Source: Facebook, Instagram to charge EU users for ad-free service

WASHINGTON, United States - Meta is proposing to offer European users a subscription-based version of Instagram and Facebook if they would rather not be tracked for ads, a source said on Tuesday.

The idea, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes as the social media giant seeks to comply with a growing list of EU regulations designed to curb the power of US big tech.

The company founded by Mark Zuckerberg makes its billions of dollars in profit by offering advertisers highly individualized data on users, but new European regulations and EU court decisions have made that harder.

The proposal has been put to EU regulators and is another example of big tech companies having to adapt long-held practices to meet oncoming EU rules.

The source close to the matter said subscribers in Europe could pay 10 euros ($10.50) a month for a desktop version of Instagram or Facebook, or 13 euros a month for Instagram on their phones.

Social media platforms have increasingly floated the idea of charging users for access to their sites, whether to comply with data privacy regulations or better guarantee the identity of users.

But the practice would be a major shift for the social media industry that grew exponentially over the past decade on an advertising model that made the site free for users in return for being tracked and ads seen highly personalized.

The proposal could help meet several regulations including the Digital Markets Act that imposes a list of do's and don'ts on big tech companies in Europe, including a ban on tracking users when they surf other sites if their consent hasn't been clearly granted.

It also follows the recommendation of the EU's highest court, which in a July decision said that Meta platform users who declined to be tracked should be offered an ad free alternative "for an appropriate fee."

That ruling echoed many previous rulings against Meta and other big tech firms in which the court ruled that the US company must ask for permission to collect large amounts of personal data, striking down various workarounds that Meta had offered.

Meta declined to comment directly on the Wall Street Journal report, but said in a statement that it still "believes in the value of free services which are supported by personalized ads."

"However, we continue to explore options to ensure we comply with evolving regulatory requirements."

Meta reported second-quarter revenues of $32 billion, of which $31.5 billion came from advertising. Some $7.2bn of that came from Europe.

Agence France-Presse

Marking 60 years, Rolling Stones to go back on the road across Europe

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones will embark on a European tour this summer, playing stadiums and arenas, to mark their 60th anniversary as a band, the British rockers said on Monday.

Called "SIXTY", the 14-show tour will kick off in Madrid on June 1 and travel to 10 countries in total, including Britain.

The band will perform at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, their first show in the British city for more than 50 years, as well as two concerts at London's Hyde Park.

Frontman Mick Jagger, 78, and guitarists Keith Richards, 78, and Ronnie Wood, 74, will be joined by drummer Steve Jordan for the tour. The Stones' drummer Charlie Watts, who joined the band in 1963, died last year aged 80.

"Looking forward to seeing you all this summer!" Jagger wrote on Twitter, alongside a video of the band performing live across the decades.

The set list will include Stones classics such as "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction" and "Paint It Black" among others as well as "a selection of unexpected tracks" from their vast catalogue of music, according to a press release. The tour will also have a new stage production.

The Stones, who wrapped up the North American leg of their "No Filter" tour in November, will also play in Munich, Amsterdam, Bern, Milan, Brussels, Vienna, Paris and Stockholm.

Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian Editing by Mark Heinrich

-reuters-

Gas supply shock would cut value of Europe's economy, ECB says

FRANKFURT - A negative shock from any gas supply disruption would eat into the value of goods and services produced in the euro zone, the European Central Bank said on Tuesday, worsening the impact of high energy prices on the bloc's growth.

Record energy prices in response to concern a Russian attack on Ukraine will lead to disruption of fuel exports to Europe have dented euro zone growth. Russia denies any plan to invade.

In an Economic Bulletin article on Tuesday, the ECB said it expected high energy prices would reduce euro zone economic output by around 0.2 percent this year, compared with baseline levels of GDP, with the biggest impact in the first quarter.

Over 90 percent of the gas used in the euro zone is imported, the ECB said, meaning negative economic impacts would be aggravated if the bloc loses some of its gas supply.

"The direct and indirect impact of a hypothetical 10 percent gas rationing shock on the corporate sector is estimated to reduce euro area gross value added by about 0.7 percent," the bank said.

The actual fall could even be greater as the modeling does not consider the effect of energy price changes, the ECB said.

Austria and Slovakia would take the biggest hit, the ECB said, while among industrial sectors, basic metals would likely suffer the most.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; editing by Barbara Lewis)

-reuters-

'We missed you': Dutch bars, cafes, museums to reopen

THE HAGUE - The Netherlands will this week lift some of Europe's toughest COVID restrictions with bars, restaurants and museums allowed to reopen their doors, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Tuesday.

Rutte said the move, which takes effect from Wednesday, was in response to "great tensions" with the catering and cultural sectors over a virtual lockdown imposed days before Christmas.

"The Netherlands has missed you," Rutte told a news conference.

"Today we are taking a big step to further unlock the Netherlands. That feels contradictory while the contamination figures are going through the roof, and we have to be clear that we are taking a risk," he added.

Anger mounted after Dutch shops, gyms, hairdressers and sex workers were allowed to resume business on January 15, but other venues had to stay shut.

Cafes in several cities opened in defiance of the restrictions the weekend before last, while dozens of museums even opened as beauty salons for a day in protest.

Rutte said that the government was "consciously looking for the limits of what is possible, because of the great tensions and cries for help in recent days".

While new infections are running at around 60,000 a day, fueled by the Omicron variant, intensive care admissions and deaths have been falling in the Netherlands.

Health Minister Ernst Kuipers warned that it was "not the flu" and the situation remained sensitive, with hospitalizations rising again this week after a long period of decline.

But he said relaxing the curbs was important.

"Living for longer with restrictive measures harms our health and our society," said Kuipers.

Cafes bars and restaurants can open again until 10 pm from Wednesday, so long as patrons have a Covid pass, wear masks when not seated, and capacity is reduced, the government said.

Cinemas, theatres and museums may also welcome back customers, but nightclubs must stay closed for the time being.

