US Coronavirus Deaths Near 35,000, Joblessness 22 Million

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump has announced "a phased approach" to ease restrictions of movement on Americans, even as the coronavirus death toll in the country continues to rise nearing 35,000, and with cases soaring to 667,000 as of 01:00 GMT on Friday.

Meanwhile, the US government reported 5.2 million more Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the four-week total to 22 million - the worst stretch of US job losses on record.

The losses translate to about one in seven American workers.

Earlier, Trump announced that the US government was halting funding for The World Health Organization while his administration conducted an investigation of the UN agency, claiming that it had impeded Washington’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.