US aviation authority OKs SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle for Monday flight

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Washington — SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket can return to flight for a mission planned for Monday to launch the European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft from Florida, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday. Elon Musk's company, which has engaged in a public quarrel with the FAA in recent weeks, said Sunday it is planning the liftoff for 10:52 a.m. ET (1452 GMT) from Cape Canaveral. "The SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to flight only for the planned Hera mission scheduled to launch on Oct. 7 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida," the FAA said Sunday. The agency said it has "determined that the absence of a second stage reentry for this mission adequately mitigates the primary risk to the public in the event of a…


Rwanda begins Marburg vaccinations to curb deadly outbreak

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KIGALI — Rwanda said Sunday it had begun administering vaccine doses against the Marburg virus to try to combat an outbreak of the Ebola-like disease in the east African country, where it has so far killed 12 people.  "The vaccination is starting today immediately," Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana said at a news conference in the capital Kigali.  He said the vaccinations would focus on those "most at risk, most exposed health care workers working in treatment centers, in the hospitals, in ICU, in emergency, but also [in] the close contacts of the confirmed cases."  The country has already received shipments of the vaccines including from the Sabin Vaccine Institute.  Rwanda's first outbreak of the viral hemorrhagic fever was detected in late September, with 46 cases and 12 deaths reported since then.…


Congo starts mpox vaccinations in effort to slow outbreaks

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GOMA, Congo — Congolese authorities on Saturday began vaccinations against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization. The 265,000 doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the United States were rolled out in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox. Congo, with about 30,000 suspected mpox cases and 859 deaths, accounts for more than 80% of all the cases and 99% of all the deaths reported in Africa this year. All the Central African nation's 26 provinces have recorded mpox cases. Although most mpox infections and…


Magnitude 5.7 earthquake strikes near capital of New Zealand

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wellington, new zealand — A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck near New Zealand's capital city of Wellington, government seismic monitor GeoNet said on Sunday, but initial reports indicated there were no injuries or significant damage.  The quake hit at 5:08 a.m. on Sunday (1608 GMT on Saturday) striking 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) west of Wellington at a focal depth of 30 km (19 miles).  GeoNet said more than 37,000 people had reported feeling the shake, some as far north as Auckland in the North Island.  GeoNet said there was no tsunami warning as a result of the quake.  A spokesperson for Fire and Emergency New Zealand said the service had not received any calls for assistance.  Government-owned Radio New Zealand said there were no reports of significant damage or reports of injury. …


Sex workers find themselves at center of Congo’s mpox outbreak

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KAMITUGA, Congo — It's been four months since Sifa Kunguja recovered from mpox, but as a sex worker, she said, she's still struggling to regain clients, with fear and stigma driving away people who've heard she had the virus.  "It's risky work," Kunguja, 40, said from her small home in eastern Congo. "But if I don't work, I won't have money for my children." Sex workers are among those hardest-hit by the mpox outbreak in Kamituga, where some 40,000 of them are estimated to reside — many single mothers driven by poverty to this mineral-rich commercial hub where gold miners comprise the majority of the clientele. Doctors estimate 80% of cases here have been contracted sexually, though the virus also spreads through other kinds of skin-to-skin contact. Sex workers say the…


A week after Helene hit, thousands still without water struggle to find enough

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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina — Nearly a week after Hurricane Helene brought devastation to western North Carolina, a shiny stainless steel tanker truck in downtown Asheville attracted residents carrying 19-liter containers, milk jugs and buckets to fill with what has become a desperately scare resource — drinking water. Flooding tore through the city's water system, destroying so much infrastructure that officials said repairs could take weeks. To make do, Anna Ramsey arrived Wednesday with her two children, who each left carrying plastic bags filled with 7.6 liters of water. "We have no water. We have no power. But I think it's also been humbling," Ramsey said. Helene's path through the Southeast left a trail of power outages so large the darkness was visible from space. Tens of trillions of liters of rain…


China-connected spamouflage networks spread antisemitic disinformation

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washington — Spamouflage networks with connections to China are posting antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media, casting doubt on Washington's independence from alleged Jewish influence and the integrity of the two U.S. presidential candidates, a joint investigation by VOA Mandarin and Taiwan's Doublethink Lab, a social media analytics firm, has found. The investigation has so far uncovered more than 30 such X posts, many of which claim or suggest that core American political institutions, including the White House and Congress, have pledged loyalty to or are controlled by Jewish elites and the Israeli government. One post shows a graphic of 18 U.S. officials of Jewish descent, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and the head of the Homeland Security Department, Alejandro Mayorkas, and asks: "Jews only make…


