LONDON (AFP) -- Airbnb became a leading partner of the Olympics in a nine-year deal announced Monday that drew strong criticism from Paris, host of the 2024 summer Games.In the deal unveiled in London, the home rental platform became a "Top" International Olympic Committee partner, joining titans including Coca Cola and Visa on the highest sponsorship level. But in a letter sent last week and seen by AFP on Monday, the mayor of Paris warned IOC head Thomas Bach about the "risks&qu

China will not simply sit back and watch if months of protests in Hong Kong develop into an "uncontrollable" situation, the country's ambassador to Britain said Monday."I think the Hong Kong government is trying very hard to put the situation under control," Liu Xiaoming told a London press conference, as fresh violence erupts after months of protests."But if the situation becomes uncontrollable, the central government would certainly not sit on our hands and watch. We h

TOKYO (AFP) -- Robot versions of Japan's Olympic and Paralympic mascots thrilled hundreds of school children in Tokyo on Monday, striking sporting poses and displaying hearts in their electronic eyes.The event at a local elementary school was billed as a chance to showcase some of the technology Japan hopes will wow visitors at the Tokyo 2020 Games.Some 600 pupils clapped and shouted "kawaii (cute)!" as the toddler-sized versions of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic mascots were un

HONG KONG (AFP) -- A government ban on demonstrators wearing face masks, aimed at helping to quell months of pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong, is unconstitutional, the territory's high court ruled Monday."The restrictions it imposes on fundamental rights... go further than is reasonably necessary... and therefore fail to meet the proportionality test," the court said, according to a press summary. The ban on face-covering came into force in October, when the city's unelected pro-Beiji

HONG KONG (AFP) -- China's President Xi Jinping warned Thursday that protests in Hong Kong threaten the "one country, two systems"  principle governing the semi-autonomous city that has tipped into worsening violence with two dead in a week.Hong Kong has been ruled by a unique system guaranteeing greater freedoms than on the mainland since its handover from British rule to China in 1997.But protests, which began against a now-shelved extradition bill to China, have spiralled into

SANTA CLARITA (AFP) -- A teenage boy gunned down fellow students at a California high school on his 16th birthday Thursday, killing two and wounding another three before turning the pistol on himself.The gunman was taken into custody in "grave" condition, police said, as officers stormed Saugus High School in Santa Clarita -- the latest in a relentless cycle of classroom shootings in the United States that have left around 300 youngsters dead over two decades. The chilling scene played

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Donald Trump on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to bar a prosecutor from obtaining his tax returns, arguing that as president he has blanket immunity.Trump, a former New York businessman, is the first American president since Richard Nixon not to make his tax returns public, arguing they're under audit by the Internal Revenue Service.Opposition Democrats have turned to the courts to force their release in a case that's considered a crucial test of the separation of powers. A

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters fought intense battles with riot police on a university campus and paralysed the city's upmarket business district Tuesday, extending one of the most violent stretches of unrest seen in more than five months of political chaos.The confrontations followed a particularly brutal day on Monday, when police shot a protester and a man was set on fire, prompting calls from western powers for compromise but further fury in China against any challenge

HONG KONG (AFP) -- A Hong Kong student who fell from a car park while police and protesters were clashing last weekend has died, hospital officials said Friday, in a development likely to further escalate tensions after months of violent rallies in the city.Alex Chow, a 22-year-old computer science undergraduate, was certified dead at 8.09am on Friday, Queen Elizabeth Hospital said.  Chow was taken to hospital in an unconscious state in the early hours of Monday morning following late-night

RIYADH (AFP) -- Saudi regulators on Sunday approved state energy giant Aramco's request to make its stock market debut, firing the starting gun on the highly anticipated offering which could be the world's largest.The Capital Markets Authority did not give any details of the Initial Public Offering but it is expected to begin trading in mid-December.The markets regulator "has issued its resolution approving the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco)... application for the registration and

