Month: September 2021

The World Health Organization is warning that COVID-19 vaccine export bans and hoarding by wealthy countries will prolong the pandemic in Africa, preventing recovery from the disease in the rest of the world.   While more than 60% of the U.S., European Union, and British populations have been vaccinated, only 2% of COVID vaccine shots have been given in Africa.   The COVAX facility has slashed its planned COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to Africa by 25% this year.  WHO Africa regional director Matshidiso Moeti says the 470 million doses now expected to arrive by the end of December are enough to vaccinate just 17% of Africans on the continent.         “Export bans and vaccine hoarding still have a chokehold on the lifeline of vaccine supplies to Africa.… Even if…

A U.S. government advisory panel rejected a plan for the widespread use of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, dealing a setback to the Biden administration, which had championed the extra shots for nearly all Americans. By a vote of 16-2, a U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine advisory panel rejected the widespread use of the boosters, citing a lack of data on their safety as well as a lack of evidence concerning their value. The independent panel did endorse extra vaccine doses for people who are 65 and older or at high risk of severe illness. Drugmaker Pfizer had requested full approval for boosters for people 16 and older, a proposal backed by the Biden administration. The White House announced last month that Americans who received either the Pfizer or…

While orbiting Earth, four space tourists called U.S. actor Tom Cruise to talk about life aboard the spacecraft. Representatives for SpaceX's first privately chartered flight said the crew members spoke Friday with Cruise, who is hoping to take part in a movie made in space. The Twitter account for the flight mission said, "Maverick, you can be our wingman anytime," referencing the call sign for Cruise's character in the movie Top Gun. No further details were released about the conversation. Last year, NASA said it was in talks with Cruise about filming a movie at the International Space Station. In the first space flight without any trained astronauts, the space tourists are orbiting Earth at an altitude of 585 kilometers. The crew is led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, 38, and…

New York next week will see one of its first large gatherings since the coronavirus pandemic, when more than a hundred world leaders are expected to return to the United Nations for their annual meetings. VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer reports. ...

Afghanistan, climate action and the COVID-19 pandemic will be front and center next week when large numbers of world leaders return to New York for their first in-person meetings at the United Nations in more than a year.      The coronavirus pandemic has slowed in-person diplomacy at the United Nations, and last September it was still considered too unsafe to hold the annual gathering that draws nearly 200 presidents and prime ministers and their large delegations in person, so it was all virtual.   Vaccines have made it safer to hold a scaled-down gathering, although the rampant spread of the delta variant left decisions for many about coming until the last minute. Leaders also have the option to stay home and send a video message, which about 50 of them plan…

A new study on work-related causes of deaths finds long working hours to be the biggest occupational risk factor. The joint study by the World Health Organization and International Labor Organization estimates nearly 2 million people a year die from work-related diseases and injuries. World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it is shocking to see so many people literally being killed by their jobs. He said every single work-related death is preventable with the right health and safety measures in place. “More than 80% of work-related deaths are due to non-communicable diseases, primarily cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, which are caused by or made worse by factors in the workplace," Tedros said. "Long working hours are the single deadliest occupational risk factor accounting for 750,000 deaths each year.” The study…

U.S. President Joe Biden convened six heads of state and three leaders of multilateral organizations on Friday to make his plea: that stronger climate action is not just urgent — it is good for the global economy.   The leaders met six weeks ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, an event that aims to chart future global climate efforts.   “I wanted to show that we're at an inflection point and that there's a real consensus, a real consensus, that while the climate crisis poses an existential threat, there is a silver lining,” Biden told the leaders of Argentina, Bangladesh, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico and the United Kingdom, who all joined virtually.   “The climate crisis also presents real and incredible economic opportunities to create jobs and lift…

Hoping to meet green energy goals and cut down on Indian cities' air pollution while boosting its flagging auto industry, the Indian government Wednesday announced a $3.5 billion push for electric and hydrogen-fuel powered vehicles. The plan, which includes incentives for automakers to invest in clean technology cars, will allow India to "leapfrog" to environmentally cleaner vehicles, the cabinet said in a statement while announcing the effort. "It will herald a new age in higher technology, more efficient and green automotive manufacturing," the statement said. Clean fuel vehicles so far make up a fraction of the country's vehicles, despite ambitious goals announced four years ago for a 100% transition to electric cars by 2030. This move could, however, give India a head start in an industry that is emerging globally…

