TOKYO — Japan’s space agency said Sunday it successfully launched a navigation satellite on its new flagship H3 rocket as the country seeks to have a more precise location positioning system of its own.  The H3 rocket carrying the Michibiki 6 satellite lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center on a …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department said Saturday that the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) — the world’s leading HIV initiative — was covered by a waiver for life-saving humanitarian assistance during a 90-day pause in foreign aid. Just hours after taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump …

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — The Alaska Gold Rush town of Nome faced a bleak winter. It was hundreds of miles from anywhere, cut off by the frozen sea and unrelenting blizzards, and under siege from a contagious disease known as the “strangling angel” for the way it suffocated children.  Now, 100 years …

WASHINGTON — Facing intense scrutiny from U.S. senators over his potential profit from vaccine lawsuits while serving as the nation’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that if he is confirmed he will not collect fees from litigation against the drugmakers of a cervical cancer vaccine. Kennedy, who’s President Donald …

KAMPALA, UGANDA — A day after Uganda’s Ministry of Health announced a new Ebola outbreak in the capital, Kampala, most Ugandans appeared unaware or unconcerned about the outbreak and went about their business normally. But health authorities are warning Ugandans not to take Ebola lightly. For weeks, Uganda has battled an …

WASHINGTON — Federal officials on Thursday approved a new type of pain pill designed to eliminate the risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioid medications like Vicodin and OxyContin. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Journavx for short-term pain that often follows surgery or injuries. …

A male nurse in Uganda has died of Ebola, the first recorded death by the disease in the East African country since an outbreak ended in 2023, health officials said. The 32-year-old nurse worked at Mulago National Specialised Hospital in Kampala, Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of Uganda’s health ministry, said …

WASHINGTON — A key Republican senator on Thursday said he was struggling with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination by President Donald Trump to run the top U.S. health agency, saying he had reservations about the nominee’s “misleading arguments” on vaccines.    “Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading …

Kampala, Uganda — Uganda has confirmed an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the capital Kampala, with the first confirmed patient dying from the disease on Wednesday, the health ministry said on Thursday. The patient, a nurse at the Mulago referral hospital in the capital, had initially sought treatment at various …

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the nation’s top health official, faced tough questions from senators Wednesday about his views on vaccinations, COVID-19 and the nation’s health care system. A member of one of America’s most famous political families, Kennedy could face a tough road …

WASHINGTON — In a contentious confirmation hearing on his nomination to become the nation’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. struggled to answer questions about how he would reform Medicaid or Medicare, the government health care programs used by millions of disabled, poor and older Americans. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy …

ISLAMABAD — A senior World Health Organization official cautioned Wednesday that the eradication of polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the only countries where the paralytic virus persists, is threatened by the suspension of funding from the United States. In an online news conference, Hanan Balkhy, regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, …

Russian disinformation narratives about illicit organ harvesting and biological experiments in Ukraine have no basis in fact. Russia intentionally distorts Ukrainian law intended to support vital medical procedures.    …

WASHINGTON — The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory, according to an assessment released Saturday that points the finger at China even while acknowledging that the spy agency has “low confidence” in its own conclusion. The finding is not the result …

WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA — The cervical cancer rate in Namibia is 37.5 for every 100,000 women, about three times higher than the rate worldwide.  Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers and doctors in Namibia are advocating greater access to healthcare and the HPV vaccine to reduce the prevalence of …

In the Southwest United States, bird migrations are shifting as global temperatures warm. Gustavo Martіnez Contreras takes us to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in the state of New Mexico. …

After President Joe Biden announced a ban on oil and gas drilling off most of the U.S. coastline in early January, President-elect Donald Trump quickly vowed to reverse it after he takes office on January 20. But there is one section of the California coast that has gained more permanent …

Labels on wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages in the U.S. would be required to list alcohol content and nutritional information per serving, plus notification of potential allergens, under two new rules proposed Thursday by the Treasury Department.  The department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is seeking public …

PHUKET, THAILAND — Plastic bottles and empty beer cans roll on the sea floor in the waters around Phuket in southern Thailand, while ever more garbage piles up on the island itself, a tourist hotspot better known for its pristine beaches and stunning sunsets. In one corner of the island, trucks …

BLANTYRE, MALAWI — Malawi’s government launched a plan Thursday to stop cholera outbreaks by 2030. Officials say that if the government and international partners can effectively cooperate, they can greatly reduce the prevalence of cholera in the southern African country, where it has killed at least 1,700 people over the past …

WASHINGTON — Hours after Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital mission, SpaceX seized back the spotlight on Thursday as its latest test of Starship, its gargantuan next-generation mega rocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the Atlantic. In terms of sheer excitement, Elon Musk’s company didn’t disappoint, …

People hospitalized for flu should be tested for bird flu within 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday, in an expansion of the agency’s efforts to tackle increasing infections in humans.  The advisory is intended to prevent delays in identifying human cases of avian …

GENEVA — The World Health Organization appealed Thursday for $1.5 billion for emergency operations this year, warning that conflict, climate change, epidemics and displacement had converged to create an “unprecedented global health crisis.” The U.N. health agency estimated that health crises would leave 305 million people in need of urgent humanitarian …

ARUSHA, Tanzania — The World Health Organization said Wednesday an outbreak of suspected Marburg disease has killed eight people in a remote part of northern Tanzania.  “We are aware of 9 cases so far, including 8 people who have died,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “We would …

China says HMPV infections in the northern part of the country are declining. News of increased respiratory illnesses in China kindled international concerns about another potential pandemic. But, as VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, medical experts say HMPV is nothing like COVID-19. VOA Mandarin contributed to this report. …