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BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s exports rose in March for the first time in six months, customs data showed Thursday, as the world’s second-largest economy continued its recovery following the end of onerous coronavirus curbs late last year. The 14.8 percent surge in overseas shipments marked the first since September, according to the General Administration of Customs, and will provide a boost to hopes for a lasting rebound. Beijing long maintained some of the world’s […]
by Anna MALPAS Agence France-Presse NOVOGRYGORIVKA, Ukraine (AFP) — His fields peppered with Russian shells, Ukrainian farmer Vitaliy Sydor has resorted to desperate measures to clear explosives from the land himself so he can plant crops. “I bought metal detectors and had a bit of a look on the Internet,” said Sydor, 28. He had no protective equipment, he admitted, and relies on a friend with army experience. His village, Novogrygorivka, in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv […]
by Adam PLOWRIGHT Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — French first lady Brigitte Macron turns 70 on Thursday, but don’t expect her to talk about it. “Wait for April 13, 2023 when I’m going to be 70,” she told women’s lifestyle magazine S in January with barely disguised dread about the coming flood of news articles. “You’re going to hear about it, I’m sure. “I won’t read a thing that day.” Brigitte, who has three […]
Seoul, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile towards the sea Thursday morning, Yonhap news agency reported, citing South Korea’s military. The agency said the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported the missile was fired toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, in the latest act of defiance from Pyongyang amid acute tensions with Seoul and Washington. The South’s military gave no immediate details of the launch, […]
Taipei, Taiwan | AFP | Wednesday 4/12/2023 China will set up a brief no-fly zone north of Taiwan on Sunday due to what the island’s transport ministry described as “space activities”. The closure comes after Beijing completed three days of massive war games around self-ruled Taiwan last week, during which China simulated targeted strikes and practised a blockade of the island. The no-fly zone does not appear to be linked to the drills, with […]
Paris, France | AFP | Wednesday 4/12/2023 Solar and wind energy surged to make a record 12 percent of the world’s electricity in 2022, a climate think tank calculated in a report Wednesday — though coal remained the leading source globally. The report provides the latest gauge of renewable energy growth as countries scramble to meet emissions targets to curb climate change and secure alternative power sources after gas-exporter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February […]
Washington, United States | AFP | Wednesday 4/12/2023 Former US president Donald Trump, having been criminally charged in New York, pledged Tuesday to “never drop out” of the 2024 race for the White House, and insisted Joe Biden is not fit to run again. The Republican real estate magnate, who is facing 34 felony counts in New York over alleged hush money paid to an adult film actress, told Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson that […]
Kyiv, Ukraine | AFP | Wednesday 4/12/2023 Graphic Content Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday denounced Russian “beasts” after a video appeared to show the beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner, prompting international outrage. The emergence of the footage, which AFP was unable to independently verify, sparked fury in Ukraine, with Kyiv saying Russia is “worse than ISIS” — a reference to the Islamic State group. The European Union pledged to hold war criminals to account, while a […]
Beijing, China | AFP | Wednesday 4/12/2023 Emmanuel Macron’s unexpected suggestion that Europe not “follow” US policy on Taiwan is being hailed as a “brilliant decision” this week in China, where state news outlets and social media users are lauding his independence. The French president sowed confusion across the international community — and left Western allies bristling — after calling for “strategic autonomy” on Taiwan following last week’s trip to China, where he met […]
Beijing, China | AFP | Wednesday 4/12/2023 by Jing Xuan TENG China’s President Xi Jinping called on the country’s armed forces to “strengthen military training oriented towards actual combat”, state media reported Wednesday, after Beijing conducted military drills intended to intimidate Taiwan. Xi’s comments, made on a naval inspection trip on Tuesday, come amid heightened tension in the region after the show of force by Beijing, which sees self-ruled Taiwan as its territory. China on […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s ruling party nominated Vice President William Lai as its candidate for next year’s presidential elections on Wednesday, choosing a contender who has been more outspoken on Taiwanese independence than incumbent Tsai Ing-wen. The announcement comes two days after China formally ended massive war games around democratic Taiwan that saw it simulate targeted strikes and practice a blockade of the island. The nomination is almost certain to anger China, which openly […]
by Florent VERGNES Agence France-Presse NEAR BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AFP) — A shovel and a blue bucket in hand, a Ukrainian soldier climbs out of the trench he was digging, which would be part of the new defense line if Bakhmut fell to Russian forces. After around nine months of fierce combat, Russian troops including Wagner paramilitary fighters hold about two-thirds of the eastern city. Kyiv is preparing for an eventual loss of Bakhmut, which it […]
