China Vows ‘Zero Tolerance' for Smuggling of Critical Minerals
At a meeting on Saturday, China's coordination office on export control highlighted recent cases of critical-mineral smuggling involving false declarations and transshipments through third countries, according to the state broadcaster CCTV.
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Fox News
19 minutes ago
- Fox News
Backstreet Boy claims 'American Dream' is under attack as he battles sheriff over beach trespassers
Brian Littrell just wants the alleged trespassers on his beach to quit playing games. "This is the American dream," the Backstreet Boys singer told Fox News Digital this week. "Like I've worked for three decades, longer than three decades, in the music business to have some sort of honesty and transparency in my music. You know, music is an emotion that brings all kinds of walks of life together for happiness and joy. And so I think I could walk out on the beach and, you know, people would be like, 'Hey, man, it's nice to meet you,' but just keep it moving, like just keep walking, because that beach access doesn't entitle you to a public beach." The 50-year-old recently sued the Walton County Sheriff's Office in Florida for a writ of mandamus, claiming officials aren't doing their part to help keep trespassers off of his private beach. "It's very frustrating, and this has been a humbling experience, I have to say, because [we're] not getting any help, it's not getting anywhere," Littrell admitted. "Hopefully, we'll get some sort of resolve or some sort of communication that will come out of this that will basically draw the line in the sand, no pun intended, where, 'Hey, just keep it moving. This is private.' We don't want any qualms." He added, "So, we're about the truth and the law. It's just that simple." Littrell said that he now fears for his safety in his backyard at the beach home where he's lived for three years. "The frustrating thing is that we're not getting any help, you know, we're not getting any law enforcement down there … and we know the law, because we're taxpayers," he said. "It shouldn't be that difficult." The tipping point for him was a couple of weeks ago. "My wife called 911 three times and nobody showed. Nobody showed at all. We had trespassers on our property. They were filming. They were using our stuff and our equipment, and our beach stuff, and, no, she's not gonna walk out there by herself. And the third time she called 911, the dispatch lady hung up on her. So this is a heartfelt plea for all property owners that you have rights. You know, we have rights just like everybody else." WATCH: BACKSTREET BOYS' BRIAN LITTRELL CLAIMS 'AMERICAN DREAM' IS UNDER ATTACK AS HE BATTLES SHERIFF OVER BEACH TRESPASSERS "So, this is a heartfelt plea for all property owners that you have rights. You know, we have rights just like everybody else." He said the police are trying to protect the public, "but they forget that we are part of the public, too, because we are beachfront owners. So, there just has to be a line in the sand, no pun intended. There has to some sort of line where we have boundaries." The Walton County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Digital it doesn't "comment on pending litigation," adding it "prides itself on handling every situation, call for service, or interaction with professionalism using a customer service approach. This has always been our philosophy and will continue to be moving forward." Peter Ticktin, Littrell's lawyer, told Fox News Digital that they had already won a lawsuit to prove that Brian owned the beach behind his house, but "They're still coming, they're still there, because they have a purpose in mind." Ticktin claimed the alleged trespassers believe that someone who works hard shouldn't necessarily have the right to have their own private beach. "The fact is that if you've got talent, and you work really, really hard, you get to be someplace in this world where you can afford to buy a piece of property, and it's yours," he said. "That's the American dream. And to have these people invade his backyard and then to have the sheriffs come and talk to them and tell them they can stay there only encourages them to do more and more wrong, to the point where they actually are assaulting the security people that had to be hired to be able to protect the property." He added, "They hate entitlement, but they're the ones that are seemingly claiming an entitlement to not only be where they don't belong, but to assault people in the process." Littrell said his American Dream was to own a little beach home "that we could go and enjoy and watch the sunset and take pictures and live out memories." He continued, "I'm in my 50s now … I mean, come on. Like, I want to start slowing down a little bit and I want to start enjoying life and I don't want to make the news for this kind of stuff. It's just, it's kind of frustrating. I want to make news about positive music that's changing the world, because we're still at it. We're still doing great, and that's a blessing. And it's like, just because I work hard for it, it's not entitled to everybody else." Littrell said he had no intention to sell the house. "We have a tiny little piece of paradise that we literally prayed for. I mean, we seriously prayed for a place like this for almost 30 years," he said, adding, "The beach makes you feel small. So, you know, it's a great place to write songs, too. And you feel smaller than life when you go to the beach. You don't feel larger than life. You feel smaller than life. You know, I don't wanna be chased out of an area that I love."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Taiwan coach apologises for 'pressuring' students to give blood
A sports coach at a Taiwanese university has issued a formal apology over a research project that allegedly involved her coercing students into giving blood, according to local media. Chou Tai-ying, 61, said that her intention was to help her team "because I had only a few players and they were often injured", but it is not known exactly what the blood was being taken for. A Taiwanese politician, Chen Pei-yu, brought the case to light in 2024, alleging students were told that they would lose academic credits if they did not take part. An internal investigation at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in Taipei later found the blood sampling had started in 2019 and continued into 2024 for different "research projects". Coach Chou, who admitted asking unqualified students to help withdraw the blood, apologised on Saturday for placing "any pressure on the school and the students" through her "reckless words and behaviour," Taiwan's Focus News agency reported. "It is definitely my fault for making you feel the way you did," she said to the students via a statement. Professor Chen Hsueh-chih, leader of one of the unspecified research projects, also issued an apology. He said the aim was to help student athletes, but admitted it had unintentionally brought them and their families harm. The internal investigation indicated that students had given blood once a day. The samples were thrown out after the investigation found fault with the way the blood was drawn. Chen Pei-yu originally alleged that the research project required players to give three blood samples a day for 14 days straight. She said the players were required to take part in the project over several years. NTNU principal Wu Cheng-chi apologised on Saturday for what he called the school's negligence. He said the institution's ethics and oversight procedures would be reviewed. Taiwan's deputy education minister said the case would be reviewed by their department, as well as the actions of Chou and Chen. Separately, the education ministry said on Thursday it might revoke the coaching license of an NTNU women's football coach, without naming the individual.
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
U.S. citizen who works for Commerce Dept. ensnared in Chinese exit ban
A Chinese American man who works for the Commerce Department and traveled to China several months ago is being prevented from leaving the country after he failed to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the U.S. government, according to four people familiar with the matter. The American, an employee of the Patent and Trademark Office, went to China to visit family and now has been caught up in China's controversial practice of blocking Chinese and foreign nationals from leaving China — in what is often seen by Washington as a tool of coercion against people and businesses, these people said. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity.
