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A group of three People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships sailed within 35 nautical miles of Taiwan’s Orchid Island, heading south late on Monday, CNA said, citing an unnamed military source. The outlying island, popular with tourists, is 22.5 nautical miles southeast of Taiwan proper. According to the report, a single southbound Chinese guided-missile frigate was detected 50 nautical miles off Orchid Island between 7 and 11 p.m. local time the following day....

The study, “Functional connectome mediates the association between sleep disturbance and mental health in preadolescence: A longitudinal mediation study,” was published January 18 and aimed to understand how two separate brain networks interconnect as it relates to sleep deprivation and mental health. The study acknowledges that sleep disturbance is known to be associated with various mental disorders and often precedes the onset of mental disorders in youth. “Given the increasingly acknowledged bidirectional influence between sleep disturbance and mental disorders, we aim to identify a shared neural mechanism that underlies sleep disturbance and mental disorders in preadolescents,” researchers said....

Biden was a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic and marketed himself to voters as being the candidate to get the pandemic under control. Nearly a year into his presidency, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are surging across the United States, making him a lightning rod for criticism from his detractors both at home and abroad. The Global Times, a Chinese state-run media outlet, criticized Biden for making “hollow” campaign slogans about fighting the virus in a recent op-ed....

Experts at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering created the dashboard to track reported cases of the infection. The information is also available as a Google spreadsheet. The webpage includes the total number of deaths, confirmed cases, and the number of people who have recovered from the virus which has been linked to a wholesale seafood market in Wuhan, where live animals were sold. The information is plotted on a map, as well as in tables on either side....

The research, conducted by members of the People’s Liberation Army-affiliated Space Engineering University in Beijing, has modeled potential technology to overcome the major obstacle of air resistance, according to a paper published in the July issue of the monthly journal Laser & Infrared. The method involves firing a laser at the molecules in front of a hypersonic vehicle, creating air plasma, or a “hot core,” that manipulates the structure of the shock wave developing in front of the missile or airplane as it travels at more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5....

“The Chinese side has repeatedly made clear to the U.S. side our serious concern over Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan and our firm opposition to the visit,” Zhao said during a news briefing on Monday. “We are fully prepared for any eventuality,” he added. “The People’s Liberation Army will never sit by idly. China will take strong and resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. As for what measures exactly we will take, let’s wait and see if she dares making the visit....

Conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies as part of their research into Global Health and Governance Opinion, the poll found that 69 percent of adults in Great Briton felt China’s coronavirus numbers were underreported, with 12 percent of respondents saying they believed the Chinese government was “honestly reporting” the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths within its border. An additional 19 percent said they didn’t know. Redfield & Wilton Strategies pollsters surveyed 2,000 British adults on April 8 for its latest poll....

“The United States, which has always considered itself an exception and superior, saw its own epidemic situation go out of control, accompanied by political disorder, inter-ethnic conflicts, and social division,” the Chinese State Council Information Office said. “It further added to the human rights violations in the country, the so-called ‘city upon a hill’ and ‘beacon of democracy.’” The Beijing-based office published the 18-page document entitled “The Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2020” on Wednesday....

Keiji Furuya, who led a delegation to Taipei this week, concluded his three-day visit after meetings with senior Taiwanese leaders including President Tsai Ing-wen. Furuya, 69, chairs a bipartisan parliamentary group that oversees bilateral relations in the absence of formal diplomatic ties between Tokyo and Taipei. In public remarks he made next to the speaker of Taiwan’s parliament You Si-kun, Furuya quoted Abe Shinzo, Japan’s late prime minister, who, in the months before his death, had linked stability in the Taiwan Strait to Japan’s own security....

The Biden administration has vowed to push back on both China and Russia over the next four years, as the White House looks to refocus American foreign policy on the U.S.-led international system, traditional alliances, and democracy abroad. Biden’s vow to protect liberal democratic values puts him at odds with the authoritarian systems in Russia and China, and conflict last week with President Vladimir Putin and Chinese officials at bilateral talks in Alaska gave a hint of the great power tensions that might yet characterize his term....

