Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia has begun manufacturing the prototype of its first strategic stealth bomber, state news agency TASS reported on Tuesday, as the country presses ahead with the modernisation of its military. Quoting defence industry sources, TASS said the state-controlled United Aircraft Corporation was overseeing the project. It said material was being shipped …
Read More »Stock markets rise as reopenings trump geopolitical tensions
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Further easing of countries’ coronavirus lockdowns pushed equities higher Tuesday, with optimism stoked by the reopening of bars, cafes, pools and beaches outweighing China-US tensions that hurt the dollar. While countries including Brazil, Chile and Russia are enduring rising death and infection tolls from COVID-19, …
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 »UK minister quits over Cummings lockdown trip
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was hit by its first resignation on Tuesday over the controversy surrounding his top aide Dominic Cummings’ cross-country trip during the coronavirus lockdown. Undermining attempts by ministers to try and move on from the crisis which has dominated British …
Read More »‘Bada… Bing… Bang’? HBO throws out rulebook with streaming launch
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Decades before glossy Netflix and Amazon shows began luring Hollywood A-listers to the small screen, cable network HBO helped invent premium television. Now the home of “The Sopranos,” “The Wire” and “Game of Thrones” is scrambling to catch up with its newfound online …
Read More »UK PM’s top aide Cummings defies calls to quit
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s top aide Dominic Cummings defied calls to resign on Monday over allegations that he broke coronavirus rules and undermined the government’s response to the health crisis. The Brexit campaign strategist told reporters he had acted “reasonably and legally” when he …
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 »Joe Biden is back – from COVID-19 seclusion
Joe Biden makes first public appearance since March 15 New Castle, United States | AFP | Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, emerged from more than two months of seclusion Monday, wearing a black face mask during a visit to lay a wreath on the day the United States …
Read More »UK PM defiant as political scandal rages over aide
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday failed to draw a line under a scandal over his top aide Dominic Cummings allegedly breaching coronavirus rules as pressure mounted on the Brexit mastermind to go. Johnson faces the threat of his government’s authority being undermined in …
Read More »Stock markets firmer on lockdown easing hopes
Paris, France | AFP | Global stock markets were firmer Monday, buoyed by the prospect of further easing of coronavirus lockdowns despite sharp increases in case rates in some countries such as Brazil. On the downside, an upsurge in Sino-US tensions, especially over Chinese plans to introduce a national security …
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