Study: 8% of Amazon Rainforest Destroyed Since 2000
Deforestation has wiped out 8% of the Amazon rainforest in just 18 years, according to a study released Tuesday. The swath of land destroyed between 2000 and 2018 is the size
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Endemic Corruption Is Reason Behind Alarming Wildlife Trafficking From Nigeria
Corruption has made Nigeria the biggest smuggler of ivory and pangolin scales from central and West Africa to Asia, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency. The London-based
Read MoreIndians Suffering Mystery Illness Found to Have Lead, Nickel in Blood
Indian doctors have found lead and nickel in the blood of patients who have succumbed to a mysterious illness in the southern part of the country.More than 400 people in
Read MoreBiden Introduces Top Health Care Officials as US COVID Cases Soar
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is introducing his top health care officials on Tuesday, all of whom will quickly face the country’s grim world-leading coronavirus statistics: nearly 15 million infections and
Read MoreBritish Health Secretary Addresses Parliament as COVID-19 Vaccinations Begin
As Britain’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign began Tuesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told parliament that “the start of the fight back against our common enemy, coronavirus,” had begun, adding there is
Read MoreTrump Summit Aims to Boost Faith in Vaccine; Biden Excluded; Drugmakers Decline
The Trump administration is aiming to instill public confidence as well as claim major credit for the forthcoming coronavirus vaccines with a White House summit Tuesday featuring experts who will
Read MoreFeds Passed Up Chance to Lock in More Pfizer Vaccine Doses
The Trump administration opted last summer not to lock in a chance to buy millions of additional doses of one of the leading coronavirus vaccine contenders, a decision that could
Read MoreTrump Administration Declines to Tighten US Soot Pollution Standard
The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday the agency will maintain an air quality standard governing soot pollution for five years rather than tighten it as agency
Read MoreBiden Names Top Health Care Officials
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden named his top health care officials on Monday, tapping former Congressman Xavier Becerra as his Health and Human Services chief to lead the country’s fight to
Read MoreDespite Promise, Few in US Adopting COVID-19 Exposure Apps
Six months ago, Apple and Google introduced a new smartphone tool designed to notify people who might have been exposed to the coronavirus, without disclosing any personal information. But for
Read MoreHundreds Ill, One Dead Due to Unidentified Disease in India
At least one person has died and 200 others have been hospitalized due to an unidentified illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, reports said Monday. The illness
Read MoreBiden Picks California Attorney General to Lead HHS, Harvard Expert for CDC
President-elect Joe Biden has picked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary, putting a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his
Read MoreBiden Taps California Attorney General to Be First Latino Health Secretary
President-elect Joe Biden has picked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary, putting a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his
Read More‘We’re Ready’: Baltimore Dry Ice Supplier Prepares for COVID Vaccine
The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine against the coronavirus must be stored at extremely cold temperatures, raising some concerns about the difficult task of moving it across the United States for inoculations. But
Read MoreSaving Senegal’s Forests: Group Turns Straw Into Fuel
Wood and charcoal burning account for 50% of Senegal’s household energy consumption, contributing to air pollution and deforestation. To reduce ecological damage, an association called Nebeday, which means “tree” in
Read MoreTurning Straw to Fuel to Save Senegal’s Forests
Wood and charcoal burning account for 50% of household energy consumption in Senegal, contributing to air pollution and deforestation. To reduce ecological damage, an association called Nebeday, which means “tree”
Read MoreTurning Straw to Fuel to Save Senegal’s Forests
Wood and charcoal burning account for 50% of Senegal’s household energy consumption, contributing to air pollution and deforestation. To reduce ecological damage, an association called Nebeday, which means “tree” in
Read MoreER Visits, Long Waits Climb for US Kids in Mental Health Crisis
When children and teens are overwhelmed with anxiety, depression or thoughts of self-harm, they often wait days in emergency rooms because there aren’t enough psychiatric beds in the U.S.The problem
Read MoreVirus Cases Continue Climbing in US During Holiday Season
Coronavirus infections across the U.S. continue to rise as the country moves deeper into a holiday season when eagerly anticipated gatherings of family and friends could push the numbers even
Read MoreGene-editing Treatment Shows Promise for Sickle Cell, Other Blood Disease
Scientists are seeing promising early results from the first studies testing gene editing for painful, inherited blood disorders that plague millions worldwide, especially Black people.Doctors hope the one-time treatment, which
Read MoreJapan Capsule Carrying Asteroid Samples Lands in Australia
Japan’s space agency said its helicopter search team has spotted a capsule carrying asteroid samples that could explain the origin of life. It landed on a remote area in southern
Read MoreYellow Fever in Nigeria Continues to Spread
A Nigerian yellow fever outbreak detected early last month is worsening and causing many cases and deaths across five of the country’s 36 states. The World Health Organization says 530
Read MoreJapan Awaits Spacecraft Return with Asteroid Soil Samples
Japan’s space agency said the Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully separated a capsule and sent it toward Earth to deliver samples from a distant asteroid that could provide clues to the origin
Read MoreCalifornia Bay Area to Begin Stay-at-Home Orders Amid COVID Surge
