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Russia says Wagner fighters take two more blocks in Bakhmut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:00 GMT

Russia announced on Sunday (16 April) that Wagner mercenary troops, supported by airborne forces, had captured two additional city blocks in eastern Ukrainian city Bakhmut. Bakhmut was the target of a major Russian offensive.Wagner led Russia's effort to capture Bakhmut last summer, in the longest and most deadly battle of the war.The Russian defence ministry reported that Wagner assault squads took two blocks on the northwestern, and southeast parts of Bakhmut. Bakhmut has been largely destroyed by the fighting.The report added that Russian paratroopers were supporting Wagner, holding back Ukrainian forces at the flanks.Serhiy Cerevatyi is the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Eastern Military Command. He said that Wagner troops are acting like a battering-ram, and they attack dozens of time a day.He told Ukrainian Parliament's TV channel that the enemy had continued to attack his positions with a satanic zest.In a Friday intelligence update, the UK said that Ukrainian troops were forced ...

Adames, Yelich lead Brewers past Mariners 6-5 in 11 innings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:00 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Willy Adames drove in the go-ahead run in the 11th inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Seattle Mariners 6-5 on Tuesday night.Joey Weimer scored on Adames’ groundout against reliever Justin Topa (0-1). Adames finished with three RBIs, including a run-scoring double in the third and a solo homer in the sixth.Christian Yelich hit a leadoff home run against Mariners starter Logan Gilbert and made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the third. Yelich then scored on Adames’ double to push Milwaukee’s lead to three.Yelich and Adames combined for five hits and five RBIs.“(Gilbert) was struggling a little bit, struggling with his command, and we jumped on it immediately and did a nice job,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He settled in his last three innings and was very efficient. But you know, at the top of the order, those are the guys that we count on, and they had big nights.”Garrett Mitchell scored on a double-play grounder in the 10th to give the Brewers the ...

Braves visit the Padres on 8-game road win streak

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:00 GMT

Atlanta Braves (14-4, first in the NL East) vs. San Diego Padres (8-11, third in the NL West)San Diego; Wednesday, 4:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Charlie Morton (2-1, 3.86 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 12 strikeouts); Padres: Nick Martinez (0-1, 5.60 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 11 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Braves -120, Padres +100; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves will try to keep an eight-game road win streak alive when they face the San Diego Padres.San Diego has a 4-8 record in home games and an 8-11 record overall. Padres pitchers have a collective 4.36 ERA, which ranks eighth in the NL.Atlanta has a 14-4 record overall and a 10-1 record on the road. The Braves have a 6-0 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.The matchup Wednesday is the seventh meeting between these teams this season. The season series is tied 3-3.TOP PERFORMERS: Xander Bogaerts has three doubles and four home runs while hitting .347 for the Padres. Nelson Cruz is 13-for-37 with t...

Diamondbacks aim to keep win streak alive against the Cardinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:00 GMT

Arizona Diamondbacks (11-7, first in the NL West) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (7-11, fifth in the NL Central)St. Louis; Wednesday, 1:15 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Madison Bumgarner (0-2, 7.90 ERA, 2.12 WHIP, eight strikeouts); Cardinals: Jake Woodford (0-2, 5.65 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 11 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cardinals -187, Diamondbacks +159; over/under is 10 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Arizona Diamondbacks aim to keep their three-game win streak alive when they visit the St. Louis Cardinals.St. Louis is 4-8 at home and 7-11 overall. The Cardinals have the sixth-best team batting average in MLB play at .268.Arizona has an 11-7 record overall and a 6-5 record on the road. The Diamondbacks have an 8-0 record in games when they scored at least five runs.The teams meet Wednesday for the third time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Nolan Gorman leads the Cardinals with four home runs while slugging .611. Paul Goldschmidt is 12-for-41 with five doubles, a home run and seven RBI ...

Rockies bring home losing streak into matchup against the Pirates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:00 GMT

Pittsburgh Pirates (11-7, third in the NL Central) vs. Colorado Rockies (5-13, fifth in the NL West)Denver; Wednesday, 3:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Johan Oviedo (1-1, 2.45 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 19 strikeouts); Rockies: Austin Gomber (0-3, 8.16 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 11 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Pirates -122, Rockies +103; over/under is 11 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Rockies look to stop their four-game home skid with a win against the Pittsburgh Pirates.Colorado is 5-13 overall and 3-6 at home. The Rockies have the seventh-best team batting average in MLB play at .257.Pittsburgh is 11-7 overall and 8-4 on the road. The Pirates are sixth in MLB play with 23 total home runs, averaging 1.3 per game.The teams meet Wednesday for the third time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Kris Bryant has four doubles and three home runs while hitting .314 for the Rockies. Bryant is 12-for-42 with a double and three home runs over the past 10 games.Bryan Reynolds has three doubles, a tr...

