US & Canada

The number of Americans filing for unemployment has surged to a record high as the economy goes into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 3.3 million people registered to claim jobless benefits for the week ended 21 March, according to the Department of Labor data. That is nearly five …

Tehran said on Thursday that a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran 13 years ago had left the country a long time ago, despite his family saying a day earlier that he had died in Iranian custody. Robert Levinson went missing on Iran’s Kish Island in the Gulf in …

The burden caused by the fast-spreading coronavirus accelerated across the United States on Wednesday beyond the hot spots of New York, California and Washington state as Louisiana and others faced a severe crush on their healthcare systems. U.S. President Donald Trump issued the latest major federal disaster declarations for Louisiana …

Donald Trump asked South Korea for medical equipment to help fight the coronavirus in return for promises to give US approval to Korean companies, the presidential office in Seoul has said. President Moon Jae-in offered to send the equipment if his country has any spare, his Blue House official said …

The US is cutting $1bn (£0.86bn) in aid to Afghanistan and threatening further reductions in co-operation, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said. Pompeo announced the cut following a trip to the Afghan capital, Kabul, where he failed to break a deadlock between two politicians who both claim victory in …

The administration of US President Donald Trump eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing tasked with detecting disease outbreaks in China several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, a report says. The US epidemiologist, Linda Quick, was embedded in China’s disease control agency but her position was eliminated …

US President Donald Trump ignored reports from American intelligence agencies in January and February that warned about the dangers posed by the coronavirus outbreak in China, according to a report. Trump and members of Congress underestimated the threat and failed to take action that might have slowed the spread of …

More than half of US approve Trump’s management of coronavirus, reversing last week’s perception Roughly three in four Americans say their lives have been upended by the novel coronavirus as measures tighten in the U.S. to prevent the surge of cases, according to a poll released on Friday. The ABC …

The world’s richest nations poured unprecedented aid into the global economy on Thursday as coronavirus cases ballooned in the new epicenter Europe, with the number of deaths in Italy outstripping those in mainland China, where the virus originated. With over 242,000 infections and nearly 10,000 deaths, the epidemic has stunned …

US President Donald Trump has blamed China again for the global coronavirus pandemic, also known as COVID-19, using the term “Chinese virus” again despite growing criticism that it is racist and anti-Chinese. “The world is paying a very big price for that they did,” Trump said Thursday at a White …

US President Donald Trump has signed into law an emergency relief package while announcing new military-related measures in what he called “war” against the coronavirus pandemic. Trump on Wednesday signed a $100-billion package that ensures sick leave to workers with family members affected by the coronavirus, COVID-19. Those whose children’s …

US state and local officials have taken charge in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic amid the lack of central leadership. In the absence of strong federal leadership, US states are improvising rules to combat the coronavirus crisis, The Guardian reported on Tuesday. The lack of strong leadership on a …

Americans do not trust what President Donald Trump tells them about the novel coronavirus, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows. Their confidence in the federal government’s response to the virus is declining markedly too, shows the poll released on Tuesday. According the poll, only 46% of Americans now believe the …

  US Surgeon General Jerome Adams has warned that “there’s every chance” that the US “could be Italy” if people don’t follow basic public health measures to curb COVID-19 outbreak. Adam made the remarks during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Monday, adding that the US is “at a …

During the 11th Democratic presidential debate, former US Vice President Joe Biden’s style was that of the politician and Senator Bernie Sanders was the visionary, according to Myles Hoenig, an American political analyst and activist. Hoenig, a former Green Party candidate for Congress, made the remarks in an interview with …

US stocks have plunged more than 10 percent as panic following emergency moves by the Federal Reserve to try to avert a recession due to the coronavirus pandemic that is shutting down global business and travel. About 25 minutes into trading on Monday morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood …

German media reports that US Pres. Trump made a $1 billion offer to German pharma company CureVac for exclusive rights to coronavirus vaccine. Across the world, pharmaceutical companies are racing to find and develop a vaccine effective against coronavirus, and in recent days, this has led to a confrontation between …

President Donald Trump declared a U.S. national emergency over the quickly spreading coronavirus on Friday, opening the door to more government aid to combat a pathogen that has infected more than 138,000 people worldwide and left over 5,000 dead. The impact of the coronavirus on everyday life deepened around the …

The US began to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan as part of a peace agreement with the Taliban, according to Associated Press, citing an official representative of American troops in Afghanistan. The United States will reduce the number of its troops in Afghanistan from 13,000 to 8,600 in the next …

Joe Biden continued his run of victories on March 10 taking a big step toward the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination after he won in Michigan and two other states while dealing a stinging blow to rival Bernie Sanders’ fading White House bid. Biden, the former vice president under Barack Obama, …