U.S. President Joe Biden took questions from reporters for one hour Thursday during his first formal news conference, an encounter partly intended to refute conservative critics who had predicted the oldest man ever elected U.S. president would not be up to the task.After brief opening remarks about his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Biden…
read morePresident Joe Biden’s administration will soon begin working in earnest to sell the country on what it describes as a package of transformative investments designed to help keep the U.S. economy competitive on a fast-changing global stage while simultaneously addressing climate change.Biden will reveal the expected plan, with an estimated $3 trillion price tag, at…
read moreIn the global race against emerging variants of COVID-19, experts say it’s imperative to reach herd immunity quickly by vaccinating as many people as possible. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo reports on the range of vaccines being used in the U.S. and elsewhere. …
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday is holding his first formal news conference since taking office in January. Biden faced reporters’ questions about the surge in migrants at the country’s southwestern border, the Senate filibuster rule, voting rights and testy foreign relations with North Korea and China.While Biden has restored daily briefings by his press…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden makes a guest appearance at the European Union’s monthly summit Thursday, which will also be dominated by tensions over COVID-19 vaccinations and the pandemic’s latest surge in parts of the 27-member bloc.Discussions with Biden might be one of the few upbeat moments during this EU summit, taking place by videoconference because…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday is holding his first formal news conference since taking office in January and is likely to face reporters’ questions about the surge in migrants at the country’s southwestern border, two horrific mass killings in recent days and testy foreign relations with Russia and China.WATCH LIVE at 1:15pm EDT While Biden has…
read moreU.S. officials say Russian state media is citing false reports to undermine faith in Western COVID vaccines to promote Russia’s own Sputnik V vaccine. Daria Dieguts has the story.Camera: Artyom Kokhan …
read moreGeorge Kent, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, spoke with VOA’s Ukraine service Wednesday, discussing Ukraine as well as Russia and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.The following interview, held at the U.S. State Department, has been edited for clarity and brevity.VOA: In the last two months since President Joe…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden is set to go before reporters Thursday in the East Room of the White House for the first news conference since taking office in January.While Biden has restored daily briefings by his press secretary and answered questions in other formats, he is the first president in four decades to make it…
read moreThe ongoing drama surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine developed jointly by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford took another turn late Wednesday when the drugmaker released updated information about its effectiveness.The new information, based on its late-stage clinical trial involving more than 30,000 participants in the United States, shows the two-dose regimen is 76% effective in…
read moreHong Kong’s sudden suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is another blow to a vaccination program already struggling against a wall of public distrust.Hong Kong on Wednesday suspended use of the Pfizer vaccine, distributed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma, after defective packaging such as loose vial lids and cracks on…
read moreGeorge Kent, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, spoke with VOA’s Ukraine service Wednesday, discussing Ukraine as well as Russia and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.The following interview, held at the U.S. State Department, has been edited for clarity and brevity.VOA: In the last two months since President Joe…
read moreUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed America’s commitment to NATO as he sought to strengthen the transatlantic relationship in a two-day summit this week in Brussels, which wrapped up Wednesday. As Henry Ridgwell reports, a broad agenda included the growing threat posed by China. Camera: Henry Ridgwell …
read moreVoting mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be the nation’s assistant secretary of health. She is the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation.The final vote was 52-48. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined all Democrats…
read moreHackers in China used fake Facebook accounts and impostor websites to try to break into the computers and smartphones of Uyghur Muslims, the social network said Wednesday.The company said the sophisticated covert operation targeted Uyghur activists, journalists and dissidents from China’s Xinjiang region, as well as individuals living in Turkey, Kazakhstan, the U.S., Syria, Australia,…
read moreAs expected, the European Union (EU) Wednesday announced it will tighten export controls to ensure that there are more COVID-19 shot supplies for its citizens as health officials say the pandemic is getting worse on the continent.At a news conference in Brussels, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said the plan is designed to guarantee that…
read moreThe European Union will introduce a proposal Wednesday that could allow it to restrict exports of COVID-19 vaccine manufactured within the 27-nation bloc for six weeks.The legislation is aimed at addressing an acute shortage of vaccine across the continent that has slowed the inoculation effort in many EU nations. Many European nations have grown especially frustrated…
read moreWhen Joe Biden took office as president, the Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei Technologies saw at least a glimmer of hope that the U.S.-led campaign to shut it out of international markets might be eased somewhat. Once a global leader in smartphone sales, Huawei has seen its market share outside China plummet since the Trump administration began…
read moreResearch is ongoing, but it’s thought the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, may be a zoonotic disease that first appeared in bats. A team in the Philippines studies diseases carried by bats in hopes of preventing future pandemics. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.Producer: Arash Arabasadi …
read moreVaccines to combat COVID-19 are on the cusp of turning the tide of the global pandemic. But experts say not to expect total victory. While things may never again get as bad as they have been the last year, experts expect that in time, COVID-19 will become a chronic, but manageable, threat. Societies need to…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden is urging Congress to pass tighter gun laws following two mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story. …
read moreU.S. lawmakers are taking a new look at a decades-old law that grants U.S. presidents sweeping powers to wage war overseas. As VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, Congress may attempt to take back some of that power.Produced by: Katherine Gypson …
read more