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HONG KONG, China (AFP) – A ban on selling most ivory products in Hong Kong came into effect Friday, the culmination of a three-year process to eliminate the once rampant trade in the city. Hong Kong lawmakers in 2018 backed a bill opting for a gradual phasing out of the trade — a move some conservationists at the time criticised as a loophole that could be exploited. The city has been accused of playing an […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – Fallen US biotech star Elizabeth Holmes was convicted on Monday of defrauding investors in her blood-testing startup Theranos, in a high-profile case seen as an indictment of Silicon Valley culture. Jurors found Holmes guilty of tricking investors into pouring money into what she said was a revolutionary testing system, but also acquitted her on some charges, and failed to agree on others. The 37-year-old now faces the possibility of […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Apple became the first US company to hit $3 trillion in market value, briefly reaching the landmark on Monday in the latest demonstration of the tech industry’s pandemic surge. The iPhone maker scaled the record level near 1845 GMT, reaching $182.88 a share before slipping back slightly. The tech giant also was the first US company to hit $2 trillion in August 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic that stoked […]
A fire engulfing South Africa’s parliament continued to rage as night fell on Cape Town on Monday, after strong winds reignited the blaze that firefighters had declared under control just hours earlier. A 49-year-old man has been charged over starting the inferno which broke out early Sunday and has devastated the parliament complex, collapsing the roof of the National Assembly and threatening historic treasures. After a struggle that stretched into Sunday night, the fire was […]
A 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit remote Japanese islands in the Pacific early Tuesday, but there was no tsunami warning, officials said. The underwater quake, measuring 43.4 kilometres (27.0 miles) in depth, hit at 6:08 am (2108 GMT Monday) near Bonin Islands, locally known as Ogasawara Islands, the United States Geological Survey said. The islands are some 1,000 kilometres south of the main urban area of Tokyo, which administers them. The Japan Meteorological Agency said its […]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) – Denmark’s government has set an ambitious target of making all Danish domestic flights green by 2030, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Saturday. “Will it be difficult? Yes. Can it be done? Yes, I think so. We’re already on it. Talented researchers and businesses are working on solutions,” Frederiksen said in her New Year’s Day address to the nation. “If we succeed, it will be a green breakthrough. Not just for Denmark, […]
by Darko DURIDANSKI with Lajla VESELICA in Brestovac Agence France-Presse VALANDOVO, Republic of North Macedonia (AFP) – Abandoned shops and mostly empty streets offer few signs of life in North Macedonia’s Valandovo, where young people are fleeing in large numbers hoping to find a better life abroad. Like much of this impoverished corner of southeastern Europe, this tiny Balkan nation is sitting on a demographic time bomb fuelled by an ageing population, sinking birth rate […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — New coronavirus cases in China’s locked-down city of Xi’an edged down Monday, official data showed, while local authorities removed two senior officials to “strengthen” their fight against Covid. Beijing has pursued a “zero Covid” approach with tight border restrictions and targeted lockdowns since the virus first emerged, but this strategy has come under pressure with recent local outbreaks. The northern city of Xi’an, home to the world-famous Terracotta Warriors, has become […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) – The Beijing Winter Olympics will be spread over three zones and merge new venues with existing ones from the 2008 Games, including the “Bird’s Nest” stadium. With one month to go, AFP Sport looks at where the Olympics will take place: Beijing The 80,000-seater “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium — whose cross-hatched steel girders produce a nest-like appearance — will stage the opening and closing ceremonies. Other sites from the 2008 Games […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore’s economy grew 7.2 percent last year, rebounding from its worst recession since independence sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Monday. The city-state plunged into its worst economic performance in 2020 as businesses and international borders shut down, choking its trade and tourism economic lifeline. Authorities initially imposed tough measures to restrict movement and gatherings but later shifted to a policy of living with the virus as the majority […]
PANAMA CITY, Panama (AFP) – Panama seized a record haul of 128 tons of drugs in 2021, President Laurentino Cortizo said on Sunday. The figure represented a 43 percent increase on the previous record of 90 tons from 2019. “In 2021, as a result of 565 operations against organized crime and drug trafficking, 128.7 tons of drugs were seized,” Cortizo told the National Assembly parliament. In 2020, despite lockdown measures imposed to stop the spread […]
by Julie CHABANAS Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – Americans returning home from holiday travel had to battle another day of airport chaos Sunday, with more than 2,000 flights cancelled due to bad weather or airline staffing woes sparked by a surge in Covid cases. Further disruptions are predicted for Monday, as a winter storm blows eastward. As of 20H30 GMT Sunday, 2,432 domestic flights or international ones starting or finishing in the […]
