Daily Archives: 01/11/2021


In Japan, Worshippers Take Frosty Plunge Against COVID-19

In Japan, an annual Shinto ritual of soul purification this year included prayers for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing guidelines forced a much smaller gathering than in previous years, but as VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, believers still …


Pfizer-BioNTech to Boost Supply of Vaccine Doses by 50%

U.S. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced Monday plans to boost production of its COVID-19 vaccine by 50% percent — 2 million doses — this year to meet the global demand.     BioNTech announced the increased …


India Aims to Inoculate 300 Million by July

India will roll out an ambitious nationwide vaccination drive against COVID-19 on Saturday, aiming to inoculate 300 million people, or nearly one quarter of the population, by July.   Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday that with the upcoming immunization …


Parler Social Network Service Loses Web Hosting

Parler, a social network service popular with conservatives, went offline Monday after its web hosting service Amazon suspended it for allowing posts that encourage violence.   Before the site went down, Parler CEO John Matze accused Amazon and other tech …


 WHO Team to Investigate Coronavirus Origins in China

The World Health Organization is sending a team of international experts to China this week to investigate the origins of the coronavirus.It was not immediately clear, however, if the experts, scheduled to arrive Thursday, will be allowed to travel to …