Chile is getting a new weapon to help in its fight against the spread of the coronavirus.Health regulators approved the emergency use of the CoronaVac vaccine made by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd.Heriberto Garcia, director of Chile’s Public Health Institute, said very encouraging data from late-stage trials and the Health Institute’s …
your ad hereZimbabwe Foreign Minister Dies of COVID-19
Zimbabwe is mourning the death of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo.The government said the country’s top diplomat died Wednesday after contracting COVID-19.Moyo gained international notoriety as an army general, becoming the spokesperson of the 2017 coup that ousted longtime President Robert Mugabe, who was replaced by Emmerson …
your ad hereMassive Iceberg Continues Losing Mass as it Swirls Around South Georgia Island
A massive Antarctic iceberg that last month threatened a penguin-populated island off the southern tip of South America has since lost much of its mass and broken into pieces, scientists say. The main ice mass, called A68a, and its “child bergs” are still on the move, swirling in waters near South …
your ad hereTwitter Says It Locked Account of China’s US Embassy Over Xinjiang-Related Tweet
Twitter has locked the account of China’s U.S. embassy for a tweet that defended China’s policies in the Xinjiang region, which the U.S. social media platform said violated the firm’s policy against “dehumanization.” The Chinese Embassy account, @ChineseEmbinUS, posted a tweet this month that said that Uighur women were no longer …
your ad hereWHO: Equitable Vaccine Distribution at ‘Serious Risk’
This week the head of the World Health Organization warns the world is on the brink of a “catastrophic moral failure” over the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. This comes after some countries are already well underway with their vaccination campaigns, while others do not know when they will get their …
your ad hereOfficial US Government Social Media Accounts Switch to New Administration
When Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th U.S. president Wednesday, he inherited several social media accounts, including the @POTUS, @WhiteHouse, @FLOTUS and @VP Twitter accounts. Unlike after the last inauguration in 2017, when then-President Barack Obama’s followers were transferred to his successor Donald Trump, Biden inherited none …
your ad hereYoung Poet Draws Spotlight at Biden Inauguration
Twenty-two-year-old poet Amanda Gorman made headlines and dominated inauguration talk on social media Wednesday after speaking at President Joe Biden’s inauguration.Her poem, in part:“We, the successors of a country and a time,Where a skinny black girl,Descended from slaves and raised by a single mother,Can dream of becoming president,Only to find …
your ad hereIsrael Shares Vaccine Data With Pfizer
Israel has sped ahead of any other country in its vaccine rollout, with more than 2 million people out of a total of 9.3 million already having received the first vaccination. In exchange for access to so many doses so early, Israel agreed to share data with Pfizer, a move …
your ad hereBrazil Launches COVID-19 Vaccine Program for Hard Hit Indigenous People
Indigenous people in Brazil’s rainforest are getting their long awaited first doses of a vaccine against the coronavirus, which has infected thousands in their community and killed hundreds of others. The Brazilian military flew medical workers and 1,000 doses of the CoronaVac Chinese vaccine into the Amazon rainforest on Tuesday and began vaccinating the indigenous people, who celebrated the arrival of …
your ad hereGrowing Swarms of Locust Converging on Kenya Threaten Crops
Kenya is under siege again by swarms of maturing desert locusts that threaten to ruin farmers’ crops and pastures. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement the locusts are swarming across seven counties, nearly double the number of counties impacted a week ago. The latest locust invasion in Kenya comes as the FAO warns the 28 anti-locust aircraft assembled by East …
your ad herePalestinian High-Tech Sector Takes Off
In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, dozens of Palestinian high-tech startups are flourishing. Some are branches of international companies, others are all Palestinian. High-tech also offers new possibilities for Israeli-Palestinian cooperation. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen …
your ad hereSkirting the Water: An Electric Bike Opens Up New Horizons for Bikers
Take a ride on a new kind of bike — one that skirts across lakes and waterways – powered by an electric engine and a battery. Michelle Quinn got a ride.Camera: Michelle Quinn Producer: Rob Raffaele …
your ad hereSouth Africa Coronavirus Cases Decline, But New Variant Spreading Quickly
South Africa is reporting both good and bad news in the battle against the coronavirus, seeing a decline in confirmed cases along with the spread of a new, more infectious strain of the virus. First, the good news from South Africa’s health minister, Dr. Zweli Mkhize. The nation is still …
