TOKYO — Global shares gained Thursday, although optimism about the Federal Reserve holding back on aggressive interest rate raises was countered by some uncertainty about coronavirus restrictions in China. France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.1% in early trading to 6,685.49, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.3% to 14,474.23. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1% to 7,475.55. The future for the Dow industrials edged 0.2% higher. The future for the S&P 500 added 0.3%. Trading has been unsteady during the holiday-shortened week. U.S. markets are closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and... Read More

TOKYO — Asian shares gained Thursday, although optimism about the Federal Reserve holding back on aggressive interest rate raises was countered by some uncertainty about coronavirus restrictions in China. Trading was relatively muted in Asia ahead of U.S. markets being closed for Thanksgiving. Benchmarks rose in early trading in Japan, Australia and South Korea, but fell in Shanghai. Oil prices fell. “A headwind for Asian markets is the COVID situation in China, where investors seem to be avoiding local assets and commodities as the country is seeing near-record numbers of COVID... Read More

BEIJING — Migrant workers in central China are fleeing one of the world’s largest iPhone factories amid a coronavirus outbreak in the surrounding city of Zhengzhou, leading local officials to hastily draw up plans to isolate them once they return to their hometowns. Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, reported 167 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases in the seven days to Oct. 29, up from 97 infections in the prior seven-day period. Apple supplier Foxconn, based in Taiwan, currently has about 200,000 workers at its Zhengzhou complex and has not disclosed the number of infected workers, but... Read More

CAPE SOUNION, Greece — When Stelios Zompanakis quit his job at Greece’s central bank to try his luck at boat racing, friends and family pleaded with him to reconsider. Nine years later, he spends summers on the “Ikigai,” a 53-foot yacht he named after the Japanese concept of finding happiness through a life of meaning. Weeklong holiday trips on his yacht around some of the lesser-known Greek islands — Milos, Sifnos, Serifos, Kythnos and many others — were booked up through October. “The demand is insane,” said Zompanakis, who recently paced barefoot around the teak-paneled... Read More

When a feverish 24-year-old patient with convulsions, chest pain and bleeding eyes sought treatment at the Mubende Regional Referral Hospital in Central Uganda on Sept. 15, emergency staff swiftly isolated him, according to the country’s Health Ministry. The man, who was not named by officials, was later confirmed to be the first Ugandan case of the Ebola virus’ Sudan species in 10 years. His death four days later sent shivers throughout the world. The United States began screening travelers from Uganda on Oct. 6 at five of its airports and alerted health care workers to raise awareness... Read More

Migrant busing sparks debate Migrant busing sparks debate amid record apprehensions 01:44 The number of migrant arrests carried out along the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022 surpassed 2 million in August, an all-time high driven in part by unprecedented levels of migration from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, according to government data published Monday.Migrant encounters along the U.S. southern border rose slightly to 203,598 last month, reversing a downward trend recorded in the previous two months, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data show.The number included 181,160 Border Patrol... Read More

BEIJING — Residents of a city in China’s far west Xinjiang region say they are experiencing hunger, forced quarantines and dwindling supplies of medicine and daily necessities after more than 40 days in a coronavirus lockdown.Hundreds of posts from Ghulja riveted users of Chinese social media last week, with residents sharing videos of empty fridges, feverish children, and people screaming from their windows.The dire conditions and food shortages are reminiscent of a harsh lockdown in Shanghai this spring, when thousands of residents posted online, complaining they were delivered rotting vegetables... Read More

LONDON — British drug regulators have become the first in the world to authorize an updated version of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine that aims to protect against the original virus and the omicron variant.In a statement on Monday, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it had given the green light to Moderna’s combination “bivalent” vaccine, which will be used as an adult booster shot.Each dose of the booster shot will target both the original Covid-19 virus and the omicron BA.1 variant that was first picked up in November. British regulators said the side effects were similar... Read More

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared victory in the battle against the novel coronavirus, ordering a lifting of maximum anti-epidemic measures imposed in May, state media said on Thursday.North Korea has not revealed how many confirmed infections of the virus it has found, but since July 29 it has reported no new suspected cases with what international aid organizations say are limited testing capabilities.While lifting the maximum anti-pandemic measures, Kim said that North Korea must maintain a “steel-strong anti-epidemic barrier” and intensify anti-epidemic work... Read More

The provincial capital city of Haikou, with about 2.9 million residents, and two smaller towns, Ledong and Chengmai, locked down its residents on Monday, according to state media reports.At least eight cities and towns, with a combined population of about 7 million, said their residents must not leave where they live except for necessary reasons such as Covid tests, grocery shopping or essential job roles. They also suspended public transport services.The measures will stay in place for varying periods, with the shortest scheduled for a few hours, state media reports show.About 25,000 tourists... Read More