VOA News for Monday, February 15th, 2021

VOA News for Monday, February 15th, 2021
This is VOA news. Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton.
The White House says U.S. President Joe Biden will hold his first event with leaders from the Group of Seven nations in a virtual meeting on Friday. They are set to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, the world economy and China.
The White House said Biden would focus his remarks on a global response to COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution. He is also expected to talk about plans for coping with future outbreaks of disease.
Biden has sought to project [an image of] a message, rather, of re-engagement with the world and with global institutions after four years of President Donald Trump's "America First" mantra.
Mr. Trump [with] withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization and the Paris climate accord and largely scoffed at multilateral organizations and groups.
Biden brought the United States back into the WHO and rejoined the Paris accord and has signaled a desire to work with allies in confronting China on a host of thorny issues.
Rescuers pulled out nine more bodies from the site of a flash flood in a Himalayan region of northern India on Sunday, a week after the disaster struck, bringing the death toll to 50 with more than 150 people still missing, according to officials.
The flash flood in Uttarakhand state, triggered by what scientists said could have been a large avalanche of glacier ice, sent water, rocks and debris surging down the Dhauliganga river valley, destroying dams and bridges.
Rescuers are using heavy digging machinery in a race to free dozens of dam construction workers trapped in an underground tunnel connected to a hydroelectric project. It was being built by the government-owned National Thermal Power Corporation.
Authorities say 154 people are still missing.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western powers Sunday of using jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny to try to "contain" Russia, saying Russia's recent successes including the development of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine were starting to irritate Moscow's opponents.
His remarks came amid word that a series of videos of pro-Putin flash mobs broadcast by state-controlled media and posted online were staged.
Independent media outlets in Russia reported the Kremlin and the governing United Russia party issued instructions for the videos to be recorded. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claim, saying the Kremlin had nothing to do with the videos.
In a lengthy interview on state channel Rossiya 24, Putin acknowledged that living standards in Russia have fallen as in other parts of the world because of the coronavirus pandemic. He also claimed Russia's enemies have been stirring up protests in support of Alexei Navalny, a Kremlin critic who survived a near fatal poisoning last year, got treatment in Germany and was arrested last month in Moscow upon his return to his home country.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that the Kremlin is making a mistake trying to blame the current political turmoil in Russia on outside factors. He said every day, Russians are looking for ways to make sure that their voices heard.
Heavy fighting between Houthi rebels and Yemeni government forces raged on Sunday, extending a week of violence in the strategic province of Marib, according to Yemeni officials. With dozens killed, the fighting has cast major doubt over U.N.-led efforts to restart negotiations to end years of civil war.
The Iranian-backed rebels earlier this month renewed their attacks on the oil-rich province. It's an anti-Houthi stronghold held by the internationally recognized government.
The number of new U.S. coronavirus cases has fallen below 100,000 in recent days, but a health official warned Sunday the pandemic is far from under control.
The U.S., with [more than] more reported COVID-19 deaths and more infections than any other country, had been recording more than 200,000 new cases a day in December, and the figure swelled to about 250,000 daily in January, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Friday and Saturday, however, the number of new cases dipped below 100,000 each day.
And a spokesman for [Brit...] Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan says the couple are expecting their second child together.
The couple stepped back from their royal duties in January 2020 and moved with their first son Archie to Southern California. Concurrent with the move, they gave up their official royal roles. They now pursue media projects and charity work.
Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton, VOA news.