Month: September 2021

The crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday reported that smoke alarms went off in the Russian segment of orbiting laboratory, and the crew reported seeing smoke and smelling burned plastic. Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said the incident took place in the Russian-built Zvezda module and…

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to call for a summit on boosting the global supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, according to U.S. news outlets. The summit will be held during the United Nations General Assembly later this month.  The Washington Post reports the topics will include…

U.S. President Joe Biden will unveil a new strategy to combat the dramatic surge of COVID-19 cases across the nation during a major White House speech Thursday afternoon.White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that Biden will spell out six methods designed to…

It's been 20 years since terrorists rammed passenger planes into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington. The wars that followed in Afghanistan and Iraq were wars in which medical advances saved more lives than in any other war. VOA's Carol Pearson…

The Texas anti-abortion law, which was allowed to go into effect last week despite being in clear conflict with decades-old precedents set by the United States Supreme Court in the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, is a complex piece of legal engineering. It was intentionally built…

Malawi health authorities fear vaccine hesitancy could lead to tens of thousands of COVID-19 jabs expiring early next month.  With just 2% of Malawi’s population vaccinated, authorities hope to increase uptake by deploying mobile vaccination clinics to bring the vaccine closer to people.Malawi has so…

A new report released Wednesday says the COVID-19 pandemic had a “devastating” impact in the fight against HIV and tuberculosis last year.The Global Fund, an alliance of governments, civil society groups and private sector entities, says the number of people reached with HIV prevention programs…

Mexico's Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday that penalizing abortion is unconstitutional, a major victory for advocates of women's health and human rights, just as parts of the United States enact tougher laws against the practice.The decision in the world's second-biggest Roman Catholic country means…

Mexico's Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday that penalizing abortion is unconstitutional, a major victory for advocates of women's health and human rights, just as parts of the United States enact tougher laws against the practice.The court ruling in the majority Roman Catholic nation follows…

Coronavirus vaccines offer protection not only against infection and serious illness but may also help prevent so-called “Long COVID,” where symptoms can last for several weeks or months, according to new research from scientists at Kings College London.  There are no official figures, but it’s…

A greater share of U.S. soldiers survived the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq than those who fought in previous conflicts. Advances in medicine and new concepts in trauma care over the past two decades have made the difference. VOA's Carol Pearson reports on the most…

The U.S. ended its conflict in Afghanistan, but the Veterans Health Administration continues researching ways to reduce the impact of the most serious injuries U.S. troops suffered in conflicts in both Afghanistan and Iraq. VOA's Carol Pearson reports on one area of research, traumatic brain…

New Zealand is easing the coronavirus lockdown for nearly the entire country first imposed last month after the Pacific nation reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case in six months.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that the nationwide alert level will be lowered to Level 2,…

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans Tuesday to fulfill a election promise to grapple with the rocketing cost of the long-term care needed by Britain’s growing older population. To do it, he appears set to break another election vow: not to raise taxes. Johnson is scheduled to tell Parliament…

NASA confirmed Monday that its Perseverance Mars rover succeeded in collecting its first rock sample for scientists to pore over when a future mission eventually brings it back to Earth. "I've got it!" the space agency tweeted, alongside a photograph of a rock core slightly thicker…

The pollution, emissions and cleanup costs of plastic produced in 2019 alone could be $3.7 trillion, according to a report released Monday by wildlife charity WWF, warning of the environmental and economic burden of this "seemingly cheap" material.  There is increasing international alarm over the sheer…

In the vast Sunderbans delta that spans eastern India and Bangladesh, coastal erosion due to rising sea levels has been slowly carving away chunks of its low-lying islands, forcing thousands of people to relocate, according to climate experts.“When we talk to families in the Sunderbans,…

Australia recorded three new COVID-19 deaths in its most populous state of New South Wales and nearly 1,500 new cases of the coronavirus disease Sunday.Speaking to reporters in Sydney, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the peak of the most recent outbreak was expected…

Funeral director Wayne Bright has seen grief piled upon grief during the latest COVID-19 surge. A woman died of the virus, and as her family was planning the funeral, her mother was struck down. An aunt took over arrangements for the double funeral, only to die…

Some cities in Brazil are providing booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, even though most people have yet to receive their second jabs, in a sign of the concern in the country over the highly contagious delta variant.Rio de Janeiro, currently Brazil’s epicenter for the…

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Friday says the coronavirus can cause “severe illness” in children and adolescents.From late June to mid-August, when there was an “increased circulation” of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, weekly COVID-associated hospitalization rates…

Cuban authorities on Friday launched a national campaign to vaccinate children ages 2-18 against COVID-19, a prerequisite set by the communist government for schools to reopen amid a spike in infections.Children 12 and older will be the first to receive one of the two domestically…

In the first report of its kind, the World Meteorological Organization examines the close link between air quality and climate change and how measures stemming from COVID-19 influenced air quality patterns in 2020.Government-imposed lockdown measures and travel restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 resulted…

Amid the latest wave of COVID-19 infections, less than 1% of people in Africa's most populated country, Nigeria, have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Nigerian authorities are scrambling for more vaccines but say misinformation and myths are discouraging uptake. Timothy Obiezu looks at efforts…

The African Union has announced that Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines assembled in South Africa will no longer be exported to Europe and will instead be distributed among African countries.In addition, millions of J&J vaccines already shipped to Europe, but currently stored in warehouses, will…

The perilous state of the planet's wildlife will be laid bare when the largest organization for the protection of nature meets Friday hoping to help galvanize action as the world faces intertwined biodiversity and climate crises.Relentless habitat destruction, unsustainable agriculture, mining and a warming planet…