Major U.S. air carriers are warning that the country’s “commerce will grind to a halt” if Verizon and AT&T go ahead with plans to deploy their new 5G mobile internet technology on Wednesday. The airlines say the new technology will interfere with safe flight operations. The dispute between two major segments of the U.S. economy … continue reading -> “US Airlines, Telecom Carriers Feuding Over Rollout of 5G Technology”
A large asteroid is expected to pass within 1.93 million kilometers of Earth on Tuesday, according to NASA. The asteroid known as 7482 (1994 PC1), which was discovered in 1994, is about one kilometer wide or “bridge size” as NASA called it. NASA says the asteroid will again make a pass by Earth in July, … continue reading -> “Large Asteroid to Pass Near Earth Tuesday”
The worst drought in Somalia in decades has millions of people dependent on food aid and thousands flocking to cities to escape hunger. At makeshift shelters on the outskirts of the capital, displaced people face cramped conditions and poor sanitation in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mohamed Sheikh Nor reports from Mogadishu. Camera: Mohamed … continue reading -> “Somalia’s Capital Sees Influx of People Fleeing Drought”
China on Monday canceled plans to sell tickets to the public for the Winter Olympics in Beijing, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached its highest point since March 2020. Organizers said last year there would be no international spectators at the Games – partly due to China’s weeks-long quarantine requirements – … continue reading -> “China Drops Plans to Sell Olympic Tickets as COVID Cases Rise “
New Zealand began inoculating 5- to11-year-old children Monday with Pfizer’s pediatric COVID vaccine. More than 120,000 vaccines have been delivered to 500 vaccination centers around the country, the health ministry said. “Getting vaccinated now is a great way to help protect tamariki (children) before they go back to school,” Dr. Anthony Jordan, Auckland’s COVID-19 vaccination … continue reading -> “New Zealand Begins Vaccinating 5-to-11-Year-Olds”
Scientists are struggling to monitor an active volcano that erupted off the South Pacific island of Tonga at the weekend, after the explosion destroyed its sea-level crater and drowned its mass, obscuring it from satellites. The eruption of Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano, which sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, sent tsunami waves across the Pacific … continue reading -> “EXPLAINER: Scientists Struggle to Monitor Tonga Volcano After Massive Eruption”
Millions of Americans hunkered down as a major winter storm hit the eastern United States with heavy snow and ice knocking power out for an estimated 130,000 customers as of early Monday. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the storm was bringing a miserable combination of heavy snow, freezing rain and high winds, impacting the … continue reading -> “Millions Hunker Down As Storm Hits Eastern US”
On a cold winter afternoon in the Indian capital, New Delhi, a group of auto rickshaw drivers huddled outside a metro station hoping to pick up passengers. Since the city shut schools, colleges, restaurants and offices to cope with a third wave of the pandemic fueled by the omicron variant, though, they know their wait could … continue reading -> “Third Blow for Millions in India’s Vast Informal Sector as Cities Impose Curbs”
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center said early Sunday 326.2 million people around the world have been infected with the coronavirus, while 5.5 million deaths have been recorded. More than 9 billion vaccines have been administered, the center reported. UNICEF’S executive director said Saturday’s shipment of 1.1 million COVID vaccines to Rwanda “included the billionth … continue reading -> “COVAX Delivers Billionth Vaccine”
Microsoft said late Saturday that dozens of computer systems at an unspecified number of Ukrainian government agencies have been infected with destructive malware disguised as ransomware, a disclosure suggesting an attention-grabbing defacement attack on official websites was a diversion. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear. The attack comes as the threat of … continue reading -> “Microsoft Discloses Malware Attack on Ukraine Government Networks”
This year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, was smaller this year because of COVID, but, as usual, the event drew companies that are dreaming big. Mariia Prus was among the journalists covering CES-2022, which ended Jan. 8, and has this report narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Mariia Prus …
Novak Djokovic’s fate now lies in the hands of three Australian Federal Court justices, after his last-gasp appeal against deportation adjourned Sunday pending a verdict that is expected later in the day. The tennis star’s lawyers told an emergency hearing that the government’s effort to deport him on the eve of the Australian Open was … continue reading -> “Australian Court Adjourns to Consider Djokovic Verdict”
Ahead of the February opening of the Winter Olympics in China, authorities are attempting to contain an outbreak of the omicron coronavirus variant in a southern city. Officials in Zhuhai suspended the city’s bus service after uncovering seven cases of the highly contagious variant and advised residents to stay home. In the next week or … continue reading -> “China Tries to Contain Omicron Outbreak Ahead of Winter Olympics”
