Month: February 2021

Spacewalking astronauts ventured out Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later this year.NASA's Kate Rubins and Victor Glover put the first set of mounting brackets and struts together, then bolted them into place next to…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally authorized the use of the Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine Saturday, clearing the way for shots to go into arms as early as Monday.The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 85% effective against serious illness, hospitalization and death from…

The U.S. moved a step closer Friday to having another vaccine in its coronavirus arsenal, after an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously endorsed Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose COVID vaccine.Formal authorization for the vaccine could come in the next few days. The…

U.S. health advisers endorsed a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson on Friday, putting the nation on the cusp of adding an easier-to-use option to fight the pandemic. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to quickly follow the recommendation and make Johnson & Johnson's…

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday her government is supporting a new project using drones designed to monitor and protect the Maui dolphin, one of the world's rarest marine mammals.  Maui dolphins are found only in a small stretch of ocean off the…

International crime fighting agencies say organized crime groups have all the networks and methods needed to smuggle falsified, substandard and stolen COVID-19 vaccines across Africa.     Interpol crime intelligence analyst John-Patrick Broome said, as is the case in the rest of the continent, criminal…

The World Health Organization on Friday said there is low risk of human-to-human spread of the H5N8 strain of bird flu, after a case of the virus being transmitted to people was recorded Feb. 20 in Russia.     The WHO statement comes after seven…

A NASA unmanned resupply ship docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday carrying more than 3,600 kilograms of research equipment and supplies to the orbiting laboratory. The spacecraft, built by aerospace company Northrop Grumman, was bolted into place on the Earth-facing port of the…

World Health Organization (WHO) Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Monday said some of the world’s wealthiest nations are hampering efforts by his agency and its partners to get vaccines to world’s poorest nations.Tedros took part in a joint, virtual news conference, along with German President Frank-Walter…

Tanzania's President John Magufuli appears to be acknowledging the problem of COVID-19 in the country, after months of claiming the virus had been defeated through prayer and steam treatments. While not specifically naming the virus, Magufuli on Sunday urged Tanzanians to begin wearing face masks…

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is appealing for $9.4 million to fund efforts to prevent a new Ebola outbreak from spreading across West Africa.      The IFRC said Monday the money will be used to step up “surveillance and…

Israel closed all its Mediterranean beaches until further notice Sunday, days after an offshore oil spill deposited tons of tar across more than 160 kilometers (100 miles) of coastline in what officials are calling one of the country's worst ecological disasters.Activists began reporting globs of…

Israel has reopened many schools, malls and gyms that were closed for several weeks. Some venues, however, are open only to those with a “green passport,” a document showing they have received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine. The opening comes amid reports that the…

Major winter storms, extreme cold and power outages shut down more than 2,000 vaccination sites and delayed delivery of 6 million vaccine doses in all 50 states last week, White House senior adviser Andy Slavitt said in a briefing with reporters Friday.Extreme weather has spread…

Argentina’s health minister has resigned after he reportedly gave preferential treatment to those with personal connections when authorizing coronavirus vaccinations.The Associated Press reported that President Alberto Fernández, through his chief of staff, asked for Minister of Health Ginés González García's resignation Friday after a high-profile…

The World Health Organization says it welcomes the recent pledges of coronavirus vaccines from several Western countries to the international health group that will help ensure an equitable allocation of vaccines to countries around the world.“There is a growing movement behind vaccine equity, and I…

The coronavirus death toll on the African continent surpassed 100,000 on Friday, as African countries struggled to obtain vaccines to counteract the pandemic.South Africa alone accounts for nearly half of the confirmed deaths in Africa with 48,859, according to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus…

The United States has officially rejoined the Paris Agreement after the Trump administration abandoned the global climate pact saying it was too costly for business.  VOA's Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.Produced by:  Kimberlyn Weeks    ...

President Joe Biden toured a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing plant Friday afternoon outside Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he touted the safety of the vaccine."If there's one message to cut through to everyone in this country, it's this: The vaccines are safe,” he said, according to NBC…

U.S. President Joe Biden pledged $4 billion to the World Health Organization’s COVAX plan designed to help provide COVID-19 vaccines for 92 low- and middle-income economies around the world. During Friday’s virtual G-7 and the Munich Security Conference, Biden championed U.S. involvement in international alliances.…