Tag: US

US may have seen massive rehiring in May despite labor troubles

by Chris Stein WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The key US government jobs report Friday is expected to show American businesses added hundreds of thousands of jobs last month as vaccines helped the economy return to normal — but with Covid-19 still keeping some people away from the workplace, strong rehiring is no sure thing. Economists expect the Labor Department data will show the world’s largest economy added 720,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked […]

US condemns ‘escalatory’ Chinese military flights off Malaysia and Taiwan

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The US Air Force’s Pacific commander condemned Chinese military flights off Malaysia and Taiwan, describing them on Friday as “escalatory” and “destabilizing.” This week, 16 Chinese military aircraft flew over hotly contested waters off of Borneo prompting Malaysia’s air force to scramble its jets. General Kenneth Wilsbach said these activities and an increased number of incursions into Taiwan’s air defence zone “adds to the list” of Chinese “destabilizing activities and also […]

Biden labors to deliver promised change to African Americans

by Elodie CUZIN WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden — who is popular with Black Americans, a voting bloc that helped him win the White House — promised to “deliver some real change” during his first term in office. While he and Kamala Harris, the country’s first Black vice president, have made some inroads, they already have encountered some stumbling blocks as well. Here is a look at Biden’s relationship with the African […]

US risks ‘losing a friend’, Erdogan warns before meeting Biden

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned that the United States risked “losing a precious friend” if it tries to corner his country, speaking two weeks before his first meeting with US counterpart Joe Biden. Already tense, relations between the two NATO states have further deteriorated since Biden replaced Erdogan’s ally Donald Trump in January, with the new president making a point of highlighting Turkey’s dire human rights record. When […]

Biden administration halts oil drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge

by John BIERS WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden’s administration announced Tuesday it was halting petroleum development activity in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a move by former president Donald Trump to allow drilling. The Interior Department said it was notifying firms of the freeze, pending a comprehensive environmental review that will determine whether leases in the area known as ANWR should be “reaffirmed, voided or subject to additional mitigation measures,” […]

Drought-hit ‘tinderbox’ California braces for fires in months ahead

by Laurent BANGUET PARADISE, United States (AFP) — “Now, when there’s smoke here, everybody panics,” said Steve Crowder, mayor of the small town of Paradise that was almost wiped off the map by California’s deadly 2018 wildfires. The former police officer still struggles to hold back tears when talking about the blaze that claimed dozens of lives and engulfed 95 percent of his community’s buildings. “It’s still hard to get over the 85 people that […]

New York to build homeless shelter in ‘Billionaire’s Row’

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York City is to build a homeless shelter in an expensive Manhattan area known as “Billionaire’s Row” following a lengthy legal battle. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s government announced in 2018 that it planned to turn the former Park Savoy Hotel on West 58th Street into a shelter for 150 people. A coalition of residents sued to stop the move, but on Thursday an appeals judge rejected their objections, […]

Tarzan actor Joe Lara among 7 presumed dead in US plane crash

    WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — All seven passengers aboard a plane, including Tarzan actor Joe Lara and his diet guru wife, are presumed dead after it crashed in a lake near the US city of Nashville, authorities said. The small business jet crashed at around 11:00 am local time on Saturday, shortly after taking off from the Smyrna, Tennessee airport for Palm Beach, Florida, Rutherford County Fire & Rescue (RCFR) said on Facebook. […]

California already in throes of drought as summer looms

by Laurent BANGUET OROVILLE, United States (AFP) — Summer has not even begun and Lake Oroville, the second-largest reservoir in California that provides drinking water to more than 25 million people, is at less than half of its average capacity at this time of year. It is a worrying indication of the worsening drought conditions in the northern part of the Golden State. “When we go into a year like this with the reservoir low […]

Florida shooting leaves two dead, 20 wounded

by Leila MACOR HIALEAH, United States (AFP) — Two people were killed and at least 20 wounded early Sunday when three shooters fired indiscriminately into a crowd outside a concert in the Miami area, police said, the latest shooting in a year that has seen a surge in both gun sales and gun violence. The shots erupted near a banquet and events hall in a strip mall in Miami Gardens, a heavily Cuban community of […]

Eight killed by employee in California rail yard mass shooting

by Amy Osborne with Andrew Marszal in Los Angeles SAN JOSE, United States (AFP) — A public transit worker shot dead eight people at a California rail yard Wednesday before turning his gun on himself as police arrived, officials said, in the latest mass shooting to hit the United States. Multiple victims were also wounded in the attack at the train maintenance compound in San Jose, just south of San Francisco, which has once again […]

Bezos to hand over Amazon CEO reins on July 5

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Wednesday that he will hand over operational control to his successor on July 5, leaving as the e-commerce giant flexes its muscles in television and cloud. Bezos is ceding his chief executive role to Andy Jassy, who heads Amazon Web Services, the lucrative cloud computing unit at the Seattle-based company. Bezos will take the role of executive chair. Bezos announced his departure date at […]