catty / (PRC) weight equal to 500 g / (Tw) weight equal to 600 g / (HK, Malaysia, Singapore) slightly over 604 g (HSK 2)

It's the 10-year anniversary of Britain's "Brexit" vote withdrawing from the European Union. But a new UK poll "shows that a new Brexit referendum would reverse the vote that led to Britain's departure," reports Bloomberg: Fifty-two percent of Britons think the UK should rejoin the EU, according to an Ipsos survey of 1,137 British adults conducted between May 14 and May 20. That's the inverse of the mood in June 2016 when a comparable share of the electorate backed Brexit... Younger voters overwhelmingly favor reversing Brexit, whereas half of those ages 55 and above oppose returning to the bloc. "The number of people who say Brexit is going worse than they had predicted has almost doubled in the past five years," reports The Independent, " from 27% in 2021 to 48% today — more than those saying it was going as well as or better than expected." [T]here is more backing for a second referendum, with 48 per cent now saying they would support one, against 27 per cent who would oppose it. Even a fifth of Reform UK voters and a quarter of those who voted Leave in 2016 would back a second vote, the study found. Tufts University discussed the last 10 years with the European Studies chair at their international relations graduate school: Q: Have their fears of negative financial effects been realized? A: The figures are quite revealing: The British GDP has been reduced by 6-8%, business investment has been reduced by 12%, and trade volume has been reduced by 15%, compared to what it could have been if the U.K. had remained in the EU... Q: What do you think happens next? A: The United Kingdom made a choice and they might have the opportunity, at some point, to revise this choice. I hope that when they have to decide again, they will be much more informed.

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  • Lima police dress as mascots in raid on suspect

  • Zayu the Jaguar left out of police operation

While tensions between Canada and the United States have risen in the last few years as Donald Trump has made threats to turn his northern neighbour into a 51st state of America, there has been some mutual cooperation in crime fighting.

Earlier this week, Clutch the Bald Eagle and Maple the Moose – the mascots for the United States and Canada respectively at this year’s World Cup – helped Peruvian police in a drugs raid.

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It's the U.S. law that allows wiretaps without a warrant for surveilling foreign targets. And the U.S. Congress just let it lapse. Sort of. NPR reports: Each year, the provision is used by American intelligence agencies to collect the electronic communications of hundreds of thousands of foreigners located outside of the United States. The government says that more than 60% of the president's daily intelligence briefing relies on information collected under the authority. The tool officially lapsed at the end of the day on Friday. What happens now? Intelligence collection under FISA's Section 702 is authorized annually by a federal court — and the law allows for that collection to continue for the duration of the court's authorization, even if the law lapses before the court's next approval. That means companies — electronic communications service providers, in this context — will still be legally required to turn over material to intelligence agencies. Still, some lawmakers worry that the companies compelled to turn over communications may attempt to challenge the law in court, possibly leading to an indeterminately long window during which they stop providing intel. Advocates on all sides of the surveillance fight believe those challenges are ultimately likely to fail, but those closely linked to the intelligence community emphasize that even a small pause comes with risks ahead of major events like America's 250th celebration and the World Cup.

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Former congresswoman nevertheless said she hoped the fighting event would be ‘great’ and wished president well

Marjorie Taylor Greene has criticized Donald Trump’s plan to hold a UFC fight on the White House lawn, as the president prepares to host seven fights on Sunday.

The former rightwing Republican congresswoman, a once fierce defender of Trump who turned on him towards the end of her time in office, told NewsNation the location is inappropriate for the mixed martial arts event.

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to be included among those selected for (HSK 7-9)

I studied physics in college, and I’m always surprised how fundamental some of the concepts are. Take waves for example. You really wouldn’t expect the same underlying concept to be …read more

The Trump administration released another large batch of government UAP records, including videos of glowing orb-like objects appearing to split and rejoin, witness accounts, illustrations, and decades-old investigative documents. Axios reports: The documents indicate that government agents have spent years monitoring, investigating and documenting suspected UAP incidents. At lease some of the sightings took place near sensitive government facilities, according to the reports. Videos showing red and yellow light-emitting orbs, some of which appear to split apart and then reattach as they fly across the sky. The videos were taken by witnesses whom the government deemed "credible." Illustrations and videos showing reenactments of what observers saw, and the positions they were in when they viewed them. Memos from government agents describing their experiences seeing flying objects. An illustration of a grayish-white balloon-like object hovering above an area near Colorado Springs, Colo. An illustration depicting a series of incidents that took place in the "western United States" where government officials reported seeing UAPs in 2023. There also are decades-old records documenting the government's involvement in investigating UAPs, including a 1949 letter then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover wrote federal agents after receiving a message from an American citizen expressing their belief they'd seen a non-human-made flying object. The records released by the administration do not express any conclusions as to whether the government believes the UAPs represent the existence of alien life. They also do not indicate any conclusions as to whether UAPs represent a national security threat to the U.S.

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In the dead of night, behind a screen, the president’s name was purged from the facade of the Washington building

A crew of workers spent the night removing Donald Trump’s name from the facade of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, hours after a judge rejected an emergency appeal to block the removal of the president’s name.

Work began in the early hours of Saturday, shortly after the performing arts venue missed a federal judge’s two-week deadline to excise the words “The Donald J Trump and” from its exterior by Friday at 11.59pm local time.

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Haji Najibullah imprisoned for role in capture of David Rohde, New York Times journalist held for months in 2008

Haji Najibullah appeared unbothered as he walked into Manhattan federal court earlier this week to learn whether he would face life behind bars for his role in brutal violence during his time as a Taliban commander – including the 2008 kidnapping of US journalist David Rohde.

Najibullah, who walked into the courtroom in shackles at about 9.50am Monday, sporting khaki jail garb and a black skullcap, could even be seen grinning at various points before proceedings started.

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New York City mayor’s stumping is irking some Democrats, but others see a cautious strategy from a rising political star

The New York Knicks are on an epic playoff run. The World Cup is here. And amid sizzling summer weather and a sports-induced, joyful buzz that has seized New York City in recent days, mayor Zohran Mamdani has been more ubiquitous than ever – donning an Arsenal kurta, Knicks gear and an affordable, NYC-inspired World Cup soccer jersey he himself launched as he zipped across the five boroughs from one event to the next.

Early voting in New York also kicks off this weekend, in the first primary election since the November victory that cemented Mamdani as a political prodigy and hope of the left. Six months into his first term as New York City mayor and after early wins on issues like childcare and taxing the rich, he has been boosting fellow leftists in an effort to capitalize on his popularity to promote politicians – from Washington to Albany – aligned with the socialist, pro-Palestinian values that got him elected.

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In the dead of night, behind a screen, the president’s name was purged from the facade of the Washington building

A crew of workers spent the night removing Donald Trump’s name from the facade of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, hours after a judge rejected an emergency appeal to block the removal of the former president’s name.

Work began in the early hours of Saturday, shortly after the performing arts venue missed a federal judge’s two-week deadline to excise the words ‘The Donald J Trump and’ from its exterior by Friday at 11.59pm.

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