Mar92020 by DmediaNo Comments

Healthy Snack Bars Are Replacing Unhealthy Habits

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Comparatively speaking, Americans are heavier than the rest of the world. The World Factbook of the Central Intelligence Agency reports the obesity rate in the United States to be 36 percent.  But 25-year-old Zobaida Falah is hoping that her homemade snack bar can play a small role in changing unhealthy habits. VOA’s Jafar Haand has more.  ...


Mar92020 by DmediaNo Comments

Southern Indian State Moves To Contain Bird Flu Outbreak

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A southern Indian state has begun a three-day bird culling process to contain an outbreak of avian influenza, also known as bird flu.Kerala state began the precautionary measure Sunday.The World Health Organization says, "Avian influenza viruses normally spread between birds. However, some viruses have been found to infect humans.  When avian influenza infects humans, symptoms may range from mild upper respiratory infection (fever and cough) to severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (difficulty breathing), shock and even death.""The state government has decided to destroy the disease at the source," Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Assistant Professor Abdul Muneer told Reuters.Thousands of birds, mainly chickens, will be killed in the process.  ...


Mar82020 by DmediaNo Comments

China Scrambles to Boost Its Image on Coronavirus

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Weeks after Beijing was criticized by people inside China and around the world for a sluggish response to the outbreak of a new coronavirus, China’s government is trying to recast itself as a global health leader.China’s early response to the outbreak remains shrouded in mystery, with an unclear timetable about what officials knew and when they knew it.At the beginning of the year, as the coronavirus spread in the city of Wuhan, authorities downplayed the risk and provided little information. Lunar New Year festivities initially went forward, before Beijing dramatically reversed course as the outbreak grew. Now, Beijing is accusing others of the same thing.A nurse in a protective suit feeds a novel coronavirus patient inside an isolated ward at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, during the Lantern Festival, in…


Mar72020 by TechmanNo Comments

Tangled Web of Russia’s Cyber Underground Further Exposed in US Hacker Trial

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In March 2012, a 25-year-old Russian computer whiz named Yevgeny Nikulin sat with several others in a conference room in a hotel in eastern Moscow. A video taken by a Ukrainian named Oleksandr Ieremenko showed them discussing plans for an Internet cafe business and other matters.In an earlier part of the video, Ieremenko, 19, drives to the hotel to meet the group, which he calls a "summit of bad [expletives]."That same month, according to U.S. prosecutors, Nikulin broke into a social media company engineer's computer a half a world away, in California — and allegedly stole the usernames and passwords used by tens of millions of people to access their LinkedIn accounts. Some of that data was put up for sale on a notorious Russian hacker forum that June.These details…


Mar62020 by DmediaNo Comments

Coronavirus Time Bomb: America’s Uninsured and Brutal Work Culture

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Like many Americans, bartender Danjale Williams is worried about the growing threat of the novel coronavirus. What makes the 22-year-old in Washington even more frightened: The thought of medical bills she just can't afford, as one of almost 27.5 million people in the United States who don't have health insurance."I definitely would second guess before going to the doctor, because the doctor's bill is crazy," she said. "If it did come down to that, I don't have enough savings to keep me healthy."As the virus began spreading in the west of the country, where the nation's first death was reported on February 29, public health experts warned the US has several characteristics unique among wealthy nations that make it vulnerable.These include a large and growing population without medical insurance, the…


Mar62020 by DmediaNo Comments

At Sea: Passengers Off California Await Virus Test Results

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Passengers aboard a cruise ship off the California coast were instructed to stay in their cabins as they awaited test results Friday that could show whether the coronavirus is circulating among the more than 3,500 people aboard.      A military helicopter crew lowered test kits onto the 951-foot (290-meter) Grand Princess by rope and later retrieved them for analysis at a lab as the vessel lay at sea off San Francisco, under orders to keep its distance from shore. Princess Cruises said 45 people were selected for testing.      Authorities undertook the testing after a passenger on a previous voyage of the ship died of the coronavirus and at least four others became infected.      “The ship will not come on shore until we appropriately assess the…


Mar62020 by DmediaNo Comments

WHO Urges Vigilance as Ebola Epidemic Appears to Near End in DRC

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The World Health Organization urges continued vigilance to prevent flareups of the deadly Ebola virus as the epidemic in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo moves closer to being officially declared over.The last Ebola patient was discharged from a treatment center in the northeastern town of Beni in the DRC on Tuesday. If no more cases are confirmed during two incubation periods or 42 days, the WHO will officially declare the Ebola epidemic in the country at an end on April 12.But WHO Assistant Director-General - Emergency Response Ibrahima Soce-Fall says this is not yet a time of celebration because the outbreak is not over. He said everyone must remain vigilant as the risk of other cases emerging during that period is very high.He said health teams must remain active and…


Mar62020 by DmediaNo Comments

Company Offers Eco-Friendly Straw to Replace Plastic Counterpart

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Conservation International says an estimated eight million metric tons of plastics go into the ocean every year. And that's not even counting the amount that ends up in landfills or by the side of the road. But slowly, environmentally conscious entrepreneurs are creating alternatives to plastic products. VOA's Unshin Lee reports. ...