Fans can also return to football matches and other professional sports, but stadium capacity will be limited. 

Quarantine rules for schools will also be relaxed, with classes no longer having to shut if three or more cases are confirmed, and children under 18 need no longer isolate after contact with an infected person.

But the government is still urging people to work at home and limit the number of visitors to four.

The current measures will remain in place until at least March 8.

Agence France-Presse

Omicron in Europe before South Africa reported first cases

THE HAGUE - The Omicron coronavirus variant was present in Europe before the first cases were reported in South Africa, new data from the Netherlands showed Tuesday, as Latin America reported its first two cases in Brazil.

In the week since the new virus strain was reported to the World Health Organization by South Africa, dozens of countries around the world have responded with travel restrictions -- most targeting southern African nations.

But the World Health Organization warned Tuesday -- as Canada expanded its restrictions to also include Egypt and Nigeria -- that "blanket" travel bans risked doing more harm than good.

And the likely futility of broad travel restrictions was underscored as Dutch authorities reported that Omicron was present in the country before South Africa officially reported its first cases, on November 25.

The new variant -- whose high number of mutations the WHO believes may make it more transmissible or resistant to vaccines -- was found in two Dutch test samples from November 19 and 23, with one having no travel history.

With countries now on alert for the Omicron variant, a clearer picture is emerging by the day of where it has been circulating, and for how long.

So far, well over a dozen countries and territories have detected cases, including Australia, Britain, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy and Portugal.

Among European countries, Belgium and Germany have both reported cases of the new strain prior to November 25, but both linked to foreign travel.

Latin America reported its first two cases Tuesday -- in people who traveled from South Africa to Brazil -- and a first case was confirmed in Japan, one day after it barred all foreign arrivals.

VACCINE RESISTANT?

While much is still unknown about the Omicron variant -- it could take weeks to determine whether and to what extent it is vaccine-resistant -- it has highlighted that the global fight against Covid-19 is far from over.

Asian, European and US markets all fell on Tuesday, while the benchmark US oil price tumbled more than five percent after the boss of vaccine manufacturer Moderna warned existing jabs might be less effective against the new variant.

"All the scientists I've talked to ... are like 'this is not going to be good'," Moderna boss Stephane Bancel told the Financial Times, warning against a "material drop" in the effectiveness of current jabs against Omicron.

Moderna, US drugmaker Pfizer and the backers of Russian vaccine Sputnik V are already working on an Omicron-specific vaccine.

On the treatment front, meanwhile, a panel of US health experts voted Tuesday to endorse Merck's Covid pill for high-risk adult patients, which is already authorized in Britain.

'HEAVY BURDEN'

In a briefing to WHO member states, the body's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was understandable for countries to seek to protect their citizens "against a variant we don't yet fully understand".

But he called for the global response to be "calm, coordinated and coherent", urging nations to "take rational, proportional risk-reduction measures".

The UN agency cautioned in a travel advisory that "blanket" travel bans risked placing a "heavy burden on lives and livelihoods" and could ultimately dissuade countries from sharing data about the evolving virus -- as South Africa did in reporting the latest variant.

But it did advise that people not fully vaccinated and considered vulnerable to Covid-19, including over-60s, should put off travel to areas with community transmission of the virus -- after correcting a previous statement that indicated all over-60s should defer travel.

TOUGHER MEASURES

Omicron has emerged as much of the world was already bracing for a new winter wave of the pandemic -- leaving even nations with high vaccination rates scrambling to stem infections and prevent health services from being overwhelmed. 

Governments, particularly in western Europe, have already reintroduced mandatory mask-wearing, social-distancing measures, curfews or lockdowns -- leaving businesses fearing another grim Christmas.

In Germany, incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz said parliament would vote on making Covid vaccines compulsory by the end of the year -- and a source from Scholz's party told AFP he had "signaled his sympathy" for such a rule.

Greece went ahead Tuesday in making vaccines compulsory for over-60s, while Norway will offer booster shots to all adults before Easter, as preferable to a lockdown.

Britain meanwhile set a target of delivering third jabs to all adults within two months, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying vaccination centers would be "popping up like Christmas trees."

Agence France-Presse

New lockdowns in Europe, overseas fans banned at Tokyo Olympics

PARIS - Several European countries introduced new lockdown measures Saturday as they battled surging coronavirus infections, while Tokyo Olympics organizers were forced to announce an "unavoidable" ban on overseas fans to keep the Games safe.

Residents in Poland, parts of France and Ukraine's capital Ukraine all faced new restrictions, with most shops shut and people urged to work from home. 

Elsewhere in Europe, frustrations with COVID-19 curbs were spilling over, with scuffles breaking out at a large anti-restrictions protest in the German city of Kassel, and thousands joining similar demonstrations in Liestal, Switzerland and London.

"End the lockdown" and "Corona rebels", read signs held by demonstrators at the protest in Kassel, which was organized by a group that has drawn in activists from both the far-left and far-right as well as anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists.

In Africa, Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina reiterated his own vaccine skepticism, adding that it would be an untested herbal remedy he has previously touted "that will protect me and my family". 

The pandemic is still speeding up worldwide, with the number of new COVID-19 infections rising globally by 14 percent over the past week, according to AFP data. 

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan became the latest world leader to test positive -- two days after receiving China's Sinopharm vaccine. 

The former cricketing legend is self-isolating with mild symptoms, his spokesman said.

FRANCE'S 'LOCKDOWN-LITE'

More than a third of France's population is now under a renewed lockdown as the country, along with several European neighbors, battles a third wave of the virus. 

But the curbs are lighter than those enforced at the height of the pandemic last year, with schools remaining open and hairdressers, shoemakers and chocolate shops added to an expanded list of businesses allowed to accept customers.

The government has also scrapped the forms once required to justify all trips outside the home, which were widely derided as an example of excessive French bureaucracy.

On the sunny banks of the River Seine, some Parisians questioned whether the restrictions could really be described as a "lockdown" at all. 

