World

The United States said Monday it is opening an investigation into China’s policies for its semiconductor industry, over concerns that Beijing is turning to “extensive anticompetitive and non-market means” to undermine other economies.The probe centers on foundational semiconductors — which go into everything from cars to medical devices — and whether China’s actions create burdens …

US probes China chip industry on ‘anticompetitive’ concerns Read More »

Two Syrian doctors and a nurse told AFP in a series of interviews over the weekend that Bashar al-Assad’s government coerced them into providing false testimony to international investigators after a deadly 2018 chlorine attack.The three, who treated the wounded at a field hospital in the rebel-held town of Douma near Damascus after the April …

Syrian medics say were coerced into false chemical attack testimony Read More »

NASA’s pioneering Parker Solar Probe is poised to make its closest-ever approach of the Sun on Christmas Eve, a record-setting 3.8 million miles (6.2 million kilometers) from the surface.Launched in August 2018, the spaceship is on a seven-year mission to deepen scientific understanding of our star and help forecast space-weather events that can affect life …

NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun Read More »

President Emmanuel Macron’s office said the composition of France’s new government would be announced on Monday evening amid efforts to drag the second-largest EU economy out of a deepening political crisis.The cabinet of new Prime Minister Francois Bayrou will be announced by Elysee secretary-general Alexis Kohler, Macron’s office said.The news came as France observed a …

France’s new government to be announced Monday evening: Elysee Read More »

The man accused of gunning down a health insurance executive in a brazen hit in New York that sparked fierce debate about the industry pleaded not guilty Monday to state charges including “terrorist” murder.Luigi Mangione wore a white shirt, burgundy sweatshirt and was shackled during his appearance in a Manhattan court where he was flanked …

Accused killer of US insurance CEO pleads not guilty to ‘terrorist’ murder Read More »

The man accused of gunning down a health insurance executive in a brazen hit in New York pleaded not guilty Monday to state charges including “terrorist” murder.Luigi Mangione wore a white shirt, burgundy sweatshirt and was shackled during his appearance in a Manhattan court where he was flanked by police officers, an AFP correspondent saw.Monday’s …

Accused killer of US insurance CEO pleads not guilty to ‘terrorist’ murder Read More »

Greenland on Monday stressed that it was not for sale, after Donald Trump again suggested he wanted the United States to take control of the strategic island that holds major mineral and oil reserves.Trump offered to buy the vast Danish territory during his first term in office — receiving an abrupt refusal — and he …

Not for sale. Greenland shrugs off Trump’s new push Read More »

Sweden’s foreign minister said Monday that China had denied a request for prosecutors to conduct an investigation on a Chinese ship linked to two severed Baltic Sea cables despite Beijing pledging “cooperation” with regional authorities.Sections of two telecom cables were cut on November 17 and 18 in Swedish territorial waters. Suspicions have been directed at …

Sweden says China blocked prosecutors’ probe of ship linked to cut cables Read More »

Just 12 trucks distributed food and water in northern Gaza in two-and-a-half months, aid group Oxfam said on Sunday, raising the alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation in the besieged Palestinian territory.The Israeli authorities rejected the report, saying it was “deliberately and inaccurately” ignoring their humanitarian efforts.”Of the meager 34 trucks of food and water …

Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam Read More »

France on Monday observed a day of mourning for the victims in the cyclone-hit Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte as the clock ticked for President Emmanuel Macron to appoint the fourth government in a year marked by political crisis.The widely-expected announcement of the government of new prime minister Francois Bayrou was postponed on Sunday, with …

France mourns Mayotte victims amid uncertainy over government Read More »