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

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,”

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Busy airports and serpentine queues at testing sites: many Americans plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with extended family Thursday despite authorities warning they risk exacerbating the coronavirus pandemic engulfing the country. Stopping short of issuing an outright ban, the US government's health protection agency has for the first time called on Americans not to travel for the annual holiday, which sees families get together over turkey, yams and cranberry sauce and for many

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Three young Hong Kong dissidents including Joshua Wong were remanded into custody on Monday after pleading guilty to inciting a rally during last year's pro-democracy protests, deepening the crackdown against Beijing's critics. Hong Kong was convulsed by seven straight months of huge and often violent democracy rallies last year in which millions took to the streets. Beijing has refused demands for free elections and authorities have pursued democracy supporters with crimin

LONDON (AFP) -- A coronavirus vaccine developed by drug firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University has shown 70 percent effectiveness in trials involved 23,000 people, they said in a statement on Monday. The announcement comes after other trials of drugs developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna announced effectiveness above 90 percent. The results ranged between 62 and 90 percent efficacy depending on the vaccine dosage, according to Monday's statement. AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot s

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States hopes to begin coronavirus vaccinations in early December, a top government health official said Sunday, the latest positive news to emerge even as cases surge across the worst-hit nation and elsewhere around the globe. The beginning of vaccinations could be a crucial shift in the battle against a virus that has claimed more than 1.4 million lives worldwide, including 255,000 just in the US, since emerging from China late last year. Encouraging results fro

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A Pennsylvania judge on Saturday threw out Donald Trump's claims of widespread electoral fraud there, dealing a new blow to the Republican's bid to overturn his loss in the US presidential election. The decision -- announced in a scathing judgment which excoriated the Trump team's legal strategy -- paves the way for Pennsylvania to certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory there, which is scheduled to take place Monday. With the clock ticking down to Biden's January 20 inaugura

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump's eldest son Donald Trump Jr has tested positive for Covid-19 and has been quarantining without symptoms, a spokesman said Friday. "Don tested positive at the start of the week and has been quarantining out at his cabin since the result," his spokesman said. "He's been completely asymptomatic so far and is following all medically recommended COVID-19 guidelines," the spokesman said of the 42-year-old. Trump Jr's positive test follow

WASHINGTON -- The US will slash troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq to their lowest levels in nearly 20 years of war after President Donald Trump pledged to end conflicts abroad, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. Rejecting concerns that precipitous drawdowns could give up all the US has fought for, Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller said around 2,000 troops would be pulled from Afghanistan by January 15. Five hundred more would come back from Iraq by the same date, leaving 2,500 in each coun

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Global hopes of vanquishing the coronavirus pandemic were boosted Monday after a vaccine was found to be nearly 95 percent effective in a trial, bringing much-needed optimism amid surging infections and grueling new restrictions. The news from the US biotech firm Moderna comes after similar results were announced last week for a vaccine candidate developed by pharma giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. Major stock markets surged Monday in response, building on a bo

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Thousands of die-hard Donald Trump supporters rallied for a last stand Saturday in Washington, chanting "four more years" and blaming fraud for an election defeat that will force the president to vacate the White House after just one term. Trump himself made a drive-past in his armored motorcade, on his way to play golf, smiling through his limousine window to wild cheers and signs saying "Best prez ever" and "Trump 2020: Keep America Great." &q

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden attended on Wednesday separate, simultaneous ceremonies marking Veterans Day, as what should have been a moment of national unity was marred by the Republican's refusal to acknowledge election defeat. On a rainy, gray day in Washington, the president visited Arlington National Cemetery for a somber wreath-laying ceremony, his first official appearance since the November 3 vote. He made no public remarks. At the same tim

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The leaders of close US allies on Tuesday telephoned President-elect Joe Biden and pledged to work together but in an extraordinary break, America's top diplomat Mike Pompeo insisted that Donald Trump would remain in power. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel all offered congratulations in calls to Biden, who a week earlier edged out Trump in the presidential election. "I'm letting them know that Am

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong's legislature will resign "en masse" if Beijing's top law-making committee moves to disqualify four of their colleagues for violating the semi-autonomous city's Basic Law, the convener of the bloc said Monday. The threat came ahead of a meeting of one of China's top law-making bodies, with Hong Kong media reporting that it was considering disqualifying four of the semi-autonomous city's legislators. Hong Kong's democracy camp ha

BUDAPEST (AFP) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced Monday a partial lockdown aimed at curbing a surge in coronavirus deaths that has sparked predictions of overwhelmed hospitals. The measures, due to start Wednesday, include an extension of an existing night-time curfew, a ban on gatherings, and closures of bars, restaurants and cultural venues, Orban said in a Facebook video. Sporting events must be played behind closed doors, while secondary schools and universities must move