Oct312021 DmediaNo Comments

UN Aims to Cut Millions of Road Traffic Deaths, Injuries by Half

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The World Health Organization has kicked off a campaign to cut millions of road traffic deaths and injuries by at least half by 2030.This follows the August 2020 adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of a Decade of Action for Road Safety. More than 50 million people have died in road crashes since the automobile was invented by German entrepreneur Karl Benz in 1886. Now, the World Health Organization reports road accidents kill more than 3,500 people every day, adding up to nearly 1.3 million deaths and some 50 million injuries every year. The WHO cites road traffic injuries as the leading cause of death globally for children and young people aged 5 to 29 years. The director of the WHO’s Department for Social Determinants, Etienne Krug, said most…
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Oct312021 DmediaNo Comments

G-20 Leaders Pledge to End Financing for Overseas Coal Plants 

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G-20 leaders meeting in Rome have agreed to work to reach carbon neutrality “by around mid-century" and pledged to end financing for coal plants abroad by the end of this year. The final communique was issued Sunday at the end of a two-day summit, ahead of talks at a broader U.N. climate change summit, COP26, this week in Glasgow, Scotland. Leaders in Rome addressed efforts to reach the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with a global commitment made in 2015 at the Paris Climate Accord to keep global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5 degrees.  "We recognize that the impacts of climate change at 1.5°C are much lower than at 2°C. Keeping 1.5°C within reach will require…
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Oct312021 DmediaNo Comments

UN Climate Change Conference: What’s on the Table? 

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The latest round of climate talks are getting under way Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland. They are billed as the most important since the Paris conference six years ago. Here are some of the main goals of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26. Keep 1.5 alive  Negotiators pledged in Paris that they would aim to keep the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Scientists have warned that the goal is slipping out of reach without drastic cuts in emissions of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming greenhouse gases. The planet is already more than 1 degree warmer than it was in the late 1800s, producing more intense heat waves, stronger storms, deeper droughts, bigger wildfires, rising sea levels and more. The higher…
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Oct312021 DmediaNo Comments

G-20 Leaders Discuss Climate Change

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The G-20 heads of state from the world’s major economies will discuss climate change Sunday on day two of their meeting in Rome. Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi welcomed the heads of state, including U.S. President Joe Biden, to the Italian capital, where they discussed issues of mutual concern, including the pandemic recovery. The G-20 leaders supported a sweeping global tax deal agreed to by 136 finance ministers earlier this month, including a minimum 15% global corporate tax rate for companies with annual revenues of more than $870 million. It still needs to be implemented within each member country’s legal framework. On COVID-19, G-20 health and finance ministers announced the formation of a new panel to improve future pandemic preparedness, proposed by the United States and Indonesia, but did…
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Oct312021 DmediaNo Comments

Johns Hopkins: World COVID-19 Tally Nears 5 Million

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Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Sunday that the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is less than 4,000 short of the 5 million mark. The 4 million tally was reached a little more than four months ago. India’s prime minister told world leaders at the G-20 summit in Rome that India will produce 5 million COVID-19 vaccines by the end of next year for use in his country and around the world. Narendra Modi said Saturday, however, that the 5 million doses would be easier to produce if the World Health Organization were to approve India’s Covaxin vaccine and place it on the WHO’s emergency use list. Covaxin is produced by India’s Bharat Biotech. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping, China’s leader, told the summit Saturday, via a video platform, that…
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Oct312021 DmediaNo Comments

To Stargazers: Fireworks Show Called Northern Lights Coming

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A fireworks show that has nothing to do with the Fourth of July and everything to do with the cosmos is poised to be visible across the northern United States and Europe just in time for Halloween. On Thursday, the sun launched what is called an "X-class solar flare" that was strong enough to spark a high-frequency radio blackout across parts of South America. The energy from that flare is trailed by a cluster of solar plasma and other material called a coronal mass ejection, or CME for short. That's heading toward Earth, prompting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to issue a warning about a potentially strong geomagnetic storm. It might sound like something from a science fiction movie. But really, it just means that a good chunk of…
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Oct302021 DmediaNo Comments

