22 Aug 2024

North Korea will soon begin welcoming tourists again

by admin | posted in: Adventure | 0

Mia Taylor | TravelPulse (TNS)

After years of remaining a reclusive country, North Korea is preparing to allow entry to tourists.

As of December, international visitors will be allowed to explore the northeastern city of Samjiyon, according to a report from Reuters.

The move appears to be just be the first step toward a wider relaxation of tourist visitation rules for North Korea, say tour operators.

“We have received confirmation from our local partner that tourism to Samjiyon and likely the rest of the country will officially resume in December 2024,” Beijing-based Koryo Tours recently announced on its website.

Another travel agency, KTG Tours, has similarly announced that tourists will be able to visit Samjiyon this coming winter.

This development follows the resumption of international flights in and out of North Korea last year. A small group of Russian tourists subsequently visited the country in February. And later, in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin also paid a visit.

Still, North Korea has not been open to mass international tourism since 2020.

“Having waited for over four years to make this announcement, Koryo Tours is very excited for the opening of North Korean tourism once again,” said the tour company, per Reuters.

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Koryo Tours expects its North Korean partner will confirm itineraries and dates over the next few weeks.

As for what tourists can expect to find when they visit, Reuters describes Samjiyon as a “socialist utopia”, and “a model of highly-civilized mountain city” with new apartments, hotels, a ski resort and commercial, cultural and medical facilities.

Separately, CNN has described Samjiyon as a city that straddles the Chinese border and is in close proximity to the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, Mount Paektu, an active volcano. The volcano area is considered the cradle of the Korean people, per CNN.

22 Aug 2024

The US is sending $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, officials say

by admin | posted in: News | 0

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and MATTHEW LEE

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will send about $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Thursday, even as Washington works to get a better understanding of Kyiv’s incursion into Russia and how it advances the broader battlefield goals more than two years into the war.

U.S. officials said the latest package of aid includes air defense missiles, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelins and an array of other anti-armor missiles, counter-drone and counter-electronic warfare systems and equipment, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, vehicles and other equipment.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid has not been publicly announced. The formal announcement could come as soon as Friday, which is the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day.

The weapons are being provided through presidential drawdown authority, which means they are taken from Pentagon stockpiles and can be delivered more quickly.

The aid comes as Ukrainian forces continue to broaden their surprise offensive into Russia, where officials say they have taken about 100 square kilometers (62 square miles) of territory around Kursk. Russian troops, meanwhile, are making gains in the east, around the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a critical logistics hub.

Pentagon officials have said repeatedly that the U.S. has been talking with Ukrainian leaders to get a better assessment of their longer-term goals for the Kursk operation, particularly as they see Russia advancing near Pokrovsk.

If Pokrovsk falls, the defeat would imperil Ukraine’s defenses and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the Donetsk region. Russian soldiers are now just 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away.

Asked about the Kursk operation, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Thursday that “we are still working with Ukraine on how that fits into their strategic objectives on the battlefield itself.”

The U.S., she said, understands that Ukraine wants to build a buffer zone along the border, but the administration still has more questions about how it furthers Ukraine’s broader war effort.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first visit Thursday to the border area where his forces launched the offensive on Aug. 6. He said Kyiv’s military had taken control of another Russian village and captured more prisoners of war.

The latest package of aid brings the total amount of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to more than $55.7 billion since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

22 Aug 2024

Celebrations abound for hot-hitting Twins catcher Christian Vázquez

by admin | posted in: News | 0

As Christian Vázquez made his way into the visitor’s clubhouse last Thursday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, bat in hand, a seven-person Puerto Rican band played jubilant music.

The live band was just one part of an elaborate surprise for Vázquez, arranged by his wife Gaby, to honor the veteran for his 10 years of major league service time, a milestone that less than 10 percent of players in Major League Baseball history have reached. Vázquez and his teammates quickly got in the groove, dancing to the music as they toasted his accomplishment.

There’s a lot to celebrate right now in Christian Vázquez’s world. He had a birthday on Wednesday, turning 34, he and Gaby are set to welcome their third child to this world next month, and he’s completely turned his season around at the plate after a difficult first few months to begin the year.

“Whatever he’s doing, he looks great,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “And we’ll take it. He’s helping us score runs. Coming from where he is in the lineup, that’s huge. And, he’s never wavered defensively at any point.”

While he always has been an asset behind the plate, Vázquez’s offensive start to the season couldn’t have been much worse. Through the first three months of the season, he was hitting .181 with a .207 on-base percentage and .252 slugging percentage. He had just seven extra-base hits through the end of June.

Behind the scenes, he was putting in plenty of work — assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon referred to him as a “known tinkerer” — searching for results that didn’t come for quite some time.

“(There was) definitely for sure frustration, for sure frustration. Pissed off at me, and I’m pissed off at him and we’re getting into it, and that’s what happens with adult males in a high-stress industry,” Shomon said. “In Major League Baseball, you’ve got to perform, and so he was definitely frustrated because he knew he could perform better. He knew he was better than what he was showing.”

