Latest news with #drills
CNN
2 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Taiwan practices defense abilities in face of daily threats from China
The Taiwanese government is preparing for a war they hope will never happen. For the first time this year, Taiwan combined two major civil defense exercises, with the drills lasting ten days. These drills have included urban combat, mass casualty simulations, emergency supply drops and cyber defense that could be enacted if an invasion was to occur. CNN's Senior International Correspondent, Will Ripley, reports.
South China Morning Post
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Taiwan holds largest and longest-ever annual military exercise
Read more: Taiwan's military has live-streamed drills featuring live-fire operations using its new M1A2T Abrams tanks on the second day of its largest and longest-ever annual military exercise. The 41st edition of the Han Kuang exercise marks a significant departure from previous years, both in scale and duration. The 10-day, round-the-clock war game, which started on July 9, 2025, is designed to reflect a more realistic and protracted cross-strait conflict scenario.
RNZ News
11-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
All Blacks stars encourage kids in skills, drills at Poneke Rugby Club
Some Wellington rugby fans enjoyed a chance to learn skills from the All Blacks, when they visited the Poneke Rugby Club on Friday. Ollie Norris, Rieko Ioane and George Bower joined a skills-and-drills session at the Wellington Rugby Holiday Programme, before facing a Q&A grilling from the kids. "It was good to connect with some of these kids today," Bower said. The prop said the kids, who were mostly U13s, had already started to develop a good understanding of how rugby was played and they got stuck right into the drills. "You see a lot of raw talent out there," he said. "All it needs is to be coached and cared for, and you'll see it start to develop, as they get into high school." All Blacks Ollie Norris, Rieko Ioane and George Bower donate sports equipment to Astyn Meredith-Turuwhenua and RJ So'oialo during a community rugby session at Poneke Football Club. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii Following the drills, the kids had an opportunity to ask the All Blacks tough questions. When asked if they were the star players of their youth rugby teams, Bower and Ioane both claimed to have been terrible rugby players at points in their youth, while Norris said he didn't win many Player of the Day awards. When asked what their Plan B was, if rugby hadn't worked out, Bower said he probably would have been a teacher. Meanwhile, Norris has contemplated joining the police when he retires. The players also presented a signed shirt and sports equipment to two Scots College students fundraising to replace sports equipment stolen from Cannons Creek School earlier this year. Rieko Ioane takes part in a community rugby session at Poneke Rugby Club. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Year 10 Astyn Meredith-Turuwhenua and RJ So'oialo said several organisations and businesses had already donated to the cause, and they were stoked to receive the All Blacks' donation today. Being congratulated by the All Blacks in person was something they'd remember for a long time to come. George Bower offers support at a community rugby session at Poneke Rugby Club. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii "It was awesome, pretty cool, seeing Rieko Ioane, because I look up to him," So'oialo said. "I want to be like him when I'm older, so it's quite cool seeing him." "It's a big privilege to meet them," said Meredith-Turuwhenua, who was stoked the All Blacks had donated sports equipment. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Wildfire drills held by London Fire Brigade at Richmond Park
London Fire Brigade (LFB) is preparing for the growing number of wildfires with regular drills in London's experiencing its busiest day since World War Two in 2022, LFB has dedicated more resources to tackling wildfires in the capital, nearly half of which is made up of green Thursday, Richmond Park in south-west London saw more than 50 people from LFB, the Met Police and the Royal Parks - the charity responsible for running eight London parks - take part in an Davies from the LFB said it was a "good opportunity for staff to see how the equipment works and how arduous it is". Last Thursday's drill focused on protecting an area of special scientific interest hosting skylarks on one side, and the Royal Ballet School on Fire and Rescue's Unimog machine, which holds up to 4,500 litres and is used to spray a curtain of water, was deployed to create a fire break. Mr Davies said there had already been more than a dozen wildfires so far this year following one of the driest UK springs on said resourcing something like this is "quite difficult" because of the hot weather, but is was essential to arrange as "it's a big part of our firefighters' day-to-day job". He added: "We've invested substantially in wildfire technology, training and extra equipment."It's a risk that's not going to go away and scenarios like this are ideal." Peter Lawrence, assistant manager at Richmond Park, said the drill was "excellent... because with extremes of weather, wildfire risk is increasing".He said: "We are regularly seeing wildfires, whether that's in trees or grasslands and it does cause harm to wildlife."It was great to see the response, to get support from across the police and the London Fire Brigade and for our teams to be able to join in and really test what we can offer."The advice remains to avoid any open fires.
