Author: Dmedia

The U.S. space agency NASA aspires to land humans on the moon every year for 12 consecutive years, Administrator Bill Nelson testified to a congressional committee Wednesday in support of a request to boost the agency’s fiscal 2022 budget.Nelson acknowledged to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology that the agency’s budget for fiscal 2021 included $850 million toward the development of a lunar lander as part of an ambitious, roughly $3 billion Human Landing System program.“But there needs to be a landing each year for a dozen years, so there are many more awards to come if you all decide that it's in the interest of the United States to appropriate that money," Nelson said.The Biden administration has proposed a 6.6% increase to NASA’s current budget for 2022,…

Images of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol are seared into many Americans' minds and remain especially vivid for members of Congress who witnessed the riot. One congressman has been especially forthcoming about the mental trauma he has been experiencing months after the riot. VOA's Carolyn Presutti spoke with the lawmaker and filed this report. Camera: Saqib Ul Islam   Produced by: Adam Greenbaum     ...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday the COVID-19 State of Emergency, originally declared in March of 2020, will expire Thursday.Cuomo made the announcement during a news briefing, and from his Twitter account, where he wrote, “New York’s COVID-19 State of Emergency will end tomorrow [Thursday]. Fighting COVID and vaccinating New Yorkers are still top priorities, but the emergency chapter of this fight is over.”The governor had lifted most of the COVID-19-related restrictions for the state on June 15. Lifting the state emergency will allow state and local governments to decide about their own respective public health measures, without being over-ruled by the governor. It also will end the governor’s ability to issue executive orders in areas usually reserved for the state legislature.The governor said more than 71% of all…

Feeling like you are being watched? It could be from a lot farther away than you think.   Astronomers took a technique used to look for life on other planets and flipped it around — so instead of looking to see what's out there, they tried to see what places could see us.   There's a lot. Astronomers calculated that 1,715 stars in our galactic neighborhood — and hundreds of probable Earth-like planets circling those stars — have had an unobstructed view of Earth during human civilization, according to a study Wednesday in the journal Nature. "When I look up at the sky, it looks a little bit friendlier because it's like, maybe somebody is waving," said study lead author Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell…

Medical aid group Doctors Without Borders says tens of thousands of people in Cameroon's western regions have been deprived of lifesaving healthcare since December, when authorities stopped their services. Cameroon accused the aid group of being too close to anglophone separatists, which the group denies.  Doctors Without Borders says over 1.4 million people in Cameroon’s restive western regions need humanitarian support, with access to healthcare extremely limited.The coordinator for the group’s operations in Central Africa, Emmanuel Lampaert, said that’s due to insecurity, lockdowns, and the targeting of health facilities.He said mortality among vulnerable groups, such as women and children, has increased, and the government’s suspension of their support since December has made the situation even worse."Humanitarian and health needs have surges due to the armed violence and notably for the population…

The Delta COVID-19 variant first identified in India has spread quickly around the world and is now hitting Indonesia. Southeast Asia’s largest country now looks at another peak as it hits the 2 million mark in confirmed cases. VOA’s Ghita Permatasari reports. Ahadian Utama  contributed to this reportCamera: Ahadian Utama ...

Organizers of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics have imposed restrictions on the few Japanese spectators who will be allowed inside the venues to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Under rules announced Wednesday, domestic spectators are forbidden from cheering or waving towels, approaching athletes for autographs, or talking with other spectators, and will be asked to go straight home when the event is over. Foreign spectators have been banned from attending the event. A general view of the National Stadium in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, June 23, 2021 on the day to mark one month until the opening of the Olympic Games.Alcohol sales have also been banned in the venues during the Games.   The restrictions follow Monday’s decision to cap the number of spectators at 10,000 people, or…

