Tag: US

New US jobless claims plunged 92,000 last week: govt

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Americans filed 92,000 fewer applications for unemployment aid last week, the government reported Thursday, in the latest sign the widespread job losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic was ebbing as businesses reopen. The Labor Department data showed there were 498,000 initial claims for jobless benefits made in the week ended May 1, seasonally adjusted, far fewer than expected and a new low since the pandemic began in March 2020 and […]

California sequoia still smoldering after 2020 fires

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — One of California’s iconic giant sequoia trees was recently found to be still smoldering and smoking in an area of the state devastated by massive wildfires last summer, National Park authorities said Wednesday. “Scientists and fire crews were surveying the effects from the 2020 Castle Fire in Sequoia National Park, when they observed a still smoldering and smoking giant sequoia tree that appears to be caused from last year’s […]

Touchdown! SpaceX successfully lands Starship rocket

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — SpaceX managed to land its prototype Starship rocket at its Texas base without blowing it up on Wednesday, the first time it has succeeded in doing so in five attempts. The test flight represents a major win for the hard-charging company, which eventually wants to carry crew inside Starship for missions to Mars. “Starship landing nominal!” tweeted founder Elon Musk triumphantly, after the last four tries ended […]

Americans given life sentences in Italy for cop murder

by Alexandria SAGE ROME, Italy (AFP) — An Italian court convicted two young Americans Wednesday for the murder of a police officer while they were on a summer holiday in Rome, with both handed life sentences. Finnegan Lee Elder, 21, had admitted stabbing Mario Cerciello Rega during a late-night encounter in July 2019, while out with his friend Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 20. Prosecutors claimed it was a brutal, unprovoked attack in which Elder, then 19, stabbed […]

US backs plan to waive Covid-19 vaccine patents

by Heather SCOTT WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday announced support for a global waiver on patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines, offering hope to poor nations that have struggled to access the life-saving doses. India, where the death toll hit a new daily record amid fears the peak is still to come, has been leading the fight within the World Trade Organization (WTO) to allow more drugmakers to manufacture […]

Japan, S.Korea meet with Blinken despite rifts

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday met jointly with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts to discuss North Korea, bringing together the allies despite renewed rifts. Joined by aides, Blinken sat in the centre of a U-shaped table with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on each side in a conference room of a London hotel on the sidelines of a Group […]

California governor candidate brings bear to rally

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — One of the many Republican candidates vying to replace the governor of California in an upcoming vote caused a stir Tuesday by bringing a bear to his political rally. John Cox is campaigning on the theme of “beauty and the beast” — the “beauty” being current Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, known for his primped appearance in the state that is home to Hollywood. Cox has cast himself as the […]

US urges ‘utmost restraint’ after Colombia protest violence

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Tuesday urged authorities in Colombia to act with “utmost restraint” to avoid more deaths during anti-government protests that have resulted in at least 19 fatalities. Protesters in Colombia have called for fresh mass rallies after more than 800 people were wounded in clashes during five days of demonstrations against a proposed tax reform. “We urge the utmost restraint by public forces to prevent additional loss of […]

Rocket attack, 3rd in 3 days, targets US in Iraq: army

  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — The Iraqi army said two rockets were fired Tuesday at a base hosting Americans, in the third such attack in three days and as a US government delegation is visiting the country. The two rockets fell on an unoccupied segment of the Ain-al-Assad airbase, “without causing damage or casualties,” the army said. The latest rocket attack follows one against an airbase at Baghdad airport housing US-led coalition troops on Sunday […]

US ex-cop convicted of Floyd murder seeks new trial

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP0 — Derek Chauvin, the white ex-policeman convicted of murdering the African-American man George Floyd, asked Tuesday for a new trial on claims of jury and prosecution misconduct. The 45-year-old — who knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes — faces up to 40 years in prison after being found guilty last month in a case that prompted a national reckoning on racial injustice and police brutality. Chauvin’s attorney Eric […]

W. House wants 70% adults to have first Covid shot by July 4

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden wants 70 percent of adults in the US to have received at least one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine by the July 4 Independence Day holiday, the White House said Tuesday. Administration officials who asked not to be identified said Biden would announce the ambitious goal in a speech later Tuesday. In addition to getting 70 percent at least partially vaccinated, Biden wants “160 million Americans fully […]

Biden says, ‘hope and expectation’ for Putin meeting in June

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden said Tuesday he expects to hold a summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a June trip to Europe. “That is my hope and expectation,” Biden said. Biden in April offered a meeting in a third country to discuss rising tensions over Russian sabre rattling around Ukraine, the treatment of jailed Putin opponent Alexei Navalny, and other flashpoints. A summit has not been confirmed but […]