While the first shots against COVID-19 are rolling out in the United States, Britain and Canada, nearly a quarter of the world’s population likely will not have access to a vaccine until at least 2022, according to Epidemiologist Hilda Aleman reacts upon receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dec. 15, 2020.A … continue reading -> “While First COVID-19 Vaccines Arrive, Much of the World Will Have to Wait”
Scientists at Japan’s space agency on Tuesday confirmed the capsule they recovered last week from their Hayabusa2 probe that had landed on an asteroid did indeed contain samples collected from that heavenly body.The Hayabusa spacecraft was launched in 2014 and arrived at the near-Earth asteroid called Ryugu in 2018. The probe spent about a year … continue reading -> “Japanese Scientists Confirm Returned Asteroid Probe Contains Soil Sample”
President-elect Joe Biden’s Presidential Inaugural Committee announced measures Tuesday to protect public health during an inauguration that will take place in the midst of a coronavirus crisis that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States. The committee said in a statement it is collaborating with the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies … continue reading -> “Biden Inauguration Stresses Public Health Safety During Ceremonies”
Lawmakers in Britain have proposed legislation that would fine social media companies if they do not quickly take action to remove illegal content like child pornography or terrorist materials. U.S. based Facebook and Twitter and China-owned TikTok could be fined up to 10% of turnover, according to Reuters. CNBC reported that Ofcom, a British media watchdog, … continue reading -> “Britain to Introduce New Laws Over ‘Harmful’ Social Media Content “
Doses of the first federally approved coronavirus vaccine were administered to front-line health care workers in the United States Monday. That signals what health officials call a significant turn in the fight against the virus that has claimed more than 300,000 lives in the U.S. alone. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has more. …
Zimbabwe authorities are being criticized for evicting hundreds of families of squatters amid the COVID-19 pandemic and struggling economy. Legal experts say the destruction of their homes in the capital this month, leaving many homeless in a rainy season, is a violation of the constitution.Fifty-two-year-old Bigboy Mabhande and his family are among hundreds of families … continue reading -> “Zimbabwe City Evicts Families Amid Pandemic”
Apple on Monday began adding labels that reveal what user data is gathered by games, chat or other software offered in the App Store for its popular mobile devices. The iPhone maker announced plans for such privacy labels when it first unveiled the new version of its iOS mobile operating system, which it released in September. “App … continue reading -> “Apple Adding Privacy Fact Labels to App Store Items”
The United States surpassed 300,000 recorded deaths from COVID-19 Monday — the same day the first American was vaccinated against the coronavirus that causes the disease. The grim number comes about two weeks after millions of Americans defied warnings to avoid travel and gathered with family members for the Thanksgiving holiday. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus … continue reading -> “US Surpasses 300,000 COVID Deaths”
Pressure is growing on the European Union to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine after regulators in Britain, the United States and Canada gave the green light in recent days. Coronavirus cases are soaring across the continent, with extended lockdowns announced in Germany and the Netherlands. Henry Ridgwell reports. Camera: Henry Ridgwell …
A narrow 96-kilometer-wide corridor from the Pacific Coast in Chile across the Andes mountain range and into Argentina in South America was treated Monday to views of the final total solar eclipse of 2020. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, casting a shadow that momentarily extinguishes daylight … continue reading -> “Narrow Swath of South America Sees Total Eclipse of the Sun”
The Philippines aims to finalize negotiations with Sinovac Biotech this week to acquire 25 million doses of the Chinese company’s COVID-19 vaccine for delivery by March, a coronavirus taskforce official said on Monday.President Rodrigo Duterte, who has pursued warmer ties with Beijing, wants to inoculate all his country’s 108 million people, preferably buying vaccines from … continue reading -> “Philippines Targets Deal for 25 MLN Doses of Sinovac COVID-19 Vaccine “
After nearly an hour of widespread global outages of Google services, most users were again able to access their Gmail, Google Drive and YouTube accounts Monday morning. “Update — We’re back up and running! You should be able to access YouTube again and enjoy videos as normal,” YouTube tweeted once service was restored. … continue reading -> “Google Suffers Widespread Outage of Gmail, YouTube and More”
Daily records continue to tumble for COVID-19 cases and deaths in many parts of the world, forcing governments to impose restrictions or consider lockdowns to halt the spread of the coronavirus. In Europe, Germany is heading for a second lockdown starting on Wednesday amid rising coronavirus infections. The government in urging citizens to avoid Christmas shopping … continue reading -> “COVID-19 Cases, Deaths Reach New Records”
