It’s Pride Month, and gay Americans should have a lot to celebrate: A new president who has pledged to advocate for LGBTQ people, an easing of a pandemic that has disrupted their communal activism, and increasing public acceptance of their basic rights, including record-high support for same-sex marriage. Instead, the mood …
your ad hereCriminal Organizations Hire Hackers to Look for Targets
Ransomware cases are on the rise worldwide and criminal groups based in Russia are suspected of being behind some of the biggest recent attacks. Michelle Quinn reports on the changing world of ransomware.Camera: Matt DibbleProduced by: Michelle Quinn …
your ad hereEuropean Soccer Championship Begins Friday After 1-Year Delay
The first match of soccer’s European championship gets underway Friday at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, with Turkey taking on Italy.The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship was postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic that brought many of the world’s activities to a halt.It is notable that Friday’s …
your ad hereHong Kong Censors to Vet Films for National Security Breaches
Hong Kong censors are to vet all films for national security breaches under expanded powers announced on Friday, in the latest blow to the financial hub’s political and artistic freedoms.Authorities in semi-autonomous Hong Kong have embarked on a sweeping crackdown to root out Beijing’s critics after huge and often violent …
your ad hereGoogle Pledges to Resolve Ad Privacy Probe with UK Watchdog
Google has promised to give U.K. regulators a role overseeing its plan to phase out existing ad-tracking technology from its Chrome browser as part of a competition investigation into the tech giant. The U.K. competition watchdog has been investigating Google’s proposals to remove so-called third-party cookies over concerns they would …
your ad hereBritish PM Urges G-7 Leaders to Donate COVID Vaccines
The G-7 nations announced Friday that they will donate a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to low- and medium-income nations. The U.S., as previously announced, will donate 500 million shots, while Britain will donate 100 million. “I hope my fellow @G7 leaders will make similar pledges so that, together, we can …
your ad hereKenya Strives to Eradicate Blindness-Causing Trachoma
Authorities in Kenya are taking steps to eradicate trachoma, an infectious disease that is a leading cause of blindness in Africa. About 7 million people in central Kenya are at risk for the disease, as Brenda Mulinya reports from Nairobi. Camera: Amos Wangwa …
your ad hereG-7 To Donate 1 Billion COVID Vaccines to the World
On Thursday, before the opening Friday of the G-7 Summit in Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the group is set to donate a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to low- and middle-income countries.Johnson’s announcement came after U.S. President Joe Biden said earlier in the day that his administration is …
your ad hereThe Unanswered ‘Jeopardy!’ Question: Who’s the New Host?
Jeopardy! needed a host, and Lucille Ball had an enthusiastic suggestion for creator Merv Griffin: The smooth-voiced, debonair emcee of the High Rollers game show.That was 1984. Decades later, filling the void left by the late Alex Trebek involves sophisticated research and a parade of guest hosts doing their best …
your ad hereMystery Over Claim World’s 1st ‘Decuplets’ Born in S. Africa
South Africa has been gripped by the mystery of whether a woman has, as has been claimed, actually given birth to 10 babies, in what would then be the world’s first recorded case of decuplets.Gosiame Thamara Sithole from the Tembisa township near Johannesburg gave birth to the babies on Monday, …
your ad hereHire a Hacker: Criminal Organizations Work with Hackers to Look for Targets, Collect Ransom Proceeds
Ransomware cases are on the rise worldwide and criminal groups based in Russia are suspected of being behind some of the biggest recent attacks. Michelle Quinn reports on the changing world of ransomware.Camera: Matt DibbleProduced by: Michelle Quinn …
your ad hereBiden Says US Will Donate 500 Million COVID Vaccines to World
On Thursday, the eve of the G-7 summit in Cornwall, England, U.S. President Joe Biden formally announced what had been disclosed a day earlier — that his administration would donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to 92 low- and middle-income countries. Here’s the latest from White House …
your ad hereCyber Regulation Could Be Coming Following Spate of Hacks, Ransomware Attacks
The United States may soon look to regulate private companies, mandating higher standards for cybersecurity following a series of damaging hacks and ransomware attacks against key firms and critical infrastructure.U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominees to fill two top cyber roles in his administration warned Thursday that malign actors are currently …
