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SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Tuesday urged the release of citizens held in China, as she prepared to embark on a landmark visit to Beijing. Wong is set to be the first top Australian diplomat to visit China in four years, a trip aimed at thawing troubled relations. She will depart Australia on Tuesday for a meeting with Chinese state councilor and minister of foreign affairs, Wang Yi, and indicated […]
Beijing, China (AFP) People with Covid-19 symptoms in one of China’s largest cities can now go to work “as normal”, state media reported Monday, a dramatic reversal in a country where a single case could previously send thousands into lockdown. The world’s most populous nation is unwinding years of hardline coronavirus policy, with Covid spreading rapidly in the wake of the official end of mass lockdowns, testing and quarantines. And with authorities admitting the […]
Beijing, China (AFP) by Laurie CHEN Workers at Beijing crematoriums said Friday they are overwhelmed as China faces a surge in Covid cases that authorities warn could hit its underdeveloped rural hinterland during upcoming public holidays. Covid-19 is spreading rapidly across China after three years of strict containment measures ended last week, with health authorities now admitting the true scale of the outbreak is “impossible” to track. China’s top Covid response body on Friday […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US President Joe Biden threw his support Thursday behind a larger African role in the world as he also vowed to champion democracy in a continent where China and Russia have enjoyed rising clout. “The United States is all in on Africa and all in with Africa,” Biden told nearly 50 African leaders who have spent three days in a wintry Washington summit that featured a gala White House dinner. “Africa […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) – Google said Thursday it does not manipulate search results, after Hong Kong’s government said the tech giant had refused its demand to remove a popular protest song. The controversy began after it emerged that links to the pro-democracy song “Glory to Hong Kong” appeared ahead of China’s official “March of the Volunteers” when people searched for the city’s anthem. The song was accidentally played for Hong Kong athletes at two international […]
Tokyo, Japan (AFP) by Sara HUSSEIN Japan is expected to announce its biggest defence overhaul in decades this week, hiking spending, reshaping its military command and acquiring new missiles to tackle the threat from China. The policies, to be outlined in three defence and security documents as soon as Friday, will reshape the defence landscape in a country whose post-war constitution does not even officially recognise the military. “Fundamentally strengthening our defence capabilities […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The true scale of Covid-19 infections in China is now “impossible” to track, the country’s top health body said Wednesday, as officials warned of a rapid spread in Beijing after the country abruptly dropped its zero-tolerance policy. China last week loosened restrictions for mass testing and quarantine after nearly three years of attempting to stamp out the virus, prompting officially reported infections to fall quickly from the all-time highs recorded last […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) – Google has a “moral obligation” to stop a democracy protest song appearing in search results, Hong Kong’s leader said Tuesday, as row over China’s national anthem widened to include the tech giant. Hong Kong officials have been infuriated by a series of mistakes at international sporting events in recent weeks when a protest song has been played instead of China’s national anthem for the city’s athletes. Their ire has increasingly focused […]
Kabul, Afghanistan (AFP) by Abdullah HASRAT At least three people were killed when gunmen attacked a hotel popular with Chinese business people in the Afghan capital Monday, with witnesses reporting multiple blasts and several bursts of gunfire. Smoke could be seen pouring from the multi-storey Kabul Longan Hotel as Taliban security forces rushed to the site and sealed off the neighbourhood. The Taliban claim to have improved security since storming back to power in August […]
Beijing, China (AFP) by Jing Xuan TENG / Laurie CHEN Covid cases are surging in the Chinese capital, officials said Monday, as the country navigates a rapid turn away from its zero-tolerance coronavirus strategy. Just a few days after China began loosening restrictions, Beijing authorities said more than 22,000 patients had visited hospitals across the city in the previous day — 16 times the number a week ago. “The current trend of the rapid spread […]
Beijing, China (AFP) A senior US delegation in China discussed ways to improve ties and the issue of Taiwan with their local counterparts, Beijing said Monday, as they laid the groundwork for a planned visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The talks — involving top US diplomat for East Asia Daniel Kritenbrink, National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger, and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng — took place on […]
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (AFP) by Robbie Corey-Boulet Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for a visit that is likely to focus on energy ties but also follows months of tensions with the United States. Xi, recently reanointed as leader of the world’s second biggest economy, arrived in the capital Riyadh, Chinese and Saudi state media said, for a three-day visit that will include talks with the Saudi rulers and […]
