The World Health Organization reports proper care could have prevented vision impairment or blindness in about half of the more than 2.2 billion people globally who suffer from these conditions. The findings were part of the WHO’s first World Report on Vision that was launched in Geneva in advance of …
your ad hereMajority of Mental Health Problems in Conflict Zones and Other Emergencies Go Untreated: Survey
To mark World Mental Health Day, the International Committee of the Red Cross is calling for greater psycho-social support for millions of people caught in violence and armed conflict.A survey finds more than one in five people in conflict-affected areas live with a mental health condition ranging from depression and …
your ad hereEbola Virus in DR Congo Significantly Contained, But Remains Dangerous
The World Health Organization reports progress in containing the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, but says many challenges to its elimination remain. WHO reports the number of cases in the outbreak now stands at 3,207, including 2,144 deaths. The executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies, Michael Ryan, …
your ad herePolish Author Tokarczuk and Austria’s Handke Win Nobel Literature Prize
Polish author Olga Tokarczuk and Austria’s Peter Handke have been awarded the Nobel Literature Prize.The award was not given last year, so Handke won the 2019 prize for “an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience” while Tokarczuk won the 2018 …
your ad hereMedia Events Canceled in China for NBA Preseason Game
All media events such as news conferences have been canceled inside the arena hosting Thursday’s NBA preseason game in China between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets, though the matchup itself remains on as scheduled.The decision to cancel media availabilities is the latest move by Chinese officials in an …
your ad hereMedical Waste Washing Ashore in Pakistan
Except for the occasional sunburn, a day at the beach is never a bad day. But lately visitors to Clifton Beach in Karachi, Pakistan are finding their day at the beach is being spoiled by some very unwelcome visitors. VOA’s Sidra Dar has more in this report narrated by Bezhan …
your ad hereEuropean Union Finds Ransomware Is Top Cybercrime
The European Union’s 2019 cybercrime report said the number of online attacks is going down but criminals are targeting more data and profits.The European Union’s law enforcement agency developed the report that shows that ransomware remains the top cybercrime threat. Ransomware attacks block access to vital data and are described …
your ad hereAfrican Women in Tech Working to Close Digital Divide
Women from across Africa are meeting at the annual Women in Tech Africa Week, hoping to bring more women into the tech industry and combat inequalities in technology use and access, especially for economic empowerment.Francesca Opoku remembers having to physically send workers to deliver messages or documents when she started her …
your ad hereHigh-Profile Soccer Wives in Twitter Spat Over Story Leaks
The wives of two of English soccer’s most high-profile players got embroiled in a spat on Twitter on Wednesday about the leaking of information to a tabloid newspaper.In a post to her 1.3 million followers, Wayne Rooney’s wife, Coleen, accused Rebekah Vardy, the wife of Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, of …
your ad hereNBA Postpones Nets-Lakers Media Sessions in Shanghai
The NBA called off scheduled media sessions Wednesday for the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers in Shanghai, and it remains unclear if the teams will play in China this week as scheduled.The teams were practicing in Shanghai, where at least two other NBA events in advance of the start …
your ad hereEU Warns Hostile Countries Are 5G risk, Avoids Naming Names
The European Union warned Wednesday that next-generation telecommunication networks face a range of cyber threats, including from hostile countries. While steering clear of singling out Chinese tech company Huawei, an EU security risk assessment identified “states or state-backed actors” as the most serious and likely culprits to carry out sophisticated …
your ad hereMeasles Outbreak Kills More Than 4,000 in Congo This Year
More than 4,000 people have died in Congo this year in the world’s largest measles outbreak, the United Nations children’s agency said Wednesday. The Central African nation is also battling an Ebola outbreak that has killed about half that number since August 2018. Since January, more than 200,000 …
your ad hereChina Criticizes Apple for App that Tracks Hong Kong Police
Apple became the latest company targeted for Chinese pressure over protests in Hong Kong when the ruling Communist Party’s main newspaper criticized the tech giant Wednesday for a smartphone app that allows activists to report police movements.HKmap.live, designed by an outside supplier and available on Apple Inc.’s online store, “facilitates …