A trio of Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Friday after a 90-day stay aboard their nation’s first space station in China’s longest mission yet.     Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo landed in the Shenzhou-12 spaceship just after 1:30 p.m. (0530 GMT) after having undocked from the space station Thursday morning.     State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of the spacecraft parachuting to land in the Gobi Desert where it was met by helicopters and off-road vehicles. Minutes later, a crew of technicians began opening the hatch of the capsule, which appeared undamaged.     The three astronauts emerged about 30 minutes later and were seated in reclining chairs just outside the capsule to allow them time to readjust to Earth’s gravity after three months of living…

With flames advancing toward the signature grove of ancient massive trees in Sequoia National Park, firefighters on Thursday fought fire with fire. Using firing operations to burn out flammable vegetation and other matter before the wildfire arrives in the Giant Forest is one of several ways firefighters can use their nemesis as a tool to stop, slow or redirect fires. The tactic comes with considerable risks if conditions change. But it is routinely used to protect communities, homes or valuable resources now under threat from fires, including the grove of about 2,000 massive sequoias, including the General Sherman Tree, the world’s largest by volume. Here’s how it works: It’s all about the fuel Three things influence how hot and fast a fire burns: the landscape, with fire burning faster up…

France has suspended 3,000 health care workers who were not inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine by a government-mandated Sept. 15 deadline. “Several dozens” of the country’s 2.7 million health workers, Health Minister Olivier Veran said Thursday, opted to resign rather than receive the inoculation against the coronavirus. Tens of thousands health workers were unvaccinated in July when President Emmanuel Macron announced the Sept. 15 deadline to have at least one shot of a vaccine. Veran said most suspended employees worked in support services, while few doctors and nurses were among the suspended. Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center said early Friday that France has reported more than 7 million COVID cases and more than 116,000 COVID deaths. In the U.S. state of Idaho, hospitals have begun rationing care “because the massive…

A growing number of Republicans, including state governors, have vowed to mount legal challenges against President Joe Biden’s sweeping measures to compel workers and federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has the story. ...

The remainder of what was Hurricane Nicholas continues to dump rain along the central U.S. Gulf Coast, while the U.S. National Hurricane Center is watching two areas that are likely to become named storms in the next few days.  In Thursday reports, hurricane center forecasters said Nicholas, now a post-tropical depression, was moving through Louisiana to the north and east, where it was expected to drop heavy rain. Flash flood watches The system was expected to produce additional rainfall of 5 to 10 centimeters (2 to 4 inches) across the Gulf Coast Friday, with isolated amounts of 16 centimeters (6 inches) possible. Flash flood watches were in effect from portions of southeast Louisiana, across southern Mississippi and Alabama, to the Florida panhandle, especially in urban areas. Widespread minor river flooding…

Another commercial spaceflight company launches into the space tourism business. Plus, more spacewalks outside the International Space Station, and beauty tips from astronauts on board. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space. ...

The first all-civilian crew of astronauts is now orbiting the Earth after the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched them into space in spectacular fashion late Wednesday. Video from the launch showed the initial fireball light up the night sky as the rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:02 p.m. local time. The capsule could be seen streaking across the sky as it gained altitude. About 12 minutes into the flight, a bright plume of light appeared as the Dragon capsule separated from the rocket's second stage and the crew entered orbit, while the reusable first stage made its way back to Earth for a vertical landing on a sea barge.  The team of four amateur astronauts is led by billionaire e-commerce executive Jared Isaacman, 38,…

Scientists from multiple organizations that monitor and assess the state of the Earth's climate system warn the world is not on track to meet the target of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050. The United in Science 2021 report warns greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are continuing at record levels, committing the planet to dangerous future warming. It notes the last five-year period has been the warmest since record-keeping began in 1850.  Scientists say rising temperatures due to human activity are causing higher than average temperatures in the Arctic, Europe and Asia. That is increasing the frequency and intensity of floods, droughts, wildfires, storms, and other extreme weather events throughout the world.  Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization Petteri Taalas says weather…

