Features

    Berlin / AFP Berlin has began restricting private property rentals through Airbnb and similar online platforms, threatening hefty fines in a controversial move meant to keep housing affordable for locals. The German capital fears that the growing trend of people letting out apartments to tourists through sites such as Airbnb, Wimdu and 9Flats is cutting into a limited property ...

  China / Ann The quest for that beauty treatment did have fatal consequences for three Hong Kong women. The medical miscarriages took place over less than three-and-a-half years. Nothing has changed. The city’s beauty industry still is pretty much free to do whatever makes it most profitable. A 46-year-old woman named Chan walked into a DR beauty centre in ...

  Relexnews Following the launch of similar projects in Sweden and China, Volvo is getting ready to start testing autonomous cars on the UK’s roads. When the trial begins in early 2017 it will represent one of the most ambitious tests of its kind on British roads and one that will involve real people with real transport needs. Volvo intends ...

    Berlin / AFP Germany will subsidise electric car purchases to give a jolt to sluggish growth in the sector and help meet national climate goals with zero-emission mobility, the government said Wednesday. Car buyers will receive 4,000 euros ($4,500) when they choose a purely electric vehicle and 3,000 euros for a plug-in hybrid, with the cost shared 50-50 between ...

  Punta Gorda, United States / AFP With deep pockets and an environmentalist’s zeal, retired American football player Syd Kitson dreamed up a plan to build the United States’ first solar-powered town on a vast swath of rural land in southwest Florida. Now, nearly a decade after he first purchased the 91,000 acres (37,000 hectares) known as Babcock Ranch, construction is ...

  Mexico City / AFP Martin Vazquez glides silently through the pandemonium of rush hour in Mexico City, drives his sky-blue scooter up to a charging station and plugs it in. When Vazquez, a 28-year-old professional, moved to the Mexican capital a year ago, he drove here by car. But the city’s notorious traffic soon convinced him to sell it and ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business “More and more people in the UAE are seeking long-term and prescription-free relief from migraines,” said Deyuan Wei, founder of TongRenTang (TRT) Gulf. According to Deyuan, this is an issue that seems to be taking a toll on the stressful life of modern times, specifically adding, “we have been receiving an increasing number of patients ...

  Beijing / AP Automakers are showcasing a new generation of luxurious SUVs at China’s biggest auto show of the year as they battle for buyers in the country’s cooling, crowded market. Honda Motor Co. held world debuts Monday for two SUVs, reflecting China’s high profile in the global industry. Ford, Volkswagen, General Motors and China’s Chery also displayed new ...

  London / AFP A rare handwritten letter from a young Queen Elizabeth II telling the story of her romance with Prince Philip before their 1947 wedding has been sold at auction. The note, penned when she was a 21-year-old princess, recounts the early stages of their relationship from their rare meetings in wartime to the London dances they attended together. ...

  DPA Charlie Chaplin touched the hearts of millions of fans and now they can visit the English-born silent-film comedian’s former Swiss home, which has just been converted into a museum. Chaplin’s World is comprised of the entertainer’s former mansion, studio and park stretching out over nearly 10 acres alongside Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The museum promises “an extraordinary adventure ...