Sep302021 DmediaNo Comments

Australian State Blames Illegal Parties For COVID-19 Surge

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COVID-19 infections have hit a new record in the Australian state of Victoria. Authorities blame rule-breakers for the latest surge in cases. More than 1,400 new daily locally acquired cases of COVID-19 were reported in Victoria Thursday. Five more people have died. The numbers have soared despite some of Australia’s strictest stay-at-home orders. Melbourne, the Victorian state capital, has become the third-most locked-down city in the world according to the city’s mayor. Residents have endured more than 235 days of lockdown since the pandemic began. Household visits are banned. Victorian authorities have said illegal gatherings and house parties over a public holiday long weekend the last weekend in September were behind the sharp rise in COVID-19 infections in the state. Officials also said many people had ignored lockdown directives to…
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Sep302021 DmediaNo Comments

US Opioid Overdose Deaths Soar

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In the shadows of Washington's government office buildings, Gary Hayes searches for another dose of heroin, chasing a high that will last only a few hours before he wants more. "It's hard to stop using when you are living on the streets and there's no treatment help," Hayes told VOA. The 28-year-old Black man, who lives in a homeless tent encampment in the nation's capital, has struggled with substance abuse disorder for a decade. "I overdosed twice in the last year, but I know several people who died," Hayes said, reflecting on the deadly opioid epidemic playing out during another health tragedy, the coronavirus pandemic. More than 93,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2020, the highest number on record, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics…
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Sep292021 TechmanNo Comments

YouTube Will Ban All Content Containing What it Calls Vaccine Misinformation

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YouTube will ban any video that claims vaccines are ineffective or dangerous, including those that question vaccines for measles and chickenpox, the company announced Wednesday.   “Specifically, content that falsely alleges that approved vaccines are dangerous and cause chronic health effects, claims that vaccines do not reduce transmission or contraction of disease, or contains misinformation on the substances contained in vaccines will be removed,” the Google-owned company said in a blog post announcing the new enforcement measures. The company said “vaccines in particular have been a source of fierce debate over the years, despite consistent guidance from health authorities about their effectiveness.”   “Today, we're expanding our medical misinformation policies on YouTube with new guidelines on currently administered vaccines that are approved and confirmed to be safe and effective by…
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Sep292021 DmediaNo Comments

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, 22 More Species Extinct

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The U.S National Fish and Wildlife Service Wednesday is expected to announce the extinction of 23 species, including the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, an elusive bird long-sought after by bird watchers throughout the southeast United States.   The New York Times reports the list of extinctions includes 11 birds, eight freshwater mussels, two fish, a bat and a plant. Many of them were likely extinct, or almost so, by the time the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973.   The measure is intended to provide special protection for rare species on the brink of extinction. U.S. officials have determined no amount of conservation would have been able to save these particular species. Fish and Wildlife Species Classification Specialist Bridget Fahey told the Times, “Each of these 23 species represents a permanent loss…
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Sep292021 DmediaNo Comments

Massive North Sea Wind Farm Could Power Denmark, Neighbors

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Weeks before a high-profile climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Danish officials are talking up an ambitious program to develop the world's largest offshore wind energy complex, with the potential to provide enough green energy to power not just Denmark, but some of its neighbors as well.  The complex, to sit on and around an artificial North Sea island about 80 km off Denmark's coast, would span an area up to the size of 64 soccer fields and support thermal storage facilities, HVDC converters, a heliport, and a research and visitor center. Energy Island Envisioned by Denmark "You can have hundreds of wind turbines around this island," said Dan Jorgensen, Denmark's climate and energy minister, during a visit to Washington this month. His government calculates that the energy island could yield…
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Sep292021 DmediaNo Comments

Pakistani University Manufactures Stents for Heart Patients

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According to the Pakistani government, over 45,000 angioplasty operations are conducted in Pakistan each year; an operation in which a small mesh tube is inserted into a blocked artery to allow blood to flow through it. Up until recently Pakistan had to import these medical devices, but now they're being manufactured in country. VOA's Asim Ali Rana files this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Camera: Wajid Hussain Shah  Produced by: Asim Ali Rana    ...
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Sep272021 TechmanNo Comments

