Business

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. tech giant Apple became the first American company that saw its market cap hit 1 trillion U.S. dollars in the U.S. history after its shares rose 2.8 percent to a session high of 207.05 dollars around midday trading on Thursday.

Investors pushed Apple's market capitalization over the 1-trillion-dollar threshold amid expectations of new iPhones to be launched this fall, plus a record third-quarter financial report that the California-based company garnered a whopping 53.3 billion dollars in revenue.

SINGAPORE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China and the European Union (EU) agreed here on Friday to join hands to promote multilateralism and support free trade.

The agreement came as Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Federica Mogherini, the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Council on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and related meetings.

SINGAPORE, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have arrived at a single draft negotiating text of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.

Wang made the remarks at the China-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting.

The draft text will serve as the basis of future COC negotiations.

It is another significant progress on the negotiations of COC, Wang noted.

1 Aug 2018; DW; Humanity has already used up more resources this year than our planet can regenerate. Each year, Earth Overshoot Day comes earlier. Many say it's time to radically rethink our consumption patterns and economic system.

As of Wednesday, August 1, 2018, we have officially used up all of the Earth's resources for the year — and there are still five months left to go.

By Elena Teslova

2 Aug 2018; AA; MOSCOW; Russian lawmakers have criticized a U.S. move to impose sanctions on two Turkish Cabinet members as "counterproductive and destructive".

Alexay Chepa, the deputy head of the International Committee of the State Duma, said in an interview with Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that imposing sanctions had become "kind of a U.S. routine".

"Every day we hear some news that the U.S. either impose sanctions or announces a trade war against those who do not want to act as the U.S. wants," Chepa said.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has surpassed Apple to become the world's second-largest smartphone seller, a market research firm said.

Huawei shipped around 54.2 million handsets for the second quarter this year, showcasing a 40.9 percent year-on-year growth and a 15 percent global market share, while Apple shipped about 41.3 million units, according to data from the U.S.-based International Data Corporation (IDC).

2 Aug 2018; AFP; The United States on Wednesday hit two top Turkish officials with sanctions over the ongoing detention of an American pastor facing terror charges, heaping pressure on Ankara to release the prisoner fueling a bitter diplomatic feud.

31 July 2018; DW; As details emerge of how a woman managed to slip past security, estimates are coming in for the financial damage. The airport director says the weekend of chaos could cost €1 million.

The bill for the consequences of the Munich Airport security breach could total more than €1 million ($1.2 million), the airport chief said on Monday.

ISTANBUL; 31 July 2018; AA; The new building at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport’s domestic terminal -- representing a €26 million ($30.5 million) investment -- will boost the airport's annual passenger capacity to over 40 million, Istanbul’s governor said on Tuesday.

"It started with a capacity of 25 million people, reached 31 million, and now is being raised to 41 million," Vasip Sahin said at the building’s opening ceremony.

Looking ahead, he added: "With the second runway, this capacity will reach 63 million."

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada

1 Auig 2018; AA; Canada on Tuesday put a positive spin at being left out of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks, saying it is a good sign that the U.S. and Mexico are trying to work out differences between themselves.

The U.S. excluded Canada at NAFTA renegotiation meetings later this week with Mexico in Washington.