Month: May 2022

The storm that came ashore in southwestern Mexico as Hurricane Agatha is expected to dissipate late Tuesday, but after dropping more heavy rains over the region. Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat urged people to remain cautious Tuesday with the ongoing threat of rain, but he said there were no reports of any deaths from the storm. Agatha made landfall Monday near the Oaxaca town of Puerto Angel, bringing flooding rains and strong winds, and triggering several mudslides. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm, which was rated a Category Two hurricane, was the strongest to make a May landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast since record keeping began in 1949. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters ...

Indigenous Australia’s approach to seasons, based on tens of thousands of years of experience, is explored in a new three-part documentary series. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports ...

The World Health Organization's governing board agreed on Monday to form a new committee to help speed up its response to health emergencies like COVID-19.  The U.N. Health Agency faced criticism for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the pace of its response to early cases that may have delayed detection and helped the virus to spread. Some disease experts say that governments and WHO must avoid repeating such early missteps with other outbreaks like monkeypox. Read full story.  The resolution, passed unanimously at the 34-member Executive Board's annual meeting, will form a new Standing Committee on Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response to help address some of the perceived shortcomings.    Formal WHO meetings are sometimes spaced months apart, and under the new initiative, the new body would meet…

In Ghana, sexual assault victims must show medical reports to prove they have been assaulted before a rape suspect can be prosecuted. These medical examinations come at a relatively high cost, and are not covered by the national health insurance, and so can deter a victim from pressing charges. Now, a lawmaker is seeking to abolish the health exam requirement so that more women are able to pursue justice. Senanu Tord reports from Battor, Ghana. ...

The World Health Organization's top monkeypox expert said she doesn't expect the hundreds of cases reported to date to turn into another pandemic, but acknowledged there are still many unknowns about the disease, including how exactly it's spreading and whether the suspension of mass smallpox immunization decades ago may somehow be speeding its transmission. In a public session on Monday, WHO's Dr. Rosamund Lewis said it was critical to emphasize that the vast majority of cases being seen in dozens of countries globally are in gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men, so that scientists can further study the issue and for populations at risk to take precautions. "It's very important to describe this because it appears to be an increase in a mode of transmission that may…

Methamphetamine seizures across East and Southeast Asia hit yet another record high in 2021, proof of the “staggering” scale and reach the region’s drug gangs have gained after a decade of steady growth that looks set to continue, the United Nations says in a new report. In Synthetic Drugs in East and Southeast Asia: Latest Development and Challenges, issued Monday in Bangkok, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime says seizures of meth tablets topped 1 billion for the first time last year. While crystal meth, or ice, seizures dipped slightly to 79 metric tons, it says, total meth seizures by weight were a record 171.5 metric tons in 2021, nearly eight times the total seizures a decade ago. Combined with stable or falling street and wholesale prices across the…

Shanghai said on Sunday "unreasonable" curbs on businesses will be removed from June 1 as it looks to lift its COVID-19 lockdown, while Beijing reopened parts of its public transport as well as some malls and other venues as infections stabilized. The Chinese commercial hub of 25 million people aims to essentially end from Wednesday a two-month lockdown that has severely damaged the economy and seen many residents lose income, struggle to source food and to cope with the isolation. The painful coronavirus curbs in major Chinese cities run counter to trends seen in the rest of the world, which has largely tried to return to normal life even as infections spread. Shanghai, China's most populous city, will end many conditions for businesses to resume work from June 1. The…

Capri Isidoro broke down in tears in the office of a lactation consultant.  The mother of two had been struggling to breastfeed her 1-month-old daughter ever since she was born, when the hospital gave the baby formula first without consulting her on her desire to breastfeed.  Now, with massive safety recall and supply disruptions causing formula shortages across the United States, she also can't find the specific formula that helps with her baby's gas pains.  "It is so sad. It shouldn't be like this," said Isidoro, who lives in the Baltimore suburb of Ellicott City. "We need formula for our kid, and where is this formula going to come from?"  As parents across the United States struggle to find formula to feed their children, the pain is particularly acute among…

Something weird is up with La Nina, the natural but potent weather event linked to more drought and wildfires in the western United States and more Atlantic hurricanes. It's becoming the nation's unwanted weather guest and meteorologists said the U.S. Western states megadrought won't go away until La Nina does. The current double-dip La Nina set a record for strength last month and is forecast to likely be around for a rare but not quite unprecedented third straight winter. And it's not just this one. Scientists are noticing that in the past 25 years the world seems to be getting more La Ninas than it used to and that is just the opposite of what their best computer model simulations say should be happening with human-caused climate change. "They (La…

The World Health Organization says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks of the unusual disease but described the epidemic as "containable" and proposed creating a stockpile to equitably share the limited vaccines and drugs available worldwide. During a public briefing on Friday, the U.N. health agency said there are still many unanswered questions about what triggered the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox outside of Africa, but there is no evidence that any genetic changes in the virus are responsible. "The first sequencing of the virus shows that the strain is not different from the strains we can find in endemic countries and (this outbreak) is probably due more to a change in human behavior," said Dr. Sylvie Briand,…

When asked if he is afraid for his life, Dr. Denis Mukwege responded candidly: "I am human." Due to the nature of his work, the renowned gynecological surgeon has received death threats for years. But the Congolese Nobel Peace Prize laureate said he draws his strength from the women he treats. Patients who come to him to heal after going through unimaginable horrors. "The women I'm treating are so powerful," Mukwege said in an interview with VOA's Straight Talk Africa TV program. "What I'm doing is just a small sense if I compare what they [rape survivors have been through] in the situation of conflict where everyone wants to use them." He is now honoring the women he says inspired him, including his mother, in a new book titled "The…

