Kerry tells Trump that Americans want climate action
Wellington (AFP) Nov 13, 2016 -
US Secretary of State John Kerry made an impassioned plea Sunday for America to maintain action on global warming, despite the election of climate-change denier Donald Trump.
While US President-elect Trump has labelled climate change a hoax and threatened to pull out of the Paris emissions deal, Kerry said most Americans wanted the problem addressed.
"We will wait to see how the next adm ...
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Brave faces at climate talks despite Trump win
Marrakesh, Morocco (AFP) Nov 12, 2016 -
The host of global climate talks insisted Saturday that Donald Trump's election has not cast a cloud over the negotiations tasked with translating the landmark Paris climate pact into reality.
Moroccan foreign minister Salaheddine Mezouar put on a brave face as the talks hit the half-way point, saying they remained on track for the arrival next week of some 60 heads of state.
"No, the el ...
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Buying peace? Chinese money brings Tibet growth, apathy
Lhasa (AFP) Nov 13, 2016 -
Traditional teahouses and fashion boutiques have sprung up in Bayi, one of the liveliest districts of Lhasa, and are owned and patronised by both Tibetans and Han Chinese. But some say increasing prosperity is just Beijing buying peace.
Tibet was China's fastest-growing region last year with expansion of 11.0 percent - albeit from a low base - boosted by government subsidies and investment ...
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China's Communist pilgrims pay homage in Xi Jinping village
Liangjiahe, China (AFP) Nov 13, 2016 -
Three caves in a remote Chinese village where Xi Jinping was sent during the Cultural Revolution receive a constant stream of Communist pilgrims, come to pay homage four years after he came to power.
Xi, then 15, was ordered to Liangjiahe in 1969 as part of Mao Zedong's "Up to the Mountain and Down to the Countryside Movement", which saw educated city youth deployed to rural areas.
The u ...
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Africa waits and wonders on Trump's foreign policy
Johannesburg (AFP) Nov 12, 2016 -
Across Africa, the approaching presidency of Donald Trump has provoked deep uncertainty over how the United States will pursue policies ranging from counter-terrorism and trade, to aid and climate change.
Many African countries had high hopes that Barack Obama would bring transformative benefits to the continent and were left disappointed as he winds down his time in office.
But Trump's ...
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Two dead after NZ quake, residents flee tsunami
Christchurch, New Zealand (AFP) Nov 13, 2016 -
Rescuers in New Zealand were scrambling Monday to reach the epicentre of a powerful 7.8 earthquake that killed at least two people and sparked a tsunami alert that sent thousands fleeing for higher ground.
The jolt, one of the most powerful ever recorded in the quake-prone South Pacific nation, hit just after midnight Monday near the South Island coastal town of Kaikoura.
As dawn broke t ...
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As Delhi chokes, farmers defend scorched earth policy
Karnal, India (AFP) Nov 13, 2016 -
As he surveys his acres of charred farmland outside New Delhi, Ishwar Singh has little sympathy for people choking in India's capital or any reason to stop the fires that are fuelling pollution.
"Everyone does it and we've got no option as we can't afford to waste time or money clearing our land in other ways," says Singh.
"All those complaining about what we're doing to our fields don't ...
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