Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalRussia announces ceasefire around Mariupol steel plant
Russia's defence ministry has announced a ceasefire around the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, to allow a civilian evacuation from the industrial area that has been sheltering the remaining Ukrainian resistance in the port city.
Russian troops "from 14:00 Moscow time (12 noon Irish time) on 25 April 25, will unilaterally stop any hostilities, withdraw units to a safe distance and ensure the withdrawal of civilians," the defence ministry said in a statement.
It said the civilians will be taken "in any direction they have chosen" and added that the Ukrainian side should show "readiness" to start the humanitarian evacuations "by raising white flags" at Azovstal.
According to the ministry, this information will be communicated to those inside Azovstal "via radio channels" every 30 minutes.
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2022/0425/1294100-russia-ukraine/
Netflix cancels in-production titles after subscriber loss and stock price plunge
Netflix is already making moves after the distressing news it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of this year, resulting in a stock price plunge which wiped billions off its market value.
While the streaming company flagged it would introduce a cheaper ad-supported subscription option and crack down on the common practice of password sharing, executives also hinted that it would be cutting back on content spend.
The first casualty of that cost-cutting appears to be its animation slate with The Wrap reporting Netflix has ousted the head of its animation department, Phil Rynda, and with him several staff members and in-production projects.
The most anticipated of the cancelled titles is Bone, an adaptation of Jeff Smith's beloved quest comic series. There have been attempts to adapt Bone to either TV or film since the late-1990s with the Netflix version confirmed in 2019.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/netflix-cancels-in-production-titles-after-subscriber-loss-and-stock-price-plunge/D7D6GVK6RRNM5HRZIS6SNNBUBA/
Survey: Finns' confidence in economy weakening
Nearly half of respondents say they are postponing buying or renovating apartments or holiday homes due to rising interest rates and the global political situation.
YLE NEWS
25.4. 04:06
Feelings of economic uncertainty are increasing among people in Finland, according to the results of a survey commissioned by lobby group Finance Finland (FFI).
Some 45 percent of respondents said they had postponed or entirely abandoned their investment plans due to an increase in prices, rising interest rates and the global political situation.
The examples of postponed purchases cited by respondents included the renovation of an apartment or the purchase of a new holiday home.
The younger age groups and women were more likely to respond that they had shelved their plans.
https://yle.fi/news/3-12416331
Stora Enso to sell Russian sawmills, forest operations
The firm says it will sell two sawmills and its forest operations to local management.
YLE NEWS
25.4. 07:12
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Updated 25.4. 07:15
Finland-based forestry firm Stora Enso announced on Monday that it was offloading some of its Russian operations to local management.
The firm said that two sawmills in Karelia and Novgorod will be sold along with the Russian forest operations that supply wood to the mills, according to a company statement.
About 330 people are employed at those sawmills and an additional 170 workers in forest operations. The mills have an annual capacity of 350,000 cubic metres of sawn timber and the forest operations include harvesting rights of roughly 370,000 hectares.
The company said the deal is expected to be concluded during the second quarter. The company said the transaction will not have an impact on its annual revenue or operating profit.
https://yle.fi/news/3-12416574
Finnish navy to train with Nato vessels in Archipelago Sea
YLE NEWS
25.4. 05:58
The Standing Nato Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (abbreviated as SNMCMG1) — an immediate reaction force consisting of six vessels — will train with the Finnish navy in the Archipelago Sea on Thursday and Friday.
The joint exercise will be led by Finland's Coastal Fleet.
SNMCMG1 will also visit the port city of Turku from Monday until Wednesday.
The Coastal Fleet's Chief of Staff, Commander Mikko Villikari, said this is a routine exercise which has been planned one year in advance.
https://yle.fi/news/3-12416488
Embarrassing photos of St. Louis high schoolers spread on Instagram. Schools can't stop it
Allison Rojas likes to scroll through Instagram after a long day at school.
For months, the high school sophomore at Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience in St. Louis has noticed her feed filled with pictures of students sleeping, eating and parking badly. Some photos show students in the restroom.
“A lot of these students won't be able to see this or don't even know that it's on there until someone tells them,'' Rojas said. “Then if it's by word of mouth, then it's kind of like this word gets around, ‘Oh, you were sleeping in this class and everyone saw it.’”
Rojas isn’t the only one noticing the trend. Anonymous social media pages dedicated to posting pictures of students in embarrassing situations have quickly spread in popularity at high schools across the country.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/education/2022-04-25/embarrassing-photos-of-st-louis-high-schoolers-spread-on-instagram-schools-cant-stop-it
UM System curators represent four campuses, but only have degrees from one: Mizzou
Gov. Mike Parson has two appointments to make to the University of Missouri Board of Curators, and the current chairman says adding graduates from various campuses in the system doesn’t need to be a priority.
The current eight members hold 11 degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia and none from the campuses in St. Louis and Kansas City or Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.
Chairman Darryl Chatman said it shouldn't be a priority to appoint a graduate from any of the non-flagship campuses.
“I don’t think that is a criteria that would be decisive in his decision making. And at the same time, I would say that is the governor’s prerogative,” Chatman said.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-04-25/um-system-board-represents-4-campuses-but-only-has-graduates-from-mizzou
Destructive wildfires in New Mexico trigger emergency declaration
SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed emergency declarations as 20 wildfires continued to burn Sunday in nearly half of the state's drought-stricken 33 counties.
One wildfire in northern New Mexico that started April 6 merged with a newer fire Saturday to form the largest blaze in the state, leading to widespread evacuations in Mora and San Miguel counties. That fire was at 84 square miles (217 square kilometers) Sunday and 12% contained.
An uncontained wind-driven wildfire in northern New Mexico that began April 17 had charred 81 square miles (209 square kilometers) of ponderosa pine, oak brush and grass by Sunday morning north of Ocate, an unincorporated community in Mora County.
Meanwhile in Arizona, some residents forced to evacuate due to a wildfire near Flagstaff were allowed to return home Sunday morning.
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/24/1094581601/wildfire-new-mexico-southwest
Some physicians are uneasy as Colorado collects providers' diversity data
Shaunti Meyer, a certified nurse-midwife and medical director at STRIDE Community Health Center in Colorado, doesn't usually disclose her sexual orientation to patients. But at times it feels appropriate.
After telling a transgender patient that she is a lesbian, Meyer learned the woman had recently taken four other trans women, all estranged from their birth families, under her wing. They were living together as a family, and, one by one, each came to see Meyer at the Aurora clinic where she practices. Some were at the beginning of their journeys as transgender women, she said, and they felt comfortable with her as a provider, believing she understood their needs and could communicate well with them.
"They feel more connected because I'm part of the community," Meyer said.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/04/25/1094354537/colorado-doctor-diversity-data
China promotes coal in setback for efforts to cut emissions
BEIJING — China is promoting coal-fired power as the ruling Communist Party tries to revive a sluggish economy, prompting warnings Beijing is setting back efforts to cut climate-changing carbon emissions from the biggest global source.
Official plans call for boosting coal production capacity by 300 million tons this year, according to news reports. That is equal to 7% of last year's output of 4.1 billion tons, which was an increase of 5.7% over 2020.
China is one of the biggest investors in wind and solar, but jittery leaders called for more coal-fired power after economic growth plunged last year and shortages caused blackouts and factory shutdowns. Russia's attack on Ukraine added to anxiety that foreign oil and coal supplies might be disrupted.
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/25/1094586702/china-promotes-coal-in-setback-for-efforts-to-cut-emissions
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