Cairo, Egypt | AFP | A slickly produced video from the office of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi showed crates of medical supplies — stamped in English and Arabic with the words “from the Egyptian people to the American people” — being loaded onto a military cargo plane. The dramatically scored …
Read More »US judge stalls effort to drop case against ex-Trump aide Flynn
Washington, United States | AFP | A Washington judge put on ice Tuesday the Justice Department’s extraordinary move to drop its prosecution of former White House national security advisor Michael Flynn, after an outside group calling themselves “Watergate Prosecutors” sought to intervene in the case. Judge Emmet Sullivan said in a …
Read More »New resolution on pandemic truce presented to UN Security Council
United Nations, United States | AFP | Germany and Estonia submitted Tuesday a resolution to the UN Security Council on a ceasefire in various conflicts around the world during the coronavirus pandemic, to replace one drafted by France and Tunisia that the United States has blocked. Encompassing five major points — …
Read More »At odds with Trump, top expert says dangerous to reopen too fast
Washington, United States | AFP | The US government’s top infectious disease expert warned Congress Tuesday that ending lockdowns too quickly could bring “really serious” consequences including new outbreaks of coronavirus just as the country tries to overcome the pandemic. In his first appearance on Capitol Hill in two months, …
Read More »US Supreme Court enters fray over Trump tax documents
Washington, United States | AFP | The US Supreme Court takes up Tuesday the most politically charged case of the year — President Donald Trump’s refusal to turn over his tax returns and financial records to Congress and a New York prosecutor, a case that may define the limits of presidential …
Read More »Biden ramps up digital footprint, still trails omnipresent Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | Joe Biden is rapidly scaling up his digital campaign as he scrambles to compete with Donald Trump’s formidable online operation, but Democrats say the presidential hopeful must move beyond flat speeches delivered from his basement. The Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee is doubling the size of …
Read More »US reversal prevents UN vote on pandemic truce
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States on Friday stunned other members of the UN Security Council by preventing a vote on a resolution for a ceasefire in various conflicts around the world to help troubled nations better fight the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats said. Washington’s reversal came a …
Read More »Pandemic fuels historic US job losses, EU wants borders kept shut
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Friday recorded its steepest job losses in history over the coronavirus pandemic as Europe, faced with rising deaths, moved to keep its borders shut for another month. Hopes have been rising that the worst of the global catastrophe, which has killed …
Read More »Trump, citing coronavirus, to lay wreath at Washington’s WWII memorial
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump evoked the coronavirus crisis ahead of a wreath-laying ceremony Friday at the World War II memorial in Washington to mark the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe. Trump was to head to the memorial near the White House accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, …
Read More »Brave new world: could pandemic lead to positive change?
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Major social advances have often emerged from the depths of disaster: the Black Death brought an end to serfdom, and Britain’s welfare state emerged from the ruins of World War II. As the coronavirus outbreak took hold, many governments brought in policies previously dismissed as …
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