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Known as the Five-hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), the facility, located in a deep depression in southwest China’s Guizhou province, will help astronomers to shed new light on the evolution of the universe, and even search for extraterrestrial intelligence. FAST began trial operations in September 2016, but will now gradually become available for use by astronomers from around the world, Chinese state media Xinhua reported. The telescope consists of a single dish, which has a diameter of 500 meters (1,640 feet) and an area equivalent to 30 football fields....

Speaking to state news outlet the Global Times, Yang Yiqiang, director of the Aerospace Flight Science and Technology Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said China has entered a new era of spaceflight and would start “suborbital travel” for tourists in 2025 with a cost of 2 million to 3 million yuan ($285,000 to $428,000) per person. Yiqiang also compared China’s space industry to that of the U.S., and said he expects the country will “catch up with the development level of the United States within 10 years....

The office of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday released a lengthy readout of the leader’s conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has maintained close ties to his Syrian counterpart throughout the decade-long civil war there. The Syrian readout said the discussion focused “on ways to expand the horizons of cooperation” between the two nations as both pledged support for one another’s causes. Assad extolled the 50th anniversary of Beijing receiving China’s permanent seat at the United Nations from Taiwan, and condemned “Western campaigns that are trying to hit out at stability in the Southeast Asia region and the South China Sea, because the world today needs peace and development, not tension and threats....

The Associated Press reports that Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin spoke about the incident Tuesday during a daily briefing. He requested that the U.S. provide full details about the incident, which involved the nuclear-powered submarine USS Connecticut striking an underwater mountain. “We once again urge the U.S. to give a detailed account of the accident,” he said during the briefing. Wenbin further describes how the U.S. fails to offer “a clear explanation” of the submarine’s purpose in the area....

MORE TNF: DraftKings Showdown Chiefs: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night Start: QB Patrick Mahomes He’s got the bad ankle and he’s not quite lighting it up like last season or earlier this season. But he still mustered three TD passes last week, and he also threw for 300-plus yards in both Broncos games last season. Denver has good pass defense numbers of late, but there are plenty of matchups Mahomes can exploit away from Chris Harris Jr....

The leaders head to Stadio San Paolo with a 13-point lead after taking 22 wins and three draws from 25 matches this season. Napoli have only lost once in the top flight since a 3-1 defeat to Juve in the reverse fixture in September, but three goalless draws in their last five games have seen Carlo Ancelotti’s side fall further behind the champions. Although he acknowledges it will be a difficult match, Chiellini thinks a win for Juve will prove decisive in their quest for an eighth consecutive Scudetto....

Why Do Dogs Do Tricks? According to pet parenting website Wag!, “For a dog to live a happy life, it is important that he learn a few basic skills. Fido needs to learn to come when he is called and to not delay in making his way to you. A basic recall command has the potential to save Fido’s life. Stay is another important word that Fido must have in his canine vocabulary....

Roy Whiting is currently serving a 40-year prison sentence for the brutal killing of schoolgirl Sarah Payne, who he snatched on July 1, 2000, while she was playing in a field with her brother near her grandparents’ home in Hersham, England. The child’s body was found 16 days later and Whiting, a convicted pedophile, was subsequently arrested and charged with her murder. It has now emerged that Whiting was attacked by two fellow prisoners who stabbed him with screws and a plank of wood with a screw in it while screaming: “You f***ing nonce....

An investigation is underway after 79-year-old Nelson J. Sanderson was pronounced dead following an inmate-on-inmate assault at the Century Correctional Institute on August 17. In a statement to NorthEscambia.com, the Florida Department of Corrections said that an active homicide investigation has been launched by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FDC Office of Inspector General. The circumstances which led up to the inmate-on-inmate attack has not been revealed....

Starting next month, millions of U.S. households will begin receiving the expanded federal benefit included in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which he signed in March. “On July 15th, automatic payments from the Child Tax Credit will begin hitting bank accounts and mailboxes. For a working family with two kids: that’s $500 or more on the 15th of every month this year,” Biden wrote on Twitter....

