German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier says he will begin leaving a light in a window at his official residence, Bellevue Palace, to remember those killed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Steinmeier has called on Germans to do the same as a remembrance that “the dead in the corona pandemic are not just statistics for us.”  He added, “Even … continue reading -> “Germany Reports 850 COVID-19 Deaths in 24 Hours”

The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday formally welcomed back the United States, after President Joe Biden signed an executive order this week to retain U.S. membership. Speaking at the agency’s regular briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted the United States was a founding member of the organization in 1948 and has long … continue reading -> “WHO Welcomes US Back After Biden Moves to Retain Membership”

New coronavirus variants appearing in Britain, South Africa, Brazil and elsewhere have experts concerned. Not only do they spread faster than existing strains, it’s possible that vaccines against them might not work as well, though that hasn’t been a problem so far. Here’s how these variants are different and why scientists think vaccines will still … continue reading -> “New COVID-19 Variants Are Different – What that Means for Us”

Brazil expects to receive 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine Friday in its buildup to launching a mass immunization program.   The vaccine is due to arrive a day after President Jair Bolsonaro fended off criticism by health officials over whether Brazil has enough vaccine to begin its nationwide immunization program.   Bolsonaro, who … continue reading -> “Brazil to Receive More COVID-19 Vaccines Friday as President Defends Government Effort”

Beginning Friday, foreign nationals granted special permission to fly to Australia take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their departure. Masks will also be compulsory on all international flights.Australia has had a fortress-like approach to COVID-19. It closed its borders to most foreign travelers in March to try to curb the spread of the … continue reading -> “Australia Demands Foreign Travelers Take COVID-19 Test”

South Africa is mourning the sudden death of Jackson Mthembu, a cabinet minister and presidential adviser who was the public face of South Africa’s fight against COVID-19.President Cyril Ramaphosa offered condolences in a statement Thursday, saying he was shocked and saddened that 62-year-old Mthembu had died from COVID-related complications.He is the first of six South … continue reading -> “Public Face of South Africa’s COVID-19 Fight Dies of Virus Complications”

President Joe Biden immediately began to reverse the Trump administration’s policies on climate change with one of 17 executive orders signed Wednesday after his inauguration.That’s in addition to the move to rejoin the Paris agreement to limit climate-changing greenhouse gases. After four years of federal disinterest in the issue, the order calls on all federal agencies … continue reading -> “Climate Change Returns to White House Agenda with Biden Executive Order”

A NASA-Boeing partnership took its next steps toward deep-space exploration. Two commercial space flight companies reached new heights, and China says “foreign scientists” can inspect lunar samples it recently collected.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space.Produced by: Arash ArabasadiCamera: NASA/AP/Reuters/Virgin Orbit/Blue Origin  …

Pakistan said Thursday it will receive half-a-million free doses of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine by January 31.    Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made the announcement at a news conference, saying his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, shared the “good news” in a phone call between the two officials.      “He told me, ‘Send your aircraft … continue reading -> “China to Gift Pakistan 500K COVID-19 Vaccine Doses “

Fire erupted Thursday in a building under construction in India that is owned by the world’s largest vaccine maker, but the company said it would not affect production of a COVID-19 vaccine.The fire broke out at a Serum Institute of India (SII) building in the western city of Pune.Fire official Prashant Ranpise said the cause … continue reading -> “Fire Rips Through COVID-19 Vaccine Plant in India”

The leading infectious disease expert in the United States says the country will participate in the global initiative to provide COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries.   Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to new U.S. President Joe Biden, told the executive board of … continue reading -> “US Pledges to Join World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Global Vaccination Initiative “

Chile is getting a new weapon to help in its fight against the spread of the coronavirus.Health regulators approved the emergency use of the CoronaVac vaccine made by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd.Heriberto Garcia, director of Chile’s Public Health Institute, said very encouraging data from late-stage trials and the Health Institute’s independent investigations suggested CoronaVac was … continue reading -> “Chile Approves Emergency Use of Second Coronavirus Vaccine”

Zimbabwe is mourning the death of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo.The government said the country’s top diplomat died Wednesday after contracting COVID-19.Moyo gained international notoriety as an army general, becoming the spokesperson of the 2017 coup that ousted longtime President Robert Mugabe, who was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa.Moyo is the third cabinet … continue reading -> “Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Dies of COVID-19”

This week the head of the World Health Organization warns the world is on the brink of a “catastrophic moral failure” over the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. This comes after some countries are already well underway with their vaccination campaigns, while others do not know when they will get their first shots. More from VOA … continue reading -> “WHO: Equitable Vaccine Distribution at ‘Serious Risk’”

A massive Antarctic iceberg that last month threatened a penguin-populated island off the southern tip of South America has since lost much of its mass and broken into pieces, scientists say. The main ice mass, called A68a, and its “child bergs” are still on the move, swirling in waters near South Georgia Island, said scientist Ted … continue reading -> “Massive Iceberg Continues Losing Mass as it Swirls Around South Georgia Island”

Israel has sped ahead of any other country in its vaccine rollout, with more than 2 million people out of a total of 9.3 million already having received the first vaccination. In exchange for access to so many doses so early, Israel agreed to share data with Pfizer, a move some in Israel says raises … continue reading -> “Israel Shares Vaccine Data With Pfizer”

Indigenous people in Brazil’s rainforest are getting their long awaited first doses of a vaccine against the coronavirus, which has infected thousands in their community and killed hundreds of others. The Brazilian military flew medical workers and 1,000 doses of the CoronaVac Chinese vaccine into the Amazon rainforest on Tuesday and began vaccinating the indigenous people, who celebrated the arrival of the vaccine. Isabel Ticuna, one of the … continue reading -> “Brazil Launches COVID-19 Vaccine Program for Hard Hit Indigenous People”

Kenya is under siege again by swarms of maturing desert locusts that threaten to ruin farmers’ crops and pastures. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement the locusts are swarming across seven counties, nearly double the number of counties impacted a week ago. The latest locust invasion in Kenya comes as the FAO warns the 28 anti-locust aircraft assembled by East African countries to wipe out … continue reading -> “Growing Swarms of Locust Converging on Kenya Threaten Crops”