your ad hereSerbia Becomes First European Country to Use Chinese COVID Vaccine for Mass Rollout
Hundreds of members of Serbia’s military lined up on Tuesday in their camouflage uniforms at an exhibition hall in Belgrade where nurses injected them with a Chinese-made vaccine against COVID-19. Last week Serbia received one million doses of Chinese Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first European country to start a …
your ad hereMeghan Seeks Court Ruling over ‘Serious Breach’ of Privacy
Lawyers for the Duchess of Sussex asked a British judge on Tuesday to settle her lawsuit against a newspaper before it goes to trial by ruling that its publication of a “deeply personal” letter to her estranged father was “a plain and a serious breach of her rights of privacy.” …
your ad hereNYC Fashion Illustrator Shares COVID Stories Through Art
New York City-based fashion illustrator and writer Rebecca Moses decided to turn a quarantine art project into a gift to all New York City nurses. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Natalia Latukhina, Alexander Barash …
your ad hereGarth Brooks Joins Lineup of Entertainers at Biden Inaugural
Add Garth Brooks to the lineup of entertainers at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden “This is a great day in our household,” the country music superstar said during a virtual press conference Monday, two days before Biden is to be sworn in. “This is not a political statement. This …
your ad hereCalifornia First in US to Post More than 3 Million Total COVID-19 Cases
California has become the first U.S state to post more than 3 million total coronavirus cases. As of Tuesday, the western state, home to 40 million residents, has 3,015,644 confirmed infections, including 33,724 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. According to the Associated Press, it took California 292 …
your ad hereTurkey Hits Twitter, Pinterest with Advertising Bans
Turkey imposed advertising bans Tuesday on Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest for not complying with a new law requiring social media companies to appoint a local representative to handle content removal orders. The rules that went into effect in October have drawn criticism from human rights and media freedom groups …
your ad hereCOVID-19 Threat Will Likely Keep Border Closed in 2021, Australia Says
Australia has said it could keep its external borders closed for the rest of 2021 because of the coronavirus. 28,721 coronavirus cases have been reported in Australia since the pandemic began. 909 people have died, according to the Health Department.Australia closed its international borders to foreign travelers in March. It’s been …
your ad herePowerful 6.4 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Western Argentina
A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit San Juan Province in Argentina late Monday night, according to early reports from the U.S. Geological Survey. A series of aftershocks, with a lower magnitude than the quake also occurred. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said the earthquake in west central Argentina did not pose a tsunami threat and no warning was posted. Initial reports indicate the quake, which hit at a shallow …
your ad hereWHO Chief: World on Brink of ‘Moral Failure’ Over COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
The head of the World Health Organization says the world is “on the brink of a moral catastrophic failure” for its unequal sharing of COVID-19 vaccinations. Addressing a WHO executive board meeting in Geneva on Monday, Executive Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it is “not right that younger, healthier adults in …
your ad hereWatchdog Agency: Energy Sector Needs to Decrease Methane Emissions
Oil and gas companies are not doing enough to decrease the release of methane gases, a main source of planet-heating emissions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new report released Monday. In 2020, the fuel industries emitted about 5% of all global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, the IEA …
your ad hereParler Partially Reappears with Support from Russian Technology Firm
Parler, a social media website and app popular with the American far right, has partially returned online with the help of a Russian-owned technology company.Parler vanished from the internet when dropped by Amazon Inc.’s hosting arm and other partners for poor moderation after its users called for violence and posted …
your ad hereCOVID-19 Deaths Rising In 30 US States Amid Winter Surge
Coronavirus deaths are rising in nearly two-thirds of American states as a winter surge pushes the overall toll toward 400,000 amid warnings that a new, highly contagious variant is taking hold. As Americans observed a national holiday Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pleaded with federal authorities to curtail travel …
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