Координаційний штаб: табір для полонених з РФ регулярно відвідують представники Червоного Хреста

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«Вони мають зв’язок з зовнішнім світом, мають право надсилати листи, вибирати своїх представників для того, щоб вони зв’язувалися з адміністрацією»
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World Bank raises China’s GDP forecast for 2024, 2025

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The World Bank raised on Thursday its forecast for China’s economic growth in 2024 and 2025, but warned that subdued household and business confidence, along with headwinds in the property sector, would keep weighing it down next year.

The world’s second-biggest economy has struggled this year, mainly due to a property crisis and tepid domestic demand. An expected hike in U.S. tariffs on its goods when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January may also negatively impact China’s growth.

“Addressing challenges in the property sector, strengthening social safety nets, and improving local government finances, will be essential to unlocking a sustained recovery,” Mara Warwick, the World Bank’s country director for China, said.

“It is important to balance short-term support to growth with long-term structural reforms,” she said in a statement.

Thanks to the effect of recent policy easing and near-term export strength, the World Bank sees China’s gross domestic product growth at 4.9% this year, up from its June forecast of 4.8%.

Beijing set a growth target of “around 5%” this year, a goal it says it is confident of achieving.

Although growth for 2025 is also expected to fall to 4.5%, that is still higher than the World Bank’s earlier forecast of 4.1%.

Slower household income growth and the negative wealth effect from lower home prices are expected to weigh on consumption into 2025, the Bank said.

To revive growth, Chinese authorities have agreed to issue a record $411 billion in special treasury bonds next year, Reuters reported this week.

The figures will not be officially unveiled until the annual meeting of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, in March 2025, and could still change before then.

While the housing regulator will continue efforts to stem further declines in China’s real estate market next year, the World Bank said a turnaround in the sector was not anticipated until late 2025.

China’s middle class has expanded significantly since the 2010s, encompassing 32% of the population in 2021, but World Bank estimates suggest about 55% remain “economically insecure,” underscoring the need to generate opportunities for citizens.
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Trial moved for man accused in Trump assassination attempt in Florida

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ORLANDO, FLORIDA — A man accused of attempting to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump in South Florida won’t be tried until September, a federal judge ruled this week.

Ryan Routh’s trial will begin Sept. 8 instead of the previously scheduled Feb. 10, start date, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said in an order released on Monday.

Routh, 58, a Hawaii resident, has pleaded not guilty.

Routh’s attorneys had asked the judge to delay the trial until no earlier than next December, saying they needed more time to review the evidence against him and decide whether to mount an insanity defense.

Routh owned 17 cellphones and numerous other electronic devices, and there are hundreds of hours of police body camera and surveillance videos that have been provided to the defense, Routh’s attorneys argued during a hearing two weeks ago in Fort Pierce, Florida.

In her order, Cannon said that she wanted to err on the side of providing more time given the seriousness of the allegations, but that starting the trial no earlier than December would be an excessive amount. A September trial date didn’t amount to an “unreasonable delay,” she said.

The judge said that any insanity defense or any request related to Routh’s mental competency must be made by early February. Any visit to the scene of the assassination attempt must be made by the end of February.

Prosecutors say Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15 at his West Palm Beach country club. Before Trump came into view, Routh was spotted by a Secret Service agent. Routh allegedly aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot. Prosecutors say he left behind a note describing his intentions.

He was arrested a short time later driving on a nearby interstate.

Routh’s charge of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate carries a potential life sentence if he is convicted. Other charges include assaulting a federal officer and three firearms counts. He is being held without bail at the federal jail in Miami.

Routh’s arrest came two months after Trump was shot and wounded in the ear in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service acknowledged failings leading up to that shooting but has said security worked as it should have to thwart the potential Florida attack.
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Biden signs bill officially making the bald eagle the national bird of the US 

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Washington — The bald eagle, a symbol of the power and strength of the United States for more than 240 years, earned an overdue honor Tuesday: It officially became the country’s national bird. 

President Joe Biden signed into law legislation sent to him by Congress that amends the United States Code to correct what had long gone unnoticed and designate the bald eagle — familiar to many because of its white head, yellow beak and brown body — as the national bird. 

The bald eagle has appeared on the Great Seal of the United States, which is used in official documents, since 1782, when the design was finalized. The seal is made up of the eagle, an olive branch, arrows, a flag-like shield, the motto “E Pluribus Unum” and a constellation of stars. 

Congress, that same year, designated the bald eagle as the the national emblem, and its image appears in a host of places, ranging from documents and the presidential flag to military insignia and U.S. currency, according to USA.gov. 

But it had never been officially designated to be what many had just assumed it was — the national bird. 

The bald eagle is indigenous to North America. 
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NORAD’s Santa tracker was Cold War morale boost. Now it attracts millions of kids

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The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time.

Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in nine languages, from English to Japanese.

On any other night, NORAD is scanning the heavens for potential threats, such as last year’s Chinese spy balloon. But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs are fielding questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?”

