Oysters Helping Clean Largest Estuary in US
Oysters play a vital role in cleaning sea water. They're also finding their way to the plates of some of Washington’s most popular restaurants. Keith Lane reports. Produced by: Keith Lane ...
VOA Interview: Anne Neuberger
With Russian President Vladimir Putin accelerating war efforts and threatening to use nuclear weapons, White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara spoke with Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology at the Biden administration's National Security Council, on the possibility of increased cyber warfare on Ukraine and her allies. Neuberger also spoke of the recent Iranian cyberattacks on Albania, and the administration's view of NATO's collective defense principle in cyber warfare. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: Anne Nueberger, thank you so much for joining me all today. I'm going to start with Russia. President Vladimir Putin has significantly increased his war efforts. He's announced mobilization, referendums, threatening nuclear attacks. Are we also expecting an increase in cyberattacks? DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER FOR…
Japan to Ease COVID Border Controls to Boost Tourism
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that Japan will abolish a series of COVID-19 border restrictions in hopes of reviving its tourism industry. As of Oct. 11, Japan will allow individual visitors to enter the country, reinstate visa waivers and end the cap on daily arrivals. Kishida announced the long-awaited policy shift at a news conference in New York. The changes come as Japan records the highest 28-day average of cases in the world, 3,052,150, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center. Japan began allowing tourists on guided tours to enter the country in June, and tourists on nonguided tours who had booked through a registered travel agency could enter as of early September. Japan also removed mandatory pre-arrival PCR tests for fully vaccinated travelers in September but…
NASA Practices Saving the World
NASA tries to save the world. Plus, the agency inches closer to its next moon mission, and geopolitical rivals unite in space. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. ...
New Study Says There Are 20 Quadrillion Ants on Earth
A new study released this week “conservatively” estimates there are 20 quadrillion ants on the planet Earth—or about 2.5 million ants for every person. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Hong Kong and Germany’s University of Wuerzburg, who noted ants are some of the most successful and dominant forms of life on earth but found most estimates of their numbers to be lacking, and, essentially, educated guesses. In the study, published this week in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they explain they compiled data on both ground and tree-dwelling ants from 489 studies, spanning “all continents, major biomes, and habitats” to arrive at what they call a “conservative” estimate of 20 quadrillion ants, representing a biomass of 12 megatons. The researchers…
World Health Organization Declares Malawi Trachoma-Free
Malawi has become the first country in southern Africa to eliminate trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness, the World Health Organization announced. It is the fourth country in Africa to stamp out the bacterial infection, after Ghana, Gambia and Togo. The WHO said in a statement that Malawi has been known to be endemic for trachoma since the 1980s. The disease received due attention in 2008 following a survey conducted in support of the WHO and Sightsavers, a nongovernmental organization. The findings spurred the country to step up efforts against trachoma by establishing a national taskforce which implemented the WHO-recommended strategy known as SAFE to control the spread of the disease. The SAFE strategy comprises provision of surgery, antibiotics to clear the infection, facial cleanliness and environmental improvement through…
Uganda Confirms Seven Ebola Cases So Far, One Death
Uganda has confirmed seven cases of Ebola including that of a 24-year-old man who died earlier this week, and an additional seven deaths are being investigated as suspected Ebola cases, a health ministry official said on Thursday. The man who died had developed a high fever, diarrhea and abdominal pains, and was vomiting blood. After initially being treated for malaria, he was diagnosed as having contracted the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus. "As of today, we have seven confirmed cases, of whom we have one confirmed death," Dr Kyobe Henry Bbosa, Ebola Incident Commander at the Ugandan Ministry of Health, told a briefing. "But also we have seven probable cases that died before the confirmation of the outbreak." Uganda last reported an outbreak of Ebola Sudan strain in 2012.…
Flood Victims in Pakistan Face Threat of Diseases
Displaced by some of the worst flooding in years, hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis now face the threat of disease. Infections are on the rise due to unsanitary conditions, and health facilities damaged by historic rains are struggling to cope. VOA's Sarah Zaman has more. ...
