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An asteroid just over two kilometers wide will pass close to earth Wednesday. But scientists with the U.S. space agency, NASA, say the object poses no threat to the planet.The asteroid is known as 1998 OR2, named for the year it was first discovered. It will safely pass at a distance of 6.3 million kilometers from Earth — about 16 times the distance between the Earth and the moon.NASA scientists say by astronomical standards, that distance still classifies the asteroid as a “near-earth” object and worth watching. The space agency considers objects that pass within 48 million kilometers of our planet a “near-earth” object. NASA maintains a planetary defense coordination office that keeps track of such objects and plots their courses through space. In an interview posted on the space agency’s website,…

U.S. Federal Health officials have expanded their list of known coronavirus symptoms.  They say chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and the loss of the sense of smell or taste could be signs of a coronavirus infection.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously cited fever, shortness of breath and a cough as possible symptoms of COVID-19.  Here's what you should watch out for. ...

As states gear up to reopen, a poll finds a potential obstacle to controlling the coronavirus: nearly 1 in 10 adults say cost would keep them from seeking help if they thought they were infected. People stand in line as they wait to get tested for COVID-19 at a just-opened testing center in the Harlem section of New York, April 20, 2020.Experts say that to succeed, the nation's reopening has to be based on three pillars: testing, tracing those who came in contact with infected people and treatment for those who become ill. If people who may be sick are reluctant to come forward, that could create a blind spot for governors and public health officials trying to calibrate reopening plans to quickly contain potential virus flare-ups. The survey found that members of…

President Donald Trump says states should "seriously consider" reopening their public schools before the end of the academic year, even though dozens already have said it would be unsafe for students to return until the summer or fall. Trump made the comments Monday in a call with governors discussing how to reopen their economies, among other topics. "Some of you might start thinking about school openings, because a lot of people are wanting to have the school openings. It's not a big subject, young children have done very well in this disaster that we've all gone through," he said. While addressing Vice President Mike Pence, Trump added that it's something "they can seriously consider, and maybe get going on." None of the governors on the call responded to the suggestion,…

Doctors in Britain, Italy, Portugal and Spain are exploring a possible link between a severe inflammatory disease in children and the coronavirus. A growing number of children of various ages in several European countries have been admitted to hospitals with high fever and heart issues. Some also have suffered from gastrointestinal problems, such as vomiting and diarrhea. The children appear to be suffering from Kawasaki disease, which is more common in parts of Asia where it afflicts children younger than 5. Symptoms include skin rashes, gland swelling and in severe cases inflammation of the heart and blood vessels. The cause of the illness is not clear. COVID-19, a disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus, is rare in children. But an unusual spike in the number of children suffering from Kawasaki-type symptoms at the time of the coronavirus pandemic has put health authorities in Europe on alert. After hearing from pediatricians, British National Health System issued a warning saying: “Over the last three weeks there has been an apparent rise in the…

Amid a three-week suspension of public and private transport in Uganda due to the coronavirus, some HIV-positive Ugandans have struggled to get hold of needed antiretroviral medications. Noticing a higher risk for HIV patients with compromised immune systems, health worker Simon Bukenya jumped on his bicycle and began making home deliveries, even going long distances to do it.Simon Peter Bukenya has been living with HIV for 30 years and understands the importance of taking antiretroviral drugs. A lockdown due to the coronavirus has stranded Ugandans in need of medical attention, including people who are HIV-positive. Bukenya says on a daily basis, he bicycles more than 80 kilometers to deliver medications to those who need them. He says he started with three patients, and word of his services spread after he posted a notice…

By 2025, Indonesia is expected to generate 150 thousand tons of trash per day, much of it plastic. Indonesian entrepreneur David Christian is developing everyday products to edge the world’s 4th most populous nation toward producing zero waste. But with COVID-19 wreaking havoc on businesses around the world, some outlets are finding environmentally friendly packaging a luxury they can't afford. VOA's Rendy Wicaksana and Ahadian Utama report from Jakarta, Indonesia. ...

From a hill four miles outside Boston, World Resources Institute economist Michelle Manion says she can read the letters on top of the Prudential building, a city landmark."I've never been able to do that," she said. "It's really amazing."Since FILE - Gas prices are listed for unleaded at a gas station in Oklahoma City.Don't expect it to last."The general expectation is that most of this will pick up once the crisis is over," said Michael Gerrard, director of the Saban Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. Satellite imagery already shows air pollution rebounding over China. In the meantime, the pandemic has slowed the transition to cleaner energy.BloombergNEF, an energy research organization, lowered its 2020 forecast for new wind power construction globally by 12% and new solar power by 8%. Investment…

By 2025, Indonesia is expected to generate 150 thousand tons of trash per day, much of it plastic. Indonesian entrepreneur David Christian is developing everyday products to edge the world’s 4th most populous nation toward producing zero waste. But with COVID-19 wreaking havoc on businesses around the world, some outlets are finding environmentally friendly packaging a luxury they can't afford. VOA's Rendy Wicaksana and Ahadian Utama report from Jakarta, Indonesia. ...

