North America

Biden pledges help ‘on the way’ for US economy

by Chandan KHANNA with Heather SCOTT in Washington WILMINGTON, United States (AFP) — President-elect Joe Biden presented his economic team on Tuesday and pledged they will lead the charge on a plan to provide more relief for the faltering US economy, which his future Treasury secretary called an “American tragedy.” The diverse group, with women and minorities in key roles, is set to inherit the fallout from millions of job losses including an ongoing wave […]

US scientists developing nasal spray to prevent Covid-19

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and the biotech firm Regeneron are investigating whether technology developed for gene therapy can be used to make a nasal spray that will prevent infection with the new coronavirus. The idea is to use a weakened virus as a delivery truck to carry genetic instructions to cells within the nose and the throat, which will in turn create powerful antibodies to stop SARS-CoV-2 from […]

Trump virus adviser quits as vaccine hopes given new boost

  by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s controversial coronavirus adviser resigned Monday, while hopes for a first wave of vaccinations before the end of 2020 received a further boost with an announcement from US firm Moderna. Scott Atlas, a favored coronavirus adviser of the US president, who tweeted in October “Masks work? NO,” has submitted his resignation, effective as of December 1, Fox News reported. Lacking relevant […]

Trump says he will not ‘change (his) mind’ on election fraud claims

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — In the first TV interview since losing his re-election bid, US President Donald Trump indicated Sunday that he will never concede to Joe Biden and abandon his conspiracy theory about mass ballot fraud. “It’s not like you’re gonna change my mind. My mind will not change in six months,” Trump told Fox News interviewer Maria Bartiromo. “This election was rigged. This election was a total fraud,” he claimed, again without […]

Trump says he will leave office if Biden victory confirmed

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would leave the White House if Joe Biden is officially confirmed the winner of the US election, but he repeated that he may never concede defeat. Trump has made an unprecedented attempt to defy the results of the November 3 vote, spreading wild theories about stolen ballots and launching baseless legal challenges that have been thrown out by courts across the country. Answering […]

Disney to lay off 32,000 workers in 2021

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Disney said Thursday it will cut 32,000 jobs in 2021, primarily from its US theme parks division, an increase from layoffs announced in September. The company, which previously said it would cut 28,000 jobs, has struggled with the pandemic and social restrictions. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the cuts — which Variety reported are part of September’s announcement — would be made in […]

New US jobless claims at 778,000, second week of increase

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — New applications for jobless aid in the United States saw their second back-to-back weekly increase, according to government data released Wednesday, raising concerns that a renewed economic downturn is beginning. The Labor Department said 778,000 seasonally adjusted initial claims were filed in the week ended November 21, more than analysts had forecasted and an increase of 30,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised figure. The increase was the first consecutive […]

US will distribute 6.4 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in first tranche

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US plans to distribute 6.4 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the first week after it is cleared for emergency use, which is likely next month, officials said Tuesday. A committee of the Food and Drug Administration meets on December 10 to decide on whether to green light the medicine. General Gustave Perna, chief operations officer for the government’s Operation Warp Speed, told reporters some 40 million […]

John Kerry, who signed Paris accord for US, is Biden’s climate envoy

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Former secretary of state John Kerry signed the 2015 Paris Agreement on behalf of the United States, a decision subsequently reversed by President Donald Trump. Now, he is set to be President-elect Joe Biden’s climate envoy, in a clear sign of the upcoming administration’s renewed commitment to fighting climate change. “I’m returning to government to get America back on track to address the biggest challenge of this […]

Toronto enters virus lockdown as US looks to vaccine rollout

by AFP Bureaus TORONTO, Canada (AFP) — Canada’s biggest city entered lockdown on Monday in the latest bid to curb coronavirus infections, with case numbers surging across North America even as US officials said vaccinations could be available within weeks. Encouraging results from several vaccine trials have raised hopes of a decisive shift in the battle against a disease that has claimed around 1.4 million lives worldwide in the last year. But seesawing restrictions and […]

Biden to name Blinken as US top diplomat: report

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate veteran diplomat Antony Blinken as his secretary of state, a decision likely to signal a return to multilateralism after Donald Trump’s shunning of traditional allies, US media reported Sunday. The 58-year-old Blinken, a former deputy secretary of state under Barack Obama, is also a longtime aide to Biden. Bloomberg and The New York Times reported the plan to nominate him. Biden is expected […]

US hopes to start virus vaccines in December as pandemic surges

  by Agence France Presse bureaus WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States hopes to begin coronavirus vaccinations in early December, a top government health official said Sunday, the latest positive news to emerge even as cases surge across the worst-hit nation and elsewhere around the globe. The beginning of vaccinations could be a crucial shift in the battle against a virus that has claimed more than 1.4 million lives worldwide, including 255,000 just […]