The California city of San Francisco and several Bay Area counties said Friday that they will begin imposing stay-at-home orders this weekend as part of their battle against the coronavirus.California
Read MoreWHO: Vaccine Approval Does Not Mean End of Pandemic
Officials with the World Health Organization cautioned Friday that approval of a vaccine for use in Britain this week does not mean the COVID-19 pandemic is over.Speaking at the organization’s
Read MoreCOVID ‘Long Haulers’ Suffer Symptoms Months After Recovery, Doctors Say
Nearly a year into the global coronavirus pandemic, doctors are monitoring patients they call COVID long haulers: people who suffer from symptoms months after they recovered from the immediate effects
Read MoreWHO Chief Urges Investment, Preparation for Next Pandemic
The head of the World Health Organization said Friday that with a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon, nations must start investing and preparing for the next pandemic.“Despite years of warnings,
Read MoreAustralian Telescope Finds 1 Million New Galaxies
A powerful new telescope in Australia has mapped vast areas of the universe in record time. The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder was able to chart about 3 million galaxies
Read MoreWHO Europe Director Applauds Vaccine News, Urges Vigilance
The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) European director Thursday called Britain’s approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine “phenomenal” but urged Europeans to remain vigilant. Speaking at his headquarters in Copenhagen,
Read MoreSweden Closes High Schools Until Early January to Stem COVID-19 Infections
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced Thursday that high schools would switch to distance learning beginning Monday through early January to slow the rate of COVID-19 infections in the country. Lofven
Read MorePhishing Ploy Targets COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Effort
IBM security researchers say they have detected a cyberespionage effort using targeted phishing emails to try to collect vital information on the World Health Organization’s initiative for distributing COVID-19 vaccine
Read MoreFauci to Discuss Coronavirus Pandemic with Biden Transition Team
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, is meeting virtually Thursday with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team about the surging coronavirus pandemic in the country and the likely
Read MoreNIH Director: ‘It Is Astounding What’s Been Done’ Regarding COVID-19 Vaccine
VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren interviewed the National Institute of Health Director Frances Collins. Among the issues discussed are the COVID-19 vaccine and its development.Here is a transcript of that
Read MoreUnited Nations to Convene Special Pandemic Response Session
More than 100 world leaders and high-ranking government officials will convene a two-day virtual special session of the United Nations General Assembly Thursday to discuss the global response to the
Read MoreCDC Warns of ‘Most Difficult Time’ for US Public Health
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned Wednesday of a bleak winter ahead as the country continues to see nationwide surges of COVID-19 cases.”The reality is that
Read MoreNASA: Mystery Object Is 54-Year-Old Rocket, Not Asteroid
A mysterious object temporarily orbiting Earth is a 54-year-old rocket, not an asteroid after all, astronomers confirmed Wednesday.Observations by a telescope in Hawaii clinched its identity, according to NASA’s Jet
Read MoreChina Joins Race to Mine Moon for Resources
China’s space program celebrated a major accomplishment this week when its Chang’e 5 lunar probe mission safely landed on the moon. The landing Tuesday brought Beijing a step closer to
Read MoreWMO: Global Warming Triggering Extreme Weather Events
The World Meteorological Organization reports 2020 is shaping up to be one of the three warmest years on record and a year in which extreme weather events have wreaked havoc
Read MoreUN Chief Appeals for Action to Heal ‘Broken Planet’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that “the planet is broken” and made an urgent appeal for a course correction to avert a climate catastrophe.“The fallout of the assault
Read MoreSingapore OKs Lab-grown Chicken
It might look like chicken. It might taste like chicken. But it doesn’t come from a chicken, it comes from a lab. For chicken lovers in Singapore, this lab-grown chicken will
Read MoreChina Spacecraft Collects Moon Samples to Take Back to Earth
A Chinese spacecraft took samples of the moon’s surface Wednesday as part of a mission to bring lunar rocks back to Earth for the first time since the 1970s, the
Read MoreUS CDC Advisers Prioritize Health Care Workers, Nursing Home Residents for Vaccine
Healthcare workers and nursing home residents should be among the first Americans to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, members of a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee determined
Read MoreHuge Puerto Rico Radio Telescope, Already Damaged, Collapses
A huge, already damaged radio telescope in Puerto Rico that has played a key role in astronomical discoveries for more than half a century completely collapsed on Tuesday. The telescope’s 900-ton
Read MoreChina Space Agency: Lunar Probe Successfully Lands on Moon
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has announced its Chang’e-5 spacecraft, designed to collect lunar samples and return them to Earth, successfully landed on the near side of the moon. China state
Read MoreAffordable Treatment Available Soon for Children Living With HIV in Poor Countries
Affordable treatment will soon be available for children living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries thanks to an agreement between the global health agency UNITAID and the Clinton Health
Read MoreUS Center for Disease Control Advisers Meet to Prioritize Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution
Members of a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee meet Tuesday to determine who should get inoculated first against the coronavirus once a vaccine receives final approval.The
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