Year: 2020

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to minimize fears about coronavirus spreading rampantly throughout the U.S., saying the situation is “very well under control in our country.”     At the same time, the Trump administration on Monday asked Congress for an additional $2.5 billion to…

A scathing new report reveals that dozens of HIV-positive women were forced or coerced into sterilization after giving birth at public hospitals in South Africa.The Commission for Gender Equality's report this week says it investigated complaints by at least 48 women of "cruel, torturous or…

Every year, around 12 million tons of plastic waste are dumped into the world’s oceans – polluting the water, killing wildlife, and creating microplastics that enter the food chain. Now a group of fishermen in Barcelona, Spain has begun an innovative new project in which…

The World Health Organization is urgently appealing for $40 million to salvage its operation to bring the Ebola epidemic to an end in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The Ebola operation in eastern DR Congo’s conflict-ridden North Kivu and Ituri provinces is on financial life-support.  The…