(BOSTON) — A medical student from China who U.S. authorities say tried to smuggle cancer research material taken from a Boston hospital out of the country has been held without bail by a judge who ruled he was a flight risk.

Zaosong Zheng, 29, who last year earned a visa sponsored by Harvard University to study in the U.S., appeared Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston. He was arrested Dec. 10 at Boston’s Logan Airport on a charge of making false statements.

Magistrate Judge David Hennessy ruled that evidence suggested Zheng had tried to smuggle vials of research specimens in a sock in his suitcase bound for China and granted the prosecution’s request to hold him without bail.

Zheng stole the materials from his lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, authorities allege.

Some vials contained a colleague’s work he had replicated without the authorization or knowledge of the lab, Zheng told authorities, according to court documents. He was possibly acting on behalf of the Chin..

(Bloomberg) — Reliance Industries Ltd. started testing its online shopping portal, moving a step closer to billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s goal of setting up a digital platform to take on e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. in India.

JioMart, open to select customers who pre-register, promises more than 50,000 grocery products, free home delivery and a return policy that asks no questions. Labeled ‘the nation’s new store,’ it is currently available in only three neighborhoods surrounding Mumbai, according to the website.

The pilot site provides an early glimpse of how the energy-and-petrochemicals conglomerate controlled by Asia’s richest man is stepping up consumer offerings in a pivot toward newer businesses. With the unveiling of the portal, Reliance Industries will join the battle with Amazon.com and Walmart Inc.’s Flipkart Online Services Pvt. for a slice of an e-commerce market that KPMG says is set to grow to $200 billion by 2027.

Ambani, 62, is giving shape to his online retail amb..

(SEOUL, South Korea) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for active “diplomatic and military countermeasures” to preserve the country’s security in a lengthy speech at a key political conference possibly meant to legitimize major changes to his nuclear diplomacy with the United States.

Kim spoke for seven hours during the ruling Workers’ Party meeting that continued for the third day on Monday. He issued national goals for rebuilding the North’s economy and preparing active and “offensive political, diplomatic and military countermeasures for firmly preserving the sovereignty and security of the country,” according to state media on Tuesday.

The Korean Central News Agency said the plenary meeting of the party’s Central Committee will extend to the fourth day on Tuesday, a day before Kim is expected to use his annual New Year’s address to announce major changes to his economic and security policies.

Some experts believe Kim could use the speech to declare he is suspending hi..

If the Tokyo Olympics aren’t enough reason to plan a trip to Japan this summer, Japan Airlines has an offer that could sweeten the deal—free tickets to a surprise destination in the country for 50,000 lucky travelers.

To encourage visitors to travel more widely within Japan, the airline is giving away free round-trip tickets for flights within Japan to foreign tourists this summer.

There are a few requirements: Travelers must fly to Japan on Japan Airlines between July 1 and Sept. 30. They must also be registered with the carrier’s Mileage Bank frequent flier program.

Applications for the program will open in late February and the airline is expected to release more details in January. The free tickets will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. You can learn more about the program on Japan Airlines’ website.

The airline offers direct flights to major U.S. cities, but travelers can book connections from other cities on the Japan Airlines website.

Applicants will select wh..