Dec 9, 2019   World Business

Official: China hopes for US trade pact as tariff hike nears

A Chinese official says Beijing wants a prompt settlement of its trade war with Washington. A deputy commerce minister said Monday that Beijing wants "satisfactory results as soon as possible.'' The official gave no details of talks on a "Phase 1" deal announced by President Donald Trump in October. Another US tariff hike on $160 billion of Chinese imports is due to take effect Sunday. China announced Friday it was carrying out a promise to waive punitive tariffs on American

Dec 9, 2019   World News

World Anti-Doping Agency imposes 4-year ban on Russia

The Russian flag and national anthem were banned from next year's Tokyo Olympics and other major sports events for four years on Monday.Russia's hosting of world championships in Olympic sports also face being stripped after the World Anti-Doping Agency executive committee approved a full slate of recommended sanctions as punishment for state authorities tampering with a Moscow laboratory database.Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in major events only if they are not implicated in posi

Dec 9, 2019   World News

[Graphic News] Majority of Americans see North Korea as enemy: poll

　A majority of Americans view North Korea as an enemy, a recent survey showed, putting the communist nation atop a list of countries in terms of enemy perceptions.　The poll of 1,500 people, carried out last month by the London-based research data group YouGov and the Economist magazine, showed that 56 percent of Americans consider North Korea to be an enemy of the United States, up from 51 percent in August. 　The survey asked respondents about their perceptions of 14 countries. The enemy percept

Dec 9, 2019   World News

Finland picks youngest-ever prime minister

HELSINKI (AFP) -- Finland's Social Democrats elected a 34-year-old former transport minister to the post of prime minister on Sunday, making her the youngest head of government in the country's history.Sanna Marin narrowly won Sunday's vote to replace outgoing leader Antti Rinne, who resigned on Tuesday after losing the confidence of the coalition partner Centre Party over his handling of a postal strike."We have a lot of work to do to rebuild trust," Marin told reporters on Sunday nig

Dec 9, 2019   World News

Hong Kongers mark half a year of protest with mammoth rally

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Democracy protesters took part in the largest mass rally through Hong Kong's streets in months on Sunday in a forceful display of support for the movement, with a leading activist warning the city's pro-Beijing leaders they had a "last chance" to end the political crisis.Organisers estimated some 800,000 people snaked for hours through the financial hub's main island as the protests marked six months, a vivid illustration of the hostility that still seethes towards t

Dec 8, 2019   World Business

[Graphic News] Air New Zealand named world’s best airline 2020

　Air New Zealand has dethroned Singapore Airlines to reclaim the title of world’s best airline for the sixth time. 　AirlineRatings.com released the latest edition of its annual ranking, which is based on 12 criteria including fleet age, passenger reviews, profitability, investment rating, product offerings and staff relations. 　This year, the flagship carrier of New Zealand took top honors, nudging Singapore Airlines into second place, followed by All Nippon Airways, Qantas and Cathay Paci

Dec 8, 2019   World News

Hong Kong protesters aim for big turnout at rare sanctioned march

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong democracy protesters are hoping for huge crowds later Sunday at a rally they have billed as a "last chance" for the city's pro-Beijing leaders in a major test for the six-month-old movement.The march comes two weeks after pro-establishment parties got a drubbing in local elections, shattering government claims that a "silent majority" opposed the protests.The semi-autonomous financial hub has been battered by increasingly violent demonstrations in

Dec 6, 2019   World News

China says to exempt 'some' US soybean, pork from tariffs

BEIJING (AFP) - China said on Friday it will offer a tariff waiver to "some" imports of US soybean and pork, in the latest sign of easing trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.The world's two biggest economies have exchanged blows for over a year, with tariffs now impacting hundreds of billions of dollars in two-way trade. The olive branch comes at a time when the two sides are edging towards a partial deal that includes a promise to increase the purchase of US farm produce.&qu

Dec 4, 2019   World News

[Graphic News] US draws fewer new foreign students for 3rd straight year

　A new report found that the number of foreign students coming to US universities continued to decrease last year.　The annual report from the Institute of International Education found a 1 percent decrease in the number of newly enrolled international students in fall 2018 compared with the year before. This follows two years of decreases after more than a decade of upward movement.　Some schools have blamed US President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric for driving students away, but

Dec 4, 2019   World News

Trump, Macron and Erdogan clash overshadows NATO summit

LONDON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron exchanged fire over the future of NATO on Tuesday, as the French leader attacked Turkey and demanded the alliance rethink its strategy. The three-way battle overshadowed the start of the alliance's 70th anniversary summit in London, threatening to derail efforts to show unity in the face of Russia and China.In recent weeks Macron has tried to shake up the agenda of the meeting by demanding a review of NATO's "brain dead" str

Dec 3, 2019   World News

Trump says China deal could wait until after election

US President Donald Trump appeared to downplay the chances for a deal to end the US-China trade war before the end of the year.Speaking in London he is attending a NATO summit, Trump said Tuesday that the only limiting factor to reaching an agreement with China is whether he wants to make a deal. Asked about his previous goal of reaching an agreement by years‘ end, Trump told reporters, ’"I have no deadline, no.""In some ways I like the idea of waiting until after the

Dec 3, 2019   World News

[Graphic News] Americans prefer mobile devices for news: survey

　Americans rely on their mobile devices for online news far more than desktop or laptop computers, building on a trend that began several years ago, a survey showed.　The Pew Research Center report found 57 percent of US adults often get news from a smartphone or tablet compared with 30 percent from a PC.　The share of Americans who often get news on a mobile device is more than double the 21 percent who did so in 2013, the first time Pew asked this question.　The percentage who often get news on a

Dec 3, 2019   World News

US threatens 100% tariffs on French goods over digital tax

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Monday threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion in French goods in retaliation for a digital services tax it says is discriminatory.French sparkling wine, yogurt and Roquefort cheese are on the list of goods that could be targeted as soon as mid-January after a report from the US Trade Representative's office found the tax penalizes American tech companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.The decision "sends a clear

Dec 2, 2019   World News

[Graphic News] More countries affected by terrorism even as deaths fall: index

　The number of global deaths from terrorism fell 15.2 percent in 2018, even as the number of countries affected by extremist violence continued to grow, the 2019 Global Terrorism Index showed.　From a high of 33,555 deaths in 2014, when the Islamic State group lured tens of thousands of jihadists to the Middle East, the number of terrorism deaths has more than halved to 15,952 in 2018, the index published by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics & Peace showed.　Afghanistan topped the list