"I can't see any change, apart from the closed shops," said a resident named Philippe, strolling with his daughter in the midst of cyclists and joggers. 

ASTRAZENECA ROW ESCALATES

The row over AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine meanwhile shows no signs of abating, with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen threatening to halt exports of the jab if the bloc does not receive its deliveries first.

The Anglo-Swedish pharma giant has delivered only 30 percent of the 90 million vaccine doses it had promised for the first quarter of the year, blaming production delays at its EU plants.

"We have the option of banning a planned export. That's the message to AstraZeneca: you fulfil your contract with Europe first before you start delivering to other countries," von der Leyen told Germany's Funke media group.

European officials are furious that AstraZeneca has fallen short on the continent while fully delivering on its UK commitments -- something that has allowed the recently-departed EU member to give half of its adult population at least one jab as of Saturday.

AstraZeneca has also had to contend with worries that its jab may cause blood clots, with more than a dozen countries pausing its use recently.

Several European countries including Germany and Italy resumed AstraZeneca vaccinations Friday after an all-clear from EU regulators and the World Health Organization.

But Scandinavian nations Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland have all said they want more information before deploying the vaccine again.

Seeking to reassure their populations, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his French counterpart Jean Castex both received a dose of AstraZeneca on Friday.

"I literally did not feel a thing. It was very good, very quick," said Johnson who became seriously ill from COVID-19 last year.

Brazil, meanwhile, said it was in talks with the US to import COVID-19 vaccines that Washington is not currently using and has already vowed to share with Mexico and Canada.

FOREIGN FANS BANNED FROM OLYMPICS

With more than 400 million vaccine doses already injected globally, organizers of the Tokyo Olympics had previously billed this summer's Games as a chance to provide "proof of humanity's triumph over the virus".

But on Saturday, Olympics chiefs announced that overseas fans would be banned as it remains too risky to invite large international crowds to Japan.

"We have to ensure a safe and secure environment for all the participants," said Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto. "It was an unavoidable decision."

The unprecedented ban will make the Tokyo Games the first ever without overseas spectators.

Agence France-Presse

Europe charges Amazon with using dominance and data to squeeze rivals

BRUSSELS - The European Union charged Amazon with damaging retail competition, alleging on Tuesday that the US company uses its size, power and data to gain an unfair advantage over smaller merchants that sell on its online platform.

The move by competition chief Margrethe Vestager, the latest European salvo against US tech giants, comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified Amazon's role in the global economy, with online sales soaring in lockdowns.

The European Commission has been investigating Amazon's position as both a marketplace for merchants and a rival seller, while the firm also faces scrutiny in the United States over its alleged mistreatment of sellers, as well as its dual role.

The EU regulator looked into how Amazon collects data on competitors that sell on its platform, offering everything from electronics and toys to food and kitchenware. It says that Amazon uses that sensitive information, which shows what is proving popular or not, to better target its own products.

"The use of these data allows Amazon to focus on the sale of the best-selling products and it marginalizes third-party sellers and caps their ability to grow," European Competition Commissioner Vestager told a news conference.

Vestager, who has a reputation of being one of the world's toughest antitrust enforcers, said that regulators had to ensure that dual-role platforms with market power, such as Amazon, did not distort competition. Amazon disagreed with the EU assertions. "Amazon represents less than 1% of the global retail market, and there are larger retailers in every country in which we operate," the company said.

A US Congressional antitrust report earlier this year into the alleged abuse of market power by Amazon also raised the concerns highlighted by the EU and is likely to influence the case US regulators bring against the company.

US Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat and the top antitrust lawmaker in the House, applauded the EU and urged the US Federal Trade Commision to take similar action.

"As we found as part of a 16-month bipartisan investigation, Amazon has monopoly power over sellers on its platform," Cicilline said.

The EU charges are the latest example of how watchdogs around the world, led by Europe, are grappling with the challenges of regulating Big Tech, companies that have achieved dominance in their fields and vast troves of user data.

On Vestager's watch, the EU has imposed large fines on Alphabet's Google and other companies. See FACTBOX:

A final EU decision could come next year. Amazon faces being fined up to 10% of its global turnover if found guilty of breaching antitrust rules. However it can avoid a hefty penalty and a finding of wrongdoing by offering concessions to settle.

NEW INVESTIGATION

The EU competition enforcer has been investigating Amazon since July last year after rival traders voiced their grievances. The regulator said the charges related to Amazon's activities in France and Germany, its two biggest markets in Europe and where it is the dominant player.

The case focuses on its use of merchant data on its platform. Vestager said her officials had trawled 80 million transactions and reviewed 100 million products on Amazon's platform to put the case together.

The European Commission also opened a new investigation into Amazon on Tuesday, over the possible preferential treatment of its own retail offers and those of marketplace sellers that use Amazon's logistics and delivery services.

That probe will look into the possible preferential treatment of Amazon's own retail offers and those of marketplace sellers that use Amazon's logistics and delivery services.

Regulators will investigate the criteria the company uses to select winners of its "buy box", which allows customers to add items from a specific retailer directly into their shopping carts.

"Its rules should not artificially favor Amazon's own retail offers or advantage the offers of retailers using Amazon's logistics and delivery services," Vestager said, citing the importance of e-commerce, an area which has gained importance with the COVID-19 pandemic.

-reuters-

Facebook launches dating service in Europe

Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it is launching its dating service, Facebook Dating, in 32 countries in Europe after the launch was delayed earlier this year due to regulatory concerns.

The social media company postponed the rollout of the service in Europe in February after Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), the main regulator in the European Union for a number of the world's biggest technology firms including Facebook, raised concerns about the launch.

Facebook Dating announced the launch of the services in the United States in September last year. It is currently available in 20 other countries.

-reuters-

Europe tightens coronavirus curbs as global cases top 40 million

A number of European countries took urgent new measures on Monday to combat a second wave of coronavirus infections, as the World Health Organization blamed the surge in worldwide cases -- now more than 40 million -- on countries' failure to quarantine infected people properly.

