo tells people she competes in kata, she’s prepared for “what’s that?” and “why do you scream?”The 26-year-old martial artist from Surrey, B.C., earned a Pan American Games bronze medal Friday in kata, which is sequences of specific karate moves, including punches, kicks, blocks, footwork and breathing techniques. Amid a plethora of Pan Am Games combat sports, including karate’s kumite, kata is done solo, but judged against an opponent’s performance. “What I find intriguing about kata is seeing someone go from such a relaxed state to the explosiveness and surprise elements of an attack,” Laos-Loo said. “You have…

Donald Trump is “the single most dangerous threat” the US faces as he seeks a return to the Oval Office, according to Liz Cheney, the moderate Republican whose opposition to her party leader’s presidency had cost her a congressional seat she held for six years. “He cannot be the next president because if he is, all of the things that he attempted to do but was stopped from doing by responsible people … he will do,” Cheney – the daughter of former congressman, defense secretary and vice-president Dick Cheney – said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “There will…

OTTAWA – Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem says fiscal and monetary policy are rowing in opposite directions, making it harder to bring inflation down.Macklem is appearing before MPs on the House of Commons finance committee after the Bank of Canada’s recent rate decision and quarterly economic projections. In response to questioning from Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan, the governor says government spending is working at cross purposes with the central bank’s efforts to bring inflation down. The governor says that according to federal and provincial budgets, government spending aggregate will grow faster than supply in the economy over the…