Mar62021 by DmediaNo Comments

Stop ‘Fussing and Whining’ Over COVID Response, Says Brazil President

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Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center has recorded more than 116 million global coronavirus cases. The U.S. is on the verge of having 30 million infections, followed by India with 11 million and Brazil with 10.8 million.Earlier this week, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had callous words for fellow Brazilians unhappy with the president's response to the pandemic.“Stop all this fussing and whining,” the president said. “How long are you going to keep on crying?” Bolsonaro was speaking in the Brazilian state of Goiás, where almost 9,000 people have died.Only the U.S. has more COVID deaths than Brazil. According to Hopkins, the U.S. has more than 522,000 COVID deaths, while Brazil has reported more than 262,000.Russia’s statistics agency said Friday more than 200,000 Russians diagnosed with COVID-19 have died, more than double…


Mar62021 by DmediaNo Comments

COVID Plunging Many Kenyans Deeper into Poverty

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One year into the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya, thousands of families are struggling with deepening poverty and unemployment.  A survey by the charity Twaweza shows 60% of Kenyan families can no longer afford three meals per day.  Brenda Mulinya reports from Nairobi. Camera: Amos Wangwa       Producer: Henry Hernandez ...


Mar62021 by DmediaNo Comments

NASA’s New Mars Rover Hits Dusty Red Road, 1st Trip 6.6 Meters

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NASA's newest Mars rover hit the dusty red road this week, putting 6.5 meters on the odometer in its first test drive.The Perseverance rover ventured from its landing position Thursday, two weeks after setting down on the Red Planet to seek signs of past life.The roundabout, back and forth drive lasted just 33 minutes and went so well that more driving was on tap Friday and Saturday for the six-wheeled rover."This is really the start of our journey here," said Rich Rieber, the NASA engineer who plotted the route. "This is going to be like the Odyssey, adventures along the way, hopefully no Cyclops, and I'm sure there will be stories aplenty written about it."In its first drive, Perseverance went forward 4 meters, took a 150-degree left turn, then backed…


Mar52021 by DmediaNo Comments

White House COVID Team: Take Any Vaccine You Can Get 

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The White House COVID-19 response team said Friday that all coronavirus vaccines currently available were safe and effective and urged Americans to take whichever one they had access to, after the mayor of Detroit reportedly declined an allocation of the Johnson & Johnson drug.At a news briefing Thursday, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he was declining a shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, adding that while it was a very good vaccine, he felt the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were better and he wanted to get the people of Detroit “the best.”At a virtual news briefing Friday, coronavirus special adviser Andy Slavitt said that the White House reached out to the mayor and that there had been a misunderstanding. It was not Duggan’s intent to refuse the vaccine, said…


Mar52021 by DmediaNo Comments

Effort to Curb Ebola in Guinea, DR Congo Gathering Steam

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The World Health Organization says it is using every measure it has to curb the spread of parallel Ebola outbreaks in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. One of the biggest lessons learned from the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa — the largest in history — is the critical importance of acting quickly to contain the deadly disease.  World health officials began marshaling staff and working on a strategy to combat the disease as soon as the first cases of the Ebola virus were detected in Guinea on February 14. A rapid assessment conducted by the WHO in the country and in the region found the risk level to be very high. WHO Representative in Guinea, Georges Alfred Ki-Zerbo, said the WHO and partners have been stepping up efforts to…


Mar52021 by DmediaNo Comments

Rwanda Begins COVID-19 Vaccinations

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The east-central African nation of Rwanda began its COVID-19 vaccination program Friday, using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, making it the first African nation to administer the drug. The nation received 102,960 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and 240,000 doses of AstraZeneca through the international vaccine cooperative, COVAX facility earlier this week. Rwandan health authorities began transporting both shots around the hilly nation of 12 million people using helicopters to reach far-flung areas.  Earlier this week, Minister of Health Dr. Daniel Ngamije said the nation's vaccination plan would prioritize high-risk groups first, including the sick and the elderly, as well as front-line medical workers. He said the government's goal was to vaccinate 30% of Rwandans by the end of 2021, and 60% by the end of 2022. The government of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, which prides…


