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Defending champions Waikato Chiefs reached the summit of the Super 15 standings without even playing at the weekend after early season pacesetters ACT Brumbies’ late costly stumble at home. The New Zealanders went top of the table courtesy of four points from their weekend bye as the Brumbies were surprisingly held to a 28-28 draw by competition newcomers the Southern Kings in Canberra on Friday. Last season’s finalists Coastal Sharks are ominously poised in third place in the overall standings after downing the Canterbury Crusaders 21-17 to hold on to their South African conference lead from the much-improved Central Cheetahs....

China eased past Vietnam with a 3-1 scoreline in the quarterfinals. Wang Shuang, Wang Shanshan and Tang Jiali scored against a spirited Vietnamese side. Japan, on the other hand, thrashed Thailand 7-0 riding on the back of a Yulka Sagasawa hat-trick and goals from Hinata Miyazawa, Rin Sumida and Riko Ueki. China vs Japan Head to Head China and Japan have met 18 times. Japan emerged as winners on 14 occasions, whereas China won thrice....

It took a historic, come-from-behind performance for the Jaguars to advance to the divisional round, as they climbed out of an early 27-0 first-half deficit to notch a last-second 31-30 win over the Chargers. Trevor Lawrence had a first half to forget with four interceptions, and he entered the final drive of the half with a 0.0 passer rating. Despite the rough start, he quickly made amends, bouncing back with a four-TD performance to help keep the Jaguars’ season alive....

Tottenham had snatched a 2-2 draw in Turin, and managed to further take a grip on the tie during the first half at Wembley Stadium with Heung-Min Son’s goal giving Spurs a 1-0 advantage on the evening. Juventus, however, would find the two goals they needed over a three minute span in the second half, with the Argentine duo of Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala finding the net in the 64th and 67th minute respectively....

According to a report from The Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), the unidentified 9-year-old boy managed to get into the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport’s internal baggage organization system via a conveyor belt on Saturday. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport’s Director of Corporate Communications and Creative Services Patrick Hogan explained to Newsweek that the child was traveling with a large group for a trip together. In a moment in which the adults were collectively distracted, the boy managed to sneak off....

Women’s World Cup final: USA vs. Japan odds The hosts’ path to the final always looked relatively straightforward, and although they have had to overcome two tough opponents in Uruguay and Peru in the knockout stages, Jorge Sampaoli’s men were always fancied to make it through. Argentina, meanwhile, has been the favorite throughout the competition, and while it has taken the side a while to get going, its 6-1 demolition of Paraguay in the semifinals had been on the cards....

Blinken asked authorities in Hong Kong to drop charges filed against those for “merely for standing for election or for expressing dissenting views” as police crack down on dissent. Hundreds of thousands of protesters in the city participated in unauthorized pro-democracy rallies in 2019. “Instead of caring about Hong Kong’s democracy and Hong Kong people’s rights, what it is doing is to meddle in Hong Kong’s politics and China’s internal affairs,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a briefing Friday....

Responding to the Pentagon’s accusation last week that Chinese drills near the disputed Paracel Islands would “further destabilize the situation in the South China Sea,” Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. “ignores the facts, reverses black and white, provokes regional relations and attempts to benefit from it.” “We are strongly dissatisfied and are resolutely against this,” Ren said, emphasizing that the exercises were routine and not aimed at any other country....

On June 22, Jewish World Watch, an NGO, launched an online database of businesses that either are or appear to be employing such labor, either directly or through suppliers. There are now 803 firms from more than 35 countries on the database. The release is timely because on the previous day, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act went into effect. The American law creates a rebuttable presumption that goods made in Xinjiang were produced with forced labor and are therefore ineligible for importation into the U....

President Donald Trump’s signing Monday of an executive order that “blocks all property and interests in property of the Government of Venezuela that are within the jurisdiction of the United States,” sanctions supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and puts further pressure on Beijing and Moscow’s interests there. Responding to this on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying argued that the U.S. committed “gross interference in Venezuela’s internal affairs and severely violates basic norms governing international relations....

