France's Macron tests positive for COVID-19

French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday, following a week when he has met with numerous European leaders. The French and Spanish prime ministers are among those self-isolating because they had recent contact with him. Macron took a test "as soon as the first symptoms appeared" and will self-isolate for seven days, the presidency said in a brief statement. It did not detail what symptoms Macron experienced or any treatment he might be receiving. The 42-y

Dec. 17, 2020

Wistron violence could sour Apple's 'Make In India' plans

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- Violence at a Wistron Corpfactory in southern India is likely to stall the company's and its client Apple Inc's drive to expand local manufacturing, while forcing the government to redouble efforts to encourage foreign investors. Thousands of contract workers angry over the alleged non-payment of wages, destroyed equipment and vehicles at a Wistron plant in southern India on Saturday, causing an estimated $60 million in damages. The Taiwanese company, one of Apple's top

Dec. 16, 2020

Merkel urges tougher curbs as virus deaths soar

BERLIN (AFP) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday demanded tougher curbs to bring down coronavirus infections, as the German death toll reached a daily record of nearly 600 people. Germany has ordered far less stringent shutdown rules than other major European nations after coming through the first wave of the pandemic relatively unscathed. But Europe's biggest economy has been severely hit by a second wave with daily new infections more than three times that of the peak in the spring. D

Dec. 9, 2020

World set for 3C warming despite pandemic, pledges: UN

PARIS (AFP) -- Earth remains on course to warm more than 3 degrees Celsius by the century's end despite a dip in greenhouse gas emissions due to the pandemic and pledges to curb pollution, the UN said Wednesday. In its annual assessment of emissions levels, the UN's Environment Programme found that 2020's 7-percent fall in carbon pollution would have "negligible impact" on warming without a broad and rapid shift away from fossil fuels. The Emissions Gap report analyses the gulf betw

Dec. 9, 2020

Citigroup Names Antonios as First Female Head of MENA Business

  Citigroup Inc. appointed Elissar Farah Antonios as the first woman to run its Middle East & North Africa operations, among the US bank’s fastest-growing businesses in emerging markets. Antonios will continue to report to Atiq Rehman, who runs the bank’s Europe, Middle East & Africa emerging markets business, and will join the EMEA operating committee. She has been in charge of Citigroup’s operations in the United Arab Emirates, Levant and Iraq since 2019. Ant

Dec. 8, 2020

Japan space agency hails return of asteroid dust on Earth

Japan space agency officials on Sunday hailed the arrival of rare asteroid samples on Earth after they were collected by space probe Hayabusa-2 during an unprecedented mission. In a streak of light across the night sky, a capsule containing the precious specimens taken from a distant asteroid arrived on Earth after being dropped off by the probe. Scientists hope the samples, which are expected to amount to no more than 0.1 grams of material, could help shed light on the origin of life and the

Dec. 6, 2020

95 arrests at French security law protests: minister

Police arrested 95 people during protests across France against a planned security law, and 67 officers were injured during the demonstrations, Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin said Sunday. In Paris, the site of the worst violence, 48 police officers or gendarmes were injured during Saturday's street clashes, the interior ministry said on Twitter. A firefighter was also injured in the capital after being hit by a projectile, a police source said. Paris police held 25 people, including two m

Dec. 6, 2020

Singapore to seek more travel bubble arrangements

Singapore said it will keep searching for possibilities of travel bubbles with other regions even after an arrangement with Hong Kong suffered a setback, the Straits Times reported. Potential partners could be the countries where the city-state has already opened its borders to, the paper said, citing Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung. Singapore currently allows short-term visitors from Australia, Brunei, China, New Zealand and Vietnam to enter without having to be quarantined, though they must

Dec. 6, 2020

China prepares large-scale rollout of coronavirus vaccines

Provincial governments across China are placing orders for experimental, domestically made coronavirus vaccines, though health officials have yet to say how well they work or how they may reach the country's 1.4 billion people. Developers are speeding up final testing, the Chinese foreign minister said during a U.N. meeting last week, as Britain approved emergency use of Pfizer Inc.'s vaccine candidate and providers scrambled to set up distribution. Even without final approval, more than 1 mi

Dec. 6, 2020

[Newsmaker] Ancient asteroid dust collected by Japan's Hayabusa2 space probe arrives on Earth

TOKYO (AFP) -- In a streak of light across the night sky, samples collected from a distant asteroid arrived on Earth on Sunday after being dropped off by Japanese space probe Hayabusa-2. Scientists hope the precious samples, which are expected to amount to no more than 0.1 grams of material, could help shed light on the origin of life and the formation of the universe. The capsule carrying samples entered the atmosphere just before 2:30 am Japan time (1730 GMT Saturday), creating a shooting-st

