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Russia: Ukraine Targeted Its Troops Over Cellphone Use

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Russia: Ukraine Targeted Its Troops Over Cellphone Use

(CTN NEWS) – KYIV, Ukraine According to the Russian military, which increased the casualty toll from the weekend attack to 89, Russian soldiers’ unauthorized use of smartphones sparked a devastating Ukrainian rocket attack on the facility where they were stationed.

Using phone signals, Gen. Lt. Sergei Sevryukov claimed in a statement late on Tuesday that Kyiv’s forces were able to “establish the coordinates of the whereabouts of military personnel” and carry out an attack.

Sevryukov stated that the Russian military is taking unnamed steps to “avoid similar terrible situations in the future” and vowed to hold the culpable parties accountable.

According to Sevryukov, the assault, one of the deadliest against the Kremlin’s forces since the war’s commencement more than ten months ago, took place one minute into the new year.

Workers remove debris of a destroyed building purported to be a vocational college used as temporary accommodation for Russian soldiers, 63 of whom were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike as stated the previous day by Russia’s Defence Ministry, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Makiivka (Makeyevka), Russian-controlled Ukraine, January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

It dealt the Kremlin another hit to its military reputation as it battles to advance with its invasion of its neighbour and sparked fresh criticism of the way the conflict is being fought within Russia in the face of a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Six missiles were launched by Ukrainian forces toward a facility housing the soldiers from a HIMARS multiple launch system supplied by the United States.

Two rockets were shot down, but four others struck the building and exploded, causing it to crumble.

https://twitter.com/IntEngineering/status/1609708677891608579

According to U.K. intelligence experts, Moscow’s “unprofessional” military tactics are probably at least partially to blame for the high number of personnel casualties.

The U.K. Defense Ministry posted on Twitter, “Given the magnitude of the damage, there is a reasonable likelihood that ammunition was being stored adjacent to military accommodations, which detonated during the strike, generating subsequent explosions.”

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023,(Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

According to the ministry, the structure that was hit by Ukrainian missiles was located in “one of the most contested regions of the conflict” in the partially Russian-occupied Donetsk region, less than 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the front line.

The update stated that although the Russian military has a history of improper ammunition storage dating back to the present conflict, this episode “highlights how unprofessional procedures contribute to Russia’s high mortality rate.”

The head of the Donetsk region, one of four that Moscow illegally annexed in September, was appointed by the Kremlin and lauded the “courage and true heroism” of the fallen Russian soldiers on Wednesday.

According to a Telegram post, some of those slain, according to Denis Pushilin, attempted to rescue their friends from the burning building.

A Ukrainian serviceman sets up a Stugna-P anti-tank guided missile launcher in a frontline, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Anna Kudriavtseva

Samara residents in southwest Russia gathered on Tuesday for an Orthodox liturgy in remembrance of the deceased.

Following the service, there was a quiet moment, and flowers were set at a war memorial from the Soviet era, according to the official RIA Novosti news agency.

Unverified claims in Russian-language media said that the victims were local reservists who had been called up for duty.

In an unusual admission of fatalities, the Russian Defense Ministry first said 63 personnel were killed in operation.

The number of fatalities increased though as rescue workers combed through the building’s debris. Among the dead was the deputy commander of the unit.

Workers clean rubbles after Ukrainian rocket strike in Makiivka, in Russian-controlled Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Russia’s defense ministry says 63 of its soldiers have been killed by a Ukrainian strike on a facility in the eastern Donetsk region where military personnel were stationed. (AP Photo)

Unverified reports place the number of fatalities substantially higher.

According to the Strategic Communications Directorate of the Ukrainian military, over 400 mobilized Russian soldiers were killed and another 300 were injured in a Makiivka vocational school building on Sunday.

It was impossible to independently verify such an assertion. The walkout took place “in the neighborhood of Makiivka,” according to the Russian statement, which omitted any mention of the school.

As a result of Russian forces attacking nine regions in the country’s south and east, at least five Ukrainian civilians were killed and 13 more were hurt, according to the presidential office of Ukraine on Wednesday.

Soldiers from Carpathian Sich international battalion conduct maneuvers near the front line, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kreminna, Ukraine, January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

Ukraine is still looking to the West to defend itself against the invasion.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, is scheduled to speak with Charles Michel, the head of the EU Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, on continuing European support during a summit between the EU and Ukraine on February 3.

According to authorities, the 27 national leaders of the state and government of the EU will not attend the summit. The summit’s location is still a secret.

Annalena Baerbock, the foreign minister of Germany, vowed to continue working with Ukraine.

She stated during a visit to Portugal on Wednesday that “just as the Ukrainians won’t give up in their struggle for their liberty and the independence of their nation, we won’t let even the least question exist about our determined support.”

Soldiers from Carpathian Sich international battalion conduct manoeuvres near the front line, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kreminna, Ukraine, January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

Meanwhile, the chief ambassador for Ukraine declared that steps have already been taken to transfer the first Patriot missile systems built in the United States to his nation.

According to foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, the surface-to-air guided missile system is a top priority for Ukraine as it attempts to fend off increasing aerial Russian bombardments in recent months.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, was also considering new weaponry as he participated via video link in a ceremony marking the departure of a frigate outfitted with hypersonic missiles.

