The world is on the verge of reaching 100 million COVID-19 infections, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center statistics. More than 2 million people have died from the virus.The coronavirus continues to create an unyielding and staggering path of illness and death across the United States. Johns Hopkins reported …
your ad hereCalifornia’s Disneyland Resort Opens as ‘Super’ COVID-19 Vaccination Site
Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, will become the first mass vaccination site for the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Orange County. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetyan. …
your ad hereZimbabweans Blame Government for COVID-19 Deaths of Officials
A surge in coronavirus cases in Zimbabwe has included the deaths of two Cabinet ministers in 48 hours. The government announced Friday night that Transport Minister Joel Matiza had died of COVID-19. On Wednesday, the president’s office said Sibusiso Busi Moyo, Zimbabwe’s minister of foreign affairs and international trade, had died …
your ad hereHong Kong Imposes COVID Lockdown in Densely Populated District
The local government in Hong Kong said Saturday that it had locked down one of the territory’s most heavily populated areas to complete mandatory COVID-19 testing of its entire population.Hong Kong’s Special Administrative Region government said the lockdown was imposed in parts of the Jordan District to test nearly 10,000 …
your ad hereSouth African Jazz ‘Giant’ Jonas Gwangwa Dies Aged 83
South Africa jazz trombonist and composer Jonas Gwangwa, whose music powered the anti-apartheid struggle, died Saturday aged 83, the presidency said.President Cyril Ramaphosa led the tributes to the legendary musician who was nominated for an Oscar for the theme song of the 1987 film “Cry Freedom.” “A giant of …
your ad hereUS Television Host Larry King Dies Aged 87: CNN
Larry King, who quizzed thousands of world leaders, politicians and entertainers for CNN and other news outlets in a career spanning more than six decades, has died at age 87, CNN reported Saturday, citing a source close to the family. King had been hospitalized in Los Angeles with a COVID-19 infection, according to several media reports. …
your ad hereWorld COVID-19 Infections Climb Towards 100 Million
The world is steadily inching up to 100 million COVID cases. Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Saturday there are more than 98 million global COVID infections and more than 2 million deaths.“For the moment, the virus still has its hand in the game, but we still have our …
your ad hereTwitter Bans Suspect Iran Account After Post Threatens Trump
Twitter said Friday it has permanently banned an account that some in Iran believe is linked to the office of the country’s supreme leader after a posting that seemed to threaten former President Donald Trump.In the image posted by the suspect account late Thursday, Trump is shown playing golf in …
your ad hereDry January Not That Dry for Some at Rocky Start of 2021
A raging pandemic, tumultuous presidential election and deadly Capitol insurrection have combined to make the annual tradition of Dry January less than air-tight for some.Not Sarah Arvizo. She considers it her easiest yet.As much as the 32-year-old Manhattanite would love to partake in a little “vinopeutics,” she said the abstinence …
your ad hereVaccination Uncertainty in Japan Casts Doubt Over Olympics
Japan is publicly adamant that it will stage its postponed Olympics this summer. But to pull it off, many believe the vaccination of its 127 million citizens for the coronavirus is key. It’s an immense undertaking in the best of circumstances and complicated now by an overly …
your ad hereGermany Reports 850 COVID-19 Deaths in 24 Hours
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier says he will begin leaving a light in a window at his official residence, Bellevue Palace, to remember those killed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Steinmeier has called on Germans to do the same as a remembrance that “the dead in the corona pandemic are not just statistics …
your ad hereWHO Welcomes US Back After Biden Moves to Retain Membership
The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday formally welcomed back the United States, after President Joe Biden signed an executive order this week to retain U.S. membership. Speaking at the agency’s regular briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted the United States was a founding member of the organization …
your ad hereBaseball Legend Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron Dies at 86
The Atlanta Braves Major League baseball team announced Friday Hall of Famer Hank Aaron has died at the age of 86. The team says Aaron died peacefully in his sleep Thursday. Aaron spent all but two years of his 23-year major league baseball career with the Braves …
