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South Korea’s Constitutional Court strikes down law banning anti-Pyongyang leafleting

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:40:52 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday struck down a 2020 law that criminalized the sending of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets to North Korea, calling it an excessive restriction on free speech.The ruling came in response to a complaint filed by North Korean defector-activists in the South. They included Park Sang-hak, who has been a frequent target of North Korean government anger for his yearslong campaign of flying leaflets across the border with balloons.The law was crafted by the previous liberal government in Seoul that desperately pushed for inter-Korean engagement. It made leafleting a crime punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of 30 million won ($22,000). The law passed in December 2020, six months after the North expressed its displeasure over the leaflets by blowing up an inter-Korean liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong. Park did not immediately comment on the court’s decision, which immediately inva...

Spain charges pop singer Shakira with tax evasion for a second time and demands more than $7 million

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:40:52 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish prosecutors have charged pop star Shakira with failing to pay 6.7 million euros ($7.1 million) in tax on her 2018 income, authorities said Tuesday, in Spain’s latest fiscal allegations against the Colombian singer.Shakira is alleged to have used an offshore company based in a tax haven to avoid paying the tax, Barcelona prosecutors said in a statement.She has been notified of the charges in Miami, where she lives, according to the statement.Shakira is already due to be tried in Barcelona on Nov. 20 in a separate case that hinges on where she lived between 2012-14. In that case, prosecutors allege she failed to pay 14.5 million euros ($15.4 million) in tax. Prosecutors in Barcelona have alleged the Grammy winner spent more than half of the 2012-14 period in Spain and therefore should have paid taxes in the country, even though her official residence was in the Bahamas.Spanish tax officials opened the latest case against Shakira last July. After reviewi...

Flood-hit central Greece braces for new storm as military crews help bolster flood defenses

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:40:52 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Emergency services in central Greece were on alert Tuesday as storms headed toward areas hit by massive floods this month.Municipal and military crews using excavators reinforced flood defenses along rivers near the central cities of Larissa and Trikala. Flooding from Storm Daniel killed 16 people in the region and caused widespread damage to property, farms and infrastructure.As it headed eastward, the latest storm — named “Elias” — caused landslides early Tuesday and prompted authorities to close sections of a highway between Athens and the western port city of Patras.The bad weather is expected to worsen through Thursday, affecting central Greece, the island of Evia, east of Athens, and islands in the central Aegean Sea.Storm Daniel swept across the eastern Mediterranean in early September. It flooded 720 square kilometers (280 square miles) across Greece’s farming heartland and caused damage in neighboring Bulgaria and Turkey before reaching Libya, where tw...

Leader of Spain’s conservatives faces slim chances of winning Parliament approval for his government

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:40:52 GMT

MADRID (AP) — The leader of Spain’s conservatives will try to convince lawmakers on Tuesday to let him form the country’s new government, ahead of two rounds of voting later this week in Parliament that he is expected to lose.Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s Popular Party won the most seats after the inconclusive July 23 national elections that left all parties well shy of an absolute majority in the 350-seat lower chamber, setting the stage for a difficult path to power.Under the Spanish constitution, he faces two investiture votes that will determine whether he can form a government — likely a coalition with the far-right Vox party. He needs a simple majority of 176 votes in the first vote on Wednesday, after hours of debate. If he misses that mark, the bar would be lowered on Friday in the second round, where he will need only more “yes” than “no” votes, opening the possibility for abstentions to sway the result. The Popular Party’s 137 seats are the most held by any party. But even ...

Unifor contract talks with General Motors begin after workers ratify Ford deal

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:40:52 GMT

TORONTO — Contract talks between Unifor and General Motors Canada begin today.The negotiations cover about 4,300 workers at the automaker’s St. Catharines Powertrain Plant, the Oshawa Assembly Complex and the Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre. Unifor announced GM as the next target company in its negotiations with the U.S. automakers on Monday.The talks come after workers represented by the union at Ford Motor Co. of Canada voted on the weekend to approve a new contract that Unifor plans to use as a pattern agreement in its talks with GM and Stellantis.The Ford deal included wage hikes, pension and benefit improvements, and special EV transition measures for workers at Ford’s assembly plant in Oakville, Ont.It also added two new paid holidays.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2023.The Canadian Press