G-20 Summit Begins in Rome With Focus on Climate Change, COVID Pandemic

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The G-20 Summit hosted by Italy kicked off Saturday in Rome, where leaders from the world’s major economies discussed issues of mutual concern, including pandemic recovery and climate change. The red carpet was rolled out at La Nuvola, Rome’s Convention Center, as Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders amid strict COVID-19 protocols. This summit is the leaders' first face-to-face meeting in two years, following last year’s virtual summit hosted by Saudi Arabia. Notably absent are Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. They will join virtually, citing pandemic concerns at home. Pandemic response and prevention On Friday, G-20 health and finance ministers released a communique committing to bringing the pandemic under control everywhere as soon…
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Oct302021 DmediaNo Comments

WHO: ‘Vaccine Inequity . . . Demonstrates a Disregard for the World’s Poorest’

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The World Health Organization has written an open letter to the heads of state gathered in Rome for the G-20 meeting, urging them to increase vaccine supplies for the world's poorest, ensure access to vaccines for all people on the move and support low- and middle-income countries in combating COVID-19 with all available means. “The current vaccine equity gap between wealthier and low resource countries demonstrates a disregard for the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable,” the open letter said. “For every 100 people in high-income countries, 133 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, while in low-income countries, only 4 doses per 100 people have been administered.” The WHO letter also warned, “Vaccine inequity is costing lives every day, and continues to place everyone at risk. History…
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Oct302021 DmediaNo Comments

Thai Businesses Eager for Foreign Tourists’ Imminent Return

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Before the pandemic effectively closed Thailand off to the rest of the world in March of last year, Bangkok’s Kin & Koff Café was perfectly placed to catch the throngs of tourists traipsing past the city’s gilded Grand Palace and its orbit of opulent temples. In the capital of one of the world’s most popular holiday getaways, the resplendent grounds of the former royal residence were a must-see for most first-time visitors. Then came COVID-19, lockdown and a hard freeze on foreign tourists, decimating a pillar of Thailand’s economy — and the core of Kin & Koff’s client base with it. So, like many in the business of catering to those tourists, owner Siripong Sanomaiwong welcomed the news that Thailand will start lifting lengthy quarantine mandates for some fully vaccinated…
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Oct302021 TechmanNo Comments

China Hits Reset on Belt and Road Initiative

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Green energy is the new focus of China’s one-of-a-kind Belt and Road Initiative or BRI, that aims to build a series of infrastructure projects from Asia to Europe. The eco-friendlier version of BRI has caught the attention of some 70 other countries that are getting new infrastructure from the Asian economic powerhouse in exchange for expanding trade. The reset on China’s eight-year-old, $1.2 trillion effort comes after leaving a nagging layer of smog in parts of Eurasia, where those projects operate. Now the county that’s already mindful of pollution at home is preparing a new BRI that will focus on greener projects, instead of pollution-generating coal-fired plants. It would still further China’s goal of widening trade routes in Eurasia through the initiative’s new ports, railways and power plants. The Second Belt and Road announced in China on October 18, coincides with the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26,…
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Oct302021 DmediaNo Comments

Tonga’s First COVID-19 Case Detected, May Face Lockdown

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Tongan Prime Minister Pohiva Tuionetoa warned Saturday that residents on the country's main island Tongatapu faced a possible lockdown next week after recording its first case of COVID-19. The tiny Pacific kingdom had been among only a handful of countries to escape the virus so far, and the infection was detected in a person in managed isolation after returning to Tonga on a repatriation flight from New Zealand. "The reason the lockdown won't happen this weekend is because I have been advised that the virus will take more than three days to develop in someone who catches it before they become contagious," Tuionetoa said. "We should use this time to get ready in case more people are confirmed they have the virus." Most of Tonga's population of 106,000 live on…
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Oct292021 DmediaNo Comments

FDA Clears Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use in Children 

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized on Friday the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children 5-11 years old.  The FDA approved for children doses that are one-third the amount that teens and adults receive. "With this vaccine kids can go back to something that's better than being locked at home on remote schooling, not being able to see their friends," Dr. Kawsar Talaat of Johns Hopkins University said, according to The Associated Press. "The vaccine will protect them and also protect our communities."  On Tuesday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make detailed recommendations, and the CDC director will have the final say.  Approval by the regulatory agencies would make the vaccine available in the coming days to 28 million American children, many…
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Oct292021 DmediaNo Comments

