USA

  • How US Republicans came to embrace the big lie of a stolen election

    How US Republicans came to embrace the big lie of a stolen election

    Jun 16, 2021 03:49

    For years, civil rights groups and academics have raised alarm at the way US Republican officials have deployed false claims of voter fraud as a political strategy to justify laws that restrict access to the ballot.

  • World's most powerful imprison Julian Assange for his virtues—not his vices

    World's most powerful imprison Julian Assange for his virtues—not his vices

    Jun 15, 2021 13:39

    They came after Julian because he exposed the more than 15,000 unreported deaths of Iraqi civilians; because he exposed the torture and abuse of some 800 men and boys, aged between 14 and 89, at Guantánamo; because he exposed that Hillary Clinton in 2009 ordered US diplomats to spy on U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and other U.N. representatives from China, France, Russia, and the UK.

  • Pelosi: ‘Beyond belief’ that Trump DoJ chiefs didn’t know of secret subpoenas

    Pelosi: ‘Beyond belief’ that Trump DoJ chiefs didn’t know of secret subpoenas

    Jun 15, 2021 13:36

    The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said on Sunday (13 Jun 2021) it was “beyond belief” that the three top justice department officials of Donald Trump’s administration had been unaware of secret subpoenas seeking private data from the former president’s political opponents.

  • Renaming COVID-19 variants will help fight racism

    Renaming COVID-19 variants will help fight racism

    Jun 14, 2021 11:16

    Labeling COVID-19 “the Chinese disease,” or naming a variant “Indian,” serves little purpose other than to hand a gift to the ignorant and the ill-intentioned – those who are either unable or unwilling to understand what is going on, or who are quick to seize on any “evidence” that can be manipulated to reinforce their prejudices.

  • China moves forward in soft power struggle for SE Asia

    China moves forward in soft power struggle for SE Asia

    Jun 14, 2021 11:11

    China has made inroads with its “win-win” Belt and Road Initiative, despite US warnings of debt traps, environmental damage and coercion. Its COVID diplomacy – donating vaccines and even partnering with Indonesia to produce more – has also been far superior to that of the US, which – by necessity – has been focused on getting its own house in order.

  • 'Shameful failure': Biden's OSHA excludes most workers from COVID protections

    'Shameful failure': Biden's OSHA excludes most workers from COVID protections

    Jun 14, 2021 11:06

    Scientists and workers' rights advocates were among those who denounced the Biden administration's new workplace safety rules regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, which were unveiled months later than expected and which the Labor Department made enforceable only for healthcare settings—leaving grocery store employees, manufacturing workers, and others vulnerable to the continuing public health crisis, critics said.

  • G7 leaders face make-or-break moment in climate crisis

    G7 leaders face make-or-break moment in climate crisis

    Jun 14, 2021 10:59

    Global leaders arriving in Cornwall for the G7 summit have already found themselves in a changed world: masks and social distancing have replaced the usual hugs, handshakes and cheek-pecking, the entourages have slimmed down, and the usual media circus has been muted, with protesters having to content themselves with writing sand messages on the beach.

  • EU adds another rare blood condition as side effect of AstraZeneca, vaccine inequality causes ‘two-track pandemic’

    EU adds another rare blood condition as side effect of AstraZeneca, vaccine inequality causes ‘two-track pandemic’

    Jun 13, 2021 14:52

    World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says vaccine inequality between rich and poor countries has created “a two-track pandemic.”

  • 55 US corporations paying no federal tax last year spent $450 million on political lobbying and campaigns: Report

    55 US corporations paying no federal tax last year spent $450 million on political lobbying and campaigns: Report

    Jun 13, 2021 14:46

    The 55 U.S. corporations that paid no federal corporate income tax last year have spent a combined $450 million on political campaign contributions and lobbying—including for lower taxes—according to a report published recently by the progressive advocacy group Public Citizen.

  • Kamala Harris's harsh message to Central American migrants

    Kamala Harris's harsh message to Central American migrants

    Jun 13, 2021 04:34

    Kamala Harris has recently embarked on her first international trip as Vice President. The two-day trip to Latin America was also Harris's first major effort at diplomacy after being put in charge of Central American immigration policy by President Joe Biden in late March.