Tag Archives: United States

U.S. Jobless Claims Top 20 Million Since Start of Shutdowns The US Labor Department reported that 5.245 million more Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment last week. The new numbers include independent contractors and others who previously were not eligible for benefits. That brings the total rise in US unemployment …

China’s Foreign Ministry has said that claims about the novel coronavirus originating in a lab are not based on science, citing the WHO as it rebuked the latest news story on COVID-19 ‘patient zero.’ “I want to remind you that the head of the [World Health Organization] has repeatedly stated …

US President Donald Trump says the US has “passed the peak” of new coronavirus cases and predicted some states would reopen this month. Trump told the daily White House briefing that new guidelines would be announced on Thursday after he had spoken to governors. “We’ll be the comeback kids, all …

US President Donald Trump has been heavily criticized for halting funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Philanthropist Bill Gates, a major funder of the WHO, said it was “as dangerous as it sounds”. President Trump said on Tuesday that the body had “failed in …

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo took to morning TV shows Tuesday to push back against President Donald Trump’s claim of “total” authority to reopen the nation’s virus-stalled economy, noting that a president is not an absolute monarch. “We don’t have a king,” Cuomo said on NBC’s “Today. “We have a …

Democrat Jill Karofsky has ousted Justice Daniel Kelly from his seat at Wisconsin’s top court in a shock win. The election went ahead despite Democrat calls for it to be postponed, or held by postal voting, owing to coronavirus fears. Justice Kelly is the second incumbent state Supreme Court justice …

US President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has been sharply condemned by US experts as severely inadequate, is ruining America’s reputation as a competent country, according to British media. Trump’s incompetence and dishonesty in managing the COVID-19 pandemic have left foreign observers as well as Americans in …

Donald Trump has promoted a tweet calling for the firing of Dr. Anthony Fauci, after the White House’s top infectious diseases expert suggested the US president cost lives by delaying social distancing measures. Amid an escalating coronavirus pandemic, which has so far killed more than 22,000 people in the US …

OPEC and allies led by Russia agreed on Sunday to a record cut in output to prop up oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic in an unprecedented deal with fellow oil nations, including the United States, that could curb global oil supply by 20%. Measures to slow the spread of …

Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi has been trying to set up a new cabinet amid public calls for social welfare and the withdrawal of US occupation forces from the country. Kadhimi, director of Iraq’s National Intelligence Service, met with top members of the outgoing government on Saturday in a bid …

The Taliban militant group in Afghanistan says it plans to release 20 prisoners of the Afghan government in what would be the first handover since the beginning of a fragile peace process. “Today, 20 prisoners of the Kabul administration will be released,” Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, said in a …

As the OPEC+ deal is pending, US senators from oil states held phone talks with Saudi officials to ensure that Riyadh finally puts an end to the problem “it helped to create” – the ‘oil price war’ that tanked the market. The two-hour phone call, led by Republican Senators Kevin …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Iran has handled the novel coronavirus outbreak better than Europe and the United States, assuring that the country’s stocks of basic commodities are replenished better than ever. “We had a sanctions virus, to which the coronavirus was added, but you did not have the sanctions …

US officials say hundreds of their troops will remain in Iraq, noting that missile systems are now operating in the bases hosting the occupation forces. The officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that Patriot missile launchers and two other short-range systems were in place …

The US has become the first country to record more than 2,000 deaths of people with coronavirus in a single day. Over a 24-hour period, 2,108 people infected with the virus died, while the number of confirmed infections surged past 500,000, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. More than half …

The newly-designated prime minister has said that the success of Iraq’s international relations will be based on “respect and cooperation.” “The country’s national sovereignty is the top priority,” Mustafa al-Kadhimi said, according to a report by Alghadeer News. Al-Kadhimi stressed that his government will never allow anyone to insult any …

Images have emerged of coffins being buried in a mass grave in New York City, as the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak continues to rise. Workers in hazmat outfits were seen using a ladder to descend into a huge pit where the coffins were stacked. The location is Hart …

US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan say five rockets have hit a major American airbase in the country and that the attack, claimed by the Daesh terrorist group, left no casualties. “Five rockets were fired at Bagram airfield early this morning,” the NATO-led mission, Resolute Support, said in a post on …

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits has hit a staggering 15 million as the coronavirus pandemic has brought the United States to a halt. The country recorded 5.250 million claims for state unemployment benefits for the week ended April 4, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The data …

Iran has urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to approve a $5bn (£4bn) emergency loan to help fight the coronavirus, as its death toll passed 4,000. President Hassan Rouhani warned that “there should be no discrimination” in approving requests. The US reportedly opposes the loan, with officials saying Iran has …