Officials from the Group of Seven wealthy nations announced Friday that they will aim to largely end greenhouse gas emissions from their power sectors by 2035, making it highly unlikely that those countries will burn coal for electricity beyond that date.  Ministers from the G-7 countries meeting in Berlin also announced a target to have a "highly decarbonized road sector by 2030," meaning that electric vehicles would dominate new car sales by the end of the decade.  And in a move aimed at ending the recurring conflict between rich and poor nations during international climate talks, the G-7 recognized for the first time the need to provide developing countries with additional financial aid to cope with the loss and damage caused by global warming.  The agreements, which will be put…

Japan will open its borders to foreign tourists in June for the first time since imposing tight pandemic travel restrictions about two years ago, but only for package tours for now, the prime minister said Thursday. Beginning June 10, Japan will allow the entry of people on tours with fixed schedules and guides, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. Tourists from areas with low COVID-19 infection rates who have received three vaccine doses will be exempt from testing and quarantine after entry. Japan this week is hosting small experimental package tours from four countries, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the United States. That experiment, which involves only 50 people who received special visas, not tourist visas, is to end May 31. “Free and active exchange of people is the foundation of economy…

The Albinism Association of Nigeria is petitioning the government to resume free cancer treatment for albinos. It was stopped years ago because of a lack of funding. Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja. ...

Two-and-a-half years after its first failed attempt, the world’s largest aerospace manufacturer scores in a roundtrip mission to the International Space Station. Plus, the European Space Agency expects continued diplomacy aboard the ISS. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. ...

Heat waves like the ones roasting South Asia this year don't just sap people's strength. They drain people's finances in ways that are not always obvious. It's one of the ways climate change is weighing on the economy and making poor people poorer. "These effects are global, they are pronounced, and they are persistent," said Teevrat Garg, an economist at the University of California-San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. South Asia is especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change-driven heat waves. But temperature extremes are becoming more common worldwide as the planet warms. Too hot to work March and April were the hottest or near-hottest months on record across South Asia. Climate change made this heat wave about 100 times more likely, according to the U.K. Met…

Heat waves like the ones roasting South Asia this year don't just sap people's strength. They drain people's finances in ways that are not always obvious. It's one of the ways climate change is weighing on the economy and making poor people poorer. "These effects are global, they are pronounced, and they are persistent," said Teevrat Garg, an economist at the University of California-San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. South Asia is especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change-driven heat waves. But temperature extremes are becoming more common worldwide as the planet warms. Too hot to work March and April were the hottest or near-hottest months on record across South Asia. Climate change made this heat wave about 100 times more likely, according to the U.K. Met…

Pfizer said Wednesday that it will provide nearly two dozen products, including its top-selling COVID-19 vaccine and treatment, at not-for-profit prices in some of the world's poorest countries. The drugmaker announced the program at the World Economic Forum's annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, and said it was aimed at improving health equity in 45 lower-income countries. Most of the countries are in Africa, but the list also includes Haiti, Syria, Cambodia and North Korea. The products, which are widely available in the U.S. and the European Union, include 23 medicines and vaccines that treat infectious diseases, some cancers and rare and inflammatory conditions. Company spokeswoman Pam Eisele said only a small number of the medicines and vaccines are currently available in the 45 countries. New York-based Pfizer will charge only…

March and April were the hottest or near-hottest months on record across South Asia. Heat waves don't just sap people's strength; they can drain people's finances. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more. ...

March and April were the hottest or near-hottest months on record across South Asia. And climate change made this heat wave 100 times more likely, the U.K. Met Office says. Heat waves like these don't just sap people's strength; they drain people's finances in not always obvious ways —just another example of how climate change is weighing on the economy and making poor people poorer. VOA's Steve Baragona has more. ...

The World Health Organization's (WHO) members re-elected Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as director general by a strong majority for another five years, the president of the World Health Assembly said on Tuesday. The vote by secret ballot, announced by Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh from Djibouti at a major annual meeting, was seen as a formality since Tedros was the only candidate running. Ministers and delegates took turns to shake hands and hug Tedros, a former health minister from Ethiopia, who has steered the U.N. agency through a turbulent period dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The president had to use a gavel several times to interrupt the applause. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach tweeted on Tuesday: "Just re-elected as Director General of #WHO: @DrTedros. 155/160 votes, spectacular result. Congratulations, fully deserved." Germany recently…

Malawi has rolled out a vaccination campaign to help stop an outbreak of cholera.  Authorities report more than 350 cases and 17 deaths from cholera across eight districts of southern Malawi. Malawi’s Ministry of Health declared the cholera outbreak in early March after the first case was confirmed in the Machinga district in southern Malawi. The disease has so far spread to eight districts including Nsanje, Chikwawa and Blantyre. In its latest report on Monday, the ministry said the country had recorded 367 cholera cases in all with 17 deaths and 19 hospital admissions. Dr. Gertrude Chapotera represented the World Health Organization at the launch of the vaccination campaign Monday in Blantyre. She said the campaign is running with support from various global partners, including the Gavi Vaccine Alliance and…

The World Health Organization does not have evidence that the monkeypox virus has mutated, a senior executive at the U.N. agency said on Monday, noting the infectious disease that is endemic in west and central Africa has tended not to change.  Rosamund Lewis, head of the smallpox secretariat which is part of the WHO Emergencies Program told a briefing that mutations are typically lower with this virus, although genome sequencing of cases will help inform understanding of the current outbreak. The more than 100 suspected and confirmed cases in the recent outbreak in Europe and North America have not been severe, the WHO's emerging diseases and zoonoses lead and technical lead on COVID-19, Maria van Kerkhove, said. "This is a containable situation," she said. The outbreaks are atypical, according to…