The United States on Friday objected to a proposed U.N. resolution on the coronavirus pandemic after diplomats said it had agreed to compromise language with China that didn’t directly mention the World Health Organization, an issue of growing dispute between the world’s two major economic powers. The U.S. objection to the Security Council resolution drafted by France and Tunisia reflects rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. It also leaves the U.N.’s most powerful body impotent on reacting to the greatest crisis facing the world — and unable to back Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ March 23 call for global cease-fires to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, which diplomats said all 15 Security Council members agree on and is the main point of the resolution.

The back-and-forth continues.The Department of Homeland Security said Friday the United States will shorten the visa length for Chinese journalists working for non-American news outlets to 90 days. Previously, journalists with Chinese passports were granted open-ended visas. They can apply for extensions under the new rules, but renewed visas will also last just 90 days. The new limit won't apply to reporters from Hong Kong Macau, or to mainland Chinese citizens who hold green cards.It's the latest development in a media war between Washington and Beijing that has intensified during the coronavirus pandemic. American officials said the rules were meant to counterbalance the "suppression of independent journalism" in China, whose government expelled journalists from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post in March. Before that, the U.S. reduced the number of Chinese citizens employed by multiple state-controlled Chinese news organizations to work in the country. The New York Times notes the move wasn't unexpected; U.S. intelligence officials have long believed some journalists at Beijing-run outlets are spies, and the Trump administration has designated some Chinese news agencies foreign government functionaries.The heightened tensions between the world's two biggest powers didn't just show up in the media world Friday. U.S. lawmakers wrote to nearly 60 countries asking them to support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization, a move that likely won't sit well with China. And Washington also blocked a United Nations security council resolution calling for a global ceasefire during the pandemic because it indirectly referenced the WHO, which the U.S. has blamed in conjunction with China for failing to suppress the outbreak.More stories from theweek.com Outed CIA agent Valerie Plame is running for Congress, and her launch video looks like a spy movie trailer 7 scathing cartoons about America's rush to reopen Trump says he couldn't have exposed WWII vets to COVID-19 because the wind was blowing the wrong way

'We can tell you that the Earth still looks just as stunning as always from up here, so it's difficult to believe all the changes that have taken place since both of us have been up here,' one astronaut had said before coming back home

Chinese space agency hopes capsule can one day carry six astronauts into space

1. China admits coronavirus exposed ‘shortcomings’ in healthcare system  Hindustan Times
2. "Outbreak Big Test That Revealed China's Shortcomings": Top Officer  NDTV
3. China's Socialist Political System Has Shown It Can Overcome Any Challenge: President Xi Jinping On Covid...  News18
4. China to reform disease prevention & control system amid Covid-19 pandemic  Hindustan Times
5. China says it will update disease control measures in wake of coronavirus  The Guardian
6. View Full coverage on Google News

OTTAWA - Canada has backed an American-led effort to allow Taiwan to be granted observer status at the World Health Organization because of its early success in containing COVID-19. The move is politically sensitive because China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and views any overture of

“Are you ready for the ride of your life?”

Conservative leadership hopeful Peter MacKay is calling for use of the Magnitsky Act if specific individuals in China can be identified as having suppressed information related to COVID-19.

The new group, modelled on the pro-Brexit European Research Group that scrutinised Theresa May's fated Brexit deal, will assess China's handling of the outbreak and broader security concerns.

The version published in China Daily omitted a reference to the illness originating in China and spreading to the rest of the world. The piece was published in full on the authors' websites.

The Trump administration says China poses a risk for its lack of transparency about COVID-19. China says the U.S. is trying to shift blame for the Trump administration's failings.

The Trump administration has issued an intelligence analysis claiming China purposely delayed notifying the World Health Organization about the spread of the coronavirus.

The Overwatch League canceled its esports matches scheduled for February and March in China because of the coronavirus outbreak.

A small flock of shorebirds contaminated with oil after touching down on a northern Alberta tailings pond is expected to be released back into the wild within a week.

WeChat is one of the world’s most popular apps, but researchers at the University of Toronto caution it is surveilling international users and using their information to broaden censorship on the app in China.