The cancellation of marathons and major races because of coronavirus lockdown measures doesn’t mean sports lovers can’t compete. Racing and breaking records is still possible – it’s just a bit more complicated. Maxim Moskalkov reports.  ...

The Detroit metropolitan area in the state of Michigan is home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the U.S. Some of those Muslims chose to work in the medical field as physicians working the front lines in the COVID-19 pandemic. VOA’s Alam Burhanan reports. ...

A song urging Cameroonians not to relent in the fight against malaria blasted through speakers Saturday — World Malaria Day — at road junctions and popular neighborhoods, as well as from publicity vans driving through Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.Dr. Daniel Etoundi of Cameroon’s public health ministry said health teams were being taken to every neighborhood to try to discourage patients from buying roadside drugs or resorting to African traditional healers for malaria treatment, because those can lead to severe health complications."If the product is toxic, the liver will be spoiled [destroyed]. Same with the kidney," he said. "Most of the products that we consume are eliminated through the kidney by urine. Now, if the drug is toxic, it will spoil the kidney function."The Cameroon Ministry of Public Health reported that since…

An unmanned cargo spacecraft with food, fuel and supplies docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday.Russian Progress 75 cargo ship left the Baikonur Cosmodrom in Kazakhstan, a few minutes before 1 a.m. GMT and transported almost 3 tons of food and other supplies to the ISS.Scientists and staff, both in Baikonur and at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, monitored the three-hour journey and the docking.The cargo ship is set to remain at the station until December, when it will leave and burn up in Earth's atmosphere.    ...

U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that disinfectants could be used to treat coronavirus patients is triggering alarm among health experts, and warnings from a maker of the sanitizing solutions.Trump said at his regular White House coronavirus media briefing Thursday that scientists should investigate inserting disinfectants into patients' bodies to cure COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus."I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute," Trump said. "And is there a way we can do something like that by injection, inside, or almost a cleaning?"With coronavirus response coordinator and physician Deborah Birx looking on, Trump noted the virus "does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that." However, physicians and other health experts are warning against Trump's suggestion to use disinfectants…

The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday announced a collaborative effort with world leaders and private industry to ensure equitable distribution of any viable vaccines or treatments for COVID-19.WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus joined U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres via teleconference from Geneva, along with European Union leaders, to announce the project that is aimed at ensuring all countries get the latest tools to fight the coronavirus pandemic.  Calling it “the fight of our lives,” Guterres said treatments and vaccines for the virus should belong to the whole world, not to individual countries or regions. He added the treatments must be “affordable, safe, effective, [and] easily administered.”French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation…

After months of testing, a European space telescope finally begins its work studying far-off planets. Meanwhile, a crew return home from the International Space Station after more than two hundred days in orbit. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the week in space. ...

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday lengthened her stay-at-home order through May 15, while lifting restrictions so some businesses can reopen and the public can participate in outdoor activities like golf and motorized boating during the coronavirus pandemic. The measure immediately replaces one that was scheduled to expire next week. Michigan has had nearly 3,000 deaths related to COVID-19, behind only New York and New Jersey among U.S. states. People are now required, rather than encouraged, to wear face coverings in enclosed public spaces such as grocery stores if they can medically tolerate it. Employers must provide non-medical grade masks to their in-person employees. Landscapers, lawn-service companies, plant nurseries and bike repair shops can resume operating, subject to social-distancing rules. Stores selling nonessential supplies can reopen for curbside pickup and…

One of the hard lessons the World Health Organization learned during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was this: Other diseases can be forgotten and take a deadlier toll. The WHO is now warning that the battle against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, where it already kills hundreds of thousands of people a year, could be set back by 20 years as countries focus energy and resources on containing the coronavirus.   The WHO said new projections indicate that in a worst-case scenario, 769,000 people could die of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa this year as campaigns to combat it are interrupted. That's more than double the deaths in the last detailed count two years ago, when more than 360,000 people died, and would be the worst figures for the region since…

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration on Thursday, saying industry cannot avoid the Clean Water Act when it pumps wastewater into the ground instead of directly into oceans and rivers.In a 6-3 decision, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the majority. He said putting the polluted water into the ground before it eventually reaches oceans and rivers is “the functional equivalent” of directly releasing it into the ocean, and permission from the Environmental Protection Agency is needed.In his dissenting opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that according to current laws, a permit is needed only for directly dumping polluted water into a waterway.Attorney David Henkin argued the case on behalf of the environmental group Earthjustice.“This decision is a huge victory for clean water. The Supreme Court has rejected the…