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Jacquelyn Martin/AP  

 

The China-Taiwan relationship 

Musk's Hawaii analogy draws ire in Taiwan  

 

Elon Musk has found himself in a new storm after speaking out about the conflict between China and Taiwan, reports Reuters. 

 

In a YouTube video, Musk says Beijing's desire is to reunite with Taiwan, the same way the US annexed Hawaii. He adds that Taiwan is not part of China because "the US Pacific Fleet has stopped all attempts at reunification by force".  

 

Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu writes in a response that he wonders if Musk thinks it is a good policy that social media like X is banned in China. 

 

"Listen, Taiwan is not part of China and certainly not for sale!", writes Wu. Archive image.  

 

Weather phenomena are occasionally reported as UFO sightings. TT  

 

NASA's new mission: Finding life in the universe  

 

The American space agency, Nasa, is going in search of unknown life in the universe, the agency announces at a press conference.  

 

An independent research group has been created which will transparently investigate both alleged visits to Earth - carried out by UFOs - and the possibilities of finding life in other solar systems.  

 

- Regardless of what we will find, we will make sure that the information is shared transparently around the world, says Nasa director Bill Nelson. 

 

Among the things to be studied academically are the sightings of unexplained celestial phenomena that some have associated with extraterrestrial visitation. 

 

Nelson emphasizes that there is no evidence that Earth has been visited, but that in the future any reports of such will be handled in an academic manner.  

 

- This is the first time that Nasa has taken concrete action to take a serious look at UFOs, says Nelson.  

 

Nasa will use all kinds of technology to achieve results, including artificial intelligence, and it will also search space in search of anomalous patterns, patterns that may indicate extraterrestrial life.

 

Hunter Biden. Julio Cortez / AP  

 

The suspicions against Hunter Biden President's son Hunter Biden indicted for weapons offences Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, is charged with weapons offences, reports Reuters.  

 

The authorities have previously tried to reach an agreement with Biden - who was also suspected of tax crimes, but failed, whereupon there was instead an indictment for three counts of weapons crimes.  

 

Designated prosecutor David Weiss has led the investigation.  

 

According to NBC News, the crimes concern, among other things, that Biden concealed the fact that he had a drug addiction, in connection with a gun purchase. 

 

It is the first time that a child of a sitting US president has been charged, according to NBC News.  

 

In parallel with the indictment, Republicans have begun an impeachment process against President Joe Biden. According to the allegations, Hunter Biden is accused of profiting from his father's position as vice president and president. In that process, members have demanded to see bank statements and other documents from Hunter Biden.  

 

CIA agent Tony Mendez and actor Ben Affleck. TT  

 

CIA Reveals Second Agent: An Expert in Disguise  

 

After more than forty years of silence, the American intelligence service CIA today revealed the name of the second agent who was involved in evacuating six American diplomats from Tehran, writes the New York Times. The disclosure is made in the CIA's own podcast, "The Langley Files".  

 

The operation, which went by the code name "Argo", was long secret - but became known to the masses through a film adaptation with Ben Affleck in the lead role. A film that won seven Oscars in 2013.  

 

The real event took place in 1979 when six diplomats were forced to flee during the revolution in Iran. In an effort to get them out of the country, the CIA sent two agents under the guise of being film workers planning an upcoming science fiction film. 

 

It has previously been known that Tony Mendez played one of the roles, but the CIA now tells us that he had good help from Ed Johnson, a linguist who was also an expert in disguises and forgeries.