France starts 6 pm curfew to slow Covid-19

17Jan

By News RoomNo Comments

World

France starts 6 pm curfew to slow Covid-19

People across France started heading home late this afternoon to meet a new, 6 pm curfew intended to help stem the spread of coronavirus infections, especially a more infectious variant. The virus has killed 70,000 people in France, the seventh highest toll in the world, and the government is particularly worried by the more transmissible variant first detected in Britain, which now accounts for about 1 per cent of new cases. The curfew was brought forward two hours to 6 pm and runs until 6 am. In addition, from Monday, anyone travelling to France from outside the European Union will have to show a negative Covid-19 test and self-isolate for a week upon arrival. “These measures were necessary given the situation. While worsening, it remains relatively better than many countries ar...

France’s Total quits top U.S. oil lobby in climate split

16Jan

By News RoomNo Comments

Business

France’s Total quits top U.S. oil lobby in climate split

France’s Total SE on Friday became the first major global energy company to quit the main U.S. oil and gas lobby due to disagreements over its climate policies and support for easing drilling regulations. Total said it would not renew its 2021 membership with the American Petroleum Institute (API) following a review of the lobby’s climate positions, describing them as being only “partially aligned” with its own. The high-profile departure from the most powerful energy lobby comes ahead of sweeping changes in policy direction in the United States, with incoming President Joe Biden promising to tackle climate change and bring the country to net-zero emissions by 2050. “As part of our climate ambition made public in May 2020, we are committed to ensuring, in a transparent manner, that the ...

Huawei sues critics in France over remarks on China state ties

24Nov

By News RoomNo Comments

Technology

Huawei sues critics in France over remarks on China state ties

Huawei Technologies Co. is suing critics in France who alleged it has ties to the Chinese state. In an unprecedented move, the technology giant filed three defamation claims in Paris over comments made during television programs by a French researcher, a broadcast journalist and a telecommunications sector expert. The company’s legal actions in France were published on Tuesday in a report by La Lettre A, an online investigative newsletter. Huawei confirmed the claims, which it said were filed with French law enforcement authorities in March. The filings come as the telecommunications gear maker seeks to bid for a piece of the future 5G network in Europe’s second-largest economy and in countries like Germany. Since the December 2018 arrest of its Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzho...

France, UK, Germany, EU ‘extremely concerned’ by Iran’s nuclear deal breach

12Nov

By News RoomNo Comments

World

France, UK, Germany, EU ‘extremely concerned’ by Iran’s nuclear deal breach

France, Germany, Britain and the European Union have said they are “extremely concerned” by Iran’s decision to re-start nuclear activities at one of its key sites, in breach of a landmark 2015 deal with international powers. “The Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom and the High Representative of the European Union are extremely concerned by the latest announcements that Iran is restarting uranium enrichment activities at the Fordow facility, as confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its November 11 report,” they said in a joint statement on Monday. Paris, Berlin, London and Brussels said that Iran’s action was “inconsistent” with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPoA, under which Tehran had agreed to curb some of its nucl...

Kristina Mladenovic gives France 1-0 lead in Fed Cup final

9Nov

By News RoomNo Comments

Sports

Kristina Mladenovic gives France 1-0 lead in Fed Cup final

Kristina Mladenovic thrashed Australia’s Fed Cup debutant Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1 6-1 in the opening singles at Perth Arena on Saturday as France took a 1-0 lead in the final. The French number one came out swinging on a scorching hot afternoon and maintained pressure throughout as rookie Tomljanovic capitulated in front of a packed crowd in 71 minutes. Australia will look to their usual Fed Cup saviour Ash Barty to square the ledger when the former world number one meets Caroline Garcia in the second singles match on Saturday. Australia’s team captain Alicia Molik raised eyebrows by throwing Tomljanovic into the cauldron of a Fed Cup final on debut, rather than opting for veteran Sam Stosur for the singles. The gamble backfired spectacularly as Croatia-born Tomljanovic, who only became...

At least 33 injured as bus overturns in France’s Somme

4Nov

By News RoomNo Comments

World

At least 33 injured as bus overturns in France’s Somme

At least 33 people were injured on Sunday as a result of a bus crash in the northern French department of Somme, local media reported. Earlier it was reported that a bus of the FlixBus company overturned on Sunday morning, on its way from Paris to London. At least four people sustained serious injuries, while 29 others received minor injuries, according to Somme authorities. Le Parisien newspaper said on Sunday that the bus passengers included 11 French nationals, 10 British nationals, five Americans, two Romanians, a Spanish national, an Australian, a Mauritian, a Japanese national and one person from Sri Lanka. Earlier, some French media reported that Russian citizens were among those injured in the bus accident, but a spokesperson of the Russian Embassy in France told Sputnik t...