Beijing’s Zero-COVID Policy Draws New Anger After Fatal Bus Crash
Commenters in China’s tightly controlled online communities are raising an angry howl at what they see as the latest outrage stemming from President Xi Jinping’s draconian zero-COVID policy. After at least 27 people died when a bus in southwest China’s Guizhou Province crashed while transporting them to a coronavirus quarantine facility, online comments revealed the magnitude of frustration of ordinary citizens enduring a policy that forces them into lengthy lockdowns and daily testing in the effort to contain COVID. “27 people, who did not die in the coronavirus, but died in the bus accident [on the way to] quarantine? Even if they are positive, the death rate of the virus is extremely low, who made such a tragedy?” “No ordinary people are against epidemic prevention. What the ordinary people oppose…
Rights Group Slams Turkey, EU Over Plastic Recycling Health Risks
Turkey's plastic recycling industry is strongly criticized in a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday. The report highlights health problems for workers and residents and criticizes the European Union, for which Turkey is the main plastics recycler. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. ...
Most Global Deaths Are From Preventable Noncommunicable Diseases
The World Health Organization warns noncommunicable diseases kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 74 percent of all deaths globally. A new global report by the World Health Organization finds noncommunicable diseases now outnumber infectious diseases as the top killers globally. Each year, it says 17 million people under age 70 die prematurely from noncommunicable diseases or NCD. The biggest killers are cardiovascular diseases, followed by cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. WHO director of noncommunicable diseases, Bente Mikkelsen, says most of these deaths are preventable. “Every two seconds, someone under the age of 70 is dying from an NCD," said Mikkelsen. "And many people do not still realize that 86 percent of these premature deaths, namely dying too young are taking place in low-and-middle-income countries, making NCD an…
India Develops Affordable Vaccine Against Cervical Cancer
For the first time in India, a domestically-made vaccine that provides protection against cervical cancer—the second-most common type of cancer afflicting women in the country—will be accessible to the majority of the population, including the poorest, according to leading healthcare professionals. The vaccine, Cervavac, is produced by The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. The vaccine shot is expected to launch by December this year, SII chief executive Adar Poonawalla said in a statement Tuesday. “Cervavac will make India self-sufficient in controlling female mortality caused by cervical cancer. The government of India will induct it in the national [vaccination] program in a few months,” Poonawalla said. The vaccine protects against the Human Papilloma Virus, the main cause of cervical cancer and a potential cause of other…
Angelina Jolie Makes Surprise Visit to Flood-hit Pakistan
Hollywood actress and U.N. humanitarian Angelina Jolie made a surprise visit to one of the worst flood-hit areas in southern Pakistan on Tuesday, officials said, as the death toll from months-long deluges rose to 1,559. TV footage showed Jolie arriving at an airport in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, where floods since mid-June have killed 692 people, damaged hundreds of thousands of homes and left half a million people homeless. Later, she visited some of the flood-affected areas, according to local media. According to the IRC, a prominent international aid group, Jolie is visiting Pakistan to support communities affected by the devastating floods. There was no comment from the government about Jolie's visit to Dadu, one of the worst-hit districts where waterborne diseases have also caused nearly 300…
Uganda Confirms Ebola Outbreak After Man Dies From Virus
Officials in Uganda have confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. The country’s Ministry of Health says a young man died of the virus in central Uganda Monday, and several of his relatives who died earlier this month are also suspected to have had Ebola. The government has sent a rapid response team to the area to investigate. Uganda’s Ministry of Health officials say the suspected Ebola case was identified Saturday in a village in the central Mubende district. The ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr. Diana Atwine, says a 24-year-old man was admitted to a hospital for pneumonia and diarrhea. But his symptoms also included those of the deadly virus — a dry cough, high fever, convulsions, blood-stained vomit and bleeding in the eyes. Speaking at a press conference…
New Atlas of Bird Migration Shows Extraordinary Journeys.