As The New York Times’ Dean Murphy put it, “producing green vehicles means ‘fueling clean energy with a dirty industry.’” In practice, to achieve zero-net emission for the cars we drive in the post-industrial, hyper-environmentally conscious, wealthy world imagined by those who want to replace the carbon-fossil industry with electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels, we need to turn the poor, developing, but minerals’ rich south of the planet into a giant open pit....

MORE: Copa opener photos | Copa America full schedule Diego Godin and Co. appeared dumbfounded and the players stood silently throughout, while injured star Luis Suarez was spotted speaking to a teammate on the sidelines. Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera offered the most confusion, looking around awkwardly during the anthem. MORE: U.S. team talking a better game than it plays Copa America later apologized for the error. “This evening during the pre-match ceremony, due to human error, we inadvertently played the incorrect national anthem,” its statement read....

Her assessment of Twitter robbing people of their human elements as they become “angels jostling to out-angel one another” won acclaim from a large number of readers for its eloquent takedown of what is pejoratively known as “cancel culture.” But while the author’s take on the micro-blogging platform dominated the final section of her three-part essay, the crux of the piece—entitled “It is Obscene: A True Reflection in Three Parts—discussed the betrayal she endured at the hands of a former associate....

Taiwan has made “all necessary preparations” after President Tsai Ing-wen convened a high-level security meeting and ordered troops on “high alert,” the defense ministry added Tuesday. The hotly contested November 3 presidential election is being watched closely by the democratic island of 23 million and its government, which has grown in confidence in its stand-off with Beijing, backed by President Donald Trump’s anti-China stance. But Taipei is preparing for a change in dynamic in the Taiwan Strait as uncertainty grows in direct correlation with Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s election prospects....

It might seem strange that the leader of the world’s most powerful authoritarian regime would simply hand over the keys to the kingdom. Many may see this as welcome progress: for the first time since the communists came to power, one Chinese leader will pass power to another without the shadow of a deathbed looming in the background. But look behind the curtain of court politics, and the principle for managing this succession is the same as those which came before it: a great Chinese leader always picks the successor....

Hypersonic weapons travel at incredible speed and—unlike even the most advanced ballistic missiles—can maneuver in flight. This gives the weapons enormous range and makes them much harder to track and stop. The U.S., Russia and China are all investing heavily in hypersonic technologies. However, the Pentagon has been the slowest to jump on the bandwagon and military chiefs are warning that the U.S. could be left behind by its authoritarian adversaries, at least when it comes to nuclear-capable hypersonics....

The battle of Chinese President Xi Jinping against corruption has been openly laid out. His takeover of the party was based on strong campaigning and a motto about uprooting corruption from China; his popular tag is the “anti-corruption crusader.” This campaign has led to thousands of arrests; nevertheless, corruption continues to negatively impact China’s business sector. The villainy of corruption in China presents entities with danger, whether they are operating or planning to invest in the country....

China’s 57-year-old vice minister of state security has been the subject of much discussion in America’s conservative circles, with the speculation even reaching Chinese social media threads as Beijing’s top spy catcher was not seen or photographed for several weeks. While the Chinese government has yet to publicly address the stories about his alleged defection, its embassy in Washington informed Newsweek on Wednesday that the country’s senior counterintelligence official had attended a cross-regional security dialogue earlier in the day....

Beijing considers the reunification of Taiwan, which it sees as a province of the mainland, an integral part of the country’s future, but many Taiwanese people want complete autonomy. Tensions between China and Taiwan are the worst they’ve been in decades and with the U.S. being a backer of Taiwan, the Pentagon criticized China’s attempts to “intimidate” the island through military exercises. Tensions between China and Taiwan have raised concerns about war breaking out and the potential for the United States to get dragged into an armed conflict....

China had their stronghold in the tournament for a long time, winning it seven times on the trot between 1986 to 1999 before adding another one in 2006. The Steel Roses are now eyeing a record-extending ninth title after edging past Japan in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, South Korea are on the hunt for their maiden title. Throughout the tournament, the Korean Republic have shown on multiple occasions that they are willing to take the game to their opponents....