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Three American citizens who had been detained in China for years have been released, Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports.

Kai Li, Mark Swidan and John Leung will return to the US, reportedly after an agreement was reached as part of sensitive negotiations.

It comes after Politico cited an unnamed US official claiming years-long attempts to free the trio have succeeded, in exchange for unidentified Chinese citizens in US custody.

“We are pleased to announce the release of Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung from detention in the People’s Republic of China,” a State Department spokesperson said.

“Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years.

“Thanks to this administration’s efforts and diplomacy with the PRC [People’s Republic of China], all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home.”

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said he’s worked closely with Mr Li’s son, Harrison Li, who has previously said “I have now spent a third of my life missing my dad”.

Harrison Li. Pic: AP
Image:
Harrison Li. Pic: AP

“Even when it felt like there was no hope, we never stopped believing that one day Mr Li would return home,” Mr Schumer said in a statement on Wednesday.

For the families of all three freed Americans, “this Thanksgiving there is so much to be thankful for”, he added.

It comes after the surprise release of US pastor David Lin in September, after he had been in jail in China since 2006.

What were the trio accused of?

Mr Li, 70, was detained in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in 2018 on espionage charges his family described as baseless.

Texas businessman Mr Swidan, in his 40s, had been held since 2012 and sentenced to death with a reprieve in 2019 on drug-related charges a UN group said has no basis.

Mr Leung, an American in his 70s who also has permanent residency in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong, was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison last year.

He had been found guilty of espionage by a court in eastern China.

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In September, Mr Swidan’s mother, Katherine Swidan, and Harrison Li were among the relatives who appeared before the congressional executive commission on China to press the US government to do more.

“Every day, I wake up and shudder at the thought of him crammed into a tiny cell with as many as 11 other people,” Harrison said at the hearing.

He added in the last eight years his father had suffered a stroke, lost a tooth and spent more than three years “essentially locked in his cell 24/7” due to China’s “zero-Covid” restrictions.

He was also concerned efforts to release his father and others could be slowed by the change of administration in January.

Chinese citizens identified

Two men sent back to China were identified as Xu Yanjun, an officer for China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), and Ji Chaoqun, a Chinese national, CNBC’s Eamon Javers said, quoting a US government official.

Xu Yanjun was arrested for trying to steal technology from GE Aviation, according to a CNBC documentary aired last year.

Dozens more held

The Dui Hua Foundation, which monitors prisoner rights in China, estimates there are about 200 American detainees, more than in any other foreign country.

This figure includes Americans imprisoned as well as those who are prevented from leaving the country while a case is under investigation.

The US classifies only a handful of them as wrongfully detained.

Other families are still waiting for the return of relatives detained in China, including Nelson Wells Jr and Dawn Hunt.

Many others have not made their cases public out of fear it could obstruct their return.

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Two married couples found dead in British car after crash in Germany

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Two married couples found dead in British car after crash in Germany

Two married couples have died after a British car veered off the road and crashed in Germany, according to police.

The fatal accident happened shortly after midnight on Saturday in the trees near a highway in the Kassel district, north of Hesse in central Germany.

The 32-year-old male driver, a 31-year-old female passenger, a 32-year-old female passenger, and a 30-year-old female passenger all died at the scene, despite the efforts of German emergency services.

Sky News understands UK officials have not been contacted for assistance.

At roughly 12.30am on Saturday, the car appears to have veered off the road and crashed into nearby trees around 30m from the road, according to the Kassel police department.

Pic: Feuerwehr Reinhardshagen
Image:
Pic: Feuerwehr Reinhardshagen

One of the victim’s phones automatically alerted the emergency services to the incident, who sent an ambulance to the scene.

Soon, fire engines, ambulances, command vehicles and emergency support vehicles were all dispatched.

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When emergency workers arrived, the car was lying on its side, wedged between several trees.

It wasn’t until they removed the roof that they found all four passengers.

Pic: Feuerwehr Reinhardshagen
Image:
Pic: Feuerwehr Reinhardshagen

The accident happened on Highway L3229
Image:
The accident happened on Highway L3229

The emergency workers who dealt with the victims were immediately supported by the specialist mental health workers at the fire station in Reinhardshagen.