Trump administration officials are expected to say this week whether the monarch butterfly, a colorful and familiar backyard visitor now caught in a global extinction crisis, should receive federal designation as a threatened species. Stepped-up use of farm herbicides, climate change and destruction of milkweed plants on which they depend have caused a massive decline of … continue reading -> “Endangered-Species Decision Expected on Beloved Butterfly “
Daily records continue to tumble for COVID-19 cases and deaths in many parts of the world, forcing governments to impose restrictions or consider lockdowns to halt the spread of the coronavirus.In Europe, Germany is heading for a second lockdown starting on Wednesday amid rising coronavirus infections. According to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center (JHU), … continue reading -> “Nations Break Daily COVID-19 Records for Cases and Deaths “
As more countries approve a coronavirus vaccine, the urgent need for inoculation continues to grow with COVID-19 cases and deaths spiking to record highs in several countries. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Sunday that South Korea recorded a record daily increase in coronavirus cases for a second straight day with 1,030 new infections. In … continue reading -> “Nations Breaking Daily COVID-19 Records for Cases and Deaths “
As more countries approve a coronavirus vaccine, the urgent need for inoculation continues to grow with COVID-19 cases and deaths spiking to record highs in several countries.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Sunday that South Korea recorded a record daily increase in coronavirus cases for a second straight day with 1,030 new infections.In … continue reading -> “COVID-19 Vaccine Approved as Cases Surge”
A Chinese space capsule bringing back the first moon rocks in more than four decades started its three-day return to Earth on Sunday.The Chang’e 5 lunar probe, which had been orbiting the moon for about a week, fired up four engines for about 22 minutes to move out of the moon’s orbit, the China National … continue reading -> “Chinese Capsule with Moon Rocks Begins Return to Earth”
The U.S. has approved emergency use of the Pfizer–BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for Americans to start getting vaccinated within days. But public skepticism about the safety of the vaccine remains, with polls showing many adults say they won’t get the shot or are unsure about getting it. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has … continue reading -> “US Approves Emergency Use of Vaccine”
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced Saturday that his country would have no new coal-fired power generation as part of its contribution in global efforts against climate change.Khan gave details of the substantial undertaking while addressing the international Climate Ambition Summit 2020, held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.The United Nations, United Kingdom, France, Chile … continue reading -> “Pakistan Decides Against New Coal-fired Power”
Mexico approved the emergency use of a coronavirus vaccine late Friday, bringing to six the number of countries that are inoculating or plan to inoculate with shots produced by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech.Britain, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia and the United States have also approved the vaccine.Mexican Assistant Health Secretary and epidemiologist Hugo Lopez-Gatell … continue reading -> “Mexico Approves Coronavirus Vaccine”
U.S. President Donald Trump late Friday hailed what he termed “a medical miracle” – the immediate but extremely limited availability of a coronavirus vaccine less than a year after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the United States.In a video message posted on Twitter, Trump said the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine … continue reading -> “Trump Hails Approved Coronavirus Vaccine as ‘Medical Miracle’”
The head of the European Union’s medical agency confirmed Friday it had been the subject of a cyberattack for the past two weeks but said it will not impact its ongoing evaluation of COVID-19 vaccines.The cyberattack was originally announced Wednesday, with the agency providing few details. During an online meeting with the European Parliament, European … continue reading -> “EU Vaccine Agency Victim of Cyberattack”
The U.S. added China’s biggest computer chipmaker SMIC to a blacklist of alleged Chinese military companies last week, a move that will further widen the gap between China’s chip technology and the rest of the world.Despite its status as the world’s factory, China has never figured out how to make advanced chips. In recent years, … continue reading -> “Can China Become Self-reliant in Semiconductors?”
Brazil, which is second to the U.S. in deaths from COVID-19 and third in the world in positive cases, is approaching 180,000 deaths as it suffers through its second wave of the disease caused by the coronavirus.In the past day, more than 53,000 cases and 770 deaths have been reported, according to the Johns Hopkins … continue reading -> “Brazil Nears 180,000 Deaths in Second Coronavirus Wave”