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Alibaba’s Jack Ma returns to mainland China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:04 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Alibaba founder Jack Ma has resurfaced in China after months of overseas travel, visiting a school Monday in the city where his company is headquartered and discussed topics such as artificial intelligence.Ma founded e-commerce firm Alibaba in the 1990s and was once China’s richest man. He has kept a low profile with few public appearances since Nov. 2020, when he had publicly criticized China’s regulators and financial systems during a speech in Shanghai.Shortly afterward, authorities put the brakes on the initial public offering of Alibaba’s financial affiliate Ant Group, which had been set to raise $34.5 billion in what would have been the world’s largest share offering at the time. Alibaba was later investigated and fined $2.8 billion for breaching antitrust rules as Chinese authorities cracked down on the once-freewheeling technology industry.In the past year, Ma has been travelling, with reports of sightings in Europe, Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong. His ...

Israeli unions launch strike, upping pressure on Netanyahu

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:04 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Workers from a range of sectors in Israel launched a nationwide strike on Monday, threatening to paralyze the economy as they joined a surging protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.Departing flights from the country’s main international airport were grounded, large mall chains and universities shut their doors, and Israel’s largest trade union group called for its 800,000 members — in health, transit, banking and other fields — to stop work. Local governments were expected to close the preschools they run and cut other services, and the main doctors union announced its members would also walk off the job.The growing resistance to Netanyahu’s plan came hours after tens of thousands of people burst into the streets around the country in a spontaneous show of anger at the prime minister’s decision to fire his defense minister after he called for a pause to the overhaul. Chanting “the country...

Twitter hunts Github user who posted source code online

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:04 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Some parts of Twitter’s source code — the fundamental computer code on which the social network runs — were leaked online, the social media company said in a legal filing that was first reported by The New York Times.According to the legal document, first filed with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California on Friday, Twitter had asked GitHub, an internet hosting service for software development, to take down the code where it was posted. The platform complied and said the content had been disabled, according to the filing.Twitter, based in San Francisco, noted in the filing that the postings infringe on copyrights held by Twitter.The company also asked the court to identify the alleged individual or group that posted the information without Twitter’s authorization. It’s seeking names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social media profile data and IP addresses associated with the user account “FreeSpeechEnthusiast” which is ...

Transit advocates to speak out against new TTC service cuts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:04 GMT

Transit advocates are speaking out against new TTC service reductions that came into effect on a number of routes over the weekend.Volunteers will be handing out flyers that voice their concerns as weekday Toronto commuters experience the reduced service for the first time on Monday morning.The group TTCriders say the cuts are a further erosion of service and will have the greatest impact on marginalized communities in the city. Members will speak to members of the media at Spadina Station at 8:30 a.m.A recent study from Toronto Metropolitan University found the cuts would disproportionately impact those who depend on public transit for their everyday needs. The report suggests more than 80 per cent of the affected routes run through neighbourhoods with high poverty rates, high immigration and higher unemployment rates.The TTC cuts will impact 37 bus, streetcar, and subway routes and officials admit that some of the changes will result in longer wait times for customers. The agency ...

Another Pakistan court protects ex-PM Imran Khan from arrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:04 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Another Pakistani court on Monday ruled in defense of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, granting him protection from arrest as lawsuits mounted against him. Police have charged the ousted premier with incitement to violence in several cases when his followers clashed with security forces this month.The latest reprieve for Khan comes as a political crisis roils Pakistan, pitting the former cricket star turned Islamist politician against the government of his successor, Shahbaz Sharif, and spilling into violence in the streets.Khan was ousted through a no-confidence vote in Parliament last April. Since then, the 70-year-old opposition leader has had more than 100 legal cases filed against him, including on charges of terrorism, incitement to violence and graft while in office.He has unsuccessfully campaigned for early elections, and has claimed, without providing evidence, that there are numerous plots to assassinate him. The Islamabad High Court on Monday ruled that ...

