Chilean President Sebastian Pinera was slapped with a $3,500 fine on Friday after posing for a selfie on the beach with a bystander without wearing a mask as required during the coronavirus pandemic, health authorities said. Chile has strict rules on mask wearing in all public places and violations are punishable with sanctions that include fines and even jail terms.
Apple's website showed that at least 12 stores were being shut starting Friday and Saturday, including those at Grove, Sherman Oaks and Beverly Center, just a week ahead of peak holiday season. "We're temporarily closing soon, but are currently open for pickup of existing online orders, previously scheduled in-store Genius Support appointments," Apple said. The United States has reported 17.2 million cases of infections and 311,102 coronavirus-related deaths since the onset of the pandemic, with California being one of the hardest hit states.
A German court on Friday ruled Tesla could partially proceed with clearing a forest to build a manufacturing site near Berlin. Environmentalists had gone to court in the eastern city of Frankfurt an der Oder in an attempt to stop Tesla from clearing the forest, arguing that cutting down more trees could endanger hibernating reptiles. A temporary halt in clearing had been in force while a regional court studied the matter.
China's top diplomat on Friday offered cooperation on key priorities of President-elect Joe Biden, warning that Beijing's many US critics were creating an atmosphere of "McCarthyism" and ignoring common interests.
(Reuters) -Microsoft Corp is working on in-house processors for the servers running its cloud-computing services and Surface line of personal computers, potentially cutting its reliance on Intel Corp , a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The chips would use technology from Arm Ltd, the person said, which is in the midst of being acquired by Nvidia Corp for $40 billion. Bloomberg previously reported Microsoft's move.
Shares in cyber security companies climbed rapidly on Friday as investors bet that a spate of cyber attack disclosures from entities such as Microsoft Corp would boost demand for security technology. Shares in FireEye Inc, Palo Alto Networks and Crowdstrike Holdings all raced ahead after Microsoft said on Thursday that it found malicious software in its systems related to a massive hacking campaign disclosed by U.S. officials this week, adding the software giant to a growing list of attacked government agencies. Microsoft is a user of Orion, the widely deployed networking management software from SolarWinds Corp which was used in the suspected Russian attacks on vital U.S. agencies and others.
Canada, which has placed orders and options on more than 400 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, will share any excess doses with other countries once its population is inoculated, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday he hoped to get "good news" about two Canadian citizens who have been held in what he called "arbitrary detention" in China for two years.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has launched an attack on coronavirus vaccines, even suggesting that the one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech could turn people into crocodiles or bearded ladies.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged US President-elect Joe Biden on Friday to have the โright perceptionโ of China and cooperate with Beijing โto restart dialogue, return bilateral relations to the right track and rebuild mutual trustโ.His remarks, which came in a video speech to the US think tank Asia Society Policy Institute, were among the most extensive comments yet by a top Chinese official about the incoming Biden administration in comparison to the departing administration of US President Donald Trump.Wang expressed Beijingโs anger over the China policies taken in recent years by Washington and appealed to the Biden administration, which assumes control on January 20, to manage the two nationsโ differences constructively.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.โWe have noted the four priorities laid out by President-elect Joe Biden. We believe that at least three โ Covid response, economic recovery and climate change โ provide space for cooperation between our two countries,โ Wang said.โWe hope that we will expand cooperation, manage differences through dialogue.โConcerning the coronavirus, Chinaโs top diplomat suggested that the two sides collaborate on production of personal protective equipment, vaccine research, manufacturing and distribution as well as support Covid-19 responses by other countries.He also welcomed Bidenโs statement that the US would return to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change โ one of several international agreements Trump had withdrawn from โ and proposed to strengthen macroeconomic dialogue.The foreign minister stressed the importance that the worldโs two largest economies have the โright perceptionโ about each other, and repeated Beijingโs pledges to never seek hegemony or interfere in the internal affairs of other nations.Wang said the Trump administrationโs decision to confront China on multiple fronts at the same time โ the โall of governmentโ approach โ was โgoing in a wrong directionโ.