Category: News

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday called for tougher COVID-19 restrictions as the nation set daily record for deaths from the virus and infection numbers continue to rise.Speaking in the Bundestag – the lower house of the German parliament - a sometimes-emotional Merkel told lawmakers the…

One day after Britain became the first Western nation to begin mass COVID-19 vaccinations, the United Arab Emirates says a Chinese-made vaccine has proven to be 86% effective in preventing moderate and severe cases of the disease. The Emirates’ Health Ministry announced the news Wednesday about…

Deforestation has wiped out 8% of the Amazon rainforest in just 18 years, according to a study released Tuesday. The swath of land destroyed between 2000 and 2018 is the size of Spain, according to a study by Amazon Geo-Referenced Socio-Environmental Information Network (RAISG). "The Amazon is…

Four lions have tested positive for COVID-19 at Barcelona Zoo in Spain, veterinary authorities announced Tuesday.Veterinarians are unsure how the lions were infected, although two zookeepers have also tested positive.The infection in three female cats and one male is only the second documented case of…

Vaccines against COVID-19 may begin arriving within days in the United States, as the fastest-ever vaccine development reaches a conclusion. Experts say no corners have been cut. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering authorizing the vaccines after a shorter-than-normal safety testing period.…

Corruption has made Nigeria the biggest smuggler of ivory and pangolin scales from central and West Africa to Asia, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency. The London-based group says in the past five years, Nigeria has been implicated in global seizures equating…

The World Health Organization is calling on governments around the world to ensure their citizens have resources and tools to help them give up tobacco smoking as it launches a yearlong campaign aimed at helping 100 million people quit.The campaign, Commit to Quit, is focusing…

Researchers at Britain’s Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca published a study Tuesday showing their COVID-19 vaccine candidate to be “safe and effective” at fighting the virus.The peer-reviewed study was published Tuesday in the British medical journal The Lancet. The data showed the drug had…

As Britain’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign began Tuesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told parliament that "the start of the fight back against our common enemy, coronavirus," had begun, adding there is still "much work to be done."Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine Proves 'Safe and Effective' Potential vaccine would be…

Anxious researchers with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tuesday said they have received a capsule containing samples collected from an asteroid after traveling five billion kilometers back to Earth.The capsule, from Japan's spacecraft Hayabusa2, blasted off for the asteroid Ryugu in December 2014, overcoming…

Morocco is gearing up for an ambitious COVID-19 vaccination program, aiming to vaccinate 80% of its adults in an operation starting this month that's relying initially on a Chinese vaccine that has not yet completed advanced trials to prove it is safe and effective. The…

The Trump administration opted last summer not to lock in a chance to buy millions of additional doses of one of the leading coronavirus vaccine contenders, a decision that could delay the delivery of a second batch of doses until manufacturer Pfizer fulfills other international…

The Trump administration is aiming to instill public confidence as well as claim major credit for the forthcoming coronavirus vaccines with a White House summit Tuesday featuring experts who will outline distribution plans in detail. Officials from President-elect Joe Biden's transition team are not invited, even…

The top infectious disease expert in the U.S. warned Monday of a “surge upon a surge” of coronavirus cases as Americans travel for holidays.“If we don’t listen to the public health measures that we need to follow, then we could start to see things get…

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday the agency will maintain an air quality standard governing soot pollution for five years rather than tighten it as agency scientists had recommended, a move that will harm low-income communities that tend to be most…

Authorities in Pakistan suspended seven senior officers at a government hospital Monday after an inquiry found their “criminal negligence” resulted in the disruption of oxygen supply to the facility, killing six coronavirus patients.   The deaths occurred the previous day in Peshawar, capital of the…

Britain is on the eve of launching a COVID-19 vaccination campaign.   Staffers with the nation’s National Health Service, nursing home residents and their caregivers on Tuesday will begin to receive the first of two doses of a vaccine jointly developed by U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer…

At least one person has died and 200 others have been hospitalized due to an unidentified illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, reports said Monday. The illness was detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. Since…

President-elect Joe Biden has picked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary, putting a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his administration's coronavirus response.  Separately, Biden picked a Harvard infectious disease expert, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, to…

Wood and charcoal burning account for 50% of Senegal’s household energy consumption, contributing to air pollution and deforestation. To reduce ecological damage, an association called Nebeday, which means "tree" in Wolof, the predominant local language in Senegal, hires villagers to produce an innovative energy alternative.…

The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine against the coronavirus must be stored at extremely cold temperatures, raising some concerns about the difficult task of moving it across the United States for inoculations. But dry ice companies across the U.S. say they’re up for the challenge. Esha Sarai spoke…

Wood and charcoal burning account for 50% of household energy consumption in Senegal, contributing to air pollution and deforestation. To reduce ecological damage, an association called Nebeday, which means "tree" in Wolof, the predominant local language in Senegal , hires villagers to produce biochar. Estelle…

Wood and charcoal burning account for 50% of Senegal’s household energy consumption, contributing to air pollution and deforestation. To reduce ecological damage, an association called Nebeday, which means "tree" in Wolof, the predominant local language in Senegal, hires villagers to produce an innovative energy alternative.…

Japanese space officials said they are excited about the return of a capsule that safely landed in Australian Outback on Sunday while carrying soil samples from a distant asteroid so they can start analyzing what they say are treasures inside.The capsule's delivery by the Hayabusa2…