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Taiwan's military mobilized its forces and said it was confident it could protect the island, after China started two days of "punishment" drills around Taiwan on Thursday in what it said was a response to "separatist acts". The exercises, in the Taiwan Strait and around groups of Taiwan-controlled islands that sit next to the Chinese coast, come just three days after Lai Ching-te took office as Taiwan's new president, a man Beijing detests as a "separatist". China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has denounced Lai's inauguration speech on Monday, in which he called on China to...

Since Sarah Palin was selected as the Republican candidate for vice president, many people have made comments about her unusual speech, comparing it to accents heard in the movie Fargo, in the states of Wisconsin and Idaho, and in Canada. Some have even attributed her manner of speaking to her supposed stupidity. But Palin actually has an Alaskan accent, one from the Matnuska and Susitna Valley region, where Palin's hometown, Wasilla, is located.