China: First foreign national prosecuted over Hong Kong protests

Beijing has said it want to foster small and medium-sized businesses by setting up third stock exchange in Beijing. The move comes despite an ongoing regulatory crackdown on China's biggest tech companies.

The property company's financial plight comes as the Communist Party cracks down on business and tightens its control of the economy. Evergrande's fate and that of its founder, hang in the balance.

People in Beijing share their views after a decision announced by the International Olympic Committee that next year's Winter Olympics in the city will be held without fans from overseas. "I think this measure is for the safety concerns and is acceptable," says a pedestrian at Beijing Olympic Park.

The Kremlin has placed an independent media agency along with two rights organizations on a register of "foreign agents."

Chinese and foreign figure skaters train ahead of the 2021 CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy, which will be held in Beijing this week as a test event for the 2022 Winter Olympics. All journalists and Winter Olympics staff are required to wear masks inside the stadium as Covid-19 prevention measures.

The ceremony to light the Olympic flame was disrupted as Tibetan and Hong Kong activists held banners protesting human rights abuses in China.

Human rights activists on Monday (October 19) urged governments and athletes world-wide to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in China as Athens prepared to hand over the Olympic flame to Beijing in a ceremony in the capital, saying that anything less would make the world complicit in what they called 'genocide' by Beijing. China's treatment of minorities has come under increased scrutiny in the run-up to the games, scheduled from Feb. 4-20. Activists protested at Ancient Olympia on Monday, where the flame lighting ceremony was held.

Beijing said the use of spy agencies, not scientists, was "iron-clad proof" of Washington's attempts to politicize the origins of COVID-19. A new report published Friday shed little fresh light on how the virus emerged.

Local traders and residents reacted to the Taliban ban of foreign currencies for trade, at the Sarai Shahzada market in Kabul on Wednesday after the Taliban made the announcement on Tuesday. The US dollar has been used widely in Afghanistan’s markets before the ban.

An official Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic venue held a test ice hockey match on Monday (November 8), with the Games just months away. The match, which was held without spectators and featured local teams Beijing Arcfox and Beijing Shougang, comes amid uncertainty over the participation status of China's men's national hockey team in next year's Games. China is guaranteed a spot in the ice hockey tournament due to its status as host nation, but International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) president Luc Tardif said in September that the men's team could be prevented from playing due to its "insufficient sporting standard".

The UN's World Food Program has warned that half of Afghanistan's population is facing an acute hunger crisis, with millions forced to choose between "migration or starvation" amid drought and economic collapse.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, said talks with Iran would continue and that an additional round of negotiations between the regional rivals was expected soon.