WORLD

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied media reports that he was rushed for his safety to the White House bunker while protests raged in the streets outside. “It was a false report,” Trump told Fox News radio, before elaborating that he did go into the secure area but only …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Wednesday said it is “common sense” to bring Russia back into the G7, despite Moscow’s expulsion from the club after invading part of Ukraine. Speaking to Fox News radio, Trump said that the G7 countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Growing optimism about a swift global economic recovery pushed equity markets sharply higher Wednesday, as investors took heart from further easing of lockdowns while looking past China-US tensions and civil unrest across America. The upbeat mood — and hopes for an extension to a massive …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered a state of emergency and criticised a subsidiary of metals giant Norilsk Nickel after a massive diesel spill into a Siberian river. The spill of over 20,000 tonnes of diesel fuel took place on Friday. A fuel reservoir collapsed …

Washington, United States | AFP | US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that he opposed invoking a rarely used law to deploy military to quell nationwide protests over police brutality against African Americans. “I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act,” Esper said, two days after President Donald Trump said …

Washington, United States | AFP | The nationwide US protests for racial justice are giving Joe Biden, sidelined for over two months by the coronavirus pandemic, the opportunity to reclaim the spotlight and display a contrasting leadership style to that of his November election opponent President Donald Trump. “This is very …

Washington (AFP)  The 2020 US presidential race is becoming a digital-first campaign as the coronavirus pandemic cuts candidates off from traditional organizing and in-person events. On the surface, President Donald Trump has the edge over Democrat Joe Biden because of the incumbent’s extensive digital infrastructure and large social media following. But …

Minneapolis, United States | AFP |  A week of protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis has rocked the United States. Tens of thousands of people, from all ethnic and demographic groups, have taken to streets in cities …

San Francisco, United States | AFP |  Zoom on Tuesday reported that its earnings soared as its video-meeting service became a popular way to work or socialize while hunkered down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Zoom said it made a profit of $27 million on revenue that leapt 169 percent to …

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 …