Month: May 2021

During coronavirus-mandated lockdowns, millions of people started following the so-called “cleanfluencers” — online bloggers who inspired others to clean and organize their homes while gaining useful knowledge about keeping things neat and tidy. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.  Camera:  Natalia Latukhina, Alexander Barash   ...

Member nations of the World Trade Organization are wrapping up two days of talks in  Geneva Wednesday focused on waiving intellectual property rights on new COVID-19 vaccines.  Ambassadors from the WTO’s 164 member states have been debating a proposal first proposed by South Africa and…

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies turn their attention to issues of global interest including coronavirus vaccines, climate change and education for girls on Wednesday as they close three days of talks in London. "I think COVAX and the ability to fund it, get vaccines…

A Malian woman gave birth to nonuplets in Morocco on Tuesday, and all nine babies are "doing well," her government said, although Moroccan authorities had yet to confirm what would be an extremely rare case.    Mali's government flew 25-year-old Halima Cisse, a woman from the northern part of the West African…

President Biden set a goal of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030. His pledge to a virtual summit of world leaders in April is welcomed by those hit hardest by climate change and looking for as much quick action as possible.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.  Camera: AP/REUTERS/NASA/SKYPE/NATIONAL AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITYProduced by: Arash Arabasadi  ...

Turkey was recently heralded as one of the most successful nations in containing the spread of COVID 19, prompting the government to ease controls. But a surge in infections coupled with vaccine shortages has forced a U-turn, with the country now under its most severe…

Taiwan, largely spared from the global coronavirus pandemic since it began last year, is grappling with a small but still uncontained outbreak that appeared last month. Since April 20, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center has confirmed infections of 10 pilots working for the Taiwan-based international carrier…

As India reels from a second wave of COVID-19 infections that is devastating major cities, stockpiles are falling short of surging demand in the country, health experts warn. The country’s mass immunization bid to expand its vaccination drive to all adults is posing to be…

India has opened its immunization drive to all adults as it reels under a catastrophic second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But a shortage of vaccines in the country often called a vaccine powerhouse means inoculating a significant part of the 1.4 billion population is still…

The first phase of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout has started in Papua New Guinea, as infection numbers continue to rise. Experts say Australia’s nearest neighbor is also fighting a sea of misinformation and concerns over the safety of vaccines. Experts say misinformation about COVID-19 is spreading even…

France’s centrist government has released a video ahead of Wednesday's vote on the so-called Climate and Resilience bill, with Ecological Transition Minister Barbara Pompili explaining how it will lead to cleaner air, more insulated buildings and a greener France overall.Polls find many French citizens support the…

An appeals court on Monday will consider the constitutionality of the first law in the nation banning transgender women and girls from playing on women's sports teams.  The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case that will likely have far-ranging…

The World Health Organization says a small outbreak of the Ebola virus has been contained in an eastern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).According to Congo’s Ministry of Health, the outbreak inflected 12 people and killed six in North Kivu province.The WHO…

Moderna announced Monday it will supply the COVAX vaccine sharing program with up to 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2022. The news comes simultaneously as Sweden announced it would send one million doses of the AstraZeneca shot as well.…

The results of a new poll show that vaccine hesitancy worldwide poses a risk to ending the COVID-19 pandemic for good. In 79 out of 117 countries A man arrives to get a dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital, in Ankara, Turkey, May 1,…

Amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in India and other parts of the world, the Biden administration remains noncommittal on a proposal to loosen patent restrictions so that countries can manufacture generic versions of the coronavirus vaccines. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report. ...

Murder, rape and physical abuse are among the attacks that healthcare workers, the wounded and the sick have been subjected to in the five years since the United Nations Security Council adopted its first resolution on the protection of health care in conflict zones and demanded an end to impunity for such attacks.  The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said…

Pakistan decided Sunday to temporarily suspend incoming pedestrian movement at overland border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran to “restrain import of any new mutation” of the coronavirus.    The restriction will take effect Tuesday night and remain in place until May 20, said the National…

India continues to be pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic, documenting a new national record Sunday of nearly 3,700 deaths in the last 24 hours and more than 390,000 new infections. Even so, India began counting votes for state elections, although the Madras High Court assailed the…

Pakistan decided Sunday to temporarily suspend incoming pedestrian movement at overland border crossings with Afghanistan and Iran to “restrain import of any new mutation” of the coronavirus.    The restriction will take effect Tuesday night and remain in place until May 20, said the National…

SpaceX returned four astronauts from the International Space Station on Sunday, making the first U.S. crew splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot.The Dragon capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, just before 3 a.m., ending the…

India set a record Saturday, for the first time surpassing 400,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.The new infections count for the previous 24-hour period was a record 401,993 cases, according to India’s health ministry. Public health officials believe the actual…