Category: World

Hong Kong scientist Dr. Li-Meng Yan was stepping into uncharted territory. Hours before she boarded an April 28 Cathay Pacific flight to the United States, the respected doctor who specialized in virology and immunology at the Hong Kong School of Public Health had plotted her escape, packing her bag and sneaking past the censors and video cameras on campus. She had her passport and her purse and was about to leave all of her loved ones behind. If she was caught, she knew she could be thrown in jail — or, worse, rendered…

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Korean Air’s U.S. operation received millions in federal small-business loans aimed to soften the blow of Covid-19, federal data shows. The carrier received $5 million to $10 million in U.S. loans intended to help small businesses keep employees on their payrolls, according to a list of the largest recipients of loans in the Paycheck Protection Program released by the Trump administration on Monday. The Seoul-based airline, South Korea’s largest, has about 500 employees in the U.S., and a spokeswoman said it applied for the loan because more than half of the carrier’s…

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Israeli relations with China have grabbed headlines in recent weeks, but the real litmus test of the United States’ ability to counter Beijing’s growing footprint in the Middle East is likely to be in the Gulf. In talks last month with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israeli leaders made clear that while wanting to maintain close relations with China, they would not risk jeopardizing their long-standing ties to the US, their closest ally and supporter of their controversial annexationist policies. Within days of Pompeo’s visit, Israel awarded a tender…

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The Eiffel Tower reopened to visitors Thursday morning after having been shut down for more than three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the Paris landmark’s longest closure since World War II. The reopening is a dramatic sign of people reclaiming public spaces in France following more than 100 days of restrictions. But the tower’s highest point is still not open – and for now, visitors will need to take the stairs. The stairs-only rule is one of several restrictions at the site, which draws millions of tourists…

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Exiled Chinese dissident Guo Wengui alleged this weekend the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “allocates $2 billion a year” to pay off the Vatican for its silence concerning Chinese atrocities. In a June 20th interview on The War Room, Mr. Guo said the CCP earmarks massive sums each year to win the allegiance of foreign countries including the Vatican, Italy, and Australia. Among them, the Vatican receives up to 2 billion dollars from the Chinese Communist Party every year, he said. “The Chinese Communist Party allocates 2 billion US dollars each year” to gain…

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As businesses reopen across the U.S. after coronavirus shutdowns, many are requiring customers and workers to sign forms saying they won’t sue if they catch COVID-19. Businesses fear they could be the target of litigation even if they adhere to safety precautions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials. But workers’ rights groups say the forms force employees to sign away their rights should they get sick. The liability waivers, similar to what President Donald Trump’s campaign is requiring for people to attend a Saturday…

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted a meeting to discuss the country’s nuclear capabilities, state media said on Sunday, marking his first appearance in three weeks after a previous absence sparked global speculation about his health. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the conference of the Central Military Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea in this image released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 23, 2020. KCNA via REUTERS Ruling Workers’ Party officials wore face masks to greet Kim as he entered…

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With two barren peaks that rise only about 170 feet above sea level, the now-extinct Pūhāhonu volcano in the Northwestern Hawaii Islands doesn’t look like much. This is especially true since in the same archipelago, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa tower over every other volcano at over 13,000 feet above sea level. Scientists at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa have proved that looks can be deceiving. A new study published in the Earth and Planetary Science Letters journal establishes that Pūhāhonu is the largest shield volcano in the world, taking Mauna…

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What do great nations do? They bring out the best in others—not altruistically, but synergistically, through the pursuit of their own strategic interests. That is precisely the direction that President Trump is headed with regards to Greenland when he authorized a $12 million investment in the world’s largest island to develop a “sustainable” economy.” Just eight months ago, all the usual media personalities derided and mocked the President when the press leaked his ambitions to purchase Greenland. “We could move one of the Red Sox spring training camps there,” Joe Scarborough said on his MSNBC morning show, “and, I don’t…

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A ban on the sale of menthol flavoured cigarettes, menthol rolling tobacco, and capsule cigarettes came into force as of Wednesday in the UK, obeying a European Union directive, which critics fear is the first step towards a full “prohibition” on tobacco. On Wednesday, the flavoured cigarettes were banned as a part of the EU Tobacco Product Directive that was transposed into UK law despite the nation leaving the bloc earlier this year. The new law is expected to extend beyond the Brexit transition period, which is set to end…

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