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China sentences elderly US citizen to life in prison on spying charges

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:33:31 GMT

(CNN) — A 78-year-old American citizen has been sentenced to life in prison by a Chinese court on spying charges.John Shing-Wan Leung, who is also a Hong Kong permanent resident, was convicted of espionage and given a life sentence Monday by the Intermediate People’s Court in the eastern city of Suzhou, according to a statement on the court’s social media account.Leung was detained on April 15, 2021 by state security authorities in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, according to the brief statement, which did not provide details on his charges.The court also confiscated personal property worth 500,000 yuan ($71,797), the statement added.Chinese authorities and state media have not previously disclosed any information on Leung’s detention or the court process that led to his conviction. Cases involving state security are usually strictly handled behind closed doors, where the judicial system has a conviction rate of around 99%, according to legal observers.Th...

Column: Dusty Baker reflects on highs and lows in Chicago as he prepares to face the Cubs — perhaps for the last time

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:33:31 GMT

Dusty Baker said his life hasn’t changed much since his longtime quest to manage a World Series champion came to fruition last year.“The only difference has been life in the world,” Baker said. “I’m noticing now more than ever that I’ve gotten smarter now, according to other people.”After winning a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday on the South Side, Baker‘s Astros return to Houston on Monday to begin a three-game series against the Cubs.It might be the final time Baker faces his former team, which he managed for four memorable seasons from 2003-06.Baker, 73, signed a one-year deal after last year’s title and doesn’t know what the future holds. The Astros could go in a different direction, or he might decide to hang it up and watch his son, Darren, play.Darren, a 24-year-old second baseman who was teammates with Andrew Vaughn at Cal, was hitting .346 entering Sunday with an .864 OPS at Triple-A Roche...

Chicago baseball report: Christopher Morel still measuring up with the Cubs — and will Liam Hendriks return to the White Sox this week?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:33:31 GMT

A dismal Sunday afternoon ended a bad week for the Chicago Cubs and White Sox.The Cubs’ promising start in April has hit a road block in May, while the Sox remain in a free fall after series losses to the Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros.Every Monday throughout the season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead for the Cubs and Sox.Liam Hendriks getting closerLiam Hendriks’ return to the Sox appears imminent, though manager Pedro Grifol wouldn’t give a date before Hendriks’ appearance Sunday with Triple-A Charlotte.“We’ll talk to him after and see where we go from there,” Grifol said Sunday morning.Hendriks struck out the only batter he faced in a 3-2, 10-inning win over the Durham Bulls.Hendriks said he originally planned to return to Chicago on Sunday and be ready for the series that begins Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians. He allowed four runs on two home runs in two-thi...

Toronto mayoral debate set for tonight as polls show Olivia Chow widening lead

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:33:31 GMT

New polling ahead of the Toronto mayoral byelection suggests the race’s clear frontrunner is widening their lead.The fresh polling comes as some of the main candidates get set to participate in the campaign’s second debate on Monday evening.The top six polling candidates have been invited to the televised debate at the Daily Bread Food Bank in Etobicoke. Ana Bailão, Brad Bradford, Olivia Chow, Mitzie Hunter and Josh Matlow have confirmed their attendance. Former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders declined the invitation.The debate is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Daily Bread’s website.The latest survey from Liaison Strategies suggests the current frontrunner Chow’s lead is growing over other top candidates. The poll conducted Friday and Saturday surveyed more than 1,200 decided and undecided Toronto voters.The results have Chow with 20 per cent support amongst all voters and 30 per cent support amongst only decided voters. It i...

Fixing instead of replacing: Average age of vehicles on US roads hits a record high

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:33:31 GMT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — With new and used cars still painfully expensive, Ryan Holdsworth says he plans to keep his 9-year-old Chevy Cruze for at least four more years. Limiting his car payments and his overall debt is a bigger priority for him than having a new vehicle.A 35-year-old grocery store worker from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Holdsworth would probably be in the market for a vehicle within a few years — if not for the high cost. For now, it’s out of the question.“You’re not going to get one for a price you can afford,” he said.Holdsworth has plenty of company. Americans are keeping their cars longer than ever. The average age of a passenger vehicle on the road hit a record 12.5 years this year, according to data gathered by S&P Global Mobility. Sedans like Holdsworth are even older, on average — 13.6 years.Blame it mainly on the pandemic, which in 2020 triggered a global shortage of automotive computer chips, the vital component that runs everything from radios to ga...

