India’s pharmaceuticals regulator has begun inspecting some drug factories across the country, the health ministry said on Tuesday, as it tries to ensure high standards after an Indian company’s cough and cold syrups were linked to deaths in Gambia. India is known as the “pharmacy of the world” and its pharmaceuticals exports have more than … continue reading -> “India Inspects Drug Factories as Gambia Controversy Lingers”
Artificial intelligence technology has tripled the number of U.K. stroke patients recovering to a point where they can perform daily activities, according to new research released Tuesday. Early-stage analysis of over 111,000 suspected stroke patients whose care included use of the technology found it reduced the time between being seen by a doctor and treatment … continue reading -> “AI-Powered Technology Sees Big Improvements in UK Stroke Treatment: Analysis”
A British historian, an Italian archaeologist and an American preschool teacher have never met in person, but they share a prominent pandemic bond. Plagued by eerily similar symptoms, the three women are credited with describing, naming and helping bring long COVID into the public’s consciousness in early 2020. Rachel Pope, of Liverpool, took to Twitter … continue reading -> “Long COVID: Could Mono Virus or Fat Cells Be Playing Roles?”
China said Monday it would scrap mandatory quarantine on arrival, further unwinding years of strict virus controls as the country battles a surge in cases. Having mostly cut itself off from the rest of the world during the pandemic, China is now experiencing an unprecedented surge in infections after abruptly lifting restrictions that torpedoed the … continue reading -> “China to End Quarantine on Arrival in Fresh COVID Rule Relaxation”
China’s Zhejiang, a big industrial province near Shanghai, is battling around a million new daily COVID-19 infections, a number expected to double in the days ahead, the provincial government said Sunday. Despite a record surge of cases nationwide, China reported no COVID deaths on the mainland for the five days through Saturday, the Chinese Center … continue reading -> “China’s Zhejiang Has 1 Million Daily COVID Cases, Expected to Double”
Three years ago, scientists in Wuhan, China first reported infections from a novel coronavirus. Since then, the world has developed and delivered 13 billion shots against COVID-19. It is an unprecedented achievement, but it has been tarnished by unequal access. The global program aimed at improving vaccine equity has announced it will narrow its focus … continue reading -> “COVID Vaccine Supplies Improved in 2022, But Demand Plummeted”
World Health Organization Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gave a grim assessment of the many health challenges and threats people around the world have faced this year. Topping the list was the COVID-19 pandemic that has sickened and killed millions of people for a third year. He noted a global outbreak of monkeypox, now known as … continue reading -> “WHO Chief Sees Global Health Emergencies Winding Down in 2023”
An arctic blast has brought extreme cold, heavy snow and intense wind across much of the U.S. — just in time for the holidays. The weather system, dubbed a “bomb cyclone,” is disrupting travel and causing hazardous winter conditions. Where is this winter weather coming from, and what’s in store for the coming days? What’s … continue reading -> “Arctic Blast Sweeps US, Causes Bomb Cyclone”
Hong Kong is forecast to grow economically next year after the city’s leader announced the removal of nearly all COVID-19 restrictions on international arrivals and said it would reopen its border with China. But experts say the coronavirus pandemic and geopolitics have hampered Hong Kong’s international status after nearly three years of global isolation. Last … continue reading -> “Hong Kong Drops More COVID-19 Restrictions but Caution Remains”
Shanghai authorities urged residents to stay at home this weekend, seeking a toned-down Christmas in the nation’s most populous city as COVID-19 rages nationwide after tough curbs were lifted. A branch of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission on Saturday urged young people in particular to avoid crowded gatherings, due to the ease of spreading the … continue reading -> “Shanghai Asks Residents to Stay in on Christmas as China COVID Surges”
Half a million people in a single Chinese city are being infected with COVID-19 every day, a senior health official has said, in a rare and quickly censored acknowledgement that the country’s wave of infections is not being reflected in official statistics. China this month has rapidly dismantled key pillars of its zero-COVID strategy, doing … continue reading -> “Chinese City Seeing Half a Million COVID Cases A Day, Official Says”
The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and high levels of opioid overdose deaths drove life expectancy in the United States down for the second consecutive year in 2021, with a child born in that year expected to live 76.4 years, the lowest figure since 1996, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control … continue reading -> “US Life Expectancy Drops to Lowest in a Generation”