Colombia is home to the world's largest variety of butterflies, approximately 20% of all known species, according to a study published Tuesday by the Natural History Museum in London.An international team of scientists cataloged 3,642 species and 2,085 subspecies, registering them in a document titled "Checklist of Colombian Butterflies."More than 200 butterfly species are found only in Colombia, said Blanca Huertas, the senior butterfly collection curator at the museum and a member of the research team.An Alissa de Pteronymia "Crystal wings" butterfly lands on a flower at the Botanic Garden Jose Celestino Mutis during an exhibition in Bogota on Sept. 14, 2011.Project researchers traveled widely in Colombia, analyzed more than 350,000 photographs and studied information collected since the late 18th century, the museum said."Colombia is a country with a great…

When COVID-19 hit, the world was not ready. The pandemic showed us major gaps in our preparation and ability to respond to the virus. Health experts say we will have another one. VOA's Carol Pearson reports that it doesn't have to be as bad as COVID-19. Camera: Laurel Bowman  Produced by: Bakhtiyar Zamanov    ...

The World Bank announced a partnership with the African Union Tuesday to finance the acquisition and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine for 400 million people in Africa.In a remote news conference via Zoom, World Bank Managing Operations Director Axel van Trotsenburg said the World Bank is providing $12 billion to not only acquire but deploy 400 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — a single dose shot — in support of the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) initiative.The announcement comes a day after African finance ministers and the World Bank Group met to fast-track vaccine acquisition on the continent and avoid a third wave of COVID-19.Van Trotsenburg said the bank is making the financing available in an effort to address the imbalance in vaccine access between the world’s…

The United States will miss President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70% of U.S. adults partially or fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the July 4 Independence Day holiday, but the White House says it expects to hit that mark “in a few extra weeks.”In a new assessment Tuesday of the country’s vaccination effort, COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said the federal government expects that 70% of those 27 and older will have gotten at least one vaccination shot by the July 4 holiday, which he described as “a remarkable achievement.”“The virus is in retreat,” Zients said, with the country regaining a sense of normalcy. “We are entering a summer of joy, a summer of freedom.”Now, he said, a renewed effort is being made to inoculate more younger adults in…

When COVID-19 hit, the world was not ready. The pandemic showed us major gaps in our preparation and ability to respond to the virus. Health experts say we will have another one. VOA's Carol Pearson reports that it doesn't have to be as bad as COVID-19. Camera: Laurel Bowman  Produced by: Bakhtiyar Zamanov    ...

The Philippine president has threatened to order the arrest of Filipinos who refuse COVID-19 vaccination and told them to leave the country if they would not cooperate with efforts to end a public health emergency.President Rodrigo Duterte, who is known for his public outbursts and brash rhetoric, said in televised remarks Monday night that he has become exasperated with people who refuse to get immunized amid a health crisis then help spread the coronavirus."Don't get me wrong. There is a crisis being faced in this country. There is a national emergency. If you don't want to get vaccinated, I'll have you arrested and I'll inject the vaccine in your butt," Duterte said."If you will not agree to be vaccinated, leave the Philippines. Go to India if you want or somewhere,…

 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that younger Americans are less likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 than older Americans. The federal health agency issued a report Monday revealing that just 38% of adults between 18 and 29 years of age had received at least one dose of a vaccine by May 22, compared to 80% of adults older than 65.   The report also found that the percentage of 18- to 29-year-old Americans who were vaccinated between April 19, when all adults in the United States became eligible to receive the vaccine, and May 22 declined from 3.6% per week to 1.7% per week.   In another CDC study, nearly half of the 2,726 people between 18 and 39 years of age said they were either unsure about…

A special committee with the United Nations’s cultural agency says Australia’s Great Barrier Reef should be placed on a list of World Heritage sites that should be designated as “in danger.” The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s World Heritage Committee, or UNESCO, recommended the 2,300-kilometer-long coral reef system should be placed on the list because it has deteriorated due to climate change.  Australian officials denounced the recommendation. Environment Minister Sussan Ley said Tuesday that Canberra opposes the designation and accused the World Heritage Committee of “a backflip on previous assurances” and that it would not take such an action before its formal meeting next month.  Ley said she and Foreign Minister Marise Payne had spoken by phone to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay about the decision, which she called “flawed” and a decision influenced by politics.   “This sends a poor signal to those…