Is Twitter’s new CEO heading toward a glass cliff?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:33:31 GMT

Less than two months into his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, Elon Musk declared that whoever took over as the company’s CEO “ must like pain a lot.” Then he promised he’d step down as soon as he found a replacement “foolish enough” to want the job.That person, Musk announced Friday, is Linda Yaccarino, a highly-regarded advertising executive from NBCUniversal. She’ll start in six weeks. How long she’ll last might depend on her pain tolerance. When Musk tweeted on Thursday that he’s found a new CEO but didn’t say who, one word stuck out: “she.” Some of his more extreme Twitter followers took immediate issue with the new CEO’s gender, but the fact that Musk hired a woman is actually notable simply because it is so rare — in business overall and especially in the tech industry — to see female chief executives. Her appointment renewed questions about the “glass cliff,” a theory that women — as well as underrepresented minorities — are more lik...

Ethnic Greek candidate detained on vote-buying charges wins mayoral election in Albania

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:33:31 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Preliminary results of Albania’s municipal elections on Monday showed that a mayoral candidate from the Greek minority has won the post while he is in detention for alleged vote-buying.Friday’s arrest of Dhionisios Alfred Beleri, a candidate for mayor of the Albanian city of Himare — a town located in the Albanian Riviera 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital, Tirana, that has a Greek minority presence — raised tensions between the two neighbors.Greece’s Foreign Ministry demanded Beleri’s immediate release, hinting that the case could negatively impact Albania’s application to join the European Union.Beleri was arrested by Albanian police while he was allegedly offering some 40,000 Albanian leks (360 euros; $390) to buy eight votes. A second person was arrested on the same charges and a court confirmed Saturday that they would both remain in custody.Beleri belongs to the Human Rights Union Party of the ethnic Greek minority, but in this municipal vot...

Vice Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the latest in a string of digital media setbacks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:33:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Vice Media is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest digital media company to falter after a meteoric rise.Vice said Monday that it has agreed to sell its assets to a consortium of lenders — Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital — in exchange for $225 million in credit. Other parties will also be able to submit bids.The bankruptcy filing arrives just weeks after the company announced it would cancel its flagship “Vice News Tonight” program amid a wave of layoffs — which was expected to impact more than 100 employees in the company’s 1,500-person workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company also said it would end its Vice World News brand, making Vice News its only brand worldwide.Monday’s filing comes amid a wave of media layoffs and closures — including job cuts at Gannett, NPR, the Washington Post and more over recent months. In April, BuzzFeed Inc. announced that its Pulitzer Prize winning digital me...

Poland gets first U.S. HIMARS launchers amid security concerns over war in Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:33:31 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland has received its first shipment of U.S.-made HIMARS rocket launchers, part of an upgrade of its defenses amid security concerns due to the war in neighboring Ukraine. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak and other military officials attended the acquisition ceremony Monday at an air base in Warsaw. He stressed the HIMARS launchers had been proven in combat in Ukraine and that NATO member Poland was seeking to procure additional launchers, to reach a total strength of some 500 units. Under a 2019 contract, Poland is spending some $414 million (380 million euros) to buy 18 advanced combat HIMARS launchers and two HIMARS training launchers, with ammunition and related equipment. Poland is buying billions of dollars’ worth of weapons, chiefly from the U.S. and South Korea, to modernize its armed forces. The deal includes logistics and training.Some of the equipment will replace weapons – including over a dozen Soviet-made MiG-29 jet fighters –...

Government supporters call for Pakistani chief justice to quit over releasing ex-Premier Imran Khan

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:33:31 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Thousands of Pakistani government supporters converged on the country’s Supreme Court on Monday, in a rare challenge to the nation’s judiciary. Protesters demanded the resignation of the chief justice over ordering the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.The Pakistan Democratic Alliance, a grouping of 13 political parties affiliated with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, called for the protests.Khan’s dramatic detention from a courtroom in Islamabad last week sparked outrage among legions of his supporters, who set buildings and vehicles ablaze across major cities and attacked military facilities. At least 10 people died in pitched battles with police. Dozens were injured and thousands of Khan’s supporters from his Tehreek-e-Insaf party were arrested.The Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, intervened and ordered him to be freed. Bandial criticized the way Khan was arrested and said that his detention was unlawful. But ...