After the surreal BWF World Championships win in Basel a little over a fortnight ago, Sindhu is raring to go. If we are to judge by her performances at the Indonesia Open and then at the World Championships, it will be pretty evident that the 24-year-old is hungry for success and is stubborn about achieving it. Sindhu has tamed the best players in the circuit in the last 2 months, which has surely given her a lot of confidence....

At 6 a.m. Moscow time on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” to “demilitarize and de-Nazify” its Eastern European neighbor, in what appeared to be a prerecorded national address filmed three days earlier. Shortly after, Ukraine defense authorities reported intense missile strikes across the country, while Russian ground and air forces were seen crossing into Kyiv-controlled territory. At a press conference in Beijing, China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying took issue with what she called “typical Western framing” of the situation after a reporter had used the term “invasion....

The mission involves an orbiter and lander, as well as a rover called Zhurong. On May 14, the lander successfully touched down on Mars, making China only the third nation—after the United States and Soviet Union—to successfully land on the red planet and establish communication from the surface. The lander touched down in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, the largest known impact basin in the solar system. A week later, the lander deployed the Zhurong rover, beginning the vehicle’s exploration phase....

The pandemic originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan at the start of this year, spreading worldwide and to date claiming more than 1 million lives. China was able to bring its own outbreak under control through strict population control measures, but was unable to stop the virus spreading beyond its borders. Nationalistic Chinese state media has celebrated Beijing’s success and maligned its rivals’ efforts to fight the spread of the disease....

That was the verdict in Beijing when China’s Foreign Ministry was asked to comment on the one-year anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, during which hundreds of Donald Trump supporters stormed the halls of Congress in an attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election. The Chinese government has spent the past year criticizing America’s democratic system and promoting itself as a better form of democracy. A 50-page white paper published ahead of President Joe Biden’s Summit for Democracy last month extolled China as a “democracy that works....

In a statement Friday issued by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Southern Theater Command spokesperson Sen. Col. Li Huamin reacted to the recent presence of Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer near the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands. The two South China Sea land formations were the subject of international disputes, but Beijing claimed exclusive rights to them. “The Chinese PLA sent ships and aircraft to conduct the whole-process monitoring and verification on the two US warships and warned them to leave,” the statement said, saying Li has accused the U....

China has accomplished the feat as world No.2 Fan Zhendong eliminated Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong 4-2 in men’s singles semi-final. Newly crowned Olympic champion Ma Long defeated London Olympics gold medallist Zhang Jike through seven games in an eye-catching rematch of the final in Rio, reports Xinhua. Fan swept Ma in four games in Sunday’s final, an encounter between the top two seeds of the tournament. Fan revenged his 0-4 loss to Ma in 2015 World Cup....

Kansas City (5-2) has now lost two in a row after five consecutive wins. It appeared to be in prime position to win this “Thursday Night Football” showdown, but back-to-back defensive holding calls extended the game and gave the Raiders hope. IYER: Less Marshawn means more offense for Raiders Quarterbacks Alex Smith and Carr both had monster games. Smith was 25-for-36 for 342 yards and three TDs. Carr threw for 417 yards and three scores on 29-for-52 passing....

Shared on Reddit on Wednesday, Jamie J. from Arizona posted a video of her 6-year-old dog and new kitten, footage that has delighted animal lovers. Six-year-old Muffin the dog is seen wagging her tail as she plays with 7-week-old kitten Pepper. The caption reads: “My Chihuahua and the new kitten absolutely in love.” “Muffin was very curious but quickly became Pepper’s protector and friend,” Jamie told Newsweek. The Chihuahua was first recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1904 and is ranked number 37 in the list of the most-popular dog breeds in the U....

Prosecutors charge that Rex used his network to recruit teenagers who could help him abduct a small boy. Officials say Rex wanted to sexually abuse the child-and possibly kill and eat him. According to chilling details recorded in court papers, a teenager says that Rex told him that he almost grabbed a child himself at a New Hampshire mall recently when he saw a small boy going into a bathroom alone....