European Union regulators have filed antitrust charges against Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of using data to gain an unfair advantage over merchants using its platform. The EU’s executive commission, the bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, said Tuesday that the charges have been sent to the company. The commission said it takes issue with Amazon’s systematic…
read moreA study conducted by Britain’s Oxford University suggests COVID-19 can increase a person’s risk of developing a psychiatric disorder within three months of catching the virus. The study, published Monday in the Lancet Psychiatry Journal, indicates one in five surviving COVID-19 patients was found to be diagnosed with a mental disorder within 90 days of…
read moreAnother top U.S. Pentagon official is leaving his post, a day after the termination of Defense Secretary Mark Esper. In his resignation letter to President Donald Trump dated Tuesday, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Anderson listed some of his achievements and said it had been an honor to serve his country. “Now, as ever,…
read moreA top Pakistani government scientist says Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is not suited for Pakistan, or other developing countries because of the -80°C temperatures it needs to be kept at, and the need for a second shot.The American pharmaceutical company announced Monday that late-stage testing on its potential two-dose vaccine indicates it is more than 90%…
read moreThe U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a Republican effort to strike down the Affordable Care Act health care law.The hearing comes weeks after Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court, giving conservatives a 6-3 majority.At the center of the case is a requirement in the 2010 law for most people to have a minimum level…
read moreAfter winning a close election, President-Elect Joe Biden now shifts focus to governing a deeply divided nation that is grappling with a deadly pandemic and a struggling economy. VOA’s Brian Padden reports that for the incoming moderate Democratic president, success will likely hinge on both finding common ground with conservative Republicans while maintaining support from progressives in his own party. …
read moreVice president-elect Kamala Harris made history this week when she became the first woman ever to win election on a presidential ticket. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on the path that brought Harris to the second most powerful position in the U.S. government.Camera: Adam Greenbaum Produced by: Katherine Gypson, Jesse Oni …
read moreThe Trump administration has yet to begin the process of aiding President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team in the initial stages of taking control of the government. The General Services Administration (GSA), a government agency in Washington, is holding up approval for the full funding and resources of the transition process until a winner is “ascertained.” President…
read moreBrazil’s health regulator Anvisa suspended clinical trials of a Chinese firm’s coronavirus vaccine after an unspecified “adverse incident” involving a volunteer recipient late last month. Anvisa would only say such incidents could involve a death or serious disability resulting in hospitalization. Anvisa’s action with the CoronaVac vaccine occurred the same day a rival, U.S. pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, announced its vaccine has shown 90 percent effectiveness. Word of Pfizer’s vaccine success sent global financial markets soaring. Both the Pfizer and the Chinese Sinovac vaccine are in Phase III trials, the last stage of…
read moreHaitian President Jovenel Moise congratulated U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on his election victory Sunday. “I extend my congratulations to President-elect @JoeBiden, and Vice-President-elect @KamalaHarris. The USA is an important ally for Haiti, and I look forward to continued cooperation with this friend,” he tweeted.Je présente toutes mes félicitations au Président élu @JoeBiden, ainsi qu’à la Vice- Présidente…
read moreSome Republicans renewed their attacks Monday on Democrat Joe Biden’s lead over President Donald Trump in Georgia, with U.S. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler taking the extraordinary step of calling for the resignation of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the state’s chief elections officer and a fellow Republican. Republicans laid out a strategy to investigate but…
read moreU.S. health officials have allowed emergency use of the first antibody drug to help the immune system fight COVID-19, an experimental approach against the virus that has killed more than 238,000 Americans. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared the experimental drug from Eli Lilly for people 12 and older with mild or moderate…
read moreBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the news from pharmaceutical company Pfizer that one of its potential vaccines showed better than 90% efficacy in Phase 3 tests. But he cautioned that a vaccine is still a long way off and that one vaccine is not a solution.Speaking to reporters in London, Johnson said the data…
read moreThe secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a department spokesperson. The HUD secretary “is in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery,” the agency’s deputy chief of staff, Coalter Baker, said in a statement. After experiencing…
read moreWorld leaders have been giving their reactions to the victory of Joe Biden in the U.S. presidential election. But as Henry Ridgwell reports from London, some U.S. rivals including China and Russia are awaiting the outcome of legal challenges to the result. Camera: Henry Ridgwell Produced by: Jason Godman …
read moreTwitter says it could strip President Donald Trump’s account of certain privileges when projected election winner Joe Biden takes office on January 20. Trump’s recent tweets alleging voter fraud in the November 3 election have been tagged by Twitter, with notices that say for example, “This claim about voter fraud is disputed.” Ordinarily,…
read morePharmaceutical company Pfizer says late-stage testing on its potential COVID-19 vaccine indicates it is more than 90 percent effective. Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive, Albert Bourla, along with its partner, BioNTech, made the announcement Monday regarding the Phase 3, late-stage study of their potential vaccine. The statement said the study showed the vaccine to be…
read moreGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday congratulated the new U.S. president-elect and his running mate on their projected election victory and said the U.S. and its European partners must stand together to deal with the challenges of our time. At a news conference in Berlin, Merkel said Biden has decades of experience in both domestic…
read moreDemocrat Joe Biden, the projected winner of the long and contentious U.S. presidential election over Republican President Donald Trump, has moved quickly to start preparations to take over the U.S. government when he is inaugurated January 20 and reverse some key Trump policies. The move comes as Trump is contesting the outcome of the November 3 election through lawsuits, claiming, without evidence, that vote-counting irregularities in several states where Biden won narrow pluralities and…
read moreRichard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop has completed the world’s first passenger ride on a super high-speed levitating pod system, the company said on Sunday, a key safety test for technology it hopes will transform human and cargo transportation. Virgin Hyperloop executives Josh Giegel, its Chief Technology Officer, and Sara Luchian, Director of Passenger Experience, reached speeds of up to 107 miles per hour (172…
read moreTropical Storm Eta made landfall late Sunday in the Florida Keys on its way into the eastern Gulf of Mexico before taking another aim at the southeastern U.S. state later this week. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm had maximum sustained winds of 100 kilometers per hour as it brought heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash…
read moreAmerican voters waited days to hear the projected results of the 2020 election, with voter turnout at record numbers. Amid a pandemic and a strong partisan divide, how does the country heal? Esha Sarai reports from Philadelphia. …
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