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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 […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – US President Joe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in telephone talks on Sunday that Washington and its allies would “respond decisively” if Russia moves to invade its pro-Western neighbor, the White House said. In a readout of the Biden-Zelensky call, White House press secretary Jen Psaki also said the US leader expressed support for diplomatic efforts including planned talks between high-level US and Russian officials set for […]
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AFP) – A huge fire destroyed a large part of South Africa’s parliament on Sunday, as police said a suspect will appear in court in the week and firefighters struggled to bring the blaze completely under control. Dozens of crews battled throughout the day to extinguish the fire which broke out at about 0300 GMT in the parliament complex’s oldest wing, which was completed in 1884 and has wood-panelled rooms. As […]
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday that a fourth Covid vaccine will be given to people over 60 and health workers amid a surge driven by the Omicron variant. “The Omicron wave is here and we must protect ourselves,” Bennett told a news conference. He said the health ministry had approved the booster jab for people over 60 and health workers. Israel on Thursday authorised a fourth Covid vaccine for […]
Twenty-two people were injured when a shallow earthquake hit southwestern China on Sunday afternoon and shook the popular tourist city of Lijiang, local authorities said. The quake struck near the border between Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), which put the magnitude at 5.4 and depth at 38 kilometres (24 miles). The Yunnan Seismological Bureau said 22 people had been injured in the quake, two severely, in Ninglang county. The […]
Japan’s imperial family is facing extinction due to a shortage of eligible emperors, but some experts say the ideas floated in a government inquiry for boosting the dwindling number of royals are out of touch. With women barred from the throne under male-only succession rules, the place of Emperor Naruhito, 61, will one day be filled by his nephew Prince Hisahito instead of his only child Princess Aiko. But if 15-year-old Hisahito does not have […]
