PARIS (AFP) ― The self-declared al-Qaida fighter holed up in a besieged flat in southern France on Wednesday has forced the issue of Islamist terror to the heart of the French presidential race.Analysts say the drama around the suspected killer of seven people will likely give a boost to far-right candidate Marine Le Pen of the National Front, known for her fierce anti-immigration and anti-Islamist rhetoric.As President Nicolas Sarkozy called for national unity, some of the candidates seeking to

Apple Inc.’s new iPad runs “significantly hotter” than the earlier model when conducting processor-intensive tasks such as playing graphics-heavy games, according to Consumer Reports, which tested the device. The newest version of the market-leading tablet computer ran as hot as 47 degrees Celsius, the magazine said on its website. Consumer Reports, published by the consumer-watchdog group Consumers Union, used a thermal-imaging camera to record the temperature while playing the action game “Inf

Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s second- biggest automaker, will revive its Datsun brand after three decades in a bid to increase sales in developing markets such as Russia, India and Indonesia. Nissan will hold press conferences in Tokyo and Mumbai Wednesday to announce its plans for the brand, it said in e-mailed invitations. The Datsun brand was officially discontinued in 1981, Christopher Keeffe, a spokesman for the company, said Tuesday. He declined to further elaborate on plans for the brand ahea

Saudi Arabia can increase crude production by as much as 25 percent immediately if needed, the country’s oil minister said, seeking to allay the concern over supplies that has driven prices to the highest in three years. Brent crude has gained 15 percent in London this year to about $124 a barrel. Iran has threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, a transit point for a fifth of the world’s traded oil, in response to sanctions on its crude exports imposed over i

Hong Kong, a bastion of free-market policies and low corporate taxes as well as the gateway to the world’s most populous nation, is the best place to do business, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The city of about 7 million people secured top position in a new index based on six criteria including the degree of economic integration and labor costs. The Netherlands, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia occupied the next four leading slots. The ranking marks a victory for Hong Kong 15 years af

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s central bank chief says conditions are ripe for Beijing to liberalize interest rates, a move analysts say would boost domestic demand as the nation’s exports are hit by overseas turmoil.Beijing has cut the nation’s growth target for 2012 as its export-driven economy slows, and a key policy focus this year will be on expanding demand at home.In an article published in China Finance ― a magazine backed by the People’s Bank of China ― Zhou Xiaochuan said “the conditions to f

ATHENS (AP) ― Greece’s Parliament early Wednesday approved a new international bailout deal, which will see the crisis-hit country receive 172 billion euros ($227 billion) in rescue loans.Lawmakers voted 213-79 in favor of the new agreement, with deputies backing the coalition government of socialists and conservatives broadly following party lines.Earlier, the Communist Party staged nationwide protests against the deal, including a rally outside parliament attended by several thousand demonstra

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Pioneering Australian climber Lincoln Hall, who miraculously survived after being given up for dead on Mount Everest in 2006, has died from mesothelioma aged 56.Hall, who was a member of the 1984 first Australian Everest expedition, died peacefully in a Sydney hospital on Tuesday, chairman of the Australian Himalayan Foundation Simon Baulderstone told reporters.As well as being a founding director of the Australian Himalayan Foundation, Hall was the author of several books, includ

TEHRAN (AP) ― Tehran will retaliate against any attack by Israeli or American forces “on the same level,” Iran’s top leader said Tuesday in a defiant address just moments after U.S. President Barack Obama appealed directly to the Iranian people with a message of solidarity.The contrasting approaches highlighted the broad range of political posturing and tactics as the standoff deepens over Tehran’s nuclear program.Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking on state TV to mark the Ira