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Airbnb's boss announced Saturday that the online platform, which offers private homes for rent for short periods, is banning "party houses" after a deadly shooting at a Halloween event in California.Five people were killed and others wounded in a Thursday night shooting in Orinda, California, in a house that had been rented on Airbnb.More than 100 people were present at the event, which was announced on social media. "Starting today, we are banning 'party houses'

TOKYO (AFP) -- Exports of beer from Japan to South Korea fell 99.9 percent year-on-year in September, Japan's finance ministry said Wednesday, as a boycott spurred by a bilateral dispute drags on.Relations between South Korea and Japan have fallen to new lows in recent months over long-running tensions on the issue of war-time forced labour.The countries have implemented retaliatory trade restrictions, and in South Korea citizens have called for a boycott of Japanese goods.Japanese beer had long

North Korea has pulled out of a December international women's football tournament in the South, Seoul's football authorities said Tuesday, weeks after Pyongyang hosted a surreal World Cup qualifier in a near-empty stadium.Pyongyang's nuclear talks with Washington are at a deadlock and it has been at loggerheads with Seoul since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in February.The North has repeatedly excoriated Seoul, saying it has "noth

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US officials said Monday that the body of Islamic State group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was buried at sea as fresh details surfaced about the US special forces operation that led to his death over the weekend.Syrian Kurds claimed to be a key source of the intelligence that led Americans to Baghdadi after years of tracking the brutal jihadist leader behind a five-year reign of terror across much of Iraq and Syria.And an unnamed US military dog became a unlikely hero of the ra

INZAI (AFP) -- Tiger Woods said it was "crazy"  after he made golfing history Monday by holding off the challenge of home favourite Hideki Matsuyama to win the weather-delayed Zozo Championship by three shots.The 15-time major winner Woods finished 19-under par to equal US legend Sam Snead's all-time record of 82 US PGA Tour victories set 54 years ago.Woods, in his first outing since arthroscopic knee surgery two months ago, broke into a huge smile after he safely got up and down

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) -- Peronist candidate Alberto Fernandez won Argentina's presidential election in the first round on Sunday, official results showed, bringing to an end the crisis-plagued rule of market-friendly incumbent Mauricio Macri. Fernandez, a 60-year-old law professor, had 47.36 percent of the votes -- crossing the threshold for outright victory -- after 75 percent of the votes had been counted, with center-right incumbent Mauricio Macri trailing at 41.22 percent. To win outright, Fern

NEW YORK (AFP) -- LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Dior and the champagne brands Veuve Clicquot and Moet, has made a bid for American jeweller Tiffany, known for its engagement rings and diamonds.The French luxury giant made an offer for the US company at the start of the month, a source told AFP late on Saturday.Tiffany, whose flagship New York store is next to Trump Tower on 5th avenue, has not yet responded to the offer, which comes as the luxury industry is jittery about the possible effects

VATICAN CITY (AFP) -- Catholic bishops gathered at a special Vatican assembly called on Pope Francis Saturday to open the priesthood to married men in the Amazon, as well as giving women a greater role to play and making damaging the environment a sin.The bishops issued a list of recommendations at the close of a three-week "synod" on the Pan-Amazonian region which highlighted challenges such as the destruction of the rainforest, the exploitation of indigenous peoples and a scarcity in

BEIJING -- Chinese embassy staff are heading to Essex in Britain to verify reports that 39 people found dead in a truck were its nationals, the foreign ministry said Thursday.The victims were discovered in a container on the back of a truck in Grays, east of London, on Wednesday, shortly after arriving by ferry from Belgium. The local Essex Police force, which is working with immigration officials, said their initial priority was to try to identify the 39 victims.The truck was moved Wednesday to

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump ended sanctions against Turkey on Wednesday, drawing a line under American involvement in "blood-stained" Syria, as Turkish and Russian troops seized territory previously held by US troops and their beleaguered Kurdish allies."Let someone else fight over this long blood-stained sand," Trump said in a White House speech that formalized the ceding of power in northern Syria to Ankara and increasingly influential Moscow.Trump said he wa