Dozens of zoo tigers die after contracting bird flu in southern Vietnam

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HANOI, Vietnam — More than a dozen tigers were incinerated after the animals died after contracted bird flu at a zoo in southern Vietnam, officials said. State media VNExpress cited a caretaker at Vuon Xoai zoo in Bien Hoa city saying the animals were fed raw chicken bought from nearby farms. The panther and 20 tigers, including several cubs, weighed between 10 and 120 kilograms when they died. The bodies were incinerated and buried on the premises. "The tigers died so fast. They looked weak, refused to eat and died after two days of falling sick," said zoo manager Nguyen Ba Phuc. Samples taken from the tigers tested positive for H5N1, the virus that causes bird flu. The virus was first identified in 1959 and grew into a widespread and highly…


CarsMB.com domain for sale!

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CarsMB.com is an integral part of SeLLines Network. SeLLines Network works using MassReaders technology. It unifies more than 500 popular sites with various informational topics that publish fresh, interesting and relevant articles daily. A significant day-to-day devoted audience of the Network allows you to be an effective channel for spreading information and to influence the public opinion of the readers. All sites have mobile versions and social network presence. Readers also have the opportunity to subscribe and receive relevant information and attractive business offers by e-mail. We have an excellent offer for entrepreneurs, manufacturers and traders, which includes publication of promotional messages that may include: information about new products or stocks of your company; reminders about your products or services (announcements, reviews, articles, including video materials); information that will have…


California investigating possible case of bird flu in dairy worker 

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chicago — California is investigating a possible case of bird flu in a dairy worker who had contact with infected cattle, the state's public health department said Thursday.  The virus' jump to cattle in 14 states and infections of 13 dairy and poultry farmworkers this year have concerned scientists and federal officials about the risks to humans from further spread.  The worker had a "presumptive positive" result to a test for bird flu, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will do further testing to confirm the finding, the California Department of Public Health said in a statement.  The person, who was not identified, suffered only conjunctivitis, or pink eye, the department said in a statement. The person is being treated with antiviral medication and staying home, it added. …


WHO launches plan to tackle growing threat of dengue, other diseases

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GENEVA  — The World Health Organization launched a global plan Thursday to address the growing threat of dengue and other deadly arboviruses, which have affected millions of people around the world and put billions more at risk.   “The rapid spread of dengue and other arboviral diseases in recent years is an alarming trend that demands a coordinated response across sectors and across borders,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.  An arbovirus is a virus that is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes, ticks, or other arthropods, such as crustaceans, insects and arachnids.    Dengue has emerged as the most problematic arbovirus disease. The WHO notes the number of cases has nearly doubled each year since 2021, with over 12.3 million cases at the end of August of this year, including more than…


Australia’s online dating industry agrees to code of conduct to protect users

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MELBOURNE, Australia — A code of conduct will be enforced on the online dating industry to better protect Australian users after research found that three-in-four people suffer some form of sexual violence through the platforms, Australia's government said on Tuesday. Bumble, Grindr and Match Group Inc., a Texas-based company that owns platforms including Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid and Plenty of Fish, have agreed to the code that took effect on Tuesday, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said. The platforms, which account for 75% of the industry in Australia, have until April 1 to implement the changes before they are strictly enforced, Rowland said. The code requires the platforms' systems to detect potential incidents of online-enabled harm and demands that the accounts of some offenders are terminated. Complaint and reporting mechanisms are to be…


Nigerians gather to mobilize hope amid growing burden of childhood cancers 

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Abuja — Hundreds gathered in Abuja, Nigeria for the 2024 Childhood Cancer Awareness Walk, raising awareness and support for pediatric cancer. Despite progress in cancer care, Nigerian children face high costs and delayed diagnoses, which the walk aims to address. Titilayo Adewumi joined the walk with her 13-year-old son Shittu, diagnosed with leukemia at age 5. With support from the Okapi Children Cancer Foundation, Shittu is now cancer-free. Adewumi recounts the toll her son's cancer diagnosis took on her family. "I had to stop working for like 4 - 5 years so I could concentrate on him," she said. "We went out of cash, we didn't have money, that is when the Okapi visited us ... I was so excited when the doctor told me that he was free of cancer,…