Washington, United States | AFP | Three concurrent crises scarring the United States — a deadly health pandemic, economic despair and widespread social unrest — have reframed this year’s presidential contest and prompted national reflection over racial inequality in America. Is the country on the cusp of a transformation, or will systemic …
Read More »‘Time for a change’: Anti-racism protesters march across US
Washington, United States | AFP | Tens of thousands of peaceful protesters rallied for racial justice Saturday in cities across the United States following the death of George Floyd, as the movement triggered by his killing at police hands entered a second weekend. Protests took place from New York to Los …
Read More »‘We want to breathe, too’: solidarity from Iraq
Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | Seventeen years after US troops invaded their country and eight months since protests engulfed their cities, Iraqis are sending solidarity, warnings and advice to demonstrators across America. Whether in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square or on Twitter, Iraqis are closely watching the unprecedented street protests sparked by the …
Read More »‘Burn down racism’: global protests spread over George Floyd’s death
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Taking a knee, banging drums and ignoring social distancing measures, outraged protesters from Sydney to London on Saturday kicked off a weekend of global rallies against racism and police brutality. The death at police hands of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in the US …
Read More »Brazil threatens to quit WHO, Trump says US beating pandemic
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has threatened to pull out of the WHO over “ideological bias,” as his counterpart Donald Trump said the US economy was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic while Europe slowly reopens its borders. From Africa to Europe to Asia, governments are …
Read More »Washington, other US cities gear for more protests over police brutality
Washington, United States | AFP | The US capital girded Saturday for a big demonstration against police brutality as protesters angry over the death of George Floyd and broader issues of economic and social inequality for black Americans take their nationwide movement into a second boisterous weekend. With protests in solidarity …
Read More »French forces kill leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Paris, France | AFP | French forces have killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel, in northern Mali, France’s defence minister said. Droukdel was killed on Thursday near the Algerian border, where the group has bases from which it has carried out attacks and abductions of …
Read More »Virus crisis strengthens Italy premier Conte, for now
Rome, Italy | AFP | Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s handling of the coronavirus crisis has allowed him to shed his reputation as a weak-willed puppet of other parties and even bolstered his country’s image abroad, some experts say. Italy — once the epicentre of the outbreak in Europe, which has …
Read More »Wear masks in public, says WHO in new coronavirus advice
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization Friday changed its advice on face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying they should be worn in places where the virus is widespread and physical distancing is difficult. The use of masks has been a hot topic ever since the pandemic first …
Read More »Zuckerberg promises Facebook policy review
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Friday promised to review the social network’s policies that led to its decision to not moderate controversial messages posted by US President Donald Trump. The announcement, which came in the form of a letter to employees, appeared aimed …
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