Month: June 2022

The risk of monkeypox becoming established in nonendemic nations is real, the WHO warned Wednesday, with more than 1,000 cases confirmed in such countries.  World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.N. health agency was not recommending mass vaccination against the virus and…

The Biden administration announced Monday that it would waive tariffs on solar panels imported to the United States from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam for 24 months, reducing uncertainty for the U.S. solar energy companies that had been spooked by a Commerce Department investigation launched…

The government of Poland, where a near-total abortion ban is in place, faced accusations Monday of creating a "pregnancy register" as the country expands the amount of medical data being digitally saved on patients.  Women's rights advocates and opposition politicians fear women face unprecedented surveillance…

Three Chinese astronauts arrived at the country's space station on Sunday, the Chinese space agency for human flights said, the latest stride in Beijing's aim to become a major space power. The trio blasted off in a Long March-2F rocket at 0244 GMT from the…

Beijing will further relax COVID-19 curbs by allowing indoor dining, as China's capital steadily returns to normal with inflections falling, state media said on Sunday. Beijing and the commercial hub Shanghai have been returning to normal in recent days after two months of painful lockdowns…

China on Sunday launched a rocket carrying three astronauts on a mission to complete construction on its new space station, the latest milestone in Beijing's drive to become a major space power. The trio blasted off in a Long March-2F rocket at (0244 GMT) from…

Global reported cases of COVID-19 cases and deaths “are near their lowest levels since the beginning of the pandemic,” the World Health Organization director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Friday. Speaking at the GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum, Tedros warned, however, that “It is still far too…

The amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has shot past a key milestone — more than 50% higher than pre-industrial times — and is at levels not seen since millions of years ago when Earth was a hothouse ocean-inundated planet, federal scientists announced…

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday it was aware of more than 700 cases of monkeypox globally, including 21 in the United States, with investigations now suggesting it is spreading inside the country.  Sixteen of the first 17 cases were…

American children under age 5 could receive their first COVID-19 vaccines as early as June 21, the White House's top COVID official said Thursday — if the two vaccines under review are approved by both U.S. government bodies responsible for such authorizations. "We know that…

One of NASA’s robots on Mars chops its way through the record books. Plus, next-generation spacesuits, and a meteor shower ignites the sky over Brazil. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space ...

U.S. President Joe Biden met with major manufacturers of infant formula on Wednesday, and suggested their ranks should grow, as his administration presses ahead with efforts to boost imported supplies to help ease a nationwide shortage.  "We need more new entrants in the infant formula…

As health authorities in Europe and elsewhere roll out vaccines and drugs to stamp out the biggest monkeypox outbreak beyond Africa, some doctors acknowledge an ugly reality: The resources to slow the disease's spread have long been available, just not to the Africans who have…

The World Health Organization reported more than 250 attacks on health facilities and health personnel in Ukraine since it was invaded by Russian forces. One U.S. firm is helping fill the gap with mobile laboratories and clinics. For VOA, Genia Dulot has our story from…

In the spring of 2020, as COVID-19 spread throughout the world in ways not fully understood, the United States faced a critical shortage of protective masks.  Dozens of manufacturing startups attempted to meet the demand for what was then a confusing array of grades and…