| schema:articleBody
| - Duty Editor: Karl Malakunas Tel: +852 2829 6211 -- TOP STORIES -- + Britain begins pandemic vaccination programme + Biden to nominate first Black defense secretary + Indian farmers launch one-day nationwide strike + Universal Music buys whole Dylan back catalogue + World War II fighter ace Chuck Yeager dies Health-virus,WRAP LONDON Britain launches its world-first coronavirus vaccine programme as more than 30 million people in California are placed under stay-at-home orders to fight the deepening US crisis. 700 words 0730 GMT by AFP Bureaus. Picture, Video. Graphic US-vote-Biden-military-Austin,WRAP WASHINGTON Lloyd Austin, who led US troops into Baghdad in 2003 and rose to head the US Central Command, has been chosen by President-elect Joe Biden to be the first African-American secretary of defense. 450 words moved by Paul Handley India-politics-farmers,WRAP NEW DELHI Indian farmers launch a one-day nationwide general strike, upping the ante following 10 days blockading New Delhi, in protest against reforms they fear will leave them at the mercy of big corporations. 600 words 0700 GMT by Jalees Andrabi. Picture. Video. Live video Entertainment-US-music-Dylan,WRAP NEW YORK Universal Music buys the entire back catalog of Bob Dylan's songs for a purported nine-figure deal in one of the most prized rights' collections in music history. 550 words moved by Peter Hutchison. File picture US-military-space-aviation-Yeager,OBIT WASHINGTON Chuck Yeager, a World War II fighter ace who was the first man to travel faster than sound and whose gutsy test pilot exploits were immortalized in the Hollywood blockbuster "The Right Stuff," has died, his wife says. He was 97. 600 words moved by Chris Lefkow. File picture -- SPOTLIGHT -- China-environment-mountain,SCENE BEIJING Dangling 400 metres over a void, suspended only by a cord, Yang Feiyue is not your average litter-picker. His job is to abseil down cliffs on central China's Tianmen mountain -- an area famed for its natural beauty but plagued by plastic and other waste. 400 words moved by Ludovic Ehret. Picture. Video India-music-economy-Bollywood,FOCUS MUMBAI Bollywood movie songs normally dominate India's music charts, but when the coronavirus epidemic put paid to new film releases it also created a huge opportunity for independent musicians to make a name for themselves -- sometimes from their bedrooms. 650 words moved by Vishal Manve. Picture. Video -- CORONAVIRUS -- Health-virus-Britain-vaccine LONDON Britain hails a turning point in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic as it begins the biggest vaccination programme in the country's history with a new Covid-19 jab. 650 words moved by Phil Hazlewood. Picture. Video Also moved: Health-virus-vaccine,CHRONO Health-virus-US-vaccine-transport,FOCUS WASHINGTON Trucks and cargo planes are at the ready to distribute millions of doses of coronavirus vaccine across the United States, a complex task led by a four-star general that will ultimately proceed more slowly than initially expected. 750 words moved by Ivan Couronne Also moved: Health-virus-Germany-vaccine-ethics,FOCUS Health-virus-Russia-vaccine,FOCUS Health-virus-US-vaccine-transport-timetable,FACTS Health-virus-WHO-vaccines,lead Switzerland-health-virus-vaccines,INTERVIEW -- AMERICAS -- US-vote-justice-Trump,FOCUS WASHINGTON Humiliation in the courts, witnesses who provide more farce than facts and a chief lawyer battling coronavirus -- Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the November 3 presidential election are not going well. 800 words moved by Chris Lefkow. File picture US-Germany-court-Nazis-treasure,WRAP WASHINGTON The fate of an important medieval art collection that Nazi Germany bought from Jewish dealers is in the balance in a US Supreme Court hearing. 650 words moved by Charlotte Plantive. File picture -- ASIA -- HongKong-China-business-health-IPO-JDHealth,WRAP HONG KONG The medical arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com soars 34 percent on its debut on the Hong Kong stock market, valuing the company at nearly $40 billion, as investors bank on the pandemic boom in digital health services. 700 words 0800 GMT by Jack Moore. Picture. Video NZealand-mosques-attacks-inquiry,lead New Zealand police and intelligence services made a string of errors ahead of last year's Christchurch mosques attack but could not have prevented the massacre of 51 Muslim worshippers, an inquiry finds. 