World
Russia shells boats in Ukraine flood rescue, three dead, governor says
KYIV, June 11 (Reuters) – Russian forces shelled three small boats taking elderly residents to safety from inundated areas of southern Ukraine, killing three people and wounding 10, the regional governor said on Sunday.
The area has been stricken by catastrophic flooding along the Dnipro River after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam which Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of deliberately blowing up.
Kherson region’s Ukrainian-appointed governor, Oleksander Prokudin said Russian forces were “deliberately trying to disrupt rescue efforts”.
“Today, terrorists opened fire on three boats that were used to rescue 21 people from the flooded (eastern) bank,” Prokudin said on Ukrainian television.
“Almost all of them were elderly and people with limited mobility. Russian soldiers fired at these people in the back.”
He said three people were killed and 10 injured, including two law enforcement officers, during the evacuation from the Russian-controlled parts of Kherson region to parts controlled by Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy decried the incident and repeated accusations that Russia was responsible for the breach of the dam that flooded towns. Russian forces, he said, were now shelling residents seeking evacuation from submerged areas.
“(They have) cast people deliberately into flooded towns and villages and then shell boats used to try to evacuate them,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “Even animals have more morals than the Russian state.”
Prokudin told the television a 74-year-old man used his body to shield a woman from Russian fire and was hit in the back and was injured too seriously for medics to save him.
Pictures posted on a Ukrainian armed forces Telegram channel showed paramedics taking evacuees out of small boats and rushing through knee-deep water to take them to safety – some on stretchers, some in rescuers’ arms.
The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said 23 people had been injured in the incident. An investigation had been opened.
The incident was first reported by Zelenskiy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak who said the boat had been carrying evacuees from flooded areas of occupied territory to the city of Kherson.
“The Russian army attacked a boat with civilians evacuating from the left bank of Kherson region,” Yermak wrote on the Telegram messenger.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the attack.
The Russian defence ministry failed to respond to a request for comment.
Russia denies targeting civilians. Its February 2022 full-scale invasion has killed thousands, uprooted millions and destroyed cities
Reporting by Tom Balmforth, Pavel Polityuk and Ron Popeski; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Ros Russell and Marguerita Choy
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
World
Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more
Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.
The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.
On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.
The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)
HOW TO SAY ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ IN 10 LANGUAGES TO FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD
The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.
One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.
In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.
Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.
17 SECRET TRAVEL TIPS FOR FALL AND WINTER THAT AREN’T SO SECRET AFTER ALL
Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.
In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.
Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
CHRISTMAS TREES IN GERMANY WERE DECORATED WITH APPLES INSTEAD OF ORNAMENTS IN THE 1600S FOR ‘ADAM AND EVE DAY’
A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.
The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.
In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.
Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REVEAL THE SURPRISING DAY TO TRAVEL AHEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH
After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.
Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.
On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.
For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)
Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.
The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.
This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.
Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.
A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.
The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.
Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.
Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.
“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.
“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”
Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.
The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.
Former South Carolina wide receiver finds transfer portal landing spot
State Sen. Anthony Kern making his way back to Phoenix after icy crash in South Dakota
Tennessee DB Christian Harrison, son of NFL great Rodney Harrison, enters transfer portal
Texas vs South Dakota State: Longhorns head into holiday break with a 46-point win
Utah Hockey Club Owner Ryan Smith Builds Buzz With Free Ticket Giveaway
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Trump names several new White House picks to work on AI, crypto and more: 'America First Patriots'
Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10
Who is Sebastian Zapeta? Guatemala migrant set a woman on fire on New York City subway
Fetterman: Those hoping Trump fails are 'rooting against the nation'
AfD party calls for big rally after Germany's Christmas market attack
-
Politics1 week agoCanadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25789444/1258459915.jpg "OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change")
Technology1 week agoOpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change
-
Politics1 week agoU.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California's zero-emissions goal
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25546252/STK169_Mark_Zuckerburg_CVIRGINIA_D.jpg "Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit")
Technology1 week agoMeta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit
-
Business1 week agoFreddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23951353/STK043_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_3_Meta.jpg "Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age")
Technology1 week agoMeta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age
-
News1 week agoEast’s wintry mix could make travel dicey. And yes, that was a tornado in Calif.
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24924653/236780_Google_AntiTrust_Trial_Custom_Art_CVirginia__0003_1.png "Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps")
Technology2 days agoGoogle’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps