Year: 2023

The World Health Organization has declared the COVID-19 pandemic to be over as a global health emergency.    “However, that does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said Friday. ‘This virus is here to stay. It…

The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions of people worldwide. The announcement, made more than three years after WHO…

Environmental groups sue the U.S. government over SpaceX’s launch license. Plus, a pair of spacewalks outside the International Space Station, and a glimpse at the destruction that scientists say awaits our home planet. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. ...

Global temperatures are likely to reach new highs this year with the predicted onset of El Nino, a natural occurring phenomenon typically associated with the warming of the planet. “The development of an El Nino will most likely lead to a new spike in global…

A panel of global health experts will meet Thursday to decide if COVID-19 is still an emergency under the World Health Organization's rules, a status that helps maintain international focus on the pandemic. The WHO first gave COVID its highest level of alert on Jan.…

Providing further proof that U.S. children suffered significant learning loss when schools were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Assessment Governing Board released a report Wednesday that showed test scores measuring achievement in U.S. history and civics fell significantly between 2018 and 2022. The…

The United States approved the first vaccine for RSV on Wednesday, shots to protect older adults against a respiratory virus that's most notorious for attacking babies but endangers their grandparents, too. The Food and Drug Administration decision makes GSK's shot, called Arexvy, the first of…

Companies with Brazilian forest concessions would be allowed to generate carbon credits under a bill passed by its Congress this week that marks a first step in regulating the country's voluntary carbon market. Private firms have shown little interest in a government program that leases…

For the first time, scientists have caught a star in the act of swallowing a planet — not just a nibble or bite, but one big gulp. Astronomers on Wednesday reported their observations of what appeared to be a gas giant around the size of…

Eli Lilly and Co. said Wednesday its experimental Alzheimer's drug appeared to slow worsening of the mind-robbing disease in a large study. In the 18-month trial, people in the early stages of Alzheimer's who received infusions of donanemab showed 35% less decline in thinking skills…

Some 258 million people needed emergency food aid last year because of conflict, economic shocks and climate disasters, a U.N. report said Wednesday, a sharp rise from 193 million the previous year.    "More than a quarter of a billion people are now facing acute levels…

In a massive global crackdown on fentanyl trafficking on the darknet, U.S. law enforcement agencies and their international partners announced Tuesday the arrests of nearly 300 suspects and seizure of a large cache of drugs, cash, virtual currency and weapons. The law enforcement action, part…

Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said Tuesday in declaring the latest public health epidemic. About half of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced…

The president of upcoming U.N. climate talks Sultan Al Jaber on Tuesday called on participants to drastically ramp up their use of renewable energy ahead of the key summit in the United Arab Emirates later this year. The meeting in November needs "ambitious, transparent and…

Scientists said Monday they have found a way to use brain scans and artificial intelligence modeling to transcribe "the gist" of what people are thinking, in what was described as a step toward mind reading. While the main goal of the language decoder is to…

Almost a third of the nurses in the United States are considering leaving their profession after the COVID-19 pandemic left them overwhelmed and fatigued, according to a survey. The survey of over 18,000 nurses, conducted in January by AMN Healthcare Services Inc., showed on Monday…

Babies born to opioid users had shorter hospital stays and needed less medication when their care emphasized parent involvement, skin-to-skin contact and a quiet environment, researchers reported Sunday. Newborns were ready to go home about a week earlier compared to those getting standard care. Fewer…

Chinese authorities were preparing Sunday to release a man who disappeared three years ago after publicizing videos of overcrowded hospitals and bodies during the COVID-19 outbreak, a relative and another person familiar with his case said. Fang Bin and other members of the public who…

Turkey's first astronaut will travel to the International Space Station by the end of the year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday. Air force pilot Alper Gezeravci, 43, was selected to be the first Turkish citizen in space. His backup is Tuva Cihangir Atasever, 30,…

A walrus that became a global celebrity last year after it was seen frolicking and basking in a Oslo fjord before it was euthanized by the authorities has been honored with a bronze sculpture in Norway.  The life-size sculpture by Norwegian artist Astri Tonoian was…

By comparing the genetic blueprints of an array of animals, scientists are gaining new insights into our own species and all we share with other creatures.  One of the most striking revelations is that certain passages in the instructions for life have persisted across evolutionary…

While a clear majority of Americans still drink alcohol, many others choose to skip it.. As the US marks April as Alcohol Awareness month, the nondrinkers in Washington can head to a perfect bar, called Binge Bar – Washington’s first booze-free bar. Karina Bafradzhian has the…

Water may be more widespread and recent on Mars than previously thought, based on observations of Martian sand dunes by China's rover.  The finding highlights new, potentially fertile areas in the warmer regions of Mars where conditions might be suitable for life to exist, though…