Washington, United States | AFP | The United States regained 2.5 million jobs in May and the unemployment rate dropped as coronavirus pandemic shutdowns began to ease, raising hopes the economy could recover from the crisis sooner than expected. The Labor Department report released Friday, which showed the jobless rate fall …
Read More »Trump says US ‘largely through’ coronavirus pandemic
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump asserted Friday that the United States has made it through the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, after new jobs numbers showed a surprising increase in employment. “We had the greatest economy in the history of the world. And that strength let us get through this horrible …
Read More »US faces unemployment crisis amid record trade drop
Washington, United States | AFP | In further signs of the crisis facing the world’s largest economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, new data Thursday showed US a record plunge in US exports as layoffs exceeded 42 million. The two key reports on economic health indicate that even as Wall Street regains …
Read More »Trump trying to ‘divide’ America: ex-Pentagon chief Mattis
Washington, United States | AFP | Former Pentagon chief Jim Mattis issued a stinging rebuke of his erstwhile boss Donald Trump on Wednesday, accusing the president of trying to “divide” America and failing to provide “mature leadership” as the country reels from days of protests. Mattis, who resigned in December 2018 …
Read More »‘Endemic racial discrimination’ exposed in US: UN rights chief
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The coronavirus pandemic’s disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities, and protests triggered by George Floyd’s death, have laid bare “endemic inequalities” in the United States, the UN rights chief said Tuesday, urging action. Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned that the COVID-19 crisis has had a worse …
Read More »Liverpool players show solidarity with Black Lives Matter after Floyd death
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Liverpool players showed their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in the United States by taking a knee around the centre circle at Anfield on Monday. Reds stars including Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold tweeted the same photograph of the squad …
Read More »Violence divides protesters, as ‘chaos’ grips Minneapolis
Minneapolis, United States | AFP | Flames light up the skyline and the smell of acrid smoke fills the streets in a Minneapolis neighborhood rocked by protest, a few hundred meters from a besieged police station. “The real reason we’re here is because the police keep killing black folk all around …
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 »After silence, Trump marks 100,000 virus deaths in US
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Thursday marked the “sad milestone” of 100,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States, after his earlier silence prompted criticism that he was failing in his duty to console victims and their loved ones. “We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic …
Read More »African Development Bank chief hits back over graft accusations
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, hit back on Wednesday at accusations of corruption and vowed to continue working. In a press statement, Adesina slammed “unprecedented attempts by some to tarnish my reputation” and declared “I will… continue to work with …
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