TASK DEFINITION: Given a travel related situation, and given a specific question about the situation, summarize the question into a title
PROBLEM: I will be visiting Jerusalem in a week. Is Israeli government allow to pray in Masjid Al-Aksa? Can I go there freely? Is there anything I should know before I go there?

SOLUTION: Possibility of praying in Masjid Al-Aqsa (Jerusalem)

PROBLEM: This week some our suitcases that were delayed arrived. When inquiring with the delivery people, they told us that some restricted items were found by customs (not security although sometimes people confuse the two in my experience). Upon inspection, indeed a few things were missing, when I called the delivery company they confirmed the items but were not able to give any more information.

What happens to items removed from luggage? Are they kept somewhere? Can they be recovered?

This time it probably not worth the hassle but since this never happened to me after decades of flying into over 50 countries, I felt confused a frustrated at the lack of transparency. Specifically, they took out all AA batteries from inside items (a pair of Lithium AAs in a flashlight and NiMh AAs that were in some children toys), a bag of sweets and a box of chocolates. Nothing that we had not taken with us before. Oddly, a 9V Lithium battery was not removed from the only item that had a screw holding the battery compartment door closed.

SOLUTION: What happens to items removed from luggage?

PROBLEM: I am trying to use Google Maps in China. I know that Google is blocked, which is why I downloaded the map of Beijing offline. However, when I open the app my phone attempts to find GPS satellites but finds none. I know location works because my location works fine when I am on WiFi. Is this a China blocking GPS thing or something else?

I am using a Verizon HTC One (M8) with Android 5.0.1 and HTC Sense.

Note: This question has also been cross-posted to Android.SE.

Update 1:

All my testing for this question was done on the 7th floor of a downtown office building. Yesterday after waiting a while, I was able to recieve GPS signal (using both Google Maps and GPS Status) while on the 17th floor of a suburban apartment building. I was then also able to recieve signal in another part of downtown that lacked many tall buildings. When I get back to the office tomorrow I will be able to judge if it was just taking a mega-long time to get the satellite data as @Vince suggested, or if it is the urban canyon as @Loren suggested. Thank you all for the help and explanations!

Update 2:

After some testing, it seems that this does simply come down to an urban canyon problem. The GPS does not find any satellites at my desk in the office, however, if I bring it next to a window it finds 2 satellites (not enough for a location, but enough to answer this question). When I take the phone outside the building I am able to get location in some areas. Thank you all again for the help and the wealth of new knowledge.

Note: all testing was done with data and WiFi services turned off.

Based on a comment, I have asked a question in GIS.SE asking about the urban canyon and how it compares to Beijing versus NYC.

SOLUTION:
Why does my phone's GPS not work in China?