Former directors of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the world-renowned American agency that has long taken the lead in fighting communicable diseases, are voicing unusual criticism of the U.S. handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic and the CDC’s limited role in that effort.COVID-19, the disease caused by …
your ad hereWHO Reports 10% ‘Uptick’ in European COVID-19 Cases
The World Health Organization (WHO) says Europe has seen a significant “uptick” in COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks, with 32 out of 55 state parties and territories in the regions experiencing an increase rate of more than 10 percent.Speaking to reporters at a virtual news conference from Copenhagen, …
your ad hereIn Remote Himalayan Hamlet, Telemedicine Brings Modern Medicare
he divide between India’s urban and rural healthcare is stark — big cities boast of highly qualified doctors while most rural areas lack adequate health infrastructure. To bridge the gulf with the help of modern technology, the northern state of Himachal Pradesh has launched a telemedicine program in two remote areas. …
your ad herePandemic Leaves Nearly Half-a-Billion Children Without Access to Distance Learning
With the total number of worldwide COVID-19 cases surpassing 24 million, including more than 824,000 deaths, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says nearly one-third of the world’s schoolchildren are unable to participate in remote learning. A report issued Wednesday by the agency says that of the 1.5 billion children …
your ad hereCDC Relaxes COVID Testing Guidelines, Alarming Some Health Providers
Health experts are expressing alarm over the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s revision of its coronavirus testing guidelines. The CDC announced Monday that people who have been in close contact with someone who has been infected by COVID-19 “do not necessarily need a test” if they are not exhibiting …
your ad hereStudy Provides Support for Theory That Life on Earth May Have Come From Space
Researchers in Japan have provided more evidence supporting the theory that all life on Earth could have sprung from bacteria that landed on the planet from outer space.The evidence comes from an experiment that was conducted on the International Space Station (ISS), the results of which were published Wednesday in …
your ad hereUS Federal Health Agency Relaxes COVID-19 Testing Guidelines
Health experts are expressing alarm over the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s revision of its coronavirus testing guidelines. The CDC. announced Monday that people who have been in close contact with someone who has been infected by COVID-19 “do not necessarily need a test” if they are not exhibiting …
your ad hereIn Major Milestone, Africa Now Polio-Free
All of Africa has reached a very important milestone. The World Health Organization has declared that the entire continent is now free of the wild poliovirus. This comes after four years without a single case. With this historic milestone, five of the six WHO regions – representing over 90% of …
your ad hereSwiss Parachutist Becomes First to Jump From Solar Powered Plane
A parachutist completed the world’s first jump from a solar-powered aircraft Tuesday, leaping from a height of 1,520 meters over western Switzerland. The parachutist, Raphael Domjan, also is the founder of the SolarStratos project, the group behind the feat, designed to promote renewable energy. Domjan jumped from a two-seater …
your ad hereWHO Issues Mask-Wearing Guidelines for Children
As millions of children head back to school, the World Health Organization has issued its recommendation on whether they need to wear face masks.The WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have broken their new guidelines into age groups, and they say children younger than 6 should not wear …
your ad hereKenya Sees Spike in Sexual Abuse Cases During Pandemic
Kenyan authorities and aid agencies say rape and sexual abuse cases against girls have increased since the start of pandemic restrictions, and they say in most cases relatives are the offenders. Some safe shelters in Nairobi are overwhelmed by girls who need an escape from people meant to care for them. Kenyan children have extra time off these days since schools closed in March because …
your ad hereAs Africa Celebrates Polio-Free Status, Nigeria Says Battle Not Over
A region in Africa that includes 43 nations has been certified free of the wild polio virus (Aug. 24) after Nigeria, the last endemic country, recorded no new cases for the past three consecutive years. Nigeria’s polio survivors are celebrating the eradication of the virus, even though many still face …
your ad hereResearchers Improve ‘Anti-Solar’ Energy Production
