Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump said he would temporarily ban immigration to the United States because of the “Invisible Enemy” of the coronavirus, as angry Americans took to the streets to demand an end to crippling lockdowns. In just four months, the virus has turned the world upside …
Read More »US Treasury sends first airline aid payments
Washington, United States | AFP | The Trump administration on Monday sent out the first payments meant to help save airline jobs as the industry is ravaged by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The US Treasury sent the first $2.9 billion of the plan — agreed upon last week after …
Read More »Hundreds protest against US virus rules
Concord, United States | AFP | Hundreds protested Saturday in cities across America against coronavirus-related lockdowns — with encouragement from President Donald Trump — as resentment grows against the crippling economic cost of confinement. An estimated 400 people gathered under a cold rain in Concord, New Hampshire — many on foot …
Read More »Global virus deaths pass 150,000 as Trump endorses lockdown protests
Washington, United States | AFP | Coronavirus deaths have surged past 150,000 worldwide with nearly a quarter of them in the United States, where President Donald Trump lent his support to protestors rallying against lockdown orders. Evidence is mounting that social distancing successfully slowed the pandemic after more than half of …
Read More »Global virus deaths pass 150,000 as Trump says China hiding toll
Washington, United States | AFP | World coronavirus deaths surged past 150,000 Friday as US President Donald Trump accused China of continuing to cover up its toll, even after Beijing revised figures sharply upward for Wuhan, the original epicenter of the global pandemic. COVID-19 fatalities mounted in the United States and …
Read More »US outlines phased reopening, as China faces virus ire
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Thursday laid out guidelines for a gradual reopening of the United States after the battering of the coronavirus pandemic, saying normal life should resume quickly in some states. Trump’s new push came as he saw progress in his campaign to pressure …
Read More »US says probing if coronavirus came from Chinese lab
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s administration is urging an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it doesn’t rule out that it came from a laboratory researching bats in Wuhan, China. Beijing has said that the virus, which has killed more than 138,700 people worldwide, …
Read More »Trump to ease lockdown, saying virus cases have ‘passed peak’
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump vowed to unveil plans Thursday to reopen the world’s top economy, following cautious moves in Europe, claiming the US had “passed the peak” of the coronavirus crisis despite a record daily death toll. Since emerging in China late last year, the pandemic …
Read More »Coronavirus testing in the United States: What you need to know
Washington, United States | AFP | Before lifting lockdowns imposed across the United States in March, experts say we’ll need a massive screening system in place to monitor and respond to localized coronavirus surges. Are we on track? That depends on who you ask. President Donald Trump has boasted the US …
Read More »WHO focused on saving lives, says chief after US funding freeze
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization is purely focused on saving lives and halting the coronavirus pandemic, its chief said Wednesday after US President Donald Trump announced he was freezing funding for the WHO. “There is no time to waste. WHO’s singular focus is on working to serve all people to save …
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