Ireland and Wales became the first countries on the continent to re-enter lockdown as the number of people who have died from Covid-19 in Europe passed 250,000, according to an AFP tally.

Irish prime minister Micheal Martin issued a nationwide "stay at home" order from midnight Wednesday, with all non-essential retail businesses to close and bars and restaurants limited to takeaway service only, although schools will remain open.

Wales also announced "firebreak" confinement measures for two weeks, ordering the territory's three million residents to stay at home except for very limited purposes such as exercise or work, and banning people from mixing indoors or outdoors.

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan blamed soaring transmission rates in the northern hemisphere on a failure to enforce quarantines rigorously.

Speaking to a virtual press conference from the WHO's headquarters in Geneva, Ryan said the fact that self-isolation measures were not being enforced systematically was "a good part of the reason why we're seeing such high numbers". 

Many governments are seeking to avoid the costly full-scale lockdowns imposed in the first wave as they battle to keep their economies going.

But in some countries, people are chafing against new restrictions on daily life, and anti-mask protests, court challenges and battles between central and local governments are on the rise.

Belgium -- where hospitalisations rose 100 percent in just the last week -- closed bars and restaurants on Monday for a month and reinforced a curfew overnight.

Italy, the initial epicentre of Europe's outbreak, also announced fresh curbs including earlier closures for bars and restaurants and a push to increase working from home.

In Poland, where around half the country is now designated as a coronavirus "red zone", the government said the national stadium would double as a field hospital to help ease the strain on overwhelmed health facilities.

'Second wave is here'

Switzerland meanwhile made mask-wearing compulsory in indoor public spaces and limited public gatherings after infections doubled over the last week. 

"The second wave is here, earlier and stronger than we expected, but we are prepared," Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset said.

France imposed its own overnight curfew from the weekend in nine cities including Paris, affecting 20 million people, with a record 32,400 new infections reported on Saturday.

Slovenia followed suit, with its roughly two million inhabitants forced to stay home between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am from Tuesday and banned from non-essential travel.

While European nations imposed new restrictions, Australia's second-biggest city of Melbourne eased its lockdown on Monday, as residents flocked to reopened hair salons and golf courses that had been closed for more than 100 days.

Just four cases were recorded Monday in Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital.

Vaccine hopes

Iran, the Middle East country hardest hit by the pandemic, announced a daily record of 337 deaths from coronavirus.

By contrast, Israel lifted restrictions that banned people from travelling more than a kilometre from home and had closed kindergartens, beaches and national parks.

Saudi Arabia also eased more of its own virus restrictions when it allowed worshippers to re-enter the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest site, for prayers on Sunday for the first time since March.

Numerous political figures have contracted the virus in recent days, including veteran chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who is in a "critical" condition and in a medically induced coma, the Jerusalem hospital treating him said.

South Africa's Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said he tested positive for Covid-19 just two days after the country's diagnosed cases topped 700,000.

A vaccine remains the greatest hope to end the cycle of imposing and lifting lockdowns across the world, and the United Nations said Monday it would stockpile a billion syringes worldwide by the end of 2021 for that purpose.

"Vaccinating the world against Covid-19 will be one of the largest mass undertakings in human history," UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore said.

In the US, President Donald Trump went after top government scientist Anthony Fauci, suggesting the hugely respected and popular doctor was an "idiot." 

Fauci, a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, has increasingly become a focus for the president's frustration as he bids to shape the messaging on the much-criticised federal response to the pandemic. 

But according to several US media outlets, Trump told his campaign team: "People are tired of Covid. People are saying, 'Whatever -- just leave us alone.' They're tired of it. People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots." 

The pandemic has killed almost 220,000 people in the United States. 

Agence France-Presse

EU's potential COVID-19 vaccine doses top 1 billion

BRUSSELS - The European Union has sealed a deal with Johnson & Johnson to supply up to 400 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, as the bloc builds up stocks amid a global scramble to secure shots.

The deal announced on Thursday by the European Commission is its third advance purchase contract with makers of COVID-19 vaccines after deals with AstraZeneca and Sanofi , bringing the number of doses secured by the EU for its population of 450 million to 1.1 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, the 27 EU states will be able to order up to 400 million doses of the potential vaccine after it is authorised by the EU medicine regulator.

To secure the vaccines, the EU made an undisclosed downpayment to J&J, which confirmed the deal in a statement in which it reiterated plans to allocate up to 500 million additional doses to poorer countries from mid-2021.

EU states would pay the full price only when they order it. The price and liability conditions are confidential.

The J&J deal follows supply contracts for 400 million doses of the potential vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and for 300 million doses of the shot being trailed by a partnership between Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline.

The Commission has also said publicly that it was in advanced talks to secure vaccines being developed by Moderna , CureVac and a partnership between Pfizer and BioNTech, which if they are confirmed would give the EU a total supply of nearly 2 billion doses.

The EU is in talks with Novavax for a seventh vaccine, a senior EU source told Reuters last month .

If it strikes seven deals, the EU would be ahead of Britain and the United States, which each have concluded six supply contracts so far.

The J&J vaccine, which is being developed by its subsidiary Janssen, is based on vector technology, the same used by AstraZeneca. Sanofi's is a protein-based jab.

-reuters-

WHO delivers Europe death warning as infections hit new high

COPENHAGEN - Europe will face a rising death toll from the coronavirus during autumn, the World Health Organization warned on Monday as the number of daily infections around the world hit a record high.

Israel is among the countries battling a new spike, announcing a three-week lockdown from Friday when people will not be allowed more than 500 metres from their homes. 

The announcement sparked anger.

"It's unfair!" said Eti Avishai, a 64-year-old seamstress.

"They didn't stop the big gatherings in synagogues, the weddings and the other events, and now I can't be with my children and grandchildren during the holidays?" 

The World Health Organization reported 307,930 new cases worldwide on Sunday, the highest daily figure since the beginning of the pandemic in China late last year, as global cases rapidly topped 29 million.