your ad hereNew COVID-19 Variants Are Different – What that Means for Us
New coronavirus variants appearing in Britain, South Africa, Brazil and elsewhere have experts concerned. Not only do they spread faster than existing strains, it’s possible that vaccines against them might not work as well, though that hasn’t been a problem so far. Here’s how these variants are different and why …
your ad hereBrazil to Receive More COVID-19 Vaccines Friday as President Defends Government Effort
Brazil expects to receive 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine Friday in its buildup to launching a mass immunization program. The vaccine is due to arrive a day after President Jair Bolsonaro fended off criticism by health officials over whether Brazil has enough vaccine to begin its nationwide …
your ad hereAustralia Demands Foreign Travelers Take COVID-19 Test
Beginning Friday, foreign nationals granted special permission to fly to Australia take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their departure. Masks will also be compulsory on all international flights.Australia has had a fortress-like approach to COVID-19. It closed its borders to most foreign travelers in March to try to …
your ad herePublic Face of South Africa’s COVID-19 Fight Dies of Virus Complications
South Africa is mourning the sudden death of Jackson Mthembu, a cabinet minister and presidential adviser who was the public face of South Africa’s fight against COVID-19.President Cyril Ramaphosa offered condolences in a statement Thursday, saying he was shocked and saddened that 62-year-old Mthembu had died from COVID-related complications.He is …
your ad hereJudge Says Amazon Won’t Have to Restore Parler Web Service
Amazon won’t be forced to immediately restore web service to Parler after a federal judge ruled Thursday against a plea to reinstate the fast-growing social media app, which is favored by followers of former President Donald Trump.U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein in Seattle said she was not dismissing Parler’s “substantive …
your ad hereClimate Change Returns to White House Agenda with Biden Executive Order
President Joe Biden immediately began to reverse the Trump administration’s policies on climate change with one of 17 executive orders signed Wednesday after his inauguration.That’s in addition to the move to rejoin the Paris agreement to limit climate-changing greenhouse gases. After four years of federal disinterest in the issue, the order …
your ad hereGoogle Seals Content Payment Deal with French News Publishers
Google and a French publishers lobby said Thursday that they had agreed to a copyright framework for the U.S. tech giant to pay news publishers for content online, a first for Europe.The move paves the way for individual licensing agreements for French publications, some of which have seen revenues drop …
your ad hereNASA Makes Progress Toward Deep-space Travel
A NASA-Boeing partnership took its next steps toward deep-space exploration. Two commercial space flight companies reached new heights, and China says “foreign scientists” can inspect lunar samples it recently collected. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Produced by: Arash ArabasadiCamera: NASA/AP/Reuters/Virgin Orbit/Blue Origin …
your ad hereFacebook Oversight Panel to Review Suspension of Trump’s Accounts
Facebook’s independent oversight board said Thursday that it had accepted the company’s request to review its decision to suspend the accounts of former President Donald Trump.The U.S. social media giant blocked Trump’s access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts after he was accused of inciting a deadly insurrection by his …
your ad hereChina to Gift Pakistan 500K COVID-19 Vaccine Doses
Pakistan said Thursday it will receive half-a-million free doses of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine by January 31. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made the announcement at a news conference, saying his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, shared the “good news” in a phone call between the two officials. “He …
your ad hereFire Rips Through COVID-19 Vaccine Plant in India
Fire erupted Thursday in a building under construction in India that is owned by the world’s largest vaccine maker, but the company said it would not affect production of a COVID-19 vaccine.The fire broke out at a Serum Institute of India (SII) building in the western city of Pune.Fire official …
your ad hereUS Pledges to Join World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Global Vaccination Initiative
The leading infectious disease expert in the United States says the country will participate in the global initiative to provide COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to new U.S. President Joe Biden, …
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