International

Putin, Xi hail ‘great power’ ties at talks defying West

SAMARCANDE, Uzbekistan (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met for their first face-to-face talks since the start of the conflict in Ukraine on Thursday, hailing their strategic ties in defiance of the West. Sitting across from each other at two long rounded tables and flanked by aides, the two leaders met on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in ex-Soviet Uzbekistan. The meeting was part […]

Typhoon Muifa lashes eastern China, forcing 1.6 million from their homes

  SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — High winds and heavy rain lashed China’s densely populated east coast on Thursday, after Typhoon Muifa forced around 1.6 million people to leave their homes and grounded most flights at Shanghai’s main airports. Muifa is the strongest tropical cyclone to hit Shanghai — home to more than 25 million people — since record-keeping began in 1949, state broadcaster CCTV said. However, there were no immediate reports of any deaths or […]

Hong Kong office vacancies double after protests, pandemic

  Hong Kong, China (AFP) The amount of vacant top-tier office space has more than doubled in Hong Kong over the last three years as companies downsize operations, researchers have found, warning that demand could remain soft even if pandemic controls are lifted. The data adds to warnings that Hong Kong’s lustre as a business hub has been dulled by political unrest and a subsequent crackdown. Pandemic curbs have also kept the city internationally isolated […]

Russian leader Putin, China’s Xi meet for high-stakes talks in challenge to West

  SAMARCANDE, Uzbekistan (AFP) — Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping gather with other Asian leaders in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand from Thursday for a regional summit touted as a challenge to Western global influence. Xi and Putin will be joined by the leaders of India, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and several other countries for the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Uzbek city on Thursday and Friday. The […]

Ukraine’s Zelensky vows ‘victory’ on visit to liberated Kharkiv region

by Emmanuel PARISSE with Ania TSOUKANOVA in Kyiv Agence France-Presse KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday promised “victory” on a visit to the strategic city of Izyum that was recently recaptured from Russia by Kyiv’s army in a lightning counter-offensive. The visit came at a decisive moment in Russia’s six-month-old invasion, with Ukraine expelling Moscow’s forces from swathes of the east and seriously challenging the Kremlin’s ambition to capture the […]

Chinese moves on Taiwan rattle remote Japanese island

by Mathias CENA Agence France-Presse YONAGUNI, Japan (AFP) — Life may seem tranquil on Japan’s remote Yonaguni island, where wild horses graze and tourists dive to spot hammerhead sharks, but China’s recent huge military exercises have rattled residents. The western island is just 110 kilometers (70 miles) from Taiwan, and a Chinese missile fired during the drills last month landed not far from Yonaguni’s shores. “Everyone is on edge,” Shigenori Takenishi, head of the island’s […]

TikTok search results rife with misinformation: report

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – TikTok is serving up misinformation to users searching for news about politics, climate change, Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and more, according to a report released Wednesday. Toxicity and false claims are a “significant threat” at TikTok, which is becoming a go-to online venue for young people to search for information, according to a study by NewsGuard, a media watchdog. NewsGuard describes itself as a “journalism and technology tool” […]

Flood risk in central Ukraine city after Russian strike: Kyiv

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) – Floods could hit the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine after a Russian strike damaged infrastructure causing the Inhulets River to flood, the Ukrainian presidency warned Wednesday. “At the point of impact, we have observed a water flow of 100 cubic meters per second, which is a large volume,” said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office. “The water level of the Inhulets River is changing every hour,” he […]

US Senate takes first step to direct military aid to Taiwan

by Shaun Tandon and Camille Camdessus Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A Senate committee took the first step Wednesday toward the United States directly providing billions of dollars in military aid to Taiwan and making ties more official, ramping up support following soaring tensions with Beijing. The United States for decades has sold weapons to Taiwan but the new legislation will go further by providing US security assistance of $4.5 billion over four […]

Jimmie Akesson leads Sweden’s soaring far right

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) – As leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Akesson has steered his party from “pariah” to heavyweight whose support is indispensable if the right-wing bloc wants to govern after Sunday’s election. The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats soared to become the country’s second-biggest party in the legislative vote, garnering 20.6 percent with more than 99 percent of electoral districts counted. With his impeccably coiffed brown hair, glasses and neatly trimmed beard, the casually […]

Zelensky vows ‘victory’ on frontline visit to liberated Kharkiv region

KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday promised “victory” on a visit to the strategic city of Izyum that was recently recaptured from Russia by Kyiv’s army in a lightning counter-offensive. The visit comes at a decisive moment in Russia’s six-month invasion, with Ukraine routing Moscow’s forces from swathes of the east and seriously undermining the Kremlin’s ambitions to capture the entire Donbas region of Ukraine. “Our blue-yellow flag is already […]

All Shanghai passenger flights cancelled as typhoon nears

  Shanghai, China (AFP) All passenger flights at Shanghai’s two international airports have been cancelled as Typhoon Muifa nears landfall on China’s east coast, the airport operator said Wednesday. “Shanghai Airport Group will announce flight adjustments at both airports to the public in a timely manner, in line with the typhoon’s impact,” the firm said in a social media statement. Typhoon Muifa is expected to make landfall at around 7:00 pm on Wednesday (1100 GMT), […]