Hong Kong mulls following China to destroy ivory stockpile
Hong Kong’s government is considering destroying its stockpile of over 30 tonnes of ivory obtained through seizures of elephant tusks, it said Wednesday. The Chinese government crushed a pile of ivory weighing more than six tonnes on Monday, its first public destruction of ivory, to discourage illegal trade. “The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department is aware of the steps taken in other places to destroy forfeited ivory,” the Hong Kong government department said in a statement sent to AFP Wednesday. Hong Kong has been a transit point for the ivory elephant tusk trade.
Libya’s premier Zeidan says to reshuffle cabinet soon
Libya’s Prime Minister Ali Zeidan (2nd L) meets with Algeria’s Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal (R) in Tripoli December 29, 2013. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny  TRIPOLI: Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said on Wednesday he would reshuffle his cabinet this week or next in a bid to counter critics pursuing a parliamentary vote of no-confidence against him amid mounting […]
Read More →South Sudanese archbishop says future at risk without peace deal By PETER MARTELL
South Sudanese rivals negotiating a ceasefire to end raging conflict hold the fate of their young nation in their hands, one of the country’s most respected religious leaders has said. “Our people are dying all over, and for what?” said Daniel Deng Bul, the Episcopal Archbishop of South Sudan and one of the most senior […]
Read More →Ethiopia: Israel Follows Saudi Arabia to Demand Deportation of Ethiopians BY BEWKET ABEBE
As Ethiopians removed from Saudi Arabia continue filing back into the country, Israel is also planning to deport 500 Ethiopians, possibly as early as January 2014. Some 60,000 migrants from different African countries – particularly Eritrea and Sudan, which makes up the lion’s share at some 90 pc of the total – have entered Israel […]
Read More →Africa: Breaking – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Visit Ethiopia, Three Other Countries
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to visit three African countries: Ethiopia, Mozambique and Ivory Coast, as well as the Gulf state of Oman for a week starting from tomorrow, Japanese ministry of foreign affairs said. PM Abe is expected to hold bilateral talks with the leaders of the countries. In addition to that PM […]
Read More →East Africa: Egypt, Ethiopia Lock Horns Over Mega Dam BY BINYAM ALEMAYEHU
Egypt has repeatedly shown its disdain towards the construction of the dam, often citing colonial agreements A disagreement between Ethiopia and Egypt over the construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has once again stalled negotiations. This came following some demands forwarded by Egypt, which Ethiopia finds unacceptable. Egypt has officially demanded that Ethiopia […]
Read More →L’Oreal halts sale of Garnier brand in China
French cosmetics group L’Oreal said Wednesday it was halting the sale of its Garnier brand in China, the latest Western company to get cold feet over a chill in luxury sales. In order to reinforce its leading position on the Chinese cosmetics market “…the decision was taken to halt the commercialisation of the Garnier brand in China,” the company said in an email to AFP. L’Oreal said it would now focus on its L’Oreal Paris and Maybelline New York mass market brands in China, which have been enjoyed better sales there than Garnier.
Tech tie-up says to launch smartphone OS to rival iOS, Android
A new smartphone operating system developed by a global collaboration of tech firms to rival Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS is expected to launch in the next few months, Japanese mobile phone operator NTT Docomo said Wednesday. The open source offering called Tizen, based on the Linux operating system, could be installed on telephones sold from the end of March, NTT Docomo spokesman Jun Otori told AFP. Tizen is the product of a tie-up among companies from Japan, China, South Korea, Europe and the United States and comes despite tensions among the Asian neighbours over territorial disputes.
China aims to ban smoking in public places by end of the year
China aims to impose a nationwide ban on smoking in public places this year, as authorities move to stamp out a widespread practice that has taken a severe toll on citizens’ health. China, home to some 300 million smokers, is the world’s largest consumer of tobacco, and smoking is a ubiquitous part of social life, particularly for men. Tougher regulation of smoking is a priority this year, officials from the National Health and Family Planning Commission said this week, adding that the agency was pushing lawmakers to toughen laws on tobacco use. “Compared to the damage to health that smoking causes, tobacco’s economic benefits are trivial,” Mao Qun’an, a spokesman for the commission, told a news conference on Tuesday.
China online marketplace Taobao to ban Bitcoins
China’s largest online marketplace, Alibaba Group’s Taobao, said Wednesday that it would ban the trading of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies from January 14, after a government crackdown on the units. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the country’s central bank, in December ordered financial institutions to halt Bitcoin-related services and products and cautioned against its potential use in money-laundering, according to a statement. The PBoC also banned domestic third-party payment companies from providing clearing services for virtual currencies, according to state media reports. “Newly added rules include a ban on sales of Internet virtual currencies like Bitcoin and Litecoin,” it said.
