List of All Articles with Tag 'u'

Russia is suffering “particularly heavy losses” on the Donetsk frontline as it seeks to capture the tactically key city of Avdiivka, with fighting continuing to rage in Kupiansk and at the Dnipro River, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said. And Vladimir Putin has lost around a brigade’s worth of forces at the Dnipro River since Ukraine first began attacking its eastern bank, where it now claims to have secured a foothold, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War think-tank. But despite these heavy losses, neither side has achieved substantial progress in any fighting hotspot, and “there are few immediate prospects of major changes in the frontline” as colder winter weather sets in earnest in eastern Ukraine, the ministry said. Meanwhile, Ukraine said its air defences had shot down 29 of an overnight barrage of 39 Iranian drones on Saturday, as it claimed to have destroyed a total of 15 Russian naval vessels in the Black Sea since the start of Moscow’s invasion, damaging 12 others. Read More David Cameron meets Zelensky in Ukraine in first visit as foreign secretary – and praises Boris Johnson In Russia, more Kremlin critics are being imprisoned as intolerance of dissent grows Russian court convicts a woman for protesting the war in Ukraine in latest crackdown on free speech Bombs, betrayal and burying loved ones: Plight of one Ukraine village illustrates toll of Russia’s invasion

Israel said its ground offensive in the north of the Gaza Strip may be expanded to the south

By Saurabh Sharma SILKYARA, India (Reuters) -Rescuers trying to reach workers trapped for nearly a week in a collapsed highway

Formula One is hoping to turn its luck around on the Strip, like so many other Vegas visitors who blow a big bankroll soon after they arrive

While Louisiana’s gubernatorial election was decided in October, voters will cast ballot to determine a slew of runoff races including for three vacant statewide offices: attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer

The United Auto Workers union has overwhelmingly ratified a new contract with Ford, a pact that, along with similar deals with General Motors and Stellantis, will raise pay across the industry

The European Convention on Human Rights is tied to the 1998 agreement, as BBC News NI explains.

With the onset of the war between Israel and Hamas, the world’s attention has swung away from the nearly 2-year-old conflict in Ukraine

Election officials around the country are stocking up on the overdose reversal medication naloxone after a series of suspicious mailings — some containing traces of fentanyl — were sent to vote centers or government buildings in six states

Former President Donald Trump will campaign Saturday in west-central Iowa as part of his fall push

The Biden administration is balancing efforts to deter militants in the Middle East without triggering a broader regional conflict

