Australian authorities are planning to evacuate thousands of more people Monday from Sydney’s flooded western suburbs, in the worst flooding the city has seen in 60 years with another day of drenching rain expected. Unrelenting rains over the past three days swelled rivers in Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales (NSW), causing widespread damage and triggering calls for mass evacuations. “Flooding is …
your ad hereAdopting A Baby With Opioid Addiction – A Painful Yet Worth-While Journey
Carrie Brady was 40 and single when she decided to adopt a baby. Because of the US opioid crisis, her chances of finding a match were better if she agreed to accept the child of someone addicted to drugs and that’s what she did. Maxim Moskalkov has the story.Casmera: Artyom …
your ad hereEnvironmentalists: Life on Earth Hinges on Restoration of World’s Forests
In marking the International Day of Forests, environmentalists are calling for the restoration of forests and their life-giving biodiversity systems which, they say, are under increasing threat from illegal exploitation. Forests are the lungs of the earth. They help provide the air we breathe and play a major role in providing …
your ad hereLargest Vaccine Producer Delays Shipments to Some Countries
The world’s largest vaccine producer has told at least three countries that their COVID-19 vaccine shipments will be delayed.The Serum Institute of India has informed Brazil, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia that India’s overwhelming need for the vaccine is the cause of the delay.India is experiencing a surge in infections. The …
your ad hereNew French Dictionary Celebrates a Language That is no Longer Just French
French language lovers could celebrate International Francophonie Day on Saturday with a new online interactive dictionary. Rolled out by the French government, it reflects not only the language’s evolution but also the reality that most of today’s speakers are not French.Did you receive a “pourriel” or “throw a camel” today? …
your ad hereMiami Beach Imposes Curfew on Spring Break Crowds
Throngs of revelers flocking to Miami Beach, Florida, for spring break have become so uncontrollable that authorities imposed a curfew Saturday that they hope will spoil the party.For the next 72 hours, visitors will have to leave the streets and restaurants will close their doors at 8 p.m. in the …
your ad hereClimate Change Intensifying Water-Related Disasters
Ahead of World Water Day Monday, the World Meteorological Organization warns climate change is intensifying water-related disasters, threatening the lives and livelihoods of billions of people worldwide. Climate-related hazards include increased flooding and longer-lasting droughts. Climate change also is altering rainfall patterns, affecting water availability and worsening the damage …
your ad hereZoos, Scientists Aim to Curb People Giving Virus to Animals
The coughing among the western lowland gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in January was the first warning sign. Soon the fears were confirmed: A troop of gorillas became the first apes known to test positive for the coronavirus.Around the world, many scientists and veterinarians are now racing …
your ad hereCDC Changes School Guidance, Allowing Desks to Be Closer
Students can safely sit just 3 feet apart in the classroom as long as they wear masks but should be kept the usual 6 feet away from one another at sporting events, assemblies, lunch or chorus practice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in relaxing its COVID-19 …
your ad hereBritain PM Johnson Gets First Dose of AstraZeneca Vaccine
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson received his first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine Friday and urged the public to do the same, saying “he did not feel a thing.” Johnson, 56, received his vaccine at the same hospital where almost a year ago he was put in an intensive …
your ad hereSeveral European Countries Resume Use of AstraZeneca Vaccine
France, Germany and Italy resumed use Friday of a coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca after health officials sought to allay concerns it might cause blood clots.The European nations resumed inoculations after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said the AstraZeneca-University of Oxford vaccine was “safe and effective” and the World Health …
your ad hereBiden to Nominate Former Sen. Nelson as NASA Chief
U.S. President Joe Biden announced Friday he plans to nominate former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson to lead the U.S. space agency, NASA.In a statement, the White House says as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a three-term senator from Florida, Nelson, a Democrat, chaired committees on space, …
your ad hereAustralian Surgeon Treats South Sudanese Women, Girls Suffering from Fistula
