The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday issued guidelines for keeping children in school even if they are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. During a virtual briefing by the White House COVID-19 response team, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the …
your ad hereJapan Seeks Additional Vaccines for COVID-19 Booster Campaign
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday his government is seeking to accelerate its COVID-19 booster shots campaign and has reached out to the head of U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer to secure additional vaccines. Kishida told reporters the government has been negotiating to receive 120 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 …
your ad hereAfter Whistleblower Disclosures, Facebook Faces an Uncertain Future
After internal Facebook documents were shared widely with news organizations, the question remains whether and how Facebook will change. Michelle Quinn reports. …
your ad hereResearchers Warn of Mass Language Extinction
An Australian-led study warns that 1,500 of the world’s 7,000 recognized languages might no longer be spoken by the end of this century. The research, published Friday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, details a wide range of factors putting endangered languages under pressure. Australian researchers have found that …
your ad hereChina-Russia Collaboration in Space Poses Challenge for West
China and Russia have begun collaborating on technology to rival the United States’ GPS and European Galileo satellite navigation systems, as the two countries pursue closer military and strategic ties. Earlier this year, China agreed to host ground monitoring stations for Russia’s GLONASS positioning system on its soil, which improves …
your ad hereBruce Springsteen Sells Song Catalog to Sony in $500 Million Deal, Billboard Reports
Multiple Grammy winner Bruce Springsteen has sold his masters and music publishing rights to Sony Music in a deal worth about $500 million, entertainment publication Billboard said Wednesday, citing sources. The sale will give Sony ownership of the rock music legend’s entire catalog, including 15-times platinum album “Born in the …
your ad hereUS Permanently Relaxes Restriction on Abortion Pill
The U.S. government on Thursday permanently eased some restrictions on a pill used to terminate early pregnancies, allowing the drug to be sent by mail rather than requiring it to be dispensed in person. The decision by the Food and Drug Administration comes as the right to obtain an abortion, …
your ad hereCDC Advisers Vote to Recommend mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Over J&J’s
A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday voted to recommend that Americans choose one of the other two authorized COVID-19 vaccines over Johnson & Johnson’s shot because of the rare but sometimes fatal cases of blood clotting. The CDC’s Advisory Committee …
your ad hereNASA’s Icarus Moment and Trip Through Time in This Week’s Space News
NASA touches the sun and looks to the future by traveling back through time. Plus, Japanese tourists visit the ISS, and a space-travel pioneer’s daughter follows in her father’s flying footsteps. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space. …
your ad hereNew Study Says Omicron Variant Grows Faster in Airway Passages
Scientists in Hong Kong say the omicron variant of the coronavirus multiplies much faster in the airway passages, which could explain how the variant is spreading so fast around the globe. A preliminary report by a team of researchers at the University of Hong Kong says laboratory experiments on tissue …
your ad hereEnd of an Era: Airbus Delivers Last A380 Superjumbo to Emirates
Airbus is set to deliver the final A380 superjumbo to Dubai’s Emirates on Thursday, marking the end of a 14-year run that gave Europe an instantly recognized symbol across the globe but failed to fulfil the commercial vision of its designers. Production of the world’s largest airliner — capable …
your ad hereIsrael to Donate 1 Million COVID Vaccines to African Nations
The Israeli government on Wednesday said it was donating 1 million coronavirus vaccines to the U.N.-backed COVAX program. The Foreign Ministry said the AstraZeneca vaccines would be transferred in the coming weeks, a decision that was part of Israel’s strengthening ties with the African countries. “I am delighted that Israel …
your ad hereUS CDC: Omicron Now About 3% of All COVID-19 Cases
The White House COVID-19 Response team Wednesday said early data indicates the omicron coronavirus variant is spreading in the U.S., but current vaccine boosters appear to be effective in fighting it. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the variant is in 36 U.S. states and accounts for 3% of all U.S. …
your ad hereReport Indicates Greater Huawei Involvement in Surveillance
