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Missing exchange student found cold and scared after what police call a ‘cyber-kidnapping’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:37:39 GMT

(CNN) — Utah police say they found a teenage Chinese exchange student alone and cold in a tent after he was a victim of what they’re calling a “cyber-kidnapping.”The Riverdale Police Department said Kai Zhuang, 17, was reported missing Thursday by his high school. His parents in China had contacted the school after they received a ransom photo of their son – and had sent $80,000 to bank accounts in China “due to continuous threats from the kidnappers,” according to a press release issued Sunday.Police found him Sunday “alive but very cold and scared” at a makeshift campsite in the mountains near Brigham City, using Zhuang’s bank and phone records, the release said. Police said he was there on directions from his cyber-kidnappers to isolate himself.Zhuang was relieved to see police, according to the release, and “had no heat source inside the tent, only a heat blanket, a sleeping bag, limited food and water and several phones that were presumed to be used to carry out the cyber ...

Boston pot shop owner played part in City Council vote for president

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:37:39 GMT

Ruthzee Louijeune cruised to a 13-0 sweep to become the next president of the Boston City Council, but the vote may have been manipulated by former Councilor Tito Jackson, who reportedly asked another candidate to step aside to make it unanimous.The Herald has learned that another at-large councilor, Julia Mejia, was asked not to step forward, as part of Monday’s nomination process for council president.Councilor Ed Flynn, whose term as president expired on Dec. 31, nominated Mejia for the position, but Mejia “respectfully” declined, saying that she wanted the body to use the vote to come together, “regardless of our political differences.”Flynn and City Councilor Erin Murphy, who had been considering seconding the nomination, told the Herald that Mejia appeared to have a change of heart after speaking with Jackson, who approached her just before the Council meeting began.“I think it was inappropriate and disrespectful for former Councilor Tito Jackson to discourage Julia Mejia from...

Fighting in southern Gaza city after Israel says it is pulling thousands of troops from other areas

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:37:39 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Heavy fighting was reported in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Tuesday, a day after Israel said it was withdrawing thousands of troops from other areas in a potential shift away from the massive air and ground operations that have devastated the Hamas-ruled enclave.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the war until Hamas is crushed and the more than 100 hostages still held by the militant group in Gaza are freed, saying it could take several more months.But ahead of a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israel is under growing international pressure to scale back the offensive that has killed nearly 22,000 Palestinians. Blinken has urged Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians.Word of the troop drawdown came as Israel’s Supreme Court struck down a key component of Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul plan, which had deeply divided Israelis and threatened the milita...

Plane catches fire on runway at Japan’s Haneda airport, passengers reportedly safe

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:37:39 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A plane burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, with news reports saying it hit another aircraft after landing. NHK TV reported that all passengers aboard, believed to have been about 400 people, got out safely.Local TV video showed a large eruption of fire and smoke from the side of the Japan Airlines plane as it taxied on a runway. The area around the wing then caught fire.It said the plane was JAL flight 516 had flown out of Shin Chitose airport in Japan to Haneda. Later video showed fire crews working to put out the fire with streams of water. The flames had spread to much of the plane. NHK quoted JAL as saying it believed its plane was hit by another aircraft, possibly a Japan Coast Guard plane.Japan’s Coast Guard said it is checking reports about a collision between its aircraft and the JAL flight on fire. It had no further details.Haneda is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel over the New Year holidays....

In the news today: CEO pay broke new records in 2022: report

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:37:39 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs broke new compensation records in 2022: reportThe Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs broke records with their compensation in 2022.The organization’s latest report found that those 100 CEOs, most of them men, were paid an average of $14.9-million. That’s $7,162 an hour. The report says that before the end of January second, the average CEO has already made the average worker’s yearly salary.—Here’s what else we’re watching …Push for foreign registry highlights complexitiesFor more than a year, Canada has been mulling the creation of a foreign agent registry to fight interference in the country’s democratic processes.The Liberal government and even some firm supporters of the idea acknowledge such a registry would be just one of several tools to prevent ho...