A bay-breasted warbler weighs about the same as four pennies, but twice a year makes an extraordinary journey. The tiny songbird flies nearly 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) between Canada's spruce forests and its wintering grounds in northern South America. "Migratory birds are these little globetrotters," said Jill Deppe, the senior director of the migratory bird initiative at the National Audubon Society. A new online atlas of bird migration, published on Thursday, draws from an unprecedented number of scientific and community data sources to illustrate the routes of about 450 bird species in the Americas, including the warblers. The Bird Migration Explorer mapping tool, available free to the public, is an ongoing collaboration between 11 groups that collect and analyze data on bird movements, including the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Smithsonian…
WHO Warns of Dangers From Medication Practices
Marking World Patient Safety Day, Saturday, the World Health Organization warns unsafe medication practices and errors are a leading cause of avoidable harm in world health care systems. The WHO is calling for urgent action to stop the medication errors putting millions at risk of severe harm or even death. The agency’s quality of care coordinator, Neelam Dhingra-Kumar, noted everyone will, at some point take medicine, expecting to benefit. However, she said they can be harmful with improper use. “There is ample evidence around the world that unsafe medication practices and medication errors is actually avoidable,” she said. “Such as incorrect prescriptions, wrong dispensing, wrong use of medicines, lack of proper monitoring. Once the physicians prescribe medicines, they are not monitored and even use of substandard and falsified medicines are…
Chinese Astronauts Go on Spacewalk From New Station
Two Chinese astronauts went on a spacewalk Saturday from a new space station that is due to be completed later this year. Cai Xuzhe and Chen Dong's installed pumps, a handle to open the hatch door from outside in an emergency, and a foot-stop to affix an astronaut's feet to a robotic arm, state media said. China is building its own space station after being excluded by the U.S. from the International Space Station because its military runs the country's space program. American officials see a host of strategic challenges from China’s space ambitions, in an echo of the U.S.-Soviet rivalry that prompted the race to the moon in the 1960s. The latest spacewalk was the second during a six-month mission that will oversee the completion of the space station.…
Experts Warn US Is Falling Behind China in Key Technologies
At a gathering of current and former U.S. officials and private-sector executives Friday in Washington, concern was rampant that the United States has fallen behind China in the development of several key technologies, and that it faces an uncertain future in which other countries could challenge its historic dominance in the development of cutting-edge communications and computing technology. The gathering was convened by the Special Competitive Studies Project, an effort spearheaded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the stated purpose of which is "to ensure that America is positioned and organized to win the techno-economic competition between now and 2030, the critical window for shaping the future." Among attendees, the prevailing sentiment was that the nation's ability to actually win that competition was under threat. Dire predictions A few days…
Canadian Researchers Developing Oral Insulin
Research to develop a pill form of insulin is showing promise at the University of British Columbia in western Canada. The goal is to eliminate the need for diabetics to inject themselves with the lifesaving medication. According to the World Health Organization, there are an estimated 422 million diabetics worldwide. The disease claims 1.5 million lives each year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 30 million Americans have diabetes. Although widely available in the developed world, current forms of insulin require refrigeration, which can be a stumbling block in developing nations. An oral version of insulin, in the form of an everyday pill, could change everything, making it easier and cheaper to transport and distribute — even to remote regions of the planet. Researchers at the University…
Privacy Threatened as More Governments Use Spyware to Monitor Their People
A U.N. report warns the right to privacy is under siege as an increasing number of governments are using spyware to keep tabs on their people. The U.N. human rights office said urgent steps are needed to address the spread of spyware. It noted many governments are using modern digital networked technologies to monitor, control and oppress their populations. U.N. officials say the technologies must be reined in and regulated in accord with international human rights laws and standards. Human rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell said the report details how surveillance tools such as the Pegasus software can turn most smartphones into 24-hour surveillance devices. She said the encroachment into peoples’ privacy is very concerning. “For example, the smartphones that people have, they can be made into devices that actually offer…
Ghana Marburg Outbreak Declared Over