"It's going to get tougher. In October, November, we are going to see more mortality," WHO Europe director Hans Kluge told AFP in an interview.

"COVID-19 has brought to light the weaknesses and strengths of European society. It has bluntly revealed the reality of our health systems."

Kluge also said the pandemic had disrupted services for noncommunicable diseases, including monitoring of diabetes, hypertension and cancer screening in 68 percent of the member states.

WHO Europe's 53 members started a two-day online meeting Monday focusing on their virus response as the global death toll crossed 925,000.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the meeting by video-link: "We are by no means out of the woods."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, watching cases rise, echoed the WHO chief's words exactly and called for vigilance.

In France, the cities of Marseille and Bordeaux announced a series of measures to limit public gatherings as Covid-19 infections soar.

MILLIONS BACK TO SCHOOL

The latest surge has sparked alarm across Europe, and revived the debate over how best to fight the rise in infections. England has limited social gatherings to no more than six people from Monday. 

On the other hand, millions of schoolchildren in other affected countries have returned to their classrooms for the first time in months. 

Italian children were among the first in Europe to see their schools closed, and some 5.6 million returned for the first time in six months on Monday.

Although officials said thousands of extra classrooms had been set up, there were concerns over a lack of surgical masks for teachers and a shortage of single-seat benches. 

Some southern Italian regions postponed their reopening, worried they were not properly prepared.

A Vatican spokesman meanwhile said Pope Francis was being "constantly monitored" after having met with a cardinal who later tested positive.

While Europe battles with rising infections, other parts of the world are tentatively easing restrictions. 

Saudi Arabia announced it would partially lift a six-month suspension of international flights this week. South Korea said it would ease rules in and around the capital Seoul after cases declined.

The United States eased its warning against travel to China, acknowledging that the nation had made progress against Covid-19 despite Washington's frequent criticism of its pandemic role. 

VACCINE TRIALS RESUME

There was also good news in Britain where regulators allowed clinical trials to resume on one of the most advanced experimental vaccines.

The need for a vaccine was underlined by a study from the country's Institute for Employment Studies showing how coronavirus may cost one million jobs in Britain this year.

Researchers on the joint AstraZeneca-Oxford University project, who hope to finish tests by the end of the year, had "voluntarily paused" the trial after a UK volunteer developed an unexplained illness.

WHO's Kluge nonetheless urged the public not to put all their hopes on a single drug.

"I hear the whole time: 'the vaccine is going to be the end of the pandemic'. Of course not," he said. The end of the pandemic would come when communities learn to live with the disease, he stressed.

And if that wasn't tough enough, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board warned far too little is being done to prepare for future, possibly even more damaging pandemics.

The independent body set up by the WHO and World Bank, decried that the crisis had revealed how little the world had focused on preparing for such disasters, despite ample warning.

France on Monday cancelled Paris's biggest contemporary art fair FIAC Paris's biggest contemporary art fair, due to he held at the end of next month, because of the pandemic.

Agence France-Presse

Italy plunges into recession as virus bites

ROME - Italy posted a record economic contraction Monday as household spending and investment crashed during the country's coronavirus lockdown, driving the eurozone's third-largest economy deep into recession.

The country's gross domestic product fell by 12.8 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter and by 17.7 percent versus the same period last year, national statistics agency Istat said.

"The full estimate of the quarterly economic figures confirm the exceptional extent of the drop in GDP in the second quarter, due to the economic effects of the health emergency and the containment measures adopted," Istat said.

The contraction was even worse than predicted in July, when Istat estimated a second-quarter drop of 12.4 percent.

A recession is commonly defined as two consecutive periods of a quarter-on-quarter drop in GDP.

Italy's economy shrunk 5.4 percent in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, household spending fell by 11.3 percent compared to the first quarter, while exports plummeted 26.4 percent, the agency said.

Italy, the first European country to be hit full force by the coronavirus outbreak, went into total lockdown in early March as Covid-19 tightened its grip on the country.

The peninsula is set to suffer its worst recession since World War II this year, with experts estimating GDP to plummet between 8.0 to 14 percent.

The eurozone economy is predicted to contract by a record 8.7 percent this year, with mass unemployment and other dire consequences still very much a possibility.

Agence France-Presse

European stock markets surge on vaccine hopes

LONDON - European stock markets surged Monday on hopes of a coronavirus vaccine, while the dollar waned on the continued deadlock over a new US stimulus deal, dealers said.

Looking ahead to a key meeting of central bankers this week, traders sent London's benchmark rallying 2.0 percent and major eurozone indices were almost 2.5-percent higher approaching the half-way stage. 

American authorities on Sunday announced that doctors could use blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients as a treatment against the disease that has killed more than 176,000 in the US.

The move by the Food and Drug Administration comes as President Donald Trump faces intense pressure to curb the contagion that has hobbled the world's largest economy and clouded his once-promising prospects for re-election in November.

"European markets have kicked off the week in style, with the FDA's decision to approve the convalescent plasma coronavirus treatment raising hopes that we could see a vaccine fast-tracked before long," said Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG trading group.

Hong Kong's main stock index meanwhile led gains across Asia, rallying 1.7 percent with traders cheered by a pledge from China's banking regulator that it would continue to back the city as a financial hub after concerns were raised following the imposition of a new security law last month.

Investors will this week be keeping an eye also on a virtual gathering of central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for monetary policy guidance after they have already provided already a wall of cash to support the global economy during the pandemic.

The main attraction is a speech by Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell that is slated to take place on Thursday.

"More clarity will no doubt be sought via this week's Jackson Hole symposium," said Ben Emons, of Medley Global Advisors.

Traders are additionally keeping tabs on Washington, where US lawmakers are struggling to reach an agreement on a fresh stimulus package for the American economy.

"Democrats and Republicans are still very far (from) reaching a deal, and this means no further immediate aid in terms of fiscal policy," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade.

"Investors will like to know how the Fed will use language to make politicians understand in Washington about the importance of another stimulus package."

