More than 86,000 people died from drug overdoses last year in the U.S. – a massive increase of just over 24 percent. It is an epidemic that as VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, has been shoved in the shadows by the pandemic – but is no less serious a public health issue.Camera: Veronica Balderas Iglesias…
read moreScientists with the British Antarctica Survey (BAS) say a huge iceberg — larger than New York City — has broken off from the northwestern Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, almost 10 years after scientists discovered the first cracks. In a statement on its website, the BAS says the iceberg broke away Friday and that it covers about 1,270 square…
read moreAn international study shows an upward trend in support for receiving COVID-19 vaccines in several countries compared to the end of 2020, with the biggest increase in Britain and Sweden. Multinational communication firm Kekst CNC Monday published the results of the survey conducted in six countries – Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and United States. The poll indicated 89% of Britons were in favor of getting vaccinated now, compared to 65% last September.The AstraZeneca vaccine is prepared in…
read moreThe Philippines launched its national coronavirus vaccination campaign Monday amid widespread public skepticism and a struggle to procure vaccines. Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, the director of the state-run Philippine General Hospital in Manila, received the first dose of the CoronaVac vaccine developed by China-based Sinovac Biotech Limited. The doctor’s inoculation came just hours after President Rodrigo Duterte greeted the arrival of 600,000 doses…
read moreDonald Trump slammed President Joe Biden’s policies and reaffirmed leadership of the Republican Party at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida on Sunday, his first major speech after leaving office. He hinted but did not confirm whether he will run again in 2024. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story. …
read moreLess than six weeks after leaving office, former U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday unleashed a torrent of attacks on his successor, contending President Joe Biden has had the “most disastrous first month in modern history” in the White House and strongly hinting he may try to reclaim the presidency in the 2024 election.“In one…
read moreSpacewalking astronauts ventured out Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year.NASA’s Kate Rubins and Victor Glover put the first set of mounting brackets and struts together, then bolted them into place next to the station’s oldest and most degraded solar wings. But the…
read moreFormer U.S. President Donald Trump is set Sunday to stake his claim as the dominant Republican in the country, trying to win back party control of Congress next year and possibly run again for the presidency in 2024.Trump is speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, a gathering in Orlando, Florida, of hundreds of…
read moreThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally authorized the use of the Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine Saturday, clearing the way for shots to go into arms as early as Monday.The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 85% effective against serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to data…
read moreThere’s a new player in the social media webspace: it’s called Clubhouse. But unlike other social media platforms this one isn’t open to just anyone. Mariia Prus looked into why the platform got so popular so fast. Camera: Oleksii Osyka …
read moreU.S. Attorney John Durham said Friday that he will resign from his position as the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut but is remaining as a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into the origins of the Russia probe that shadowed Donald Trump’s presidency.Durham will resign from his post as U.S. attorney for Connecticut…
read moreRepublicans are holding their annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) for the first time since former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, with Trump still at the center of the spotlight.Trump is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech Sunday to the conference in Orlando, Florida, making his first major public appearance since leaving…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden called on the Senate Saturday to approve his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package the House of Representatives approved earlier in the day. The spending package, which aims to provide relief to businesses, governments and millions of Americans whose lives have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic, goes to the Senate…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks Saturday about his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package the House of Representatives approved earlier in the day. Biden will discuss the American Rescue Plan at the White House before flying to his home state of Delaware for the weekend. The spending package, which aims to provide relief…
read moreA federal judge on Friday approved a $650 million settlement of a privacy lawsuit against Facebook for allegedly using photo face-tagging and other biometric data without the permission of its users.U.S. District Judge James Donato approved the deal in a class-action lawsuit that was filed in Illinois in 2015. Nearly 1.6 million Facebook users in…
read moreThe U.S. moved a step closer Friday to having another vaccine in its coronavirus arsenal, after an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously endorsed Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose COVID vaccine.Formal authorization for the vaccine could come in the next few days. The one-dose vaccine would become the third coronavirus inoculation approved by…
read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that aims to provide relief to businesses, governments and millions of Americans whose lives have been upended by the coronavirus crisis.Lawmakers voted early Saturday along party lines in the Democratic-controlled House, passing the measure by a vote of 219–212. The passage…
read moreUS intelligence agencies released a report to Congress on Friday concluding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey, ‘to capture or kill’ Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and US resident. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports on reaction to the long-awaited report. Producer: Bakhtiyar Zamanov …
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden on Friday warned Iran to tread carefully in Iraq following a U.S. airstrike that destroyed parts of a compound used by Iranian-backed militias as they travel between Syria and Iraq.“You can’t act with impunity,” Biden told reporters in Houston, when asked what message he was trying to send Tehran by ordering…
read moreU.S. conservatives praised Donald Trump at an annual gathering Friday, even unveiling a golden statue of the former president, showing he remains a Republican political force despite violent scenes in Washington last month.Prominent congressional conservatives — including Senators Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley and Representatives Steve Scalise and Matt Gaetz — were among the Trump…
read moreU.S. health advisers endorsed a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson on Friday, putting the nation on the cusp of adding an easier-to-use option to fight the pandemic. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to quickly follow the recommendation and make Johnson & Johnson’s shot the third vaccine authorized for emergency use in the…
read moreInternational crime fighting agencies say organized crime groups have all the networks and methods needed to smuggle falsified, substandard and stolen COVID-19 vaccines across Africa. Interpol crime intelligence analyst John-Patrick Broome said, as is the case in the rest of the continent, criminal gangs in East Africa import fake medicines from Asia, mostly…
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