Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump threatened Wednesday to shutter social media platforms after Twitter for the first time acted against his false tweets, prompting the enraged Republican to double down on unsubstantiated claims and conspiracy theories. Twitter tagged just two of Trump’s tweets in which he’d …
Read More »Mourning New York pastor feeds faithful devastated by COVID-19
New York, United States | AFP | New York pastor Fabian Arias has been in constant mourning these past two months — the coronavirus has killed 44 of his mostly Hispanic parishioners, highlighting inequalities he says are being worsened by Donald Trump’s government. Amid the tragedies, the Argentine priest is providing a …
Read More »Trump, Biden turn to new presidential campaign field — Snapchat
Washington, United States | AFP | Gone are the lively meetings, the distribution of flyers on busy campuses. The coronavirus pandemic has put an abrupt stop to traditional US political means of courting young voters — forcing presidential candidates to turn to Snapchat instead. The photo-sending app that boasts 229 million …
Read More »Trump uses Twitter to push murder conspiracy theory against critic
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump tweeted a conspiracy theory Tuesday accusing one of his media critics of murder — and prompting a demand that Twitter block the Republican leader’s “vicious lie.” The president’s attempt at character assassination of MSNBC host Joe Scarborough by spreading the baseless rumor to his nearly 80 …
Read More »WHO suspends hydroxychloroquine trial as COVID-19 treatment
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization said Monday it had temporarily suspended clinical trials of hydroxychloriquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19 being carried out across a range of countries as a precautionary measure. The decision came after publication last week of a study in The Lancet which …
Read More »Wuhan lab had three live bat coronaviruses: Chinese state media
Beijing, China | AFP | The Chinese virology institute at the centre of US allegations it may have been the source of the COVID-19 pandemic has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new global contagion, its director has said. Scientists think COVID-19 — which first emerged …
Read More »China says virus pushing US ties to brink of ‘Cold War’
Beijing, China | AFP | China said Sunday that relations with the United States were “on the brink of a new Cold War”, fuelled in part by tensions over the coronavirus pandemic, as Muslims around the world celebrated a muted end to the holy month of Ramadan. Foreign Minister Wang Yi …
Read More »Spain to reopen to tourists as South America named virus hot
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Spain said on Saturday it would let in foreign tourists and restart top league football in the coming weeks, accelerating Europe’s exit from strict coronavirus lockdowns, even as the disease continued its deadly surge in parts of South America. Brazil saw its death toll passing 22,000 …
Read More »SpaceX ready to launch astronauts into space for the first time
Washington, United States | AFP | In the beginning, everyone was skeptical. But Elon Musk’s SpaceX defied expectations — and on Wednesday hopes to make history by ferrying two NASA astronauts into space, the first crewed flight from US soil in nine long years. US President Donald Trump will be among …
Read More »South America named virus epicenter as Trump seeks US reopening
Washington, United States | AFP | South America is “a new epicenter” of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization has declared, as US President Donald Trump intensified his push to reopen the reeling American economy. Brazil led the surge across South America, its death toll passing 21,000 on Friday from …
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