Tag: US

US Operation Warp Speed backed vaccines for whole world

by Ivan Couronne Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s announcement in May of plans to develop a Covid-19 vaccine by year’s end is near realization — despite a setback among one of the six candidates that the US supported. The president described the effort as “a massive scientific, industrial and logistical endeavor unlike anything our country has seen since the Manhattan Project,” alluding to the US program during World War […]

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 […]

China’s Xi congratulates Biden on US election win: state media

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday congratulated Joe Biden on his US election victory, state media reported. In his telegram, Xi said both countries should “stick to no conflict or confrontation, mutual respect, (and) the spirit of win-win cooperation” in order to promote the “noble cause” of world peace and development. Xi’s message came more than two weeks after several other major countries had congratulated Biden. US-China relations have hit historic […]

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 […]

Mysterious ‘obelisk’ in US desert draws wild theories

LSO ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A mysterious metal “obelisk” found buried in the remote western United States desert has inflamed the imaginations of UFO spotters, conspiracy theorists and Stanley Kubrick fans around the world. The shiny, triangular pillar — which protrudes approximately 12 feet from the red rocks of southern Utah — was spotted last Wednesday by baffled local officials counting bighorn sheep from the air. Landing to investigate, Utah Department of Public Safety […]

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 […]

US stresses alliance with PHL in turn-over of $18M worth of precision-guided weapons

Trump’s Nat’l Security Advisor says US welcomes Duterte’s extension of VFA   (Eagle News) — US President Donald Trump’s national security advisor Robert O’Brien visited the country Monday, Nov. 23, to assure the continuing commitment of the United States to its alliance with the Philippines as he turned over some $18 million worth of precision guided munitions (PGMs) and other defense articles as a symbol of that commitment. The PGMs, also known as smart bombs, […]

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 […]

US approves Covid therapy, G20 pushes for global vaccine access

  by Agence France Presse bureaus WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US drug regulators gave emergency approval to a Covid-19 antibody therapy on Saturday and G20 nations pushed for global access to vaccines as the pandemic led to further closures in parts of the world. With cases surpassing 12 million in the United States, the highest in the world, many Americans were nonetheless heading to airports to travel for next week’s Thanksgiving holiday despite health […]