Finally, at long last, the duo found something that worked. They made a tweak with his upper body and they also simplified his cage routine. Where his routine used to be upwards of near a half an hour, now it might be under 10 minutes.

“It (is) in and out in a couple swings and I feel the feeling that I’m feeling right now. and that’s it,” Vázquez said.

Once they simplified things, Shomon said, things started to click. It translated into game performance, where the catcher started to turn his season around in early July.

He knew it was working when he started to see the results.

“The first week of July, I was consistent every game,” Vázquez said.

Since that point, Vázquez is hitting .338 with a .365 on-base percentage and .575 slugging percentage. He has five home runs among his 27 hits in those 26 games.

One of those hits was a pinch-hit, two-run single that lifted the Twins to an eighth-inning lead on Tuesday night after they had surrendered their advantage a half inning earlier. It was a huge moment for him, though the Twins eventually lost the game to the San Diego Padres.

It’s rewarding for Vázquez, of course, but also for Shomon, who put in so many hours with him in the cage trying to help him turn things around.

“We, as coaches, I think at times feel their struggle more than they do and want it so bad for them, especially when you see things trending in the right direction in all areas leading up until game time,” Shomon said. “You’re just hoping and wanting it to carry over, especially when you’re making an adjustment. … (I’m) elated, right, and more so just happy with how consistent he has been.”

It’s been nearly two months of consistency now for the veteran catcher, who has moved past the frustration of the early season into the celebratory days of August.

“It was hard,” Vázquez said. “It was hard obviously because I was trying to help the team on both sides and it was not working, but now it feels good.”

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22 Aug 2024

Sudden fame for Tim Walz’s son focuses attention on challenges of people with learning disabilities

by admin | posted in: Politics | 0

MINNEAPOLIS — An unexpected highlight of the Democratic National Convention on Night Three was an outburst of pride from the son of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

“That’s my dad!” 17-year-old Gus Walz could be seen exclaiming Wednesday night. He stood, tears streaming down his face, and pointed to his father, the governor of Minnesota, who accepted the party nomination for vice president.

Gus wept through much of the 16-minute speech, and took the stage with his family afterward, wrapping his dad in a tight bear hug, burying his face in his shoulder.

The high school senior’s joy quickly went viral. He was still trending Thursday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. And his newfound fame is focusing attention on the challenges of people with learning disabilities. His parents recently revealed to People magazine that Gus has ADHD, an anxiety disorder and something called a non-verbal learning disorder. Searches on Google have spiked since Thursday night this week for the disorder and for the teen’s name.

There’s no standard definition for non-verbal learning disorder. It doesn’t mean people with it can’t talk. But according to the NVLD Project at Columbia University, people with it “struggle with a range of conditions that include social and spatial disabilities. Often they are marginalized and isolated; consequently, they can experience social barriers throughout their lives.”

There has long been tension between Washington and local school districts over federal funding of special education. Federal law requires schools to provide special education services, but doesn’t come close to covering the costs. When passed in 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) committed the federal government to paying 40% of the average per-pupil expenditure for special education. But currently it’s more like 13%.

That’s one reason the Democratic Party platform adopted at the convention this week says, “We support fully funding IDEA to prioritize students with disabilities and the special educator workforce.” This year’s Republican Party platform doesn’t mention special education. But dozens of national education groups have long called for fully funding the costs that IDEA imposes on local schools.

The actual prospects for more money under a Harris-Walz administration are unclear. Much would depend on the future federal budget picture and the composition of the next Congress. And platforms aren’t binding on candidates.

But Walz as governor has approved large increases in education funding, including special education. The two-year budget he signed in 2024 included a 6% increase in per-pupil funding for local schools, and it indexes future funding to inflation. It also included a large boost in state support for special education to help fill the gap in federal funding.

Securing full funding for special education on the national level is the “number one public policy priority” of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, said John Eisenberg, the group’s executive director. The association calls the federal act “first and foremost a civil rights law, meant to protect the right of students with disabilities to be educated in the nation’s public schools.”

While bills to mandate full funding have attracted bipartisan support over the years, they’ve failed to become law.

Governor Walz, a former social studies teacher, and first lady Gwen Walz, a former English teacher, revealed Gus’ learning issues in a statement to People magazine that was published this week.

“When our youngest Gus was growing up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates,” they said. “Gus preferred video games and spending more time by himself.” They went on to say, “When he was becoming a teenager, we learned that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder in addition to an anxiety disorder and ADHD, conditions that millions of Americans also have.”

The Walzes told People that it took time to figure out how to set Gus up for future success, “but what became so immediately clear to us was that Gus’ condition is not a setback — it’s his secret power.”

They also said he’s “brilliant, hyper-aware of details that many of us pass by, and above all else, he’s an excellent son.” They didn’t go into detail about how his condition has affected his life, however, and the Walz campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. They have previously noted that Gus got his driver’s license last fall.

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Associated Press reporter Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this story from Mission, Kansas.