Live updates | Fighting in central and southern Gaza after Israel says it’s pulling some troops out

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:37:39 GMT

Israel’s army said several thousand troops would be taken out of Gaza in the coming weeks, though it has not said publicly whether the withdrawal reflects a new phase of the war. The move is in line with the plans that Israeli leaders have outlined for a low-intensity campaign, expected to last for much of the year, that focuses on remaining Hamas strongholds. Still, fierce fighting was ongoing Tuesday in central and southern Gaza. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled to the southern portion of the cramped enclave, with more than 85% of the population driven from their homes.About 1,200 people were killed after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, with around 240 people taken hostage. More than 21,900 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants among the dead. Currently: — Israel’s Supreme Court overtur...

Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs broke new compensation records in 2022: report

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:37:39 GMT

Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs broke records with their compensation in 2022, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.“The data this year is breaking new all-time highs,” said senior economist David Macdonald. The organization’s annual report found that the CEOs, most of them men, were paid an average of $14.9 million, up from an average of $14.3 million in 2021. That’s $7,162 an hour, 246 times more than what the average Canadian worker makes. Before the second day of the new year is over, the average CEO has already made the average worker’s yearly salary, the report said. That gap widened in 2022, as the average worker saw their pay rise three per cent while CEOs’ pay rose on average by 4.4 per cent. Meanwhile, prices rose by 6.8 per cent that year, the report said. “This is very much related to what’s happening to corporate profits in 2022, similar to what happened in 2021,” said Macdonald. “It is a similar story of inflation driving profits, profits drivi...

Amid push for foreign registry, many say other measures needed to fight interference

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:37:39 GMT

OTTAWA — For more than a year, Canada has been mulling the creation of a foreign agent registry to fight interference in the country’s democratic processes.The Liberal government and even some firm supporters of the idea acknowledge such a registry would be just one of several tools to prevent hostile actors from meddling in Canadian affairs.Others say it doesn’t belong in the toolbox at all.The rationale for establishing a registry stems from the fact states may engage in interference to advance their political goals, and can employ people to act on their behalf without those individuals disclosing who they’re helping.Some believe requiring such people to formally register with the government they are trying to influence — with the threat of fines or even prison time for failing to comply — can make these dealings more visible to the public.Allegations of Chinese interference in the last two federal elections — suggestions fuelled by anonymous leaks to the media —...

Russian ballistic missiles strike Ukraine’s largest cities, killing at least 4 people

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:37:39 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s two largest cities came under attack from Russian hypersonic ballistic missiles on Tuesday morning, killing at least four people and injuring almost 100, officials said, as the war approached its two-year milestone and the Kremlin’s forces stepped up their winter bombardment of urban areas.Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel that four civilians were killed and 92 injured in the capital, Kyiv, and in northeastern Kharkiv as hypersonic Kinzhal missiles that can fly at 10 times the speed of sound slammed into city blocks.Since Sunday, Zelenskyy said, the Kremlin’s forces have launched about 170 Shahed drones and “dozens of missiles of various types” against Ukrainian targets. Most were aimed at civilian areas, he said.The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal is an air-launched hypersonic ballistic missile. Russian forces rarely use such expensive missiles against Ukraine due to their limited stocks. The attacks created a desola...

Harriette Cole: I was shocked to learn what my son does at school

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:37:39 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a single mother, and I recently discovered that my 12-year-old son has been engaging in bullying behavior at school.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: Find the right life story to make your new year better Advice | Harriette Cole: I hurt my leg and have to stay home, and I can’t stand it Advice | Harriette Cole: College got weird, and I’m not sure I want to go back Advice | Harriette Cole: How do I get my wife’s friend to stop with the divorce talk? Advice | Harriette Cole: I feel like I ruin the vibe at parties I received a call from his teacher expressing concerns about his interactions with classmates and some reported incidents.I am shocked and disappointed because I’ve always tried to instill values of kindness and empathy in him. I never thought my child would be the one causing harm to others.I’ve talked to him about it, and he seemed remors...