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China’s crackdown on cyber scams in Southeast Asia ensnares thousands but leaves the networks intact

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:04 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Zhang Hongliang, a former restaurant manager in central China, took various gigs in and outside China to support his family after losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic.In March, a job offer to teach Chinese cooking at a restaurant led him into a cyber scam compound in Myanmar, where he was instead ordered to lure Chinese into giving up their savings for fake investment schemes via social media platforms.Zhang is one of tens of thousands of people, mostly but not all Chinese, who have become ensnared in cyber scam networks run by powerful Chinese criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia. Regional and Chinese authorities have netted thousands of people in a crackdown, but experts say they are failing to root out the local elites and criminal networks that are bound to keep running the schemes.When scam operations are shut down in one place they often just resurface elsewhere. The problem is an embarrassment for Beijing and is discouraging ordinary Chinese from travel...

Woman killed in Montgomery Co. crash that closed Columbia Pike for hours

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:04 GMT

Police in Montgomery County, Maryland, say one of the three people involved in a car crash Monday afternoon on the Columbia Pike has died.The crash happened at the intersection of southbound Columbia Pike and Blackburn Road in Burtonsville. Police, along with Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel, responded to the scene shortly after noon for the report of a two-car crash.A white Ford Escape and a black Toyota Corolla collided in the intersection, according to a police news release.The woman who died was a passenger in the Toyota and was pronounced dead at the scene. The drivers of both vehicles were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.An approximately two-mile stretch of southbound Columbia Pike was shut down for several hours so detectives could reconstruct the crash, but reopened shortly after 5:20 p.m., according to WTOP Traffic Reporter Dave Dildine.The northbound lanes of Columbia Pike remained open during the investigation.Below...

Brandon Staley looks for reset for Chargers, but the same problems have persisted during his tenure

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:04 GMT

Brandon Staley is looking for a reset for his Los Angeles Chargers after two straight losses and a 2-4 start to the season.It’s a good idea in theory — and when playing Madden — except the Chargers have already had their bye week and many of their problems have persisted throughout Staley’s three-year tenure as coach.Sunday’s 31-17 loss to Kansas City showed the Chargers are nowhere close to contending for a division title, and their odds of returning to the playoffs are getting longer.In an AFC that has 10 teams at .500 or better, Los Angeles is tied with Tennessee for the second-worst record in the conference. Only Denver and New England are worse at 2-5.On Monday, Staley was more focused on the immediate issues than the big picture.“The fundamentals focus needs to be on the identity of your football team. Just put one foot in front of the other and not be thinking too much about the telescope and make sure you’re focusing on the microscope and things we ca...

DA drops charges against Denver Police tech accused of indecent exposure

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:04 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Prosecutors are dropping charges against a Denver Police Department technician who was accused of indecent exposure while on the job. The police department says its Internal Affairs investigation is continuing.Gabriel Jordan was accused of indecent exposure while working at the Denver Police Academy. The tech received a misdemeanor citation in the Sept. 12 incident.Prosecutors have now moved to dismiss the charges, the Denver District Attorney's Office announced Monday. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox District Attorney Beth McCann said in a statement that "after further review of the facts and evidence," prosecutors do not think they can prove the technician's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.The technician had been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, Denver Police previously told FOX31.Denver Police said Monday the tech will return to non-patrol work in the department's Administrative Division, "where he ...

265,000 people moved to Colorado last year. Where did they come from?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:04 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — While nearly 240,000 people packed up their things and left Colorado last year, even more decided to move into the state, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau Census released earlier this month. An estimated 264,500 people moved to Colorado in 2022, the Census reports. The biggest group of new residents – nearly 33,500 – came from another country. The data set did not specify which countries people immigrated from.Another 33,200 came from California, possibly seeking more affordable living conditions (though according to a recent study, Denver may not be much cheaper than some California cities). AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile? Maps show which cell provider gives Colorado the best coverage Some of the most-populated states in the country sent residents to Colorado. The third-most new residents, about 25,500, came from Texas, and another 11,100 came from Florida. Colorado, in turn, lost the most residents to Texas and Florida in 2022, according to the Census da...

