Stories for July 23rd 2020

Thursday, July 23rd 2020 - 08:23 UTC
Chinese spy involved in visa fraud, holed up in the consulate in San Francisco, FBI claims

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believes that a Chinese researcher, accused of visa fraud for hiding her affiliation with the Chinese military, has been holed up in the Chinese consulate in San Francisco for a month, according to court filings.
Thursday, July 23rd 2020 - 08:11 UTC
WHO cautions that despite good progress in developing Covid-19 vaccines, first use is still far, early 2021

Researchers are making “good progress” in developing vaccines against COVID-19, with a handful in late-stage trials, but their first use cannot be expected until early 2021, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Wednesday.
Thursday, July 23rd 2020 - 07:47 UTC
Germany introduces strict measures in staff contracting for industrial abattoirs

Germany is introducing a new law compelling meatpackers to employ staff directly in industrial abattoirs rather than sub-contracting to avert further coronavirus outbreaks exacerbated by poor working conditions, a draft law showed on Wednesday.
Thursday, July 23rd 2020 - 07:34 UTC
Scientists confirm active methane seep from Antarctica's seabed

Scientists have discovered an active methane seep from Antarctica's sea bed that could shed light on the potent greenhouse gas trapped beneath frozen continent. Marine ecologist Andrew Thurber first glimpsed what a colleague described as a “microbial waterfall” during a dive in the icy waters of the Ross Sea in 2012.
Thursday, July 23rd 2020 - 07:10 UTC
US orders China to shut Houston consulate; Beijing calls it a “political provocation”

The move by the United States government to shut down China's consulate in Houston is an attempt to blame Beijing for American failures ahead of presidential elections in November, Chinese state media said in editorials published on Thursday.
Thursday, July 23rd 2020 - 07:02 UTC
US pork inventories down 25% in twelve months after plants slowed production

United States frozen pork inventories were down 25% from a year earlier at the end of June, the US Agriculture Department said on Wednesday after outbreaks of the coronavirus among meatpacking workers slowed production.
Thursday, July 23rd 2020 - 06:55 UTC
Twitter admits hackers read direct messages of some 36 accounts

Twitter said on Wednesday that the hackers who breached its systems last week likely read the direct messages of 36 accounts, including one belonging to an elected official in the Netherlands.
Thursday, July 23rd 2020 - 06:47 UTC
Luxury presidential 787 Dreamline back in Mexico, following a failed sale

The luxury presidential jet Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wants to sell returned on Wednesday to Mexico, more than a year and a half after he sent it to the United States in search of a buyer.