The head of the World Health Organization says he will begin an independent evaluation of the U.N. health agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic “at the earliest appropriate moment.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the pledge Monday after an independent oversight advisory body published its first interim report about the U.N. health agency’s response to COVID-19 from January to April.
The 11-page report raised questions such as whether WHO’s warning system for alerting the world to outbreaks is adequate, and suggested member states might need to “reassess” WHO’s role in providing travel advice to countries.
The advisory body’s review and recommendations appeared unlikely to appease the United States administration, which has been scathing in its criticism of WHO — in part over President Donald Trump’s allegation that it had criticized a U.S. travel ban that he ordered on people arriving from China, where the outbreak first appeared late last year.
Trump ordered a temporary suspension of funding for WHO from the United States — the health agency’s biggest single donor — pending a review of its early response. But the review panel, echoing comments from many countries, said such a review during the “heat of the response” could hurt WHO’s ability to respond to it.
Video-sharing tech platform YouTube on Wednesday announced immediate bans on false claims that vaccines are dangerous and cause health issues like autism, cancer or infertility.
Pressure is mounting on President Joe Biden to trim back his $3.5 trillion federal government overhaul to win over holdout fellow Democrats.
Lines of cars formed at British gas stations for a fourth day on Monday, as the government mulled bringing in the army to help ease supply disruption triggered by a shortage of truck drivers.
Powell on Wednesday shed new light on the possibility of launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the U.S., and stakeholders in the worlds of both monetary policy and cryptocurrency took notice.
President Joe Biden is urging those now eligible for COVID-19 booster shots to get the added protection.
China’s central bank has declared all transactions involving Bitcoin and other virtual currencies illegal, stepping up a campaign to block use of unofficial digital money.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revealed the development to reporters on Thursday. But
The European Union is unveiling plans that would require smartphone makers to adopt a single charging method for mobile devices.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid rose last week for a second straight week to 351,000, a sign that the delta variant of the coronavirus may be disrupting the job market’s recovery, at least temporarily.
Many had expected Fed Chair Jerome Powell to clarify the timing of the long-anticipated taper following Wednesday's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), and he didn't disappoint.