650 words by 0600 GMT by Neil Sands Picture. Video HongKong-China-politics-protest-US,WRAP WASHINGTON The United States imposes new sanctions on Chinese officials over the clampdown on Hong Kong and takes a step toward welcoming in residents of the city, as US leaders across the political spectrum voice outrage at Beijing. 650 words moved Shaun Tandon with Su Xinqi in Hong Kong -- EUROPE -- Britain-EU-politics-Brexit,WRAP BRUSSELS British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will head to Brussels in an 11th hour bid to win a post-Brexit trade deal as the latest round of talks between EU and UK negotiators fails to close a deal. 700 words moved by Dave Clark. Picture. Video. Graphic Lifestyle-Poland-games-Cyberpunk2077,ADVANCER WARSAW The developer of Cyberpunk 2077, the much-delayed video game that is reported to be one of the most expensive ever made, has promised a "new quality" in experience for users when it finally launches worldwide on Thursday. 550 words 0600 GMT by Bernard Osser. Picture. Video Britain-EU-politics-Germany-Poland-labour-lifestyle,FOCUS GOERLITZ, Germany Poles living in Britain may receive a surprise package in the post this Christmas of dried mushrooms, candied fruit and spice cake -- but not from Santa. The delicacies are being sent by the city of Goerlitz in Germany's former communist East, as part of efforts to attract Poles who are tempted to return to the continent because of Brexit. 700 words moved by Yannick Pasquet. Picture Nobel-peace-Ethiopia-conflict-minorities OSLO A "champion of peace" doesn't normally threaten to show no mercy before carrying out an attack that sparks a humanitarian crisis. Yet Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is not the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to go to war. 700 words moved by Pierre-Henri Deshayes. File picture. File video Syria-UN-health-virus-Gaiman,INTERVIEW PARIS The world can't forget the plight of Syrian refugees this winter despite the global upheaval caused by Covid-19, fantasy author Neil Gaiman tells AFP as he helps launch the UN refugee programme's cold weather appeal. 600 words moved by Patrick Galey -- MIDDLE EAST -- Lifestyle-Iraq-paragliding-sports,FOCUS RAWANDUZ, Iraq Hazem Amin inhaled deeply and ran towards the cliff edge. His parachute swept up smoothly, floating him above the scrubby plains, jagged mountains and quaint villages of northern Iraq. 600 words moved by Khalil Jalil. Picture. Video Vatican-pope-religion-Iraq,WRAP VATICAN CITY Pope Francis will make a historic visit to Iraq in March, the Vatican says, the first ever by a pontiff with a programme that includes a trip to Mosul. 600 words moved by Catherine Marciano. Graphic. File picture Israel-Palestinians-conflict-rights-army,FOCUS MUGHAYIR, Palestinian Territories After waking up on Friday, the day he turned 15, Palestinian Ali Ayman Nasr Abu Aliya told his mother he was hoping for a birthday surprise. But in the early afternoon, Aliya was shot and killed during clashes with Israeli troops. 700 words moved by Guillaume Lavallee. Picture -- AFRICA -- CAfrica-politics-unrest,FOCUS BAMBARI, Central African Republic In the crowded alleys of Bambari's Kidjigira market, customers of all faiths brush together as steam rises from hanging cooking pots and flies swarm around them. At last, people are not afraid. 750 words moved by Camille Lafont Ghana-vote,WRAP ACCRA Ghanaians vote in an election seen as a close fight between President Nana Akufo-Addo and his longtime rival John Mahama, vying to lead the country long viewed as a beacon of stability in a troubled region. 700 words moved by Kent Mensah and Louise Dewast. Picture. Video. Graphic. Live video -- ENVIRONMENT -- Colombia-environment-Amazon-animals-Peru,FOCUS AMAZONAS,Peru Far from the rifle cracks that occasionally rip through the rainforest as local tribesmen hunt mature primates for their meat and soft pelts, a sanctuary in a corner of the Colombian Amazon is offering new life to the orphaned monkeys left behind. 700 words moved by Hector Velasco. Picture. Video -- BUSINESS, ECONOMY & TECH -- US-auto-lifestyle-merger-Uber-Aurora,WRAP SAN FRANCISCO Uber agrees to sell its autonomous car division to Aurora in a deal that gives the ride-hailing giant a stake in the startup developing self-driving technology, the companies say. 500 words moved by Glenn Chapman -- SPORT -- Oly-2024-breakdancing-IOC,4thlead LAUSANNE, Switzerland Breakdancing is one of four new sports along with skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing to get the Olympic green light for inclusion at the 2024 Paris Games. 600 words moved by Coralie Febvre. File picture afp
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)