Video montages of sash-clad pageant contestants strolling beaches in El Salvador, snapping selfies in front of fireworks and wandering the streets of downtown San Salvador speckled social media this week as celebrations for the Miss Universe 2023 pageant kicked off in the Central American country. “As President (Nayib) Bukele said, El Salvador is changing,” R’Bonney Gabriel, Miss Universe 2022, said in a speech before this year's contestants. “While we’re here, we hope to shine a light on this country for the rest of the world to see." The competition on Saturday night is the latest spectacle touted by Bukele in his effort to change the reputation of his historically violence-torn nation. But opponents and analysts say such displays are also being used by the populist leader to distract from human rights abuses in his crackdown on gangs and steps he has taken to curb criticism. Constitutional scholars and critics warn that he is slowly withering the country's delicate democracy. The Miss Universe pageant comes at a key time for Bukele, just months before a presidential election in February. Bukele is running for reelection despite clear term limits laid out in El Salvador’s constitution, a move that has upset watchdogs both in and out of the country. “You give the public something to showcase to divert attention from the fact that you’re doing it while eroding the rule of law and democratic checks and balances in the country,” said Tiziano Breda, a Central America expert at Italy’s Instituto Affari Internazionali. Bukele’s government did not respond to a written request for comment by the Associated Press. Since Bukele came to power in 2019, he has made drastic changes to the country of 6.5 million people. Most notable has been his war on El Salvador’s gangs that have terrorized much of the country for decades. Following a burst of gang violence last year, Bukele suspended some constitutional rights and has since locked up more than 72,000 people for alleged gang ties without due process. He also has gone after journalists, labor organizers, human rights groups and other critical voices, and mobilized an elaborate communications machine to spread government propaganda. The sharp decline in violence following the assault on gangs gained Bukele strong support from most Salvadorans and polls suggest he will coast to reelection. Observers, however, warn that there is a need to be concerned over human rights abuses and Bukele's consolidation of power. A 2022 report by the U.S. State Department highlighted “significant human rights issues,” and earlier this month several private citizens and opposition parties filed petitions with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal seeking to annul Bukele's reelection bid. Bukele, who once dubbed himself on social media the “world’s coolest dictator,” has taken the criticism in stride. At times he ignores detractors and in other moments he forcefully accuses foreign governments of hypocrisy, all the while making bold spectacles a sort of trademark of his presidency. In 2021, he announced in a recorded message played at a bitcoin conference in Miami that the cryptocurrency would become a national currency in El Salvador. Shortly thereafter, El Salvador became the first nation to take that step. Questions were raised at the time, and the plunge in cryptocurrency's value last year only fed the doubts. The government has not been transparent about its holdings, but analysts believe they remain at a sharp loss. Bukele pivoted to new ventures and kept charging forward. He hosted international surfing competitions and the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, which experts quickly dubbed a textbook case of “sportswashing ” — using sports to divert attention from controversy or burnish reputations. “Successfully hosting an international event can give a regime confidence to kind of act with impunity. Sport is a bit of a shortcut way to win yourself, not even popularity, just an acceptance,” Alan McDougall, a sports historian at the University of Guelph in Canada, told AP earlier this year. Domestically oriented projects like a new mega-prison for gang suspects and the sparkling national library unveiled this week are also presented to the public in carefully choreographed spectacles. The library event included drones that flew into the sky above the capital and arranged themselves in Bukele’s image. The president does appear to be working to blunt criticism from the Biden administration. Last month, El Salvador slapped a hefty fee on African migrants connecting through its airport as the U.S. government pressured governments in the region to do more to control northward migration. The result has been what Breda, the Central American analyst, described as a “softer public denunciation” by the U.S. and other players in the region. Now, as Bukele faces criticism for seeking reelection, the Miss Universe competition has quite literally taken the spotlight in the Central American nation. “We now have become the safest country in Latin America. We would like to thank the Miss Universe Organization for joining us in this historic process,” Bukele said in a video announcing the event earlier this year. “El Salvador is changing.” Social media influencers are commenting on fashion choices of contestants, others show competitors stepping onto the red carpet in elegant dresses and heels or doing yoga on the beach in their pageant sashes. Contestants like Lisbeth Valverde Brenes, representing Costa Rica, sing Bukele’s tune to local content creators as she walks around the city center, praising El Salvador’s security while adding, “I’ll have to come back.” And mixed in with the videos of the pageant on Bukele’s social media feeds — his preferred form of communication — are photos of him and supporters celebrating his reelection campaign. His critics are pushing back. The rights group Movement for Victims of the State of Emergency announced it will hold a protest on the same day as Miss Universe events wrap up. “El Salvador isn't a country of marvels, Bukele has converted it into a prison,” the group said. Breda, the analyst, cautions that this all cuts two ways. “For Salvadorans, this is a way to rebuild their national identity, seeing their country as one that’s being referred to as a tourist hotspot. … I see the good in that,” he said. But, he added, “If that comes at the expense of democracy, the dismantling of checks and balances, I don’t know if that’s a net positive overall.” Read More South Dakota tribe to declare state of emergency due to rampant crime on reservation In India, 40 workers are trapped in a tunnel for a 7th day as rescuers wait for a new drill Remains found in remote Arizona desert in 1992 identified as missing teen girl, police say Bill Cosby accuser files new lawsuit under expiring New York survivors law Dogs are coming down with an unusual respiratory illness in several US states Federal safety officials launch probe into Chicago commuter train crash