Dec. 6, 2020

US tightens travel rules for Chinese Communist Party members: NYT

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Washington issued new entry rules for Chinese Communist Party members traveling to the United States, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing the State Department. The new policy -- which took immediate effect on Wednesday -- caps visas of Communist Party members and their immediate families to one month and a single entry into the country, the report said. "For decades we allowed the CCP free and unfettered access to US institutions and businesses while these sa

Dec. 3, 2020

Asia tech conference ditches Hong Kong for Malaysia

HONG KONG (AFP) -- A major Asia-focused tech conference announced Thursday it is ditching Hong Kong in favour of Malaysia in a fresh blow to the Chinese financial hub's push to attract tech talent. The annual RISE Conference brings together CEOs, startups and investors and has been held in Hong Kong over the last five years. But organisers said they would move their annual conference to Kuala Lumpur in 2022. "Hosting RISE in Kuala Lumpur is going to expand the event into an exciting regi

Dec. 3, 2020

World food prices jump to six-year high: UN

ROME (AFP) -- Global food commodity prices rose sharply in November to their highest level in nearly six years, the UN food agency said Thursday, due in part to adverse weather conditions. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said prices of the most globally traded foodstuffs were up across the board, putting extra pressure in particular on 45 countries that need outside help feeding their populations. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 105 points during the month, up 3.9 percent from Oc

Dec. 3, 2020

Iran's supreme leader vows revenge over slain scientist

TEHRAN (AP) -- Iran's supreme leader on Saturday demanded the "definitive punishment" of those behind the killing of a scientist who led Tehran's disbanded military nuclear program, as the Islamic Republic blamed Israel for a slaying that has raised fears of reignited tensions across the Middle East. After years of being in the shadows, the image of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh suddenly was to be seen everywhere in Iranian media, as his widow spoke on state television and officials publicl

Nov. 29, 2020

Recent signing of RCEP suggests need for US reentry into TPP: CRS report

WASHINGTON -- The recent signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by South Korea and 14 other countries in Asia reinforces the need for the United States to sign a similar deal in the region, a report suggested Wednesday. The report from the Congressional Research Service also suggested the US may have to consider reentering the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to protect its interests in the region. "Some Members of Congress and analysts saw TPP as an op

Nov. 26, 2020

[Newsmaker] Biden Cabinet picks prioritizes experience

NEW YORK (AP) -- Competence is making a comeback. President-elect Joe Biden has prized staying power over star power when making his first wave of Cabinet picks and choices for White House staff, with a premium placed on government experience and proficiency as he looks to rebuild a depleted and demoralized federal bureaucracy. With an eye in part toward making selections who may have to seek approval from a Republican-controlled Senate, Biden has prioritized choosing qualified professionals wh

Nov. 25, 2020

[Newsmaker] What is it like to take part in a vaccine trial?

MIAMI (AFP) -- A key facet of the global mad scramble by Pfizer, Moderna and other pharma groups to develop a viable coronavirus vaccine is the recruitment of tens of thousands of volunteers willing to participate in clinical trials. Agence France-Presse’s correspondent in Miami, Leila Macor, took part in such a trial organized by US biotech firm Moderna, which announced Monday that its experimental vaccine was nearly 95 percent effective. Why did Macor, who suffers from asthma, decide t

Nov. 25, 2020

Biden introduces security team 'ready to lead the world'

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President-elect Joe Biden introduced Tuesday a seasoned national security team he said was prepared to resume US leadership of the world after the departure of President Donald Trump. "It's a team that will keep our country and our people safe and secure," Biden said, introducing his picks for secretary of state, national security advisor, intelligence chief, and other key cabinet jobs. "It's a team that reflects the fact that America is back. Ready to lea

Nov. 25, 2020

Biden transition OK'd to start as Trump runs out of options

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal government recognized President-elect Joe Biden as the “apparent winner” of the Nov. 3 election, formally starting the transition of power after President Donald Trump spent weeks testing the boundaries of American democracy. Trump relented after suffering yet more legal and procedural defeats in his seemingly futile effort to overturn the election with baseless claims of fraud. Trump still refused to concede and vowed to continue to fight in

Nov. 24, 2020

EU announces latest vaccine contract with Moderna

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The EU said Tuesday it would sign a sixth contract for an upcoming coronavirus vaccine, this time for up to 160 million doses of a jab developed by US firm Moderna. “According to the results of clinical trials, this vaccine could be highly effective against Covid-19,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “Once the vaccine is indeed proven as safe and effective, every member state will receive it at the same time on a pro rata basis,”

Nov. 24, 2020