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Naval officer jailed in Japan in deadly crash is transferred to US custody, his family says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Navy officer jailed in Japan over a deadly car crash that killed two Japanese citizens has been transferred into U.S. custody and is being returned to the United States, his family said Thursday.Lt. Ridge Alknois had been serving a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the negligent driving deaths of an elderly woman and her son-in-law in May 2021.“After 507 days, Lt. Ridge Alkonis is on his way home to the United States. We are encouraged by Ridge’s transfer back to the United States but cannot celebrate until Ridge has been reunited with his family,” the family, based in Dana Point, California, said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Government to effect this transfer and are glad that an impartial set of judiciary eyes will review his case for the first time.”It was unclear where in the U.S. Alkonis is heading or whether upon his arrival in the country he might be required to spend any additional time b...

Hong Kong places arrest bounties on activists abroad for breaching national security law

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:41 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police accused five activists based overseas Thursday of breaching a harsh national security law imposed by Beijing and offered rewards of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($128,000) for information leading to each of their arrests. The latest arrest warrants further intensified the Hong Kong government’s crackdown on dissidents after anti-government protests in 2019. Many leading pro-democracy activists were arrested, silenced, or forced into self-exile after the introduction of the security law in 2020, in a sign that freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China in 1997 had been eroded drastically. But both Beijing and Hong Kong governments have hailed the security law for bringing back stability to the semi-autonomous Chinese city.The arrest warrants were issued for Johnny Fok and Tony Choi, who host a YouTube channel focusing on current affairs, and pro-democracy activists Simon Cheng, Hui Wing-ting and Joey Siu. Police refused t...

Amazon won’t have to pay hundreds of millions in back taxes after winning EU case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:41 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Amazon won’t have to pay about 250 million euros ($273 million) in back taxes after European Union judges ruled in favor of the U.S. e-commerce giant Thursday, dealing a defeat to the 27-nation bloc in its efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance. The ruling by the EU’s top court is final, ending the long-running legal battle over tax arrangements between Amazon and Luxembourg’s government and marking a further setback for a crackdown by antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager. The Court of Justice backed a 2021 decision by judges in a lower court who sided with Amazon, saying the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, had not proved its case that Amazon received illegal state support. “The Court of Justice confirms that the Commission has not established that the tax ruling given to Amazon by Luxembourg was a State aid that was incompatible with the internal market” of the EU, the court said in a press release. Amazon welcomed the ruling, saying...

Retail sales up 0.3% in November, showing how Americans continue to spend

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans picked up their spending from October to November as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying.Retail sales rose 0.3%, in November from October, when sales were down a revised 0.2% according to the Commerce Department on Thursday. That is a little stronger than expected. Excluding car and gas sales, sales were up 0.6%.At restaurants, business rose 1.6%., while sales at furniture stores rose 0.9%. Online sales rose 1%. Electronic and appliance sales, however, were down 1.1% Sales at department stores fell 2.5%. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.The urge to spend for Americans appears to have some running room, even after a blowout summer. Consumer spending jumped in the July-September quarter.U.S. employment data last week showed that employers added 199,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate declined to 3.7%. Inflation has plummeted in little over a year from a troubling 9.1%, to 3.2...

The mystery of a Canadian visionary killed in Dominica

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:41 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, even if you didn’t know his name, you knew Daniel Langlois’ work. Everyone who likes movies did. Langlois was the man who ushered Hollywood into an era of 3D special effects, including on films like Jurassic Park and The Matrix.On Dec. 1 he and his partner, Dominique Marchand, were found dead in Dominica, in a burnt-out car. Police say they were shot. Their neighbour and another man have been charged with the crime, and court documents reveal a previous dispute between Langlois and the neighbour. What do we know about Langlois’ life, his death and the potential story behind it? What might we still learn as police investigate? Kenyon Wallace is an investigative reporter for The Toronto Star. “You don’t hear very often of world-shattering technology coming out of Montreal, so I think a lot of people in Canada in particular were very proud of what he accomplished. And that of course just makes the whole situation even mor...

US applications for jobless benefits fall again as labor market continues to thrive

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:41 GMT

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite high interest rates and elevated costs.Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 to 202,000 for the week ending Dec. 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Analysts were expecting around 224,000.About 1.88 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Dec. 2, 20,000 more than the previous week. Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.On Wednesday, The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged for a third straight time, and its officials signaled that they expect to make three quarter-point cuts to their benchmark rate next year.The Fed’s message Wednesday strongly suggested that it is finished with rate hikes and is edging closer to cutting rates as early as next summer.The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times since March 2022 to slow the economy and r...

White Christmas in Toronto appears slim with warmer than normal December

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:41 GMT

The prospect of a white Christmas appears to be fading as the warm December weather continues, with the possibility of Toronto and the GTA hitting double digits on Friday.The first official day of winter is a week away, on Dec. 21, and Christmas Eve is 10 days away, but the city still hasn’t seen snow on the ground — aside from a rain-snow mix earlier this month.It has been a mild December temperature-wise in Toronto and that trend continues on Thursday with a forecasted high of 6 C and 10 C on Friday.It is also expected to be mild through the weekend with highs between 6-8 C. The extended forecast for Toronto can be found here.The average high of this time of the year is 2 C.As Dec. 25 approaches, people are asking: will we be waking up to snow on Christmas Day?“At this point, it is kind of like a 60-40 split, 60 per cent chance being more green and then white could actually be a little bit higher than that,” CityNews 680 meteorologist Jill Taylor said.Taylo...

Japan’s Kishida replaces 4 ministers linked to slush funds scandal to contain damage to party

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:41 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida replaced four of his Cabinet ministers Thursday in an effort to contain the damage from a widening slush fund scandal that has shaken his governing party and his grip on power within it.The shakeup is Kidhida’s third of his Cabinet, whose support ratings have continued to drop to new lows. The scandal involves the Liberal Democratic Party’s largest and most influential faction. It used to be led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022. Kishida replaced four ministers from the Abe faction: Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno; Economy and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura; Agriculture Minister Ichiro Miyashita; and Internal Affairs Minister Junji Suzuki. All have emerged as the alleged recipients of suspected kickbacks of unreported fundraising proceeds. A purge of members from that wing of the party is key to Kishida’s balancing act within the party but could trigger a power str...

Senegal’s opposition leader could run for president after a court overturns a ruling barring his bid

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:41 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was ordered to be reinstated on the electoral list Thursday, which could allow him to run for president in February’s election. The court of first instance’s decision overturned a November ruling by the Supreme Court that effectively barred the detained opposition leader’s bid to run. The state has 10 days to appeal, but has yet to say if it will. “Law and truth were with us. Ousmane Sonko will be reinstated on the lists and he will take part in the presidential election,” Sonko’s lawyer Bamba Cisse said. In order to run for president, Sonko must file his candidacy by Dec. 26. Eligible candidates will be announced within the first two weeks of January and the campaign season kicks off the following month. Sonko finished third in the 2019 presidential election, and his supporters believe that the slew of criminal allegations brought against him since 2021 are part of an orchestrated campaign to de...

Crews battling fire that has destroyed under construction luxury home in North York

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:41 GMT

Crews are on scene battling a fire at an under construction luxury home in North York on Thursday morning.Toronto Fire tells CityNews the fire broke out at a home on Dempsey Crescent, in the area of Bayview and York Mills, just after 6 a.m.The three-storey home under construction was fully engulfed with flames through the roof when firefighters arrived on scene.Paramedics say no one was inside the home at the time and neighbouring homes have been safely evacuated. No injuries have been reported.Toronto Fire on scene battling a fire at an under construction home in North York on Dec. 14, 2023. CITYNEWS/Bryan CareyThe fire remains active and there were still several emergency vehicles at the scene as of 8:15 a.m. Crews continue to fight hotspots.CityNews 680 traffic reporter Jordan Kerr was over the scene in a chopper and says the home appears to be a total write-off.“I see the outer walls of the building are mostly up, but everything on the inside is scorched down to what looks...