The Chinese telecom giant Huawei has consistently claimed it does not actively partner with the Chinese government in gathering intelligence on individuals within China, but a report by The Washington Post this week showing the company appears to have marketed surveillance technology to government customers calls the company’s assertions into …
your ad hereChina to Crack Open ‘Great Firewall’ for Winter Olympic Athletes
Chinese authorities are pledging unrestricted internet access for foreign athletes at February’s Beijing Winter Olympics, but rights advocates say athletes will likely be cautious about exploiting the rare crack in China’s “Great Firewall.” China has been strengthening that firewall for more than a decade, blocking access to internationally popular foreign …
your ad hereNASA Probe Becomes First Spacecraft to Enter Sun’s Atmosphere
The U.S. space agency NASA says its Parker Solar Probe this week became the first spacecraft to enter the Sun’s atmosphere, also known as the corona. The space agency announced the news Tuesday at a press conference during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in New Orleans. In a statement, NASA scientists said the probe actually entered the Sun’s corona April 18, but it took until …
your ad hereStay Calm, Don’t Panic, Says South African Doctor
The head of the South African Medical Association says there is a major difference between the delta and omicron variants of the coronavirus and warns politicians against hyping the threat from the new strain. Dr. Angelique Coetzee criticized Tuesday what she described as the “over-reaction” to the heavily mutated omicron …
your ad hereAfrican Leaders Call for More Investment in Healthcare
African leaders have called on governments across the continent to invest more in healthcare to fight the coronavirus and future pandemics. The appeal came as the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Union this week held the first Conference on Public Health in Africa. Addressing the …
your ad hereYarnbombing Hits NYC – Art Trend Takes Crocheting to the Streets
Yarnbombing is part street art, part graffiti, and part activism. A new art trend in New York City takes the age-old craft of crocheting to the streets, where traditionally walls and fences have been serving as canvases for graffiti artists. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …
your ad hereNonprofits Urge Addition of Deadly Noma Disease to WHO List
The disfiguring disease Noma, found mainly in poor areas of sub-Saharan Africa that lack health care, kills 90% of victims, most of them children, when left untreated. Noma is preventable with awareness, and to that end, aid groups are urging the World Health Organization to add Noma to its list …
your ad hereSpain’s Language Wars Reignite in Catalonia
A family who went to court to ensure a quarter of the classes for their five-year-old son at a primary school are taught in Spanish were offered police protection Wednesday after they said they were harassed and abused. The family, residents of Canet de Mar, a Mediterranean coastal town 50 …
your ad hereRumba Shimmies onto UNESCO Cultural Heritage List
Congolese rumba is among at least nine new entries on UNESCO’s “representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.” UNESCO is making its 2021 designations this week, recognizing cultural heritage ranging from Arabic calligraphy to falconry to Nordic clinker boat traditions. Congolese rumba was named to the list Tuesday. …
your ad hereChina Promotes Vaccines Around the World but Critics Point to Lower Efficacy
COVID-19 was first discovered in China, which became the first country to produce a vaccine. Sinovac and Sinopharm are China’s leading vaccine makers, and both manufacture World Health Organization-approved COVID-19 vaccines. What’s the difference between the two companies? Sinovac is a privately owned company, while Sinopharm is government-run. Scientists at both companies use the same method to make both vaccines. How are the …
your ad hereWhy China’s Advancements in Quantum Technology Worry Others
China’s advances in quantum computing will give a new advantage to its armed forces, already the world’s third strongest, analysts say. Quantum refers to a type of computing that lets high-powered machines make calculations that are too complex for ordinary devices. The concept discovered by American physicist Richard Feynman in …
your ad hereBiden: US Has Ordered Enough Pfizer Anti-Viral Pills to Treat 10 Million Americans
U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is encouraged by data released by Pfizer Inc on its COVID-19 anti-viral medicine and his administration has ordered enough of the pills to treat 10 million Americans. “Getting vaccinated and getting your booster shot remain the most important tools we have to save …
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