A 14-year-old South Sudanese girl who could not control her urine or bowel movements for two years is lying on a bed at the Lutheran Medical Center in Juba, recovering from an operation to repair a fistula – a medical condition in which a hole develops in the birth canal …
your ad hereBiden, Harris Heading to Georgia as Asian American Hate Crimes, Vaccines Take Center Stage
U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are traveling to the southern U.S. state of Georgia on Friday, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the massage parlor shootings near Atlanta on Tuesday.The U.S. leaders will meet with Asian American leaders to discuss the shootings and the targeting of …
your ad hereTwitter Asks Users to Weigh in on Rules for World Leaders
Twitter on Friday began a survey of global users about platform rules for world leaders while consulting human rights and academic specialists on its next policy steps.The announcement comes after Twitter joined other social networks banning then-president Donald Trump for his comments seen as inciting the violent attack on the …
your ad hereGerman Health Officials: Virus Spreading ‘Exponentially’
German health officials Friday said coronavirus cases in the country are rising at “an exponential rate,” forcing the government to reconsider lifting COVID-19 restrictions. At a news conference in Berlin, Robert Koch Institute ((RKI)) for infectious Diseases Vice President Lars Schaade told reporters highly contagious virus variants were getting the upper …
your ad hereTokyo Olympics Ready to Announce Ban on Fans from Abroad
Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee are poised to finally make it official that most fans from abroad will be prohibited from attending the postponed Olympics when they open in four months.The announcement is expected to come after “five-party” talks on Saturday with the IOC, local organizers, the Japanese …
your ad hereBiden, Harris to Georgia as Asian American Hate Crimes, Vaccines Take Center Stage
U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are traveling to the southern U.S. state of Georgia on Friday, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the massage parlor shootings near Atlanta on Tuesday.The U.S. leaders will meet with Asian American leaders to discuss the shootings and the targeting of …
your ad hereEuropean Medicines Agency Again Approves AstraZeneca Vaccine
The European Medicines Agency has approved the continued use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the battle to contain the pandemic. The European regulator’s seal of approval comes after several European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, stopped using the vaccine following reports that the shots caused blood clots …
your ad hereUS to Provide Coronavirus Vaccines to Neighbors
U.S. and Mexican officials deny Washington is attaching any strings to a likely shipment of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses to America’s southern neighbor at a time of heightened migration passing through Mexico en route to the United States.“[P]reventing the spread of a global pandemic is part of one of …
your ad hereThis Week in Space
NASA calls its latest mission on the surface of Mars a “Wright Brothers moment” of aeronautical pioneering. The ISS gets hardware upgrades, and Russia’s lone, female Cosmonaut now has a Barbie doll in her own image. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Camera: NASA/AP/ESA/REUTERS/SPACE X/MATTELProduced by: Arash Arabasadi …
your ad hereTwitter Turns 15, Confronts Growing Pains of Popularity
Twitter celebrates its 15th anniversary this month (March 21). With 330 million users around the world, the company that once called itself the free speech wing of the free speech party has been forced to contend with abuses of its platform. Tina Trinh reports. …
your ad hereEMA Concludes AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine ‘Safe and Effective’
Europe’s drug regulator, the Europe Medicines Agency (EMA), said Thursday the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in protecting people from the disease and its benefits outweigh its possible risks. Speaking to a remote news conference from the agency’s Amsterdam headquarters, Executive Director Emer Cooke said the review by the …
your ad hereIs It Time to Cancel Dr. Seuss Due to Racist Imagery?
More than 650-million copies of Dr. Seuss books have sold around the world since author Theodor Seuss Geisel published his first title in the 1930s. The prolific author of books like “The Cat in the Hat” is credited with helping millions of children learn to read. But this month, Dr. …
your ad hereMore Europeans Dying from COVID Now Than Last Year, WHO Says
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) director for Europe said Thursday that the COVID-19 situation in the continent has taken a step backward, with more people dying from the disease than at this time last year. During a virtual briefing from his office in Copenhagen, Hans Kluge told reporters he …
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