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BEIJING, China (AFP) – More than one million people in a city in central China were being confined to their homes on Tuesday after three asymptomatic coronavirus cases were recorded in the country’s latest mass lockdown. Beijing has pursued a “zero Covid” approach with tight border restrictions and targeted lockdowns since the virus first emerged. But the strategy has come under pressure with a series of recent local outbreaks and with just a month to […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
China will end subsidies for electric and hybrid cars at the end of the year, authorities have announced, saying the strength of sales in the sector meant state support was no longer needed. In a statement published Friday, the Ministry of Finance said purchase subsidies would be reduced by 30 percent from the beginning of 2022 before being scrapped completely by the end of the year. “Given the growth of the industry for vehicles with […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Residents in the locked-down Chinese city of Xi’an said they were struggling to find enough food, despite Beijing insisting Thursday that there were now adequate supplies. China has followed a strict “zero Covid” approach involving tight border restrictions and swift, targeted lockdowns since the virus first surfaced in a central city in late 2019. The country’s commerce ministry told reporters on Thursday that Xi’an’s 13 million residents — who were placed […]
Hong Kong authorities arrested six current and former staff of local news outlet Stand News on Wednesday on colonial-era charges of “seditious publication”, amid international alarm about the city’s press freedoms. Police said more than 200 uniformed and plainclothes police were deployed to search the publication’s office in the Kwun Tong district. An AFP reporter saw Stand News editor-in-chief Patrick Lam being led into the news outlet’s office building in handcuffs. Stand News is […]
by Hui Min NEO with AFP bureaus BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The WHO warned Tuesday that the Omicron coronavirus variant could overwhelm healthcare systems despite early studies suggesting it causes milder disease, as China and Germany reintroduced tough restrictions to stem new infections. Covid-19 surges have wreaked havoc worldwide, forcing many nations to make tough choices between economically punishing restrictions to control the spread of the virus and keeping society open. The United States has […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The locked-down Chinese city of Xi’an on Monday tightened Covid-19 controls to the “strictest” level, banning residents from driving cars around town in an effort to control the country’s worst outbreak in 21 months. China has stuck to a “zero-Covid” strategy of tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns as Beijing prepares to welcome thousands of overseas visitors for February’s Winter Olympics. Xi’an — where 13 million residents are facing […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The Chinese city of Xi’an, where 13 million residents are currently confined to their homes, announced tightened restrictions on Sunday as the country recorded its biggest Covid-19 infection numbers in 21 months. China has stuck to a “zero-Covid” strategy involving tight border restrictions, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns. Authorities have been especially vigilant in recent months to avoid an outbreak before February’s Beijing Winter Olympics, but there have been sporadic flare-ups. […]
by Holmes CHAN Three years of democracy protests followed by a pandemic have devastated Hong Kong retailers who had grown used to relying on cash from mainland Chinese tourists. In a city that once boasted some of the world’s highest retail rents, the market has cratered. But a border town has seized the chance to evolve its local economy. Sheung Shui is the first town from the main overland border crossing and once thrived as […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan has “no plans to send government officials” to February’s Beijing Olympics, Tokyo said Friday, after the US and other countries announced diplomatic boycotts over rights concerns. Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto and Japanese Olympic Committee head Yasuhiro Yamashita will attend the Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital, top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said. The United States, Britain, Australia and Canada this month announced diplomatic boycotts of the Games over what […]
