theworldmail.co.uk – Page 98 – International News

Iran moves mock aircraft carrier to sea amid US tensions

JUSTIN MARK July 27, 2020 No Comments

**JULY 27, 2020 @ 1430 GMT |** In this July 26, 2020, satellite photo provided on July 27, by Maxar Technologies, an Iranian fast boat, top left, approaches a mockup aircraft carrier built by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Satellite photographs released Monday, July 27, showed Iran has moved the aircraft carrier out to sea likely for naval drills amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S. **(Maxar Technologies via AP)**

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has moved a mock aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with the United States, satellite photographs released on Monday show, likely signalling the Islamic Republic soon plans to use it for live-fire drills.

An image from Maxar Technologies taken Sunday shows an Iranian fast boat speed toward the carrier, sending waves up in its wake, after a tugboat pulled her out into the strait from the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.

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German cruise ship sets sail, hopes short trip thwarts virus

JUSTIN MARK July 25, 2020 No Comments

**JULY 25, 2020 @ 1700 GMT | HAMBURG, Germany |** Passengers stand on board the Tui cruise ship ‘Mein Schiff 2’ during the departure from the port for a three-day trip on the North Sea in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 24, 2020. The cruise ship has set sail for the first time since the industry was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, with strict precautions to keep passengers and crew as safe as possible. Passengers will spend the weekend at sea with no land stops before returning to Germany on Monday. **(AP Photo)**

BERLIN (AP) — A German cruise ship is gingerly testing the water amid the coronavirus pandemic, setting sail for the first time since the industry was shut down months ago and using strict precautions to keep passengers and crew as safe as possible.

The TUI cruise ship “Mein Schiff 2” — literally “My Ship 2” — set sail for a weekend cruise in the North Sea late Friday night, the dpa news agency reported.

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China launches ambitious attempt to land rover on Mars

JUSTIN MARK July 23, 2020 No Comments

**JULY 23, 2020 @ 1400 GMT |** In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, a Long March-5 rocket carrying the Tianwen-1 Mars probe lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China’s Hainan Province, Thursday, July 23, 2020. China launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet on Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. **(Xinhua via AP)**

BEIJING (AP) — China launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet on Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet.

Engines blazing orange, a Long March-5 rocket took off under clear skies from Hainan Island, south of China’s mainland, as space enthusiasts gathered on a beach across the bay from the launch site.

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US accuses Chinese hackers in targeting of COVID-19 research

JUSTIN MARK July 22, 2020 No Comments

**JULY 22, 2020 @ 1500 GMT | WASHINGTON, United States | FILE** – In this March 22, 2019 file photo, an American flag flies outside the Department of Justice in Washington. The Justice Department has accused two Chinese hackers of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars of trade secrets from companies across the world and more recently targeting firms developing a vaccine for the coronavirus. Officials expected to discuss the indictment at a news conference Tuesday. **(AP Photo)**

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers working with the Chinese government targeted firms developing vaccines for the coronavirus and stole hundreds of millions of dollars worth of intellectual property and trade secrets from companies across the world, the Justice Department said Tuesday as it announced criminal charges.

The indictment does not accuse the two Chinese defendants of actually obtaining the coronavirus research, but it does underscore the extent to which scientific innovation has been a top target for foreign governments and criminal hackers looking to know what American companies are developing during the pandemic. In this case, the hackers researched vulnerabilities in the computer networks of biotech firms and diagnostic companies that were developing vaccines and testing kits and researching antiviral drugs.

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EU agrees on $2.1 trillion deal after marathon summit

JUSTIN MARK July 21, 2020 No Comments

**JULY 21, 2020 @ 1245 GMT | RUSSELS, Belgium |** German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron prepare to address a media conference at the end of an EU summit in Brussels, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. Weary European Union leaders finally clinched an unprecedented budget and coronavirus recovery fund early Tuesday, finding unity after four days and as many nights of fighting and wrangling over money and power in one of their longest summits ever. **(Pool Photo via AP)**

BRUSSELS (AP) — After four days and nights of wrangling, exhausted European Union leaders finally clinched a deal on an unprecedented 1.8 trillion-euro ($2.1 trillion) budget and coronavirus recovery fund early Tuesday, after one of their longest summits ever.

The 27 leaders grudgingly committed to a costly, massive aid package for those hit hardest by COVID-19, which has already killed 135,000 people within the bloc alone.

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UAE’s Amal spacecraft rockets toward Mars in Arab world 1st

JUSTIN MARK July 20, 2020 No Comments

**JULY 20, 2020 @ 1500 GMT |** An H-IIA rocket with United Arab Emirates’ Mars orbiter Hope lifts off from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, southern Japan Monday, July 20, 2020. A United Arab Emirates spacecraft rocketed away Monday on a seven-month journey to Mars, kicking off the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission. **(AP Photo)**

TOKYO (AP) — A United Arab Emirates spacecraft rocketed into blue skies from a Japanese launch center Monday at the start of a seven-month journey to Mars on the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission.

The liftoff of the Mars orbiter named Amal, or Hope, starts a rush to fly to Earth’s neighbor that is scheduled to be followed in the next few days by China and the United States.

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UN chief: World ‘at the breaking point’ due to inequalities

JUSTIN MARK July 18, 2020 No Comments

**JULY 18, 2020 @ 1530 GMT |** A woman wearing a face mask walks past a mural of former President Nelson Mandela in Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday July 18, 2020, as the country celebrates International Mandela Day. Mandela’s fight for freedom and human rights makes him the most influential person among Africa’s youth, according to a survey conducted across the continent. (AP Photo)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Saying “we are at the breaking point,” the U.N. secretary-general made a sweeping call Saturday to end the global inequalities that sparked this year’s massive anti-racism protests and have been further exposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

“COVID-19 has been likened to an X-ray, revealing fractures in the fragile skeleton of the societies we have built,” Antonio Guterres said as he delivered the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture.

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New virus outbreaks raise alarm as India cases hit 1 million

JUSTIN MARK July 17, 2020 No Comments

**JULY 17, 2020 @ 1600 GMT | FILE** – An Ambulance driver, left – who works for HelpNow, an initiative to help the stretched services of first responders, picks up a COVID-19 patient from his home in Mumbai, India, May 28, 2020. **(AP Photo)**

MITO, Japan (AP) — Fresh coronavirus outbreaks, even in places as far flung as China’s western Xinjiang region, are prompting worldwide moves to guard against the pandemic, as the number of confirmed cases globally approaches 14 million.

India on Friday said it had surpassed 1 million cases, third only to the United States and Brazil, with nearly 25,000 deaths. The grim milestone drove home concerns over the country’s readiness to deal with an inevitable surge that could overwhelm hospitals and test the country’s feeble health care system.

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France tourism: Disneyland, Eiffel Tower top floor reopen

JUSTIN MARK July 15, 2020 No Comments

**JULY 15, 2020 @ 1500 GMT | Paris, France |** Visitors take a selfie at the main entrance during the opening up of the top floor of the Eiffel Tower, Wednesday, July 15, 2020 in Paris. The top floor of Paris’ Eiffel Tower reopened today as the 19th century iron monument re-opened its first two floors on June 26 following its longest closure since World War II. **(AP Photo)**

PARIS (AP) — The French tourist industry received a further boost Wednesday with the partial reopening of Disneyland Paris and the opening up of the top floor of the Eiffel Tower.

Disneyland Paris, Europe’s most frequented theme park resort, is partially re-opening to the public, four months after it closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

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