your ad hereWhite House Launches Broader Scrutiny of Foreign Tech
An executive order signed by President Joe Biden this week dropped a Trump-era measure that barred Americans from downloading TikTok and several other Chinese smartphone apps. But analysts say the order also broadens the scrutiny of foreign-controlled technology.Biden’s move replaced three Trump administration executive orders that sought to ban downloads …
your ad hereRestrictions Lift as COVID-19 Deaths and Cases Fall in Washington
Washington-area residents are increasingly out and about as COVID-19 cases fall in the U.S., including the capital region. But reluctance to get vaccinated persists in some quarters, despite extensive campaigns promoting inoculation — and warnings of the dangers of failing to get the jab. VOA’s Laurel Bowman has our story.Camera: …
your ad hereUS Again Condemns Nigeria’s Twitter Ban
The U.S. has condemned Nigeria’s continuing ban of Twitter in the country, saying the action “has no place in a democracy.”“Freedom of expression and access to information both online and offline are foundational to prosperous and secure democratic societies,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday in a statement calling …
your ad hereBiden Administration Won’t Require Shots for Federal Workers Returning to Offices
U.S federal workers will not be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine before returning to the office, according to guidance from the Biden administration released Thursday.The guidance says federal agencies should base their reopening plans on the percentage of employees who are vaccinated, but said revealing vaccination status would be …
your ad hereNASA Sends Squids into Space, Soccer Star Talks Game with Orbiting Astronaut
NASA sends squids to space. Plus, the world’s wealthiest man makes out-of-this-world travel arrangements, and a soccer star talks game with an orbiting astronaut. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi …
your ad hereIndia Breaks World Record After Posting 6,000 COVID Deaths in a Day
India posted a single-day world record Thursday of more than 6,000 COVID-19 deaths after one state revised a set of numbers.The eastern state of Bihar, one of India’s largest and poorest states, revised its death toll Wednesday from about 5,500 to 9,500 after the state’s high court ordered the government …
your ad hereWHO Official Urges Caution as Nations Reopen
The World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe urged caution Thursday, as 36 of the region’s 53 countries begin to ease COVID-19 restrictions, saying the continent’s vaccination rate is insufficient to prevent a resurgence.At a virtual briefing from his headquarters in Copenhagen, WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge acknowledged current pandemic …
your ad hereUEFA Orders Change to Ukraine Football Jersey
Soccer’s governing body in Europe, UEFA, ruled Thursday that Ukraine can keep a map that includes Crimea on its jerseys, but must remove part of a slogan that it said has military connotations. Russia had filed complaints with UEFA about the jersey that Ukraine will wear at the 24-nation …
your ad hereHong Kong Opens Vaccine Drive to Children Aged 12 and Older
Hong Kong will allow children age 12 and above to receive the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine as it seeks to boost immunization rates in the city. Government officials said Thursday they will offer the vaccine to about 240,000 children from 12 to 15 years old starting Friday, joining other countries that have started vaccinating …
your ad hereInsect-Tracking Drones to Boost Rare Bug Conservation in New Zealand
A “swarm” of bug-tracking drones and tiny radars are being developed to help conservation of rare insects in New Zealand. The new tag-and-track technology is being developed at the University of Canterbury on New Zealand’s South Island. Researchers hope it could lead to a deeper understanding of New Zealand’s threatened and endangered insects. The research draws on …
your ad hereBiden Administration to Review Trump Ban on TikTok, WeChat, Other Apps
Former president Donald Trump’s executive order that attempted to ban Chinese video app TikTok has been replaced by the Biden administration, which has implemented its own executive orders to review several Chinese apps for possible national security and privacy risks. President Joe Biden’s executive order directs the Commerce Department to analyze …
your ad hereBiden Replaces Trump Ban on TikTok, WeChat, Other Apps
Former president Donald Trump’s executive order that attempted to ban Chinese video app TikTok has been replaced by the Biden administration, which has implemented its own executive orders to review several Chinese apps for possible national security and privacy risks. President Joe Biden’s executive order directs the Commerce Department to analyze …
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