What rare minerals can you find in Colorado?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:04 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Looking at the mountains, it's hard not to wonder what sort of rare minerals you might find in Colorado. If you haven't spent any time searching for gemstones, you may not know Colorado is home to several. That includes aquamarine, a blue variety of the mineral beryl, according to the Colorado Geological Survey. Despite it being the state gemstone since 1971, you may not be able to find much on your own, since many of the areas where aquamarine is found are on land held by private entities. The 5 highest – and lowest – paying college degrees in Denver You might also have a hard time finding amazonite, a microcline feldspar that is usually blue or green. While commonly found between Woodland Park and Lake George, the area is mostly private land or held by private entities. Exclusive museum-quality exhibits from renowned mineral crystal collector Jack Halpern will be displayed during the 57th annual San Francisco Gem and Mineral Society Show and Sale on Saturday, August...

Outrageous expenses, devastating scoops: One climate reporter mourns the death of another

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:04 GMT

My favorite John Vidal story, like all of John’s stories, was best told by John himself.Back in 2015, he was in the middle of a mighty reporting trip that took him down the 2,500-mile length of the Mekong River, documenting its strangulation by hydroelectric dams for the Guardian. After staying in a village for a few days in Laos, he thanked the locals for their hospitality by paying for a new water well.When he returned to the Guardian’s shining canal-side offices in London, pockets emptied onto a desk already covered in dog-eared expense receipts, he wrote to the accounting department and claimed the price of the well under the heading of “meals and entertainment.” As an explanation, he added: “Drinks for 500 people.”“Do you think some fucking Guardian beancounter is going to tell me I can’t buy these people a well?” he would conclude in the retelling.It’s a story that combines John’s two great passions in journalism: justice for the planet’s most benighte...

EU’s foreign policy weakness is here to stay

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:04 GMT

Mujtaba Rahman is the head of Eurasia Group’s Europe practice. He tweets at @Mij_Europe.The feverish pitch of international diplomacy since the terrorist attacks on Israel have just highlighted Europe’s big conundrum: Why, as a global economic, trade and regulatory superpower, does the European Union find it so hard to be relevant and punch firmly on the global stage?This problem has been cruelly highlighted by the bloc’s response to the Gaza crisis, seriously undermining its credibility as a foreign policy actor — and even undoing some of the gains it made following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. The EU’s initial response to the crisis was marked by European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi announcing a unilateral suspension of all EU development aid to Palestine, totaling some €691million, only to have the Commission then clarify the aid would be “reviewed” — not suspended.Later, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s trip to Israel...

Happy Rishiversary! Highs and lows of Rishi Sunak’s first year in power

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:04 GMT

LONDON — Happy anniversary to one of the UK’s most talked-about couples: No. 10 Downing Street and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.It’s been a tumultuous love affair, with a will-they-won’t-they start — and enough bumps in the road to keep a local pothole repair team busy.As Sunak tries to restore the reputation of his governing Tories — still languishing in the polls ahead of an expected election next year — POLITICO takes a trip down memory lane with a month-by-month rundown of some of the key highlights. Buckle up!October 2022It finally happened. After one failed leadership run — in which he lost to Liz Truss and, in a way, to a lettuce — Sunak was elected the new leader of the Conservatives on October 24, 2022. A day later he became prime minister, and vowed his government would be marked by “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.” That was in no way a massive sub-tweet of Boris Johnson.Sunak’s first port of call was to pick his cabinet. He took a slow and stea...

German hard-left icon set to start a new populist party

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:01:04 GMT

A popular icon of hard-left politics in Germany announced her intention to start a new political party, potentially creating a potent new anti-establishment force that could further upend the country’s already fragmented politics.Sahra Wagenknecht, the longtime face of The Left, which has roots in East Germany’s Communist Party, says her new faction will represent the large swath of the German electorate that is deeply frustrated with mainstream politics.“We live in a time of global political crises,” she said in Berlin. “And in this of all times, Germany probably has the worst government in its history … Many no longer know who to vote for, or they vote out of anger and despair.”Wagenknecht, a frequent guest on German television talk shows, consistently ranks among the country’s most popular politicians. Polls suggest her party, once established, could become a significant political force: One survey published on Monday put a Wagenknecht party at 12 percent nationally, ...