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China detains a military group worker suspected of spying for the CIA

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:11:13 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has detained a worker from a military industrial group on suspicion of spying for the CIA, national security authorities said Friday, adding to the list of public accusations of espionage between Beijing and Washington.The Ministry of State Security, the country’s civilian spy agency, said in a statement that a military industrial worker surnamed Zeng had been providing military secrets to the CIA in exchange for large sums of money.The 52-year-old suspect had been sent to Italy to study by his employer. There, he met “an official with the U.S. embassy,” who later turned out to be a CIA agent, the ministry claimed.“Zeng gradually developed a psychological dependence on (the U.S. official), who took the opportunity to indoctrinate him with Western values,” the statement, posted on the ministry’s WeChat page, read.It added that the U.S. official promised the Chinese suspect large amounts of money and to help his family emigrate to the United States in excha...

Family of US publishing exec killed in Italy boat incident urges full investigation, accountability

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:11:13 GMT

ROME (AP) — The family of a U.S. publishing executive killed in a boating incident in southern Italy is urging Italian authorities to fully investigate the death and hold accountable anyone responsible.“We are cooperating with the Italian authorities in their investigations, and will continue to do so until they conclude,” said the statement late Thursday to The Associated Press by Mike White, husband of Adrienne Vaughan, on behalf of their family.Vaughan, the 45-year-old president of Bloomsbury Publishing’s U.S. branch, was killed Aug. 3 when the rented motorboat her family had hired slammed into a chartered sailboat off the Amalfi Coast.The motorboat’s skipper is under investigation for suspected manslaughter and causing a shipwreck, prosecutors have said. No charges have yet been announced.Salerno Prosecutor Giuseppe Borrelli said Aug. 5 that Vaughan was sunning herself on the boat’s bow and bounced into the water at the moment of impact. Two doctors who were among the pass...

A local train hits a truck at a crossing in central Poland, injuring 22 people

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:11:13 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A local train hit a truck at a railway crossing in central Poland, leaving 22 people injured, firefighters said Friday. Four of those injured in the crash near Dalanowek were hospitalized, one in very serious condition who was taken by air ambulance, according to Janusz Majewski, deputy head of the regional firefighters. The firefighters posted photos on their Facebook showing the single-carriage local train with a damaged nose and the almost untouched cabin of the otherwise mangled truck, at a small crossing among fields. It was unclear whether anyone was injured in the truck, but train passengers and the driver were among those hurt.Accidents caused by trucks forcing priority at rural railway crossings are not infrequent in Poland. The Associated Press

Greece launches a rescue effort for scores of migrants on a stranded yacht

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:11:13 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A rescue operation is underway to assist more than 100 migrants believed to be on board a stranded yacht off the southern coast of Greece, authorities said Friday.Four civilian vessels were ordered to provide assistance while three coast guard boats were heading to the area, south of the Peloponnese region. A navy helicopter was helping coordinate the effort.The incident occurred near the site of a maritime tragedy in mid-June when hundreds of migrants died or went missing after a fishing trawler sank in international waters while traveling from Libya to Italy.Also Friday, a second search operation was underway off the island of Rhodes to look for potentially missing passengers after 22 migrants were rescued from a stranded sailboat.Turkey-based smugglers in recent years have favored the longer and more dangerous route to Italy in an attempt to bypass Greek coast guard patrols. ___Follow AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migrationThe Asso...

Cyprus is sending Syrian migrants back to Lebanon. The UN is concerned but Cypriots say it’s lawful

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:11:13 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The United Nations refugee agency said Friday it was “extremely concerned” over the return of more than 100 Syrian nationals from Cyprus to Lebanon without being screened to determine whether they need legal protection and who may be deported back to their war-wracked homeland.The UNHCR office in Cyprus said deportations and transfers between states “without legal and procedural safeguards for persons who may be in need of international protection” are against international and European law.Such transfers could result in people sent back to a country where “they may face the risk of persecution, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm,” the agency told the Associated Press.The 109 migrants had all reached Cyprus aboard three separate boats between Jul. 29-Aug. 2 before being returned by boat under Cyprus police escort. The Cyprus government said such returns are being lawfully carried out in line with a bilateral...

