The aunt of an Alberta woman who has been released from custody in China says she believes it was a mistake by her niece's employer that resulted in her arrest. Rhona McIver said she believes her niece arrived in China to learn that the school she'd planned to teach at no longer had a job for her, so officials gave her work at another school. China and Canada both insisted McIver's case was different from Kovrig's and Spavor's. She explained that while in China, McIver adopted a puppy, and even though she was able to fly from China to Canada with the dog, there was a problem flying it to Calgary. A spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry said last week that a Canadian woman had received an administrative penalty for illegal employment but did not provide further details.

Source: CBC News December 29, 2018 21:00 UTC