In a message published Friday by the State Department, Secretary Mike Pompeo wrote: “On behalf of the people of the United States, I offer congratulations to the people of China as you celebrate your National Day on October 1.” He added: “The United States wishes the people of China happiness, health, peace and prosperity in the year to come.” But the message came amid not only a global trade war between the two top economic competitors, but also frictions in the South China Sea, where Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan recently defied Beijing’s territorial claims....

Weibo, which boasts more than half a billion active monthly users, has become the breeding ground for an “especially toxic variant” of jingoism, which has left elements of the Chinese public with “high expectations” when it comes to Taiwan, one analyst told Newsweek. China’s state-owned media outlets led the charge on June 6 when senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Chris Coons (D-DE) made a brief stop at Songshan Airport in the Taiwanese capital to announce the Biden administration’s intention to donate 750,000 U....

“China will provide $2 billion over two years to help with COVID-19 response and with economic and social development in affected countries, especially developing countries,” Xi said at a virtual session for the 73rd World Health Assembly. He also said he supported a “comprehensive review” of the world’s handling of the coronavirus “after it is brought under control.” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar represented the U.S. in place of President Donald Trump and condemned the WHO’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak....

The latest crackdown follows a months-long purge since the summer to cure what a government newspaper called “the troubled parts of the entertainment industry.” A new “negative list” announced by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) will further tighten regulations on online content in order to create a “positive and healthy” internet environment, the agency said. Both celebrities and their fans could face indefinite bans if they fall within Beijing’s definition of toxic celebrity culture....

A paper published in Nature Communications is the first piece of research to thoroughly assess the impact of trichlorofluoromethane on the ozone, projecting a delay of around 18 years under the very worst case scenario. Trichlorofluoromethane (or CFC-11) is a colorless and odorless chlorofluorocarbon that can be used as an aerosol propellant or foam-blowing agent and was once the most commonly used refrigerant. But since the Montreal Protocol (1987), its use has been phased out—as has the use of several other chemicals that were found to damage the ozone, otherwise known as ozone-depleting substances (or ODS)....

RSF published a statement Tuesday detailing how Chinese authorities suppressed whistle blowers and early warnings of the COVID-19 virus outbreak, which has since spread across the globe and killed more than 19,000 people. “Without the control and censorship imposed by the authorities, the Chinese media would have informed the public much earlier of the severity of the coronavirus epidemic, sparing thousands of lives and perhaps avoiding the current pandemic,” the RSF statement argued....

That’s a line Chinese spokespersons around the globe are rehearsing these days. Beijing is fighting hard to burnish its PR—striving for a softer, more sophisticated tone—ahead of next summer. Its Olympic organizing committee has hired Hill and Knowlton, a consulting firm, for help and holds regular Olympics-related press conferences and media trips. Last Thursday China joined Western nations condemning Burma’s crackdown in the U.N. Security Council, the first time Beijing has agreed to such a measure....

“Peng Shuai was found to have used coercion and offered the possibility of financial reward in return for her main draw partner agreeing to withdraw from the ladies doubles event at Wimbledon 2017,” the TIU said in a statement. “Although the offer was refused and Peng Shuai did not subsequently compete at The Championships, it constituted a breach of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).” Peng’s attempt to change her doubles partner came after the sign-in deadline....

The 20-member Department of Defense task force—comprising military and intelligence officials as well as civilian leaders—was announced by the president last month and held its first meeting on March 1. The group, led by veteran Asia expert Ely Ratner, is looking at the Pentagon’s interaction with China and focuses on “countering Chinese efforts,” the department said in a statement last month. The task force aims to provide findings including actionable recommendations to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and deputy Kathleen Hicks by the middle of June....

Beijing, Aug 6 (PTI) Asian powerhouse China today announced its 845-member strong delegation of athletes, including 19 Olympic champions, who will take part in the 2018 Asian Games to be held in Indonesia next weekend. The Chinese delegation, which also includes 38 foreign coaches from 15 countries in 22 events, has signed up to compete in 376 disciplines of 38 sports out of the 40 on offer at the 18th Asiad, which opens on August 18 in Jakarta and runs through September 2 in the Indonesian capital....