World
Ukraine war: The latest news
April 13 (Reuters) – Fighters of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group have captured two extra areas of the Ukrainian metropolis of Bakhmut, Russia’s Defence Ministry mentioned on Saturday. Wagner has spearheaded Russia’s try to take Bakhmut since final summer time in what has been the longest and deadliest battle of the warfare for each side.
Reuters couldn’t independently verify the report.
FIGHTING
* A Russian missile strike killed a minimum of 9 folks in japanese Ukraine on Friday, Ukrainian officers mentioned.
* 4 folks had been killed and 10 wounded by Ukrainian shelling of a residential space in a Russian-controlled city in japanese Ukraine, the highest Russian-installed official within the area mentioned. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the shelling or the casualties within the city of Yasynuvata.
RUSSIA’S MILITARY DRAFT
* Russia’s common spring navy draft marketing campaign is continuing as scheduled and there aren’t any plans to ship out mass digital notices below a brand new system simply signed into regulation by President Vladimir Putin, a high official mentioned on Saturday.
DIPLOMACY
* U.S. consular officers haven’t been granted entry to Wall Avenue Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, detained in Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned on Saturday, including that Moscow ought to present entry “now”.
* China’s Defence Minister Li Shangfu will go to Russia from April 16-19, and meet Russian navy officers, the Chinese language defence ministry mentioned. U.S. officers have expressed concern China may provide arms to Russia, one thing Beijing has denied.
* European Union international coverage chief Josep Borrell mentioned it will be exhausting for Europe to belief China if it didn’t attempt to discover a political resolution to the Ukraine disaster primarily based on Russia’s withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.
* Fifteen Russian diplomats expelled by Norway this week had sought to recruit sources, intercept communications and purchase superior expertise, the Norwegian PST safety police mentioned on Friday.
* Finland’s embassy in Moscow obtained a letter containing an unknown powder and has reported the matter to the Russian authorities, Russian international ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova mentioned on Friday.
PLAYING ON, DESPITE WAR
* Ukrainian pianist Roman Lopatynskyi rehearsed at nighttime and performed live shows by candlelight as air raid sirens resounded throughout his native Kyiv. The 29-year-old is taking part within the Worldwide Competitors for Younger Pianists in Reminiscence of Vladimir Horowitz, which is being held exterior Ukraine for the primary time since its inception in 1995 as a result of Russian invasion.
* Ukraine’s nationwide ice hockey gamers have been pressured to coach with air raid sirens interrupting apply, sending them underground for canopy as they fear about their family members, however they’ve managed to maintain their focus.
ECONOMY
* U.N. Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres has written to Russia, Ukraine and Turkey to boost issues concerning the implementation of a deal that permits the secure wartime export of grain from a number of Ukrainian Black Sea ports, a U.N. spokesman mentioned on Friday.
* Ukraine secured guarantees of $5 billion in extra funding to assist its struggle towards Russia amid “fruitful conferences” in Washington this week, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal mentioned on Friday.
IN-DEPTH STORIES
* ANALYSIS-Russia’s navy manufacturing, state splurge ease sanctions ache
* INSIGHT- Ukraine’s tech entrepreneurs struggle warfare on completely different entrance
* Ukraine says it’s discovering extra Chinese language elements in Russian weapons
Compiled by Reuters editors
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.
World
Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant
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.
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.
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.
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.
World
Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10
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.
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