China Calls Biden ‘New Window of Hope’ for Its Agenda; Report: Mystery Chinese Company Suggested Charity Donation To Hunter Biden

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By Fox News. China believes President-elect Joe Biden represents a “new window of hope” for the country’s relationship with the United States, according to state media.

Biden’s critics have expressed concern that he will take a friendlier stance toward China than President Trump as tensions between the two rivals have risen after a trade battle and the spread of COVID-19.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told state media outlet CGTN last week that “a new window of hope is opening” with the incoming administration.

The Biden administration will “return to a sensible approach, resume dialogue with China, restore normalcy to the bilateral relations and restart cooperation,” Wang said.

(Read more from “China Calls Biden ‘New Window of Hope’ for Its Agenda” HERE)

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Report: Mystery Chinese Company Suggested Charity Donation To Hunter Biden

By Daily Caller. In October 2015, a consultant working on behalf of the Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC made an intriguing pitch to Hunter Biden, the son of the then-vice president.

The consultant said that CEFC, one of China’s largest private energy firms, wanted to make a contribution to a nonprofit organization that Biden chaired, according to emails obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. What’s more, CEFC also wanted to explore investing up to $100 million with an asset management firm with links to Biden.

While Biden’s relationship with CEFC has been widely explored in the media amid revelations that he is the target of a federal investigation, little is known about how the son of the future president first started his partnership with the company. . .

Senate investigators have said that Biden’s work with CEFC raises potential “counterintelligence” and “criminal financial” concerns, in part because of CEFC’s alleged links to Chinese military intelligence. A report from Senate Republicans also said that U.S. banking regulators flagged millions of dollars in wire payments from CEFC to Biden in 2017 as suspicious.

Emails from Biden’s laptop obtained by the DCNF help fill in some of the gaps of the origins of the CEFC partnership, as does an interview with the consultant who pitched Biden in October 2015. (Read more from “Report: Mystery Chinese Company Suggested Charity Donation To Hunter Biden” HERE)

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240 People Diagnosed With COVID Despite Receiving Vaccine

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Among the nearly one million Israelis vaccinated against coronavirus so far, some 240 Israelis have been diagnosed with the virus days after getting the shot, Channel 13 News reported Thursday.

The figure underscores the need for individuals to continue to protect themselves for weeks after being inoculated, as the body takes time to develop effective antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.

The Pfizer vaccine is not made with the coronavirus itself, meaning that there is no chance anyone could catch it from the shots. Instead, the vaccine contains a piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognize the spiked protein on the surface of the virus and create antibodies to attack if it encounters the real thing.

But this process takes time, and studies of the vaccine so far have shown immunity to the virus rises only some 8-10 days after the first injection — and then only to around 50 percent effectiveness.

This is why the second dose of the vaccine, given 21 days after the first, is critical: It strengthens the immune system’s response to the virus, bringing it to 95% effectiveness and ensuring that immunity lasts. This level of immunity is only reached about a week after the second dose — or 28 days after the first. (Read more from “240 People Diagnosed With COVID Despite Receiving Vaccine” HERE)

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Communist China Arrests Catholics Nuns in Hong Kong

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In May, two Chinese nuns at the Vatican mission in Hong Kong were arrested by Beijing authorities on a visit home to the Hebei province, Reuters reported, citing interviews with three Catholic clerics.

The nuns, each in their mid-40s, were released into house arrest after being held for three weeks. None faced charges but are prohibited from leaving mainland China. According to Reuters, China has ramped up its surveillance of the unofficial Hong Kong Vatican mission this year, as Beijing strengthens its grip on the once-free, flourishing city.

One cleric reportedly told Reuters that “it is highly unusual for nuns to be detained,” noting that while priests are sometimes arrested in mainland China, nuns are “normally” left alone.

“Senior members of the clergy in Hong Kong told Reuters that Beijing is trying to expand its control over the diocese, in part by influencing the choice of the city’s next bishop, a position that’s been open since the last bishop’s death two years ago,” Reuters reported. “Beijing, they said, is seeking to apply to Hong Kong a two-year-old agreement with the Holy See that gives the Chinese government a significant say in the appointment of prelates on the mainland.” (Read more from “Communist China Arrests Catholics Nuns in Hong Kong” HERE)

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Airport Explosion in Yemen Kills 25 People and Wounds 100

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Multiple people were killed and many more injured during a devastating blast at an airport in Yemen on Wednesday.

At least 25 were killed and 110 wounded shortly after a plane arrived carrying the newly formed, Saudi-backed Yemeni government, according to the Associated Press. Yemen’s government claimed four ballistic missiles were shot at Aden airport by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. . .

Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed claimed and the Associated Press reported that members of the government were left unscathed, but Aden al-Ghad, a local news outlet, has, according to NPR, reported that at least one junior official was killed in the explosion and several other officials were wounded. NPR added no one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

“Of course, when we heard the first explosion, we tried to understand what was happening, we were confused about whether it was an explosive or a drone or a rocket,” said a journalist and researcher for the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. He believes that the explosion was likely the result of a missile attack. “Most of us were terrified and confused because we didn’t know what was happening or where the threat was coming from. So people were running and attempting to escape the danger.” (Read more from “Airport Explosion in Yemen Kills 25 People and Wounds 100” HERE)

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China Formally Punishes Journalist for Exposing COVID

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. . .[B]ecause of China’s lies, the world is grappling with a pandemic.

Fast forward nine months later and China is punishing citizen journalists who warned about the deadly virus.

