Chengdu, China (CNN) – The United States consulate in the Chinese city of Chengdu officially closed Monday morning, amid worsening relations between Beijing and Washington.

The American flag over the building was lowered at dawn, according to Chinese state-run broadcaster CCTV, and onlookers were moved back by police surrounding the consulate as it prepared to shut.
Beijing ordered the US embassy to close on Friday in a tit-for-tat move, after Washington instructed China’s consulate in Houston, Texas, to cease operations, claiming it had been involved in a US-wide Chinese espionage effort.
The Chinese government gave the Americans the same 72-hour time frame to close their Chengdu mission as Beijing had been given in Houston last week.
As that deadline expired, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Monday that the Chengdu consulate closed at 10 a.m. “Relevant Chinese authorities then entered from the main entrance and took over,” the ministry said in a statement posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
A woman waves a Chinese flag in front of the US consulate in Chengdu, southwestern China.
A woman waves a Chinese flag in front of the US consulate in Chengdu, southwestern China.
Over the weekend, hundreds of people had gathered outside the US consulate in the city of 16.5 million people, taking selfies and waving Chinese flags.
On Saturday, the US insignia was taken down, while on Sunday removal work began on a plaque outside the embassy and shipping containers were loaded onto trucks, as staff prepared for the consulate to be closed.
A worker attempts to remove a plaque on the wall outside the US Consulate in Chengdu, southwestern China.
A worker attempts to remove a plaque on the wall outside the US Consulate in Chengdu, southwestern China.
Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwest Sichuan province, was an important diplomatic outpost for the US, covering a large swath of the country, including the controversial Tibetan Autonomous region.
A video posted to Twitter by the US Mission in China on Monday morning featured images of the Chengdu consulate being opened by then-Vice President George Bush in 1985, before listing the areas covered by the diplomatic mission, such as Tibet.
“Today, we bid farewell to the US Consulate General in Chengdu. We will miss you forever,” the mission’s official post said.

Espionage allegations

Last Tuesday, Washington told China to “cease all operations and events” at its Houston consulate, claiming that the mission had been coordinating espionage at a Texas research institution.
US officials told reporters Friday that staff at the Chinese consulate “were directly involved in communications with researchers and guided them on what information to collect.”
According to a senior State Department official, the idea to close the Houston consulate emerged this spring after China interfered when US officials returned to the consulate in Wuhan to retrieve diplomatic materials.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry called the closure of the Houston consulate an “unprecedented escalation” of ongoing tensions between the two countries.

“The current situation between China and the United States is something China does not want to see, and the responsibility rests entirely with the United States,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in the statement.
As the deadline to close the Chinese diplomatic mission expired on Friday, US federal agents entered the compound of the Houston consulate in black SUVs and white vans.

US-China tensions rise

Tensions between the US and China have been strained by the ongoing trade war, allegations over the coronavirus pandemic and US criticism of human rights abuses in both Hong Kong and Xinjiang, which Beijing denies.
But in the past two weeks, relations have deteriorated even further, amid the reciprocal consulate closures and the guilty plea of a Singaporean national who admitted to spying for Beijing in the US.
Experts have warned that the downsizing of diplomatic avenues available for engagement leaves both countries vulnerable to misunderstandings and a further escalation of tensions.
Speaking at the Nixon Library in California on Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted what he said were decades of failed policy toward China.
Policemen march in front of the US consulate in Chengdu, southwestern China's Sichuan province, on July 26.
Policemen march in front of the US consulate in Chengdu, southwestern China’s Sichuan province, on July 26.
“As President Trump has made very clear, we need a strategy that protects the American economy and indeed our way of life. The free world must triumph over this new tyranny,” Pompeo said.
“The truth is that our policies — and those of other free nations — resurrected China’s failing economy, only to see Beijing bite the international hands that were feeding it. We opened our arms to Chinese citizens, only to see the Chinese Communist Party exploit our free and open society.”
Source – CNN’s  James Griffiths contributed to this write.

Rogers Place is one of two arenas the NHL is using as a hub to restart its season this summer

A Canadian arena where a large number of NHL games are set to be played when the season resumes, was damaged by a “significant storm” on Thursday that resulted in flooding damage, according to multiple reports.

Video shared on social media Thursday showed a large amount of water flowing through an entrance foyer at Rogers Place in Edmonton, which is one of two arenas the NHL is using as a hub to restart its season this summer.

“A significant storm came through Edmonton earlier this evening,”

the venue said on Twitter Thursday evening.

“As a result, Rogers Place has suffered some water damage to the terminus of Ford Hall, along with some smaller leaks in other parts of the building”.

Rogers place was set to host Western Conference games as well as the Stanley Cup finals, starting in a few weeks.

Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid (97) takes part in NHL hockey training camp in Edmonton, Alta., on Tuesday July 14, 2020. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

The NHL had listed 10 potential hub cities but ended up selecting two in Canada because the coronavirus was deemed to be under better control in those areas, ESPN reported. Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena — home of the Maple Leafs — is the other hub for the tournament.

NHL, PLAYERS APPROVE PLAN TO RESUME SEASON, EXTEND CBA

The city of Edmonton currently has 184 active coronavirus cases, according to health officials.

Rogers Place has served as the home arena for the Edmonton Oilers since opening its doors roughly four years ago. The venue’s first scheduled event is an exhibition game between the Calgary Flames and Oilers on July 28. Meaningful games start in just two weeks on August

Source Fox News

Hollywood actor Clint Eastwood is suing a host of cannabis companies that he says have falsely used his name to endorse their goods.

The 90-year-old accuses the firms of spreading fake articles and tagging their websites with his name to make it look like he had backed their products.

Nearly 20 firms are named in the suits, accused of trademark infringement and defamation among other violations.

