WORLD

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 …

Washington, United States | AFP | Civil rights activists on Tuesday slammed as “incomprehensible” Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg’s justification for allowing incendiary comments on violence and voter suppression on the social network from President Donald Trump. The comments came after a discussion involving the Facebook CEO and leaders of rights organizations to discuss the hands-off …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | It took less than a week after he said Russia’s coronavirus crisis had peaked for President Vladimir Putin to fast-track a vote on constitutional reforms allowing him to serve more Kremlin terms. By pushing ahead with the public vote on July 1 — despite Russia still …

Washington, United States | AFP | The global economy is facing “staggeringly large” losses and the recovery effort is hampered by a shortage of resources to make up for the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, World Bank President David Malpass said Tuesday. While the Washington-based development lender has rushed out …

Vienna, Austria | AFP | Austrian officials unveiled Tuesday plans to “neutralise” Adolf Hitler’s birth house by turning it into a police station, with the building receiving some cosmetic changes in the process. The yellow corner house in the northern Austrian town of Braunau on the border with Germany, where Hitler was born on April …