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The White House’s decision to announce its government-level boycott on Monday has led to a snowball effect of similar actions by Australia, the United Kingdom and, most recently, Canada. The four nations are understood to have been in close contact to coordinate the collective response. “The U.S., Australia, U.K. and Canada’s use of the Olympics for political manipulation is unpopular and self-isolating,” said the spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin....

Deng Xijun, the Chinese ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), shared a satellite image of Taiwan accompanied by photographs of People’s Liberation Army aircraft. He then referenced the 149 Chinese aircraft that flew near Taiwan in the first four days of the month, but omitted the additional spy plane that returned on October 5. “By dispatching 149 warplanes near #Taiwan island since Oct 1, the #PLA sent strong warning to the Taiwan secessionists & their foreign supporters,” tweeted Deng....

Kansas City is coming off a tough 27-24 win over the Chargers last week on Thursday Night Football. The Chargers’ defense did a good job of not allowing either Travis Kelce or Juju Smith-Schuster to beat them, but Mahomes still threw two touchdowns in the Week 2 victory. The Chiefs’ defense also did their job, sacking Justin Herbert twice and intercepting one of his passes for a game-changing pick-six. Kansas City will look to get their offense humming against a Colts team that was humiliated in Week 2....

Charles scored five touchdowns the last time he visited the Black Hole (maybe a new nickname is in order considering players tend to have career days at O.co Coliseum), and should have another strong performance on Thursday. He doesn’t have a touchdown prop this week, but he is on the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook’s props board for 88.5 rushing yards. Charles is averaging 77 rushing yards per game on the year, but he’s been impressive of late, posting 98 and 159 rushing yards on the Bills and Seahawks, respectively, in consecutive weeks....

Meece was convicted of rape in Ohio 1980, and moved to Escanaba, Michigan, in the the late 1980s, later being convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct towards minors. In 1991 he was sentenced to between three and 15 years for sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl and her 12 year-old sister, the daughters of a woman he was dating. He threatened to kill the children and their mother if they told anyone of the sexual assault....

The study published in the Journal of Pediatrics involved 192 participants. They ranged from newborns to 22-year-olds (but all classed as children), who visited Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Respiratory Infection Control clinics for symptoms associated with COVID-19, and a condition known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome that is linked to the coronavirus. The volunteers provided the team with throat or nose swabs, and/or blood samples. The team examined these for traces of SARS-CoV-2, the name of the coronavirus germ that causes COVID-19....

Quick-fire goals from Eduardo Vargas and Jose Fuenzalida in the second half spared Chile’s blushes before La Roja fly out to Brazil to begin their title defence. Playing their final warm-up match before the country’s Copa America opener against guests Japan on June 17, Chile dominated but trailed at half-time. CONCACAF Gold Cup participants Haiti – who were invited to take part in the Centenario edition in 2016 – silenced the crowd in La Serena when Frantzdy Pierrot outmuscled two opponents and poked the ball past Brayan Cortes in the 26th minute....

Tensions between China and the United States have been mounting and officials have been raising concerns about China’s military buildup. China’s testing of a new hypersonic weapon of the summer should create a sense of “urgency,” according to a top Pentagon official, who warned Beijing could soon launch a “surprise” nuclear attack against the United States. The Global Times editorial board accused the United States of creating an “unprecedented atmosphere of panic” toward China’s development of nuclear weapons....

Russia reported the partial withdrawal of troops near Ukraine and also concluded war games in occupied Crimea on Wednesday. But in an address from the White House, President Joe Biden said more than 150,000 Russian troops still encircle Ukraine. Earlier this week, diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv were relocated amid fears that an attack could be imminent. China, meanwhile, has resisted similar moves and not voiced overt concerns about Moscow’s actions....

Liu Dengfeng, a supervisor at the science and education division of China’s National Health Commission, said at a news conference Friday in Beijing that the Chinese government issued an order on January 3 to dispose of novel coronavirus samples at certain facilities not qualified to handle such highly infectious diseases as a measure to “prevent the risk to laboratory biological safety and prevent secondary disasters caused by unidentified pathogens.”...

