Author: Dmedia

An American biotech company says it is working with Chinese authorities to determine whether the antiviral drug remdesivir may provide an effective treatment for victims of the fast-spreading coronavirus known as COVID-19. The Chinese researchers hopes to have the answer by May 1.Officials of Gilead…

Hundreds of passengers have begun leaving the cruise ship that has been quarantined for two weeks at a Japanese port in a futile attempt to curb the spread of the new coronavirus that has claimed the lives of over 2,000 people in mainland China.Around 500…

Hundreds of passengers have begun leaving the cruise ship that has been quarantined for two weeks at a Japanese port in a futile attempt to curb the spread of the new coronavirus that has claimed the lives of over 2,000 people in mainland China.Around 500…

South Korea reported 15 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, intensifying concerns of an outbreak following a lull in reported South Korean infections.A total of 46 people in South Korea have been infected with the highly contagious virus, which causes a pneumonia-like illness recently named…

Many wealthy nations are letting the world's younger generations down by failing to curb planet-warming emissions, a U.N.-backed report said Wednesday, warning climate change posed an urgent threat to the health and future of every child and adolescent.A new global index showed children in Norway,…

The U.N. secretary-general said Tuesday that the virus outbreak that began in China poses a very dangerous situation'' for the world, but “is not out of control.”      Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, Antonio Guterres said that” the risks are enormous…

A roadside bombing targeted a police vehicle in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing a policeman and wounding three others, officials said. The police were assigned to escort health workers during an anti-polio vaccination campaign in the region.      No one immediately claimed responsibility for…

Australia is preparing to evacuate more than 200 of its citizens from the coronavirus-hit cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, in Yokohama, Japan.  They will face two weeks in isolation on their return home.   Also, the first group of Australian coronavirus evacuees from the Chinese…

Chinese health officials reported Tuesday the number of confirmed cases from a coronavirus outbreak has surpassed 72,000, with the death toll rising to nearly 1,900.The latest update included 98 more deaths and 1,886 new cases of the virus that has strained China's healthcare system and…

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says he will give $10 billion of his own money to fight climate change.The world's wealthiest person made the pledge Monday in an Instagram post.“Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet,” Bezos wrote. “I want to work alongside others…

Extreme hot spells made increasingly likely by climate change could overload urban power grids and cause roving blackouts as an ever-greater share of humanity opt to live in cities, scientists said Monday.In a series of studies and comment pieces in a special edition of the…

Italy's opposition leader Matteo Salvini provoked a vehement backlash on Monday after insinuating that migrant women who went to emergency rooms to seek an abortion led an "uncivilized" life.The comments from the ex-interior minister and head of the far-right League that some women having abortions…

Japanese officials have confirmed 99 more people infected by the new virus aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the total to 454, the Health Ministry said Monday.      The ministry has been carrying out tests on passengers and crew on the ship,…

A lot of people are surviving cancer because new treatments are so effective. But there's one thing that stands in the way for many people, and that's having the money to pay for the drugs to fight their cancer. This includes people in the U.S.…

Record high temperatures reportedly measured in Antarctica will take months to verify, the U.N. weather agency said Sunday.A spokesman for the World Meteorological Organization said the measurements made by researchers from Argentina and Brazil earlier this month have to undergo a formal process to ensure…

U.S. health officials are preparing for a second wave of the winter flu season, complicated this year by similarities between flu symptoms and those of the coronavirus that has killed more than 1,500 in China and spread fear around the world. A first round of seasonal…

A U.S.-funded charity has started installing solar panels to provide electricity to the maternity wards of rural hospitals in Zimbabwe. The move should come as a relief to new and expecting mothers, as power cuts have left many Zimbabwean hospitals without working lights. Columbus Mavhunga…

Last month was the warmest January ever recorded, U.S. government forecasters say, with human-led climate change the leading cause.Global temperatures were 1.13 degrees Celsius higher than the 20th century average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Thursday — the highest in at least 141…

(Warning: This story includes content of a sexual nature and descriptions that some may find disturbing.) Cynthia, who for privacy does not wish to use her real name, was 12 years old when a senior female teacher announced that girls at her school — more than…

After the death of a young girl in upper Egypt during a botched circumcision, women and doctors in Cairo launched a number of protests in recent days to decry the practice, which has been officially outlawed since 2008. Government officials say, however, that they can…

A World Health Organization Emergency Committee warns the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo remains a global health threat despite significant progress in containing the spread of this deadly virus.   WHO reports a total of 3,431 cases of Ebola, including 2,253 deaths in…

High in the mountains of Lesotho, a green revolution is growing.  The tiny mountain kingdom, which is surrounded on all sides by South Africa, made history in 2017 by being the first African country to issue licenses for the production of medical cannabis.Marijuana is not…

Epilepsy,  a neurological disorder typically associated with seizures, affects millions in the United States alone.  Now, patients are helping scientists find new treatments by donating living brain tissue for research.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi takes us into the operating room. ...

High in the mountains of Lesotho, a green revolution is growing.  The tiny mountain kingdom, which is surrounded on all sides by South Africa, made history in 2017 by being the first African country to issue licenses for the production of medical cannabis.Marijuana is not…

Chinese health officials reported Wednesday the number of dead from a coronavirus outbreak has risen to more than 1,100.The National Health Commission figures included 97 new deaths and a total of 44,653 people confirmed infected since the outbreak began last month.  Some experts have cast…

China’s health care system is struggling to cope with the surging number of patients infected by the deadly coronavirus despite that Chinese President Xi Jingping has re-emerged in public to call for greater confidence in his government.   FILE - A man bowing in front of…

As the death toll from the coronavirus continues to mount in China and elsewhere, thousands of African students in China count the hours hoping that their governments will evacuate them.Solomon Yohannes of Ethiopia, a third-year engineering student at Wuchang Technology University in the Wuhan region…

The head of the World Health Organization's says there are "concerning instances" of coronavirus transmission from people who have not traveled to China, a development that could mean there is a bigger problem. This comes as a WHO team of medical experts arrived in China…