Tokyo / AFP Nissan says it is developing fuel-cell technology that can power cars using plant-based ethanol, a first for the auto industry, and hopes to launch the system in time for Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics. Japan’s number-two automaker said its experimental technology would let vehicles drive more than 600 kilometres (375 miles) on a single fill, similar to gasoline-powered …

  Beijing / AFP China’s unbranded goods are often better than the branded originals they imitate, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba Jack Ma said, posing an additional challenge to the battle against sales of counterfeits. “The problem is that the fake products today, they make better quality, better price than the real product, than the real names,” he said in a …

  Tehran / AFP Iran and US aerospace giant Boeing have reached an agreement for the purchase of 100 aircraft to renew the country’s ageing fleet, the head of Tehran’s civil aviation authority announced on Sunday. “We have 250 planes in the country, 230 need to be replaced,” said Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the civil aviation body, adding that the …