Disabled fashion designers have long struggled against discrimination, especially in developing countries such as Malawi. To combat the problem, Malawian fashion brand House of Xandria on Saturday organized the country’s first fashion show featuring creations by designers with disabilities. Lameck Masina reports from Blantyre. Camera: Dan Kumwenda …
your ad hereNew Zealand to Lift Many COVID-19 Restrictions
New Zealand is easing the coronavirus lockdown for nearly the entire country first imposed last month after the Pacific nation reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case in six months.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that the nationwide alert level will be lowered to Level 2, allowing schools, businesses and offices …
your ad hereUK Gov’t Eyes Tax Hike to Pay for Care for Older People
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans Tuesday to fulfill a election promise to grapple with the rocketing cost of the long-term care needed by Britain’s growing older population. To do it, he appears set to break another election vow: not to raise taxes. Johnson is scheduled to tell Parliament how his Conservative government will …
your ad here‘I’ve Got It’: NASA Confirms Perseverance Mars Rover Retrieves First Rock Sample
NASA confirmed Monday that its Perseverance Mars rover succeeded in collecting its first rock sample for scientists to pore over when a future mission eventually brings it back to Earth. “I’ve got it!” the space agency tweeted, alongside a photograph of a rock core slightly thicker than a pencil inside a …
your ad herePele Recovering After Removal of Tumor
Brazil soccer great Pele said on Monday that he was recovering in a hospital from surgery to remove a tumor from his colon. Pele, the only player to win three World Cups, did not say whether the tumor was malignant, but the 80-year-old former Santos and New York Cosmos player said …
your ad hereActor Jean-Paul Belmondo, Star of ‘Breathless,’ Dies at 88
Jean-Paul Belmondo, star of the iconic French New Wave film “Breathless,” whose crooked boxer’s nose and rakish grin went on to make him one of the country’s most recognizable leading men, has died at 88. His death was confirmed Monday by the office of his lawyer, Michel Godest. No cause …
your ad hereSocial Cost of Plastic: 2019’s More Than GDP of India, Report Says
The pollution, emissions and cleanup costs of plastic produced in 2019 alone could be $3.7 trillion, according to a report released Monday by wildlife charity WWF, warning of the environmental and economic burden of this “seemingly cheap” material. There is increasing international alarm over the sheer volumes of fossil-fuel based plastics …
your ad hereBrazil-Argentina World Cup Qualifier Halted by COVID-19 Controversy
Brazil’s World Cup qualifying match against Argentina was dramatically suspended shortly after it began Sunday as controversy over COVID-19 protocols erupted.The match at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena between the two giants of South American football came to a halt when a group of Brazilian public health officials came onto …
your ad hereIn South Asia, Rising Ocean Pushes Out Those Living at the Shore
In the vast Sunderbans delta that spans eastern India and Bangladesh, coastal erosion due to rising sea levels has been slowly carving away chunks of its low-lying islands, forcing thousands of people to relocate, according to climate experts.“When we talk to families in the Sunderbans, we find that only elderly …
your ad here3 New Coronavirus Deaths in Australia
Australia recorded three new COVID-19 deaths in its most populous state of New South Wales and nearly 1,500 new cases of the coronavirus disease Sunday.Speaking to reporters in Sydney, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the peak of the most recent outbreak was expected “in the next couple of …
your ad hereWillard Scott, Weatherman on NBC’s ‘Today’ Show, Dies at 87
Willard Scott, the beloved weatherman who charmed viewers of NBC’s Today show with his self-deprecating humor and cheerful personality, has died. He was 87. His successor on the morning news show, Al Roker, announced that Scott died peacefully Saturday morning surrounded by family. An NBC Universal spokeswoman confirmed the news. No further …
your ad hereFlorida Struggling With COVID-19’s Deadliest Phase Yet
Funeral director Wayne Bright has seen grief piled upon grief during the latest COVID-19 surge. A woman died of the virus, and as her family was planning the funeral, her mother was struck down. An aunt took over arrangements for the double funeral, only to die of COVID-19 herself two weeks …
your ad hereBrazil Starts Booster Shots While Many Still Await 2nd Jab
Some cities in Brazil are providing booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, even though most people have yet to receive their second jabs, in a sign of the concern in the country over the highly contagious delta variant.Rio de Janeiro, currently Brazil’s epicenter for the variant and home to one …