US Space Weather Center Issues Geomagnetic Storm Watch

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The U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) Friday issued a Strong Geomagnetic Storm Watch for Saturday, saying power and communications systems could be affected after a significant solar flare was observed on the sun. The U.S. space agency NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory reported observing a significant solar flare — or "coronal mass ejection" (CME) — Thursday. Flares or CMEs are powerful eruptions on the sun’s surface that send tons of superheated gas and radiation into space. The observatory, which constantly monitors solar activity, captured an image of Thursday’s event. The bursts of radiation often head toward Earth, and while harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans, if they are strong enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and other …
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Oct292021 DmediaNo Comments

WFP: Climate Change Risks Creating Global Tsunami of Hunger

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The World Food Program says that without consolidated global action to stop the acceleration of climate change, the world faces a crisis of acute hunger. The WFP says climate shocks are destroying lives, crops and livelihoods and  are undermining people’s ability to feed themselves. It cites Mozambique as an example of a country particularly vulnerable to climate change. It notes millions of people are suffering from food scarcity because of punishing cyclones, drought and pest infestations leading to agricultural losses. WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri said Friday that hunger would increase rapidly throughout vulnerable communities worldwide if global action is not taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are leading to climate change. It's often stated by climate scientists and activists that humans must stop the planet from warming an additional 2 degrees…
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Oct292021 DmediaNo Comments

Midcareer Women Found Disproportionally Affected by COVID

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The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionally affected midcareer and older working women in the United States. About 40% have experienced at least one job interruption, and of those who remained unemployed, 70% were out of work for six months or more. Lesia Bakalets has more in this report narrated by Anna Rice. Cameras: Aleksandr Bergan, Artyom Kokhan. ...
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Oct292021 DmediaNo Comments

Countries Urged to Turn Carbon Neutral Commitments Into Climate Action

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Ahead of next week’s climate conference in Scotland, 10 United Nations and international agency heads, including the World Meteorological Organization, are calling on governments to turn their carbon neutral commitments into climate action.   Scientists tracking the impact of human activity on the warming of the planet say the scientific case for urgent climate action is unequivocal. They note rising temperatures have led to increased sea levels and more frequent and intense extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, heat waves, and excess rainfall. The U.N. and international agency heads have issued a united and urgent call to governments to prioritize climate action, particularly when it comes to water.  They say accelerated action is urgently needed to address the water-related consequences of climate change. World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman Clare Nullis says…
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Oct292021 DmediaNo Comments

Pandemic Further Squeezes Indian Women, Already on the Margins

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Desperate for work, Sabila Dafadar walks every morning from her poor neighborhood tucked behind tall glass and chrome buildings in the business hub of Gurugram, 32 kilometers from New Delhi, to a busy intersection where day laborers wait for contractors who come to pick up construction workers. After she migrated from her village 10 years ago, she easily found jobs both as household help and in an office as a cleaner. Like millions of other women, she lost her job last year during a stringent lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Indian businesses and factories have reopened, it has been tough for Dafadar to find work as the economy struggles to recover. “I have only managed to get work for 15 days during the last three months,” the 35-year-old…
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Oct292021 TechmanNo Comments

US Lawmakers Vote to Tighten Restrictions on Huawei, ZTE

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The U.S. Senate voted unanimously on Thursday to approve legislation to prevent companies that are deemed security threats, such as Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. or ZTE Corp., from receiving new equipment licenses from U.S. regulators.  The Secure Equipment Act, the latest effort by the U.S. government to crack down on Chinese telecom and tech companies, was approved last week by the U.S. House in a 420-4 vote and now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature.  "Chinese state-directed companies like Huawei and ZTE are known national security threats and have no place in our telecommunications network," Republican Senator Marco Rubio said. The measure would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from reviewing or issuing new equipment licenses to companies on its "Covered Equipment or Services List."  In March, the FCC…
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Oct282021 DmediaNo Comments

Ahead of UN Climate Summit, China Offers No Significant New Goals

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As world leaders gather in Glasgow, Scotland, for the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26), China on Thursday announced it has no new significant goals to reduce climate-changing emissions, despite being the world's top emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that cause global warming.  "It's not surprising, but it is disappointing that there wasn't anything new" in terms of goals, said Joanna Lewis, an expert on China, climate and energy at Georgetown University, The Associated Press reported.  In the past, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is not expected to attend the summit, has said China aims to reduce peak emissions of carbon dioxide "before 2030" and to reach "carbon neutrality" before 2060.  Thursday's announcement merely repeats those goals.  Lewis said the documents China released give details only about meeting…
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Oct282021 TechmanNo Comments

