London, United Kingdom | AFP | Global stock markets were mixed Monday, with US investors keeping a wary eye on violent anti-racism protests across the country and simmering tensions with China over Hong Kong. In Asia and then Europe, the focus was on the progressive easing of coronavirus lockdowns, offering hope …
Read More »Hydroxychloroquine: a drug dividing the world
Paris, France | AFP | Banned in some countries, promoted in others — the drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for the new coronavirus is dividing opinion worldwide. Scientists looking to find licenced medicines that could be repurposed as a treatment for COVID-19 had started tests of hydroxychloroquine, normally used to …
Read More »Moscow bemused at US space ‘hysteria’ as Musk taunts Russia
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow space officials on Sunday said they were puzzled by “hysteria” around the successful SpaceX flight as Elon Musk taunted Russia and US President Donald Trump vowed to beat it to Mars. On Saturday, SpaceX made history by becoming the world’s first commercial company to send …
Read More »Trump says he will delay G7 summit and invite other countries
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said Saturday he will delay the G7 summit scheduled to take place in June and invite other countries — including Russia — to join the meeting. “I don’t feel that as a G7 it properly represents what’s going on in the …
Read More »Trump’s incongruous day of astronauts and race riots
United States | AFP | Donald Trump came to Florida on Saturday to witness the dawn of a new space age. But not everyone in America had their eyes to the sky. As Trump witnessed the successful launch of American astronauts into space from US soil for the first time in …
Read More »Growing US-China rivalry seen fueling UN paralysis amid virus crisis
United Nations, United States | AFP | For nearly a decade, the UN Security Council has been frequently paralyzed by Russia’s obstinacy over the Syrian crisis. Today, however, it is the US-China rivalry that has infected a growing array of issues, according to officials and diplomats. As recently as 2017, an …
Read More »Backlash to Trump cutting WHO ties as virus grips Latin America
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | US President Donald Trump faced a broad backlash Saturday over his decision to sever ties with the UN’s health agency during a pandemic, as the coronavirus surged in Latin America and Europe further reopened from lockdown. The EU called on Washington to reconsider its decision to …
Read More »Trump strips Hong Kong privileges, curbs students in volley on China
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump said Friday he would strip several of Hong Kong’s special privileges with the United States and bar some Chinese students from US universities in anger over Beijing’s bid to exert control in the financial hub. In a day of concerted action, the …
Read More »Britain pushing US to form 5G club of nations to cut out Huawei
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain said Friday it was pushing the United States to form a club of 10 nations that could develop its own 5G technology and reduce dependence on China’s controversial technology giant Huawei. The issue is expected to feature at a G7 summit that US President …
Read More »Hundreds of troops deployed as angry US anti-racism protests spread
Minneapolis, United States | AFP | Hundreds of troops deployed to the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul early Friday after a third night of rioting over police brutality against African Americans left hundreds of shops damaged and a police station on fire. After the angry demonstrations spread overnight to multiple …
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