It came a day after China dispatched 19 People’s Liberation Army warplanes, including nuclear-capable bombers, into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Flight trackers have also picked up routine U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy reconnaissance missions around China this week. Air traffic monitors in Taiwan who have been logging the daily PLA intrusions intercepted the radio message at around 8 a.m. local time on September 6, Newsweek has learned....

Asked about the bill during Wednesday’s briefing, Zhao told reporters the proposed legislation, which pushes for investigations based on the “presumption of guilt,” was “highly immoral” and a way to “shirk responsibility for the U.S. fumbling response to China.” He advised politicians to focus on the outbreak instead of “racking their brains to distract attention and deflect responsibility.” Senator Lindsey Graham introduced the legislation, formally titled the COVID-19 Accountability Act, on Tuesday....

During a plenary session of the European Parliament on Tuesday, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, painted a bleak picture of a recent high-level summit between leaders in Brussels and Beijing. His summary depicted lengthy talks that ultimately led nowhere, as the two sides failed to see eye to eye on Ukraine and wished to discuss different subjects. “Given China’s increasing assertiveness both at home and abroad, it’s clear that we don’t share the same political values,” Borrell told European lawmakers in Strasbourg, France....

America’s major non-NATO ally Pakistan was the first to overtly signal its support last Thursday—just hours after Russia’s missile barrages into Ukraine began—when Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Moscow and signed deals to import wheat and natural gas. The Kremlin’s most important trade ties, however, are with Beijing. In 2019, Russia sold $57.3 billion worth of goods to China, accounting for 13.4 percent of all outbound trade, making the country its single largest export destination....

Then Nagornyy’s score flashed and a whoop went out at the Aspire Dome. Only it didn’t come from the Russians but the Chinese, who took gold at the world championships in a tense if sloppy men’s team final by less than five-hundredths of a point to claim their first major international title in four years. China’s total of 256.634 was just ahead of Russia’s 256.585. Nagornyy — who stalled midway through his final routine and was scored 13....

In a Sunday interview with NBC News, Blinken said that China has acted “egregiously” to curb the freedoms enjoyed for decades in the semi-autonomous region of Hong Kong. Blinken said that the U.S. “should do something” to give “haven” to dissidents and protesters who have faced a growing crackdown from mainland Chinese authorities. But in Tuesday remarks, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign MInistry dismissed Blinken’s concerns and compared Hong Kong demonstrators to the mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters that violently attacked the U....

Xi called Biden on Thursday, making him one of the last world leaders to congratulate the Democratic nominee on his victory. Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin were the two highest profile holdouts, and the latter still has not offered his congratulations. Chinese state media said Xi told Biden he hoped the world’s two largest economies would “uphold the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, focus on cooperation, manage differences, advance the healthy and stable development of China-US ties, and join hands with other countries and the international community to promote the noble cause of world peace and development....

Initially, this was a direction signifying the great wane, the beginning of the end in the life of a professional footballer when he dips below the horizon of 30, setting where the sun rises. However, as seen in last week’s puzzling transfer involving Cedric Bakambu, and in the latest rumours swirling around Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, there is now a great deal more ambition in target selection. Bakambu, on the cusp of 27, certainly isn’t finished, and neither is Aubameyang at 28....

The World No. 15 has been the most consistent of all the Indian men’s singles players this year. While Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and Sameer Verma have struggled due to injuries and patchy form, it has been Sai who has been the shining beacon. He reached the final of the Swiss Open earlier in the year. Then, at the Japan Open, while all his compatriots fell early, Sai was the only one to reach the semi-finals....

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, told reporters in the year’s final press conference on Wednesday that the state of relations across the Taiwan Strait would become “more complex and severe” in the new year. China claims democratic Taiwan is part of its historical territory, but Taiwan says it is already a functionally independent state, whose citizens have no interest in being governed from Beijing....