Zimbabwe’s government says the country is very prepared to handle the new COVID-19 variant – omicron – first reported in neighboring South Africa. The World Health Organization says a fourth wave of the pandemic is most likely to hit Africa. Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga – who doubles as the …

Dutch health officials said Sunday 13 people who recently arrived in the Netherlands on flights from South Africa have tested positive for the new omicron coronavirus variant.  The passengers were part of the group of 61 who tested positive for the coronavirus following their arrival in Amsterdam on Friday. The …

The new potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in more European countries on Saturday, just days after being identified in South Africa, leaving governments around the world scrambling to stop the spread. The U.K. on Saturday tightened its rules on mask-wearing and on testing of international …

The United States praised South Africa on Saturday for quickly identifying the latest coronavirus variant, omicron, and sharing this information with the world. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with South Africa’s international relations and cooperation minister, Naledi Pandor, and they discussed cooperation on vaccinating people in Africa against COVID-19, …

Federal health regulators say an experimental COVID-19 pill from Merck is effective against the virus, but they will seek input from outside experts on risks of birth defects and other potential problems during pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of the pill ahead of a public meeting …

France is willing to discuss autonomy for the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe if it is in the interests of the people who live there, government minister Sebastien Lecornu said. Guadeloupe and the nearby French island of Martinique have seen several days of protests against COVID-19 measures that have spilled …

With hunting season under way, wildlife agencies in the northeastern U.S. states of New Hampshire and Vermont have started testing for COVID-19 in white-tailed deer, as antibodies for the virus have been found in deer in other states, according to a government study. “We collected blood samples this year during …

As the world grapples with the emergence of the new highly transmissible variant of COVID-19, worried scientists in South Africa — where omicron was first identified — are scrambling to combat its lightning spread across the country. In the space of two weeks, the omicron variant has sent South Africa …

Anxious-looking travelers thronged Johannesburg international airport and stood in long queues on Friday, desperate to squeeze onto the last flights to countries that had just shut their doors to South Africa. Many cut short their holidays, rushing back from safaris and vineyards when Britain announced late Thursday night that all …

Top U.S. infectious disease official Anthony Fauci said Friday that a ban on flights from southern Africa was a possibility and the United States was rushing to gather data on the new COVID-19 variant.    No decision to halt flights had yet been made, he said. The Wall Street Journal, …

South African scientists are scrambling to determine how quickly a newly discovered variant of the coronavirus can spread and if it is resistant to vaccines.  The new strain has led Britain to reimpose flight bans on six southern African countries, which could deal another heavy blow to their economies.  Coronavirus …

Like many others in Europe, Switzerland is facing a steep rise in coronavirus cases. But its federal government, unlike others, hasn’t responded with new restrictive measures. Analysts say it doesn’t want to stir up more opposition to its anti-COVID-19 policies, which face a crucial test at the ballot box this …

With the Northern Hemisphere heading into winter and COVID-19 cases on the rise across Europe and North America, political leaders from Washington to Brussels are struggling to persuade a pandemic-weary public to get vaccinated against the disease that has killed more than 5 million people and sickened hundreds of millions …

An expedition to find lost shipwrecks on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef begins Friday. The voyage is part of the Great Reef Census, one of the world’s largest marine citizen science projects. Conservationists estimate there are up to 900 shipwrecks on the Great Barrier Reef, but only 150 have been found. …

Cameroon’s largest lake, Lake Ossa, has been invaded by Salvinia molesta, an aquatic fern native to Brazil that hinders navigation, makes fishing impossible and blocks water access. To combat the spreading plant, a local aid group is training fishermen to harvest the fern and transform it into organic coal. Florent …

European countries expanded COVID-19 booster vaccinations, began plans to get shots to young children and tightened some curbs Thursday as the continent battled a surge in coronavirus cases and concerns about its economic fallout grew. Slovakia went into a two-week lockdown, and the Czech government declared a 30-day state of …

NASA tests an asteroid-assaulting system to protect planet Earth. Plus, Japanese tourists ready for the trip of a lifetime, and a look at the historic, sky-darkening lunar eclipse. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space …

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) says the wheat seeds it recently provided to farmers in northeast Syria meet “high standards for safety and quality.” The announcement comes after claims by the Syrian government that the seeds donated by the U.S. agency “are not suitable for cultivation.” Last week, …

Their goal was to find a cure for cancer, but the whole world recognized them for developing the first vaccine against the coronavirus. The founders of the German company BioNTech, Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci, now turn their attention back to cancer. VOA’s Dilge Timocin interviewed Ugur Sahin and files …

“I could not understand how this highly educated, powerful trauma nurse is now the patient.” A registered nurse who asks that we call her “Gi” is talking about herself. While working in the emergency room of her community hospital at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gi started crying unconsolably, …

The U.S. space agency NASA has launched a spacecraft on a mission to test the ability to knock an asteroid off a potentially harmful collision course with Earth.  The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, will take 10 months to reach the asteroid Dimorphos before slamming into it at 24,000 kilometers per hour.  Dimorphos does …

CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties, a federal jury said Tuesday in a verdict that could set the tone for U.S. city and county governments that want to hold pharmacies accountable for their roles in the opioid crisis. Lake and …

The U.S. space agency, NASA, and its European counterpart, the European Space Agency (ESA), have delayed the long-awaited launch of the James Webb space telescope to no earlier than December 22. In statements, both agencies say the launch is being held up for additional testing of the orbiting observatory after …

A SpaceX rocket was set to blast off from California late Tuesday as NASA seeks to demonstrate a first-of-its-kind planetary defense system, designed to deflect an asteroid from a potential doomsday collision with Earth. The DART mission will test NASA’s ability to alter an asteroid’s trajectory with kinetic force – …

A mission is underway to retrieve scientific data from the rugged ocean floor in the Southern Ocean, formerly known as the Antarctic Ocean, that could explain what triggers underwater earthquakes and tsunamis.    Some of the world’s most violent underwater earthquakes are unleashed beneath the hostile waters of the Southern Ocean, …