Mar62020 by DmediaNo Comments

India’s Beleaguered Health System Braces for Virus Surge

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India is bracing for a potential explosion of coronavirus cases as authorities rush to trace, test and quarantine contacts of 31 people confirmed to have the disease.      It is screening international travelers at 30 airports and has already tested more than 3,500 samples. The Indian army is preparing at least five large-scale quarantine centers.      For weeks, India watched as cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, multiplied in neighboring China and other countries as its own caseload remained static, three students evacuated from Wuhan, the disease epicenter, who were quarantined and returned to health in the southern state of Kerala.      Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government said last week that community transmission is now taking place. India has shut schools, stopped exporting key…


Mar62020 by DmediaNo Comments

Here’s What the Coronavirus Terms You Read and Hear About Really Mean

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Confused about all the terminology surrounding the coronavirus? These terms and definitions can help.  Coronavirus: Starting with the most obvious, this word refers to a family of hundreds of similarly shaped viruses. Under a microscope, they look like round blobs surrounded by spikes, much like the corona, or crown, surrounding the sun. There are seven coronaviruses that can affect people. The common cold is one, as are its more virulent cousins: SARS, severe acute respiratory virus, and MERS, Middle East respiratory virus.  COVID-19: This is the disease caused by the coronavirus. The first four letters are taken from the word coronavirus  and then the "d" from disease. The number 19 indicates it started in 2019. The disease is officially named SARS-CoV-2, because it is a respiratory virus, but you will…


Mar52020 by DmediaNo Comments

Portugal’s TAP Cancels 1,000 Flights in March-April as Coronavirus Hits Demand

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Portugal's flag carrier TAP cancelled around 1,000 flights scheduled in March and April on Thursday after concerns about the coronavirus epidemic led to a fall in demand and said it envisaged an unspecified impact on revenues.Separately, organizers of the Lisbon Travel Market, an annual gathering that brings more than 1,000 tourism sector firms from over 40 countries to the Portuguese capital and is visited by tens of thousands of people, announced next week's event would be postponed until May 27-30.TAP, which is 50% state-owned, said in a statement that the cancellations would mainly affect destinations in Italy, France and Spain, but also some intercontinental flights, and account for 4% of its capacity in March and 6% in April."The drop in demand naturally means lower revenues, therefore TAP has decided to…


Mar52020 by TechmanNo Comments

China’s Uighurs Trapped in Factory Toiling for Tech Titans

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In a lively Muslim quarter of Nanchang city, a sprawling Chinese factory turns out computer screens, cameras and fingerprint scanners for a supplier to international tech giants such as Apple and Lenovo. Throughout the neighborhood, women in headscarves stroll through the streets, and Arabic signs advertise halal supermarkets and noodle shops.Yet the mostly Over the past four years, the Chinese government has detained more than a million people from the far west Xinjiang region, most of them Uighurs, in internment camps and prisons where they go through The Chinese government says the labor program is a way to train Uighurs and other minorities and give them jobs. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday called concern over possible coerced labor under the program “groundless” and “slander.”However, experts say that…


Mar52020 by DmediaNo Comments

Venice a Shell of Itself as Tourists Flee Virus

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The Carnival period in Venice usually marks the start of peak season in one of the world's most visited cities, with hordes of tourists piling onto vaporettos to cruise the Grand Canal, strolling through cobblestone streets and lingering in picturesque cafes.      Venice in the time of coronavirus, though, is a shell of itself, with empty piazzas, shuttered basilicas and gondoliers idling their days away. The cholera epidemic that raged quietly through Venice in Thomas Mann's fictional “Death in Venice” has been replaced by a real life fear of COVID-19.      Venice, a UNESCO world heritage site, had already been brought to its knees last year, when near-record high tides flooded a lagoon city which is used to frequent spells of “aqua alta.” Officials had hoped that tourists…


Mar52020 by DmediaNo Comments

How to Lower Coronavirus Anxiety

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Anna Alexander, a property manager in Virginia Beach, Virginia, started the day Monday thinking that she might avoid shaking hands because of the coronavirus outbreak. Then somebody stuck out a hand to shake. She took it. "I'm a business person,'' Alexander, 65, explained. "But if somebody else does it next time, I might try to be careful because of the coronavirus." As the viral infections spread across the globe, everybody has to make a decision: How worried should I be about getting infected, and what should I do about it? Those decisions can have wide impacts. "Seriously people - STOP BUYING MASKS!" tweeted U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome M. Adams on Feb. 29. He explained masks aren't effective in protecting the general public "but if healthcare providers can't get them…