Agence France-Presse

World shares mixed as investors eye virus counts, stimulus

Shares were mixed in Europe and Asia on Tuesday, after buying of technology stocks nudged the S&P 500 closer to the record high it set in February before the pandemic crunched the global economy.

Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% to 6,122.05, while the DAX in Frankfurt lost 0.2% to 12,892.19. In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.3% to 4,957.26. The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower, to 3,376.30. The future for the Dow industrials lost 0.2% to 27,734.00.

Markets were buoyed by developments in Washington, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the House back into session, cutting short the lawmakers’ summer recess for a vote expected Saturday on legislation to prohibit changes in the U.S. Postal Service amid growing concerns that the Trump administration is trying to undermine the agency ahead of the November election.

The proposed package will also include $25 billion to shore up the Postal Service, which is suffering losses. But prospects for additional economic aid for American workers and businesses remain uncertain after talks on a fresh stimulus package stalled.

Investors say it’s crucial that the support comes, particularly after $600 in weekly unemployment benefits and other stimulus from the U.S. government expired.

Without more help for the U.S. economy, analysts say the recovery that investors have been assuming is on the way won’t materialize. And that assumption is a huge reason the stock market is as high as it is.

Still, on Monday the S&P 500 picked up 0.3% to 3,381.99. Earlier in the day, it briefly crossed above its record closing level of 3,386.15, which was set on Feb. 19 before the pandemic shut down businesses worldwide and created the worst recession in decades.

“The markets are in ‘show me the money’ mode, perhaps erring on the side of caution, not holding their breath for an imminent deal in Congress,” Stephen Innes of AxiCorp said in a commentary. “Sadly, this leaves the U.S. real economy waddling and many businesses and millions of consumers getting the short shrift.”

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi led regional losses, slumping 2.5% to 2,348.24 amid worries over surging coronavirus cases.

South Korean health officials said Tuesday they had found 457 coronavirus cases linked to a huge northern Seoul church led by a bitter critic of the country’s president, driving an alarming rise in infections in the greater capital area.

During a virus briefing, Kwon Jun-wook, director of South Korea’s National Health Institute, said the outbreaks could create a situation comparable to the “miserable scenes of the United States or European countries.”

There’s concern that the virus’s spread could worsen after thousand of protesters, including members of the church and its ultra-right pastor, Jun Kwang-hun, marched in downtown Seoul Saturday despite official pleas to stay home.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.2% to 25,367.38. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% to 23,051.08. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8% to 6,123.40, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.4% higher, to 3,451.09.

Treasury yields moderated a bit, following a big rally for the 10-year yield last week. It dipped to 0.67% from 0.71% late Friday. It had zoomed upward from 0.56% through last week.

Higher yields suggest investors are upgrading their expectations for inflation and the economy. But they can also pull some buyers away from stocks into bonds, hurting stock prices.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil was flat at $42.89 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 6 cents to $45.43.

In currency dealings, the U.S. dollar weakened to 105.58 Japanese yen from 105.98 yen. The euro rose to $1.1890 from $1.1873.

Gold for delivery in December climbed $17.60 cents to $2,016.30 per ounce.

Associated Press

How climate change could expose new epidemics

PARIS - Long-dormant viruses brought back to life; the resurgence of deadly and disfiguring smallpox; a dengue or zika "season" in Europe.

These could be disaster movie storylines, but they are also serious and increasingly plausible scenarios of epidemics unleashed by global warming, scientists say.

The COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the globe and claimed over 760,000 lives so far almost certainly came from a wild bat, highlighting the danger of humanity's constant encroachment on the planet's dwindling wild spaces.

But the expanding ecological footprint of our species could trigger epidemics in other ways too. 

Climate change -- already wreaking havoc with one degree Celsius of warming -- is also emerging as a driver of infectious disease, whether by expanding the footprint of malaria- and dengue-carrying mosquitos, or defrosting prehistoric pathogens from the Siberian permafrost.

'IGNORANCE IS OUR ENEMY'

"In my darkest moments, I see a really horrible future for Homo sapiens because we are an animal, and when we extend our borders, things will happen to us," said Birgitta Evengard, a researcher in clinical microbiology at Umea University in Sweden.

"Our biggest enemy is our own ignorance," she added. "Nature is full of microorganisms."

Think of permafrost, a climate change time bomb spread across Russia, Canada and Alaska that contains three times the carbon that has been emitted since the start of industrialization. 


Even if humanity manages to cap global warming at under two degrees Celsius, the cornerstone goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the permafrost area will decrease by a quarter by 2100, according to the UN's climate science panel, the IPCC.

And then there are the permafrost's hidden treasures.

"Microorganisms can survive in frozen space for a long, long time," said Vladimir Romanovsky, a professor of geophysics at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

AN ANTHRAX COMEBACK? 

As ground thaws, once-frozen soil particles, organic material and microorganisms that had been locked away for millennia are carried toward the surface by water flows, he explained.

"That's how thawing can spread these microorganisms into present day environments." 


There are already examples of ancient, long-frozen bugs coming to life.

"When you put a seed into soil that is then frozen for thousands of years, nothing happens," said Jean-Michel Claverie, an emeritus professor of genomics at the School of Medicine of Aix-Marseille University in France.

"But when you warm the earth, the seed will be able to germinate," he added. "That is similar to what happens with a virus."

Claverie's lab has successfully revived Siberian viruses that are at least 30,000 years old.

These reanimated bugs only attack amoebas, but tens of thousands of years ago there were certainly others that aimed higher up the food chain.

"Neanderthals, mammoths, woolly rhinos all got sick, and many died," said Claverie. "Some of the viruses that caused their sicknesses are probably still in the soil."


The number of bacteria and viruses lurking in the permafrost is incalculable, but the more important question is how dangerous they are.

And here, scientists disagree.

"Anthrax shows that bacteria can be resting in permafrost for hundreds of years and be revived," said Evengard.

