The World Health Organization said on Monday it is tracking a few dozen cases of two new sub-variants of the highly transmissible omicron strain of the coronavirus to assess whether they are more infectious or dangerous. It has added BA.4 and BA.5, sister variants of the original BA.1 omicron variant, …
your ad hereMumbai Aims to be South Asia’s First Carbon-Neutral City by 2050
Facing an existential threat from climate change, Mumbai, India’s financial hub has embarked an ambitious climate action plan that aims to make the city carbon-neutral by 2050. It is the first city to set a timeline to reach zero emissions in South Asia, one of the world’s most vulnerable regions …
your ad hereLiving With COVID: Experts Divided on UK Plan as Cases Soar
For many in the U.K., the pandemic may as well be over. Mask requirements have been dropped. Free mass testing is a thing of the past. And for the first time since spring 2020, people can go abroad for holidays without ordering tests or filling out lengthy forms. That sense …
your ad hereFlorida Groups Canvass Spring Breakers to Warn of Fentanyl
In the days after a group of West Point cadets on spring break were sickened by fentanyl-laced cocaine at a South Florida house party, community activists sprang into action. They blitzed beaches, warned spring breakers of a surge in recreational drugs cut with the dangerous synthetic opioid and offered an …
your ad hereSpace Station’s First All-Private Astronaut Team Docked to Orbiting Platform
The first all-private team of astronauts ever launched to the International Space Station (ISS) arrived safely at the orbiting research platform Saturday to begin a weeklong science mission hailed as a milestone in commercial spaceflight. The rendezvous came about 21 hours after the four-man team representing Houston-based startup company Axiom …
your ad hereShanghai Showing Strain of Life Under Strict COVID Lockdown
Shanghai is China’s most populous city, a place marked by its expansive worldview and keen sense of its own identity. But now it is chafing at Beijing’s rigid containment methods designed in accordance with the national zero-COVID policy. Since a wave of infections struck the metropolis of some 25 million …
your ad hereSaudi Arabia to Allow 1 Million Hajj Pilgrims This Year
Saudi Arabia said Saturday it will permit 1 million Muslims from inside and outside the country to participate in this year’s hajj, a sharp uptick after pandemic restrictions forced two years of drastically pared-down pilgrimages. The hajj ministry “has authorized 1 million pilgrims, both foreign and domestic, to perform the …
your ad hereDonors Pledge Extra $4.8 Billion to Fight COVID Vaccine Inequity
An international donor conference on Friday raised $4.8 billion for the U.N.-backed COVAX plan to deliver coronavirus jabs to poorer countries, organizers said. “The pandemic is not over, far from it. Until we beat COVID-19 everywhere, we beat it nowhere. That is a fact, and a responsibility for all of …
your ad hereUN: Aging Supertanker Off Yemen at ‘Imminent Risk’ of Spilling Oil
The United Nations warned Friday that an old, neglected oil tanker carrying more than a million barrels of oil is a ticking “time bomb” at “imminent risk” of a major spill off the coast of Yemen that could cost $20 billion to clean up. “If it were to happen, the …
your ad hereUS Drug Overdose Deaths Soar
As the U.S. tries to emerge from the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic, health experts and law enforcement officials are concerned about another health crisis: a sharp rise in the number of drug related overdoses attributed to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a bulletin …
your ad hereOn World Health Day, US Lacks Funding for Global COVID Response
Without a single dollar of the $5 billion it requested for its global COVID-19 response approved, the Biden administration’s key program to help vaccinate the world is in danger of grinding to a halt. Even as the administration marked World Health Day on Thursday with a commitment to build a …
your ad hereIllness from Omicron Variant Shorter Than from Delta, UK Finds
Disease caused by the omicron variant is on average around two days shorter than the delta variant, a large study of vaccinated Britons who kept a smartphone log of their COVID-19 symptoms after breakthrough infections found. “The shorter presentation of symptoms suggests — pending confirmation from viral load studies — …
your ad hereKey Particle Weighs in a Bit Heavy, Confounding Physicists
The grand explanation physicists use to describe how the universe works may have some major new flaws to patch after a fundamental particle was found to have more mass than scientists thought. “It’s not just something is wrong,” said Dave Toback, a particle physicist at Texas A&M University and a …
your ad hereCalifornia’s Lithium Valley Gears Up for Clean Energy Future
Lithium is a key component in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems, and California officials hope their state will become a major producer. Governor Gavin Newsom has said he wants California to become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium.” But residents of one community want some assurances first. Mike O’Sullivan reports …
your ad hereWHO: After March Surge, Global COVID-19 Cases Continue To Drop
The World Health Organization ((WHO)) says, following a surge of new cases in early March, the number of new worldwide COVID-19 cases and deaths has fallen for a second consecutive week. In its weekly update released late Tuesday, the WHO reports the number of new cases overall fell by 16 …
your ad hereBiden Proposal Would Expand Health Care Access
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced plans to expand access to health care by proposing changes to the Affordable Care Act to allow millions of additional families to purchase health insurance and obtain tax credits to offset the cost. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. …
your ad hereZoos Protecting Birds as Avian Flu Spreads in North America
Zoos across North America are moving their birds indoors and away from people and wildlife as they try to protect them from the highly contagious and potentially deadly avian influenza. Penguins may be the only birds that visitors to many zoos can see right now, because they already are kept …
your ad hereOklahoma State House Approves Bill to Make Abortion Illegal
The Oklahoma House gave final legislative approval on Tuesday to a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. With little discussion and no debate, the Republican-controlled House voted 70-14 to send the bill to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has …
your ad hereAmazon Signs on Launch Partners for Space Internet
Amazon on Tuesday announced deals for scores of launches to deploy a “constellation” of satellites in low orbit around the Earth to provide internet service to people below. Amazon said that its contracts with Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance (ULA) are the largest commercial procurement of launch vehicles …
your ad hereLeishmania Cases Rampant in Northeast Syria Town
Cases of a parasitic disease called Leishmaniasis are increasing at an alarming pace in a town in northeastern Syria called Tel Tamr. VOA’s Zana Omer has more in this story narrated by Sirwan Kajjo. Camera: Zana Omer …
your ad hereWorld on Fast-Track to Climate Disaster, International Panel Says
Climate scientists warn the world is courting disaster if it fails to swiftly do what’s required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The International Panel on Climate Change released a report on mitigating climate change. After two previous reports on the physical science behind climate change and on …
your ad hereUN: World Can Avoid Climate Extremes Only Through Drastic Measures
The United Nations’ top climate body says drastic measures, including significant cuts in fossil fuel use, are necessary to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures. Monday’s report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed that the world is “on a fast track to climate disaster” …
your ad hereWHO: 99% of World Population Breathes in Polluted Air
The World Health Organization reports 13 million people die every year from environmental causes, including more than seven million who are killed each year from exposure to air pollution. New data released by the World Health Organization confirms that practically the whole world is breathing in unhealthy air. The WHO …
your ad hereCameroon Advocates Education for Children With Autism
Cameroon observed World Autism Awareness Day Saturday with rights groups advocating for autistic children to be given an education. Supporters say autistic children often can’t go to school because autism is falsely believed to be a result of witchcraft. The Timely Performance Care Center, a school for disabled children in …
your ad hereOmicron Variant Causes Spike in COVID-19 Cases in Britain
Britain is experiencing a record number of COVID-19 cases, with almost 5 million people, or 1 person in every 13 infected, according to official data. The news of the spike in infections came on the same day that Britain stopped giving free rapid COVID tests to most of its population, …
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