โChina is not a threat to the United States, was not, is not and will not be a threat to the United States,โ he said.He warned that the Trump administrationโs attacks on the Chinese Communist Party would not work and that if the US policy on Beijing was to remodel, or even subvert, China, it would not be achievable.โIt is important that the United States policy toward China returned to objectivity and sensibility as early as possible.โWang defended Chinaโs policies in Xinjiang and Tibet, saying that they were not subject to foreign interference, and that the US sanctions over these issues were based on โfalse informationโ and violated international law.โAs an independent sovereign state, China naturally has to respond,โ he said.The foreign minister claimed that both regions enjoy social progress, ethnic harmony, freedom of religious belief and vibrant economies.Wang criticised the Trump administrationโs recent expansion of sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals, and the restriction on some Chinese to travel and study in the US ostensibly for security reasons. Why Chinaโs hopes for a reset in relations with US may be in vainโTo view all Chinese students, experts and scholars in the US as spy suspects actually says more about the mentality of the accusers and their lack of confidence,โ he said.โChina has no intention to pick a fight with the United States, either in diplomacy, media, or any other field.โThe foreign minister also mentioned the South China Sea, a hotspot for potential military conflict where US warships conduct freedom of navigation operations near Chinese-controlled islands and reefs.He suggested that the two sides explore possibilities of cooperation in those areas, engage in positive interactions and avoid misunderstanding and misjudgment.More from South China Morning Post: * Biden may struggle to โrestoreโ US foreign policy to deal with China challenge, experts say * On South China Sea, expect more of the same from US President Joe BidenThis article Chinaโs foreign minister calls on Joe Biden to โrestart dialogueโ with Beijing first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The judge hearing the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust case against Alphabet Inc's Google suggested a trial date of Sept. 12, 2023, on Friday. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta suggested the date during a status conference, and counsel for the two sides did not object. Mehta noted that the two sides appeared to expect that discovery would be completed in March 2022, with other pretrial matters not addressed until early 2023.
The United States should choose dialogue and consultation with China instead of pursuing "unacceptable" unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies, China's State Councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi said on Friday. Washington is adding dozens of Chinese companies, including the country's top chipmaker, SMIC, to a trade blacklist, a move seen as the latest in President Donald Trump's efforts to cement his tough-on-China legacy.
Caffe Florian, the oldest watering hole in Venice and a mecca for writers, artists and politicians, had hoped to spend December planning its 300th birthday party -- but instead faces ruin.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday threw out a lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump's plan to exclude immigrants living illegally in the United States from the population count used to allocate congressional districts to states. The 6-3 ruling on ideological lines, with the court's six conservatives in the majority and three liberals dissenting, gives Trump a short-term victory as he pursues his hard-line policies toward immigration in the final weeks of his presidency. However, his administration is battling against the clock to follow through on the vaguely defined proposal before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan 20.
Japan's Nagashiki Shipping said on Friday the grounding of one of its large bulk carriers that caused an ecological disaster in Mauritius was due to a lack of safety awareness and a failure to follow rules as it pledged better training and oversight. A bulk carrier owned by Nagashiki and chartered by Mitsui OSK ran aground on a reef in Mauritius in July and began leaking oil, causing an ecological disaster in the pristine seas around the Indian Ocean island. The crew of the MV Wakashio, a nearly 300-metre Cape Size bulker used for carrying iron ore, changed direction to sail close enough to Mauritius to get cell phone coverage after also changing a set course two days earlier, Nagashiki said in a statement.
A Turkish court on Friday kept in jail the philanthropist Osman Kavala, who has denied charges of involvement in an attempted 2016 coup and has already been detained more than three years without conviction in what critics call a silencing of dissent. The interim ruling of the Istanbul court, which was crowded with observers including foreign diplomats and opposition politicians, scheduled Kavala's next hearing for February 5 and will hear another witness. Ankara's Western allies have raised concerns about Kavala's detention and the European Court of Human Rights has said it only serves to silence him.