A new study suggests researchers have developed a method to significantly improve “anti-solar” panels – a new clean, sustainable way to generate energy at night. Solar panels work because they are colder than the light given off by the sun, so they can capture that heat and convert it into …
your ad hereCOVAX Program is Evaluating 9 Potential Coronavirus Vaccines, WHO Says
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday nine vaccines are being evaluated by its cooperative COVAX facility which now has 172 nations as contributing partners. The FILE – World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, July 3, 2020.Speaking at his …
your ad hereBurkina Faso is Facing a Hunger Catastrophe
The World Food Program reports Burkina Faso is facing an acute shortage of food, with more than 3.2 million people going hungry in this conflict-ridden country.There has been a 50 percent rise in the number of people struggling to feed themselves and their families since March. The World Food Program …
your ad hereOnline Campaign Saves ‘Space Camp’
The U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama – home to “Space Camp” – faced permanent closure as COVID-19 forced the internationally popular science and technology center to turn students and visitors away. But as VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, an online campaign to “Save Space Camp” is providing a …
your ad hereEbola Spreading Rapidly in DR Congo’s Equateur Province
The World Health Organization is concerned by the rapid increase and spread of the deadly Ebola virus in remote, densely forested areas of Equateur province in the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.Health officials report 100 people in DRC have been infected with Ebola in fewer than 100 …
your ad hereWHO Head Hopes Pandemic Will End Within Two Years
The head of the World Health Organization says he hopes the coronavirus pandemic will end in less than two years – less time than it took to stop the 1918 Spanish flu. Speaking Friday at his regular briefing in Geneva, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it is easier for a …
your ad hereIn a First, 2 Hurricanes Could Hit Gulf of Mexico Next Week
The U.S. National Weather Service is predicting that two storm systems in and around the Caribbean Sea will strengthen and could both be hurricanes next week in the Gulf of Mexico.The National Hurricane Center reports Tropical Storm Laura formed early Friday just northeast of the Lesser Antilles, and by last …
your ad hereUS Universities Roll Out COVID Spit Tests
A recently approved rapid saliva test for COVID-19 is already being used on college campuses across the United States. Also called spit tests, they produce results in less than 24 hours, cost about $10, and are less invasive than the standard swab that is placed deep into the nose.Faster, Easier COVID-19 …
your ad hereFlorida Keys to Release Modified Mosquitoes to Fight Illness
Sometime next year, genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the Florida Keys in an effort to combat persistent insect-borne diseases such as Dengue fever and the Zika virus.The plan approved this week by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District calls for a pilot project in 2021 involving the striped-legged …
your ad herePeru to Host Clinical Trials for Coronavirus Vaccine
China’s Sinopharm Laboratory will begin human clinical trials for a possible vaccine against COVID-19 in Peru on Monday.Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra announced Thursday that 6,000 volunteers will participate in the trials.Vizcarra expects a second clinical trial, by the firm AstraZeneca in association with Oxford University, will begin by the end …
your ad hereEarth Gets Glancing Blow From Solar Flare
U.S. space weather forecasters say the Earth on Thursday received a glancing blow from a “coronal mass ejection” (CME) – effectively, a solar eruption – first detected on the surface of the sun four days ago. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the agency responsible for monitoring the …
your ad hereSpaceX Sends More Communications Satellites Into Space
The man-made mega constellation orbiting Earth grew again this week after another history-making commercial launch. Satellite images document a quarter century of melting ice on Earth, plus images of our home planet from space and of space from our home planet. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi …
your ad hereBrazilians Worry Fire Season Will Bring Even More Forest Destruction
Environmentalists are increasingly alarmed at the growing pace of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. With the fire season under way, Brazil’s rainforests face the threat of even more destruction. The number of trees destroyed has accelerated since Jair Bolsonaro became president in 2019. Facing criticism, the Brazilian leader is defending his policy on rainforests and countering critics by enacting what …
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