Month: April 2020

U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that disinfectants could be used to treat coronavirus patients is triggering alarm among health experts, and warnings from a maker of the sanitizing solutions.Trump said at his regular White House coronavirus media briefing Thursday that scientists should investigate inserting disinfectants…

The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday announced a collaborative effort with world leaders and private industry to ensure equitable distribution of any viable vaccines or treatments for COVID-19.WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus joined U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres via teleconference from Geneva, along with…

After months of testing, a European space telescope finally begins its work studying far-off planets. Meanwhile, a crew return home from the International Space Station after more than two hundred days in orbit. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the week in space. ...

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday lengthened her stay-at-home order through May 15, while lifting restrictions so some businesses can reopen and the public can participate in outdoor activities like golf and motorized boating during the coronavirus pandemic. The measure immediately replaces one that was…

One of the hard lessons the World Health Organization learned during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was this: Other diseases can be forgotten and take a deadlier toll. The WHO is now warning that the battle against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, where it already…

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration on Thursday, saying industry cannot avoid the Clean Water Act when it pumps wastewater into the ground instead of directly into oceans and rivers.In a 6-3 decision, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the majority. He said…

After last week's court ruling brought to light potential environmental concerns, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended a nationwide program meant to approve utility work, despite industry representatives' warnings it could stop important infrastructure projects.Nationwide Permit 12, a blanket permit used by utility companies…

The arrival of the new coronavirus pandemic has made something of a wildlife celebrity of a previously not very well-known scaly mammal known as a pangolin.  These cute or creepy looking (depending upon whom you ask) creatures are hunted in sub-Saharan Africa for their scales and meat and…

The world has lost more than one quarter of its land-dwelling insects in the past 30 years, according to researchers whose big picture study of global bug decline paints a disturbing but more nuanced problem than earlier research. From bees and other pollinators crucial to the…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a fundamental reform of the World Health Organization was needed following its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and that the United States, the WHO's biggest donor, may never restore funding to the U.N. body.   As Pompeo launched…

The United Kingdom's economy is crumbling under the strain of the coronavirus lockdown and government borrowing is soaring to the highest levels in peacetime history, increasing pressure on the government to set out an exit strategy.   Prime Minister Boris Johnson, recuperating at his country…

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined calls for a combined effort to tackle coronavirus and the climate crisis, saying the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday was the time to choose a "new way forward." Dramatic improvements in air and water quality as coronavirus lockdowns…

China will pay close attention to clusters of coronavirus infections, especially in hospitals, according to a top level meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.   China's northeastern city of Harbin has had several clusters of infections in local hospitals.   The government also…

The World Meteorological Organization is warning that if the planet keeps warming at its current pace, the average global temperature could increase by 1.5 degrees C  in the next 10 years.  This rise would worsen extreme weather events, and many of the dangerous effects of…

As people across the globe stay home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the air has cleaned up, albeit temporarily. Smog stopped choking New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and India's getting views of sights not visible in…

Laboratory and drug development services provider LabCorp said on Wednesday it would expand the availability of its antibody tests for the new coronavirus to more hospitals and healthcare organizations starting next week. The tests, earlier made available mainly to healthcare workers in late March, aim to…

On the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, teen climate activist Greta Thunberg says we should not let the coronavirus pandemic make us forget the ongoing climate crisis. She spoke from the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, in a video conversation with Potsdam Institute for Climate…

Health officials say two people died with the coronavirus in California weeks before the first reported death from the disease.   Santa Clara County officials said Tuesday the people died at home Feb. 6 and Feb. 17. Before this, the first U.S. death from the…

Frequent hand-washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is recommended by health experts to help prevent exposure to COVID-19. That is exactly what many people do these days. But while washing hands and bathing signifies personal hygiene in our time, it was not always the case.  Louis XIV of France, for example, is said to have taken only…

The United Nations' food chief warned Tuesday that while the world fights the coronavirus pandemic, it is also on the brink of a hunger pandemic."Millions of civilians living in conflict-scarred nations, including many women and children, face being pushed to the brink of starvation, with…

SARS-CoV2 should be a good candidate for a vaccine. The question is which vaccine will be the best solution? ...

Pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have decreased across the globe, as countries strive to contain the spread of the coronavirus by ordering people to stay at home.Among the many unknown facts about this new virus is what kind of long-term impact it will have on…