Tokyo, Japan (AFP) Japanese auto giant Honda and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution announced a joint venture Monday to invest $4.4 billion in a new US electric car battery plant. The move comes after California last week ruled that all new cars sold in America’s most populous state must be zero-emission from 2035, with other US states expected to follow suit. In a joint statement, the firms said they expected construction of the […]
Tag: net25
Putin fast-tracks Russian citizenship for Ukrainians: decree
MOSCOW (AFP) –Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday issued a decree to fast-track citizenship for all Ukrainians, more than four months into Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine. The decree ordered that “all citizens of Ukraine” be given “the right to apply for admission to the citizenship of the Russian Federation in a simplified manner”. In May, Putin already fast-tracked citizenship for residents of two regions of Ukraine — the southern region of Kherson, which is […]
Spain, Portugal swelter under new heat wave
Madrid, Spain (Agence France-Presse) Temperatures were set to soar above 40 degrees Celsius across large parts of Spain and Portugal on Monday as the Iberian Peninsula faces a second heat wave in less than a month. The mercury was to hit 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) in Spain’s southeastern region of Extremadura and 41 degrees in Andalusia, Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET said. Temperatures in Spain’s normally cooler northwestern region of Galicia were predicted to rise […]
Shots fired near July 4 parade route in Illinois
WASHINGTON, July 4, 2022 (AFP) – A shooter opened fire along the path of an Independence Day parade in the US state of Illinois on Monday, officials said. “The Illinois State Police is currently assisting Highland Park PD with an active shoot situation that occurred at the Highland Park Parade,” the Midwestern state’s police force tweeted. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office, which is responsible for the area that includes Highland Park, the city near […]
Indonesian president delivers Zelensky’s message to Putin
MOSCOW, June 30, 2022 (AFP) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in Moscow on Thursday he delivered a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Putin hosted Widodo more than four months into Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, as Russia seeks to pivot toward Asia and Africa following the onset of unprecedented Western sanctions. Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year and is preparing to host a summit […]
Taiwan premier says Hong Kong’s freedom and democracy ‘have vanished’
LOK MA CHAU, China, July 1, 2022 (AFP) – Freedom and democracy have disappeared in Hong Kong, Taiwan’s premier said Friday, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited the business hub to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its handover from Britain. Xi used the rare trip to hail China’s rule over the city and insist it is flourishing after a years-long political crackdown that has silenced dissent. “One only has to see the pain that Hong […]
John Lee: the former Hong Kong cop Beijing trusts is sworn in
by Xinqi SU HONG KONG, July 1, 2022 (AFP) – John Lee, a former beat cop who became Hong Kong’s security chief and played a key role in suppressing democracy protests, became the business hub’s new leader on Friday in a ceremony overseen by Chinese President Xi Jinping. “It is the greatest honour for me today to shoulder this historic mission given to me by the central authorities and the people of Hong Kong,” Lee […]
Russia demands Ukraine surrender as G7 vows to make Moscow pay
KREMENCHUK, Ukraine, June 28, 2022 (AFP) by Benoit FINCK / with Deborah COLE in Elmau Castle Russia vowed on Tuesday its assault on Ukraine would continue until Kyiv surrenders, as world leaders warned that Moscow would pay for its aggression. The G7 group of the world’s most powerful democracies met in Germany to send a message that they remain united behind Ukraine’s embattled government. And, ahead of a key meeting of the NATO allies, US […]
US implements G7 sanctions targeting Russian military, gold
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2022 (AFP) – Washington announced steps Tuesday to implement the new sanctions on Russia as agreed by G7 leaders, targeting Moscow’s defense industry, raising tariffs and banning gold imports from the country. The latest moves “strike at the heart of Russia’s ability to develop and deploy weapons and technology used for Vladimir Putin’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine,” the US Treasury Department said in a statement. The sanctions target Rostec, Russia’s […]
19 dead in India after building collapses in monsoon
MUMBAI, June 28, 2022 (AFP) At least 19 people were killed when monsoon rains caused a four-storey building to collapse in the Indian megacity of Mumbai, authorities said Tuesday. The structure — located next to a slum in a central city district — collapsed just before midnight on Monday, according to local officials. Fourteen people had been rescued by Tuesday evening but emergency workers retrieved 19 bodies from the rubble. “Search and rescue operations are […]
Taiwan general charged in China spying case
TAIPEI, June 24, 2022 (AFP) – A retired Taiwanese general and another senior officer were indicted on Friday for their involvement in developing a spying network for China, prosecutors said. Taipei and Beijing have spied on each other since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when the losing Nationalist side fled to the island. The major general, identified by his family name Chien, and a retired lieutenant colonel surnamed Wei were charged […]
Ukraine forces to retreat from battleground city: governor
KYIV, Ukraine, June 24, 2022 (AFP) by Benoit Finck with Anna Malpas in Donbas and Christian Spillman in Brussels Ukrainian forces will retreat from Severodonetsk in the face of a brutal Russian offensive that is reducing the battleground eastern city to rubble, a senior Ukrainian official said Friday. The news came shortly after the European Union made a strong show of support for Ukraine, granting the former Soviet republic candidate status, although there is still […]