An unprecedented, experimental attempt to feed manatees facing starvation in Florida has started slowly but wildlife officials expressed optimism Thursday that it will work as cold weather drives the marine mammals toward warmer waters. A feeding station established along the state’s east coast has yet to entice wild manatees with romaine lettuce even though the … continue reading -> “Manatee Feeding Experiment Starts Slowly as Cold Looms”
There’s more evidence that one of the world’s most common viruses may set some people on the path to developing multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a potentially disabling disease that occurs when immune system cells mistakenly attack the protective coating on nerve fibers, gradually eroding them. The Epstein-Barr virus has long been suspected of playing … continue reading -> “More Evidence Links a Virus to Multiple Sclerosis, Study Finds”
Chinese technology and expertise is making it possible for Venezuela and Cuba to exercise suffocating control over digital communications in the two countries, according to insider accounts and several international investigations. Venezuela and Cuba do more to block internet access than any other governments in Latin America, according to the U.S.-based advocacy group Freedom House, … continue reading -> “China Seen Backing ‘Digital Authoritarianism’ in Latin America “
The white dome of the U.S. Capitol shone through the night, illuminating a small group huddled down the hill, bundled tightly against the winter cold and carrying binoculars and cameras with long lenses. The motley crew were not there to photograph Washington’s famous monuments, they had their sights set on a rare creature that flew … continue reading -> “Birdwatchers Flock for Glimpse of Rare Snowy Owl in US Capital”
U.S. health officials on Friday encouraged more Americans to wear the kind of N95 or KN95 masks used by health care workers to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Those kinds of masks are considered better at filtering the air. But they were in short supply previously, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and … continue reading -> “CDC Encourages More Americans to Consider N95 Masks”
Martin Shkreli must return $64.6 million in profits he and his former company reaped from jacking up the price and monopolizing the market for a lifesaving drug, a federal judge ruled Friday while also barring the provocative, imprisoned ex-CEO from the pharmaceutical industry for the rest of his life. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote’s ruling … continue reading -> “Shkreli Ordered to Return $64M, Barred from Drug Industry “
The World Health Organization is recommending two new drugs for the treatment of COVID-19, adding to a growing list of therapeutic remedies for the deadly disease. Baricitinib is an oral medication recommended for patients with severe or critical COVID-19.It is part of a class of drugs that suppresses the overstimulation of the immune system and … continue reading -> “WHO Approves Two New Drugs to Treat COVID-19”
Ukraine was hit by a massive cyberattack warning its citizens to “be afraid and expect the worst”, and Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops on its neighbor’s frontier, released TV pictures on Friday of more forces deploying in a drill. The developments came after no breakthrough was reached at meetings between Russia and … continue reading -> “‘Be Afraid’: Ukraine Hit by Cyberattack, Russia Moves More Troops”
To mask or not to mask is a question Italy settled early in the COVID-19 outbreak with a vigorous “yes.” Now the onetime epicenter of the pandemic in Europe hopes even stricter mask rules will help it beat the latest infection surge. Other countries are taking similar action as the more transmissible — yet, apparently, … continue reading -> “Masks Rules Get Tighter in Europe in Winter’s COVID-19 Wave”
Drones sprayed holy water from the Ganges on thousands of Hindu pilgrims on Friday to reduce crowding during a massive festival being held despite soaring COVID-19 cases in India. The Gangasagar Mela in the east of the country has drawn comparisons with another “superspreader” Hindu gathering last year that the Hindu nationalist government refused to … continue reading -> “Drones Spray Holy Water at India Hindu Festival as Crowds Defy COVID Rules”
The Supreme Court has stopped the Biden administration from enforcing a requirement that employees at large businesses be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing and wear a mask on the job. At the same time, the court is allowing the administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most health care workers in the … continue reading -> “US High Court OKs Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers, Not Businesses”
A 4-billion-year-old meteorite from Mars that caused a splash here on Earth decades ago contains no evidence of ancient, primitive Martian life after all, scientists reported Thursday. In 1996, a NASA-led team announced that organic compounds in the rock appeared to have been left by living creatures. Other scientists were skeptical, and researchers chipped away … continue reading -> “Study Nixes Mars Life in Meteorite Found in Antarctica”