“There are screams and giggles and laughter,” said Bob Sommers, 63, a civilian contractor and NORAD volunteer.

Sommers often says on the call that everyone must be asleep before Santa arrives, prompting parents to say, “Do you hear what he said? We got to go to bed early.”

NORAD’s annual tracking of Santa has endured since the Cold War, predating ugly sweater parties and Mariah Carey classics. The tradition continues regardless of government shutdowns, such as the one in 2018, and this year.

Here’s how it began and why the phones keep ringing.

Origin story is Hollywood-esque

It started with a child’s accidental phone call in 1955. The Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears advertisement that encouraged children to call Santa, listing a phone number.

A boy called. But he reached the Continental Air Defense Command, now NORAD, a joint U.S. and Canadian effort to spot potential enemy attacks. Tensions were growing with the Soviet Union, along with anxieties about nuclear war.

Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that began to recite a Christmas wish list.

“He went on a little bit, and he takes a breath, then says, ‘Hey, you’re not Santa,’” Shoup told The Associated Press in 1999.

Realizing an explanation would be lost on the youngster, Shoup summoned a deep, jolly voice and replied, “Ho, ho, ho! Yes, I am Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?”

Shoup said he learned from the boy’s mother that Sears mistakenly printed the top-secret number. He hung up, but the phone soon rang again with a young girl reciting her Christmas list. Fifty calls a day followed, he said.

In the pre-digital age, the agency used an 18-by-24-meter plexiglass map of North America to track unidentified objects. A staff member jokingly drew Santa and his sleigh over the North Pole.

The tradition was born.

“Note to the kiddies,” began an AP story from Colorado Springs on Dec. 23, 1955. “Santa Claus Friday was assured safe passage into the United States by the Continental Air Defense Command.”

In a likely reference to the Soviets, the article noted that Santa was guarded against possible attack from “those who do not believe in Christmas.”

Is the origin story humbug?

Some grinchy journalists have nitpicked Shoup’s story, questioning whether a misprint or a misdial prompted the boy’s call.

In 2014, tech news site Gizmodo cited an International News Service story from December 1, 1955, about a child’s call to Shoup. Published in the Pasadena Independent, the article said the child reversed two digits in the Sears number.

“When a childish voice asked COC commander Col. Harry Shoup, if there was a Santa Claus at the North Pole, he answered much more roughly than he should — considering the season:

‘There may be a guy called Santa Claus at the North Pole, but he’s not the one I worry about coming from that direction,’” Shoup said in the brief piece.

In 2015, The Atlantic magazine doubted the flood of calls to the secret line, while noting that Shoup had a flair for public relations.

Phone calls aside, Shoup was indeed media savvy. In 1986, he told the Scripps Howard News Service that he recognized an opportunity when a staff member drew Santa on the glass map in 1955.

A lieutenant colonel promised to have it erased. But Shoup said, “You leave it right there,” and summoned public affairs. Shoup wanted to boost morale for the troops and public alike.

“Why, it made the military look good — like we’re not all a bunch of snobs who don’t care about Santa Claus,” he said.

Shoup died in 2009. His children told the StoryCorps podcast in 2014 that it was a misprinted Sears ad that prompted the phone calls.

“And later in life he got letters from all over the world,” said Terri Van Keuren, a daughter. “People saying, ‘Thank you, Colonel, for having, you know, this sense of humor.’”

Rare addition to Santa’s story

NORAD’s tradition is one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa story that have endured, according to Gerry Bowler, a Canadian historian who spoke to the AP in 2010.

Ad campaigns or movies try to “kidnap” Santa for commercial purposes, said Bowler, who wrote “Santa Claus: A Biography.” NORAD, by contrast, takes an essential element of Santa’s story and views it through a technological lens.

In a recent interview with the AP, Air Force Lt. Gen. Case Cunningham explained that NORAD radars in Alaska and Canada — known as the northern warning system — are the first to detect Santa.

He leaves the North Pole and typically heads for the international dateline in the Pacific Ocean. From there he moves west, following the night.

“That’s when the satellite systems we use to track and identify targets of interest every single day start to kick in,” Cunningham said. “A probably little-known fact is that Rudolph’s nose that glows red emanates a lot of heat. And so those satellites track [Santa] through that heat source.”

NORAD has an app and website, www.noradsanta.org, that will track Santa on Christmas Eve from 4 a.m. to midnight, mountain standard time. People can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators about Santa’s location from 6 a.m. to midnight, mountain time.
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China, Japan foreign ministers meet and agree on visit, security dialog

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BEIJING/TOKYO — Talks between China and Japan’s foreign ministers in Beijing have paved way for Japan to host China’s foreign affairs chief next year, and mutual agreement to hold a security dialog as soon as possible, Japan said on Wednesday. 

No details were given for when the events will take place but Japan’s Takeshi Iwaya told reporters after his meeting and a working lunch with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that both agreed on continued high-level talks, including potentially an economic dialog during the 2025 visit. 

