U.S. intelligence officials found no evidence that unidentified aerial phenomena observed by Navy aviators in recent years were alien spacecraft, but the sightings remain unexplained in a highly anticipated government report, The New York Times said Thursday. The report also found the vast majority of incidents documented over the past two decades did not…
read moreThe House Judiciary Committee is poised to question former White House counsel Don McGahn behind closed doors on Friday, two years after House Democrats originally sought his testimony as part of investigations into former President Donald Trump. The long-awaited interview is the result of an agreement reached last month in federal court. House…
read moreFormer Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that he wasn’t sure that he and former President Donald Trump would ever see “eye to eye” over what happened on Jan. 6 but that he would “always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years.”Pence, speaking at a Republican dinner…
read more“The threat of a third wave” of COVID-19 in Africa is “real and rising,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization regional director for Africa, told a virtual news conference Thursday. “While many countries outside Africa have now vaccinated their high-priority groups and are able to even consider vaccinating their children, African countries are unable…
read moreJapan delivered to Taiwan 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca PLC’s coronavirus vaccine on Friday for free, in a gesture that will more than double the number of shots the island has received to date.Taiwan is battling a spike in domestic infections and has vaccinated only about 3% of its population. Japan has agreed to procure…
read moreFormer Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that he wasn’t sure that he and former President Donald Trump would ever see “eye to eye” over what happened on Jan. 6 but that he would “always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years.”Pence, speaking at a Republican dinner…
read moreFacebook plans to end a contentious policy championed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg that exempted politicians from certain moderation rules on its site, according to several news reports.The company’s rationale for that policy held that the speech of political leaders is inherently newsworthy and in the public interest even if it is offensive, bullying or otherwise…
read moreThe United States said Thursday it stands “with the people of China” in their fight for human rights on the eve of the anniversary of Beijing’s deadly Tiananmen crackdown, amid heightened tensions between the two economic giants.Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country will “honor the sacrifices of those killed 32 years ago, and…
read moreThe White House has announced it will deliver the bulk of its first 25 million donated doses of COVID-19 vaccine through COVAX, the United Nations-backed program delivering vaccines to low- and middle-income countries. That’s according to a White House announcement on Thursday. It’s part of a down payment on a pledge to donate 80 million…
read moreU.S. traffic deaths soared after coronavirus lockdowns ended in 2020, hitting the highest yearly total since 2007 as more Americans engaged in unsafe behavior on U.S. roads, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday.For all of 2020, 38,680 people died on U.S. roads, up 7.2%, or nearly 2,600 more than in 2019, even…
read moreSpace junk finally hits its mark. Plus, NASA now eyes Venus after its first major flight issue on Mars. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi …
read moreTwitter announced a new premium service for users in Canada and Australia that allows paying users to adjust tweets, among other features.Called Twitter Blue, the service allows users to preview and modify a tweet up to 30 seconds before publishing it. Users can also bookmark and organize tweets, making them easier to find.Twitter Blue will…
read moreThe White House on Thursday urged American businesses to take new precautions to combat disruptive ransomware attacks that have increasingly hobbled companies throughout Western economies.Jen Psaki, President Joe Biden’s press secretary, urged private industry to harden access to their computer systems, saying the government “can’t do it alone.”Anne Neuberger, a White House cybersecurity official, said…
read moreThe Biden administration on Thursday announced it will share 80 million excess doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of June, with FILE – A health worker talks to colleagues as they prepare to receive a coronavirus vaccine at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2021.Approximately 7 million doses will head to…
read moreThe European Union (EU) Thursday unveiled its plans for a digital ID wallet that would hold all official documents residents would need to allow them access to the information at home or anywhere across the 27-nation bloc. At a news briefing on the proposal in Brussels, European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager said the…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden visits Europe later this month on what will be his first trip abroad since taking office, the White House announced Thursday. Biden, who became president on January 20, will meet with world leaders in the United Kingdom, Belgium and Switzerland during his visit June 10-16. “This trip will highlight America’s commitment to…
read moreJust six months after receiving two shots of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine, some people in Bahrain are being offered booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.The decision to mix vaccines comes as the Gulf state is experiencing a wave of virus infections despite having a very high per capita vaccination rate. The booster is being recommended for…
read moreYouTube videos that cause an autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, are likely something school-age kids know all about. Their parents? Not so much. Karina Bafradzhian looks at a new trend that some people say helps them deal with pandemic-induced stress. Camera: David Gogokhia …
read moreThe administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is formally establishing the fight against corruption as a core national security interest. Biden on Thursday issued his first national security memorandum, outlining his anti-corruption agenda. “Corruption threatens United States national security, economic equity, global anti-poverty and development efforts, and democracy itself,” the president said in his directive. “But by…
read moreBritain is hosting a two-day summit of health ministers from the Group of Seven nations, with a focus on sharing vaccines and better identifying threats to global health security. The talks in Oxford on Thursday and Friday come ahead of a summit of G-7 leaders next week in Cornwall. Countries that have carried out large-scale vaccination efforts…
read moreIn the span of just five days last month, China gave out 100 million shots of its COVID-19 vaccines.After a slow start, China is now doing what virtually no other country in the world can: harnessing the power and all-encompassing reach of its one-party system and a maturing domestic vaccine industry to administer shots at…
read moreThe new White House science adviser hopes that for the next pandemic, a vaccine will be ready in 100 days. Eric Lander tells The Associated Press in his first interview since he was sworn in that he’s pushing for better preparedness for the next pandemic. He says that includes the type of vaccine where researchers can plug in…
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