Donald Trump has called out New Zealand for its recent Covid-19 outbreak, saying places once hailed as a success story in the pandemic are now facing a 'big surge' in cases. However, New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern said there was 'no comparison' between the situation in her country and that in in the US
Israel’s relationship with neighbours is no longer defined by occupation, Palestinians say
Shortly after Donald Trump announced he had brokered a “huge breakthrough” deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, the White House published a list of bullet points detailing what it had achieved.
Only at the bottom, just after “expanded business and financial ties between these two thriving economies”, did the very last sentence blandly mention what had previously been the key regional issue: the fate of the Palestinians.
Continue reading...The US president’s hair-washing complaints have prompted a proposal on easing of shower-pressure standards.
The Trump administration presented rule changes that would allow showerheads to boost water pressure, after Donald Trump complained that bathroom fixtures did not work to his liking.
The Department of Energy plan followed Trump's comments last month at a White House event on rolling back regulations where he said he believed water did not come out fast enough from fixtures. ‘My hair … I don’t know about you, but it has to be perfect,' he said
Continue reading...Bob Woodward’s second book on the Trump White House has a title, Rage, and promises to reveal the secrets of “25 personal letters exchanged between [Donald] Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that have not been public before”.
Related: It Was All a Lie review: Trump as symptom not cause of Republican decline
Continue reading...Joseph Wu tells visiting US health secretary Taiwan lives under constant threat of its freedoms being quashed by Beijing
China is trying to turn Taiwan into another Hong Kong, the island’s foreign minister warned on Tuesday as he met with a senior US official making a historic diplomatic trip.
A crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong has gathered pace since China imposed a sweeping security law on the financial hub in June, with opposition politicians disqualified and activists arrested.
Continue reading...Donald Trump was abruptly escorted out of a press briefing by a Secret Service agent on Monday after an armed suspect was shot outside the White House.
The president was just minutes into his coronavirus briefing when a Secret Service agent asked Trump to leave the podium and quickly exit the room along with other administration officials.
Continue reading...US considers blocking infected citizens returning; Australian outbreak trends down; Singapore economy plunges 43%
Nearly five months to the day since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, Covid-19 infections have passed 20 million cases. In acknowledging the milestone, the health body’s chief warned against despair, saying if the virus could be suppressed effectively, “we can safely open up societies”.
Global cases reached one million at the start of April. By 22 May, there were 5 million cases. That figure had doubled to 10 million cases by the end of June, and, seven weeks later, it had doubled again to 20 million infections.
Continue reading...US has the highest number of cases and the highest number of deaths in the world as former vice president attacks Donald Trump over coronavirus ‘failures’
The US on Sunday passed the grim milestone of 5m coronavirus cases, as Donald Trump’s executive orders seeking to break a political impasse over further economic relief were denounced by a Republican as “unconstitutional slop” and Joe Biden accused the president of issuing little more than “excuses and lies”.
Recriminations have been flying in Washington since talks on further aid for the unemployed and for states struggling with a public health crisis collapsed on Friday.
Continue reading...Letter signed by US state department representative calls for ‘immediate release’ of adult children of Saad Aljabri
The Trump administration has issued a rare rebuke of Saudi Arabia over the detention of two of the adult children of a former Saudi intelligence official who has been credited with protecting Americans from al-Qaida threats.
A letter signed by a state department official said any persecution of Saad Aljabri’s family members by Saudi authorities was “unacceptable” and urged the “immediate release” of the two children, Omar and Sarah Aljabri, who were arrested from their home in Riyadh in March and have been held in detention indefinitely.
Continue reading...Executive order comes as TikTok faces scrutiny from US lawmakers and Trump administration over national security concerns
Donald Trump has issued a pair of executive orders that would ban any US transactions with the Chinese companies that own TikTok and WeChat, saying the US must take “aggressive action” in the interest of national security.
Executive orders issued late on Thursday would prohibit “any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States,” with the companies, beginning in 45 days.
Continue reading...President floundered in conversation with Axios, claiming Covid-19 was ‘under control’ and attacking mail-in voting
Donald Trump stumbled through his second damaging interview in as many weeks, floundering in a conversation with the news website Axios over key issues he is tasked with responding to as president.
It’s been just over two weeks since the president made a series of shocking statements in a one-on-one interview with Fox News, but he packed another host of extraordinary claims into a 37-minute interview released on Monday night by Axios.
