George Chen’s high-end China Live restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown has lost 90% of its Lunar New Year bookings made by company parties and big families fearing the spread of COVID-19 as the omicron variant rampages across the United States. Three of his 100 employees have gotten the disease since …
your ad hereComoros Loses Both Goalkeepers as COVID Sweeps Through Squad
Comoros, the surprise package of the Africa Cup of Nations, is struggling to put a team together for their last-16 game against host nation Cameroon after 12 players and management tested positive for COVID-19, their federation announced Saturday. The 12 positive tests include both of the Coelacanths’ fit goalkeepers, with …
your ad hereUAE Bans Flying of Recreational Drones After Fatal Attack
The United Arab Emirates has banned the flying of drones in the country for recreation after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed a fatal drone attack on an oil facility and major airport in the country. As of Saturday, drone hobbyists and other operators of light electric sports aircraft face “legal liabilities” …
your ad hereNew Zealand PM Ardern Cancels Her Wedding Amid New Omicron Limits
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has canceled her wedding as the nation imposes new restrictions to slow the community spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant, she told reporters. New Zealand will impose mask rules and limit gathering from midnight on Sunday after a cluster of nine cases of the …
your ad hereIndia Reports More Than 300,000 Daily COVID Cases
India’s health ministry reported 337,704 new COVID-19 cases Saturday. Public health officials have warned that India’s tallies are likely undercounted. Ireland lifts most of its COVID restrictions Saturday, as the country prepares to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in March, for the first time in two years. Irish Prime Minister Michael …
your ad hereFacebook Removes Kurdish Pages Linked to Misinformation on Belarus Migrant Crisis
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has removed two popular Kurdish Facebook pages accused of spreading misinformation that helped convince thousands of Kurds to mass along the border of Belarus and Poland late last year. The two accounts, one from a Kurdish lawmaker with 143,000 followers and another belonging to …
your ad hereUzbeks Perplexed as US Veterans Link Illnesses to Air Base
Residents living near Karshi-Khanabad harbor have fond memories of the American soldiers who served at the Uzbek air base widely known as K2 between 2001 and 2005, describing the period as one of their happiest times. But for many of the Americans, lingering affection for the residents is outweighed by …
your ad hereNew Approach to Teaching Race in School Divides New Mexico
A proposal to overhaul New Mexico’s social studies standards has stirred debate over how race should be taught in schools, with thousands of parents and teachers weighing in on changes that would dramatically increase instruction related to racial and social identity beginning in kindergarten. The revisions in the state are …
your ad hereCameroon Hosts Influx of Football Fans from Neighboring Gabon, Equatorial Guinea
Cameroon says that within four days, at least 1,500 football supporters have entered the country from neighboring Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to support their teams that have advanced to Round 16 in the Africa Football Cup of Nations, or AFCON. Gabon battles Burkina Faso Sunday, while Equatorial Guinea plays against …
your ad hereOn 49th Anniversary of Roe V. Wade, Ruling’s Future in Doubt
The U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing a woman’s right to have an abortion was handed down on Jan. 22, 1973. Now, 49 years later, that landmark ruling is under threat, as is access to abortion in multiple states across the U.S. VOA’s Laurel Bowman has the latest. Producer: Bakhtiyar Zamanov …
your ad hereClimate, COVID, China: Takeaways from Online Davos Event
Government and business leaders have urged cooperation on the world’s biggest issues — climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and the economic recovery — at the World Economic Forum’s virtual gathering. Speeches and discussions from the likes of Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres moved online this week …
your ad hereLatin America, Asia Latest to Be Hit With Omicron Surge
In Costa Rica, officials are encouraging those infected with the coronavirus to skip voting in upcoming national elections. On the other side of the world, Beijing is locking down residential communities as the country anxiously awaits the start of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 4. In Latin America and Asia, …
your ad hereUS Suspends 44 Flights by Chinese Carriers After Beijing Action