your ad hereCoronavirus Can Cause ‘Severe Illness’ in Children, CDC Warns
A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Friday says the coronavirus can cause “severe illness” in children and adolescents.From late June to mid-August, when there was an “increased circulation” of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, weekly COVID-associated hospitalization rates for children and adolescents rose …
your ad hereCuba Starts Vaccinating Children in Order to Reopen Schools Amid COVID Surge
Cuban authorities on Friday launched a national campaign to vaccinate children ages 2-18 against COVID-19, a prerequisite set by the communist government for schools to reopen amid a spike in infections.Children 12 and older will be the first to receive one of the two domestically produced vaccines, Abdala and Soberana, …
your ad hereAir Quality, Climate Change Closely Linked
In the first report of its kind, the World Meteorological Organization examines the close link between air quality and climate change and how measures stemming from COVID-19 influenced air quality patterns in 2020.Government-imposed lockdown measures and travel restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 resulted in a marked improvement in …
your ad hereNew York’s 9/11 Museum CEO Seeks to Educate, Inspire Younger Generation
One of the most important tasks Alice Greenwald has as president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum is to educate and inspire a younger generation and make sure the heroism and sacrifices made that day in 2001 are never forgotten. “If you think about 20 years, it …
your ad hereMoving Fingers, Rotating Wrists: Advances in Prosthetics Improve US Veterans’ Lives
Technological advances in prosthetics have vastly improved the lives of many U.S. veterans and service members over the past 20 years. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. …
your ad hereNigerian Authorities, Nonprofits Tackle Misinformation to Boost Vaccine Uptake
Amid the latest wave of COVID-19 infections, less than 1% of people in Africa’s most populated country, Nigeria, have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Nigerian authorities are scrambling for more vaccines but say misinformation and myths are discouraging uptake. Timothy Obiezu looks at efforts to dispel the rumors in …
your ad hereAfrican Union Makes Vaccine Deal for the Continent
The African Union has announced that Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines assembled in South Africa will no longer be exported to Europe and will instead be distributed among African countries.In addition, millions of J&J vaccines already shipped to Europe, but currently stored in warehouses, will be returned to South Africa, …
your ad hereUS Hospitals Hit with Nurse Staffing Crisis Amid COVID
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a nurse staffing crisis that is forcing many U.S. hospitals to pay top dollar to get the help they need to handle the crush of patients this summer.The problem, health leaders say, is twofold: Nurses are quitting or retiring, exhausted or demoralized by the crisis. …
your ad hereFauci Says Third Dose of Vaccine ‘Likely’ Necessary
Americans will likely have to get a third shot of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday at a White House press briefing.”I must say from my own experience as an immunologist, I would not at all be surprised that the adequate full regimen for vaccination will …
your ad hereKerry: China’s Coal Binge Could ‘Undo’ Global Capacity to Meet Climate Targets
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry warned Thursday that Beijing’s coal-building spree could “undo” global capacity to meet environmental targets, after holding talks with top officials in China. Tensions between Beijing and Washington have soared in recent months, with the two sides trading barbs on China’s human rights record and its initial …
your ad hereFAA Bans Virgin Galactic Launches While Investigating Branson Flight
The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that Virgin Galactic cannot launch anyone into space until an investigation is complete into a mishap that occurred during July’s flight with founder Richard Branson.The ban came as Virgin Galactic announced plans to launch three Italian researchers to the edge of space in a …
your ad hereHurricane Larry Forms in Eastern Atlantic, Grows Larger, Stronger
As officials assess the damage done by Hurricane Ida on the U.S. Gulf Coast and in the Northeast, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center are staying busy watching Hurricane Larry grow stronger in the eastern Atlantic. At last report, forecasters said Larry was far out in the eastern Atlantic, still closer …
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