Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping did not mention the United States during the CCP’s 20th National Congress this week. But his message was clear: Beijing will double down in the face of Western threats, including those concerning Taiwan. “We are not committed to abandoning the use of force, and we reserve the option of…
read moreWith polls suggesting that Republicans may retake control of the House of Representatives in the November midterm elections, the United States appears set to continue its “tough on China” policy. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara looks at how a GOP-led Congress might exert more pressure on the Biden administration on various issues from trade…
read moreA federal appeals court late Friday issued an administrative stay temporarily blocking President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loans. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the stay while it considers a motion from six Republican-led states to block the loan cancellation program. The stay ordered the Biden…
read moreU.S. health regulators Friday estimated that BQ.1 and closely related BQ.1.1 accounted for 16.6% of coronavirus variants in the country, nearly doubling from last week, while Europe expects them to become the dominant variants in a month. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said the variants are likely to drive up cases in…
read moreAs China’s ruling Communist Party holds a congress this week, many Beijing residents are focused on an issue not on the formal agenda: Will the end of the meeting bring an easing of the at times draconian “zero-COVID” policies that are disrupting lives and the economy? It appears to be wishful thinking. As the world…
read moreThe Biden administration’s announcement earlier this month that it would ban the transfer of advanced U.S. semiconductor technology to China continues to reverberate through global markets. The ruling by the Department of Commerce affects not only U.S. firms that sell to China but any company whose products contain American semiconductor technology. In mainland China, according…
read moreU.S. Senator Lindsey Graham must testify before a special grand jury investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in Georgia, a federal appeals court said Thursday. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paves the way for Fulton County District Attorney…
read moreU.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday declined to block President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt, the legality of which had been challenged by a Wisconsin taxpayers organization represented by a conservative legal group. The Brown County Taxpayers Association had made an emergency request to put on…
read moreWhen Americans vote on November 8 in the midterm elections, most will choose candidates from either the Democratic or Republican parties. Some ballots will include political hopefuls from so-called third parties, which traditionally have had scant success. One new party is hoping to shake up the system in the years ahead: the Forward Party, led…
read moreA decade-old publicity stunt continues shaping modern life. Plus, satellite TV gets a serious upgrade, and the Webb telescope gives us another stunning image. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
read moreIn this year’s midterm elections in the United States, the Republican Party is pushing to expand recent gains among Hispanic voters. VOA’s Scott Stearns narrates this story from Christian von Preysing-Barry in Texas, where Republicans this year won a congressional seat long held by the Democratic Party. Videographer: Christian von Preysing-Barry …
read moreThe World Health Organization warns physical inactivity can lead to the development of debilitating noncommunicable diseases and millions of premature deaths. Data from 194 countries show governments are not doing enough to encourage their populations to engage in physical activity, including creating the opportunities for people to be more active and move around freely. For…
read moreCanberra scientists are researching a mysterious new recreational drug not seen before in Australia. The Australian National University says the substance is a “close cousin” of ketamine, a controlled anesthetic used by doctors and veterinarians. The new substance is known as “CanKet” — a Canberra ketamine. It was discovered at Australia’s first government-supported pill-testing center…
read moreThe first Native American woman in space said Wednesday she is overwhelmed by the beauty and delicacy of Mother Earth and is channeling “positive energy” as her five-month mission gets underway. NASA astronaut Nicole Mann said from the International Space Station that she’s received lots of prayers and blessings from her family and tribal community.…
read moreA California federal judge on Wednesday said then-U.S. President Donald Trump had signed a sworn statement asserting that voter fraud numbers included in a 2020 election lawsuit were accurate, despite being told the numbers were not correct. U.S. District Judge David Carter made the disclosure in ordering lawyer John Eastman to provide more emails to…
read moreThe World Health Organization said Wednesday it is too early to lift the highest-level alert for the COVID-19 crisis, with the pandemic remaining a global health emergency despite recent progress. The WHO’s emergency committee on COVID-19 met last week and concluded that the pandemic still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), a…
read moreWhen midterm elections get under way next month, voters in several Republican-controlled states will be casting their ballots in congressional districts with borders that courts have rejected. In Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Ohio, the congressional maps were drawn by Republican legislators in the aftermath of the 2020 census. Judges later ruled that the maps were…
read moreThe eight most recent Ebola cases reported during the outbreak in Uganda have no known links with current patients, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, raising concerns about the spread of the deadly disease. In a briefing, WHO said initial investigations into the cases by Uganda’s Ministry of Health had found they were not contacts…
read moreThe World Health Organization said on Wednesday it will temporarily suspend the standard two-dose vaccination regimen for cholera, replacing it with a single dose due to vaccine shortages and rising outbreaks worldwide. The U.N. agency said “the exceptional decision reflects the grave state of the cholera vaccine stockpile” at a time when countries like Haiti,…
read moreExperts say record-breaking floods in Australia are allowing mosquitoes to thrive, increasing the risk of spreading diseases like Japanese Encephalitis. Communities across three states have in recent days been hit by flooding, and more torrential rain is forecast this week. Parts of eastern Australia have been repeatedly flooded in the past two-years. Mosquitoes need stagnant…
read moreCameroon says a fresh wave of cholera outbreak provoked by ongoing floods in its northern border with Chad and Nigeria has killed at least 17 people and many more are feared dead in difficult-to-access villages within a week. An emergency meeting by government officials and relief agencies on Wednesday ordered the deployment of humanitarian workers…
read moreA warming climate could bring viruses in the Arctic into contact with new environments and hosts, increasing the risk of “viral spillover,” according to research published Wednesday. Viruses need hosts like humans, animals, plants or fungi to replicate and spread, and occasionally they can jump to a new one that lacks immunity, as seen during…
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