#UPDATE The opening ceremony of the Beijing #WinterOlympics2022 began on Friday as China attempted to turn the page on a troubled build-up overshadowed by human rights concerns and Covid
VIDEO: 🇨🇳 Beijing 2022: Fireworks mark start of the #WinterOlympics2022 opening ceremony in China's capital #AFPSports
#BREAKING Chinese president Xi Jinping declares the Beijing Winter Olympics open #AFPSports
#UPDATE Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Beijing #WinterOlympics2022 open on Friday as the country tried to turn the page on a build-up overshadowed by human rights concerns, Covid and a US-led diplomatic boycott u.afp.com/wY4w#AFPSports
#UPDATE In freezing temperatures and amid tight Covid restrictions, Beijing on Friday tried its best to celebrate the start of a #WinterOlympics2022 chilled by the pandemic, frosty relations with the West and a dose of been-there-done-that indifference u.afp.com/wYoe
#UPDATE China chose a cross-country skier born in the troubled Xinjiang region to be a joint final torchbearer at the climax of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony
#BREAKING Romania's constitutional court orders recount of first round of presidential vote: statement
#UPDATE Romania's constitutional court on Thursday ordered a recount of votes cast in the first round of the presidential election, after a rival far-right contender filed a legal challenge ➡️ u.afp.com/597X
#BREAKING TikTok gave 'preferential treatment' to far-right candidate who won Romania election first round: presidency
#UPDATE A referendum on Moldova joining the EU passed with a razor-thin majority on Monday as pro-Brussels President Maia Sandu blamed the outcome on foreign meddling in a veiled reference to Russia, which denied the accusations ➡️ u.afp.com/5zL7
BREAKING France's high-speed train system disrupted by vandalism: operator
#UPDATE Hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris #Olympics , France's high-speed rail network has been hit by "malicious acts" including arson attacks that have disrupted the transport system, train operator SNCF says.
"This is a massive attack on a large scale to paralyse the TGV network," SNCF told @AFP, adding that many routes will have to be cancelled and the situation would last "at least all weekend while repairs are conducted"
BREAKING The arson attacks on France's high-speed rail network were coordinated acts of "sabotage", a source close to the investigation tells @AFP
#BREAKING 104 police, 30 journalists among injured in Bangladesh clashes: TV
#UPDATE Protesters in Bangladesh set fire to several government buildings during a day of deadly nationwide clashes between students and riot officers, a police statement said.
"The miscreants have already torched, vandalised and carried out destructive activities," on the offices of state broadcaster BTV and the national disaster management agency along with "various" police and government buildings, said the statement, issued after a nationwide internet shutdown
Bangladesh wakes to torched government buildings, internet blackout.
This week's unrest has killed at least 39 people including 32 on Thursday, with the toll expected to rise further after reports of clashes in nearly half of the country's 64 districts
#BREAKING Biden says still considers Xi a 'dictator'
#UPDATE US President Joe Biden said after a summit with Xi Jinping that he still considers the Chinese president a "dictator", after he sparked fury from Beijing by making the comparison earlier this year.
"Well look he is, I mean he's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who's running a country, a Communist country, that's based on a form of government totally different than ours," Biden said at the end of a news conference when a reporter asked if he would still use the term to describe Xi
#BREAKING China will not begin armed conflict with any nation, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday, after a high-stakes summit with US President Joe Biden.
"China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold or hot war with any country," he told a gathering of business leaders in San Francisco