A review issued Wednesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says a third dose of Pfizer’s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine boosts a person’s immunity against the virus, but said the current regimen still provides enough protection against severe illness. The FDA is considering Pfizer’s request to offer a third shot of its vaccine, which the drugmaker says is needed as its effectiveness wears off between six to eight months after the second dose. Pfizer submitted a preliminary study to the FDA that suggested a third dose of the vaccine given to more than 300 people boosted their immunity levels three to five times higher than after the earlier shots. Pfizer also cited a study from Israel, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, that showed infection rates were…

India’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved an incentive plan for the automobile sector aimed at boosting production of electric and hydrogen fuel-powered vehicles and promoting the manufacture of drones. The government will give about $3.5 billion in incentives to auto companies and drone manufacturers over a five-year period, Anurag Thakur, minister of information and broadcasting, told reporters. “The incentive scheme has been designed to help India become a global player in the automobile sector,” Thakur said, adding it would also boost local manufacturing. The proposal comes at a time when annual car sales in India have fallen to their lowest in a decade due to the pandemic, which followed an economic slowdown in 2019. Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) make up a fraction of the total. Several years ago, India was…

China tightened lockdowns and increased orders for mass testing in cities along its coast Wednesday amid the latest surge in COVID-19 cases. Checks have been set up in toll stations around the city of Putian in Fujian province, with a dozen of them closed entirely. The nearby cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou have also restricted travel as the delta variant spreads through the region. The National Health Commission on Wednesday said an additional 50 cases had been diagnosed in various parts of Fujian, most of them in the Putian region. Since the start of the pandemic, first detected in late 2019 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, China has imposed strict testing, lockdowns, quarantines and mask-wearing requirements. Fujian has seen at least 152 new cases in recent days, prompting…

The latest in a recent line of billionaire space enthusiasts prepared for liftoff Wednesday along with three other private citizens aboard a SpaceX rocket ship, aiming to become the first all-civilian crew launched into Earth’s orbit.The quartet of amateur space travelers, led by Jared Isaacman, the American founder and chief executive of e-commerce firm Shift4 Payments, were due for blastoff as early as 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.The flight, with no professional astronauts accompanying SpaceX's paying customers, is expected to last about three days from liftoff to splashdown in the Atlantic."Everything is go for launch," SpaceX principal integration engineer John Insprucker declared about 3½ hours before launch time in a SpaceX webcast of pre-liftoff activities.Trip from hangarA short time earlier, Isaacman, 38, and…

One of California's most famous groves of giant sequoias is threatened by a small but intense wildfire burning in Sequoia National Park, officials said Wednesday. The roughly 7,000-acre KNP fire complex is burning about a mile away from the Giant Forest, home to the largest tree on earth by volume, dubbed General Sherman, said Rebecca Paterson, a public information officer for the National Park Service in Three Rivers, near where the fire is burning. About 115 employees have been evacuated from the park, along with residents of the eastern part of the town, Paterson said. The park was closed Tuesday as the fire began to threaten the Giant Forest, one of about 30 such groves and most visited, she said. FILE - A tourist stands next to the General Sherman giant sequoia at…

Iceland is now the home of the world's largest direct air capture and storage plant of carbon dioxide. The plant aims to remove 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide - one of the main contributors to global warming - from the air each year, as VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports.Producer: Rob Raffaele. ...

The European Union is pledging to donate 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries by mid-2022. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the pledge Wednesday in Strasbourg, France during her annual State of the European Union speech before the European Parliament. Von der Leyen said the 200 million doses the EU plans to contribute is in addition to an earlier promise of 250 million doses, which she described as “an investment in solidarity, and it is an investment in global health.” Von der Leyen said “the scale of injustice and the level of urgency is obvious” with less than 1% of all global doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered in low- and middle-income countries.  “Let’s do everything possible so that it does not turn into a pandemic of the…