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Canada lags behind allies as NATO plans to increase defence spending targets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:30 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has made no secret of the fact that he wants more from member nations at this year’s leaders’ summit. Exactly how much more is still a matter for discussion, but the 31 states with NATO membership are expected to make a more ambitious pledge than they have to date. The agreed-upon target has been for each country to spend about two per cent of its GDP on defence. Now, that is expected to just be the minimum.Canada has agreed to the target but has not revealed a plan to reach it, with current spending sitting just shy of 1.3 per cent and political leaders including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Anita Anand shrugging off suggestions Canadians are not pulling their weight.But some observers say the time has come for Canada to signal to allies that it is serious about meeting its goals.“I don’t think that Canada can just keep its head down and avoid this,” said Tim Sayle, a NA...

‘Seeing is believing’: VR project immerses viewers in climate change on Yukon island

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:30 GMT

HERSCHEL ISLAND, YUKON — Surrounded by chirping birds, buzzing mosquitoes and waves gently lapping on the shore, viewers travel through time, witnessing a permafrost thaw slump, rising floodwaters and shrubs take over Qikiqtaruk or Herschel Island.The virtual reality project Qikiqtaruk: Arctic at Risk is transporting people to Yukon’s northernmost point without them ever having to leave home. Using real visuals and sounds, including the cracking and popping of permafrost thaw, the National Geography Society-funded project provides an immersive experience into the effects of climate change on the island in the Canadian Arctic. “There’s a lot of changes that I’ve seen over my 20 years working on Herschel,” said Richard Gordon, senior park ranger for Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park with Yukon Parks. Gordon said the coast is rapidly eroding, ice is going out earlier and it’s getting more difficult for elders to read the weather when travelling. He said bl...

Daily horoscope for July 11, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:30 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Taurus.Happy Birthday for Tuesday, July 11, 2023:You are charming, friendly and have excellent people skills. You are also intelligent, energetic and hardworking. This year is a time for reflection to explore philosophies and ideas that will give you better self-awareness and get you closer to the true meaning of your life.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★This is a great day to make money! Trust your ability to boost your earnings, find a better paying job or possibly make a little money on the side. You can do this today. Quite likely, your involvement will be behind the scenes or in a quiet way. Tonight: Cocoon.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★★This is a wonderful day for you! The Moon is in your sign lined up with lucky Jupiter, and it is dancing with Saturn. This means it’s a productive day for you because you are confident, optimistic and, at the same time, grounded in a practical way. Y...

Dutch PM Rutte faces no confidence vote after collapse of government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:30 GMT

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (pictured) faced a no confidence vote in parliament on Monday (10 July) which could end his run as the longest serving government leader in Dutch history, three days after he abruptly handed in the resignation of his fourth administration.Rutte's coalition will stay on as caretaker government until a new administration is formed after the next elections, a process which in the fractured Dutch political landscape usually takes months.However, opposition parties are looking to oust Rutte immediately, saying he lost trustworthiness through his handling of negotiations over stricter migration policies, which led to the collapse of government on Friday."Rutte has caused this government crisis, we need an outsider to step in, to avoid standstill and repair trust," the leader of the opposition Labour party Attje Kuiken said on the Nieuwsuur TV program on Sunday night."In the interest of the country, he should step aside."Normally a no confidence vote wouldn'...

Miss Manners: I drove three days, then she said there was no room for me

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:30 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: An old college friend contacted me because her mother was in a nursing home, in poor health. I had been close to her mother — to the whole family, in fact — at one time, although I had not heard from her in about 20 years. (There was no rift, just busy lives in different parts of the country.)Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: She’s supposed to be a friend, but she drops innuendo about my marriage Advice | Miss Manners: Is it tacky to bring pastries when I turn in my son’s school application? Advice | Miss Manners: Is it your hair? Or is it because you’re kinda mean? Advice | Miss Manners: I was smacked down for complaining about the gauche bachelor party Advice | Miss Manners: I say this young man is rude. My daughter says I’m the problem. I accepted the invitation to come visit her ailing mother and to stay in my friend’s home. They live ...

‘We are in a state of emergency’ — DC’s push to pass an emergency crime bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:30 GMT

The mayor of D.C. and several members of the city council are putting their support behind an emergency crime bill that is aimed at curbing a spike in violent crimes in the nation’s capital. The legislation introduced by Ward 2 council member Brooke Pinto.“We are in a state of emergency right now,” Pinto said during a press conference and community question and answer session at the Turkey Thicket Recreation Center in Northeast.The session comes as the city reports a 33% spike in violent crime over the same period last year. Crimes considered violent includes homicide, sexual abuse, assault with a dangerous weapon and robbery.“The criminal activity occurring in our neighborhoods is unacceptable,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.Among the most recent crimes, the killing of 25-year-old Maxwell Emerson, a teacher from Crestwood, Kentucky who was killed on the campus of Catholic University on July 5. Also, the shooting death of Nasrat Ahmad Yar, who was killed while driving for Lyft on Ju...

Runner Caster Semenya wins human rights court appeal over track and field’s testosterone rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:30 GMT

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — Runner Caster Semenya wins human rights court appeal over track and field’s testosterone rules.Source

For first time, every player at the Women’s World Cup will be paid at least $30K

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:30 GMT

A group of players across the globe asked FIFA late last year to increase the prize money for this summer’s Women’s World Cup. There had been pleas from the women to boost those funds before, but this time it was different. The players not only wanted a prize pool equal with the men’s World Cup, they also sought a guarantee that a percentage of the prize money would go directly to the players themselves. While it wasn’t true equity with the men’s World Cup, FIFA indeed raised the prize pool for the women’s tournament by more than three times that of the 2019 event in France. But more than that, soccer’s governing body agreed in June that a chunk of those funds should be paid straight to the players — all 732 of them. Every player will earn at least $30,000, with the amount increasing the further along that teams progress in the tournament. The 23 players in the title-winning squad will each get $270,000.That’s significant for many of t...

Local opera company stages Shakespeare in Virginia churches

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:30 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews Shakespeare Opera Theatre (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); In 2015, she founded Shakespeare Opera Theatre to combine her dual passions of opera and Shakespeare, but no one initially understood her vision. In the first year, some of her Shakespearean actors quit because they didn’t want to sing opera, while some of her opera singers quit because they didn’t ...

Signed ‘Great Gatsby’ first edition to be offered in auction of Charlie Watts’ book collection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:30 GMT

(CNN) — A collection of first-edition books and jazz memorabilia belonging to the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts will go up for auction in September.More than 500 items, including a first edition of “The Great Gatsby” with inscriptions by the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, will be on offer in a sale in London on September 28 and an online sale between September 15 and 29, according to auction house Christie’s.“Charlie Watts holds a unique position within music history and Christie’s is proud to pay tribute to his extraordinary achievements and multifaceted legacy,” Christie’s specialists Benedict Winter and Mark Wiltshire said in a press statement Monday.“Charlie built his collection of modern literature and jazz with passion, intelligence and dedication, and this two-part auction celebrates his distinguished collecting taste,” they added.The musician, who died in August 2021, had what Christie’s describes as the “rarest obtainable editions” of books by renowned authors suc...