Mar52021 by DmediaNo Comments

WHO Cancels Interim Report on Origins of COVID in China

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A Wall Street Journal report says World Health Organization investigators who recently visited China to determine the origins of the emergence of the COVID-19 virus will not release a promised interim report of their findings.The Journal account, published Thursday, said the WHO team decided not to release its interim account “amid mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington.” Another international group of scientists has called for the WHO to conduct a new inquiry into COVID’s origins.The scientists calling for a new probe said in an open letter Thursday that the WHO team “did not have the mandate, the independence, or the necessary accesses to carry out a full and unrestricted investigation.”The scientists also noted in their letter that the WHO investigators in China were joined by their Chinese counterparts.A report in…


Mar52021 by TechmanNo Comments

World Semiconductor Shortage Raises Taiwan’s Bargaining Power with US

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U.S. President Joe Biden’s order to secure semiconductor supply chains for high-tech hardware production offers a commercial boost to Taiwan, one of the world’s biggest providers of chips, and gives Taipei new weight in any free-trade talks, analysts say.Biden signed an executive order Feb. 24 for the United States to start overcoming a chip shortage that has hobbled the manufacturing of vehicles, consumer electronics and medical supplies. It will trigger a review process leading to policy recommendations on how to bolster supply chains.Taiwan comes into play as the home of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which spins out more chips than any other contract manufacturer in the world and has some of the most advanced production processes. Those advances generate semiconductors that run on relatively little power without sacrificing the speed…


Mar52021 by DmediaNo Comments

WHO Cancels Interim Report on China COVID Investigation

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A Wall Street Journal report says World Health Organization investigators who recently visited China to determine the origins of the emergence of the COVID-19 virus will not release a promised interim report of their findings.The Journal account, published Thursday, said the WHO team decided not to release its interim account “amid mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington.” Another international group of scientists has called for the WHO to conduct a new inquiry into COVID’s origins.The scientists calling for a new probe said in an open letter Thursday that the WHO team “did not have the mandate, the independence, or the necessary accesses to carry out a full and unrestricted investigation.”The scientists also noted in their letter that the WHO investigators in China were joined by their Chinese counterparts.A report in…


Mar52021 by TechmanNo Comments

US Tech Competition With China Draws Bipartisan Support

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This week a U.S.-government backed commission of technology experts completed a three-year review of the country’s artificial intelligence capabilities, urging the development of a new national technology strategy to stay competitive with China.The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) has been studying how artificial intelligence and machine learning can address U.S. national security and defense needs. It recommended spending billions of dollars more on research, diversifying the American industrial supply chain for microchips and other high-tech products, and reforming immigration policies to attract talented researchers and workers.Some of those steps are under way. Republican and Democratic lawmakers are now focusing more on ways to address technological competition with China, following years in which officials say China carried out corporate espionage and forced technology transfers to rapidly advance its technological…


Mar52021 by DmediaNo Comments

COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Grows as Side Effect Worries Fade

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Confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is growing, with people's willingness to have the shots increasing as they are rolled out across the world and concerns about possible side effects are fading, a 14-country survey showed on Friday.Co-led by Imperial College London's Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) and the polling firm YouGov, the survey found trust in COVID-19 vaccines had risen in nine out of 14 countries covered, including France, Japan and Singapore, which had previously had low levels of confidence.The latest update of the survey, which ran from Feb. 8-21, found that people in Britain are the most willing, with 77% saying they would take a vaccine designed to protect against COVID-19 if one was available that week.This is up from 55% in November, shortly before the first COVID-19 vaccine…


Mar42021 by DmediaNo Comments

WHO Reports Rise of New COVID-19 Cases in Europe

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The World Health Organization’s Europe director reported Thursday that new COVID-19 cases rose 9% to just over a million in the region last week.     Hans Kluge said it was the first increase in new infections after six weeks of decline.   At a virtual news briefing from his headquarters in Copenhagen, Kluge told reporters that more than half the region saw increases in new cases.   Kluge said most of the resurgence was seen in central and eastern Europe, although new cases were also on the rise in several western European countries where rates were already high.      “Over a year into the pandemic, our health systems should not be in this situation. We need to get back to the basics," he said.   He said the…


Mar42021 by DmediaNo Comments

SpaceX Takes Flight With and Without Success

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Astronauts aboard the International Space Station this week built the bones for much-needed power upgrades.  Also, SpaceX took flight with and without success, and flaming space junk lights up Australian skies.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space. ...