Hong Kongโs Prince of Wales Hospital announced on Friday that it was launching an inquiry after discarding a finger that was meant to be reattached to a man who had accidentally severed it with an electric saw.After the patient was sent into the operating theatre at 6.30pm on Wednesday, the severed finger was kept in a plastic box filled with ice water with various remarks to indicate the contents.The doctors decided to first perform sutures of the blood vessels in the middle and ring fingers, which had also been severely injured, before reattaching the index finger.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.During a โduty handoverโ of staff at around 10.30pm, however, theatre nurses were unable to find the box that contained the severed finger.It was not until 1.30am that the missing digit was found wrapped in its original sterile glove among the operating theatreโs medical waste.Doctors concluded the detached finger was not damaged, but the blood flow to the finger could not be restored and it had to be removed. The whole surgical procedure lasted until 6am Thursday morning.Hospital bosses apologised to the man and his family after the incident, which has been classified as a so-called sentinel event, or an โunexpected occurrenceโ involving death or serious injury.โThe hospital was very concerned about the incident,โ a statement said. โA root cause analysis panel will be set up to look into the incident and propose recommendations to prevent its recurrence.โA report on the matter will be submitted to the Hospital Authority within eight weeks.More from South China Morning Post: * Coronavirus patient flees Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong * Police investigating death of terminal cancer patient in Hong Kong hospital ward with knife found on her left chest * Hong Kong police officer who watched as colleagues assaulted prisoner in hospital found guilty of misconduct * 400 patient records lost after cabinet at Hong Kongโs Queen Mary Hospital mistakenly removed by contractor * Hong Kong woman who lost legs and four fingers to sepsis after botched experimental therapy says she was not told of deadly side effectsThis article Hong Kongโs Prince of Wales Hospital launches inquiry into case of severed finger that was thrown away mid-surgery first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
Sweden on Friday did a U-turn on face masks, recommending they be worn on public transport at peak times, having previously resisted their use in the fight against Covid-19 except in healthcare.
Even as high profile figures like U.S. Vice President Mike Pence rolled up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccinations, patients already ill with the disease crowded emergency rooms and overran intensive care units in California, now a worldwide epicenter. In a state with 40 million residents, only about 1,200 intensive care beds remained available by Friday - just 2.1% of the total, the California Department of Public Health said. "We anticipated a surge, but I'm not sure if anyone imagined it would be as bad as it has been," said Adam Blackstone, a spokesman for the Hospital Association of Southern California.
China's SZ DJI Technology Co, the world's largest drone maker, on Friday was added to the U.S. governmentโs economic blacklist along with dozens of other Chinese companies. Reuters reported earlier that dozens of Chinese companies were being added to the so-called entity list, including the countryโs top chipmaker, SMIC. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Friday criticized what he called China's "ubiquitous surveillance to repress its citizens in Xinjiang and elsewhere."