Thousands of Japanese companies began the rollout of their workplace vaccine programs Monday, inoculating company workers and their families.  Some of the companies had been critical of what they said was the government's slow pace of Japan's COVID-19 inoculation campaign.   Toyota and Suntory are among the companies participating in the workplace program with vaccines provided by the government.   Thousands of people are expected to receive shots through the initiative, which is beginning just weeks before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics.   Organizers of the Olympics announced Monday that they will allow a limited number of spectators into venues holding Olympic events, capping the number at 10,000 people, or 50% of a venue's capacity. The decision comes just days after health experts told the government that banning all spectators was the…

The White House has laid out its plans for sharing 55 million COVID-19 vaccine doses abroad, with most of the allocations going to countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa.The Biden administration said Monday that most of the doses would be shared through the COVAX international vaccine-sharing program, fulfilling a commitment by President Joe Biden to share 80 million U.S.-made vaccines with countries around the world.The Associated Press reported Monday that the administration is likely to fall short of its pledge to share the vaccines by the end of June, because of regulatory and other hurdles. Officials cited by the news agency say the vaccine doses are ready but are being delayed due to legal, logistical and regulatory requirements in both the United States and the recipient countries.Biden…

While virtual reality-based simulation is commonly used in medical education, its use in dental education is still limited. Two university professors in the U.S. want to change that. They developed a VR dental clinic that offers the potential to revolutionize dental education. Vina Mubtadi reports. ...

The United States says it is sending 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan, substantially increasing its initial promise of 750,000 doses.Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said the increased doses from the U.S. are a “moving gesture of friendship.”  U.S. President Joe Biden has said his administration will distribute 80 million vaccines to countries around the world.  The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Sunday more than 178 million global COVID-19 infections and almost 4 million global deaths. More than 2 billion vaccines have been administered around the world. India’s Health Ministry said Sunday that it had recorded more than 58,000 new COVID-19 cases in the previous 24-hour period. India has recorded close to 30 million COVID-19 cases.  Only the U.S. has more, with 33.5 million.A Ugandan athlete has tested positive for…

Tanzania Authorities Warn of Third Wave of COVID-19 A few days after Tanzania expressed its interest in joining the COVAX global vaccine-sharing facility, the government warned citizens of a third wave of COVID-19 and directed that all precautions to be taken, including the wearing of face masks. Authorities say cases are on the rise in all bordering countries, including Uganda, and that there are indicators the disease may again hit the country.Speaking with journalists Saturday, the director of prevention from Tanzania’s Heath Ministry, Leonard Subi, insisted citizens take all necessary precautions to protect themselves from infection. He reminded all citizens not to ignore COVID-19. The ministry has begun to see an indication of the occurrence of the third wave of COVID-19 Subi says. He added this is due to the monitoring reports…

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Sunday more than 178 million global COVID-19 infections and almost 4 million global deaths. More than 2 billion vaccines have been administered around the world.The U.S. says it is sending 23.5 million COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan, substantially increasing its initial promise of 750,000 doses. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said the increased doses from the U.S. are a “moving gesture of friendship.”  U.S. President Joe Biden has said his administration will distribute 80 million vaccines to countries around the world.India’s health ministry said Sunday that it had recorded more than 58,000 new COVID-19 cases in the previous 24-hour period. India has recorded close to 30 million COVID-19 cases.  Only the U.S. has more, with 33.5 million.A Ugandan athlete has tested positive for the…

The World Health Organization officially announced Saturday the end of Guinea's second Ebola outbreak, which was declared in February and claimed 12 lives.At 16 confirmed cases and seven probable infections, according to WHO figures, the limited size of the flare-up has been credited to experience from the 2013-16 epidemic, which killed more than 11,300 people, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone."I have the honor of declaring the end of Ebola" in Guinea, WHO official Alfred Ki-Zerbo said at a ceremony in the southeastern Nzerekore region, where the disease surfaced at the end of January.International rules meant that Guinea had to wait 42 days — twice the virus's incubation period — without a new case before declaring the epidemic over.That wait was over Friday, weeks after the last person was…

