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Amid heightened tensions between China, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday extended an olive branch calling for "meaningful dialogue" with Beijing on an equal basis. Speaking at the National Taiwan Day 2020 celebrations, Tsai described the situation in the Taiwan Strait as "quite tense." "As long as the Beijing authorities are willing to resolve antagonisms and improve cross-strait relations, while parity and dignity are maintained, we are willing to work together to facilitate meaningful dialogue," Tsai was quoted as saying by Reuters. She further claimed that if Beijing can heed Taiwan`s voice and facilitate a joint reconciliation and peaceful dialogue, the tensions between the two will surely be resolved.The Taiwanese president said democracy and peace in the region were facing big challenges with the recent disputes in the South China Sea, the ongoing border conflict between China-India and China`s crackdown in Hong Kong. Democratic Taiwan …

Rich countries could be back to close to normal by late 2021 if a COVID-19 vaccine works, is ready soon and distributed properly at scale, Microsoft founder Bill Gates said on Tuesday. "By late next year you can have things going back pretty close to normal - that`s the best case," Gates, 64, told The Wall Street Journal CEO Council."We still don`t know whether these vaccines will succeed," Gates said. "Now the capacity will take time to ramp up. And so the allocation within the U.S., and between the U.S. and other countries will be a very top point of contention." COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca/Oxford University are two of the leading candidates in the race to be first to get regulatory approval in the West. The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday that a vaccine against COVID-19 may be ready by the end of the year. Gates, who made a fortune from Microsoft, has since given $36 billion to the Bill & Mel…

Just days after US President Donald Trump was discharged from the Walter Reed Medical Centeron, he has reported no symptoms of COVID-19 and had a restful night at tthe White House. As confirmed by White House physician Dr Sean Conley.In a written note, Dr Conley said: "This morning the President`s team of physicians met him in the Residence. He had a restful first night at home, and today he reports no symptoms. Vital signs and physical exam remain stable, with an ambulatory oxygen saturation level of 95 to 97 per cent. Overall he continues to do extremely well, I will provide updates as we know more." On Monday, Trump left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was admitted for treatment of COVID-19, and returned to the White House.As soon as he reached the White House, Trump took off his mask despite caution from Dr Conley that Trump was not entirely "out of the woods yet". "After exiting the presidential helicopter, Trump entered the White Hou…

Two conservative justices mounted a fresh attack on Monday on the landmark 2015 ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide even as the US Supreme Court rebuffed a bid by a former Kentucky official to avoid lawsuits over her refusal to grant marriage licenses to two same-sex couples.The court turned away an appeal by Kim Davis, who had served as Rowan County clerk, of a lower court ruling that let the lawsuits accusing her of violating the constitutional rights of the couples proceed. In an opinion accompanying that action, Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, wrote that the same-sex marriage ruling, known as Obergefell v. Hodges, continues to have "ruinous consequences" for religious liberty. Thomas and Alito both dissented in the Obergefell ruling."Davis may have been one of the first victims of this court`s cavalier treatment of religion in its Obergefell decision, but she will not be the last," Thomas wrote. Thomas and Alito agreed on techni…

US President Donald Trump was discharged from hospital on Monday (October 5) following his COVID-19 diagnosis and he returned to the White House. Upon his return to his official residence, President Trump removed his mask for a photo op. The move left netizens in shock as Trump is still infected with coronavirus.Pictures and videos available on Twitter and other social media platforms show President Trump climbing a set of stairs at the White House and he then removed mask. Trump was also seen gasping for breath. One user wrote,”Trump climbs a few steps to the White House, takes off his mask and then is visibly gasping and having difficulty breathing while he tries to wave and pretend everything is fine.”Netizens slammed Trump for removing his mask for the photo-op and also risking his family and staff to the infectious disease. Several people said that Trump did not do the right by getting discharged from hospital. Here is how people reacted: It is to be noted that Trump was discharged …

Hong Kong police arrested prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong on Thursday for participating in an unauthorised assembly in October 2019 and violating the city`s anti-mask law, according to a post on his official Twitter account.Wong`s latest arrest adds to several unlawful assembly charges or suspected offences he and other activists are facing related to last year`s pro-democracy protests, which prompted Beijing to impose a sweeping national security law on June 30. Hong Kong police confirmed they arrested two men, aged 23 and 74, on Thursday for illegal assembly on October 5, 2019.The arrest of Wong, aged 23, comes around 6 weeks after media tycoon Jimmy Lai was detained on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces. Wong had been a frequent visitor to Washington where he appealed to the U.S. Congress to support Hong Kong`s democracy movement and counter Beijing`s tightening grip over the global financial hub. His visits drew the wrath of Beijing, which says he is a "black h…