Tag: china

Oil slick off China coast trebles in size

by Ben Dooley Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — The spill from a sunken Iranian tanker off China’s east coast has more than trebled in size, just over a week after the ship sank in a ball of flames. Authorities spotted three oil slicks with a total surface area of 332 square kilometers (128 square miles), compared to 101 square kilometers reported on Wednesday, the State Oceanic Administration said in a statement late Sunday. […]

China’s waste import ban upends global recycling industry

by Becky Davis and Lillian Ding, with AFP bureaus in Europe and the United States Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — For years China was the world’s top destination for recyclable trash, but a ban on certain imports has left nations scrambling to find new dumping grounds for growing piles of garbage. The decision was announced in July and came into force on January 1, giving companies from Europe to the United States barely […]

China says US warship ‘violated’ its sovereignty

Beijing said it has dispatched a warship to drive away a US missile destroyer which had “violated” its sovereignty by sailing close to a shoal in the disputed South China Sea. The USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Huangyan Island on the night of January 17 without alerting Beijing, the foreign ministry said, referring to the shoal by its Chinese name. Also known as Scarborough Shoal, the ring of reefs lies about 230 […]

One dead as accident mars fourth leg of Volvo Ocean Race

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A collision between a mainland Chinese fishing boat and the American-Danish team during the fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race left one man dead, police said Saturday, overshadowing a historic victory for the Hong Kong team as the city hosted the race for the first time. Local group Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag triumphed despite some significant setbacks in the gruelling 5,800 nautical mile stage from Melbourne, Australia, closely followed by […]

Hong Kong stocks end record-breaking week on a high

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong stocks ended Friday with further gains, bringing an end to a spectacular week for the benchmark index that has seen it push to new records. The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.41 percent, or 132.95 points, to finish at 32,254.89. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.38 percent, or 13.11 points, to 3,487.86 — putting on 1.72 percent over the week. But the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks […]

China detains rights lawyer after call for reform

BEIJING, China (AFP) – Chinese authorities detained a prominent human rights lawyer on Friday, people familiar with the case said, just hours after he provided journalists with a letter calling for constitutional reform. Around a dozen people, including a SWAT team, seized Yu Wensheng as he left his Beijing apartment to walk his child to school, two sources told AFP. Local police said they were unaware of his detention. Yu has been a persistent voice for reform in […]

Trump says Russia undermining N.Korea sanctions

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused Russia of undermining international sanctions against North Korea and weakening efforts to curb Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear weapons program. “Russia is not helping us at all with North Korea,” Trump told the Reuters news agency. “What China is helping us with, Russia is denting.” Last month, Trump had already denounced Russia for “not helping” global efforts to pressure Pyongyang to halt the development of nuclear weapons […]

Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong jailed over protest

by Elaine Yu Agence France-Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) – Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong was jailed for the second time Wednesday for his role in mass pro-democracy protests as concern grows that prison terms for young campaigners are shutting down debate in the semi-autonomous city as Beijing increases control. Wong, 21, who became the face of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, was handed a three-month sentence on a contempt charge for obstructing clearance of a major […]

Chinese solar boom sparks global renewables boon: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — A Chinese boom in solar panel installation last year helped drive global investment in renewable clean energy technology to record levels, a new study showed Tuesday. After a dip in 2016, overall global investment in the sector rose 3.0 percent to a total $333.5 billion, offsetting falls in Japan, Germany and Britain, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) study. That was the second best annual showing to date after […]

No survivors as Iranian tanker sinks engulfed in flames

by Becky Davis Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — An Iranian oil tanker burst into flames from end to end and sank Sunday, eight days after it caught fire following a collision with a cargo ship off China, state media said. Earlier, a Tehran official said there was no hope of saving some 30 missing crewmen before the ship sank, amid concern over an oil spill as Chinese officials played down fears of a […]

China demolishes a megachurch

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Authorities in northern China have demolished a megachurch in a move denounced by a religious rights group as “Taliban-style persecution”. China’s officially atheist Communist authorities are wary of any organised movements outside their control, including religious ones. The huge evangelical Jindengtai (“Golden Lampstand”) Church, painted grey and surmounted by turrets and a large red cross, was located in Linfen, Shanxi province. Its demolition began on Tuesday under “a city-wide campaign to […]

Alejano questions DFA approval of conduct of PHL-China marine research in PHL waters

(Eagle News)– Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano on Friday expressed concern about what he said was the joint marine research in Philippine waters to be conducted by the Philippines and China. According to Alejano, it was the Department of Foreign Affairs that gave the approval for the Institute of Oceanology of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute to conduct the research that he said would cover Eastern Luzon, where Benham Rise […]