Facebook Inc. Rebrands as Meta to Stress ‘Metaverse’ Plan

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company is rebranding itself as Meta in an effort to encompass its virtual-reality vision for the future — what Zuckerberg calls the " metaverse."  Skeptics point out that it also appears to be an attempt to change the subject from the Facebook Papers, a leaked document trove so dubbed by a consortium of news organizations that include The Associated Press. Many of these documents, first described by former Facebook employee-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen, have revealed how Facebook ignored or downplayed internal warnings of the negative and often harmful consequences its social network algorithms created or magnified across the world. "Facebook is the world's social media platform and they are being accused of creating something that is harmful to people and society," said marketing consultant Laura Ries. She…
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Oct282021 DmediaNo Comments

Climate Research Vessel Sails Into London 

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A new British research ship, named for British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, has arrived in London to call attention to climate change ahead of next week’s Glasgow climate summit. The 129-meter RSS Sir David Attenborough has completed sea trials and is ready for service. It sailed up the Thames River on Wednesday to be part of a three-day public celebration hosted by the British Antarctic Survey to raise awareness of the importance and relevance of polar science and why it matters to everyday life. In a launch event on the ship Thursday, Attenborough, known for his documentaries on nature and the planet, reminded people of the dangers caused by climate change and called for action from delegates attending the summit next week in Glasgow. Commissioned by the Natural Environment Research…
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Oct282021 DmediaNo Comments

Scabies Outbreak Affects 300 in Malawi’s Blantyre

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In Malawi, health authorities say an outbreak of scabies around the commercial capital of Blantyre has affected more than 300 people. Scabies is a contagious, intensely itchy skin condition caused by tiny mites that burrow into the skin.  “We started seeing cases from June and we have seen that the cases have been increasing such that by the end of September we had seen 255 cases. But as I am talking now, as of October, the number has risen to 309 cases,” says Chrissy Banda, the spokesperson for Blantyre District Health Office. Residents of Blantyre like Matilda Lamba say the outbreak is concerning, especially with records indicating that it is more prevalent in rural areas. “Those people from villages they come in town. You know we buy things from then like agriculture commodities, we…
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Oct282021 DmediaNo Comments

US Donates 4.8 Million Vaccines to 4 African Nations

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The United States is sending more than 4.8 million coronavirus vaccine doses to four African nations, the White House told VOA on Wednesday. White House officials said the 55-member African Union determined the allocations. Landlocked Chad, one of the world’s poorest nations, will get 115,830 doses; populous U.S. ally Egypt will receive 3,634,020 doses; West Coast oil producer Gabon is to get 101,790 doses and East Coast bulwark Kenya will receive 990,990 doses. The donated Pfizer vaccine doses should all arrive in the countries by Friday or Saturday, White House officials said. That vaccine requires two shots for full immunity, and American authorities have recommended that certain high-risk groups should receive booster shots of that vaccine after their initial course. The move follows an announcement earlier in the week that…
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Oct282021 DmediaNo Comments

Cheap Antidepressant Shows Promise Treating Early COVID

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A cheap antidepressant reduced the need for hospitalization among high-risk adults with COVID-19 in a study that was looking for existing drugs that could be repurposed to treat coronavirus. Researchers tested the pill used for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder because it was known to reduce inflammation and looked promising in smaller studies. They've shared the results with the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which publishes treatment guidelines, and they hope for a World Health Organization recommendation. "If WHO recommends this, you will see it widely taken up," said study co-author Dr. Edward Mills of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, adding that many poor nations have the drug readily available. "We hope it will lead to a lot of lives saved." The pill, called fluvoxamine, would cost $4 for a course…
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Oct272021 TechmanNo Comments

US State Department Creates Bureau to Tackle Digital Threats

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The State Department is creating a new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy to focus on tackling cybersecurity challenges at a time of growing threats from opponents. There will also be a new special envoy for critical and emerging technology, who will lead the technology diplomacy agenda with U.S. allies. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the organizational changes underscore the need for a robust approach for dealing with cyber threats.  "We want to make sure technology works for democracy, fighting back against disinformation, standing up for internet freedom, and reducing the misuse of surveillance technology," Blinken said in a speech on modernizing American diplomacy.  Blinken said the new bureau will be led by an ambassador-at-large. The chief U.S. diplomat is also seeking a 50% increase in State…
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