The United States is trying to be strategic about how it “realigns” its trade relationship with China, but is not interested in a large-scale “decoupling” or a trade “divorce,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in an interview this week. Tai made the remarks in Singapore, where she had traveled to discuss the Biden administration’s…
read moreFormer Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino were held in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for their monthslong refusal to comply with subpoenas rendered by the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The two men became the latest members of former President Donald Trump’s inner circle to face…
read moreLithium is a key component in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems, and California officials hope their state will become a major producer. Governor Gavin Newsom has said he wants California to become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium.” But residents of one community want some assurances first. Mike O’Sullivan reports from Lithium Valley in the…
read moreThe World Health Organization ((WHO)) says, following a surge of new cases in early March, the number of new worldwide COVID-19 cases and deaths has fallen for a second consecutive week. In its weekly update released late Tuesday, the WHO reports the number of new cases overall fell by 16 percent during the week ending…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced plans to expand access to health care by proposing changes to the Affordable Care Act to allow millions of additional families to purchase health insurance and obtain tax credits to offset the cost. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. …
read moreTwitter said on Tuesday it will begin testing a new edit feature in the coming months, surprising its users on the same day it said Tesla boss Elon Musk would join the social media company’s board. Jay Sullivan, Twitter’s head of consumer products, said in a tweet the company had been working since last year…
read moreRepublicans blocked a Democratic attempt Tuesday to begin Senate debate on a $10 billion COVID-19 compromise, pressing to entangle the bipartisan package with an election-year showdown over immigration restrictions that poses a politically uncomfortable fight for Democrats. A day after Democratic and GOP bargainers reached agreement on providing the money for treatments, vaccines and testing,…
read moreZoos across North America are moving their birds indoors and away from people and wildlife as they try to protect them from the highly contagious and potentially deadly avian influenza. Penguins may be the only birds that visitors to many zoos can see right now, because they already are kept inside and usually protected behind…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced plans to expand access to health care by proposing changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to allow millions of additional American families to purchase health insurance plans and obtain tax credits to offset the cost. “When today’s proposed rule is finalized, starting next year, working families will…
read moreAs the world impatiently looks for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, another tenacious pandemic, tuberculosis, has gained new strength and threatens millions of people around the world, health experts say. With less funding for its detection and care programs, and more deaths resulting from it, the global fight against TB has seen major…
read moreA day after it was revealed he owned the largest stake in Twitter, slightly more than 9% of shares, Elon Musk has joined the company’s board of directors. The Tesla and SpaceX founder will be on the board until at least 2024, according to a regulatory filing. As a stipulation of his board membership, Musk…
read moreIn the U.S., some restaurants and medical supply stores are turning to drones to deliver food, medicine, and other essential goods to people’s homes. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. …
read moreAmazon on Tuesday announced deals for scores of launches to deploy a “constellation” of satellites in low orbit around the Earth to provide internet service to people below. Amazon said that its contracts with Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance (ULA) are the largest commercial procurement of launch vehicles in history. The overall cost…
read moreCases of a parasitic disease called Leishmaniasis are increasing at an alarming pace in a town in northeastern Syria called Tel Tamr. VOA’s Zana Omer has more in this story narrated by Sirwan Kajjo. Camera: Zana Omer …
read moreClimate scientists warn the world is courting disaster if it fails to swiftly do what’s required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The International Panel on Climate Change released a report on mitigating climate change. After two previous reports on the physical science behind climate change and on its potential impacts, the United…
read moreSenate bargainers have reached agreement on a slimmed-down $10 billion package for countering COVID-19, the top Democratic and Republican negotiators said Monday, but the measure dropped all funding to help nations abroad combat the pandemic. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said the deal would give the government “the tools we…
read moreJudge Ketanji Brown Jackson advanced one step closer to serving on the U.S. Supreme Court with a key U.S. Senate committee Monday advancing her nomination for a full floor vote later this week. U.S. President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve on the highest court in the country also won the support of two more Republicans…
read moreThe United Nations’ top climate body says drastic measures, including significant cuts in fossil fuel use, are necessary to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures. Monday’s report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed that the world is “on a fast track to climate disaster” and that governments and organizations…
read moreThe World Health Organization reports 13 million people die every year from environmental causes, including more than seven million who are killed each year from exposure to air pollution. New data released by the World Health Organization confirms that practically the whole world is breathing in unhealthy air. The WHO is calling for urgent action…
read moreCameroon observed World Autism Awareness Day Saturday with rights groups advocating for autistic children to be given an education. Supporters say autistic children often can’t go to school because autism is falsely believed to be a result of witchcraft. The Timely Performance Care Center, a school for disabled children in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, organized a…
read moreBritain is experiencing a record number of COVID-19 cases, with almost 5 million people, or 1 person in every 13 infected, according to official data. The news of the spike in infections came on the same day that Britain stopped giving free rapid COVID tests to most of its population, as part of Prime Minister…
read moreIrina, her husband and 4-year-old son hid in the cellar of their house in Chernihiv, north of Kyiv, for three weeks as intense fighting, including a tank battle, raged around them. “At first my son seemed to be coping okay,” she says. “But then with unrelenting stress, shelling and blasts, there was a deterioration —…
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