A major public hospital in Hong Kong has appealed for information on a Covid-19 patient who fled the premises on Friday.The 63-year-old man was admitted to an isolation ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei on Monday for treatment after the onset of the disease on December 8, a spokesman said.โAt about 5pm today, a staff member discovered that the patient was attempting to leave his ward and immediately followed him,โ he said. โHowever, the patient quickly disappeared after running down the stairs.โGet the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. Hong Kong confirms 70 cases, with medical staff among possible infectedThe spokesman said the worker immediately notified hospital security to search the area but to no avail.The hospital reported the case to police and the Centre for Health Protection for assistance.The man has no travel history but is a close contact of another confirmed patient. He is about 1.6 metres tall, of medium build with black hair and was wearing a blue outfit and sport shoes when he fled. He lives on Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok.Anyone who sees him or knows him can contact either police or the hospital hotline at 3506 8944.The hospital reminded patients in isolation to listen to instructions of medical workers and refrain from leaving without approval.More from South China Morning Post: * Hong Kong fourth wave: health official admits to quarantine delays as 70 Covid-19 cases confirmed, with medical staff among possible infected * Scores arrested over scam on Hong Kong subsidy scheme intended for coronavirus-battered tourism industry * Hong Kong fourth wave: new round of coronavirus relief funding not enough, but โbetter than nothingโ, business owners say * Hong Kong police arrest 27 suspected prostitutes in anti-vice operation, warn of potential for sex work to spread coronavirusThis article Coronavirus patient flees Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
Five directors of a coronavirus mask manufacturing firm in Hong Kong have been arrested for allegedly duping the government out of HK$9.12 million (US$1.18 million) provided through a subsidy scheme by inflating the production costs of the protective gear.Police said on Friday night three women and two men, aged between 28 and 51, were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the government.Chief Inspector Tang Hoi-tung of the financial investigation arm of the Narcotics Bureau identified the suspects as directors of a mask production firm that was approved under the scheme to provide 2 million masks a month to the government at production cost.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.Under the contract, the firm also needed to produce another 1 million masks every month for the local market.Hong Kongโs government launched the local mask production subsidy scheme in March to combat an increasingly acute shortage of masks in the city as the coronavirus outbreak spread worldwide.Since then, the firm has delivered 10 million masks to the government. It was paid HK$9.12 million for 4 million pieces โ at an average cost of HK$2.28 each.โBased on our investigations we believe that this group of people have used forged receipts to inflate the prices of the raw materials, resulting in the government paying more than the masksโ actual production cost,โ Tang said. Further investigation was needed to determine the actual difference in price. Con artists swindle thousands of Hongkongers in mask scams totalling HK$48 millionUnder the HK$1.5 billion subsidy scheme, manufacturers setting up a production line capable of delivering at least 500,000 masks a month are given up to HK$3 million.A further HK$2 million in subsidies is made available for each subsequent production line established at the same plant. Currently, 20 production lines are covered under the scheme.Tang said police began investigating the case after receiving intelligence of suspicious transactions involving the firmโs bank account.โThe firm has played four roles in this fraud โ as the supplier of the mask equipment, the supplier of raw materials, the mask production firm and the distributor of masks โ to forge receipts to inflate the mask production cost,โ she said.Tang said the firm also used bogus delivery documents to create a false impression that it had fulfilled the contract requirement of selling 1 million masks per month on the local market.But the firm did not have any record of purchase of raw materials, while the goods delivery receipts were dated before the company was set up, and the addresses used were incomplete, she said.More from South China Morning Post: * Coronavirus: con artists swindle thousands of Hongkongers in face mask scams totalling HK$48 million * Mask scam in Hong Kong preying on coronavirus desperation cons seven people out of HK$3 million * Scores of Hongkongers hit by mask scam on Facebook, hundreds more could be fraud victims since coronavirus outbreakThis article Police arrest bosses of coronavirus mask maker on suspicion of swindling Hong Kong government out of HK$9.12 million in subsidies first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