The one-day visit is Iwaya’s first to the Chinese capital since becoming Japan’s foreign minister in October, to discuss thorny issues with his country’s largest trading partner. 

It follows an agreement between leaders of both countries to work towards a mutually beneficial strategic relationship. 

Ties between the neighbors — trade partners with close economic and investment ties but rivals in security and territorial claims — are complicated with long-standing geopolitical disagreements and historical wartime sensitivities. 

Iwaya raised several security concerns, urging China to take “necessary action” including removing a buoy Japan had identified and believe was installed by China in the exclusive economic zone near one of Japan’s southernmost islands. 

“I also expressed my serious concerns about the situation in the East China Sea…and the increasing activity of the Chinese military,” he said. 

On regional concerns, Wang and Iwaya discussed North Korea. 

Iwaya sought for China to partake in “a responsible role in maintaining peace and security in the international community,” he said. 

Japan has expressed “grave concern” over North Korea’s security alliance with Russia, in which North Korea stands to gain advanced military technology and combat experience. 

Wang stressed in the meeting that the significance of the countries’ relationship went beyond bilateral ties.  

“If China-Japan relations are stable, Asia will be more stable,” Wang said at the start of their meeting. 

Visa rules and seafood ban

In reciprocity to China’s eased visa rules, Japan will remove some requirements for three-year multiple entry tourist visas for Chinese citizens and allow those on group visas to stay up to 30 days, an increase from the previous 15. 

The country also has introduced a new 10-year multiple entry tourist visa. 

Last month, Beijing expanded its visa-free arrangements to include Japan until the end of 2025, restoring a policy that was suspended during the pandemic. 

China also extended the stay period to 30 days from 15. Japanese citizens were able to enter China without a visa for up to 14 days before COVID-19. 

Iwaya pointed out that addressing the safety and security of Japanese nationals was important to increase travel between Japan and China. 

Cases of Japanese nationals detained under China’s anti-espionage law and the lack of transparency around the law have led to Japanese people feeling hesitant about traveling to China, Iwaya said, calling for more transparency and the release of those detained. 

Their discussion of China’s ban on Japanese seafood, highly expected on the agenda, did not indicate any easing on restrictions, but only that both sides agreed to “properly implement” a recent agreement. 

A major sticking point in bilateral ties has been Japan’s discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant that Beijing strongly opposed and responded to by tightening inspections on Japanese goods. 

China was Japan’s largest export market for aquatic products until Beijing fully banned them in protest against Tokyo’s actions. 

Both governments reached an agreement in September that obligates Japan to set up a long-term international monitoring arrangement allowing stakeholders such as China to conduct independent sampling of the treated water. 

That was expected to restart the imports but China still wants reassurances from Tokyo that it would fulfill its commitment before “adjusting relevant measures” and gradually restore imports that meet standards and regulations. 

However, both countries were ready to restart talks on resuming Japanese beef and rice imports.
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NASA probe makes closest-ever pass by the sun

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WASHINGTON — NASA’s pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday, flying closer to the sun than any other spacecraft, with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures topping 930 degrees Celsius (1,700 degrees Fahrenheit). 

Launched in August 2018, the spaceship is on a seven-year mission to deepen scientific understanding of our star and help forecast space-weather events that can affect life on Earth. 

Tuesday’s historic flyby should have occurred at precisely 11:53 Greenwich Mean Time, although mission scientists will have to wait until Friday for confirmation as they lose contact with the craft for several days due to its proximity to the sun. 

“Right now, Parker Solar Probe is flying closer to a star than anything has ever been before,” at 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) away, NASA official Nicky Fox said in a video on social media Tuesday morning.  

“It is just a total ‘yay, we did it,’ moment.” 

If the distance between Earth and the sun is the equivalent to the length of an American football field, 109.7 meters, the spacecraft should have been about four meters from the end zone at the moment of closest approach — known as perihelion. 

“This is one example of NASA’s bold missions, doing something that no one else has ever done before to answer long-standing questions about our universe,” Parker Solar Probe program scientist Arik Posner said in a statement on Monday. 

“We can’t wait to receive that first status update from the spacecraft and start receiving the science data in the coming weeks.” 

So effective is the heat shield that the probe’s internal instruments remain near room temperature — around 29 C (85 F) — as it explores the sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona. 

Parker will also be moving at a blistering pace of around 690,000 kilometers per hour (430,000 miles per hourph), fast enough to fly from the U.S. capital, Washington, to Japan’s Tokyo in under a minute. 

“Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory,” said Nick Pinkine, mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.  

“We’re excited to hear back from the spacecraft when it swings back around the sun.” 

By venturing into these extreme conditions, Parker has been helping scientists tackle some of the sun’s biggest mysteries: how solar wind originates, why the corona is hotter than the surface below, and how coronal mass ejections — massive clouds of plasma that hurl through space are formed. 

The Christmas Eve flyby is the first of three record-setting close passes, with the next two — on March 22 and June 19, 2025 — both expected to bring the probe back to a similarly close distance from the Sun. 
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