Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts will be suspended at least through Inauguration Day in the wake of violence by the president’s supporters that erupted Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol.“We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply … continue reading -> “Facebook Suspends Trump’s Account in Wake of US Capitol Violence”
The World Health Organization warns the European region is probably in the most acute phase of COVID-19 transmission and drastic measures must be taken to control the spread of the pandemic. More than 26 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the European region, including over 580,000 deaths. The World Health Organization reports … continue reading -> “Europe in Most Acute Phase of COVID-19 Transmission, WHO Says “
A ray of hope emerged Thursday for the Rainbow Nation, which has seen a massive spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases, as South Africa’s health minister announced a large shipment of vaccines is coming this month. Zweli Mkhize said the country will receive one million vaccine doses by the end of January, and another … continue reading -> “African Continent to Soon Receive First COVID Vaccines, Health Officials Say”
Vaccine inoculations have begun in Italy for medical staff and the most vulnerable, but the country’s daily death toll continues to be well over 500. All Italian primary school students and most middle school students returned to face-to-face lessons on Thursday. But not all regions in the country have agreed to re-open their schools to younger … continue reading -> “Italy Once Again a COVID Hotspot”
Facebook and Alphabet’s YouTube took down a video from President Donald Trump on Wednesday that continued to make the baseless claim the election was fraudulent as he told supporters who had stormed the U.S. Capitol to go home.Twitter restricted users from retweeting the video “due to a risk of violence,” as hundreds of protesters sought … continue reading -> “Facebook, YouTube Pull Trump Video; Twitter Locks Trump Account”
New strains of the coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic have evolved, raising alarms with public health experts. The viruses appear to be more infectious, making them harder to control. But experts say the new vaccines against them should still work. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more. …
The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed on Wednesday that it had been the victim of a massive hacking operation linked to Russian intelligence. In a statement, Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said about 3% of the agency’s email accounts appeared to have been compromised, although no classified information was accessed. “After learning of the malicious activity, … continue reading -> “US Justice Department Confirms It Was Victim of SolarWinds Hack”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday that the city aims to vaccinate 10,000 police officers against the coronavirus by Sunday.At his daily briefing, De Blasio said police officers and jail guards were now eligible to receive vaccines under guidance provided by state officials. The guidelines released by the state do not explicitly … continue reading -> “NYC Mayor Aims to Have 10,000 Police Vaccinated by Sunday “
U.S. intelligence officials investigating last month’s massive cybersecurity breach that impacted thousands of companies and dozens of government agencies warn the hack is part of an ongoing intelligence operation, likely being carried out by Russia. The public conclusion, shared Tuesday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Office … continue reading -> “SolarWinds Hack ‘Likely Russian’, US Intelligence Confirms”
Malawi has introduced a mandatory quarantine on returnees from South Africa to control rising cases of COVID-19. Thousands of Malawians have returned from South Africa in recent weeks, and officials fear they could import the new, more contagious form of coronavirus.Malawi has seen a rapid increase of COVID-19 cases since the middle of December. … continue reading -> “Malawi Mandates Quarantine for Returnees from South Africa “
India has not imposed a ban on export of vaccines for COVID-19, the federal government said amid a controversy that it had imposed restrictions on an Indian company expected to be on the frontlines in supplying vaccines to developing countries. India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, is expected to play a pivotal role as … continue reading -> “India Clarifies It Has Not Banned Vaccine Exports “
More than two-thirds of the 15 million coronavirus vaccines shipped within the United States have so far gone unused. As Mariama Diallo reports, some states are vowing to penalize hospitals that fail to dispense shots quickly enough. …
U.S. intelligence officials investigating last month’s massive cybersecurity breach that impacted thousands of companies and dozens of government agencies warn the hack is part of an ongoing intelligence operation, likely being carried out by Russia. The public conclusion, shared Tuesday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Office … continue reading -> “US Intelligence Confirms SolarWinds Hack ‘Likely Russian’”