A Hong Kong police officer on Friday pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting five underage girls he met online, with the youngest being an 11-year-old whom he paid HK$200 (US$25) to molest in the stairwell of a car park.Yu Chun-hing, 35, also admitted to possessing 28 nude photos of a 12-year-old girl, after telling her he loved her and wanted to masturbate to the images.Public prosecutor Angel Yuen said the 12-year-old, identified only as Z, had told him she was entering her first year of secondary school when Yu asked to be her boyfriend in a WhatsApp message, after first meeting her via Instagram in December of 2017.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.โShe did not know what love was, but she agreed,โ Yuen said. โThe defendant kept sending her messages saying that he loved her, and they addressed each other as husband and wife.โThe District Court heard Yu then asked to meet up with the girl for sex, but she found him annoying, refusing the repeated requests and blocking him on WhatsApp, so the two never met in person.Five other girls, however, fell victim to a range of sex crimes that included indecent conduct and assault and unlawful sexual intercourse, which took place in a public park and at multiple other locations on separate occasions between late 2017 and July of 2018.The assaults first came to light in May of 2018 when one of the girlsโ mothers discovered she had been frequently texting a contact by the name of โclientโ on WhatsApp.The mother sought help from the school and learned that her 12-year-old daughter, J, and two of her friends, X and Y, had been taking part in so-called compensated dating activities with Yu. The case was then reported to police.In compensated dating, now better known as a โpart-time girlfriendโ arrangement, women or girls agree to spend time โ and in some cases have sex โ with men in return for money or gifts.While the arrangements are sometimes purely for companionship, the euphemistic terminology around the act, and the pay, has been blamed for incentivising women, particularly young ones, to put themselves at risk.Yu was arrested on June 6, 2018, after police arranged a controlled meeting using Jโs mobile phone. At the time, the detective constable was attached to the Narcotics Bureau.Investigators seized his phone and released him on police bail.Further investigation revealed that J had introduced 12-year-old X and 11-year-old Y to Yu as part-time girlfriends. Yu then arranged to pay X and Y HK$150 each to meet them at 1am on May 5, 2018, and molested both girls in a rear staircase of a car park, offering to pay more after they showed reluctance over certain acts. Both girls were eventually paid HK$200 each.Yuโs WhatsApp records also revealed two other victims, 14-year-old A and 13-year-old B. Hong Kong teenager among 19 arrested in crackdown on โpart-time girlfriendsโThe court heard that Yu met B on Instagram in late 2017, and assaulted her for the first time on December 24 of that year after she agreed to be his girlfriend.The prosecutor said B had resisted his advances and pushed his hand away, but he continued to molest her.โShe allowed him to do so because he had told her he loved her,โ Yuen said.But B eventually cut off contact with Yu after he had sexual intercourse with her in a public park in broad daylight in April of 2018, as she felt that what he had done to her was wrong.During those months, however, Yu was also chatting with A, whom he similarly asked to be his girlfriend. He molested her on an unknown date in early 2018 in the rear staircase of a public housing block, but she stepped back after a while and left the scene.Days later, Yu told A he might not be suitable for her and that she might want to look for someone more simple, the prosecutor said.Yu was arrested again on August 16, 2018 when it emerged that he had sex with a drunken 14-year-old, identified as C, whom he had met on Facebook and picked up from the bar district of Lan Kwai Fong on July 21, while he was on bail over the other assaults. Hong Kong policeman rearrested over rape of girl, 14, while out on bailOn Friday, Yu pleaded guilty to eight counts of a raft of charges: possession of child pornography, indecent conduct towards a child under the age of 16 years, indecent assault and unlawful sexual intercourse.None of the girls in the case can be identified.District Judge Timothy Casewell will sentence Yu on January 18, pending reports on his background and psychological condition.Indecent assault carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but that term is capped at seven when the case is heard at the District Court.More from South China Morning Post: * About 90,000 sex abuse claims filed against Boy Scouts of America * Polish bishop accused of sex abuse cover-up resigns, says VaticanThis article Hong Kong police officer pleads guilty to sexually assaulting five underage girls, the youngest only 11 years old first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
Ethiopia offered a 10 million birr ($260,000) reward on Friday for information on the location of fugitive leaders of a rebellious force in northern Tigray region. The money for helping capture heads of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) was announced on state-run broadcaster EBC and tweeted by a government taskforce. TPLF leaders, possibly hiding in surrounding mountains since they lost Tigray's capital on Nov. 28, had said they were fighting back.