Facebook Puts Instagram Kids Project on Hold

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Facebook is putting its Instagram Kids project on hold amid growing concerns about potential harmful effects on young people, including anxiety and depression. The idea is to provide youngsters with the Instagram social media experience but with no ads, more parental control and age-appropriate content. U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups have urged Facebook to scrap the plan entirely for safety concerns. "Today is a watershed moment for the growing tech accountability movement and a great day for anyone who believes that children's wellbeing should come before Big Tech's profits," said Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, an advocacy group focused on children. "We commend Facebook for listening to the many voices who have loudly and consistently told them that Instagram Youth will result in significant harms to children." Golin vowed…
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Sep252021 DmediaNo Comments

White House Steps Up Work on What to do About Thawing Arctic

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The Biden administration is stepping up its work to figure about what to do about the thawing Arctic, which is warming three times faster than the rest of the world. The White House said Friday it is reactivating the Arctic Executive Steering Committee, which coordinates domestic regulations and works with other Arctic nations. It also is adding six new members to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, including two Indigenous Alaskans. The steering committee had been moribund for the past four years, not meeting at a high level, said David Balton, appointed to direct it. He said “it will step up and do more in the Arctic.” The revamped committee will try to figure out what “needs to be done to get a better handle on addressing the changes in the…
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Sep242021 DmediaNo Comments

Biden: 60 Million Americans Eligible for COVID-19 Boosters

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U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday that around 60 million Americans are eligible for a booster shot against the coronavirus. His announcement came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved a third Pfizer shot for those 65 and older, frontline workers and adults with underlying medical conditions. Biden urged eligible Americans to get COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, and he said he would get his own shot as soon as possible. In comments from the White House Friday, Biden said, "Like your first and second shot, the booster shot is free and easily accessible." The CDC approved the boosters for Americans 65 or older; frontline workers such as teachers, health care workers and others whose jobs place them at risk of contracting COVID-19; and those ages 50 to…
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Sep242021 TechmanNo Comments

Huawei Executive Resolves Criminal Charges in Deal with US 

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A top executive of Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies has resolved criminal charges against her as part of a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that could pave the way for her to return to China.  The deal with Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer and the daughter of the company's founder, was disclosed in federal court in Brooklyn on Friday. It calls for the Justice Department to dismiss the case next December, or four years after her arrest, if she complies with certain conditions.  The deal, known as a deferred prosecution agreement, resolves a yearslong legal and geopolitical tussle that involved not only the U.S. and China but also Canada, where Meng has remained since her arrest there in December 2018. Meng appeared via videoconference at Friday's hearing.  The…
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Sep242021 DmediaNo Comments

CDC Approves Booster Shots for Some Pfizer Vaccine Recipients

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The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has approved Pfizer vaccine booster shots for some individuals who completed their first vaccinations at least six months ago. Front-line workers – teachers, health care workers and others whose jobs place them at risk of contracting COVID-19 – will be able to get the boosters, in addition to people 65 and older, nursing home residents, and other people, 50-64, with underlying conditions. Rochelle Walensky added the front-line workers to the list of those eligible for the boosters prepared by a CDC’s advisory panel. Walensky’s move placed the CDC in agreement with the Food and Drug Administration as to who should get the Pfizer booster shots. FDA recommendations Wednesday included frontline workers. Also included in the eligibility recommendations are people…
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Sep242021 DmediaNo Comments

Simple Australian First-Aid Technique Could Save Shark Bite Survivors

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An Australian researcher has developed a new first-aid technique that could save shark attack victims from a fatal loss of blood in the crucial moments after the attack. The method requires a rescuer or bystander to place his or her fist on the femoral artery, between the hip of the wounded leg and the genitals, and apply pressure using their full body weight to stop blood flow to the leg wound. It is a practice commonly used in some hospital emergency rooms for treating severe leg injuries. The technique was developed by Dr. Nicholas Taylor, associate dean of the Australian National University Medical School and an avid surfer, and described in a paper published Friday in the Journal of Emergency Medicine Australasia. Taylor says research has shown that compressing the…
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Sep242021 DmediaNo Comments

Mask Mandate Prompts Cheers, Jeers in Charlotte, North Carolina

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The fluctuating severity of the pandemic and ever-changing public health pronouncements have left North Carolina with a patchwork of masking requirements, mirroring much of the United States. Some residents embrace the mandates, others do not. "I personally feel like it affects my breathing," said Mackenzie Gilley when asked about mask-wearing. Gilley, 26, a leasing agent in a Charlotte high-rise apartment complex, said masks impede her work. "I have a job that's always been on the front lines in property management, where it's very difficult to talk to people and relate to people wearing the mask all day," Gilley told VOA. In May of this year, as vaccination rates increased and COVID-19 cases plunged, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper lifted a statewide mask mandate that had been in effect for nearly…
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Sep242021 DmediaNo Comments

