BEIJING (AFP) -- China urged France Monday to guarantee a "fair and just" environment for its companies after Paris decided to restrict licenses for telecom operators using 5G technology from Huawei. The United States and Australia have banned Huawei from their 5G networks and the Financial Times reported Monday that Britain could decide this month to phase out the company's equipment from its system. France's National Agency for Security of Computer Systems said Monday, however, th

NEW DELHI (AFP) -- India's densely populated cities ordered new restrictions as the confirmed number of coronavirus cases neared 700,000, passing Russia with the third-highest number of infections. More than 697,400 cases have now been recorded, a rise of 24,000 in 24 hours, the health ministry said, while Russia has just over 681,000. The surge has forced some cities to tighten their anti-virus measures -- including the eastern metropolis of Kolkata, which halted flights from other maj

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States recorded 39,379 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, a tally by Johns Hopkins University showed Sunday, as infections continue to trend up around the country. The country's total number of cases now stands at 2,876,143 . The world's largest economy also recorded a further 234 fatalities, bringing the death toll to 129,891, the Baltimore-based institution's tracker showed at 8:30pm (0030 GMT Monday). Sunday's tally comes after a string of surging daily new

BEIJING (AFP) -- China issued a travel warning for Canada on Monday and said bilateral relations could deteriorate further over Ottawa's response to a controversial national security law in Hong Kong. Canada last week suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and halted exports of sensitive military gear to the financial hub as Western nations voiced concern about the legislation's impact on the city's special rights. "China strongly condemns this and reserves the right to make fur

LONDON (AFP) -- The British government on Friday said it had officially told the European Union it would not seek an extension to the post-Brexit transition period beyond December 31 this year. Britain left the bloc in January but remains under EU rules until the end of the year, as new terms are thrashed out between the two sides for their future relationship. London maintains it does not need more time to secure a free trade deal, despite deadlock in the talks over key areas, and a tight t

BANGKOK (AFP) -- Thailand will open "travel bubbles" with countries which have comparably low coronavirus infections, officials said Friday, as the kingdom tries to claw back money for its battered tourism sector.The country closed its borders at the start of April, leading to millions of job losses across a tourism industry which accounts for around 20 percent of GDP. Despite registering the first COVID-19 case outside of China in January, Thailand has recorded just 3,129 infections

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that an elderly man bleeding from the head after he was shoved to the ground by US riot police was a far-left agitator faking the shocking incident. "I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?" Trump asked on his massively followed Twitter account. Two police officers in Buffalo, New York, were charged with assault after the incident last week in which protester Martin Gugino, 75, w

BEIJING (AFP) -- China reacted angrily on Thursday to a US military transport jet's flight over the self-ruled island of Taiwan, calling it an "illegal act" and "serious provocation". The overflight adds to rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over a slew of issues, and the US relationship with the island claimed by China is high on the list of disagreements. Taiwan's defence ministry said a Boeing C-40A Clipper transport jet flew over the island on Tuesday, th

VATICAN CITY (AFP) -- Pope Francis said on Sunday the worst of the coronavirus crisis was over in Italy, addressing the faithful for  the first time in Saint Peter's Square since the health emergency began. The pontiff's address came a day after the Vatican said there were no more cases of COVID-19 within its population. "Your presence in the square is a sign that in Italy the acute phase of the epidemic is over," Francis told those assembled for his weekly Angelus pr

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong protester Crystal has yet to tell her parents she has fled overseas to seek asylum in Canada, one of a growing number of residents choosing self-exile as Beijing tightens control. The 21-year-old student spent months on the front lines of the pro-democracy protests, which first exploded with huge marches last June and descended into increasingly violent battles with riot police as each month went by. A year on, she is waiting to hear if she will be granted refugee

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump threatened to cut ties with China over its role in the spread of the coronavirus, as the global death toll from the disease topped 300,000. Despite fears of a second wave of infections, national and local governments around the world are easing lockdown orders as they try to get stalled economies moving again. But there were warnings Friday that some of the world's poorest people remain the most vulnerable, with predictions that a quarter of a bi

LONDON (AFP) -- The deadly coronavirus pandemic will cost the global insurance industry about $203 billion (188 billion euros), Lloyd's of London insurance market forecast on Thursday. Lloyd's said it had examined underwriting losses and reductions in the value of investments that companies hold to fund future claim payments. Lloyd's itself expects to pay out up to $4.3 billion on coronavirus claims, putting the cost on a similar magnitude to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. "The

THE HAGUE (AFP) -- A vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be ready in a year's time under an "optimistic" scenario, based on trials that are underway, the European Medicines Agency said Thursday. The Amsterdam-based EU agency also played down fears expressed by the WHO that the virus might never go away, saying it would be "surprised" if a vaccine was not found eventually. "We can see the possibility if everything goes as planned that some of them (vaccines) could

WUHAN (AFP) -- Nervous residents of China's pandemic epicentre of Wuhan queued up across the city to be tested for the coronavirus on Thursday after a new cluster of cases sparked a mass screening campaign. Lines of socially distanced people formed at makeshift testing sites set up under tents in parking lots, parks and residential communities as it rained in the metropolis of 11 million people. "This is a good thing. It's a way to be responsible toward others and to yourself," a 4

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The EU insisted Thursday that any vaccine against coronavirus must be available fairly to all countries after French drug giant Sanofi said it was reserving first shipments for the US. "The vaccine against COVID-19 should be a global public good and its access needs to be equitable and universal," European Commission spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker told reporters. Sanofi's chief executive Paul Hudson caused fury in France by announcing that US patients would get

MOSCOW (AFP) -- Cars sales in Russia plummeted by a historic 72.4 percent in April, manufacturers said Wednesday, after the industry was hit by the sweeping restrictions imposed to slow the coronavirus pandemic. Year-on-year sales in April totalled just 38,922 units across the country, according to the Association of European Businesses which represents foreign investors in Russia. This is "the biggest drop of monthly sales in the history of AEB statistics" since records began in 20

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong's government risks reigniting last year's political unrest by pushing ahead with a controversial bill outlawing insults to China's national anthem, opposition lawmakers said Tuesday.  Pro-democracy lawmakers warned history was repeating itself, noting that the fast-tracking of a bill last year to allow extraditions to the authoritarian mainland was the spark that lit seven straight months of pro-democracy protests. On Tuesday Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam --

ROME (AFP) -- The fate of the Serie A championship remained in limbo on Thursday after state scientists met with football bosses in a desperate effort to save the coronavirus-interrupted season threatened by a new wave of positive tests among players. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) huddled with the government's technical scientific committee to discuss details of the medical protocol for a potential return to group training. The talks came with pressure mounting from sports-deprived f

DUBAI (AFP) -- One pixel at a time, Dubai will light up the facade of the world's tallest building to represent each donation made to relieve coronavirus-hit communities across the United Arab Emirates. The Burj Khalifa, which stands 828 metres (2,717 feet) high, will be transformed into the "world's tallest donation box" as part of a campaign to provide 10 million meals to low-income people. The appeal comes during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, a time of self-reflectio

LONDON (AFP) -- European leaders are backing an initiative from Brussels to raise 7.5 billion euros ($8.3 billion) to tackle the global coronavirus pandemic. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, outlined the fund-raising plan for an international effort to find a vaccine and treatment for COVID-19 on Friday. An online pledging conference will take place on Monday to plug gaps in financing of research. Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, French President Emm