Hong Kongโs biggest developer by value, Sun Hung Kai Properties, and Chinachem Group said they may bid for a prime plot of commercial land to be sold via a rare tender process that takes into account participantsโ design plans as well as cash bids.The government is using a โtwo-envelopeโ approach for the sale of New Central Harbourfront Site 3, meaning the winner will be determined by assessing both price and design proposal. This deviates from the practice of awarding sites based on the highest bid alone, which has been used consistently for the last 18 years.The 516,000 square-foot parcel is next to the International Finance Centre, and was described by one property agent as the rarest and โmost preciousโ plot to go on sale since the development of that landmark tower.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.Of 11 major developers polled by the South China Morningย Post, only SHKP and Chinachem โ both frequent participants in local land sales โ said they were interested in the parcel.โIt is a very important site in Central. The two-envelope system will give us bidders not only price competition, but also [competition in] the design and project layout to show the thoughts and advantages of every competitor,โ said Donald Choi, chief executive at Chinachem Group.The last time the government used this sales method was in 2002 when it sold the former Marine Police headquarters, now the address of 1881 Heritage in Tsim Sha Tsui.โ[Developers] have to be very confident about Hong Kongโs prospects and have commitment because the payback period is relatively long,โ Choi added. Knight Frank estimates the payback period for the site โ the amount of time it takes to recover the cost of an investment โ is about 25 to 30 years.A spokesperson for the Development Bureau said: โOur vision is for it to become a new landmark for Hong Kong, setting a benchmark for people-centric design with emphases on sustainable and urban design considerations as well as integration with the surroundings.โChoi believes the bids for the plot will be subdued by the gloomy state of the cityโs office market, as the coronavirus pandemic has dented demand by making remote working far more popular.โCovid has sped up the impact of technology on the office sector. So I think everyone will consider how office demand will be in future,โ he said. โHong Kong is also developing different central business districts in Kwun Tong and in the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, which will increase supply.โThe tender period will last for six months, closing on June 18, 2021, allowing sufficient time for bidders to prepare their design proposals.Centaline Commercial expects that when the tender closes in June, the overall business atmosphere and investor confidence will be on the rebound. Hong Kong property agents turn to rental furniture to stand out from the crowdIt values the site at HK$38,000 (US$4,901) per sq ft, about HK$61.1 billion in total, a 25 per cent discount to the Murray Road car park site that Henderson Land acquired three years ago. It is expected to yield up to 1.84 million sq ft in gross floor area.โAs a rare parcel near the sea in the Central district, it is the most precious and rarest commercial land to be launched since the International Financial Centre. The land itself is square, easy to tailor, and highly malleable,โ said Stanley Poon, managing director of Centaline Commercial.โThe development of the project is even a status symbol. With these advantages and great investment value, it will develop into a rare new landmark in the coastal area of Hong Kong.โDespite these advantages, the rocky state of the market has prompted Knight Frank to slash its valuation of the project by about 20 per cent from an estimate in January, to between HK$23,000 (US$2,966) and HK$25,000 per square ft โ HK$37 billion to HK$40 billion in total. The total investment is likely to be about HK$55 to HK$60 billion.โDevelopers would be conservative in the bidding,โ said Dorothy Chow, senior director of valuation advisory services at JLL. โThe cityโs office and retail markets are currently clouded with uncertainties due to Covid and the downturn.โOnly three to five developers or consortia are expected to submit bids, said Thomas Lam, executive director at Knight Frank. Hefty stamp duty for commercial property abolished in Hong KongโAlthough it is not a good time to sell large-scale commercial land, we understand it is the governmentโs approach to have proceeds and [ensure] the long-term development of the Central District,โ said Lam. โIf it is successfully sold, it can increase market confidence.โLam estimated that the chance of the site being withdrawn from sale is reduced by adopting the two-envelope approach.He said the tender needs to be open and transparent, and called on the government, when the time comes, to explain the project planning and development content of the winning bid and the reasons it was chosen.More from South China Morning Post: * Boon for owners of commercial property in Hong Kong as hefty stamp duty is abolished with immediate effect * As Hongkongers work from home again, property firms put office features into new residencesThis article Sun Hung Kai Properties, Chinachem Group may bid in rare โtwo-envelopeโ tender for prime commercial plot next to Hong Kongโs IFC first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.