Giants take on the Marlins looking to break road slide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:00 GMT

San Francisco Giants (5-11, fourth in the NL West) vs. Miami Marlins (10-8, third in the NL East)Miami; Wednesday, 1:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Giants: Alex Cobb (0-1, 3.14 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 14 strikeouts); Marlins: Trevor Rogers (1-2, 4.20 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 16 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Marlins -110, Giants -109; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The San Francisco Giants will aim to end their four-game road skid in a matchup with the Miami Marlins.Miami is 7-5 in home games and 10-8 overall. The Marlins are 8-1 in games when they out-hit their opponents.San Francisco has a 5-11 record overall and a 3-7 record on the road. The Giants have hit 26 total home runs to rank fourth in the majors.The teams square off Wednesday for the third time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Luis Arraez has four doubles, a triple and a home run for the Marlins. Jorge Soler is 10-for-34 with four doubles, four home runs and eight RBI over the last 10 games.J.D. Davis leads San Francisco with four ...

UK foreign secretary: Don’t ‘pull the shutters down’ on China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:00 GMT

LONDON — The U.K. should not “pull the shutters down” on China, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned, amid fierce debate in the governing Conservative Party about ties with Beijing.Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, Cleverly said the U.K. would not be able to get China to “completely redefine themselves” and warned it would be “really, really, really counterproductive” for London not to engage with Beijing.Cleverly’s boss, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, has faced intense pressure from his own backbenchers over his stance on China, with critics citing national security concerns and the treatment of the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang region to urge a harder line. Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss warned last week that Western leaders must be “much more sceptical about what is said by China and what their promises are.”A recent foreign policy strategy from Sunak’s government stopped short of defining China as a broad “threat,” instead p...

Russia uses civilian boats to spy in the North Sea, joint report says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:00 GMT

Russia is using civilian vessels to collect intelligence on military activity and critical infrastructure in the North Sea, a joint investigation by Danish, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian public broadcasters has found.The investigation tracked dozens of Russian research and fishing vessels whose routes regularly passed through oil and gas fields, near wind farms and power plants, as well as in the vicinity of military training areas — including during NATO training exercises.According to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, at least 50 civilian ships have been involved in intelligence gathering missions in Nordic waters in the past ten years.The head of Norway’s intelligence service, Nils Andreas Stensønes, quoted by NRK, said the intelligence activities were carried out “on top of the [fishing boats’] usual commercial activity.”The investigation by Finnish public broadcaster Yle shows how an oceanographic research vessel, “Admiral Vladimirsky,” was ...

European public sector seeks multi-cloud approach to services

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:00 GMT

The notion of sovereignty has definitively crossed the digital border.  Although there had already been a growing call among Europeans for digital sovereignty, the war in Ukraine and its geopolitical impact have accelerated the need for governments to control their technology, operations and data.  Global market intelligence firm IDC states that “over the next four years, 50 percent of organizations in Europe will spend 10 percent of their budgets to comply with digital sovereignty principles adopted across the EU. The extra costs needed here will include investments in local infrastructure and platforms, new tools for data governance and management, and redesign for internal processes and mechanisms to ensure compliance.”1 And according to a recent report by business and technology services company Capgemini, 76 percent of public-sector organizations believe they will adopt cloud sovereignty solutions to ensure compliance moving forward. “Every organ...

Beijing hospital fire deaths rise to 29, mostly patients

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:00 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The death toll from a fire at a Beijing hospital rose to 29, including 26 patients, authorities said Wednesday, and a dozen people had been detained including the hospital’s head and her deputy.The fire broke out at the private Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and forced dozens of people to evacuate. Some who were trapped had to escape from windows using bedsheets tied together.A nurse, a medical assistant and a family member also died in the incident, said Li Zongrong, deputy head of Fengtai district.The cause of the fire is under investigation but officials say they believe it originated from welding sparks from work being done in the hospital’s inpatient wing. Among the 12 people who were detained was the head of the construction crew. A total of 39 people are being treated for injuries, three of them in critical condition, officials said. Rescue crews and medical staff from around the city were mobilized, with squads plucking some of the 142 people wh...