Mar42021 by DmediaNo Comments

Kenyan Women’s Rights Groups Hail Lifting of US Abortion Funding ‘Gag Rule’

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Women's rights activists in Kenya have welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden’s order revoking the ban blocking U.S. funding to women’s health organizations that provide abortion or abortion-related services. Critics say the so-called gag rule left women uninformed about safe options to end a pregnancy.       Forty-five-year-old Najma Wangoi lost her sister in 2018 after she bought medicine from a drug store to induce an abortion and it led to her death.      The mother of two says her sister didn’t know there was a better way to end a pregnancy.         “She didn’t know because she bought those medicines for 3,500 shillings ($35). If she knew there was a place to do a safe abortion, she would still be alive. She should have explained her…


Mar42021 by DmediaNo Comments

SpaceX Test Rocket Launches, Lands, Then Explodes

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An unmanned SpaceX Starship SN10 test rocket - designed to take humans to the moon and beyond – perfectly launched and touched down on Earth Wednesday, but then exploded on the launch pad shortly after landing.It was third consecutive test flight of the rocket to end in an explosion, though it did so after flying more than 10 kilometers into the air, descending horizontally, then flipping upright for a perfect landing at the Boca Chica, Texas test facility.Video of the launch pad showed the craft leaning slightly and emitting streams of smoke before it exploded eight minutes after landing. In the previous test, the craft exploded after landing hard.On his Twitter account, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said, “Starship 10 landed in one piece! RIP SN10, honorable discharge.” There…


Mar42021 by DmediaNo Comments

Ending Mask Mandates Reflects ‘Neanderthal Thinking,’ Biden Says

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U.S. President Joe Biden, while expressing frustration, has limited power to overrule decisions by state governors who are ending mask mandates and lifting other restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic."I think it's a big mistake,” Biden told a small group of reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office when asked about Republican governors in Texas and Mississippi casting off restrictions and allowing businesses to reopen at full capacity.As the nation makes progress with vaccinations, “the last thing we need is the Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, ‘Everything's fine. Take off your mask. Forget it,’ ” added the president, a Democrat. “It still matters.”During the previous administration of Republican President Donald Trump, who downplayed the severity of COVID-19 despite eventually becoming infected himself, not wearing a mask became a political statement.Since taking…


Mar32021 by TechmanNo Comments

Vietnam Tapping Hackers to Silence Critics, Experts Warn

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An international advocacy group's claim that the Vietnamese government has tapped hackers to target activists shows that the communist Southeast Asian state is widening the use of technology to quash its biggest opponents, experts believe. Ocean Lotus, a shadowy group suspected of working with the Vietnamese government, is "behind a sustained campaign of spyware attacks," London-based Amnesty International said in a statement on February 24 following two years of research. It says the attacks surfaced in 2014 and targeted rights activists and the private sector, inside Vietnam as well as abroad. The hack attacks would signal a growing use of technology to muzzle strong vocal opponents of Vietnam's officials, country observers say. Police already use internet trolls and authorities have been known to damage people's Facebook accounts, said James Gomez, regional director…


Mar32021 by DmediaNo Comments

Variant First Detected in Brazil Could Reinfect People Recovering from COVID-19

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Scientists are warning that a variant of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Brazil could reinfect people already recovering from COVID-19.  The P.1 variant has spread to more than 20 countries since it was first detected last November in the Amazonian region city of Manaus.  A joint study by scientists in Britain and Brazil says the variant is 1.4 to 2.4 times more transmissible than the original version of the coronavirus.  Manaus was struck by an initial wave of COVID-19 infections in April and May of last year.  According to researchers, by October almost 80% of recovering coronavirus patients should have developed antibodies that would have made them immune to the virus. Peru will Receive a Second Vaccine Wednesday to Battle COVID-19Peru to receive the first batch of 50,000 doses of…


Mar32021 by DmediaNo Comments

US Health Official: ‘Now is Not the Time’ to End COVID-19 Restrictions

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The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday “now is not the time” to lift COVID-19 restrictions, one day after the governor of Texas announced the southern U.S. state was “100 percent open.”  At a virtual news briefing for the White House COVID-19 response, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the next month or two will be pivotal in deciding the trajectory of the pandemic.    FILE - In this image from video, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky speaks during a briefing on the Biden administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington. (White House via AP)On one hand, she noted infection rates across the country have been leveling off, but, she said, COVID-19 variants such as the highly transmissible so-called British strain,…


Mar32021 by DmediaNo Comments

COVID-19 Exposes Hearing Problems 

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The World Health Organization says one in 10 people worldwide is expected to suffer from hearing loss by 2050. But in the United States, health officials say around 20 percent of America’s adult population is already experiencing some level of hearing loss and the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the problem to a greater extent. As the country marks FILE - Director of Empowering Deaf Society Mangai Sutharsan, puts on a partially transparent mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Ilford, London, Britain, July 29, 2020.Experts are also worried about the next generation of Americans. While children with hearing problems often show poor school performance, hearing loss in teenagers has been on the rise.  Currently, one in five teens exhibits some level of loss, according to the Hearing Loss Association of…


