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WASHINGTON, June 24, 2023 (AFP) – The head of US intelligence said Friday that there was no evidence that the Covid-19 virus was created in the Chinese government’s Wuhan research lab. In a declassified report, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said they had no information backing recent claims that three scientists at the lab were some of the very first infected with Covid-19 and may have created the virus themselves. Drawing […]
TAIPEI, June 24, 2023 (AFP) – Taiwan’s defence ministry said Saturday that eight Chinese warplanes had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and come close to waters under Taipei’s control. Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by China, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory to be seized one day. On Saturday, Taiwan’s defence ministry said 19 Chinese warplanes including J-10 and J-16 fighters were detected around the […]
BEIJING, June 23, 2023 (AFP) — China issued its highest-level heat alert for northern parts of the country on Friday as the capital baked in temperatures hovering around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). A day earlier Beijing logged its hottest June day since records began with the mercury edging up to 41.1C, breaking a record set in 1961. The city is accustomed to sweltering summers but temperatures across China have been unusually high in recent […]
BEIJING, June 22, 2023 (AFP) – Beijing on Thursday appeared to log its hottest June temperature since reliable records began, according to weather data and local media reports, as swathes of northern China sweltered in 40-degree heat. Scientists say rising global temperatures — caused largely by burning fossil fuels — are aggravating extreme weather worldwide, and many countries in Asia have experienced deadly heatwaves and record temperatures in recent weeks. At the Nanjiao weather station […]
BEIJING, June 22, 2023 (AFP) – At least 31 people were killed when an explosion caused by a gas leak ripped through a restaurant in the northwestern Chinese city of Yinchuan, state media said Thursday. The blast occurred on the eve of the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, when many in China go out and socialise with friends. Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed more than a dozen firefighters working at the site as smoke […]
SAN FRANCISCO, June 21, 2023 (AFP) — US President Joe Biden equated his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with “dictators” on Tuesday as he addressed a Democratic Party donors reception in the presence of journalists. Speaking at a campaign fundraiser in northern California, Biden said Xi had been angered over an incident in February when a Chinese balloon — which Washington says was used for spying — flew over the United States before being shot down […]
BEIJING, June 20, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese imports of Russian oil last month hit their highest level since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, customs data showed Tuesday, as Beijing offers an economic lifeline to an increasingly isolated Kremlin. China is Russia’s largest economic partner, with trade between them reaching a record $190 billion last year. In May, China imported 9.71 million tonnes of oil from Russia, Beijing said, more than double the amount from […]
JAKARTA, June 20, 2023 (AFP) – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has moved its first-ever joint drills, Indonesia’s military said Tuesday, edging them away from waters disputed by China. The bloc’s joint exercises were initially slated for the North Natuna Sea, which Indonesia claims as its exclusive economic zone but where Beijing’s ships occasionally patrol. When confronted by Jakarta, China has invoked the so-called nine-dash line, which demarcates an area it claims to have […]
LONDON, June 20, 2023 (AFP) – Asian and European stocks mostly fell Tuesday, as China’s smaller-than-forecast interest rate cut failed to dispel worries over its flagging powerhouse economy. Sentiment was also subdued before the return of Wall Street traders from a long holiday weekend. London stocks firmed on the eve of critical UK inflation data and ahead of Thursday’s expected interest rate increase from the Bank of England. Frankfurt and Paris slid one week after […]
BERLIN, June 20, 2023 (AFP) – Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosted Premier Li Qiang for talks on Tuesday, seeking to recalibrate cooperation between Germany and China after Berlin branded Beijing a “systemic rival”. Li is on his first trip abroad since he was named premier in March and tasked with shoring up China’s sputtering post-Covid economy. But unlike previous visits by Chinese dignitaries, when pragmatic German leaders eager to expand business ties with the Asian giant […]
BEIJING, June 20, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese tech giant Alibaba said Tuesday it will replace its top boss, in a surprise move at the e-commerce titan as it looks to recover from years of slow growth caused by weak consumer spending and a regulatory crackdown. The move comes as the market leader prepares to undergo a fundamental reorganisation of its sprawling business operations, which span cloud computing, e-commerce, logistics, media and entertainment, and artificial intelligence. […]
By Shaun TANDON Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping said Monday he saw headway in the strained relationship with the United States on a rare visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but the rival powers remained at odds over their core disputes. In a symbolic sign of lowering the temperature after soaring tensions, President Xi received Blinken in the vast Great Hall of the People and said the two powers […]