Specialist London hospital receives working medical equipment used in BBC drama

Daniels played the uptight robot C-3PO in all nine core Star Wars films

News Corp is campaigning full-bore for the US president, with reports of a Wuhan lab ‘intelligence’ dossier being seeded across its empire

In liberal democracies, the integrity, impartiality and professionalism of intelligence agencies matters. That’s why it is essential that intelligence agencies remain aloof, not only from the political debates of the day, but also from the policy decisions that individual governments may take. The intelligence community’s core task is to provide brutally realistic analysis on the threat environments we face so that governments can then make the best-informed policy decisions possible to preserve our common security.

The failures of the intelligence community before the Iraq war, the gullibility of much of the western media, as well as the cynical manipulation of both by the political class of the day, provide us with a stark reminder of what can go radically wrong. On 8 September 2002 the New York Times published one of this century’s most consequential news articles. The front-page story, supplied by the Bush administration, claimed that Saddam Hussein had stepped up his quest for weapons of mass destruction by acquiring key components for a nuclear weapon. In the UK, the Blair government’s “dodgy dossier” compounded the error. John Howard did the same in Australia. The problem was that it just wasn’t true. These were over-egged stories designed to soften the public up for what would become a disastrous war.

The comedian's death was announced over the weekend

Parents are getting a helping hand from some famous faces

Brits appear to be upskilling as they isolate, says rental platform Fat Llama

Glossier's helping hands

For the first in our new series of letters capturing tales and thoughts during lockdown, Amira Hashish finds comfort in her neighbour's act of kindness...

The service will facilitate streaming of established radio stations as well as the new Sonos Sound System station

The clinical psychologist is the first mental health professional to start using TikTok

Aniston also took a moment to mark America's National Nurses Day.

Destiny 2's digital success could spell long-term trouble for discs

According to those who know him best, Tottenham's head of coaching and development, John McDermott, is one of English football's more recent pioneers.

Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright has hit back at criticism of the Premier League over discussions about how to finish the current campaign, claiming football is being used as a 'punch-bag'.

AS Roma have announced that their players and coaching staff will forgo four months' salary to ease the financial strain on the club due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Iain Brunskill should currently be getting his teeth into an exciting new role with the Chinese FA.

Players and coaching staff at LaLiga side Eibar have released a statement revealing fears of a fresh coronavirus outbreak ahead of a planned return for the competition next month.

Rep. Mike McCaul was tapped on to head a GOP House panel scrutinizing China. Disclosures show his family holds stock in a Chinese internet company.

Chinese authorities will allow further leisure venues, including cinemas, to gradually re-open now that the coronavirus pandemic has largely been controlled in the country, the top administrative body said on Friday. This comes after movie theaters were shuttered nationwide in January, ultimately dealing a $2.5B+ loss to the box office in just the first quarter. […]

A unique American business model taking 'paddock to plate' into the dining mainstream is being watched by Australian farmers as a way to get a better share of the food dollar.

The Qantas flight, which landed in Sydney on Sunday morning, is the first in a series of trials of "ultra" long-haul trips which could become reality by 2022.

Billionaire property developer Huang Xiangmo publishes a lengthy and scathing attack at the ATO, which is pursuing him over a $141 million tax bill, and ASIO, which revoked his permanent residency.

A jury hears how a woman who was allegedly gang raped by prominent Chinese actor Yunxiang Gao, and a producer, in a Sydney hotel room begged the men to let her go.

The enforcement was meant to protect from coronavirus spread

After it launched on Tuesday and nailed a series of maneuvers, China’s future crewed spacecraft has made a successful desert touchdown. Built by China’s main space contractor, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), the uncrewed prot...

The 34-year-old from Richmond Hill returns to Kingston, where he spent three seasons as coach of the OHL’s Frontenacs.

California lost more manufacturing jobs to China than any other state.

Equifax, like most large U.S. companies, failed to encrypt the databases that store some of the most sensitive details of people's lives.

Don Shula, who led the Miami Dolphins to two Super Bowl titles and the only undefeated season in NFL history, died Monday. He was 90.

Pau Gasol, a 7-foot Spaniard who became an All-Star in Memphis before joining the Lakers, is hoping to play one more NBA season and then in the 2021 Olympics.