Mar32021 by DmediaNo Comments

Brazilian Variant of COVID-19 Could Resist Vaccine, Scientists Warn

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Scientists are warning that a variant of the novel coronavirus that was first detected in Brazil could reinfect people already recovering from COVID-19.  The P.1 variant has spread to more than 20 countries since it was first detected last November in the Amazonian region city of Manaus.  A joint study by scientists in Britain and Brazil says the variant is 1.4 to 2.4 times more transmissible than the original version of the coronavirus.  Manaus was struck by an initial wave of COVID-19 infections in April and May of last year.  According to researchers, by October almost 80% of recovering coronavirus patients should have developed antibodies that would have made them immune to the virus. Peru will Receive a Second Vaccine Wednesday to Battle COVID-19Peru to receive the first batch of 50,000 doses of…


Mar32021 by DmediaNo Comments

WHO Says 1.5 Billion People Suffer Hearing Loss Globally 

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To mark World Hearing Day, the World Health Organization is calling for action to stem the epidemic of hearing loss, which currently affects 1.5 billion people globally.  A roadmap for action is contained in WHO’s first World Report on Hearing.     WHO officials warn nearly 2.5 billion people will be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050 if nothing is done to prevent or mitigate this condition.  Nearly a third, they say will require hearing rehabilitation.   The personal and economic cost of this condition is huge.  Many people who are deaf or suffer from varying degrees of hearing loss are stigmatized and spend much of their lives in isolation.   Additionally, WHO reports unaddressed hearing loss costs the global economy nearly $1 trillion  each year.   WHO technical officer on ear and hearing care…


Mar32021 by DmediaNo Comments

Japan Billionaire Offers Space Seats to Moon

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It's the sort of chance that comes along just once in a blue Moon: a Japanese billionaire is throwing open a private lunar expedition to eight people from around the world. Yusaku Maezawa, an online fashion tycoon, was announced in 2018 as the first man to book a spot aboard the lunar spaceship being developed by SpaceX. Maezawa, who paid an undisclosed sum for the trip expected to launch around 2023, originally said he planned to invite six to eight artists to join him on the voyage.But on Wednesday, in a video posted on his Twitter account, he revealed a broader application process. "I'm inviting you to join me on this mission. Eight of you from all around the world," he said. "I have bought all the seats, so it will be a private ride,"…


Mar32021 by DmediaNo Comments

Biden: Enough Vaccine for Every Adult American by End of May  

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Merck will help its pharmaceutical competitor Johnson & Johnson make the single-shot coronavirus vaccine. That was announced on Tuesday by President Joe Biden.VOA’s White House bureau chief Steve Herman was in the room when the president also said he wants every American educator to receive at least one vaccine dose by the end of this month, as part of the effort to get the country back to normal as quickly as possible.President Biden, speaking in the White House State Dining Room, says the cooperation among competitors to produce more doses and other actions will speed up the timeline by two months to have enough vaccine to inoculate every adult American.“Here’s what all this means – we’re now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by…


Mar32021 by TechmanNo Comments

Learning a Dog’s Many Moods … With a Smart Collar

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From a smart dog collar that can tell you your pet’s emotional state to toys that automatically move, the pet tech industry is growing, especially during the pandemic when many people staying at home have been adopting dogs and cats.  VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has more on the latest tech devices for pets.Camera:  Elizabeth Lee, Sam Verma    Producer: Elizabeth Lee   ...


Mar22021 by DmediaNo Comments

Texas Becomes Biggest US State to Lift COVID-19 Mask Mandate

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Texas is lifting its mask mandate, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday, making it the largest state to no longer require one of the most effective ways to slow the spread of the coronavirus.The announcement in Texas, where the virus has killed more than 42,000 people, rattled doctors and big city leaders who said they are now bracing for another deadly resurgence. One hospital executive in Houston said he told his staff they would need more personnel and ventilators.Texas Governor Greg Abbott delivers an announcement in Montelongo's Mexican Restaurant on March 2, 2021, in Lubbock. Abbott announced that he is rescinding executive orders that limit capacities for businesses and the state wide mask mandate.Federal health officials this week urgently warned states to not let their guard down, warning that the pandemic…