One firm, Sera Labs, said it had stopped the fake ads “immediately”.

All of the companies sell goods with CBD, an extract from the marijuana plant that does not have psychoactive properties. It is used in products such as creams, oils and food.

However lawyers for Mr Eastwood – who has starred in films such as Dirty Harry, as well as directing features including Mystic River – said he “does not have and never has had” any association with CBD.

‘No association with CBD’

One of the fake articles was headlined “Big Pharma In Outrage Over Clint Eastwood’s CBD” and quotes the actor saying he is stepping away from his acting career to promote a new line of CBD products, according to one of the two lawsuits, which were filed in a federal court in California.

But Mr Eastwood’s lawyers say he never gave such an interview.

The other lawsuit concerns an “internet scam”, in which the firms tagged their websites with Mr Eastwood’s name, a move that made it look like he had backed the products, while also making it easier for people searching online to find their products.

“Like many of his most famous characters, Mr Eastwood is not afraid to confront wrongdoing and hold accountable those that try to illegally profit off his name,” the court papers say.

‘Stopped immediately’

The lawsuits say it is standard practice for Mr Eastwood to reject licensing deals and reserve his celebrity to advertise his films and other personal interests.

One of the CBD firms in the lawsuit, Sera Labs, said it had been unaware that its products were being falsely linked with the actor.

It said it had “worked for a limited time with a publisher and gave them specific advertisements they could use which follow our very strict guidelines”.

It added that it “shut down the ads immediately after learning that they used Mr Eastwood’s name and likeness”.

Source BBC

For some athletes, today was the last chance to take part in the Tokyo Olympics.

They are too old, too exhausted or too financially stretched to wait for another year, after the pandemic forced its postponement.

One of them is 35-year-old Tetsuya Sotomura. When I met him on a sweltering afternoon earlier this week he was still hard at it in a converted factory building in a north Tokyo suburb, flying high into the air, spinning and tumbling on a massive trampoline.

Back in 2008 Tetsuya placed 4th at the Beijing Olympics, just missing a bronze medal. Since then he’s fought injury that put him out of London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. Tokyo was to be his last hurrah, a hometown Olympics to end his trampolining career on a high. But another year is just too much.

“Back in 2008, if the Beijing Games had been postponed by a year I would have thought ok, it’s another year to train, another year to grow,” he tells me. “But now I am 35. A year feels like a very long time. So, I have decided retirement is the only option.”

Tetsuya Sotomura believes retirement is now his only option
But there is another reason Tetsuya is getting off the trampoline. He thinks Tokyo 2021 may never happen.

“It’s so uncertain. No-one knows the probability. If what awaits us next year is cancellation, I would have lost another year for nothing. So that is another reason to go now.”

Enthusiasm for the Games has plummeted in Japan since Covid-19 arrived here in January. The Japanese government has closed Japan’s borders to most foreigners to protect the country from imported cases, and many Japanese people are in no hurry to see them re-open for athletes or spectators.

After retirement, Tetsuya is helping and coaching at his old trampoline gym in the north of Tokyo
TV reporters have been visiting the towns due to host various foreign teams and asking locals how they feel. The residents of a town north of Tokyo due to host the Brazilian team were clearly struggling to maintain any semblance of enthusiasm. An opinion poll by the Kyodo news agency found just 23% of people in Japan now support holding the games if Covid-19 infections are still widespread next year.

The latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) do not make for happy viewing. More than 15 million infections worldwide, and that number is growing by about a million every four to five days.

Source BBC

There was promising news in the search for an effective vaccine against coronavirus this week when a team at Oxford University announced its first results. It is one of around two dozen vaccines being tested on people in clinical trials – and there are around 140 others in development around the world.

The BBC’s online health editor Michelle Roberts answers some of your questions about coronavirus vaccines.

Would a vaccine be 100% safe – I am worried that a vaccine may be rushed out and there may be unwanted side-effects?

From Tim Pryke, Woodlesford, Leeds

New vaccines undergo rigorous safety checks before they can be recommended for widespread use. Although research into a coronavirus vaccine is happening at a very rapid pace, these checks are still happening in clinical trials.

Any treatment can have some side-effects and vaccines are no different. The most common side-effects of vaccines are typically mild and can include swelling or redness to the skin where the jab was given.

Is there any proof that the flu vaccine in 2019 and 2020 have been checked for Covid-19?

From Antonia Saluto, Bedford, England

The seasonal flu vaccine will not protect against coronavirus. Flu (influenza) and coronavirus are completely different diseases caused by different viruses.

Having a flu jab is a good idea, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic, to help protect your health.

Flu can cause severe illness in some people, and those at high risk – which includes the over-65s and people with long-term health conditions – can get a free flu jab on the NHS.

Are people who have transplants able to have the vaccine?

From Anne Lindo, Reading, England

Scientists are testing lots of different potential coronavirus vaccines. It is not yet clear which ones may be most effective, if any. Different versions may be more suitable for some people than others.

Tests are happening in volunteers but it will take time to get results and to know who might benefit from vaccination.

If you have received a transplant and are taking immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection, some vaccines, such as “live” vaccines containing weakened bacteria or viruses, may not be appropriate for you.

Would this vaccine still be effective if the virus mutates?

From Alan Ng, Dingley, Canada

The coronavirus vaccines being developed at the moment are based on the viral strain currently circulating.

Viruses can mutate, but this will not necessarily make the corresponding vaccine less effective. It depends how significant the mutations are and whether they affect the part of the virus the vaccines are designed to safely mimic.

Many of the experimental coronavirus jabs currently being tested contain the genetic instructions for the surface spike protein that coronavirus uses to attach to and infect human cells. Reassuringly, scientists have not seen any substantial mutations to this part of the virus yet that would render these vaccines useless.

Source BBC