In 2016, a child in Siberia died from the disease, which had disappeared from the region at least 75 years earlier.

2-MILLION-YEAR-OLD PATHOGENS

This case has been attributed to the thawing of a long-buried carcass, but some experts counter that the animal remains in question may have been in shallow dirt and thus subject to periodic thawing.


Other pathogens -- such as smallpox or the influenza strain that killed tens of millions in 1917 and 1918 -- may also be present in the sub-Arctic region.

But they "have probably been inactivated", Romanovsky concluded in a study published earlier this year.

For Claverie, however, the return of smallpox -- officially declared eradicated 50 years ago -- cannot be excluded. 18th- and 19th-century victims of the disease "buried in cemetaries in Siberia are totally preserved by the cold," he noted.

In the unlikely event of a local epidemic, a vaccine is available.

The real danger, he added, lies in deeper strata where unknown pathogens that have not seen daylight for two million years or more may be exposed by global warming.

If there were no hosts for the bugs to infect, there would not be a problem, but climate change -- indirectly -- has intervened here as well.

"With the industrial exploitation of the Arctic, all the risk factors are there -- pathogens and the people to carry them," Claverie said.

The revival of ancient bacteria or viruses remains speculative, but climate change has already boosted the spread of diseases that kill about half a million people every year: malaria, dengue, chikungunya, zika.

"Mosquitoes moving their range north are now able to overwinter in some temperate regions," said Jeanne Fair, deputy group leader for biosecurity and public health at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

"They also have longer breeding periods."

'CLIMATE CHANGE APERITIF'

Native to southeast Asia, the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) -- which carries dengue and chikungunya -- arrived in southern Europe in the first decade of this century and has been moving rapidly north ever since, to Paris and beyond.

Meanwhile, another dengue-bearing mosquito, Aedes aegypti, has also appeared in Europe. Whichever species may be the culprit, the Europe Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has registered 40 cases of local transmission of dengue between 2010 and 2019.

"An increase in mean temperature could result in seasonal dengue transmission in southern Europe if A. aegypti infected with virus were to be established," according to the Europe Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

As for malaria -- a disease that once blighted southern Europe and the southern United States and for which an effective treatment exists -- the risk of exposure depends in large part on social-economic conditions. 

More than five billion people could be living in malaria-affected regions by 2050 if climate change continues unabated, but strong economic growth and social development could reduce that number to less than two billion, according to a study cited by the IPCC. 

"Recent experience in southern Europe demonstrates how rapidly the disease may reappear if health services falter," the IPCC said in 2013, alluding to a resurgence of cases in Greece in 2008.

In Africa -- which saw 228 million cases of malaria in 2018, 94 percent of the world's total -- the disease vector is moving into new regions, notably the high-altitude plains of Ethiopia and Kenya.

For the moment, the signals for communicable tropical diseases "are worrying in terms of expanding vectors, not necessarily transmission," said Cyril Caminade, an epidemiologist working on climate change at the Institute of Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool.

"That said, we're only tasting the aperitif of climate change so far," he added.

Agence France-Presse

Italy extends coronavirus state of emergency

Italy’s parliament on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to extend the country’s state of emergency until October 15, allowing the government more flexibility to fight the lingering coronavirus pandemic.

The state of emergency serves primarily to cut red tape and accelerate decision-making for the government when faced with disasters such as earthquakes, floods and other catastrophes.


Italy was the first European country to be hit by the coronavirus crisis and a more than two-month lockdown dealt a severe blow the economy.

The decree had been set to expire on July 31.

Italy’s Senate on Tuesday night gave its approval to extend the state of emergency, followed by the chamber of deputies on Wednesday, which voted 286 to 221 for the measure, with five abstentions.

“Unfortunately, the pandemic today is not fully over, even though its effects are more contained and geographically limited,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Wednesday, assuring MPs that the extension did not necessarily mean new lockdowns.


More than 35,000 people have died due to coronavirus in Italy, which has seen more than 246,000 infections.

Agence France-Presse 

Facebook says EU antitrust probe invades employee privacy

SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook on Monday said it is asking EU courts to review "exceptionally broad" requests by antitrust regulators there that would scoop up employees' personal information.

The US-based internet colossus maintained it has been cooperating with a European Commission antitrust investigation and will continue to do so, but that the wording of commission requests casts a net so wide it will haul in Facebook employees' private messages and more.

The leading social network expects to give the commission hundreds of thousands of documents, according to Facebook associate general counsel for competition Tim Lamb.

"The exceptionally broad nature of the commission's requests means we would be required to turn over predominantly irrelevant documents that have nothing to do with the commission's investigations," Lamb said in response to an AFP inquiry.

Those documents include "highly sensitive personal information such as employees' medical information; personal financial documents, and private information about family members of employees."

Facebook thinks such requests should be reviewed by EU courts, according to Lamb, and is asking the court to weigh in on broad search terms such as "applause" or "for free" that could easily be found in personal email messages or other exchanges way beyond the scope of antitrust matters.

Regulatory probes can involve requests for messages or documents bearing certain words or phrases, with those seeking information inclined to craft wide nets and those being queried wanting them narrowly targeted.

A highly anticipated US antitrust hearing, including top executives of four Big Tech firms, was originally set for Monday but has been postponed.

A notice filed by the House Judiciary Committee set no new date for the hearing titled "Examining the Dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google."

The hearing would have conflicted with the memorial service for the late representative and civil rights leader John Lewis, who will lie in state in the US Capitol until Tuesday.

The antitrust hearing was called amid rising concerns over Big Tech dominance, which has become even more pronounced during the coronavirus pandemic and coincides with investigations at the federal and state levels into the online giants. 

Chief executives Tim Cook of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google and its parent firm Alphabet had agreed to participate in the session.

Agence France-Presse

WHO concerned over rising virus cases in Europe

COPENHAGEN - The European chapter of the World Health Organization on Friday expressed concern over the resurgence of new coronavirus cases on the continent, saying countries should impose tighter restrictions if necessary.