Myanmar’s ruling military drops 2 generals suspected of corruption in a government reshuffle

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:40:52 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military has reshuffled the country’s ruling council and Cabinet, state media reported Tuesday, with an apparent purge of two high-ranking generals who independent media have said are under investigation for alleged corruption.The military’s top ruling body, formally known as State Administration Council, has directed four reshuffles since the army seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government more than 2 1/2 years ago. The country has been in turmoil since then, with widespread armed resistance to army rule.The latest changes, carried out Monday, came a few weeks after army Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moe Myint Tun and Lt.-Gen. Soe Htut, both council members, were reportedly being investigated in the capital Naypyitaw for corruption. Soe Htut had served in the important job of home affairs minister from 2020 until last month, when he assumed a less influential post. The report on the reshuffle in Tuesday’s state-run Global New Light of Myanmar s...

Queen’s Park blocked off to traffic ahead of potential protest, police say

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:40:52 GMT

The roads in and around Queen’s Park in downtown Toronto are closed off to traffic early Tuesday morning due to what police are calling a “potential demonstration.”Garbage trucks, TTC buses and police cars were blocking motorist access to the provincial legislature ahead of the morning rush. All side streets leading to the area were similarly blocked.There were no signs of any protesters in the area as of 6 a.m., but Toronto police posted to social media advising of a number of closures “due to a potential demonstration involving a number of vehicles.”The following roads are closed to vehicle traffic:NB/SB Queen’s Park Crescent from Bloor Street West to College StreetNB/SB University Avenue from College Street to Elm StreetEB/WB Wellesley Street West at Queen’s Park Police say there is no impact to pedestrians.ROAD CLOSURES (CON’T):TPS will provide updates as they become available, including when roads are expected to re-open.There is n...

Rising cyberattacks on schools put students at risk

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:40:52 GMT

(The Hill) - Cyberattacks on schools put students in a dangerous position as many struggle to understand the specific risks after an attack.Education has become the fifth most targeted industry for data breaches, according to a recent report from Nord Security, with U.S. schools experiencing a sharp increase in hacks in recent years. American children typically lack the financial data often sought in a cyber strike, but experts warn about the potential for long-term identity theft and emotional distress these events can leave behind, in addition to interfering with directly with classes.“No matter how you conceive of the issue, these incidents are getting more significant, more severe,” said Doug Levin, national director for K-12 Security Information eXchange (K12 SIX). “You could measure that in terms of the amount of money responding to these incidents costs, [or] it could be in the amount of data or sensitivity of the data that is being stolen and leaked.”The Government Acco...

'Safe Routes to School' project starting in southeast Austin

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:40:52 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- This fall, the city of Austin will start work on a project to make the trip to Palm Elementary safer for students. It is part of the city's Safe Routes to School program that started back in 2017. The project will come in phases, according to district 2 council member Vanessa Fuentes. This project is located in her district. The first phase will add safer crossings along Salt Springs Drive with partial medians at certain intersections. It will also add two new city bus stops, giving kids more options to get to school. The second phase will add a protected bike lane on Salt Springs drive that runs from William Cannon Drive to Thaxton Road. That phase is expected in 2024, according to Fuentes. Bike lanes are not protected along Salt Springs drive (Photo courtesy KXAN). "Often times for our families here in southeast, we've been underinvested in as a community. So, seeing these resources injected into our area is appreciated, but certainly long overdue," Fuentes said. ...

Dripping Springs ISD joins lawsuit against TEA over school rankings

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:40:52 GMT

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) – The Board of Trustees for the Dripping Springs Independent School District voted Monday night to join a lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency. The lawsuit says the new rules for how the state will grade schools and districts were not provided before the school year they will be applied to. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Districts ask court to stop state from issuing A-F ratings based on new methods Other school districts, including Hays CISD and Leander, are already a part of the lawsuit alleging the Texas Education Agency violated state law by not providing districts with the new methods and metrics earlier. TEA had planned to release the 2023 A-F accountability ratings on Wednesday. On Sept. 12, the agency said it would the delay the release by one month.