Canada’s Western Hudson Bay polar bear population has fallen 27% in just five years, according to a government report released this week, suggesting climate change is affecting the animals. Every autumn, the bears living along the western edge of the Bay pass through the sub-Arctic tourist town of Churchill, Manitoba, as they return to the … continue reading -> “Canada’s Hudson Bay Polar Bear Population Plummets”
The highly contagious omicron subvariant XBB has surged to more than 50% of COVID-19 cases in the northeastern United States and risks spreading fast as millions of Americans began holiday travel on Friday. It’s estimated that at week’s end, XBB will account for 18.3% of the COVID-19 cases in the United States, up from 11.2% … continue reading -> “CDC: Omicron Subvariant XBB Jumps to 18% of US COVID cases”
The United Nations says high food prices in 2022 led to a crisis of affordability that has pushed millions more people into hunger. VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer talks to experts about the situation and what to expect in 2023. …
One of the world’s largest marine citizen science projects has surveyed its 500th section of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef since the effort began in 2020. This year’s Great Reef Census, which runs from September to December, has revealed severe damage to the coral, while other parts of the 2,300-kilometer World Heritage site are thriving. The … continue reading -> “Great Reef Census Reaches Milestone Surveying Australian Icon”
Russia’s space agency said it is considering a plan to send an empty spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) to bring home three crew members ahead of schedule, after their Soyuz capsule sprang a coolant leak while docked to the orbiting outpost. Roscosmos and NASA officials said at a news conference Thursday they continue … continue reading -> “Russia Mulls Early Return of Space Station Crew After Soyuz Capsule Leak”
A former judge of the Supreme People’s Court, the highest court in China, is calling for the suspension or revocation of cases against some 80 people found guilty of violating “zero-COVID” policy regulations since the advent of omicron, a less deadly variant that began spreading in December 2021. China implemented the zero-COVID policy in January … continue reading -> “Former Judge on China’s Top Court Suggests End to Prosecution of ‘Zero-COVID’ Violators”
As farmers in the United States are coping with rising input costs, some are turning to environmentally beneficial methods to curb expenses and make money while sequestering a driver of climate change. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Glasgow, Illinois. …
The World Health Organization is concerned about a spike in COVID-19 infections in China and is supporting the government to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country, the head of the U.N. agency said on Wednesday. Infections have recently spiked in the world’s second-largest economy and projections have suggested … continue reading -> “WHO Expresses Concern About COVID Situation in China “
It could be the end of the red dusty line for NASA’s InSight lander, which has fallen silent after four years on Mars. The lander’s power levels have been dwindling for months because of all the dust coating its solar panels. Ground controllers at California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory knew the end was near, but NASA … continue reading -> “NASA Mars Lander Insight Falls Silent After 4 Years”
Negotiators reached a historic deal at a U.N. biodiversity conference early Monday that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world. The global framework comes on the day the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, is set to end … continue reading -> “Historic Biodiversity Agreement Reached at UN Conference”
Scientists have uncovered new clues about a curious fossil site in Nevada, a graveyard for dozens of giant marine reptiles. Instead of the site of a massive die-off as suspected, it might have been an ancient maternity ward where the creatures came to give birth. The site is famous for its fossils from giant ichthyosaurs … continue reading -> “Mystery Nevada Fossil Site Could Be Ancient Maternity Ward”
Hollywood Cat is no longer. The Los Angeles area’s most famous mountain lion, an aged wild male feline sighted around the city’s Griffith Park, was euthanized Saturday, wildlife officials said. For years, it was known to prowl around the hillside “Hollywood” sign visible around much of Los Angeles, a fitting setting for a celebrity cat. … continue reading -> “Beloved ‘Hollywood Cat’ Mountain Lion Euthanized in Los Angeles “
Uganda on Saturday lifted a two-month lockdown on two districts at the epicenter of the country’s Ebola epidemic, amid cautious hope that the outbreak could end soon. Since authorities declared an Ebola outbreak Sept. 20, the East African nation has registered 142 confirmed cases and 56 deaths, with the disease spreading to the capital, Kampala. … continue reading -> “Uganda Lifts Lockdown in Ebola Epicenter”