On Monday, 37-year-old Zhang Zhan, a former lawyer and YouTuber who frequently uploaded videos about her first-hand experiences of crowded hospitals and empty streets, was sentenced to four years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Her videos included interviews and commentary with residents as well as footage from hospitals and train stations. Zhang also posted videos of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where the majority of the United States’ 17 intelligence agencies believe that the coronavirus originated. Obviously, Zhang’s videos were something that ran counter to the Chinese Community Party’s narrative, that the coronavirus was under control thanks to President Xi Jinping’s leadership, Reuters reported.

“I don’t understand. All she did was say a few true words, and for that she got four years,” Zhang’s mother, Shao Wenxia, said following the verdict.

To make matters even worse, Chinese officials are accused of purposefully holding the hearings between Christmas and New Year’s so there would be less media coverage from those in the Western Hemisphere, including the United States. Police in Shanghai also prevented foreign journalists from entering the court building, citing “the epidemic” as the reason. (Read more from “China Formally Punishes Journalist for Exposing COVID” HERE)

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Lockdowns Were Inspired by Communist China, Admits Professor Pantsdown

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Professor Neil Ferguson, the discredited Imperial College computer modeller behind Britain’s draconian lockdown policies, has come clean about his inspiration: none of it would have been possible without the shining example of the Chinese Communist Party.

In an extraordinary interview with the Times (of London), Ferguson admits that if it hadn’t been for China’s example, no Western country would ever have dreamed of putting its populace under house arrest.

Back in 2019, about the time someone was getting infected by a bat, no European country’s pandemic plans seriously entertained the prospect of putting a country on pause.

Then, that’s what China did. “I think people’s sense of what is possible in terms of control changed quite dramatically between January and March,” Professor Ferguson says.

Ferguson appears to find the idea of emulating a totalitarian state exciting rather than embarrassing or shaming because he boasts about it again later in the interview. (Read more from “Lockdowns Were Inspired by Communist China, Admits Professor Pantsdown” HERE)

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In America, Churches May Be Closed on Christmas, but in Pakistan, They May Be Bombed

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In a tribal village in India during the season of preparation for Advent on a late November night, a mob attacked more than 100 of the community’s Christians. About 50 people armed with homemade weapons targeted Christians in the Sukma district of India’s Chhattisgarh state, burning Bibles and destroying property in the early hours of Nov. 25.

For these humble Christian villagers — like so many other persecuted believers around the world — the Christmas season is a time of heightened persecution and fear. For some Christians living in India’s rural areas, associating with holiday festivities can make them targets. . .

Indian Christians are not the only ones fearing increased persecution around the holidays. Christians in neighboring Pakistan also have cause for concern at Christmastime. Sudden bursts of mob violence fomented by Islamists are a risk for Pakistani Christians, a small minority making up less than 3 percent of that country’s population.

Dec. 25 is a public holiday in Pakistan, but it celebrates the birth of the country’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, rather than the Son of God. Major Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter can inspire attacks against churches in Pakistan.

This issue is so widespread that security forces deployed to protect churches and Christmas celebrations last December. More than 1,000 police officers protected Christian houses of worship in Islamabad alone. While it is good that Pakistani officials took this step, the fact that it was necessary is a clear indication of the risks of being a Christian and celebrating Christian holidays in Pakistan. (Read more from “In America, Churches May Be Closed on Christmas, but in Pakistan, They May Be Bombed” HERE)

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Boris Johnson Hails Historic Brexit Deal

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In a Christmas Eve address, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an “immense moment” in British history, with the securing of a Brexit deal many thought was impossible more than four years after Britons voted to leave the European Union.

Beginning New Year’s Day, he said, the United Kingdom will be able to set its own rules after 40 years of being tied to Brussels.

The deal, which must be approved by Parliament in a Dec. 30 vote, achieves “something that the people of this country instinctively knew was doable but which they were told was impossible.”

“We have taken back control of laws and our destiny,” Johnson said. “We have taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation.”

Worth nearly $900 billion a year, he said it will protect British jobs by allowing U.K. goods “to be sold without tariffs and without quotas in the EU market, which will if anything allow our companies to do even more business with our European friends.” (Read more from “Boris Johnson Hails Historic Brexit Deal” HERE)

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Countries Where Coronavirus Canceled Christmas

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Below are ten nations where celebrating Christmas through a traditional gathering on December 25 is prohibited to prevent the spread of the Chinese coronavirus. . .

The Christmas Eve mass at the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank [Israel] traditionally draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the area. Health authorities have canceled the public mass this year out of fears it could increase transmission of coronavirus. . .

Germany has banned Christmas parties, caroling, outdoor drinking, and even closed its iconic glühwein Christmas stalls this holiday season. Private gatherings are limited to a maximum of five people from two households during the holidays. An additional four close family members are allowed to join private gatherings on Christmas day. . .

South Korea has prohibited private social gatherings of five or more people from Christmas Eve through January 3. . .

All four nations of the U.K. – England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – are in various stages of lockdown during the Christmas holiday. (Read more from “Countries Where Coronavirus Canceled Christmas” HERE)

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‘Nail From Christ’s Crucifixion’ Found in Box Inscribed With ‘Jesus Is King’

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Priceless Christian relics have been discovered in a secret chamber of a monastery that allegedly includes a nail used in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Archaeologists working in the Milevsko monastery in the Czech Republic found a six-inch long piece of nail inside a box adorned with a 21-karat gold cross.

The box was built between 260 and 416 AD and is inscribed with the letters ‘IR,’ which translates to ‘Jesus is King.’

The hidden treasury room, according to experts, was used to conceal rare artifacts from raids by Hussite troops in the early 15th century.

Researchers excavating the scene say that they cannot confirm if the nail came from the ‘True Cross,’ but note the discovery ‘is even greater than the reliquary of St. Maurus, reports the Czech News Agency (ČTK). (Read more from “‘Nail From Christ’s Crucifixion’ Found in Box Inscribed With ‘Jesus Is King'” HERE)

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