The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed disappointment Tuesday with the failure of Chinese officials to grant final permission to an international team of researchers to enter the country to investigate the origins of the coronavirus.At the agency’s regular COVID-19 briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “very disappointed” that … continue reading -> “WHO Chief ‘Disappointed’ China Hasn’t Allowed Researchers into Wuhan “
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group’s Alipay, the White House said, escalating tensions with Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden takes office this month. The order, first reported by Reuters, tasks the Commerce Department with defining which transactions will be banned under the … continue reading -> “Trump Bans Transactions with 8 Chinese Apps Including Alipay”
French Health Minister Olivier Veran said Tuesday the nation was going to “amplify, accelerate and simplify” its COVID-19 vaccination program after coming under fire for the initial slow roll out of the program.In an interview with French radio, Veran said more than 2,000 doctors, nurses and other health care workers have received vaccinations. He also … continue reading -> “French Health Minister Details Plan to Accelerate COVID-19 Vaccinations”
As millions of people await their turn to get a COVID-19 vaccine that could be months away, scammers online, in emails and on messaging apps are luring victims with claims they can deliver shots within days for as little as $150. COVID-19 vaccine scams are on the rise, according to European and U.S. government … continue reading -> “A COVID-19 shot for $150? Online Scams Surge as Slow Vaccine Rollout Frustrates”
In France, public frustration with the government is growing as the nation’s coronavirus immunization campaign gets off to a slow start. In response, officials say they will speed up and widen the vaccine rollout.As of Monday, only 2,500 people had received the vaccine against COVID-19 in France — most of them nursing home residents and their … continue reading -> “Public Frustration Grows as France’s Vaccination Campaign Lags “
The amount of baked-in global warming, from carbon pollution already in the air, is enough to blow past internationally agreed upon goals to limit climate change, a new study finds. But it’s not game over because, while that amount of warming may be inevitable, it can be delayed for centuries if the world quickly stops emitting … continue reading -> “Study: Warming Already Baked in Will Blow Past Climate Goals”
Online communication and collaboration service Slack reported a global outage Monday, as millions returned to work after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.”Our team is currently investigating, and we’re sorry for any troubles this may be causing,” Slack said in a statement.Slack has seen its popularity grow as many people work and study from home … continue reading -> “Online Collaboration Tool Slack Suffers Global Outage”
Britain’s prime minister announced a fresh round of lockdowns Monday, closing schools and nonessential shops, as the country begins vaccinating health care workers and the elderly.Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people must stay at home until at least mid-February, noting that British hospitals are under more strain now than they have been at any point … continue reading -> “New COVID-19 Lockdowns in Britain; New Variant Found in New York”
Drug maker Moderna says it plans to ramp up production of its COVID-19 vaccine by 100 million more doses than what it originally forecast.The Massachusetts-based company said Monday it would produce 600 million doses in 2021.So far, the company says it has supplied 18 million doses of a promised 200 million to the U.S. government.U.S. … continue reading -> “Moderna Plans to Ramp Up COVID-19 Vaccine Production by 20%”
More than 200 Google employees in the United States have formed a workers’ union, the elected leaders of the union wrote in a New York Times opinion piece on Monday. The “Alphabet Workers Union” aims to ensure that employees work at a fair wage, without fear of abuse, retaliation or discrimination, the union heads … continue reading -> “Google Employees Form Workers’ Union in United States”
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Monday the government is not ruling out new restrictions as the coronavirus continues to spread even in areas with the strictest constraints.In television interviews, Hancock said a new variant spreads more easily than the original strains of the virus and Britain’s three-tiered system of restrictions is proving less effective … continue reading -> “British Health Secretary Doesn’t Rule Out New Restrictions as Coronavirus Continues to Spread”
Vaccinations against the coronavirus are off to a slow and chaotic start in the United States, but the country’s top infectious disease expert held out hope Sunday that the pace will soon pick up. “We are not where we want to be, no doubt about it,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC News’ “This Week” show. “We need to … continue reading -> “Fauci Suggests Slow Pace of US Coronavirus Vaccinations to Pick Up”