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by Su Xinqi As a former beat cop who rose to become Hong Kong’s security chief, John Lee is the one person China’s leaders trust to run the city as their loyal lieutenant, analysts and insiders say. Lee, 64, is expected to be anointed Hong Kong’s next chief executive by a small committee on Sunday, the culmination of a choreographed, Beijing-blessed race with no other candidates. His elevation caps a remarkable rise for a man […]
by Holmes CHAN Hong Kong has emerged a more unequal city, its freedoms curtailed and international shine dulled after five years with Carrie Lam at the helm, analysts say, as her turbulent leadership draws to an end. Lam, Hong Kong’s first woman leader, took office promising to heal divisions and tackle livelihood issues, especially a housing crisis. Her term was instead dominated by massive democracy protests and Beijing’s subsequent crackdown, as well as a zero-Covid […]
Millions of people in Beijing returned to work Thursday, many remotely, with scores of subway stations shut after a national holiday muted by the coronavirus curbs. Chinese authorities have pressed on with their zero-Covid policy involving lockdowns and mass testing as they battle the biggest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic, with entire neighbourhoods in the capital sealed over handfuls of infections. Beijing reported 50 local virus cases on Thursday, a day […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Wednesday said its forces had practised simulated nuclear-capable missile strikes in the western enclave of Kaliningrad, amid Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine. The announcement came on the 70th day of Moscow’s military action in the pro-Western country, with thousands killed and more than 13 million displaced in the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. After sending troops to Ukraine in late February, Russian President Vladimir […]
by Anne BEADE, with Emeline Burckel in London Agence France Presse VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — OPEC+ members meeting on Thursday are expected to agree a marginal increase in oil production, bolstered by risks to demand amid coronavirus restrictions in China. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also added to supply concerns, which have increased with Europe’s announced moves on a potential Russian oil embargo. Prices soared on Wednesday, with Brent North Sea crude closing above […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile Wednesday, Seoul said, a week after Kim Jong Un vowed to boost Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal and just days before the South inaugurates a new, hawkish president. Pyongyang has conducted 14 weapons tests since January, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full-range for the first time since 2017. Last week Kim oversaw a huge military parade, vowed to rapidly expand and improve his […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing closed dozens of subway stations on Wednesday, as Covid restrictions slowly constrict movement across the Chinese capital of over 21 million people. The world’s second-biggest economy has been battling its worst coronavirus flare-up since the early days of the pandemic, with most cases found in the business hub of Shanghai, where residents have been largely stuck at home for more than a month. Scenes of chaos and anger at […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong has plummeted down an international press freedom chart as authorities have wielded a draconian new security law to silence critical news outlets and jail journalists, a new report said on Tuesday. For two decades, media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has ranked countries and territories around the world by how free their press is. Hong Kong, a regional hub for both international and local media, has […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A woman was pulled out alive Tuesday from the rubble of a building that collapsed four days ago in central China, state media said, calling the rescue a “miracle”. The commercial building in Changsha city, Hunan province — which housed apartments, a hotel and a cinema — caved in on Friday, sparking a massive rescue effort with hundreds of emergency responders. State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of a person wrapped in […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — |Rescuers pulled a pair of survivors from a collapsed building in central China on Sunday, state media reported, two days into a search-and-rescue operation for dozens feared missing. The building in Changsha city, Hunan province — which housed a hotel, apartments and a cinema — caved in Friday afternoon, leaving a gaping hole in the dense streetscape. City officials on Saturday said five survivors had been pulled out of […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Ukraine’s foreign minister has asked China to provide security guarantees for Kyiv, in a lengthy interview containing some of the most direct criticisms of Moscow recently published by Beijing’s state media. Western powers and Ukraine have repeatedly urged China to condemn Russia’s invasion as it tries to maintain a supposedly neutral stance, with the United States threatening consequences if Beijing provides military or economic support to Moscow. “Ukraine is currently […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia faced down US opposition and invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in November, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, its leader said Friday. Jakarta, which holds the G20 presidency this year, has been under heavy pressure from the West, led by the United States, to exclude Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, but it has argued it must remain “impartial”. “I have invited President Zelensky to […]