Continue reading...UN says getting students safely back must be ‘top priority’; France says ‘situation is precarious’; record fines for isolation breaches in Australia
France’s Accor, the world’s sixth largest hotel chain, said it was slashing 1,000 jobs worldwide in a major cost cutting plan accelerated by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The group, which runs high-end chains such as Raffles and Sofitel, and budget brands like Ibis, plans to cut costs by €200m by 2022.
After weeks of railing against what he claimed were the potential risks of voting by mail, president Donald Trump has urged voters in at least one Republican state - Florida - to vote by any means.
Trump, who is trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in polls, has repeatedly warned in recent weeks - without evidence - that mail-in voting carries more risks than voting by absentee ballot and could result in widespread fraud.
Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True. Florida’s Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail! #MAGA
Continue reading...UN says getting students safely back to classroom must be ‘top priority’; Philippines reimposes lockdown; record fines for isolation breaches in Australia
We’re reporting that builders in the Australia could lose $450m daily under Melbourne stage 4 Covid-19 lockdown.
Work levels from big construction sites to trade businesses set to be pummelled amid predictions new curbs will ‘knock wind out of’ state
Related: Victorian builders could lose $450m daily under Melbourne stage 4 Covid-19 lockdown
Reuters is reporting that Taiwan has provisionally approved the use of dexamethasone, a cheap and widely-used steroid, to treat the new coronavirus because the island faces a shortfall of the antiviral drug remdesivir after the United States bought nearly all global supplies.
Taiwan Centres for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang told reporters on Tuesday that medical experts had decided to provisionally allow dexamethasone to be listed as a COVID-19 treatment but that procedures still needed to be completed before it could be given to any patients.
Continue reading...President again contradicts his own health expert after doctor highlights troubled US response to virus
Donald Trump launched an extraordinary attack on his own top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, arguing against the doctor’s claim that high rates of infection in the US stem from a less aggressive reaction to the virus in terms of economic shutdowns and stay-at-home orders.
“Wrong!” countered the president as he retweeted a video of Fauci making the point in recent congressional testimony.
Continue reading...Overnight protest matches Thursday’s, with no major confrontations, as US government draws down forces
More than a thousand people showed up in downtown Portland early on Saturday to peacefully protest, about three days after the announcement that the presence of US agents there would be reduced – a deal that Oregon officials hope will continue to ease tensions as the city tries to move on from months of chaotic nightly protests.
Friday’s overnight protest mimicked Thursday’s, which was the first time in weeks that demonstrations ended without any major confrontations, violence or arrests.
Continue reading...The US is reportedly preparing to take action against the popular short video app over concerns for the security of personal data
Donald Trump on Friday again suggested the US may take action against the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, floating a potential ban.
“We’re looking at TikTok. We may be banning TikTok. We may be doing some other things,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House on a trip to Florida.
Continue reading...Federal agents accused of behaving like an 'occupying army' are said to be pulling out of Portland, Oregon, in an embarrassing climbdown by the White House, but many protesters are sceptical over whether the agents will actually withdraw from the city.
The force, which have been dubbed by some as 'Donald Trump’s troops', were sent in by the president a month ago to end what he called 'anarchy' during Black Lives Matter protests sparked after the police killing of George Floyd.
The Guardian's Chris McGreal looks at what Trump was hoping to gain by sending paramilitaries into the city, if and how they will leave, and how their presence has fuelled anger among most residents
Continue reading...Six months after first cases emerged in US, hospitals are under strain in multiple states
The US has crossed the threshold of 150,000 confirmed deaths from Covid-19, just six months after the first cases were diagnosed in China and with the outbreak far from under control.
The American death toll is the highest in the world by a significant margin and reached 150,034 on Wednesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University world coronavirus tracker.
Continue reading...Donald Trump in his daily coronavirus briefing praises as 'very impressive' a doctor who dismissed the use of face masks, backed hydroxychloroquine and reportedly claimed that alien DNA is used in medical treatments. When asked about reports Dr Stella Immanuel believes scientists are creating a 'vaccine to make you immune from becoming religious', the US president claimed she had had success in using hydroxychloroquine before adding: 'I thought her voice was an important voice, but I know nothing about her.' On the topic of Dr Anthony Fauci's enduring popularity with the US public, he said: "So why don’t I have a high approval rating with respect – and the administration – with respect to the virus? We should have it very high ... but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality, that’s all.'
Continue reading...The president has given key diplomatic roles to big donors – who have stood out for their lack of qualifications or aptitude
The US ambassador to Iceland, a dermatologist and major Republican donor, reportedly became so paranoid about his security he asked to carry a gun and to be taken everywhere in an armoured car.
Related: Bill Clinton pushed 'appeasement' of Serbs after Srebrenica massacre
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