“This high number of deaths is an extraordinary operation for our Reinhardshagen Volunteer Fire Department,” said a fire department spokesperson.

“For some of the emergency personnel, it is the first time they have been confronted with death in this way.

“Therefore, a great deal is being done to help us process these images. We will also discuss this among ourselves and within families, because not everyone can easily shake off what they have seen.”

An investigation into the accident is ongoing and is being conducted by the Hofgeismar police station.

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Legendary boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. to stand trial in Mexico over alleged cartel ties

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Legendary boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. to stand trial in Mexico over alleged cartel ties

Legendary boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. will stand trial over alleged cartel ties and arms trafficking, his lawyer has said. 

A Mexican court has granted a three-month extension for further investigation into the case, according to Chávez’s lawyer, Rubén Fernando Benítez Alvarez.

He said the claims against his client were “speculation” and “urban legends” after a court hearing on Saturday in the northern Mexican city of Hermosillo.

If convicted, Chávez – who took part in the hearing virtually from a detention facility – could face a prison sentence of four to eight years, Mr Alvarez said.

Chávez, 39, who has been living in the United States for several years, was arrested in early July by federal agents outside his Los Angeles home for overstaying his visa and providing inaccurate details on an application to obtain a green card.

The arrest came just days after a fight he had with famed American boxer Jake Paul in Los Angeles.

Mexican prosecutors have been investigating the boxer since 2019 after US authorities filed a complaint against the Sinaloa Cartel for organized crime, human trafficking, arms smuggling, and drug trafficking.

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The case prompted investigations into 13 individuals, including Ovidio Guzmán López – the son of convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán – as well as several associates, hitmen, and accomplices of the criminal organization. Guzmán López was arrested in January 2023 and extradited to the US eight months later.

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Following the inquiry, the Federal Attorney General’s Office issued several arrest warrants, including one against Chávez.

The boxer was deported by the US on 9 August and handed over to agents of the Federal Attorney General’s Office in Sonora state, who transferred him to the Federal Social Reintegration Center in Hermosillo.

The high-profile case comes amid the Trump administration’s efforts to pressure Mexico into cracking down on organized crime, including cancelling visas of prominent Mexican artists and celebrities, and increasing deportations.

Chávez has struggled with drug addiction throughout his career and has been arrested multiple times. In 2012, he was found guilty of driving under the influence in Los Angeles and was sentenced to 13 days in jail.

The boxer was arrested last year for weapons possession. Police said Chávez had two rifles.

He was released shortly afterward upon posting $50,000 bail (£36,000), on the condition that he attend a facility to receive treatment for his addiction.

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Pro-Palestine Australians protest after week of tension with Israel

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Pro-Palestine Australians protest after week of tension with Israel

Thousands of Australians protested in support of Palestine on Sunday, two weeks after the country announced it would recognise a Palestinian state. 

More than 40 protests took place across the country, according to Palestine Action Group, an Australian organisation.

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

The group said around 350,000 people attended rallies nationwide, although police have estimated lower numbers in some cities.

Organiser Josh Lees in Sydney said the protesters were marching to “demand an end to this genocide in Gaza and to demand that our government sanction Israel“.

Women pray during the protests on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Women pray during the protests on 24 August. Pic: Reuters

A demonstrator carries a doll during the Nationwide March for Palestine protest in Sydney on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Image:
A demonstrator carries a doll during the Nationwide March for Palestine protest in Sydney on 24 August. Pic: Reuters

A group representing Australia’s Jewish community, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the rallies created “an unsafe environment and shouldn’t be happening”.

In the last week, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched more personal attacks against Australia’s Anthony Albanese.

Protests took place across Australia. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Protests took place across Australia. Pic: Reuters

“I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of [these] Hamas terrorist monsters,” he said on Wednesday, after earlier describing Mr Albanese as “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”

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Mr Albanese said he did not “take these things personally” and that he treated the leaders of other countries with respect.

His government’s decision to formally recognise the Palestinian state in September, made on 11 August, came after tens of thousands of Australians marched over Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge in support of Palestine.

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