Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | China overtook the United States last year to become Germany’s biggest trading partner for the first time, official data showed, a shift likely to reassure Berlin as worries grow over US President Donald Trump’s protectionist leanings. The figures compiled by federal statistics office …
Read More »As North Korea steps up sanctions-busting, UN notifies Uganda
United Nations, United States | AFP | North Korea is flouting tougher new UN sanctions with more ingenuous tactics, circumventing trade bans by relying on middlemen and front companies, notably in Malaysia and China, a report by UN sanctions experts says. The 100-page report, obtained by AFP, confirmed that North …
Read More »First drug-resistant malaria parasite detected in Africa
Miami, United States | AFP | For the first time in Africa, researchers said Wednesday they have detected a malaria parasite that is partially resistant to the top anti-malaria drug, artemisinin, raising concern about efforts to fight a disease that sickens hundreds of millions of people each year. The discovery …
Read More »Bird-flu deaths rise in China, shutting poultry markets
Beijing, China | AFP | China is experiencing its deadliest outbreak of the H7N9 bird-flu strain since it first appeared in humans in 2013, killing 79 people in January alone and spurring several cities to suspend live poultry trade. The National Health and Family Planning Commission said on Wednesday that …
Read More »Enter the dragon: rural Chinese honour mythical beast
Liancheng, China | AFP | Dragons several hundred metres long snake their way down pastoral roads and through country hamlets, part of centuries-old Chinese folk celebrations for a mythical creature revered as a blessing. The visually striking festival is among a range of colourful traditional observances unique to eastern Fujian …
Read More »Trump backs ‘One China’ policy in first call with Xi
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump reaffirmed Washington’s ‘One China’ policy on Thursday in his first conversation with Xi Jinping, an apparent effort to ease tensions after angering Beijing by questioning a major plank of Sino-US relations. During a phone call with China’s leader, the US president …
Read More »Trump trade moves chilling, could hurt US business: trade experts
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s first moves on trade have cast a pall over US trade relations and could hurt US businesses, trade experts say. Trump has begun his term by pulling out of one major agreement, vowing to renegotiate or exit another, and threatening to …
Read More »China’s Xi calls for world without nuclear weapons
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a world without nuclear weapons at the UN on Wednesday and urged a multilateral system based on equality among nations large and small. His speech at the United Nations in Geneva came at the end of a diplomatic tour …
Read More »COMMENT: Hoping for the best against trump
COMMENT: By Ian Buruma His election is more like an earthquake, unleashing forces no one can control Is there any reason for liberals to feel optimistic after a year of political disasters? Is there even a shred of silver lining to be found in the tatters of , Donald Trump’s …
Read More »MH370 plane search to end in two weeks
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | AFP | The hunt for missing flight MH370 will end in two weeks, Malaysia’s transport minister said on Friday, as relatives of passengers demanded authorities push on with the search. “We’re at the final lap within these two weeks,” the minister, Liow Tiong Lai told reporters. …
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