Science & Technology

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese media say the country’s top trade negotiator has told a forum in Shanghai that “external pressures” can help the economy.

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post and mainland Chinese media outlets reported Thursday that Vice Premier Liu He described the pressures that China is currently facing as an “inevitable test.”

He said the pressures “will help us improve innovation and self-development, speed up reform and opening up, and push forward with high-quality growth.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three satellites for the Canadian Space Agency’s Earth-monitoring Radarsat program were launched into orbit from California on Wednesday aboard a reused SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The rocket lifted off from fog-shrouded Vandenberg Air Force Base at 7:17 a.m. and arced over the Pacific west of Los Angeles.

The first stage separated a few minutes into flight and headed back to the coastal base, extended its legs and set down on a landing zone.

The first stage previously was used in March for a demonstration flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.

Balasore (Odisha), Jun 12 (PTI) India successfully launched the indigenously-developed Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) in its maiden test from a base off the Odisha coast on Wednesday.

The HSTDV was successfully test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Launch Complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on Dr Abdul Kalam Island in the Bay of Bengal at 11.27 am, DRDO sources said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Uber is testing restaurant food deliveries by drone.

The company’s Uber Eats unit began the tests in San Diego with McDonald’s and plans to expand to other restaurants later this year.

Uber says the service should decrease food delivery times.

It works this way: Workers at a restaurant load the meal into a drone and it takes off, tracked and guided by a new aerospace management system.

The drone then meets an Uber Eats driver at a drop-off location, and the driver will hand-deliver the meal to the customer.

LONDON (AP) — Katie Jones sure seemed plugged into the Washington’s political scene. The 30-something redhead boasted a job at a top think tank and a who’s-who network of pundits and experts, from the centrist Brookings Institution to the right-wing Heritage Foundation. She was connected to a deputy assistant secretary of state, a senior aide to a senator and the economist Paul Winfree, who is being considered for a seat on the Federal Reserve.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday as protesters in Hong Kong vowed to keep opposing a proposed extradition bill they fear would whittle down the Chinese territory’s legal autonomy.

The protests threaten to shake confidence in the hub for many regional and international businesses and investors. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 0.5% to 27,163.46, extending its losses after closing down 1.7% on Wednesday.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The police chief of Alaska’s largest city hurried out of the department’s glass building after the ground began to shake. Phone lines jammed and even police radios were spotty after a major earthquake, but his cellphone was recently equipped with a national wireless network dedicated to first responders.

Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll was able to reach other officials who had the new high-speed connection after the 7.1 magnitude quake last year caused widespread damage.

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Though faced with trade barriers set up by the United States, China's foreign trade remained steady, showing its ability to handle external headwinds.

As China continues upgrading its industries, its foreign trade structure saw prominent adjustments. China's processing trade declined by 2.4 percent year on year in the first five months, with general trade registering rapid growth and expanding its proportion of the total trade volume.

MOSCOW, June 12. /TASS/: The Russian Academy of Sciences' Council for Space Research has suggested to Russia's Roscomos space corporation to start implementing the Venera-D (Venus-D) project and finance the first stages of development works, the council's co-chair Lev Zeleny told TASS on Wednesday.

"The corresponding request was sent to Roscosmos. Roscosmos is working on it," Zeleny said.

TASS has not yet managed to obtain a comment from Roscosmos.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Latest on Donald Trump and Joe Biden visiting Iowa(all times local):

8:15 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden says President Donald Trump is trying to dismantle the limits on the presidency.

The former vice president said Tuesday that in the 2020 election, voters must not only reject Trump’s policy agenda and values, but they also must stop Trump’s attempt to elevate the presidency above its coequal branches of government.