Putin referred to the Admiral Gorshkov frigate’s Zircon missiles as a “unique weapon.” According to Russian officials, the Zircon technology can overcome contemporary air defense systems.

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Ukrainian Rocket Strike Kills 63 Russian Forces: Moscow

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Trudeau’s Gun Grab Could Cost Taxpayers a Whopping $7 Billion

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Trudeau's Gun Grab
Trudeau plans to purchase 2,063 firearm from legal gun owners in Canada - Rebel News Image

A recent report indicates that since Trudeau’s announcement of his gun buyback program four years ago, almost none of the banned firearms have been surrendered.

The federal government plans to purchase 2,063 firearm models from retailers following the enactment of Bill C-21, which amends various Acts and introduces certain consequential changes related to firearms. It was granted royal assent on December 15 of last year.

This ban immediately criminalized the actions of federally-licensed firearms owners regarding the purchase, sale, transportation, importation, exportation, or use of hundreds of thousands of rifles and shotguns that were previously legal.

The gun ban focused on what it termed ‘assault-style weapons,’ which are, in reality, traditional semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have enjoyed popularity among hunters and sport shooters for over a century.

In May 2020, the federal government enacted an Order-in-Council that prohibited 1,500 types of “assault-style” firearms and outlined specific components of the newly banned firearms. Property owners must adhere to the law by October 2023.

Trudeau’s Buyback Hasn’t Happened

“In the announcement regarding the ban, the prime minister stated that the government would seize the prohibited firearms, assuring that their lawful owners would be ‘grandfathered’ or compensated fairly.” “That hasn’t happened,” criminologist Gary Mauser told Rebel News.

Mauser projected expenses ranging from $2.6 billion to $6.7 billion. The figure reflects the compensation costs amounting to $756 million, as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).

“The projected expenses for gathering the illegal firearms are estimated to range from $1.6 billion to $7 billion.” “This range estimate increases to between $2.647 billion and $7 billion when compensation costs to owners are factored in,” Mauser stated.

Figures requested by Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs concerning firearms prohibited due to the May 1, 2020 Order In Council reveal that $72 million has been allocated to the firearm “buyback” program, yet not a single firearm has been confiscated to date.

In a recent revelation, Public Safety Canada disclosed that the federal government allocated a staggering $41,094,556, as prompted by an order paper question from Conservative Senator Don Plett last September, yet yielded no tangible outcomes.

An internal memo from late 2019 revealed that the Liberals projected their politically motivated harassment would incur a cost of $1.8 billion.

Enforcement efforts Questioned

By December 2023, estimates from TheGunBlog.ca indicate that the Liberals and RCMP had incurred or were responsible for approximately $30 million in personnel expenses related to the enforcement efforts. The union representing the police service previously stated that the effort to confiscate firearms is a “misdirected effort” aimed at ensuring public safety.

“This action diverts crucial personnel, resources, and funding from tackling the more pressing and escalating issue of criminal use of illegal firearms,” stated the National Police Federation (NPF).

The Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Association (CSAAA), representing firearms retailers, has stated it will have “zero involvement” in the confiscation of these firearms. Even Canada Post held back from providing assistance due to safety concerns.

The consultant previously assessed that retailers are sitting on almost $1 billion worth of inventory that cannot be sold or returned to suppliers because of the Order-In-Council.

“Despite the ongoing confusion surrounding the ban, after four years, we ought to be able to address one crucial question.” Has the prohibition enhanced safety for Canadians? Mauser asks.

Illegally Obtained Firearms are the Problem

Statistics Canada reports a 10% increase in firearm-related violent crime between 2020 and 2022, rising from 12,614 incidents to 13,937 incidents. In that timeframe, the incidence of firearm-related violent crime increased from 33.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021 to 36.7 incidents the subsequent year.

“This marks the highest rate documented since the collection of comparable data began in 2009,” the criminologist explains.

Supplementary DataData indicates that firearm homicides have risen since 2020. “The issue lies not with lawfully-held firearms,” Mauser stated.

Firearms that have been banned under the Order-in-Council continue to be securely stored in the safes of their lawful owners. The individuals underwent a thorough vetting process by the RCMP and are subject to nightly monitoring to ensure there are no infractions that could pose a risk to public safety.

“The firearms involved in homicides were seldom legally owned weapons wielded by their rightful owners,” Mauser continues. The number of offenses linked to organized crime has surged from 4,810 in 2016 to a staggering 13,056 in 2020.

“If those in power … aim to diminish crime and enhance public safety, they ought to implement strategies that effectively focus on offenders and utilize our limited tax resources judiciously to reach these objectives,” he stated.

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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue

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Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.

According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.

Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.

google

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.

Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.

Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.

To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.

Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.

On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.

In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.

Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.

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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.

TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.

When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.

And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.

Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.

A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.

google

Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.

But today, it feels more like reality.

Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.

Could we remember Google in the same way that we remember Yahoo or Ask Jeeves in decades? These next few years could be significant.

SOURCE | CNN

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The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.

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(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.

The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.

Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.

This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.

In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.

The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.

This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.

The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.

In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.

According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.

Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.

The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.

For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.

Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.

As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.

As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.

The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.

SOURCE: AP

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