Videos show winds whip flames through Maui and the deadly aftermath

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:11:13 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (KHON) - New videos show how devastating the Maui fires were due to the strength of the winds. The videos show the scary moments when residents realized they had to evacuate or possibly burn. Some were stuck on the roadway with no communication, grabbing pets and loved ones in the seconds they had to evacuate. Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the fire started Tuesday and took Maui by surprise, racing through parched brush covering the island and then flattening homes and anything else that lay in its path. Maui Fire Department Chief Brad Ventura said the fire moved so quickly from brush to neighborhood that it was impossible to get messages to the emergency management agencies responsible for emergency alerts.The wildfire is already the state’s deadliest natural disaster since a 1960 tsunami, which killed 61 people on the Big Island. During a Thursday p...

Austin Police investigating deadly crash at Riverside and Congress

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:11:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police said one person died Friday morning in a crash at the intersection of East Riverside Drive and South Congress Avenue, just south of Downtown Austin. Police said the driver stayed on the scene of the crash, which occurred around 3:30 a.m. According to police, it appeared to be an auto-pedestrian crash. Austin-Travis County EMS said on social media an adult was pronounced dead on the scene, and no other patients were involved. Police told KXAN one lane of Riverside Drive was closed at Congress due to the crash. This is a breaking story. Please stay with KXAN News Today and KXAN.com for updates.

Austin, University of Texas study cool pavement technology on roadway

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:11:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The city of Austin and the University of Texas are studying the environmental effects of cool pavement technology on a stretch of road in south Austin. Early results from the pilot program show temperatures are almost two degrees cooler than areas without the cool pavement treatment. The city is looking at ways to reduce the urban heat that impacts cities across the United States. Some cities, like Phoenix, use cool pavement technology to combat the amount of urban heat. Treating the roadsTo test the pilot program, the city treated a 0.8-mile stretch of road outside of a public works building in south Austin. The treatment is sprayed from a truck onto the surface of the road. The substance looks almost yellow when it is first applied, but the finishing product makes the roadway lighter in color. Angela Johnson, the division manager at the office of the city engineer, said regular asphalt will absorb up to 95% of sunlight that radiates the heat back into the surround...

98.3 TRY Social Dilemma: Would You Tell Your Spouse if You Damaged Your Wedding DVD?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:11:13 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Today's 98.3 TRY Social Dilemma came from Matt, and he's wondering what to tell his husband about something he did. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Hi Jaime. I have a big problem. Hope you can help. Yesterday while cleaning out one of my closets a box with my wedding DVD fell to the ground and the DVD chipped. I’ve been married for 11 years and we haven’t watched the video in about 10 years. In fact, I doubt my husband even knows it was up there in that box. Which is why I’m wondering if you think it’s a bad idea to just stick it back in the cover, put it back in the box, and bury it in the back of the closet again? What are the odds he’s going to want to watch it again anytime soon, and by the time he does want to watch it, maybe a few years go by again? Or I can tell him I chipped it when it fell out of the closet and see what he says about that. Any advice from anyone out there would be appreciated. ...

VSP: Florida man nabbed in Rutland in stolen car investigation

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:11:13 GMT

RUTLAND, Vt. (NEWS10) -- A Florida man was arrested Thursday following a lengthy stolen car investigation, where police say he was driving a car that was reported stolen out of Miami in 2020 and was caught in Rutland earlier this year. Jorge Pena (Defuniak Springs, Florida, 41) faces several charges. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! According to Vermont State Police, on April 17, 2023, troopers pulled over a car, a 2015 Range Rover, on US Route 4 in Rutland for a motor vehicle violation. Police say the driver, later identified as Pena, did not have any documentation for the car. During the stop, police say they suspected the car may not have been legitimate.Law enforcement seized the car and was granted a warrant to find the true identity of the car. After executing the warrant, police found the car had an altered VIN. Dave Portnoy reviews Albany’s Sovrana’s Pizza and Deli With the help of the National Insurance Crime Bureau ...