Lovstuhagen

The Department of Defense (DOD) overestimated the value of weapons sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years, a spokesperson said Tuesday, adding that the extra cash would be allocated to further aid.

An accounting error led to the Pentagon valuing weapons based on replacement costs instead of the book price for systems during fiscal years 2022 and 2023, leading to an over-accounting of $6.2 billion — twice as high as previous estimates, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters at a briefing Tuesday. The surplus money will be devoted toward additional aid packages before the current fiscal year ends, she added.

“It’s just going to go back into the pot of money that we have allocated for the future Pentagon stock drawdowns,” Singh said.

Oxford University has apologised for saying that avoiding eye contact could be "everyday racism" after it was accused of discriminating against autistic people.

The claim was included in a list of "racial micro-aggressions" in an equality and diversity unit newsletter.

But the university was criticised for being "insensitive" to autistic people who can struggle making eye contact.

It said it had made a mistake and not taken disabilities into account.

The university originally said "racial micro-aggressions" might include: "Not making eye contact or speaking directly to people."

It described the behaviours as "subtle, everyday racism" which can be alienating.