WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Senate Wednesday acquitted President Donald Trump of abuse of power, the first of two impeachment charges, following a historic two-week trial. The Republican-majority Senate voted 52-48 to acquit Trump of charges that he withheld military aid to Ukraine to pressure Kiev to investigate political rival Joe Biden and help his re-election effort. Fifty-two Republicans voted to acquit Trump while all 47 Democrats voted to remove him from office. […]
International
Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific asks all staff to take unpaid leave
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific is asking its entire workforce to take up to three weeks of unpaid leave, its CEO announced Wednesday, as the airline faces a crisis in the wake of the new coronavirus outbreak. The request lays bare desperate times at Cathay, which was hammered last year by months of political chaos and protests in Hong Kong and is now being further hurt by the […]
More Chinese cities shut down as virus death toll rises
by Dan Martin Agence France Presse HANGZHOU, China (AFP) — Millions more people have been ordered to stay indoors as China battles to curb the spread of a new virus that authorities said Wednesday has already killed nearly 500 people. With more than 24,000 cases in China, a growing number of cities have been imposing a range of restrictions in recent days far from central Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, as authorities […]
State of the Reunion! Tears of joy as Trump reunites army family
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — In a reality TV moment during one of the United States’ most formal occasions, President Donald Trump reunited a soldier with his family during the annual State of the Union speech on Tuesday. The wife and two children of Army Sergeant Townsend Williams were among Trump’s guests at the address to Congress, and he began to tell their story — in Williams’ absence. “War places a heavy burden on our […]
Two more planes evacuate Americans from virus-hit Wuhan
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States evacuated more than 300 more people on two new flights out of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the fast-spreading new coronavirus, the State Department said Tuesday. The two flights left Wuhan on Tuesday US time after the passengers were screened, a State Department official said. The official said that the United States has now brought home more than 500 passengers on three fights. A first flight, with […]
Venezuelan opposition leader Guaido invited to Trump speech
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized as the country’s interim president by the United States, will be a guest at Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday, US media reported. Guaido was invited by Trump to attend the flagship event in Washington in a public show of support for his efforts to dislodge President Nicolas Maduro, CNN and NBC reported. Guaido has defied a travel ban […]
Trump in State of Union speech: ‘I keep my promises’
by Sebastian Smith and Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump was to deliver a triumphant State of the Union speech Tuesday on the eve of near-certain acquittal in his impeachment trial, setting the stage for his re-election bid with a boast of “I keep my promises.” Facing a Democratic party smarting from divisions and a chaotic start to the primaries, Trump headed in the buoyant mood to the House of Representatives, […]
Trump vows Maduro’s ‘tyranny’ in Venezuela will be ‘smashed’
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday that the “tyranny” of leftist leader Nicolas Maduro will be “smashed,” as he welcomed Venezuela’s opposition leader to his annual State of the Union address. “Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, a tyrant who brutalizes his people. But Maduro’s grip of tyranny will be smashed and broken,” Trump said as he introduced Juan Guaido — considered interim president by more than 60 countries — who […]
At least 10 on Japan cruise ship have new coronavirus: minister
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — At least 10 people on a cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, Japan’s health minister said on Wednesday. Japan quarantined the vessel carrying 3,711 people and was testing those onboard for the virus after a former passenger was diagnosed with the illness after disembarking in Hong Kong. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters that specimens were collected from more than 200 people […]
Thousands flee severe flooding in New Zealand
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Severe flooding forced thousands of residents in New Zealand’s South Island to flee their homes on Wednesday and left hundreds of tourists stranded at the remote Milford Sound beauty spot. The Southland region declared a state of emergency after being deluged with more than 1,000 mm of rainfall in 60 hours, triggering landslides on major roads and causing rivers to burst their banks. Authorities told residents in the low-lying areas […]
China virus deaths rise to 490 as more countries confirm local transmission
by Laurent THOMET BEIJING, China (AFP) –The number of people infected in China by the coronavirus outbreak jumped on Wednesday to nearly 500, after Hong Kong reported its first death from the disease and millions more in China were ordered to stay indoors. The confirmed toll in mainland China rose to 490 after hardest-hit Hubei province reported 65 more people had died — the biggest single-day tally since the first fatalities emerged last month. More […]
US working with pharmaceutical firm on new type of coronavirus treatment
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States is working with a pharmaceutical company to develop a treatment for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, using a class of drugs that has boosted survival rates among Ebola patients, officials said Tuesday. The partnership between the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Regeneron will develop monoclonal antibodies to fight the infection, a different line of treatment to the antiretrovirals and flu drugs that have also emerged […]