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Lebanon’s army says Saudi citizen kidnapped in Beirut released following ‘special operation’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:57 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese troops rescued a Saudi citizen kidnapped over the weekend in Beirut, the army said Tuesday. The man reportedly had been held for ransom. A statement by the Lebanese military said Mushari al-Mutairi was released in a “special operation” along the Lebanon-Syria border, where the kidnappers held him hostage. It gave no further details. Al-Mutairi was kidnapped after midnight Saturday in Beirut.State-run Saudi TV station Al-Ekhbariya said that the kidnappers demanded a $400,000 ransom for al-Mutairi, who works for Saudi national airlines Saudia.Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in comments released by his office that the government is determined to guarantee the security of its citizens as well as foreigners.Local Lebanese media reported that al-Mutairi was released during an operation by the army’s intelligence division in the northeastern district of Hermel. Mikati congratulated the army on the operation’s success and called on Arab tourists to vi...

‘Miracle on the Prairies:’ Alberta United Conservatives win majority government

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:57 GMT

Alberta’s United Conservative Party emerged bloodied but still standing in Monday’s bitterly contested provincial election.Danielle Smith’s UCP dominated outside Alberta’s two largest cities while retaining enough support in Calgary to overcome an NDP sweep in Edmonton and win a second consecutive majority government. “To paraphrase our dear friend (former Alberta premier) Ralph Klein, welcome to another miracle on the Prairies,” Smith told cheering supporters on the Calgary Stampede grounds. Smith thanked the hundreds of thousands of Albertans who voted UCP, but also addressed those who did not. “Though I didn’t do enough in your judgment to win your support in this election, I will work every day to listen, to improve and to demonstrate to you that I can be trusted to improve on the issues you care so deeply about.” The UCP were winning or elected in 49 seats to 38 for Rachel Notley’s NDP in the 87-seat legislature, but a final tally was unknown early Tuesday given clo...

Journalist to premier: The political journey of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:57 GMT

The political story of Danielle Smith is one of triumph then defeat, followed by betrayal, banishment and redemption.The 52-year-old led her United Conservative Party on Monday to a majority win in Alberta’s provincial election.“My friends, this was the very definition of a hard-fought election,” she told a crowd of supporters in her hometown of Calgary.“Many folks wrote us off, even just as recently as last month. But you know what happened? Despite it all, today Albertans chose to move our province forward.”Smith, a former journalist, got into politics in junior high school, after she told her dad that her teacher was lauding the virtues of communism. Her father had roots in Ukraine, where millions died under Josef Stalin, and gave the teacher an earful. He then ensured politics was discussed around the dinner table.Smith attended the University of Calgary and found herself entranced by soapbox lectures of conservatives like Ezra Levant and Rob Anders...

Time machine: Rebuilding Notre Dame’s fire-ravaged roof transports workers back to Middle Ages

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:57 GMT

SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-PLAINE, France (AP) — If time travel was possible, medieval carpenters would surely be amazed to see how woodworking techniques they pioneered in building Notre Dame Cathedral more than 800 years ago are being used again today to rebuild the world-famous monument’s fire-ravaged roof.Certainly the reverse is true for the modern-day carpenters using medieval-era skills. Working with hand axes to fashion hundreds of tons of oak beams for the framework of Notre Dame’s new roof has, for them, been like rewinding time. It’s given them a new appreciation of their predecessors’ handiwork that pushed the architectural envelope back in the 13th century.“It’s a little mind-bending sometimes,” says Peter Henrikson, one of the carpenters. He says there are times when he’s whacking mallet on chisel that he finds himself thinking about medieval counterparts who were cutting “basically the same joint 900 years ago.”“It’s fascinating,” he...

Journalist and politician: A look at Alberta Premier Danielle Smith

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:57 GMT

EDMONTON — The United Conservative Party has won a majority government in Alberta’s provincial election and Danielle Smith has been re-elected premier. Here are some biographical details:Age: 52. Born April 1, 1971.Pre-Politics: English and economics degrees from the University of Calgary. Columnist with the Calgary Herald and show host at Global TV.Politics: Elected leader of the Wildrose Party in 2009. Elected to the Alberta legislature as the member for Highwood, becoming leader of the official Opposition to the governing Progressive Conservatives in 2012. Led a mass Wildrose floor crossing to the PCs in 2014. Lost the PC nomination in Highwood in 2015. Won leadership of the United Conservative Party to become premier in October 2022. Won the byelection in Brooks-Medicine Hat in November 2022.Personal: Second of five children. Worked as radio talk-show host before winning the UCP leadership. Married to David Moretta with a stepson.Quote: “Just as I would like to thank...