Suicide bomber kills 6 people near foreign ministry in Kabul

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:04 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A suicide bomber struck on Monday near the foreign ministry in Kabul, killing at least six people and wounding several, according to officials. It was the second time this year that there has been an attack near the ministry.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing but the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group has increased attacks since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August 2021. IS has targeted Taliban officials and patrols, as well as members of the country’s minority Shiites.According to Khalid Zadran, a spokesman for the Kabul police chief, Taliban security forces spotted the bomber before he was able to reach a checkpoint at the Malik Asghar intersection, near the ministry. The attacker then detonated his explosives, killing at least six civilians. Three members of the Taliban security forces were among those wounded in the attack.The Kabul hospital run by the EMERGENCY non-governmental organization said it received tw...

Poland: Foreigner held on suspicion of spying for Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:04 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Prosecutors in northern Poland said Monday a foreign national suspected of spying for Russia will remain in custody for three months until an investigation is completed. Prosecutors in Gdansk responsible for military matters said the foreigner, whose identity has not been released, admitted to having passed sensitive information to Russian intelligence. The suspect has been in European Union-member Poland since January and has collected information on key infrastructure and security procedures in the country’s north, spokeswoman Grazyna Wawryniuk said.Poland’s gas terminal and key ports are located in the north. A court granted a prosecution request to keep the suspect in custody for three months to assist investigators. The suspect faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. This is the latest in a number of arrests of individuals suspected of spying for Russia since Moscow’s Feb. 24 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Poland has remained a staunch supporte...

Elizabeth Warren running for 3rd US Senate term in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:04 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced Monday that she will seek a third term in 2024.Warren, a prominent voice for the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and a failed 2020 presidential contender, said she’s running for reelection to end corruption in Washington, make the economy work for the middle class and protect democracy.“I first ran for Senate because I saw how the system is rigged for the rich and powerful and against everyone else. I won because Massachusetts voters know it, too. And now I’m running for Senate again because there’s a lot more we’ve got to do,” Warren said in a campaign video released Monday. Warren, 73, had more than $2.3 million in her campaign account at the end of 2022, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.Warren first won election to the seat in 2012, defeating incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who was elected to fill out the term of Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, wh...

Kimberly Palmer: How to use a tax refund to fight inflation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:04 GMT

If inflation has eaten away at your budget the way waves erode a beach, then your tax refund might just provide a much-needed protective barrier.As of March, prices are up 6% over the past 12 months, according to the most recent consumer price index. At the same time, just over half of filers (55%) are expecting tax refunds for the 2022 tax year, with an average expected refund of $2,205, according to the 2023 Nerdwallet Tax Report. Financial experts say consumers can use that windfall — which is really just a delayed paycheck that you already earned — to help offset the strain of those higher prices.“Tax refunds are going to arrive at just the right time for many consumers this spring,” says Drew Wessell, a certified financial planner at Fiduciary Financial Advisors in Grand Rapids, Michigan.UNLOAD HIGH-INTEREST DEBTWith rising interest rates, variable-rate debt becomes more expensive — including credit cards. That’s why many financial experts put paying off debt at the top of the ...

Remembering author, writer and friend of the WGN Morning News Bill Zehme

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:04 GMT

WGN Morning News is remembering a longtime friend who has died.Bill Zehme was everyone's friend, including some of the biggest names in show business.  A frequent and favorite guest on WGN, Zehme died Sunday succumbing to his 10-year battle with colorectal cancer.A brilliant writer and even better friend, Zehme  was a kid from the South Side who was able to get interviews no one else could get, but every time, bringing sides of his interview subjects out that no one else could do.  He wrote for Esquire Playboy, Vanity Faire, Rolling Stone, Chicago magazine and the Chicago Tribune. He wrote a great Sunday Magazine piece on the retirement of Bob Bell as WGN’s Bozo.   He was a big fan.   Some of his crowning achievements included scoring a rare interview with Frank Sinatra and writing the book "The Way You Wear Your Hat."  He did pieces on David Letterman and more books on comedian Andy Kaufman, Regis Philbin and Jay Leno.He also g...