your ad here3 Win Nobel in Chemistry for Work on Lithium-Ion Batteries
Three scientists on Wednesday were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their contributions to the development of lithium-ion batteries, which have reshaped energy storage and transformed cars, mobile phones and many other devices in an increasingly portable and electronic world.The prize went to John B. Goodenough of the University …
your ad hereStudy Finds High Incidences of Abuse of Mothers During Childbirth
More than one-third of new mothers in four poor countries are abused during childbirth, a study published Wednesday in the medical journal The Lancet.The study, carried out in Ghana, Guinea, Myanmar and Nigeria by the World Health Organization, found that 42% of the women experienced physical or verbal abuse or …
your ad hereJohnson & Johnson, Risperdal Maker Hit With $8 Billion Verdict
A Philadelphia jury on Tuesday awarded $8 billion in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson and one if its subsidiaries over a drug the companies made that the plaintiff’s attorneys say is linked to the abnormal growth of female breast tissue in boys.Johnson and Johnson immediately denounced the award after …
your ad hereStudies: Dog Owners More Likely to Survive Heart Attack, Stroke
Dogs can perform many tricks for their owners, but the best one might be extending their life.”Our analysis found having a dog is actually protective against dying of any cause,” said Dr. Caroline Kramer, lead author of a study published Tuesday in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association.Kramer’s …
your ad here3 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Hit New Highs Again in US
U.S. infections from three sexually transmitted diseases have risen for the fifth consecutive year.More than 1.7 million cases of chlamydia (kluh-MID’-ee-uh) were reported last year. The infection rate rose 3 percent from 2017.It’s the most ever reported in a year, though the trend is mainly attributed to increased testing.About 580,000 …
your ad hereOprah to Give $13 Million More for Aid at Black College
Oprah Winfrey says she’s giving $13 million to increase a scholarship endowment at a historically black college.Winfrey announced her plan Monday at Morehouse College in Atlanta, adding to the $12 million she gave to the all-male college 30 years ago. She was meeting with 47 students already benefiting from the …
your ad hereBiles Wins 15th World Title as US Claims Team Gold
U.S. gymnastics star Simone Biles clinched a record-extending 15th world championship gold medal Tuesday as the Americans won the women’s team title in Stuttgart.Biles, 22, collected her 21st medal at the championships to become the most decorated women’s gymnast, taking her one clear of Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina.She also moved to …
your ad hereLouvre Opens Huge Outpost to Protect Art From Flooding
The Louvre opened a new sprawling art conservation center Tuesday some 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Paris to protect the museum’s priceless artworks from its flood-prone storage reserves.The Louvre Conservation Center in Lievin, northern France, will help protect valuable works from the swelling Seine River as major floods grow more …
your ad hereLions Kill Cattle, So People Kill Lions. Can The Cycle End?
Saitoti Petro scans a dirt road in northern Tanzania for recent signs of the top predator on the African savannah. “If you see a lion,” he warns, “stop and look it straight in the eyes — you must never run.”Petro points to a fresh track in the dirt, a paw …
your ad hereClimate Activists Block Roads, Camp Out in Global Protests
Hundreds of climate change activists camped out in central London on Tuesday during a second day of world protests by the Extinction Rebellion movement to demand more urgent actions to counter global warming.Determined activists glued themselves to the British government’s Department of Transport building as police working to keep streets …
your ad hereTeen Depicts the Art of Her Own Brain Recovery
A teenager has traced her medical journey through several neurosurgeries by making art from her brain scans. Mike O’Sullivan reports from Los Angeles that 16-year-old Tessa Carlisle is exploring the healing potential of art as she travels her own road to recovery. …
your ad hereHundreds Arrested In Global Action Against Climate Change
Hundreds of activists were arrested Monday in cities around the world, at the start of a two-week global campaign aimed at raising awareness of a climate emergency. The international effort was coordinated by Extinction Rebellion, a movement fighting for the protection of biodiversity with non-violent resistance and civil disobedience. VOA’s …
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