Category: WORLD NEWS

Social media giant Facebook said Wednesday that it has removed dozens of accounts linked to supporters or employees of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as part of an investigation into the spread of false news online. Nathaniel Gleicher, the company’s head of cybersecurity policy, said in a statement that 73 Facebook and Instagram accounts, 14 pages and one group were removed. Brazilian courts have been investigating the spread of false news in connection with Bolsonaro. There was no immediate comment from the presidential office about Facebook’s action. Facebook’s executive said the…

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he is confident that he will swiftly recover from the new coronavirus thanks to treatment with hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that has not been proven effective against COVID-19. Bolsonaro said he tested positive for the new coronavirus on Tuesday after months of downplaying its severity while deaths mounted rapidly inside the country. The president told reporters he underwent a lung X-ray on Monday after experiencing fever, muscle aches and malaise. As of Tuesday, his fever had subsided, he said, and he attributed the improvement to…

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As much as USD 273 million in federal coronavirus aid was awarded to more than 100 companies that are owned or operated by major donors to President Donald Trump’s election efforts, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data. Many were among the first to be approved for a loan in early April, when the administration was struggling to launch the lending programme. And only eight businesses had to wait until early May before securing the aid, according to the AP’s review of data released Monday. The Trump-connected companies…

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Nepal’s ruling communist party’s crucial Standing Committee meeting to decide Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s future has been postponed until Wednesday, according to an official announcement. Prime Minister’s press advisor Surya Thapa said that the meeting was deferred for Wednesday. The reason for the postponement was not immediately known. On Saturday as well, the meeting was postponed for Monday as the top leaders of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) required more time to forge an understanding on the outstanding issues. The crucial meeting of the NCP’s 45-member Standing Committee,…

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Democratic presidential candidate and former US vice president Joe Biden has said that he will lift the temporary suspension on H-1B visas, the most sought-after by Indian IT professionals, if he wins the November presidential elections. On June 23, in a huge blow to Indian IT professionals eyeing the US job market, the Trump administration suspended the H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas until the end of 2020 to protect American workers in a crucial election year. Biden, in a digital town hall meeting on Asian…

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A group of Indian-Americans have launched a political action committee to actively campaign for President Donald Trump as they believe that he is the best hope for the US under the prevailing domestic and international conditions, including defeating terrorism and regulating immigration. ‘Indian-Americans for Trump’ has been formed with the only purpose to garner active support of all Americans, but particularly among Americans of the Indian Subcontinent, to have Trump reelected as the President, said its founder A D Amar. Looking at the achievements of Trump as President since taking…

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Pakistan’s anti-graft body has filed a corruption case against deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and three others for their alleged involvement in the illegal allotment of land in Punjab province about 34 years ago. An arrest warrant has been issued against the 70-year-old three-time premier who is in London for medical treatment. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has approached an anti-corruption court to declare Sharif a proclaimed offender since he did not respond to any of its summons. The three other accused named in the case filed by the NAB…

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US officials estimate that 20 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus since it first arrived in the United States, meaning that the vast majority of the population remains susceptible. Thursday’s estimate is roughly 10 times as many infections as the 2.3 million cases that have been confirmed. Officials have long known that millions of people were infected without knowing it and that many cases are being missed because of gaps in testing. The news comes as the Trump administration works to tamp down nationwide concern about the COVID-19…

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Hospital administrators and health experts warned desperately Wednesday that parts of the U.S. are on the verge of becoming overwhelmed by a resurgence of the coronavirus, lamenting that politicians and a tired-of-being-cooped-up public are letting a disaster unfold. The U.S. recorded a one-day total of 34,700 new COVID-19 cases, the highest in two months, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University. The number of new cases per day is now running just short of the nation’s late-April peak of 36,400. While newly confirmed infections have been declining steadily…

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North Korea on Wednesday said leader Kim Jong Un suspended a planned military retaliation against South Korea, possibly slowing the pressure campaign it has waged against its rival amid stalled nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration. Last week, the North had declared relations with the South as fully ruptured, destroyed an inter-Korean liaison office in its territory and threatened unspecified military action to censure Seoul for a lack of progress in bilateral cooperation and for activists floating anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. Analysts say North Korea, after weeks deliberately raising…

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