Mar52020 by DmediaNo Comments

Somali Therapist Sees Mental Health as Key to Rebuilding the Country

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After nearly three decades of war, many Somalis carry invisible scars from exposure to violence.According to the World Health Organization, FILE - A man walks past a body and destroyed buildings at the scene of a blast in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct 14, 2017.‘A nation that needs healing’Working with political leaders, aid organizations and civil society groups, Olad holds training events to educate the public about the problem and its treatments.“Most of my work relates to how I can tell the international community and people who work in the humanitarian sector and development and Somali government to understand this is a nation that needs healing,” she said. “This is a nation that has experienced more than what a human mental capacity can take.”Olad also believes progress on issues like…


Mar52020 by TechmanNo Comments

US Senator Proposes TikTok Ban for Government Workers

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A U.S. senator is introducing legislation that would ban government employees from using the social media app TikTok on their government devices.Josh Hawley, a Republican representing the state of Missouri, said at a hearing Wednesday the data the Chinese-owned app collects and the potential for it to be shared with China’s government represent a “majority security risk for the American people.”He said similar bans are in place at some of the biggest federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and the State Department.Hawley did not say exactly when he would introduce the bill.The effort is the latest security scrutiny of TikTok, which allows users to post and view short videos.The company has said any data from U.S. users is stored in the United States and not subject to any Chinese…


Mar52020 by DmediaNo Comments

Titanic’s Wireless Telegraph Could Be Brought to Surface

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Its doomed maiden voyage happened more than a century ago, but the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 remains the stuff of popular culture and the object of deep-sea salvage.  A firm has recovered more than 5,000 of its artifacts, but as VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, time may be running out to raise the ship’s Holy Grail. ...


Mar52020 by DmediaNo Comments

Doctors Try 1st CRISPR Editing in the Body for Blindness

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Scientists say they have used the gene editing tool CRISPR inside someone’s body for the first time, a new frontier for efforts to operate on DNA, the chemical code of life, to treat diseases.A patient recently had it done at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland for an inherited form of blindness, the companies that make the treatment announced Wednesday. They would not give details on the patient or when the surgery occurred.It may take up to a month to see if it worked to restore vision. If the first few attempts seem safe, doctors plan to test it on 18 children and adults.“We literally have the potential to take people who are essentially blind and make them see,” said Charles Albright, chief scientific…


Mar52020 by DmediaNo Comments

In Outskirts of Rome, Quiet Streets and Empty Cafes

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A young mother painstakingly applies disinfectant cloths to clean meticulously the baby rattles for her gurgling blue-eyed infant bouncing happily on her lap.This is normally a wet and cold season in Lazio, but this year there have been many days of blue skies and warm temperatures. Unless you are a farmer praying for more seasonal rain, all should feel right with the world.But it doesn’t.We are the only ones sitting outside a usually bustling piazza bar on the outskirts of Rome sipping mid-morning coffees — and, in my case, nibbling on a ciambella cake.Journalist and author Beppe Severgnini wrote this week a column for The New York Times, noting that most young and middle-aged Italians have no firsthand experience of war or epidemics, unlike their elders, who suffered greatly during…


Mar52020 by TechmanNo Comments

Latvia Joins US in Call for ‘Trustworthy’ 5G Hardware

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The United States appears to have found a new partner in its drive to discourage European allies from building their 5G telecommunication networks with Chinese equipment.In a joint declaration last week, the U.S. and the Baltic nation of Latvia agreed to encourage the use of “reliable and trustworthy network hardware” as the world builds out the next generation of telecom networks and to promote frameworks that protect against “unauthorized access and interference.” The declaration did not name any country or company, but it comes in the context of a U.S. campaign to steer countries away from Chinese-based Huawei, the world’s largest supplier of 5G equipment, which Washington fears is vulnerable to Chinese spying.FILE - Signage is seen at the Huawei offices in Reading, Britain, May 2, 2019.The American effort has…


Mar52020 by TechmanNo Comments

Twitter Staff Told to Work From Home Over Virus Fears

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Twitter staff across the world were asked to work from home starting Monday in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly new coronavirus epidemic.At the same time, thousands of staff at Google's European headquarters in Ireland were told to stay away for the day after one employee reported flu-like symptoms.The outbreak has spread across the world since emerging in central China late last year, killing more than 3,100 people, infecting over 90,000, and prompting a wave of travel restrictions.Twitter's decision to ask its staff to avoid the office follows similar requests by governments in virus hotspots."We are strongly encouraging all employees globally to work from home if they're able," Twitter human resources chief Jennifer Christie said in a Monday blog post."Our goal is to lower the probability of…