Hundreds of sickle cell disease patients in Cameroon are using World Sickle Cell Day, June 19, to teach their neighbors that people with the disease can live longer, contrary to popular beliefs and stigma that label them as witches who must die before the age of 24. Cameroon says 20% of its 25 million people are carriers of the gene primarily seen in people of African descent. The government is also telling hesitant sickle cell patients to accept vaccinations against COVID-19.At least 300 sickle cell patients and their family members turned out at the Cameroon Baptist Convention hospital at Etoug-Ebe, a neighborhood in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé. Hospital officials said hundreds of other sickle cell patients came out in the coastal city Douala and the English-speaking western towns of Buea, Bamenda,…

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center has reported 177.8 million global COVID-19 cases and 3.8 million deaths. The U.S. remains the country with the most infections at 33.5 million, followed closely by India with 29.8 million.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron urged European Union countries Friday to be vigilant against the spread of new coronavirus variants and called for the bloc to coordinate its COVID-19 border reopening policies."Caution is still necessary so that we have a summer of many freedoms, if not all freedoms," Merkel told a joint news conference in Berlin before the two leaders held a working dinner."Some countries have reopened their borders earlier for tourist industry reasons, but we must be careful not to reimport new variants," Macron said.Macron noted the situation in Britain, while…

Thailand has begun human trials with two of four homegrown vaccine candidates local scientists are developing against COVID-19, as the country scrambles to secure shots from abroad amid its worst wave of infections since the pandemic began.The homegrown vaccines will not be ready for mass production in time to help Thailand fight off the latest wave. Officials and developers are hoping, though, that they will arrive in time to give Thailand — and maybe its neighbors — booster shots tailored to the main variants of the novel coronavirus by next year.“The vaccine will be against the variants like the South African variant and the Indian variant and others, so that will be our strategy,” said Kiat Ruxrungtham, who is spearheading development of one of the most anticipated candidates at Chulalongkorn…

A prominent Namibian traditional leader, Vekuii Rukoro, the paramount chief of the OvaHererero people who led international legal battles to bring Germany to pay reparations for its genocide in the southern African country, has died of COVID-19.Rukoro died early Friday, secretary-general of the Ovaherero/OvaMbanderu and Nama Council, Mutjinde Katjiua, told The Associated Press.Rukoro, who was elected Paramount Chief of the OvaHerero in 2014, represented both ethnic groups in the international legal cases.Rukoro and other traditional chiefs have accepted Germany's offer of compensation but said it should be improved through further negotiations, while some other traditional leaders have rejected it.Last month the German government apologized for the colonial-era massacres and agreed to pay 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to Namibia over a 30-year period.In what is now acknowledged to be the…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron urged European Union countries Friday to be vigilant against the spread of new coronavirus variants and called for the bloc to coordinate its COVID-19 border reopening policies."Caution is still necessary so that we have a summer of many freedoms, if not all freedoms," Merkel told a joint news conference in Berlin before the two leaders held a working dinner."Some countries have reopened their borders earlier for tourist industry reasons, but we must be careful not to reimport new variants," Macron said.Macron noted the situation in Britain while Merkel pointed to Portugal to show how things can quickly change.Britain this week delayed a relaxation of pandemic restrictions because of the prevalence of the delta variant, which was first identified in India, while…

President Joe Biden announced Friday that 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered in the United States since he took office January 20.But Biden’s plan to have 70% of Americans at least partially vaccinated by July 4 may fall short because of a sharp decline in the number of vaccinations that began about two months ago.As of early Friday, according to the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 377.9 million vaccine doses had been distributed in the U.S. and 316.0 million had been administered.The site said 176.3 million people, or 53.1 percent of the total U.S. population, had received at least one dose of the vaccine and 148.5 million, or 44.7 percent, had been fully vaccinated. COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths have fallen to their lowest…