Year: 2021

Year: 2021

Europe Makes New Vaccination Push to Counter Rising COVID Cases
07/26/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

With Europe’s rise in coronavirus infections accelerating, more governments are seeking ways to force the unvaccinated, mainly in their twenties and thirties, to get inoculated, and avoid a return to lockdowns. Italy and Britain have followed France’s lead in planning or imposing restrictions on the unvaccinated.  The moves prompted street protests in both countries Sunday

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Senate May Advance Bipartisan Infrastructure Package This Week
07/26/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The coming week could be make-or-break for a bipartisan plan to fix America’s languishing infrastructure. Michelle Quinn reports. Produced by: Marcus Harton  …

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Citizenship Path for ‘Dreamer’ Immigrants in US Remains Uncertain
07/25/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday said he remained adamant about the need to create a pathway for U.S. citizenship for so-called Dreamer immigrants, but it “remains to be seen” if that will be part of a $3.5 trillion budget measure. “There must be a pathway to citizenship,” Biden told reporters as he returned to

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After Floods, German Winemakers Look to Rebuild
07/25/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Lukas Sermann’s family has been making wine in Germany’s Ahr wine district for almost 300 years. On July 15, a night of flooding and ferocious storms all but wiped them out. The rolling landscapes of the Ahr valley were among the worst hit by the disaster which killed at least 180 people. A week on,

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South Africa Turmoil
07/24/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

On this edition of Encounter, Ambassador Michelle Gavin, senior fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and former Ambassador to Botswana, and Frans Cronje, CEO of the Johannesburg-based Institute of Race Relations, analyze with host Carol Castiel the political, economic and social situation in South Africa following the arrest and detention of

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59 Cuban Protesters Prosecuted So Far; Hundreds Were Arrested
07/24/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Fifty-nine Cubans have been prosecuted so far for participating in unprecedented demonstrations against the government earlier this month, a senior official said Saturday. The charges were minor, and the total number of people detained has not been released amid complaints from relatives seeking information about loved ones. “Until yesterday, 19 judicial processes had reached the

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US Defense Secretary Heads to Southeast Asia
07/24/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is heading to Southeast Asia to unify allies concerned by China’s growing military abilities as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to cripple the region. “It’ll be a really good visit,” Austin told reporters traveling with him to Alaska Friday ahead of his visit to Asia. “We add value to

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UN Experts: Africa Became Hardest Hit by Terrorism This Year
07/24/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Africa became the region hardest hit by terrorism in the first half of 2021 as the Islamic State and al-Qaida extremist groups and their affiliates spread their influence, boasting gains in supporters and territory and inflicting the greatest casualties, U.N. experts said in a new report. The panel of experts said in a report to

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Guatemala Ousts Anti-corruption Prosecutor Praised by US
07/24/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Guatemala’s attorney general has removed the leader of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity less than two months after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris stressed the office’s importance amid a growing push against anti-corruption efforts in the country. Attorney General Consuelo Porras removed Juan Francisco Sandoval on Friday because of “constant abuses and frequent abuses

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US Infrastructure Proposal May Move Forward Despite Senate Stall
07/23/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Issues in the News moderator Kim Lewis talks with VOA senior diplomatic correspondent, Cindy Saine, and senior reporter for Marketplace, Nancy Marshall-Genzer, about growing congressional challenges on infrastructure, police reform, COVID-19 and the economy facing the Biden administration, the ramifications of a widespread cyber-attack on Microsoft allegedly conducted by China, controversial Israeli phone surveillance software

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To Reach Peace Deal, Taliban Say Afghan President Must Go
07/23/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The Taliban say they don’t want to monopolize power, but they insist there won’t be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani is removed. In an interview with The Associated Press, Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, who is also a member of the group’s negotiating team, laid

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CDC Director: Delta Variant ‘One of the Most Infectious Respiratory Viruses’
07/23/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, said Thursday the delta variant of the coronavirus that results in COVID-19 “is one of the most infectious respiratory viruses we know of and that I have seen in my 20-year career.” Officials in Washington on Thursday urged people to get COVID

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VOA Interview: Nord Stream 2 ‘Should Never Become Operational,’ Ukraine Energy Company Says
07/23/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Nord Stream 2, the gas pipeline project designed to double the volume of Russian gas delivered to Germany via the Baltic Sea, continues to be a contentious topic in U.S.-European relations. It was hoped a statement issued by U.S. and German officials on Wednesday would ease tensions, but it instead drew resistance from some members

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Over 600,000 Notified to Quarantine in British ‘Pingdemic’
07/22/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Over 600,000 users of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service’s (NHS) COVID-19 test and trace app were “pinged” alerts recommending self-isolation earlier this month. In what has been dubbed the “pingdemic,” the app told users to begin a 10-day quarantine if they tested positive for the coronavirus or had been in close contact with someone

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Journalists Say They Feel Constantly Watched by Pegasus Spyware
07/22/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Human rights and media rights groups have expressed outrage over revelations that 180 journalists around the world were targeted for surveillance by military-grade Israeli spyware.  VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports on a widening scandal, with some world leaders also targeted, such as French President Emmanuel Macron. …

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China Rejects Second Probe Into Coronavirus Origin
07/22/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

China has rejected the World Health Organization’s proposal for a second phase of its investigation into the origin of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Zeng Yixin, the vice minister of the Chinese National Health Commission, told reporters in Beijing Thursday that he was extremely surprised when he read the proposal offered by the U.N. health agency

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US Builds Coordinated Approach on China as Top Officials Head to Asia
07/21/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Senior U.S. and Chinese diplomats are set to meet Sunday at a time of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.   The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the No. 2 American diplomat, will meet with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and others in Tianjin, China, as part of an

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Africa’s Urban Future
07/21/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

In this edition of Straight Talk Africa, host Haydé Adams looks at Africa’s urban development. She is joined by Wandile Mthiyane, architect and CEO of Ubuntu Design Group, Emana Nsikan-George, climate researcher and sustainability practitioner on climate actions, Christian Benimana, managing director of MASS Design Group and Johnny Miller, photographer of Unequal Scenes. …

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Africa’s Urban Future [simulcast]
07/21/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

In this edition of Straight Talk Africa, host Haydé Adams looks at Africa’s urban development. She is joined by Wandile Mthiyane, architect and CEO of Ubuntu Design Group, Emana Nsikan-George, climate researcher and sustainability practitioner on climate actions, Christian Benimana, managing director of MASS Design Group and Johnny Miller, photographer of Unequal Scenes. …

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Pfizer, BioNTech Agree to Produce COVID-19 Vaccine for Africa
07/21/2021 iNews,iTechnology iMaster

Pfizer and BioNTech have reached an agreement with a South African company to produce their COVID-19 vaccine for distribution in Africa, the biotechnology companies said Wednesday. The Biovac Institute in Cape Town will manufacture 100 million doses of the vaccine annually starting in 2022. The company will mix vaccine ingredients it receives from Europe, place

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