CGTN头条新闻2022 香港新冠确诊数飙升,中央政府全力支持抗疫（在线收听）

Hong Kong COVID cases soar, Beijing vows full support

Monaco leader praises efforts ensuring Beijing 2022 takes place

Prince Albert II of Monaco has applauded the staging of the Beijing Winter Olympics by China and praised the competition for celebrating the Olympic spirit and values.

The prince is among the world leaders who attended the opening ceremony of the Games.

This is also his 11th visit to China.

Beijing Winter Olympics set record-breaking viewership: OBS

Official data shows a record number of viewers are watching the Beijing Winter Olympics.

CEO Yiannis Exarchos of Olympic Broadcasting Services says the Games have attracted over 2 billion views on social media platforms.

Meanwhile, the number of people watching the events on the official website of the Olympic Games has exceeded 45 million, more than the entire run of the Pyeongchang Games four years ago.

Hong Kong COVID cases soar, Beijing vows full support

Beijing is vowing to give full support to Hong Kong as the southern Chinese city is battling a new COVID outbreak.

The special administrative region has seen a tenfold rise in cases since the start of this month.

Biden to compensate 9/11 victims' families with frozen Afghan funds

U.S President Joe Biden is expected to issue an executive order to use Afghan assets frozen in the U.S. to fund humanitarian relief in Afghanistan and compensate victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Washington froze around 7 billion dollars of the Afghan central bank's assets after the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August.

The order will require U.S. financial institutions to facilitate access to 3.5 billion dollars for Afghan relief and basic needs. The other half will be used to fund ongoing litigation by U.S. victims of terrorism.

UK economy up 7.5% in 2021, fastest since the Second World War

The U.K. economy grew by 7.5 percent last year, rebounding from its 9.4 percent fall in 2020.

The figure represents the fastest growth in the country since 1941.

The Bank of England also predicts the country's output, measured on a quarterly basis, will recover to its pre-pandemic size by the end of March.

Mexican journalist killed in latest violent attack on media

A Mexican journalist has been shot and killed in the southern state of Oaxaca.

Police confirmed Heber Lopez's murder on Thursday, making his death the fifth killing of a media personality in the country this year.

Lopez was an independent journalist who regularly wrote about politics and corruption in local government.

Prosecutors said two people were arrested in relation with the crime, though the investigation was ongoing.

Koalas listed as endangered species by Australian government

The Australian government has officially listed the iconic koala as an endangered species due to habitat loss over the past two decades.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the decision came after THE native marsupial's habitats were hit by prolonged drought, bushfires and developers cutting down trees.

Environment groups campaigned for koalas to be listed as endangered after 60,000 of the animals were killed, injured, or displaced in the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires.