U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are putting a large focus of their first full day in office on the federal government’s response to the coronavirus.Biden is scheduled to speak Thursday about the administration’s plans and to sign executive orders and other actions related to combating COVID-19.Both Biden and Harris are then…
read moreChile 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 independent investigations suggested CoronaVac was…
read moreZimbabwe 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 Mnangagwa.Moyo is the third cabinet…
read moreA full-throated, supremely confident Lady Gaga belted out the national anthem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in a very Gaga way — with flamboyance, fashion and passion.The Grammy winner wore a huge dove-shaped brooch and an impressively billowing red sculpted skirt as she sang into a golden microphone, delivering an emotional and powerful rendition of…
read moreFormer Vice President Joseph R. Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, taking the oath of office on the steps of a heavily locked-down U.S. Capitol just two weeks after pro-Trump protesters breached the seat of congressional power. As VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, former president Donald Trump’s refusal to…
read moreTwitter 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 “baby making machines,” citing a…
read moreThis 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 first shots. More from VOA…
read moreA 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 Georgia Island, said scientist Ted…
read moreWhen 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 of the @POTUS account’s existing…
read morePresident Joe Biden signed wide-ranging executive orders Wednesday to end travel restrictions from predominantly Muslim and African countries, initiate a halt to border wall funding and strengthen protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. The orders dismantled major portions of former President Donald Trump’s restrictive immigration policies.Travel restrictionsThe Biden-Harris White House reversed…
read moreAmong the 17 executive actions U.S. President Joe Biden signed during his first hours in office Wednesday, two will strengthen frayed cooperation with the United Nations on boosting global health and combating climate change. Making good on campaign promises, Biden halted the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and rejoined the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. FILE…
read moreFull text of Joe Biden’s inaugural speech, released by the White House:This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope. Of renewal and resolve. Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge. Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy. The…
read moreThere were words of welcome Wednesday from across the world for Joe Biden as he was sworn in as America’s 46th president. They were mixed with parting shots from some leaders aimed at his predecessor, Donald Trump, who left Washington hours before the swearing-in. As the inauguration has been atypical — with no crowds…
read moreIsrael 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 some in Israel says raises…
read moreBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labor Party opposition leader Keir Starmer expressed good wishes Wednesday to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on his Inauguration Day. Speaking in Parliament during his weekly question time with lawmakers, Johnson said he is looking forward to working with Biden and with his new administration “strengthening the partnership between our…
read moreLeaders of the European Union Wednesday hailed the inauguration of Joe Biden as a “new dawn” in America. Speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels, ahead of Biden’s swearing-in as the 46th president of the United States, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “This time-honored ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol…
read moreDonald Trump’s four-year term as U.S. president comes to a close Wednesday with a morning departure from the White House and a final flight on Air Force One to the southern state of Florida. He is set to get a sendoff ceremony with a red carpet, military band, a 21-gun salute and an unknown number of guests in attendance. Around the same time…
read moreIndigenous 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 the vaccine. Isabel Ticuna, one of the…
read moreKenya 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 African countries to wipe out…
read moreJoe Biden will be the new U.S. president Wednesday, with Kamala Harris becoming the first woman to serve as vice president when the two are sworn in at noon in an inauguration that has been scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Absent will be the typical crowd of hundreds of thousands of people stretching from…
read moreThe U.S. National Guard, the part-time military service providing security for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, has removed 12 members from security duty for the event, military officials announced Tuesday.The move underscored authorities’ resolve to secure the quadrennial ceremony amid concern over violence following the deadly January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by militant supporters…
read moreU.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Pentagon warns the country is facing a series of enemies, both at home and abroad, and that it will fall, in part, to the United States military to overcome the dangers. Retired General Lloyd Austin appeared before lawmakers Tuesday and said his first priority if confirmed as the…
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