Belarus's Lukashenko says there can be 'nuclear weapons for everyone'

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:57 GMT

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that if any other country wanted to join a Russia-Belarus union there could be "nuclear weapons for everyone".Russia moved ahead last week with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, in the Kremlin's first deployment of such warheads outside Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, spurring concerns in the West.In an interview published on Russia's state television late on Sunday, Lukashenko, President Vladimir Putin's staunchest ally among Russia's neighbours, said that it must be "strategically understood" that Minsk and Moscow have a unique chance to unite."No one is against Kazakhstan and other countries having the same close relations that we have with the Russian Federation," Lukashenko said."If someone is worried ... (then) it is very simple: join in the Union State of Belarus and Russia. That's all: there will be nuclear weapons for everyone."He added that it was his own view - not the view of Russia.Russia...

Sale closed in Palo Alto: $3.1 million for a three-bedroom home

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:57 GMT

1119 Webster Street – Google Street ViewThe historic property located in the 1100 block of Webster Street in Palo Alto was sold on May 1, 2023. The $3,120,000 purchase price works out to $2,585 per square foot. The house, built in 1924, has an interior space of 1,207 square feet. The property features three bedrooms, one bathroom, and a garage, as well as a pool in the backyard and one parking space. The unit sits on a 5,625-square-foot lot.Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby:A 2,660-square-foot home on the 1000 block of Cowper Street in Palo Alto sold in March 2023, for $4,500,000, a price per square foot of $1,692. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.In March 2023, a 560-square-foot home on Middlefield Road in Palo Alto sold for $2,415,000, a price per square foot of $4,313. The home has 1 bedroom and 1 bathrooms.On Melville Avenue, Palo Alto, in March 2023, a 2,561-square-foot home was sold for $5,100,000, a price per square foot of $1,991. The home has 5 bed...

Golden Knights reach 2nd Stanley Cup Final after Game 6 win over Stars

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:57 GMT

By STEPHEN HAWKINS (AP Sports Writer)DALLAS — William Karlsson, William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault are finally getting another chance in the Stanley Cup Final, after the first one that came so quick for the Vegas Golden Knights.They are going back after making sure they didn’t need another game against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.Karlsson scored two goals and had an assist while Carrier and Marchessault also scored for the Knights in a 6-0 rout Monday night over the Stars, who had extended the West final to six games after losing the first three.“We’ve worked hard as a group. That was the goal since year one, to come back here,” Marchessault said. “Our best game is yet to come. That’s the mentality we need to have.”Reilly Smith, Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore were also part of that inaugural 2017-18 Knights season that ended in a Cup Final, when they won Game 1 against the Washington Capitals before losing four in a row.“That first year was a whirlwind ...

Butler helps Heat to 103-84 Game 7 win over Celtics and spot in NBA Finals

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:57 GMT

By JIMMY GOLEN (AP Sports Writer)BOSTON — No unprecedented comeback, no last-tick miracle, no cavalcade of higher seeds is going to prevent these Miami Heat from playing for the NBA title.Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, and Caleb Martin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help the eighth-seeded Heat beat Boston 103-84 in Game 7 on Monday night and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.A year after losing a seventh game to the Celtics, Miami recovered from blowing a 3-0 lead in the series and advanced to face the Western Conference champion Nuggets.Game 1 is Thursday night in Denver, where the top-seeded Nuggets have been waiting since sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers on May 22..“We stayed together as a group. As a team, we talked about going and getting a tough one on the road. We did just that,” Butler said. “But we’re not satisfied. We’re excited. We’re happy. But we’ve got one more to get.”Bam Adebayo scored 12 poi...

As Russian air strikes target Kyiv for third night running, Ukraine sanctions Iran

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:32:57 GMT

KYIV — Russia launched its third attack in 24 hours Tuesday night, sending 31 Iranian-made kamikaze drones into Ukraine, most of them aimed at Kyiv.Ukrainian Air Defense Forces said they shot down 29 drones. However, there was still extensive damage caused. One person was killed and 13 injured in a fire at a residential building caused by falling debris from a drone, Kyiv’s military administration reported.The latest attack came as Kyiv moved to sanction the Kremlin’s main supplier of drones — Iran.On Monday, the Ukrainian parliament supported an initiative from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sanction Iran for 50 years.“At a time when Russia is shelling Ukrainians almost every day and night with drones of Iranian production, this is the right step,” MP Olexiy Goncharenko said in a statement.Zelenskyy asked the parliament to support the state security and defense council’s decision to sanction Iran on May 27. The Council’s decision will sto...