The World Health Organization has declared an end to Ghana's outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus after more than six weeks without any new cases. Three cases of the virus were recorded in the West African country in late June, killing two people. Marburg is a highly infectious viral hemorrhagic fever in the same family as Ebola. The symptoms of Marburg include diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting. Speaking at a press conference Friday in Accra, head of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said having passed the mandatory 42-day period without a new case, the country is now free of the virus. "I do hereby state that, the appropriate outbreak reasons to Marburg disease have been implemented during the 42 days, following the last negative PCR…
Everest Base Camp Imperiled by Climate Change
Mount Everest base camp, a sprawling tent village that is home away from home during climbing season for hundreds of aspiring summiteers and support staff, may soon be on the move. Nepalese officials say they are considering the move to a lower elevation because the Khumbu glacier on which the camp sits is being melted away by climate change, which is undermining its foundation and slowly releasing decades worth of frozen trash and human waste. But some of the Sherpa climbing guides who make Everest ascents possible are not happy with the idea, arguing that the government should first consider less drastic measures such as limiting the ballooning number of climbing permits, which at around $11,000 apiece have become an important source of revenue for the country. “I see glaciers…
YouTube, Meta Will Expand Policies, Research to Fight Online Extremism
Major tech companies on Thursday committed to taking fresh steps to combat online extremism by removing more violent content and promoting media literacy with young users, as part of a White House summit on fighting hate-fueled violence. Platforms such as Alphabet's YouTube and Meta’s Facebook have come under fire for years from critics who say the companies have allowed hate speech, lies and violent rhetoric to flourish on their services. U.S. President Joe Biden earlier Thursday called on Americans to combat racism and extremism during a summit at the White House that gathered experts and survivors and included bipartisan local leaders. YouTube said it will expand its policies on violent extremism to remove content that glorifies violent acts, even if the creators of the videos are not related to a…
The Speech That Launched NASA to the Moon
The 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s “moonshot” speech, which rallied a nation behind NASA. Plus, President Biden calls for a moonshot of his own, and a private spaceflight company suffers its first failure. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. ...
Kenyan-Made Device Helps Save Premature Babies Born Amid Ukraine War
Russia's war on Ukraine has seen scores of hospitals and clinics bombed, and frequent power cuts that can turn off lifesaving machines. Medical aid groups are using a Kenyan-manufactured breathing device for premature babies that works without electricity, helping save vulnerable newborns in countries affected by conflict. Victoria Amunga reports from Nairobi, Kenya. Camera - Jimmy Makhulo. ...
With $19.5 Billion Investment, India Joins Global Race to Make Semiconductors
India’s ambitions to create a domestic semiconductor manufacturing capability got a boost with this week's announcement of a $ 19.5 billion investment by Taiwanese electronic company Foxconn and local conglomerate Vedanta. The companies will set up manufacturing facilities for producing the chips in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, Gujarat. The plants are expected to be operational by 2024. Modi called the agreement an important step in “accelerating India’s semi-conductor manufacturing ambitions” in a tweet Tuesday following the announcement. India has joined the global race to make the chips at the heart of modern electronic devices from smartphones to cars, but for which there have been global shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic caused supply chain constraints. India announced a $10 billion economic package in December to attract semiconductor makers as…
As Monkeypox Drops in the West, Still No Vaccines for Africa
With monkeypox cases subsiding in Europe and parts of North America, many scientists say now is the time to prioritize stopping the virus in Africa. In July, the U.N. health agency designated monkeypox as a global emergency and appealed to the world to support African countries so that the catastrophic vaccine inequity that plagued the outbreak of COVID-19 wouldn't be repeated. But the global spike of attention has had little impact on the continent. No rich countries have shared vaccines or treatments with Africa, and some experts fear interest may soon evaporate. "Nothing has changed for us here. The focus is all on monkeypox in the West," said Placide Mbala, a virologist who directs the global health research department at Congo's Institute of Biomedical Research. "The countries in Africa where…
Second US Monkeypox Death as Virus Linked to Brain Inflammation
A second U.S. death was linked to monkeypox on Tuesday as health authorities published a study describing how two previously healthy young men experienced inflammation of the brain and spinal cord as a result of the virus. There have been nearly 22,000 U.S. cases in the current global outbreak, which began in May, but new infections have been falling since mid-August as authorities have distributed hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses. The latest fatal case involved a severely immunocompromised resident of Los Angeles County who had been hospitalized, the local health department said without revealing further details. "Persons severely immunocompromised who suspect they have monkeypox are encouraged to seek medical care and treatment early and remain under the care of a provider during their illness," the department said. The first…