CIA Removes Vienna Station Chief Over Handling of Havana Syndrome Cases, Report Says

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The CIA removed its Vienna, Austria, station chief recently amid criticism the person did not take seriously a surge in mysterious "Havana syndrome" cases, The Washington Post reported Thursday. Dozens of cases affecting embassy staff and Central Intelligence Agency officers and family members have been reported in Vienna recently, but the unnamed station chief expressed skepticism and showed insensitivity, the Post said, citing intelligence sources. A CIA spokesperson declined to confirm or deny the report, but said the agency takes seriously scores of possible incidents of the mysterious ailment in U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. The cause and source remain enigmatic, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said last week. "Have we gotten closer? I think the answer is yes -- but not close enough to make the analytic judgment…
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Sep242021 TechmanNo Comments

Disabled People Can Now Use Android Phones with Face Gestures

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Using a raised eyebrow or smile, people with speech or physical disabilities can now operate their Android-powered smartphones hands-free, Google said Thursday. Two new tools put machine learning and front-facing cameras on smartphones to work detecting face and eye movements. Users can scan their phone screen and select a task by smiling, raising eyebrows, opening their mouth, or looking to the left, right or up. "To make Android more accessible for everyone, we're launching new tools that make it easier to control your phone and communicate using facial gestures," Google said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 61 million adults in the United States live with disabilities, which has pushed Google and rivals Apple and Microsoft to make products and services more accessible to them. "Every day,…
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Sep242021 DmediaNo Comments

Displaced Children in Northeast Syria May Never Recover, Observers Fear 

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Nearly 2½ years after the fall of the Islamic State terror group's self-declared caliphate, there still appears to be no escape for tens of thousands of children left homeless in its wake.  Aid groups and observers say the children, some from families that flocked to join Islamic State and some from families who fled from its forces, are wasting away in displaced persons camps in northeast Syria, stalked by violence and even death.  "These children are experiencing traumatic events that no child should have to go through," said Sonia Khush, Syria response director for Save the Children, in a statement Thursday. "It is incomprehensible that they are condemned to this life," Khush added. "Every day they are denied the opportunity to return to their home, denied the specialized services they…
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Sep242021 DmediaNo Comments

US Sets the Stage for COVID Booster Shots for Millions

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The U.S. vaccination drive against COVID-19 stood on the verge of a major new phase as government advisers Thursday recommended booster doses of Pfizer's vaccine for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans — despite doubts the extra shots will do much to slow the pandemic. Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said boosters should be offered to people 65 and older, nursing home residents and those ages 50 to 64 who have underlying health problems that put them at greater risk. The extra dose would be given once they are at least six months past their last Pfizer shot. Deciding who else might get one was far tougher. While there is little evidence that younger people are in danger of waning immunity, the panel offered the…
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Sep232021 DmediaNo Comments

All-Civilian Space Crew Returns Home

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The all-amateur crew of the SpaceX Dragon capsule makes it home, but not before a string of first time-ever events. Plus, cosmonauts vote from space, and a film crew readies for a trip to the International Space Station. Buckle up, as VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports on this historic Week in Space. ...
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Sep232021 DmediaNo Comments

Coronavirus Vaccine Inequity a Focus at UN General Assembly 

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South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby and Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni are set to address the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.  Access to COVID-19 vaccines has been one of the major topics of the annual meeting in New York and is likely to be one of the most discussed again Thursday as leaders from African nations make up a large portion of the day’s list of speakers.  While some countries such as the United States have had vaccine doses widely available to their populations for months, other countries have struggled to access COVID-19 vaccine supplies.  The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 4% of the population is fully vaccinated.  Ramaphosa was among a group of leaders who participated in a virtual summit Wednesday convened…
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Sep232021 DmediaNo Comments

Lava, Smoke, Ash Cover La Palma as Volcano Threatens Banana Crop

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Jets of red hot lava shot into the sky on Spain's La Palma on Thursday as a huge cloud of toxic ash drifted from the Cumbre Vieja volcano toward the mainland and jeopardized the island's economically crucial banana crops.   Walls of lava, which turn black when exposed to the air, have advanced slowly westward since Sunday, engulfing everything in their path, including houses, schools and some banana plantations.   Farmers near the town of Todoque raced to save as much as possible of their crop, piling their trucks high with sacks of the green bananas, on which many of the islanders depend for their livelihood.   "We're just trying to take everything we can," said a farmer who gave his name as Roberto from the window of his pickup.…
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