The U.S. government said Friday it would suspend 44 China-bound flights from the United States by four Chinese carriers in response to the Chinese government’s decision to suspend some U.S. carrier flights over COVID-19 concerns. The suspensions will begin Jan. 30 with Xiamen Airlines’ scheduled Los Angeles-to-Xiamen flight and run …
your ad hereCDC Says Studies Show Boosters Offer Increased Protection Against Omicron
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it has evidence COVID-19 vaccines work against the omicron variant. Citing three studies, the CDC said the vaccines appear to work particularly well for those who received booster shots. The U.S. studies are the first to examine the effectiveness of …
your ad hereBiden Pushes Expansion of Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing
U.S. President Joe Biden touted a $20 billion investment by American technology company Intel to build a semiconductor factory in Ohio to address a global shortage that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S.-China trade war. In a speech from the White House on Friday, Biden said …
your ad hereWhite House Says COVID-19 Tests Being Shipped
The White House says some of the at-home, free COVID-19 tests it is offering to Americans have begun shipping via the U.S. Postal Service. During a Friday press briefing, Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said shipping started Thursday. He said demand has been high and added that there …
your ad hereLouie Anderson, Comic, Emmy Winner for ‘Baskets,’ Dies at 68
Louie Anderson, whose four-decade career as a comedian and actor included his unlikely, Emmy-winning performance as mom to twin adult sons in the TV series “Baskets,” died Friday. He was 68. Anderson died at a hospital in Las Vegas of complications from cancer, said Glenn Schwartz, his longtime publicist. Anderson …
your ad hereJudge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for US Federal Workers
A federal judge on Friday issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting the enforcement of U.S. President Joe Biden’s requirement that federal workers be vaccinated. Biden announced the mandate, which required 3.5 million federal workers to be vaccinated or ask for a medical or religious exemption, in September. There was no option …
your ad hereIsrael Probes Allegations Police Cyber-Spied on Citizens
Israel on Thursday launched an investigation into allegations police used the controversial Pegasus spyware on the country’s citizens. In a letter sent to police commander Koby Shabtai, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit asked to receive all wiretapping and computer spying orders from 2020 and 2021 in order to “verify allegations made …
your ad here‘Bat Out of Hell’ Singer Meat Loaf Dies at 74
Meat Loaf, the heavyweight rock superstar loved by millions for his “Bat Out of Hell” album and for such theatrical, dark-hearted anthems as “Paradise By the Dashboard Light,” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” and “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” has died. He was 74. …
your ad hereChina Exports Its Traditional Medicine to Africa
Hing Pal Singh is among dozens of patients with daily appointments at the Oriental Chinese Herbal Clinic in Nairobi. Singh, 85, has been suffering from spinal problems for five years and is now trying herbal remedies. “There is a slight difference,” Singh said. ” … It’s only a week now. It …
your ad hereBrazilian Samba Singer Elza Soares Dies at 91
Elza Soares, one of the most revered singers in Brazilian samba music, died at her home in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, aged 91. She died of natural causes, her press representative said in a statement. “An icon of Brazilian music, considered one of the best artists in the world, …
your ad hereAustria Set to Make COVID Shots Compulsory After Bill Clears Parliament
Austria’s lower house of parliament passed a bill Thursday making COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory for adults as of Feb. 1, bringing Austria closer to introducing the first such sweeping coronavirus vaccine mandate in the European Union. Faced with a stubbornly high number of vaccine holdouts and a surge in infections, the …
your ad hereAfrica Cup of Nations (AFCON) – Day 12
Thursday, January 20, 2022 Sierra Leone vs Equatorial Guinea | 0-1 Ivory Coast vs Algeria | 3-1 Gambia vs Tunisia | 1-0 Mali vs Mauritania | 2-0 …
your ad hereSenate Panel Moves Forward With Bill Targeting Big Tech
Legislation that would bar technology companies from favoring their own products in a way that undermines competitiveness moved forward Thursday after a Senate panel voted to move the bill to the Senate floor. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act received bipartisan support in a 16-6 vote in the Senate …
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