The number of infections in Europe crossed 3 million on Thursday, a fifth of the world's more than 15 million cases. It remains the hardest hit in terms of deaths, with 206,633 out of 627,307 worldwide. 

With 335 new cases for 100,000 inhabitants in the last 2 weeks, Kyrgyzstan is the worst affected country in the sprawling zone covered by WHO's European chapter.

Others include Montenegro (207), Luxemburg (196), Bosnia (98), Serbia (71), Romania (52) and Bulgaria (46).

However the numbers of new infections have gone down significantly in Armenia (197 cases per 100,000), Kazakhstan (128), Moldavia (82) and Russia (60).

"The recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases in some countries following the easing of physical distancing measures is certainly cause for concern," a spokeswoman told AFP.

"Where new clusters of cases appear, these need to be controlled through rapid and targeted interventions including rapid case detection and isolation and diligent contact tracing and quarantining," she said. 

"If the situation demands, reintroduction of stricter, targeted measures with the full engagement of communities may be needed."

However, the number of new cases across Europe has remained stable at around 20,000 daily since May 20 -- more than 2 times lower than peak numbers at the start of April.

Agence France-Presse

EU opens antitrust cases against Apple

BRUSSELS - The EU's powerful antitrust authority opened a series of cases against Apple on Tuesday, including one brought by Spotify alleging the iPhone maker makes unfair use of its app store.

The European Commission also launched an in-depth investigation into Apple Pay, amid concerns that the fast-growing and easy-to-use payment system is shutting out rivals.

The cases put Apple back into the EU's crosshairs four years after Brussels ordered the California-based giant to repay 13 billion euros ($14.7 billion at current rates) in back taxes on antitrust concerns.

The latest onslaught came after Spotify filed a formal complaint in 2019 that took issue with restrictions by Apple on apps that don't use its payment system on its App Store.

Apple takes a 30 percent cut for businesses using its store, which Spotify says amounts to a violation of fair competition rules.

"It appears that Apple obtained a 'gatekeeper' role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple's popular devices," said EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager in a statement.

"We need to ensure that Apple's rules do not distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books," she said.

Vestager also opened a full-scale probe into Apple Pay where authorities are worried that the company could take a commanding lead in a booming business.

Launched in 2014, Apple Pay allows iPhone users to make payments at retailers by touching their devices to the same terminals currently used for credit and debit cards.

But any company wanting to use the technology on an iPhone -- whether a bank or the London metro system -- must pass through Apple Pay for a fee.

Apple firmly rejected the cases and hit out at its rivals.

"It's disappointing the European Commission is advancing baseless complaints from a handful of companies who simply want a free ride, and don't want to play by the same rules as everyone else," Apple said in a statement.

"We don't think that’s right — we want to maintain a level playing field where anyone with determination and a great idea can succeed," the company added.

Agence France-Presse

Europe to accelerate trials of gene-engineered COVID-19 vaccines: sources

BRUSSELS - European officials aim to speed up trials for coronavirus vaccines containing genetically modified organisms, two EU sources told Reuters, in a move that could help shots developed by companies like AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

The European Commission is expected to put forward the plans as early as next week. They are part of a wider EU strategy aimed at securing enough doses of a possible vaccine for the bloc as it fears lagging behind the United States and China.

The reform is expected to reduce member states' power to impose extra requirements on drug companies when they conduct clinical trials on medicines and vaccines containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), according to the sources.

In some countries like Italy and France, for example, treatments must receive authorization from government environment or research departments, as well as from health and drug authorities, under rules that are up to 20 years old and also cover the more publicly sensitive area of GMO crops.

This has long caused bottlenecks in a pharmaceutical industry that increasingly relies on genetic engineering.

Such delays could be particularly problematic now that Europe may quickly need to accelerate trials, an EU Commission official said, warning that some of the most promising COVID-19 shots under development contain GMOs.

A spokesman for the EU Commission, the EU executive, declined to comment.

Vaccines Europe, which represents many big pharmaceutical players including AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Pfizer , GSK and Novavax, said planned changes would create a level playing field between vaccines that contain GMOs and those that do not.

"GMOs are very specific to very few vaccines based on adenovirus vectors," Michel Stoffel of Vaccines Europe told Reuters, citing those developed by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson among those that contain GMOs and would benefit from the possible changes.

Vaccines developed by Chinese firm Cansino and U.S. giant Merck also contain adenovirus vectors, which cause the common cold, and other replicating viruses. They aim to introduce a gene from the novel coronavirus into our bodies, to elicit an immune response and protect from subsequent exposure.

MASS TRIALS

The United States last week identified five companies as the most likely candidates to produce a vaccine for the coronavirus. They are: US players Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Merck, Pfizer as well as Britain's AstraZeneca, which is working with Oxford university.

Promising candidate vaccines may soon reach the stage of mass trials involving thousands of volunteers in several countries. If the bloc does not speed up its authorization process for GMO vaccines to allow such trials to happen swiftly in Europe, the continent could fall behind in gaining access to any successful shots in bulk.

Any decision by the European Commission to accelerate GMO vaccine trials would need to be approved by EU lawmakers and member states.

The push by the bloc comes at a time when experts warn it is becoming increasingly difficult to trial vaccine candidates in Europe as the epidemic recedes there, because trials are usually most successful when a virus is widely circulating in the population.

A failure to come up with a vaccine would leave the region, and the world, exposed in the event of a second wave of infections.

The GMO vaccine plans are expected to be announced as part of an "EU strategy for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine", which the Commission will unveil on June 17, according to a draft agenda of the EU executive.

Officials have told Reuters that as part of the strategy, the Commission will also announce plans to use an emergency 2.4-billion-euro ($2.7 billion) fund to make advance purchases of promising vaccines against the new coronavirus.

The EU rainy-day fund, known as the Emergency Support Instrument (ESI), would also be used to increase vaccine production capacity in Europe and offer liability insurance to pharmaceutical companies, officials said.

-reuters-